# Not Using Brew Enhancer



## DarrenTheDrunk (19/12/16)

Hi, I used to brew about 30 years ago and from my memory of just using the tin and sugar, the beer taste good. Doe anyone have an opinion whether the Enhancer is worth nearly doubling the cost of the beer?.. Thanks Darren


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## TwoCrows (19/12/16)

Too answer your question ,Yes. It is better in kit brew over white sugar. If you like the taste of sugar, go with it.

Light Dry Malt Extract gives body and malt flavour. Brew enhancer in combination with LDME gives body and ups the Alc%.

This is a basic brew recipe...


Real Ale Pre-hopped Extract


1.7kg Coopers Real Ale extract can (or Muntons Bitter/Coopers Sparkling Ale etc)
1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 2
500g Coopers Light Dry Malt

Add 3 litres (3 quarts) of hot (recently boiled) water to your fermenter.
Pour in and dissolve the can of extract, light dry malt and BE2.
Top up the fermenter with cold water to 21 litres (5.5 gallons).
Check temperature of wort and adjust with hot or cold water to get close to 20c/68F at 23 litres (6 gallons).
Mix in yeast when wort is 20c/68F.
Ferment at 18c-20c (64.5F-68F) for 10 to 14 days.
Bottle or keg as usual.



Hope that this helps.


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## mtb (19/12/16)

It does make it bloody expensive compared to a simple kit & kilo, I never understood why. In my extract days I often found a FWK (Fresh Wort Kit) was more bang for buck in comparison, since it was pretty close to all-grain (or as close as I could get without making the jump)


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## damoninja (19/12/16)

mtb said:


> It does make it bloody expensive compared to a simple kit & kilo





TwoCrows said:


> 500g Coopers Light Dry Malt


THAT makes it expensive at $6 a throw. 

Can get 1kg for $8.5


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## Brewnicorn (19/12/16)

TwoCrows said:


> This is a basic brew recipe...
> Real Ale Pre-hopped Extract
> 1.7kg Coopers Real Ale extract can (or Muntons Bitter/Coopers Sparkling Ale etc)


I was with you up until Muntons. A non stock yeast helps but I'll steer everyone away from Muntons given my personal experience. If you're returning to the brew table, why not treat yourself to a good kit to brew up and do an old fashioned one and see how they compare?

Just a thought. And don't get Munted. 
Cheers.


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## DarrenTheDrunk (20/12/16)

Ha ha. Thankyou. I will do my best not to get "Munted".

Thankyou for your replies. If I may just ask one more question. I am using aquarium heaters in my brews (2 x 23 liter and 1 x 46 liter...thus far) and have a brew of coopers Draught and Coopers Pale ale. I am brewing them at 28 degrees. They started to ferment in about 1 hour and finished "bubbling" after about 70 hours. Is this ok? One batch I put down exactly 8 days ago and has been sitting with out bubbling for 5 days. Could I bottle it now or should I wait longer. Thanks again. I am new to forums and love this one for the depth of knowledge and willingness of others to share their wisdom.


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## DarrenTheDrunk (20/12/16)

... I should add, I just called Coopers and they confirmed that they are Halal certified so I will never drink their beer or buy another Coopers product. Any thoughts on another brand. cheers


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## Bribie G (20/12/16)

Oh dear.


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## sp0rk (20/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> ... I should add, I just called Coopers and they confirmed that they are Halal certified so I will never drink their beer or buy another Coopers product. Any thoughts on another brand. cheers


You see, here's the thing
Coopers malt extracts are halal certified, not their beers
Their extracts are automatically certified as they are not involved with animals in any way
The fees are faily small, and Coopers absorb the entire cost themselves
Just for reference, Woolworths charge Coopers 8 times what the Halal certification costs, just to be able to sell their product in Woolworths owned stores/business.
They have halal certification to be able to export malt extracts to Muslim majority countries as it's used in sweets and baking.
And funnily enough, this makes Coopers a GIGANTIC profit, all of which comes back into Australia as Coopers are an Australian family owned company.
Not to mention all their other charitable efforts, such as selling their spent grain to farmers and the profits from that entirely go to charity.
Coopers imho are probably the most noble company in Australia (their power generation is amazing too) who are playing the halal certification game and making it work for them, not turning away those potential profits.
VERY deserving of my dollars, infact they're the only big brewer that I'll support.

