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Jul 23, 2012 19:30:00 GMT
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...The key is to not introduce oxygen when syphoning to FV2 otherwise you run the risk of introducing an infection or killing the yeast too early. This is why I avoid opening, sniffing, gravity testing or transferring unless I feel I have to.. I just use one of those syphoning sticks with a cup on the bottom to avoid picking up the sediment. I normally do OK as long as I don't slip! Wines tend to get racked once and beers and ciders not at all. I used to rack cider but it doesn't seem to suffer for being sat on the yeast for a few weeks. Thanks for sharing your reasonings/methods
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring.
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It's October. That means it's practically time for the annual seasonal gifting, eating and drinking day. I've gone for a warm, heavy, dark stout that got put on last night. One of these a bag of this And half a kilo of brewing sugar. I've made it up to about 21 litres (should be 23) for a bit of extra body and that's a couple hundred grams more sugar, and darker spraymalt than recommended on the recipe. It was bubbling away quite happily within a couple hours in the bottom of my wardrobe. It can apparently get a bit 'lively'. I'll post pics of my results in a couple weeks
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring.
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When I was googling for a pic of the Coopers Irish Stout beer kit earlier, I spotted a couple pictures people having problems with a rather violent initial fermentation. I got home and had a quick goosy and was entirely unsurprised to find this.. I've cleaned the airlock up and hopefully it'll settle down a bit now...
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring.
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Wotcha Ben, buy yourself a large cat litter tray to put your FV in. They're cheap as chips and if you have a violent fermentation you won't have to worry about eau-de-homebrew-carpet! I'm currently supping the brew I did back in July and it's my best one yet. Going to buy a boiler next and progress to Malt Extract Brewing, can't wait.
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Oct 22, 2012 19:00:55 GMT
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Thanks Dave. I normally put it on a tray but didn't really think about it. Carpet was fine but it was a crazy initial fermentation. The yeasty trub that was left over after bottling was the nastiest I've had so far from a kit! 2 weeks and 6 days from start to bottle, and I've impatiently opened one just a day later because I'm thirsty . Really happy with it. It's obviously young and not got a head on it because it needs a week or 3 tto condition but I'm chuffed with the flavour. It would be unfair to compare it to a commercial stout at this stage but it should mature into something comparable. I'd love to progress to extract and eventualy AG brewing but I need to do a lot of reading before I start that
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring.
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That stout ended up lovely. I've kept a quarter of the batch back for christmas. Since then I've made (and drunk most of) this IPA. Considering it's a fairly budget kit, the quality is really good and the fact it's 2.1kg of extract rather than 1.5-1.7 is nice. Really, really happy with it ;D Also had a go at one of the new Wilko range kits but I'm not holding out much hope. I have a feeling they're cheap for a reason but I only bottled the 'Sweet Newkie Brown' yesterday so I stand to be corrected. Tonight I took another step on with kit brewing. I compiled some bits Warmed up the tin Then got took a look at this. I've never used hops before. Looks like something you'd put in a jazz cigarette Then I boiled an ounce of them for 20 minutes or so. They smell like a cross between stewed tea and the worst jazz cigarette ingredients you purchased as a teenager from a guy at college.. Boiling to add at them beginning of the fermentation adds bitterness, and dry hopping later on will add flavour and aroma you think of when you think of a hoppy beer. I'm doing both. I didn't get pics of the rest as I made an of it by dropping some of the hops in the wort, forgot to add the sugar and DME until after I had added most of the water... Nevermind, all should be fine now.
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring.
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Midas
Part of things
Posts: 505
Club RR Member Number: 14
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***Home Brew Thread***Midas
@midas
Club Retro Rides Member 14
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I can't believe I only just found this thread!
I've been brewing for a few months now after wanting to do it for ages. I started with Tom Caxton Real Ale kit which went well but was only just starting to taste right by the time I finished drinking it.
Since then I've got a Turbo cider down that has done really well, a coffee wine, a mead, some Ginger Beer from my own plant and a couple of cider kits that I haven't been impressed with, hence I've just racked 5gall of Turbo Cider made from Lidls finest Apple Juice
On the beer side I've got a Wherry on the go that has suffered from my pressure barrel losing pressure and a Festival London Porter which tastes fantastic despite still being very green. If anyone has been holding back on having a go at a Festival kit due to the price, don't. They are worth it.
