Brew Day What Did You Make - 2024

[Tricky Micky]

3 hours ago, RDT2 said:

Yep that’s why I don’t have one

Yes, I'd love a 65 litre Brewzilla - it does look great - but I don't have a 15 amp outlet.

So same same @RDT2, sometime in the next few months I'll be looking at the SS Nano 70 litre set-up. Using gas to get to a boil and electric element to maintain lower temps. 

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/nano-x-70l-single-vessel-brew-system-inkbird-model-includes-burner/

 

Edited January 8 by Tricky Micky

[Hoppy81]

1 hour ago, Tricky Micky said:

Yes, I'd love a 65 litre Brewzilla - it does look great - but I don't have a 15 amp outlet.

So same same @RDT2, sometime in the next few months I'll be looking at the SS Nano 70 litre set-up. Using gas to get to a boil and electric element to maintain lower temps. 

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/nano-x-70l-single-vessel-brew-system-inkbird-model-includes-burner/

 

I do the same, i have a 95l HLT on gas and a 2200w element, 170L Mash tun just on gas and a 125L Boil on gas and a 2200w element, the elements help big time.

Edited January 8 by Hoppy81

[Aussiekraut]

5 hours ago, RDT2 said:

Yep that’s why I don’t have one

That was one of the first things I had put in when we moved house. While the Guten with its 2500W could have possibly operated within the 2400W max a 10A socket can deliver, I felt better having it on a 15A socket and had one put into the old place too. So it was a no brainer, knowing I'd go for a bigger system eventually. I think it cost about $400 IIRC.

[Shamus O'Sean]

14 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I usually make a slightly concentrated wort and then water it down in the fermenter.  I can fit 30 litres in my fermenter.  But I can only get about 22-25 litres out of my Grainfather.  Brewfather seems to handle the dilution pretty well.  OG comes out correct and it accounts for the dilution lowering bitterness.  

@stquinto here is my G30 equipment profile that accounts for a top up addition in the fermenter:

[iBooz2]

On 1/8/2024 at 11:25 AM, Tricky Micky said:

Yes, I'd love a 65 litre Brewzilla - it does look great - but I don't have a 15 amp outlet.

So same same @RDT2, sometime in the next few months I'll be looking at the SS Nano 70 litre set-up. Using gas to get to a boil and electric element to maintain lower temps. 

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au/nano-x-70l-single-vessel-brew-system-inkbird-model-includes-burner/

@Tricky Micky , Yep, 70 L Nano is the way to go IMO as I have one of these.  Gas is good for boils and upping the mash step temp quickly then use electrical element to hold those mash step temps.  Big no brainer for me was that you can replace the element or the pump, on the Nano, in fact all the bits if you need to.  When I looked at the Brewzilla, if the element or pump failed out of warranty it became scrap metal or a boat anchor.

[iBooz2]

I can feel a brew day bonanza coming on...

[Back Brewing]

Stone & Wood all grain in the cube

[Shamus O'Sean]

6 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

I can feel a brew day bonanza coming on...

Great minds think alike.  Picked these up earlier this week.

  

Using some of the Pale Malt in a COPA this weekend. 

As I am splitting this brew into 2 x Fermenter King Juniors, I think I will follow your lead and dry hop one with Pride of Ringwood.  How much would you suggest in a 15 litre batch?

[iBooz2]

On 1/11/2024 at 10:45 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

Great minds think alike.  Picked these up earlier this week.

Using some of the Pale Malt in a COPA this weekend. 

As I am splitting this brew into 2 x Fermenter King Juniors, I think I will follow your lead and dry hop one with Pride of Ringwood.  How much would you suggest in a 15 litre batch?

Shamus, my dry hop was going to be 50 g of PoR (AA 10%) in my second cubes fermenter (22-23 L.)  It is about halfway fermented so a few days off the dry hop.  I would go say you go with 35 - 40 g this time and try it out.  You can always up it for the next batch if that appears too not be enough.

[iBooz2]

Brew day today Batch #108 AG #65 and it was another Carlton Draught clone of 44 L.  With this batch I swapped out the Vienna malts for Toffee malts to see what that brings to this beer.  I always use my battery drill and the Coopers stirring spoon to wet the grains and prevent dough balls.  Mash in was done at 45 C.

