New to Brewing

[Nullnvoid]

G'day,

So after getting a kit from my better half (well she has to be as she bought be a home brew kit), I finally got around to getting the brew started. Have spent since christmas reading and looking and reading and watching videos and more reading. It's amazing to be excited and nervous about the outcome, but it's all good fun so I don't care.

The kit came from Brewcraft and have just used what came with the kit. So included was:

Beermakers Draught
Yeast Y08613
Malt Booster 15

Hopefully as I learn I will be able to mix things around and learn a bit but wanted to start easy.

Was thinking about joining a club at some stage, there is one close by in Ferntree Gully.

Anyway, now the wait begins!

Thanks,
Russell

 

[law-of-ohms]

Welcome, im in your area, and thinking of joining a brew club too. Dies anyone know if there is a list of them and their locations?

 

[BottloBill]

Welcome guys! Just check under meet ups and brew clubs here on the forum for something in your area.

 

[recharge]

Good luck with your first brew.

Rich

 

[recharge]

Good luck with your first brew.

Rich

 

[manticle]

The brewclub in ferntree gully is Melbourne Brewers. They meet last wednesday of each month although there won't be a meeting until Feb (I think) due to Christmas break.

There is a list of active clubs in the club section on the forum.

 

[Scooby Tha Newbie]

Welcome to this great hobby. Enjoy

 

[Nullnvoid]

Thanks guys!

Melbourne brewers was the club I was looking at. It's the closest one to Cockatoo where I am. I figured they would be not having a meeting in January. My 4x4 clubs have January off too. I'll look into it some more and by February will probably be ready.

 

[Nullnvoid]

I need a bit of advice. I have left my brew for a week and a half now and have now started taking readings as it has stopped bubbling out of the air lock. I have been recording the temps for the last week and a half and it's been around the 19 mark, except for the last couple of days where it has slowly gone up to about 24.

I'm having trouble reading the gauge. Here is a picture:



So if I am reading it right, when I first got it going it read 1.44. The reading tonight was 1.12. Does this sound right? Am I reading it right?

It looked like beer, it certainly tasted like beer, so I am pretty happy so far. Am hoping to bottle it on the weekend if the readings stay the same for the next two days.

 

[Scooby Tha Newbie]

Yep sounds good. Two maybe three days at that temp should insure the same readings,and that ferment has stoped.

 

[MCHammo]

Nearly right. Those readings would be 1.044 and 1.012. You could be forgiven for making that mistake, though (notice the red marking, 1.000 - you're reading off the two least significant figures of the measurement)

 

[Scooby Tha Newbie]

Yep what he said.

 

[Nullnvoid]

Thanks MCHammo, that is where I was going wrong with the reading. That's a bit confusing!

But thanks, at least it know I'm on the right track.

 

[fuseo]

Gyday from a fellow 'noob'!

I found leaving my fermentation process for basically 6 weeks really made a difference in the flavour of my beer. I am currently drinking the cerveza kit from coopers and loving it. Its a really refreshing full flavour so I like that.

Readings before bottling in my experience have stayed pretty consistent. Take it out at 1010 and you should be schweet!

 

[Spiesy]

Gyday from a fellow 'noob'!

I found leaving my fermentation process for basically 6 weeks really made a difference in the flavour of my beer. I am currently drinking the cerveza kit from coopers and loving it. Its a really refreshing full flavour so I like that.

Readings before bottling in my experience have stayed pretty consistent. Take it out at 1010 and you should be schweet!

Lagers require a longer fermentation due to the required colder fermentation temps and an added, long "lagering" period.

 

[Grainer]

welcome

 

[burrster]

Happy bottling! then the waiting game begins!

 

[Nullnvoid]

Thanks everyone! Been at 1.012 for the last three days so I think it's all good. Washed all my bottles this morning so tomorrow will be bottling day!

Then I think I'll get another one on some time soon. I was thinking a pale ale of some sort, something that will go well in summer (or at least the end of it). But something still relatively easy for a beginner.

 

[Nullnvoid]

I bottled my brew on the weekend and now I have another silly question as the result of my partner. When filling the bottles I was being a little haphazard with the amounts. I thought thought they were all pretty close, or close enough. Then in comes the better half and asks if it affects the carbonation drops if they are not the right amount in the bottle

So how full do you fill them if it matters? And how do you work this out?

After she came to "help" I got a measuring jug and filled that up to 375ml, poured it into a bottle and used that as my datum. She wanted me to use a measuring jug for each of the 60 bottles.

Thought I would get the collectives thoughts.

Thanks

 

[yum beer]

If you are using a bottling 'wand', just fill the bottle to the top, when you take the wand out it will leave the right amount of headroom in the bottle.

 

[Nullnvoid]

Thanks Yum Beer, that's great. Thanks for the help

 

[burrster]

Exactly as stated above!

 

[Nullnvoid]

So, I cracked open the first bottle of my first brew yesterday and might I say I was very nervous!

Now it's only been 4 weeks since I bottled it, but I was very happy with the result. It's meant to be a draught beer but is very light and very easy to drink, and not what I would consider to be a draught. It's going to go very nicely on a warm summers afternoon. SWMBO was mighty impressed to (she didn't want to have to pretend to enjoy it).

It doesn't have much of a head on it when it gets poured but I presume the longer it gets left in the bottle the more it will?

Now I have one down and think I have the concept of what goes on, I'll definitely be keen to branch out a bit

Got a pale ale bottled but that's got a month before I can sample that one!

 

[manticle]

Draught is a method of dispensing beer as opposed to a style of beer.

Glad your first worked out OK. keeping your temps down early on in fermentation should have helped a lot

 

[Nullnvoid]

Don't know what I brewed then . It was what came with the kit and said Australian draught. But who cares least it's drinkable and don't have to punish myself through 55 bottles

Tried to keep the temp down as much as I could. It hovered around 18 degrees in a chest freezer turned off and that's when the first heat wave in Melbourne hit.

 

[Nullnvoid]

So didn't really know where to post this reply but thought this post where it all started would be the most logical.

I started brewing a fraction over 12 months ago. My first beer was ready to drink on the 19th January 2014. I kept a couple and tonight sampled one 12 months on! It was just the brew that came with the not I got for Christmas so just a simple kit and kilo. Details in above posts.

Anyway 12 months on I was a little iffy as to what to expect. It's a bit of a nothing now. Carbonation is good but there is really no taste. Must have leaked out of the bottle. Even water has more taste I think . It's like drinking bubbles. There is a slight apple flavour, but only slight and SHMBO can't taste it. Anyway still drinkable.

Onwards and upwards!

 

[yum beer]

Kit beers don't last much over 9 months, actually most beers don't last much more than that.
Porters, stouts, big ales are exceptions.
I'm sucking down a Double Choc Porter I brewed last May and its bloody fantastic. I love making beer better than what you can buy.
How have your latest brews been?

 

[Nullnvoid]

Yeah I tried it at 6 months and I was holding out much hope for 12 months, but still had to give it a cracked, get that knowledge of what the same beer can taste like after each period. Really interesting.

The last few beers I have done have been cracking beers, a couple of pale ales, amber ale and a chic porter. Really delicious beer.

Now I'm just starting to set up a BIAB system so I can give that a crack.