Home Brew

W

will2

Likes Dirt
Five in a row now infected. Taste lemony, vinegary and sour.
So my fail rate is higher than success.

Bought new ferementers.
Become crazily pedantic about sanitation
Sanitising with bleach, then Iodophor and then star san.
Went back to kit and liquid malt, santised the can.

It has to be the tap water, or where it comes out of the tap itself. I do clean the tap and remove the screen.
Would filling a cube full of water and treating with something like campden tablets be the way to go?
I am in too deep money wise in to give up but it is so disheartening and frustrating.

Please give me some help.
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
will2 said:
It has to be the tap water, or where it comes out of the tap itself.
Click to expand...
Use a different tap - ie laundry instead of kitchen, hose out the back.
Ferment the beer somewhere else.

Do you pull the taps apart?
Are the FVs sealed properly - maybe those little bastard flies are getting in?
 
W

will2

Likes Dirt
I tried the garden tap. Same result. Fermenters are sealed being new I started using lids and airlocks again. Have put in my fermenting fridge and on the back landing of my apartment. Fridge is extremely clean inside. The back landing is dry and clean, star san in airlockss, glad wrap over there top. New taps each time boiled them to make sure they where properly cleaned. Glad wrap which was sdunked in starsan covers the tap.

Do you think its okay to re use these fermenters again. How should I go about cleaning them. Might try to get a heap of boiled water together an fill them with boiling water. As well as bleach soaking for a few days.

Wits end.
 
boyracer

boyracer

Likes Dirt
Bummer. A couple of goons of spring water should answer your question. fridge filters? Indoors? outdoors?
I have started to rely heavily on starsan's seemingly miracle like ability to sanitise my brews. I was fastidious about sanitation previously...until i saw my local craft brewer in action.
 
W

will2

Likes Dirt
Yeah costly but will get er done.

I was nuts first time, great beer, second bit more relaxed all good then the next three very relaxed and were lovely. Recent four have been mental crazy on the sanitation front and have all been fucked.
 
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W

will2

Likes Dirt
scblack said:
and having to boil all my water solved it.
Click to expand...
Reading back is key. Going to go to boiled or bottled water for the next one.

Also been reading up on acidified bleach, a vinegar and bleach mix, supposed according to numerous studies has crazy killing power. Chatted to a chemistry lecturer at Sydney uni about it today.
Reckon I can get on top of this with the water business sorted and a change in brewing scenery.


Thanks for all your help gentlemen. Was getting right frazzled.

I have so many longnecks now and I just want to have a shed full of beer aging away. Haha
 
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indica

indica

Serial flasher
Drinking...

Porter. 5.4% 50 IBU. Choco coffee and a hint of liquorice.
Stout. 7.2% 50 IBU. Bittered with Columbus. Will do again. With MORE hops. Lovely and roasty.
Brown Eye IPA. 6% 60 IBU. Superb actually. Needs more bitterness though, Cascade dry hop is really mellow at this stage. I find dry hopdeness increases to around 4 weeks then drops off.
 
rangersac

rangersac

Medically diagnosed OMS
indica said:
Drinking...

Porter. 5.4% 50 IBU. Choco coffee and a hint of liquorice.
Stout. 7.2% 50 IBU. Bittered with Columbus. Will do again. With MORE hops. Lovely and roasty.
Brown Eye IPA. 6% 60 IBU. Superb actually. Needs more bitterness though, Cascade dry hop is really mellow at this stage. I find dry hopdeness increases to around 4 weeks then drops off.
Click to expand...
Cider brewing is over for another year so got a stout on at the moment meself. Magnum for bittering and bit of Cascade to finish off, we'll see what happens. Before the cider cranked out a Thornbridge Pale Ale clone and an Irish Red which are drinking very nicely
 
JTmofo

JTmofo

XC Enthusiast
What FV do you guys use? I've just finished my fermentation temp controlled cabinet (bastardized beer fridge) and want to invest in a decent vessel (stainless or glass).

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 
johnny

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Chaps,

I’m on the cusp of kicking off again, starting with tinned extract to find my feet again and then consider progressing to doing my own mash, etc. keen to start with a pale or IPA but don’t want to use a pre-hopped extract. Does anyone know of any good non-hopped extracts I could use to get started and maybe some suggestions for a suitable yeast for ales. I’ve got citra and galaxy hops to try with it.

Also, any suggestion on good online shops for everything home brewing would be appreciated

Cheerio,

J
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
Coopers tins (not hopped) are really good and reliable.
http://store.coopers.com.au/recipes/index/view/id/59/ << is a really good base to go from and try your own stuff. I'd recommend Mangrove Jack's New World Strong Ale yeast. It is really good and neutral. Other people may suggest Fermentis US05.

Coopers have free shipping and deals and ROTM (recipe of the month), really good resource for learning before going all grain.

Temperature control is VITAL.
 
johnny

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Thanks heaps for that mate. Going to have to scour a few recipes to learn the best way to combine malts, sugars and yeasts when using the un-hopped cans. Keen to do some malty/caramely/toffee IPAs with a piney flavour to start things off. My aim will be for reds, darks, browns, porters, stouts and IPAs.

Surprised at the cost of postage when using the online shops, even for just small stuff like thermometers, measurers, 500gm tubs of sanitiser, etc. it's still $24, which is more than the actual items are worth. Unless purchasing bulk and expensive items it's still worth shopping local....., which sucks as the good shop is all the way down the other end of town!

That spreadsheet looks the goods.
 
johnny

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Rather annoyed with myself. Just doing my first brew of the comeback and I got distracted when I shouldn't have.

Doing a partial boil with a Thomas Cooper's IPA:

tin of Coopers IPA
200gm of Pale Crystal (in about 8 litres of water)
750gm Dextrose
165gm LME
90gm DME
30gm Amarillo for 30 mins and will likely dry hope with Amarillo as well.

As I was steeping the grain I decided to get a little warmth back into the fluid and put the flame on low. Got distracted for a while, ran back into the kitchen to find the temp at 94. The wort isn't astringent but it's no longer sweet. So the plan is to maybe add a little more water and dextrose to the final mix to dilute the tea flavour a little.
 
Spanky_Ham

Spanky_Ham

Porcinus Slappius
johnny said:
Rather annoyed with myself. Just doing my first brew of the comeback and I got distracted when I shouldn't have.

Doing a partial boil with a Thomas Cooper's IPA:

tin of Coopers IPA
200gm of Pale Crystal (in about 8 litres of water)
750gm Dextrose
165gm LME
90gm DME
30gm Amarillo for 30 mins and will likely dry hope with Amarillo as well.

As I was steeping the grain I decided to get a little warmth back into the fluid and put the flame on low. Got distracted for a while, ran back into the kitchen to find the temp at 94. The wort isn't astringent but it's no longer sweet. So the plan is to maybe add a little more water and dextrose to the final mix to dilute the tea flavour a little.
Click to expand...
Go with it..... The meat sack has had a number of failures that worked... Just remember to record the details.
 
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