Introduce Yourself.

[Big Kev]

G'day folks.

Newbie to the brew business from the Heidelberg area, very close to the Brewcraft joint, which is where I got my start.

I'm a plumber by trade, currently employed by a truck company, who is giving me no work, so I'm doing up my old man's house. Hmm...

In the meantime, I took up brew about 6 months ago, got sucked into the secondary ferment drops for a bit until I realised I could buy a packet of sugar for the same amount as a packet of those drops. Found some of the tins they sell there are available at the supermarket for 10 bucks cheaper. They do have a larger variety though, so I'm happy to pay a bit extra for the stuff I can't get elsewhere, plus they have a bloke working there called Walter who is very eager to give advice, which is very handy.

What I am interested in though, is buying a bulk load of sugar and malt, of the standard (or better) than you can get in a #15 brewcraft blend. As in 1-2 big tubs worth of dextrose and 1-2 big tubs worth of malt. Any suggestions on how i could achieve this would be awesome.

Also I saw on ebay some horrendously overpriced "grow your own hops" style creeping vines. I have plenty of space for creeping vines, is it worth trying to grow my own?

Also, thinking of trying a few diff flavours for my beers. Chilli being the first, I heard you can put a bunch of chillis in a "sock" (yeah, not genuine sock, the brew one) and leave that in the barrel. Also figured I might try lemon/coffee/chocolate/strawberry etc flavoured beers. Anybody had any experience with diff flavours? Is it possible to make it without the canned wort and still call it a beer?

Also I've kept a separate barrel for my ginger beer. Just wondering if this is a wise idea, or whether I can brew a different beer in that barrel without the ginger taste permeating it.

Cheers folks

 

[capretta]

hey kev, welcome..
i wouldnt worry about buying tubs of dextrose personally, its just highly refined sugar ( just as fermentable as sucrose etc), i'd probably just stick with caster sugar. as far as bulk malt??? i still buy the morgans 1.5l cans. i always had trouble with mould growth on containers of partially used malt extract (liquid) .
for hop growing i suggest you check out the dedicated hop threads to see if you might be interested. there are plenty of converts there..

for chilli beers less is more i reckon, i once added a heaped teaspoon of turbo supercharge habenero paste to 21l and it came out quite well. i have used a barrel for ginger beer then beer and noticed no real flavour effect, maybe go with a dark beer or something directly after a ginger to keep the effect to a minimum..
good luck!

 

[QldKev]

hey kev, welcome..
i wouldnt worry about buying tubs of dextrose personally, its just highly refined sugar ( just as fermentable as sucrose etc) , i'd probably just stick with caster sugar. as far as bulk malt??? i still buy the morgans 1.5l cans. i always had trouble with mould growth on containers of partially used malt extract (liquid) .
for hop growing i suggest you check out the dedicated hop threads to see if you might be interested. there are plenty of converts there..

for chilli beers less is more i reckon, i once added a heaped teaspoon of turbo supercharge habenero paste to 21l and it came out quite well. i have used a barrel for ginger beer then beer and noticed no real flavour effect, maybe go with a dark beer or something directly after a ginger to keep the effect to a minimum..
good luck!

BigKev welcome aboard


Table sugar (sucrose) C12H22O11 (with the numbers in subscript) is mainly Glucose and Fructose at around 0.5mm across
Caster sugar is simply table sugar with the crystals at around 0.35mm across
The biologically active form of Glucose C6H12O6 is commonly known as Dextrose. (ie no Fructose, Lactose etc)

Generally in homebrew making one of the first steps is to move from table sugar to dextrose to removed cidery flavours. You will find most brewers find a huge difference in the final product. The next stage is to remove most of the sugars and move to fermantable malts. This will increase flavours, mouth feel and head retention.

QldKev

 

[Big Kev]

Awesome. So what caster sugar/malt mix should I be looking to achieve? And where do I buy this morgans malt? And habanero paste? Sounds crazy! I'll give that a crack. Will I find it in the supermarket?

