BlackSands Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 To be perfectly honest' date=' looking at my waistline, my greatest failing, and the biggest mistake I've ever made is taking up homebrewing! [img']biggrin[/img] Get yourself a smaller fermenter (15 litres) and brew smaller batches. You can brew more, experiment with less fear and will drink less. Wouldn't smaller batches brewed more often end up being more or less the same as my current output/consumption? I just need to start brewing horrible beer that no one would want to drink. That's the best deterrent I think! Though, having said that, that's what I did in the early 80's and that didn't work... we still drank it regardless.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBoy Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Howdy, I just noticed that i did something stupid that ive never done before. i layed down a brew A ipa just over a week ago with a yeast slurry, anyway yesterday i pitched a good amount of cascade for a dry hop and noticed that there was alot of yeast looking substance still floating around the top of the brew, which just seemed abnormal... so tonight i opened the lid again to have a gander, and the yeast is still floating there but now a nice shade of green... something still didnt seem right to me, so i cleaned and sterilised a stirring spoon and went in and gave it a bit of a tickle up... i noticed that on the first swirl i struck something... i must have had one preparation brew pint too many when putting it together coz i bloody left my stirring spoon in the brew and its now acted as a yeast cathode. my original mixing spoon was coated from top to bottom in a thick yeast slurry accumulation!!! doh... i took a sample and it tastes fine, but i guess after bottling i will see if my drunken stupidity has caused a failure ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Wouldn't smaller batches brewed more often end up being more or less the same as my current output/consumption? In my experience you'll probably end up brewing 50% more, not twice as much. So I predict you would end up with less beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 It probably turned green from the dry hopping All totally normal, you've mucked around with it for nothing really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBoy Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Howdy Otto... yeah, i was expecting it turn a nice shade of greenly goodness, i just couldnt work out why there was this big yeast patch that appeared to be floating on the top of the brew... turned out to be my stirring spoon that had been sitting in there for over a week attracting yeast sludge. It all seems good, but just a fail in my eyes... Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Some yeast strains do tend to hang around on top of the brew for ages as well so probably a bit of a combination of factors involved. At least the brew is ok though, that's the main thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 I have one more jar of that yeast. I smell the yeast when I pitch and I don't recall it being shite... Yep, and I used it and it is fooked again. And I pitched onto the cake. OUCH. 66 litres in the bin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowbrew Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 I just tipped about 26 stubbies down the toilet due to infection. It doesn't hurt so bad after reading your last post Ben. OUCH indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerzerker Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 My first boo boo... American IPA when syphoning off to bottle the beer I must have put the tube too far down into the brew and pulled up some sediment... but after conditioning in the bottle for four weeks it looked stunning, lovely clarity to it. I cracked one to have a taster and as the bubbles rose, so too did the settled sediment in the bottom of the bottle... what should have been a good looking and tasting brew was fecked before I even got a taste... it actually tasted ok but was very cloudy instead of the clear golden amber it should have been. When I went and got another kit to brew again and I told em what had happened they recommended conditioning and storing bottles upside-down as that apparently prevents any sediment spoiling the brew when you crack em open... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 I can't see how storing bottles upside down would help. If you store them that way right after bottling, the sediment would just form in the bottle neck, and even if you wait until the beer is carbonated, it won't necessarily be the case that the sediment stays on the bottom of the bottle when it's inverted. Besides that, you've still gotta turn it back the right way to open and pour it which could again stir it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerzerker Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 I can't see how storing bottles upside down would help. If you store them that way right after bottling' date=' the sediment would just form in the bottle neck, and even if you wait until the beer is carbonated, it won't necessarily be the case that the sediment stays on the bottom of the bottle when it's inverted. Besides that, you've still gotta turn it back the right way to open and pour it which could again stir it up. [/quote'] Thought that myself, to be honest... I think that the real problem was that I dropped the syphon tube right to the bottom of the fermenting bucket... yep, in the sludge... I am investing in a sediment trap and will be really bloody careful when syphoning off with the next brew so hopefully that should help eliminate or at least help to seriously reduce the amount of sediment in the brew. Learning from my mistakes and hopefully not repeating them... I still have a batch of stout to brew and another batch of the Father Hook's Best Bitter by Festival Ales (lovely brew that). Hopefully get em done for the festive season :D Have a good one ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerzerker Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 