# Complete Newbie To Brewing



## lukasfab (8/9/11)

hi guys 

i used to get a beer allowance from work but with new managment that has stopped :angry: 

anyway i thought i would finally give brewing my own a go, searching i came across this site and wow has it opened my eyes to it all.
i have never done any type of brewing what so ever so trying to learn some of the brewing lingo on here in the last 24hrs.

my first question for you guys is should i go straight into a mini-BIAB aposed to kit brewing? after reading Nicks $30 BIAB setup it sounds like i should just go for it.

apart from a pot and some cloth could you guys advise on what basics i will need to brew and where to get the stuff, is it cheaper to source on ebay?

how do you guys control the temp while its in the fermenter, espacially now that summer is on its way.
will a fridge go to 18deg or whatever is needed? you can get a cheap fridge from ebay for under$100

im in southern suburbs of Perth 



thanks guys


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## kelbygreen (8/9/11)

its up to you if you feel confident going straight to AG then go for it. Starting on kits is good as you only have to concentrate on the sanitation and fermentation side of things. 

you will need a fermenter of course. (25lt water barrel from bunnings)
a cube if you want to no chill but its to easy to throw the pot in a sink. (bunnings) but you can go without
a good quality long spoon so you can stir the mash and wort. 
silicone hose or a siphon to get wort out of the pot if you want to leave trub behind
some rope to hang the bag up or some sort of grate or something to put the bag on to drain. 
some digital scales. You can get a dear set that will do upto 5kg in 1g increments. or I got a cheap kitchen set and a cheap jewelers set. 
a bottling wand if you are bottling and bottles of coarse.
a capper if your bottling in glass 
a fridge to ferment in 
a stc1000 temp controller (ebay) 
a heat pad or mat to hang in the fridge for winter (hooked upto the temp controller) but you can go without for 6 months now. 

Oh you will want something to clean stuff with unscented napisan works heaps good just put about a cap full to a full fermenter and let it soak for a day no need to scrub the fermenter just rinse it well. Throw all your brewing gear and bottles in there so easy to clean
sanitiser starsan is good a bottle will last forever you only use 1.5ml per 1lt and only have to coat the area and its no rinse

umm all I can think of ATM sure there is heaps more


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## Spork (8/9/11)

Personally I'd go straight to mini BIAB, because the beer is soooo much nicer than I made with kits. If you do kits, just do the cheap ones. Brewcraft are, IMO, a massive waste of money and make shite beers...

I'm assuming you already have or plan to buy a "basic kit", with fermenter, spoon, hydrometer etc.

Some of your other needs will depend on what comes with the kit. For example, coopers kits have enough bottles (plastic) and lids (screw top) to do a batch. Otherwise, you can buy plastic bottles, or start collecting glass ones, in which case you will need a bench capper and crown seals.

Some "no rinse sanitiser". Star-San is pretty popular. Brewshield is another common one.

Get a stockpot from Kmart or big W.

Get your swiss voile from spotlight, or a grain bag from Grain and Grape for <$10

Get a thermometer that measures to 110c. Someone had a link to cheap ones on here somewhere the other day.

Get a 'fridge from gumtree, the hard rubbish, anywhere. Should be < $50 for something decent.

Get the temperature controller from e-bay. STX-1000 will get delivered to you for anywhere from about $15-$30 depending who's selling them at the moment. Another $10-$20 and you have it wired up and ready to go. If your 'fridge will be outdoors you will probably need some form of heating too, although probably not over the warmer 1/2 of the year... There are whole threads on here devoted to different methods of heating. For me, here in Tassie, with the fridge outside, I use a 6 meter reptile warming wire. Others use aquarium heaters, heat belts, heat pads, incandescent lights.....

Of course, once you have all this, you will soon want to do full size BIAB's, or even set up a 3v system...

Enjoy your new hobby.


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## chunckious (8/9/11)

I scoured garage sales and found a kit (fermenter/thermo/hydro/spoon/bottle brush) for $20. All in good nic.


