Ok so my order finally arrived today and if you go for the 33lt starter kit from homebrewcompany.ie this is what you get minus the cans of coopers obviously, and the few extra bits i got just in case like ;D
This thread is for everybody but especially newbies like me to learn from my mistakes etc. It will be sorta running commentary on the various stages of the brewing process from initial sterilization of equipment, down eventually to bottling and conditioning. ;D
.
Oh for future reference a mod might let me know if these pics are too big or ok. ::)
Thanks for that tube i thought i might have got the wrong FV delivered. I just realised though in only have one bubbler so i can only start one brew :'( just as well start the stout i think and by time the extra air lock arrives i will be ready to start the other one ::)
Damn thanks for reminding me tube ::) I plum forgot with all thats happening around here. I better get me arse in gear and get some sorted especially if i am going to be doing more than one brew at once, which i am ;D Must try Merrys again, if i can meet the owner i might be ok. ;)
Stick your LCD crystal thermometer half way up, it conducts heat., I know that sounds obvious but I have seen ejits put them on lids
Stick it up where exactly ciderhead ? :o
QuoteStick it up where exactly ciderhead ? :o
Da buckat
I was talking about you on another post did you find it?
Go on Fetch!
Well here it is in all its glory my 23 litres of coopers Irish stout wort Yaaay i got wort ;D Damn thing is still 30C and its already at 23 litres so i have lid on fv loose and am letting it cool down slowly.
Ciderhead i made a boo boo i forgot to order the lcd crystal thermometer and am having to use the spirit thermometer that came with the kit :'( Say you forgive me :-[
Next reply will be a run down on what i did and a final look with yeast pitched and bubbler and lid on.
For those that are wondering where the rest of the brew pics are, i did another boo boo, i forgot to put the sd card into camera from outta the laptop :-[ :-[ :'(
Also i do not own a video camera so i cannot currently upload vids otherwise i would have uploaded to my youtube channel and linked here :-[
Looking good what's batch volume
Just for all newbies it helps if when you are 2-3 litres away from ideal volume you stop,and take temp measurement and then add boiling or cold water to hit your target stirring all the time
Quote
Ciderhead i made a boo boo i forgot to order the lcd crystal thermometer and am having to use the spirit thermometer that came with the kit :'( Say you forgive me :-[
The LCD thermometer slapped on side of bucket gives you a good indication of temp closer to target volume, but you knew that!!
Ya exactly what i did not do cause i got over excited so now i have 23 litres of wort sitting in a covered fv at 30C and i can't add any more cold water so i just have to wait until it comes down by nearly 10C to pitch my yeast.
If i had done it like ciderhead just said i would not be waiting like an eejit to pitch my yeast now :'(
Oh btw OG is 1.038 :o
I thought that was a 25 litre kit no?
Have you a spoon or a paddle that came with it if so go and find a cold room and stir like hell
You can pitch at 25 but make sure it's in a cold room overnight and then into your fermenting room, constant 18-22 max thereafter
No all coopers kits are 23 litres as far as i know. For other nerwbies that means your final volume of liquid wort in the FV is maximum 23 litres with a coopers beer kit setup.
I did all this in the kitchen which is the coldest room in the house and i am stirring every five mins to try to bring down the temp :(
My starting OG was 1.038 :o
QuoteYa exactly what i did not do cause i got over excited so now i have 23 litres of wort sitting in a covered fv at 30C and i can't add any more cold water so i just have to wait until it comes down by nearly 10C to pitch my yeast.
If i had done it like ciderhead just said i would not be waiting like an eejit to pitch my yeast now :'(
Oh btw OG is 1.038 :o
Hmm not sure about your gravity reading a little on low side if that finishes 1.010 it will only give you 3.7 are you reading correctly on the meniscus?
You can bump it with sugar but as we mentioned before table sugar in small qtys
If it helps 1040 will give you 3.9 1045 will yield 4.6
Add sugar very slowly in 100 g drops and stir stir and then measure
Ok so bearing in mind that all equipment is soaking in sanitizer here is what i did. First i boiled a full kettle of water and placed that water in a saucepan on the stove, i then placed the coopers Irish stout can into that boiling water making sure the end i was opening was on the bottom so it would be sterilized.
