South Korean brew.

So, I haven't had a brew day in about a year. I have been living in South Korea and left all of my equipment stateside.

I came home the other day and my girlfriend had a nice surprise or me.









So, I've never done an all grain brew. Looks to be around 12 to 15lbs of grain. I'm not sure about the pot having a spigot on it. And I'll be bottling in 1.6L hard plastic beer bottles.

I have no wort chiller and ice is oddly hard to come by. But I was thinking, there is a stream very close to my house. I thought I might use that as my cooling tool.

Last thing I noticed. I have no grain sock or anything. I'm not really sure how to go about that part of it. And no hydrometer...

So, anyways. I was hoping we could open this up to discussion and help me put together a plan to do this successfully.

Thanks.

OOOOHHH Shiny!

Step 1: get a grain bag

2: Put your grain in that bag

3: Now mash that bag

that's the way we do it- Brew In a Bag!

p.s. get a hydrometer (pretty cheap)- just use sink water to cool the wort...carrying to/from outdoors could get airborne nasties in it

JebCkr said:

So, I haven't had a brew day in about a year. I have been living in South Korea and left all of my equipment stateside.

I came home the other day and my girlfriend had a nice surprise or me.

So, I've never done an all grain brew. Looks to be around 12 to 15lbs of grain. I'm not sure about the pot having a spigot on it. And I'll be bottling in 1.6L hard plastic beer bottles.

I have no wort chiller and ice is oddly hard to come by. But I was thinking, there is a stream very close to my house. I thought I might use that as my cooling tool.

Last thing I noticed. I have no grain sock or anything. I'm not really sure how to go about that part of it. And no hydrometer...

So, anyways. I was hoping we could open this up to discussion and help me put together a plan to do this successfully.

Thanks.

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First, kiss your girlfriend! Now...Do you have access to a hardware store? A 5 gallon paint strainer will work. Might need to double bag it for strength. If that is not an option then I would check any fabric shop for a mesh material that could be sewn into a grain bag. Read up on BIAB right here on HBT. That spigot is a godsend! You can just drain your wort out into your fermenter. What are you going to ferment in BTW? Using water to chill is no problem, though it might be easier to carry the stream water to your brew than a boiling hot kettle to the stream! And who cares what the OG, FG, ABV, WTF is...Dude...you're making beer! Let us know how it goes.

What do you have to ferment in? If you have a glass carboy, or can get a glass carboy, you could do "no chill", where you transfer the hot wort to the fermentation vessel, let it cool over night, then pitch the yeast.

Measure out the pot and make a strong mesh bag for it. You might be tempted to run out and buy the first bag you can find, but if you want to brew again, get something that will last. A fine mesh cloth shouldnt be terribly hard to find. After that, add the grains to the bag at the given mash temp, make sure they are all completely wet, hold that temp for the length of the mash, then proceed like you would with an extract batch. It isnt as intimidating as it looks!

If you can't find a paint strainer or other form of grain bag find some cheese cloth. It is used all over Korea to wrap several of their own foods in while fermenting. Use several layers and make sure to tie it well so there is no chance of anything getting out. Don't wrap it too tight so water can access all the way through.

As for the fermenter, your kettle has an opening in top for an airlock and latches to keep the lid on--according to your pictures. The spigot is so you can rack out after it is done--whether to bottle or to a secondary.

Is the spigot metal to take the heat, or plastic?

cluckk said:

As for the fermenter, your kettle has an opening in top for an airlock and latches to keep the lid on--according to your pictures. The spigot is so you can rack out after it is done--whether to bottle or to a secondary.

Is the spigot metal to take the heat, or plastic?

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The spigot is metal. I found some laundry bags that are perfect for the purpose of a grain bag and the local Lotte Mart. So, I'm boiling the bags now to make sure they'll hold up and to clean them.

And yes, my plan was to use the kettle as my fermenter. It locks on and seals nicely. I have a bung and an airlock that fit the lid.

I'm thinking to help cool it I'll use the detachable shower head in my bathroom. The idea of carrying it to the stream is less appealing now that I think about it. Plus, my neighbors are already afraid of me.

JebCkr said:

And yes, my plan was to use the kettle as my fermenter. It locks on and seals nicely. I have a bung and an airlock that fit the lid.

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I was wondering when I saw the clasps on the side. That is pretty damn cool-boil , chill, ferment, and bottle from the same vessel! If possible, I have a couple of recommendations to improve the beer by reducing the amount of stuff that stays in the kettle during fermentation. Can you use one of the laundry bags or something similar to contain the hops during the boil? And I was wondering if you have a bucket or another pot that you could use to hold the wort while you cleaned the kettle, but I realized you probably don't have any sanitizer. You are really making me think about what my process would look like if I did not have all of my equipment! My thought was that you could chill everything and let it settle for a couple of hours and then drain the wort through the spigot leaving behind any proteins from the hot and cold break, hops, and grains that escaped the bag. You could then clean that stuff out, boil some water for a few minutes to re-sanitize, pour the wort back in, pitch your yeast, and Relax, Don't Worry, Drink, Whatever You Have Available Until You Have A Homebrew!

BUT don't worry about this if you don't have a way to sanitize whatever you would put the wort in while you cleaned the kettle/ fermenter out. Whatever is left is really nothing to sorry about and contamination is. If you have access to iodine ( iodophor) or chlorine bleach you could sanitize equipment. If you don't then you need to do what you can to make sure that nothing touches the wort (spoons, you, thermometers, etc) once the boil is over and you begin to chill.

Sorry to hear your neighbors are afraid of you... maybe sharing a beer will help!?!? Do you mind sharing what you are doing over there?

TANSTAAFB said:

Sorry to hear your neighbors are afraid of you... maybe sharing a beer will help!?!? Do you mind sharing what you are doing over there?

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Thank you for your help. I just finished up. As far as I can tell, everything went well. It may not have been perfect, but I'll certainly end up with beer. While it ferments I'll see if I can find a few basic things that would be helpful when I do it again.

As to why I'm here. I am currently on a work visa teaching English. Some freelance tutoring on the side. I moved here to be with my girlfriend or fiance, rather.

I'm enjoying it so far. Job isn't too hard and I'm left with enough free time to travel and experience all South Korea has to offer.

Thanks for asking.

Very cool! Please let us know how the beer turns out...what did you brew BTW?

TANSTAAFB said:

Very cool! Please let us know how the beer turns out...what did you brew BTW?

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It said IPA on the bag. But seemed a little low on hops to be an IPA.

Anyways, something in the pale ale family. It'll be fun the try it not knowing exactly what it is going to be.

Oh, and here is a picture of my improvised grain bag. It's two laundry bags for delicates (it has a thicker, finer mesh than the others). I was very pleased with how they worked and at 2 bucks a piece, they were a bargain.

I also live in Daejeon. We have a homebrewing community on Facebook called "Daejeon Brewers Guild". Also, if you're not a member already, join homebrewkorea.com . There is a ton of brewing info pertinent to brewing in Korea on that website. If you need any help, shoot me a PM. Welcome back to the craft.

This site never ceases to amaze me with its ability to connect people across the globe and in your backyard, even if your backyard is across the globe from mine!

Happy St. Patrick's Day all! Slainte!

That there looks like a steam juicing kettle to me. Nice of your lady.