It's Kegging Time 2023

[Classic Brewing Co]

34 minutes ago, ozdevil said:

any reason why you want to  use distilled water,    

its not really important  for extract brewing   as that would have taken during the process of making the goo   

if its chlorine and chloromine you are wanting to shell out you may want to   use a 1/2 Campden tablet  in some hotwater and  dissolve it and allow to cool   if anything

all grain brewing   water chemistry plays a big part    of it  and even then you still dont need to use salts  




 

I would agree with @ozdevil although with extract brewing it is not as important for your water to be modified it would still at least help to add a 1/2 Campden tablet.

I spent many years making beer with extract & just used tap water but over the years I have been fortunate to have a PuraTap which does help to try & remove some of the Clorine & Chloramine. I have used the tablets & I usually fill a couple of fermenters with water & leave them uncovered for at least 24 hours, obviously not in a place where insects can get in.

As Otto said it is not as important as AG brewing, but it would be good advice.

I will add I am no expert on water profiles but I have learnt this over the years & it does help you to make better beer.

See attached article.

QUOTE:

 Whether you’re making homemade cider, wine, or beer, you must first remove chlorine or chloramine from the water you plan to use. Most tap water contains traces of chlorine or similar compounds. These elements will kill yeast and make your beer and mead taste especially terrible. Chlorine will sometimes dissipate on its own, but chloramine needs a Campden tablet for removal.

 

https://winning-homebrew.com/campden-tablets.html

Edited February 12, 2023 by Classic Brewing Co

[Otto Von Blotto]

33 minutes ago, ozdevil said:

any reason why you want to  use distilled water,    

its not really important  for extract brewing   as that would have taken during the process of making the goo   

if its chlorine and chloromine you are wanting to shell out you may want to   use a 1/2 Campden tablet  in some hotwater and  dissolve it and allow to cool   if anything

all grain brewing   water chemistry plays a big part    of it  and even then you still dont need to use salts  




 

 Yeah you don't absolutely need to use salts to brew all grain, but if you want to modify or create specific water profiles there's not much other option.

I used the tap water for a number of batches when I started all grain with good results. I only started doing the distilled water initially for pilsners to replicate the very soft water they're brewed with (I did one with tap water and it wasn't great by comparison), then I later branched out into using it with other styles as well. I only stuck with it because the results were improved, otherwise I would have just gone back to using it for pilsners only. My red ale I brew with tap water though, its profile as is seems to suit that beer really well. 

[jennyss]

3 hours ago, ozdevil said:

any reason why you want to  use distilled water,

Thanks @ozdevil, I was just curious! That is interesting what @Otto Von Blottosaid about making different water profiles for different beers. I guess commercial and craft breweries must have systems in place for purifying their water. I looked online and saw a range of 'water stills' for beer home brewing.

It is good to hear that tap water is ok for extract brewing. 

[Aussiekraut]

47 minutes ago, jennyss said:

It is good to hear that tap water is ok for extract brewing. 

Dare I say, despite brewing all grain, I only worry about the chlorine. This is why I fill the kettle the day before I brew, so it can evaporate overnight. I know none of my beers are true to style guidelines because of that but the only guideline that matters is my taste buds and if they give it the nod, all is good  

Edited February 12, 2023 by Aussiekraut

[ozdevil]

41 minutes ago, jennyss said:

Thanks @ozdevil, I was just curious! That is interesting what @Otto Von Blottosaid about making different water profiles for different beers. I guess commercial and craft breweries must have systems in place for purifying their water. I looked online and saw a range of 'water stills' for beer home brewing.

It is good to hear that tap water is ok for extract brewing. 

the craft breweries  well i say some treat there water  from the same source and i am pretty certain the big commercial guys do as well

what the commercial guys will do is hire a water tester  that purely just tests there water then create the profile to the beers they make

even us small little brewers can do the same by testing our tap water  and we then can mach the salts  to a particular beer styles

This is the tap water profile  for my area in Victoria Bacchus Marsh
 

Ca^{+2  =} 23
Mg^{+2 =} 21
Na^{+  =}52
Cl^- = 81
SO₄^{- =} 22
Alkalinity =  82(HCO3
pH = 6.5

then i will add that to my brewfather account   and find a style to brew  or  say  a Belgium beer  i might use a Belgium water profile
and then brewfather calculates the salts i need to use to match the brew


it can be complicated but know need for extract ut nothing stopping you from using a a device similar to what otto had and what ya seen online

[ozdevil]

15 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

Dare I say, despite brewing all grain, I only worry about the chlorine. This is why I fill the kettle the day before I brew, so it can evaporate overnight. I know none of my beers are true to style guidelines because of that but the only guideline that matters is my taste buds and if they give it the nod, all is good  

and ya know what , thats the only thing that matter  adding salts to match a  beer style is great but its making the process even more complicated then it needs to be  unless your entering beer comps

[Classic Brewing Co]

59 minutes ago, ozdevil said:

and ya know what , thats the only thing that matter  adding salts to match a  beer style is great but its making the process even more complicated then it needs to be  unless your entering beer comps

Yeah, if you really want to go hog it's good to get the right taste etc but for a lot of brewers there is enough to keep up with & newbies shouldn't have to worry about it. I would like to study it one day but so far, my beers taste fine & even others have said that so for now I will just carry on with the filtered water & preparing water the day ahead.

[iBooz2]

Kegged up my two side by side batches of the 150 lashes clones today, got a 1/2 dozen stubbies of each as travellers on the side as well.  One batch was done with Windsor yeast and the other with Nottingham.  I have done several batches of this beer in the past using US-05 so wanted to try some different yeast.

Also, these two latest batches I altered the hop schedule to a true 80 for 20 min hop stand before cubing and then cooling down as quick as possible.

On first impressions, the look, the sniff I think the Nottingham batch is likely to be the better one.  I have not taste tested the sample tubes or either yet, they are cooling down for tomorrow for when I have a fresh palate.  The Windsor sample looks and smells a bit yeastier than the Nottingham and I think this is due to the lower flocculation of the Windsor yeast.

The hop aroma from both samples is much more like I was targeting so cannot wait to try the samples and a couple out of the kegs when I have room to chill and carb them.

Edited February 16, 2023 by iBooz2

[Tricky Micky]

14 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

Also, these two latest batches I altered the hop schedule to a true 80 for 20 min hop stand before cubing and then cooling down as quick as possible.

@iBooz2Al, you still hot cubing this batch - right? If so do you put the cube into the fridge to get the temp down as quick as possible?

[iBooz2]

9 hours ago, Mickep said:

@iBooz2Al, you still hot cubing this batch - right? If so do you put the cube into the fridge to get the temp down as quick as possible?

@Mickep The beer that went into these kegs was made back on 26 Jan 2023 and hot cubed then.  They were both pitched on 6 Feb 2023 in separate FV's with different yeasts. so had plenty of time to cool down ha ha.

I was just trying to reiterate that I had changed the late hop schedule on these two i.e. dropped it from boil down to 80 C and held it there for the "whirlpool" additions for 20 mins.  This has made the required difference to the aroma that I am looking for.

Once the 80 C x 20 mins time was up, cubed and then cooled via a garden hose outside to get them down reasonably quickly (say a few hours I reckon).

[RDT2]

On 2/12/2023 at 12:04 PM, ozdevil said:

the craft breweries  well i say some treat there water  from the same source and i am pretty certain the big commercial guys do as well

what the commercial guys will do is hire a water tester  that purely just tests there water then create the profile to the beers they make
 

I had an interesting conversation with a fella who works for the water corporation he works in the maintenance department and was telling me he had to do a repair on a line in Fremantle and subsequently had to switch the water supply to come from another site which would of changed the water profile. He said next thing he said a brewery was on the phone complaining and asked if it happened again can they be advised. He didn't understand the big deal. I explained what the deal is they want their beer to taste the same every time, he now understands! Especially when I said you want your VB/EB or Emu Export to taste the same

Edited February 17, 2023 by RDT2

[stquinto]

I got given this Guinness tap from a neighbour, who bought it at a car boot sale in the UK.