Once I keg the previous CD 44 L clone (probably tomorrow) I will drop these two cubes straight back on top of the DL yeast trub in the 58 L Kegmenter.  I was 1 point up on pre-boil SG and 3 points up on post-boil SG so I may have to add some top-up water to the FV as the ABV will come in at 5% otherwise and I would like it to be about 4.6 %

Edited January 13 by iBooz2

[iBooz2]

Sparging with 76 C water and dribbling it into the grain bed in a flywire criss-cross pattern to extract all those wonderful sugars.  Using this method my mash efficiency is very high.

 

[iBooz2]

PoR hops having a hot spar.  Using the hop hoop makes it so easy to add different hops at different boil times, just drop them in the opening and much easier to drain and clean too.

 

[iBooz2]

^^^^^^ That should read Batch # 109 AG # 66.  I forgot to update my spreadsheet.

[Shamus O'Sean]

Brew day today was another Coopers Original Pale Ale (COPA).  As usual, brewed a slightly concentrated batch and added 6 litres of top up water into the fermenters.  Split this one into 2 x Keg King Fermenter King Juniors and got 14 litres into each.  I was aiming for 15 L into each.  OG ended up spot on my target of 1.044.

The last time I made a COPA, mine did not seem as bitter as the commercial version.  Plus, in a recent Brülosophy Show YouTube video, Martin Keen had a brew lab tested.  The measured IBU was around 8, but BrewFather said it would be 24.  Although Coopers says COPA is 26 IBU, I thought I would push mine up to 35 IBU as calculated by BrewFather.  Hopefully this brew is closer to the commercial version. 

As @iBooz2 is trying, and especially as I have done this brew in 2 fermenters, I am thinking of dry hopping one of them.  Probably with about 25g of Pride of Ringwood.  It will be interesting to compare the two.

• Predicted ABV is 4.6%
• 5.1kg Coopers Pale Malt
• 260g Coopers Wheat Malt
• 70g Crystal Malt
• Mash schedule 55°C for 10 min; 63°C for 30 min; 70°C for 30 min; and mash out 75°C for 10 min
• 26g Pride of Ringwood 50 minute boil for 21 IBU
• 9g Pride of Ringwood 25 minute boil for 5 IBU
• 21g Pride of Ringwood 5 minute boil for 5 IBU
• 23g Pride of Ringwood 20 minute hopsteep at 80°C for 3 IBU
• Coopers Commercial Ale yeast

I will also do a Coopers Sparkling Ale in a fortnight and pour the wort over the yeast cakes from this COPA.

Nice clear wort at the end of the mash.

Transferring to the FV's.

Look how clear the wort is.  You can see the floating dip tube.  Fair bit of cold break too.  But that will compact down to 1-2cm by the time fermentation is done.

[kmar92]

25 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Brew day today was another Coopers Original Pale Ale (COPA).  As usual, brewed a slightly concentrated batch and added 6 litres of top up water into the fermenters.  Split this one into 2 x Keg King Fermenter King Juniors and got 14 litres into each.  I was aiming for 15 L into each.  OG ended up spot on my target of 1.044.

The last time I made a COPA, mine did not seem as bitter as the commercial version.  Plus, in a recent Brülosophy Show YouTube video, Martin Keen had a brew lab tested.  The measured IBU was around 8, but BrewFather said it would be 24.  Although Coopers says COPA is 26 IBU, I thought I would push mine up to 35 IBU as calculated by BrewFather.  Hopefully this brew is closer to the commercial version. 

As @iBooz2 is trying, and especially as I have done this brew in 2 fermenters, I am thinking of dry hopping one of them.  Probably with about 25g of Pride of Ringwood.  It will be interesting to compare the two.

• Predicted ABV is 4.6%
• 5.1kg Coopers Pale Malt
• 260g Coopers Wheat Malt
• 70g Crystal Malt
• Mash schedule 55°C for 10 min; 63°C for 30 min; 70°C for 30 min; and mash out 75°C for 10 min
• 26g Pride of Ringwood 50 minute boil for 21 IBU
• 9g Pride of Ringwood 25 minute boil for 5 IBU
• 21g Pride of Ringwood 5 minute boil for 5 IBU
• 23g Pride of Ringwood 20 minute hopsteep at 80°C for 3 IBU
• Coopers Commercial Ale yeast

I will also do a Coopers Sparkling Ale in a fortnight and pour the wort over the yeast cakes from this COPA.