Then i took my small can of treacle and left it on my digital scales so when i looked i knew it was exactly 500gr with the lid off. Forget about that for a while. In another sanitized pot i poured in two to three litres of cold water and after snipping my packet of coopers brew enhancer 2 open i poured it into the cold water slowly while stirring continuously so as to help it not to clump.Once it was all in i turned on stove under it about half way to gently heat the solution and kept stirring.
Sorry you are right just checked an old brew book they were all 23 litres
Just stir!
Well for me and others what should my OG be ciderhead and what abv have you in mind?
I wonder if i added the rest of the treacle would that help ciderhead?
QuoteOk so bearing in mind that all equipment is soaking in sanitizer here is what i did. First i boiled a full kettle of water and placed that water in a saucepan on the stove, i then placed the coopers Irish stout can into that boiling water making sure the end i was opening was on the bottom so it would be sterilized.
Then i took my small can of treacle and left it on my digital scales so when i looked i knew it was exactly 500gr with the lid off. Forget about that for a while. In another sanitized pot i poured in two to three litres of cold water and after snipping my packet of coopers brew enhancer 2 open i poured it into the cold water slowly while stirring continuously so as to help it not to clump.Once it was all in i turned on stove under it about half way to gently heat the solution and kept stirring.
You don't need to heat that's where you came unstuck
4 litres of boiling an rest cold water will get you to 20
You will know for next one!!
Hi Deadman
Dont worry too much.
You've two choices:
1) Put the lid on tight and move it out to the patio then put airlock on. It should cool down in 30mins or so.
2) put lid on tight and move it to its new home then put airlock on. Pitch yeast in the morn.
You'll figure this all out quick enough with practice.
Good luck :)
Sorry tube i lost a lot of the pics cause i forgot to put the sd card in the camera :-[
I have another brew to do with a coopers wheat beer using me luds heffenweisen orange receipe ;D
1038 even with all that treacle is it fully mixed in?
QuoteWell for me and others what should my OG be ciderhead and what abv have you in mind?
I wonder if i added the rest of the treacle would that help ciderhead?
Guinness is 4.3
QuoteQuote1038 even with all that treacle is it fully mixed in?
It's all gone to the bottom. Needs the bejaysus stirred out of it to get it into solution.
That's was I was thinking
Deadman can you see it through the bottom of the bucket
Get the torch out
When my solution of brew enhancer had reached 60C i stirred in half the treacle,thats 250 grams and i kept stirring vigirously until all treacle had dissolved into solution. ;D
Lads
Do you think the hydrometer was read correctly?
Deadman, did you spin the hydro to remove any bubbles clinging to the side?
Take another reading
Now all this time the coopers stout can had been sitting in a pot softening. I removed it and opened it with a sterilized can opener. I poured the contents into my empty sterilized 33lt FV and filled the tin again with hot water and stirred to remove the last remainder of the solution. I poured this into the 33lt FV also.
Now my solution of brew enhancer 2 and 250gr treacle that i heated up i also poured into my FV on top of the can of coopers Irish stout. ;D
If there is one thing i know its how to read a meniscus, WRTC drilled that into me and i never forgot. Temp of wort was 30C when i measured OG ciderhead ;)
Just checked if you measured at 30 degrees your actual need adjusting by .oo35 so your actual,value is 1.041 which will give you 4.1
A bloody good sir to make sure all that treacle is dissolved and then bump it a couple of point with the brewing or table sugar you have and pitch and lid on
QuoteIf the wort was 30°C at his last post then he took the gravity of wort of at least that temperature. I think that'd part of the problem.
Deadman, the gravity needs to be taken at 20°C ideally, but you can take it hotter and correct it using a site like this:
http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/hydrometer.html
It's normally 15 but you knew that ;)
http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixA.html
Ok so ye got in ahead of me and the actaual adjusted OG is 1.041 accounting for a temp of 30C/86F.
Well ciderhead everything is in the fv now so can i still add more sugar and anyway why do i need to? :o
Oh I'm exhausted from the stress how are we doing temp wise now?
