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What's in Your Fermenter? 2021


Shamus O'Sean

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12 hours ago, CLASSIC said:

do you feel the yeast you used is a better option ?

Not necessarily better, Phil.  But I really liked the Verdant IPA yeast in the Bright Idea Hazy IPA.  So I thought I would use it again in the Coopers Australian IPA.  Maybe a bit of a silly choice, because isn't the idea to brew these clone brews as close as possible to the commercial version?  I could be way off with the Verdant yeast.

By the way @kmar92, mine ended up with a FG of 1.013, so 5.8% ABV.  The 1.018 I reported previously was the sample in the tube, I took about 10 days ago.

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1st taste of the Australian IPA today. It has only been in the keg for 2 days so it is still a little green, and could probably still do with a little more carbonation.

It has a bitter tinge, that is expected as I upped the bittering hops substantially. Quite a pleasant overall taste though, it will definitely improve with some ageing I feel. Quite cloudy in the glass, again that will improve with age. Has some aroma, but not overpowering. In a week or 2, I reckon it will be a great beer.

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Well must say I am blown away by the W34/70 yeast cake. It has made light work of the 1077 OG Baltic Porter wort, it’s smashed it down to just under 1020 today after it was pitched Thursday lunchtime. I was a bit scared about it stalling but appears I was worried for nothing. I also had a taste looking forward to it when it’s ready. Will ramp it up to 18 degrees now to finish it off.

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i really liked the kit kilo and partial i did last month with a cooper's dark can, be3, ale malt and fuggles that i'm doing a similar one with a real ale can, be2, ale malt and fuggles hops. used kit yeast (2 packets). about 24 hours in.

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On 7/31/2021 at 10:32 PM, kmar92 said:

1st taste of the Australian IPA today. It has only been in the keg for 2 days so it is still a little green, and could probably still do with a little more carbonation.

It has a bitter tinge, that is expected as I upped the bittering hops substantially. Quite a pleasant overall taste though, it will definitely improve with some ageing I feel. Quite cloudy in the glass, again that will improve with age. Has some aroma, but not overpowering. In a week or 2, I reckon it will be a great beer.

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just my thoughts    it should have that haze  as the Australian ipa done by coopers was also cloudy,  so no real need to see a clear  beer on this one.. it will clear up as it gets old to a degree.

and really looks good ,  i just missed out purchasing that brew when it came up..

i like the colour of yours

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On 7/31/2021 at 10:02 PM, kmar92 said:

1st taste of the Australian IPA today. It has only been in the keg for 2 days so it is still a little green, and could probably still do with a little more carbonation.

It has a bitter tinge, that is expected as I upped the bittering hops substantially. Quite a pleasant overall taste though, it will definitely improve with some ageing I feel. Quite cloudy in the glass, again that will improve with age. Has some aroma, but not overpowering. In a week or 2, I reckon it will be a great beer.

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I have posted this before but this is my AUS IPA & it's bloody beautiful.

Classic Pale Ale.jpg

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The Amber Ale now underway... w Lally London Ale Yeast... is a cracker and got to work swiftly at 18 - just running the heating plate to keep it at 18 no need for cooling power at the moment ; )

Opened the door a few times to bring it back down a bit cooler when it was cranking and making its own heat 🙂

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My experience so far w direct pitch of Lally dry yeast has been good - Munich Classic Wheat - Verdant - and now London... all have gone well and would recommend ; )

image.thumb.png.359b79a37f5a4b88c2db7f25b3b728ac.png

 

Edited by Graubart
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1 hour ago, Graubart said:

The Amber Ale now underway... w Lally London Ale Yeast... is a cracker and got to work swiftly at 18 - just running the heating plate to keep it at 18 no need for cooling power at the moment ; )

Opened the door a few times to bring it back down a bit cooler when it was cranking and making its own heat 🙂

 

Fair bit of action in there Graubster, I have never tried any of LalBrew yeasts, certainly  looks like a fast starter.

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On 7/23/2021 at 1:08 PM, Barramullafella said:

Bottled the OS Draught w/wheat extract & US-05 yesterday. Est 4.4% abv for 32 bottles. One thing I noticed with this yeast is it never packed down on bottom of FV and had a carpet of yeast floating on top of wort. A very messy sort of yeast compared to the Coopers ale kit yeast. But, just hoping it taste good in a few weeks test sample 🙂  

 

OS Whedrale.jpg

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31 minutes ago, Barramullafella said:
On 7/23/2021 at 1:08 PM, Barramullafella said:

Bottled the OS Draught w/wheat extract & US-05 yesterday. Est 4.4% abv for 32 bottles. One thing I noticed with this yeast is it never packed down on bottom of FV and had a carpet of yeast floating on top of wort. A very messy sort of yeast compared to the Coopers ale kit yeast. But, just hoping it taste good in a few weeks test sample 🙂  

 

OS Whedrale.jpg

G'day BMF @Barramullafella, I've used this yeast heaps in my Pale Ales (although I'm listening to the Green Blob's @Green Blobadvice lately and going to try other options) but I can't recall it not sitting on the bottom of the FV nice and tight. I use finings and CC just so you know. 

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1 hour ago, Barramullafella said:

Bottled the OS Draught w/wheat extract & US-05 yesterday. Est 4.4% abv for 32 bottles. One thing I noticed with this yeast is it never packed down on bottom of FV and had a carpet of yeast floating on top of wort. A very messy sort of yeast compared to the Coopers ale kit yeast. But, just hoping it taste good in a few weeks test sample 🙂  

@Barramullafella  I have used this quite a bit & I find it leaves a nice compact/firm deposit at the bottom, possibly due to some of the different fermentables used ?

Unlike @Mickep  I don't use finings & don't bother to CC.  The other finding was it is very to wash out, a lot easier than some others I have used. 