Anyone know what kid of connection this is ? The beer line is pretty gross so I will change it. I can't replace the bulb with the exact one, but I reckon I can rig something up with a fridge bulb inside the Guinness pint.

 

[Shamus O'Sean]

Kegged the Czech Budvar Lager on the weekend.  All went well.

My neighbour is picking up his full keg tomorrow.  I doubt it will get much lagering.  My half keg will get some lagering because I have no kegerator space at the moment.

Just before connecting up to transfer.

[kmar92]

It looks like some form of John Guest fitting, similar to Duotights here. What diameter is the beer line and what does the fitting attach to on the tap end?

[stquinto]

2 hours ago, kmar92 said:

It looks like some form of John Guest fitting, similar to Duotights here. What diameter is the beer line and what does the fitting attach to on the tap end?

Cheers mate, will check it out after work 

[stquinto]

The line is 5/16", I removed the insulation and it was written on it. Doh ! Seems like John Guest fittings are right for it. I particularly need an elbow fitting, unless I keep that bit on and just replace the pipe. It should be OK if I give it a good clean. I found a fitting to put a fridge light in the socket where the old bulb was. Looking promising 

Cheers for your suggestion mate !

[iBooz2]

14 minutes ago, stquinto said:

The line is 5/16", I removed the insulation and it was written on it. Doh ! Seems like John Guest fittings are right for it. I particularly need an elbow fitting, unless I keep that bit on and just replace the pipe. It should be OK if I give it a good clean. I found a fitting to put a fridge light in the socket where the old bulb was. Looking promising 

Cheers for your suggestion mate !

@stquinto you can get all sorts of weird and wonderful John Guest style fittings for/in Caravan and Motorhome repair/supply places as that's the standard stuff they use for plumbing in RV's.  Check out any local supplier for those vehicles and you will find them easy to source.  Good luck.

[Classic Brewing Co]

Kegged the Coopers Bootmaker Pale Ale, added was 200gm Carapils, BE3, late hopsock with 50gm POR & Nottingham Yeast which I decided to save.

6 x Longnecks also boxed up for a few weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

[kmar92]

I was getting a yeast starter on the go earlier and I was wondering @Classic Brewing Co if you have put that stir plate to use yet? I see that you have the yeast harvest, so maybe a starter coming up?

Some Nottingham, that is the starter that I have going, a great yeast.

[Classic Brewing Co]

22 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

I was getting a yeast starter on the go earlier and I was wondering @Classic Brewing Co if you have put that stir plate to use yet? I see that you have the yeast harvest, so maybe a starter coming up?

Some Nottingham, that is the starter that I have going, a great yeast.

Yes that is my intention, mine was Nottingham too.

[iBooz2]

Kegged a batch of COPA yesterday, batch # 98 AG # 55.   It was the beer off a 1st dirty batch and as I have plenty of fresh CCA I am going to retire the tub back to nature.  Also got 9 x 345 ml stubbies for travellers. 

I think I will have to get some small kegs to take to overflow from 23 L batches or just brew 21 litre batches because I now have 10 + slabs of travellers in case of emergency. 

[ozdevil]

23 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

Kegged a batch of COPA yesterday, batch # 98 AG # 55.   It was the beer off a 1st dirty batch and as I have plenty of fresh CCA I am going to retire the tub back to nature.  Also got 9 x 345 ml stubbies for travellers. 

I think I will have to get some small kegs to take to overflow from 23 L batches or just brew 21 litre batches because I now have 10 + slabs of travellers in case of emergency. 

i mainly brew to 19litre kegs   sometimes  i use a 5 litre keg   for the emergency or takeway situation  

10+slabs for emergency   thats impressive   

[stquinto]

I just kegged my Duvel clone. I got 4.5l in the mini keg and 17.8l in a cornie. I also put some finings in the bottom. The FG was 1.004 after a 20 day cold crash.

Pretty much a full house in the keezer too

Also fixed up the Guinness tap. Can’t wait to give that a pour (probably wait till 6PM, so another hour to go…)

 

[stquinto]

And here we go!

all right, needs a bit of work on the pour…

 

[Shamus O'Sean]

2 hours ago, stquinto said:

And here we go!

all right, needs a bit of work on the pour…

 

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