Facing up to beer brewing logistics

[DavidM]

6 hours ago, jennyss said:

Not as clever as I thought I was! I ran out of home brew two weeks ago. My Coopers Real Ale will be ready on Monday 4th July, and the Woolworths Lager we just put in the FV will be ready to try on Saturday 16th.  For the moment I'm reduced to expensive Tooheys New.

My storage is sorted out with enough room under beds and in cupboards for 120 full or empty bottles.

120 seems a bit light for a Good Supply..

We have to find out level/spot in brewing world

[Classic Brewing Co]

18 minutes ago, DavidM said:

120 seems a bit light for a Good Supply..

We have to find out level/spot in brewing world

I have at least 200 Coopers longnecks, probably about 100+ Grolsch, assorted 500ml Hef'e bottles & at least 10 cartons of 15 each PET ( which I am happy to give away - just send me a message )  but as you know I have started kegging so bottles are something you can never have enough of !

[DavidM]

I haven't counted but would "Guesstimate" a bit over 350 longnecks.

That is for the Wife and myself, full time drinking Home Brew.

Might do a count in the morning, just to see (what a drunk I am!)

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 minute ago, DavidM said:

I haven't counted but would "Guesstimate" a bit over 350 longnecks.

That is for the Wife and myself, full time drinking Home Brew.

Might do a count in the morning, just to see (what a drunk I am!)

Well know you decide  That's also $35 bucks at the recycling depot. 

[DavidM]

19 hours ago, DavidM said:

I haven't counted but would "Guesstimate" a bit over 350 longnecks.

That is for the Wife and myself, full time drinking Home Brew.

Might do a count in the morning, just to see (what a drunk I am!)

Well, after I finished bottling and brewing, I did a Count.

370 Longnecks (20 empty)

140 Stubbies (Ginger beer bottles) for Stout.

I'm ahead of the drinking curve this month!

Plenty of age in the Bottles..

[Oldbloke]

Once the secondary fermentation is complete in the bottles (say 7 days) you could store them in crates under the back verandah if necessary.  Not ideal but would be fine.

[Oldbloke]

On 4/9/2022 at 2:48 PM, jennyss said:

I'm facing up to beer brewing logistics........ How much to make, when to make it, where to put the full and empty (PET) bottles. The FV is in the laundry. There is some storage there, and in the dining room and that is it. I'm thinking to start a new brew while I've still got 29 bottles maturing from my third brew, and only 9 bottles left from Brew no. 2. I'd love to hear some of your tips for scheduling making brews and storage. Saving money is my main motive for home brewing. Thanks in advance from jennyss

@jennyss

What was the storage solution in the end Jenny?

And If I recall you were trying to keep the FV warm in the winter too?

[jennyss]

@oldbloke, Thanks for your enquiry. The storage is sorted, but the timing is not! Empty bottles (up to 30) go in a cupboard in the laundry, where temperature doesn't matter.  Filled bottles which are conditioning, or being consumed, go in the dining/family room in a cupboard or under a table in Coopers boxes which don't look too bad. I thought this was the better room for the beer, as we keep the temperature around 20deg.  

At the moment we are enjoying 27 bottles of Coopers Pale Ale made with rain water.  There are also 28 bottles of Pale Ale with Light Dry Malt and Galaxy hops added. This will be ready to try on 10th September.  Next Thursday we'll put together another brew which should also be ready to bottle about 10th Sept. Enough to make the head spin!

We have kept the FV warm in the laundry with a small column heater. 

[Oldbloke]

Mmm, sounds like your only rotating 3 brews?  Very limited storage too. Does not make it easy.  Can't store under a porch or in back yard? After 5-7 days in the living area that would be ok.

 

Column will work fine. But I'd expect (depending on the arrangement)  it to use a fair bit of power? 

