What's in Your Fermenter 2022?

[Shamus O'Sean]

I knocked up a quick kit n kilo n bits.

150 Lashes Pale Ale

• 1.7kg Thomas Coopers Golden Crown Lager
• 1.5kg Coopers Wheat Malt Extract
• 200g Light Crystal Malt (20 minute hot steep 65°C)
• 100g Light Dry Malt
• 5g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 8 minute boil
• 5g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 4 minute boil
• 15g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 20 minute hot steep 75°C
• 1 pkt Coopers Australian Pale Ale yeast & 1 pkt Coopers Mexican Cerveza yeast

Well, the hop schedule above was what the recipe was supposed to be.  I must have been a bit confused because I proceeded to boil the hops sequentially.  So firstly, I boiled the first lot of hops for 8 minutes.  Then I started to boil the second lot of hops for its 4 minutes, leaving the first lot in the boil.  About 1 minute into the 4 minute boil, I realised my error.  Luckily, I had the 8 and 4 minute hops in a SS hop ball.  I shortened the 4 minute boil to 2 minutes.  Then started the hop steep, but shortened it to 15 minutes.  With 4 minutes to go, I removed the SS hop ball containing the boil hops so they would stop imparting bitterness.

My OG was higher than expected: 1.050 instead of 1.044.  I realised just now why:  I added 200g of LDM instead of 100g.  The batch was supposed to be 23 litre, but because of the higher OG, I topped up the FV to 25.5 for an OG of 1.045.

Despite the little errors, it was a good brew mixing day and I am looking forward to this brew.

[Classic Brewing Co]

32 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I knocked up a quick kit n kilo n bits.

150 Lashes Pale Ale

• 1.7kg Thomas Coopers Golden Crown Lager
• 1.5kg Coopers Wheat Malt Extract
• 200g Light Crystal Malt (20 minute hot steep 65°C)
• 100g Light Dry Malt
• 5g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 8 minute boil
• 5g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 4 minute boil
• 15g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 20 minute hot steep 75°C
• 1 pkt Coopers Australian Pale Ale yeast & 1 pkt Coopers Mexican Cerveza yeast

Well, the hop schedule above was what the recipe was supposed to be.  I must have been a bit confused because I proceeded to boil the hops sequentially.  So firstly, I boiled the first lot of hops for 8 minutes.  Then I started to boil the second lot of hops for its 4 minutes, leaving the first lot in the boil.  About 1 minute into the 4 minute boil, I realised my error.  Luckily, I had the 8 and 4 minute hops in a SS hop ball.  I shortened the 4 minute boil to 2 minutes.  Then started the hop steep, but shortened it to 15 minutes.  With 4 minutes to go, I removed the SS hop ball containing the boil hops so they would stop imparting bitterness.

My OG was higher than expected: 1.050 instead of 1.044.  I realised just now why:  I added 200g of LDM instead of 100g.  The batch was supposed to be 23 litre, but because of the higher OG, I topped up the FV to 25.5 for an OG of 1.045.

Despite the little errors, it was a good brew mixing day and I am looking forward to this brew.

That sounds like a decent brew Shamus, I guess the 2 x pkts of yeast are used compensate the extra fermentables.

[DavidM]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I knocked up a quick kit n kilo n bits.

150 Lashes Pale Ale

• 1.7kg Thomas Coopers Golden Crown Lager
• 1.5kg Coopers Wheat Malt Extract
• 200g Light Crystal Malt (20 minute hot steep 65°C)
• 100g Light Dry Malt
• 5g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 8 minute boil
• 5g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 4 minute boil
• 15g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 20 minute hot steep 75°C
• 1 pkt Coopers Australian Pale Ale yeast & 1 pkt Coopers Mexican Cerveza yeast

I like 150 Lashes, to drink, when coopers is not available.

I will give this one a go.

Thanks for the detail with the hop schedule.

[Tone boy]

20 hours ago, Pezzza said:

The RYE IF I WANT TO

It’s your party Pez

[iBooz2]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I knocked up a quick kit n kilo n bits.

150 Lashes Pale Ale

Earlier today I tweaked my AG version of the 150 lashes recipe.  Found out I did not have one hop so subbed in Styrian Golding instead of Williamette.  Dry hopped the OzDevil USPA today and will keg it on Monday (no cold crash this time as ferment fridges are full).

Going to drop my AG 150 lashes batch on top of the US-05 trub from the OzDevil batch after it is kegged.

I don"t mind the 150,  so will see how close I can get after a couple of versions.

Edited September 23, 2022 by iBooz2

[Pezzza]

Some good news and some bad(well maybe very good) news...  The Märzen is in SS FV w Dubbya Trubbya and has 6 hours later starting popping a few bubbles at 17 deg... think I will just do 17 deg straight... with a slow-cool-down-cleanup before cold crashing... seems to work pretty well... and yeah yet another Amber Brew coming through ; )

Frame of Reference for warmish Dubbya Lager Ferment Temp see link (Brülosopher's was 19degC)

https://brulosophy.com/2016/02/08/fermentation-temperature-pt-4-lager-yeast-saflager-3470-exbeeriment-results/comment-page-1/

The bad (maybe very good) news was that the Coopers FV Tap Broke... but very very fortunately - just as the last hot SSan Rinse was being executed.... as I flicked the tap forward to drain the sterilising solution... so very very happy that it did not desire to pack it in with a festival of fermented brew waiting to be kegged!!!  Funny seen others having tap issues - my first one - so dunno - maybe should change them out every so often?  Probably 4 years old or so... any thoughts you Coopers FV users or @Coopers DIY Beer Team Frank and Team?

Edited September 23, 2022 by Pezzza

[iBooz2]

On 9/21/2022 at 7:22 AM, Shamus O'Sean said:

The temperature could be a big factor.  With mine, the main ferment was done in under 2.5 days.  Went from 1.042 to 1.006.

However, I reckon I pitched about as much yeast as you.  I put 1 packet in a 2 litre starter.  It should have produced about 483 billion yeast cells, so roughly 2.5 packets worth of yeast for a 30 litre batch of 1.042 OG wort.  The next three batches were done dirty, straight onto the previous yeast cake. Actually, I tell a bit of a fib there:  The third of four included a commando dry hop.  So I actually decanted the yeast from that batch, gave it a wash, and put the good yeast back in the FV.

Next time I try this yeast, I might ferment a bit cooler:  Around 18°C like you do.

Yes give DL a go at 18 C and also big apologies to you SOS,  I should have known you were using starters and crunch the yeast numbers as much as I do.  I just saw one packet of yeast and saw that as an issue.  Now that I have two Erlenmeyer flasks and a stir plate my yeast costs have dropped dramatically.  Might have to look at a third flask as I nearly always have jut a tad too much wort for my cubes.

[iBooz2]

12 minutes ago, Pezzza said:

as I flicked the tap forward to drain the sterilising solution...

Sorry to hear of the first tap failure there in mountain brewery or whatever your handle is today ha ha.  You gonna change your logo?

Never "flick" your taps as that F**** them.  Always use them as a lever, hands on/ fingers on all the time.

I have seen some people use the tap as a carrying handle when full of wort or beer.  

Edited September 23, 2022 by iBooz2

[Classic Brewing Co]

20 minutes ago, Pezzza said:

the Coopers FV Tap Broke...

I have only ever had 1 tap issue - it popped out of the full FV when I was about to bottle a Czech Pilsner some years ago.

I lost the lot of lovely brew all over the floor I was not amused  After closer inspection & testing it with just water (on the sink) I realised that it was very loose & mentioned it to Coopers & it was replaced the next day.

I have replaced a few taps over the years even in the Ambi fermenters as they tend to become cattled after a few years of heavy use.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Classic Brewing Co

[kmar92]

1 hour ago, Pezzza said:

Some good news and some bad(well maybe very good) news...  The Märzen is in SS FV w Dubbya Trubbya and has 6 hours later starting popping a few bubbles at 17 deg... think I will just do 17 deg straight... with a slow-cool-down-cleanup before cold crashing... seems to work pretty well... and yeah yet another Amber Brew coming through ; )

Frame of Reference for warmish Dubbya Lager Ferment Temp see link (Brülosopher's was 19degC)

https://brulosophy.com/2016/02/08/fermentation-temperature-pt-4-lager-yeast-saflager-3470-exbeeriment-results/comment-page-1/

The bad (maybe very good) news was that the Coopers FV Tap Broke... but very very fortunately - just as the last hot SSan Rinse was being executed.... as I flicked the tap forward to drain the sterilising solution... so very very happy that it did not desire to pack it in with a festival of fermented brew waiting to be kegged!!!  Funny seen others having tap issues - my first one - so dunno - maybe should change them out every so often?  Probably 4 years old or so... any thoughts you Coopers FV users or @Coopers DIY Beer Team Frank and Team?

