Author Topic: The Homebrew Megathread - Piss, Plonk and Moonshine. (Read 35897 times)

Crud · « **Reply #125 on:** November 26, 2008, 10:36:09 PM »

This thread needs a resurrection.

I'm getting stuck into my galaxy pale ale now. Mellowing quite nicely. All extract (3 kg liquid light malt, 1 kg dry light malt), cascade for bittering at 60 min (couldn't use galaxy with an alpha acid around 15%) and 30g galaxy additions at 15min, 5min and flame out.

The result - Galaxy is a fucking awesome hop for taste and aroma, and anyone who likes fruity American style ales should give it a crack. I just bottled another using Pearle for bittering instead.

Now onto a coopers sparkling.....

Mago_Haydz · « **Reply #126 on:** November 26, 2008, 10:42:41 PM »

good move man.

For the record, that honey beer was fucking awesome!
Oh, and the Mexican Cerveza that I mentioned earlier in the thread was a HUGE hit. I bottled it in Pure Blonde stubbies, chuck a slice of lime down the neck and every single person that tried it said it was better than Corona (thats not difficult, I know, but these were Corona drinkers, so its gotta count for something). I havent done a brew since.....been lazy I guess.

Ingasm · « **Reply #127 on:** November 26, 2008, 10:43:52 PM »

Haha fuck yeah!

THIS THREAD!

I've been using the NZ hops a lot more, made an IPA using Super Alpha and Moteuka, turned out pretty good. Could have done with a few more weeks to mellow but fuck it I drank it anyway.

I wanna get my hands on some galaxy. Could it be... A decent hop from Australia?

I'm moving house on the fifth, might put a brew on

Gotta get some steel next month and weld up a three tiered brewstand for sparging... Either that or get a march pump and hack up an old desk and make a level brew stand. See what's cheaper.

Crud · « **Reply #128 on:** November 26, 2008, 10:52:48 PM »

Quote from: Inge on November 26, 2008, 10:43:52 PM

Could have done with a few more weeks to mellow but fuck it I drank it anyway.

This is my biggest problem with brewing.

Galaxy is tops. I did probably over do it at the end but to be honest with those time additions it was an awesome flavor with massive amounts of aroma. I might stick to that regime in the future if I can get in on another bulk galaxy order.

Anyone tried Thomas coopers premium selection tins?

I'm gonna try the sparkling ale can with 1.5 kg light liquid malt and brew enhancer 2. No boil, no extra hops. See how it matches up.

Ingasm · « **Reply #129 on:** November 26, 2008, 11:11:23 PM »

Ick, BE2 is rubbish. Maltodextrin gives a really strange thick mouthfeel. You have access to dry malt so use that with a bit of dextrose. That's what Cooper's does, or I even think they might use cane sugar. No maltodextrin, that's for sure

In my experience the premium tins aren't worth it... I reckon even the international range is no better than the standard tins. At the end of the day it's just malt extract with varying amounts of isohop extract - you get minimal, if any hop flavour and no aroma from a tin. Give it a shot though, it'd more than likely lend well to the sparkling style, as most of the character comes from the yeast anyway.

Necron · « **Reply #130 on:** November 26, 2008, 11:41:23 PM »

Be sure to culture some Coopers yeast (steps are on the first page I think), its a lot better than most of the shitty yeasts you get in some kits.

We did a shitload of brews over the winter (at least 5 or 6), and they'll all be ready for summer, just in time

TnT · « **Reply #131 on:** November 27, 2008, 01:48:12 AM »

Go the resurrection!
I've done a fair few brews since but mainly just the standard kits and experimenting with different yeasts and dextrose / brew boosters etc. I've been pretty happy with how they've all turned out. Some I started and the weather got really hot so it was tricky keeping the temperatures down, but most of the time managed to keep them from going too much over 20 degrees. Probably had an effect on the taste but I've liked them all.

Currently got a mexican cerveza (corona style) in one keg and I thought for something different I'd do an alcoholic ginger beer (coopers) for Xmas etc, so I've got everything ready to go, just have to get time to get it going.

Ingasm · « **Reply #132 on:** November 27, 2008, 03:50:12 AM »

For anybody who gives a shit...

This is my current rig. It's ghetto as fuck but its served me pretty well thus far. Need to weld up a decent stand out of square tube, because the inverted bike trailer really isn't doing it for me.

