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


pilotsh

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Brew 004: Monday 1st June: 188 hours (7.83 days) since pitch.

 Brew Temp: 20.0C

SG: 1012

Comments: Flavour getting better, more rounded. Will report when there is something more notable.

 Photo(s): Nil

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Brew 004: Tuesday 2nd June: 209 hours (8.70 days) since pitch.

 Brew Temp: 19.6C

SG: 1012

Appearance: Less Watery Mud, cloudiness starting to clear.

Nose: Can't really pick it: malty wheat but nothing jumps out.

Palate: Pronounced Bitterness. Apricot. 

Comments: Will see the SG and cloudiness tomorrow. Winter setting in, Brew down to 19.6C not sure if I should turn the belt on manually to get to 20C for a day.

  Photo(s): 
 

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Brew 004: Wednesday 3rd June: 238 hours (9.91 days) since pitch.

 Brew Temp: 19.7C. Steady.

SG: Not Tested.

Comments: Bottling Thursday subject to SG and taste.

  Photo(s): Nil

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17 hours ago, AVNGE said:

@pilotsh Hey mate I am going to do my Pumpkin ale this weekend following your recipe. Have you tasted yours yet or too early ? 

Cheers! 

Errrmmm, I haven't make pumpkin brew before! *consfused*🤔🥴

Although I was thinking of using all my candy canes to use as a sugar in some "Christmas" brew this year! 🤔😬🥳

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Brew 004: Thursday 4th June: 258 hours (10.75days) since pitch.

 Brew Temp: 20.0C

SG: 1012.

Comments: Today was supposed to be bottling day, but life got in the way! Bottling first thing in the morning Friday instead! 🥳

  Photo(s): Nil

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16 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Although I was thinking of using all my candy canes to use as a sugar in some "Christmas" brew this year!

Mate use them in your Tea or Coffee and use some extra Liquid Malt instead...

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Brew 004: Friday 5th June: 281 hours (11.71days) from pitching to bottling.

Brew Temp: 20.6C

SG (FG): 1012.

Appearance: Medium Orange-Brown, slightly glassy. A little cloudy.

Nose: Buttered Vegemite Toast, Malty, light apricot.

Palate: Pronounced bitterness, apricot, cereal.

Comments: ABV based on FG 5.09% (4.59 +0.5). Three overrun bottles used to test prime with maple syrup. Saturday once the washing is done, if the water tastes nice, I am looking forward to pitching the twin brew with liquid malt!

Photo(s):

 

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Edited by pilotsh
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Hey Otto, Hypothetically, lets say you were deciding to use (candy) cane sugar for a festive brew. Would you use the canes in the wort, or chop them up and use them to bottle prime, or in a batch prime? Please explain thought process for my education! 🤓

Edited by pilotsh
Batch prime option
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12 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

Hey Otto, Hypothetically, lets say you were deciding to use (candy) cane sugar for a festive brew. Would you use the canes in the wort, or chop them up and use them to bottle prime, or in a batch prime? Please explain thought process for my education! 🤓

I'd probably dissolve them and use them in the wort at the start. Would be a PITA trying to work out how much to use for priming. Bulk priming would be easier than bottle priming of course. 

In any case they aren't just cane sugar. They also contain corn syrup (starch) and flavouring. The peppermint might not go down too well in a beer. 

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7 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

In any case they aren't just cane sugar. They also contain corn syrup (starch) and flavouring. The peppermint might not go down too well in a beer.  

Hmmmm, good point. I'll have to taste them first. It would have to be a darker beer, so I could make a spiced brew. Or something like a chocmint stout, lol.

*Crazy scientist cackle* 😂

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9 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

It would have to be a darker beer, so I could make a spiced brew. Or something like a chocmint stout

Just use one of these instead Pilot:

image.png.cc414fac857d05d69152dc08796e141a.png

👨‍🔬 ha ha!

Or even better...  steep some of this:

image.png.1ade59d2e36f689e46b1d9ab6932f99b.png

Cracked Roasted Barley ha ha ; )

And give the Candy Canes to some young relatives that need them more than your brew 😵

 

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Saturday 6th June: Brew 005 pitched!

Malt: Canned- Coopers Dark Ale. BB date on can: 10/10/21. Or for any Americans reading that's 10/10/21!! 😜😀

Extra Ingredients: 1.5kg Can Coopers Light Liquid Malt, and 500g Coopers Brew Enhancer 1. (To match weight of Brew 4, refer comments)

Water: Unfiltered, rested tap water.

Preparation: Repeated new method from brew 4, ended up a bit warm (deliberately made brew 5 the same conditions as brew 4) Malt Can added to off-the-boil water, dissolved, dump in FV. Brew enhancer stirred into off-the-boil water, dump into FV. Light liquid malt stirred into off-the-boil water Dump into FV. Topped up with a whole pot of rested water from the fridge (prepared) to get 27C (like brew 4). This is what I said at brew 4: "Warm I know, but it is what it is: learning curve. For the sake of consistency with Brew 5 as it is a comparison, I will do the same".

Yeast: Sachet included with Can.

Pitching Method: Sprinkled Dry Yeast onto the top of wort.