I change out my Coopers FV taps fairly regularly. They are fairly inexpensive and are also supplied with free shipping. Regularly changing them gives me some piece of mind from my recurrent nightmares of a failure of a tap with a full FV in the ferment fridge!!!

[Pezzza]

17 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

I change out my Coopers FV taps fairly regularly. They are fairly inexpensive and are also supplied with free shipping. Regularly changing them gives me some piece of mind from my recurrent nightmares of a failure of a tap with a full FV in the ferment fridge!!!

Cheers n thanks to all above and thanks @kmar92 KMar I think I shall do the same...  Tx

[Shamus O'Sean]

4 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

That sounds like a decent brew Shamus, I guess the 2 x pkts of yeast are used compensate the extra fermentables.

Coupla things here, Phil

• Brewfather said to use 2 packets for this brew.  One 11g packet of Safale or Lallemand might have been enough, but the 7g Coopers yeast packets are a bit light on.
• The Mexican Cerveza yeast was from a kit that was best before June this year.  It smelled fine, but on its own might have struggled.  But I had it, so I used it.

Plenty of folks do fine with one of the Coopers yeasts.  Goodness knows that's all I used for the first few months of brewing.

Normally I would do this brew with US-05.  I have a US-05 yeast I harvested a little while ago.  However, I only decided to make this brew yesterday, so I did not have time to make a starter from the US-05.

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Coupla things here, Phil

• Brewfather said to use 2 packets for this brew.  One 11g packet of Safale or Lallemand might have been enough, but the 7g Coopers yeast packets are a bit light on.
• The Mexican Cerveza yeast was from a kit that was best before June this year.  It smelled fine, but on its own might have struggled.  But I had it, so I used it.

Plenty of folks do fine with one of the Coopers yeasts.  Goodness knows that's all I used for the first few months of brewing.

Normally I would do this brew with US-05.  I have a US-05 yeast I harvested a little while ago.  However, I only decided to make this brew yesterday, so I did not have time to make a starter from the US-05.

Makes perfect sense. I have always thought 7gms is not enough, I notice a hell of a difference when I use the 11.5gm pkts.

[Pale Man]

All grain done before Grand Final half time. German Pilsner.

100% Weyerman Light Pilsner Malt.

Saaz hops bittering and flavour.

Lallamend Diamond Lager x 2 packets.

Should be around 5.6%

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

34 minutes ago, Pale Man said:

All grain done before Grand Final half time. German Pilsner.

100% Weyerman Light Pilsner Malt.

Saaz hops bittering and flavour.

Lallamend Diamond Lager x 2 packets.

Should be around 5.6%

 

Looks good Marther err... @Pale Man I thought you were that new bloke  I must check out these Pressure Fermenters one day, what I don't understand is - do they need to be connected to CO2 or is there something I am missing here.

[Pale Man]

1 minute ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Looks good Marther err... @Pale Man I thought you were that new bloke  I must check out these Pressure Fermenters one day, what I don't understand is - do they need to be connected to CO2 or is there something I am missing here.

No, no connection to C02 needed Phillip during fermentation. The beer and yeast does the job for you.

Using a spunding valve you can set how much pressure builds up inside the fermenter. A spunding valve is just an airlock on steroids.

I'll use gas from the bottle only for a quick burst before cold crashing to make sure the fermenter doesnt suck in on itself. And also you'll use your gas bottle if you want for fermenter to keg transfer. Some here just use gravity to transfer.

The whole purpose of the pressure fermenter is to completely knock oxygen out of your beers. I'm pretty happy so far. I think prior brews of mine were oxygenated, especially the hoppy ones.

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 minute ago, Pale Man said:

No, no connection to C02 needed Phillip during fermentation. The beer and yeast does the job for you.

Using a spunding valve you can set how much pressure builds up inside the fermenter. A spunding valve is just an airlock on steroids.

I'll use gas from the bottle only for a quick burst before cold crashing to make sure the fermenter doesnt suck in on itself. And also you'll use your gas bottle if you want for fermenter to keg transfer. Some here just use gravity to transfer.

The whole purpose of the pressure fermenter is to completely knock oxygen out of your beers. I'm pretty happy so far. I think prior brews of mine were oxygenated, especially the hoppy ones.

