PXR-5 Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 26C I would have just pitched it and put it straight into the brew fridge. Anyway' date=' I would say the 1.004 FG would be the dry enzyme. Most batches don't get down that low with only brewers yeast unless they are mashed low and fermented with lager yeast, or there is a fair bit of sugar or dextrose used in the recipe. [/quote'] I would have 6 weeks ago. I had been trying different processes and additives a little haphazardly and decided to work on consistent processes and only change one thing at a time to get a good idea of the results. This didn't help. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Yeah, I must say I do try to pitch at ferment temps if I can, and most of the time I do. But sometimes there's no room in the fridge to put the cube to chill it down a bit, so it just gets pitched at ambient then brought down in the fridge. Luckily my 3L flask can fit on the shelf above where the FV sits, but the 5L one is too tall, so I've only been chilling lager cubes down if I have room in the keg fridge to put the 5L flask**. I'll see if I can move the shelf lower with a 25L cube in there on Wednesday. I always use the 25L cubes for lagers. I haven't really noticed any difference from pitching at different temps, at least not with ales. Lagers are a little different. **I make yeast starters and crash chill them for a day or two prior to pitching in order to tip out most of the "beer" so it doesn't end up in the batch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PXR-5 Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Yeah' date=' I must say I do try to pitch at ferment temps if I can, and most of the time I do. But sometimes there's no room in the fridge to put the cube to chill it down a bit, so it just gets pitched at ambient then brought down in the fridge. Luckily my 3L flask can fit on the shelf above where the FV sits, but the 5L one is too tall, so I've only been chilling lager cubes down if I have room in the keg fridge to put the 5L flask**. I'll see if I can move the shelf lower with a 25L cube in there on Wednesday. I always use the 25L cubes for lagers. I haven't really noticed any difference from pitching at different temps, at least not with ales. Lagers are a little different. **I make yeast starters and crash chill them for a day or two prior to pitching in order to tip out most of the "beer" so it doesn't end up in the batch.[/quote'] Seen a lot of talk in the forum here, and particularly yours on starters. Seems like a cheaper way than buying yeast all the time at $4 odd per packet. I'm just going through a stage where I want to establish a consistent repeatable brew. I'll then try things like re-hydrating the yeast, different strains of yeast and yeast starters etc. and evaluate whether the results are worth the additional effort. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joolbag Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Not so much a fail as a frustration. I can't find my phosphoric sanitiser!!!! It's not in my brew tub with all the other equipment. Was planning to bottle last night but couldn't without sanitiser and still can't find it. Brewshop opens at 10am, I'll have one last look. Uts been 4 weeks since I've used it (fast-lager schedule, ferment, diacetyl rest then 2 weeks.cold.crash). So chances of me finding it after such a long time are slim. I will out money on it that my wife "put it away" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Seen a lot of talk in the forum here' date=' and particularly yours on starters. Seems like a cheaper way than buying yeast all the time at $4 odd per packet. I'm just going through a stage where I want to establish a consistent repeatable brew. I'll then try things like re-hydrating the yeast, different strains of yeast and yeast starters etc. and evaluate whether the results are worth the additional effort. John[/quote']I've found it heaps good in regard to not buying yeast all the time. The lager yeast I currently use was bought in March last year and it's still going well, and I just replaced some US-05 after a year of re-using it. Re-hydrating yeast is a piece of piss really, I'd recommend it straight away, better than potentially killing half the yeast cells by dry pitching into the wort. Only adds about 20 minutes to the prep time. One thing I've found with starters is that I never get stalled fermentations. I also pitch the yeast cold after its chill in the fridge which has reduced lag times quite significantly over letting it warm up to room temp/brew temp first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joolbag Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Crisis averted! Took the shed apart n found it. In a box. That I packed. Oops. Blamed the wife mistakenly. But it usually is her! Bottling back on and brewday will proceed as planned. Prolly only 1 brew since its late Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koo wee brew Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 A fight erupted between my 3 assistant brewers about who was going to tip the APA can into the FV........ It went all over the kitchen floor....... Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaffeinatedSentryGnome Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Dropped a keg seal in a keg full of beer, discovered that they don't float. Had to steal one off another keg but that required emptying one first. problem was that i was already drunk and it was 1am friday with work in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave'O Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 I've got a bad habit of leaving the tap open/on after cleaning the beer line between kegs. having a stopper at the end of the tap while hooking up a new keg and spraying beer all up the wall. Lucky for me its in the shed, I don't think the Mrs would be too happy otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 I had a brew day planned for today but forgot I pinched the sachet of Nottingham yeast I had set aside for this brew, & used it on a quick kit & kilo I put down a couple of weeks ago. I didn't replace the yeast. No brew shops open today. DOH!! Ohh well I guess my day off on Wednesday is now the next brew day. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joolbag Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Hey lusty at least u checked your ingredients before you started! Wouldve been a much bigger fail had you brewed, chilled, transferred and then realised you were out of yeast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Pirate Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Lusty , i did same myself before ran down to woolies for 2 cans of APA , pitched both yeasts and donated the cans to a new brewer i know ... the fail was forgetting i had 2 sachets of the int . series mixed yeast in the freezer already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joolbag Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 i seem to be searching for and posting in this thread a lot more than I want to! Fail today... Sanitised 40 x pint bottles Sanitised my siphon, bottling wand and brewer's spoon Sanitised my bottling bucket + tap Set everything up in my kitchen, ready to start bottling Even boiled up my 178g of dextrose! Fermenter came up from the brew fridge, this was the top one that is nearest to the element. Aaaaand it has a nice iceberg in there, probably 1/4 or so of the beer is now ice. I left it to defrost for an hour and no progress so packed it all away to repeat another day. FRUSTRATING! Especially on a day at home with both kids at day care and I REALLY wanted to bottle my Kolsch. Hope beer will be OK once it defrosts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wotto Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 FRUSTRATING! Especially on a day at home with both kids at day care and I REALLY wanted to bottle my Kolsch. Lol I feel your pain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dozer71 Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 Aaaaand it has a nice iceberg in there' date=' probably 1/4 or so of the beer is now ice. I left it to defrost for an hour and no progress so packed it all away to repeat another day. [/quote'] Could have bottled it as an Eisbock (I think). That frozen section will be all water so reduced overall volume to bottle, but increased ABV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not so newb now Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 well brew day comes today and ive poped my first big one..... grain steeping light dry malt and liquid amber malt ready to go with motueka and mosaic hops. bulk prime the last batch ready to bottle....... k here we go annnnnnd no crows seals well its away for the night now and ill bottle tomorrow after a stir, new brew stil went on as fermenter two was bored and well its brew day....... aghhhhhhhhhh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gag Halfrunt Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 Destroyed my keg fridge today. Attempting to screw on a hasp and staple to stop the door popping open. Tiny minute screw, what could possibly go wrong? Next thing refrigerant pissing out of 2mm hole. I am an idiot! Only got myself to blame, had it in my head before I started drilling but thought,"what are the odds?" Turns out 100%. Bugger! Ah well. Time for a bigger and better keezer project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PXR-5 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Destroyed my keg fridge today. Attempting to screw on a hasp and staple to stop the door popping open. Tiny minute screw' date=' what could possibly go wrong? Next thing refrigerant pissing out of 2mm hole. I am an idiot! Only got myself to blame, had it in my head before I started drilling but thought,"what are the odds?" [/quote'] Did the same thing about 2 months ago. annoying as all hell as I had just replaced the rubber seal. got a new fridge (second hand) but no drilling in this one. I had to put a bracket on it to take the temp controller. this time I used a hot glue gun - works fine. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 I received a phone call from my wife yesterday afternoon to tell me that the FV was leaking. Apparently after taking a sample the day before, I didn't ensure the snap tap was sitting in the fully closed position I asked her to tell me how much was left by looking at the measurements on the side. Her response was "2 litres" After calming down I asked her to check again. There was actually 20 litres left. So I lost about 1-2 litres of beer. It could have been much worse I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 Boiled up a 1.2 litre starter in a 3L flask yesterday and the damn thing boiled right up and out the top of the flask and all over the stove top. Well, not all over it but there was a puddle of boiled wort on it. Easily cleaned but seriously I don't know what the F is up with this lot of dry extract, every time it comes to a boil it foams up like mad. I've been buying it from the same LHBS since I started making yeast starters, and the stuff I'd been getting up until this lot was very subdued with regard to foaming. I could turn the stove on and just walk away and be safe in the knowledge that it would stay in the flask. Now I have to watch the stupid thing like a hawk and even the gentlest of boils will end up foaming out the top if left long enough. It does make it difficult to maintain a boil even for a few minutes. I have noticed that this more recent extract appears to be a finer powder than the stuff that behaved itself when boiling, so perhaps they've changed suppliers... Frustrating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrie Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I have just been using Coopers DME for my starters as It is a good price here at Dan Murphy's and it behaves exactly the same as what you are now experiencing. I never take my eyes off a flask on the stove with it in. It can shoot out of the top in a matter of seconds. I'm using it on gas so its easy to control the temp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Yeah I have gas too which does make it easier, and I don't mind having to watch it, it's just frustrating that I can't boil it for more than a minute or so even gently, without it trying to escape the flask. I'm guessing the old stuff was band dried rather than spray dried and this is why it was a coarser powder. I have no idea why it didn't foam up like mental, but I sure wasn't complaining about it. A 2.2L starter in the 3L flask didn't even get near foaming over. Maybe I'll have to start making starters in 10 litre flasks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 Bottling an American Lager today. Got all my equipment sterilised and ready to go. Cricket on the tablet so I can watch while I bottle. Measured out my dextrose to 2.7 CO2 level. Dumped that in the bottling bucket but without mixing it with hot water first Realised after bottling 2/3 of it and seeing the aussies get a wicket that I didn't mix it up. F**k. Dumped the bottles back into the bottling bucket being careful not to splash it too much before getting a spoon and giving it a good stir. No idea if it will mix correctly as it was cold crashed at 1c before bottling but hoping for the best. Anybody done something similar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Pirate Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 i should have bottled my bavarian Pils a week ago , finally got around to getting everything ready this morning only to find i froze it during CC ....was fine a few days ago when i checked it but strange temps here must have caught up with me ....defrosting it now so will bottle later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Making a yeast starter for my next brew which is a XXXX Bitter rip off again, and I only have bloody 60g of dry malt left. It's a 2.7 litre starter since I'm not re-using the yeast this time, but I've made up the remainder of the fermentables with dextrose. I guess with the recipe containing a fair whack of raw sugar it probably isn't a huge problem in this instance, which is the only reason I'm doing it. I'll be able to make a trip to the brew shop before the brew after that one though, to pick up some more LDM. The only good thing about this is that it might prevent the stupid thing from turning into a volcano when it boils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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