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4th batch of Dr Smurto's using harvested us-05 harvested yeast cake, it's been in a stubbie in the fridge for around a month. Pulled it from the fridge about an hour before pitching ( a bit less than usual) then pitched the stubbie... next day no activity, no condensation on the gladwrap, no...

Tonight i was reaching behind the bar to grab a paper i had sitting there and i happened to rock a bottle of stout a mate gave me a few months back. I was aging it a bit as it was brewed this year, anyhow i saw it rock then fall from around 2ft from the ground and hit the slate floor. Man did...

Last night i finished my 3rd installment of Dr Smurto's BIAB nochill cubed. I was cleaning up and i put my Jerry on the kitchen bench to wipe it down as i had a few drips down the side, I spun it a little to wipe the back and the tap just gently touched the coffee machine and bang it shot off...

The book finally arrived today, i've had it on order... can't wait to get some quiet time to have a perusal.... Trouble is i seem to be always in here reading up on the latest methods and if i read all of Pistol Patch and Thirsty Boys posts on efficiency i'll be here for months I feel a...

Every time i brew i do it somehow somewhere, this time i was draining the urn into the cube and the cube's tap was open i lost at least half a litre on the floor. I started with a litre more than usual as i was brewing in the kitchen instead of the balcony so i expected a hotter boil. What a...

Thinking about my next BIAB, i now fill my urn the night before and have a timer to turn it on around 7am so it's at mash temp when i drop the grain in. Is there any reason why i couldn't drop the grain in the night before and set the temp below mash point, say 45-50*c so it is warm and then...

3rd BIAB under the belt.... all good. An attempt at the venerated Dr Smurto's GA. Thanks to a few tips after my 1st and 2nd BIAB i have modded my process a little. It went much smoother this time. I fitted a cheap timer to the urn so it was at 66* when i got up this morning, threw in the bag...

Did my 2nd BIAB this arvo, took around 4 hours from start to finish but it went far smoother. My initial volume was 27 litres and post boil was 22 litres (according to the fermenter). I was aiming for around 23 so 22 is perfect. I used the same recipe as BIAB 1 but with a lower initial volume i...

Bad fig season this year, the tree is full but the flavor is less strong and sweet. Most of the fruit is starting to fall to the ground. I was thinking about brewing a fig beer, anyone tried it? Not sure if it would be worth the effort, i would have to use my brew bag to prevent the little seeds...

Well finally after too many delays (for too many reasons) i kicked off my first BIAB. I chose the below recipe. A few notes from brew day (mistakes happen) Close the urn tap when adding water. My hopsock is a very fine weave similar to the Brew bag, it may be too fine. The urn takes a while to...

The house shook like a train was passing... anyone else feel it? I'm in Glen Waverley My sister felt it in Templestowe....

Last month i brottled an ESB Smokey Belgian kit, it's a 3kilo kit, not much to stuff up. When i bottled it had a medicine scent and flavor. Not familiar with the style i thought it was the smokey backdrop and just needed time to mature. A month on this taste a bit milder but still with the same...

I want to BIAB in the coming weeks and being new to AG and also not knowing what varieties of grains i can source in the S.E of Melbourne i am thinking about a decent SMaSH recipe but when i looked in the database there is no subcategory for SMaSH. Fair enough it's still AG. Anyone who has a...

With a few Kits & bits brews under my belt and some have turned out pretty good i find that my missus still prefers St George, the other 5 adults camping here love my brews but i need to satisfy the boss (luckily the financial controller is still happy ;) ) I plan a BIAB in the next few weeks to...

Thank god i bottled in PET. I recently bottled a Coopers lager pitched with a leftover wheat yeast cake. This was bottled on the 9th Nov with a standard measure of sugar in the bottle (740ml i think). SG 1048 FG approx 1016 on the 10th day when it was bottled It was a hybrid brew Coopers lager...

I have seen the hop register listed in the AHB forum, i wonder if anyone else has a passing interest in planting and growing hops? Certainly i would be interested in buying some young plants and giving it a go. I don't have heaps of space but i could squeeze a plant in on the back fence. Anyone...

I mentioned this in a post somewhere but i thought i would post it as a topic. A quick search didn't reveal much on this so here it goes... I have 3 fermenters all around the 25-30 liter mark 1 Coopers 2 LHBS supplied (i like to support the LHBS) 3 Bunnings $16 special. The Coopers is the only...

Following my first 2 brews i have decided to play around a little. Using Coopers cans as a base i have pitched 2 new brews but i wonder if they aren't going to finish way too sweet. I have 2 aims in mind 1 to lift the alc contents slightly 2 to make a brew nice enough for the ministry of war...

In Europe i tasted (a number of times) Adelscott. Made with peat smoked whiskey malt it is a strange, funky brew. Anyone had it? Anyone tried to reproduce anything similar? Check it out here http://www.bov.ch/beer/bovarticle2.html