Nick's Brewhouse

[Rocker1986]

Well it might help remove some of it, but after trying that approach I'd be getting some sodium percarbonate, the pure stuff not the nappy soakers, putting a teaspoon or so in each bottle then filling them up with hot tap water and letting them soak. Repeat if necessary. That stuff is bloody good at removing **** and all you have to do is let it sit there.

 

[Diesel80]

Get bigger bottles mate, 18L stainless ones.
:super:
Cheers,
D80

 

[Barge]

I don't want the expense reight now of getting a bottle capper and crown tops as well as glass bottles.

Kegs are definitely the way to go. Even though they are more expense you can do it in stages. I would put that $30 into a regulator (picked one up 2nd hand for $40?, I think), a sodastream adapter ($20-30) and a sodastream gas bottle (managed to buy 2 for $20 each because the chick at coles charged me the refill price instead of $50 each for buying new) and a reconditioned keg ($80ish). The other obvious expense is a 2nd fridge but you can get away with this relatively cheaply, or maybe upgrade the kitchen fridge and use the old one.

If you need more bottles in the short term you may as well go with PET bottles. You don't need to buy a capper as well and they are already clean.

To clarify, I would buy minimum number of PET bottles needed to get by for now. Then when you get a handy $40 go to coles/woolies and see if you can buy a couple of sodastreams cheap. If not, try another store. It's a bit of running around but when money's tight and time's on your side it's worth it. Further clarification, Sodastream cylinders are expensive long-term if you are going to force carbonate your beer. They are a cheap way to begin kegging if you keg condition your beer (i.e. prime the keg with dex or malt and leave it for a week or 2 to carb up as you usually do now. The first couple of pints that get drawn up are essentially sediment but after that you get pretty clear beer).

With the gas sorted I would then buy the adapter when you have a spare $20. Same with the reg and keg, buy one when you can.

If you wait to have a few hundred to get into kegging then you probably never will. When you have one you can keg and bottle, eventually upgrading to a 2nd, 3rd keg. After a while you will then want to move onto a bigger CO2 setup using mykegonlegs or similar. Then you can sell the bottles, sodastream adapter, etc and you won't look back.

 

[Diesel80]

Then you can sell the bottles, sodastream adapter, etc and you won't look back.

Or keep them for a party keg setup!

Cheers,
D80

 

[NikZak]

I don't know about kegging quite yet. I have no problem with bottling and I feel like the beer tastes better especially after letting it condition for longer than kegs would ordinarily allow

Got me a good bunch of bottles now, including a NT/Darwin stubby which is cool, as well as a capper and some crown tops to get me going, will post some photos of the new loot tonight when I get home

 

[Diesel80]

FYI, Beer in a keg conditions much faster than in a bottle. If you can keep you hands off the tap that is.

7 days in keg, cold @ serving pressure will carbonate the beer as well as perform a cold crash to settle out floaties etc. It will therefore clear your beer and carbonate it. That is a win / win no?
Leave it another week on top of that and it is very good. Another two weeks and it is absolutely magnificent. You will pat yourself on the back, hi five imaginary people and proclaim that this keg thing is absolutely f*cking amazing. Then you will go to pour a celebratory beer from the keg to toast your awesomeness, but all you will get will be foam. Happens every, single time. It will leave you hollow, crushed and at a low point. Until that is, you swap the disconnects over to the pre-carbonated spare keg and the journey starts over.

At kegging time in a 23l batch you will need 6 stubbies for the last 2L so you will be able to keep them stored an conditioning as per current process.
Either way, glad to see you are enjoying the hobby mate. There is no right way, or wrong way to enjoy it.

Cheers,
D80

 

[Rocker1986]

What Diesel said ^^ :lol: Just learning this now but I am very new to kegging. My first two kegs have lasted about 2.5 weeks on average, and I can honestly say that both of them tasted shitloads better after about a week, than a bottled version of the same recipe does now after nearly 10 weeks in the bottle. It's quite amazing how quickly it takes them to be really good compared to bottles. Of course, by the time they got to be excellent, they blew dry. I am getting a stockpile happening now though through constant brewing, so at least they'll get more time in the keg now, and probably last less time on the taps.... :lol:

But yes, above all enjoyment of the hobby obsession is the main thing, whichever way you package the beer and also good to see another keen brewer doing just that!

 

[NikZak]

Definitely more of an obsession than a hobby as I've already discovered...

This weekend I'm planning to move operations from the Linen press as SWMBO has expressed her feelings regarding beer-smelling linen quite strongly.

Luckily I have a basement which will make for a very nice temperature over the coming warm months for brewing and conditioning bottles... Just need to build some shelving down there this weekend and get the fermenters, conditioning bottles and empties down there

 

[Alex.Tas]

Now I've got my eye on the wyeast 3068.

Love that yeast. I learnt the hard way that pitching rates matter, especially with wheat beers where much of the flavour is derived from the yeast. use a good calculator to work out your witching rates, and my advice (not that you asked for it) would be for a full flavoured wheat, is to aim for 70% of the recommended ale pitching rate.