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## kelbygreen (8/9/11)

to true spork lol 

I was only doing a AG BIAB batch here and there as it took to long and didnt have the time but it taste so good I made the time lol. Now I got a 70lt mashtun a 80lt pot and 50lt HLT lol. As I figured if I spend a hour longer doing a double then I am further infront instead of 2 5 hour days lol 

Yeah forgot the thermometer pretty important lol.


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## flano (8/9/11)

.and yet nobody has mentioned this bit..



> i used to get a beer allowance from work but with new managment that has stopped


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## mattyoz (8/9/11)

i agree where has the old management gone? should track them down for a job

i have my $50 fridge from ebay plugged into a controller from TWOC in bibra lake, but i'm going to change it over to a fridgemate controller from craftbrewer,

i went from 1 kit straight into full AG, much more enjoyable results


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## malt_shovel (8/9/11)

lukasfab said:


> hi guys
> 
> i used to get a beer allowance from work but with new managment that has stopped :angry:
> 
> ...



Hey Lucasfab,

West Coast Brewers, is a brewclub in Perth that is meeting this Monday night 7:30pm. Click on the link in my signature to take you to the website where you will find the address details.

There are all manner of brewers in our group ranging from BIAB , extract, 3V, gravity, HERMS etc, that you can get an idea of what people are up to and make an informed decision. And you get to drink the beer!

in my opinion, the things which put off most new homebrewers is mainly a result of poor fermentation conditions and using really old ingredients. This is not limited to extract / kit-kilo either. So if I was telling my best friend how to invest in starting up with homebrewing, i would recommend fermentation temp control (as described by others above, fridge with external temp controller) and get the freshest ingredients possible (other homebrewers can help identify where to get these - sponsors above are a great start). The decision to go extract vs kits vs partial vs all grain will rest on your shoulders. I guarantee that if you look after fermentation temps and use fresh ingredients, you will make great beer straight off.

Hope you can make it on Monday.
Cheers
:beer:


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## Nick JD (8/9/11)

+1

Find yourself a Mentor and shower them with high quality imported beers while trailing them on brewday with a notepad and paper. 

There are many things you need to learn to make great beer, but only 3 things things to learn to make drinkable beer:

1.) Cleanliness and sanitisation.

2.) Fermentation temperature control.

3.) Freshest ingredients.

Sounds like you have most of this stuff sorted already.


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## Bribie G (8/9/11)

I went into brewing about 3 years ago to make alcopops (alcoholic ginger beer etc) and one day I got a tin of Coopers Stout, and that was the start of it. I just bought a fermenter and airlock from a home brew shop, and collected a heap of soft drink PET bottles. I picked up the rest a bit at a time, didn't even have a hydrometer for the first six months. 

As said, the major thing is sanitation, sanitation sanitation. Followed by temperature control. Personally I'd do a couple of tins first to get the hang of fermenting and bottling - something fairly inoffensive such as a tin of Coopers Lager, a pack of Brew Enhancer 2 and maybe a sachet of US-05 yeast and see how you get on, while you are collecting your other bits. 

This time of year in Perth you should be ok for temperature. In a garage I reckon you'd average around 17 - 19 degrees at the moment as it's fairly similar to what we were getting last month in SEQ.
Give you time to sort out a fridge.


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## keifer33 (8/9/11)

Happy to help you out mate with a few bits and pieces. I've got a thermometer, a voile bag (made for an esky but will suit 19lt pot) and a 30lt fermenter (needs a clean as was last used for ginger beer) . Most of the stuff you will need is listed above in previous posts.

Drop me a pm if your interested.


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## lukasfab (8/9/11)

thanks guys all really helpfull suggestion there

i have absolutely nothing as yet, thought i would do some research before getting into something for once.
so should i just get one of these kits ( http://www.homebru.com.au/index.php?main_p...;products_id=23 ) to start with or will it be cheaper to get bunnings water barrel as mentioned then adapt a airlock and fit a tap and get the hydrometer and thermometer seperate?


