BREW DAY!! WATCHA’ GOT, EH? 2021

[Pezzza]

8 minutes ago, jamiek86 said:

Forgot get OG reading straight away maybe half hour later so not sure how accurate 1.056

Unless u r using Kveik or a massive slurry and it cranked up immediately my ponderings would suggest 1056 should be pretty near the money... need some fermentable sugar conversion to alc and CO2 to affect the Brew SG I suspect...

I reckon on a massive fresh slurry dump (like drain one completed brew to keg and then pour on a fresh wort) I saw an SG change quite quickly with a Tilt Hydro... think that was within an hour...  

Enjoy the festive Birthday Party JK ; )

Edited February 20, 2021 by Graubart

[jamiek86]

@Graubart thanks mate it's a Mates kids party they run a muck why the adults run a different muck. Usually just arguing over who has the better play list of songs. This will be the strongest one to go in keg I have done yet can't wait. The last time I wanted to get over the 50 mark I accidentally over filled it to 23 litres.

[DeviantLogic]

This evening I put on a SMOTY ale.

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

Going to do a partial wort today and combine with 2 tins of Brew A IPA. 4Kgs of pilsener and a 60 min boil with 60gm centennial whirlpool at flameout. 1 batch will be a 40gm centennial dry hop while the other will be a 30gm galaxy dry hop. 

For yeast im going to do one with my favourite IPA yeast New World Strong. The other im going to do with Verdant IPA. Never used it before but its supposed to be tropical and fruity which may go nice with the galaxy one. Anybody used Verdant before? Any thoughts on it?

[Pezzza]

Bit of a late start due to technical issues beyond the Brewery's control (meh) but Brew Day now underway w Autumn Amber Ale... Voyager Atlas, Munich, Vienna, Wheat and some Simpsons Maris Otter... a thing of beauty is the freshly milled malted grain Mash underway : ) 

A few ziplock bags of grain from prior bags before starting with the new inventory of malted grains 

Colour looking nice already and will deepen with the maillard caramelisation reactions in the boil ; )

Maillard browning reactions also take place in the kettle during wort boiling and can develop deeper colors in worts (some random web sourcebut it is my experience as can be troublesome if you are chasing a very light colour for your brew haha... fine if you want the amber colour to deepen... or so it seems)

Edited February 24, 2021 by Graubart

[Stickers]

5 hours ago, Greeny1525229549 said:

 Anybody used Verdant before? Any thoughts on it?

used it once last year in my favourite batch of my debut year, a coopers larger can with my first ever 1kg mash partial (maris otter) and cascade hops. i'm only in my first year of brewing but i did find it a really slow working yeast, most of the batches i've done have been ready to bottle in 6-10 days, my verdant batch i bottled after 14 days and i think i went a little early too as when i was bottling there was some activity shooting up from the trub. but it was definitely the best batch i made last year. it's just how long it took that has put me off using it again.

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

3 hours ago, Stickers said:

used it once last year in my favourite batch of my debut year, a coopers larger can with my first ever 1kg mash partial (maris otter) and cascade hops. i'm only in my first year of brewing but i did find it a really slow working yeast, most of the batches i've done have been ready to bottle in 6-10 days, my verdant batch i bottled after 14 days and i think i went a little early too as when i was bottling there was some activity shooting up from the trub. but it was definitely the best batch i made last year. it's just how long it took that has put me off using it again.

Thanks mate. What temp did you do it at? From what I have read it's like an English yeast which says 20c to me but interested to know your thoughts.

[Stickers]

Just now, Greeny1525229549 said:

Thanks mate. What temp did you do it at? From what I have read it's like an English yeast which says 20c to me but interested to know your thoughts.

would have been low 20s, i don't have a brew fridge so there would have been a bit of temp fluctuation but we had pretty mild weather in melbourne when i did that one (november)

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

40 minutes ago, Stickers said:

would have been low 20s, i don't have a brew fridge so there would have been a bit of temp fluctuation but we had pretty mild weather in melbourne when i did that one (november)

Thanks mate. I think I will do it at 20c. Interesting you say it was slow. Will build a starter i think off the packet.

[jamiek86]

I'm yet to use it for the first time but heard it was a ripper fermenter even better than US-05 or Nottingham. 2 packs in freezer waiting to give it a go.

[Shamus O'Sean]

20 minutes ago, Greeny1525229549 said:

Thanks mate. I think I will do it at 20c. Interesting you say it was slow. Will build a starter i think off the packet.

I am using it right now in the Bright Idea Hazy IPA.  Brewed on Sunday.  Monday morning check saw a small krausen formed.  Monday evening and it was an inch thick.  Got up to about 2 inches thick this morning (Wednesday) and had started to drop by tonight.  I will do an SG test tomorrow night.  It seems to be ticking along much the same as US-05.  But the SG test will be more evidence.

Brewing at 20°C.  I also did a starter, but that was more about overbuilding the starter to harvest it for some future batches.  I am thinking of using it for a while in batches I would normally do with US-05.

[jamiek86]

@Shamus O'Sean thinking the same myself about harvesting and saving for future use. I recently saved slurry of Nottingham where the batch had no cold crash so unsure if it will be good enough to re use. Without extra yeast dropping out of suspension the whole thing got me thinking of worth it but have fresh verdant IPA 

[Hairy]

19 hours ago, Greeny1525229549 said:

The other im going to do with Verdant IPA. Never used it before but its supposed to be tropical and fruity which may go nice with the galaxy one. Anybody used Verdant before? Any thoughts on it?

I have used it a few times now and love it. It has become my go to yeast for pale ales and IPAs. Unlike @Stickers, mine all finished within 5-6 days.

