Home Brewing (Complete Noob)

hywelg

Was intending to brew an 8.5% DIPA tomorrow but really needed to have two sachets of yeast. So decided to make a starter, but unfortunately my dried malt extract is a bit oxidised so I don't really want to just chuck all the starter into the fresh wort. 

So now I need to finish the,starter and cold crash it so I can decant and just use the yeast. Which means it won't be ready for tomorrow!!  Grrrrr.

RedRabbit

Guess that's both our brew day plans spoiled then.

I was only planning a small brew to test the Dizzy Blonde recipe I found.  Didn't have the necessary hops but I was due a delivery from The Malt Miller yesterday.  DPD have lost the parcel!  Waiting to hear from MM about getting it sorted.  

Could have brewed something else but the only hops I've got at the moment are citra and mosaic and I'm getting a bit bored of them.

Today's activities have been reduced to bottling the American stout I did a couple of weeks ago.  Looks, smells and tastes really promising.  Wasn't sure on the yeast I used.  The pack of ale yeast I'd got open didn't quite have enough in it so, rather than open a new pack, I threw 1g of wine yeast in.  Could explain why it's finished quite dry with a FG of 1.008 but it doesn't taste overly dry.  Guess I'll find out in a couple of weeks.

FG on the juniper IPA suggests it's done as well despite only starting it last weekend.  Used just ale yeast for this one so I don't thing it's going much lower than the 1.012 I'm seeing at the moment.  Will check again tomorrow and, assuming no movement, I'll bottle that as well.

Stocks are really starting to build up.

RedRabbit

Just had another bottle of the coriander and orange IPA.  Now I've increased the temp on the beer fridge a lot of the haze has cleared.  Still not crystal clear but a big improvement.

Definitely going to be brewing this one again but might try dry hopping with the orange rather than adding it at flame out.

Nitefly

Erm... would this be a good time to mention that the pubs have re-opened? 

MagicPigDetective

I’Nitefly said:

Erm... would this be a good time to mention that the pubs have re-opened? 

Not in Wales!

I’m giving it a go, it’s brew day. Waiting for the boiled water to cool down. 

hywelg

Nitefly said:

Erm... would this be a good time to mention that the pubs have re-opened? 

My beer is better. And cheaper. And safer. And no idiots around, well maybe one.....

MagicPigDetective

It’s going to take hours for 20 litres of boiling water in various pans to cool. The recipe states add 3.5 litres of boiling water to the contents of the cans. Then add 20 litres of cold water. How important is it to be cold? Would warm be ok?

Edit: ok now I understand that it will need to be between 18-24 degrees, any higher will kill the yeast. I could always put the water into the bucket and wait for it to cool before adding the yeast?

hywelg

You need a chiller coil. 

Nitefly

hywelg said:

Nitefly said:

Erm... would this be a good time to mention that the pubs have re-opened? 

My beer is better. And cheaper. And safer. And no idiots around, well maybe one.....

Smashing!  When are you open, please?

hywelg

You've got to reserve a table and the first slot we have available is in July 2021. 

MagicPigDetective

hywelg said:

You need a chiller coil. 

hywelg said:

You need a chiller coil. 

Seeing as it took about 20 hours for it to cool to the correct temp, you might be right!

The only major hassle was the pre-boiling and cooling.
Apart from that it seemed to go well and is now fermenting away. 

RedRabbit

MagicPigDetective said:

hywelg said:

You need a chiller coil. 

hywelg said:

You need a chiller coil. 

Seeing as it took about 20 hours for it to cool to the correct temp, you might be right!

The only major hassle was the pre-boiling and cooling.
Apart from that it seemed to go well and is now fermenting away. 

Before shelling out for a chiller coil I'd suggest trying putting the bucket of wort in a sink full of cold water (with ice as well if possible) to try and cool it down quicker.  You'll probably need to refill the sink a few times as the water heats up but it should drastically reduce the cooling time.

If you decide that this is something you are going to do regularly and think you might want to take it beyond making up kits then a chiller coil might be worth considering but for the occasional kit brew I'm not convinced it's essential.

