# Information For All Brewers!



## Effect (25/11/08)

I was hoping if everyone would be able to post a small little piece of advice that would be benefitical for brewers - kit and kilo all the way through to all grain. Something that they have learned from brewing beer or from other brewers.

Please keep it short and sweet (as less is more), and more importantly on topic!

For example, here is my tidbit.


Crawl before you can walk, walk before you can run! Don't jump into the deap end (AG) until you know what you are capable of! In saying that HTFU and do AG!



Another example, 

"Don't be afraid of Hot Side Airation - it's the boogie man!"

or

"Don't worry about your Wyeast smack pack not inflating - if it's only been 12 hours - it will puff up soon and will still work even if it doesn't"




Bring em on!


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## Jez (25/11/08)

triple check to make sure that tap REALLY IS closed.

trust me

Jez


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## muckey (25/11/08)

after you check the tap, go back and check it again.

and

experiment a little to find out what you like

and clean everything


then go back and check the tap

Edit: yes I've had tap issues too!!


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## goatherder (25/11/08)

It's all about the yeast.


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## jonocarroll (25/11/08)

Well, it's not quite from personal experience (give it a month and I'll get back to you) but it seems to be a biggie based on what I've heard;


FERMENTATION TEMPERATURE CONTROL MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE.


I'm working on getting a fridge/freezer and a FridgeMate soon, and I trust the above to be accurate.

Also, I know I'm a newbie here, and nothing against the forum members... 


READ THE FORUMS, THE ARCHIVES, EVERYTHING. THEN TAKE ALL OF IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT (AND A HOMEBREW); 10 'EXPERTS' TELLING YOU THAT SOMETHING ALWAYS DOES "A" IS USELESS WHEN YOU WATCH IT DO "B."


Most of all, brew for the fun of it, and make beer the way YOU like it.


Cheers! :icon_cheers:


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## Bribie G (25/11/08)

Dubbels and Trippels and Kolshs and Hefes are all very well but If you are happy with achieving your Melbourne Bitter clone for 80c a litre then you are in beer paradise. :beerbang:


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## buttersd70 (25/11/08)

Check the tap again, in case Muckey didn't.

Brew at _least _one single malt single hop beer.

Low OG does _not _necessarily = low flavour

Low OG does _not _necessarily = low flavour (I know that I just said this...but it's worth saying twice)

Balance is _everything_.

Always ask yourself "what specific purpose does this ingredient perform in this beer? What does it contribute? Is there a better option?" - and if you can't answer the first part of that question, don't use it.

Dark beer does _not _have to be 'heavy'....some is, but some certainly isn't.

(deliberately) low carbonated beers are _not _flat - they are low carbonated.

Coke should be fizzy....Best Bitter is _not _coke.

Targets are important...but so is the fluidity to change plans, and adust the sights.

Edit: AG is way better than kits or extract - but theres no need to rub it in. We all started somewhere once, and there are differant strokes for different folks.


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## wakkatoo (25/11/08)

if it tastes good to you, then it IS good beer.

oh, and become a clean freak!


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## browndog (25/11/08)

Use the search function or you will cop shit.

Ag is easy, the pedantics make it sound hard.

cheers

Browndog


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## Doc (25/11/08)

You can make award winning beer using the No Chill method and Dried Yeast.

Doc


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## monkale (25/11/08)

Doc said:


> You can make award winning beer using the No Chill method and Dried Yeast.
> 
> Doc





Cheers to that Doc thats the way I roll nice and easy :icon_cheers:


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## dr K (25/11/08)

If you think "megaswill" tastes crap and your beer doesn't, maybe think about entering it in a BJCP sanctioned comp.

K


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## enoch (25/11/08)

Wearing thongs while working with boiling liquids is dangerous!


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## Cocko (25/11/08)

Brew as often as you can!

Too much beer is better than not enough....


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## jonocarroll (25/11/08)

Get one of those inflatable women. But make sure it's a woman, though, because one time I... heh. Oh, wrong forum. 

My point is; there's a time to be serious (sanitising) and a time for jokes (brew in the fermenter, tap off). 
Know which is which. There's no point ruining a potentially great batch 'coz you weren't paying attention.