I used the Lallemand New England yeast in my last beer and like the results of that one too.

[Pezzza]

Looks pretty ordinary but smells that good it makes yer wanna get a spoon out and have a chop at it haha 

... 'Tis what's left in the Boil Kettle after decant to the FV : )

 

 

[Stickers]

10 hours ago, Hairy said:

I have used it a few times now and love it. It has become my go to yeast for pale ales and IPAs. Unlike @Stickers, mine all finished within 5-6 days.

I used the Lallemand New England yeast in my last beer and like the results of that one too.

i might have to give verdant a second chance based on this. i did rehydrate my one attempt, maybe that's what slowed it down for me?

[jamiek86]

@Graubart you should scrape it out and make beer biscuits and then dip them in your beer 

@Stickers the one time I done the simple task of rehydrating the yeast from European lager tin the brew got infected. It was the first and last time for me. Operator error most likely but this operator sticks to the sprinkle and stir. Some people say rehydrating kicks the brew off faster my one failed attempt cant help you im sorry. 

Every brew is unique though the last time I used us-05 the whole thing fermented a little slower with no krausen the whole time on just under 20 degrees. Same temp now same yeast thick and creamy for 4 days and still about 6 points from expected fg.

[Hairy]

1 hour ago, Stickers said:

i might have to give verdant a second chance based on this. i did rehydrate my one attempt, maybe that's what slowed it down for me?

It shouldn’t slow it down; it’s supposed to do the opposite.

But I haven’t rehydrated dry yeast for years.

[Pezzza]

1 hour ago, jamiek86 said:

Every brew is unique though

Truly spoken Jamie K... and I think for some the exact replication from brew to brew is Nirvana... I am not there yet... but am pretty happy with good quality and variation at this stage in the BBJ

(Beautiful Brewing Journey)

And although I have done starters ok aplenty I am thinking @jamiek86 of becoming more of a sprinkler as I live in fear of wild yeast infection - and you have practical evidence to demonstrate that this can occur...  and it is less washing up 

@Hairy you also are a non-rehydrator - is that because you are using your own yeast bank, liquid yeasts, or a committed sprinkler pray tell mate?

7 minutes ago, Hairy said:

It shouldn’t slow it down; it’s supposed to do the opposite.

But I haven’t rehydrated dry yeast for years.

Edited February 25, 2021 by Graubart

[Stickers]

3 minutes ago, Hairy said:

It shouldn’t slow it down; it’s supposed to do the opposite.

But I haven’t rehydrated dry yeast for years.

i've ordered a pack from my LHBS and will give it another go next weekend, kit and kilo pale ale with 1kg 2 row partial and sprinkle this time and see how we go

[Classic Brewing Co]

With all of the great yeasts available these days, why would you bother ? 

the one time I done the simple task of rehydrating the yeast from European lager tin the brew got infected @jamiek86  my mate did it & the same infection.

I haven't & probably won't but that's just me. I think we have more than enough wonderful products at our disposal, so I will stick with the old sprinkle method. Cheers.

 

[Hairy]

24 minutes ago, Graubart said:

@Hairy you also are a non-rehydrator - is that because you are using your own yeast bank, liquid yeasts, or a committed sprinkler pray tell mate?

It’s because:

1. I’m lazy;
2. I haven’t noticed a difference rehydrating;
3. Some yeast manufacturers have recommended not hydrating.

If I was under pitching then I would probably rehydrate first but I use plenty of healthy yeast.

Edited February 25, 2021 by Hairy

[jamiek86]

 @Graubart @CLASSIC I even used to only sprinkle it on top and not stir it in afterwards. I almost only done sprinkle other day and just couldn't help myself. I probably done something wrong the one time I tried rehydration but just can't bring myself to do it again. I've learnt from all the sound advice on here that visible activity doesn't always mean it all but admit I like to see a good krausen. How many times I haven't seen one within 24 hours and it gets to me a bit only to find next day it's going bat shit crazy. As I don't save the hydrometer sample to keep testing or take regular readings I don't know how much has happened. Last few times tried save sample it stunk like wild yeast got in top

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 minute ago, jamiek86 said:

 @Graubart @CLASSIC I even used to only sprinkle it on top and not stir it in afterwards. I almost only done sprinkle other day and just couldn't help myself. I probably done something wrong the one time I tried rehydration but just can't bring myself to do it again. I've learnt from all the sound advice on here that visible activity doesn't always mean it all but admit I like to see a good krausen. How many times I haven't seen one within 24 hours and it gets to me a bit only to find next day it's going bat shit crazy. As I don't save the hydrometer sample to keep testing or take regular readings I don't know how much has happened. Last few times tried save sample it stunk like wild yeast got in top

I totally agree with that as I too like to see the action ( krausen ) ASAP however the times when technology goes wrong i.e.; temp control FU or other issues, I recently did & bottled &tasted 2 brews done at ambient temp around 21-22 degrees in the brew room, the krausen formed within hours, again the sprinkle method. These are becoming some of my staple methods for Ales & similar, however I totally  understand brewing with temp control as I have that facility as well. For those of you that use more advanced methods such as AG/Kegging etc I am only in awe as one day perhaps I will venture. 

Cheers

Phil 

[kmar92]

I have re-hydrated and I have sprinkled. In my experience there is zero difference, and I notice some of the yeast manufacturers now agree with my experience. Others such as @Journeyman swear by vitality starters or provers or whatever you want to call them..

I am now a sprinkler by habit and it seems to work fine but I do have a suspect liquid yeast that I am going to culture via the @Otto Von Blotto method and see how that goes. Of course YMMV.

[jamiek86]

@kmar92 I think journeyman adds sugar to his so more like a starter than rehydrated good luck with culture