Home Brew

Toxic

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LEX said:
Yeh but it wouLd cost way to much in power to run it all night. so says my dad anyway. Its on average 12 deg where it is and its lowest it got was 10 deg
Are there yeasts out there that will work at lower temps? Maybe not, 12 degrees, but maybe 15? (I really should know this in my line of work)
 

cheese

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I know you can get "super yeast" which might ferment at the same rate as normal yeast in the lower temperature.
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Just bottled my first ever batch :cool:

I'm now celebrating with a Coopers (bought one that is).

I can't wait, I intend on making my own mash etc. Will do some different sugar mixtures, might try honey and some herbs etc.

Will keep a few bottles from each batch for a year.

So excited! :D
 

LEX

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WOW!!! My post is back from the dead. Great to hear johnny. I recently turned 18 and that along with HSC has stoped production of top quality home brew :) . Good luck with it, and remember to keep the sugar in suspension while firmenting, makes it alot nicer. Happy brewing man.
 

CHEWY

Eats Squid
Good work Johnny!
Beer tastes that much better if you make it yourself.
I've been pretty slack lately, just finnished my last homebrew last night and havnt even bought stuff for a new batch.
My mates left a barrel of brew in my lounge for a couple of months and its gone fezz
Try to keep it up, its too easy to get lazy and go buy a slab but when you make the effort it is well worth it.
I have a brew from my very first batch (which was actually one of the best I ever made) which is gonna be my b'day present to myself. cant wait to drink it .
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
LEX said:
and remember to keep the sugar in suspension while firmenting, makes it alot nicer. .
Going to have to explain that one :confused:

Q1. When bottles explode, will they smash any bottles next to them? (I've wrapped each bottle in news paper, didn't want to take any risks with the first batch)

Q2. Will plastic bottles pop? I sterilised some old Mount Franklin bottles and put a little extra sugar in (didn't have any glucose/dextrose) to up the anti.

Q3. Is it wise to mix the sediment in prior to bottling? I like coudy beer so I mixed the fermenter around a bit for the last couple of bottles.

Q4. How long should the bottled product be kept 18-28c? I've been given two differing times. 1 week and 3 weeks.

I'm sure there will be more in the future :)
 

CHEWY

Eats Squid
When?? the bottles explode.. you mean if...
It depends what enviroment they are kept in and how much sugar you put in at the bottling stage
How much did you put in?
My guess is plastic bottles will pop before glass bottles explode.
I would not disturb the sediment, you already get enough if you try hard not to disturb it, I wonder how much you will like your cloudy beers after this batch ;)
I go 18-28 for 1 week (fridge heat box)
And leave them for another week before drinking (unless desperate)
BTW regular sugar (surcose?) is fine for bottle fermentation.
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
I put three of the pre-made drops and about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in a 2lt water bottle.

I'm thinking the threads on the lid will give way.

Well that's good, I thought I'd be waiting three to four weeks. But I'll be patient, I have to drink a few more long neck cases to get my bottle supply up yet ;)
 

Labcanary

One potato, two potato, click
johnny said:
I have to drink a few more long neck cases to get my bottle supply up yet ;)
Ah, 'tis a labour of love though! :D

Along with writing everything in a book (I also keep all the labels, yeast packets and other things that go into the brew in there), write the date you bottled the brew on the caps or bottles. It makes it easier to find the ones ready for drinking, as does keeping a rotating cycle where you store your brews (oldest at the front, most recent up the back or however you prefer to do it).
As others have suggested, once you have the hang of it try new things and not just the basic toohey's kit from safeway.
If you make a stout, use liquorice extract - it produces a better head (jokes aside)
Last note, homebrew doesn't seem to give me as much as a hangover as the same amount of bought brew does :cool:
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Blas4me said:
As others have suggested, once you have the hang of it try new things and not just the basic toohey's kit from safeway.
If you make a stout, use liquorice extract - it produces a better head (jokes aside)
Last note, homebrew doesn't seem to give me as much as a hangover as the same amount of bought brew does :cool:
Yeah I actually improvised with my first batch. I used Coopers Sparkling with a blend of "sugars". Some bottles I made cloudy, some I added extra sugar (plastic) etc. to see what I like. Next batch will be all my own sugars and I'm going to read up on using honey and adding herbs etc. Might mash my own barley, grain etc. in the future too. Not really the Kmart type myself.

I'm actually very interested in hangovers and the differing causes. I already know about the ethanol = methanol (vomit) and Femaldahide (sp?) (dehydration) but aparently differing preservatives and silver oxide etc will affect hangovers too. Better write a letter to Dr. Karl K.!
 

CRS01

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we got these caps with a little rubber slit in the top once, i forget what they are called, but the idea is good. basically you get a bottle of apple juice and pour it into an old 2 ltr coke bottle put one of these caps on and two weeks later its fizzy and about 14%.....the taste is nothing to write home about, but it does the trick. as for homw brew we have been kegging home brew for a few years now using old postmix kegs (aprox 20 ltr) and fittings. these can be obtained quite cheaply and using a pull on the front of an old fridge we have quite a good set up. also if you want to you can put the keg and gas into a wheelie bin and fill it with ice for a BBQ setup.
 

Labcanary

One potato, two potato, click
johnny said:
Yeah I actually improvised with my first batch. I used Coopers Sparkling with a blend of "sugars". Some bottles I made cloudy, some I added extra sugar (plastic) etc. to see what I like. Next batch will be all my own sugars and I'm going to read up on using honey and adding herbs etc. Might mash my own barley, grain etc. in the future too. Not really the Kmart type myself.
More work, but more fun I say :D

Where do you live? I ask because there's a great brew supply place here in Melbourne http://www.brewcraft.com.au/
If you haven't had a look already, check out the website. Even if you can't buy from them they've got some good info on how to make certain varieties of beer including brand name brews (although this is more similar in style and taste, not necessarily the real deal). I know from experience their Cascade Pale Ale is a winner.
Well, have fun and don't let your stock get too low!!!
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
CHEWY said:
My guess is plastic bottles will pop before glass bottles explode.
You were right, it blew a little crack out of the bottom of the 2lt water bottle. Smelt pretty nice though :)

Blas4me said:
Where do you live?
Alas, ol' Sydney town is my habitat. But I will check that site out, thanks. As for not getting out of stock, I haven't got enough empties to start my next batch. Plus I want to go buy some differing sugars etc. to experiment with.

Can't type anymore, must drain a few longnecks for the next batch ;)
 
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CHEWY

Eats Squid
You can buy proper plastic bottles for brew, thats what Im gonna do this time.
No glass to smash and screw on lids is a nice thing to have for both bottling and drinking.
 

No_dice

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mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm beeeeeer!!!!!!!!!!!
after reading this im gunna start my own brew when the next pay comes in.
ohhh baby!
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
CHEWY said:
You can buy proper plastic bottles for brew, thats what Im gonna do this time.
No glass to smash and screw on lids is a nice thing to have for both bottling and drinking.
Yeah I'm thinking of that too. I'd like to make something a little more alcoholic than usual. Can you just do this buy adding more sugar (or glucose etc) during the fermentation process or is that partucular part of "alcoholisation" solely done in the bottling stage?

I did buy a book but it's not overly informative......and I'm too lazy to serch the net when I have you guys, your experience and generosity in answering my lame arse questions....crawl crawl :p
 

gumbyhead

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Just a few things i thought were missing from this thread...

A great homebrew shop in melbourne is BrewCraft (www.liquorcraft.com.au) these guys have everything including stills and ingredients for making spirits. they also have plenty of advice for the keen hoome brewist.

JOHNNY Adding more sugar will make your brew slightly more alcoholic, but will give it a fairly awful after taste. A standard brew is normally more alcoholic than a bought beer anyway.

LEX a good yeast to use if you live in colder areas is SAFLAGER yeast, this stuff is great, brews beast at 10-17 degrees, there is also SAFLAGER gold yeast which is about a $1 more but you will only need 1 packet for 44 litres. A good tip is to also save all the yeasts you get with the beer kits when your using other yeast, then when your too poor to buy good yeast use several pakcets in your brew, this will make it ferment faster and come out clearer.

The other thing was that i would like to dispel all talk of plastic bottles exploding, ive been brewing for 3 years and have always used 2lt pepsi bottles, and have never had one explode, the trick is as someone said dont rush your brew, leave it in the tub for 2 weeks then bottle, using two long neck scoops of sugar and one stubbie scoop of sugar, or roughly two desert spoons of sugar.

My current set up is two 60lt tubs both brewing 2 weeks apart so once one batch is ready to drink the other batch is ready to bottle, giving me a constaaant supli offf bear to drunkkkk alllyear roounddd, thhankkn goddd 444 hoomee brrrewwww.
 
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johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Yeah man, some good tips there. Thanks.

I did have a placcy bottle pop on my today. It was a 2lt Mount Franklin water bottle. It blew a tiny slit on the base. I had put three of the pre made carbonation drops in and about 2/3rds of a teaspoon of sugar (sucrose). I'd had it in the fermenter for 6 days and had bottled it on Monday night.

My problem is not enough bottles! Might get me a few Pepsi bottles........
 
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