antiphile Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hi HornyAle. Long time, no abuse Nah. Don't worry, I doubt there will be any problem with the steeping. Truth be known, it seems you only need 15 mins between 65 and 72C for crystal & similar grain to steep properly. Since water has a pretty low thermal conductivity you'll be fine, it would have taken at least 15 mins for the temp to rise above that. And 78C is a standard mash-out temp so no damage will have been done. You might be ugly, but you're still lucky! Cheers mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 G'day our champion resident "Babbling Burbler" (Rex Hunt likening IMHO) Hi HornyAle. Long time' date=' no abuse [img']biggrin[/img] After a post where you quoted a feeling that I was perhaps replying in that manner, I made a deliberate point to change the manner in which I will reply to your posts, as it is never my intention to "abuse" any member of this forum when replying to posts & questions. You have my most humble apology if indeed I have ever made you feel this way from a post of mine. Nah. Don't worry' date=' I doubt there will be [b']any[/b] problem with the steeping. Truth be known, it seems you only need 15 mins between 65 and 72C for crystal & similar grain to steep properly. Since water has a pretty low thermal conductivity you'll be fine, it would have taken at least 15 mins for the temp to rise above that. And 78C is a standard mash-out temp so no damage will have been done. Everything you state here is true. However, the Munich grain is the worry here for me. It's a base malt & the conversion of starches into fermentable sugars & enzyme activity during the mash are particularly important as opposed to "steeping" a specialty grain. You might be ugly' date=' but you're still lucky! [img']devil[/img] +1 Let's hope at least on one count, I am here! I very much enjoy reading your posts (regardless of topic), & note the thought & effort that goes into your verbalization at times. Thanks for your interest & thoughts, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 After a post where you quoted a feeling that I was perhaps replying in that manner' date=' I made a deliberate point to change the manner in which I will reply to your posts, as it is never my intention to "abuse" any member of this forum when replying to posts & questions. You have my most humble apology if indeed I have ever made you feel this way from a post of mine. [img']innocent[/img] My dear brother I didn't express myself well, did I? I never wished to imply you, nor any other member, has ever treated me with anything other than great (and thoroughly undeserved) respect. It was meant as a self-deprecatory and throwaway line; if you have interpreted it as offensive or seriously, I truly and unreservedly apologise. While it was meant as a "joke", the written word can be misinterpreted especially if it is poorly worded. I can blame no-one but myself for that mistake. I'm genuinely sorry, Anthony. I also have to include I didn't read your post carefully enough, and I assumed you were steeping and not mashing. Sorry, Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 It should be fine Lusty. It would have taken a while to get to 76 degrees so you would have had some conversion during that time. Alpha-amylase enzyme denatures at 77 degrees Celsius so you should get conversion but a less fermentable wort. But given it is 500g Munich I wouldn't be overly concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Thanks on a couple of fronts, both Sir Les, & Hairy. I always felt we were on a similar page, nice for you to re-affirm that Sir Les. Thanks for your knowledge on what has transpired with the higher mash temp Hairy. In an un-educated way I approached the rest of my brewday based on the premise you described on only having a small amount of base malt in the grist. After I screwed up, I did a bit of reading on the subject. Everything you stated is what I read also. Given such a major disaster, & the potential life changing effects such a thing could have on an individual, I was glad to come out "the other side" with the same sexual orientation & preferences that I had upon entering it! Brew on! Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramjet Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Last night was an unwanted FIRST for me - I tipped an HB down the drain, it was so bad! It was from my Brew #68 (currently on the fourth series, as I return to 1 when I reach 99 -- can't fit more than two numbers on the cap). So that works out to first failure in about 11,000 bottles! So what caused it, I ask myself? The brew was a Cooper's "Kits & Bits" Oktoberfest, bottled late January. I had bottled some of that batch in 500 ml bottles, and the rest in 740 ml tallies. All the 500's are finished now, but I noticed some of them tasted different from the rest. The one last night was a tallie, and it initially tasted OK, followed quickly by a not-very-appealing aftertaste. So working on the basis that life's too short to drink bad beer, out it went! So what caused it? All I can think of is that I changed over to Cooper's bottle caps in January, from the BigW ones I'd always used previously. Now I have never sanitised my caps, working on the assumption that they'd be clean enough straight out of the packet. This dog has just learnt a new trick! Guess what new step I'll be incorporating into my bottling days now! The sad part is that I've bottled another 180 tallies since then, with un-sanitised caps. Guess each one will be a lucky dip... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guzz Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Wow, that's a lot of beer you have made, 368 batches!! You must have saved a small fortune and drank some fine brews. And here's me thinking I'm all cool, having done 26 batches Good luck with the other 180 bottles. Now please cough up your favourite recipe/s ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramjet Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Gday Guzz Saved money? Yep. 368 batches? Over the course of 40 years! Fine brews? Only in the last 6 months, really. Pressures of work/lack of time was why I was brewing K & Ks, predominantly Coopers (and quite happy with too I must add), but I only started on the next level (Kits & Bits, with specialty grains, extra hops, etc) last year, and now upped the ante again, and have started 3V (HLT, mash-tun, and kettle) All Grain brews - 2 done to date. Interestingly, and probably fairly common, I started HB'ing to save money, and pretty well stuck with Cooper's Original Series until the last few years. Then got adventurous with the International Series, and really liked the Australian Pale Ale and Canadian Blonde. Never got into the TC Series, as BigW didn't/don't stock them! Anyway, emphasis now is not on saving money (although you still do compared with buying slabs at the bottle shop) but brewing BETTER beers. Of the Kits and Bits I've done, I love the Cooper's "Chubby Cherub", "Mister Sinister", and the "Hop Slam IPA"- easy to do, and what brews they are! Looking forward to my AG'ers now, but will still do Kits & Bits, as they're a real time-saver, and you can make some fabulous beers in any style you want with them. AG's give you that warm fuzzy feeling of doing it from scratch though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I finally get to contribute to this thread. Brew day today and the mash was ready to be drained. I opened the tap a little and nothing. I opened it fully and still nothing. I couldn't even poke something into it to clear the blockage. Nothing left to do other than to scoop out the mash into the kettle, remove the false bottom, wash out the esky and clear the blockage in the tap. Then pour the mash back into the esky and start again. At least I know what caused the problem and how to avoid it going forward (hopefully). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 More a brain fart than a fail. Thinking of buying a thermometre for the urn, wondering what to get. Then I thought how about a temp controller? Der, I already have one with the fermeezer. Brew today, easily the most accurate strike temp yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Brew today' date=' easily the most accurate strike temp yet.[/quote']Doesn't qualify mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Cleaning my Grain Mill with the motor running today, looked away for a split second and the brush got caught in the nip, stalling the motor and stressing the coupling. It looks a bit out of shape now and I only just fixed the damn thing on Tuesday after it came loose. Big job now as it's been pushed onto both shafts with a really tight fit. Cheers Scottie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 I'll make you feel better Scottie, & give you a giggle at the same time. I planned NEVER to disclose this but since you're feeling down I thought WTF! A couple of months back I was planning for a tilt at a clone of a popular Scottish beer known as "Youngers Tartan Special". I'd gotten hold of the Wyeast 1728, smacked it the day before brew day, & then did a stupid thing with it... Being winter, the weather is cold, & understanding yeast to some point, I thought rather than leave the smack pack on my kitchen bench top (as I usually do), I'd be clever & place it on my heat pad overnight knowing how yeast enjoy warmer temps to propagate/ferment etc. This heat pad is on an interval timer normally, which if I'd left it on, probably wouldn't have been a bad thing. However, I stupidly (there's that word again! ) decided that I would disconnect the interval timer & allow the heat pad to run continually throughout the cold night. For those that can't quite see a problem with doing this I'll explain what I did wrong here. The heat pads you buy to place your fermenters on will supposedly hold a full 20+ litre brew at a temperature up to no more than 24°C. The pad is designed to control a large volume of liquid, so when you place a small little baggy of liquid yeast on that same heat pad, it obviously has a much more intense impact! IDIOT!! Let's just say when I got up the next morning (brew day) & checked on this little Wyeast package, there was some serious heat coming from it!! IDIOT! Bahahaha! I allowed it to cool & hoped I hadn't cooked the yeast entirely, & pitched it later that day into said brew. Mistake. The brew did ferment out to expected levels, but did lag after pitching & must have caused some issues from that. It's off my chest now, let's never speak of this again my brewing comrades. I hope you feel better Scottie! Cheers, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Damn 1728. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Damn 1728. I thought I might have got a giggle there. Would it make you laugh knowing that I bottled 24 longnecks of it?!! The FV sample I tasted on bottling day smelled just slightly off. But I went ahead & bottled it hoping it might come good. WRONG MOVE THERE CHAMP! I poured 12 of them out today' date=' washed, bottle scrubbed & sanititised them because I needed those longnecks for the wheat beer I bottled earlier today! [img']annoyed[/img] I can laugh about it now. Time & other brews heal old wounds. Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Speaking of Heat Mats and bearing in mind that I am a qualified Electrician I just checked today's brew in the FV, mainly because I am amazed at the amount of break material. Still sitting at 18 degrees on the stick on thermometer; check the temp controller, it's set on 21 and reading 19 degrees. Think to myself "Why isn't this thing heating up?". Check the heat pad, Cold! Phew another problem to solve, equipment failure. I look at the temperature controller again and something doesn't look right. Damn, the heat mat isn't even plugged in Cheers Scottie the Sparkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Speaking of Heat Mats and bearing in mind that I am a qualified Electrician I just checked today's brew in the FV' date=' mainly because I am amazed at the amount of break material. Still sitting at 18 degrees on the stick on thermometer; check the temp controller, it's set on 21 and reading 19 degrees. Think to myself "Why isn't this thing heating up?". Check the heat pad, Cold! Phew another problem to solve, equipment failure. I look at the temperature controller again and something doesn't look right. Damn, the heat mat isn't even plugged in [img']rightful[/img] Cheers Scottie the Sparkie Haha! Well I feel better! Cheers, Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The A man Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 Was transferring a batch of starsan from my secondary FV to my primary yesterday, which I have done a million times before by sitting the secondary on my primary and just running the tap out. This time it slipped, fell into the big FV, got starsan all over the laundry and ceiling and also split my FV.... Bugger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 When controlling temperature, one should ensure that their thermometer is correctly positioned against the side of the fermenter and has not fallen off, resulting in false low readings while the heat belt cranks away ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelD16 Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 Very first brew extremely excited about dissolving my can of extract in the fermenter didnt realise my feet getting warm and sticky, left the tap open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guzz Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 The last 2 ROTM's, "Robo Choc" and "Extra Strong Vintage Ale" do not say in the recipe to crack the grains (like the other recipes do). It does say to "Add the cracked grains......" BUT because I often buy my grains already cracked from my LHBS, while just making my Robo Choc, I just tipped the whole grains into the water for steeping, then realised, they are not cracked!! (Idiot!) I did a hot steep(not cold as the recipe suggests), anyways, while it was steeping, I just squished and bashed them to break them up using a potato masher and a steel spatula, which did the job I think. (Did 10 min boil to be safe) . Then I realised that last week when I did another Robo Choc, I think I did the same thing, added uncracked grains to the hot water, but that time I didnt mush em up or anything, so, umm yeah! Hmm, I don't think I will ever make that mistake again. Crack Grains....Crack Grains....Crack Grains....Crack Grains.... Cheers Guzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Let my steep get up to 80 degrees again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Not that it's a biggie for steeping grains to go over temp target a bit, but many kitchens have a good ol' fashioned electric slow cooker (crock pot type of thingy) hidden away in the back of one of the cupboards. I haven't done it, KR, but I've seen some people use it for steeping. Bring it up to temp, add grain, wait for the grains with the water to get back to target temp, put on the lid, turn off the power, and walk away for 30 mins or however long you want to give it. It sounds almost antiphile-proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I've done an experiment with my own slow cooker before actually, but it's pretty, well, slow going. Normally I don't need to put the heat back on, but today I did and ... whoops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Another mistake - today I brewed a lager. Looking at the weather forecast I should've done that a few weeks ago when the gettin' was good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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