Mattrox Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I have already got a selection of kits with BE1, BE2 and LDM to do some of the easy recipies to get me started. I got the old spare fridge in the shed fired up and put a cube of water in it and set it to the warmest thermostat setting to see what is the higest temperature I can achieve without the stc1000. I also got out 2 11L spring water bottles and took a trip to the Charity Water Fountain and brought back some artesian water to brew with. I bleached and rinsed the containers first then covered them in cling wrap to stop nasties getting in then put the wrap back on after filling. Then I had the thought that 2 of the water containers is roughly the same volume as a brew. And if I have a brew in the fridge I can have a cube of water in there too. The extra volume of water will help to hold the temperature more stable once it has cooled. The FV and cube will fit in the fridge at the same time, 1st thing I checked. If the temp is 18 I'll do the mid-strength Cervesa in the how to brew section. If it gets to 12 or below I'll do a European Lager. If it is in between, say 15, I'll turn it colder and see what setting will have it on 10 degrees, then Lager up. Given that I am on thin ice with SWMBO I can't clutter up the kitchen for any length of time. I need to get the brew going and clean up before she notices any mess so I stay in the good books. I have enough other mess to sort through before I create more! Then when she sees that Brewing is not going to impact on her order of things I might get a bit more leeway. [innocent] Lets see how the fridge performs in the heat.... Perhaps Saturday I can get a brew on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrox Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Results from the fridge look promising. It seems to be holding at 18-19 degrees. I'll monitor today and see how things go. Fingers crossed that the temperature control works out without much fiddling around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Good luck [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Good thread i was actually thinking of trying the same thing with my new fridge when i get it returning to work. I will eventually get an stc 1000 but was thinking of something similar to keep it at a good 18 to 20 degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest1525228310 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I got the old spare fridge in the shed fired up and put a cube of water in it and set it to the warmest thermostat setting to see what is the higest temperature I can achieve without the stc1000. Given that I am on thin ice with SWMBO I can't clutter up the kitchen for any length of time. I need to get the brew going and clean up before she notices any mess so I stay in the good books. Then when she sees that Brewing is not going to impact on her order of things I might get a bit more leeway. [innocent] Two glaring mistakes in your thinking are obvious to an old bloke like myself. 1. Do not put it off - get an STC1000 on order today. 2. If you think you can appease a woman then you are wrong. They love letting you know how hard done by they are. Stiff cheese if it impacts on her. Tell her you are brewing, apologise for leaving her kitchen like a shit heap for her to clean up. Just name a brew after her and she will love you for it. ps I strongly recommend you brew some "Drop Those Panties Again Cider" and tell her it is champagne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I got the old spare fridge in the shed fired up and put a cube of water in it and set it to the warmest thermostat setting to see what is the higest temperature I can achieve without the stc1000. Given that I am on thin ice with SWMBO I can't clutter up the kitchen for any length of time. I need to get the brew going and clean up before she notices any mess so I stay in the good books. Then when she sees that Brewing is not going to impact on her order of things I might get a bit more leeway. [innocent] Two glaring mistakes in your thinking are obvious to an old bloke like myself. 1. Do not put it off - get an STC1000 on order today. 2. If you think you can appease a woman then you are wrong. They love letting you know how hard done by they are. Stiff cheese if it impacts on her. Tell her you are brewing, apologise for leaving her kitchen like a ****heap for her to clean up. Just name a brew after her and she will love you for it. ps I strongly recommend you brew some "Drop Those Panties Again Cider" and tell her it is champagne. LMAO here john......its true Matt brewing is tough enough without trying to please swmbo lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyFozzers Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I also got out 2 11L spring water bottles and took a trip to the Charity Water Fountain and brought back some artesian water to brew with. I bleached and rinsed the containers first then covered them in cling wrap to stop nasties getting in then put the wrap back on after filling. That's not the West End fountain in Adelaide is it? Great idea! Might do that myself next time, then leave the water in the brew fridge overnight to cool down before putting down the brew - should help with pitching temps. Best of luck with your first brew - sounds like you're all over it [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Results from the fridge look promising. It seems to be holding at 18-19 degrees. I'll monitor today and see how things go. Fingers crossed that the temperature control works out without much fiddling around. Bear in mind that the fermentation will generate heat, so even though the ambient temp might be around 18-19, or it keeps water at that temp, the brew will probably be 2 or 3 maybe even 4 degrees higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrox Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Bear in mind that the fermentation will generate heat, so even though the ambient temp might be around 18-19, or it keeps water at that temp, the brew will probably be 2 or 3 maybe even 4 degrees higher. I'll have to go by the FV temp and adjust the thermostat accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrox Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 I also got out 2 11L spring water bottles and took a trip to the Charity Water Fountain and brought back some artesian water to brew with. I bleached and rinsed the containers first then covered them in cling wrap to stop nasties getting in then put the wrap back on after filling. That's