What's in Your Fermenter? 2021

[Tone boy]

16 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

It may be me just thinking out loud so hence my comment that's all and just wondered.  All good. 

Yes certainly listen to @ChristinaS1 more than me, because when she comments I definitely listen and take notice.

Hey @iBooz2  Yes Christina is definitely a great source of information, but I value your input as well. This whole community is awesome really, and you raised a really valid point. 

[Maurice79]

I have a slightly modified version of the coopers old brown dog 7 days in one (https://www.diybeer.com/au/recipe/ol-brown-dog.html), and I'm about to dump my AG Kveik Pale in the other fermenter.

[Journeyman]

17 hours ago, CLASSIC said:

Yeah I am slowly moving towards adding more grain, I already use hops but don't want to mess about too much without the proper knowledge, I am still happy with the extract brews that I have been doing, I try to try as many different variations as I can with available recipes but unless you know what you are doing & its' not broke - don't try & fix it.

For the record I have tried some pretty awful beers from some who just keep mucking about - knowledge is power.

I'm a bit of a muck-arounder and to date haven't had to sink anything. *touchwood* I've had a couple that weren't very good at first but leaving them longer made a huge difference and an experiment I rescued with a dry hop in the keg. The other 42 brews have worked out well, mainly because I'd come here browsing to do the Sussan thing. (this goes with this and this goes with that...  )

I've recently done 4 basic brews, as in K&K with a hops tea and about to get back to partials - I was surprised at how well the basics turned out but I do like the subtle extras I get from partials. 

It may have been the hops I used but I discovered I'm not that much of a fan of larger dry hops - had to leave a keg for a while before I enjoyed the contents. So now I do boils and a tea in preference. Funny because I thought I used to really like the hoppy beers I was drinking on tap a few years back but I guess they had all 'matured' in the kegs and weren't as hoppy as the fresh brews of home brews.

13 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Hey @Pale Man. Yep got them crushed, I just weighed them first. I bought a 5 kg bag of Pilsner and a 5 kg bag of maris otter - both came uncushed as I thought they would keep fresher longer that way  Luckily I was able to borrow a roller crusher thingy. Not sure what gap I was supposed to use but ended up going with 1mm and run the grains through twice. Seemed to work ok...

I have a coffee grinder I use. I'm not sure I'd want to be putting an AG batch through it though  - hopper is only about 250gms or so - but with the shims out and the grind wound right out it does a great job for specialty additions for a mash. The base malts I have pre-milled - when I can afford it I will invest in a proper grinder so I can buy bulk grains. I think at present it's unlikely I will ever go AG but it would be nice to take advantage of bulk pricing.

Edited February 14, 2021 by Journeyman

[Classic Brewing Co]

3 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

I'm a bit of a muck-arounder and to date haven't had to sink anything. *touchwood* I've had a couple that weren't very good at first but leaving them longer made a huge difference and an experiment I rescued with a dry hop in the keg. The other 42 brews have worked out well, mainly because I'd come here browsing to do the Sussan thing. (this goes with this and this goes with that...  )

I've recently done 4 basic brews, as in K&K with a hops tea and about to get back to partials - I was surprised at how well the basics turned out but I do like the subtle extras I get from partials. 

It may have been the hops I used but I discovered I'm not that much of a fan of larger dry hops - had to leave a keg for a while before I enjoyed the contents. So now I do boils and a tea in preference. Funny because I thought I used to really like the hoppy beers I was drinking on tap a few years back but I guess they had all 'matured' in the kegs and weren't as hoppy as the fresh brews of home brews.

I have a coffee grinder I use. I'm not sure I'd want to be putting an AG batch through it though  - hopper is only about 250gms or so - but with the shims out and the grind wound right out it does a great job for specialty additions for a mash. The base malts I have pre-milled - when I can afford it I will invest in a proper grinder so I can buy bulk grains. I think at present it's unlikely I will ever go AG but it would be nice to take advantage of bulk pricing.

You may have heard me refer to @Gully85  we have met several times for beers & swaps ( brews ) we did a Mexican Cerveza with grains boiled & stepped on the stove, added hop tea, it completely changed the taste & I found it rather unpleasant although drinkable. His set-up now is like a micro-brewery & he is growing his own hops. We are catching up soon so I will pump his brain for a bit more knowledge.  I want to start experimenting slowly as I gain a bit more from YouTube, this forum etc.

One of his AG brews was like a fountain, we had to keep sculling beer & topping up the glasses otherwise it would have been lost spewing out of the bottle.

Anyway keep on brewing, Cheers.

[Journeyman]

13 minutes ago, CLASSIC said:

One of his AG brews was like a fountain, we had to keep sculling beer & topping up the glasses otherwise it would have been lost spewing out of the bottle.

I've got a coffee stout that I over-primed that is like that. Have to chill it for a couple of days and STILL open it slowly. Worth it though - it's coming up to a year in the bottle and smooth as...

[lickedthestamp]

22 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

I have a coffee grinder I use. I'm not sure I'd want to be putting an AG batch through it though  - hopper is only about 250gms or so - but with the shims out and the grind wound right out it does a great job for specialty additions for a mash. The base malts I have pre-milled - when I can afford it I will invest in a proper grinder so I can buy bulk grains. I think at present it's unlikely I will ever go AG but it would be nice to take advantage of bulk pricing.

I used to have one of these for our coffee but when our old Breville espresso machine died we got a new italian coffee machine and also upgraded the grinder.

Kept the Sunbeam grinder for another couple of years, but it never saw any use - so when we had a clean out of stuff the grinder went.

A month later I bought the Coopers DIY Beer kit... 

[Journeyman]

15 minutes ago, lickedthestamp said:

Kept the Sunbeam grinder for another couple of years, but it never saw any use - so when we had a clean out of stuff the grinder went.

Ain't it always like that? Finally turf something and find a week later you have a need for it?

[Classic Brewing Co]

Always the way, done it before.

[ozdevil]

my thoughts only

coffee grinders   are not the best thing to be cracking grain with as you dont have real control of the crush
leaving you with very fine  crush

you will get away with it in  in a grainbag  but if you was usin 3v or all in one vessel   it wouldnt  be that good
as well you will loose a bit of efficiency

[Journeyman]

6 minutes ago, ozdevil said:

my thoughts only

coffee grinders   are not the best thing to be cracking grain with as you dont have real control of the crush
leaving you with very fine  crush

The Sunbeam EM0480 isn't a smash-em-all grinder, it is a conical grind. As such it works pretty much like the mills being used. I did a test grind of a couple of grains and the result is very even grind with very little powder.  In fact I would say my grinds (bottom) came out better than the pre-mill grinds from the LHBS. (top)

With the blade grinders, I entirely agree - they're not even that useful for coffee for the reasons you give.

 

[Pezzza]

15 hours ago, Pale Man said:

An all grain minimum 60 minutes with Pilsner. 

60 min rolling boil lid off for all AG for me yep

[Pezzza]

16 hours ago, lickedthestamp said:

SMOTY ale. As per Cooper's recipe, but will add the remaining 25g of EKG via a hop tea rather than dry hop

that's a beautiful shelf Stamper!

good luck w your brew : )

[ozdevil]

8 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

The Sunbeam EM0480 isn't a smash-em-all grinder, it is a conical grind. As such it works pretty much like the mills being used. I did a test grind of a couple of grains and the result is very even grind with very little powder.  In fact I would say my grinds (bottom) came out better than the pre-mill grinds from the LHBS. (top)

With the blade grinders, I entirely agree - they're not even that useful for coffee for the reasons you give.

 

Don'y get me wrong  , save getting out a rolling pin  and manually cracking the grain by hand though


i wouldnt be wanting to use a coffee grinder such as yours for  big grain bills  and i still think theystill crush a tad to fine  for  3v or a brewzilla/grainfather type system (unless  doing biab)

but hey it seems it works nicely for your brews mate

[Classic Brewing Co]

On the subject of grains, my sister is sending me this an old Aluminium cooking pot 9cm deep X 80cm across, I was thinking may be suitable for steeping grain & more.

I have heaps of Stockpots, Kitchenware as I was a cook, however this could be used just for beer making.

[Classic Brewing Co]

90cm x 80

[MitchBastard]

20 hours ago, Graubart said:

Wow. Mate that is gold.  Thanks for that.

I think I made a rookie error and left my sucker well rinsed with my tank water but not Perc'd and she went a bit algae-ish during the drying process... stewed her in the Perc and it brewed out a festive storm of brown stuff... hahaha... is much cleaner now and is after the Perc in some Stellar San Steriliser to soak... will see how I go... if need be I can get another and start again hey? 

 

BTW what is that dry powdery stuff doing in MB Brewing's AG Brewery?  Guess maybe for starters... ok I'll cut you some slack here Mitchie 

 

got a yeast starter underway for tomozzas slog. 
 

the filters are a bit of a bugger to get dry.

I had some mould the first time thinking it had dried and after I put it back in the case, a few days later she was a bit furry. Now I just sit it the sunny spot of the house for a few days to get the morning sun. 

[Tone boy]

2 hours ago, Journeyman said:

I've got a coffee stout that I over-primed that is like that. Have to chill it for a couple of days and STILL open it slowly. Worth it though - it's coming up to a year in the bottle and smooth as...