Nice clear wort at the end of the mash.

Transferring to the FV's.

Look how clear the wort is.  You can see the floating dip tube.  Fair bit of cold break too.  But that will compact down to 1-2cm by the time fermentation is done.

Bar the cold break, that is an exceptionally clear wort @Shamus O'Sean well done. I wish I could get my wort near that clarity, maybe I need to let it sit longer in the lauter tun to allow all the stuff to settle out.

[Shamus O'Sean]

1 hour ago, kmar92 said:

Bar the cold break, that is an exceptionally clear wort @Shamus O'Sean well done. I wish I could get my wort near that clarity, maybe I need to let it sit longer in the lauter tun to allow all the stuff to settle out.

Thanks KM92.  After the hop steep at 80°C, I cooled the wort in the kettle to around 68°C, trying to get a bit more of the cold break to fall out in the kettle instead of the fermenter.

[iBooz2]

16 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Thanks KM92.  After the hop steep at 80°C, I cooled the wort in the kettle to around 68°C, trying to get a bit more of the cold break to fall out in the kettle instead of the fermenter.

Yep, that is the way to go if hot cubing, only took me a couple of AG brews to work that out.  I leave mine to 70 C then pump into the cubes and always much clearer wort.

[iBooz2]

18 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Brew day today was another Coopers Original Pale Ale (COPA).  As usual, brewed a slightly concentrated batch and added 6 litres of top up water into the fermenters.  Split this one into 2 x Keg King Fermenter King Juniors and got 14 litres into each.  I was aiming for 15 L into each.  OG ended up spot on my target of 1.044.

The last time I made a COPA, mine did not seem as bitter as the commercial version.  Plus, in a recent Brülosophy Show YouTube video, Martin Keen had a brew lab tested.  The measured IBU was around 8, but BrewFather said it would be 24.  Although Coopers says COPA is 26 IBU, I thought I would push mine up to 35 IBU as calculated by BrewFather.  Hopefully this brew is closer to the commercial version. 

As @iBooz2 is trying, and especially as I have done this brew in 2 fermenters, I am thinking of dry hopping one of them.  Probably with about 25g of Pride of Ringwood. 

@Shamus O'Sean I think I have pointed this out before. 

Brewfather has a bug re hop AA % (and other ingredient specs).  If you buy a new batch of, say PoR and its AA% is different, sure you update the AA% when you enter the new stock on hand and the manufacture dates etc.  but the new AA% is not automatically applied to the recipes you have used this hop in back in the past.  I can understand not applying the updated AA% to batches as they have already been done but all recipes should show the new AA% based on the new stock brought in.   The trap is when you want to do a new batch of an old recipe it still has the old specs for the ingredients, in this case the AA% so unless you manually update and adjust the recipe with the new AA% your IBU's are off.

I find this idiosyncrasy a PITA.

Edited January 14 by iBooz2

[kmar92]

@iBooz2 I reckon that it is quite a logical way that Brewfather handles hops. BF actually alerts you that any changes will not affect the original recipe. It is only a small step to add any adjusted hop AA% variations in each batch sheet as you do the new brew with the new hops and I just do it as a matter of course with each new batch sheet.

[iBooz2]

48 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

@iBooz2 I reckon that it is quite a logical way that Brewfather handles hops. BF actually alerts you that any changes will not affect the original recipe. It is only a small step to add any adjusted hop AA% variations in each batch sheet as you do the new brew with the new hops and I just do it as a matter of course with each new batch sheet.

But it only alerts you "IF" you click on the edit batch button.  Otherwise, you are none the wiser, even more so as time passes on.

I have written hundreds if not thousands of applications and in my mind and in a programming, user input and flow way of thinking, IF any ingredient you have since brought into stock has different specs, WHEN you create a new batch based on a recipe that contains those ingredients, it should THEN alert you of the fact of the change by a simple compare and pop-up Diaglog box, then take you straight the edit batch screen once you acknowledge it.  Not rely on you the user to remember that you have brought in some stock with different specs and wait and see if you do remember and alter the flow of the app.  Better still automatically make the changes to your new batch (show reason) and then ask you to check them and agree to proceed.