not the West End fountain in Adelaide is it? Great idea! Might do that myself next time, then leave the water in the brew fridge overnight to cool down before putting down the brew - should help with pitching temps. Best of luck with your first brew - sounds like you're all over it [biggrin] Thanks. [happy] Yes, that is where the water is from. Just couldn't bring myself to say those words. [cool] lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Yeah mate, if you have one of those stick on thermometers, they're pretty good for telling you the temp of the brew. I only got one a few weeks ago for mine but I'm glad I did now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordEoin Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Stick on thermometers are cheap and awesome. Also, if you get an STC100, just strap the probe to the side of the FV insulated with a bit of foam (there's probably loads of foam packaging left over after crimbo) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrox Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Yeah mate' date=' if you have one of those stick on thermometers, they're pretty good for telling you the temp of the brew. I only got one a few weeks ago for mine but I'm glad I did now! [/quote'] The DIY kit I got for Christmas has one and it is stuck in place, ready to go. I checked the tepmerature again and it seems relatively stable on 18 degrees. I'm confident that it will hold a temperature, even if I have to adjust a smidge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I quite like johns posts, nothing like a G banger and high heels, especially when they are so close together[joyful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I quite like johns posts, nothing like a G banger and high heels, especially when they are so close together[joyful] Also, the undies are bang on topic as one of the lads uses undy elastic to strap his temp probe to the FV [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordEoin Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 For extra yeast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrox Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 So I decided that the kitchen was tidy enough to clutter it up again with homebrew kit today, and when swmbo walked in there were no objections, carry on! Anyway I got everything ready, water heated, LDM dissolved, can put in fermenter and started adding water...... and the tap had a leak..... For FS!! Brand new kit. So off to the shop (hardware store) that SHMBO bought it from, they were out of kits. The guy was going to swap out the tap from a new kit for me. Turned out he brought his spare fermenter into work for a mate and it was still there, so he lent it to me so I could return the kit and get a replacement. So I am not confident that this brew will turn out right: 1) If there is a chance for infection, it usually happens. Transfering the wort around just presents another opportunity for infection. 2) I had about 12L in the fementer when I noticed the leak and lost some of this more concentrated wort before filling. The 2nd fermenter had no marks for volume so I had to guess. The water jugs I am using holds 11L I used 2 so ~22l, BUT the OG was 1026 at about 25 degrees. anyway I pitched the yeast and fermentation has started. I'll give it a few hours then pop it in the fridge at a target range of 18-19. If it isn't infected it will be a light Aztec Gold.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Valuable lesson right there, always check the vessel is liquid tight before putting precious wort into it. Check twice, fill once. Also cant hurt to have some spare taps about the place.. I must have 20 of the bloody things and have always got a minimum of 3 permanently in the starsan solution. [ninja] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordEoin Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Aye, good taps are handy to have. With a tap, you can turn just about anything clean and airtight into an FV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Anyway I got everything ready, water heated, LDM dissolved, can put in fermenter and started adding water...... and the tap had a leak..... so he lent it to me so I could return the kit and get a replacement. So I am not confident that this brew will turn out right: Hey Matthew I agree, it is highly unlikely that this brew will turn out as intended. If everything was sanitised thoroughly then I doubt it will be infected. I'd be more concerned about losing most of the wort. You will never know how well it was mixed and therefore the proportions of LDM and Cerveza can will be unknown. Contact Coopers customer service, as well as a new kit I reckon you should try and get a can and some LDM to compensate your loss. Some here have had leaking taps and they normally apply vegetable oil to the rubber seal. However your leak sounds much worse than that and I believe that yours is defective. I have two DIY FVs and have never had a leaky tap and I have never applied anything to the rubber seal. I hope you get it sorted soon so that you can continue on your home brew journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrox Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 You are right Scottie, the beer will not turn out as intended. But I'll chalk it up to experience. The fridge wanted to take the temperature down to 16 yesterday evening, so when the wort hit 18 I turned the frigde off. Just now the air temp in the fridge was 20 and the wort still 18. Since it will be hot I'll turn the fridge back on soon. (I am on holidays so I can manually do this this time.) The hardware store was most accomodating so atleast I know the problem will be solved. There is a clear nick in the seal part of the rubber tap. So I know its not just newbie me not doin it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrox Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 Yesterday the SG was 1.013, no offensive odours or tastes. Brewing well. Brew temperature stable at 18-19. Looks like it is going well, however it did taste very diluted. I guess that is nothing being very cold, carbonated and a couple of wedges of lemon won't fix. [innocent] [pinched] . Today the fridge is smelling very yeasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrox Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 SG 1.005. Seems like I avoided infection in the transfer. Still tastes dilute though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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