First Time Brewer

[Damian44]

You could use a broken fridge as an esky for your fermenter, if you come accross one. I just purchased a 100 can cooler bag from Anaconda camping shop for $45. It fits a 30l fermenter perfectly. Stick a couple of bottles of frozen water in and ur set.

Cheers Damo

 

[aefhamilton]

You could use a broken fridge as an esky for your fermenter, if you come accross one. I just purchased a 100 can cooler bag from Anaconda camping shop for $45. It fits a 30l fermenter perfectly. Stick a couple of bottles of frozen water in and ur set.

Cheers Damo

Great advice - off to the camping store today!

Cheers,

...A

 

[simpletotoro]

So.. we need to figure out how to drop the temp further. At this stage I can't afford a brew fridge. I've got it wrapped in a wet towel with a fan blowing on it, i'll let you know how that goes.

To all the experts out there - is there anthing that does brew at these higher temperature ranges (26), and ends up tasting good (although I guess it depends on your taste...)?

..A

try this maybe ...
lets assume youve got bugger all money or want at this stage to spend bugger all money on brewing gear there will be plenty of time later on when you have more knowledge of the art of brewing to spend money believe me
and perhaps space is limited. .
here is my advice its only advice do what you wish its your beer and hobby

for starting out controlling your fermenting temps this options pretty cheap and basic as ....collect and freeze as many 2litre soft drink bottles as you can.....
go to Harvey Norman or someone like that and get a large carborad box....big enough to fit you fermenter in with room to spare....
go to your green grocer and get some foam boxes from him 2-4 is heaps.....
get you box seal up top and bottom with heaps of heavy duty tape....take a stanly knife and cut a door in one side of it just.... cut it on three sides yeah leave the other side as a hinge..cut it big enough to get your fermenter in and out of it easily.....
line the inside with the foam boxes that you have cut up ..tape them to the sides ,bottom and top securely ....if its hot just put some frozen 2 litre bottle in the box with your fermenter .....youll have to work out what works for you best ok.....
do not stress if the temp go down below 18/c it'll just take longer for the brew to ferment out....
after some trial and error you will work out basicly how to maintain the temp in the box.....
I agree it's a pain in the arse but it does workan old fridge that doesn't work, works even better but the box is in every ones budget free

above taken from this rambling and long winded reply (post #10)
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...=17640&st=0

maybe will help save some pennies
cheers simpletotoro

 

[mika]

Brewing at 26degs is still better than buying Tooheys new
Aim for wheat beers, they're meant to be estery, spicey so fermenting at a higher temp won't be as bad. The only other beer style that likes it warm is Saison, but no idea how you'd replicate that with a Kit beer.

The beer will still be drinkable either way, just won't be the best possible beer you can make.

 

[mark.farrell1]

ok i hope thats the case if its taste is a bit like that i wont mind... i sterilized pretty well so it should be ok, hopefully no off flavors.

I might move on one of these days. But id like to get a handle on the simpler stuff first and work out what things do to the beer flavors.

EDIT: Just because i can tell you what the exact process of the yeast turning the glucose to alcohol doesnt mean i have a handle on flavors Haha

KK

My first homey was a the munich lager that comes with the brew craft kit. I bottled it and waited the time till it was ready..... Drank it and thought i was the best home brewer in the world. it tasted so good................ but as i look back (only 6 or 7 brews ago ) it was shit. but i just kept asking stupid questions on this site and asking for advice and my beer just keeps getting better......I thinkl. It maybe tasted so good to me cause it was a brew that i made for the first time. Since then i am reading articles and taking in advice and a sort of obsession compulsive disorder maybe coming over me thanks to brewing. it rules so stick in there and being a chemist you should have it down in no time

yours in amature brewing

mark.farrell1

 

[Fatgodzilla]

KK

My first homey was a the munich lager that comes with the brew craft kit. I bottled it and waited the time till it was ready..... Drank it and thought i was the best home brewer in the world. it tasted so good................ but as i look back (only 6 or 7 brews ago ) it was shit. but i just kept asking stupid questions on this site and asking for advice and my beer just keeps getting better......I thinkl. It maybe tasted so good to me cause it was a brew that i made for the first time. Since then i am reading articles and taking in advice and a sort of obsession compulsive disorder maybe coming over me thanks to brewing. it rules so stick in there and being a chemist you should have it down in no time

yours in amature brewing

mark.farrell1

I hope you are annoying Big Al down at the Northern Brew in Woonona. He's a bit of an old woman :wub: but he knows a bit and will do anything to help your brewing and make a quid to. There's plenty of brewers around you, ask them for help !

 

[mark.farrell1]

I hope you are annoying Big Al down at the Northern Brew in Woonona. He's a bit of an old woman :wub: but he knows a bit and will do anything to help your brewing and make a quid to. There's plenty of brewers around you, ask them for help !

yes as i am on holiday i am always down there asking questions etc etc, but once you get Al goin its hard to leave...

 

[Flipper79]

On the cheap temperature control.....

The first incarnation of my fermenting fridge was this:

Old unused 335lt fridge only handme down $0
Trip to the dump to aquire a box airconditioner thermostat $5
15min of my time to swap the thermostats over $0
Fermenting fridge that can maintain a steady 17-18deg $5 (priceless)

Being fridge only it can easily hold 2 30lt fermenters at once of 1 60lt.

I now have a dei-105a controlling the temperature (mashmaster, no affiliation), so I can set the fridge to as low as 0deg with the press of a button if I need more cold storage for whatever reason.

If you can, ask your friends and family to keep a look out for a handmedown fridge, grab a aircon thermostat, and use the money you save by brewing your own beer to invest in better equipment as you go.

 

[antains]

KK

My first homey was a the munich lager that comes with the brew craft kit. I bottled it and waited the time till it was ready..... Drank it and thought i was the best home brewer in the world. it tasted so good................ but as i look back (only 6 or 7 brews ago ) it was shit. but i just kept asking stupid questions on this site and asking for advice and my beer just keeps getting better......I thinkl. It maybe tasted so good to me cause it was a brew that i made for the first time. Since then i am reading articles and taking in advice and a sort of obsession compulsive disorder maybe coming over me thanks to brewing. it rules so stick in there and being a chemist you should have it down in no time

yours in amature brewing

mark.farrell1

:icon_offtopic: I hear ya, dude. I was once the best brewer in the world after brewing 2 Kit Coopers Lagers.
Then I found this and said, "Wait, what? I don't know shit."
I've got no time for Facebook because of this forum. HA!