Homebrewing - Part 3

:lol:and stout!

gets fecking better this. Dont let mr see your setup or ill start transforming the house! 😆
Thanks again.

would you say its necesarry like? Maybe your stuffs more critical than a wilko ipa/wherry kit etc?
Probably not if your house is kept at a decent temperature.
 


I do mainly wherry kits. They were fine without the heat pads but I had more confidence in cold snaps with it. Plus you can use the heat source in your priming phase to ensure you get at least some carbonation
 
Probably not if your house is kept at a decent temperature.

Guess time of year helping too like. Newbuild but fecking baltic in winter so likely needed then. Guess you can just stash anywhere you like too with that fitted.
I do mainly wherry kits. They were fine without the heat pads but I had more confidence in cold snaps with it. Plus you can use the heat source in your priming phase to ensure you get at least some carbonation

Bottling one tomorrow!
 
Guess time of year helping too like. Newbuild but fecking baltic in winter so likely needed then. Guess you can just stash anywhere you like too with that fitted.


Bottling one tomorrow!
I like the bottling but the sterilising does my head in. I'm going to switch to some no rinse stuff to save my sanity
 
Guess time of year helping too like. Newbuild but fecking baltic in winter so likely needed then. Guess you can just stash anywhere you like too with that fitted.


Bottling one tomorrow!
As long as it’s not too cold.
I like the bottling but the sterilising does my head in. I'm going to switch to some no rinse stuff to save my sanity
Still need to clean the bottles mate. Then sterilise with the no rinse gear.
 
As long as it’s not too cold.

Still need to clean the bottles mate. Then sterilise with the no rinse gear.
Yeah, I always do a good wash with hot water as soon as I've drank the contents. I'm hoping to avoid the mass sterilise and rinse pre bottling that I currently do. Instead I was going to give a good spray and shake with the no rinse stuff
 
Not sure what replies to expect here but worth a shot...

Currently prepping my equipment ready to mash my session IPA over the weekend (Painted Tiles). It's the first 'all grain' kit I've had and the first time I've had to sparge.

When I'm mashing in my kettle I'll have all my grain in there and I'll be adding some hops at set intervals whilst at 70deg, that I'm fine with. It's when the instructions ask to heat 23L of sparge water to 80deg.......how do I do that if my kettle is already in use??? Do I need another kettle?

And secondly, what is the best method to sparge? I have a kettle, 20L plastic vessel and another 20L plastic vessel with a tap at the bottom...

Hope the above makes sense!
 
It has but I think the biggest thing is knowing you’re getting the best from the yeast if you use it at the correct temperature, I always go towards the lower end as I’m not usually bothered about quick fermentation. Great for when I did my one and only lager.
That's kinda what I mean. You know that any off-flavours aren't from temperature control, that its something else. Its all about controlling variables.
I like the bottling but the sterilising does my head in. I'm going to switch to some no rinse stuff to save my sanity
Getting a clean & sanitise (you're not sterilising, that's different) plan together is so important. Its a horrible, time-consuming job. But with a plan and the right tools, its massively easier.
Dishwasher suffice or would you still use steriliser wilfy?
Problem with dishwasher is that not much water actually gets into the bottles and cleans it. And if you use detergent, you can't be sure it all came out.
I used to use it as PART of my washing process, but also had a bottle washer brush thing in the sink
 
Last edited:
wow way more complicated than my setup. Got an Americqn IPA. I have a pressure vessel and bottles and like to split the brew between both. Sterilising does my head in and I have to use the bath to do it!!
 
Not sure what replies to expect here but worth a shot...

Currently prepping my equipment ready to mash my session IPA over the weekend (Painted Tiles). It's the first 'all grain' kit I've had and the first time I've had to sparge.

When I'm mashing in my kettle I'll have all my grain in there and I'll be adding some hops at set intervals whilst at 70deg, that I'm fine with. It's when the instructions ask to heat 23L of sparge water to 80deg.......how do I do that if my kettle is already in use??? Do I need another kettle?

And secondly, what is the best method to sparge? I have a kettle, 20L plastic vessel and another 20L plastic vessel with a tap at the bottom...

Hope the above makes sense!
Right, I’ll try and answer.
You are mashing in your kettle but you also need to heat sparge water separately. How big is your kettle, if you could get the full volume of mash + sparge water in your kettle, you could do a no sparge mash. Are you mashing in a bag?
 
wow way more complicated than my setup. Got an Americqn IPA. I have a pressure vessel and bottles and like to split the brew between both. Sterilising does my head in and I have to use the bath to do it!!
Yeah, I use the bath at the moment and I hate it . It's actually sanitising as previously said as sterilising kills everything, like in an operating theatre. I always forget to use the right word though.
 
