What's in Your Fermenter 2022?

[RDT2]

18 hours ago, Pale Man said:

German Pilsner is 1020 after 5 days under about 12psi. Slow start so to be expected. I'm slowly ramping up the temp. Up to 17c at this stage. I'll get to 20c to remove any hope of diacetyl. And hopefully finish at 1010.

Taste bloody bloody amazing already out of the fermenter. First time using Saaz hops. It's not in the keg yet but I'm holding hopes for a cracking beer with this. Colour,  smell, bitterness is already spot on.

 

It will be good mate I have a Pilsner with Saaz at the moment it is very tasty .

[Pezzza]

3 hours ago, Pale Man said:

Yes Weyerman Pilsner fella.

Beautiful mate @Pale Man Paleo yeah I reckon it is one of the best... lovely stuff 

[Red devil 44]

AG Hoegaarden Double batch, this time under pressure ferment, going along nicely at 10PSI, set blow off to 15PSI. 

‘I have a smaller more compact spunding valve but it has decided to sh&t itself, think the diaphragm is damaged, so back to the old bulky version, anyway still does the same job.

[Classic Brewing Co]

2 hours ago, Red devil 44 said:

AG Hoegaarden Double batch, this time under pressure ferment, going along nicely at 10PSI, set blow off to 15PSI. 

‘I have a smaller more compact spunding valve but it has decided to sh&t itself, think the diaphragm is damaged, so back to the old bulky version, anyway still does the same job.

 

Wow RD you got some action going there!! Looks impressive.

[Shamus O'Sean]

1 hour ago, Red devil 44 said:

AG Hoegaarden Double batch, this time under pressure ferment, going along nicely at 10PSI, set blow off to 15PSI. 

‘I have a smaller more compact spunding valve but it has decided to sh&t itself, think the diaphragm is damaged, so back to the old bulky version, anyway still does the same job.

Nice work Reddler.  I am SO envious of the 60 litre fermenter and its companion fermenting fridge.

Lallemand Munich Yeast?  I hope it stays inside the FV.

How have you set up the gravity defying gauge?

You probably know, but those blow off's can be dismantled and easily cleaned.  That might be all it needs.  If gunk has got into the gauge, the good news is they are replaceable too.  

I think they do need a clean every now and then.  Even if you do not have a yeast overflow.  The CO2 coming off my pressure FV's does not seem to be perfectly clean.  Some of the condensate must get into the tube.  My jug of sanitiser gets a slight ring around the top where the bubbles rise to.  Not sure what it is, but it has a Vaseline like consistency.  I am sure it would not be good for the gauge or the valve.

[Red devil 44]

16 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Nice work Reddler.  I am SO envious of the 60 litre fermenter and its companion fermenting fridge.

Lallemand Munich Yeast?  I hope it stays inside the FV.

How have you set up the gravity defying gauge?

You probably know, but those blow off's can be dismantled and easily cleaned.  That might be all it needs.  If gunk has got into the gauge, the good news is they are replaceable too.  

I think they do need a clean every now and then.  Even if you do not have a yeast overflow.  The CO2 coming off my pressure FV's does not seem to be perfectly clean.  Some of the condensate must get into the tube.  My jug of sanitiser gets a slight ring around the top where the bubbles rise to.  Not sure what it is, but it has a Vaseline like consistency.  I am sure it would not be good for the gauge or the valve.

Hi @Shamus O'Sean, I used 2 x 11g Packs of Belgian Wit Yeast, certainly got some action going on.

‘I have pulled the blow off apart and cleaning it all out now, so see what happens. 
‘It fired up pretty quickly and am keeping an eye on the level inside the fermenter. 
‘Can’t say I’ve heard of a gravity defying gauge mate ? 

[Red devil 44]

22 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Wow RD you got some action going there!! Looks impressive.

Yeah she’s fired up pretty rapidly @Classic Brewing Co

[Shamus O'Sean]

23 minutes ago, Red devil 44 said:

Can’t say I’ve heard of a gravity defying gauge mate

The gauge seems stuck to the inside roof of the fridge.  How did you do that?  Some velcro?  Hooked something into the vents in the fridge roof?

[Red devil 44]

Just now, Shamus O'Sean said:

The gauge seems stuck to the inside roof of the fridge.  How did you do that?  Some velcro?  Hooked something into the vents in the fridge roof?

Ahh ok got you , @Shamus O'Sean, just a cable tie through the vents mate, seems to sit there nice and snug making it easier to read. 

