Beery Christmas & Hoppy New Year Aussie Homebrewers!
Hop you had an awesome brewing year have a great festive season run the taps and bottle stash dry and have a hoppy New Year brewing up a storm.
We have landed some goodies for you just in time for the festive brewing season with more to come ... stay tuned...
Firstly - fresh shipment of
GIGAYEAST has just landed and in warehouse fridges - includes:
More #fresh GigaYeast at $14.95 RRP - The GigaYeast Gold pitch is the first homebrew yeast with a true 5 gallon / 19 litre pitch rate for consistent fermentations without the need for a starter (> 200 billion yeast). Each Gold Pitch is made with care in the GigaYeast laboratory using hand picked yeast varieties.
Gold Pitch Shelf life: If stored properly before use, Gold pitch yeast remain greater than 90% viable for 30 days after the date printed on each unit, greater than 80% viable from 31 to 60 days and greater than 70% viable from 61-90 days. “Ok, so they’re alive. Do they still make beer?”. Results show that Gold Pitch yeast attained an average apparent attenuation of approximately 83% even after 90 days in storage. Yeast older than 60 days tended to start slower (results not shown). Yeast older than 90 days will still attenuate but we recommend using a starter to insure a successful brew.
- GY001 Nor Cal Ale #1 GigaYeast - 8 in stock get in quick!
- GY005 Golden Gate Lager GigaYeast - 8 in stock get in quick!
- GY054 Vermont IPA GigaYeast - Your favourite hoppy IPA strain and mine - just read the reviews - 7 in stock - get in quick!
- GY080 Irish Stout GigaYeast - brew your stout for winter while your smashing your summer ales and lagers - 5 in stock - don't delay - get your brewin' on!
- GB001 Brussels Bruxellensis #Brett GigaYeast - is back in stock!!! Funk it up bro - 5 fresh gold pitches in stock - get in fast as my brewin bros & sisters
- GB110 Fast Souring Lacto - GigaYeast - this one is so hot and fast we can't keep up with it flying out the door on backorders - only 2 in stock - grab em bro
- GB122 Berliner Blend GigaYeast - Yet to jump down the rabbit hole of sour brewing - now is the time bro and what better beer to start with than a nice and easy fast souring Berliner with the every reliable GB122 at your side - 10 in stock - what are you waiting for???
- GB144 Sweet Flemish Brett - GigaYeast - love a good flanders red but don't like paying $10-$20 a bottle - brew your own amazing one at home with this versatile robust healthy brett pure Brettanomyces strain that produces a sweet, fruity nose with just a touch of barnyard and phenolics.
Use GigaYeast Sweet Flemish Brett GB144 in a primary to make an all Brett beer or in the secondary to add character during ageing. - 6 in stock!
GB150 Sour Cherry Funk GigaYeast - who doesn't like some funk in their life? GB150 Brett and Lactic Acid blend creates an amazing complex, sour beer with fruity cherry esters. GB150 Sour Cherry GigaYeast is a blend of 3 Brett strains and Lactic Acid Bacteria. A hit with the pros and the homebrewers alike this one is sure to please - 5 in stock!
Equipment:
- You asked and we will deliver. We are going to post more over time but who has not started their all grain brewing career with a trusty Crown Urn or doesn't have it at their side of their system as a reliable hot liquor tank.
Crown Heavy Duty Hot Water Urn 40 Litre Concealed Element
$265.00 Incl. GST
Crown Urns include a range of built in features that place them at the top of the list of entry level all grain homebrewers acquisitions. Suitable for use as a Hot Liquor tank or for a full B.I.A.B. (Brew in a Bag) mash / kettle. Manufactured locally in Melbourne, Australia and exported around the world Crown Urns are a trusted friend to many an Aussie Homebrewer for many years. Crown Industries Heavy Duty Hot Water Urn has a large 40 Litre capacity with a concealed element and safety cut off switch set to a higher 150 degrees celsius to avoid element burn out whilst maintaining a healthy robust boil for the homebrewer.
Features include:
Heavy Duty stainless steel body- Heavy duty non-drip tap
- Heavy duty concealed heating element
- High temperature resistant handles
- Standard mug fits under tap
- Water level sight tube
- Skirt on lid knob
- Thermostat Control
- High temperature resistant handles
- Boil Dry thermostat on element
- Concealed element
2 YEAR WARRANTY
Model – HW40TC
Capacity – 200 cups, 40 litres
Weight – 7kg
Watts 2400, 220 – 240v
Still with us? Still reading? Thinking about what to brew this festive season to keep friends and family happy? What about a Kiwi as - PIlsner - Bro? Why the hell not, tasty and hoppy and sessionable - read what malt + hops + yeast and recipe to brew like a pro in our
Decembeer Blog here and below:
Alleviating the world of beer poverty one good brew at a time is hard work! We know that you have been brewing like a pro all year just like us to fill all your bottles and kegs to entertain family and friends over the festive season.