Also QLD, that made absolutely no sense to me

Are you saying I should stick with the caster sugar or not?

And what is this AG? It seems looking at the AG threads doesn't seem to explain what AG is :S

 

[sama]

And what is this AG? It seems looking at the AG threads doesn't seem to explain what AG is :S

HI KEV,

Check this link out for AG (All Grain) info

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...post&id=420

Basically its the soaking of Grain in water,straining the liquid off,and adding yeast to this liquid for fermentation to create beer.(with a heap of other steps involved)

 

[Shortz]

Big Kev,

Good to see someone in heidelberg brewing! I may or may not live around there.....

I'm going to be honest here...i think the brewcraft prices are a little overpriced for my likings, Coles in Warringal is definitely the way to go if you want cans!

There is a place over in greensborough which i think is better for grains and malt extracts and isn't as far as going to richmond or grain and grape. Checkout home brewing on ebay, because there is usually a cheap fermenter or home brew kits that people want to get rid off.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about going to AG mixes yet, just get comfi with brewing from cans or extract, do a couple of them then assess how much you want to spend on it all (time, money, space) then build it up to whatever level you're comfortable with.....(or can afford)

From memory, i think that brewblend #15 is half and half, half dextrose half malt.........

"It won't happen overnight, but it will happen" so stick with it mate! it will save you packets of money! and it's always nice to see people enjoying the things you made!

 

[capretta]

qld kev is slightly disagreeing with my comments qldkev is a believer in the power of dextrose to remove cidery flavours from your homebrews but me and my friends have never been able to discern a difference in the taste when using dextrose vs table sugar, just in the price at the HB shop. qldkev was giving you chemical shorthand for the different sugars. i believe that if you use sugar as more than 20% of your fermentables (as opposed to malt) you are always going to get a cidery taste (acetaldehyde) no matter what, its just you pay 80c a kilo for sugar or $4.50 or whatever for dex..
AG is "all grain" or making beer from barley with little additives (esp dextrose )
anyway mate this is the welcome thread anyway, if you want a million opinions on dextrose vs sugar you should hold your nose, and start a new thread! good luck!

 

[QldKev]

Quick post as I don't want this thread to wander too far from topic.

I agree with capretta with the 20% max sugar/dextrose rule. Appologies to capretta if I sounded like I had a shot at him before.

If your staying Kits (as I am) try using Dry Malt Extract (DME) to replace the majority of sugars. You should be able to source it at reasonable volumes. With extra malt additions you may want to add some extra hops to balance it.

I'll try and keep the sugar topics more readable, side effect from working in the industry

enjoy your brewing!

QldKev

 

[capretta]

heh heh no offence taken here! if you want 10 different opinions for anything just assemble 10 brewers, plus you know what they say about arguing on the internet!

 

[bonj]

heh heh no offence taken here! if you want 10 different opinions for anything just assemble 10 brewers, plus you know what they say about arguing on the internet!

I thought it was ask 10 different brewers, get 20 different answers.

 

[salmo the leaper]

Name's Steve,have brew number 7 in the tub. I have bin makin bread fer ever so brewin seems to be a natural progression fer me. i'm makin kits 'n playin with hops fer a while, just ta git the feel fer it. What a wonderful way ta spend time away from her indoors. Can't understand why she has no interest whatsoever in my new found hobby.

 

[sama]

Name's Steve,have brew number 7 in the tub. I have bin makin bread fer ever so brewin seems to be a natural progression fer me. i'm makin kits 'n playin with hops fer a while, just ta git the feel fer it. What a wonderful way ta spend time away from her indoors. Can't understand why she has no interest whatsoever in my new found hobby.

WELCOME SALMO

 

[Linz]

welcome to the obsess....HOBBY salmo..

where abouts in Sydney are you?? there a number of groups in and around Sydney. A great way to meet up with fellow brewers and get some great info to help you along with the obsess...HOBBY, and another reason to get 'outdoors'...

 

[Big Kev]

Big Kev,

Good to see someone in heidelberg brewing! I may or may not live around there.....

I'm going to be honest here...i think the brewcraft prices are a little overpriced for my likings, Coles in Warringal is definitely the way to go if you want cans!

There is a place over in greensborough which i think is better for grains and malt extracts and isn't as far as going to richmond or grain and grape. Checkout home brewing on ebay, because there is usually a cheap fermenter or home brew kits that people want to get rid off.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about going to AG mixes yet, just get comfi with brewing from cans or extract, do a couple of them then assess how much you want to spend on it all (time, money, space) then build it up to whatever level you're comfortable with.....(or can afford)

From memory, i think that brewblend #15 is half and half, half dextrose half malt.........

"It won't happen overnight, but it will happen" so stick with it mate! it will save you packets of money! and it's always nice to see people enjoying the things you made!

You beauty!

I checked out coles and safeway in northland, and while they seem to sell the tins at half the price of the brew shop, I've found they don't quite stock the same amount of variety. Guess I'll check out the warringal one as well and see what's on offer though, and might have a travel down to visit the greensy one next weekend, cheers.

 

[kofo]

Hey guys, I'm andy, or kofo as me mates call me.

We live in south-west WA, south of nannup, In the middle of wine country...not as bad as it sounds. Helps to be flexible Theres a few local breweries popped up in the last few years, so theres hope :]

I've done a few extract, and a couple of grain brews, am slowly setting up a keg system for grain. Trying to learn some tricks of my mate chilla, who hangs round here somewhere.

We've been growing hops for the last 3 years, mainly PoR and fuggles which is from remnant crops grown in the area from the 1920's to the '70s, trying to get a few more aromatics going. All organic too.

Anyone interested in PoR hops? send me an email, [email protected] we can work something out, swap for beer, or whatever. I'd be happy to see our excess get used, rather than sit in the freezer.

Am setting up a website showing a bit of history of hops growing in the southwest, and some info on how to build keg systems. I'm a mech fitter so have an interest in building things/stainless welding etc..
I'll post the web addy once its ready.

Anyway, Cheers Dudes

Kofo

 

[capretta]

haha nice one kofo, there are plenty of people interested in hops. especially in rhizomes as supply has been poor lately. beware though if you do , better put on a secretary to clean out your inbox!

 

[loftyseh]

hi im paul im 32 ive come back to brewing after a few years on the dark side (buying beer) i have just brought a keg setup and i am brewing from kits but would love to try mashing i have two kids and i work as a chippy if anyone knows a good club that i can join in the ipswich area let me know :chug: :beer:

 

[matti]

Onya Lofty for getting aboard the zaniest brewing community in the entire universe.
Welcome and enjoy.
Check out articles and links provide.
matti

 

[browndog]

hi im paul im 32 ive come back to brewing after a few years on the dark side (buying beer) i have just brought a keg setup and i am brewing from kits but would love to try mashing i have two kids and i work as a chippy if anyone knows a good club that i can join in the ipswich area let me know :chug: :beer:

Hi Paul,
There are a couple of us in Ipswich, myself, Bonj and Mobrien doing all gain brews, unfortunately there doen not seem to be any home brew club here, Bonj and I are in the process of joining BABBs, but it is a bit of a hike to get to the meetings at Holland Park, top bunch of blokes though, Don't hesitate to get in touch if you want to sit in on a brew, I brew most friday arvos. Good to see another Ipswichian on AHB.

cheers

Browndog

 

[bonj]

hi im paul im 32 ive come back to brewing after a few years on the dark side (buying beer) i have just brought a keg setup and i am brewing from kits but would love to try mashing i have two kids and i work as a chippy if anyone knows a good club that i can join in the ipswich area let me know :chug: :beer:

Welcome to the forum, Paul. As Browndog mentioned, there are a few of us here from Ipswich.
Perhaps we should start our own Ipswich brewer's group: The Premier Ipswich Mash Proponents (PIMPs for short )
Our closest actual club would be BABBs