Daily diary of a virgin (first ever) home brew!

[Hairy]

On 5/23/2020 at 1:48 PM, pilotsh said:

How about this? Plastic and stainless steel. Nice and cheap. Easy to spray everything while it's in the bath. I would get the 2 litre one but that has a brass nozzle, exactly a soft metal SSan says not to use on, and has to be kept vertical.

 

Use this one to make a party keg.

[Journeyman]

On 5/23/2020 at 1:18 PM, pilotsh said:

I would get the 2 litre one but that has a brass nozzle, exactly a soft metal SSan says not to use on, and has to be kept vertical.

I hadn't seen that note before - any info on WHY 'not on brass'? I haven't noticed any effects on my 2L spray bottle - still working fine with a brass nozzle at 9 months of use.

@Hairy - 

Quote

Use this one to make a party keg.

One presumes without the nozzle?  Unless you could get it really cold and make beer slushies...

Edited May 25, 2020 by Journeyman

[pilotsh]

9 hours ago, Journeyman said:

I hadn't seen that note before - any info on WHY 'not on brass'? 

Not sure why, but here is an extract

 

 

 

[pilotsh]

9 hours ago, Journeyman said:

I haven't noticed any effects on my 2L spray bottle - still working fine with a brass nozzle at 9 months of use.

Is this it by any chance? 
 

 

[pilotsh]

This one looked good, inverted spraying too:

• 11 cm long reach nozzle
• 360° function for spraying the underside of leaves
• Spare parts available
• A lockable trigger allows continuous spraying

Hozelock's new Pure Sprayers have been specifically designed with highly resistant seals (EPDM) and lance & nozzles. It is engineered for use with abrasive, oil based & acidic solutions such as vinegar (acetic acid), bi carb soda, essential oils & detergents. These can be found in naturally derived gardening concentrates & home made plant protection solutions, herbicides, fertilizers & cleaning recipes.

 

But the manufacturer couldn't say if it could or couldn't work "food safe": 

Thanks for the email.

We unfortunately do not manufacture any sprayer products that are suitable to be used in the food/beverage industries.

 Whilst there are no specific plastics that will directly cause issue, we do not have the required certifications to recommend use for your situation.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

 

But that doesn't mean it couldn't be used....hhhmmm

 

edit: AND a lockable trigger

Edited May 26, 2020 by pilotsh

[JoeB7]

I have one of those @pilotsh and there is a reaction between the brass & phosphoric acid

[pilotsh]

Brew 004: Tuesday 26th May: 43 hours (1.79 days) since pitch.

 Brew Temp: 21.9C (good old reliable stable apartment laundry, lol)

SG: Not tested.

Comments: Looking good. Smelling great!

 Photo(s):  Nil

[pilotsh]

2 minutes ago, JoeB7 said:

I have one of those @pilotsh and there is a reaction between the brass & phosphoric acid

The aqua systems or the Hozelock one?

I like the Hozelock blurb, it specifically mentions acids.

Edited May 26, 2020 by pilotsh

[JoeB7]

Aqua

[Journeyman]

46 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

Not sure why, but here is an extract

I think maybe they are concerned it will affect the surface. Like using a salt-vinegar-lemon juice wipe on copper top pub tables - works GREAT, but don't forget to wipe that stuff off.

28 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

Is this it by any chance? 
 

 

That looks very much like the one I have. Just got a new one that has pressure relief valve on it because mine seemed to be leaking pressure - turned out it was NOT the nozzle but the container. And I have NO idea how. I put my old nozzle on the new bottle and it's fine. New nozzle on the old bottle leaks pressure... Dafuq???

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Journeyman

[Journeyman]

23 minutes ago, JoeB7 said:

I have one of those @pilotsh and there is a reaction between the brass & phosphoric acid

What kind of reaction? I don't even have discolouration and the deterioration mentioned above appears to be the plastic bottle NOT the nozzle set up.

[pilotsh]

9 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

turned out it was NOT the nozzle but the container. And I have NO idea how. I put my old nozzle on the new bottle and it's fine. New nozzle on the old bottle leaks pressure... Dafuq???

From my research over the last few days "Aqua Systems" brand has a lot of negative reviews, mainly container failure/split/burst. I mean it makes sense for $5. So maybe that happened to your old bottle, I microscopic seam failure.

At least if I fork out the $20 for the acid and basic resistant one I get a bit more durability, plus inverted spraying and a trigger lock for continuous spray. (Not like continuously having to pump the handle on a manual spray bottle.)

But still looking/researching. Going from brew to brew so far a hot kettle has been fine for the Fv and Krausen Kollar.

My tree arrived today, too.

[Popo the Reprobate]

25 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

(Not like continuously having to pump the handle on a manual spray bottle.)

My tree arrived today, too.

It's not all that taxing haha. 

Good stuff with the bottle tree. It makes things a bit easier.

[Pezzza]

14 hours ago, Hairy said:

Use this one to make a party keg. 

Hairy you are the Ideas Man!

[Otto Von Blotto]

Jesus Christ, talk about making a simple task fkn complicated. All you need is a trigger spray bottle. About 2 bucks from Bunnings or a supermarket or whatever and you're good to go. 

[Journeyman]

14 hours ago, pilotsh said:

From my research over the last few days "Aqua Systems" brand has a lot of negative reviews, mainly container failure/split/burst. I mean it makes sense for $5. So maybe that happened to your old bottle, I microscopic seam failure.

At least if I fork out the $20 for the acid and basic resistant one I get a bit more durability, plus inverted spraying and a trigger lock for continuous spray. (Not like continuously having to pump the handle on a manual spray bottle.)