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Dec 13, 2012 17:02:48 GMT
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having ago at this myself after reading the thread here's the result so far: foam/head getting close to air vent now and looks a little dark for cider 1st attempt though about a day in
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Midas
Part of things
Posts: 505
Club RR Member Number: 14
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***Home Brew Thread***Midas
@midas
Club Retro Rides Member 14
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Dec 18, 2012 19:15:27 GMT
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It's probably bright orange now isn't it?
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Dec 21, 2012 16:42:53 GMT
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It's probably bright orange now isn't it? yeh definatly lol 9th day and its still bubbling well any rough guesses as to how long it will take to clear or be ready? update: just tasted a bit and its not foul, tastes zingy its not dry abit apply and def tell it has alchol content UPDATE: well its finished so racked it of tasted it and ive ended up with a dry white wine hmmm, very drinkable though, next experiment is on, 2 ltrs of apple juice 1 ltr of cranberry 1 ltr of orange juice,
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Last Edit: Jan 2, 2013 18:03:18 GMT by Deleted
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Oh dear. I appear to have dipped my toes into the world of all grain brewing. I say dipped my toes, more dived in head first and made an almighty splash (in my kitchen..) I had intended on documenting my first AG BIAB (Brew In a Bag) but it frankly went so horrendously wrong that I didn't think to stop to take pics... Top tips- When measuring your grain out, don't underestimate the sheer volume of 4 kilos of crushed malted barley. When lining your boiler with a makeshift bag made of net curtain, ensure enough overhang that it doesn't pull itself in and cause grain to fall out into your water Also bear in mind that the pointy hop filter attached to the tap is likely to rip the bag causing more grain to fall out. When pouring the hot liquor between boiler and bucket via a sieve to remove all the grain that fell out of the bag from ignoring the last top tip, don't drop the sieve in the bucket at the end When transferring back to the boiler (via a bigger sieve!), make sure that the tap on the boiler is closed. Figure out how you're going to safely cool it before you're stood with 17 (would have been 20 if it wasn't for all of my losses to grain and open taps!) litres of 90 celcius sugary liquid in front of you that you need to get into your bucket. Despite all that, and me not adjusting my hop bill for the losses (going to be a proper bitter, hoppy IPA rather than the pale ale I had planned..), I hit my estimated OG and increased on it by about 6 points ;D EDIT: I allowed it to cool overnight and pitched the yeast about 7AM this morning. When I got home from work it had developed a nice big thick krausen. My first ever proper beer is actually turning to beer. Excellent! Will photograph the process once I've listened to my own top tips
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Last Edit: Feb 7, 2013 19:54:58 GMT by ben711200
...proper medallion man chest wig motoring.
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Decided to have a bash again straight away, avoiding most of my previous mistakes Here's my boiler. It's a 32 litre Brupaks 'Wort Boiling Pan'. A stockpot with a ball valve and hop filter. And here is what I've used to hold the bag off of the bottom and filter. It's one of those racks that nobody ever uses in their microwave with the legs bent out to locate it centrally. Simple and free as it was already in the back of the cupboard Net curtain in. The good lady has agreed to make me a proper bag which will make things easier in the future. 27ish litres of water in and hob turned up to its hottest setting to get up to mash temp Whilst waiting for the water to heat up, I measured out my grains and hops 4.something kilos of pale malt. No speciality malts in this one as it's a very basic pale ale. 3 additions of 2 different hops. Traffic light cups so I know what order to add them Grain in for the mash and power off. Covered it all up to insulate it, woke the boy up from his nap and went shopping at this point. Got home 90 mins later which is perfect. Realised I needed my bucket ready so gave it a quick clean, fitted the tap and put water in the bottom to check that it didn't leak Lack of leaks confirmed, water drained and massive PVC gauntlets donned, the bag was pulled, squeezed and left to drain over the bucket so that any extra that falls out can be put into the boil. Beginning of boil with first hop addition And toward the end of the 60 minute boil After the boil, everything must be sterile. I've discovered Star San, which is simply amazing. It's a no rinse santiser that works out really cheap as you can just spray enough to cover the surface of whatever needs to be sanitised as long it's already clean. Unfortunately, I don't have a wort chiller yet so had to 'slow-chill' by leaving it overnight, which is fine, but you can lose a lot of hop aroma so I have saved some back for a dry addition during fermentation. After running the wort into the FV, the yeast was pitched this morning (Danstar Nottingham) and after a few hours there is a 1" krausen so it's kicked off really well. I'll update in a couple weeks..
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Last Edit: Feb 9, 2013 17:54:53 GMT by ben711200
...proper medallion man chest wig motoring.
