Getting Started

[Damian44]

The temp still at 16c Ive got some http://cgi.ebay.com.au/10-Techni-Ice-Ice-B...1QQcmdZViewItem ive heated them up and wraped them around the fermenter. Is it worth the trouble if it only keeps it warm for an hour?

Cheers Damian

 

[wood bloke]

g day everyone ,ive been reading all i can and am leaning alot from everyone on here that know there brewing,but i have 1 question .I live in sunny Qld and dont have the problem some of the other people have with their brews getting too cold ,my problem is how do i keep the temp down to 18C for an ale or even 12C for a larger, when you dont have a fridge and have to work all day and cant tend to the temp. please any ideas?
Thanks Adam

 

[Damian44]

The techni ice thing work a treat, after 3 hours the temps still sitting on 18c. wood bloke Im sure if you froze them that would do it. They leak a bit of gel and are very expensive though. Sure did a good job of raising my tempretures.

Cheers Damian

 

[barls]

100 can cooler with milk bottles that are frozen

 

[Thunderlips]

its funny, I have never had a problem with my hand capper. just done on a flat serface and equal pressure either side

I think the Brigalow hand capper DrewCarey82 was refering to is the kind you whack with a mallet.
Like one of these....

I coulnd't imagine ever trying to use one myself.
Your one on the other hand would work much better but they still have a problem with twist tops.

 

[KGB]

Damian, I'm loving how you just dive right in and have a go with no clue what you're doing! Thats the best way to learn.
18 degrees should be fine, I usually aim for about 20. Wrap a hot water bottle in a towel and strap it to the side of the fermenter to help warm it up a bit.

A general tip: NEVER throw out a brew. Even if you are opening one bottle a week and tipping them down the sink, there is a good chance that afetr three months a crappy beer can become drinkable.

Wood bloke: you really need a cheap little bar fridge with a temp controller, especially to ferment lagers @ 12 degrees in summer. I've got Fridgemate temp controller and just acquired a crusty old bar fridge on ebay for the princely sum of $2.26 for exactly this purpose.
A cheap method of keeping the temp down is to wrap the fermenter in a wet towel and aim a fan at it.

 

[Damian44]

Im abit worried about my brew. I havnt seen any bubbles in the air-lock and its been brewing for 10 days. What does that mean?

Cheers Damian

 

[microbe]

Could mean it's not fermenting, but more likely means the seal is not perfect. Check the gravity to measure progress.

Cheers,

microbe

 

[Damian44]

I just took my gravity. First time i used hydrometer. The level that it floats to is the top of the beer section. So its nearly sank all the way down. The numbers on the side is 1006. The manual said it should be 1008-1010. But i only used 3/4 of the suger supplied. So does that mean its been fermenting? The lid and air-lock seem air tight. Thanks.

Cheers Damian

 

[captian black beer]

Well without taking an inital gravity reading you can't tell. But my assumption is that you didn't start with a mix which was 99.5% water so, I'd say yes it's been fermenting and is probably ready to bottle.

I don't think I've ever had a SG that low before (execpt when making spirits). The low SG is probably because you added only 75% of the sugars supplied. I'd expect it to be slightly watery. Oh well you've got room for improvement. What are you going to brew next?

 

[Damian44]

Well glad you asked. Ive already brought a Coopers pale ale concentrate and a light booster (250g Light Malt / 250g Maltodextron) and a 12g Cluster. But ive worked out that'll give me a light beer i was aiming for mid strength beer. Should i add more malt? Any suggestion would be appreciated.Thanks.

Cheers Damian

 

[barls]

personally id go for the same but with a light boaster with 250g of grain like a pale or light crystal instead of the sugars you have planned, keep the cluster though. im making something like this very soon myself

 

[captian black beer]

Well glad you asked. Ive already brought a Coopers pale ale concentrate and a light booster (250g Light Malt / 250g Maltodextron) and a 12g Cluster. But ive worked out that'll give me a light beer i was aiming for mid strength beer. Should i add more malt? Any suggestion would be appreciated.Thanks.

Cheers Damian

That sounds awesome, but probably try using some crystal malts. It should give a fuller stronger flavor. Why the interest in light beers? Don't see that around here to often.

 

[microbe]

Use this Linky to list your ingredients (in kilos) and work out roughly what you'll end up with. With what you have you could make less beer (16-18 litres) or add dextrose or more malt to increase to the level you want.

In my experience with this calculator, it's only useful as a rough guide. To be more accurate take Gravity readings before pitching your yeast and just before bottling.

Cheers,

microbe

 

[Damian44]

With the grains do you need to crush them or boil them? Dont laugh. And will this raise alcahol level? I prefere mid strengh beer because you dont have a hangover, but ive heard home brew isnt as bad because are no preservatives. Yay. Could i add Traditional Pale Grain and crystal malts. Im addicted to brewing before 1st batch. OMG. Thanks for the calculator. Do the Country brewer stock crystal malt? Cheers

Thanks Damo

 

[barls]

you steep the grain in 70 degree water after its been crushed then strain off the liquid in to a pot and rinse through the grain with a second lot of warm water and boil the resulting liquid, most home brew places sell pre crushed.
this recipe brings it up to about mid strength beer level which is 3.5%. i generally dont get hangovers from my beer but it has been know to happen after a really big session

 

[new2brew]

try one of these if you have no room for a bench capper. yes, they still have problems with twist tops, due to the twist curves at the top of the neck, but if you use 330ml european style stubbies like hieniken of amsterdam mariener they work a treat.

not sure on a price, mine came with my first kit.

 

[Damian44]

Im working my way through a case of CPA longnecks and ive decided its abit bitty. What can i do to make mine not so bitter? I have a CPA kit and a Cluster 12g should i get differant hops? Ive decided to put the CPA on hold anyway why i do a Grolsh clone ( Rapid Creek Lager, 1.5l Light liquid malt, Munich grain, Saaz standard, Tattanger dry and Saflager S23). Its sitting on 20c, is it worth wraping a wet towl around it each morning? Thanks again.



Cheers Damo

 

[Thirsty Boy]

The Saflager S23 is a proper lager yeast and will probably make better beer at a cooler temperature than 20C. I'd wrap it in that towel and probably point a fan at it as well.

But I haven't ever brewed a beer with the S23 @ 20C before... so it might make good beer anyway.

With getting your brews to the right strength level... Once you have worked out what your Can of Goo and any other malt extracts or grains are going to give you... just add a little table sugar to get the gravity up to where you want it. Using table sugar as half your fermentables (ie the whole 1kg) might not be so great - but it will pretty much have zero effect on the flavour at 10-20%, it'll just boost the alcohol up to where you want it.

Already doing basically a mini-mash on brew# 2 ... impressive

Cheers

Thirsty

 

[Damian44]

My temps droped to 16c overnight and stayed there. All good. Is the ESB Extra Special Stout 3kg any good. Do you still have to add malt? I do enjoy a nice Guiness but 1 in 10 pubs poor a good one. How long will beer stay fresh for once its in the bottle? When i was refering to the CPA being bitty i meant not smooth enough not alcohol content, I was thinking of swapping Cluster for Saaz or something not so bitter. Am i on the right track? So many questions. Thanks

Cheers Damo