Newbie from Sunshine Coast

[MrEflord]

Hi All,

Having previously worked within the hospitality industry and an enjoyer of craft beer, the stars have finally aligned by moving into a house where I now have the space to try and create my own brews. I have purchased a small batch brew kit, I figure I can hone my skills and recipes first before going to big. Small steps first.

My goal is to create a drop that I enjoy and can share with mates. Nothing too big.

Happy to hear from from everyone about how to upskill, and hopefully share some creations, especially here on the coast.

 

[MrEflord]

So an update. An old mate got into home brew and then quickly got out. He's one of those guys who's got every toy and then loses interest just as quickly as he got into something, hes going to give me his mangrove jack kit he's got laying around. He also got a stainless steel fermenter that he'll sell for $100. Being new and only wanting to brew for myself, is a stainless steel fermenter worth $100 at this early stage?

 

[Engibeer]

So an update. An old mate got into home brew and then quickly got out. He's one of those guys who's got every toy and then loses interest just as quickly as he got into something, hes going to give me his mangrove jack kit he's got laying around. He also got a stainless steel fermenter that he'll sell for $100. Being new and only wanting to brew for myself, is a stainless steel fermenter worth $100 at this early stage?

What kind?

 

[bradmcm]

$100 is cheap for a SS fermenter - especially as it sounds like it has been hardly used.
You won't lose money buying it. You can always sell it again for the same price or more if you decide brewing isn't for you.

 

[MrEflord]

Good question Engibeer. It's a very basic 25lt. He said he got from a home brew store, so I think its designed for brewing and not just stainless tank.

 

[MrEflord]

Thanks bradmcm, sounds like its a winner

 

[MrEflord]

Why is it, that everytime I search a topic and then need to click on a link to somewhere else in the forum I get the;

"Oops! We ran into some problems."

And

"The requested page could not be found"

It's every time...

 

[Tomo]

Where on sunshine Coast are you. Your lucky to get into homebrew now as there is a new homebrew shop in Noosa and Scott is very knowledgeable and will help you out. Everything you need he will help you out with. Happy brewing.

 

[MrEflord]

Where on sunshine Coast are you. Your lucky to get into homebrew now as there is a new homebrew shop in Noosa and Scott is very knowledgeable and will help you out. Everything you need he will help you out with. Happy brewing.

In Wurtulla.

I’ve sent Scott a message already on here this week, but haven’t heard anything back.
Are you on the coast?

 

[Paddy Melon]

Hi MrE, welcome to home brewing. I had the same problem with the "Oop's", coming up. I emailed admin and found out that there are cells within this forum started by others and you need to be accepted into the group to get access. I tried contacting the person that I was told to contact but never got a reply or accepted so I gave up. You might have better luck.
PM.

 

[ozdevil]

my opinion you are off to a great start by getting a starter kit and being offered a ss fermenter at $100 bucks wether its on 25litres and basic , its still going to ferment.

also my thoughts on doing small batches is you can experiment and find a beer that you enjoy, and your not wasting 23 litres compared to say 5 litres of beer

have fun and welcome to the world of brewing

 

[dkilleen]

In Wurtulla.

I’ve sent Scott a message already on here this week, but haven’t heard anything back.
Are you on the coast?

There is a shop near the cinema in Caloundra which usually has the basics and kits. I live near Maleny and order most of my stuff online from National Homebrew in Hervey Bay. Great website and service too.

 

[MrEflord]

Hi MrE, welcome to home brewing. I had the same problem with the "Oop's", coming up. I emailed admin and found out that there are cells within this forum started by others and you need to be accepted into the group to get access. I tried contacting the person that I was told to contact but never got a reply or accepted so I gave up. You might have better luck.
PM.

But you'd have to know who started the thread to begin with right? Hard when your just clicking on a link in another post...

 

[MrEflord]

my opinion you are off to a great start by getting a starter kit and being offered a ss fermenter at $100 bucks wether its on 25litres and basic , its still going to ferment.

also my thoughts on doing small batches is you can experiment and find a beer that you enjoy, and your not wasting 23 litres compared to say 5 litres of beer

have fun and welcome to the world of brewing

Put down the small batch yesterday as my first go. Took forever following the instructions, washing and sanistising everything.

It all seems ok with it bubbling away this morning.

Had a few problems which I think have lead to the low OG - 1.034 (kit says it should have been 1.051)

1. The bag was too small to allow the gains to soak
2. Instructions stated too little water for the mash. I added extra taking it to 4lt. an extra 4lts was added during the sparge process as per instructions.

When I do it again I will just start with 8lts.

It's much more bitter than I was expecting, so I'll change when I add the hops.

I'm still happy with where things are up to for this first effort, even if it ends up with a low-mid ABV.

 

[Paddy Melon]

But you'd have to know who started the thread to begin with right? Hard when your just clicking on a link in another post...

I contacted admin. Go to "contact us" at the bottom of this page and take it from there.
M

 

[MrEflord]

Hi All,

I just completed my 3rd brew, which was the coopers B side IPA. At the end of bottling when I took the lid of the stainless fermenter I noticed a black yeast krausen ring.

It tasted fine (actually the best of the 3 I've done so far in my view) when testing the final gravity.

Is this something that I should be worried about? Have I just wasted time and effort bottling?

Any feedback would be very helpful. Thanks

 

[peterlonz]

You have conducted the best possible test - you tasted the brew & obviously thought it was sound.
Only thing to "worry about" is maybe how long you should allow for bottle secondary fermentation & maturation.
This will depend on the temp of your storage area.

 

[MrEflord]

You have conducted the best possible test - you tasted the brew & obviously thought it was sound.
Only thing to "worry about" is maybe how long you should allow for bottle secondary fermentation & maturation.
This will depend on the temp of your storage area.

Was sitting around 20 degrees