Home Brew

[Tunkers]

yeah me too! lol

Been spoiling myself with brewing alot of ipa,'s, xpa's, over the last 12 months, around 7%ers..

Gotta get back to "normal" beers , got a 60lt brew AU Lager and a single 30lt brew of Draft in the fementers atm, one more week to go!...


always a dilemma with what to do with the left overs after kegs are full..

4lts seems abit much tho..

I drink too much for high abv beers haha end up writing myself off. Prefer a Pacific ale over an IPA but any beer is better then none haha

I usually have a 5L keg handy to grab whatever the 19L corny doesn't hold (23-19=4) alas the 5L has not been emptied yet. What a terrible problem to have haha

 

[Beil]

That's bloody brilliant work mate I really appreciate the help! Reckon it's worth getting a malt / dextrose blend instead of just ldme?

No worries, this was my jam working out beer specs and technicals.

Nah, I'd generally always use straight LDME vs a maltodextrin/dextrose/LDME blend (brew booster) if only using one item with the tin. If anything a bit of dextrose/sucrose with some steeped crystal malt in addition to the 1kg LDME and tin (depending on what tin)


As Rabbit suggests, brew this, keep notes and make tweaks for next one. Doesn't even need to be the same beer, you should be able to taste how this one may work without the coconut addition and that could be the next one with about 300g of light crystal malt steeped, then boiled, then added. But for eg with that one; if you kept the same boiled hop amount you may find it needs a little bit more bitterness to even out the added sweetness.
It's easy to fall into the trap of brewing wildly different beers each time, which there's nothing wrong with at all... but if you do a few brews in a row that are very similar and only tweaking a few things, you get a feel for that style and it makes putting a recipe together a bit easier. Then you get into different yeasts and actual grains which you can use to adjust the final gravity as well as flavours.

I use Beersmith (the app in the screenshot), it's great for recording the recipe and adding details to it, it's got every recipe I've brewed since about 2017-18 in it which I can go back to and check the notes etc.

Have you played with using different yeasts yet?

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Kegged up a strawberry cider yesterday there's still about 4L in fermenter if you're interested?

Hell yeah.

 

[Tunkers]

No worries, this was my jam working out beer specs and technicals.

Nah, I'd generally always use straight LDME vs a maltodextrin/dextrose/LDME blend (brew booster) if only using one item with the tin. If anything a bit of dextrose/sucrose with some steeped crystal malt in addition to the 1kg LDME and tin (depending on what tin)


As Rabbit suggests, brew this, keep notes and make tweaks for next one. Doesn't even need to be the same beer, you should be able to taste how this one may work without the coconut addition and that could be the next one with about 300g of light crystal malt steeped, then boiled, then added. But for eg with that one; if you kept the same boiled hop amount you may find it needs a little bit more bitterness to even out the added sweetness.
It's easy to fall into the trap of brewing wildly different beers each time, which there's nothing wrong with at all... but if you do a few brews in a row that are very similar and only tweaking a few things, you get a feel for that style and it makes putting a recipe together a bit easier. Then you get into different yeasts and actual grains which you can use to adjust the final gravity as well as flavours.

I use Beersmith (the app in the screenshot), it's great for recording the recipe and adding details to it, it's got every recipe I've brewed since about 2017-18 in it which I can go back to and check the notes etc.

Have you played with using different yeasts yet?

View attachment 57243View attachment 57244View attachment 57245

Was literally just looking at Beersmith to see how much it was. I downloaded another called brewers friend to have a fiddle with to see if it's beyond me or not haha love the idea though.

I've only ever used the yeast that comes with whatever extract I choose at the time. Like you mentioned, if I stuck to doing a similar brew and changing out yeast I might notice a difference in batches but yeah I haven't ventured that far down the rabbit hole yet.

PS very curious about the "random pastry wankfactor stout"

 

[Tunkers]

Hell yeah.

Is it a glass growler? Or like a little keg? Hasn't been carbonated yet, can you do that with a growler?

 

[med180]

Is it a glass growler? Or like a little keg? Hasn't been carbonated yet, can you do that with a growler?

Prime the growler with sufficient sugars for a secondary bottle ferment for carbonation. Just needs to be sat aside a few weeks

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Is it a glass growler? Or like a little keg? Hasn't been carbonated yet, can you do that with a growler?

Yeah it’s a glass one. Probs not then

 

[Tunkers]

Yeah it’s a glass one. Probs not then

Always welcome to grab whatever's ready in the kegerator. Atm it's only lemon lime bitters until the ciders carbed. Wheat beer will be gone by the end of today

 

[Beil]

Was literally just looking at Beersmith to see how much it was. I downloaded another called brewers friend to have a fiddle with to see if it's beyond me or not haha love the idea though.

I've only ever used the yeast that comes with whatever extract I choose at the time. Like you mentioned, if I stuck to doing a similar brew and changing out yeast I might notice a difference in batches but yeah I haven't ventured that far down the rabbit hole yet.

