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What's in Your Fermenter 2022?


Shamus O'Sean

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9 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

All I know is he grows his own Hops & they smell divine even through the cryovac packaging. I will put them to good use in a couple of future brews.

Great stuff @Classic Brewing Co Phil - yeah I would utilise them sooner rather than later in maybe a hot steep at the end of the boil or late hop - but don't leave them too long as they sound magnificent ; )

Here's a link to a bit of inf on the post-flameout addition of hops for capturing aromas... might be worth a read for when you are cranking up your AGs and maybe in a nice Pale you can do a steep at FO with those beautiful Gully Flowers:

https://beerandbrewing.com/the-best-way-to-use-whirlpool-hops-in-homebrew/

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4 minutes ago, Itinerant Peasant said:

Great stuff @Classic Brewing Co Phil - yeah I would utilise them sooner rather than later in maybe a hot steep at the end of the boil or late hop - but don't leave them too long as they sound magnificent ; )

Here's a link to a bit of inf on the post-flameout addition of hops for capturing aromas... might be worth a read for when you are cranking up your AGs and maybe in a nice Pale you can do a steep at FO with those beautiful Gully Flowers:

https://beerandbrewing.com/the-best-way-to-use-whirlpool-hops-in-homebrew/

Excellent IP, Cheers for that, make a lot of sense, I will get my first AG APA going first & have a crack at that, it's great to have that info.

 

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I am wondering how many of you guys use a hot cube ? After receiving a bit more info on it I have learnt it is a handy alternative to chilling especially if you have done a double batch or in my case trying to cram as much info into my head before I fire up the BrewZilla. It appeals to me inasmuch as if I can skip one step in the process until I get acquainted with my new toy it may be the way to go.

KL sell the BPA free 20l hot cubes for a mere $10, I can see myself ordering a couple of them to get started with, I am told you can keep the wort for up to a month.

Any thoughts, Cheers Phil.

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29 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

KL sell the BPA free 20l hot cubes for a mere $10, I can see myself ordering a couple of them to get started with, I am told you can keep the wort for up to a month.

Hey there @Classic Brewing Co Phil, mate I am not a lover of plastic - Stainless and Pyrex and Glass is good...

Tho I do have two lovely Coopers FVs...  but I sorta don't like the idea of adding really hot liquid into plastic.... but given that... they should be food grade... and there are lots of Brewers who use them and I suspect FWKs are probably sold in them... so I guess why not.  Am pretty sure that @Otto Von Blotto Kelsey used to have one in the past and I have a vague memory of one sitting in the bottom of the swimming pool cooling down - is that right Kelsey? ; )

Anyway - I may need to utilise this sort of technology one day myself...  so probs not a bad idea to give it a go.

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15 minutes ago, Itinerant Peasant said:

Hey there @Classic Brewing Co Phil, mate I am not a lover of plastic - Stainless and Pyrex and Glass is good...

Tho I do have two lovely Coopers FVs...  but I sorta don't like the idea of adding really hot liquid into plastic.... but given that... they should be food grade... and there are lots of Brewers who use them and I suspect FWKs are probably sold in them... so I guess why not.  Am pretty sure that @Otto Von Blotto Kelsey used to have one in the past and I have a vague memory of one sitting in the bottom of the swimming pool cooling down - is that right Kelsey? ; )

Anyway - I may need to utilise this sort of technology one day myself...  so probs not a bad idea to give it a go.

According to KL website they are completely safe if they have been sanitised along with all hoses etc & should be placed on there side to sanitise the lid area, they actually say on another website it is best to let them cool naturally, not to cool them down to avoid infection but I am not here to say that can't be done as I simply don't know, just going on what is on offer on the web.

Anyway I think I am going to give it a try as you would think that KL would know.

Cheers

Edited by Classic Brewing Co
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1 hour ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

They're rated to something like 120 degrees. Yes I still use cubes, I haven't done the swimming pool thing for a while but when I do I wait about 10-15 minutes after filling the cube before I chuck it in the pool. Just gives it that time to avoid possible infection. 

They look pretty sturdy & only 10 bucks so I will give them a go, I haven't got a pool but I am next door to Holdfast Bay in Gulf St Vincent so plenty of water 😀 but I will let them cool naturally.

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7 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

They look pretty sturdy & only 10 bucks so I will give them a go, I haven't got a pool but I am next door to Holdfast Bay in Gulf St Vincent so plenty of water 😀 but I will let them cool naturally.

They are. I usually replace them after a couple of years or so because they tend to gradually expand over the repeated filling with hot wort, and become more difficult to properly fill outside of making bigger batches. But otherwise no dramas at all. 

Also the wort can be kept for quite a while, normally I don't keep it long because a fermenter becomes free but it can last for months up to a couple of years I've read.

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2 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

They are. I usually replace them after a couple of years or so because they tend to gradually expand over the repeated filling with hot wort, and become more difficult to properly fill outside of making bigger batches. But otherwise no dramas at all. 

