The Homebrew Thread

[Frank_Grimes]

I've been pretty busy but haven't posted here for some reason. On the weekend I kegged an APA and an amber ale. Need to pitch yeast on the vienna APA and an American blonde I made so I can clear up my cubes and brew again. My production has been outpacing my drinking (which is a rarity) and I love it.

Thinking about doing another cream ale and perhaps a lager down the track, really interested in trying to make some delicate styles to see how I'm doing technically.

The American wheat got 31/50 at the comp, in the bottom end of "very good" a few of the comments were along the lines of "not hoppy enough" even though the style guide says hoppiness should be low to moderate. Anyway I wanted it hoppier anyway so I'd enjoy drinking it more so I keg hopped with 25g centennial - Bang! Massive improvement within 24 hours, will leave the hops in til the keg kicks.

Great feedback even though it seems a little odd. I'd be confident in my brewing technique if the only feedback was around lack of hoppiness and not around the actual body and flavour.

Did you throw the hops in the keg whole? Or in a bag/tea ball?

I dry-hopped Freezer Burn on Saturday and it smells incredible right now but with just over 200gm of hops it probably should. I had a little taste too and the citra is coming through strongly. Really looking forward to getting this on tap but I need to free one up. Will cold crash it on Friday and let it condition until a keg kicks.

 

[TiggaPlease]

Great feedback even though it seems a little odd. I'd be confident in my brewing technique if the only feedback was around lack of hoppiness and not around the actual body and flavour.

Did you throw the hops in the keg whole? Or in a bag/tea ball?

I dry-hopped Freezer Burn on Saturday and it smells incredible right now but with just over 200gm of hops it probably should. I had a little taste too and the citra is coming through strongly. Really looking forward to getting this on tap but I need to free one up. Will cold crash it on Friday and let it condition until a keg kicks.

I use these: https://www.bunnings.com.au/uni-pro-4l-paint-strainer-bag-3-pack_p1661268 I just use a zip tie to close tightly, leaving tonnes of room for expansion. Once the keg kicks I just cut the zip tie off, empty hops in to the bin and chuck the bag into the wash.

Looking forward to hearing how your freezer burn turns out, I bet it will be a ripper. You'd better get drinking so you can get it on tap asap!

 

[Frank_Grimes]

I use these: https://www.bunnings.com.au/uni-pro-4l-paint-strainer-bag-3-pack_p1661268 I just use a zip tie to close tightly, leaving tonnes of room for expansion. Once the keg kicks I just cut the zip tie off, empty hops in to the bin and chuck the bag into the wash.

Haha - I use the exact same thing. In fact one of them is floating around in the Freezer Burn right now.

Looking forward to hearing how your freezer burn turns out, I bet it will be a ripper. You'd better get drinking so you can get it on tap asap!

Yep - I reckon the Balter XPA clone will go first. It seems to be most popular at my place right now.

 

[TiggaPlease]

Haha - I use the exact same thing. In fact one of them is floating around in the Freezer Burn right now.



Yep - I reckon the Balter XPA clone will go first. It seems to be most popular at my place right now.

If I dry hop in the fermenter I always go commando though, I reckon cold crash gets close to 100% out of suspension.

 

[Hardcore_Fan]

Can those paint strainer bags go into boiling wort?

 

[TiggaPlease]

Can those paint strainer bags go into boiling wort?

You bet they can. I made a hop spider using the bigger ones. I don't use it anymore but it was fine in the boiling wort.

 

[TiggaPlease]

Have you guys made any of the recipes from the DIY Dog book? Just looking at the 5am Saint recipe and it has 30% crystal in it!!! That seems like an insane amount of crystal, the most I've ever put in an amber is about 13-15%. It also recommends a 75 min mash at 62 degrees but claims the FG will be 1.012.

Seems all over the shop and is putting me off trying any of their recipes.

 

[Hardcore_Fan]

Is the DIY dog the brewdog recipes? Brewdog are fantastic.

Made my blonde ale today. Pre boil volume was 26L, pre boil gravity was 1.054. End up with 26L in the fermentor and a post boil gravity of 1.046. Obviously something was up. Only thing I could think of was my immersion chiller, turns out I didn't seal it properly and there was a small leak from the hose to the chiller that was dripping into the wort.

I'll let it ride and hope for no infections.

 

[TiggaPlease]

Oh geez, I hope nothing sus happens, good luck.

