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

[Tricky Micky]

Just a quick question re: the duration and temperature of a lager brew. If I've used Saflager 34/70 yeast brewed at 12 degrees C after I've bottled what is the optimum temp for those bottles to carbonate at? 

[Pezzza]

49 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

using the spent steeped grain

If you do use them, then maybe might just them like you would use unprocessed bran or grain hulls you should be ok... but am no expert... it's just that you have removed the carbs via the steep so will be pretty just like grain-bran or hulls I would think?

Edited September 29, 2020 by Bearded Burbler

[Pezzza]

40 minutes ago, Mickep said:

Just a quick question re: the duration and temperature of a lager brew. If I've used Saflager 34/70 yeast brewed at 12 degrees C after I've bottled what is the optimum temp for those bottles to carbonate at? 

W34/70 is a great yeast.  I think you can let your bottles secondary ferment anywhere between 12-22 DegC really... Fermentis say 12-15 for fermentation... but I have brewed it way warmer All-Grain controlled temp like 18 and it was just great... so yeah cool-not-hot somewhere between 12-22 or so... should be fine.  But then whether you are prepared to lager your bottles for 3 months at 2 degC is the difference ; )

You don't have to - but maybe put one or two in the fridge over time cold lager'd and see how the taste mellows-melds-and develops ; )

hope that helps. BB

[pilotsh]

Brew 011: Coopers ROTM Belgian Chocolate Stout- Tuesday 29th September: 190hours (7.92 days) since pitch.

Brew Temp: 20.0C

Comments: Nice banana bread smell from the FV/Kegerator, still. Finally plugged my Kegerator into the inkbird to give a +-0.5C swing instead of +- 1C swing. SG and taste test tomorrow.

Photo(s): Nil

Edited September 29, 2020 by pilotsh

[Tricky Micky]

9 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

W34/70 is a great yeast.  I think you can let your bottles secondary ferment anywhere between 12-22 DegC really... Fermentis say 12-15 for fermentation... but I have brewed it way warmer All-Grain controlled temp like 18 and it was just great... so yeah cool-not-hot somewhere between 12-22 or so... should be fine.  But then whether you are prepared to lager your bottles for 3 months at 2 degC is the difference ; )

You don't have to - but maybe put one or two in the fridge over time cold lager'd and see how the taste mellows-melds-and develops ; )

hope that helps. BB

Thanks for the advice BB, much appreciated.

[pilotsh]

Ding Ding! Priming Taste Test Battle! Brew 007- English Bitter with Dry Malt

Brew 007: Carbonation Drops
Brew 007x: Maple Syrup
Brew 007x2: Manuka Honey

So..... I'd drink Carb Drops and Maple primed at any time, they both taste fine by themselves! But the Manuka Honey primed bottle was the work of the devil! A chemically nose, and a very odd flavor: the SO said it was ok, but definitely terrible compared to the other two primes/finishes.

Comparing 7 and 7x side-by-side, the taste was very very close to each other, but the Maple finish had a slightly thicker mouth feel. If I had the time I would batch prime with Maple over Carbonation Drops, but we both found the taste of the English Bitter not to our liking. Drinkable, but I'd brew another variety over English Bitter going forward.

 

Edited September 30, 2020 by pilotsh
photo added

[Shamus O'Sean]

Nice looking beers @pilotsh.  Can you put your finger on why you would try something else going forward?  I have used it four times and liked all of the brews.  One was quite a bit banana-estery because the brew temperature, back before I had temperature control, got up to the high 20's in a 40°C heatwave.  That was okay because it suited the style.  My best experience with it would be the 2019 Coopers Vintage Ale.  A cracking beer.

[pilotsh]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Can you put your finger on why you would try something else going forward?  I have used it four times and liked all of the brews. 

The SO likes the English Bitter more than me, but likes the Dark Ales we made more. I think it was just such a "raw" bitterness, no other supporting flavours, I guess.... I certainly like bitter beers, maybe I just missed the depth/range of flavour on these brews.

I wouldn't not brew with it again... but as I am starting out and trying a variety of brews styles and techniques, I will see what ingredients/techniques have what effect and start having more meaningful targets as to what I am trying to achieve with a brew!

Edited September 30, 2020 by pilotsh

[pilotsh]

Brew 011: Coopers ROTM Belgian Chocolate Stout- Wednesday 30th September: 216 hours (9.0 days) since pitch.

Brew Temp: 20.0C

SG: 1023!

Appearance: Hazy Chocolate colour. Less fizzy than last report.

Nose: Nice dark malts, banana bread, Vegemite, stock/bonox. Hints of nuttiness.

