been lurking for a while....thought i'd say hi

[Back Brewing]

3 minutes ago, Fedaykin409 said:

I've made the first brew shop visit and walked out with some cleaner and sanitiser (and a little more understanding about said cleaning) So I'm set to go.

I've also recklessly bought my next 2 'brew kits' 

I bought the ingredients for what coopers call 'aztec gold' and I got a little ahead of myself and ordered the January craft ROTM.  (I have a craft FV being given to me for this, I know I could do it in the 23l. But I wanted to get 2 going. And this is how I'm sneaking it past the wife)

I know I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Cos I haven't even tried my first effort yet. But I'm of the opinion. That even if it's a fail. It's a learning opportunity and I'll push on.

 

Mate with that attitude your going to brew some good beers with this hot weather have you thought about keeping the brew temp down 

[Fedaykin409]

The hot weather is why my plan of the ensuite is a no go. Atleast for summer. I'll probably run them back in the kitchen/living room. As that was a nice cool spot. And during the hot spells the aircon stays on. Going by last time. It'll be lucky to go over 22.

Reverse cycle air con is loud and expensive. But the house is my fridge. it's not that bad during the day as my solar covers that. It's the nights like tonight that hurt. Warm nights are straight onto the power bill.

 

I've gotta slow my roll. Get a few more beers down. Then I'll start slowly mentioning that a fermenting fridge would get me out of her kitchen. And let that fester until it's a good idea.

[Oldbloke]

On 1/7/2024 at 5:42 PM, Fedaykin409 said:

I just loaded up the brew tracker app...

 

Well there goes the need for my spreadsheet that I thought I was being tricky dicky with. Lol.

Haven't even got the first brew in the fridge and I'm thinking about the second...

What process have you guys (before moving on to kegs if you did) got thats the easiest for cleaning and sanitizing bottles?

Welcome to the forum.

I've been at it a fair while now.

This is my opinion.

Cant talk about plastic bottles, only glass.

Ive tried all sorts of concoctions including scrubbing with bottle brushes and soaking for hours..

Thing is without a fair bit of work bottles have a habit of slowly building up a "film" of gunk inside. And it ruins the beer.

 

What I do now:

 

1. As previously mentioned, rinse really well while the stubbie is fresh.

2. Then upside down in the dish washer, and ensure it also has rinse aid.

You never build up the gunk and they come out spotless 98% of the time. And of course thoroughly rinsed in hot water at the end of the cycle. 

3. Just occassionally you may need to rinse out a few specks of gunk. I just rinse it out.

If dish washers are good enough to wash eating utensils and plates, good enough for beer. For many, many years breweries and soft drink companies reused bottles after putting them through a wash system.

If you want to waste your time scrubbing bottles go for it. I don't. Frankly I prefer to go fishing.

Edited January 12 by Oldbloke

[Fedaykin409]

Well that's the first one out of the way...

For my first effort I'm happy with it. 

 

The colours darker than It should be. I'm assuming it's a tap water thing. I'll use pura tap on the next one ( just got impatient on this one. Puratap flows slower. Lol)

 

[ozdevil]

13 minutes ago, Fedaykin409 said:

Well that's the first one out of the way...

For my first effort I'm happy with it. 

 

The colours darker than It should be. I'm assuming it's a tap water thing. I'll use pura tap on the next one ( just got impatient on this one. Puratap flows slower. Lol)

 

good honest  beer for the 1st one ,  i think changing the water will not lighten the colour at all and it cetainly doesnt add colour.  i say the colouring comes from the tin of goo   with in the malts they have used   .

 

[Beerdo]

1 hour ago, Fedaykin409 said:

Well that's the first one out of the way...

For my first effort I'm happy with it. 

 

The colours darker than It should be. I'm assuming it's a tap water thing. I'll use pura tap on the next one ( just got impatient on this one. Puratap flows slower. Lol)

 

I'm pretty sure Puratap are an Adelaide based company, so I'll assume you live in Adelaide. I've always used Puratap water over Adelaide tap water for brewing so I can't compare the effects on beer but based purely on the taste of Puratap versus tap water I'm certain Puratap can only improve your beers.