27.5C ciderhead and falling slowly :'( Now get back to what you just said about adding more sugar to the 23 litres of wort. Its as much for me as other newbies ;D
Lessons for newbies
1) listen to the idiots that have done it all before
2) first recipes keep as simple as possible, water, sugar or brew enhancer this allows you to get familiar with equipment, the process what's required
3) don't get too upset if it gets the better of you lesson learnt for next one
Do you have brewing sugar or table sugar?
I have both,1kg dextrose,3kg table sugar, still have more treacle as well. :o
As an added note to all newbies, ye can see now how getting over excited carried me away and i forgot important steps in the process,end result i can't pitch my yeast because my wort is too hot and i can't add cold water. Also i can't measure my OG properly at 30C :o Learn from my mistakes and pray that a patient friend like ciderhead and the rest will drag ye along ;D
Fuk the treacle put in batches of 100 g of dextrose until you get to your desired gravity
Retro bumping is not normally advisable for virgin kit brewers
I missed all the fun :(
I think hydrometers should read 1.000 in 20C water.
Sugarwise, i'd say just leave it the way it is.
1.038 - 1.010 = 3.8, but once you factor in the priming sugar you'll be looking more at 4.1
Chalk all the confusion down to a lesson learned :)
If it's still too warm (anything over 22) strap some frozen water bottles to the side for a while
Or THESE BOYOS (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kLAH7kK7Mv4/Toop9enF1fI/AAAAAAAAANo/RKrxzQXUU44/s1600/ice%2Bcube%2Bbag.jpg)
You can start making the second brew, even without an airlock.
Just put an upside-down bottle cap over the hole.
Or a square of clingfilm or baking paper with 3 sides taped down.
That will let gas out while keeping it safe. The airflow will be going one way.. out :)
I was just thinking what if i dropped the whole fv into the chest freerzer for say 30 mins would that help?
To be quite honest i am more concerned with the brew turning out well than i am with the alcohol content. I f i get an abv of 3.5% i will be happy. I can always learn from my mistakes for the next brew ;D
Yup, I've done that plenty of times ;D
Just make sure it's not touching anything that could infect it.
probably best to keep it off the meat and fish too in case you defrost them a bit.
But he's excited and it's his first brew and he wants to get it all done tonight and he wants to hear it bubble when he wakes up!
;D ;D ;D
Forget any more fermentables then.
What temp now?
Lord Eoin he'd be ok to pitch at 25 and leave in a cold room and then move to his place of fermentation tomorrow right?
In freezer :o
QuoteThanks for that tube i thought i might have got the wrong FV delivered. I just realised though in only have one bubbler so i can only start one brew :'( just as well start the stout i think and by time the extra air lock arrives i will be ready to start the other one ::)
You could still throw on the second brew. ::)
If there is no hole in the lid, just leave it sitting loosely after you pitch your yeast.
If there is a hole, get some tinfoil and scrunch it so that it blocks the hole. You don't want it air tight, just to keep debris, bugs (crawly ones) out.
Tube have you not written new laws for thermal expansion yet we were all counting on ya ;D
Well thats one way of defrosting your freezer...
Tube they are truly irish smoked rashers and jumbo sausages in there :P
It takes 2 hrs minimum with the power supply fully off for any food to defrost past the point where you can re freeze it and i am only leaving my FV in there 30-45 mins max to try to cool the bastard down >:(
QuoteLord Eoin he'd be ok to pitch at 25 and leave in a cold room and then move to his place of fermentation tomorrow right?
Pitch at 25 would be fine.
I'd probably just get it down to 22 as it's in the freezer and all now, then set it in its final resting place.
What kinda freak freezes rashers?
A rasher monster freak me lud :P
I've no rashers :(
I'll have another stout, it was a rough monday at work...
He just plonked it on top of the Birds Eye Polar bear .....murderer
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yDM0Uy1r1Q8
All smothered in colemans mustard yummy ;D
Oh oh and Haggen Daas apple tart ice cream in the freezer for after :P
No ketchup and dripping butter
Or if I'm feeling posh Ballymaloe relish
Well la-dee-dah, mr ballymaloe...