MagicPigDetective

RedRabbit said:

MagicPigDetective said:

hywelg said:

You need a chiller coil. 

hywelg said:

You need a chiller coil. 

Seeing as it took about 20 hours for it to cool to the correct temp, you might be right!

The only major hassle was the pre-boiling and cooling.
Apart from that it seemed to go well and is now fermenting away. 

Before shelling out for a chiller coil I'd suggest trying putting the bucket of wort in a sink full of cold water (with ice as well if possible) to try and cool it down quicker.  You'll probably need to refill the sink a few times as the water heats up but it should drastically reduce the cooling time.

If you decide that this is something you are going to do regularly and think you might want to take it beyond making up kits then a chiller coil might be worth considering but for the occasional kit brew I'm not convinced it's essential.

Thanks. My sink is too small for the bucket, I'll need to find a larger container to hold the cold water. If there is a next time, will see how this one goes first. 

RedRabbit

@hywelg quick question if you don't mind

I'm planning on doing my first kveik brew this weekend.  I've got around 4g of dried yeast which, from reading up on it, should be plenty for a 23l batch but I can't find any info on how best to treat the yeast.  I'm assuming a starter isn't necessary as it's meant to be under pitched.  Would you rehydrate it first or just toss the dry yeast into the wort?

hywelg

I always just sprinkle it on the foam on top os the wort. 

duotone

Just had half a pint of the Mosaic IPA. I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Didn’t measure it, but it’s probably between 4.5-5%.
No exploding bottles either (so far) will have to put them in the fridge now. They have been sitting in the back room (18-22 Degrees C) for 2 weeks now.

Thanks for all your help chaps!

hywelg

Brewday yesterday. In theory an 8.5% DIPA.  

Found out something useful.  For every 100g of pellet hops in the boil you lose 680g of wort to absorption. My beer had 700g in. Lost 4.7kg.  you lose more if you don't use a pump/filter arrangement.  

RedRabbit

duotone said:

Just had half a pint of the Mosaic IPA. I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Didn’t measure it, but it’s probably between 4.5-5%.
No exploding bottles either (so far) will have to put them in the fridge now. They have been sitting in the back room (18-22 Degrees C) for 2 weeks now.

Thanks for all your help chaps!

Glad it turned out well.  I really like Mosaic.  I'm thinking of doing a lager with mosaic for a refreshing, citrus summer drink (if the sun ever reappears).

Measuring the ABV isn't essential but I'd suggest getting in the habit of taking gravity readings if you are going to keep at it.  Knowing the gravity readings at various points of the brew helps make the process more repeatable and can highlight if something has gone wrong.

I've never had a bottle bomb from beer.  The only time I've had a bottle explode is when I was making elderflower champagne.  Most of the fermenting is done in the bottle and the swingtop bottles I was using weren't quite up to the job.  As long as you don't go over the top with the amount of sugar you use for timing I don't think you'll ever have any issue with it when brewing beer. 

RedRabbit

hywelg said:

Brewday yesterday. In theory an 8.5% DIPA.  

Found out something useful.  For every 100g of pellet hops in the boil you lose 680g of wort to absorption. My beer had 700g in. Lost 4.7kg.  you lose more if you don't use a pump/filter arrangement.  

What batch size were you brewing to have that sort of hop bill?

I did 23 litres of an IPA with 180g of hops and that turned out really hoppy.

hywelg

RedRabbit said:

hywelg said:

Brewday yesterday. In theory an 8.5% DIPA.  

Found out something useful.  For every 100g of pellet hops in the boil you lose 680g of wort to absorption. My beer had 700g in. Lost 4.7kg.  you lose more if you don't use a pump/filter arrangement.  

What batch size were you brewing to have that sort of hop bill?

I did 23 litres of an IPA with 180g of hops and that turned out really hoppy.

Pfftt.... 900g into 19l. Cloudwater DIPA style.

Actually ended up with 18.5 due to the losses to the hops, probably 17l into the keg as theres another 200g gone into the fermenter today. (@ 1.038)