New To Brew

[Cocko]

I just love the fact you have your own thread for QnA as you go.... I can see this beast ending up 30 pages and you posting on your first AG

Gold.. its happening!!

 

[buttersd70]

Gold.. its happening!!

1/5th of the way there. When we get to page 10, qik should be starting extracts....partials on page 20....AG on page 30

 

[Cocko]

You have a firm grip of his hand.. I reckon he/we will cross the road by 15!!

God damn, I go AG tomorrow!! BIAB of course

Hopefully he sends PM's of appreciation to those who help!!

hehehe

 

[buttersd70]

PMs not required, as thanks enough are given in the thread...not everyone has stalker tendancies.

Good to hear you're going the grain, mate. :beerbang: Good luck for tommorrow.

 

[Cocko]

Good to hear you're going the grain, mate. :beerbang: Good luck for tommorrow.

Cheers mate..... full review to come!!

F*ck AG better be better than anything else... or I will wearing pocket lint for shoes and SWMBO will be on the porch with a double barrel

She doesn't understand....... Butters, trevc, adamt, TB, PP, FNQ, fents and many more... and all of you MADE ME DO it!!!!





Anyway, how do you talk up a keg setup???

 

[reviled]

F*ck AG better be better than anything else...

It will be Dont worry matey!

 

[QIK86]

I haven't actually tried a bottle of that one yet. I'm hoping it will be a nice drop. For both our sakes now.. haha

I can't remember what my OG was for it off the top of my head. I'll check my notes when I get home and let you know.

 

[buttersd70]

How longs this one been in the bottle now, qik? 2,3 weeks?

 

[QIK86]

Just over 2 weeks if my memory serves me correctly. I need to start bringing my brew log xls into work on a CD so I can answer these things! haha

The CPA I did with 500g Dex, 250g LDM, 250g Corn Syrun is drinking nicely now after a month, so I'll probably leave the hopped version a little longer yet before I try it. Especially since carbonation has been on the light side.

 

[under]

What should my FG be. Being that the OG was high at 1048.

Day 4. No airlock activity. Sg is about 1012 at present.

 

[buttersd70]

As I said, i think you're OG was wrong. With the ingredients, sg 1008-1010 sounds about right. If your OG was, in fact, correct, 1010-1012. There are a lot of factors affecting fg which are not known in k&k brews (and are hard to control completely anyway), so any fg calculation is only a best guess. As long as you get to a sg that is sensible (ie, not ridiculously high for the adjuncts used), and get stable sg over 2-3 consecutive days, it should be fine.

 

[QIK86]

Well, good news. My first bulk prime went off without a hitch.

I didn't bother with the stocking in the end. Definitely no need for it. The beer tasted fantastic going into the bottles. Even beside a real LCPA I was indulging in while bottling!

I did find the tea ball a little disappointing though. Again, the Chinook seemed "strangled" in the ball. When I opened it up the aroma was incredible. Hopefully some made it into the beer. Thinking next time I might just throw the pellets straight into the fermenter and forget the ball all together.

Now for my latest problem... What to brew next?? Any suggestions?

 

[QIK86]

The last 2 brews, I've been getting mould around the thread of the lid of the fermenter. Is this anything to worry about? It concerns me when opening the fermenter to dry hop that some might fall into the brew. Could it just be from leaving a wet towel around it?

Here's a pic of what I'm talking about.

 

[QIK86]

I've decided I'm going to make a JSGA style beer next. Something like this:

1.7kg can of goo (Not sure which one yet. Suggestions?)
1kg Morgans Masterblend Caramalt
1kg Morgans Masterblend Wheat Malt
15g Amarillo @ 15min
15g Amarillo @ 5min
15g Amarillo dry hopped
Brewcellar American Ale Yeast

 

[Fents]

The last 2 brews, I've been getting mould around the thread of the lid of the fermenter. Is this anything to worry about? It concerns me when opening the fermenter to dry hop that some might fall into the brew. Could it just be from leaving a wet towel around it?

Here's a pic of what I'm talking about.

Qik that looks shocking imo. The brown ring stain on the inside is fine (krausen ring) but that mould on the thread of the lid is a big NO imo. Wipe it all off, bleach the whole fermenter, rinse it, bleach it again and rinse a few more times and just when you think you've rinsed enough go a few more rinses as bleach smell is a tad hard to get off.

