What's in Your Fermenter? 2021

[jamiek86]

@Graubart sorry if seem ignorant but my fridge space is too important to wait 4 days to reach CC temp. I usually go straight down to 11 or 12 from 20. After sit there for few hours or depending on what doing leaving or coming home from work etc

 I then set to 6 say before work and not knowing how long to get there will set to 1 or 2 after work or sometimes next morning or night all depends on my shift. So no more than day and half to come down to temp and with moderest weather fridge handles it easy.

Then sometimes I have set for 8 and after few hour sit put straight on 1 or 2.

Edited March 23, 2021 by jamiek86

[Pezzza]

2 hours ago, jamiek86 said:

@Graubart  my fridge space is too important to wait 4 days to reach CC temp.

Mate no worries at all - if it works for you - gold - it is just one of those Lager Fermentation Protocol things that can help to make a good brew and was only a suggestion...

It is a time when the Yeast are encouraged -- by the steady decline in temp -- to clean up some unwanted metabolites in the beer with flavour improvements supposedly... that is why I do it.   

But you have to make your system work for you and that's the most important thing... and it sounds like you are happy with the brew so that is a beautiful thing ; )

Cheers @jamiek86 JK and Good Brewing 

[jamiek86]

@Graubart I might give it a go at some stage and see if notice any difference but will have to be when get my stocks to a decent level.

[Stickers]

i will call this one euro pale.

coopers euro lager + be3 with 1kg/5l 2 row addition, 30 min boil with amarillo, vic secret and cascade. used nottingham yeast to do it as an ale. wish me luck

[jamiek86]

@Stickers good luck you have obviously been making good beer you like on that bench throughout summer and liked them all with no cooling. Now we in in-between weather months I'm sure they will get better. The fake lager with Nottingham has been praised by many im sure you will enjoy.

[Tone boy]

13 hours ago, Stickers said:

i will call this one euro pale.

coopers euro lager + be3 with 1kg/5l 2 row addition, 30 min boil with amarillo, vic secret and cascade. used nottingham yeast to do it as an ale. wish me luck

Looks good @Stickers  I gave the European Lager a run (using M54) and it’s been in the bottle 8 weeks now. It’s really good. I reckon it would be a great base kit for an ale. 
 

 

13 hours ago, Stickers said:

with 1kg/5l 2 row addition

So was this a partial mash in 5 litres? How long do you mash for? I’ve been doing partial mashes at about 3 litres per kilo plus a 2 litre batch sparge but just starting out on that journey. Mashing for 60 minutes. 
The partials I have done have turned out great though. 

[Stickers]

7 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Looks good @Stickers  I gave the European Lager a run (using M54) and it’s been in the bottle 8 weeks now. It’s really good. I reckon it would be a great base kit for an ale. 
 

 

So was this a partial mash in 5 litres? How long do you mash for? I’ve been doing partial mashes at about 3 litres per kilo plus a 2 litre batch sparge but just starting out on that journey. Mashing for 60 minutes. 
The partials I have done have turned out great though. 

cheers Tone, i figured the same in terms of using it as an ale base... we'll see what it's like in a few weeks time heh.

my partial mash is3 litres @70c for an hour, then a 1 litre sparge and 1 litre top up to bring it to roughly 5l, then a 30 min boil, 20 min rest and 15 min chill before tipping in my FV. i also think that my partials are turning out pretty good. so much more body and presence to my brews now.

[Stickers]

17 hours ago, jamiek86 said:

@Stickers good luck you have obviously been making good beer you like on that bench throughout summer and liked them all with no cooling. Now we in in-between weather months I'm sure they will get better. The fake lager with Nottingham has been praised by many im sure you will enjoy.

thanks jamie i've been lucky in that melbourne had a fizzer of a summer and the few hot days there were i used kviek. mostly using nottingham these days when the weather is in the 20s so literally just leaving my FV in the kitchen is working for me. i am on the lookout for a fridge, just taking my sweet time about it.

[jamiek86]

10 minutes ago, Stickers said:

thanks jamie i've been lucky in that melbourne had a fizzer of a summer and the few hot days there were i used kviek. mostly using nottingham these days when the weather is in the 20s so literally just leaving my FV in the kitchen is working for me. i am on the lookout for a fridge, just taking my sweet time about it.

you'll be good for another 6 months now just using heating depending on if want to try a lager or not though 

[John E Miller]

On 3/23/2021 at 6:21 AM, John E Miller said:

My barleywine fermentation seems to be stuck at 1.060

I love it when I'm wrong! 