PS very curious about the "random pastry wankfactor stout"

I tried brewers friend after using beersmith fpr years as i heard it was more user friendly.... but i found it wasn't as customisable. Might have just been because I was used to beersmith... plenty of my mates use brewers friend... it does the same job as what I mentioned. Either one would work and make record keeping and calculations easier once you have your 'system' set up.


I had a mate who made a Tinned pastry stout that was really nice... so put together a recipe using the Coopers stout tins with a LOT of added grains and stuff. Never ended up brewing it for some reason.
Name was just because a lot of the expensive pastry stouts sound pretty wanky and it wasnt somwthing I'd usually brew (im more Pale ales/IPAs and hefeweißens)

 

[Rabbitlicker]

Not enough kegs? I think I could help with your problem:



There's a Beer Engine behind the cask....



All Mytton Rodd's except this lot:



Leftovers from when I was running a (now defunct) homebrewing supplies warehouse.


Then there's also the 5-6 up the back of my shed & the 80L Post-Mix keg outside....

1st world problems, eh??

I'm having a tidy-up & clear-out of my gear before I fire-up the brewery for the first time in about 6-7 years whilst I built a house.

 

[Beil]

Not enough kegs? I think I could help with your problem:

View attachment 57248View attachment 57249

There's a Beer Engine behind the cask....

View attachment 57250

All Mytton Rodd's except this lot:

View attachment 57251

Leftovers from when I was running a (now defunct) homebrewing supplies warehouse.


Then there's also the 5-6 up the back of my shed & the 80L Post-Mix keg outside....

1st world problems, eh??

I'm having a tidy-up & clear-out of my gear before I fire-up the brewery for the first time in about 6-7 years whilst I built a house.

Nice collection, jealous of the beer engine!
What's your brew set up?

 

[Rabbitlicker]

Nice collection, jealous of the beer engine!
What's your brew set up?

If you're after a beer engine, Real Ale cask & a random collection of bungs/shives/spiles etc. to go with it, they're all on my "To-Sell" list Even better if you're in Melb.....


Sorely neglected for several years, covered in shit & infested with Spider Wasps in the carport of my shed. That's another cleaning/rebuilding project now I have time on my hands....

It's a 5V system, mostly built from "creatively-acquired" kegs: Electric HLT & HERMS (both controlled by STC1000's until I can find the 2 PID's buried somewhere at the back of the shed), 2x gas-fired boilers.

HLT has a 12V pump that's used for recirculating whilst heating, underletting the MLT & then delivery of fly-sparge water. All adjustable via an LED light controller.

MLT is custom-built with a central (bottom) outlet below the perforated SS screen. I use a BIAB bag for added security against blockages & stuck mashes.

A March 809 pump is at the heart of the whole system, requiring a couple of hose-changes during brew-day (hence the proliferation of ball-valves).

Two boilers allows me to play with Parti-Gyle's if I feel in the mood, or decoctions if I'm feeling REALLY, REALLY fucking masochistic

I can set the whole lot up on timers the night before to do a Cold-Start-Ramp to mash-out (ie. Saisons) & walk-out in the morning with a cuppa. Sparge, boil & clean-up.


Also a couple of Robobrews (modified with camlocks), home-made insulated MLT's etc...etc....

 

[Beil]

If you're after a beer engine, Real Ale cask & a random collection of bungs/shives/spiles etc. to go with it, they're all on my "To-Sell" list Even better if you're in Melb.....

View attachment 57272
Sorely neglected for several years, covered in shit & infested with Spider Wasps in the carport of my shed. That's another cleaning/rebuilding project now I have time on my hands....

It's a 5V system, mostly built from "creatively-acquired" cool kegs: Electric HLT & HERMS (both controlled by STC1000's until I can find the 2 PID's buried somewhere at the back of the shed), 2x gas-fired boilers.

HLT has a 12V pump that's used for recirculating whilst heating, underletting the MLT & then delivery of fly-sparge water. All adjustable via an LED light controller.

MLT is custom-built with a central (bottom) outlet below the perforated SS screen. I use a BIAB bag for added security against blockages & stuck mashes.

Two boilers allows me to play with Parti-Gyle's if I feel in the mood, or decoctions if I'm feeling REALLY, REALLY fucking masochistic

I can set the whole lot up on timers the night before to do a Cold-Start-Ramp to mash-out (ie. Saisons) & walk-out in the morning with a cuppa. Sparge, boil & clean-up.


Also a couple of Robobrews (modified with camlocks), home-made insulated MLT's etc...etc....

One day I'd love to set up a beer engine, but it's wayyy down on the list of house things unfortunately .

Looks like we went down almost the same route of piecing our rig togerher vs just buying something from cheeky peak etc lol.

Photo from a few pages back, but similar set up. 50L keg MT with false bottom, my original 40L urn now as my HLT with its own solar pump for water circulation whilst heating, and 65L urn for boiler... all modded with extra camlocks, fittings and pipes with 2x 25w pumps with 3 way outlets for HLT and HERMS (utilising my OG 20L big W pot, would like to change to a RIMS for space saving simplicity) and boiler recirculation for whirlpool, chilling and emptying.
Currently 2 STCs for HERMS (thermocouple at HERMS outlet) and boiler (side wall thermocouple) , with PIDs in the "still yet to be complete" control panel for it. I have a small shitty control panel for the STCs atm with wall socket timer, but the new conteol panel with PIDs and in built timer will finally make it waylay more automated!