[Classic Brewing Co]

59 minutes ago, Fedaykin409 said:

Well that's the first one out of the way...

For my first effort I'm happy with it. 

 

The colours darker than It should be. I'm assuming it's a tap water thing. I'll use pura tap on the next one ( just got impatient on this one. Puratap flows slower. Lol)

 

Well done mate, each brew will get better as you gain experience/knowledge & keeping notes, experimenting will help.

This forum is a wealth of valuable information for ALL brewers.

Studying the videos on Coopers website will also be very helpful. 

Paying attention to colour, smell, appearance, head retention of following brews will gradually put you in a place you want to be, learn how additions such as malts, different yeasts, temperature control,  fermentation times & even cleaning/sanitising techniques can change your beer dramatically. 

Good luck with your future brewing & enjoy the ride.

Cheers Phil  

[Classic Brewing Co]

6 minutes ago, Beerdo said:

I'm pretty sure Puratap are an Adelaide based company, so I'll assume you live in Adelaide. I've always used Puratap water over Adelaide tap water for brewing so I can't compare the effects on beer but based purely on the taste of Puratap versus tap water I'm certain Puratap can only improve your beers.

I agree mate, it makes a cleaner tasting beer.

[Coopers DIY Beer Team]

17 hours ago, Fedaykin409 said:

The colours darker than It should be.

Was this the can of Lager that came in your kit? If so, what was the date on the base of the can? Liquid malt extract darkens over time, particularly at higher temperatures. 

[Fedaykin409]

Yes. It was the can with the kit. Sorry the cans already gone. 

It's tasting great. So Im not too concerned about colour. It's getting better night after night. The longer it's stayed in the cupboard.

Thanks for being available to provide feedback on issues.

[Coopers DIY Beer Team]

14 hours ago, Fedaykin409 said:

Yes. It was the can with the kit. Sorry the cans already gone. 

Have you still got the box that the kit came in? The BB date of the can should be stamped on the base. The colour of your glass of beer indicates that the can of Lager had undergone a significant level of Maillard Reaction. Cheers, Frank.

[Fedaykin409]

6 hours ago, Coopers DIY Beer Team said:

Have you still got the box that the kit came in? The BB date of the can should be stamped on the base. The colour of your glass of beer indicates that the can of Lager had undergone a significant level of Maillard Reaction. Cheers, Frank.

No. Sorry I have no original box/ packaging anymore. All recycled.

[Oldbloke]

On 1/19/2024 at 11:19 AM, Coopers DIY Beer Team said:

Have you still got the box that the kit came in? The BB date of the can should be stamped on the base. The colour of your glass of beer indicates that the can of Lager had undergone a significant level of Maillard Reaction. Cheers, Frank.

@Coopers DIY Beer Team  This is a bit of a problem sometimes. Recently purchased a can of Ruby Porter from the LHBS. The yeast didn't work and had to use a normal yeast I had as a spare. It worked then. But now won't be exactly as it's meant to be??

But when I pulled the can out of the bin it was 3 months past its best before date but I'd only bought it about two weeks prior. (Usually buy 2 or 3 at a time)

I have brewed them in the past a bit over BBD and they have been fine IIRC.  But who knows what the storage conditions were like. In future I'll be checking before I pay.

Edited January 21 by Oldbloke

[Fedaykin409]

I'll have another crack at the lager once I have the free bottles & once I've got the craft rotm out of the FV.

Thank you very much @Coopers DIY Beer Team for the support. 

 

 

[Oldbloke]

4 hours ago, Fedaykin409 said:

I'll have another crack at the lager once I have the free bottles & once I've got the craft rotm out of the FV.

Thank you very much @Coopers DIY Beer Team for the support. 

 

 

What free bottles?

[Fedaykin409]

I quickly found myself having to source bottles from people who used to diy. My workmate's father dropped off 30 bottles the other day.  So I've washed em and they are ready to be sanitised when I bottle.

