Newbie Brewing

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 minute ago, Pale Man said:

You're pretty much the KnK king. I haven't tried your beers but i imagine they are delicious. Your advice is spot on.

I seriously hope you get just as much enjoyment with your all grain venture. That will be a big bench mark to achieve from what i can gather.

Hey @Pale Manthank you for your kind words, I am grateful & I appreciate it, these days putting a k& k together is like a walk on the beach, I could do it with my eyes closed & don't bother with all of the protocol that is pretty much needed but it has got just too easy. I had hiccups today with my Gorilla machine but tomorrow I will conquer it. I will report with the results. Cheers.

[Classic Brewing Co]

11 minutes ago, DavidM said:

I was lucky enough to try some and 

OMG I've got a lot to Learn about K&K

I'm sure @Classic Brewing Co will have it sorted by his second AG Brew

Go Phil

Thanks for your vote of confidence David, I am hoping my new method will deliver the same satisfaction as I have enjoyed all of these years, call in again & we will knock a few over 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Classic Brewing Co

[Classic Brewing Co]

15 minutes ago, Pale Man said:

I haven't tried your beers but i imagine they are delicious

BTW Paleman you were invited when the Barnsey concert was at the Bay but I understand other commitments.

[JimInCollie]

On 3/22/2022 at 6:39 AM, frederickT said:

 a keg is outside my pocket

 

Hi frederickT

I'll leave the more experienced members of this community to answer your technical questions, but perhaps I can help with some info on affordable kegs as I have

• Cornelius (corny) kegs in both 9.5 and 19.5 Litre sizes
• Kegland Mini kegs in the 10L size
• and I'm trying out a new Kegland plastic one. Here's a photo:
• 

Missing from the photo is the yellow plastic handle that fits on the keg neck (like the ones you see on CO2 cylinders)

The metal Corny kegs and the mini kegs are fairly expensive but this 10L plastic one only cost me $39.50 complete with handle, internal liquid tube, gas release valve and disconnects. It will take pressure up to 58 psi which is way in excess of the 12 psi we usually pressure up our kegs with, or 30 psi if we naturally carbonate. 

I have a Tyneside Brown Ale conditioning in mine at the moment.  This is the first time I have used a plastic keg, but so far it seems ideal for the following reasons:

• It's cheap
• it's light and easy to use
• it takes up a lot less room in my keezer (I can fit at least two extra kegs in)
• you can see through the wall

The only downside I can think of is that, being plastic, its life span might not be as long as that of a metal keg - time will tell.

This might be a cheaper option for you.

Cheers, Jim   JimInCollie

PS: I bought my plastic keg from Lager Land, Pelican Point, Australind - my local brew shop.

 

[jennyss]

Thanks @Classic Brewing Co.  My father gave me a red sugar measure recently: one end for longnecks, the other for stubbies. I proudly took a bottle of my lager and pale ale to show off. Of course we compared with his pale ale, bottled in Grolsch bottles. Much better fizz and head than mine!

I had to google to find out what is LDME and LME ha ha. I am sticking to the one change at a time mantra!

Thanks @DavidM and @Thirsty Jim for the abbreviations list. And following that serious list there are some very funny less serious abbreviations! Got me laughing at 6.56am!

[frederickT]

Hi All,

I took up Classic's suggestion of Kveik yeast and I'm really liking it. Like Jensys (Hi Jensys) I am changing one thing at a time and already getting a beer that is more tailored to my taste and laundry brewery. I am being heavy on the dextrose at the moment as Tone boy suggested to me 

I've been measuring things all my working life so of course I'm going measure my beer. I did notice something unexpected (to me). When I measure the specific gravity bubbles form so I spin the spindle as recommended but recently I was lazy and didn't empty the hydrometer.  the next day I noticed the SG had dropped quite a lot over the 24 hrs by about 0.005. Now carbon dioxide (atomic weight 44) is much heavier than water (atomic weight 18). I expect co2 is evaporating over time in the hydrometer lowering the density, ideally you would degass to measure the SG I suppose. Just after you set up the vat there will be water and dissolved sugars and very small amount of O2 and no CO2. As fermenting progresses sugars get converted plus CO2 is dissolved which would through the SG off, I am quite surprised that with time in the hydrometer the SG is decreasing as much as it is for me (0.005).

I guess it doesn't matter that much so long as you measure in a repeatable manner but any suggestions on technique?

