Homebrewing - Part 3

PTR said:
Really do need a good hydrometer, my 2nd one is also shit (chucked the first one out).

And suggestion for removing beer for gravity testing?
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Get a large scale hydrometer, they're brilliant. The malt miller sell them, I'm sure other places will too.

I use a fermenter with a tap, no need to syphon...ever! Failing that, a sanitised turkey baster works well.
 


DoctorMick said:
Get a large scale hydrometer, they're brilliant. The malt miller sell them, I'm sure other places will too.

I use a fermenter with a tap, no need to syphon...ever! Failing that, a sanitised turkey baster works well.
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That looks good. Shame it tops out at 1.060 though, that's about 6.5% which isn't out of the question for future beers.
£3 postage is a bit annoying, I meant to buy it with the stuff I ordered last week, arse!


The tap on the fermenter - I worry that putting beer through that exposes it to air - I used to do this, and I got a nasty amount of mould on the tap. I was worried that even with the valve, the nasties might manage to get in. Guess that's not a problem with decent steel fermenters, but for my plastic ones it really put me off.
Also, in mid-summer I tend to have 3 FVs in the bath - which stops the temps swinging wildly between day and night - so the spout would be under water, which is clearly a no-no

Turkey baster seems to be the answer. Ta
 
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Damn

Totally forgot one of my brews in FV is dry hopping - they've been in for 3 weeks now. Going to taste awful, isn't it?

Just cleaned 100 bottles that have been sat in a damp garage since October. Bleach, PBW, multiple rinses and a dishwater cycle. Took me all night, knackered now.
Got 100 bottles to fill tomorrow night.
Then need to clean another 100, as there's another 2 batches ready to bottle.

Busy times!
 
Right, brewers of the SMB - I need some recommendations for my next brew. Up to now, I've done a couple of Woodfordes two can kits. These were both successful, however, I'm looking for something a bit more challenging to do next. I've still got limited space and equipment so I guess it will have to be another kit.

Any ideas?
 
Tees Exile said:
Right, brewers of the SMB - I need some recommendations for my next brew. Up to now, I've done a couple of Woodfordes two can kits. These were both successful, however, I'm looking for something a bit more challenging to do next. I've still got limited space and equipment so I guess it will have to be another kit.

Any ideas?
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Young's American IPA was the best kit I made. Comes with a dry hop addition so that's a new process if you've not done it before.
 
Tees Exile said:
Right, brewers of the SMB - I need some recommendations for my next brew. Up to now, I've done a couple of Woodfordes two can kits. These were both successful, however, I'm looking for something a bit more challenging to do next. I've still got limited space and equipment so I guess it will have to be another kit.

Any ideas?
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Why a standard kit?

You could buy malt extract and hops and do your own thing.
Or even buy an extract recipe kit.

Needs no more space or kit to make. But you're making beer, not just rehydrating it
 
PTR said:
Why a standard kit?

You could buy malt extract and hops and do your own thing.
Or even buy an extract recipe kit.

Needs no more space or kit to make. But you're making beer, not just rehydrating it
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Well the aim is to eventually make beer rather than just rehydrating it but I thought you might need more kit. Surely I'd need a massive pot to boil it up?
 
Tees Exile said:
Well the aim is to eventually make beer rather than just rehydrating it but I thought you might need more kit. Surely I'd need a massive pot to boil it up?
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Not really. You can do a partial boil for the hops. You can even dry hop very easily. Which is another interesting technique
 
Tees Exile said:
You inspired me to do some YouTube research - definitely going to try an extract kit next.
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A half boil is never going to be as good as a full boil, but you're talking a small difference. And the massive difference is that you can design your own beer. You can even make something like DIY DOG (Brewdog) at home. Just buy the hops you need and a couple of cans of light malt and you're sorted really.
Plus, much easier to cool the wort if you're going to add 10L of tap water at the end! That gets you down to 50C before you even start with chilling - you could even freeze blocks of ice to use as your top up water.
 
PTR said:
A half boil is never going to be as good as a full boil, but you're talking a small difference. And the massive difference is that you can design your own beer. You can even make something like DIY DOG (Brewdog) at home. Just buy the hops you need and a couple of cans of light malt and you're sorted really.
Plus, much easier to cool the wort if you're going to add 10L of tap water at the end! That gets you down to 50C before you even start with chilling - you could even freeze blocks of ice to use as your top up water.
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In what way? The only difference I know of is hop extraction but as long as you're aware of that you can increase the hops by a tiny amount.
 
DoctorMick said:
In what way? The only difference I know of is hop extraction but as long as you're aware of that you can increase the hops by a tiny amount.
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I don't have them to hand, but I watched a few few videos which explained it, and showed a direct comparison of two beers
 
Mick Dundee said:
Brulosophy don't think there's much of a difference. They've done 2 ExBeeriments purely on reduced boil:
http://brulosophy.com/2015/09/14/boil-length-pt-2-pilsner-malt-exbeeriment-results/
http://brulosophy.com/2015/03/11/the-impact-of-boil-length-ale-exbeeriment-results/
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I think you may be referring to the time of the boil. I'm meaning the amount of water in the boil.

Pretty much first relevant hit on google, seems to confirm:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=433058

It would not put me off moving from kits to partial boils of malt and hops though - not at all.
 
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So, how's everyone's summer been - much beer made?

I've knocked 7 40 pint batches out.
1 x Dead Pony Club from DIY Dog - First ever dry hop attempt
1 x Black Sheep Bitter - recipie pack bought in - First ever steeped grains attempt
5 x Punk IPA v1 from DIY Dog - made for other people at cost price. The last batch is much stronger as I had loads of malt left, so I've also dry hopped the shit out of it with everything I had left in opened hop packets

Haven't actually drank a drop yet. The first 2 batches were bottled early August, so are ready for testers now.
2 of the Punk batches were bottled a month ago, and haven't cleared yet (should I be worried?) The last 3 batches still need to be bottled - that's happening this weekend.

Then that'll be the end of the garage brewery, which will be handed back to its owner. We're moving house before the end of the year, and I'll have my own garage.
Might take a year off, then if I decide to keep going, I'll buy some new kit.

So if anyone wants to buy a full extract brewing kit, let me know!
 
Haven't brewed anything for months, too many flies kicking about to risk it. Hope to be starting back up in a couple of weeks, no idea what with yet but will be trying a lager at some point over the winter.
 
Wilfy said:
Haven't brewed anything for months, too many flies kicking about to risk it. Hope to be starting back up in a couple of weeks, no idea what with yet but will be trying a lager at some point over the winter.
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Aye, I remember you mentioning you brew in the winter. If I had a temp controlled FV, then I'd be the same.
I don't have many flies though - I've put a net around the air bricks and try to keep the place as spotless as possible to keep them out. I did consider covering the place in plastic sheeting too, but didn't end up needing it. Spiders get in, though.
I don't drink lager, so as much as I'd love to have a try with a liquid yeast and then try to throw flavour hops at one, I just don't think I'd like it. Does anyone even make a "IPA Lager" or similar? What does it taste like?
 
PTR said:
Aye, I remember you mentioning you brew in the winter. If I had a temp controlled FV, then I'd be the same.
I don't have many flies though - I've put a net around the air bricks and try to keep the place as spotless as possible to keep them out. I did consider covering the place in plastic sheeting too, but didn't end up needing it. Spiders get in, though.
I don't drink lager, so as much as I'd love to have a try with a liquid yeast and then try to throw flavour hops at one, I just don't think I'd like it. Does anyone even make a "IPA Lager" or similar? What does it taste like?
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Some people make pseudo lager which doesn't involve the lagering times. I'm just thinking of doing it December/January when I can just leave it in the FV after fermentation and the temperature will be close enough to freezing in the garage. Will have to start looking for recipes to do, @Mick Dundee seems to have perfected his steam beer so may give that a go.
 

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