[Classic Brewing Co]

13 minutes ago, jennyss said:

@oldbloke, Thanks for your enquiry. The storage is sorted, but the timing is not! Empty bottles (up to 30) go in a cupboard in the laundry, where temperature doesn't matter.  Filled bottles which are conditioning, or being consumed, go in the dining/family room in a cupboard or under a table in Coopers boxes which don't look too bad. I thought this was the better room for the beer, as we keep the temperature around 20deg.  

At the moment we are enjoying 27 bottles of Coopers Pale Ale made with rain water.  There are also 28 bottles of Pale Ale with Light Dry Malt and Galaxy hops added. This will be ready to try on 10th September.  Next Thursday we'll put together another brew which should also be ready to bottle about 10th Sept. Enough to make the head spin!

We have kept the FV warm in the laundry with a small column heater. 

Sounds perfectly OK to me @jennyss I guess at the end of the day it comes down to how many bottles you have & how much available space you have to store them.

When I was bottling full time I had full bottles stored in boxes ( the ones you get from the BottleO , if you ask for them ) I have lots of wine boxes with the cardboard divisions in them & they are perfect for stacking in any available space you have. I am fortunate as I have heaps of room. At some stages I had 10-12 cartons beer stacked but now kegging it is nowhere near that.

Any cupboard/wardrobe/pantry etc are also handy if you can squeeze them in. If you work out the ratio to your consumption & available space I am sure you will get on top of it.

Edited August 25, 2022 by Classic Brewing Co

[Oldbloke]

Just another thing.

Q. When to make?

A. As soon as you can to help give it additional time in the bottle.

[jennyss]

@oldbloke - Yes I am waiting for the bill shock! Perhaps we'll have to make the beer in the dining/family room. Could be done, with just the cleaning in the bathroom and laundry - hmmm.  And yes, @Classic Brewing Co I think we need to up the production. It is just too tight. We are enjoying the beer and already noticing the savings. We do have extra storage space under beds.

[Oldbloke]

5 hours ago, jennyss said:

@oldbloke - Yes I am waiting for the bill shock! Perhaps we'll have to make the beer in the dining/family room. Could be done, with just the cleaning in the bathroom and laundry - hmmm.  And yes, @Classic Brewing Co I think we need to up the production. It is just too tight. We are enjoying the beer and already noticing the savings. We do have extra storage space under beds.

You need to "baby" it. Cheaper and more consistent.

Edited August 26, 2022 by oldbloke
Add pic

[Oldbloke]

@jennyss 

Hi Jenny,

It sounds like your keeping the entire laundry warm? Not required. I have a small 5 fin oil heater. Uses 1000w. That's a lot. Don't use it. 

All I use is this DIY lamp. An old bed lamp will do the job. With a 25watt or 40w incandescent globe and if you put it all in a box or cubard, or some how wrap it up in a couple of old blankets you will only use about 10% of power what you are likely using now. If you use an inkbird, timer or some other way of controlling the temp even better. The trick is, those old globes are getting a bit hard to find now. I still have a few.

Just if you wrap it up in blankets be aware of possible fire hazard, don't let the globe touch the blankets.  I use ply wood for this.

[Oldbloke]

2 hours ago, oldbloke said:

@jennyss 

Hi Jenny,

It sounds like your keeping the entire laundry warm? Not required. I have a small 5 fin oil heater. Uses 1000w. That's a lot. Don't use it. 

All I use is this DIY lamp. An old bed lamp will do the job. With a 25watt or 40w incandescent globe and if you put it all in a box or cubard, or some how wrap it up in a couple of old blankets you will only use about 10% of power what you are likely using now. If you use an inkbird, timer or some other way of controlling the temp even better. The trick is, those old globes are getting a bit hard to find now. I still have a few.

Just if you wrap it up in blankets be aware of possible fire hazard, don't let the globe touch the blankets.  I use ply wood for this.

Add pic

 

[Oldbloke]

@jennyss did you bother to change the heating arrangements? 

A heat pad another option.

[Cult Of One]

I have black rolling plastic stacker tubs with lids. 