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Hey ben711200, congrats on popping your AG cherry. Don't get too hung up on the slip-ups, the main thing is you gave it a go and from the look of the photos above, you've done a cracking job considering it's AG#1. now leave that lid alone and start planning the next brew I kegged a St Peter's Golden Ale on Saturday morning then promptly cleaned and sterilised to start a second Woodfordes Wherry. That's it now for my store of liquid malt extract kits, it's now over to partial extract brewing with DME (dry malt extract), grains and hops.
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Feb 13, 2013 16:21:10 GMT
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This is a thread for me! I do extract or mini-mash, since I don't have the energy to build an HLT or a mash tun, nor the time for an all-grain brewday. These methods I can do in an evening, which suits me. I'm about to get a new boiler, very much like the one above (I've been boiling in a 15 litre stockpot, which is less than idea), and when that arrives, I'll kick off some brewing ready for the summer.
The only things on the go at present are fruit juice wines, one which is 50/50 pineapple and red grape, another from 3 cartons of passion fruit drink and one of red grape, and a cider made with apple and raspberry juice drink. I do also have a blueberry port on the go made from real fruit. I made a blackberry port nearly 2 years ago which was very promising when I bottled it last year, and will be ready to try in the summer.
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Feb 13, 2013 19:56:07 GMT
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Thanks Daver555- I knew for a fact I wouldn't understand what was meant to be doing without having a go and that I'd make some very silly mistakes. I made absolutely loads! I mashed way too high on both my attempts so I've got 8 gallons of beer stuck at 1.020 at the moment. It's hopped enough that it should still be savable and it'll have good body but it's far too sweet really. Beta is the nice fermentable stuff, Alpha is less so. I mashed at right on the top edge of the beta box. Still, live and learn for next time. Have also made an immersion chiller now, so I will be able to pitch within an hour or so of end of boil, have much clearer wort due to the cold break, and retain more hop flavour. It's a bit of a learning curve Samwise, BIAB doesn't require a separate HLT or MT and takes far, far less time than a traditional 3V AG brewday. Got to be worth considering if you fancy lowish effort AG? EDIT- I'm speaking in acronyms and abbreviations, apologies- 1.020 is in reference to specific gravity, which is how you calculate alcoholic content. You'd expect a beer to finish at around 1.010 HLT- Hot Liquor Tank. A bucket of hot water MT- Mash Tun. Where you soak your grains in hot water to convert the starch in fermentable sugar. 3V AG- Three Vessel All Grain, using Boiler, hot liquor tank and mash tun BIAB- Brew In A Bag, everything done in one container, like I posted above.
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Last Edit: Feb 13, 2013 20:01:14 GMT by ben711200
...proper medallion man chest wig motoring.
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I have a BIAB bag, and I've done one proper partial mash in it, but never a full one. TBH, I'm pretty happy with my extract approach for most things; steeping the speciality grains seems to do the job for me. The partial mash I did was with rauchsmalt, which can't be steeped. My new 33 litre boiler, which arrived yesterday, at least gives me the potential to do full BIAB whereas the old stocpot really didn't.
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Last Edit: Feb 14, 2013 8:23:18 GMT by samwise
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Feb 15, 2013 22:39:31 GMT
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Great thread and good to see all grain brewing making an appearance. I love a brew and in 2011 sold a motorbike and spent it all on a brewery! Having had no brewing experience made this jumping in at the deep end I wanted to buy the right kit once and brew fantastic hoppy beer to enjoy and learn the craft, rather than just make drinking more affordable. The kit makes 50 litres or 100 bottles of beer. My girlfriend and I have made some right hoppy bastards, pale, brown, porters, stouts and entered a couple of competitions over the years. Andrea's just done our 23rd brew and bottled tonight If you'd like to know any more, just ask. See my site at www.BlackHenBrewery.co.uk There's a great forum at www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.phpMore pics www.flickr.com/photos/goosegog/sets/72157625864000549/
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Feb 15, 2013 22:42:43 GMT
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One of our first beers. So satisfying to share with friends
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Feb 15, 2013 23:35:02 GMT
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A future project for here might be a kegerator. Also, another forum that I like even more than the excellent Jim's Beer Kit is here: www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/
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Feb 15, 2013 23:46:09 GMT
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A caskerator is in the pipeline! I love cask ale and plan to buy a 4.5G cask at some point. I don't like the CO fizz which seems to come from using cornelius kegs, from what I've sampled anyway
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