Want some caviar with that? and a crown of pheasant?
Sweet! I have one stout left that was bottled last April.
This'll be a good one :D
26C after 30 mins in the freezer. I will give it another 30 mins and then just take it out and pitch the yeast be feck. ;D
Sorry tube i ate the apple tart ice cream but i do have Haagen Daas Baileys ice cream if you are in terested. Or some Ben and Jerrys as well. ;D
QuoteNow look what happened!
LMFAOL it's not the calories in beer we all need to be worried about
It looks like a disco in your grill!
What was the stout it at when you put it in the freezer?
Quote26C after 30 mins in the freezer. I will give it another 30 mins and then just take it out and pitch the yeast be feck. ;D
Stir it to transfer cold around
While it's open, dry hop with 50g steak cut chips
By the way, congrats on getting all of your gear.
I have pretty much the exact same FVs and they're the job!
QuoteIt looks like a disco in your grill!
I was gonna say a sex shop ... Allegedly
allegedly... ;D
I've lost a little respect for tube though...
All those rashers, and only 2 in the sambo?
that's 1 rasher per slice of bread...
disgraceful!
Tube don't take this the wrong way but fook you anyway, now i'm scrounging hungry :P
I suppose i could add some carpils and corriander? :o
Deadman will you write me a note for the morning?
It was Tubes rashers that did it
(http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj605/joctcl/image_zps0e9a9c2e.jpg)
See tube only showed us a pic of a sammich with two rashers, what he did not show us was that he stuffed the lot in there :o
God help anyone reading this thread they will be well confussed ;D
Ciderhead, just print this out for the morning:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WF7BrsEQI7k/UFzByU-8x1I/AAAAAAAABWM/Y6zZVWELYkQ/s1600/Sick-Note.jpg)
The real tube:
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KyU3mj6Q57k/TMjv2dT-TDI/AAAAAAAAAW4/Nq6Rt17Tuy4/s1600/willy-wonka-wilder.jpg)
Aye, nothing like a bit of organised chaos to stir up a monday night!
Night tube o/
(you're only lolling 'cos it's true)
24C with 15 mins to go,it should be fine then to pitch the yeast ;D
Stir Deadman for fook sake stiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrr
even 24 should be fine, but best get it to 22.
set good practices early and all that ;)
Have you sanitised yeast packet scissors?
This
Is
How
To
Just keep this in mind.
It will be worth it!
Here's what you're working towards:
(http://i615.photobucket.com/albums/tt234/eoinlayton/Beer/9-irishstout.jpg)
Make
600
Posts!!!
well done!
go for 1000
-edit: no, please don't
Ok I'm bored now
I hope nobody tries to catch up tomorrow in looking at the last 100 posts they are going to be very disappointed reading all this shite
and hungry
Ya and i will be the poor bastard getting the blame for everything as usual :'( damn tube and his rasher fetish anyway >:(
Redlight rashers... How could you NOT get turned on?
He's not gone to bed, he's sitting there covered in bacon grease and a smile...
Da Doirty Bastard
Right I'm definitely off now
Deadman save me a bottle of that for July
He was only here to hit 600 posts! ;D
I'll stick around til you're all set.
QuoteHe was only here to hit 600 posts! ;D
I'll stick around til you're all set.
I'm at 100 posts!
Right, I'm off to bed too...
;D ;D ;D
Well there she is in brew room after an hour in deep freeze i got her down to 22c and decided that was enough to pitch my yeast ;D
OG was 1.040 at 22c.
Thats 1.041@20c :o
Sounds perfect!
You should probably end up with about 4.4%
No I wasnt what's in the second bucket
Oh and its sanitizing solution in the bubbler btw which as far s i know does no harm even if it accidently drips into the wort :-/
And you've pitched the yeast? Don't forget to do that!
I'm going to answer tomorrow morning's question now.
'It is not yet showing signs of fermentation! What do i do?'
The answer is : 'Nothing, leave it alone for a while'
It might take a bit of time to start up, but I'd say you should have a soothing bubbling soon enough :)
I didn't even notice the second bucket...
What are you hiding from us?
Jaysus suspicious feckers the second fv only has equipment soaking in sanitizer is all. I left them in it because i will be doing the second brew tomorrow or day after ;D
That sanitiser looks suspiciously like an IPA... 8-)
Well, it looks like you're all set.
Anything else before I hit the hay?
Its not an IPA but i tell ya what is going into it tomorrow is one of YOUR recepies me lud ;D
Nah m8 thanks for sticking with me till i got sorted ::)
No worries.
Take this number down in case you need it for the wheatbeer and tell me when you've got it so i can remove it off the interwebs:
*removed*
have it and i already have the wheet beer m8 and all the ingrdeients are here too, just waiting till tomorrow to start is all ;D
Cool beans.
Feel free to call if you have any questions :)
Well done on your first brew!
Night o7
Ya heading to bed soon myself but i will be awake a while yet i reckon with all the stress of the first brew :'(
Have a beer!
Relax!
Stare at the bucket!
have a good one ;)
QuoteYa heading to bed soon myself but i will be awake a while yet i reckon with all the stress of the first brew :'(
Started that second one yet? :)
No cider not yet ::) Chippie is here now doing the few jobs around the house and once he is gone i will tidy and make a start after tea this afternoon i reckon ;D
Well no action yet from the coopers stout, however the temp has been around 12c all day in the room and i assume its going to get colder tonight. I wonder if this is stopping the yeast from working? :'(
Move it to the front room or bedroom to get the temperature up a bit.
SWMBO will have a bit of a hissy fit, but at least justifying a brebelt purchase easier ;D
Just remember to pull the airlock out before moving it, or you'll suck all the liquid into the FV.
QuoteIn a nutshell yes. It needs to be 18-22 degrees ideally.
Consistently
QuoteNow look what happened!
(http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/yabbfiles/Attachments/CAM00189__Small_.jpg)
QuoteWhile it's open, dry hop with 50g steak cut chips
HAHAHAHAHA Amazing! Great thread.
Quote
Just remember to pull the airlock out before moving it, or you'll suck all the liquid into the FV.
I forgot to take mine out when I was transferring my stout to secondary yesterday. I ended up sucking an airlock full of vodka into my brew.
I posted that to you last night you must have been drinking :(
Well i have it setup like this with the last 2.5 hours and it has gotten slightly warmer but no noticeable blast of heat so to speak :-/
Hotpress is out, the shelves are way too close together to accept a 33lt FV,i doubt it would even accept a cornie and thats narrow.
There is only consistently colder here, no place in house is consistently warmer. 10-15c is pretty average for this house throughout :'(
Can you put the fermentor on a shelf or something? Just to get it off the cold ground. And maybe get another blanket or an old jacket around it.
When the yeast gets going it will warm up your brew anyway.
Ps - I'd kill for a rasher sambo right now... :P
Well i have added a big ass heavy blanket that goes around the fv twice so that should help the leccy one to work better as well. i will have to construct some sort of an insulated container for the 33lt Fv's for down the road. ;D
I've fermented at 15 degrees in the past - it just takes longer!
Ive got mine up on phone books to keep em off the ground. Ive heat pads but no real need for them since I put them up on the phone books. Im at 19c in the day/evening & it drops to 18c overnight. (Our house is chilly enough too - heat just flows out of it)
or slap a heat belt around them ;)
Ive a belt & a pad & they both keep pushing the temps up around 23c. Im sure thats fine but the beersmith said 19c so I tried sticking to that (probably the only temp ive hit using beer smith so far haha)
Yes me lud but would the electric blanket off the bed not be better? :-/
... and a brew pad under my arse in the bed haha.
@Deadman
If the electric blanket is keeping it at around 20C you're sweet :)
Not sure how hot those things get, THIS PAGE (http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/home-improvements/reviews/electric-blankets/page/faqs/) seems to suggest that their 'minimum temperatures tend to be around 25°C '
But if you can set it up in such a way that it keeps it about 20 it will be fine.
@HopBomb
I have a belt and it seems to settle at 24C. I had it on a cheap socket timer to cut on at intervals and it did the trick.