I took a HYDROMETER reading today and it assures me I am already at 1.022.

I have just bought a refractometer and have been using that. Yes, I was aware that they are unreliable once alcohol is present in the wort, but I thought I would at least be in the ballpark at 1.060, but no.

Good news!

[Norris!]

When using a refractometer when alcohol is present you have to do a calculation or use software/app to figure it out and you need to start with the SG and plug that in and compare to what it currently says, without using those it isn't useful and could cause unneeded worry.

[John E Miller]

2 minutes ago, Norris! said:

When using a refractometer when alcohol is present you have to do a calculation or use software/app to figure it out and you need to start with the SG and plug that in and compare to what it currently says, without using those it isn't useful and could cause unneeded worry.

Yes, I was using the Northern Brewer calculator, and it gave me 1.022 as well, but I thought there must have been a mistake until I took a hydrometer reading.

I love the refractometer though. Only need a few drops of wort. 

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

On 3/23/2021 at 12:51 PM, Graubart said:

Thanks @Greeny1525229549 Greeny.

Rightio - but say in your situation - your D Rest period is the actual time it takes to get from your Brew's 1016 through to the FG?  

 

Yep. Usually takes a couple of days only to go the rest of the way.

[Shamus O'Sean]

2 hours ago, John E Miller said:

I love the refractometer though. Only need a few drops of wort. 

I love that too.  The refractometer reading can be excellent for confirming that the brew has finished.  Then I take a hydrometer reading for the actual FG.

[kmar92]

I use my refractometer for my OG reading and then for comparative readings of the brew. Once the comparative readings are stable over a couple of days, I take a hydrometer reading as well similar to @Shamus O'Sean to establish my FG. I find a refractometer a great tool.

[pongball]

Got an on going brew in the fv currently, the howzat gose ag recipe from beerco with 1kg raspberries.

Soured down to a ph of 3.2 in about 2.5 days, fermentation too a little longer than expected to kick off but day 7 was nearing competition so added 2x hop socks each with 500g of room temp defrosted frozen raspberries 

[John E Miller]

I juiced a few of my homegrown apples and am making a litre of cider to turn into vinegar. I've only ever made apple cider from bottled juice or brigalow kit before . If the cider is good I will be keen to try another batch like this

[Lettucegrove]

11 hours ago, John E Miller said:

I juiced a few of my homegrown apples and am making a litre of cider to turn into vinegar. I've only ever made apple cider from bottled juice or brigalow kit before . If the cider is good I will be keen to try another batch like this

Care to share the vinegar recipe?

[John E Miller]

6 hours ago, Lettucegrove said:

Care to share the vinegar recipe?

Yeah, pretty simple:

- make cider (get juice, add yeast)

- make vinegar (get cider, add bacteria)

The key point is that alcohol fermentation is anaerobic, without the presence of oxygen; while vinegar needs an aerobic environment, so remove airlock and cover with a tea towel. 

You could just leave the cider out and the acetobacter would eventually find their way into the cider, but for more control you add a little bit of raw apple cider vinegar with the mother still in it. 

[Lettucegrove]

15 hours ago, John E Miller said:

Yeah, pretty simple:

- make cider (get juice, add yeast)

- make vinegar (get cider, add bacteria)

The key point is that alcohol fermentation is anaerobic, without the presence of oxygen; while vinegar needs an aerobic environment, so remove airlock and cover with a tea towel. 

You could just leave the cider out and the acetobacter would eventually find their way into the cider, but for more control you add a little bit of raw apple cider vinegar with the mother still in it. 

How long does it take for the cider to turn into vinegar?

[John E Miller]

15 hours ago, Lettucegrove said:

How long does it take for the cider to turn into vinegar?

A few weeks I think. 

Here is where I got my information from:

https://legourmet.tv/recipe/how-to-make-real-apple-cider-vinegar

[ChristinaS1]

On 3/12/2021 at 1:56 PM, ChristinaS1 said:

Put this on this morning. Trying honey and Nottingham yeast again.

