It Was 40 Years Ago Today, Sgt Pepper Taught The Band To Play...

[praxis178]

Good, that makes sense.

Actually I should have said that the yeast I used didn't come with the can - it was another item that was missing.

The yeast I used was the brewers yeast you can buy there at K-Mart.

At a guess, it's likely to be an ale yeast.....

 

[ianh]

Welcome back to homebrewing temper from one OB to another. I started brewing in the last 60's and gave up early 70's (came to Oz) started again august 2008 and thoroughly enjoying it.

We have to do something in our retirement. I still have my original hydrometer.

Have a good read of stuff on site should provide all the info.

cheers

ianh

 

[goomboogo]

Welcome back to homebrewing temper from one OB to another. I started brewing in the last 60's and gave up early 70's (came to Oz) started again august 2008 and thoroughly enjoying it.

We have to do something in our retirement. I still have my original hydrometer.

Have a good read of stuff on site should provide all the info.

cheers

ianh

You still have your hydrometer from the 60's! Many people will be jealous. Some seem to break them quite regularly.

 

[temper]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I still can't make up my mind if the brew is "off" or just not very good so I have decided to go ahead with bottling it to see if it improves with time. At least it will give me some experience with the process.

It has been at 1.008 for 3 days now so I reckon that's about it and will bottle tomorrow depending on the answer to my next question:

I have a packet of Brigalow finings and I am wondering if it is worth the risk of infection in trying to use it.

I have been reading a lot of posts here on the subject and it seems there are contradictory opinions on whether they are worth it for a first up attempt. Any thoughts?

If I do go ahead, as there are no instructions on the packet on how to use it, can someone confirm that I just add the contents to a cup of boiling water - allow to cool, remove the fermenter lid (trepidation), stir it in, replace lid and wait 2 days.

Thanks again for all the help.

Cheers,

Gary

 

[Pennywise]

I wouldn't bother with your first brew, IMO get your basics down to a fine art then start fiddling with clearing/fining agents if you want to. But yeah, if you decide to use it just disolve it in some hot water, let it cool and dump her in. I haven't used finings for a very long time but from memory you don't need to stir it in.

 

[temper]

All bottled now.

Now I have to decide whether to start another batch immediately and buy another 30 bottles or wait 2 weeks to see how this one turned out and reuse those bottles if it is undrinkable.

 

[praxis178]

All bottled now.

Now I have to decide whether to start another batch immediately and buy another 30 bottles or wait 2 weeks to see how this one turned out and reuse those bottles if it is undrinkable.

Give it two weeks if it's ok/passable, leave it for another week and then begin consumption in earnest. That is not to say that if it's ok at 2weeks, you couldn't just start drinking then and there. I mean that's what happens in this house for the house ale, from 2 weeks of age she's fair game.

Better to have some extra bottles on hand, personally I can't stand PET ones, but that's just me, there might be someone on here who needs to get rid of some glass tallies so if you're lucky you could score then for next to no cost. :beerbang:

 

[Hatchy]

I'd suggest buying 3 cartons of coopers longnecks & getting another batch started. Waiting for beer to be ready is thirsty work.

 

[Nick JD]

The best solutions to getting geared up for a cellar full of brews are:

1.) PET bottle wheelie bin raids on recycling night. 12 x 2L = One Brew = not much cleaning = you've got an excuse to drink at least 2L a sitting.

2.) BBQ nights with THE rule: "I'll provide the food, you guys bring the beer BUT IT HAS TO BE IN TALLIES."

 

[temper]

I am a glass man myself, but since I didn't have any on hand, and that I always pour into a glass anyway, I thought I'd give the PET bottles a go.

Worst part is I always buy long necks (Resch's Pilsner) for home drinking so could have had as many of those as I needed had I had the foresight - oh well.
(Then again they are twist tops so probably not suitable anyway eh?).

It's murder waiting for the first batch isn't it? - I keep sneaking a look and it's only been one day. LOL.

I'll probably go over to K-Mart tomorrow and get another 30 and start another batch. Good weather (well at least better) here for it over next week by all accounts.

It's funny, the bottles have turned out to be the most expensive part of the whole deal, still you only need to buy them once I suppose.

I was thinking of using my soda water PET bottles, but read somewhere that they weren't suitable for re-use? Is that not so? I reckon they would be just the right size for me ;-)

 

[Hatchy]

I find (found) PET bottles tough to clean with the bumps on the bottom. I believe most home brew shops sell crown seal bottles although they seem to normally be 650ml which almost forces you to bulk prime. PET soft drink bottles are fine as long as you can get them clean. Yr right about the bottles being the expensive bit, 25 dozen coopers longnecks, average carton price $45 = $1125. I should've gone with kegs. It would've been cheaper.

