mosto
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 10/1/12
- Messages
- 609
- Reaction score
- 153
I've searched AHB and the net in general but haven't find any real consensus on this, so I thought I'd start a thread.
I've come up with a process for my brewing which ties in well with the limitations of my equipment, and I'm happy with the resulting beer, but a bit I've read lately has me wondering are there flaws in my process, particularly around my yeast starter.
I BIAB in a 38ish litre crab cooker. I don't insulate it, rather I plug it into a STC and put the probe in the mash. This seems to work ok as the temp varies only a degree or so either side of my targeted mash temp. I happy with this setup but thought I'd put it in to see if anyone can see any massive problems with it.
I aim for 20L into the fermenter, which is a 20L water jerry from Bunnings. I like these as I can fit two side by side in my ferm fridge.
I no chill and use the 15L cubes (actual cube shaped) water drums from Bunnings. Filled to the brim I get 17-18L in there. The remaining couple of litres I draw off and use for a starter. I put the starter on my stir plate as soon as it's cool enough to pitch. It usually takes a couple of days to reach high krausen (it isn't a very vigorous stir), then I pitch the whole starter into the wort and put into the ferm fridge. By pitching the whole starter I get back up to my 20L volume which is a perfect batch size for me as I keg.
My main query is am I risking oxidization with my starter? I've never picked up any of the flavours described as oxidization in my beer, but I have only been using this process for 2-3 brews.
Any constructive input would be appreciated.
I've come up with a process for my brewing which ties in well with the limitations of my equipment, and I'm happy with the resulting beer, but a bit I've read lately has me wondering are there flaws in my process, particularly around my yeast starter.
I BIAB in a 38ish litre crab cooker. I don't insulate it, rather I plug it into a STC and put the probe in the mash. This seems to work ok as the temp varies only a degree or so either side of my targeted mash temp. I happy with this setup but thought I'd put it in to see if anyone can see any massive problems with it.
I aim for 20L into the fermenter, which is a 20L water jerry from Bunnings. I like these as I can fit two side by side in my ferm fridge.
I no chill and use the 15L cubes (actual cube shaped) water drums from Bunnings. Filled to the brim I get 17-18L in there. The remaining couple of litres I draw off and use for a starter. I put the starter on my stir plate as soon as it's cool enough to pitch. It usually takes a couple of days to reach high krausen (it isn't a very vigorous stir), then I pitch the whole starter into the wort and put into the ferm fridge. By pitching the whole starter I get back up to my 20L volume which is a perfect batch size for me as I keg.
My main query is am I risking oxidization with my starter? I've never picked up any of the flavours described as oxidization in my beer, but I have only been using this process for 2-3 brews.
Any constructive input would be appreciated.