Initial Wort Temperature: 26.8C (within instructions of 21-27C, just!)

Temperature Control: No cooling. 35W heat belt. Inkbird Temp controller, target 19.9C, Heat belt at 19.2C. I don't know why I bothered with a heat belt; in an apartment building, with the surrounding structure and rooms the lowest I have seen the FV is 20.0C. But that is also a strength: the highest I have seen the FV is 22.9C. So, luckily I have constant +-1.5C. 👨‍🎓(Most of the time +- 0.7C)

Initial Sample SG (OG): 1044.5. Can instructions indicated 1038, but I have added extra 1.5kg Light Liquid Malt.

Comments: Interesting that the OG of brew 4 was 1047. So is it really a like for like comparison brew or not!? Oh no! 😢😥

Brew 5 will be a comparison to Brew 4, the only change being using Liquid Malt in place of Dry Malt as follows:

Brew 004:                                                                 Brew 005:

1.7kg Can Coopers Dark Ale                                     1.7kg Can Coopers Dark Ale

0.7kg Coopers Light Dry Malt                                   1.5kg Can Thomas Cooper Light LME (the Yellow can)

1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 3:                                500g Coopers Brew Enhancer 1:

            -500g Light Dry Malt                                                -300g Dextrose

            -300g Dextrose                                                         -200g Maltodextrin

            -200g Maltodextrin                                                   (so Dextrose & Maltodextrin match Brew 4)

(so a total of 1.2kg Light Dry Malt, which is equivalent to 1.5kg of Liquid Malt, as a liquid Malt can is approximately 20% water).              

 Photo(s):


 

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Edited by pilotsh
Title date incorrect, corrected
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The OG in the instructions is based on adding 1kg dry fermentables to it in 23 litres. Obviously changing these parameters will alter the OG.

By the way, both OG readings are wrong assuming a 23 litre volume. It actually works out at 1.050 with a kit and the 1.7kg extras. 

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13 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

By the way, both OG readings are wrong assuming a 23 litre volume. It actually works out at 1.050 with a kit and the 1.7kg extras

So where do I look to find the discrepancy..... 1047/1044.5 vs 1050.

Hmmmmm how do you know the formula (in the spreadsheet?) is spot-on? 🤔🤔🤩

Edited by pilotsh
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14 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Hmmmm, good point. I'll have to taste them first. It would have to be a darker beer, so I could make a spiced brew. Or something like a chocmint stout, lol.

*Crazy scientist cackle* 😂

Lucky I could use the craft (small/9Lt) FV for something like this: upside if it is 🤮 i don't make too much; but down side if it turns out amazing 😍 I wish I made bigger batch!

hmmmmmm 🤔 Now I understand the passion of whisky distilleries..... what we can evaluate in a few months, they have to wait YEARS for!

🙋‍♂️🤦‍♂️ 

 

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6 hours ago, pilotsh said:

So where do I look to find the discrepancy..... 1047/1044.5 vs 1050.

Hmmmmm how do you know the formula (in the spreadsheet?) is spot-on? 🤔🤔🤩

Because SG is a measure of density. The same grams per litre of sugar will always be the same SG. Both recipes work out at 133g/L sugars (3,060/23) so they must both be the same OG. All you have to do is multiply that by 0.38 to get the SG (50, which is 1.050).

I'd say the discrepancy is either ingredients not evenly mixed, an inaccurate hydrometer, or both. Are they 23 litres? It's not mentioned in your otherwise detailed notes. The temperature being high wouldn't help either. Try to get it to around 20, not 27, it's better for pitching yeast anyway. 

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LOLS @pilotsh I've been using exact opposite,,,,pale ale tin and dark malt liquid extract with a little sugar and light dry malt.

I've found boiling a 2L kettle then leaving it for an hour pretty effective at hitting 22°. Doesn't really need to be off boil for dissolving your BE1/3 just hot. I use about 1.5L of hot and 2L of tap to mix the dry powders. Then reboil the rest to rinse the extract cans. Our tap water here is about 18° currently so that's an advantage you may not have up north

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10 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Are they 23 litres? It's not mentioned in your otherwise detailed notes. The temperature being high wouldn't help either. Try to get it to around 20, not 27, it's better for pitching yeast anyway. 

Now I get it. Brew 4 was about 24.5Lt and brew 5 was just shy of 25Lt, so that is why they are different and less than 1050. But at least they are almost the same as each other. That is why I started Brew 5 at 27C as well. By bedtime the temp was 24C and it has been steady at 22.4C all day today, woot! 🥳

Edited by pilotsh
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Brew 005: Sunday 7th June: 24 hours (1 day ) since pitch.

 Brew Temp: 22.4C

Comments: Normal Progress (nice Krausen, great smell)

Photo(s): 

DCA4C69F-F448-4B9E-B439-77CFE84F09DB.jpeg

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Brew 005: Monday 8th June: 49hours (2.04 days) since pitch.

 Brew Temp: 20.7C

Comments: Normal Progress, Krausen collapsing earlier than I expected, but still plenty of surface activity/movement.

Photo(s): 
 

A6D4BB95-EB63-4C7D-8052-4622118E9910.jpeg

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