[Pezzza]

3 hours ago, Red devil 44 said:

AG Hoegaarden Double batch, this time under pressure ferment

What temp you got him going at @Red devil 44 Reddler with your 10-15 PSI if I may ask?

Looks the proper goods mate - nice work! mate 

[Red devil 44]

6 minutes ago, Pezzza said:

What temp you got him going at @Red devil 44 Reddler with your 10-15 PSI if I may ask?

Looks the proper goods mate - nice work! mate 

@Pezzza, cheers mate, profile is 

20 degrees - 5 days

22 degrees - 3 days

24 degrees - 2 days

15 degrees - 1 day

then drop down and Cold Crash  

[Pezzza]

What's in my Fermenter?  

Far Call ...  

But - it is very good to see that BrewDog is keeping a very close eye on it - in case there might be something else in there that I haven't quite spotted yet!?! 

And well... there is something left in my Fermenter... it's called work : (

Not harvesting or backfilling - am just going to give the FV a tub and a perc soak this time.

Good Brewing All and aveagoodweegend 

 

[Tricky Micky]

16 hours ago, Pezzza said:

Far Call ... 

You my friend are a very funny man - That is all!

[Aussiekraut]

Some people complain about M54 being a slow starter. I pitched this dry, less than 24 hours ago and it’s got some nice krausen going. Sitting on 18C.

 

 

Of course Verdant is a pretty fast starter. the latter has been pitched dry about 18hrs ago but sits on 20C.
 

 

[iBooz2]

Coopers FV #2 has a COPA version 3.0 just BD+1 at 18 C.  Coopers FV #1 has a COPA version 2.1 BD+5 at ambient temp and has hit FG which is 1.006 and its waiting on being kegged.  No cold crash for this one as no room in fridges.

The Fermzilla 27L FV has my 150 lashes clone BD+5 and has hit FG at 1.008 and is waiting on being kegged.

The 58 L Kegmenter has 44 L of LL which is at BD+4 and is under 15 psi pressure and I just had temp bumped up to 22 C (still at 15 psi).   I used this ferment to sanitise and CO2 purge 4 x 19 L kegs in readiness of upcoming kegging days. 

BTW @Shamus O'Sean I made particular effort to try and sniff out any sulfur-ish smells from the DL yeast when at full bore fermentation and with the blow off tube virtually stuck up my nostril - nothing!    So try your next lot at 18 C and 15 psi to see if that stops your lager FV smells.

Edited October 5, 2022 by iBooz2

[iBooz2]

On 9/28/2022 at 6:35 AM, Pale Man said:

Just thinking about this again @iBooz2 is there no reason why you can't ferment at traditional lager temperatures, 12 - 15c and not rush the pressure. And ferment at around 10psi. Surely you're still getting a clean lager. I would have thought higher temps and pressure for lagers is only to rush it, no other benefits.

Yes, sorry @Pale Man my comment was based on my assumption you were fermenting hotter than normal lager temps and under pressure.  I must have missed that bit.  All good.

[iBooz2]

On 9/26/2022 at 7:47 PM, kmar92 said:

Have you pressure tested the Fermzilla? They are notorious for failing to hold pressure and maybe that is why you are not seeing any pressure on the gauge on your spunding valve. If you haven't already, try screwing all the bits together on your Fermzilla and add say 15psi to it with the spunding valve screwed all the way in and see if the pressure drops on the gauge over time.

No problems at all with my Fermzilla since I replaced the "O" rings, got rid of the plastic coke caps and replaced them with SS carbonation caps (these also had the factory fitted rubber seal tossed out and replaced with silicon seals from camlocks spares)  I posted somewhere about this.  Things only tightened up "double bear grip" hand tight and not a problem holding pressure.

[iBooz2]

On 9/29/2022 at 10:21 PM, Pale Man said:

German Pilsner.  First time using Saaz hops. It's not in the keg yet but I'm holding hopes for a cracking beer with this. Colour,  smell, bitterness is already spot on.

Get yourself some Aussie bred "Summer" hops @Pale Man  I use them all the time now in my Pilsner's instead of Saaz.  My Summer Pilsner is now one of my regular house beers.  Swap out the Saaz with Summer to get the same IBU and give them a go.  You will like the result.

[RDT2]

3 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

 

BTW @Shamus O'Sean I made particular effort to try and sniff out any sulfur-ish smells from the DL yeast when at full bore fermentation and with the blow off tube virtually stuck up my nostril - nothing!    So try your next lot at 18 C and 15 psi to see if that stops your lager FV smells.

