New member Bucho69 says hello

[Bucho69]

Hi Aussie Home Brewers - I have been creeping into brewing since I retired two years ago. It all started when my son-in-law lent me a brew kit he had been given as a birthday present, since he was more interested in drinking, than brewing. I started off with a Coopers Pale Ale. He then told me about a beer machine he had seen in Peters of Kensington so after investigating this I decided to buy one.
Great concept, but lousy execution. After several ho-hum brews and a lot of leaking CO2 I eventually threw it in the bin.
Back to the original kit! After trying various brew kits, with varying results, I decided to try stove top brewing. This yielded a reasonable American Pale Ale after about 2 months in the bottle. I started my first all grain brew a few weeks ago, with a recipe from the Speidel Braumeister website for a 10 litre IPA. This is now bottled and I am waiting another three weeks before I crack the first bottle.
I came to the conclusion that my stove top brewing gear wasn't really the best solution, so I have purchased a 50 litre keg, which I am planning to modify for mashing and boiling. Before I cut the top off the keg - I want to do a bit more research on the feasibility of mashing and boiling in a single vessel, and sort out the false bottom, heating element and temperature controller. I have read somewhere that burn on can be a problem with electric elements, when boiling wort, so would welcome any comments on this issue.
I have significantly reduced my beer consumption over the last few years, but still love good beer and brewing seems like a very interesting hobby for a retiree.
I volunteered for GABS 2016 and loved the experience - sampled some really good beers that I would not normally have considered trying (sour beers) being one instance. Last night, after the GABS thank you drinks session, I tried a glass of Brewdog IPL and was proud to note that it is brewed in my hometown Edinburgh. Given that it's $12 for a 310 ml glass, I have set myself as goal to try and brew a similar beverage. I am sure there will be a lot of failures on the journey
Hoping to meet some of you guys in the ISB group.
Best regards
Gavin Buchan

 

[mtb]

Evening Gavin,

Welcome to the club. Your single-vessel approach is BIAB - Brew In A Bag - and I started brewing with it nine months ago. Will never go back to kits as there's nothing more satisfying than your own brew from scratch.. but you know all that, it's why you graduated to all grain in the first place

Do some searching on BIAB threads here on AHB and you'll find a wealth of information.

 

[The Flyingscrapyard]

Welcome to you Bucho69. I'm only new here too, but already I have found a wealth of information, recipes and good humour. I hope you get as much out of brewing as I do. It is a very satisfying hobby. As it happens, I am also a BIAB user, and while not the ultimate in efficiency, it doesn't do too bad, and the ducks like the spent grain anyway.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Without getting too out of control, in a keep it simple no fuss kit, it is best to have separate vessels for mashing and boiling. Now a mash vessel need not be SS bling, a decent Esky will do the job well. Make sure you have a good browse of the gear and equipment thread and DIY thread.
Welcome to the forum, your already in good company with the guys and girls from ISB.
Mike

 

[sp0rk]

Welcome to you Bucho69. I'm only new here too, but already I have found a wealth of information, recipes and good humour. I hope you get as much out of brewing as I do. It is a very satisfying hobby. As it happens, I am also a BIAB user, and while not the ultimate in efficiency, it doesn't do too bad, and the ducks like the spent grain anyway.

Vary your techniques and you'll be able to hit 85% efficiency with BIAB, I can

 

[The Flyingscrapyard]

Vary your techniques and you'll be able to hit 85% efficiency with BIAB, I can

Could you elaborate on how you did? I'm only at around 70% at present.

 

[sp0rk]

Could you elaborate on how you did? I'm only at around 70% at present.

Finer crush, quality malts, step mash, mash out, squeeze the bujeezus out of your bag
Water chemistry helps to an extent, too

 

[The Flyingscrapyard]

Finer crush, quality malts, step mash, mash out, squeeze the bujeezus out of your bag
Water chemistry helps to an extent, too

Thanks for the tips. Some I have in place, but will give the others a go.

 

[spog]

Bucho69, I Biab in a 50 l keg but also use a perforated pot which I put the Voile liner into.
The pot was an elcheapo nest of pots from Kmart yrs ago,I drilled a shit load of 1/8" holes in the bottom and up the sides,I've added a bar across the top which is set at a height above the elements.
The bar is also the lift point for removing the lined pot to oil the wert.
As for scorching the elements I use Kmart kettle elements and have had scorching issues,I am going to order a 3600 watt element with guard from 5 star distilling which won't be available until the end of June.
These elements are sheathed so there's no probs with scorching.
I don't use a false bottom as I have 2 outlets on my keg,1 in the bottom for full draining/ cleaning and the other is about 50 mm above the bottom and I use this to fill the fermentor.
Once the trub gets too close to the outlet I stop draining so I don't end up with cloudy wert.
I will post pics tomorrow so you can put pics to the words.

 

[spog]

the 2 taps,Lhs is the higher rhs is the bottom mounted.
ghetto lid made from thin aluminium sheet, this is covered by a towell during mashing to retain heat.


. This is latest BYO mag grab a copy ,the cover says it all.