I had this same problem with a stout too @Journeyman Jman. I chilled the bottles down, had some new sanitized lids and the capper at the ready, and took off the bottle tops and put a new one on before it started spewing stout. 
It just released some pressure in the bottles. It seemed to work well. You have to work quickly and getting the bottles really cold helps. 
Cheers

[Pezzza]

4 hours ago, CLASSIC said:

On the subject of grains, my sister is sending me this an old Aluminium cooking pot 9cm deep X 80cm across, I was thinking may be suitable for steeping grain & more.

Hey there @CLASSIC mate I am a bit paranoid about Aluminium (Al) and low pH solutions (which is what mash/steeping will generate)... but think people do use Al...

There is this possible link between Alzheimers and Al... possible... maybe.... some more prone than others?  I guess that my brain cells cop such a battering that they need all the help that they can get...   so I stick to Stainless Steel where I can.

I am not trying to suggest you cannot or should not use it - I guess just sharing my thoughts on Al vessels....  and it is a lovely big sized pot mate!

[Classic Brewing Co]

6 minutes ago, Graubart said:

Hey there @CLASSIC mate I am a bit paranoid about Aluminium (Al) and low pH solutions (which is what mash/steeping will generate)... but think people do use Al...

There is this possible link between Alzheimers and Al... possible... maybe.... some more prone than others?  I guess that my brain cells cop such a battering that they need all the help that they can get...   so I stick to Stainless Steel where I can.

I am not trying to suggest you cannot or should not use it - I guess just sharing my thoughts on Al vessels....  and it is a lovely big sized pot mate!

Hey Graubart, 

You know I was thinking about that while I was bottling this afternoon, you are right, I must have had a senior moment, on thinking I won't use for that but it may came in handy for washing & sterilising gear rather than steeping in that type of metal.

I probably have killed off brain cells as well & used up a few of the nine lives. It is a great size, Sister used for making sauce/preserves as they did in the 19th century, so thanks for bringing it up.

By the way are you a Pirate ? 

[Pezzza]

4 minutes ago, CLASSIC said:

By the way are you a Pirate ? 

Haha Brewery Pirate yep for sure Phil hahaha!

On the good ship HMAS AllGrainer ; )

For sure mate the big pot will definitely come in handy for other tasks but meself I would keep me brew outta there... 

[Classic Brewing Co]

Cheers Mate.

[Malter White]

BBW - No, get your mind out of the gutter, you reprobates. BBW stands for big black wort.

Coopers Dark Ale, Dark Malt Extract and dextrose. Fermenting at 19C with the kit yeast plus an extra sachet of yeast from an APA kit. I don't know why, just because I can I guess.

[Classic Brewing Co]

Hey Muzzy,

What a way to spend a 33degrees day here in Adelaide,  making beer ! I notice you don't have a heat belt, do you rely on just the Temp Control unit to maintain your desired temp.

So I assume the temp in the fridge stays at what you have set, or does it ever drop below 19 ?

I had issues with my set-up a week ago as I set the STC-1000 & fitted the heat belt, but it didn't work & the temp kept dropping. I removed it all & let it ferment at an ambient of 21-22, day 2 there was a large Krausen SG 1040 now day 7 1016 ( Munich Lager )

I have since tested all of the equipment & it works fine.

Cheers

Phil

[Malter White]

37 minutes ago, CLASSIC said:

Hey Muzzy,

What a way to spend a 33degrees day here in Adelaide,  making beer ! I notice you don't have a heat belt, do you rely on just the Temp Control unit to maintain your desired temp.

So I assume the temp in the fridge stays at what you have set, or does it ever drop below 19 ?

I had issues with my set-up a week ago as I set the STC-1000 & fitted the heat belt, but it didn't work & the temp kept dropping. I removed it all & let it ferment at an ambient of 21-22, day 2 there was a large Krausen SG 1040 now day 7 1016 ( Munich Lager )

I have since tested all of the equipment & it works fine.

Cheers

Phil

Hi Phil.
I have a heat belt but I haven't connected it. I doubt whether I'll need to over this next week in Adelaide. Even though the overnight temperatures may drop below 19, the inside of the fridge should stay higher than what the outside temps drop to.

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 minute ago, MUZZY said:

Hi Phil.
I have a heat belt but I haven't connected it. I doubt whether I'll need to over this next week in Adelaide. Even though the overnight temperatures may drop below 19, the inside of the fridge should stay higher than what the outside temps drop to.

Fair enough is your Temp Control an Ink Bird ? I have a Mangrove Jack but I think they all work the same.