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## lukasfab (8/9/11)

one of you mentioned that i would still need some sort of heating? please explain, if you have a fridge that has temp control why do you need heat? sorry if that a noob question. i will most likely keep the fridge indoors at work(use there power  )


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## lukasfab (8/9/11)

malt_shovel said:


> Hey Lucasfab,
> 
> West Coast Brewers, is a brewclub in Perth that is meeting this Monday night 7:30pm. Click on the link in my signature to take you to the website where you will find the address details.
> 
> ...



cheers mate, i will see how i go for Monday but if not then next time


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## Bribie G (8/9/11)

Really, apart from the beer ingredients and the hydrometer, the only useful thing you are getting out of the TWOC deal is the fermenter and airlock and tap. The stick-on thermometers are fairly useless and likewise the hand capping tool - I'd go Keifer's second hand fermenter and bits, and give it a good sanitise. Then if you need a second fermenter just buy the fermenter. And get a simple fridge thermometer. 

The idea of applying heat is if you get a prolonged cold spell and need to bump the brew up from, say 14 degrees to 18. However is that likely to be a problem in Perth? Even in SEQ we get runs of 8 degree nights like you have currently in Puth but I've never needed to get a heat belt or pad. If you do get freak weather next year you can always still use the fridge - switched off - and tuck the brew to bed with a hot water bottle. 
However now it's spring I'd forget all about that till next year.


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## lukasfab (8/9/11)

Bribie G said:


> I went into brewing about 3 years ago to make alcopops (alcoholic ginger beer etc) and one day I got a tin of Coopers Stout, and that was the start of it. I just bought a fermenter and airlock from a home brew shop, and collected a heap of soft drink PET bottles. I picked up the rest a bit at a time, didn't even have a hydrometer for the first six months.
> 
> As said, the major thing is sanitation, sanitation sanitation. Followed by temperature control. Personally I'd do a couple of tins first to get the hang of fermenting and bottling - something fairly inoffensive such as a tin of Coopers Lager, a pack of Brew Enhancer 2 and maybe a sachet of US-05 yeast and see how you get on, while you are collecting your other bits.
> 
> ...



maybe i should do a tin brew first up as you say, but i dont want to be left with shit tasting beer
is the method you recommended there good tasting?

will put a thermometer in the garage and see what we get


cheers


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## Nick JD (8/9/11)

lukasfab said:


> ...maybe i should do a tin brew first up as you say...



Mate, to be honest, if the Internets had've existed in 1988 when I started making crap Kit beer, I would not have made crap Kit beer for twenty years. 

Please, use the elevator.


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## lukasfab (8/9/11)

haha yeah mate your right


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## Bribie G (8/9/11)

Perth brewers would be able to advise you better, but are fresh wort kits available there?
As posted on another thread today, a fresh wort kit would give you virtually guaranteed good beer whilst allowing you to practice your "cold side" brewing skills.


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## Thefatdoghead (8/9/11)

lukasfab said:


> hi guys
> 
> i used to get a beer allowance from work but with new managment that has stopped :angry:
> 
> ...



I only started All grain a few months ago. I bought a book called "the complete joy of homebrewing" by charli Papazian which helped me understand all the basic stuff and a little bit of the tech stuff not much but basically all the processes of KaK/partials and all grain. One of the biggest helps was this website as so many people on here are willing to hand over there info and experience. 
I bought a program for brewing called Beer tools pro and it made everything so much easier. How much water to use with grain what temps and laying out recipes etc. But you came to the right place here because a lot of guys know there shit on here.


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## lukasfab (8/9/11)

Bribie G said:


> Perth brewers would be able to advise you better, but are fresh wort kits available there?
> As posted on another thread today, a fresh wort kit would give you virtually guaranteed good beer whilst allowing you to practice your "cold side" brewing skills.
> 
> View attachment 48192



what does cold side brewing mean? 
and no chill brew?


