Punkin's Allgrain Brewery

[lickapop]

Nice work once again punkin.

Like all your hobbies, you dont **** around and do things in halves

I ge the whole simple thing. Its not rocket surgery

 

[Mattress]

I ge the whole simple thing. Its not rocket surgery

Is that like when you perform open heart science on someone? :unsure:

 

[lickapop]

exactly

 

[MarkBastard]

I want your brewery!

I don't have the space for it but I keep thinking about it.

I'd be able to make probably 3 quad batches and have it last me all year, with a few 20L batches thrown in for variety.

 

[spudfarmerboy]

Most IT people I know tend to be fairly handy with other things. I don't get where that perception comes from to be honest.

My perception comes from personel experience and observations in my work and private life.

 

[MarkBastard]

You're from the country yeah? Do you know any IT guys or just the local dial-a-nerd?

 

[spudfarmerboy]

You're from the country yeah? Do you know any IT guys or just the local dial-a-nerd?

Know a few through my business and also through IBM that have a big presence in Ballarat. I do electronic work and electrical installations for various companies and deal with some IT guys and electrical engineers. I also do plenty of work in Melbourne and Bendigo. Before that, worked in London doing the same thing. Have met plenty of IT guys in different industries.

 

[MarkBastard]

Fair enough.

I find in office environments the IT guy is more likely to be 'handy' than other white collar workers.

 

[Jazzafish]

Hi Punkin,

Nice set up mate!

Suggestion: Use your pump to recirculate and transfer to kettle. You can keep track of you volumes with a dip stick. That said if your happy, leave it alone.

Question: What ferment temperature control do you have for a 90 odd litre ferment and does it work well for you?

 

[punkin]

Hi Punkin,

Nice set up mate!

Suggestion: Use your pump to recirculate and transfer to kettle. You can keep track of you volumes with a dip stick. That said if your happy, leave it alone.

Question: What ferment temperature control do you have for a 90 odd litre ferment and does it work well for you?

Sorry, thought i'd answered this question earlier. I have no temp control other than having the fermenter in the house which is airconditioned in the summer and the fermenter is kept constant with an electric blanket during the winter. I can't justify the expense of running an extra fridge for fermentation control.

 

[drsmurto]

Sorry, thought i'd answered this question earlier. I have no temp control other than having the fermenter in the house which is airconditioned in the summer and the fermenter is kept constant with an electric blanket during the winter. I can't justify the expense of running an extra fridge for fermentation control.

A fridge running at ferment temperatures wont cost a fraction of one that is running at normal fridge temperatures (4C).

Temperature control is one of the most important parts of brewing and the larger the volume the more important it becomes.

 

[MaltyHops]

A fridge running at ferment temperatures wont cost a fraction of one that is running at
normal fridge temperatures (4C).
Temperature control is one of the most important parts of brewing and the larger the
volume the more important it becomes.

Very much so - once down to the right temperature, my ferment fridge
might switch on for one minute and then off for the next half hour or so,
as it is indoors so temperature difference is not that much, less than it
would be if in a hot shed. A good seal of the fridge needs to be maintained
though - see this post.

And when not used for brewing, the fridge is powered off.

T.

 

[Jazzafish]

A fridge running at ferment temperatures wont cost a fraction of one that is running at normal fridge temperatures (4C).

Temperature control is one of the most important parts of brewing and the larger the volume the more important it becomes.

Couldn't agree more. Within reason, it is the ferment that makes all the difference to beer quality, above and beyond comparing AG to Extract brewing.

Punkin,

inbox/pm/email petesbrew, he took part in power supply companies research on fridge running costs where they measured power consumption for "x" months and put a price tag on it. He put it on his ferment fridge from memory. I'll be wrong if I try to quote the actual dollar/ kw/hrs, but it was rather cheap. Especially if you get a free fridge from the side of the road. The larger the volume of the ferment, the greater the need to cool it. You seem pretty happy with your beer as it is, which is awesome... but put it to you that you'll notice the difference if you control your ferment... especially in the hotter months.

 

[punkin]

I understand the issue. I just can't do it.



I only got the keezer passed by turning off both my keg fridge and the bar fridge that was next to it.



I know the advice is well meaning, but i'm unable to do it.

 

[Aces High]

I understand the issue. I just can't do it.



I only got the keezer passed by turning off both my keg fridge and the bar fridge that was next to it.



I know the advice is well meaning, but i'm unable to do it.

Ah the minister of finance... I'm sure we've all come up against her once or twice in this hobby :unsure:

 

[drsmurto]

I understand the issue. I just can't do it.



I only got the keezer passed by turning off both my keg fridge and the bar fridge that was next to it.



I know the advice is well meaning, but i'm unable to do it.

What temperature do you ferment at? You said room temperature but do you actually know the temperature of the wort?

 

[benno1973]

I understand the issue. I just can't do it.

I only got the keezer passed by turning off both my keg fridge and the bar fridge that was next to it.

I know the advice is well meaning, but i'm unable to do it.

To throw some more well meaning advice your way...

Maybe buy a $20 power meter from Bunnings. They measure power usage from a single power point, which is how I managed to convince my wife that the fermenting fridge barely even turned on. I think we measured it as using around 2-3kWh (40-60c) per week or something ridiculous like that. Given that I only ferment 1 in 3 weeks, that's about $8 running costs/year.

Then measure something else, like a computer, tivo, television etc for a week to provide some benchmark. You'd be surprised what a computer draws and how much they cost to run, and some people leave them sitting running for most of a day when they don't use them. Even on standby or in hibernate, they are drawing power to power usb, network cards, etc.

I feel your pain - my wife and I are both power misers. And maybe there's just no floating it past the missus, but I've always talked up temperature control when fermenting.

Still, perhaps you haven't noticed a difference in your beers since turning off your fermenting fridge?

 

[punkin]

What temperature do you ferment at? You said room temperature but do you actually know the temperature of the wort?

My current ferment (your golden recipe tweaked with rye and centennial/cascade) is sitting at 22.2C atm. I'm well aware that as summer progresses and during early ferment stages this temp will increase.

Even if there's 4 pages of well meaning advice i'll still be unable to maintain ferment temps. Not with ice blocks, not with towels and fans and not with refridgeration.



The logistics of getting 100 odd kilos into a fridge and then into kegs is enough to give me a migraine as well.

 

[Phoney]

You could split it into multiple jerry cans, they fit side by side in fridges.

 

[Cocko]

FFS!

He obviously is happy with his ferment techniques and started this thread for an entirely different reason than to bring post after post about how he can control his fermentation stage...

Sorry, but really, do we actually read the threads anymore?