hopsgood Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 Hey Kelsey (and anyone else who could answer) Just a quick question if I may... Do you treat your Brisbane water for all grain brewing or just use it straight from the tap? Cheers, Hopsgood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 14, 2016 Author Share Posted September 14, 2016 Depends on the beer I'm brewing. For Czech pilsners I distill all the water and add back tiny amounts of mineral salts. For all other beers I just use it straight from the tap, but sometimes I add chlorides or sulphates if I want a slight emphasis on either maltiness or hoppiness respectively. Sulphates can apparently dry the finish out a bit too, enhancing the bitterness influence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 14, 2016 Author Share Posted September 14, 2016 I cleaned out my kegerator earlier, from the mess the original keg of lemon lime and bitters made when it blew the beer line off its tubing in the font. It's currently airing out and tomorrow I'll put cable ties on all the beer lines (should have just done it originally but anyway), and fix up the font cooling tubing as well. It's a tad long at the moment so I will chop the ends off a little, and cable tie the hosing to them too. Once that's all done the next three kegs can go in, being a Bo pilsner, an English bitter and an American pale ale. They'll be hooked up to gas at 45PSI for about 18-20 hours, then have the gas disconnected for another however many hours until I burp them and re-hook up the gas at normal serving pressure. My birthday is in a couple of weeks so I want them in cold storage to clear up a bit (or a lot) before then. There is still some stout left in the keg that was in there but it's almost empty now. The second keg of lemon lime and bitters is still about half full and finally carbonated properly too. Just in time to be removed from the fridge Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 15, 2016 Author Share Posted September 15, 2016 The kegerator is cleaned up and the lines are more tightly secured to their tubes now, so the next three kegs are in and chilling down on gas at 45PSI until I leave for work tomorrow morning. I chopped the ends off the font chilling tubing as well, and cable tied the hose onto them. Now it pushes up further without bending the hose too much, and also makes it easier to get the rear keg in and out. The cable ties on the hose also act to hold it in place inside the font which is good too. I haven't hooked up the beer lines to the kegs yet, even though they are secured now, I don't want a repeat of what happened with the lemon lime and bitters keg, so I'll connect them up tomorrow arvo once I burp the kegs and re-hook up the gas at normal serving pressure. The high gauge is telling me that the bottle will need replacing soon too, so that's lasted almost a year now which is about average. These will be ready for my birthday now. I was gonna try some over the weekend but circumstances have changed and I won't be here, again. Oh well, more time for them to sit and settle. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickster86 Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Looks good Kelsey. Cant wait til i get mine delivered and filled with kegs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 15, 2016 Author Share Posted September 15, 2016 Certainly beats all the faffing around of bottling, that's for sure! I found it hard to build a stockpile for a while because of the novelty factor of being able to pour my own beers from a proper set up at home. Now I've got to a point where I can put three full kegs in at once, and then keep brewing to fill the next three so that they're ready to go in when the last of the previous three is emptied. Another advantage of doing it this way is that I can clean the fridge out if needed when there are no kegs in it, rather than having to take partially filled ones out and put them back in again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaffeinatedSentryGnome Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 The ATO has released my funds. Now i shall start my keg list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 The ATO has released my funds. Now i shall start my keg list. LOL! That's how I think I got started! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 My current three on tap of Bo Pils, ESB and APA are all pouring well and nicely carbonated after last Thursday/Friday spending ~20 hours at 45PSI in the kegerator before being left to settle for about 6-7 hours, then burped and hooked up at serving pressure again. They ended up spending the weekend at serving pressure before I poured any because I wasn't here, but prior experience tells me they would have been carbed pretty well on Friday night. I'll keep using this method of carbonating, as it never results in over carbonated kegs, and it only takes a day or two anyway which isn't a big deal as I usually have some bottled stuff on hand in the interim. Happy days Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 A little earlier this evening I kegged & fast carbed up this beer. In a short while I'll burp it & put it on pouring pressure, then pour one to try. It's an interesting beer on two levels for me. I haven't used the Coopers wheat LME in this style of beer before, & I also short boiled the Bravo hops in an attempt to retain a bit more of it's flavour through the beer. Some nice hops involved, but a schedule a little out of my comfort zone should make it interesting. On a side note, with my last two brews, just before kegging I've removed the FV lid, stuck my head in & had a good whiff. Man 'O' man didn't I nearly get knocked out from what I inhaled. It had a real burn on the nasal passage. At first I thought the brews might have been infected as I felt the sharp smell was on the acidic side. However both beers tasted fine from the glass, so I was just wondering what the smell is/was? Is it a concentration of C02, alcohol, aromas from the wort, or a combination of all three? I'd be interested in peoples thoughts &/or knowledge on this one. I hope the brew is pouring well for the AFL Grand Final on Saturday. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 It's carbon dioxide mainly. There would be some aroma from the beer (which it is at this point not wort anymore ) as well but most of it is carbon dioxide. I doubt it would be alcohol, its concentration is obviously no different to what it is when the beer is in the glass, and you don't smell it there. Probably not a good idea to be sticking your noggin into the FV like that Who are you going for in the AFL grand final? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnaman Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 G'Day Sir Lusty, Otto man has given you the good oil. Once upon a time I worked a "crushing season" for Hardy's wines in SA, the juice was stored in large vats and C02 was also in the vats to prevent oxidisation and the juice was pumped in and out and I got used to the smell of the C02 and it is what I smell when lifting the lid on a fermenter. Human lungs don't like it, we can suffocate. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Thanks for the info lads. I had a feeling it was mainly C02 due to the discomfort of inhaling & breathing. My reason for sticking my head in there was an attempt to pick up the aroma from the dry hopping. Let's just say I won't be using that method in future! I poured one in the end & despite it being a little green atm, the elements appear to have come together well. I've also been using the same fast carbing technique over my last 3-4 brews, & they have consistently poured well. I might have to make a short video of the inverted method to demonstrate how easy & fast you can be drinking your home brewed beer if the need presents. Who are you going for in the AFL grand final? I think if you're not a Swans supporter' date=' everyone I speak to wants the Bulldogs to win. I too would like to see them win. It would be something pretty special. [img']cool[/img] Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Yeah I'd like to see the Dogs win it too. I'm not a supporter of either club but the Swans have had enough premierships anyway Looking forward to this weekend, it's also my birthday so on top of the footy tomorrow I'm heading out for drinks with SWMBO and some friends, and then on Sunday I'm having a BBQ here at home with her and a small group of close mates. The beers will be pouring of course, might even empty a keg or two! Good thing Monday is a public holiday Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 6, 2016 Author Share Posted October 6, 2016 Didn't end up emptying any kegs over my birthday long weekend, which is actually a good thing as it means they'll last longer while I get the next three filled. Speaking of which, I just kegged and bottled my XXXX Bitter knock off, got 11 stubbies from it this time as the volume was a bit less than 25 litres, and of course the full keg. I'll be harvesting from my 1469 starter soonish, and then putting it into the fridge to crash chill in order to pitch into another batch of red ale tomorrow during my work break. Then hopefully I'll have an empty keg available to put the pale ale into that's due to be fermented after the red when it's ready... Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaffeinatedSentryGnome Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 ive got my kegorator setup. now just waiting for the kegs to rock up and to have beer to put in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaffeinatedSentryGnome Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 It seems that there is some confusion over getting kegs to me. But they are sending the via auspost now so maybe Wednesday I'll have kegs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaffeinatedSentryGnome Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I have my kegs now. Filled them with beer already just gonna let them age a bit. Tho i did but some southwark to test with. A few foamy glasses got tipped but it was southwark so i didnt feel bad. I also tipped some over carbed toucan stout into a keg and thats in the kegerator now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 Just kegged another batch of my red ale, no bottles for this one. Poured 4 schooners from the FV first to clear the gunk away from the tap and had a sneaky taste test on the 4th one and as usual it's shaping up to be an excellent little session ale. This one came in at 4.3% ABV. Now I'm preparing to harvest some of a US-05 starter I've been fermenting over the last few days. This is a new packet so hopefully those crappy flavours in the current APA don't happen anymore. The flask will go into the brew fridge to chill until Wednesday when I'll pitch it into the next APA, which was brewed with Centennial and Chinook. When that brew is kegged in ~3 weeks, I'll have 3 full kegs ready to be tapped once the current lot are all emptied. The Bo pils is already gone, as it was quite popular at my birthday BBQ, so just the APA and ESB remain. I need a new gas bottle soon too, this current one is nearly empty but it has lasted about 11 months which I'm not complaining about. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swill Bill Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I've just bought a new 19 litre corny and was wondering if I need to break it down and clean it before use. I have 3 others but I got them 2nd hand and pulled them down and cleaned and sanitised everything before use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 I didn't break mine down (all were bought new), but I did give them a clean out and sanitise before filling for the first time. When emptied they get sodium perc pushed through them and out the tap and then the same with hot water after rinsing the perc residue out. So I figure that cleans what needs cleaning pretty well. I've had no trouble with them in the year or so I've been kegging now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyStew Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I would. Everything you buy related to food or beverage consumption advises it. Good chance it still has oils and other nasties on it from the manufacturering process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Hi guys. A little earlier today I fast carbed up what I think could be a very promising beer (that suites my tastes). Old No.15 Pale Ale I had a little swig from the FV tap & it appears to be shaped very well in the right areas for what I was hoping to produce. Nice citrus flavours, with a combo of lovely floral & tropical fruit aromas on the nose. I can't wait to pour one of these after work tonight. Hopefully I've got the malt balance to bitterness balance right. Another cool brew I haven't been able to brew for 2 years is set down for Wednesday. Good times ahead. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Pirate Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Damn you guys .....keep tempting me ! First I had to buy a ferment fridge , then Ben 10 forced me to start using Rye now I have to buy kegs to force myself away from bottles .....mostly damn my weak jelly arms that don't even need much twisting . Annoyed that yesterdays mash crept up in temp while I was busy bottling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gag Halfrunt Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Evening all. Exciting times! Am about to keg my brew for the first time. One question, why cold crash before kegging? Wont the brew cold crash itself in the keg/keezer? Another question , how long to force carb and at what pressure? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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