Dial-up can suck a cock.

That's my kettle, with a 3 ring camper burner attached to a high pressure adjustable regulator. The holes in the burner have sooted a bit and it's due for a re-drilling. In the background is my mash tun, which is in essence a bright blue 50L cylindrical esky I stole from my dad. I hacked the tap out and replaced it with a sassy little brass number I cobbled together from bunnings plumbing parts for the princely sum of 12 dollars. On the inside is a stainless steel braid attached to the tap, which is weighed down with a chunk of stainless steel fitting.

Ingasm · « **Reply #133 on:** November 27, 2008, 03:51:48 AM »

Intimate shot, right after dough-in. Looks like vomit, but it's good gear.

Shitty photo, but this is sparging. What you see my incredibly manly hands doing here is rinsing the grains with 75 degree water in order to wash the sugars off them. I get first degree burns every time I do this.

Ingasm · « **Reply #134 on:** November 27, 2008, 03:52:27 AM »

Can't see it through the boiling wort and steam, but this is a copper coil heat exchanger. After boiling for an hour I run cold water through it which rapidly chills down the wort to about 25 degrees in half an hour. I put the return hose in the gutter leading to the water tank, so there's no wastage.

See.

Once it's cold enough, the valve on the kettle is opened.

AND OUT COMES SWEET PROTO-BEER. I've attached a spray nozzle to the hose here to get as much oxygen into the wort as possible, for a healthy fermentation. Saves my scrawny arse from having to shake a full fermenter for 10 minutes.

Ingasm · « **Reply #135 on:** November 27, 2008, 03:56:19 AM »

And this is what's left afterward. Hop debris, proteins from the grains and other assorted goop. You'll notice the copper pipe - what you don't see is the ultra ghetto hop screen, which is made from brass fittings and a large tea infuser ball. I can only use plugs or whole flowers for the time being, unfortunately, because pellets block it up, but that doesn't bother me much.

If anyone's interested I can run down the whole process with pictures next time I fire it up?

Sorry, had to split the posts. MySQL crapped out if I lumped it all together.

TnT · « **Reply #136 on:** November 27, 2008, 06:14:23 AM »

Good shit man. Too cool for school.

Crud · « **Reply #137 on:** November 27, 2008, 06:37:11 PM »

Quote from: Inge on November 26, 2008, 11:11:23 PM

Ick, BE2 is rubbish. Maltodextrin gives a really strange thick mouthfeel.

I went the BE2 anyhow. Thought I way as well get rid of it, but thanks for the heads up. That's a cool as fuck set up by the way. I wouldn't call it ghetto, more like a pioneer.

Quote from: Necron on November 26, 2008, 11:41:23 PM

Be sure to culture some Coopers yeast (steps are on the first page I think), its a lot better than most of the shitty yeasts you get in some kits.

Yeah that's what I had originally planned, get the yeast from a sparkling bottle. I did hear that the temps need to be right to avoid a banana flavor so I just went for the dry ale yeast for a quick and easy brew. I need to work out a way keep brew temps constant during summer. Maybe the spa outside

Necron · « **Reply #138 on:** November 27, 2008, 08:30:06 PM »

Quote from: DuD on November 27, 2008, 06:37:11 PM

Quote from: Necron on November 26, 2008, 11:41:23 PM
Be sure to culture some Coopers yeast (steps are on the first page I think), its a lot better than most of the shitty yeasts you get in some kits.

Yeah that's what I had originally planned, get the yeast from a sparkling bottle. I did hear that the temps need to be right to avoid a banana flavor so I just went for the dry ale yeast for a quick and easy brew. I need to work out a way keep brew temps constant during summer. Maybe the spa outside

Once you get it down to the ideal temperature, try putting the brew in a cool dark corner of the house, and cover it up with some thick coats. The insulation is usually enough to keep it to within 1 or 2 degrees of the original temperature.

Mago_Haydz · « **Reply #139 on:** November 27, 2008, 08:31:40 PM »

Ive also gone for the wet towel wrap and place a pedestal fan in its general direction. Cools it down nicely.