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## freezkat (9/9/11)

lukasfab said:


> what does cold side brewing mean?
> and no chill brew?


no chill brew is when you take the hot wort and wait for it to cool down. Some folks use a sanitized hdpe 20L jerry-can or cc-cube, and stick it in the fridge...or just wait till it gets down to yeast pitching temp. This saves on the water bill. I deon't know if there is an advantage for flavor.


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## lukasfab (9/9/11)

ah ok 
cheers


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## pimpsqueak (9/9/11)

lukasfab said:


> what does cold side brewing mean?
> and no chill brew?


He said "cold side" brewing *skills*.
What he is talking about is proper sanitation techniques and temperature control.


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## .DJ. (9/9/11)

lukasfab said:


> what does cold side brewing mean?



Cold side brewing is essentially any part of the brewing process that you do whilst the wort (unfermented beer) is cold/cool...

this part of the process is much more suseptible to infections and the like so you need to be super clean with anything that comes in contact with your beer...


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## stux (9/9/11)

.DJ. said:


> Cold side brewing is essentially any part of the brewing process that you do whilst the wort (unfermented beer) is cold/cool...
> 
> this part of the process is much more suseptible to infections and the like so you need to be super clean with anything that comes in contact with your beer...



And basically, its a good idea to work on / perfect your cold side skillz before you embark on the hot side (all-grain)

A good way to do this is to start with Fresh Wort Kits, which are 15/17/20L plastic bottles of high quality wort, which you essentially just add yeast to.

So you practise your yeast/santitation and other assorted "cold side" skills on the FWKs.

When you are making good high quality beer, then you might 'upgrade' to all-grain BIAB with No Chill

No Chill is a method of "cooling" the wort from boiling to pitching temperature where you don't actively cool it at all, its hot packed pasteurised wort. Its essentially how the Fresh Wort Kits are made, and you would essentially be making your own FWK at home.

Which dovetails nicely with learning the Cold Side Skillz with FWKs


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## loikar (9/9/11)

I'm Soooooooo Proud!!

As Nick said, I think it was Nick.

Find a BIAB'er in Perth and hook up for a brew day.
You can spend days scanning these forums to find information you can get in minutes from attending a brew day.

*Someone in Perth put your hand up and help this lad into a self funded beer addiction.*


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## loikar (9/9/11)

Stux said:


> And basically, its a good idea to work on / perfect your cold side skillz before you embark on the hot side (all-grain)
> 
> SNIPPAGE
> 
> When you are making good high quality beer, then you might 'upgrade' to all-grain BIAB with No Chill



NO NO NO!

It makes no difference if it's a Tin of goop, a FWK or an All Grain brew, if the sanitation is up the shit, it'll turn out like the female toilets after a buffet dinner for the bulimia society.

wash everything out once, Clean everything twice, sanitise everything three times and he'll be fine for the cold side.
Keep his brew under 22 and above 16 and he'll be fine.

He want's to go BIAB, don't talk him out of it!.


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## Strutter (9/9/11)

FWIW I have "fermented" 6 kits and then "brewed" 16 AG's. My worst 6 AG's shat all over my best kits.....

I think i read somewhere if you can make porridge you can brew beer

Every minute spent scrolling, lurking on this site helps you learn how to make beer.

EDIT: Just noticed that i'm now a kit master...feeling a little embarressed


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## HeavyNova (9/9/11)

Definately go for BIAB!

Use Nick's 'all grain for $30' thread as a guide. Start with a simple recipe, kep everything clean as you can, put some effort into keeping the yeast happy (e.g. pitch enough yeast, keep them at the right temperature), let the brew ferment out completely and you'll be blown away at how good a beer you can make with a bit of grain and a few green flowers.

James from "Brewz 2 You" has recently announced that he's shutting up shop and has all of his stuff on sale. If you're in South Perth he's not that far from where you are. I'd pay him a visit, he's helpfull and will get you sorted with everything you need to get started and do a good job of it.

www.brewz2you.com.au

Good luck!

