Hello and thankyou

[Beamer]

Gday all,
I started homebrewing approx. 8 months ago inspired after seeing my grandfather do it and I also I needed a new hobby. I started with a couple of K&K's and found as much as I enjoyed the result I never enjoyed the process that much. I also preferred craft beer over commercial. I then found out one of my mates was all grain brewing so of course I was interested and went along to see more and he told me about this website. I am oh so grateful for it. All though I have not proceeded to all grain I have been extract brewing for 6 months now and kegging for 4 months. I have learnt the majority of all aspects of brewing from all fellow brewers on this site wether its been from your experience or mistakes. All this from just lurking. So thankyou to you and I look forward to now chatting with you all.
All the best for the festive season and cheers.
Beamer :icon_cheers:

 

[Dae Tripper]

Welcome to the slippery slope Beamer! Where abouts do ya hail from?

 

[Beamer]

Thanks Dae tripper, and what a slippery slope it is. Thinking about taking the next step into partial mash brewer, what is your preffered method of brewing?
Im from the South coast of New South Wales, Batemans Bay. What about yourself?

 

[Mardoo]

Welcome to hell. With great beer, so it's all good I myself skipped partial mash and went straight to BIAB. Zero regrets! BIAB makes great beer, simply. It is also a relatively simple method to do while you get your head and experience around how the processes of brewing work together.

If I were going back to start again I'd get a rig big enough for double batches so I could cube wort. Having a couple cubes around is a great way to keep your brewing going if you're time poor.

Enjoy!

 

[Dae Tripper]

Partial mash is good fun to get some technique down. I was doing 10L all grain in the 19L Big W pot I was using for extract. Then that slope got me.
This is what I am using now.

I am in Singleton nsw. I wanna go fishing down your way and snag a big tuna.

 

[Beamer]

Hey Mardoo,

Thanks for the welcome!!! What size boils do you do with BIAB? I only have ten litre pot at this stage and differ between 5-8 litre boils. And at the moment with extract brewing i seem to be able to brew 2-3 times a week, the beauty of working nights i guess.

 

[Beamer]

Dae tripper is that a 3 vessel set up you have now?

Still got a fair bit of research to do before stepping up to partial mashing, you see i have to get all my ingredients delivered by post as our LHBS also doubles as a tobbaco shop or more vice versa, with only several K&K cans. And i believe that most partial is done stove top and uses an oven to help keep a consistent temp for the mashing? All a bit self taught here so any info helps.

As for the fishing mate its a beautiful part of the world but im better at drinking beer than catching fish.

 

[Mardoo]

I was using a keggle, so easily ended up with 2 cubes.

 

[Beamer]

Sorry for the newbie question Mardoo but what is a keggle and is a cube a glass carboy for fermentation or secondary?

 

[Dae Tripper]

Yep a 3 vessel that I use currently.
Getting stuff posted isn't a big deal. I use Brewman and it works really well. In fact I am going to order a milled sack very shortly. Seeing as you have to go to a bit of effort on getting grain you may as well skip partials and head straight to all grain. When I started doing all grain it was on a camp stove with a 19L Big W pot so it can be done on a budget. Please don't put it in the oven, just insulate the pot with a towel or something.

A good place for some research is in here http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/11694-a-guide-to-all-grain-brewing-in-a-bag/
Personally I found the terms at the start quite daunting, but mash is just a fancy way of saying grain in the the water at right temp. I must say I is great to watch someone brew to help get a grasp of what to do. If your ever up this way...

A keggle is a old keg turned into a kettle, hence the term keggle. Basically I have two keggles in my brewery. I will attach a pick of what a cube looks like for ya, generally used for no chill wort capture.

 

[Dae Tripper]

Cubed wort. Pic shameless stolen from the net.

 

[Beamer]

Thanks Dae tripper!!!!

I went and saw a bloke brewing all grain before i did the extract and as you say very daunting when only reading about until you see it done. I dont have a real lot of room to start all grain i too use a gas camp stove and currently steep with my pot wrapped in a towel. i think the only problem i may have is i dont have a fridge to control temp the fermentation in all grain (i believe this can be a big problem?)

Is the cube used to capture the wort and then poured into a fermentor once one is free and then the yeast is pitched? I have seen fresh wort kits advertised but never looked into it further

 

[Dae Tripper]

Seeing as your steeping already you are almost there already. Just do it at about 66 degrees and that is a partial.
You will find temp control is a big factor in making good beer weather it is kit or all grain as well as good yeast.
When cubing your basically making your own fresh wort kit.

 

[Beamer]

thats good news!!! i try to steep around that mark i learnt that from the all grain lesson, as for temp control i am as fussy as i can be with monitoring it for example we have heat wave but there f.v.'s are in the spare bathroom on tiles wrapped in wet towels and seem to be holding ok. as this is my first year brewing i have learnt that next year i will be brewing seasonal beers. i already did a few pilsners and lagers this year through winter and since summer is here now i have been doing saisons. As for yeast i have been washing and harvesting for the past three months and bought myself a stir plate. No suprises the changes that has made.

 

[Mardoo]

No stupid questions when you're learning mate. As Dae Tripper said regarding your questions. Here's a pic of a keggle.

A good way to find equipment cheaply is to put up a notice on here in the Buy & Sell section saying what you want and where you are, ideally in the title as well as the copy. Then use the button at the upper right of each relative page in the Buy & Sell section to follow the topic and set your email notifications for Instant. I use the eBay and Gumtree Finds page, Buy & Sell, and the Website Deals of the Day Page. You'll have what you need within a month, and for a very good price.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Having just fitted out almost all of my new brewery from here (posting an ad) on Gumtree and eBay, I highly recommend it.

Brewers here are generous, especially if you are active on the forum. I've given and received a great deal of stufd here.

In the meantime, do a search for my 2 pot stovetop method https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/60922-2-pot-stovetop-ag-with-lauter/&ved=0ahUKEwiV4IOYxevJAhUhY6YKHa36BgYQFggaMAA&usg=AFQjCNF_RPYWdPP6WBKqfNjniSJxf7UEfg&sig2=DWEjBvc7pDmVCKyP9AasyA

My damn tablet won't let me hyperlink text.

It's not the best method of course, but with minimal outlay and household stuff you can get brewing all grain, and the 19L pots generally get repurposed when a brewer upgrades. Quite a few brewers have gone to Ag with this method.

 

[Beamer]

Thanks for the advice guys!!! Looking forward to learning more from you all, it seems as if brewing beer is a never ending cycle always more to learn everywhere you look.

THanks for the support on asking questions Mardoo, i feel if i dont ask then ill never know.

Cheers for the heads up Lord, its good to see brewers looking out for other brewers, its the way all communities should run.