BREW DAY!! WATCHA’ GOT, EH? 2021

[Shamus O'Sean]

Leftovers Pale Amber Wheat Ale

I split this into my two Keg King Fermenter King Juniors (FKJ).  The dry hop I will split too.  El Dorado into one and Galaxy into the other.

Original recipe had Mosaic in it.  Do you think I could find it in the freezer?  Subbed in Amarillo instead.  Seemed like a good idea.

When planning this brew, I was going to no-chill the wort boil.  A few days ago I started to think, if I pre-fill and chill 10 litres into each FKJ, I could cool the wort boil down to around 70°C and then pour it into the cold water in the FKJ and be pretty close to pitching temperature.  It turned out I got the wort down to about 60°C and this worked perfectly.  Two lots of about 15 litres of wort around 20°C, ready for my East Coast Ale yeast.

[Pezzza]

After the AG Kegged Beer drought have cranked up at Graubartigebräu Mountain Brewing.....  did three over three days to keep good fluids percolating...

A Lager of sorts... a Stout and then an Amber-ish Ale.. was nice to scrub the Mash tun-Boil Kettle out and go again...

The aromas from the bottom of the boil kettle are just sennnnnsational (mm the dirty kettles)

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

26 minutes ago, Graubart said:

After the AG Kegged Beer drought have cranked up at Graubartigebräu Mountain Brewing.....  did three over three days to keep good fluids percolating...

A Lager of sorts... a Stout and then an Amber-ish Ale.. was nice to scrub the Mash tun-Boil Kettle out and go again...

Looks pretty organised Graubster, we look forward to the  ( clean ) fence photos 

[kmar92]

Good to see the amber fluid flowing again on the mountain @Graubart!

[jamiek86]

@Shamus O'Sean @Graubart very nice looking all grain brews there guys licking my lips 

[Classic Brewing Co]

Just now, jamiek86 said:

@Shamus O'Sean @Graubart very nice looking all grain brews there guys licking my lips 

I agree they do look very good, organised, precise but of course I don't have the equipment, knowledge or the room so I guess I will battle on with partials & extracts etc, I am still happy with my beers though. Less cleaning up I would have thought. 

[jamiek86]

@Classic Brewing Co I'm with you on that one I will get into Biab one day but atm I'm happy with kits.  Sometimes a partial otherwise extra malt and hop flavour is making me happy enough atm.

[Pezzza]

5 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

I agree they do look very good, organised, precise but of course I don't have the equipment, knowledge or the room so I guess I will battle on with partials & extracts etc, I am still happy with my beers though. Less cleaning up I would have thought. 

There are so many paths to the top of the mountain and there is no doubt powering on with kits and partials & extracts etc provides excellent brews... all part of the BBJ

The Beautiful Brewing Journey 

[Classic Brewing Co]

Just now, jamiek86 said:

@Classic Brewing Co I'm with you on that one I will get into Biab one day but atm I'm happy with kits.  Sometimes a partial otherwise extra malt and hop flavour is making me happy enough atm.

Yeah Jamie I am going to invest in the basic equipment for BIAB without going overboard as I have found a LBHS that has pretty much everything to go at a reasonable price apart from what I may already have. So keeping it simple to start may be the start of a new adventure. 

[Marty_G]

16 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Yeah Jamie I am going to invest in the basic equipment for BIAB without going overboard as I have found a LBHS that has pretty much everything to go at a reasonable price apart from what I may already have. So keeping it simple to start may be the start of a new adventure. 

Great, you will notice the difference making your grain brews.  It is the way to go. I love my BIAB set up. 

[Classic Brewing Co]

24 minutes ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

Great, you will notice the difference making your grain brews.  It is the way to go. I love my BIAB set up. 

Hi Marty,

I was thinking about one of these to get started, probably the 35l.  I know there are other options so I will have to work it all out.

https://www.kegland.com.au/35l-basic-biab-kit.html

[Tone boy]

Bit of an Aussie lager happening today. Come on summer!

coopers light liquid malt 1.5 kg

800g Pilsner malt

200g dextrin malt

Brew enhancer 3

25g PoR 30 mins 

5g PoR 5 mins 

w34/70 will ferment at 13 degrees 

1 hour mash, 30 min boil. 19 IBU apparently. See how we go…

Mash just finished so better get the sparge happening. See ya

Edited August 30, 2021 by Tone boy

[Aussiekraut]

19 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

I agree they do look very good, organised, precise but of course I don't have the equipment, knowledge or the room so I guess I will battle on with partials & extracts etc, I am still happy with my beers though. Less cleaning up I would have thought. 

The knowledge is easily acquired and AG brewing isn't half as  big a deal as one would think, especially with a brewing system which takes care of keeping temperatures and the likes. It gives you (almost) full control over your beer but it is a lot more work or maybe I should say time consuming. My double batch brew days usually start at 6am and finish around 3:30pm but it isn't all full on work. You can have brekkie whilst the first mash is underway, you can mow the lawn during boil or quickly duck down to the shops whilst waiting for the 2nd mash. But there is more work involved and yes, there is a little more to clean up ,like disposing of the spent grains and hops, washing and soaking all the bits and pieces, cleaning and soaking the kettle etc. But all in all, it is a very enjoyable thing and rather rewarding. 

When I am pressed for time, I do occasionally cheat and get an FWK and have a 15 minute "brewing session". Even a k&k takes longer to put together  

[Classic Brewing Co]

21 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

The knowledge is easily acquired and AG brewing isn't half as  big a deal as one would think, especially with a brewing system which takes care of keeping temperatures and the likes. It gives you (almost) full control over your beer but it is a lot more work or maybe I should say time consuming. My double batch brew days usually start at 6am and finish around 3:30pm but it isn't all full on work. You can have brekkie whilst the first mash is underway, you can mow the lawn during boil or quickly duck down to the shops whilst waiting for the 2nd mash. But there is more work involved and yes, there is a little more to clean up ,like disposing of the spent grains and hops, washing and soaking all the bits and pieces, cleaning and soaking the kettle etc. But all in all, it is a very enjoyable thing and rather rewarding. 

When I am pressed for time, I do occasionally cheat and get an FWK and have a 15 minute "brewing session". Even a k&k takes longer to put together  

Good points & sound advice AK, I do understand, it's not really the time that bothers me, hell, I am retired so I can do what I like, in fact I keep myself busy with lots of things to do with brewing. There is always something to do. I have room under the verandah in the front courtyard so I can't say I have no room in fact I have a brew fridge under there in an enclosure. 

In the warmer, better weather months I quite often prepare & bottle out there, oh, I have a bar out there too  so it is not all bad.

I thought a BIAB system would have been the best to start with, however I open to other ideas, it seems more economical to me.

 https://www.kegland.com.au/35l-basic-biab-kit.html

I would like to take my beer to the next level as I feel at this point of time it would be hard to improve the Extract/Partials I have been doing as I am very happy with the results & they drink very well. 

Cheers for your input. 

[Aussiekraut]

5 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Good points & sound advice AK, I do understand, it's not really the time that bothers me, hell, I am retired so I can do what I like, in fact I keep myself busy with lots of things to do with brewing. There is always something to do. I have room under the verandah in the front courtyard so I can't say I have no room in fact I have a brew fridge under there in an enclosure. 

In the warmer, better weather months I quite often prepare & bottle out there, oh, I have a bar out there too  so it is not all bad.

I thought a BIAB system would have been the best to start with, however I open to other ideas, it seems more economical to me.

 https://www.kegland.com.au/35l-basic-biab-kit.html

I would like to take my beer to the next level as I feel at this point of time it would be hard to improve the Extract/Partials I have been doing as I am very happy with the results & they drink very well. 

Cheers for your input. 

This BIAB setup isn't a bad start. Reasonably priced and it will do the job nicely. I took the brewing system approach because the 40l Guten was on special at the time and sold for $399, rather than the $499 it normally was. It has served me well and after 2 years, it was money well spent. But in the end, it's just a BIAB setup with a malt tube instead of a grain bag, so the process is the same. If I was starting again, I'd probably go for the 50l system as it would allow me to do full batch mashes, which I can't quite get done in the 40l system. The 70l system would also have its benefits. But for now, what I have is perfectly fine to make good beer  And with the Kegerator setup in place, I need something to look forward to maybe next year  I'm still drooling over the 70l Grainfather but there are approx. 2000 reasons not to get it and they're all called Dollars  

Go for a BIAB setup, work out your process and you won't look back. 

 

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

2 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

I'm still drooling over the 70l Grainfather but there are approx. 2000 reasons not to get it and they're all called Dollars  

I agree it's all about Dollars, you could keep going on forever, I will start small as I can see this would be a step up.

Cheers.