I now have the heat belt connected to an STC1000 and it keeps it perfect.
I'd normally ferment at 18C for ales or 12 for lagers, sut some brews like the stout, hefeweisen or saison do well a bit higher in my opinion.
I've stuck away from brew pads because I've heard that it's not great to have the trub sitting right on top of them.
And they're expensive...
I be blowing bubbles :o ;D ;D
Excellent! Well done.
That's half the battle won, the hard bit now is patience ;D
Well ya see thats the problem, patience is frequently beyond my capacity to physically manifest :o
QuoteAnd maybe get another blanket or an old jacket around it.
I find a sleeping bag works a treat. :)
QuoteQuoteAnd maybe get another blanket or an old jacket around it.
I find a sleeping bag works a treat. :)
Just leave it in the bed beside you, it'll be grand ;D
Quote@Deadman
If the electric blanket is keeping it at around 20C you're sweet :)
Not sure how hot those things get, THIS PAGE (http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/home-improvements/reviews/electric-blankets/page/faqs/) seems to suggest that their 'minimum temperatures tend to be around 25°C '
But if you can set it up in such a way that it keeps it about 20 it will be fine.
@HopBomb
I have a belt and it seems to settle at 24C. I had it on a cheap socket timer to cut on at intervals and it did the trick.
I now have the heat belt connected to an STC1000 and it keeps it perfect.
I'd normally ferment at 18C for ales or 12 for lagers, sut some brews like the stout, hefeweisen or saison do well a bit higher in my opinion.
I've stuck away from brew pads because I've heard that it's not great to have the trub sitting right on top of them.
And they're expensive...
I didnt know that about brew pads. Great tip re: stc1000. I bought one on ebay over xmas. Just waiting for it to arrive.
They're the business.
Set and forget! ;)
hey im just wondering what kinda temperature ranges you could get from these brew belts? would you be able to leave it in a shed at 10-12 degrees and still set it to 18-22 degrees?
The smell out of the brew room the last couple of days is massive, i even found myself sniffing the bubbler :o ;D
The technical term is stout fart :D
Robrew - Once I have the fridge empty, I'll set it to 10C, bang in an FV of water with a brewbelt for a day and see what the temp is for you. Probably won't be til next week though.
deadman - I'm constantly sniffing the bubbler (sounds so dirty), yum yum yum :D
ciderhead and tub - I love the smell of yeastfart in the morning! [smiley=happy.gif]
thanks Eoin tis just a bit of curiosity on my part ;D, and dont worry im sure there is plenty of other bubbler sniffers out there :D
Update i still have the leccy blanket on the FV and set to lowest setting and with thermometer between blanket and fv i am getting a constant temp of 25c so pretty good considering the house is bloody freezing. The smell is just heaven so i am hoping that in a month i will have a nice stout for a taste test ;D
necessity is the mother of invention ;D
if you could drop it down a few degrees it would be awesome.
robrew, i left the window open and shut the door on the way to bed last night.
This morning the room was at 13C and the brew with belt was at 21ish.
actualy it has settled at 23C now so thats even better? ;D now if i could just get some bottles in i would be sorted,transport issues :'(
Quote
robrew, i left the window open and shut the door on the way to bed last night.
This morning the room was at 13C and the brew with belt was at 21ish.
that seems quite good I think this will be going on my growing list of 'to buy' ;D
Yes but a single bed electric blanket covers far more surface area around an FV, it has 3 settings, best of all you can get them now for 15 euro and the brew belt is 30 euro average,also all the brew belts i have seen would not wrap a small saucepan. Better heat distribution with the blanket.
Brewbelts are designed to be run 24hrs 7 days, electric blankets are not
Brewbelts are 25 Watts Electric blankets are between 100 and 200 Watts
So a brew belt is better because its weaker? Electric blankets do have thermostatic cut off as well. Electrically speaking i can't see any problem with running them full time, not the new ones anyway.
A brewbelt is better because it was designed to do this specific job.
It's safer, more efficient and more effective.
I'm no expert in electric blankets, but the maunfacturer is.