P.S. Probably wouldn't recommend making your own recipes just yet, but it's still worth checking out this program as it'll still help your understanding of the recipe and planning your brew day;

www.brewmate.net

It's free and made by a local guy from Vic Park.


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## Strutter (9/9/11)

HeavyNova said:


> Definately go for BIAB!
> 
> Use Nick's 'all grain for $30' thread as a guide. Start with a simple recipe, kep everything clean as you can, put some effort into keeping the yeast happy (e.g. pitch enough yeast, keep them at the right temperature), let the brew ferment out completely and you'll be blown away at how good a beer you can make with a bit of grain and a few green flowers.
> 
> ...


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## lukasfab (9/9/11)

thanks guys, i can see there are a lot of helpfull people on here so it will make life easier

i will be taking keithef33 offer on the bits he has and go from there


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## manticle (9/9/11)

BeerFingers said:


> NO NO NO!
> 
> It makes no difference if it's a Tin of goop, a FWK or an All Grain brew, if the sanitation is up the shit, it'll turn out like the female toilets after a buffet dinner for the bulimia society.



And if you don't understand how to troubleshoot because you don't actually understand what happens during mashing, boiling, fermentation and conditioning, then you might reach the belief that AG, as the supposed pinnacle of homebrew is shit and buying beer is better.

That's the main reason for recommending people take their time. It's not because putting cracked grain in hot water is technically or physically hard. It's because there are some processes that take at least a bit of research to understand.

Jump in and have a go by all means but do some elementary research at the same time and either use or develop the ability to problem solve and think laterally. Oh no my mash is 62 instead of 67. Will it work? What should I do? Should I tip it? My airlock isn't bubbling?!? I think I popped a haemorrhoid??!! I'm out of toilet paper?! Do you have any milk?? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE???!!?!?!?!?!

What's a mash?


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## Malted (9/9/11)

manticle said:


> What's a mash?



Tsk tsk tsk, too long playing with meads? Try this to get you going again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashing
And I thought I had dementia!


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## manticle (9/9/11)

Aluminium gives you............??

what's an HLT??


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## kelbygreen (9/9/11)

you can use your mash paddle if you run out of toilet paper lol.


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## Malted (9/9/11)

manticle said:


> Aluminium gives you............??
> 
> what's an HLT??


I can't remember what alumininium gives me.  

A or AN? You know (and I have just learnt) that it is probably correct to say AN hlt. That doesn't make it _right; _it just looks whacky!


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## malt_shovel (9/9/11)

lukasfab said:


> thanks guys, i can see there are a lot of helpfull people on here so it will make life easier
> 
> i will be taking keithef33 offer on the bits he has and go from there




Keiffer33 will no doubt be at the WCB meeting on Monday, so kill two birds with one stone, grab some free gear and meet some beer freaks crew at the local club. 

Seriously it is only a couple of hours out of your life and you might even be able to hook up a brew day with someone. Just bring a glass, and if you haven't a beer to bring along, no worries I will bring an extra bottle for ya!

TWOC have decent ingredients to get you going, and Roy is a good bloke, but if you want to wait until Monday, the crew at WCB may be able to source some other bits and bobs.


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## manticle (9/9/11)

Malted said:


> I can't remember what alumininium gives me.
> 
> A or AN? You know (and I have just learnt) that it is probably correct to say AN hlt. That doesn't make it _right; _it just looks whacky!



I just remembered! Aluminium gives me an hard-on.


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## Malted (9/9/11)

manticle said:


> I just remembered! Aluminium gives me *an* hard-on.



Stainless steel brewery bling does it for me...  



I reckon that one really ought to be an A but I'm leaving the 'A vs An' alone as its doing my head in.


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## marksfish (9/9/11)

as has been said a/g biab is not all that hard all you need to do is hold your temps for 60 to90 minutes and the malt will convert to sugars, there is a heap of recipes on the recipe thread for you to brew something you think that you will like. and yes you will have to be carefull on the cold side (post boil) cleaning and sanitation are more than important they are vital to good brewing and yes a cheap fridge and a temp controller is as important as good yeast for quality beer. all in all my advise is go for it but be preparedf or the hobby to be all consuming.