[ozdevil]

2 hours ago, Aussiekraut said:

I'm still drooling over the 70l Grainfather but there are approx. 2000 reasons not to get it and they're all called Dollars

70l  looks fantastic  doesnt it   lot of money  for what a guten or  brewzilla  can do for more then half the cost in my opinion

Brewzilla 4.0  is coming out in 35l  65l and 100l  very soon  when i mean soon before christmas early new year
and it will be fully intergrated like  grainfather    

the brewzilla or Guten   at current are great in value wether your got 35l brewzilla  or 40 litre  Guten  and the same for the big brothers   great value and make great beers like the grainfather

if i was to start  again and was looking at  biab   like Classic is   i would look at guten/brewzilla  as when you want to try with out a bag  you have already got the goods.

while the digiboil is great product , its at the best  it will get as no further upgrades will happen to this as they want to keep it  entry point due to cost of brewzilla

just my view   and  if you do decide  classic on the kegland digiboil  welcome to  a.g brewing in the future  if you choose that path

[iBooz2]

@Classic Brewing Co Phil, don't forget to have a look at these BIABasket systems, very happy with 70 L and less $ than the grainfather.

Basically the same as BIABag but with SS basket.  Just got to get a pump and some tubing.  No risk of boil overs with a single batch in 70 L and no need to sparge either.

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, iBooz2 said:

@Classic Brewing Co Phil, don't forget to have a look at these BIABasket systems, very happy with 70 L and less $ than the grainfather.

Basically the same as BIABag but with SS basket.  Just got to get a pump and some tubing.  No risk of boil overs with a single batch in 70 L and no need to sparge either.

Thanks Al, I think they may be out of my range ATM re: $$$ however I appreciate your input, I will check them out anyway.

Cheers.

[Marty_G]

7 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Hi Marty,

I was thinking about one of these to get started, probably the 35l.  I know there are other options so I will have to work it all out.

https://www.kegland.com.au/35l-basic-biab-kit.html

Looks good. Pretty sure Otto Von B uses a system similar to this.  He may be able to give you some tips. Mine is a bit more complex as I use a HERMES coil and a pump to to regulate the mash temp and recirculate the wort.  

 

[Pezzza]

On 8/30/2021 at 3:55 PM, iBooz2 said:

@Classic Brewing Co Phil, don't forget to have a look at these BIABasket systems, very happy with 70 L and less $ than the grainfather.

Basically the same as BIABag but with SS basket.  Just got to get a pump and some tubing.  No risk of boil overs with a single batch in 70 L and no need to sparge either.

Yes @Classic Brewing Co Phil agree w Big Al that there are some good opportunities over there in the CPB world to check out... @iBooz2 Boozer has popped through a link for you...  although SS basket is not cheap - they actually are easier to deal with/handle  than a floppy bag... but there are many ways to do things as always ; )

[Classic Brewing Co]

36 minutes ago, Graubart said:

Yes @Classic Brewing Co Phil agree w Big Al that there are some good opportunities over there in the CPB world to check out... @iBooz2 Boozer has popped through a link for you...  although SS basket is not cheap - they actually are easier to deal with/handle  than a floppy bag... but there are many ways to do things as always ; )

Yeah I still am undecided, I am happy with my brews so far however I want to at least give some sort of AG a go but I am not overly stressed about it, for one I don't want to spend too much & create more work but let's see what happens.

Cheers

[Pezzza]

4 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Yeah I still am undecided, I am happy with my brews so far however I want to at least give some sort of AG a go but I am not overly stressed about it, for one I don't want to spend too much & create more work but let's see what happens.

I would crank up the Partials @Classic Brewing Co Phil - I reckon like the Liquid Malt change I reckon you will notice another quantum leap when you bring in the Partials...  I cannot help - but there are quite a few who do Partials - think @ChristinaS1 Christina also kindly posts recipes in detail too which might be really helpful to get the Kit-n-Partial balance right : )

And then there is also always the Fresh Wort Kit - that might be worth a go - and hopefully you get a good one to start with : )

Edited August 31, 2021 by Graubart

[iBooz2]

3 minutes ago, Graubart said:

And then there is also always the Fresh Wort Kit - that might be worth a go - and hopefully you get a good one to start with : )

+1 for trying a FWK and some yeast.

Was going to suggest this as well as it would be like an AG try before you buy @Classic Brewing Co, a good suggestion by the master himself and worth more than a thought.

[Classic Brewing Co]

12 minutes ago, Graubart said:

I would crank up the Partials @Classic Brewing Co Phil - I reckon like the Liquid Malt change I reckon you will notice another quantum leap when you bring in the Partials...  I cannot help - but there are quite a few who do Partials - think @ChristinaS1 Christina also kindly posts recipes in detail too which might be really helpful to get the Kit-n-Partial balance right : )

And then there is also always the Fresh Wort Kit - that might be worth a go - and hopefully you get a good one to start with : )

Cheers Graubster I have added grain a few times now & I can see the difference in fact the wheat beer I made was a NZ brand called Black Rock Whispering Wheat ( I have 1 bottle left  )  I added crushed grain to that & it was awesome.

I am doing partials more & more apart from today with the Coopers Pale Ale which is foolproof anyway so I will keep the journey going with different experiments.