It could be months before you do a batch and discover the specs are wrong.  You should not have to check the individual specs on every ingredient every time you do a batch just to be sure.   Bringing new stock in or editing / adjusting stock should fix that and apply to any new batch created IMO.

[kmar92]

@iBooz2 well I do not really agree with what you said. Hop AA% are a variable and should be set for each batch, and that is why BF gives you that option. BF also allows easy sharing of recipes so it makes little sense that every batch of hops that you use would affect the original recipe that others may use.

As hop AA% is a variable, it needs to be defined for every batch, not good to have your particular inventory affecting the original recipe.

[iBooz2]

17 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

@iBooz2 well I do not really agree with what you said. Hop AA% are a variable and should be set for each batch, and that is why BF gives you that option. BF also allows easy sharing of recipes so it makes little sense that every batch of hops that you use would affect the original recipe that others may use.

As hop AA% is a variable, it needs to be defined for every batch, not good to have your particular inventory affecting the original recipe.

@kmar92 I want Brewfather to work for me and not anyone else who may use my original recipe, they have their own inventory, equipment profiles, water and mash profiles, I understand that, and I am prepared to edit the recipe of others to suit myself and my inventory, that goes without saying.  I am not suggesting Brewfather have an effect on my original recipe at all BUT the batch is different.

Yes, the hop AA% in MY inventory is a variable and that new variable should be automatically incorporated in any of MY new batches since that variable has changed.   Once again, I am not talking about changing MY original recipe.  The way it is now it is up to me to remember or dive in my freezer and double check the batch ingredients.

[kmar92]

10 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

 

Yes, the hop AA% in MY inventory is a variable and that new variable should be automatically incorporated in any of MY new batches since that variable has changed. 

A variable is just that, it needs to be defined for every batch. The BF software has to know what the variable is and really just because you have defined it in your inventory you may use another person's hops or a different batch of hop's from your own inventory. It is a variable and has to be defined for BF to calculate stuff.

[Shamus O'Sean]

5 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

@Shamus O'Sean I think I have pointed this out before. 

Brewfather has a bug re hop AA % (and other ingredient specs).  If you buy a new batch of, say PoR and its AA% is different, sure you update the AA% when you enter the new stock on hand and the manufacture dates etc.  but the new AA% is not automatically applied to the recipes you have used this hop in back in the past.  I can understand not applying the updated AA% to batches as they have already been done but all recipes should show the new AA% based on the new stock brought in.   The trap is when you want to do a new batch of an old recipe it still has the old specs for the ingredients, in this case the AA% so unless you manually update and adjust the recipe with the new AA% your IBU's are off.

I find this idiosyncrasy a PITA.

I almost got caught out with that for yesterdays COPA.  I had copied the recipe from a previous brew day.  But forgot to update the PoR AA% until the day before brew day.  I probably would have forgotten except Brewfather told me I only had 26g of PoR in stock, but I knew I had bought 200g a few weeks ago.  This alert also prompted me to check if the AA% was different in my newer PoR.  It was, but not by a lot.  11% for the older and 10.5% for the newer.  I did have to adjust the amounts in the hop schedule to match the original IBU's at each stage.  However, that was very easy.

I have been reading yours and @kmar92's to and fro's about different AA% hops in your inventory when you copy/duplicate a recipe.  I can see a benefit in the program at least asking you if you want to set your hop AA% in a copied recipe to match the AA% of hops in your inventory.  But I can also see cases when you would not "match to ingredients in my inventory".  Would the "copy" function adjust the amounts of hops with the new AA% so the IBU's at each addition stay the same.  That is what I had to do manually above.  Plus, in my case, I had some old PoR to use, plus the new PoR at 10.5%.  So in my recipe, I wanted a mix of PoR with different AA%.

You could extend the "match to ingredients in my inventory" function to other ingredients.  Malts for example.  They do not change too much.  However, when I buy a new sack, I put it separately into my inventory.

[Aussiekraut]

Double batch of Aussie Lager. 8.5kg grain, 45l mash and 10l sparge water. Just shy of two very full cubes.