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## keifer33 (9/9/11)

malt_shovel said:


> Keiffer33 will no doubt be at the WCB meeting on Monday, so kill two birds with one stone, grab some free gear and meet some beer freaks crew at the local club.
> 
> Seriously it is only a couple of hours out of your life and you might even be able to hook up a brew day with someone. Just bring a glass, and if you haven't a beer to bring along, no worries I will bring an extra bottle for ya!
> 
> TWOC have decent ingredients to get you going, and Roy is a good bloke, but if you want to wait until Monday, the crew at WCB may be able to source some other bits and bobs.



Lukas is dropping round tomorrow to collect the goods and it just so happens ill be setting up to brew in the evening so will get a chance to look at my setup and get a run down on the whole 'AG' deal  Will try not to make it information overload!


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## manticle (9/9/11)

Malted said:


> I reckon that one really ought to be an A



I know

T'was joke. 

An hilarious one too.


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## Malted (9/9/11)

manticle said:


> I know
> 
> T'was joke.
> 
> An hilarious one too.


Gotcha. Seems in my mind to make a difference as to how you pronounce the A. Aee or Ahh. You're being ahh ass sounds better than you're being aee ass.


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## mattyoz (9/9/11)

where in the northern suburbs?

i might be doing an all grain brew this weekend if you bring some beers round lol


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## lukasfab (9/9/11)

done a temp check in the garage today,
left over night the temp this morning was 15deg and when i got home from work it was 22deg

im guessing this is no good?


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## mattyoz (9/9/11)

not at all, main thing you have to worry about is that it doesnt go to far above 22, i don't even worry about heating my fermenter up these days, i have a fridge set up for fermenting have a controller on the make sure it doesnt get above 20 and i dont worry about it getting cold, not in perth anyway, you just have to worry about it in summer over here when its 30 at midnight you have bid problems if you dont have the fermenter in a cool place


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## keifer33 (9/9/11)

lukasfab said:


> done a temp check in the garage today,
> left over night the temp this morning was 15deg and when i got home from work it was 22deg
> 
> im guessing this is no good?



Sounds like the same temp as I get at the moment. I actually have to try and keep the temp down during the day for some brews as the reaction of fermentation actually adds a few degrees so 15 over night might be 16-17.


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## lukasfab (10/9/11)

guys i will probably try go to brewz2you to pick up some bargains...hopefully

i will want to brew a simple german style beer, munich i guess.
what do i need? remember i have nothing i the way of ingredients so things like sugars and what ever i need for complete brew

i like german, belgian beers so what could i get in bulk to save more money and how long do these things last?

thank you


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## loikar (10/9/11)

manticle said:


> And if you don't understand how to troubleshoot because you don't actually understand what happens during mashing, boiling, fermentation and conditioning, then you might reach the belief that AG, as the supposed pinnacle of homebrew is shit and buying beer is better.
> 
> That's the main reason for recommending people take their time. It's not because putting cracked grain in hot water is technically or physically hard. It's because there are some processes that take at least a bit of research to understand.



Sorry Manticle, I have to disagree.
Do you need to know what happens to your car when you put oil or petrol in it before you drive it?
Do you need to know why you need to proove bread before baking it?
Do you need to know how a computer works before you buy one?
No, you just need to know how to move through the process.

I agree, only a fool would dive into anything without at least a little research first. But you don't need to know the ins and outs of anything to follow a process.

for my first AG i just made beer. I didn't care about efficiency or hitting my gravitys, I just made beer.
I had a brew sheet (aka a receipe), it told me to hold x amount of grain at y degrees for z amount of time.
I didn't need to know why and what enzyme eats what starch at what temperature, and if i hit a snag I asked someone who could help and advise.

I thinks it's better to assume that people have the common sense to do at least a little research (as the OP has obviously done) rather than to assume everyone is going to walk blindly into something and shit their pants at the first sign of trouble.

