New brewer here

[TheBlackAdder]

Bakers yeast. I didn't even know bakers yeast fermented alcohol.

Never gotten drunk on bread?

This mans making rocket fuel....

 

[NikZak]

Haha, nope, not making rocket fuel... actually the cider that came out with no conditioning period was quite delicious...

And yes, all yeast ferments sugars to produce CO2 and alcohol... in bread we're looking for the CO2 to rise the bread, in beer the CO2 disappears to leave the alcohol in solution

Anyway, about the yeast, will it be safe to store it in the fridge in a cleaned and sanitized Dolmio/passata jar?

 

[TheBlackAdder]

Yes that should be fine

Try to use it in a reasonable timeframe or otherwise make a starter

I would personally replace with a brewing yeast and use the leftovers for yeast nutrient

 

[danestead]

Haha I tried to make bread with an old pack of wyeast I was throwing out. It came out like a brick haha. I guess it doesnt make co2 as rapidly as bread yeast does.

 

[NikZak]

could it be just that the yeast had gone lazy or that you didn't let it rise long enough or warm enough? I had a similar thing happen at the pizza shop with the yeast we used to use there where the yeast was getting on in time and had gone lazy and we had about 3 days of slightly less risen dough and bases

 

[NikZak]

Hey there folks, just thought I'd share my first brew with you all

It's what came with my Cooper's/Mr.Brew kit, it's only been in the bottle a week but its gone nice and clear. Needs some more time to carbonate but it tastes good, I'm suitably impressed

 

[NikZak]

Put another brew down today. A simple Cooper's k&k with the Mexican Cerveza and BE2. Used the kit yeast because I forgot to pick up some extra us-05 yesterday. Also got an extract American Pale Ale kit. Will post the recipe tomorrow but itll be my first extract kit and will be run as soon as I bottle the kit and extract stout i have finishing. Just waiting for the last few gravity points to go down

 

[NikZak]

Ah, got the Stout bottled last night, FG of 1.008. 29x 750mL PET bottles although I kind of wish I'd put nit into glass (but don't have enough yet)

Also put on another Cider. This time using US-05 yeast (no more bread yeast here) but did still add some sugar to bring the ABV up a little as I'll be back sweetening it with the same apple juice to make it a little sweeter. OG - 1.090, potential ABV 12.5% before carbonation if it goes to 1.000 which is what I'm hoping.

Have decided to wait until the weekend to get my American Pale Ale down and I'll be taking some pictures along the way

 

[NikZak]

Hey folks, here's the recipe for the American pale ale that I'll be doing on the weekend, again I'll take photos along the way and post them up:

20L batch

2kg LDME
500g Dextrose

500g Crystal malt
100g Cascade Hops (30g 60min, 25g 10min, 45g dry hop)

Yeast US-05

5g Yeast nutrient

Thinking to add a can of Coopers Australian Pale Ale and make it up to 23L, does this sound like a good or bad idea?
(Edit: scratch that, I'll make the recipe as it stands and use the Aus pale ale in a toucan with a Stout can I have lying around)

 

[Rocker1986]

I'm thinking it shouldn't matter, I'll ream out the hole in the lid as I think the problem with it is that the hole they drilled into the lid to install the grommet was just a tiny bit too narrow and reinstall the grommet with a bit of food grade silicone after this batch runs.

Or you could do what I do and remove the grommet and use a piece of gaffa tape over the hole in the lid. No worries about airlocks, no glad wrap either. (I'm not a fan of using glad wrap either. h34r: )

That recipe looks good too, Cascade is a favourite hop of mine and always goes well in my American pale ales. I really should order some more....

 

[NikZak]

So Rocker are you saying you don't use an airlock at all or do you shove the airlock through the gaffer tape?

 

[danestead]

Ah, got the Stout bottled last night, FG of 1.008. 29x 750mL PET bottles although I kind of wish I'd put nit into glass (but don't have enough yet)

Also put on another Cider. This time using US-05 yeast (no more bread yeast here) but did still add some sugar to bring the ABV up a little as I'll be back sweetening it with the same apple juice to make it a little sweeter. OG - 1.090, potential ABV 12.5% before carbonation if it goes to 1.000 which is what I'm hoping.

Have decided to wait until the weekend to get my American Pale Ale down and I'll be taking some pictures along the way

Does your cider burn on the way out as well as the way in. That's crazyman, must be like drinking metho.

 

[NikZak]

Nah no burn in either direction. The missus doesn't like how dry it is but it suits me just fine. The next batch made with proper brewer's yeast will hopefully be much better

 

[Blind Dog]

but did still add some sugar to bring the ABV up a little as I'll be back sweetening it with the same apple juice to make it a little sweeter. OG - 1.090, potential ABV 12.5% before carbonation if it goes to 1.000 which is what I'm hoping.

Sounds a lot more like you added some juice just to dissolve the sugar...

 

[Rocker1986]

So Rocker are you saying you don't use an airlock at all or do you shove the airlock through the gaffer tape?

No airlock at all. I did use it originally, but then the grommet perished and I couldn't be bothered buying another one, so I just started using tape over the hole in the lid instead. My lid doesn't seal airtight anyway, so the gas still escapes. I've probably been doing this for a couple of years now with no problems at all.

 

[NikZak]

Yeah but I'd like to end up with a nicely backsweetened cider of around the 8-9%abv range so the only way to do that is to start with a finished cider of about 12% and sweeten it 1 part apple juice to 3 parts cider

 

[NikZak]

No airlock at all. I did use it originally, but then the grommet perished and I couldn't be bothered buying another one, so I just started using tape over the hole in the lid instead. My lid doesn't seal airtight anyway, so the gas still escapes. I've probably been doing this for a couple of years now with no problems at all.

fair enough, I guess its the same as the Coopers fermenters with their loose-fitting lids

 

[Rocker1986]

Yeah it probably acts in a similar way really. It's a Brew Cellar one, screw on lid etc.. but yeah, it was never airtight. The airlock never bubbled at all when I used it, so I guess I drank a lot of unfermented wort. :lol:

 

[NikZak]

Hey folks, I'm sure some of you have found it by now but here's the link to my Brewhouse, where I'll be keeping everyone updated on my goings on in this marvellous hobby

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/88219-nicks-brewhouse/

Stay tuned

 

[Westernslurper]

Bakers yeast. I didn't even know bakers yeast fermented alcohol.

Hi mate,Its all I use to ferment my brew prior to distilling.Yep, I make my own spirits.Bakers yeast,tomato paste, sugar,and half a tspn of citric acid with25ltrs of water,gives me about 7 litres of good usable alcohol :super: