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

[temper]

...well in fact it will be 43 years this coming June that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play but it was about 40 (maybe 41) years ago that I (and my brother) brewed my first, and until now, last batch of beer. Needless to say that attempt could be termed, at best, only partially successful.

That was well before the internet and we did the best we could with the information etc. we had access to at the time (that's my excuse anyhow).

Any way, recently I became interested in making my own soda water and was in K-Mart looking at the soda making machines there and noticed that they had Brigalow Home Brewing Kits on sale at $29 and it prompted me into thinking about having another crack at it (I am retired now and have the time to do it more thoroughly).

Well the first thing to go wrong was that the only kit they had left was incomplete d'oh!. In any case they had all the missing bits on the shelf as separate items so I approached the manager to ask him if he was prepared to add those to the kit, in order to complete, it for the same price. Instead of that he offered the existing partial kit to me for half price ($14.50) and as I thought that that was a reasonable price for the fermenter alone I took it.

I added the essential missing bits (I am now only missing the valve on the end of the bottling tube but I think I don't really need that?).

One of the items missing from the kit that I couldn't obtain was the instruction booklet (there are basic instructions on the side of the tin but they don't give any detail, for instance how hot's hot? what should the SG for this particular brew (Brigalow Lager BTW) be when fermented?

That was about 6 weeks ago and since then I have been watching YouTubes and reading forums, tutorials etc, and last Tuesday thought (ha!) I knew enough to take the plunge.

Using the Cooper's home brew video as a guide I went through the procedure as carefully as I could, taking special care to sanitise everything (with sodium metabisulphite).

The first problem I had was when I tried to attach the spigot to the fermenter barrel I found that on the last turn the spigot was too loose and one more turn caused it to strip (actually, just pop out of) the thread - I probably should have stopped right there and fixed that by packing it with something or other (in fact I did try to pack it with the ring from the original stopper but that packed it out too far), but I was too determined to move on and left it pointing upwards at a 45 degree angle and thought "I'll fix that when I come to the bottling stage", so that's something to look forward to...

The next problem was that although I had followed the procedure exactly, I found that the wort at 23L was about 30C and I thought that that would be too hot to add the yeast. For about a minute I ummed and arred about whether to wait for it to cool or to go ahead (I was pretty sure I had read somewhere that 30C was on the cusp of the "add yeast" range). I then started to worry about flies and air born contaminates etc and decide to pitch it (the yeast that is).

Anyway after a few hours the air lock started to bubble away nicely so I was feeling pretty pleased with myself (always a sign of impending doom).

I closed the lid on the fermenter at 6:00pm last Tuesday and today (Saturday) the bubbling stopped - say 3-1/2 days.

I have a digital thermometer and the original thermometer I used back in '69 (or thereabouts and is still in immaculate condition) attached to the barrel. The digital thermometer has a max/min feature and the old thermometer has an "add yeast" range.

It's been a very hot week for this time of the year in Sydney and according to my min/max feature the temperature of the barrel has varied between a smidge under 24C and a smidge over 27C - my recent reading on this forum seems to indicate this is too high - but other tutorials etc say it's OK, so advice welcomed there. In any case I knew that I should be aiming for cooler so I tried the wet towel trick but that hardly made a scrap of difference (it has also been quite humid here so not much in the way of evaporative cooling would be available).

The early end of fermenting and the dubious temperature control leads me to believe that the ferment has failed. However, the SG indicates 1.008 which, can some one confirm please?, is looking reasonable.

I tasted it and noticed some sourness, now some say that apple cideriness (due to the yeast?) is normal?, I am too inexperienced to know for sure if the sourness is apple cidery or vinegary to be quite honest, but I found that pouring it into a glass an leaving in the fridge for an hour (thus chilling it, and letting the sediment settle) greatly reduced the sourness. It certainly smells like (if somewhat stale) beer.

At the same time I noticed that the bubbling had ceased, I also noticed, for the first time, that there was a light coloured sediment on the bottom of the fermenter as well as on the ridge above the spigot (the latter I am not too pleased with as it seems as though that will increase the sediment going into the bottle). This all seems to have happened overnight.

Sorry for the long rant but thought my experience might be useful or interesting for some.

In summary my questions are:

1) do you think the brew has failed?

2) does anyone have a set of Brigalow Kit instructions they could scan and post here or email to me?

3) any suggestions as to what to do about the spigot?

4) I am a Resch's draught man (don't laugh or scoff - you'll be old one day too) and was wondering if anyone knew of a kit or recipe that approaches the taste of that drop.

5) I like a bitter beer and so picked up some hop tablets that I meant, but forgot, to add to the wort (i) will that increase the bitterness?, (ii) can I add the tablet before bottling?

Just as a postscript, I am aware that I should not expect too much of the Brigalow Lager, but this is a learning exercise and if it is at all drinkable I'll be best pleased.

Cheers,

Gary

 

[bradsbrew]

Man that would have to be the biggest first post in history. Are you related to a guy called Pat? Back to reading now.

Brad

 

[praxis178]

In summary my questions are:

1) do you think the brew has failed?

2) does anyone have a set of Brigalow Kit instructions they could scan and post here or email to me?

3) any suggestions as to what to do about the spigot?

4) I am a Resch's draught man (don't laugh or scoff - you'll be old one day too) and was wondering if anyone knew of a kit or recipe that approaches the taste of that drop.

5) I like a bitter beer and so picked up some hop tablets that I meant, but forgot, to add to the wort (i) will that increase the bitterness?, (ii) can I add the tablet before bottling?

Just as a postscript, I am aware that I should not expect too much of the Brigalow Lager, but this is a learning exercise and if it is at all drinkable I'll be best pleased.

Cheers,

Gary

Welcome to the hobby, and to AHB!

1. 24-27C is ok, it will be a fast estery ferment, but on the whole for a "first" go it should be drinkable.
2. Brigalow may have something on their website (if they have one!), but really the Coopers video should cover all the high points anyway.
3. Attach some suitablely size silicone hose and use that as your bottling straw.
4. Can't help you there!
5. Don't know, I brew all grain so I add hops to the boil etc. Someone who uses the tabs will know, they were mentioned here recently, just can't recall where or who by.

At this point I'd let the brew sit for a couple more days (2-3) and then bottle. Let it condition for about 2-4weeks (longer is better) and give her a try.

 

[manticle]

If it's the brigalow finishing hop tablets they will just add hop oils which will aid in head retention - no bitterness, flavour or aroma. To get bitterness from hops they need to be boiled in liquid (usually wort)for a length of time.

Bottle it (when it's ready of course), see how it goes and try and work out how to make the next one better. Temperature control will be a good start - doesn't have to be fancy or expensive - just monitored. I alternate between blankets in winter and sinks of ice bricks in summer. Autumn and spring in Melbourne seem to do ok on their own.

 

[bradsbrew]

Try having a look in this article section http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...o&showcat=4

Also keeping the ferment temp at below 20 for an average ale and below 12 for a lager will give better results.

The bottle valve is a total pian in the .... just use the stem and use the tap.

Perhaps thread tape on the tap??? Not sure on that one. In the past I have done just as you have done and had it sitting upside down with sanitiser in it. Then at bottle/kegging time I just turn it back and dont seem to lose any through leaks.

The hops wont add any bitterness unless they are boiled in some malt before the ferment starts. By adding at the end you will get more flavour and aroma not bitterness.

But most of all BRIGALOW KITS ARE SHIT, TRY THE COOPERS KITS not having a dig at yourself but IMO you will get better results with other kits.


Brad

 

[bradsbrew]

Welcome to the hobby, and to AHB!

1. 24-27C is ok, it will be a fast estery ferment, but on the whole for a "first" go it should be drinkable.

All due respect Thomas but I totally disagree with that!

 

[temper]

Man that would have to be the biggest first post in history.

You should see what I took out!

Are you related to a guy called Pat? Back to reading now.

Is that Pat Tolstoy - Leo's brother?

 

[kelbygreen]

the heat might of been to high but hard to say if its bad or not just bottle and leave for 3-4 weeks. Also make sure you have the same gravity reading at least 3 days in a row dont go by the airlock, 1008 seems about right with a normal kit you are looking at around 1040 original gravity (OG) and 1010 finale gravity (FG)

I would follow instructions online rather then the kit instructions they are a very basic guideline and if followed will produce a alright beer but it can be made better by doing it other ways the main and best is to try keep temps between 18-20 (22 would be reasonable if you cant get lower) but I wouldnt want to push it to much past this. The second is throw away the kit yeast and buy some good yeast like US-05 if its a ale, There are heaps of other yeasts around but I havnt used many others.

for 3-4 I am not to sure lol for the hop tablet I never used but if its like the tea bag you put it in a coffee cup (or the like) and put boiling water in leave for 10 mins and tip into the fermenter ether before pitching the yeast or a few days before bottling. It only really adds to aroma and a little taste but to make it more bitter its best to use hop pellets and do a minimum 30 min boil with a few hop additions. You can put the hop tablet in now if you boil it but if you do leave the bottling for another day or 2 it wont hurt to leave it for a week after fermentation has finished

 

[TidalPete]

Man that would have to be the biggest first post in history. Are you related to a guy called Pat? Back to reading now.

Brad

:lol: :lol:
All this post-Beatles music era is shit! ROCK ON FAB FOUR! :super: :super:

T

 

[kelbygreen]

also here is a good read when you want to progress a little further it prob wont make sense now as its more for extract and all grain but still has some good things in there LINK

 

[Bribie G]

Right old fellah. I'm also your generation and got back into brewing a couple of years ago. I used to run a home brew shop in the late 70s and are well acquainted with Brigalow products. At the risk of being sued, their beer packs are as crap now as they were back then, and it's a pity you had one foisted on you as your first brew this time round. They taste like a cross between apple cider and "Ural" urine alkalinizer. On a good day.

Sounds like you have done everything ok, except the high temperature that would not have brought out the best in the batch. If it were me I would sadly chuck it then get a better kit such as a Coopers Lager or Morgans Lager. Your'e only a few bucks down the drain considering what you paid.

Clean and sanitize everything, follow the Coopers instructions again and ferment at around 20 degrees and you should get a good batch. Especially coming into the cooler weather. For the tap, if you are anywhere near Bunnings you can get the same tap for around $1.80 - I usually grab few as I change them all a couple of times a year. A different tap may sit better in the thread.

Probably a good idea to get a new bottling stick as well, you can use one without a valve on the end but it's a pain in the arsch to keep turning the tap on and off with every bottle filled.

Welcome to the good place

Cheers
Michael

 

[praxis178]

All due respect Thomas but I totally disagree with that!

Brad, it might not be ideal, but it's not bad, hell it could be a lot worse.

I used to live in Townsville and for many years didn't have temp control and produced ales all year round, and those brews mostly ran 27C primary would rip through in 3 days and the stuff would be bottled off by day 10. Like I said it will be estery, and have "hot" characters to the palate, but should still be very drinkable.

So for a first attempt without temp control, give the guy a break, let him get his first few brews done and then we can start confusing him with temp control and specialty grains! :icon_cheers:

 

[temper]

They taste like a cross between apple cider and "Ural" urine alkalinizer. On a good day.

...sounds like I have it spot on then ;-)

Thanks for all (and fast) help chaps it is much appreciated.

Sorry for the long windedness of the initial post, it's just that I am a member of many forums and I feel that there is nothing worse than when someone comes on and says "I made this and it doesn't work - what went wrong?" - I prefer too much info than too little.

I am a little concerned about controlling the temperature as low as indicated by a few here - it does imply refrigeration of some sort, as even in winter it is not unusual for the temperature to climb over 22C here, alas I don't have one of those "cool" places like a cellar or the like. I shall have to think about that - maybe a modified bar fridge or something. At least I think I should put off my next batch for a month or so.

I knew that "real" lagers required a much lower temperature but I thought that the "kit" lagers were pretty much the same as the other kits - it seems crazy that Bigelow would put a lager in a beginners kit if it needs to be kept below 12C...

I will let the current batch ferment (or not) for another 2 days and, providing the SG is static, bottle it and see how it goes, then have a ponder on whether it's worth trying another batch, with a better kit, given the temperature control problem.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[marksfish]

with regard to temp control an old dead fridge or a wet towel is better than nothing as you should aim for a constant temp for your brews.

 

[manticle]

If it were me I would sadly chuck it then get a better kit such as a Coopers Lager or Morgans Lager. Your'e only a few bucks down the drain considering what you paid.

You can't chuck your virgin brew. Even if it's shit, it only informs the next one.

 

[temper]

you should aim for a constant temp for your brews.

That's what I intuitively thought as well, and there lies the rub, it's the same problem I have with "cellaring" my wine - I have had so little luck with doing that that I no longer try, I just drink them before they can go off. It can be nudging 40C here during the day, we get a southerly and by morning it's 15C - trying to keep a reasonably constant temperature with that kind of temperature swing is, as they say, non-trivial.

I had been toying with the idea of buying a wine cellaring cabinet, but have been put off by the cost.

 

[marksfish]

yeah temper i know what you mean hence my reference to an old fridge, however given the humidity in sydney the wet towel trick wouldnt work.

 

[temper]

yeah temper i know what you mean hence my reference to an old fridge, however given the humidity in sydney the wet towel trick wouldnt work.

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%).

On my digital thermometer I can see an "in" temperature - which is the temperature at the location of the thermometer - and an "out" temperature which is the temperature at the external sensor (i.e. connected to the thermometer via a cable) that is taped to the side of my fermenting barrel.

The difference between the "in" and "out" is: 0.3C

In other words the arrangement is doing virtually nothing.

OTOH, according to the thermometers min/max feature, although the temperature is high the temperature is really only varying by about 3 to 3-1/2 degrees over a day - I don't know that I can do any better than that without some fancy equipment.

 

[kelbygreen]

temper lager kits mostly come with ale yeast so wont need to be fermented at 12deg. coopers european lager comes with lager yeast so that needs lower temps but the 8g of yeast they give you is not enough you need to pitch about 16-20 g to insure it will ferment properly at the low temps. Just look on the can it should say if it comes with lager yeast and the instructions will say to ferment at a lower temp.

Alot of people brew in a 100 can soft cooler you can get from bunnings and pack ice packs in there I have never done it but have read great results with it

 

[temper]

temper lager kits mostly come with ale yeast so wont need to be fermented at 12deg.

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.