New brewer from Downunder!!!

Hello All,
I have been researching a lot prior to getting my first brew going, I think maybe the ocd is kicking in, and with every question I had it seemed to lead me here. So I thought I'd better join! My first brew went into the fermenter on the 20th of Jan and is doing fine. I know it's a little warm to be brewing a lager but that is what I'm doing. Oh…it's been as warm as 33c here of late, which is around 90f I believe, and I know a lager prefers a cooler fermentation but we seem to be travelling well so far, thanks to the a/c.

The first brew, called Librarian because I have brewed it in our library, is as follows:
Morgan's Blue Mountain Lager
Brew Essentials Brew Blend Malt Booster #15
Saflager s-23 yeast
Copper Tun Pride of Ringwood hops

My OG was 1038 which I believe is about normal and two days later was down to 1016.

So it's nice to have joined and I look forward to being a part of the home-brew community.

Talk soon Folks.

90°? Geeez its 15° F here in Michigan. Welcome, this is a great place to learn brewing. And about your lager, maybe you wanna stick your fermenter in a container with water and frozen pop bottles to keep it within ideal temps!

Ostomo517 said:

90°? Geeez its 15° F here in Michigan. Welcome, this is a great place to learn brewing. And about your lager, maybe you wanna stick your fermenter in a container with water and frozen pop bottles to keep it within ideal temps!

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Hey buddy, thanks for the reply. Great idea with the container and pop bottles too. I've managed to keep it at a good temp so far and we've had a change come through today so it's cooled down nicely. Will keep your idea in mind for the future though.
Thanks again!

Hey man, same boat! Ive got my first and second batch both fermenting away like crazy! Ive frozen a whole lot of water bottles (I filled with tap) and am exchanging them around my fermenters in an effort to keep them within the recommended fermenting temps. Try this and see how it works. Ive got a theory that I could even do this on a larger scale, for lager temps if I wanted too. But remember lager yeasts typically need to be much, much colder...

Hey mate, thanks for the post. I like the idea of have a couple of fermenters on the go at once. Might brew a pilsner. I read somewhere that it's a good brew for warmer months. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Our average daily temp at the moment is around 20-25c, 68-77f.

Welcome mate, I'm new to brewing and the forum myself, from Melbourne. I'm doing the Morgan's lager at the moment as well.

I was lucky enough to have a spare outside refrigerator which at its highest temp just made it to 13c. I've had the lager in their for its second week now it seems to be traveling along nicely.

Good luck ! It's good to come across another Aussie in here ! Cheers

Gday Tuby,
Good to have a fellow Vic here. I'm in Mornington buddy. Got my gear from The Onestop Barshop in Mornington. Found them really helpful too.
Sounds like you have a good setup with the old fridge, might have to look into something like that next summer.
Have you thought about what you're going to brew next?

maybemutlee said:

Gday Tuby,
Good to have a fellow Vic here. I'm in Mornington buddy. Got my gear from The Onestop Barshop in Mornington. Found them really helpful too.
Sounds like you have a good setup with the old fridge, might have to look into something like that next summer.
Have you thought about what you're going to brew next?

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The fridge def made a big difference this time of the year to get the temp low enough, as I'm sure your aware the low temps won't be as much an issue later in the year .

Got another fermentor a couple of weeks back and I started an English ale which is as we speak bubbling away furiously ! It already smells a treat. Looking forward to seeing how my lager turns out.

You staying with the lager for the moment or moving onto something else while you wait ?

Not sure what I'll brew next. Going to keep an open mind and go with what grabs me when I see what's available. Having said that I am thinking about a pale ale at present but nothing set in concrete. As I mentioned in a previous post I may even go a pilsner.
A second fermenter is now on the cards too!!

Im probably going to come across like a American idiot when I say this to two Aussies lol but I have a clone recipe for Fosters if you want it

You know I don't think I've ever had a Foster's. Is that unAustralian? Infact I'm not sure even if they sell it here haha. Is it a nice beer? We have some bloody good local beers here anyway.
I'm brewing from kits at the moment but I hope to graduate to brewing from scratch within the coming year so yeah I'd be happy to grab the recipe. I have a book "Brewing Crafts" by Mike Rodgers Wilson that has alot of recipes too. Maybe look that one up guys, highly recomended.

Ostomo517 said:

Im probably going to come across like a American idiot when I say this to two Aussies lol but I have a clone recipe for Fosters if you want it

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I don't drink it but you can still buy it. Fosters isn't very popular here is Australia. We have a thriving Craft beer market so there is no shortage of awesome beers to try.

maybemutlee said:

You know I don't think I've ever had a Foster's. Is that unAustralian? Infact I'm not sure even if they sell it here haha. Is it a nice beer? We have some bloody good local beers here anyway.
I'm brewing from kits at the moment but I hope to graduate to brewing from scratch within the coming year so yeah I'd be happy to grab the recipe. I have a book "Brewing Crafts" by Mike Rodgers Wilson that has alot of recipes too. Maybe look that one up guys, highly recomended.

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Might check out that book I haven't gone as far as picking up a how to book just yet.

But, I already have an itching to get into grains ! sometime later this year so it's probably a good idea if I do.