Brewing In Brisbane Too Hot

[Fatgodzilla]

:icon_offtopic:

Yup it's amazing what you can get from ALDI ... so I'm not completely feral

He is completely feral.


But he is ingenious and his progressive brewing systems is a great role model for new brewers.

If only he's stop killing the local flora and flora with that acid cola !

Grab yourself a dead fridge from somewhere, stick your fermenter in it, get a few old 2 litre bottles filled with frozen water and circulate them every morning and night to keep the temps of your fermenter down. Or stick it in one of those plastic storage boxes half filled with water and frozen bottles of ice.

Simple advice and it works. Done this method in Alice Springs, Wodonga and here on coast. It'll work well in Qld.

 

[bowie in space]

life's or should i say Existance not much without a brew to ease your mind at night!

Too right buddy :icon_cheers: .

Something will turn up, just hold tight. Sometimes i'd rather a drink than something to eat. Afterall, beer IS life.

+1 for the wet towel trick. I am yet to purchase a tempmate so until then a cold wet towel draped around my fermenter with a pedastel fan blowing right on it and keep the towel wet by soaking it twice a day. Keeps it a fair bit cooler than the ambient temp.
Checked the other day and the ambient temp was 28C, but fermenter read 20C. B)

Cheers
Bowie

 

[Ade42]

"If your up for it you should hassle the National Sound and Archive Museum here in Canberra. Anything, and I mean anything on film with or without sound that is Australian they've got it. I work near there and go in there quite often to see the old classic australian docos etc etc in my lunch break. They are always after qualified people to look after our film history. THOUGH you would have to move to Canberra!"

Yep that's the plan, Ive been doing this kind of work for 5 years and have developed hardware + Software that leave most "transfers" for dead (examples on my blog!) and moving to canberra would be no prob. Im making them a "demo disc" etc at the moment.

Thanks for all the great comments, I havent chucked the brew out and will preserve over the next few days just to be sure.

Ive found some 2L fruit juce containers and filled em with salty water and am now frezzing them.

IN the meantime I placed the wort into a large plactic container and plonked 2 3kg "servo Ice" into it. Now its at 22c and all the Ice is melted. hopefully Ill have 4 "ice bricks" in the moring!!

Hope the pics arnt Tooo Big!!

I found this outside and gave it a bit of a scrub!! Tomorow Ill put the Ice blocks in and see

How far should the water level Be?

the SG before yeast was 1.040
and now it's 1.031 (I think!!)

and thanks again for your help. most fourms (esp archive audio ones) are pretty bloody rude and self centered , what a breath of fresh air this one is thanks again

 

[mwd]

Water Level looks good get it wrapped up in the wet towel pronto.

The stick on thermometers are only good as an estimate within about 5C or so.

 

[Ade42]

wow this morning expecting it to be at 30c again It's not! It's still at 22c, But it's only 10am and things only START to get hotter from here on in!

Ive put 2, 2lt frozen bottles in for the moment, Have 2 more 1.5lt in the freezer for tonight and another 2 2lt just put in to replace the others!

But I spose I now have another question!.

I had to move the wort,fermenter,barrrel thang, about 3 times (to find a container that the "Tap" would Like) and now this morning there's no "bubbles" on the surface, Its pretty much clear with a little Froth but nothing like it was yesterday when it was 1-2 inches high.

Ive made precautions of buying a new "Tin" a Tooheys Draft variety (8$ at wollies) and some more dex. Im going into a brew shop to ask all about good yeast today,

As far as i have read, Can you make a "tin" Better with "real" yeast?

Ive also warned the GF about trying to get a cool drink from the salty bottles, nearly caught her filling a glass!!

 

[Frag_Dog]

I have the water in mine as high as i can get it. I usualy leave about 2-5cm around the top so removing and added bottles doesn't spill water all over the place.

I did the towel method once and it seemed to work quite well, but now I have a container that will fill up to within a few cm of the top of the wort so I don't bother.