Surely the best tip of all - read J. J. Palmer's "How to Brew". Buy it, borrow it, read it online. Just read it, then read it again.


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## Carbonator (25/11/08)

Filling or transferring liquids between vessels and walking away will almost always end-up in a smelly, soggy mess!

DON'T WALK AWAY, EVER!


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## clean brewer (25/11/08)

Do an Equipment check before you do your first AG beer(alot of research has gone into this), do a test run with boiling water and your Mash Tun(you are not mashing/sparging with cold water are you???) double check for leaks, do a boil in your kettle to ensure it boils(30ltrs of liquid for a single batch) and check that your fittings on your kettle are not leaking..
Have everything ready to go, MISE EN PLACE(everything in its place)
No beer until the 1st Hop addition.. 
GET KEGS(from ross, no affiliation)..
My $0.02 worth..


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## Crunched (25/11/08)

If you're worried about AG sounding like too much effort - try BIAB (brew in a bag) first. You'll soon find out how easy an AG brew really is.


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## tangent (26/11/08)

Don't be such pussies, just make some fu(&ing drinkable (AG) beer! 

If some I.T. nerd tells you how to do something but has never actually done it, remind self to ignore everything.


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## Gavo (26/11/08)

Hydrometers break easily, always have a spare on hand even if it is a brigalow brand. Better still, handle it very carefully and tape up the bung on the bottom of the tube (if using the tube it came in) when checking SG so the bung and Hydrometer don't fall out.

Cheers
Gavo


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## Batz (26/11/08)

tangent said:


> If some I.T. nerd tells you how to do something but has never actually done it, remind self to ignore everything.



:lol: :lol: 


While waiting for the wort to come to the boil,look away for even a second and it'll boil over.


Batz


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## Hargie (26/11/08)

...Mash in to Led Zepellin...or Sabbath...or Down...or C.O.C....or Pantera...or Alice in Chains..or Soundgarden...or Ac/Dc..etc


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## petesbrew (26/11/08)

Always check the tap is closed.

Never leave boiling wort unattended. (3 times so far for me... I am an idiot)

Don't be afraid to try something new... garlic ale? Oh, yeah, I'll give that a try (hmmm. actually some flavours are best left to those with more adventurous tastebuds!)

Enjoy your beer - whatever method you use, you can always make a winner.


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## WarmBeer (26/11/08)

<dons flame retardant suit>

Don't listen to the AG elitists 

</dons flame retardant suit>


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## newguy (26/11/08)

Taste your grains.

Taste your starter BEFORE you pitch (but do so in a sanitary way).

Buy some megaswill in bottles, pop the caps, and drop in 2-3 hop pellets or 1-2 whole flowers and recap. Do this for your entire hop inventory or get together with friends or members of your club to share their unique hop varieties. Give the bottles 2-3 days of cold storage, then get together with friends and smell/taste the results. Take copious notes. Use the most neutral beer you can find. This is invaluable for getting to know how hops differ in aroma and taste and will help you to formulate better recipes.

Split a batch of beer and ferment with as many different strains of yeast as you can find/afford. Also a good endeavour to undertake with friends. Take copious notes when tasting/smelling the results. Helps you to formulate better recipes and helps you to understand the huge impact yeast has on the beer.


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## br33zy (26/11/08)

browndog said:


> Ag is easy, the pedantics make it sound hard.



I believe that should be 'pedants'.


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## Cortez The Killer (26/11/08)

Visit a couple of AG brewdays 

It'll show you what it's all about

I'm still eternally grateful to SAH for inviting me round for a brewday - It definitly speed up my leap into the dark side

Seeing other people's setups and procedures is a great eye opener and food for thought

Cheers


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## Carbonator (26/11/08)

petesbrew said:


> Never leave boiling wort unattended.



Those cheap cameras you can get from DSE are great for monitoring a boiling wort if you must go back in the house. At least you can setup a portable TV where you are to keep an eye on it. They even have a microphone so you can hear the liquid running onto the burner underneath!


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## reviled (26/11/08)

Carbonator said:


> Those cheap cameras you can get from DSE are great for monitoring a boiling wort if you must go back in the house. At least you can setup a portable TV where you are to keep an eye on it. They even have a microphone so you can hear the liquid running onto the burner underneath!
> View attachment 22805



:lol: Thats hilarious!!! Do you have that set up?


