Want To Move From Brew In A Can To The Next Step

[whitestuff15]

Hey there,
Ive been doing the 1.7 kg brew cans for a while now, and they have been great.
But i want to move to the next step of brewing, I was just wondering what the next step is and how i go about it.

Thanks guys

 

[jimmysuperlative]

Brew In A Bag...


...original AHB discussion here!

 

[jimmysuperlative]

whitey, it'll help if you put in your location there may be someone in your area who can get you set up ...maybe demo a BIAB for you.

 

[Yob]

Hey there,
Ive been doing the 1.7 kg brew cans for a while now, and they have been great.
But i want to move to the next step of brewing, I was just wondering what the next step is and how i go about it.

Thanks guys

Have to tried extract brewing yet? These cans are unbittered and you get the hang of boils, and adding hops for bitterness/flavour and aroma... a great and logical step from pre-bittered/flavoured (debatable) cans.

the slippery slope

:icon_cheers:

 

[Schober]

Hello,

It depends on how big you want the next step to be. I've gone to AG from doing extract with added hops and specialty grain. A lot of brew shops have 1.7 kg can of extract with some specialty grain that you add. The tiny amount of added specialty grain can really add some goodness to the beer, then there is the aroma hops... mmmm.

Cheers

 

[Amber Fluid]

I will be doing the same thing myself soon. Personally I am going to start cheap with Nick JD's stove top method to ensure this is what I want to do. I am making good beer now but want better and the added diversity of making my own. I just need to justify everything for the benefit of a better outcome then I'll probably look at getting some more equipment. (I already have the storage space)

Nick JD's stove top method


Edit: Spelling.... ps I hate this forum with Firefox!! had to go back to ie to edit.

 

[whitestuff15]

hey guys i think the brew in a bag method is the next step for me, thanks for your help, and now i have to do a bit of reading me thinks

cheers

 

[Superoo]

IOf you are choosing brew in a bag method, and if you have a reasonable budget (say a fraction over 300 bucks for a Birko 40L urn and a good quality bag from craftbrewer)...

its easier to just start your brew with ALL of the required water at the beginning, and you can easily fit a complete 23 Litre brew into the urn at the start, with no more water additiones etc.
BIAB with an elctric urn is probably the simplest way, and you can get plenty of suggestions here on the forum, for a basic run thru of your first BIAB.

let the forum know where you are, you might be able to watch a demo somewhere at another forum members place, or a brew shop.

 

[HoppingMad]

Getting into the grain? Grab a copy of John Palmer's 'How to Brew' is my advice. Or consult the online copy.

Here's the bit on stove-top brewing that may assist you in his book.
John Palmer How To Brew

The print version has pics not just diagrams that can assist - doesn't really cover BIAB specifically but the principles you'll apply are much the same.

All the best with your journey to the dark side! h34r:

Hopper

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Both Amberfluid and whitey15, congrats on jumping the next step.

I personally, had AHB been around, would have gone straight from k&K to AG and skipped extract. I learned nothing about hops (even though I had to hop my own beers) that I wouldn't have learned (and did learn better) doing AG. Anyone who says that you must take that step, has either never done AG or has an IQ of 20 and was unable to follow NickJD's instructions. I've taken that extra step, and I can say from experience that it adds very little to your brewing abilities. It's like training wheels - some need it, some don't. I don't judge anyone who does need it, but I do think that it isn't necessary, especially given AHB is around.

Now for the caveats. AG takes a lot longer than either K&K or extract. Extract brewing is a massive jump in quality from K&K, without a massive jump in time. AG is another massive jump in quality (and flexibility of ingredients) again, and takes a bucketload longer in time. The stovetop method is the extreme of even AG, time wise. You must be prepared to invest the time.

I've since invested in an esky mash tun, and it does marginally make things quicker, but I probably would never have bought it and bought either an urn or a 50L pot. As it stands, I've gone back to using 2 x 19L big w pots to make a normal size batch, because my dodgy DIY skills have not resulted in a fantastic esky mash tun and I'm not yet able to purchase a larger pot or an urn.

Other caveat: doing 9L batches (and the amount of time invested) gets frustrating, very quickly. Having said that, your skill level from the repetition will get better.

Finally, BribieG has proven that you can make award winning beers (which he's done many times), without shelling out much for equipment. Any advice he gives is gold. Many view BIAB as a step to be taken (and inferior to other AG methods), but Bribie's view is that it is another form of AG brewing, that sits alongside (and not below) 2V/3V AG brewing. I'm inclined to agree with him.

Good luck, it'll all be good. Remember sanitation, research lots, do the stovetop method and then go back to the theory and it will all start to fall in place.

Goomba

 

[cpsmusic]

If you're in Melbourne it would be worthwhile going to one of the G&G demos. I think there's a "system shootout" coming up which includes BIAB. You'll also see other approaches.

 

[cpsmusic]

Not sure if this is mentioned in the previous links, but the method I use is very simple and requires minimal equipment. The results have been good too!

I use an esky for mashing, siphon the contents into the boil pot and boil on a stovetop.

 

[JulieRush]

some top advice in here and it's great you're looking to progress.

I started with kit and kilo. I think I only did one of those though... the one that came with the coopers brew starter kit I was given as an xmas present. It was "ok" but thin and watery and cidery... I googled about beer and my eyes were opened to the awesomeness that is home brewing.

from there on all my subsequent brews were a can plus some other bits; some hops, some grains to steep, but mostly "brew improver" type things. I did a fair few "clones" from the lhbs for whatever took my fancy.

I finally decided to give all-grain a crack after I read Nick JD's "move to all grain for $30" thread when I was browsing one afternoon. I figured all-grain didn't look THAT hard. and I read that people were comparing extract brewing vs all-grain in the same way you'd compare instant coffee vs an authentic espresso machine. figured "what the hey" and got stuck in.

I use the BIAB method and only needed to buy a stockpot ($20 for a 19l from Big W) and a swiss voile curtain on top of the stuff I already had at home.

my third all-grain is fermenting at the moment, second is bottle conditioning for a few more days, and the first I'm trying not to finish drinking before the second is ready. I don't think I'll go back to kits. I love brew day. the smell of crushed malted grain is fantastic. the smell of boiling wort is great. I can't get enough of the smell of hops. and the sheer satisfaction of making it all myself from scratch is awesome. behold I are man. I make beer. huurgngngnggngnggg.

I'd definately recommend giving BIAB a bash, using the stovetop method. it's easy and it's accessible with minimal financial outlay. If you like what you produce, then you can look to going the whole hog. I'm still learning about grains and mashing and hops at the moment and BIAB lets me do simple small batches of beer to trial things til I find the beer I want to make.

check out this thread if you haven't already; it's the one that god me totally hooked and I think will ultimately be responsible for the ruin that is/was my liver.
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=38674

EDIT: most of the recipes in the recipe db are all sorts of quantities, but you can download some free software such as beersmith or brewmate and use them to scale the recipe to whatever quantity/batch size you want. I use BrewMate and it's very simple to use and works for me.

Darren.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

EDIT: most of the recipes in the recipe db are all sorts of quantities, but you can download some free software such as beersmith or brewmate and use them to scale the recipe to whatever quantity/batch size you want. I use BrewMate and it's very simple to use and works for me.

Darren.

Brewmate scales with ease, and has an option in the menus for dilution calcs, so if you do a higher grav beer and water down, you can calculate and play with the colour, OG and IBU figures to get the right beer.

I forgot to mention - the equipment outlay for BIAB is fairly minimal. It is accessible.

Goomba