 

[Barramundi]

good advice fents but id go a step further and give that sucker a full soak in a tub of caustic kill anything that might be livin on that plastic, that green gear isnt a good thing , ya dont want that spreading into the drum

 

[QIK86]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll give it a good soak in bleach.

So how can I avoid it happening in future? Is it just from the constantly wet towel being wrapped around it?

Edit: I recall reading about a water, bleach and vinegar solution that is supposedly tops. Can't find the dilution rates now though. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

 

[Barramundi]

Qik add your location to your profile , id say as a guess its something to do with the wet towel ... why ya using it ? get ya self a 100 can cooler and a few blocks of ice , even better a fermenting fridge ...

 

[bouncingcastle]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll give it a good soak in bleach.

So how can I avoid it happening in future? Is it just from the constantly wet towel being wrapped around it?

Edit: I recall reading about a water, bleach and vinegar solution that is supposedly tops. Can't find the dilution rates now though. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

I'd hit that with "exit mould" (I think its a Hydrogen Peroxide solution anyway) and then think about sanitising...

How long are you keeping it wrapped in a wet towel for?

I know what you're talking about with the vinegar...
Thanks to butters this is the quote

"buy 2L of unscented, plain bleach. Homebrand is fine.
buy 2L of white vinegar. Again, homebrand is fine, but it must be white vinegar, not malt or wine or anything else.
In the bottom of the fermenter put 1.9L of the bleach. This amount is for a 30L fermenter, if yours is different size, its 62.5ml per Litre. Put in all your other brewing equipment.
fill the fermenter almost to the top water, just regular tap temperature.
add the same amount of vinegar as the bleach, so 1.9L for a 30L fermenter. Stand back a little when you do this, definately do not put your head over it....it will start to produce chlorine gas. Dont breath it in. NEVER add vinegar (or any other acid) directly to undiluted bleach (or any other alkali.) always add the alkali to the water, then add the acid.
top up with water, and put the lid on. make sure the inside of the lid is in contact with the water. (if it was full, it should be.)

allow this to stand for 20 minutes. Open the tap and allow it to drain out. Rinse well with water.
refill the fermenter to the top with water, allow it to stand for another 5 minutes, then drain. This is really just to make sure on the rinse, if its rinsed really really well, you could get away with not doing it. But I would.

You're now good to go. This concentration of acidulated bleach is what microbiologist reccomend for killing anthrax. If you get an infection after doing this, then it's just proof that god must hate you. . Some may consider this to be massive overkill, and it probably is. But if you have that little nagging doubt at the back of your mind re infection, this will put it to rest once and for all.

If not using the fermenter immediatly, just re-sanitise it with 8ml bleach in 5L of water, with the 8mL vinegar added at the end. (medicine cups, or dosing syringes from the chemist are great for this.) Put it in fermenter, shake to ensure it has contacted all inside surfaces, run some through the tap, and empty out. Only 30seconds to a minute contact time required. You could leave it to drain for a couple of minutes, just to get the excess out, but at this lower concentration, its a safe no rinse. (i also do this immediately after brewing, after its been rinsed out with water and cleaned, so that it can store without going as funky. Lets face it, 8ml bleach and 8ml vinegar is so cheap its ridiculous.)"

That will kill anything that could possibly go anywhere near the ferementer.

Cheers,

Chris.

 

[QIK86]

I'm in Maryborough QLD. Using the wet towel to try and keep ferment temps low. Struggling to get it under 22-24 without it at the moment.

I've been looking for a 100 can cooler but can't find them! Fermenting fridge may well be a future addition. We just got rid of an old working fridge too. Maybe I could get it back...

 

[buttersd70]

Thanks to butters this is the quote

Seeing as how a repetition of this post got me flamed in another thread, I feel compelled to state the opposing argument here (whether I agree or not ) in order to prevent a flame war happening in this nice, cheery thread.

Some people disagreed vehemently with this method, because in their opinion...
it can be dangerous. (which is a valid point, I go to lengths to point that out myself)
they believe that the acetobacteria is detrimental to yeast health
they believe that chlorophenols (spelling?) will effect the beer afterward.
they believe that acidification of the bleach does not improve its microbial abilities.

So there. That is the other side to the coin. The info is there, qik, and it's up to you to interpret it, for good or ill. for further info, there is a summary of the findings presented to he 2006 ASM (American Society of Microbiologists) Biodefense Research Meeting here and the interview with Charlie Talley, founder of Five Star Chemicals (on using the same thing but much more diluted as a no rinse sanatiser) is here


But I know what I'd be doing. Either way, scrub all the mold off, before sanatising.