Firstly, we wish you well for a safe and hoppy festive season and thanks for your awesome work and support brewing amazing beer with flavour from premium quality craft brewing ingredients from independent and family owned businesses. Secondly, thanks for buying your brewing supplies from us! Without your continued support and encouragement we would not be clocking up another year in business at
BeerCoAu. Keep up your great work as there is still a lot of mediocre beer out there and a lot of other brewers need your help and knowledge sharing to brew better beer consistently.
Lastly, remember what beer and more importantly great beer is all about this festive season. Beer is here for us to enjoy with others, good company and good food. Enjoy yourself responsibly this festive season. In today’s busy world it sometimes feels like no-one has the time any more to drop by and have a beer or two but we all should do that. Don’t forget about those mates you have not seen for a while. Drop round and say g’day mate and drop off a wonderful beer or two – it is the season of giving after all and what better gift to give that your own brewed beer! Good beer and good food with family and friends are the memories that last, not staying another hour at the office or BOFfice (Brewery-Office) as we like to call it or bashing out another urgent project for your master.
So here is to great beer and cheer and great brewers like you this festive season for putting smiles on dials and washing down a lot of good food to complement all the laughter and companionship at this very special time of the year for you and your family and friends. That’s enough from us. On with the real brewing news…
Malt of Month –
Gladfield Lager Light Malt
Author: Doug Michael | Co-Owner and Manager at
Gladfield Malt
Editor: Dermott Dowling | Beerly Managing Director at
BeerCo
Gladfield Lager Light Malt is made for exactly what the name suggests – light colour lager beers. You really appreciate this malt and beer style on a hot summer’s day after working hard doing whatever it is you do for a living. When you knock the top off a homebrew or craft beer made from Gladfield Lager Light Malt and pour it into a glass, you see the beautiful light straw colour beer with creamy head, down the hatch it goes and the first one does not even touch the sides. Wow! It looks and tastes so drinkable in the glass that the second one is down as quick as the first. Lets face it, at this time of year when the sun is out it is about quenching your thirst with quality light sessionable beers that look as refreshing they taste.
Gladfield Malt designed this
Light Lager Malt in their our own pilot brewery so they could have plenty of fresh cold beer on tap during harvest time and they did not want it to look like or feel like the consistency of an oil change from an Angular gear box. Pilsners and Light Lagers brewed with
Gladfield Light Lager Malt worked so well at washing the
barley awns from the back of the throat that the header drivers and truck drivers were queuing up from miles away to work at Gladfield Farm & Malting. They always seemed to turn up at sunset anyway and hang around expecting to be invited to join the team @beiroclock!
Gladfield Malt called the malt Lager Light “the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible”. Light Craft Lager was not the only thing it stimulated. Brewers quickly recognized
Gladfield Lager Light Malt as a must for this time of year and it has certainly become highly visible in the racks around leading craft breweries across Australia and New Zealand at this time of the year.
Gladfield Lager Light Malt is made from only the finest 2 row high quality Canterbury malting barley with a mid to high protein range and it is well modified giving good fermentability for a refreshing dry finish with a hint of malt character.
Gladfield Lager Light Malt has a typical colour range of 2.3 – 2.9 EBC. Light but not too light if you know what we mean!
Gladfield Lager Light Malt is subject to a gentler kilning cycle so that a lower colour is produced however it is still low in DMS precursors unlike some European malts which are designed specifically for DMS beers (a character trait of a European style lager but commonly seen as a fault in Australian or Kiwi style Lagers and Pilsners).
Gladfield Lager Light Malt is so versatile you can use it up to 100% of the grist or else you can add it too any beer at any rate you want to reduce colour. A lot of brewers use it alongside
Gladfield Wheat Malt to produce a delicate bright clean malt profile wheat beer, when a low colour formation is required.
You can also use it with up to 20%
Gladfield Toffee Malt to make a perfectly malt balanced light coloured IPA.
Gladfield Lager Light Malt is available in the
BeerCo Shop in two pack sizes:
- 5 Kg Bags at $14.95 Incl. GST
- 25 Kg Sacks at $59.95 Incl. GST (SAVE 20% – BULK UP AND SAVE!)
Hop of Month –
Pacifica NZ Hops
Author: Doug Donelan | CEO at
New Zealand Hops
Editor: Dermott Dowling | Beerly Managing Director at
BeerCo
Pacifica is a New Zealand bred triploid variety developed with parentage from the noble German variety
Hallertauer Mittelfrüher. Originally selected for its high weight of oil, citrus marmalade aroma and finesse when employed as a single hop in traditional German style lagers such as German Pilsner and Munich Helles.
Pacifica is now commonly used by Craft brewers to achieve orange citrus characters in New World pale ales from single hopping right through to dry hopping.
Pacifica also matches up well when used in conjunction with other New Zealand citrus driven varieties such as
Motueka and
Moutere (formerly known as Brooklyn).