[Classic Brewing Co]

19 minutes ago, Fedaykin409 said:

I quickly found myself having to source bottles from people who used to diy. My workmate's father dropped off 30 bottles the other day.  So I've washed em and they are ready to be sanitised when I bottle.

They usually end up coming from everywhere, there are those that tried DIY but never continued, others move on & give it up, there would be plenty of bottles around suitable for brewing, uou just need to ask around.

I still have heaps that I am keen to give away, but I am in Adelaide.

[ChairmanDrew]

4 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

They usually end up coming from everywhere, there are those that tried DIY but never continued, others move on & give it up, there would be plenty of bottles around suitable for brewing, uou just need to ask around.

There's also those who used to bottle but moved on to kegs. That's how I got a few of mine.

[Classic Brewing Co]

4 minutes ago, ChairmanDrew said:

There's also those who used to bottle but moved on to kegs. That's how I got a few of mine.

You are right there, I did the same thing over 2 years ago, I have got rid of heaps of different bottles even by some members on this forum taking them, but I still have 10 dozen original longneck Coopers bottles taking up space, rather than cash them in, I would rather see them go to a new home brewer. 

[Oldbloke]

I built up a good stock of new stubbies and coopers long necks over about two years.

Had heaps of older cub long necks and crown and anchor stubbies  that I'd used for maybe 25 years. and no longer needed. Took them to the LHBS. Asked a couple of weeks later and was told they were given a good home just a few hours after I dropped them off to a newby.  

 

Enough for 7 or 8 brews. 

Edited January 23 by Oldbloke

[NBillett09]

On 1/23/2024 at 10:32 PM, Oldbloke said:

I built up a good stock of new stubbies and coopers long necks over about two years.

Had heaps of older cub long necks and crown and anchor stubbies  that I'd used for maybe 25 years. and no longer needed. Took them to the LHBS. Asked a couple of weeks later and was told they were given a good home just a few hours after I dropped them off to a newby.  

 

Enough for 7 or 8 brews. 

Onya OB, paying it forward like a gentleman!

[Fedaykin409]

Here's how I now know the first one wasn't quite right. Lol

 

The colour difference is crazy. I don't remember getting anywhere near this light colour last time. 

[iBooz2]

2 hours ago, Fedaykin409 said:

Here's how I now know the first one wasn't quite right. Lol

 

The colour difference is crazy. I don't remember getting anywhere near this light colour last time. 

@Fedaykin409 , well done.  Just a tip:  You do not need to use the Krausen collar on normal brews so skip that next time and save on the wash up.  You only really need to use the collar on "big" beers (high OG) and wheat beers, stouts and the like.   And you should only need to use the lid clips on these beers too.  For normal beers just sit the lid on the FV and keep the collar and the clips in the cupboard.

[Fedaykin409]

 

27 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

@Fedaykin409 , well done.  Just a tip:  You do not need to use the Krausen collar on normal brews so skip that next time and save on the wash up.  You only really need to use the collar on "big" beers (high OG) and wheat beers, stouts and the like.   And you should only need to use the lid clips on these beers too.  For normal beers just sit the lid on the FV and keep the collar and the clips in the cupboard.

Doesn't bother me. That's going in the dishwasher as soon as it's done. Less crud to wash off the FV.

Stouts the plan though. Get a stout down soon for winter. Although I'm hearing from a old homebrewer I've already missed that window. Lol

[jennyss]

18 hours ago, Fedaykin409 said:

The colour difference is crazy.

Hi @Fedaykin409, With the colour of your brew in the photo, I'm wondering what day the photo was taken? My Coopers extract brews and my husband's Woolworth lagers both start off a much darker colour: eg a dark plummy brown for my Coopers Brew A IPA or a dark golden tan for the lager. Then by about day 3 they both look a hazy pale tan. By about day 6 they are both becoming darker again; usually ending up as dark as they started out. I think this is caused by the yeast doing it's thing. Someone else or @Coopers DIY Beer Teammay have a better explanation for this.