Just wanted to say that I have solved the problem by chilling the IPA in the fridge... bloody beautiful now :D Will still be really careful when syphoning off the next batch though ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 I think this is my first post here. Anyways, I brewed a little extract lager to use up a few ingredients not long ago & am currently drinking this from the keg. Initially I commented that I thought it was a little sweet thinking I may have used a bit too much crystal malt in the recipe. After a handful of pints I realised the sweetness isn't from the crystal malt,.... it's diacetyl. I don't brew a lot of lagers & I now know I must have left the diacetyl rest too late into fermentation. As the beer was kegged, not bottled, there was no chance for the yeast to clean this up as part of a secondary ferment. It's the first beer I've ever brewed with this trait so it is interesting from that aspect, but not enjoyable to drink as a constant, so lesson learned. It's still quite drinkable, but I can't drink more than a couple of glasses in a session. Anyone for a butterscotch lager? Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermoor Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 My mistake was not starting home brewing earlier. I'm still a newbie at this and have only done a couple of brews. But give me time. Jay My biggest mistake was to take a decade off ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joolbag Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Hey Lusty, sorry to hear about your butterscotch beer. I didn't realise that the D-rest was time specific. I haven't brewed that many lagers of my own either. Did you raise temp for D-rest once fermentation has finished (or close to?) From what I read, is best practice raising temp when 50-75% attenuated? And holding it there for how long? I will certainly do a bit more reading on the subject later tonight when I have some time at the PC. Cheers, Jools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 As you know, I brew a fair few lagers, and I usually begin the D-rest when the brew gets down to around 1.020-25, depending on what the OG was. This usually occurs after about 5 or 6 days. The beer just gets left at the elevated temperature until a few days after it reaches FG, at which point it is dropped to 0C for a couple of weeks. I've never had diacetyl in any lagers, at least not that I can detect anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joolbag Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Kelsey I will check my brew log at home and will see what SG that I have raised my lagers to for the D-rest. Have you ever raised it late, like when the beer was 2-5 points away from FG? or at FG even? I haven't detected diacetyl in my beers either. From the notes in my brew books and online, it is a strong and unmistakeable taint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Yeah, I used to raise it later in the fermentation than I do now, but those beers never exhibited diacetyl either. I think the key isn't so much when the temperature is raised but how long it is allowed to stay up there. If you drop it too early it probably won't clean it up fully. That's why I always leave it elevated for a few days post FG being reached, to ensure it has enough time to clean it up, if it was ever there to begin with. That being said, a brew left at the 10-12C ferment temp will ferment out and the yeast will clean up the diacetyl as well, it just takes longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 I left it elevated for quite a few days (4-5 I think?) but before then FG must have already been reached & the yeast had nothing left to chew on. Hence the diacetyl remained. As PB2 enlightened me & others to sometime back, diacetyl can be removed as part of secondary fermentation (natural bottle carbonation). The yeast is again active & the conditioning temperature is deliberately elevated. I didn't go through a second ferment as I kegged the beer & force carbonated with C02. "Three pathways lead to the creation of diacetyl. The first is through normal yeast metabolism. Brewer’s yeast form a precursor called alpha acetolactate (AAL), which is tasteless. This compound is converted to diacetyl as the beer ages. The reaction that changes AAL to diacetyl is accelerated by high temperature. At cool temperatures it will still occur, but more slowly. Modern brewing practice dictates that beer be aged on live yeast until the vast majority of AAL is converted into diacetyl. Brewer’s yeast, while unable to metabolize AAL, will readily absorb and break down diacetyl into relatively flavorless compounds. By giving the beer enough contact time with the active yeast, the brewer can eliminate the diacetyl. It generally takes only about two weeks of aging an ale to assure that it will have no buttery flavors." The full article can be found HERE. I knew the correct process, I was lax in my approach, I paid the price. No-one else to blame but myself. Live & learn. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 4-5 days may or may not be long enough.. when I raise mine it stays up there for about 7 or 8 days before being dropped to 0. Having said that, I drop my ales down to 0 well before two weeks have passed and haven't had any issues with diacetyl in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Hi Kelsey. 4-5 days may or may not be long enough.. when I raise mine it stays up there for about 7 or 8 days before being dropped to 0. Having said that' date=' I drop my ales down to 0 well before two weeks have passed and haven't had any issues with diacetyl in them.[/quote'] Your process & timing is very regimented as it should be, & successful as a result time & time again. I'm a firm believer in that ideal. A pity I didn't follow it. pinched' alt='>I'm a firm believer in that ideal. A pity I didn't follow it. pinched'> Note: The site is doing some screwed up stuff atm. Not my fault with the layout. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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