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March 28, 2024, 03:41:31 PM

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Homebrew thread

Started by Blue Jam, March 24, 2020, 06:20:38 PM

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Calistan

I'm thinking of going back to doing some extract brewing. I did two or three extract brews a few years ago where two were successful and the other a tragic failure (it didn't ferment). I basically want to get back to messing about with hops and other fun bits and bobs. I don't have enough space for all grain brewing just yet.

Is there anywhere online I can buy a large pot? What do people on CaB use? Previously I had used a large pot I bought in Tesco but they don't seem to stock them anymore. I found this online but seems expensive: https://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/50-litre-stainless-pan-with-lid-tap-engine-turned-finish/

Argos has this which seems alright: link

Or am I better off spending a bit of money and getting some fancy dan like this? I've no idea.

https://www.geterbrewed.com/digital-turbo-boiler-35-litres-kegland/

Ferris

If you have the space for extract brewing, you absolutely have the space for brew in a bag all-grain. You need a grain bag, and the big pot, everything else is the same.

The use of a separate mash tun is for nerds - just go 2c over target temp, then pop the lid on. The heat capacity of the wort will keep it at the right temperature for 90 minutes without much input from you. A buddy of mine mashed this way, but left it overnight and did the boil the following day and he wins all sorts of awards. Sparging is tough, but get a friend to help (because the grain bag will be fucking heavy when you start draining it) but it's manageable as one person, just have a big mixing bowl to hand to squeeze into if your big pot is tough to manage[nb]and because everything you're doing at the mash will get boiled you don't need to worry about sanitizing everything the sort bag touches within reason[/nb]

Speaking of big pots, I use this bad boy, about 60 quid and I'm sure there will be a UK equivalent at yer B&Qs or similar: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/industrial-stockpot-32l-0422512p.html#srp

Happy to give pointers if helpful, but I'm wary of patronizing people if they already know how it all works!

Calistan

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I'll go down that route, just need to find the elusive pot. Hopefully my stove hob is up to the job. I see a lot of YouTubers using their little gas burners but it's something I'll avoid until I have my own house.

As for being patronising, not at all - I'm still very much a novice so I appreciate any help!

Ferris

I've found my electric stovetop has been up to the job, and there's a few little tips that help with the efficiency - daft stuff like take the water from the hot tap not the cold tap meant my water was coming at 48c instead of 10c (I measured) so now your stove only needs to heat it another ~20c and you're done: you can also boil a litre at a time in the kettle and add that as you go to increase the temp.

As with all this stuff, there are people who are adamant that boiling with gas is better (for some reason) and that the faster you can cool the wort the better and that necessitates buying a load of cooling equipment.

I've found stovetop to heat/boil, cooling the pot/wort in the sink surrounded by cold water from the tap, and not worrying too much makes excellent beer. I'm also convinced that some people are invested in making everything seem more complicated than it actually is because it elevates their expertise.

Dex Sawash

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on February 07, 2021, 02:57:05 PM
. I'm also convinced that some people are invested in making everything seem more complicated than it actually is because it elevates their expertise.

That coffee syringe thing in back of my cabinet twed made me buy.

Ferris

Quote from: Dex Sawash on February 07, 2021, 03:05:34 PM
That coffee syringe thing in back of my cabinet twed made me buy.

Not a fucking aero-press? I've two of the cunts, they sit on top of our cupboards having been used a grand total of ZERO times.

Had an instant coffee this morning, it was fine. If I want a nice coffee, there's a billion places selling them within a 5 minute walk of me - I can get one and still be back faster than fluting about with one of those press things.

dmillburn

Quote from: TrenterPercenter on January 11, 2021, 09:51:52 AM
Anyone seen/used these new fangled hipster brewing machines?

https://thegreatergood.co.uk

I got one of these before Christmas and have been really impressed with it. I've done two brews so far, the Fresh Republic lager and the Lockwood Pilsner, and been really impressed with the results. I've not touched homebrew in the best part of 30 years or so, and probably never would have gone back to it if it wasn't for the Pinter which just makes it a more attractive, and wife-friendly, proposition than a 30l fermenting bin etc. 10 pints is just about right for me, a decent enough amount to make it worthwhile but without taking up too much space.

There are a few issues though - mainly with quality control issues but customer service has been brilliant for me. There's been a lot of reports of lower ABVs than advertised (which they are addressing with higher strength kits), and as sirhenry says the advertised brewing and condition times are definitely the minimum (for example the Pilsner is 5 days brew a 2 conditioning but I'm doing 8 and 15 with a one day cold crash). Having said that I tapped the lager on the minimum brewing/conditioning and it was really tasty and drinkable just a bit cloudy as you'd expect, so all depends how impatient you are. 

There's a pretty decent community now too, and lots of people experimenting with using other non-Pinter kits in it (obviously splitting quantities down to fit etc) but for me the attraction was that it's an all-in-one kit, a really simple process and fits in the fridge OK. For me at least it's got me back into homebrew in some form, which wouldn't have happened without their slick advertising.

popcorn

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on February 07, 2021, 02:57:05 PM
I've found my electric stovetop has been up to the job, and there's a few little tips that help with the efficiency - daft stuff like take the water from the hot tap not the cold tap meant my water was coming at 48c instead of 10c (I measured) so now your stove only needs to heat it another ~20c and you're done

My understanding was that, by conventional wisdom, drinking from the hot tap wasn't a great idea because it comes from a different, shitter storage tank.

This is from water.org (sounds authoriative doesn't it?!?!): "Can I drink warm water directly from the hot tap? You should avoid using hot water for drinking or cooking because it often comes from a storage tank within the home and is not as fresh as water directly from the mains."

However I know fuck-all about houses.

Sebastian Cobb

You can use the hot tap if you have a combi boiler, you don't want to do it if you have tanked hot water. It's probably fine since you're boiling it, but also metal sludge and stuff.

Ferris

My hot water comes via a heater tank thing from the same source (and I think that was the same in our apartment building previously) but you britishers with your funny water sources may want to avoid my One Neat Trick.

Calistan

https://ibb.co/FJMWVB2

Bought the above (Coopers Irish stout, dark spraymalt, sugar and a lovely big jug) at the local homebrew / health food store last weekend. I'll likely add some vanilla beans but not sure about the process - would two or three scraped and chopped up be enough? Should I put them in a little vial of vodka to sterilise them? Also, when would I add them? So many questions. My last Coopers stout was brilliant so looking forward to adding a little vanilla to it.

(Still on the lookout for a large pot before I can start my brew in the bag adventures. )

Ferris

Quote from: Calistan on March 11, 2021, 08:41:10 PM
https://ibb.co/FJMWVB2

Bought the above (Coopers Irish stout, dark spraymalt, sugar and a lovely big jug) at the local homebrew / health food store last weekend. I'll likely add some vanilla beans but not sure about the process - would two or three scraped and chopped up be enough? Should I put them in a little vial of vodka to sterilise them? Also, when would I add them? So many questions. My last Coopers stout was brilliant so looking forward to adding a little vanilla to it.

(Still on the lookout for a large pot before I can start my brew in the bag adventures. )

I cut two in half lengthwise and add them after about a week in primary as far as I remember? Works a treat!

Sebastian Cobb

When I was looking into when to add ginger to a gingery beer I think both Ferris' advice and the wider internet sort of said 'if you add it early you might want to boil it, but if you add it later the booze content means you probably don't need to bother'.

I bottled that last week and haven't drank any yet but the amount of extra ginger, cayenne and chilli flakes made it quite fiery.

After I've been to the shop tomorrow and bought some lemons, I'm going to have a crack at upscaling this really basic ghetto brew into a 24 litre bucket:
https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/46504-alcoholic-ginger-beer/

For the avoidance of doubt I am choosing to make 24 litres instead of 23 because multiplying things by 12 is easy.

Ferris

That looks grand, love a simple booze recipe.

Keep meaning to get my gear out the basement but we got lead tests done last month - I don't remember the exact reading but basically we could use the taps to do court sketches. Pipes are replaced as of this week, but not supposed to drink directly out of the taps for a few months (hello filter my old friend) and I figure boiling water will only concentrate the lead.

It's not a massive issue but it's put me off brewing for a bit. A cider or ginger beer like this with no boiling though? I could filter water for that no worries. Could be worth a shout...

Sebastian Cobb

I'm going to boil up the ingredients, for no other reason than 'might as well', with the sugar and 3-5l you usually chuck in a tin kit then fill it from the cold tap.

On a counterpoint: making homebrew would increase the flow passing through the aged pipes therefore dilute the lead more quickly.

Ferris

Lead pipes are gone, had to run each tap for an hour today to flush the last of the lead out the system[nb]though for some reason I still have to filter water for up to 6 months?[/nb]. My OCD was off the chart leaving taps on for hours at a time for no reason.

I could flush the taps (ie run em for 10 minutes before each use), but tbh I'm happy enough making cider for a few months until I have drinking water straight out the tap - then I'll get back on the brewing horse.

If you hadn't posted that recipe, it wouldn't have occurred to me to do any brewing at all so I'm actually fairly chuffed at the idea of a cider or two between now and then.

Sebastian Cobb

In that case surely the advice to not use the pipes direct is to flush the insides of the new pipes and boiling with respect to metal content is immaterial?

Not trying to be mr. logic here, just maybe you'll be getting some weird plastic/chemical shit in there instead?

Ferris

I suspect I'm just getting shit advice from the city tbh.

The pipes are lovely PVC now and every taps been run for 1+ hour, so why can't I drink out the taps for 6 months or whatever it is? What possible concentration of lead would be in there at 5.5 months that would have disappeared at 6? It makes no sense, especially when the supply line from the (cast iron) main is like 30' at most.

Re: boiling - you concentrate the impurities because the water boils off but the rest stays behind. I suspect any brewing would be done with my (lovely) brother in law and I'd feel guilty giving them booze that had elevated levels of lead in it, even if I told them up front. When I have the option to just leave it for a few months, I'm just gonna do that.

Dex Sawash

PEX/Polybutylene?

PVC is mostly drain/waste/vent applications these days. If it is PVC, that has glued joints so that may need some flushing. PEX is assembled with metal crimp rings or magic plastic constriction rings.

Ferris

Quote from: Dex Sawash on March 12, 2021, 01:15:18 AM
PEX/Polybutylene?

PVC is mostly drain/waste/vent applications these days. If it is PVC, that has glued joints so that may need some flushing. PEX is assembled with metal crimp rings or magic plastic constriction rings.

Well now you have me - I'm fairly sure the sewage outflow is PVC[nb]and for some mad reason the public service out pipe is at an incredible 18.5 degrees down rather than the more pedestrian 2.5 degrees the city mandates, perhaps the previous tenants were doing mega-turds and everyone agreed to get that stuff away from civilians and into the harbour as quickly as possible[/nb] but I actually couldn't tell you what the new fresh water service line is made of.

Fake edit: looked up the quote; sewage outflow is SDR28 PVC (I think the 28 just means 28mm?) and that'll be glued or crimped with O rings but who cares as it's on the way out the house, and freshwater in line is "type K copper", and I'm assuming it is braised? As long as they avoided lead solder we're laughing. Probably.

hihomugi

Tilt hydrometer question.

I'm looking into buying one of these. Just wondering if I don't have a dedicated iPhone or iPad to leave close to the fermenter, can I still use it? And what are the drawbacks? I assume every time I come home and come close to the fermenter I can take a reading on the app but does it not give me the graphs etc.? Thank you.

Sebastian Cobb

#651
Reading the text I can't say for sure but it implies it does. Although if you want real time monitoring it seems the raspberry pi is well supported and cheap compared to the thing itself. At which point it can funnel the data into the cloud and you can pick it up from anywhere in the world.

It looks cool and well done from a first look, but i'd personally struggle to justify spending that when I could put it towards a corny keg or kegerator and stuff that would markedly improve my brews or make the process easier.

Sebastian Cobb

Edit glitch fix trite post: My Dad sent some stuff up and gave me his Boots hydrometer from the 70's and it's a big bulky plastic thing with a floating ruler on the end so it's really easy to read.


Dex Sawash


K copper is first class stuff but a real ballache to retrofit in old construction.
Did they do the bits in the walls too? If not you may still have one or two old lead-soldered joints on each supply, explaining the flush it warning. Might just be the mad health and safety of your marxist hell-hole though.

Sebastian Cobb

I used to work in a building that got it's water from an older 60's towerblock that pumped water up to its tanks on the roof. When the tower block was shut there wasn't enough consumption for the water to be safe so we had to get our drinking water delivered and fill the kettle from the water cooler and shit.

They tried to take that away and make us drink the dirty water but we told them to get bent and they relented eventually.


TommyTurnips

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on February 07, 2021, 02:57:05 PMI've found stovetop to heat/boil, cooling the pot/wort in the sink surrounded by cold water from the tap, and not worrying too much makes excellent beer. I'm also convinced that some people are invested in making everything seem more complicated than it actually is because it elevates their expertise.

Yeah maybe there is something in this. I brew in a keggle/brew in the bag set up with a propane burner but I know someone who brews on a grainfather and uses all these software charts to work out the exact amount of water/pH levels/mash temp and all that. I don't quite understand it and seems overly complicated. It doesn't seem to make his beer any better.

Ferris

Quote from: Dex Sawash on March 12, 2021, 12:01:15 PM
K copper is first class stuff but a real ballache to retrofit in old construction.
Did they do the bits in the walls too? If not you may still have one or two old lead-soldered joints on each supply, explaining the flush it warning. Might just be the mad health and safety of your marxist hell-hole though.

Stuff in the walls is copper (I think?) and the property records only identify the main service line as lead but you're right, there could be a lead solder join or two in the walls that will never be replaced because fuck that.

Re: 6 months, I imagine it's the city being insanely over cautious to avoid lawsuits if people start greedily guzzling drinking water only to find there's still high levels of lead after a day or two.

Quote from: TommyTurnips on March 12, 2021, 02:32:22 PM
Yeah maybe there is something in this. I brew in a keggle/brew in the bag set up with a propane burner but I know someone who brews on a grainfather and uses all these software charts to work out the exact amount of water/pH levels/mash temp and all that. I don't quite understand it and seems overly complicated. It doesn't seem to make his beer any better.

Yeah this kind of stuff is exactly what I meant. If you're setting up loads of tech because that's what you like doing then cool more power to you, but it's a mistake to think it is in any way necessary (or even particularly helpful).

The laziest brewer I knew (even worse than me) used to regularly win awards. He kept it very simple and I think having one or two clear notes come through in his product ended up putting him miles ahead of people doing decoction mashes and stepped/mixed culture fermentations in their temp chamber etc.

Sebastian Cobb

It's a lot like cooking isn't it? If you're uncertain you follow the instructions to the letter, but then you get a feel for it.

Ferris

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on March 12, 2021, 03:07:26 PM
It's a lot like cooking isn't it? If you're uncertain you follow the instructions to the letter, but then you get a feel for it.

Couldn't agree more.

Maybe it's helpful for some people (and that's fair enough) but I go largely by feel these days[nb]he says, having gone almost 2 years without brewing a single thing[/nb]

Sebastian Cobb

In my experience it's also a lot like cooking because you omit a step or ingredient, realise it's too late to do anything about but isn't catastrophically ruined, continue anyway and then not notice a difference and get away with it.