 

[scoundrel]

LOL - in a way it's funny, right now I wave a couple of wet towels on the barrel on that I have a small bucket of water with a piece of cloth dangling from the water to the towel - thus keeping the towel wet - I have a fan blowing on all that. The towel does dry out - hence the water feed - so there is some evaporation going on (current humidity 79%).

mate i had the same problem when i started 18months ago, in asbestos laundry that went from 11 deg.C at night 38deg.C during the day.

take wat you have there and chuck a couple of frozen 2 litre bottles (filled with water obviously) under the towel, change morning, lunch time and night if you can (i changed morning and night and it worked fine in the queensland heat)

next brew lash out a few quid and grab a morgans kit, made for qld temps so they should be a bit more forgiving. and maybe brew a darker beer, that might hide a few of the off flavors from the heat.

and do not for the love of god chuck out your first brew, even if you just have a few of this batch (so long as its not infected) you'll learn heaps when you try your next brew (the old "ahh.. thats wat im doing wrong" thing)

so basically steer clear from brigalow kits (yes even the ginger beer) work on temp control even the most basic brew gets better with temp control. happy brewin mate.

 

[zoidbergmerc]

The best solutions to getting geared up for a cellar full of brews are:

1.) PET bottle wheelie bin raids on recycling night. 12 x 2L = One Brew = not much cleaning = you've got an excuse to drink at least 2L a sitting.

2.) BBQ nights with THE rule: "I'll provide the food, you guys bring the beer BUT IT HAS TO BE IN TALLIES."

+1 to both these things.

 

[jiesu]

To get temp control is not that much of a pain in the ass.
First thing to do is to stick the entire fermenter into body of water, the larger the better. This ensures that the change of temperature to the actual
wort or beer is much more gradual. You can also cool this external water down by adding some frozen milk/soft drink bottles.

When you get to the point where you have decided you are going to keep on brewing for some time to come. I would say second brew or about 4 hours on this forum then you just need to pick up a fridge at council pickup time (borrow a ute) most of the time fridges that get thrown out seem to work it is just the seals that are busted up (which is not as critical for home brewing at temps of around 18degs for ales) Even if the thing doesn't work you ill have insulation. If it does work pick up a temperature/thermostat controller aquarium style (a quick search on the forum will find the correct one) off ebay $30 later and you have the power to control your ferment temps. Or if you go with the water trick it is virtually free.

 

[temper]

All good info, thanks all.

It certainly seems I should concentrate on temperature control.

Currently I have the bottles standing in some water in an old boiler, and some that wouldn't fit in an eski.

I have 5 1.25L PET bottles with water in them in my freezer compartment to rotate when necessary.

As luck would have it the temperature here this week is just about perfect 22C +/- 1C.

I have an old non-working (due to my own clumsiness) freezer down in the garage that I will try and press into service (possibly with some Peltier devices), my only problem is find a place for it - it gets way too hot in the garage due to the tin roof.

A member here has kindly sent me a Brigalow Instruction manual and it seems (according to them) I have stayed within the range of everything and that the 3-4 fermentation period is not unusual.

However, I am now concerned that the beer has been infected as the bottles seem too clear for there to be any secondary fermentation going on, which would indicate the yeast has died would it not? Any info on what to expect in this regard greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,
Gary

 

[Hatchy]

You mean it wasn't infected in the fermenter but all of the bottles are infected? That would require some really poor sanitary methods. You could open 1 to see if it sounds like beer. If it's been bottled for more than a couple of days it should sound like beer. If yr really concerned pour a bit in a glass & have a sip. It may not taste like yr favourite beer ever but you should be able to tell if it's infected. Just make sure you get the cap back on quick if you open 1.

 

[bum]

Mate, patience. When did you bottle. A day, a day and a half ago? I wouldn't be worrying about infection yet. If they continue to show no signs of fermentation (the PET bottle feeling firmer is a good indication) just invert them gently a few times each to get the yeast back into suspension. Stopping the bottles from getting cold will help too (as I understand it bottles can take a few more degrees than primary - I tend to condition bottles at primary temp as much as possible, personally).

 

[temper]

No, I was thinking that the infection occurred in the fermenter causing the yeast to die.

Anyway if it has there is nothing to be done about it now, I will let it stand for 2 weeks and see how it goes (maybe do a quick open of one after a week).

I must admit feeling the bottle (good tip BTW) does seem to indicate pressure, but then again there was carbonation in the beer to begin with.

BTW, I have a Homemaker wine cooler 11-18C that I could get at least half of the bottles in - is that a good idea or should I leave it at 22C to promote fermentation?

 

[temper]

hey hey hey - one hour from test time (does 2 weeks always seem this long?)

 

[temper]

Well I'll be damned - not the best beer I've ever tasted, a bit sweet for my palate, doesn't hold a head all that well - but yes - quite drinkable.

I'm happy enough for my first try in the modern age.

...and presumably it will improve with another few weeks in the bottle.

Thanks for all the help people.