Home Brewing (Complete Noob)

hywelg

RedRabbit said:

Next step is to make room for a fridge for fermentation.

That's just about the most important thing you can do to ensure quality repeatable brews. The whole, control the ferment temp, raise temps for a diacetyl rest, drop back down to 14 ° for dry hopping, cold crash to get yeast and hops to drop out makes it so much less reliant on chance. 

RedRabbit

hywelg said:

RedRabbit said:

Next step is to make room for a fridge for fermentation.

That's just about the most important thing you can do to ensure quality repeatable brews. The whole, control the ferment temp, raise temps for a diacetyl rest, drop back down to 14 ° for dry hopping, cold crash to get yeast and hops to drop out makes it so much less reliant on chance. 

Yeah, seems daft that I've spent so much on the brewing equipment but I'm leaving the fermentation in the lap of the gods.  Can't find anyone getting rid of a fridge locally so I may have to bite the bullet and buy new.  I realised after posting last night that there's space in the kitchen being taken up by the dishwasher that stopped working 3 years ago.  

MagicPigDetective

RedRabbit said:

If you're going to keep the barrel in the cellar it might be worth transferring the beer into the barrel down there.  If you take your fermenting bucket down there once it's finished and leave it a day or 2 the cooler temp will help clear the beer.

Yes that sounds far more sensible, thanks. 

RedRabbit

hywelg said:

RedRabbit said:

Next step is to make room for a fridge for fermentation.

That's just about the most important thing you can do to ensure quality repeatable brews. The whole, control the ferment temp, raise temps for a diacetyl rest, drop back down to 14 ° for dry hopping, cold crash to get yeast and hops to drop out makes it so much less reliant on chance. 

Fridge, inkbird and heating lamp ordered so I'll have my fermenting fridge setup in time for this weekends brew.

Quite fancy doing a lager now I'll have the means to control the fermentation temps.

hywelg

RedRabbit said:

hywelg said:

RedRabbit said:

Next step is to make room for a fridge for fermentation.

That's just about the most important thing you can do to ensure quality repeatable brews. The whole, control the ferment temp, raise temps for a diacetyl rest, drop back down to 14 ° for dry hopping, cold crash to get yeast and hops to drop out makes it so much less reliant on chance. 

Fridge, inkbird and heating lamp ordered so I'll have my fermenting fridge setup in time for this weekends brew.

Quite fancy doing a lager now I'll have the means to control the fermentation temps.

What wattage heater? I got a 40w and it's not quite enough to brew with Kveik yeast which needs 35-39°c. But mine is a three-quarter height fridge that can accommodate two 5gal fermenters. 

I got all three of my fridges for less than a tenner total.  It's amazing what people chuck away. 

RedRabbit

hywelg said:

What wattage heater? I got a 40w and it's not quite enough to brew with Kveik yeast which needs 35-39°c. But mine is a three-quarter height fridge that can accommodate two 5gal fermenters. 

I got all three of my fridges for less than a tenner total.  It's amazing what people chuck away. 

40W but it's a normal under counter fridge I've ordered.  

My brother had his kitchen done up not so long ago and, if I had asked at the time, I could have had a fridge off him then.  It ended up in the skip.

RedRabbit

Minor annoyance - the keg I ordered has come fitted with 2 gas posts.  I've emailed The Malt Miller to see if the can send out a liquid post and dip tube ASAP as I'll be ready to get the beer in the keg this weekend.

Obviously won't hear from them tonight so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what they can do.

RedRabbit

RedRabbit said:

Minor annoyance - the keg I ordered has come fitted with 2 gas posts.  I've emailed The Malt Miller to see if the can send out a liquid post and dip tube ASAP as I'll be ready to get the beer in the keg this weekend.

Obviously won't hear from them tonight so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what they can do.

The Malt Miller have been great with this.  Got a response to my email at 7am and got a notification of next day delivery from DPD at 8am.