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1 hour ago, Mickep said:

G'day BMF @Barramullafella, I've used this yeast heaps in my Pale Ales (although I'm listening to the Green Blob's @Green Blobadvice lately and going to try other options) but I can't recall it not sitting on the bottom of the FV nice and tight. I use finings and CC just so you know. 

Hi Mickep the yeast was on the bottom but not packed as solid as other, the top had a floating yeast which would break up a little and small bits sink to the bottom. But, all good just fingers crossed for a nice beer.

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15 minutes ago, CLASSIC said:

@Barramullafella  I have used this quite a bit & I find it leaves a nice compact/firm deposit at the bottom, possibly due to some of the different fermentables used ?

Unlike @Mickep  I don't use finings & don't bother to CC.  The other finding was it is very to wash out, a lot easier than some others I have used. 

Yep, it was easy to wash out and not caked hard at the top of the krausen layer like other yeast. Maybe the wheat extract kept it on the top. There was a good layer as usual on the bottom but did not appear firm when I washed the FVF out after bottles filled. Beer smelled good so I am not overly concerned but will put US-05 on the bottom of the list unless a great beer is yet to be drunk lol.

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On 7/26/2021 at 8:20 AM, Shamus O'Sean said:

Belgian Ale

Day 2 of the ferment.  Added a bucket under the flask because I suspect overflows.

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@MUZZY and others if you want a bargain keg, you cannot go past these:  Keg King in Melbourne has seconds of their 20 L Fermenter King Juniors reduced to $25 each.  It costs more to buy the posts, dip tubes and floating dip tube; and with these they are all stainless steel.  Supposedly they have some surface imperfections, but I could not find any.  For those outside Melbourne, you might have to call them to see if they have any left and will ship them.  If you want a bargain get on in.  Waaaayyyyy cheaper than the PET kegs that Kegland are promising.

Although they are intended as a pressure fermenter, they serve equally well as kegs.  35psi is the recommended maximum pressure for these, so overnight fast carbonating might take longer at lower pressure, or just carbonate at 12psi for a week and you'll be good to go.

Grabbed one of these, arrived today. Planning to use as a third keg, got a brew ready early next week so we'll see how it goes. Have you had any issues with yours? 

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2 hours ago, Hilltop hops said:

Grabbed one of these, arrived today. Planning to use as a third keg, got a brew ready early next week so we'll see how it goes. Have you had any issues with yours? 

Good stuff HH.

I did have the poppet in the liquid post of one jam slightly open after removing a liquid disconnect the other day.  I only know a few swear words, but that night the family got a lesson in how many ways they can be combined to make sentences.  Luckily, I had only pressurised the FKJ to less than 5 psi, just enough to extract a sample through a picnic tap.  Maybe if it had serving pressure in it, the poppet would have closed off under the pressure.  It would not be good for this to happen with 15-20 psi in it.

The floating dip tube on one of them had also got itself in a position where the tube end was above the wort level.  So it was just sucking air.  This might be because I had these bad boys filled to 18 litres, which is just above where the vertical sides start to curve over.  The floating ball being near the curved edge of the FV might have got a bit tangled with the tube end.  

The one thing that I am not really pleased about with these and the Sub Nose pressure FV, and maybe others in the range, is how the stainless steel posts have to screw onto the plastic threads moulded on the caps.  It seems like it would be so easy to cross-thread these.  You would not want to be removing them for cleaning after every use.  I certainly do not plan to.

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13 hours ago, Hilltop hops said:

Grabbed one of these, arrived today. Planning to use as a third keg, got a brew ready early next week so we'll see how it goes. Have you had any issues with yours? 

Hey HT Hops @Hilltop hops,

were you able to get a reduced price one as per SOS @Shamus O'Sean had indicated was available a few weeks back (for about $25.00) . When I visited the site they didn't appear to have any in stock.

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1 hour ago, Mickep said:

Hey HT Hops @Hilltop hops,

were you able to get a reduced price one as per SOS @Shamus O'Sean had indicated was available a few weeks back (for about $25.00) . When I visited the site they didn't appear to have any in stock.

I don't think they have them on the website.  Might have to call or visit. Probably only click and collect at the moment. 

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My yank ipa has reached its FG or near enough and received it’s 200g dry hop today. Tasting the sample as is you can taste the bare bones of the recipe. Light grape fruit from the late cascade addition which weaves its way through the maris otter and English ale yeast. The yeast it’s self gives off a few estery notes which seems to prop up the mid boil addition of willamette which adds a slight floral spice. 50g each of Columbus, simcoe, centennial and citra went in today and should dank it up to give it that American ipa nose we all know and love. 
 

 

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Black Tahoma - just bottled this one.  It was a return to a 'kits n bits' brew day,  a simple beer based on the Dark Ale can with a good dose of Tahoma hops that were on sale.  I thought the hops were 'dead' actually... a sniff of the pellets revealed no aroma whatsoever which might explain why they were cheap!  However, it seems there's plenty of hop flavour in the beer so perhaps they're not as lifeless as I initially thought.   Anyway...  I'll find out for sure in a few weeks.   🤓

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6 hours ago, MitchBastard said:

My yank ipa has reached its FG or near enough and received it’s 200g dry hop today. Tasting the sample as is you can taste the bare bones of the recipe. Light grape fruit from the late cascade addition which weaves its way through the maris otter and English ale yeast. The yeast it’s self gives off a few estery notes which seems to prop up the mid boil addition of willamette which adds a slight floral spice. 50g each of Columbus, simcoe, centennial and citra went in today and should dank it up to give it that American ipa nose we all know and love. 

Hey @MitchBastard that looks amazing, lovely & clear & also the start of another great brew, are you entering this in any Comps, if so, all the best. Cheers.

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