New brewer from Olympic Park, Sydney

[Brendan_W]

Hi all,

I've been a member of AHB for a little while but this is my first post. I'm still finding my feet but I'm up to my 5th batch, the last 2 being patrial mashes. I'm hooked and would love to move onto all grain but living in an apartment is a bit limiting. I'm also keen to join a homebrew club so if anyone know of any around Olympic Park let me know.

Cheers
Brendan

 

[Seaquebrew]

Welcome to the scrum

Single vessel grain brewing might be the go if you are space poor .................. BIAB, Grainfather, Braumeister etc.

Can't help with the local club

Cheers

 

[AJS2154]

Welcome mate. I agree with the adictive nature of brewing. So many styles, grains, yeasts and brewing methods to discover......beyond that, I just love the smell of malted grain when it is being mashed. Beautiful, earthy smell that is hard to top.

WRT single grin vesel brewing, I think you should check out this link:

http://kegking.com.au/35l-all-in-one-single-vessel-brewery.html

There are some good reviews on this site about these, maybe contact the guys who operate them direct to enquire. I am sure they will all be friendly and happy to help.

As far as a local club, checkout this link:

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/12575-isb-inner-sydney-brewers-info/

Anthony

 

[Brendan_W]

Welcome to the scrum

Single vessel grain brewing might be the go if you are space poor .................. BIAB, Grainfather, Braumeister etc.

Can't help with the local club

Cheers

Welcome mate. I agree with the adictive nature of brewing. So many styles, grains, yeasts and brewing methods to discover......beyond that, I just love the smell of malted grain when it is being mashed. Beautiful, earthy smell that is hard to top.

WRT single grin vesel brewing, I think you should check out this link:

http://kegking.com.au/35l-all-in-one-single-vessel-brewery.html

There are some good reviews on this site about these, maybe contact the guys who operate them direct to enquire. I am sure they will all be friendly and happy to help.

As far as a local club, checkout this link:

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/12575-isb-inner-sydney-brewers-info/

Anthony

Thanks Great Head and Anthony,

The brew I did yesterday was meant to be all grain but due to my poor efficiency it ended up being a partial to pump up the OG!

I'll check out the links although not sure I'll be to popular if I get any new equipment at the moment

Cheers
Brendan

 

[klangers]

You can get by with all grain in an apartment - I sure have.

Just a bit more preparation and planning involved so you don't trip over yourself (or your hoses).

 

[Brendan_W]

You can get by with all grain in an apartment - I sure have.

Just a bit more preparation and planning involved so you don't trip over yourself (or your hoses).

What system do you use Klangers?

 

[klangers]

I have a 3 vessel setup - hot liquor tun, mash tun and kettle - with a recirculating pump so I can reciculate the mash and heat it via a coil immersed in the HLT. There are 2 ferment fridges (one on the covered balcony and the other in the bathroom) and lots of kegs in a 2 bedroom unit. My place is probably never going to make the cover of Vogue.

I'm fortunate to have a large (by apartment standards) laundry in which I carry out my brewing. This way I can basically hose everything down when done, and there's good electrical and water supply.

What I mean by planning is to practise/plan your movements/lifts/hose plug-ins/valve closes and have everything logically located - like a good kitchen basically - so you're not tripping over yourself trying to find your thermometer etc. If it helps write these steps into your recipe (eg when to start heating things as you may be limited with power unlike our house-dwelling gas-fired friends) so you don't forget.

 

[barls]

hey mate. theres a few of us that are close by. I'm just up from west ryde, i know of at least a couple more in the area.

as for the isb, we meet in the city the first wednesday every month. pm me for more details.

 

[Brendan_W]

I have a 3 vessel setup - hot liquor tun, mash tun and kettle - with a recirculating pump so I can reciculate the mash and heat it via a coil immersed in the HLT. There are 2 ferment fridges (one on the covered balcony and the other in the bathroom) and lots of kegs in a 2 bedroom unit. My place is probably never going to make the cover of Vogue.

I'm fortunate to have a large (by apartment standards) laundry in which I carry out my brewing. This way I can basically hose everything down when done, and there's good electrical and water supply.

What I mean by planning is to practise/plan your movements/lifts/hose plug-ins/valve closes and have everything logically located - like a good kitchen basically - so you're not tripping over yourself trying to find your thermometer etc. If it helps write these steps into your recipe (eg when to start heating things as you may be limited with power unlike our house-dwelling gas-fired friends) so you don't forget.

Thanks Klangers, sounds like a great set up. Not sure my wife would agree though!

 

[AJS2154]

I have a 3 vessel setup - hot liquor tun, mash tun and kettle - with a recirculating pump so I can reciculate the mash and heat it via a coil immersed in the HLT. There are 2 ferment fridges (one on the covered balcony and the other in the bathroom) and lots of kegs in a 2 bedroom unit. My place is probably never going to make the cover of Vogue.

Don't be so hard on yourself Klangers. You might not make the cover of Vogue, but who gives a stuff??? When Beer and Brewer is looking to research an article on cosy love shacks, you are the cover boy......laying naked, Jack Thompson style, surrounded by your brewing gear and kegs.....probably a schooner of Belgian tripel in your hand, and a simple but effective comment underneath saying..... great head. Sometimes less is more.

All good things come to those who wait.

 

[Chookers]

Hi Brendan, I've been a member on the forum for a long time but only just started all grain. I just did my second which was a Hefe Weizen style wheat beer. I too have very limited space. I only just got a bench capper, which I highly recommend if you are going to be bottle carbing. I do BIAB. Using Stainless steel 19L pots from BigW for $20 (I would say get two) I do 10-12L batches in my 15L fermenter (Jerry Can alternatives are very space efficient).

I am still learning and developing my methods.

I think BIAB is a very good way to start in all grain, and following the advice of others on this forum I purchased the book Brewing Classic Styles. Its full of useful info, and recipes.

that's my 2 cents.

 

[Brendan_W]

Hi Brendan, I've been a member on the forum for a long time but only just started all grain. I just did my second which was a Hefe Weizen style wheat beer. I too have very limited space. I only just got a bench capper, which I highly recommend if you are going to be bottle carbing. I do BIAB. Using Stainless steel 19L pots from BigW for $20 (I would say get two) I do 10-12L batches in my 15L fermenter (Jerry Can alternatives are very space efficient).

I am still learning and developing my methods.

I think BIAB is a very good way to start in all grain, and following the advice of others on this forum I purchased the book Brewing Classic Styles. Its full of useful info, and recipes.

that's my 2 cents.

Hi Chookers,

Thanks, your set up sounds similar to mine. I've got a 19L and 15L pot for BIAB. I'm doing 3/4 batches (around 15L) but need to improve my efficiency so I won't have to add as much DME.

Cheers
Brendan

 

[Cecilweetabix]

Hi Brendan

Agree with some of the other replies below and can certainly recommend the Grainfather. Am using this in my cellar which would certainly be smaller than apartment space.

 

[Brendan_W]

Cheers Cecilweetabix,

I'll definitely be looking into gear options but the grainfather might be a bit out of my price range!

Thanks
Brendan

 

[yankinoz]

Big kettle, BIAB bag, earthwool-insulated box to hold the kettle during mash, colander ring if you step mash and heat the kettle with the bag in, old and smaller kettle if you want to dunk sparge, first-rate thermometer.

Braumeister or Grainfather? They won't improve quality over the above setup. Their comparative labor savings add up if you brew a lot.