Frequently Asked Questions For The New Brewer

[James85]

Yes the pale ale is a beautiful drop if done right. Gave a mate at work 3 to try once now he comes around all the time looking for more lol

 

[Craft Brewer]

Hi all, :beerbang: I'm new to this site, just wanted to say Hi and introduce myself. Got alot of reading to catch up on :drinks:

 

[nathan23v]

Racking ginger beer

 

[nathan23v]

Hi everyone. I have made several batches before, mainly bitters, racked & used finings & bottled (haven't tried kegging yet). I am keen on making ginger beer using coopers kits. I was told not to rack or use finings when brewing ginger beer. Wondering if this is right or it is an alternative to crash chilling. Also should the wort be stirred just before bottling?

 

[yum beer]

Don't rack or cold chill your GB, just bottle when done, you want the cloudiness to remian.
No need to stir before bottling that will just mix all the yeast and crud back into suspension.

 

[nathan23v]

Thankyou yb

 

[Jason_brews_beer]

Can someone please explain the main differences between cold crashing and cold conditioning?? I seem to be a bit confused... Both seem to be about dropping the yeast out of suspension??

 

[fletcher]

Can someone please explain the main differences between cold crashing and cold conditioning?? I seem to be a bit confused... Both seem to be about dropping the yeast out of suspension??

i could be wrong here mate, but from what i have been told - cold crashing is basically getting your newly fermented beer right down to almost freezing temps ASAP (the crash) which helps yeast settle as well as any other proteins and trub junk. cold conditioning is more like lagering a beer in a cold temperature. eg, after it's been carbonated for a few weeks in the bottle, you keep it at low temperatures as a way of conditioning it.

please someone correct me if i'm wrong however.

 

[JDW81]

i could be wrong here mate, but from what i have been told - cold crashing is basically getting your newly fermented beer right down to almost freezing temps ASAP (the crash) which helps yeast settle as well as any other proteins and trub junk. cold conditioning is more like lagering a beer in a cold temperature. eg, after it's been carbonated for a few weeks in the bottle, you keep it at low temperatures as a way of conditioning it.

please someone correct me if i'm wrong however.

Cold conditioning and crashing are one and the same to my understanding. The crash is bringing down the temp and the condition is the time spent cold.
Lagering is when you keep your beer at lagering temps (2-3 degrees I think) for weeks (or months) on end to help it clean up flavours and become clear. You generally lower the temp gradually when lagering.

Cold conditioning is nice but not necessary for many beers, lagering is integral to making good lagers.

JD

JD

 

[Jason_brews_beer]

Cold conditioning and crashing are one and the same to my understanding. The crash is bringing down the temp and the condition is the time spent cold.
Lagering is when you keep your beer at lagering temps (2-3 degrees I think) for weeks (or months) on end to help it clean up flavours and become clear. You generally lower the temp gradually when lagering.

Cold conditioning is nice but not necessary for many beers, lagering is integral to making good lagers.

JD

JD

So both are designed to clear out the beer before bottling as i suspected.

How long is good to cold condition? My brew stopped bubbling yesterday and today is day 6 since i put it on. I haven't taken a hydrometer reading yet but was going to today. once i have a stable reading should i drop the temp and condition for how long? Should i still put the finings in??

 

[JDW81]

So both are designed to clear out the beer before bottling as i suspected.

How long is good to cold condition? My brew stopped bubbling yesterday and today is day 6 since i put it on. I haven't taken a hydrometer reading yet but was going to today. once i have a stable reading should i drop the temp and condition for how long? Should i still put the finings in??

They are, but they serve different purposes.

How long really depends of temperature. If you can get it to 0 degrees then 3 days will clear up your beer nicely, however 3 days at say 5 degrees won't give you the same clarity. There is a pod cast from the brewing network guys who talk about the difference temperature makes, but I can't find it at the moment. Basically, get it as cold as you can without freezing it. You can still add finings if you want.

 

[fletcher]

i don't know what best practice is, and there might not be one for this kind of thing. for my pale ales though, they sit at about 2C for about 4-5 days before i bottle. then they sit at ambient for about 2-3 weeks (never over 25C), then they're in the fridge at about 5C until i drink them. always crystal clear unless i swill them or shake them or mishandle them, and the yeast slooshes back up. i often just decant a few into a jug and have it sit in the fridge when i'm drinking more than 1. then they are all nice and clear

 

[Jason_brews_beer]

Is it better to cold condition in the FV or bottle then?

Also correct me if I'm wrong but just need to confirm what I'm reading...

Cold crashing/crash chilling is bringing the temp way down from ferment temp so the yeast starts to drop out of suspension and clear up.

Cold conditioning is conditioning the beer at the same low temp for a longer period to clean out the beer even more and this can be done in the bottle or in the FV.

Correct? Or close?

 

[Phillip Island Brewer]

At the risk of asking something that has already been covered. What's the deal with "dry ingredients"? Does this come with the tin of Yeast form the shop or do I get in separately? Sorry to be such a novice!!

 

[warra48]

The tin is the "liquid" ingredient. Yeast is seperate to that, and probably a dry ingredient in your case, although yeast can also come in liquid form.
The dry ingredients are obviously seperate from the tin.
You will need to steep them if it's grain, or boil or steep if it's hops etc.

Let us know the recipe you want to follow and what ingredients you have, and we can give you more specific advice.

 

[Bribie G]

The tin (Coopers or whatever) is the liquid ingredient. By itself it would make 23 litres of rather weak beer so to make pub strength beer you need to add extra ingredients that are usually in dried form. For example a kilo of sugar (not recommended) or one of the "Beer Enhancer" packs that contain a mix of ingredients.

If you are just starting off, a good extra to use is a kilo pack of Coopers Brew Enhancer No 2, or a similar mix from a local home brew shop.

Yeast - the metal foil packet that comes stuck to the top of the tin - as Warra says, could be regarded as a "dry ingredient",

 

[Phillip Island Brewer]

Cheers guys!!!
I found out that "dry ingredients" was just the the kilo pack of beer enhancer but its great to get your feedback also. I made up a brew on sunday arvo and hope it works out ok???
I followed the steps i got off this site but pretty much just put in the yeast (tin of goo) and beer enhancer (1 kilo pack) and disolved it in about 3-4 ltrs of hot water. Then stirred and filled to 23 ltrs and sprinkled the little pack of yeast over the top and let sit.
The only problem i think i will have is the temp. I keep the brew in my shed inside a timber cabinet i made but it gets quite cold this time of year I had a look this morning on the way to work and it was only on 10 degrees and at most gets to only about 14-15 during the day. Hope this dosent matter too much?
Thanks again for ya help, ill let ya know how it goes.

 

[warra48]

Your fermentation temperature is probably a little on the low side if you are using an ale yeast, which the kit yeast more than likely is.
You can always cover the fermenter with a sleeping bag or doonah and bring it into the house to warm it up to about 18ºC.

In winter I simply used to set my fermentation fridge to about 19ºC and once or twice a day I put a hot water bottle into the fridge to keep it at the right temperature.

Once your fermentation is underway, it tends to generate its own heat during the very active fermentation stage.

 

[wereprawn]

As Warra said. But , at this time of year, i tend to pitch the yeast at 22 c then wrap the fermenter in a sleeping bag. by the time the yeast starts to activate and generate its own heat the temp is pretty well spot on. And although i live in a coastal city in the tropics it does get cold ( 2 c the other morning and it didn't worry the yeast fermenting in the slightest using this method).

 

[Alex.Tas]

also, just because your ambient temperature goes down to 10 degrees, it doesn't mean your beer will get that low. it would need to be exposed to 10 degrees for a fair while to drop it to that temperature from say 15 if the area was free from drafty conditions.