[Classic Brewing Co]

25 minutes ago, frederickT said:

Hi All,

I took up Classic's suggestion of Kveik yeast and I'm really liking it. Like Jensys (Hi Jensys) I am changing one thing at a time and already getting a beer that is more tailored to my taste and laundry brewery. I am being heavy on the dextrose at the moment as Tone boy suggested to me 

I've been measuring things all my working life so of course I'm going measure my beer. I did notice something unexpected (to me). When I measure the specific gravity bubbles form so I spin the spindle as recommended but recently I was lazy and didn't empty the hydrometer.  the next day I noticed the SG had dropped quite a lot over the 24 hrs by about 0.005. Now carbon dioxide (atomic weight 44) is much heavier than water (atomic weight 18). I expect co2 is evaporating over time in the hydrometer lowering the density, ideally you would degass to measure the SG I suppose. Just after you set up the vat there will be water and dissolved sugars and very small amount of O2 and no CO2. As fermenting progresses sugars get converted plus CO2 is dissolved which would through the SG off, I am quite surprised that with time in the hydrometer the SG is decreasing as much as it is for me (0.005).

I guess it doesn't matter that much so long as you measure in a repeatable manner but any suggestions on technique?

I am glad you like the Kveik mate. 

[DavidM]

1 hour ago, frederickT said:

Hi All,

I took up Classic's suggestion of Kveik yeast and I'm really liking it. Like Jensys (Hi Jensys) I am changing one thing at a time and already getting a beer that is more tailored to my taste and laundry brewery. I am being heavy on the dextrose at the moment as Tone boy suggested to me 

I've been measuring things all my working life so of course I'm going measure my beer. I did notice something unexpected (to me). When I measure the specific gravity bubbles form so I spin the spindle as recommended but recently I was lazy and didn't empty the hydrometer.  the next day I noticed the SG had dropped quite a lot over the 24 hrs by about 0.005. Now carbon dioxide (atomic weight 44) is much heavier than water (atomic weight 18). I expect co2 is evaporating over time in the hydrometer lowering the density, ideally you would degass to measure the SG I suppose. Just after you set up the vat there will be water and dissolved sugars and very small amount of O2 and no CO2. As fermenting progresses sugars get converted plus CO2 is dissolved which would through the SG off, I am quite surprised that with time in the hydrometer the SG is decreasing as much as it is for me (0.005).

I guess it doesn't matter that much so long as you measure in a repeatable manner but any suggestions on technique?

Don't forget Air temp plays a part

But yeast is probably all ready doing it's job of eating up sugar!

 

[Shamus O'Sean]

6 hours ago, frederickT said:

Hi All,

I took up Classic's suggestion of Kveik yeast and I'm really liking it. Like Jensys (Hi Jensys) I am changing one thing at a time and already getting a beer that is more tailored to my taste and laundry brewery. I am being heavy on the dextrose at the moment as Tone boy suggested to me 

I've been measuring things all my working life so of course I'm going measure my beer. I did notice something unexpected (to me). When I measure the specific gravity bubbles form so I spin the spindle as recommended but recently I was lazy and didn't empty the hydrometer.  the next day I noticed the SG had dropped quite a lot over the 24 hrs by about 0.005. Now carbon dioxide (atomic weight 44) is much heavier than water (atomic weight 18). I expect co2 is evaporating over time in the hydrometer lowering the density, ideally you would degass to measure the SG I suppose. Just after you set up the vat there will be water and dissolved sugars and very small amount of O2 and no CO2. As fermenting progresses sugars get converted plus CO2 is dissolved which would through the SG off, I am quite surprised that with time in the hydrometer the SG is decreasing as much as it is for me (0.005).

I guess it doesn't matter that much so long as you measure in a repeatable manner but any suggestions on technique?

Hi FT, it sounds like you know more about the science side of things than I do.  I do the spin and the up and down motion to try to knock bubbles off the hydrometer.  After a few repeats, I get a pretty stable result.

It also looks like you have stumbled onto a useful tactic that many on the Forum do, including myself.  That is to keep your sample in the test tube and test its SG daily.  What is going on in the tube is pretty much a mini version of what's happening in the fermenter.  I take a sample when the brew is near final gravity.  This is the one I test daily.  Once it is stable, I give it another day or two and call it finished.  I always take another final reading from the fermenter during or prior to packaging.  I find the fermenter sample and the test tube sample are within a few points of each other.

[Classic Brewing Co]

6 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Hi FT, it sounds like you know more about the science side of things than I do.  I do the spin and the up and down motion to try to knock bubbles off the hydrometer.  After a few repeats, I get a pretty stable result.

It also looks like you have stumbled onto a useful tactic that many on the Forum do, including myself.  That is to keep your sample in the test tube and test its SG daily.  What is going on in the tube is pretty much a mini version of what's happening in the fermenter.  I take a sample when the brew is near final gravity.  This is the one I test daily.  Once it is stable, I give it another day or two and call it finished.  I always take another final reading from the fermenter during or prior to packaging.  I find the fermenter sample and the test tube sample are within a few points of each other.

Nicely answered Shamus I would agree with all of that, although I avoided the scientific paragraph in @frederickT post

[frederickT]

13 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Hi FT, it sounds like you know more about the science side of things than I do.  I do the spin and the up and down motion to try to knock bubbles off the hydrometer.  After a few repeats, I get a pretty stable result.

It also looks like you have stumbled onto a useful tactic that many on the Forum do, including myself.  That is to keep your sample in the test tube and test its SG daily.  What is going on in the tube is pretty much a mini version of what's happening in the fermenter.  I take a sample when the brew is near final gravity.  This is the one I test daily.  Once it is stable, I give it another day or two and call it finished.  I always take another final reading from the fermenter during or prior to packaging.  I find the fermenter sample and the test tube sample are within a few points of each other.

Hi Shamus, Classic, DavidM, that is a neat explanation that simply didn't occur to me. Why wouldn't the tube continue to ferment - of course it will. Puzzle solved for me. Thanks. I will use that technique ongoing of keeping the tube of wort.

Sorry if I was a bit technical in my description.  Another tech Q if I may. I have pH meter for  my hydroponic tomatos. So when a recent brew tasted somewhat acidic, I measured it as 3.3 and the next was 3.6 so I thought I would sprinkle a little sodium bicarb into the fermenter vat and that took it to 3.8.  I have read beer should be in the 4's. BUT I had a soapy after taste after adjustment that I Iike less than the acid. BTW on ANZAC I had my first commercial beer (carlton draught) for quite some time and it had a soapy after taste too.  Maybe it was the lines or CUB adjusting dunno but is sort of funny how the tongue zooms in on what it doesn't like.

What my question comes down to is if your brew was a bit too acidic what would you guys do? It seemed to be less acidic after being in the bottle for a while but I didn't re-measure as I should have. I should have used potassium bicarb I guess but didn't have any on hand.

It is great that your share your experience so freely!

Classic, Kveik is fav now thanks for the recommendation.                                                                 

[Classic Brewing Co]

28 minutes ago, frederickT said:

Classic, Kveik is fav now thanks for the recommendation.           

Cheers, it was passed down the line by members of this great forum, that's how I first become aware of it, it is something I use a lot these days.

[Shamus O'Sean]

3 hours ago, frederickT said:

What my question comes down to is if your brew was a bit too acidic what would you guys do?

I do not know the answer to that question.  I have not had a beer that I thought needed adjusting because it was too acidic.  Therefore, I have never had to find out.  I have not checked the pH of any of my finished beers though.  Rather than reducing the acid in the finished beer, it is probably better to brew to avoid it in the first place.  What was your recipe?  That might give some clues about where the acidity might have come from and how to avoid it in the future.

A pH of 3.3 is in sour beer range.  That correlates with your observation of it being acidic.  I hope nothing went wrong with your ferment.

 

[ben 10]

16 hours ago, frederickT said:

Sorry if I was a bit technical in my description.  Another tech Q if I may. I have pH meter for  my hydroponic tomatos. So when a recent brew tasted somewhat acidic, I measured it as 3.3 and the next was 3.6 so I thought I would sprinkle a little sodium bicarb into the fermenter vat and that took it to 3.8.

As @Shamus O'Sean alluded, there may be an issue with that beer.

I deliberately brew sour beers as does @Aussiekraut (hahahahhahaaaaa) and a few others. There is a yeast called Philly Sour that produces acid as a by product and there are also bacterias that infect brews that do the same. IF you used a standard yeast then I'd suggest your beer is infected.

[frederickT]

I am fairly punctilious with my cleaning but bacteria and wild yeasts are all around us i guess. There are no off flavors or vinegar taste.

I'll be extra scrupulous next batch and see what happens.  

Again great leverage experience. thanks