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## Jase71 (26/11/08)

Hargie said:


> ...Mash in to Led Zepellin...or Sabbath...or Down...or C.O.C....or Pantera...or Alice in Chains..or Soundgarden...or Ac/Dc..etc



I'm coming to your place next mash! 

Perhaps relevant to many people would be the advice: 

"Don't tell the missus how much you're spending on your hobby"


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## reviled (26/11/08)

Jase71 said:


> "Don't tell the missus how much you're spending on your hobby"



Untill you work out how much you would have spent on commercial beers, then its safe to let them know how much you saved...


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## Carbonator (26/11/08)

reviled said:


> :lol: Thats hilarious!!! Do you have that set up?



Yep:




And yes, it's more hilarious than a boil-over! :icon_drunk:


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## Fatgodzilla (26/11/08)

WarmBeer said:


> <dons flame retardant suit>
> 
> Don't listen to the AG elitists
> 
> </dons flame retardant suit>




And don't listen to us AG plebs either !

My advice, have at least three old towels on hand just in case of spills (or you forget to shut all taps .. you just can't imagine how stupid a piece of advice that is .... that is until you do it.


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## raven19 (26/11/08)

The more you brew, the more you get to drink... :icon_cheers: 

Sanitisation is next to Godliness.


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## Klemmstein (26/11/08)

Jase71 said:


> "Don't tell the missus how much you're spending on your hobby"



That's exactly right ! When SWAMBO notices some new gadget or piece of equipment, your automatic response should be...

"Ahhh, that old thing... it's been in the cupboard for yonks...completly forgot that I even had it. In fact it's lucky, because I was thinking about buying one... until I remembered I had that one ! 
Saved some money there_..._" 

Cheers,

K


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## ozpowell (26/11/08)

You can't be too thorough when sanitizing.

Always pitch plenty of yeast.


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## davewalk (26/11/08)

If you keg, always have at least two filled kegs on standby.

Oh, and never piss into the wind.


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## razz (26/11/08)

If you want to age your beer then you need to brew it quicker than you can drink it. (I know it sounds obvious)


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## peas_and_corn (26/11/08)

buttersd70 said:


> Always ask yourself "what specific purpose does this ingredient perform in this beer? What does it contribute? Is there a better option?" - and if you can't answer the first part of that question, don't use it.



Definitely on that one.

Remember to always enjoy yourself, even when things go pear shaped on the day- the odds are it will still turn out to be a good beer. You're doing this for fun, after all!

Having people over for brewdays is always entertaining. Don't get too distracted, though, I almost had a boilover because I was distracted by chatting.

You can never have too many types of hops in your freezer.


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## matti (26/11/08)

Read about brewing!
Apply your knowledge, Often!

off course wear boots  ts


AHB articles
How to brew


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## Bizier (26/11/08)

If you are a kit brewer, don't be scared of getting into grains, they are easy as anything, and contribute totally new dimensions.

Find a style for the other half, a guaranteed ticket to continuing the hobby, and justifying further expenses.


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## Katherine (26/11/08)

> Having people over for brewdays is always entertaining. Don't get too distracted, though, I almost had a boilover because I was distracted by chatting.



so so true.... best time to have people over is chill time I think! (that's if you chill of cause)...

Be organised it makes the day easier.
Write everything down, even your mistakes. You never know it might be a good one!
Clean up after brew day! :icon_cheers: 

Don't let people on here confuse you... LOL! taste there beer before taking there advice....


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## sponge (26/11/08)

newguy said:


> Buy some megaswill in bottles, pop the caps, and drop in 2-3 hop pellets or 1-2 whole flowers and recap. Do this for your entire hop inventory or get together with friends or members of your club to share their unique hop varieties. Give the bottles 2-3 days of cold storage, then get together with friends and smell/taste the results. Take copious notes. Use the most neutral beer you can find. This is invaluable for getting to know how hops differ in aroma and taste and will help you to formulate better recipes.



I never thought of doing this before. I just always used other peoples notes and comments when using hops I hadn't tried before. What (megaswill) beers do you mostly use for this process? Oettinger pils or something similar?

Great idea

Sponge


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## Bizier (26/11/08)

sponge said:


> Oettinger pils or something similar?



I'd go for something bland and 'soft' like Titan or Memmenger. That 'cleanskin' Korean stuff would be good. In fact I might get some for this purpose. Good technique Newguy.


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## newguy (26/11/08)

sponge said:


> I never thought of doing this before. I just always used other peoples notes and comments when using hops I hadn't tried before. What (megaswill) beers do you mostly use for this process? Oettinger pils or something similar?



My megaswill is very different from yours. Around here, coors light is almost completely flavourless and odourless when compared to the alternatives. Choose something clean and cheap.


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## devo (26/11/08)

You become more attractive to the opposite sex once they know you make your own beer.


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## crozdog (26/11/08)

Some great advice here.

my contribution is "It's pretty easy to control the 'hot' side of brewing, but a lot harder to control the 'cold' side which contributes 50+% to the result."

What do I mean by that? You can adjust the following on the hot side:
- grist composition, 
- degree of crush, 
- mash profile (single, step, decoction), 
- mash temp, 
- sparge temp, 
- sparge type (batch fly)
- sparge amount eg volume or stop at a sg
- boil intensity, 
- boil length,
- hop selection, 
- hopping rate, 
- hop timings,
- use of whirlfloc or similar,
- whirlpool,
- exposure to aeration ie HSA
- chill or no chill h34r: 

on the cold side you're basically limited to
- sanitation
- yeast choice
- yeast health
- pitching rate
- temperature control
- fermentation vessel design eg bucket or conical
- protecting the ferment from undesired micro-organisms 
- time on yeast cake
- rack or no rack
- lager required?
- crash cool?
- packaging eg bottle or keg

The cold side of the process or elements of the cold side are often overlooked or not given the focus they should be, considering their contribution to the final product. As the production of beer relies on a "controlling" our favourite micro-organism, control of the cold side is critical.


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## peas_and_corn (26/11/08)

One of the things I was doing with my other half during the confusing period before we dated was brew!


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## Katherine (26/11/08)

> You become more attractive to the opposite sex once they know you make your own beer.



LOL tell me about it... Try being a girl that brews...


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## fraser_john (26/11/08)

The repetition of the "shut the tap" is funny but its true, and it does not just apply to taps, its everything. 

Double check everthing you do, is my spoon sanitised, have I weighed the right amount of hops out, did I get the right hops out of the freezer, did I chuck in that teaspoon of calcium chloride!

I have a notebook I write in for every brew and only write in it what I have DONE, so then I know what I have missed!


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## buttersd70 (26/11/08)

crozdog said:


> The cold side of the process or elements of the cold side are often overlooked or not given the focus they should be, considering their contribution to the final product. As the production of beer relies on a "controlling" our favourite micro-organism, control of the cold side is critical.



And of course, this applies equally to the kit brewer, and the grain brewer alike. Which is one of the reasons some grain brewers advocate kits and/or extracts for beginners, instead of jumping _straight _into grain.....to learn to control the cold side first.


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## Jase71 (26/11/08)

I'v got one ! Best information for brewers, rent a house next door to Butters !


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## muckey (26/11/08)

Jase71 said:


> I'v got one ! Best information for brewers, rent a house next door to Butters !



Uhhh.... you better be prepared to give up work so you can keep up with the required amount of brewing.


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## Brewtus (26/11/08)

If you want to make interesting beer, be prepared to throw away a batch (or hide one in shame) every now and then. I haven't had to chuck any but there is one or two I didn't give to my mates. If you take this attitude than you will take some risk and get some great results.


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## Millet Man (26/11/08)

Breezy too said:


> I believe that should be 'pedants'.


 :lol: :lol: :lol:

Don't be afraid to try something different. Oh and check the tap is shut...got the t-shirt.

Cheers, Andrew.

Edit : Don't get distracted, I was distracted and forgot to mention that.


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## buttersd70 (27/11/08)

Brewtus said:


> be prepared ......... (or hide one in shame) every now and then.



Funny you should say that......I had one that I was hiding....but I did give one to a neighbour of Muckeys...and tonight, we gave him the much vaunted Golden Ale, the crown jewel of the AG world...and he said...'I prefered that Pommy one you gave me the other week'. :lol: (and this guy is a skip)
Sometimes the ones that you feel should be hidden are actually crowd pleasers!


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## EK (27/11/08)

Brew what you want, brew how you want. It's your beer.

Keep records.

Hydrometers don't bounce.

Plan. Then Do.

All Grain is not mandatory.

Get others (not necessarily brewers or beer-o-philes) to taste your brews. I have generally found the feedback useful.

Gather your information from as many sources as is feasible, figure out what works for you, then you have the answer.

Figure out the level of knowledge of your local HBS before listening to their advice, some of these people are just salesmen.

Five batches that "aren't quite right" are worth it when you nail one.

Take all information with a grain of salt. Including this post.

:icon_cheers: 
EK


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## Jase71 (27/11/08)

buttersd70 said:


> (and this guy is a skip)




Is "Skip" a term used for the common "ocker Aussie" ? Apart from the aforestated thread, I have only ever heard the term in some dumbarse 80's or erly 90's aussie sitcom which revolved around a cafe of very silly Mediterrainian boys with hair gel and jokes involving physicial gags such as pelvic thrusting. 

For those of us existing here, albeit with potential convict heritage, there's been significant social advancements from the wine-cork swaggies-hat types, and perhaps the cultureless anglo aussies in our midst might just have dropped a love for the monarchy, and carved an itentity of our own.


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## staggalee (27/11/08)

Gimme the winecork swaggie hat types any day.  

stagga.


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## Joe Palooka (27/11/08)

Brewtus said:


> If you want to make interesting beer, be prepared to throw away a batch (or hide one in shame) every now and then.



Make sure you stash away a six pack of every "failure". I must be too critical, I suppose. I had a dubbel that was like some kind of lesson in infection, but after six months of developing and smoothing, it was a great beer. I felt terrible about the bottles I'd tipped out.

Definitely go all grain. It is the easiest thing imaginable. The difference between all grain and extract is about the *extract*. I cannot make pale ale (my preferred) without making my own extract, it is absolutely mandatory. For me the "craft" part is making and working with your own extract. But if I want to try something new, or if I am making something highly flavoured/spiced, or if I am in a hurry, I use a can. Two cans gets you 1.048, right? - a lot of beers come in at this gravity.

About the tap thing ... I ran to the phone once when I was racking to secondary ... half of it down the sink


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## cfresh (27/11/08)

Tell your Mrs you already have most of the stuff and you just need a few extra bits that are cheap - then when you come home with loads of stuff explain that the plunging dollar has made made everything go up in price.

Check that your father in law has put sugar in the bottles.

Stay away from specialty K&K packaged kits that claim to be your favourite beer (or better) - they never are.

Stay away from Home Brew shops that sell you a kit and recommend Saflager in the middle of summer after chatting with them for 15 minutes on how new you are to brewing and the basic equipment you have.

When gathering up your bottles for your next brew dont tip them up over your eye to see if they are clean... or empty.

To reduce your current account deficit stop looking at this site! Your boss will be impressed with the increased productivity


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## Pollux (27/11/08)

reviled said:


> Untill you work out how much you would have spent on commercial beers, then its safe to let them know how much you saved...



That's how I worked on my missus, this increased my limit from $20 per 23L batch to $50 per 23L batch.....Was quite an easy conversation...

"Honey, you know I never get to buy a full case because I can't carry it and Charlotte (our near 2yr old daughter) and the shopping home, so I have to buy in 6packs....This means for the equivalent of a 23L batch, it would cost me $150 for the 10 5packs...."
"Shit, really?"
"Yes"
"How much have you spent on commercial beer this year then?" <_< 

This was where I shut up and went to pour her a HB'd cider....  


As for real advice.

1. Check the tap (I know it's been said, but I'll tell you now, cleaning sticky wort from between your toes sucks...)
2. Temperature control
3. If you are starting out in kits, use the instructions as kindling...
4. Employ your wife as a bottle filling assistant....
5. Brew faster than you can drink (Although this has already been said, I feel it's important)
6. Sanitation.
7. A watched pot never boils, but an unwatched one will cover your stove in sticky gunk within 2 seconds..
8. When all else fails, sit back and have a homebrew and wonder what you can learn from this experience...


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## Tim F (27/11/08)

-It's amazing how well 4-6 months in the bottle improves a lot of beers
-Making slants is a piece of piss and will save you hundreds and hundreds of dollars
-Soaking in a strong Napisan solution cleans everything
-Check the tap
-AG is very easy, very rewarding, and much cheaper than you think


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## Online Brewing Supplies (27/11/08)

Tell the Missus about the big fu.ken black hairy spider you saw in the shed, then you never need explain all that new gear.
GB


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## PhilA (29/11/08)

:icon_chickcheers: For Christ sake enjoy and have a few whilst brewing , don;t take all the ***to seriously :icon_drunk:


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## brendo (29/11/08)

Along with ensuring that the tap is off... make sure you have a tap on the fermentor.

I just racked a vienna lager to secondary for lagering, and in my haste, forgot to swap the bung out for a tap after washing/sanitising.

Looks like I have about 6 weeks to devise a plan for siphoning off the brew for bottling :icon_cheers: 

Brendo


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## jlm (29/11/08)

Plug in the MP3 player while brewing. If you must listen to to your record collection while brewing, 45's really aren't the best option.


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## warra48 (29/11/08)

Don't walk away when your brew is about to come to the boil. Disaster will overtake you even more sure than that the Titanic hit an iceberg.

Agree that if you can watch another brewer doing an AG brew, you're one step ahead of the rest. Wish I had that opportunity before my first AG brew.

Shop/buy your stuff from dependable reliable knowledgable shops such as Mark at Marks Home Brew and Ross at CraftBrewer.

It's NOT all about ultimate IBU levels. I've come to the conclusion that no more than your IBU's should be bittering additions. The rest should be added at 15 to 0 minutes. What's the point of say 50+ IBUs in your brew, if you have no hop flavour or aroma.

Enjoy the process, don't stress, little things go awry every brew, but you'll still make great a brew. And when you nail that brew you've always dreamed about, you'll know why you are a homebrewer.


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## Stuster (29/11/08)

brendo said:


> Looks like I have about 6 weeks to devise a plan for siphoning off the brew for bottling :icon_cheers:



Auto-syphon is good IMO, though others have not found them so helpful.


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## Carbonator (29/11/08)

Brew day is sooooooo easy!

So from all the replies thus far, Boil-over is the worst outcome. My camera idea, plus a remote switch (2 wires) to turn off the heating elements when doing a Boil (like I do have) would be far too easy but way far too out of the box to comprehend.

Am I wrong? Yes, I'm currently pissed and possibly offending YOU!


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## brendo (29/11/08)

Stuster said:


> Auto-syphon is good IMO, though others have not found them so helpful.


Auto-syphon? Whats that?


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## Stuster (29/11/08)

One of these. I use it for all transfers out of primary and secondary, even if the fermenter has a tap as less trub/yeast gets through that way.


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## rude (30/11/08)

Im not happy with my racking procedure Stuster how much are they mate ?


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## Pumpy (30/11/08)

You will drink more beer if it is under 6% than over it :blink: 

Just so you dont tie up your kegs 

Pumpy


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## Pumpy (30/11/08)

Stuster said:


> Auto-syphon is good IMO, though others have not found them so helpful.




I agree with that,the second bit 

Engineer your brew system so you never have to use an Auto Syphon.

it will help you stress less !

I did and never need to syphon again .


pumpy


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## reviled (30/11/08)

About $10, just dont use em for hot liquids, like boiling hot wort for no chilling, cos it will melt <_<


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## Jase71 (30/11/08)

Off-Topic: The auto-siphon sounds good to me, having a crook back that cripples me from time to time, it's a potentially damaging excercise to lift 20+ litre fermenters in and out of my plastic tub water cooler in order to tap-off into secondary, then lift that fermenter back into the tub. Whereas if I had a second cooling tub, I could do it side-by-side, and the only lifting I would need to do is when Im ready to bottle. 

Quote: _Engineer your brew system so you never have to use an Auto Syphon_

Pumpy, why do you say that, what are the disadvantagaes to an auto-siphon, apart from another device to clean ? 

Sorry for the OT, but this probably doesnt warrant a whole new thread.


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## reviled (30/11/08)

Jase71 said:


> Quote: _Engineer your brew system so you never have to use an Auto Syphon_
> 
> Pumpy, why do you say that, what are the disadvantagaes to an auto-siphon, apart from another device to clean ?



IMO they are a bit of a pain in the ass, its a million times easier to transfer via the tap with a piece of hose...


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## Stuster (30/11/08)

Not sure exactly, but in the $15-20 range when I bought one a year or two back. Might be a touch more now with the lower dollar. Most LHBSs should have one or be able to get it in for you.


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## Pennywise (30/11/08)

Keep fermenters where children can't get to them  , yes, my 18 month old son loves taps as I found out after hearing him playing behind the bar, tap opens, tap closes, tap opens, tap closes, giggle f**king giggle


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## Stuster (30/11/08)

Jase, they still need gravity to transfer, but they start the syphon. Sounds like you need a March pump.

I put that bit in for you, Pumpy. I remember all the issues you had with yours. Basically, some people find they introduce air into the beer/wort when syphoning but that's not an issue I find a problem. The only issue is getting the hose on to the end of the syphon.

reviled, they are slightly more fussy, but then I don't get as much yeast going through as I used to when I just used the tap. _For me_ that's worth the hassle. And you're absolutely right about not transferring hot wort. I wonder how we both know that.


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## reviled (30/11/08)

Stuster said:


> reviled, they are slightly more fussy, but then I don't get as much yeast going through as I used to when I just used the tap. _For me_ that's worth the hassle. And you're absolutely right about not transferring hot wort. I wonder how we both know that.



Agree you would get way less yeast.. I started using gelatine for this reason which works well for me  

With the whole hot wort thing, I put it down to a design fault, that stupid plastic clip in bit that goes up and down, if they just made it out of something decent so the fricking stupid thing didnt bloody pop out cos of the heat, everything would be fine :angry: Ive tried to get it clipped back in, but never have any luck... I got about 4 of em replaced by the HBS untill they said I must be doing something wrong, but it doesnt say on the packaging it CANT be used for hot liquid.. :angry: 

Rant off  lol


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## Stuster (30/11/08)

Ah, no, I had a different issue which was pretty easy to tell was from the heat. Mine turned into a banana syphon. :lol:


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## reviled (30/11/08)

Stuster said:


> Ah, no, I had a different issue which was pretty easy to tell was from the heat. Mine turned into a banana syphon. :lol:




Really? I found that plastic was fairly durable, it was just that bloody little clip, and it kept happening <_< 

I had the inside part warp slightly, but not the outside bit...


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## newguy (30/11/08)

A member of my club, who I really respect and is a veritable wellspring of knowledge has recommended that things like the auto-syphon are replaced every year. The reason is that you'll notice that the hard plastic will develop tiny cracks - they can harbour bacteria and are virtually impossible to properly sanitise. I used to have one but have since changed my procedure a bit and no longer need it. It developed cracks even though I thought I handled it carefully. This person actually negotiated a deal with one of our sponsor HBS - current club members can exchange their old racking canes for only $2.

The stuff that should be changed yearly is pretty much all plastic or vinyl hoses that touch your wort after the boil. This is probably partly paranoid ramblings, partly wise advice. All I know is that the few $ it costs is well worth my time and $ invested in ingredients.


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## Pumpy (30/11/08)

Jase71 said:


> Off-Topic: The auto-siphon sounds good to me, having a crook back that cripples me from time to time, it's a potentially damaging excercise to lift 20+ litre fermenters in and out of my plastic tub water cooler in order to tap-off into secondary, then lift that fermenter back into the tub. Whereas if I had a second cooling tub, I could do it side-by-side, and the only lifting I would need to do is when Im ready to bottle.
> 
> Quote: _Engineer your brew system so you never have to use an Auto Syphon_
> 
> ...




Jayse i had a bad experience with my Auto Syphon.

so I ferment and filter my beer straight into the keg saves double handling and excessive oxidation of the beer no need any more for a syphon .

Life is a dream since i went this way 
Trust me if you are brewing any other way you are making life so much difficult for yourself .

Pumpy


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## Screwtop (30/11/08)

A cure has now been developed for both HERMS and RIMS :lol:


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