I'm having a bit of trouble tracking down anyone who has glass bottles for free or cheap. Any hints?

Bit late, but you will run out of bottles soon enough... Recycling centre is the easiest option. Just make sure you give them a good nuking to kill any baddies lurking. Inspect for chips too. I found it is easier to source champagne style bottles if you want 750ml. The labels are harder to remove though. Turps does wonders on removing the glue. You will need a 29mm bell for the capper and 29mm crown seals too. most LHBS stock these in my experience.

 

[NikZak]

I've been thinking of starting to collect champagne bottles because SWMBO likes a bit of bubbly every now and then but wasn't sure if I could get a bell or caps. Now that I know I'll start collecting

 

[eMPTy]

I've been thinking of starting to collect champagne bottles because SWMBO likes a bit of bubbly every now and then but wasn't sure if I could get a bell or caps. Now that I know I'll start collecting

I've recently started using champagne bottles, and I am loving them. Great for putting down beers to age for a significant period too.

Tirage bell and caps aren't all that pricey.

 

[NikZak]

I've recently started using champagne bottles, and I am loving them. Great for putting down beers to age for a significant period too.

Tirage bell and caps aren't all that pricey.

Ah of course, that's what those buggers are called! Have been searching for 29mm bell cap and finding very little locally, a quick search for tirage and bang, found them. That's all I really needed for my capper (which I recently purchased)

Will be using it for the first time this weekend hopefully to bottle the Julebryg up and get it down in the almost built BrewCave (building it this weekend)

I have a basement in my house that keeps a constant 17 degrees where I'll be moving my brewhouse to as soon as I get some shelving built in there. Will be starting tonight when I get home from work as long as the minister of activities doesn't have anything planned

 

[NikZak]

That's right I forgot to post pictures of my loot...

One Darwin stubby which will get a dose of Julebryg this weekend for Christmas dinner and a case of longnecks, all free from an ex homebrewer for which I am very grateful

 

[NikZak]

I know it's not amazing but here's the first part of my new brew cave. Might need to use heat belts for Ale brews but the first brew going down here in the basement is using lager yeast so the constant underground temperature of 13-15 degrees (still haven't got a thermometer down there just guessing, either way it's certainly colder than 16 degrees) is perfect for this yeast

Built the bench from old pallets and an offcut from a kitchen bench from the cabinet makers next door to work and it's strong and sturdy which will be perfect to have 3, maybe even 4, fermenters sitting on it at once. It's high enough to store cases of longnecks beneath it easily but be low enough to work on the fermenters above. Now I need to build some shelving although I might just adapt the TV unit in the basement to hold all my gear

 

[Nizmoose]

Humble beginnings! It will be funny for you to look back on that photo in two years time when you see the slippery slope you've come down

 

[NikZak]

I completely expect that with the strength and sturdidity (sturdiness perhaps, but I like making up words) of that bench that it will still exist in many more than 2 years from now

These are humble beginnings, but yes this is already a slippery slope, I'm finding myself on my ass a number of times after having had a couple of my brews

 

[NikZak]

Well folks, been a while since an update but here goes

The beer in the picture further up which is my first brew in the BrewCave is still fermenting away nicely after more than 2 weeks. Being a lager and being kept at 15 degrees I was expecting it to go a while but wasn't expecting it to go this long, but that's ok as it's a big beer and the more time it takes, the better as far as I'm concerned

Speaking of leaving beers a long time, a week ago I taste and SG tested the toucan of Draught I put down and it was still sweet so I've left it longer and will be testing it again tonight after work with the view of bottling it. All krausen has dropped away with just a couple of bubbles on the surface and it's looking very clear through the lid of the FV so I'm sure it's ready

Other than that, will probably get another brew down this weekend in the soon to be empty FV, not sure yet what to go with but thinking to keep it simple with a can of Thomas Coopers Pilsener and a kilo of BE2 because I've realised that to this day I've yet to make a single batch of beer the way the manufacturer recommends

 

[Nizmoose]

All krausen has dropped away with just a couple of bubbles on the surface and it's looking very clear through the lid of the FV so I'm sure it's ready

Without being too critical this set off alarm bells as I know when starting out its very tempting to look at many different signs to determine how fermentation is going but the truth is you only need one: Specific Gravity. Clarity, bubbles, airlocks should all be ignored when deciding if a beer is ready. Take an SG reading three days in a row and if it is stable your beer is finished. don't play the guessing game if bottling

 

[NikZak]

Oh, this is as finished as it'll ever be.

It was pitched onto a yeast cake and has been sitting for 3 weeks at 18-20 degrees... if it's not finished, it's going down the drain.

I expect the FG will be below 1.010 to be honest, it was at 1.012 a week ago

 

[NikZak]

Well the toucan finished at 1.009 which is as finished as it's ever going to get being in primary for 3 weeks at 22 degrees so it's now bottled. Mostly into pet bottles but I put two longnecks away for a good 6 month condition. Tastes like Carlton Draught out of the fermenter so I'm hoping it won't end up too bad. A bit of Cascade hop residue in the trub probably contributed to that as it was pitched onto a previous cake.