Waking up to everything at the correct temperature and mashing in before even finishing a coffee does make a decent difference to the day doesn't it lol. But just read that you automated the mash in outlet, even fucking better! ... that is something I need to add tbh, that's fucking great.

You have to be really keen for decoctions lol, if anything I'll Hochkurz step mash.






And to keep it relevant to TSE, a 13 year old painting I did when still smoking weed now hangs in the background

 

[Rabbitlicker]

Nice rig!! Nothing like the ingenuity of homebrewers once you've got your head around the processes involved.

Yeah, a lot of thought (& a lot of beers!) went into my "Big-Rig" system. I've had a lot of time to think about it, as I've been homebrewing since I was 14. I won't say how old I am now.......

I thought about using 3-way ball valves, but for the sake of a few seconds to change a camlock-fitted hose from one vessel to another (& perhaps a few ml in lost wort), I decided to go with a single 809 March pump as the heart of the system that does everything - mash recirculation/pumping to the kettle/whirlpool/Counter-flow chilling.

And to also keep this on the TSE vibe.........the photo of my rig....
Those white buckets are Campbell's Diamond "T", CaNO3 & MgSo4.

 

[Beil]

Nice rig!! Nothing like the ingenuity of homebrewers once you've got your head around the processes involved.

Yeah, a lot of thought (& a lot of beers!) went into my "Big-Rig" system. I've had a lot of time to think about it, as I've been homebrewing since I was 14. I won't say how old I am now.......

I thought about using 3-way ball valves, but for the sake of a few seconds to change a camlock-fitted hose from one vessel to another (& perhaps a few ml in lost wort), I decided to go with a single 809 March pump as the heart of the system that does everything - mash recirculation/pumping to the kettle/whirlpool/Counter-flow chilling.

And to also keep this on the TSE vibe.........the photo of my rig....
Those white buckets are Campbell's Diamond "T", CaNO3 & MgSo4.

Lol yeah, that and being predominantly frugal and hands on. It's come along way from the 40L urn with just recirculation.

don't matter how old you are, all age does is gain knowledge (in regards to everything)

I forgot about the bag, I've only done away with the bag a few times, as it's heaps easier to not have to deal with a stuck sparge/recirculation than have to somehow unplug it!!

I'd love that pump tbh, it's a beast. I lucked out and got one of my 25w pumps and the 2 3-way ball valves for free from a brew club guy who wasnt using them.. so it seemed silly not to utilise it all when setting this up. Now I have a surplus of regular ball valves from previous builds lol. The most annoying part was working out how many and of what type of cam lock fittings I needed!

 

[Rabbitlicker]

Glad you were able to get some ideas from my many, many mistakes.

I've lost count of the number of 50L AG batches I've cocked-up & chucked-out.

It's part of the journey.....

Still on the TSE vibe, I have another March 809 that I use exclusively for recirculating 1000L IBC's.

Yeah, you're right. They are fucking wonderfully BEASTLY!

 

[Tunkers]

@Beil

Had a rain day Tuesday and got the brew started. Just had a quick q about dry hopping and adding the 2nd lot of coconut. Recipe wasn't clear as to whether it was toasted as well. I assume I just throw it in quick from the packet to avoid contaminates? Or should I boil it again to avoid any nasties? Last thing I wanna do is fuck it with bacteria

 

[Beil]

@Beil

Had a rain day Tuesday and got the brew started. Just had a quick q about dry hopping and adding the 2nd lot of coconut. Recipe wasn't clear as to whether it was toasted as well. I assume I just throw it in quick from the packet to avoid contaminates? Or should I boil it again to avoid any nasties? Last thing I wanna do is fuck it with bacteria

Yeah youre right, even the kegland PDF doesnt say about toasting the dry hop coconut. It kind of reads like adding it straight from packet without toasting...

Probably upto you, but either way, some kind of sanitation would be good.
Toasted again and straight in, oven will sterilise.
But yeah, if you were to just dump it in raw, I'd give it a quick boil in minimal watet to sanitise.... there should be enough alcohol to inhibit bacterial growth, but i don't like taking chances lol.

 

[Tunkers]

Yeah youre right, even the kegland PDF doesnt say about toasting the dry hop coconut. It kind of reads like adding it straight from packet without toasting...

Probably upto you, but either way, some kind of sanitation would be good.
Toasted again and straight in, oven will sterilise.
But yeah, if you were to just dump it in raw, I'd give it a quick boil in minimal watet to sanitise.... there should be enough alcohol to inhibit bacterial growth, but i don't like taking chances lol.

Yup sweet as. I don't even trust the fucking hop pellets now that I've opened the pack. I'll give it all a quick boil

 

[Beil]

Yup sweet as. I don't even trust the fucking hop pellets now that I've opened the pack. I'll give it all a quick boil

Have you got a vacuum sealer?
My LHBS sells packaged hops in vacuum bags, so i just seal back up after using if there's any left... or transfer to another vacuum bag and seal, then store in the freezer.