Also the wort can be kept for quite a while, normally I don't keep it long because a fermenter becomes free but it can last for months up to a couple of years I've read.

OK Cheers for the heads up, I suppose you use the 'expired' ones around the garden et. Cheers Otto.

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1 hour ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

OK Cheers for the heads up, I suppose you use the 'expired' ones around the garden et. Cheers Otto.

A couple of them I've used to store my distilled water but otherwise they generally go to recycling. There's not a lot of use for them outside of that, well not for me anyway.

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Currently chilling down the first iteration of the Vintage Ale. It’s sitting at an ABV of 8.2%  and will probably tick over to 8.7% after bottle priming. Plenty of malty flavours going on but glad the residual sweetness seems to be balanced by an IBU of 55. Plenty of warmth on the finish. Bottling in a few days and looking forward to trying it in 2023 😂

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11 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

A couple of them I've used to store my distilled water but otherwise they generally go to recycling. There's not a lot of use for them outside of that, well not for me anyway.

Ah well early days yet maybe at the end of their wort storing life they might be good to catch the waste water from the Immersion Chiller instead of it going down the drain, just pour it around the garden after, anyway I will see what happens.

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20 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Ah well early days yet maybe at the end of their wort storing life they might be good to catch the waste water from the Immersion Chiller instead of it going down the drain, just pour it around the garden after, anyway I will see what happens.

i reckon that is a sound idea   not only that as it is clean water your pushing through the immersion chiller you could also use it to top up the kitchen sink to wash the beer glass or into the  washing machine on the next clothes washing day etc and as you said  to use around the garden   which all is good  and saves wasting it

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2 hours ago, MitchBastard said:

Currently chilling down the first iteration of the Vintage Ale. It’s sitting at an ABV of 8.2%  and will probably tick over to 8.7% after bottle priming. Plenty of malty flavours going on but glad the residual sweetness seems to be balanced by an IBU of 55. Plenty of warmth on the finish. Bottling in a few days and looking forward to trying it in 2023 😂

Sounds good Mitch, it well well & truly be vintage, will you have any hop flavours stored for that length of time ?

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Yesterday I posted a photo of the bath in the bathroom/laundry, as I won't use the bath I have a platform on it which is a handy space to store equipment & use for fermenting at ambient, the Coopers Dark Ale is sitting nicely at the desired temperature due to the high ceilings & double brick construction. It will be fairly constant in the room so all is good. Cheers.

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Three Days in the Brewery with three FVs all kegged and gassin' made room for the next three that are now underway...

No blob-blob-blobbing from the Aussie Thin just yet but it was only popped into the SS FV a few hours ago... so hopefully will be some bloblobloblob action tomorrow morning ; )

K2 on the yeast cake fired up much faster than it did with K1 (slightly aged dry Lally Kölsch Yeast which took a while to wake up) and is smelling very nice in the 14 deg Fridge... the Pale fired up quickly and yeah hopefully the Lager will join the throng 🙂

image.thumb.png.18ee396fc7800bed00e30bedf77b6f04.png

 

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2 minutes ago, Rod M said:

I have just finished bottling my first Coopers brew. I used the Lager that came with the kit and will update you in a fortnight to tell you how it went .

Welcome@Rod M I hope it goes well for you, keep us posted on your progress with a few pics & perhaps any additions you may have made. As everyone will say the brews keep getting better.

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13 minutes ago, Rod M said:

I have just finished bottling my first Coopers brew.

As the Brewers above - welcome Rod welcome : ) @Rod M

And WELL DONE on your first brew mate!!!

Now am not sure if you are up at Marble Bar or on top of a cold mountain in Tassie or in Antarctica mate - but just keep your bottles at 18 deg or low twenties... so that the yeasty boys can do their work in the bottle for the secondary ferment and make you some bubbles for some nice beer : )

Just been a problem in the past with no bubbles for some brewing lads - where the bottles were a bit cool in the winter on the laundry floor type thing... if it's too chilly the yeasty boys go to sleep.

Probably not an issue as things are still relatively warm most places I suspect.

Cheers and good brewing!

IP

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Just now, Itinerant Peasant said:

Looking Goooood! @Classic Brewing Co

Mate you have been working very hard in getting all the prep done... great stuff! 👍

Yes I probably have waffled on enough about what I am about to embark, sorry if I have bored some of you, it is not so much scary anymore as I have heaps of good wishes, advice so now it is up to me to just do it !!

I don't expect my first AG will be an award winner but in a way the forum is also a judging panel of sorts so I will get on with it & I am happy to be judged. 😬

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8 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

up to me to just do it

It's another big step forward mate in the BBJ (Beautiful Brewing Journey) Woooohooo!!!

Am very much looking forward to reports on the Brew Day, the Ferment, and then some patience for Secondary in the Bottle...

And then the day the big juicy frothy top arrives Yeeeehaaa! 🥳

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