Pacifica is a class act NZ Hop.
Pacifica brings something of a blend of new and old-world taste descriptors to the brewers’ table. Orange marmalade aptly describes the citrus aroma notes achieved through late addition. Bittering quality is such that early kettle additions net a soft yet solid finish even in highly bittered beers.
Style Guidance:
- Lagers
- Pale Ales
- Pilsners
Pack Sizes Available:
Pacifica NZ Hops are available now to buy in the
BeerCo Shop in a variety of sizes for small batches to BIG BREWS!
Yeast of the Month –
GY011 British Ale #1 GigaYeast
Author: Amelia McCullough | Office Manager at
GigaYeast
Editor: Dermott Dowling | Beerly Managing Director at
BeerCo
GigaYeast British Ale #1 GY011 is a versatile house strain from a traditional UK brewery. Strong attenuation over a broad temperature range and low esters make this yeast perfect for a wide variety of styles.
GigaYeast GY011 British Ale #1 is a strong flocculator that creates a clear beer.
- Attenuation Medium Gravity* 75% – 79%
- Attenuation High Gravity* 73% – 75% (9.0% – 9.4% ABV)
- Temperature Range†: 18˚C – 25˚C (64˚F – 77˚F)
- Flocculation: High
Representative Styles:
- Amber Ale
- Barley Wine
- British Ales
- English Bitter
- India Pale Ale
- Pale Ale
- Scotch Ale
- Stout
* Medium Gravity is 14˚ – 16˚ Plato. High Gravity is 23˚- 25˚Plato.
† The working temperature range represents the range at which fermentation for a given strain produces a typical attenuation-
not necessarily the ideal temperature for your particular beer style. As a rule of thumb, start ale yeast fermentation at 68˚ – 72˚F and then lower or raise temp as desired. Lager Yeast are typically fermented at 45˚ – 58˚F. If desired, Lager Yeast can be given a “hot start” at 65-68˚F and then lowered to the primary temperature after active fermentation begins (10-20hrs).
GY011 British Ale #1 GigaYeast is available now in the BeerCo Shop in GigaYeast Gold pitches the first homebrew yeast with a true 5 gallon / 19 litre pitch rate for consistent fermentations without the need for a starter (> 200 billion yeast).
BeerCo Recipe of the Month – KIWI AS PILSNER
Who doesn’t love a nice clean hoppy Pilsner when the sun is shining? Your kegs and bottles supply might be a little low as the sun pops out so we have done a choice as fast hack forward Kiwi as Bro Pilsner recipe for you this month with a fast brew option and a traditional long lager if you want to do it Czech style cuz. cheers #brewhappy
Vital Stats:
Batch & Boil
- Batch Size: 21.0 L US 5 Gallon
- Boil Time: 90 min
Properties
- OG 1.051
- FG 1.015
- IBU 41
- ABV 4.7%
- Colour 3 SRM
- Balance – Very Bitter
Gladfield Malts
AMOUNT
FERMENTABLE
% GRIST
USE
PPG
COLOUR
4.0 kg
Lager Light Malt
80%
Mash
37
1 °L
0.75 kg
Vienna Malt
15%
Mash
35
4 °L
0.25 kg
Gladiator Malt
5%
Mash
33
1 °L
Hops
AMOUNT
HOP
TIME
USE
FORM
AA
25 g
Wakatu NZ
60 min
Boil
Pellet
7.8%
50 g
Pacifica (NZ)
10 min
Boil
Pellet
5.4%
25 g
Wakatu NZ
5 mins
Boil
Pellet
7.8%
Yeast
GY011 British Ale #1 GigaYeast (Liquid) for a fast ferment ale with lager profile. GY011 is a strong attenuator, produces low esters and has excellent flocculation “like a brick” for clear beer. We know for a fact a very popular craft Hoppy NZ Pilsner loved by many and credited with starting this style of NZ Pilsner is in fact an Ale!
- GY002 Czech Pilsner GigaYeast (Liquid) for a tradition dry clean Czech style pilsner with a light malt body. Note that GY002 need to be fermented cold 9˚C – 13˚C (48˚F – 55˚F) and will benefit from an extended cold lagering after fermentation of 42+ days.
Fermentis Saflager W-34/70 Yeast (Dry) 2 x 11g Sachets
Method:
1. Mash – the brewer should do normal mash regime, probably mashing at around 67 C for at least 60 mins
2. Mash off – Infuse mash with near boiling water while stirring or with recirculating mash system raise temp to mash out at 76C
2. Sparge slowly – once again the brewer should do normal regime at around 77C
3. Boil – vigorous boil for 90 mins
4. Yeast & Fermentation – Pitch your favourite Pilsner yeast and ferment around 10C.
5. Conditioning – Rack the beer after two weeks or less when primary complete and cold condition for a month if patient at near 2C.
Sources:
