Home Brew

T

takai

Eats Squid
Just tapped my keg of a new west coast IPA house recipe. Super fruity and hoppy without being astringent around 100IBU, and has a good malt finish and body. Tasty as.

 
Mattydv

Mattydv

Likes Bikes and Dirt
New urn and grain arrived yesterday, and I've just found a fridge going for free that I'll be picking up this afternoon. If this temp controller arrives today I'll hopefully have something to do this weekend!

Does anyone have suggestions for storing grain for <6 weeks in fairly hot/humid environments? Presumably vac packing would be ideal, but is it ultimately necessary?
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
Mattydv said:
Does anyone have suggestions for storing grain for <6 weeks in fairly hot/humid environments? Presumably vac packing would be ideal, but is it ultimately necessary?
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White 20 litre buckets from Bunnings/ Supercheap.
They will hold 12.5 kg each.
As I buy in bulk every 6 months I can say the grain stays fresh and crunchy.
For smaller amounts (specialty grains aka roasted/ crystal) I use 1 litre yoghurt buckets.
 
D

DJR

Likes Dirt
I use the blue drums from the local farm shop, its not that hot up here though. Just keep them in a cool dark place eg garage or under the house.

Stored in grain bags inside the drums. I have heaps, probably about 70kg+, should really brew more but I can't resist bulk buys!
 
Mattydv

Mattydv

Likes Bikes and Dirt
indica said:
White 20 litre buckets from Bunnings/ Supercheap.
They will hold 12.5 kg each.
As I buy in bulk every 6 months I can say the grain stays fresh and crunchy.
For smaller amounts (specialty grains aka roasted/ crystal) I use 1 litre yoghurt buckets.
Click to expand...
Sure. Does whether they've been pre-milled affect their storability? Surely more surface area = more moisture absorbed, therefore more likely to go off...

Am I likely to notice any taste differences between fermenting at a precise temperature vs a more general range, still within the 15-22 that the US05 requires? My temperature controller hasn't arrived, so I'm thinking of just sticking the fermenter into the fridge with the temperature set to 'less cold' - but I've no idea what temperature that would get me to (buying an analogue thermometer today), nor how much the temp can fluctuate once inside.
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
Mattydv said:
Sure. Does whether they've been pre-milled affect their storability? Surely more surface area = more moisture absorbed, therefore more likely to go off...

Am I likely to notice any taste differences between fermenting at a precise temperature vs a more general range, still within the 15-22 that the US05 requires? My temperature controller hasn't arrived, so I'm thinking of just sticking the fermenter into the fridge with the temperature set to 'less cold' - but I've no idea what temperature that would get me to (buying an analogue thermometer today), nor how much the temp can fluctuate once inside.
Click to expand...
Milled grain has a much shorter shelf life, having said that a few weeks in something airtight will be fine, worked for me before I bought a mill.
As for temp, I fermented my first few in an esky filled with ice and did not have any bad flavours at all. This even passed by the lips of experienced brewers.
Fermentation is exothermic, it will create heat. Keep an eye on it. Turn the fridge off when you have too, it's not perfect but will work.
 
Mattydv

Mattydv

Likes Bikes and Dirt
indica said:
Milled grain has a much shorter shelf life, having said that a few weeks in something airtight will be fine, worked for me before I bought a mill.
As for temp, I fermented my first few in an esky filled with ice and did not have any bad flavours at all. This even passed by the lips of experienced brewers.
Fermentation is exothermic, it will create heat. Keep an eye on it. Turn the fridge off when you have too, it's not perfect but will work.
Click to expand...
Thanks, might be worth my while investing in a second hand mill should I start buying in greater quantity then. Shipping costs from NHB are $35 or thereabouts, so it could certainly save me money in the long run.
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
Mattydv said:
Thanks, might be worth my while investing in a second hand mill should I start buying in greater quantity then. Shipping costs from NHB are $35 or thereabouts, so it could certainly save me money in the long run.
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ebay $135 mill is great.
And the next Bulk buy will be July, definitely worth it then
 
S

sammydog

NSWMTB, Hunter MTB Association
Mattydv said:
Thanks, might be worth my while investing in a second hand mill should I start buying in greater quantity then. Shipping costs from NHB are $35 or thereabouts, so it could certainly save me money in the long run.
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Matty, give me a call tomorrow. You can get grain delivered in Newcastle for about $5.50.
 
Mattydv

Mattydv

Likes Bikes and Dirt
sammydog said:
I thought he was back home again for some reason.

He has sat in on a few of my brew sessions.
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Would've loved to dropped in again mate, as unfortunately I don't remember a whole lot! Good excuse for you to bring the bike up to Cairns anyway.

I've just finished the boil, it's looking (and tasting!) good. Much more bitter than I was expecting, but I'm sure it'll come up well.
 
Mattydv

Mattydv

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Yeast has been pitched this morning and just waiting for it to do it's thing. OG was 1.030, which is definitely less than I was hoping for, but it'll hopefully turn out alright.
 
D

DJR

Likes Dirt
Mattydv said:
Yeast has been pitched this morning and just waiting for it to do it's thing. OG was 1.030, which is definitely less than I was hoping for, but it'll hopefully turn out alright.
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You could always top it up with some malt extract to get the gravity up, but 1030 will still give about 4% if you are bottling
 
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