And in the event you're against all religion, not just them sneaky muslims (sarcasm intended), Best stop eating weetbix.
Sanitarium are owned by Seventh Day Adventists


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## TwoCrows (20/12/16)

Never used Muntons. The recipe I posted is just an example of an alterative to sugar and high temp brewing.

I buy my DME for about $9.00 a kilo. Some people don't want to go looking for a LHBS, so of the shelve coopers is easy.

If coopers is no good, do an extract only brew.


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## sp0rk (20/12/16)

Also Coopers produce/own a large majority of all kits/malt extract in Australia and USA
You're going to have a hard time avoiding them


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## wereprawn (20/12/16)

22 c is about the upper limit you want to ferment the majority of ales at, with 18c often considered ideal . Chunk those kit instructions away mate, 28 c won't do the flavour of your brew any favours .


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## Bribie G (20/12/16)

Thanks for the reminder, just realized I still have a kilo of goat curry pieces in the freezer from last time I stocked up at the Halal butchers in Fortitude Valley. 
I'll drag them out later when I grab hops for my ESB Wells Bombardier tribute. 

+1 on the temperature, no need for heat belt most of the year, even in Geelong. Sub 20 degrees is ideal.


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## mtb (20/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> they are Halal certified so I will never drink their beer or buy another Coopers product.


I have to ask this question directly: what've you got against Halal certified products?

(edit): fingers crossed for an answer that doesn't play true to Bribie G's signature..


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## LAGERFRENZY (20/12/16)

Yes. Please explain?


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## Matplat (20/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> I am brewing them at 28 degrees.


I regret to inform you, the beer will taste like shit, be it Muntons, Coopers, or anything else for that matter (except saison yeasts).

It's summer, heat belts should be hanging on the shelf, you need to be cooling (one way or another)....


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## Bribie G (20/12/16)

LAGERFRENZY said:


> Yes. Please explain?


haha, I see what you did there.
How about some empirical evidence as well?


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## Nullnvoid (20/12/16)

sp0rk said:


> And in the event you're against all religion, not just them sneaky muslims (sarcasm intended), Best stop eating weetbix.
> Sanitarium are owned by Seventh Day Adventists


Which was invented so we all stopped masturbating.


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## mtb (20/12/16)

Fat lot of good that did..


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## Bridges (20/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> ... I should add, I just called Coopers and they confirmed that they are Halal certified so I will never drink their beer or buy another Coopers product. Any thoughts on another brand. cheers


Darren I believe there is a thread on this subject elsewhere. I also believe you need to read just a bit more about halal certification and the benefits it can bring to an Australian business. Do you avoid kosher food? Do you ensure that when you buy fuel for your car that the oil has been sourced responsibly avoiding funding terrorist groups? Do you avoid posting letters as the CEO of Auspost is a muslim? Where do you start and stop with this?
Curious as I don't understand.


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## kaiserben (20/12/16)

I'd be waaaaaaaaay more worried about fermenting at 28C than whether or not the company is raking in export dollars by selling product to countries where Muslims live.


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## lost at sea (20/12/16)

you better not drink any beer what-so-ever just to be safe.....


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## LAGERFRENZY (20/12/16)

Add a few more kilos of sugar to it (white of course) and you'll be able to run your car on it and boycott OPEC...


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## wereprawn (20/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> ... I should add, I just called Coopers and they confirmed that they are Halal certified so I will never drink their beer or buy another Coopers product. Any thoughts on another brand. cheers


You've done well (so far), the last bloke simply asked "Is coopers halal" and was branded a racist , bigoted , islamophobe. Personally I don't give a shit if you buy or boycott halal certified products . There is a vast amount of collective,brewing knowledge on this forum though. Good cleaning, sanitization and temperature control really are paramount to brewing good beer before thinking of ingredients .


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## mtb (20/12/16)

wereprawn said:


> the last bloke simply asked "Is coopers halal" and was branded a racist , bigoted , islamophobe.


Got a link for that? Find it hard to believe that would escape AHB moderators.


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## LAGERFRENZY (20/12/16)

There's a bit of humour on here as well if you can take it.


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## wereprawn (20/12/16)

mtb said:


> Got a link for that? Find it hard to believe that would escape AHB moderators.


http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/85737-is-coopers-halal/


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## mtb (20/12/16)

wereprawn said:


> http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/85737-is-coopers-halal/


I see argument on both sides here (oh and the unmissable humour which some apparently can't/refuse to recognise). No witch hunt against Halal.. nor is there one here. Darren was simply asked to explain his reasoning for his boycott; if he didn't want to be questioned about it, he didn't need to type it on a public forum.

