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

[pilotsh]

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.

Final Preliminary Calculation indicates an ABV 4.5% plus .5% for the bottle prime with two drops. This is based on OG1057, and FG 1022/23.

These numbers are significantly different to the recipe guide of "Expect the alcohol content to be approximately 6.4% ABV", and to a lesser extent still different from "It should finish around the 1014-1019 mark".

Does this agree with your version of this Shamus!?

Edited October 10, 2020 by pilotsh

[Shamus O'Sean]

5 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Does this agree with your version of this Shamus!?

Very similar.  ABV 4.6% (into kegs without priming).  OG 1.060; FG 1.025

[pilotsh]

Brew 011: Coopers ROTM Belgian Chocolate Stout- Friday 9th October: 429 hours / 17.9 days from pitching to bottling. (Ferm 232h/9.7d, cold crash 197h/8.2d)

FG (SG): 1022.5 therefore Brew 11 is 5.0%ABV (4.5+0.5)

Appearance: A darker muddy water. Relatively clear.

Nose: Amazing- hints of coffee, chocolate. Hints of Vegemite and nuttiness.

Palate: Wow, good! All the flavours of the nose, and the recipe. Hints of Chocolate, coffee, hints of nuttiness. Delicious, and it was only a steep- wow.

Comments: I am certainly seeing how steeps, adjuncts etc add MUCH more to a beer than just “Kit-n-kilo”. I enjoy what cacao nibs do... I will experiment more with them going forward!

Photo(s):  

Edited October 11, 2020 by pilotsh
trying to work out what the default font and size is....!

[Pezzza]

15 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Comments: I am certainly seeing how steeps, adjuncts etc add MUCH more to a beer than just “Kit-n-kilo”. I enjoy what cacao nibs do... I will experiment more with them going forward!

Wait till you start All Graining my friend... then the scales will fall from your eyes 

[pilotsh]

Any ideas why all my brews so far (apart from the ROTM stout) have some apricot/stone-fruit in the nose? Even if other aromas come out, there is always some degree of stone-fruit in the mix.

Edited October 13, 2020 by pilotsh

[Tricky Micky]

Used Stellarsan for the first time on my PET bottles the other day and just wondering if foaming is normal. It left ring bubbles inside the bottles which hung around for ages while drying, is that okay?

[pilotsh]

22 minutes ago, Mickep said:

Used Stellarsan for the first time on my PET bottles the other day and just wondering if foaming is normal. It left ring bubbles inside the bottles which hung around for ages while drying, is that okay?

DO. NOT. FEAR. THE. FOAM.

Harmless.

[Norris!]

3 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Any ideas why all my brews so far (apart from the ROTM stout) have some apricot/stone-fruit in the nose? Even if other aromas come out, there is always some degree of stone-fruit in the mix.

What yeast are you using? US05 and some yeast can give off apricot/peach and stone fruit notes at fermentation.

[pilotsh]

9 minutes ago, Norris! said:

What yeast are you using?

The yeast that comes with the Coopers Can, with the following exceptions: Brew 1 used US05 yeast, brew 8 used reactivated Coopers Pale Ale yeast, and brew 9 used Nottingham Yeast.

Which is why I don't get it: different yeasts, different beer styles, yet stone-fruit always there in the nose at varying levels.

 

[Norris!]

What temp do you ferment at?

Brew 1 and 8 would exhibit those characteristics. Nottingham can be fruity also. 

The coopers yeast is pretty neutral to me but can be a little fruity also if fermented at a high enough temp.

[pilotsh]

18 minutes ago, Norris! said:

What temp do you ferment at?

Most of the time 19.5-22C. Lucky I kept good notes!

Brew 1: 24 pitch then 23-21.5C
Brew 2: 23 pitch, 23-21C
Brew 3: 23 pitch then 22-20C
Brew 4: 27 pitch then 21-19C
Brew 5: 27 pitch then 21-20C
Brew 6: 24 pitch then 20-20C
Brew 7: 24 pitch then 20-19C
Brew 8: 22 pitch then 20-19C
Brew 9: 22 pitch then 20-19C
Brew 10: 22 pitch, 22-21C

For Brew 11 I got a Kegerator so going forward I can hold less than 20C if needed.

Edited October 13, 2020 by pilotsh

[Norris!]

To reduce esters and flavours from the yeast, ferment as cool as possible. I generally go around 17c-18c for most ale yeasts unless I want fruity notes to compliment the brew. You would be getting esters at those temps which would get you the aromas you are talking about.

[pilotsh]

2 minutes ago, Norris! said:

To reduce esters and flavours from the yeast, ferment as cool as possible. I generally go around 17c-18c for most ale yeasts unless I want fruity notes to compliment the brew. You would be getting esters at those temps which would get you the aromas you are talking about.