Now have the Tsar's Tar hopefully getting close to finished. It's currently at 1.013 but still bubbling away about once every 6 seconds so it's going to be allowed to keep going. Considering it started at an OG of 1.077 it was always going to be a big beer but it's been in primary for about 2 weeks now. I'll let it go as long as it needs

Just got another brew into one of the spare FV's but nothing special this time. Thomas Cooper's Pilsener using the kit yeast (which is a Pilsener yeast) and have it down in the BrewCave which sits at a permanent 15 degrees so it'll ferment really cleanly down there. Pitched the rehydrated yeast at 22 degrees and I'll let it come down on its own to brew temperature of 15-16 degrees like the Tsar's Tar next to it.

We have in the photo below the Pilsener on the left which hasn't started fermenting yet (pitched 20 min ago) and the Tsar's Tar on the right

 

[NikZak]

Well, checked the Tsar's Tar yesterday and it had gone down to 1.010 so it'll be getting close, I'm expecting it'll probably finish around the 1.006-1.008 mark or so which should give a pre-bottling ABV of around 9.4-9.0%. I'm hoping it gets to about the 1.006 at least which would put it exactly in line with what Cooper's suggest this beer should finish at

Initial taste tests from gravity readings are showing this to be a very tasty beer which I'll be looking forward to giving a good number of weeks to condition and develop. Definitely looking forward to this one.

Also put down a small but big Imperial Amber Ale as well yesterday in a moment of boredom. I had the Cooper's Craft Beer FV sitting around idle as I forgot to get some more apple juice to put cider in it (Also I now have a large amount of cider waiting to be drunk anyway) made from the Bewitched Amber Ale, a pouch of Smooth unhopped liquid malt extract and a pouch of Golden unhopped liquid malt extract. Should give me an amber ale with an ABV of about 8.5% ABV according to initial calculations but we'll see what it finishes

Stay tuned folks, more to come soon

 

[ajg]

how are you making you ciders?

 

[NikZak]

Apple juice and yeast in a fermenter, it's as easy as that. I'm using EC-1118 for yeast and Aldi apple juice

 

[Rocker1986]

15 is a little on the high side for a Pilsner fermentation, which will probably be more like 17 by the time the yeast get going and start producing their own heat. Only time will tell how clean it ends up being, obviously how you perceive it is the only thing that really matters. B)

FWIW all my pilsners are fermented at 10oC for the first week then allowed to rise to 18ish for another week before being crashed to 0 for two weeks, then packaged.

 

[NikZak]

15 is a little on the high side for a Pilsner fermentation, which will probably be more like 17 by the time the yeast get going and start producing their own heat. Only time will tell how clean it ends up being, obviously how you perceive it is the only thing that really matters. B)

FWIW all my pilsners are fermented at 10oC for the first week then allowed to rise to 18ish for another week before being crashed to 0 for two weeks, then packaged.

What yeast are you using to ferment so low?

Also, my house (and current budget) limits me to using the coldest area I can to brew which happens to be the basement which also has the added benefit of having the more constant temperature, not deviating more than a degree from day to day

 

[ajg]

Apple juice and yeast in a fermenter, it's as easy as that. I'm using EC-1118 for yeast and Aldi apple juice

then bottling and carbing them up? drinking them as a hard cider? or sweetening them up?

 

[Mr B]

Heh I cant believe you started in the linen cupboard when you had a basement :lol:

Looking good so far, sounds like its going well

 

[NikZak]

then bottling and carbing them up? drinking them as a hard cider? or sweetening them up?

So far I've been leaving most of it still and bottle into wine bottles to let them settle as I personally prefer my cider that way but the most recent batch I carbed half of it and bottled the rest in wine bottles

I drink it straight but the missus back sweetens with apple juice

 

[NikZak]

Heh I cant believe you started in the linen cupboard when you had a basement :lol:

Looking good so far, sounds like its going well

Initially when I started brewing the basement was full of crap and spiders and we never really went down there except to throw more crap and squash some spiders. Since I started brewing a few months ago I always had the intention of moving down there and have been clearing the crap and bombing the bugs. Temperature down there is perfect all year round as it's actually underground not just a house on stilts or on the side of a hill

 

[Rocker1986]

What yeast are you using to ferment so low?

Also, my house (and current budget) limits me to using the coldest area I can to brew which happens to be the basement which also has the added benefit of having the more constant temperature, not deviating more than a degree from day to day

Any lager yeast (such as the yeast in the Coopers pilsner kit) will be able to ferment that low and generally produce better results by doing so. I'm using Wyeast 2001 Urquell Lager yeast at the moment for my pils batches, they're coming out brilliant.

It's good that the basement has a constant temperature like that though and it is pretty decent for ales. Lagers are best done with a brewing fridge (luckily got mine for free because it was already here not being used) however there are strains that reportedly produce good results at the temps you have there so that is an option too. Fermentis S-189 I think is one.