(edit): yeah, there was also some branding and use of terms such as "bigotry" and "islamaphobe", surrounded by deep discussion about the why & how.

Wow, this got off topic quick..


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## Danscraftbeer (20/12/16)

Aquarium heaters? That's burning a lot of electricity to spoil your beer. Re temp control. 18c needs cooling (eg. temp controlled fridge).

Oh. I'll give thumbs up to Coopers as well.


He hasn't posted again you must have scared him off. A forum of terrorist sympathizers who indulge forbidden nectar must be so confusing. 

Sorry, pull my tongue out of my cheek now I could help myself..


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## Brewnicorn (20/12/16)

Well, I think the considered replies were great. No one attacked Darren and seriously, it's a storm in a teacup. That certification is for the peace of mind of some folks to respect their traditions. Awesome for them and the nature of the product hasn't changed and cost increase is minimal or zero, better for us. Sometimes it's a good thing to just appreciate some folks like things different and that's ok. Feeling very good about the forum having read this tonight. Also, coopers have given a lot of the Brewing community. If I can't reward them in turn by sharing their knowledge and good cheer then I'd be worse for living a half assed life I think. Cheers


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## SBOB (20/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> ... I should add, I just called Coopers and they confirmed that they are Halal certified so I will never drink their beer or buy another Coopers product. Any thoughts on another brand. cheers


even their beer is Halal certified... tell me more....


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## Matplat (21/12/16)

Isn't it a bit pointless getting Halal certification for beer.... muslims don't drink.....

edit: oh wait... that's bullshit. only extract products are certified.... I knew they weren't that stupid.


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## Bribie G (21/12/16)

Lots of Muslims drink.

I've been hammered all over North Africa and Turkey.


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## earle (21/12/16)

Nullnvoid said:


> Which was invented so we all stopped masturbating.


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## mattymcfatty (21/12/16)

He came, He trolled, He left.


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## DarrenTheDrunk (21/12/16)

Well I did not intend to open a Pandora’s box on this topic, but as many posts have arisen, please allow me to respond. I accept the comments that it is only the malt that is halal certified and I accept all the other comments about the magnitude of the investment from the company. What I don’t except, is your final comment that I am against all religions, which I am not, nor do I accept the comment about sanitarium and Weet-Bix nor the other comments. My position is very clear and firm. The halal certification tax is nothing but a complete and utter rort which has been demonstrated so many times by many political parties in many countries all over the world. Further comment what also has been demonstrated, that a significant portion of the funds go into supporting an ethical means, in particular terrorism. We could talk about this till the cows come home and I suspect many would need to agree to disagree, but I for one will never except this tax, the purpose for which it is intended, the dictatorial means used on companies to subscribe to this tax, or anything else in this regard. To use comments such as “this makes Coopers a huge profit”, only supports the position I am upholding. As soon as Australian companies abandon this rort the sooner it will disappear off the Australian people’s radar.

MTB - I think I have answered your question in the previous response.

Bridges - thank you for your response Bridges, as you concluded that you are curious as you don’t understand, I will afford you my opinion. Firstly, I do not need to read any more about halal certification, nor do I need to enlighten myself about the benefits it can bring an Australian business. On the contrary, it is a divisive, destructive and the fee that no Australian company needs to pay. Please, someone tell me why Australian companies need to pay a tax for a political ideology which the majority do not subscribe to? I do not care about kosher food I do not care about the fuel that I use nor do I avoid posting letters because the CEO is a Muslim. With no disrespect, that is a nonsense proposition. I respectfully suggest to you that you read a little more about the halal tax, and then perhaps get back to me if you are so inclined.

I will say no more on this topic, because this is not the forum for such matters to be discussed. I only raised this in the sense that I would not be spending my money with a company that supports this particular preposterous regime. Nothing more, nothing less. Now I plan to get back to the homebrewing.

Thank you for the comments in regard to myself brewing at far too high a temperature. I did not know this and as I write, I am about to bottle my 1st 46 L of draft which by fermented at 28°. The excitement of the bottling, and further the excitement of the Sample, I suspect will far outweigh any diminution in the quality of the beer. But thank you for your advice, and I will correct the error of my ways, because I suspect after the novelty of brewing wears off, I will be expecting a top quality beer. Again, thank you all very very much.


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## LAGERFRENZY (21/12/16)

There's a Rant Thread and a In the News thread if you need to post your politcal and philosophical manifesto. This is a General Brewing Techniques thread where people discuss making better beer.


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## TwoCrows (21/12/16)

Go all grain and purchase from your local home brew outlet and add some hops and some good yeast. Maybe a controller and a fridge. Merry Christmas !


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## SBOB (21/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> Firstly, I do not need to read any more about halal certification, nor do I need to enlighten myself about the benefits it can bring an Australian business. On the contrary, it is a divisive, destructive and the fee that no Australian company needs to pay. Please, someone tell me why Australian companies need to pay a tax for a political ideology which the majority do not subscribe to?
> 
> I do not care about kosher food


I didnt realise we were a majority Jewish faith country....
learn something every day


The rest of your post is just crazy talk, and if you read some information outside your 'anti halal' bubble you might see that your beliefs on both the religion and the 'halal certification' nonsense you're dribbling are incorrect


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## Bribie G (21/12/16)

Bugger the halal conspiracy nonsense, I'm more worried about the hundreds of thousands of extra-terrestrials who are living inside the Earth in caves and even entire cities, for the last 30,000 years.
I know it's true because it's on YouTube.

Ask Malcolm Roberts, he'll confirm.


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## nosco (21/12/16)

I used aquarium heaters on my first couple of kit brews thinking it would be pretty accurate temp control. I ditched it after my Coopers sour lager ale didnt turn out so well. Not sure if it was the 26c ferment or the midge fly floating on top.


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## SBOB (21/12/16)

Bribie G said:


> Bugger the halal conspiracy nonsense, I'm more worried about the hundreds of thousands of extra-terrestrials who are living inside the Earth in caves and even entire cities, for the last 30,000 years.
> I know it's true because it's on YouTube.
> 
> Ask Malcolm Roberts, he'll confirm.


Does he have empirical evidence?


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## manticle (21/12/16)

People have worked in the underground caverns, man.


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## Killer Brew (21/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> Well I did not intend to open a Pandora’s box on this topic, but as many posts have arisen, please allow me to respond. I accept the comments that it is only the malt that is halal certified and I accept all the other comments about the magnitude of the investment from the company. What I don’t except, is your final comment that I am against all religions, which I am not, nor do I accept the comment about sanitarium and Weet-Bix nor the other comments. My position is very clear and firm. The halal certification tax is nothing but a complete and utter rort which has been demonstrated so many times by many political parties in many countries all over the world. Further comment what also has been demonstrated, that a significant portion of the funds go into supporting an ethical means, in particular terrorism. We could talk about this till the cows come home and I suspect many would need to agree to disagree, but I for one will never except this tax, the purpose for which it is intended, the dictatorial means used on companies to subscribe to this tax, or anything else in this regard. To use comments such as “this makes Coopers a huge profit”, only supports the position I am upholding. As soon as Australian companies abandon this rort the sooner it will disappear off the Australian people’s radar.
> 
> MTB - I think I have answered your question in the previous response.
> 
> ...


Proven by political parties around the world? You obviously refer to right wingers who spout nonsense like this with no evidence whatsoever.
Funding terrorism? At the rate of around $1200 per company most of which is to cover administrative costs of the certification.
Saying no more on the topic? Clearly opting out as you know you can't back up your claims.

Welcome to the forum regardless. Perhaps stick to brewing questions.

As an aside I coincidentally passed the Coopers truck leaving our manufacturing site today. Delivering malt to be used in producing our very popular treats distributed around Aust and overseas (incl Indonesia) much of which is halal.


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## SBOB (21/12/16)

Killer Brew said:


> overseas (incl Indonesia) much of which is halal.


Dont be crazy... when criticising Islam/halal you aren't meant to include those areas like Indonesia, because they don't fit the stereotype trying to be portrayed


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## Zorco (21/12/16)

Where is Barls on this off topic opportunity?

Bring it back fellas... Religion is always improved with not using brew enhances.

[emoji55]


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## SBOB (21/12/16)

Zorco said:


> Where is Barls on this off topic opportunity?
> 
> Bring it back fellas... Religion is always improved with not using brew enhances.
> 
> [emoji55]


All grain religion only


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## wereprawn (21/12/16)

SBOB said:


> All grain religion only


Shhh....Coopers gonna call a Jihad on you for talk like that .


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## Bridges (22/12/16)

I'm sorry to keep this off topic but here is a vegemite jar. The "islamic tax logo" is on it as is the kosher label. You need to pay either religious group for this accreditation. It helps you sell vegemite or malt or whatever. I don't see how they are vastly different. 
You also stated "Firstly, I do not need to read any more about halal certification, nor do I need to enlighten myself about the benefits it can bring an Australian business." Cool it's great to know everything but please enlighten me by providing the links to a credible news source that shows how halal certification is funding terrorism or destroying our way of life. You then suggested  "I respectfully suggest to you that you read a little more about the halal tax, and then perhaps get back to me if you are so inclined." I don't mind that you won't take your own advice but help me out here. No Australian needs to pay it you are right, no one is made to do it, like no one is forced to put a made in Australia logo or a heart foundation tick on their products. They all do it though for the same reason to help sell more stuff. 
I look forward to reading the links you put here. I also look forward to hearing how much better your next beer is once you get temp. control sorted.
Cheers.


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## sp0rk (22/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> What I don’t except, is your final comment that I am against all religions, which I am not, nor do I accept the comment about sanitarium and Weet-Bix nor the other comments.


I support your position to have an opinion on things and you are completely entitled to that opinion.
However, I didn't say that you were against all religions, I said "And in the event you're against all religion, not just them sneaky muslims", so as to not assume that you're just against a certain section of society, instead of everyone (I personally am a Secular Humanist, I openly reject all religion/spirituality) 
You can choose to accept or reject the comment about Sanitarium all you like, but it's an actual fact.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanitarium_Health_and_Wellbeing_Company
They're also tax exempt as they're wholly owned by a religious organisation

I too am looking forward to hearing how your brews go with temp control, best practice = best brews


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## SBOB (22/12/16)

Bridges said:


> or a heart foundation tick on their products.


I've had it with funding those damn Heart extremists.....


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## Bribie G (22/12/16)

SBOB said:


> I've had it with funding those damn Heart extremists.....


The Heart Foundation is a corrupt body that had to abandon the "tick" program when it became the target of a petition that, correctly, pointed out that the HF gave its tick to the products any company that bribed it: for example Nestle Milo beakfast cereal, 40% sugar. And at one stage, McDonalds.

Now they support the "star" system that is equally flawed, and still, for fucks sake insists that good saturated fats such as butter or lard are worse than this total shit fake food:

Canola products



On the subject of temperature control, if the OP doesn't want to spend a motza (kosher or otherwise) a good option is to get a dead fridge and use it as a fermentation cabinet by swapping in frozen 1.25L or 2L PET bottles.


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## Bribie G (22/12/16)

And guess which company is the Heart Foundation's major research partner:

****, you'd need the quickeze after you've eaten the rest of the anti-nutrient filled poisonous manufactured crap on the page (with the sole exception of the oats of course).


The other advantage of a dead fridge is that, during the winter which can be a bit severe in Geelong (I've been to Waurn Ponds in July  ) - a dead fridge is easy to keep warm as a fermenting cabinet.
For the first few days, fermentation creates its own heat, plus the cabinet can be kept warm with something like a reptile heater, for little running cost.


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## Bridges (22/12/16)

Alright maybe the heart foundation wasn't the best example! What about an organic food label then.

If you get a live fridge and a sparky mate to wire you an STC-1000 temp controller you'll be right as rain. Easiest and biggest leap in beer quality I ever made.


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## mtb (22/12/16)

I love how these posts are 50% off-topic for the sake of continuing the Halal discussion, and 50% fermentation fridge chatter, for the sake of maintaining "on-topic" status and avoiding barls' off-topic thread cleaning routine :lol:

oh, and on the topic of fermentation fridges, if you use a dead one make sure to give the inside a good sprayin' with disinfectant. Old fridges have a nasty habit of having contained food at some stage and you can bet there's residual bacteria in there. A warm sealed fridge will provide all sorts of bugs a great habitat for growth.


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## Bribie G (22/12/16)

And what about vegans who are probably eating "organic" produce that's been fertilised using blood and bone manufactured from abbatoir waste - the good old rendering plant at the Casino meatworks was firing away nicely on the way past yesterday. Oh those dead unwanted baby calves that result in the millions as part of the dairy industry that sustains vegetarians. (vegetarians, not vegans).

The original point of the thread was, apart from the temperature, the use of Brew Enhancer. For most kits if you are looking for a clean result a kilo of glucose (in the form of dextrose) is probably better than a kilo of sugar.

White sugar is sucrose, that's a double molecule of glucose and fructose. The yeast has to split the molecule into the simpler comonents in order to ferment it, and this can result in off flavours and poor yeast performance, which is why for over a century brewers in places such as the UK and Belgium use "invert" sugar which has had the sucrose molecule pre-split.

So to avoid this stage, a kilo of glucose (dextrose) that's not too expensive, will give cleaner results.


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## Matplat (22/12/16)

I get the feeling Darren might not be visiting here too often..... just a hunch


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## Radshoes (22/12/16)

Hey did I tell you guys my dad is Santa?

Not this year though. this year he is on a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam.


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## Bribie G (22/12/16)

Radshoes said:


> Hey did I tell you guys my dad is Santa?
> 
> Not this year though. this year he is on a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam.


Reported as off topic.


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## sp0rk (22/12/16)

Bribie G said:


> Reported as off topic.


Reported for being a dobber


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## Radshoes (22/12/16)

Bribie G said:


> Reported as off topic.


reported to Santa for being naughty.


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## LAGERFRENZY (22/12/16)

Is Santa Halal Certified?


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## sp0rk (22/12/16)

LAGERFRENZY said:


> Is Santa Halal Certified?


Well he doesn't seem to shave, Deer are Halal and because his suit isn't solid red (it's broken up with white, black and gold), he isn't breaking any rules.
Santa seems pretty halal


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## Zorco (22/12/16)

Darren the Drunk,

Mate, I bloody hope you know that you're welcome here. We know you are new and I believe you've done very well articulating your point. The AHB crew love something to talk about and often use this place argue..... it is therapy.


Stick around mate and post again soon.


Zorco


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## Bridges (22/12/16)

Just putting it out there but imagine we gave people, not races or religions, I don't care which magic sky fairy you believe in either, we are all just people, reasons to like us rather than reasons to hate us.


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## Bribie G (22/12/16)

Yes we poms love you colonials, that's why we invented roundabouts for you so you wouldn't get confused with your traffic intersections.


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## Radshoes (22/12/16)

Zorco said:


> Darren the Drunk,
> 
> Mate, I bloody hope you know that you're welcome here. We know you are new and I believe you've done very well articulating your point. The AHB crew love something to talk about and often use this place argue..... it is therapy.
> 
> ...


reported for being off topic


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## earle (22/12/16)

Bribie G said:


> Yes we poms love you colonials, that's why we invented roundabouts for you so you wouldn't get confused with your traffic intersections.


We are not amused


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## manticle (22/12/16)

Can everyone please stick to the topic of hot fermented halal off topic colonial roundabout malt extract?


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## LAGERFRENZY (22/12/16)

with a kilo of sugar on top


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## Brownsworthy (22/12/16)

Bribie G said:


> Yes we poms love you colonials, that's why we invented roundabouts for you so you wouldn't get confused with your traffic intersections.


Indeed, there are so many bloody Aussies who still don't get roundabouts that it really astonishes me.

Oh and, hot ferment no good and use halal malt instead of sugar/dextrose to produce a better beer.


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## Rocker1986 (23/12/16)

Roundabouts wouldn't be a tenth of the problem that they are if the things weren't so ******* uselessly small. The huge ones actually work quite well. Half the ones in Brisbane are more like drive overs than roundabouts because the deadshits put them on bus routes.

Anyway yeah.. get the temp down to around 18-20 or at least stable in the low 20s. More malt, less sugar generally = better beer.


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## DarrenTheDrunk (23/12/16)

LAGERFRENZY said:


> There's a Rant Thread and a In the News thread if you need to post your politcal and philosophical manifesto. This is a General Brewing Techniques thread where people discuss making better beer.


Yes you are right about the forum purpose but if you really believe your own crap...why do you make the previous comments you did. Your comment which I quoted is intended to sound intellectual but your actions dont support this. Sorry if this sounds a bit heavy but these "two bob each way" comments are so frustrating. I WILL NOT raise anything political again and only stick to the purpose of this forum. I apologize for raising this issue in the first case and accept that was a error on my behalf. I did not think it through. I am well informed on this issue have a strong political position but which has no place here. Hopefully this ends it. Thankyou


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## DarrenTheDrunk (23/12/16)

...on the "beer" issue. Thankyou for all your comments about the temperature. THankyou Zorco.

One more thing, in other forums you can respond to each member at the point where they make a comment. Can this be done here as I think it is on right that if someone has taken the time to share their knowledge, you acknowledge this. If it cant be done, no probs but not sure. Thankyou


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## manticle (23/12/16)

Do you mean multiple quotes in one reply?

Replies are sequential so you can't traverse back a page to respond directly underneath (if that's what you meant) but you can quote more than one reply within your own post.

Bottom right of the post you wish to quote first is an icon called 'multiquote''


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## kaiserben (23/12/16)

manticle said:


> Bottom right of the post you wish to quote first is an icon called 'multiquote''



I use the regular "Quote" button all the time, but ... I can't believe I'd never noticed that "MultiQuote" button before (I'd had been going back & forth, copying and pasting stuff when ever I needed to multi quote. It was a pain in the arse).

It's hard to miss :blink: but somehow I missed it.


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## LAGERFRENZY (23/12/16)

I WILL NOT raise anything political again

Hoo bloody ray to that. I will have to wrestle with my conscience for lampooning you. Apology accepted.


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## nosco (23/12/16)

I wont raise anything political because my political information mostly comes from face book. Its been said before but next to a spray bottle of sanitiser a temp controlled fridge is the best thing for a brewer to have.


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## Bribie G (23/12/16)

I'm rapidly reaching the stage of having no political opinions because civilisation is going to the dogs anyway. The choice seems to be either commiserating with the corpse or dancing on the coffin.
Now where's my dancing shoes gone?

In any case, welcome to the forum, Darren.


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## LAGERFRENZY (23/12/16)

DarrenTheDrunk said:


> Yes you are right about the forum purpose but if you really believe your own crap...why do you make the previous comments you did. Your comment which I quoted is intended to sound intellectual but your actions dont support this. Sorry if this sounds a bit heavy but these "two bob each way" comments are so frustrating.


The statement that you quoted was merely a vain attempt to drag this thread back onto topic as well as letting you know (as a newbie) that there are non-technical threads that are more appropriate to air political views on. Technical threads are usually well moderated. 

Yes I was also guilty of going off topic with a few puns and quips mostly just bouncing off the lines of others. The humour here is fairly undergraduate in style but if I said anything to offend you then I too am sorry. Now, back to making better beer!


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## DarrenTheDrunk (24/12/16)

Matplat said:


> I get the feeling Darren might not be visiting here too often..... just a hunch


An incorrect hunch but as I stated, I will keep it on topic for the better of the forum other to conclude, my position stands totally. 
Is it the general opinion that aquarium heaters when the weather is too cold are no good? I hope they are as they are such a simple way to maintain a temperature. Thanks


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## Matplat (24/12/16)

Glad you proved me wrong mate 

I've not read about many people using aquarium heaters, but that doesn't mean it isnt done. My concern would simply be that it is a another potential source of infection.

Belt heaters, pad heaters and infrared lamps, heat sources external to the FV are much more common.

However, depending on where you live, you really only need heating for 1-2 months of the year max, as fermentation generates its own heat. Here in Brisbane, I don't need it at all, Dalby was a different story!


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## fw00r (18/1/17)

Matplat said:


> Glad you proved me wrong mate
> 
> I've not read about many people using aquarium heaters, but that doesn't mean it isnt done. My concern would simply be that it is a another potential source of infection.
> 
> ...


I started off using an aquarium heater while I was back in Tas, Worked ok for the first while but infections crept in and I shunned brewing for a while. Turned out the top of the heater has a void that was harbouring all sorts of crap, it made contact when the krausen reached it, and transferred the infection. Never used one again.


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## malbeven (18/1/17)

My two cents: I use a test tube style aquarium heater stuck into the side of the fermenter with a rubber grommet to seal around the hole. It can be easily removed and sanitized between brews and I've found it to be very successful. Really cheap way of doing it too - you can pick one up off Ebay for well south of 20 bucks.

It's true though that it's rarely needed. Here in Adelaide, probably only about 2 months of the year. I'm far more likely to be wrapping a wet towel around the fermenter to keep the temperature down!

Agree with most others here btw - better to be brewing at about 18c, and be patient. I tend to leave my brew in the drum for at least a fortnight before bottling.


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