Polarian Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 after reading the forums etc. and learning that my mix of using be 1 and be 2 to make a 2kg mix was over priced and not needed i was going to use 1kg light dry malt and 500gm dextrose to achieve a punchy 1.5kg mix to get a nice alchol % and only costing $13.50 for the sugars ... but OMG i just bought a coopers international australian real pale ale ... on the labels these days they actually reccomend whatg sugars to use ! and this beer reccomends using just x 1 BE 2 and done. but i really do like to boost my sugars a little bit and thats why i was settled on my 1.5kg mix of dextrose and LDM should i just use the BE 2 or what would you guys use ? oh also most people dont even bother with maltodextrin ? what if my "generic" mix was Coopers Brew Sugar ( a mix of maltodextrin and dextrose ) and added 500gm of LDM ? to make my 1.5kg mix ? any tips peoples >? i really do want a generic sugar mix btw because i am getting ready to buy in bulk and maybe get like 4 brews going at once hehehe thanks all ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Hi mate - as I said in the other thread I'd ditch the brew enhancers and go with 1kg of LDM. If you want to up the alcohol add 250g of dex. I wouldn't be adding more dex than that as you'll compromise the taste of the average beer (adding "cidery" notes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polarian Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 sounds good mate , do you ever use maltodextrin in your " avg. standard mix ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I can't speak for others but I don't use Maltodextrin. If I wanted to add some more body then I would add some Carapils or light crystal grains. Also, if you are using 1kg LDM then this won't fully ferment out like dextrose. It will leave some residual sugar behind which will give some extra body. Muddy's advice of 1kg LDM and 250g dextrose is spot on. But it also comes down to your personal taste so just play around with some combos with the same kit (say APA) and see what you like. Try your 1.5kg mix, Muddy's mix and perhaps 1.2kg LDM and 300g dextrose if you want to stick to the 1.5kg limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polarian Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 oh hey , it's also very warm in victoria over the next few days un-expectadly .... i still havent gotten my hands on a broken fridge yet ( my plans to make a a nice temperature controlled area )so i will be using my spare room as usual as my brewing area .... i have a bad feeling the average temp of that room will be about 28 maybe even 30 over the next 7 days atleast ... should i just wait until victoria cools down ? or what is the lowest temp i can start my home brew ? what if when i made my wort i used icy icy water and i sprinkled the yeast on top when it was like 5c and it gradually warmed up over night ? any suggestions ? and yeah i am going with the 1kg LDM and 250gm dextrose but i need to get my hands on some maltodextrin maybe ? and add like 250gm if i had it ? for my supposed " avg. generic sugar mix ? TY all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Personally I don't think maltodextrin should be in any beer. Horrible stuff. Like Hairy suggested Carapils or light crystal would give you better results. I'd hold off until the weather cools down a bit if you don' t have means to keep you brew down around 18-29C (or less for a lager). EDIT: formatting - bloody iphone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 If you can find a saucer large enough, like an old pot plant type thing, you can wrap a wet towel around the FV and have some water and ice in the saucer. It won't bring it down to 18 necessarily but it will keep it lower than ambient. I used to do that before I got my brew fridge. I also used to put the FV in the laundry tub half filled with water and chucked some frozen soft drink bottles around it to keep the temp down. Just a couple of suggestions. If neither is feasible then maybe wait for the weather to cool down a bit. [joyful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polarian Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 yeah sounds good ... i can put a huge tub in my brew room , put my fv in it and then surround with water and frozen bottles or ice .... and hopefully for first few days atleast it will keep the temp down closer to the 20 c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polarian Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 oh also ... i am trying to get my hands on a broken fridge .... even if the fridge isn't working at all and i put my FV in it it should be plenty of degrees lower yeah ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polarian Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 oh good news tho ... my brew room is currently 26. something so lets say it is 27 atm , it is currently 32c outside , so i reckon when i gets my broken fridge my fridge should esily be even lower and closer to my 20 c mark i am looking for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 oh also ... i am trying to get my hands on a broken fridge .... even if the fridge isn't working at all and i put my FV in it it should be plenty of degrees lower yeah ? The insulation of the fridge works both ways. It keeps the fridge cooler for a longer period but can also keep the fridge warmer if you are starting from a warm position. So you can use the broken fridge but you may still have to throw some frozen bottles in there. Is there a reason you are after a broken one? If you look around you should be able to pick up a working fridge relatively cheaply. Hook up an STC-1000 and you have perfect control of the temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 i have an old fridge in the garage thats buggered, i just use it for storing power tools etc. Its no cooler in the fridge than in the garage. Bite the bullet and get yourself an old WORKING fridge and an STC1000. It doesnt cost much, but your beer will be craploads better. Sorry for the bold underlined capitals....i think i was channelling Lusty[lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polarian Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 lol ... TY guys :> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IzacF Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 yeah sounds good ... i can put a huge tub in my brew room ' date=' put my fv in it and then surround with water and frozen bottles or ice .... and hopefully for first few days atleast it will keep the temp down closer to the 20 c[/quote'] mate of mine keeps his down around 22-24 with the laundry tub method...even 18 when temps are average Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Yeah I kept mine mostly around 20-22 with the laundry tub method. It really just depends on how many frozen bottles you have in the water. Obviously more bottles will keep it cooler than less. But yeah I'd agree with the above posts about getting an actual working fridge. A broken fridge is basically just an insulated cabinet. You'll still have to muck around with the frozen drink bottles to keep the temp down. It would be much easier to just hook up an STC to a working fridge and set it to a temp (stick the probe to the FV and insulate it with foam to measure the brew temp rather than the air temp) - it will switch the fridge on and off to maintain that temp and you don't have to do anything else. [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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