Frequently Asked Questions For The New Brewer

[dr_pepper]

Not valid.



That's the way to go. Especially if you have space restrictions. Assuming your fermenter is a screw-top, you can throw the lid out along with the airlock, but keep the rubber sealing ring. That can be used to hold your plastic film on top. Its cheap, easy and sanitary.

ok great...do i need to punch a hole in the glad wrap or something?

 

[dr_pepper]

G'day guys

I bought, and use a second hand wine fridge for brewin lagers etc. Cost me $50 of ebay. Works well, both my fermenters fit perfectly (yeh the racks come out) but what I've found is that the fridge wont actually cool the wort / fermenter, only keep it at the same temp you put it in at. So... get your wort to correct temp, then put it in. Works at treat. $50 bucks well spent IMO.

BTW, I bought my fermenters at bunnings for $15 bucks, and i think taps are $2ish. Just need to drill hole in the lid for the grommet and airlock. Cheaper than LHBS, but feedin the big guys I guess.

Hope this helps
darrtoo

thanks that does help.

does your wine fridge have a temp control? either way, thats not too hard to get it at the right temp first

 

[zebba]

ok great...do i need to punch a hole in the glad wrap or something?

Nope. The air finds a way out.

 

[RdeVjun]

ok great...do i need to punch a hole in the glad wrap or something?

No, please don't! It isn't necessary at all. Just secure the sheet in place with lid seal, string, giant rubber band etc, I use a string of pipe cleaners.

 

[djt]

thanks that does help.

does your wine fridge have a temp control? either way, thats not too hard to get it at the right temp first

Yeh it does - high & low. But I just keep it on high & it keeps the brew constant at the temp I put it in at eg 12, 13 or 14deg. I do this for 10 days (keeping a check of hydrometer readings to make sure its finished), then in the big fridge at 4 deg for 2-3 days, then into the keg.

 

[Silo Ted]

Just secure the sheet in place with lid seal, string, giant rubber band etc, I use a string of pipe cleaners.

what a sight that must be :lol: Arent you allowed to play with elastic bands at home?

 

[HeavyNova]

Yeh it does - high & low. But I just keep it on high & it keeps the brew constant at the temp I put it in at eg 12, 13 or 14deg. I do this for 10 days (keeping a check of hydrometer readings to make sure its finished), then in the big fridge at 4 deg for 2-3 days, then into the keg.

This will be better than leaving your fermenter out in the open and struggling with wet towels and fans etc but I'm not sure that setting the fridge at a certain temperature will keep the brew steady throughout it's ferment?

At the height of yeast activity you can 4,5 even 6 degree increases in wort temperature since the process causes heat. If it's sitting in a constant temp fridge the wort will still increase in temp. It might go from 16 to 20 and then back down to 16 again as the activity calms down.

A unit like the STC1000 keeps an eye on your wort temp (if you stick it to the side of the fermenter or even inside) and adjusts the fridge to keep the brew at your desired temp. Plus it's so easy to choose your desired temp so you can make the most of different yeasts and also bump it up a few degrees at the end of your brew to help the yeast finish up.

 

[Bribie G]

No, please don't! It isn't necessary at all. Just secure the sheet in place with lid seal, string, giant rubber band etc, I use a string of pipe cleaners.

You would have to meet Rde to understand - and then it would click into place. If there were no pipe cleaners he would go out and invent them

To keep a fermenter at a steady temperature, if you have enough freezer space and a bit of spare area in the garage or laundry you can do a good clean neat and fuss free 'brewing cave' setup with a big beach towel, a spare doonah and a frozen PET bottle or two. I got a couple of 5L mini jerry cans from Bunnings and keep one in the freezer and use the other one to keep a fermenter at around 15 - 19 degrees depending on time of year, swapping once or twice a day. And I do this all throught the QLD summer for my ales.

Place fermenter on old towel on the floor. Place frozen jerry next to it. Wrap tightly in big beach towel. Wrap in doonah. Check daily. You only need to do this for a few days while primary is on, then just fail to swap the brick for the last two days for its diacetyl rest, will probably still be sitting at 19 degrees or so. I have a temp controlled fridge but it's a littly and usually tied up constantly with a lager. I also have a big normal fridge holding 3 jerrycans for lagering.

No need for laundry sinks, wet towels or fans.

 

[Samuel Adams]

To keep a fermenter at a steady temperature, if you have enough freezer space and a bit of spare area in the garage or laundry you can do a good clean neat and fuss free 'brewing cave' setup with a big beach towel, a spare doonah and a frozen PET bottle or two. I got a couple of 5L mini jerry cans from Bunnings and keep one in the freezer and use the other one to keep a fermenter at around 15 - 19 degrees depending on time of year, swapping once or twice a day. And I do this all throught the QLD summer for my ales.

Place fermenter on old towel on the floor. Place frozen jerry next to it. Wrap tightly in big beach towel. Wrap in doonah. Check daily. You only need to do this for a few days while primary is on, then just fail to swap the brick for the last two days for its diacetyl rest, will probably still be sitting at 19 degrees or so. I have a temp controlled fridge but it's a littly and usually tied up constantly with a lager. I also have a big normal fridge holding 3 jerrycans for lagering.

No need for laundry sinks, wet towels or fans.

Nice simple idea to keep temps down.

Could you please explain (no Pauline Hanson jokes) the terms "primary" & "diacetyl rest"

Cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Nice simple idea to keep temps down.

Could you please explain (no Pauline Hanson jokes) the terms "primary" & "diacetyl rest"

Cheers

Hi sam
"Primary" = Primary Fermentation, which is where the main action happens and the yeast ferments the wort into basic beer, usually about a week with ales and up to three weeks with lagers that are fermented a lot colder so take longer. At the end of Primary Fermention you can take a few different tracks:

1. Bottle or keg straight out of primary, which a lot of brewers do, especially with ales. In this case they often extend this phase and keep the beer in primary for up to 10 days or more to let most of the shyte sink out
2. Transfer the beer to "Secondary" in another vessel at the same temperature, to get it off the yeast and finish fermenting and start clearing off said shyte
3. Transfer the beer to a vessel which will be chilled down to almost freezing for a week or so, to clear it out and let it finish off ready for kegging and bottling.

What you do is really dependant on the style of beer, in the case of a Lager, #3 is normal for up to 3 months. I really don't know if too many people still do #2, as it's often and extra stage for no real benefit, but very many of us do #1 :icon_cheers:


Now, during fermentation many if not most yeasts produce a substance called diacetyl which tastes like butterscotch. It's a by product and if the beer is bottled or kegged too soon it may end up with a butterscotch taste. Some styles, such as UK bitters can have a touch of D, personally I like it. Yum. Other styles such as lagers should not have D. The way to clear it up is to let the beer in Primary warm up a bit for a couple of days right at the end of fermentation to let the yeast clean up the D, which it does as part of its job description. This is called the Diacetyl Rest.

I've actually ended up with lagers with D, which is a no no, because I've rushed them through and not given them the D rest.
Diacetyl is really a feature of All grain brews and AFAIK it's not common in kit brews - dunno why but somebody might be able to explain that

 

[Samuel Adams]

Thanks BribieG you're a champion

So much good info in this thread !!!

 

[dr_pepper]

ok so planning to lay down my first brew tomorrow

making an amber ale with.....

*morgan's royal oak amber ale
*morgan's caramalt amber malt extract
*safale us-05
*morgan's fuggles finishing hops

i've got my wine cooler fridge with a 7-18degC temp range, one fermenter, bottling into plastic bottles

and i've got some questions.....

*what temp should i get water in the fermenter to before i add the goo & malt extract, and then hops & yeast?
*what temp should i keep it in the wine cooler at?
*do i need to cool it to a certain temp BEFORE putting in the wine cooler (if so, how so? ice bath?)
*how long should i ferment for? (i've seen mixed suggestions...everywhere from 1 week to 2 weeks or more?)
*how long should i leave it bottled in a dark cupboard before drinking optimally? (obviously i know the longer the better, but any general guidelines?)

i am in no rush to get this done and drink it...will take as long as i need to make it good..if that means longer fermenting and bottling time before drinking...then let me know what you suggest

anything im missing here? any tips / suggestions?

please no "get better ingredients" or anything like that... this is what i've got and i'm doing it regardless...just wanna get this first batch down!

thanks heaps

dr pep

 

[dr_pepper]

oh and is yeast rehydrating a bit too advanced for my first batch? it sounds difficult

 

[dr_pepper]

one last question...the hops is a 12g pack...do i need the whole thing or use less?

 

[DU99]

Use the whole pack..if your unsure about yeast rehydrating..pitch dry yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of
the wort is above 20C (68F). Progressively sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the
yeast covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps..
http://www.fermentis.com/fo/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_US-05_HB.pdf

 

[Silo Ted]

one last question...the hops is a 12g pack...do i need the whole thing or use less?

12g of hops is not very much, so you really should use the whole lot. This would be done a few days after fermentation starts. Put them in a teacup, fill with boiling water to make a 'tea' then add to your fermenter. This is called dry hopping and is typically attributed to the aroma quality of your final beer.

As you progress you'll find that its good to play around with other hop additions, like a 20 minute boil to add more flavour. Those 12g packs are not good value, and down the track you might want to think about buying 100g packs for around 10-12$ so you have the versatility to use more.

Good luck with Brew #1 and remember that clean and sanitised gear can never be overlooked. :icon_cheers:

 

[dr_pepper]

thanks for the help guys!

out of curiosity, are there any commerical beers around that have a fuggles hops flavour , so i can compare?

 

[djt]

Ahhh BribieG, you've done it again!! Why is it you make your answers sooo easy to understand, AND you don't take pot-shots at guys who want to learn. Most of what I do with my brews I've taken straight from your advice and have genuinely improved my beers, and the techniques used to do them. Thanks heaps mate. :beer:

Dr Pep. Good luck mate, sounds like you've done your homework pretty thoroughly, which is a great thing. This forum is my 2nd best friend, you will learn something new each time you log on. Don't be afraid to ask questions, even if some ******** gives you a smartarse reply. Don't be put off!!

As DU99 said Clean, clean, clean, to the point of being anal about it. Don't rush in to AG, get a soild grip of how to do the KISS things right. I've been brewin for about 10 years or so, and have found that kit & kilo, the odd extract here and there, suit me & my lifestyle fine. I'm wrapped with the outcomes, my mates love the 'tasting days / nights' :chug: , and the variety of beers I make. I even let them have requests!!

darrtoo

 

[djt]

So Dr Pep, how did you go? Did you get your brew down mate?
darrtoo

 

[dr_pepper]

Thanks Darrtoo

I'm actually not gonna do it until tomorrow arvo... i just got my wine fridge today and need to leave it 24 hours before starting it up

Does anyone have temp and ferment times recommendations as per my questions above?

Should i get the fermenter temp to say 20degC, mix, pitch yeast, then cool to 18degc before throwing it in the wine fridge?

also, my fermenter fits into my wine fridge fine, but the airlock only fits in diagonally on an angle of about 15 degrees, the top of the airlock still has access to full air (only one side of it touches the roof of the fridge)... Does anyone know if the airlock will still function properly like this on an angle, or should i switch to abandoning the lid & airlock all together and use glad wrap ?

once again, thanks to everyone for the help and sorry for all the beginner questions