Yeah it is the brewdog recipe book they released last year. Some of their recipes seem to go against regular wisdom. I'm a bit aprehensive putting 30% crystal in a beer.

 

[TiggaPlease]

My American wheat had an unsealed lid for 24 hours, it has been on the gas for 24 hours since then but it is still not right again. Hope it managed to avoid picking up anything nasty.

 

[Hardcore_Fan]

The positive is, I was aiming for a sessionable beer, the original abv would have been 5.8%, but now after the leak it will be around 4.7% which I am happy with.

I guess it all comes down to how well my yeast dominates everything else that ended up in the wort.

 

[Frank_Grimes]

Have you guys made any of the recipes from the DIY Dog book? Just looking at the 5am Saint recipe and it has 30% crystal in it!!! That seems like an insane amount of crystal, the most I've ever put in an amber is about 13-15%. It also recommends a 75 min mash at 62 degrees but claims the FG will be 1.012.

Seems all over the shop and is putting me off trying any of their recipes.

Yeah they are a bit confusing. I've mainly looked at their grain bills for the lighter beers (was going to use Punk IPA) for Freezer Burn.

Doesn't make sense at all that any yeast will finish that high at such a low mash temp.

 

[Frank_Grimes]

My American wheat had an unsealed lid for 24 hours, it has been on the gas for 24 hours since then but it is still not right again. Hope it managed to avoid picking up anything nasty.

Anything that might have got in there would have probably been killed by the alcohol. It'll be right. Mabe a bit oxdised, but sometimes that can lead to better flavours.

 

[Frank_Grimes]

You bet they can. I made a hop spider using the bigger ones. I don't use it anymore but it was fine in the boiling wort.

Lol I also made a hop spider with those bags and it is also no longer in use. After seeing Gash demonstrate how the wort doesn't flow freely through a hop spider I went back to throwing them straight in or using a hop ball.

 

[TiggaPlease]

Anything that might have got in there would have probably been killed by the alcohol. It'll be right. Mabe a bit oxdised, but sometimes that can lead to better flavours.

For some reason the exposure to o2 has produced tiny floaties in the beer, it is a bit off putting. I tapped a different keg in the hope it will drop out.

 

[Frank_Grimes]

For some reason the exposure to o2 has produced tiny floaties in the beer, it is a bit off putting. I tapped a different keg in the hope it will drop out.

Hmm, what colour? I've never had anything like that apart from some black specks that were coming off one of my taps. A good scrub and clean with Trisodium phosphate sorted it out.

The Balter clone kicked last night so I'll keg the Freezer Burn tonight and it will be drinking by the weekend. I tasted it again on Saturday and it's quite bitter but the alcohol and hoppiness seem to balance it out well.

I think I'll do another easy drinking ale (S&W grain bill with maybe Mosaic) next then get back into some more adventurous styles.

 

[Hardcore_Fan]

My blonde ale that my immersion chiller leaked into is going pretty stupid in the fermenter. Krausen is nuts and is coming through the air lock. Used M44 yeast. I have it a quick taste and seems ok so far. Do beers with high wheat content have higher krausen or anything?

 

[TiggaPlease]

Hmm, what colour? I've never had anything like that apart from some black specks that were coming off one of my taps. A good scrub and clean with Trisodium phosphate sorted it out.

The Balter clone kicked last night so I'll keg the Freezer Burn tonight and it will be drinking by the weekend. I tasted it again on Saturday and it's quite bitter but the alcohol and hoppiness seem to balance it out well.

I think I'll do another easy drinking ale (S&W grain bill with maybe Mosaic) next then get back into some more adventurous styles.

Thankfully it was just specks of hops from the dry hop, a couple of days on the gas has dropped them out.

My last few batches have been getting between 70-75% efficiency and I haven't really changed my process, not sure what is going on but I think I'll change beersmith to 70% for calculations for my next batch.

I found a bag of Pride of Ringwood at the bottom of the freezer when I was brewing on the weekend so my next brew might be an Aussie ale with a single POR charge at 60 mins.

 

[TiggaPlease]

Do beers with high wheat content have higher krausen or anything?

In my experience, yes. The American wheat almost climbed out of the fermenter using m44 whereas I usually get a 4 or 5cm krausen at the very most when using it.

I guess it's the extra proteins in the wheat.

 

[Leigh Howlett]

Does anyone suggest a clone recipe for Mountain Goat Organic Steam Ale & can you culture the yeast?.