OK thanks, I have never really looked into them as I have 8 FV's anyway & there is the 'do I really need it' factor to consider. 

 

[Graculus]

Well this one is for the summer.

Coopers Lager ($10 in Woolies the other week. Reduced to clear)

500 grams Dextrose

250 grams Maltodextrin

Reused Lallemand Diamond Lager yeast (from a FWK Kissaki Lager)

And......... 4.5 litres of Grapefruit Juice.

In the fridge @ 15C.

I made something similar a couple of years ago. But used Cerveza instead.

Also I added some Grapefruits and zest to it.

Came out as cloudy as, but tasted fantastic. A few months later I found one in the beer cupboard.

Perfectly clear, but didn't taste that good at all.

[DavidM]

2 hours ago, Pale Man said:

All grain done before Grand Final half time. German Pilsner.

100% Weyerman Light Pilsner Malt.

Saaz hops bittering and flavour.

Lallamend Diamond Lager x 2 packets.

Should be around 5.6%

 

Welcome back "Pale Man"

[Classic Brewing Co]

Just now, DavidM said:

Welcome back "Pale Man"

I think he had a senior moment or maybe another beer moment 

[Brauhaus Fritz]

My first brew in a while, love tis kit. Done it twice before. Needs a while to bottle prime. First time I made it I nearly tipped it out after two weeks, as it tasted like flat lolly water. Luckily I kept it. The forecast is for perfect weather so probably don’t need temperature control. Missed Australia’s goal against the Kiwis, bammer

Edited September 25, 2022 by Brauhaus Fritz

[Tricky Micky]

What's in my fermenter is a double batch. One of those is the KL fresh 3 cube lager base FWK fermented with American West Coast Ale yeast. The KL recipe calls for NO hop addition during fermentation. The beer is okay - very drinkable. But - probably needs a bit of a lift. I was thinking a late dry hop addition and was wondering what I should use in combo with the base kit and the yeast.

It definitely tastes like a Pub tap beer - but I believe it would be enhanced with a dry hop addition - Thinking Carlton draughtish sorta thing...does anyone have any suggestions? TIA

[iBooz2]

On 9/24/2022 at 5:02 PM, Pale Man said:

No, no connection to C02 needed Phillip during fermentation. The beer and yeast does the job for you.

Using a spunding valve you can set how much pressure builds up inside the fermenter. A spunding valve is just an airlock on steroids.

I'll use gas from the bottle only for a quick burst before cold crashing to make sure the fermenter doesnt suck in on itself. And also you'll use your gas bottle if you want for fermenter to keg transfer. Some here just use gravity to transfer.

The whole purpose of the pressure fermenter is to completely knock oxygen out of your beers. I'm pretty happy so far. I think prior brews of mine were oxygenated, especially the hoppy ones.

IMO @Pale Man with a lager brew you need to pump in 10 psi of pressure just after you pitch your yeast to start off with to prevent ale like flavours developing particularly if you are fermenting at a higher temp than a lager yeast under ambient likes.  Say it likes 11 C and you ferment under pressure at 18 C then you need to get that 10 psi in there ASAP and then let it build up to 15 psi or so and hold it there using your spunding valve.

It's different with ales, no pressure to start with (to get those ale flavours) and then allow the fermentation to build it up over a couple of days or so then flat line it at your chosen psi with your spunding valve.

Edited September 25, 2022 by iBooz2

[iBooz2]

19 minutes ago, Mickep said:

.does anyone have any suggestions? TIA

Yep, give it to my younger brother who is a eyes shut welded on Carlton Draught drinker or tip it.    Just kidding.

Sounds like a good experiment to do with a keg injection of PoR first steeped in a coffee plunger.  Unsure of amounts.

[Pale Man]

45 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

IMO @Pale Man with a lager brew you need to pump in 10 psi of pressure just after you pitch your yeast to start off with to prevent ale like flavours developing particularly if you are fermenting at a higher temp than a lager yeast under ambient likes.  Say it likes 11 C and you ferment under pressure at 18 C then you need to get that 10 psi in there ASAP and then let it build up to 15 psi or so and hold it there using your spunding valve.

It's different with ales, no pressure to start with (to get those ale flavours) and then allow the fermentation to build it up over a couple of days or so then flat line it at your chosen psi with your spunding valve.

Thanks for that bit of info fella I didn't realise this.