Palate: Chocolate! Light nuttiness, THICK mouthfeel. Still lots of sediment (probably because I used SMASHED grain and not CRACKED grain.... LOL!)

Comments: Will cold crash after comments/feedback received.

Photo(s): 

 

On 9/25/2020 at 10:25 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

I am interested to hear where your FG ends up.  A few of the brewers on here had high-ish FG's.  I had one of the highest at 1.025 from 1.060.  Like your description, my krausen came and went very quickly.

It looks like 1023 from 1057 is similar to you as well! Bad recipe?

Edited September 30, 2020 by pilotsh
Added photo

[Shamus O'Sean]

8 hours ago, pilotsh said:

It looks like 1023 from 1057 is similar to you as well! Bad recipe?

I don't know about bad.  It certainly tasted alright (See here for my review).

S-33 is a lower attenuating yeast, so we should expect a higher FG.  Maybe the Devil's Half Ruby Porter contains some unfermentable sugars like lactose or maltodextrin.  These contribute to a higher OG, but because they do not ferment, their contribution to gravity stays in the beer.  Also the Devil's Half Ruby Porter may be mashed at a higher temperature so some of the sugars remain in the fermented beer as increased body.

[Pezzza]

On 9/29/2020 at 9:31 PM, pilotsh said:

Was thinking of Cocoa and Kahlua biscuits/cookies, using the spent steeped grain and cocoa nibs. 

Definitely would try small batch first... think it will really just act something like unprocessed bran with a bit of a malty toasted flavour... but most will have already been extracted in the steeping process I would suspect... ?

[Pezzza]

12 hours ago, pilotsh said:

It looks like 1023 from 1057 is similar to you as well! Bad recipe?

I'm with @Shamus O'Sean Shamus on this one - not a bad recipe per se - each style delivers different outcomes... you are on the journey of discover and will quickly determine what you and SO believe are your favourites... here as Shamus says - maybe higher level of non-fermentables and not a high-attenuation yeast...

Different mash temps - different malt combos - will give different spectrum of fermentables/non-fermentables - each giving different results... different yeasts - again different results - different fermentation temp regimes - different results.

If you brewed that same beer with something like a saison yeast - read 'serious muncher of whatever it can find in solution' - you will likely end up with lower FG - a 'thinner style' beer and higher ABV.

So it really depends upon what you are aiming for and that lovely spectrum of Malt-Hops-Water-Yeast-Temp combos that you are employing?

[pilotsh]

34 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Definitely would try small batch first... think it will really just act something like unprocessed bran with a bit of a malty toasted flavour... but most will have already been extracted in the steeping process I would suspect... ?

Well, there was black/dark crystals on it, so I rinsed them off with hot water. Then I "mashed" them in boiling water which cooled down to warm, three times, and the liquid was still dark! So I wonder why the beer recipe says to just steep the grains, when clearly they have more to give by mashing them! I kept the liquid and reduced it: could this still be used in another wort?

Edited October 1, 2020 by pilotsh

[Pezzza]

1 hour ago, pilotsh said:

Well, there was black/dark crystals on it, so I rinsed them off with hot water. Then I "mashed" them in boiling water which cooled down to warm, three times, and the liquid was still dark! So I wonder why the beer recipe says to just steep the grains, when clearly they have more to give by mashing them! I kept the liquid and reduced it: could this still be used in another wort?

Don't see why not.  However, I think the more you steep the more you may start to bring into solution some of the tannins in the roasted grain so it may contribute astringency.

i.e. you may be just extracting tannins rather than fermentable and or non-fermentable sugars... 

And again - steeping will get one result - mashing another.  If it is crystal malt - it has already been 'mashed in the grain' to a certain extent...  

[pilotsh]

30 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

If it is crystal malt

Do we know if the "Chocolate Malt Grains" that Coopers included in the Recipe pack were regular malt grain or crystal malt grain?

I read up on it and both appear to stay relatively whole I misunderstood it.

Edited October 1, 2020 by pilotsh
clarified question :)

[pilotsh]

Quite Delicious!

 

[pilotsh]

55 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Don't see why not.  However, I think the more you steep the more you may start to bring into solution some of the tannins in the roasted grain so it may contribute astringency.

Mmmmm, yeah, I don't want to ruin a whole 23L batch because of tannins.

[pilotsh]

Brew 011: Coopers ROTM Belgian Chocolate Stout- Thursday 1st October: 232 hours (9.7 days) since pitch.

Brew Temp: 20.0C, driving to 0.7C

SG: 1023, still.

No change in appearance or nose. Placed hydrometer sample into the fridge for a cold crash for a look tonight or tomorrow.

Comments: Operation Cold Crash to 0.7C begins!

Photo(s): 

 

[pilotsh]

The Kegerator has been going non-stop for 6 hours.

I'm just "tucking in" the FV at 6.4C: it has been steadily dropping since my last post.

Look after my brew little Inkbird, see you in the morning! (If you freeze my beer, I'll put you in the electronic goods recycling bin!)

Edited October 1, 2020 by pilotsh

[Tricky Micky]

First Coopers brew.

Smells like beer, tastes like beer, looks like beer, I think it's a beer.

Very plain recipe. A Lager (Muzzy please note  ).

Volume 20 litres,  Coopers 1.7kg Lager kit, saflager 34/70, BE3, 500grams LDME. Brewed in ambient uncontrolled but reasonably steady temps@ 14deg C.  (Melbourne). No diacetyl rest and no cold crash. OG - 1050.  FG - 1012.  Bulked primed (Thanks LabCat) 9grams per litre cane sugar. Approx 5.5%ABV

2 weeks in the bottle so far and tried a taste test, and it's sort of okay. Not much going on in the way of flavours. Slightly bitter or sour (palates not up to scratch) in the mouth right at the end but not unpleasant. Will try another in a couple of weeks to see if there's much of a change. 

 

[Titan]

38 minutes ago, Mickep said:

First Coopers brew.

Smells like beer, tastes like beer, looks like beer, I think it's a beer.

Very plain recipe. A Lager (Muzzy please note  ).

Volume 20 litres,  Coopers 1.7kg Lager kit, saflager 34/70, BE3, 500grams LDME. Brewed in ambient uncontrolled but reasonably steady temps@ 14deg C.  (Melbourne). No diacetyl rest and no cold crash. OG - 1050.  FG - 1012.  Bulked primed (Thanks LabCat) 9grams per litre cane sugar. Approx 5.5%ABV

2 weeks in the bottle so far and tried a taste test, and it's sort of okay. Not much going on in the way of flavours. Slightly bitter or sour (palates not up to scratch) in the mouth right at the end but not unpleasant. Will try another in a couple of weeks to see if there's much of a change. 

You got to be happy with that for your first brew. They will get better as you go on.

[Tricky Micky]

7 minutes ago, Titan said:

You got to be happy with that for your first brew. They will get better as you go on.

I am stoked it hasn't gone south. The beer has a twang at the end in the mouth but it's not too bad. Its only been in the bottle for 2 weeks so hopefully it improves. My next beer is sitting in the fermenter waiting to be bottled. That brew has extra hops added and is already tasting good. I've got myself a second hand fridge, heat belt and an Inkbird - 308 so this latest brew should be better hopefully.

 

[Pezzza]

23 hours ago, Mickep said:

saflager 34/70

You hit the Jackpot there Mick mate - that was a great choice of yeast... and yep I reckon it will get better and better in the bottle.

Now the bottles are carbed up - I would try 'lager-ing' a few in the fridge cold... I did some for 3 months at 2 deg and it was good... just try a few if you can.... for as long as is practicable ; )

And consider adding/using Coopers Liquid Malts in the future... and maybe sub-out Cane Sugar in Second Ferment - suspect it will assist in Twang generation...  use Dex or BEs

[Tricky Micky]

1 hour ago, Bearded Burbler said:

You hit the Jackpot there Mick mate - that was a great choice of yeast... and yep I reckon it will get better and better in the bottle.

Now the bottles are carbed up - I would try 'lager-ing' a few in the fridge cold... I did some for 3 months at 2 deg and it was good... just try a few if you can.... for as long as is practicable ; )

And consider adding/using Coopers Liquid Malts in the future... and maybe sub-out Cane Sugar in Second Ferment - suspect it will assist in Twang generation...  use Dex or BEs

 

 

 

Thanks BB Really appreciate the feedback mate. I will stash a few away in the fridge for a while. Cheers too for the tip on which sugars to go with when Priming.

[pilotsh]

Brew 011: Coopers ROTM Belgian Chocolate Stout- Wednesday 7th October: 232 hours (9.7 days) from pitching to cold crash.

And 145 hours (6.01 days) of cold crash.

Brew Temp: 0.7C-1.2C (target adjusted to 0.9C)

Comments: Operation Cold Crash going well. Still liquid beer, not a giant beer popsicle. Very nice crisp line between trub and beer. If I don’t bottle tomorrow I will bottle Friday.

Photo(s): Kegerator working well so won’t be returning it. Ceremonious peal of protective film complete!