Right, I’ll try and answer.
You are mashing in your kettle but you also need to heat sparge water separately. How big is your kettle, if you could get the full volume of mash + sparge water in your kettle, you could do a no sparge mash. Are you mashing in a bag?

Pricey but weve got a boiling water tap.
 
Right, I’ll try and answer.
You are mashing in your kettle but you also need to heat sparge water separately. How big is your kettle, if you could get the full volume of mash + sparge water in your kettle, you could do a no sparge mash. Are you mashing in a bag?

Kettle is around 5 gallon / 20L so no chance I could get mash and sparge water in. Suppose I could use my big stock pot to get my sparge water!

My grain came in a bucket....so I've ordered half a dozen muslin bags to put the grain in. Think that''ll be the best way.
 
Kettle is around 5 gallon / 20L so no chance I could get mash and sparge water in. Suppose I could use my big stock pot to get my sparge water!

My grain came in a bucket....so I've ordered half a dozen muslin bags to put the grain in. Think that''ll be the best way.
To be honest mate, it sounds like you’re not ready to make it. I haven’t done brew in a bag before but I’ll try and find a link for you to show what you need.
 
Dishwasher suffice or would you still use steriliser wilfy?
I use the dishwasher. When I first finish a bottle I rinse it out at the sink then stick it in the dishwasher with the dishes. They always come out sparkling.

On bottling day I load the dishwasher with my bottles and stick it in a 30min wash. By the time they are cool enough to take out it’s time to bottle.
 
Not sure what replies to expect here but worth a shot...

Currently prepping my equipment ready to mash my session IPA over the weekend (Painted Tiles). It's the first 'all grain' kit I've had and the first time I've had to sparge.

When I'm mashing in my kettle I'll have all my grain in there and I'll be adding some hops at set intervals whilst at 70deg, that I'm fine with. It's when the instructions ask to heat 23L of sparge water to 80deg.......how do I do that if my kettle is already in use??? Do I need another kettle?

And secondly, what is the best method to sparge? I have a kettle, 20L plastic vessel and another 20L plastic vessel with a tap at the bottom...

Hope the above makes sense!
Adding hops while at 70 degrees? That’s unusual, they’d tend to go in during the boil. I’ve used first wort (I think that’s the right name) hopping once but I’m surprised a kit tells you to add hops at intervals during the mash unless I’ve read it wrong.
 
Adding hops while at 70 degrees? That’s unusual, they’d tend to go in during the boil. I’ve used first wort (I think that’s the right name) hopping once but I’m surprised a kit tells you to add hops at intervals during the mash unless I’ve read it wrong.
I hadn’t seen that post until now - it does look like he’s trying to add hops during the mash instead of during the boil (although 70C is on the hot side for a mash, more likely the strike water temperature). Unless of course all the hops are post boil and it’s telling him to cool below 80 to add the hops. 23L sounds like far too much sparge water too - for a 23L brew in my Brew Devil I’ve been doing 20L mash water, 12L sparge water.

@Mr Whippy have we read that right? Hops go in during the boil not the mash - I hope you haven’t already brewed this. I don’t think it would be a complete disaster adding them during mash as far as making it too bitter is concerned (as you’ll be removing the hops with the grain) but you’ll definitely miss out on the flavour compounds from the hops.
 
Last edited:
Adding hops while at 70 degrees? That’s unusual, they’d tend to go in during the boil. I’ve used first wort (I think that’s the right name) hopping once but I’m surprised a kit tells you to add hops at intervals during the mash unless I’ve read it wrong.

You're right, misread my instructions when typing that message. Hops go in at set intervals during the boil after the grain has been at 70deg for an hour
To be honest mate, it sounds like you’re not ready to make it. I haven’t done brew in a bag before but I’ll try and find a link for you to show what you need.

That'd be great if you could dig that out like. Made the mistake of jumping in feet first the last couple of batches I did (few years ago now). Quite happy to wait and make sure I've got everything I need and know exactly what I'm doing this time round!
 
Last edited:
That'd be great if you could dig that out like. Made the mistake of jumping in feet first the last couple of batches I did (few years ago now). Quite happy to wait and make sure I've got everything I need and know exactly what I'm doing this time round!
You need something like this for your grain:

As for your sparge vessel, when I did BIAB I would mash in as much water as my boiler would take with the grain in and only sparge with about 5 or 6L. I’d fill the kettle (the one I use for making cups of tea as opposed to my brew kettle) and empty into my FV 3 or 4 times, then I’d top up with cold water until the temperature was in the low 70s. I would then dunk my grain bag in there and leave it about 20mins then add the liquid to the wort while you are raising temp to boil.

I’ve found The HomeBrew Forum very useful in helping me with set ups, tips etc.
 
Last edited:

Back
Top