If anyone is after anything homebrew related I can't recommend them highly enough  - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/

duotone

RedRabbit said:

RedRabbit said:

Minor annoyance - the keg I ordered has come fitted with 2 gas posts.  I've emailed The Malt Miller to see if the can send out a liquid post and dip tube ASAP as I'll be ready to get the beer in the keg this weekend.

Obviously won't hear from them tonight so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what they can do.

The Malt Miller have been great with this.  Got a response to my email at 7am and got a notification of next day delivery from DPD at 8am.

If anyone is after anything homebrew related I can't recommend them highly enough  - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/

Want to order some bottle tops & the bottle capper to go with it, plus some ingredients for that Hoegaarden style beer I posted the other day.  Good to know of a reliable company. Cheers @RedRabbit ;

hywelg

duotone said:

RedRabbit said:

RedRabbit said:

Minor annoyance - the keg I ordered has come fitted with 2 gas posts.  I've emailed The Malt Miller to see if the can send out a liquid post and dip tube ASAP as I'll be ready to get the beer in the keg this weekend.

Obviously won't hear from them tonight so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what they can do.

The Malt Miller have been great with this.  Got a response to my email at 7am and got a notification of next day delivery from DPD at 8am.

If anyone is after anything homebrew related I can't recommend them highly enough  - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/

Want to order some bottle tops & the bottle capper to go with it, plus some ingredients for that Hoegaarden style beer I posted the other day.  Good to know of a reliable company. Cheers @RedRabbit ;

Buy a bench capper not  the two handle jobby they are just not robust enough. 

duotone

Which would you recommend @hywelg ?

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/?s=Capper&search_id=1&post_type=product

RedRabbit

hywelg said:

duotone said:

RedRabbit said:

RedRabbit said:

Minor annoyance - the keg I ordered has come fitted with 2 gas posts.  I've emailed The Malt Miller to see if the can send out a liquid post and dip tube ASAP as I'll be ready to get the beer in the keg this weekend.

Obviously won't hear from them tonight so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what they can do.

The Malt Miller have been great with this.  Got a response to my email at 7am and got a notification of next day delivery from DPD at 8am.

If anyone is after anything homebrew related I can't recommend them highly enough  - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/

Want to order some bottle tops & the bottle capper to go with it, plus some ingredients for that Hoegaarden style beer I posted the other day.  Good to know of a reliable company. Cheers @RedRabbit ;

Buy a bench capper not  the two handle jobby they are just not robust enough. 

Was going to say exactly this.  The hand held ones can be quite particular about which bottles you use as well as they work by latching onto the ridge on the bottle neck.  I'm still not a huge fan of bottling but the bench press makes it a lot less tiresome (swingtops even more so).

This is the one I've got - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/steel-bench-top-crown-capper/

duotone

RedRabbit said:

<SNIP>

Was going to say exactly this.  The hand held ones can be quite particular about which bottles you use as well as they work by latching onto the ridge on the bottle neck.  I'm still not a huge fan of bottling but the bench press makes it a lot less tiresome (swingtops even more so).

This is the one I've got - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/steel-bench-top-crown-capper/

Thanks, just ordered that one @RedRabbit along with some bottle caps & Belgian Witt ingredients.

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/robs-belgian-witt/

RedRabbit

duotone said:

RedRabbit said:

<SNIP>

Was going to say exactly this.  The hand held ones can be quite particular about which bottles you use as well as they work by latching onto the ridge on the bottle neck.  I'm still not a huge fan of bottling but the bench press makes it a lot less tiresome (swingtops even more so).

This is the one I've got - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/steel-bench-top-crown-capper/

Thanks, just ordered that one @RedRabbit along with some bottle caps & Belgian Witt ingredients.

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/robs-belgian-witt/

I'm sure you'll be happy with it @duotone ;

Didn't realise that you were doing all grain.  What sort of setup have you got?

hywelg

duotone said:

RedRabbit said:

<SNIP>

Was going to say exactly this.  The hand held ones can be quite particular about which bottles you use as well as they work by latching onto the ridge on the bottle neck.  I'm still not a huge fan of bottling but the bench press makes it a lot less tiresome (swingtops even more so).