But still looking/researching. Going from brew to brew so far a hot kettle has been fine for the Fv and Krausen Kollar.

My tree arrived today, too.

It would have to be a VERY small failure - the old bottle holds pressure for maybe 1/2 and hour. The new one has a PRV so I just give that a pull at the end of a session.  

Pulling the trigger on a pump action could be seen as exercise - "99, change hands"  

A possible problem I see with your 'Pro level' sprayers is that not everything in your bath is going to be open for a simple spray - things need turning etc. It seems a bit like a 'sledge for a mosquito' solution. My 2L bottle does 60 bottles, 2 FV's and lids, all paraphernalia, fridge, door handles, cupboard space, multiple hops bags and grain bags, yeast jars, sous vide and saucepans, benches etc. and I still have almost 1L left in the bottle.

[pilotsh]

5 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

talk about making a simple task fkn complicated

I get bored for the 8ish days between pitching the yeast and bottling day! 

[pilotsh]

Is 20C ok for Coopers Dark ale? The instructions on the Can say 21-27, and I am sitting at 21.0C now, it will probably keep dropping to about 20C tonight.

[Journeyman]

1 hour ago, pilotsh said:

Is 20C ok for Coopers Dark ale? The instructions on the Can say 21-27, and I am sitting at 21.0C now, it will probably keep dropping to about 20C tonight.

It's fine - I've done a couple of DA's and a stout using it and all at 18°C

[pilotsh]

The Nottingham yeast just arrived, and it is vacuum sealed like a brick. And it has rehydrating instructions on the back. So now I know what happened to my first brew (why it took so long to ferment). The coopers yeast so far have been loose in the sachets, you could shake them. The yeast I got for brew one was also a solid vacuum sealed brick. And I didn't rehydrate it. 

I have a feeling the wort overwhelmed the dry yeast and it took many days for it to get rehydrated and recover.

From now on I will rehydrate any yeast that arrives in a solid vacuum sealed sachet.
 

(As Gru would say)

[Otto Von Blotto]

It wouldn't have taken long to rehydrate but it is possible it got knocked around a bit by being rehydrated in the wort. I doubt being vacuum sealed or not makes any difference though, the packets are meant to be vacuum sealed anyway. 

[Journeyman]

15 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

From now on I will rehydrate any yeast that arrives in a solid vacuum sealed sachet.

Make a starter - pitch at high Kraussen for the starter and you'll never look back.  (and you can stop buying yeast for a while.  )

[UncleStavvy]

3 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Is 20C ok for Coopers Dark ale? The instructions on the Can say 21-27, and I am sitting at 21.0C now, it will probably keep dropping to about 20C tonight.

My dark ale is 18° but I'm using the Cooper's commercial yeast as per spreadsheet recipe. 21 deg should be fine though

 

[Pezzza]

4 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Is 20C ok for Coopers Dark ale? The instructions on the Can say 21-27, and I am sitting at 21.0C now, it will probably keep dropping to about 20C tonight.

Should be just luverly

[Pezzza]

1 hour ago, pilotsh said:

I have a feeling the wort overwhelmed the dry yeast and it took many days for it to get rehydrated and recover.

Dunno... did many brews over many years just doing shakey shakey dry stuff upon the Kit n Kilo mixed up liquid at right temp...  and it all went off happily without doing rehydration or starters... but that was with lower SG Worts... Even now I have mostly been doing starters without rehydration which is possibly not best practice but seems to work a treat but again with pretty mild SG solutions...  I think I did rehydration in the last Pilsener W34/70 starter for the LOLs but concerns me that it is just another possibility for infection...  Your OGs would not be that severe to provide that significant osmotic shock potential surely?  I think shaking prilled dry yeast granules onto high OG Wort is not so good... and rehydration is in general good practice.... so maybe do that and make sure you keep any contam out.

Note also Mr Palmer below refers to Oxygen... think something that has occurred in past on one occasion was lack of oxygenation which slowed things down for one of my brews.

It's a handy free resource: http://howtobrew.com/book/section-4/is-my-beer-ruined/common-problems

Symptom: I added the yeast 2 days ago and nothing is happening.

Cause 2: Bad Yeast When a batch is not fermenting , the most common problem is with the yeast. If dry yeast has been properly packaged and stored, it should be fully viable for up to two years. However, if you are using a yeast package that came taped to the top of a dusty can of malt extract, then the yeast may be too old or may have been subjected to poor storage conditions, and will not work for you.

Yeast need to be treated with care and be given the proper growing conditions. Dry yeast are de-hydrated, they're parched, they're in no condition to start work. They need some nice warm water to get re-hydrated in, some time to do some stretching, maybe an appetizer, and then they will be ready to tackle a full wort. If the dry yeast is just sprinkled onto the surface of the wort, some of the yeast will be up to the challenge, but most won't.

Cure: Re-hydration of yeast in plain water is strongly recommended because of the principles of osmosis. In a wort with a high concentration of dissolved sugar, the water that the yeast needs cannot be drawn across the cell membrane to wet it. The water is instead locked up in the wort, hydrating the sugars.

Likewise, liquid yeast cultures also need their breakfast routine. They have been kept in a refrigerator and need to be warmed and fed before there will be enough active yeast to do the job properly. There are a lot more yeast cells in a dry yeast packet than in a liquid packet. The liquid packet needs to be grown in a starter to produce enough cells to take on the job of a full five gallon wort. Both liquid and dry yeast cultures will have a lag time from when they are pitched until they start fermenting in earnest. Aeration, the process of dissolving oxygen into the wort, provides the yeast with the oxygen they need to greatly boost their growth rate and make enough yeast cells to do the job properly.