Interesting I have used DL yeast about 4 times and it has been awesome but that was temperature controlled at 12 degrees(not under pressure). I made a beer for my mate fermented in ambient temps thinking it was going to be cool enough but it had a sulphur smell. It was drinkable but just not as it should be! 
Lesson learnt!

[Shamus O'Sean]

12 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

BTW @Shamus O'Sean I made particular effort to try and sniff out any sulfur-ish smells from the DL yeast when at full bore fermentation and with the blow off tube virtually stuck up my nostril - nothing!    So try your next lot at 18 C and 15 psi to see if that stops your lager FV smells.

I definitely will give 18°C a try next time I use the Diamond Lager yeast.  I agree with @RDT2, my Diamond Lager brews (15psi around 23-25°C) were all drinkable but not quite as they should be.  I might give the Diamond Lager yeast another try.

By the way, I like your keg labelling system.  When you have got 6 kegs sitting in the same space in different states:

• Some empty, but dirty
• Some sanitised empty and purged with CO2
• Some full of beer
• Some half full of beer
• Some full of sanitiser

It can be hard to tell which is which.

[Tricky Micky]

15 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

BTW @Shamus O'Sean I made particular effort to try and sniff out any sulfur-ish smells from the DL yeast when at full bore fermentation and with the blow off tube virtually stuck up my nostril - nothing!    So try your next lot at 18 C and 15 psi to see if that stops your lager FV smells.

Boozer, Al, mate, @iBooz2, just wanted you to know that after following your fermentation process/method to the letter (Not under pressure) I can report a huge difference between the Dubbya and the DL yeast re; sulphur smell....Absolutely zero smell from the DL using your method, And the other amazing thing, at least for me, is that your LL was pretty much drinkable from the FV once it had reached FG....now of course that could be attributed to the way that lager had been brewed (take a bow) but I think DL yeast, at least anecdotally, is better (Sorry Pezza me ol' mate) in my view for the lagers. All of my lagers when using Dubbya have smelled of sulphur, at least to my snoz.

 

Edited October 5, 2022 by Mickep

[iBooz2]

15 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

By the way, I like your keg labelling system.  When you have got 6 kegs sitting in the same space in different states:

Yep @Shamus O'Sean the labels are the only way to go when you have 10 kegs like me floating around the brewery.  I have different colours for different stages so I only have to glance at the label to know what stage its at.  Pink = MT and needs cleaning.  Red = SP soak underway,  Green = contains sanitiser. White = CO purged.

[iBooz2]

12 hours ago, Mickep said:

Boozer, Al, mate, @iBooz2, just wanted you to know that after following your fermentation process/method to the letter (Not under pressure) I can report a huge difference between the Dubbya and the DL yeast re; sulphur smell....Absolutely zero smell from the DL using your method, And the other amazing thing, at least for me, is that your LL was pretty much drinkable from the FV once it had reached FG....now of course that could be attributed to the way that lager had been brewed (take a bow) but I think DL yeast, at least anecdotally, is better (Sorry Pezza me ol' mate) in my view for the lagers. All of my lagers when using Dubbya have smelled of sulphur, at least to my snoz.

 

@Mickep , I don't think it has anything to do with the way it was brewed but a big thanks for the pat on the back anyway.  I just think it is the slow and low temp approach to start off with and this lets the yeast do their best at their best temps.  Its the yeast and the temp that make the beer what it is.

Yes the DL yeast, as I posted quite a while back seems to turn an ordinary lager into a premium lager.  Sort of like the difference between a Boags draught and Boags premium.  That's what I have found anyway and I have brewed many with Dubbya and DL and several other lager yeasts so I am now happy to pair a type of brew to a particular yeast and know what to expect with the outcome.

[Classic Brewing Co]

I am doing a quick k & k Draught for a Friday coming up, my lunch buddies are coming around for an afternoon of Beer, BBQ & Bull

Most of them are MegaSwill drinkers & I reckon they will knock of the keg, fine by me, I will drink the hoppy Pales & IPA's.

[JoeB7]

10 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

I am doing a quick k & k Draught for a Friday coming up, my lunch buddies are coming around for an afternoon of Beer, BBQ & Bull

Most of them are MegaSwill drinkers & I reckon they will knock of the keg, fine by me, I will drink the hoppy Pales & IPA's.

Not even a hops teabag for them? Haven't you trained their taste buds by now?