Brewing Graff YouTube Instructional

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Not bad at all! Looks like you have some killer graff on the way. I noticed you switched between C and F quite often on temps. You'd say 65 degrees then 170, which I know is C and F but it might be a bit confusing to the newbz. Not really a major problem tho, good video and very informative! Keep us posted w/the results.
 
Cheers cvstrat! Positive feedback makes it all worth while :)

Yeah - I'm looking forward to drinking the Graff alright - its only been 12 hours and the airlock is going mental, and my garage smells awesome.

I'll keep in mind your comment with the temperature conversions - I must say I was confused at times, especially with the whole Imperial to Metric conversion for everything, ounces to grammes, pounds to kilos, fahrenheit to celcius, and even lovibond to ebc - it wasn't easy keeping track LOL

Anyway, I hope newbies and seasoned pros both enjoy, and more to come soon...
 
Well, the first problem I see is that you give kudos to Craig tube!!! WTF?!?!?!

Seriously, people give Craig a hard time on here, but I enjoy his videos and would definitely sit down and have a beer with the guy. I've brewed a Coopers cerveza kit already and have a Sparkling Ale kit to brew in a couple of weeks.

Glad to see you here on the site and thanks for the videos! Stick around, this is a great place to learn more about the brewing process.

Hmm, this gets me thinking. My Graff supply IS running kind of low...
 
Great video! I lost my last Graff attempt, dropped my 2 gallon demijon as i was moving it =[

as soon as i have a 5gal primary free ill defo be making some! im dying to taste it!

All i need to do is find a store that sells large bottles of juice!
 
Just wanted to say, Thank You very much....i've collected the ingredients, but have been procrastinating on making it being nervous of my first stove top brew....having a better understanding of this makes it much easier, i'll have this in the fermenter by the weekend. Cheers..:mug:
 
Thanks guys !!! the thought of Graff certainly does whet the appetite!

Sorry to hear about the loss of your demijohn Cazamodo, and especially your brew :(

The temps are picking up over here (22-30C over the next week) so I'm a bit worried that my Graff might spoil. I've got a fan going beside the fermenter but I doubt it will be enough. I think it may be time to construct a cooler for my fermenters... "now where can I find some of that pink insulation board?"

Laterz
 
Hey just watched the videos, very nicely done and I did not get too confused between F/C. I'm just not used to it.
If you got a plastic storage bucket you can get away with a little water, some ice frozen in jugs, and a tee shirt to keep the temperature in check.
Best of luck.
 
I popped the fermenter into a cooler and put in a couple of those blue ice blocks, then sealed it with a thermal fleece to keep the ambient heat from melting the cubes too quickly.

I've been looking at building a 'Son of Fermenter' type cooler and I think I might me visiting my local hardware store this weekend ;-)


Thanks guys
 
Thanks for posting your video Martin! I've been looking at doing this recipe and your video helped motivate me to get out and get my materials. Its getting cold here so I wanted to get this done before the real bitter stuff hits and the basement gets too cold. Plus I wanted something to drink for the holidays. I love cider and lucked out at the local supermarket getting 4 gallons of cider at a good price. $3.99 beats the $7.50 I am seeing at some cider mills. It smells so good I can't wait!!!

I watched the videos right before I started to work on it. I didn't notice errors or omishins, but what do I know this is my first brew. I just started making meads, but they take a long time. I needed something with a quick turn around time and this was perfect! :mug:
 
I've been looking at building a 'Son of Fermenter' type cooler and I think I might me visiting my local hardware store this weekend ;-)
Thanks guys

No thank you, that was a good video set and well done. I'm sure it will help a number of people. (Just remember to do section 4"!
Graff has been on my todo list for a while, this kind of makes me think I need to bump it up, but I'm waiting for when I will be forced to slow down the brewing due to work, that way my carboys will not go to waste, at least they will be properly ageing something.
 
Edwort's Appelwein seems to get a lot of attention too - I haven't brewed it yet but it's on the list of things to do before I die LOL

I brewed a test batch (5L) of variation Graham's Old English cider and it tastes great - far superior to the Brigalow and Black Rock kits we get here in Australia, which I wasn't that impressed with.

I'm calling this one Somerset Gold. The cider is super drinkable straight out of the fermenter and I can't wait to taste it when it's fully carbonated in a couple of weeks.

The final product is medium dry on the tongue and has a long finish. The combination of pear, honey and lemon make for a full flavored drink with loads of character!
This is a real summer thirst quencher (tannins in the tea do the trick)

Somerset Gold 5Litres (1 Gallon)
========================
2.4L Apple (Just Juice)
2.4L Apple & Pear (Just Juice)
Juice of half a lemon
1 Cup strong Liptons tea
100gms Honey (diluted with hot water for each mixing)
3.5 gms Coopers Yeast

Primary for 14 days (16-24C)
OG = 1050
FG = 1010
ABV 6.6%

You won't regret making this one!
 
OK - a quick update on the Graff.

The fermenter has spent the last couple of days in a cooler bag with ice blocks keeping it cool. The analog temp readout on the outside of the fermenter has been staying around 18-20, which is what I wanted - however the fermentation looks like it's slowed right down - in fact I'm only getting bubbles every 1 mins or so, and it's only been a 5 days since I pitched - I'm wondering if the frozen ice blocks resting against the fermenter might be effecting the yeast???

Any thoughts guys?
 
If you're still getting an occasional bubble, after five days of solid activity, I probably wouldn't worry too much about it. I probably wouldn't worry even if it wasn't bubbling.

If you're really concerned you could take a gravity reading just to verify its condition. I usually wait at least a week, sometimes two, to take my first reading, assuming I've had some indication of fermentation like airlock activity or krausen.
 
Cheers Shooter.

No signs of fermentation at all - no condensation on the inside of the fer lid, plenty of krausen (albeit settled at this point). Not a single bubble as far as I can make out.

I took a gravity read last night - 1020 from 1055 OG. The wort itself is cloudy as hell and looks like mango juice (orange/yellow). I poured a small glass and had a taste - not a bad taste - still quite sweet.

I left the glass down for an hour and it began to clear leaving a huge amount of yeast in the bottom of the glass. Plenty of yeast still in suspension.

I'll take another reading today and again tomorrow, but I think I take your advice and leave it in the fermenter for another week or until it clears anyway.

Thanks
 
Spoke too soon - the fermenter has started up again, Condensation on the inside of the lid, and a bubble every minute or so - I'll just leave it for another week at least.

I've 23L if cervaza and 10L of Somerset Gold bubbeling away nicely too :)
 
Martin,

Thanks for video. I definitely learned some things from it! I had already made 2 batches, but next time I will put the hops in a "hop bag". Having never done any beer brewing, I didn't know that and just threw the pellets in there. It's good, but maybe that's why it tastes a little "hoppy". Live and learn. Thanks again.
 
Just tasted my graff, and man im glad i only brewed one gallon thsi time. I sort of threw together the ingredients, but i used aplle juic i had prepared for applefwien, so the OG was really high already. It has a nice initial taste, but then im hit with pure burning alcahol. I will deffinately be making a 5gal batch from this video though!
 
Thanks for the positive comments all - glad you liked the videos - should have another one on the way soon.

OK - Graff update - it's been in the fermenter for 2 weeks now and I haven't seen a bubble in ages LOL, so I took the SG this morning and it's down to 1010 that's about 6.61% ABV (just right for a strong cider IMO).

The colour is still an orange colour - looks like a cloudy wheat beer - any ideas guys?

BTW, I tasted it and its tastes pretty good straight from the fermenter (the wife gave it the thumbs up - and she's hard to impress)
 
Never having seen someone else's Graff, I'm not sure what the color should be, but mine too is a kind of funky orange color in the bottle. However it pours up a nice golden color with a beautiful head. Mine was still a little cloudy when I bottled but it cleared completely by the time it fully conditioned. I just have to be careful when I pour, but I bottled it in 12oz soft drink bottles so the little dimples on the bottom catch most of the yeast. Mind you, my Graff is not strictly Brandon O's recipe--it's an all extract version using hopped light LME, so of course YMMV.
 
You should really consider getting a metal or plastic stirring utensil. Wood is crazy breeding grounds for bacteria.
 
You should really consider getting a metal or plastic stirring utensil. Wood is crazy breeding grounds for bacteria.

You 100% right David - I usually use plastic or steel.

I wasn't really bothered about using wood during the boil as I assumed nothing was going to survive in that heat - but assumption is the mother of all f*ckups right.

Thanks for the input :mug:
 
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