Mt Hood & Honey "Lager"

 

1.7kg Coopers Australian Pale Ale

900gm light LME

250g Honey 7.1%

750gm Superior pale malt 21.4%

300gm malted wheat 8.5%

200gm carapils 5.7%

20gm Mt Hood x 20 min

15 gm Mt Hood x 5 minutes

10mL Clarityferm

Nottingham yeast slurry pitched @ 20C. Fridge set to 18.5C. Will ramp down to 13C once signs of fermentation start.

23L 

40gm Mt Hood dry hop x 48 hours post fermentation

 

OG 1.046; FG 1.009; ABV 5.0%; IBU 34; EBC 6.5; BU:GU 72.

Just trying my first sample of this.  Still not 100%. carbonated. It is a nice little pseudo lager / very clean. It has a delicious hint of honey and some pine. Quite refreshing and gulpable. 

If I make it again I may replace all or half of the 5 minute addition of Mt Hood with Eldorado, or a combo of Eldorado and Denali at FO, for a hop stand, to see what that does.....I say that because my last batch (MACE & Honey ale) had Eldorado and Denali at FO, for a 20 minute hop stand, and it is delicious. It is very unlike other APAs I have make with the same hops in the dry hop. Eldorado and Denali are both very high in total oils, which I think might be undergoing some interesting bioconversion during fermentation. 

Cheers,

Christina.

[Tone boy]

6 hours ago, ChristinaS1 said:

900gm light LME

Hi Christina, great to hear it turned out so well (aside from being a tad low in bubbles)!

Ive never tried Eldorado or Denali but it sounds as though I might need to by that review...

Just a question on the liquid malt. Do you buy that amount (900g) packaged? Or do you open a can, use 900 g and store the rest? If so how do you store it and for how long?

Sorry that was more than one question!! LOL  

I’m always interested in your recipes and appreciate the tasting updates. Thanks Christina!

 

[ChristinaS1]

1 hour ago, Tone boy said:

Hi Christina, great to hear it turned out so well (aside from being a tad low in bubbles)!

Ive never tried Eldorado or Denali but it sounds as though I might need to by that review...

Just a question on the liquid malt. Do you buy that amount (900g) packaged? Or do you open a can, use 900 g and store the rest? If so how do you store it and for how long?

Sorry that was more than one question!! LOL  

I’m always interested in your recipes and appreciate the tasting updates. Thanks Christina!

 

Hi Tone boy. Glad to hear you are interested in my recipes. That is nice. 

This is only the second time I am dividing LME and storing some. My LHBS used to carry LME in foil bags with 1.3kg for $9. Then they upped the size to 1.5kg for the same price, and now they have upped the size again 1.8kg, still for $9! Anyway, while it is nice to get more for less, now that the bags are 1.8kg the ABV of my beer is getting too high, so I poured out half with the help of a scale and sealed the bag back up with foil tape, and have put it in the fridge for my next brew. I think it will be fine. It is so sweet it might not need to be in the fridge, but I put it in anyway, just to play it safe. 

Regarding the Eldorado and Denali hops, I bought them in bulk online based on their description. I find Eldorado a nice hop for dry hopping,  blended with other hops, but I ended up not liking Denali for dry hopping. I started using it for 20 minute "bittering" additions, and in the hop stand, just to get rid of it. I have done it a few times now I am starting to appreciate it as a hop stand hop. Eldorado has modest linalool and almost no geraniol, and Denali is the opposite; put them together they are low in both....Whatever is making their total oils high, it is not linalool or geraniol.

Cheers Tone boy, and happy brewing!

Christina.

 

 

 

[ChristinaS1]

On 3/24/2021 at 8:47 PM, John E Miller said:

I juiced a few of my homegrown apples and am making a litre of cider to turn into vinegar. I've only ever made apple cider from bottled juice or brigalow kit before . If the cider is good I will be keen to try another batch like this

What kind of apples are they John?

I used to have a little home business making vinegar from apples (we had an orchard) and various other things. The name of my business was "Cottage Vinegar." I sold it at the farmers market. I ended up not making that much money as I live in a small town and it takes people a long time to go through a bottle of vinegar. My basement is full of vinegar I never sold. Maybe it will be really good in 20 years. LOL!

It is hard to make good cider but easy to make vinegar. You can make vinegar from just about anything, but apple cider vinegar was always my best seller (followed by tomato). If you have any questions, let me know.

Cheers,

Christina.