I figure with this setup (and I might be wrong) that if you go a bit too cold for the yeast, all it will do is extend the amount of time it will take to ferment out.

 

[Ade42]

Thats what I was thinking, Leave it a bit longer, Its almost completely clear (the surface, looking though the lid) hardly any "foam" left now. Im gonna give it a move while taking a reading so it might kick the yeast back active again, If not Ill leave it a few days and bottle it anyway, Ill save my "coopers bottles" for the next brew!

The towel method has worked very well, Ive used a old double bed sheet and wrapped that around it, Its now sitting at 20c and the two Frozen 2lt bottles are now complety thawed out.
Ill keep checking it tonight and Add some more water to bring the level up, I can probaly get the water about half way before the "handels" of the box leak water out. The other idea I had was a Plastic Garbage, But the tap gets in the way!

 

[chappo1970]

Thats what I was thinking, Leave it a bit longer...

The towel method has worked very well, Ive used a old double bed sheet and wrapped that around it, Its now sitting at 20c and the two Frozen 2lt bottles are now complety thawed out.
Ill keep checking it tonight and Add some more water to bring the level up, I can probaly get the water about half way before the "handels" of the box leak water out. The other idea I had was a Plastic Garbage, But the tap gets in the way!

Looks the goods now! Your next brew will be even better. You just might want to watch that tap being sumerged in water, it's open to infection IMO so a quick squirt of sanitiser before bottling would be the go to stop the nasties getting into the bottles.

Otherwise your half way there.

 

[Gavo]

this morning there's no "bubbles" on the surface, Its pretty much clear with a little Froth but nothing like it was yesterday when it was 1-2 inches high.

Sounds like its close to being finished. The high temps it has been at will make it ferment out very fast. Lower temps will take longer but with far better results. It looks like you have your temp control sorted now. Use your hydrometer and check it over the next few days. Three stable readings the same over three days will tell the story. Most kits with dex will finish around 1008. Leave it for a week to let it settle out and be sure its finished.

As far as i have read, Can you make a "tin" Better with "real" yeast?

A better yeast will improve a tin. US-05 (American ale yeast)is a good inexpensive dry yeast. Nottingham is a good English dry yeast, it also settles out very well.

Cheers
Gavo.

 

[Ade42]

Thanks, will try to get me some US-05 for the next brew,

Now its at about 19c and the "top" of the fermenter has stopped (I think) no froth just some small bubbles and pretty clear. Will Try to leave it a few more days before taking any readings (will have to lift it out and it will be "shaken" but not stired)

When I take readings I let some run out of the tap first, (perversely) drink it and then fill the "barometer'

I think that seeining ive now decreased the temp some 15c the yeast may be a lot "slower" than before and will leave it to do it's job. Christ it's bloody hard not poking about with it!

Here's a curly question ive not found (sofar) here

I have a few 375ml glass bottles and they are of the Twist Type variety, Can i fill some of these and twist the Lid back on (after "sanitising") Ive had a go with one, filled it with soda water and shook the hell out of it and nothing "came out" Is this OK? can i use these or do i need to just stick to Plastic (which is fine with me) just bought some more Plastic cooper bottles at 13$ for 15 Or am I mad

 

[Pollux]

Go the BribieG route, 2L bottles for $1, if you have no Aldi nearby, try the traffic stoppers range at GoLo....

 

[Bribie G]

I just bought a pack of Coopers PET from IGA for $16 so you aren't mad

Up to now I have bottled in 2L PET and have had great results, but now migrating to smaller bottles and find that the smaller Coopers type bottles are good for taking beer to places and for club competitions. The 740ml bottles are good and reliable and of course you don't need a capping machine and crown seals like you need with glass tallie bottles.

I bottled a brew today and it perfectly filled an ALDI carton of six 2L PETs plus a carton of 15 740ml Coopers PETs.