Excellent, will do, now that I have Kereragor, it will be possible. Interestingly, the Coopers cans say to brew between 21-27!

[pilotsh]

One other question: Currently I use tap water for my beer. Would using Spring Water (in 10L containers from the supermarket) help or hinder?

Eg:

It's certainly easier to keep one in the fridge for brew day pitching temp!

Edited October 13, 2020 by pilotsh

[pilotsh]

16 minutes ago, Norris! said:

I generally go around 17c-18c for most ale yeasts

And out of interest, what temperature do you aim to pitch the yeast at?

[Norris!]

Using spring water is great, no chloride and other things we don't know about, just water.

I try to pitch lower than my ferment temp and bring it up but that doesn't happen all the time. I know that some people pitch it higher than bring it to temp, whatever works and gets fermentation to kick off. From what I have read the first 3 to 4 days are the most important for imparting yeast flavours, so I aim to keep it within whatever range I am going for during those times the I ramp it up to finish it off.

[pilotsh]

41 minutes ago, Norris! said:

I try to pitch lower than my ferment temp and bring it up but that doesn't happen all the time. I know that some people pitch it higher than bring it to temp, whatever works and gets fermentation to kick off.

Mmmmm, homework/research time for me!

Edited October 13, 2020 by pilotsh

[pilotsh]

3 hours ago, Mickep said:

which hung around for ages while drying

Bottle trees are worth every cent. Maximum drainage, and you don’t have to balance any bottles. (I can pick the whole lot up in one go with that grey handle!)

Edited October 13, 2020 by pilotsh

[Shamus O'Sean]

2 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Bottle trees are worth every cent. Maximum drainage, and you don’t have to balance any bottles. (I can pick the whole lot up in one go with that grey handle!)

Don't try it with a tree full of glass bottles. I did. The tree came apart in the middle. Luckily it only dropped a few inches.  No bottle damage. 

[pilotsh]

13 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Don't try it with a tree full of glass bottles. I did. The tree came apart in the middle. Luckily it only dropped a few inches.  No bottle damage. 

So it's not just me that experiments with "why not" just so see if things are better!

[Pezzza]

4 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Excellent, will do, now that I have Kereragor, it will be possible. Interestingly, the Coopers cans say to brew between 21-27

And try W34/70... say at 10-12 degrees and see what changes...  I agree with what our good man Norris @Norris! provides above... 

[Pezzza]

2 hours ago, pilotsh said:

Bottle trees are worth every cent. Maximum drainage, and you don’t have to balance any bottles. (I can pick the whole lot up in one go with that grey handle!)

Pilot old mate - given your commitment and level of excellence in your brewing pathway - I think that you have attained your brown-belt very very quickly.... and it is time to graduate to the single bottle... that is... a Corny Keg... you can get a smaller gas bottle - that was just me coping with Covid... I reckon it is time to consider moving forward a quantum leap mate... it is worth it.  

 

[pilotsh]

9 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Pilot old mate - given your commitment and level of excellence in your brewing pathway - I think that you have attained your brown-belt very very quickly.... and it is time to graduate to the single bottle... that is... a Corny Keg... you can get a smaller gas bottle - that was just me coping with Covid... I reckon it is time to consider moving forward a quantum leap mate... it is worth it.  

Now with my Kegerator I foresee that I will skip glass and go to Keg with brews we like for the Kegerator. The first Keg will be tap water though, you know, for Soda water on demand without having to exchange those Soda Stream gas bottles all the time....

But.... in good time.

[Pezzza]

3 minutes ago, pilotsh said:

The first Keg will be tap water though, you know, for Soda water on demand

Great way to get things going and testing the system doing Soda Water on tap.... luvyerwork

Mine was gunner be the same... but then instead I did a Double IPA and kegged that... which helped us get through the first phase of the dreadful fires... around 8% a truly beautiful thing:     (smoke in the air in the distance - the start of the Wollemi National Park Fire - Gospers Mountain Fire -  that went from Nov through to mid Jan 2020)

With steady decline of rainfall over the past 20 years in SE Australia and with drought severe the few prior years... it was inevitable...

Edited October 13, 2020 by Bearded Burbler

[Pickles Jones]

4 hours ago, pilotsh said:

One other question: Currently I use tap water for my beer. Would using Spring Water (in 10L containers from the supermarket) help or hinder?

Eg:

It's certainly easier to keep one in the fridge for brew day pitching temp!

I was using Woolworths Spring Water as above. Switched over to tap water the difference in the outcome was not an issue nor detectible.  At $4 for 10 litres there is a saving to consider.