Regardless if you research K&K all AG, it's still just process.

Cheers,

BF


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## Bribie G (10/9/11)

Agree with BF here. I'm a knowledge sponge and love to get into the chemistry etc, but I also make the mistake of thinking that everybody has the same knowledge base, so I often tend to lose people early on in the conversation, and that's not just brewing. Comes with the Asperger territory  - Few months ago I was talking to a couple of AG'ers who make bloody fine beer and they wanted to know why my 3.3% mild tasted more like a full strength, so I started prattling on about mash temperatures, Alpha and Beta Amylase etc. 

First they'd heard of it, "Alpha what y lase??" but it hadn't prevented them just going ahead and making beer.


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## Nick JD (10/9/11)

When using big words, I find there's a fine line between smart and smartypants. 

IMO, one of the biggest barriers to learning is nomenclature - and there ya go, I just did it then. 

Brewing words make people turn off. The Too Hard Basket starts filling up. 

Terminology is how smartypantses retain control of their smartypantsness.


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## lukasfab (10/9/11)

well guys im a step further in front today towards my first brew.
caught up with keifer33 today and scored myself a few things, i even got to try his brew....NICE!
went to big w and got a brew pot and some PET bottles.

few more pieces of equipment, some more reading and get a receipe down packed and away we go.


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## kelbygreen (10/9/11)

thats good lukasfab sure you will enjoy it lol


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## lukasfab (11/9/11)

i decided to do the famous Drsmurto GA

i put his receipe into brewmate for miniBIAB, let me know if this is what it should be

pilsner 1.08kg
munich l .36kg
wheat malt(they didnt have pale wheat) .36kg
caramunich l .1125kg

amarillo 9g
amarillo 6.75g
amarillo 6.75g
amarillo 6.75g

safal US-05 5g

OG 1046
FG 1012
IBU 33.4
ABV 4.62


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## stux (12/9/11)

Malted said:


> Gotcha. Seems in my mind to make a difference as to how you pronounce the A. Aee or Ahh. You're being ahh ass sounds better than you're being aee ass.



The simplistic rule is if the first letter is a vowel or an h then use an an, otherwise an a

But it's more correctly, if the first syllable is a vowel sound then use an an

So for example : "An MPEG meeting was held in June", MPEG is pronounced "empeg", thus a vowel sound is the first syllable

Thus you only use an an for hotel and other words starting with h if the h is silent or you drop your aychs

An 'eavy night in ol London town 'ey cobber

How you pronounce the letter h makes a difference too, you wouldn't use an an with a haych, but you would use an an with an aych


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## Clutch (12/9/11)

Bribie G said:


> Agree with BF here. I'm a knowledge sponge and love to get into the chemistry etc, but I also make the mistake of thinking that everybody has the same knowledge base, so I often tend to lose people early on in the conversation, and that's not just brewing. Comes with the Asperger territory  - Few months ago I was talking to a couple of AG'ers who make bloody fine beer and they wanted to know why my 3.3% mild tasted more like a full strength, so I started prattling on about mash temperatures, Alpha and Beta Amylase etc.
> 
> First they'd heard of it, "Alpha what y lase??" but it hadn't prevented them just going ahead and making beer.




Richard Branson needed one of his employees to explain the difference between gross and net profits.
About 3 years ago...


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (12/9/11)

Nick JD said:


> When using big words, I find there's a fine line between smart and smartypants.
> 
> IMO, one of the biggest barriers to learning is nomenclature - and there ya go, I just did it then.
> 
> ...



+1

Instead, a simple explanation of jargon (the bog standard word for nomenclature) words does wonders.

Goomba


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## Synthetase (12/9/11)

What jargon haters forget is that those of us who are involved in areas full of jargon use it as short-hand - it's got nothing to do with secret clubs. It's too much of a pain in the arse to go around the long way every time you want to make a point.