Ideal setup IMHO

 

[Gavo]

Christ it's bloody hard not poking about with it!

Patience grasshopper. It will all happen in good time, best to leave the yeast do their thing. Although I still look at my brew each time I am in the shed.

Here's a curly question ive not found (sofar) here

I have a few 375ml glass bottles and they are of the Twist Type variety, Can i fill some of these and twist the Lid back on (after "sanitising") Ive had a go with one, filled it with soda water and shook the hell out of it and nothing "came out" Is this OK? can i use these or do i need to just stick to Plastic (which is fine with me) just bought some more Plastic cooper bottles at 13$ for 15 Or am I mad

I only bottle in glass stubbies. I would never reuse the caps as IMHO it would pose to easy a risk of infecting the beer. You need to use new crown seals each time. They are only a couple of dallars per 100 pack. A good capper is essential for your sanity though.

Cheers
Gavo.

 

[mwd]

Coopers PET bottles are usually $13.99 at Kmart or less on special $15.99 at Coles if I remember correctly.

1.25L soft drink bottles are a handy size for a brew. Pick up loads of those for nix. Pity most are clear though. Coke a Cola seems to be the toughest material.

 

[geoff_tewierik]

Ade42, PM me, I've got a fridge for you, just needs a new plug on the end, and if I can get to Bunnings I might even fix it for you.

 

[reviled]

Ade42, PM me, I've got a fridge for you, just needs a new plug on the end, and if I can get to Bunnings I might even fix it for you.

Dont you just love the brewing community :wub:

 

[Gavo]

Can't pass up an offer like that. Get it before he changes his mind.

Gavo.

 

[Pollux]

Jesus, thats awesome community spirit there...

Anyone in Sydney want to give me one? oh, and I'll need it shipped to my place.

 

[geoffd]

Ade42, PM me, I've got a fridge for you, just needs a new plug on the end, and if I can get to Bunnings I might even fix it for you.

Good on ya. that should make life a whole lot easier for him, has anyone got a spare thermostat?

 

[RobboMC]

Never fear about your first batch, it'll be the best beer you've ever tasted, simply because it's yours!

My first batch came out at 31 deg C. It tends to come with getting a fermenter for Xmas and starting in Feb.
I used my hot jug to decant tap water into the fermenter, transferring all the emboddied heat from the jug casing
into my brew, aaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhh!

A brewing buddy of mine says that if you're learned something from the batch then it isn't wasted, so always look to
learn and improve next time.

If you want to impress your GF get a Muntons kit and add a full can of liquid malt AND 1/2 kg of brew enhancer mix.

This will be about $40 for the batch, which is not cheap and could be too much for you at the moment. Ferment it at 20 deg C
in April or May, Autumn is a good time for making beer. Be warned, making superb beer can get more expensive.

The Traditional Bitter kit has enough bitterness to carry all that malt and the result should be the best beer she's ever seen or tasted. The Muntons Yorkshire Bitter kit also makes a very good beer, smooth and caramelly.
I make it with just a single kg of stuff called Morgans Caramalt and make up to 20 litres, not 23.
If you like dark beer, the Muntons Nut Brown Ale is great as well.
Otherwise, go to the Home Brew Shop and buy any of the Morgans kits or Thomas Coopers range. They are a couple of dollars more, but worth it.

If you want stronger beer, put 3-4 litres less water in the fermenter. You can add extra malt, but the 'kits' will only balance out about 3/4 kg of malt, some a touch more but not much. If you want to add lots of malt to get stronger beer, use a kit with the word bitter in the name. Don't just add lots of dextrose, it thins the beer, adds alcohol without flavour, and turns what would have been a nice drop into something similar to the commercial offerings of the major brewing companies.

PS on bottles..
No you're not mad, I have er, eh, um, about 160 Coopers PET bottles, best part is over 100 of them are full.
It took me a couple of years to build up, just bought a box every now and then. Oh and 30 in the in-laws garage as well, for when we go over there.