This is the one I've got - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/steel-bench-top-crown-capper/

Thanks, just ordered that one @RedRabbit along with some bottle caps & Belgian Witt ingredients.

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/robs-belgian-witt/

Be wary of using dried orange peel. I bought some for my Orange Stout and it tasted disappointingly artificial. I have experimented with fresh orange zest (15 big jaffas) before and it works wonderfully well, proper fresh orange flavour. I added it with the dry hops and sterilised the zest in white rum. However you could equally add at flameout and sterilise that way.

duotone

RedRabbit said:

duotone said:

RedRabbit said:

<SNIP>

Was going to say exactly this.  The hand held ones can be quite particular about which bottles you use as well as they work by latching onto the ridge on the bottle neck.  I'm still not a huge fan of bottling but the bench press makes it a lot less tiresome (swingtops even more so).

This is the one I've got - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/steel-bench-top-crown-capper/

Thanks, just ordered that one @RedRabbit along with some bottle caps & Belgian Witt ingredients.

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/robs-belgian-witt/

I'm sure you'll be happy with it @duotone ;;;

Didn't realise that you were doing all grain.  What sort of setup have you got?

Setup? It’s the most bare/beginners set-up you could imagine! I have only ever brewed 1 beer in life. That Stove Toppers Mosaic IPA & I don’t even know how that turned out, as it won’t be ready for bottling until next Thursday.

Previously
4 old saucepans
5 Litre demijohn with a bung & airlock
large metal sieve
Sanitising powder + a spray bottle
Thermometer
Some 500ml & 750ml glass bottles *previously drunk for research!*

After today’s order
Steel bench top crown capper
400 bottle caps
Hydrometer & glass trial jar
Brewing sugar 
Rob’s Belgian Witt ingredients + recipe

I’m probably being optimistic, but I’m hoping I can successfully brew that Rob’s Belgian Witt, just with the gear I have above. If I can’t then I’ll have to buy whatever I need, when I read through the instructions.

RedRabbit

I take it you are aware that the kit you've ordered is for a 23l brew?

duotone

RedRabbit said:

I take it you are aware that the kit you've ordered is for a 23l brew?

Yes @RedRabbit ;;
I plan on weighing everything out & just doing a 5L batch & see how it turns out.

hywelg said: duotone said: RedRabbit said: <SNIP> Was going to say exactly this.  The hand held ones can be quite particular about which bottles you use as well as they work by latching onto the ridge on the bottle neck.  I'm still not a huge fan of bottling but the bench press makes it a lot less tiresome (swingtops even more so).

This is the one I've got - https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/steel-bench-top-crown-capper/ Thanks, just ordered that one @RedRabbit along with some bottle caps & Belgian Witt ingredients.

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/robs-belgian-witt/
Be wary of using dried orange peel. I bought some for my Orange Stout and it tasted disappointingly artificial. I have experimented with fresh orange zest (15 big jaffas) before and it works wonderfully well, proper fresh orange flavour. I added it with the dry hops and sterilised the zest in white rum. However you could equally add at flameout and sterilise that way.

 
Thanks @hywelg ;;
Will use the fresh oranges. Was your 15 oranges for a 23Litre brew?

hywelg

duotone said:

 
Thanks @hywelg ;;
Will use the fresh oranges. Was your 15 oranges for a 23Litre brew?

19l . If you're going for a subtle orange flavour 10 would be enough I think. It does fade with time a little so it depends on how long its going to hang around.

RedRabbit

duotone said:

RedRabbit said:

I take it you are aware that the kit you've ordered is for a 23l brew?

Yes @RedRabbit ;;
I plan on weighing everything out & just doing a 5L batch & see how it turns out.

Okay, that should be fine.  Enjoy, I've not done a witbier yet.  It's on the list though.