Having said that, obviously allowances need to be made for people who don't know what the hell you're talking about, which is fine. There's nothing worse than seeing someone new turn up on the forum asking what direction they should go and seeing the first couple of replies read something like a brewer's dictionary of acronyms.

"Forget K+K, go AG BIAB. You don't need a HLT..."

To which the poster usually responds "???".


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## loikar (12/9/11)

WTF?

ROFLOL!

RAHAHB FFS!


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## felten (12/9/11)

You only have to learn the jargon once.. it's hardly complicated. 

Sure if you're a non-brewer you don't really GAF and don't need to learn it, but for new brewers it's pretty simple to learn. You can type any brewing acronym or term into google and learn what it means in under a minute.


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## Nick JD (12/9/11)

You could learn all the computer programming 3LAs (three letter acronyms ) really easily too. Just look 'em up.

However, relating them to their process, or device, or abstract concept is a real fuckin' hard, if you don't learn them in the process of using what they stand for. 

IMO, it's best to leave them out initially. They filter in eventually, and when they do they stick like shit to a kitten.


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## Nick JD (12/9/11)

Say HLT.

The hot is simple. 

Sometimes it's liquor (WTF? that's something for sprits?) or liquid, so the 3LA isn't even standardised.

Then there are the folks who call it an HL Tun, not tank. So WTF is a tun? 

Screw it. This is too hard. Where's my can opener?


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## stux (12/9/11)

Nick JD said:


> Say HLT.
> 
> The hot is simple.
> 
> ...



Kettle/Pot/Copper/Boiler

That thing you boil the sugary stuff in


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## Bribie G (12/9/11)

"trub" is actually German for "lees" and should be pronounced along the lines of "troob", not "trerb" or "trab" as many Australians would. 
Also I'm wondering about "Fermentor" as opposed to "Fermenter" - the rationale being that a device that does something is usually an "or" such as Carburettor in American usage, but "er" in Commonwealth English - Carburetter. I rather like the UK term "FV" which is also gaining some currency here. 

A tun is an Anglo Saxon word for barrel, I grew up just north of Hadrian's wall and at the nearby village of Heddon-On-the-Wall has a pub "The Three Tuns" dating back to the 18th Century when General Wade built the Military Road to rush troops to curb Jacobite Uprisings up the road in Scotland. There are several Three Tuns hotels in the North of England.


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## Malted (12/9/11)

Bribie G said:


> I grew up just north of Hadrian's wall and at the nearby village of Heddon-On-the-Wall has a pub "The Three Tuns" dating back to the 18th Century when




I thought Adrian's wall was to keep the rabbits out?
Wasn't the "three Huns" was it?


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## Bribie G (12/9/11)

Malted said:


> I thought Adrian's wall was to keep the rabbits out?
> Wasn't the "three Huns" was it?



No, it was the Roman Wall


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## Spoonta (16/9/11)

howed you go with getting the grain


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## lukasfab (16/9/11)

Spoonta said:


> howed you go with getting the grain




hi mate, planning on going tomorrow to get supplies to do my first brew  

because I dont have much grain I will give my blender/chopper a go, if no luck I will take up your offer

PM me your number mate



cheers


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## Spoonta (16/9/11)

shit I would not use the blender pm sent


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## lukasfab (17/9/11)

didn't get your PM


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## manticle (17/9/11)

BeerFingers said:


> I agree, only a fool would dive into anything without at least a little research first. But you don't need to know the ins and outs of anything to follow a process.



Point number 1 is all I mean.

Point number 2 is definitely not what I mean.

If people can do it without freaking out when not everything goes by the book then absolutely go for it. Ultimately it's the brewer's choice on how they make their beer and whether they enjoy the results.

I'd recommend AG to anyone even vaguely interested but I won't insist on it.


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## Spoonta (18/9/11)

howed your brew day go


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## lukasfab (29/9/11)

brew day went well.....i think
still in the fermenter at this stage but looks like i may be bottling soon as i got 1010 the other night, will check again on weekend
went with a wheat beer first off, first taste is not bad so cant wait till couple weeks after bottling

cheers


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