B3 News And Branding

[Mercs Own]

Gidday Guys, I have been asked for a tour through my B3 set up but have to sadly decline. It is unpacked but I had to get some replacement parts sent out due to transport damage - two quick disconnects rubbed against frame and werent so good. Also the US gas connector is different to ours and wouldnt connect to my gas bottle so I had to get another fitting for that. Other than that I am sorting out the final bits before doing a brew ie mash paddles and volume measuring devices for the kettles and doing lots of reading so I have a fair idea on what I am doing.

On a 42 litre one hour boil how much volume would you lose to trub? And is 10% a fair estimate on boil loss?

I have also been busy on developing a new branding and label for my beer company. I would be more than happy to hear comments and feedback regarding them. I have a fair idea on which way I am going to go but how I do it and in what direction I push will depend on the feed back I am getting from you guys and others.

 

[johnno]

On a 42 litre one hour boil how much volume would you lose to trub? And is 10% a fair estimate on boil loss?

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Mercs Own.
This will depend on various factors. Your burner , width of kettle are a couple.
I have a nasa burner and a 60 lite kettle. I started at 10% evaporation went to 16% and then again upped to 18%. And thats keeping the burner on quite low settings.
Probably the best idea will be to practice , practice , practice.
I'm sure some of the more experienced brewers here will give a better answer as well.

cheers
johnno

 

[Doc]

Hey MO,

I'm liking the middle label over the other two.

As for loosing 10% per hour for boil off, it really depends on how strong a boil you have going. Probably estimating 10% for the first batch would be ok, and adjust from there.

As for loss to trub, on my system it depends on the hops used. If I do a really hoppy brew using plugs or flowers then I loose a lot to trub (3-4 litres). Using pellets I still loose approx 2 litres to trub on the really hoppy brews (read 220gr + of hops for a 40 litre brew).

Beers,
Doc

 

[Steve]

hahaaaaaa - from the toe tapping, shoe shuffling ballroom to the brewroom! Cool. Being a graphic designer myself I love your beer labels. Very nice.
Cheers and good luck with your venture.
Steve

 

[Justin]

Hi Merc,

Just on your first question. What you lose to trub and what you lose from a 60min boil are two different things.

One is the rate/amount of evaporation: this varies due to kettle shape and size and also how vigourously you boil it. Using gas you can only guess through experience and looking at the rate of boil as to how much evapouration you will have. Another trick is to use a dip stick with graduations on it to check how much your boiling off in say 10-15m and extrapolate that out to 60mins to see if you need to back the burner off a bit. 10% is a good starting point but you'll need to fine tune that from experience from your first few batches.

Secondly, what you lose to trub: This is the amount of wort you can get out of the boiler before you have to start sucking up trub (hot break and hops). Seeing as you have a big flat bottomed kettle (no false bottom I'm assuming) I don't know how much you will lose. In my keg with a domed bottom I have no pick up tube so I lose maybe 5-7L (depends on how good the whirlpool was and the size of the hot break particles etc). I tip the kettle a bit to drain as much as I can until I start drawing off crap. A lot of the yanks use whole hop flowers which means they can use a false bottom in their kettles. The hops then filter a lot of the break out and that can give you better retrival of wort too. In Oz though pellets are more common and false bottoms don't work so well with them.

With your big flat bottom I would guess you could get a nice whirlpool going that will centre a lot of this crap. I don't know if you got the optional deflector plate but that might get you a bit more wort before the trub comes into play and also where your dip tube is.

Are you using a counter flow wort chiller or an immersion?

Hope that's a start anyway.

Cheers, Justin

 

[Kai]

Some nice labels there, Paul. I think I like the third one the best, though it's a tough call between it and the first one. I think the logo is stronger on the first one, but the design and colour of the second one is more, well, peachy.

 

[Gough]

I prefer labels 1 and 3.

As the others have said, 10% boil off is a good starting figure, and maybe 2 litres lost post-boil as a ballpark figure until you do some test brewing. As the others have said though, this will depend completely on your setup and your recipe etc. Don't the More Beer people give you a guesstimate on approximate losses using their system?

Shawn.

 

[warrenlw63]

Probably the 1st label.

Though the only problem is it's a little too Mountain Goat for some reason.

The other 2 labels look a little too "Wine Coolerish" for me. I'm a bit of a traditionalist. 2nd label is almost non-descript.

That said, it is a peach ale I guess. :lol:

Warren -

 

[AndrewQLD]

I agree 1 ( the best) 3 (second best).
Also Paul, the B3 people should be able to tell you exactly what your system losses will be, it is after all, their system. Failing that a good starting point for boil off is 10-14%, as Doc pointed out systems vary, losses to hops will be dependant on the type of hops you use eg.On my system, pellets will absorb more liquid and you will lose more from the sediment in the boiler, whole hops or plugs will give you less liquid loss and will help to filter out the hot break.
Good luck with your venture.

cheers
Andrew

 

[Kramer]

I reckon number 1 is the best! Stands out a lot more than the rest!

Should put up a poll for this.

 

[AndrewQLD]

Oh and Paul, if I can offer a little advice,
Put some meaningful info on your label ie. hops used, how many malts or types of malt, is it a lager or true ale. I am not talking about your whole secret recipe just pertinent facts. Most people that buy boutique beers are beer lovers, and really want to know all they can about your beer. I like nothing more than opening a beer for the first time, pour it into a glass and while savoring the aromas and flavours reading the interesting info on the bottle.
A good commercial example is the malt shovel bottles they look good and are interesting too.

cheers
Andrew

 

[KoNG]

3rd then 1st.....
the colouring the 3rd one got me, but i do like the overall design in the first

 

[Kai]

Just looking at the previews and not loading the full scale pictures, the first one would be easier to spot from a distance. The text is clearer.

I concur with Andrew, too. It's always nice to see something slightly more explicit on a beer label. Without it, it's like calling wine something made from grapes.

 

[Mercs Own]

Thanks for the feedback already - struth dont any of you guys work?

The logo is the important factor at the moment although the colouring on the second sample is the kind of colouring I am thinking of going for on the Peach label.

I have attatched an example of how two of the logo's work on the same label - this is a quick mock up of a label for my next beer but in very early design.



Andrew if you have seen my current label I outline exactly what is in the beer - I agree with you that is what I like also.

Justin, they are approx 50 litre flat bottom vessels. I have a diverter plate fitted and a false bottom. I will be using a counter flow chiller and pellet hops.

Steve you didnt actually say which design you prefered and why :blink:

Thanks again for the advice and feedback - keep it coming.

More beer do give some guestimates but I thought I would ask the experts!

 

[AndrewQLD]

Andrew if you have seen my current label I outline exactly what is in the beer - I agree with you that is what I like also.

Sorry about that nothing like stating the obvious :lol: , but the picture resolution is pretty poor and even when clicked on I can't read any of the small print, or maybe I am just going blind :blink: .

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Steve]

Paul I prefer irish/gaelic typeface on number two but would replace the flowery image with maybe some stylised hop leaves. I know nearly every beer has this on their bottles but it looks better than the iris/lilly obscure type plant that is there. I prefer the background colours on three - reminds me of a broome sunset! It makes me think warm = thirsty :blink: The background colour on two is too wishy washy. Hence the reason I like the colours on two - they are more strong, bold which makes you think what you are drinking is also...if you know what I mean? Dont like number one - also wishy washy.
Cheers
Steve

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

First label for my liking.

I would set evaporation for 10 to 12% and if you do get more than that you can top up the brew with cooled, boiled water to reach your target gravity.

I too, like Doc, loose more wort using flowers and plugs as opposed to pellets. What form of hop are you planning to use in your first attempt Merc?

C&B
TDA

 

[scotsdalebrewery]

Cant beat the middle one. James and the giant peach!

 

[RobW]

No 3, No 1 & daylight third.

Oh, and Justin that was a bit harsh mate:

With your big flat bottom I would guess you could get a nice whirlpool going that will centre a lot of this crap.

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[Justin]

He he he. Whoops!