New Aussie Brewer

[Redcoat]

Hey all, just a quick note to say hello as I've been browsing the forum quite a bit and doing research and preparing for my 3rd attempt at home brew. I say attempt as so far I've accomplished the following:

1. Pacific Ale attempt - inconsistent from bottle to bottle, good head but doesn't stay long and the beers almost seem somewhat flat. Room for improvement once I empty the rest of the bottles out as I'm not going to get through them and I don't want to gift bad beer to someone. Plus, quite a few of the bottles exploded on the warmer days we've been experiencing.

2. Woolworths Lager - recipe from a friend with honey and dark muscado, everyone hated it as it was quite bitter except for me, who single handedly drank the entire batch.. oops.

Onward and upwards, I'm planning a Pale Ale next and have improved my home set up by adding a temperature controller and a fermenting fridge to better control the temperatures. Hoping this makes the best batch a whole lot better once I figure out the best temperature to keep the fridge at.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Lemon]

Good on you red coat. Enjoy, keep it simple and your beer will improve. Welcome to the slippery slope

 

[Mr B]

Temp control will likely make a world of difference, good move.

 

[Frothy Boi]

.. Hoping this makes the best batch a whole lot better once I figure out the best temperature to keep the fridge at..

Welcome aboard, try 17 or 18 degrees for the first 5 days and then increase the temp to 20 over a few days until FG.

 

[Redcoat]

Welcome aboard, try 17 or 18 degrees for the first 5 days and then increase the temp to 20 over a few days until FG.

That was the advice I received from a friend also! Set to 18 at the moment, and will bump it up to 20 on Thursday afternoon.

Thanks gents!

 

[philrob]

Your exploding bottles are more likely to have been because your batch did not ferment out properly, probably as you likely underpitched your yeast.
If you just pitched the yeast sachet from under the can lid, I'll bet it wasn't enough for a healthy fermentation.
If I'm correct, you are better off pitching a couple of packs of yeasts you buy at your local HB shop (hope they store them in the fridge)

Anyway, keep at it. You will improve, and temperature control is a major step forward.

 

[Redcoat]

Your exploding bottles are more likely to have been because your batch did not ferment out properly, probably as you likely underpitched your yeast.
If you just pitched the yeast sachet from under the can lid, I'll bet it wasn't enough for a healthy fermentation.
If I'm correct, you are better off pitching a couple of packs of yeasts you buy at your local HB shop (hope they store them in the fridge)

Anyway, keep at it. You will improve, and temperature control is a major step forward.

I did a few things wrong with my first two, purely through trying to do too many things at once, felt like this one went a lot better. I did use the Yeast Sachet from the can, although this time I've opted for something different (that they stored in the fridge).

But as you say, I'll keep at it but I have high hopes for this latest batch!

 

[TONY VAN DER ZANDEN]

I did a few things wrong with my first two, purely through trying to do too many things at once, felt like this one went a lot better. I did use the Yeast Sachet from the can, although this time I've opted for something different (that they stored in the fridge).

But as you say, I'll keep at it but I have high hopes for this latest batch!

Regarding what temp to ferment at, different yeast like to ferment at different temps, let the instructions on the packet be your guide!

 

[Redcoat]

Regarding what temp to ferment at, different yeast like to ferment at different temps, let the instructions on the packet be your guide!

Cheers mate! Using US-05, so following the directions accordingly.

 

[scomet]

Remember to wash and sanitise your bottles and lids like your beer depends on it! It does, not long and you'll be thinking Fark I can't believe I made that.....

 

[Redcoat]

Remember to wash and sanitise your bottles and lids like your beer depends on it! It does, not long and you'll be thinking Fark I can't believe I made that.....

Looking forward to it! Just picked up 60g of Galaxy hops to chuck in this afternoon - I probably go overboard on sanitation but I like to be in control of the things that I can directly control. I've got a heap of grubby, used bottles that I'll be scrubbing up and rinsing and getting ready for sanitising. I've seen a gadget you press the top of the bottle down onto that gives it a squirt of sanitiser so I'll grab one of them at some point, but for now I'm a bit more old fashioned but it works.

 

[Jonathan Wherrett]

check out some of the Home Brew Network videos of him doing the kits. He runs through it very well and gives some good tips.
my first brew was his NEIPA beer using a coopers Kit and it came out very well - the temp control shall be a big help too.