Maybe email the electric blanket manufacturer and ask if they're safe to run for a week solid wrapped around a bucket of water...
Hmmm....
Aren't we the bunch of nutcases tha pull out kettle elements and run a pair of them for an hour at a time?
Necessity is the mother of invention ;D
QuoteHmmm....
Aren't we the bunch of nutcases tha pull out kettle elements and run a pair of them for an hour at a time?
I watch them!
Quote
I'm no expert in electric blankets, but the maunfacturer is.
Maybe email the electric blanket manufacturer and ask if they're safe to run for a week solid wrapped around a bucket of water...
Haha PMSL.
Yeah i think the problem here is
1. There is a strong chance you wont see the blanket going on fire - whereas you'll more than likely be standing over the kettle elements when they go up.
2. As CH says the blankets use more power so cost of running them is alot more - and may over heat the beer.
3. well i dunno what 3 is - the list looks shite with just 2 :P
But that said....I would have no probs using the blanket with a temp controller of some discription
Aw lads im in bits here - I only read this page when sending my last post - spent 15 mins going from the first post. Water streaming from my eyes.
Some boyos!
End of week one today, i have removed the leccy blanket etc and stuck a lcd thermometer on the side of the FV. Bought room thermometer today and ambient room temp right now is 12c so thermo on fv is not even registering as it measures from 18-34c :'(
Oh the joys of Home Brewing ;D
QuoteOh the joys of Home Brewing ;D
Now wasn't that easier that buying bottles!
QuoteEnd of week one today, i have removed the leccy blanket etc and stuck a lcd thermometer on the side of the FV. Bought room thermometer today and ambient room temp right now is 12c so thermo on fv is not even registering as it measures from 18-34c :'(
picture?
My lcd is 10 to 40.
Not really i have to go back for at least another two loads :'( Plus all that scrubbing to remove labels and glue residue. Oh and whoever said the Dungarvan Brewery labels were impossible to remove was correct ::)
Soak soak,soak and then soak again. Also some additions from today to the brew room stock ;D
havent seen those lcds before where did you get it?
btw unless you are giving you beer away why soak? my bottles are cleaned and sterilised inside but a few have labels
WTF is the grater for :-?
Cheese sandwich?
Orange zest right?
hang sangwiches wit brown sauce ;D
Ok ciderhead i was in Butlers today in Dungarvan talking to him and they are for the outside of an aquarium,3 euro each so i got them, i figured that since i would most likely be brewing between those temps anyway they would do.
Yes indeed those are sandeman bottles and i also have the corks,got them just in case i ever did a small brew of wine or something on a whim ;D
Actually fook it you know what ciderhead is right about not bothering removing the labels, however i still want some of them label free in case in future i ever give away any.
That is a cheese grater me lud and tis for zest for a shocktop someone posted :o Thats my next brew starting this week. Got webcam today as ye can see so i hope to video the process this time for my youtube channel ::) :o
If i can get the proper thermometers from homebrewcompany this week i will not be opening the second one so if any of ye want it give me a shout. ;D
Oh btw i want to sterilise them bottles now in the oven,what temp and how long? I realise i will have to do it again when i am using them but its a safety thing really ;)
Hang onto it you will need it for your third bucket
I find that the best way to remove labels is in the bathtub.
Fill it enough to cover all bottles with hot water and leave it for a day.
When you come back to them the labels generally slip right off and the glue is easy to scrub off.
Some labels can be problematic though :(
I sterilise in an oven too, 10 mins at 100-120 is fine.
I can't remember exact figures now but give or take 10gr these are the weights of the bottles;
Erdinger 250gr
Tyskie 350gr
Tiger Beer 420gr :o
As you can see the tiger beer are the best of the lot since they are more dense,also imho they are slightly better looking too ;D
Ok call a doctor i just said one beer bottle was better looking than the other :o :o :o
You'll be buying it a drink next
Tiger bottles are indeed very sturdy but the labels are a nightmare to get off. They're by far the toughest I've encountered.
O'Hara's, Whitewater or nearly any German bottle are piss easy.
I have found today that filling the bottles with as hot water as you can handle and laying them on their side in a sink full of hot water fully immersed does the trick.
Tyskie bottles(Polish) were by far the easiest so far and hardly needed any persuasion. As i said before the bottles from Dungarvan Brewing Company were by far the hardest but not impossible by any means. No label will stand up to 30mins in 60c water :o ;D
I will leave that to someone else to answer. I just know that although i personally from now on will be trying to get Tyskie and Tiger bottles whenever i can, any of the Dungarvan Brewery ones as well. I feel confident that the Tyskie and Tiger could stand up to high carb brews if they had to whereas i would have my doubts now about the erdinger long term. :)
Brewdog have been the worst labels for me so far. Sierra Nevada have been the easiest. I soak mine in a bucket of oxy clean. They just fall off & I just wipe the glue away with a cloth. Then bang em in the dishwasher & they come out brand new.
A lot of the bottles like Brew Dog have to be purchased, the ones i got were freebies.
There is a guy in the Bull & Castle that post on beoir forum said he'd keep any amount of bottles for home brewers. He just needs a few days notice. If yer gona be up for the comp its worth sending him a message.
hey Deadman - you should leave the labels on a few bottles - I always find it funny to have some unsuspecting person open a bottle of Erdinger - Guinness Stout - whatever only to be greeted with a Pale Ale/ect
Also with the Guinness Bottles - its kinda fun to try and see how your own HB stout passes off
Although - now I guess I've become known for it, its hard to catch anyone out !!
I do recall doing what you've done - soaking bottles - think I gave @ 60 of them a nice bath one night
these days I dont bother really - I find over time the labels kinda come off as your washing them @ bottle night
Also the beer don't care what the label says !!!
Thats true newtobrew but i want to put on my own labels plus when i get to cleaning i can't stop, 15yrs of working in a pharmaceutical factory its second nature now. ::)
By the way, what's your gravity at?
Have not a clue me lud, ciderhead was giving out to me so i said i would leave it the full ten days before cracking it open to check the gravity,started out at 1.041 as far as i recall.
wow, good restraint for the first brew. I'm impressed ;D
Thanks, so this time tomorrow night i will be cracking her open to sample and check gravity for first time since starting brew. Now if my other demijohn in hotpress would only kick off ::) ;D
Ok well i just checked my gravity on the coopers stout and it is only at 1.020 giving me a potential 2.1% abv which is rather dissapointing. Is it possible that it took off but now is stuck or paused? If so how do i get it going again? Ambient temp is still 12C. :'(
Slower fermentation cause the temp is low. What has it been a week? 10 days? Leave it alone for another week.
If the brew is still about 1020 after that, then it is stuck, get a pack of dry beer enzyme and add it to the brew. That will get the gravity under 1010 quick.
If you have no patience, rouse it by a good stir with a sterilised spoon, I don't recommend that due to risk of infection.
QuoteOk well i just checked my gravity on the coopers stout and it is only at 1.020 giving me a potential 2.1% abv which is rather dissapointing. Is it possible that it took off but now is stuck or paused? If so how do i get it going again? Ambient temp is still 12C. :'(
a bit like Guinness light then ;D
Its 10 days today Snuff,i will leave it until next week so. Never heard of that dried beer enzyme though, is that the same as yeast nutrient?
getting it back up to the recommended temperature would probably be enough.
I think that strain of yeast goes on strike somewhere around 14-16.
QuoteIts 10 days today Snuff,i will leave it until next week so. Never heard of that dried beer enzyme though, is that the same as yeast nutrient?
The dry beer enzyme allows the yeast to process sugars that it normally can't, thus reducing the gravity and "drying" out the taste a bit. I have used it a few times and it never fails to get the FG below 1010, more like 1005. You can get it from the homebrewcompany.ie for €1.95 a pack. Always good to have a couple of pack "just in case".
However, I do reckon temperature is your issue, sleeping yeast rather than stuck brew.
We will see on Wednesday, i am leaving it alone until then and will see if any progress on the gravity at that stage ;D
Will be bottling this at some stage tomorrow. Will try to upload something but i only have my phone to work off now since laptop blew the motherboard.