1. They stack (have had them up to 4 high) In Walk in robe they can be stacked 2 high under shirts and t-shirts. single height you can still put shoes on top

2. They are black and thus no light gets in especially when using green glass (Grolsch etc)

3. They have a lid and are liquid tight in case of leaks/disasters

4. I use them as my sanitizing baths when the bottles are empty as well 

5. cheap as to buy

6. They roll from where I fill to where I store. 

7. I can get 20 x 740 ml coopers PET bottles in each one. 

[Cult Of One]

On 6/25/2022 at 11:49 AM, jennyss said:

Not as clever as I thought I was! I ran out of home brew two weeks ago. My Coopers Real Ale will be ready on Monday 4th July, and the Woolworths Lager we just put in the FV will be ready to try on Saturday 16th.  For the moment I'm reduced to expensive Tooheys New.

My storage is sorted out with enough room under beds and in cupboards for 120 full or empty bottles.

@jennyss What's the Woolies lager like? and their other varieties

[Classic Brewing Co]

28 minutes ago, Cult Of One said:

@jennyss What's the Woolies lager like? and their other varieties

I guess it would come down to opinion, mine is, it's awful, just what you would expect from 'Supermarket Beer' - having said that I have never made it & don't intend to, I tried a mate's brew who is a tightar*** & I told him that. Why be a cheapskate when it comes down to making something you want to enjoy.

Having said that I mean no disrespect to those who may be on a budget & enjoy it.

[terminal2k]

1 hour ago, Cult Of One said:

and their other varieties

I've done the woolies draught before, but with a box of be2 instead of the sugar it lists on their instructions. and it produced a mild very easy to drink beer. Probably the homebrew I have finished the fastest. I will brew again (I have bought two more cans)

[jennyss]

Hi @Cult Of One, Win/win solutions with your black plastic tubs being good for storage and sanitising baths as well.  

As for the Woolies Lager extract; it was mixed with 1kg dextrose and the yeast included with the extract. My husband was just saying yesterday that it is about his favourite brew so far. He is aiming for something close to Tooheys New.  We also made an extract titled  'Brigalow New'.  It is yuck in my opinion. I am finding I like hop additions and extra light dry malt for the yeast to work on. My favourite brew so far is a Coopers Australian Pale Ale with Brew Enhancer No 2, 500g Light Dry Malt and 24g Brigalow hops (in little hop teabags). 

[Classic Brewing Co]

2 minutes ago, jennyss said:

My favourite brew so far is a Coopers Australian Pale Ale with Brew Enhancer No 2, 500g Light Dry Malt and 24g Brigalow hops (in little hop teabags). 

That is good you like that brew @jennyss it definitely is better than mucking about with Dextrose.  It is always a good old standby; I make it similar & like to keg it for a basic stock beer & of course you end up with a few bottles, in fact I am having one now, Cheers.

[Oldbloke]

I did 5 or 6 Brigalow many years ago. From memory good. In particular I liked the munic lager and pilsner. Did Munic Lager  with LDME recently and its pretty average now.

 

I've done a few of the no name beers in the past. Always a bit watery. Maby do them at say 18liters instead of 23 or add more malt. My brews are about 99% Coopers now.

[Oldbloke]

1 hour ago, Cult Of One said:

I have black rolling plastic stacker tubs with lids. 

1. They stack (have had them up to 4 high) In Walk in robe they can be stacked 2 high under shirts and t-shirts. single height you can still put shoes on top

2. They are black and thus no light gets in especially when using green glass (Grolsch etc)

3. They have a lid and are liquid tight in case of leaks/disasters

4. I use them as my sanitizing baths when the bottles are empty as well 

5. cheap as to buy

6. They roll from where I fill to where I store. 

7. I can get 20 x 740 ml coopers PET bottles in each one. 

You could use those tub like an oven to do the secondary fermentation. Two tubs per brew.

[DavidM]

All my Brews are Coopers

I also do a Brew for the Wife, which is a Woolies Lager.

Comes out like a 4X Gold, taste and strength.

Not for everyone but she likes it. Cheap too..