ok, tomorrow is brew day, and i really really dont wanna f*%k it up. i have a can of black rock dry larger k&k LME and all the other shyte to go with it (1kg dextrose, etc), so i have all the gear, just no idea. i have bolded the main queries i have, but if anybody wants to critique my proposed method, it would be much appreciated...
the kit comes with the dry enzyme which will make the beer low carb, which i dont give 2 craps about, but my brew partner is a bodybuilder and is worried about his figure (yeah, i laughed also), but after i heard that this will raise the alcohol %, i agreed (dont hate me, i am i uni student, i would drink just about anything containing alcohol). after reading around, i plan to use this pre-boil, then boil the little buggers before they kill off too many of my complex carbs, so there is a balance between low carb and flavour.
my brew plan is as follows:
- spend a long time cleaning, sanitising with sodium met, then rinsing like buggery
- boil about 12L of water in brew pot (19L capacity), using this as a final sanitise for some equipment, then put (read: splash lots) into fermenter to cool
- rehydrate yeast as per HTB
- put another 8L (too little? should i do 9 to account for evaporation?) into brewpot and raise temp to around 60ish degrees C
- warm the LME can then dissolve into warm water
- add the 1kg dextrose (is this the right time to do this?)
- mix in dry enzyme, cover and leave for around 30 mins to let the enzymes do the work
- bring pot to boil
this is where i lost it... should i boil for th full 60 mins as it says in HTB, even though i am not adding hops (the kit is hopped, once again, dont hate me, its my first day...) or should i boil for less...
- (back on track around here), after boil of indefinite time period (see above), cool quickly in tub of water with bags of servo ice in (dipping covered pot in)
- when cooled wort is around 25ish degrees, splash into fermenter
- add (read: splash) rehydrated and proofed yeast
- seal, add boiled water to airlock
- stick in previously mentioned tub of iced water with old towels wrapped around fermenter and place in cool (...ish, this is brissy) place, continuously putting frozen milk bottles in water and changing water every few days (being careful not to disturb fermenter too much when moving (and unsealing airlock first and covering hole with glad wrap)
- try to maintain around 18 (realistically, 22) degrees fermenter temp
- after 3 (or 4) consecutive days of a solid SG reading, bottle
- use 1 brewcraft carbonation drop per stubbie
- cap (duh)
- leave for 2 weeks minimum before trying first bottle.
cheers fellas
Lobsta
Yea Lobsta,
Yes listen to the other quotes, KISS ... Keep It SIMPLE SILLY.
That is the way to start... Ya havta crawl before ya walk ..BUT Stick to clean habits & keep the temp down , & enjoy the beer . Regards Cowboy