 

[bouncingcastle]

h34r:

:chug:

Can I come out now

 

[Steve]

QIK - ive never seen mould like that on a fermenter . (Maybe on the inside of a dead fermenter). But yours looks brand new. When cleaning your fermenter dont forget to do the rubber o-ring and the inside of the lid with the same solution. How long did you have your beer in primary for that to appear?
Cheers
Steve

 

[buttersd70]

Can I come out now

lol, yes you can :lol: . I just thought I would stop any argument on this particular process before it starts, as certain people ( h34r: ) can be rather condescending and insulting in their responses.

 

[QIK86]

How long are you keeping it wrapped in a wet towel for?

About 2 weeks.

QIK - ive never seen mould like that on a fermenter . (Maybe on the inside of a dead fermenter). But yours looks brand new. When cleaning your fermenter dont forget to do the rubber o-ring and the inside of the lid with the same solution. How long did you have your beer in primary for that to appear?
Cheers
Steve

I must admit, now I think about it, I haven't sanitised the thread for the lid before. I always put the lid on to shake the solution around in the fermenter, then drain it out. So it contacts the inside of the lid, but not the thread. I shall be more vigilant with this in future.

And butters, thanks for the info on that. As you said, you have presented both sides and I can now make an educated decision for myself. I'll use it. Although I might also fill the sink with the solution and stand the fermenter in it upside down to really give the thread a seeing to. Thanks again.

 

[QIK86]

On a different note, my next brew is going to be in the style of JSGA, which I have read contains 30% wheat malt. I was wondering, would the Morgans Golden Sheaf Wheat Beer kit be 100% wheat malt? If not, does anyone know the approximate break up of wheat vs barley? I thought I read somewhere wheat malt is usually only about a 50/50 mix of wheat/barley??

If that is the case, the below recipe should give about 25% wheat malt, which would be close enough for me. What about colour and IBUs, any ideas? I may be way off, so feel free to tell me!

1.7kg can Morgans Golden Sheaf Wheat Beer
1kg can Morgans Masterblend Caramalt
800g LDME
15g Amarillo @ 15mins
15g Amarillo @ 5mins
15g Amarillo dry hopped
US56 yeast

 

[buttersd70]

Although I might also fill the sink with the solution and stand the fermenter in it upside down to really give the thread a seeing to. Thanks again.

A good idea, IMHO

On a different note, my next brew is going to be in the style of JSGA, which I have read contains 30% wheat malt. I was wondering, would the Morgans Golden Sheaf Wheat Beer kit be 100% wheat malt? If not, does anyone know the approximate break up of wheat vs barley? I thought I read somewhere wheat malt is usually only about a 50/50 mix of wheat/barley??

Wheat kits are generally in this region, some are 50/50, some 55/45, some 60/40. Little difference, imho. Never had JSGA myself (being very english=centric) but it sounds like a good'n. DrSmurtos golden ale is popular, and he has a k&b recipe for that floating around.

 

[QIK86]

Wheat kits are generally in this region, some are 50/50, some 55/45, some 60/40. Little difference, imho. Never had JSGA myself (being very english=centric) but it sounds like a good'n. DrSmurtos golden ale is popular, and he has a k&b recipe for that floating around.

I think I stole the hop schedule from DrSmurto's recipe actually. He recommends using a can of Coopers Sparkling Ale though, with no wheat malt. Thought using the wheat kit might make it a little more authentic?

 

[buttersd70]

Unless he has more than 1 version floating around....cos I cut and pasted this from one of his threads, ages ago, and never got around to trying it.

1 kit coopers sparkling ale
1 can coopers wheat malt
250g JW caramalt steeped - skipped this sometimes
15 g amarillo @ 15, 5 minutes and dry hopped in secondary or keg
US56

The use of the morgans caramalt and the dme, and the wheat kit as the hopped base (instead of the other way around) would make it much of a muchense, just 2 different ways of achieving the same thing, so should be good.

 

[QIK86]

Ah.. I may have skimmed over the wheat malt part of smurto's recipe.

Well, it's a goer then. Just waiting on my Amarillo pellets from Ross at CraftBrewer.

By the way butters, I ordered some Fuggles pellets and an S-04 yeast too, so I can try a good English Ale next.

Oh and where do you find the IBU for tins on the Morgans website? The site appears very strange for me. Some parts of it overlap links and text. I've tried it on different computers too in case it was something in my display settings, but it still appears the same.. :huh: