Canadian Eh!L Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 I've done an experiment with my own slow cooker before actually' date=' but it's pretty, well, slow going. Normally I don't need to put the heat back on, but today I did and ... whoops![/quote'] Hey KR, You might speed the process with the slow cooker by starting out with hot tap water (60C). You would only have to heat it a little or not at all for a malt steep. I don't know if it really matters if you steep at 80C. You aren't mashing to convert starches to sugars so the temperatures aren't really that important. I never even used a thermometer to measure my steeping temps. Maybe I should have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 I never even used a thermometer to measure my steeping temps. Maybe I should have! Ha Chad Not that it has been a massive mistake, except for regularly missing my FG, but until Hairy challenged me I hadn't been measuring my Mash Temperature. I was measuring the strike water and the first runnings and making the assumption that my Eski was losing around 5 degrees during the mash. I now know that my mash temp has been 3 degrees off and I'm losing less than 2 degrees. Who was it that said trust the theory? Cheers Scottie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 You might speed the process with the slow cooker by starting out with hot tap water (60C). You would only have to heat it a little or not at all for a malt steep. Yeah tried that - and it worked too - but still not worth the bother (IMO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 I never even used a thermometer to measure my steeping temps. Maybe I should have! Ha Chad Not that it has been a massive mistake' date=' except for regularly missing my FG, but until Hairy challenged me I hadn't been measuring my Mash Temperature. I was measuring the strike water and the first runnings and making the assumption that my Eski was losing around 5 degrees during the mash. I now know that my mash temp has been 3 degrees off and I'm losing less than 2 degrees. Who was it that said trust the theory? [/quote'] It is a good idea to use a thermometer to measure mash temps, Scottie. If I were you I'd try harder to not lose any temperature during the mash. These days I use my brew kettle to mash my grist over heat. I can control the temperature far better and stir like crazy at the begining of the mash and then again at the half way mark. Reheat to mash temp, let the mash end then Mash out. After Mash out I transfer the mash to the Lauter tun (Esky) to settle and then lauter/sparge. This is a very efficient way to brew and takes the guess work out of strike temps and allows you maintain consistent mash temps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 You might speed the process with the slow cooker by starting out with hot tap water (60C). You would only have to heat it a little or not at all for a malt steep. Yeah tried that - and it worked too - but still not worth the bother (IMO). Yea' date=' I'm not suprised.[img']smile[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 Turn the Urn all the way up for the boil. Hmm, not getting there. Crap, I neglected to clean the element - keep cutting out. Siphon the near boiling wort into two cubes, scrub the base of the urn, pour it all back in. Rolling boil achieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beeblebrox Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Had a fail yesterday, but was quick enough to save the day from my own stupidity! I'd had an aquarium heater sitting around with the aquarium gear for the past year or so as a backup/emergency heater for the aquarium. Since it wasn't being used and the weather here turned from Winter to Spring and back again as I was starting to do an ale, I decided I needed to use something to keep my brew warm, and the heater looked like a good option. I washed it, sterilized it, rinsed it, then popped it in the water bath (plastic tub filled with water to regulate temp) with the FV. Within an hour I could see the heater starting to turn black, and bubbling. It turned out I'd been careless and the glass heater/thermostat had chipped a little, so small I hadn't noticed at first, but just enough to start to slowly burn out the element. Later I noticed the damaged element, and a trip around the corner to the aquarium shop was called for after I'd had a couple of celebratory beers to congratulate myself for my ingenuity before being thorough enough to realize I was a moron rather than a genius! Thankfully I got a new aquarium heater (100w) for just under $21, and it has a temp range from 20c to about 34c, so I unwrapped it, popped it in the tub and crisis averted. Had I not noticed until later I may have electrocuted myself or my dog, had one of us touched the water when the heater broke! At least now that I have the gear and the technique down pat I can make ales all year round if I choose to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beeblebrox Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I also must have bottled half a batch without putting in carb drops, because I have an excess of carb drops, and have found about a dozen bottles had flat beer in them. I currently have 2 1/2 packs of carb drops, and need to remind myself next time I buy brewing stuff I DO NOT NEED ANY CARB DROPS FOR THE NEXT BATCH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJilm Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 pouring all ingredients into FV without first screwing the tap in knocking the non return valve (little bottler) off inside a bottle during filling dropping glass hydrometer into plastic tube without holding bottom cap - needless to say it fell right through and smashed on the ground forgetting to prime bottles before filling or... accidentally double priming bottles before filling (only three brews experience too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeM16 Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Confession time. Every brew is a little of an adventure for me and sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't. On this occassion, I was finalising a brew by taking the temperature up to 25 C for a day to ensure I'd got all the sugars out. (Yes, yes, I know - trust your hydrometer, 2 days constant, yes, yes, etc). I had been running at 17 C for about 2 weeks and didn't want to wait any longer due to a parched throat and infection risk - so I chucked in the trusty fishtank heater. Only I didn't actually chuck it IN, did I? No, Brains Trust here missed the water, and the heater was merrily heating the airspace above the wort. Where it would have quietly fried itself had said BT not released the power cable, which suddenly immersed said heater into the drink. (Literally). There was a splash, a hiss and a funny crackling sound. After which I was fishing bits of broken glass from the bottom of the fermenter. I bottled anyway, but left a generous volume in the fermenter at the end. At the very least, there's a good chance the glass had been sterilised! Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waxey Gordon Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 It's been a while since I was here but its nice to see/read all the familiar faces. My favorite fail is to not close the tap when I've finished bottling, then remove the bottling wand and have trub filled beer spill all over the floor. Once is funny, five times is getting a bit old. Mind you the dog likes it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chezza Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Lost Another one to infection damn it you piece of S&^t... I could tell as soon as i took the fg reading, i got a sour whiff and was thinking it may have been from the hops..... Taste confirmed it damn acetobacter... My stats are dropping from memory it was 50-0 then 52-2 now about 70-3... So Is it just coincidence that two of the infections started with two cans? One was a JS 150 lashes recipe that was to date my most expensive brew using a can and a can of wheat malt, and the second was my recent toucan dark ale and apa... Anyway the FV is having a bleach bath and my secondary has the latest batch EB + kg malt + 5min amarillo boil should be good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 No chance that it'll get better like my Sauvignon Blager did? I still don't know what happened with that one, but it resurrected itself somehow. My theory is that the infection was suspended in the outside part of the tap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Check SG on two brews. Place Hydrometer in mouth, fill tube, struggle to turn tap off, crunch, I ate the hydro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Plastic or glass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 glass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnaman Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 glass Oh' date=' crunchy so this was a spit and no swallow......[img']whistling[/img] Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Hi Magnaman. Oh' date=' crunchy so this was a spit and no swallow......[img']whistling[/img] Edgy Magnaman, definitely edgy, & you do appear to like walking the tightrope at times. It does make me wonder what you have done with & possibly get up to with a 'snickers bar' given certain amounts of free time? Cheers, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnaman Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Hi Magnaman. It does make me wonder what you have done with & possibly get up to with a 'snickers bar' given certain amounts of free time? Cheers' date=' Anthony.[/size'] G'day Anthony, I don't know what you do with a snickers bar, but I do as Ian Botham does? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Haha!...like I believe that Magnaman! Good try though. Cheers, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I just discovered a fail of sorts when I was grabbing a couple of bottles out of the storage cupboard. My first ever bottle bomb in a total of about 4 or 5 years of brewing! Fortunately the mess was well contained, and the bottle broke in two large pieces with minimal shards, so the cleanup will be easy. Not really sure what caused it but being the only one in the batch I'm guessing either that bottle was weakened for some reason, or it had a small infection that didn't get into any other bottles. I'd imagine if any others were going to explode, they would have done so by now. For the record the batch had fermented out prior to bottling (I always check this to make sure) and I added my normal amount of dex for carbing, which is a rate of about 6g/L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 What type of bottle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hi Paul, It was a Sierra Nevada stubby. First bottle of any type I've used to fail on me. I'll check the cupboard next brew day or something and make sure none of the others has exploded but I'm guessing if they haven't now they most likely won't. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I'm very proud to have been represented in this thread so well with several honourable mentions and, what I feel should be, a red hot chance for "rookie village idiot of the year". So it is with incredible smugness I submit my entry for the "Barnaby Joyce of Brewing" Trophy. Just before leaving for another interstate sojourn over the weekend, the Oktoberfest in March AG recipe (Page 59, Post 1161) was bottled in brand spanking new Coopers Sparkling and Pale Ale longnecks I personally emptied with loving gloriosh care. Today I received an SOS call from my beloved whale, Brunhilda, telling me she has heard (and seen the results of) several exploding bottles. She was very concerned and (while she was worried about opening any of the cartons) wanted to know what she should do. Given I'm nearly a thousand kilometres away and they are in the garage but sitting on "indoor/outdoor carpet", I tried to sound confident while saying "it's been nearly a week now so there shouldn't be many more going off now. So leave them alone and don't worry". Apparently, they've had some really horrible hot days in the last week so I'm keeping my fingers crossed there won't be too many more but I have serious doubts. It's obvious I've stuffed up big time somewhere, but frankly it's not immediately obvious to me where it is, or which combination of things it is. The expected FG was 1.018, and it was 1.016 when it was bulk primed. I aimed to prime at 7g/litre of table sugar, but a slip when measuring out meant it was 7.16 g/litre (ie. 315 grams in 44 litres). I wouldn't have thought that was outlandish for an Octoberfest style using WLP820. It was fermented for 18 days @ 12C, then cold crashed at 0C (plus/minus 1 degree) for 23 days. Admittedly I normally like to do a diacetyl rest for at least 2 days at 17C, but since asking one of the boys to change the temp controller is akin to asking them to slice off a testicle with a razor blade, I didn't bother. Still, I'm glad I've fulfilled Brunhilda's prediction when she did my last "husband's performance appraisal". I believe her report said "This man has reached rock bottom; and has continued to dig." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Hey Phil I was looking for this thread so that I could add my entry. I couldn't remember the title so I made my own post at https://coopers.com.au/coopers-forum/topic/13548/ As much as I would like to see you win the award, any Dickhead that dry hops he fermenter with a dirty old (full) 500 ml stubbie has to take the prize. Yours in Failure Scottie ValleyBrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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