TnT · « **Reply #140 on:** November 28, 2008, 01:18:57 AM »

Yeah I rig up a "coolgardie safe" arrangement with a sheet wrapped around the fermenter with a drip line and put frozen water bottles to gradually melt over the course of the day and feed the lines. Of course, I had to get a tub to put it in to collect the excess water, in which I drilled out a hole for the fermenter tap. Works damn well.

Ingasm · « **Reply #141 on:** November 28, 2008, 02:19:54 AM »

I bought a second hand bar fridge in good nick for 80 bucks, and whacked a 40 dollar temperature controller on it.

It's the best

TnT · « **Reply #142 on:** November 28, 2008, 02:41:31 AM »

Yeah, considered that but we already have 2 fridges and no more room for another, not to mention didn't really want one that would just be used occasionally.

Crud · « **Reply #143 on:** November 28, 2008, 05:14:48 PM »

I think I will go with the wet towel and frozen bottle method, depending how hot it is. I like Ales in particular so its not too much of a concern unless its fucking hot. Either that or put the fermenter into a tub filled with water, and add ice occasionally since I have access to an ice machine. I don't think the larger volume of water would fluctuate too much anyhow.

Fucking pissed off today. I got some dry American ale yeast from beer tech since I was in the area. It wasn't the usual Safale red pack from TWOC or Westbrew but I thought I'd risk it. Turns out it was a dud, but I guess I should have made a starter anyhow. Never had any problems with the safale.

cyanide_christ · « **Reply #144 on:** December 01, 2008, 07:42:33 AM »

I've recently re-started homebrewing. I used to buy expensive kits with extra hops, malt extract, the lot. Now I'm just using plain ol' supermarket kits (sometimes even the Coles Farmland brews) and it's producing the best homebrew I've ever had.

My secret - no steriliser.

Not once has anything been contaminated and I no longer get weird chemical or arsey/farty flavours which were obviously a result of the sterilisers I used to use. Just hot water rinsing for both the fermenter and the bottles.

I'm even liking my beers more than cheap Aussie beers, and suffering a considerable drop in hangovers due to the lack of preservatives and god knows what other shit they put in mass-produced beers.

Mago_Haydz · « **Reply #145 on:** December 01, 2008, 05:06:39 PM »

Quote from: cyanide_christ on December 01, 2008, 07:42:33 AM

I've recently re-started homebrewing. I used to buy expensive kits with extra hops, malt extract, the lot. Now I'm just using plain ol' supermarket kits (sometimes even the Coles Farmland brews) and it's producing the best homebrew I've ever had.

My secret - no steriliser.

Not once has anything been contaminated and I no longer get weird chemical or arsey/farty flavours which were obviously a result of the sterilisers I used to use. Just hot water rinsing for both the fermenter and the bottles.

I'm even liking my beers more than cheap Aussie beers, and suffering a considerable drop in hangovers due to the lack of preservatives and god knows what other shit they put in mass-produced beers.

its only a matter of time before you make a contaminated batch.....but good luck. Keep us up to date on how its going.

cyanide_christ · « **Reply #146 on:** December 01, 2008, 05:57:52 PM »

Nah I don't reckon. I've done probably 15 to 20 batches over a 6 or 8 month period and every batch has been fine.

If you rinse the bucket out straight away, then let it soak in hot water for 15 minutes, then brew the next batch immediately, the bugs don't have time to land in there are start sexing.

It also seasons the bucket real well. No flavour is lost!

Mago_Haydz · « **Reply #147 on:** December 01, 2008, 06:05:44 PM »

Quote from: cyanide_christ on December 01, 2008, 05:57:52 PM

Nah I don't reckon. I've done probably 15 to 20 batches over a 6 or 8 month period and every batch has been fine.

If you rinse the bucket out straight away, then let it soak in hot water for 15 minutes, then brew the next batch immediately, the bugs don't have time to land in there are start sexing.

It also seasons the bucket real well. No flavour is lost!

cool man, so long as you keep doing it the way you are doing, it should be fine then. Much more natural too.

cyanide_christ · « **Reply #148 on:** December 01, 2008, 06:12:46 PM »

Heck yes! Also slightly cheaper, not having to buy steriliser

Mago_Haydz · « **Reply #149 on:** December 01, 2008, 06:19:32 PM »

ahahaha...yeah, that shit is hell expensive!

You've got me in the brewing mood now - I'm gunna put one on tonight.