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Just made a Red IPA, was wondering what the general consensus is on fermentation temps using safale-05? i am doing it at 18C, but was wondering about the Diacetyl Rest some people do with Ales... when do you do this and for how long?
 
Mohanz said:
Just made a Red IPA, was wondering what the general consensus is on fermentation temps using safale-05? i am doing it at 18C, but was wondering about the Diacetyl Rest some people do with Ales... when do you do this and for how long?
Click to expand...

I have been fermenting at 18 until I see the bubbles start to slow just a little (but still active). Usually about three days or so. Then I ramp up a degree a day until I hit 22. I keg around day 10 if it's a normal gravity beer. Sometimes I'm in a rush and keg sooner. Been getting great results since I started doing that D rest. I wasn't noticing Diacetyl before, but the beer seems cleaner since I started doing it.
 
I crash it to 1 degree for about 24 - 48 hours or so before I keg. The 10 day mark is just my goal. I kind of wing it in reality. Often I'm in a rush and keg sooner. Other times I'm busy and leave it longer. But yeah, I leave it at that temp until I cold crash. And I cold crash until it looks pretty clear, or until I just can't be bothered waiting any more :)
 
Microphobik said:
I crash it to 1 degree for about 24 - 48 hours or so before I keg. The 10 day mark is just my goal. I kind of wing it in reality. Often I'm in a rush and keg sooner. Other times I'm busy and leave it longer. But yeah, I leave it at that temp until I cold crash. And I cold crash until it looks pretty clear, or until I just can't be bothered waiting any more :)
Click to expand...

Yep, sounds about right.
 
Cool I'll give that a whirl, thanks for the advice.

I'm pretty keen to get into kegging, but i am a little worried I'll just drink to much and get super fat :D

However, bottling sucks and takes too long.. has anyone had any experience with the Mangrove Jacks Kegerator? It looks like an easy way to get set up etc.
 
Mohanz said:
Cool I'll give that a whirl, thanks for the advice.

I'm pretty keen to get into kegging, but i am a little worried I'll just drink to much and get super fat :D

However, bottling sucks and takes too long.. has anyone had any experience with the Mangrove Jacks Kegerator? It looks like an easy way to get set up etc.
Click to expand...

I have not, and they do look like they are an easy way to get a nice looking kegerator going. My concern would be the taps. I just built a 4 tap keezer (I had just been using picnic taps until recently,) and I spent lot of time researching taps. The front closing taps seemed like a big deal unless you want taps that stick if you don't use them fairly often. But more than that was the fact that most cheap taps, especially those sold in New Zealand, are chrome plated. I read numerous accounts of the chrome wearing off (and being drunk over time) and then exposing your beer to brass which can add some off flavors and who knows what health impact.

Perlick taps really seem to be the way to go but I couldn't find them anywhere in NZ. I found a few stainless steel taps, but I couldn't find forward sealing SS taps, nor could I find a complete set up with stainless shanks and nipples, so I ordered them on ebay from kegworks: http://www.ebay.com/itm/301419755926

They were a bit more expensive than anything I could find in NZ, especially after shipping, but I probably read 40 forum threads from people saying they went cheaper and eventually needed to replace them with perlicks.

I ended up getting a free chest freezer on trademe, some untreated Popler 2 X 6s and made what I think is a really nice looking keezer.

The cost for the whole thing was about $1750

$0 Chest freezer
$50 untreated popler
$150 approx for paint, stain, angle brackets, hoses, odd bits
$500 for the copper tun 2 keg set (which was more than I needed to pay
$300 for a 5kg C02 bottle
$200 for 2 extra kegs from http://www.kegs.co.nz/
$50 for a 4 way distributor
$500 for 4 perlick taps, a drip tray, and a growler filler,plus shipping from the US.

So if you compare that to the 3 keg set up from Mangrove Jacks which sells for $1280 (It will be at least $1580 after the C02 bottle) it's about the same considering you could shave off at least $200 from the home made keezer if you had one less keg. Plus I have the ability to add up to 8 kegs with mine, the hardware is likely much better, and I really like the look of the home made one. Plus it feels good to say "I made that". I also could have saved about $200 if I didn't get the coppertun kit and instead pieced it together myself with kegs from http://www.kegs.co.nz.

But if you didn't want to do it yourself I'd imagine you could always just replace the taps, shank, and nipple on the MJ one
.
Here's a pic of the one I made, before and after...

11255556_10152915012642712_3642241934829971302_o.jpg


As for drinking to much... I kind of think I drink less because I can just have a small glass which is often all I feel like, as apposed to the 500ml bottles I normally bottle in. But I can't say that has stopped me from getting fat :)
 
I usually start at 17.5 and bump up to 20 for a few days when bubbling slows. Then drop to about 18 again for dry hopping. STC1000+ is great for this.
 
Man that keezer looks slick, nice job man! Thanks for the resources, ill look into building one - as you say it would be cool to say "I made that".

Also
I read numerous accounts of the chrome wearing off (and being drunk over time) and then exposing your beer to brass which can add some off flavors and who knows what health impact.
Click to expand...
I just saw my kettle after its been drying and noticed a not insignificant amount of copper flakes from my wort chiller. Apparently when i was vigorously stiring my wort on brew day, my metal mash paddle was chipping away the inside of my chiller. Im gonna go ahead and assume a cold crash will make it sink to the bottom haha slightly worried now.
 
Thanks man. I'm about the least handy guy I know, so if I can do it, anyone can. Just took a tiny bit of patience. There are a bunch of youtube tutorials out there and many go with a thinner outer frame that extends down over the edge of the freezer to hold it in place but I didn't bother.

I just found some nice wood, gave it a 45 degree mitre cut and filled the gaps with a little wood putty, stained it and then added polyurethane to protect it from any condensation. The hardest part was being patient enough to give it three coats or so of paint and stain. The work itself couldn't be easier. You just unscrew the hinges, place the wood collar on the freezer top, and then reattach the hinges to the wood. That's it.

As for the copper, I'm no metallurgist, but I think I remember hearing that copper isn't really a problem and that a small amount of copper is always in there when using a copper wort chiller, but that its actually good for the yeast and they consume it as a micro-nutrient. Namely zinc. So unless you got some crazy amount in there, I don't think it's an issue. After all boil kettles (aka coppers) were traditional made of copper. But use common sense and maybe ask your home brew shop if you're in doubt.
 
Mohanz said:
However, bottling sucks and takes too long.. has anyone had any experience with the Mangrove Jacks Kegerator? It looks like an easy way to get set up etc.
Click to expand...

The Williams Warn might be a little cheaper...
http://www.williamswarn.com/Shop/Brewing-Accessories/Kegerator#.VWLc22D6Q20

I built my own last month, just attacked my mini fridge with a hole saw and added the kegging starter kit from brewshop and a 2 tap tower (350$). Splurged on two nice AEB kegs from WW (another $350), and chucked a STC1000 off TM at it ($30). CO2 from local gasman for $200.
 
Mohanz said:
Cool I'll give that a whirl, thanks for the advice.

I'm pretty keen to get into kegging, but i am a little worried I'll just drink to much and get super fat :D

However, bottling sucks and takes too long.. has anyone had any experience with the Mangrove Jacks Kegerator? It looks like an easy way to get set up etc.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine bought the MJ one, its a top unit, plenty of line, all the bits to setup etc. its well made, and very nice to look at. You can swap the taps out if needs be. Much like the keezer above. BTW they're nice flow control perlicks you've got there.

i built mine, and currently have 3 taps, mines a fridge, about 1400 high. I'm in the middle of painting it and making it look presentable.... I'm getting married, so I kinda have to. I use the European Flow control taps.

Its all about how much time, patience, and DIY skills you have really. While its not too hard to make, it can esily go wrong, much like anything.
 
Hey guys,
bit of a n00b question, I cold crashed my Red IPA to 2 Degrees on Tuesday and will bottle it tomorrow night or Sunday. Do I need to bring it back up to temperature? or is it sweet to bottle cold then bring it back to 18C for bottle conditioning?

Also I assume the priming solution should remain the same amount yeah? I noticed the calculator takes temp of beer into account but have read a lot of debate about it on these forums so a little confused.
 
You don't need to warm the beer up. It won't hurt anything but it's not necessary. I bottle cold with no issues. The reason those calculators ask for temp is because the colder the beer ferments, the more CO2 will be left in solution. So it's kind of like having a head start on carbonation. But, if you ferment warm the C02 leaves solution, and chilling it down doesn't really effect it. I believe technically it may pull a tad bit of C02 that is in the fermenters head space back into solution, but that shouldn't effect anything at all.

Short answer... Don't worry about it, no need to heat it up.
 
Microphobik said:
You don't need to warm the beer up. It won't hurt anything but it's not necessary. I bottle cold with no issues. The reason those calculators ask for temp is because the colder the beer ferments, the more CO2 will be left in solution. So it's kind of like having a head start on carbonation. But, if you ferment warm the C02 leaves solution, and chilling it down doesn't really effect it. I believe technically it may pull a tad bit of C02 that is in the fermenters head space back into solution, but that should effect anything at all.

Short answer... Don't worry about it, no need to heat it up.
Click to expand...

After reading probably 20 different pages in various forums, this is the most concise and easy to understand answer. Thanks heaps man :mug:
 
Hey guys, looking at buying a malt mill. Doesn't seem to be much choice out there and considering something like this but would prefer to buy from a NZ store.

Anyway any advice would be appreciated and if you know of a local supplier who has a good rig would love to know.
 
Especially at 150,000 below the cost of a new one.

Problem is that its a wet mill, im really after a dry mill.
 
I can't seem to find anything out there for that low of a price. http://www.barleycrusher.com/ was the closest I knew of and they do ship internationally. But it looks like their prices recently went up. A month or two ago they were only $119 if I remember right. But after the exchange and shipping, tit doesn't seem like it would be worth it. Curious what the quality is like on these cheaper ones though.
 
Looks like its the same as brewshops but with protective plastic left on it. Might wait untill they have one back n stock as there is no real rush
 
Made a hoppy pils yesterday using Motueka and Riwaka. Looking forward to it as never had a temp controlled environment for fermentation and lagering. Using Saflager 23, hopefully it turns out ok!
 
Mohanz said:
Made a hoppy pils yesterday using Motueka and Riwaka. Looking forward to it as never had a temp controlled environment for fermentation and lagering. Using Saflager 23, hopefully it turns out ok!
Click to expand...

Nice, I'm about to do the same in two or three weeks. I've brewed JZs BoPils before and this is a straight adaption of that.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 26.90 l
Post Boil Volume: 18.20 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 15.00 l
Bottling Volume: 13.30 l
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 7.7 EBC
Estimated IBU: 41.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 64.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 74.7 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
3.50 kg Gladfield Pilsner Malt (3.8 EBC) Grain 1 90.9 %
0.35 kg Gladfield Gladiator Malt (10.0 EBC) Grain 2 9.1 %
9.00 g Motueka [7.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 3 10.6 IBUs
9.00 g Riwaka [5.25 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 7.9 IBUs
11.00 g Motueka [7.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 5 9.9 IBUs
11.00 g Riwaka [5.25 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 7.5 IBUs
0.98 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 7 -
8.00 g Motueka [7.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 8 3.4 IBUs
8.00 g Riwaka [5.25 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 9 2.6 IBUs
10.00 g Motueka [7.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
10.00 g Riwaka [5.25 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
0.7 pkg Pilsner Lager (White Labs #WLP800) [35.4 Yeast 12 -


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Pilsner Step Mash
Total Grain Weight: 3.85 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Protein Rest Add 29.25 l of water at 57.0 C 55.0 C 15 min
Saccharification Heat to 63.0 C over 11 min 63.0 C 45 min
Saccharification Add 0.00 l of water and heat to 70.0 C 70.0 C 30 min
Mash Out Heat to 78.0 C over 6 min 78.0 C 10 min
 
Nice one, mine was something like this:

5kg Gladfields Pilsner Malt
500g Gladfields CaraPils
OG 1.056
IBU: 40

75mins = 10g Motueka
30mins = 25g Motueka
15mins = 75g Riwaka (Plus Whirfloc)
0 mins = 50g Motueka & 50g Riwaka whirlpool

2 x packs Saflager-23

Doesnt look like the Yeast has started fermenting yet, but i honestly can never tell - last year i used this yeast it took 5days to show any activity.
 
Pils has been fermenting at 12C for 7days, just took a sample and its tasting pretty good. quite a lot of fruity/banana esters on the nose, but hopefully that falls way after fermentation finishes. It was sitting at 1.016 so starting my diacetyl rest at 15C for 48hrs before I sample again then cold crash. Is this the right way to go about it?

Also in other news I will be getting that Kegerator next month but I'll be replacing the taps with something like this so look forward to some n00b questions haha :mug:
 
Mohanz said:
Pils has been fermenting at 12C for 7days, just took a sample and its tasting pretty good. quite a lot of fruity/banana esters on the nose, but hopefully that falls way after fermentation finishes. It was sitting at 1.016 so starting my diacetyl rest at 15C for 48hrs before I sample again then cold crash. Is this the right way to go about it?
Click to expand...

Seems alright. I ferment a bit cooler than you - start at 8 then increase to 10 over two days.

People recommend doing the diacetyl rest when the SG is around 1.020 so that the yeast are still active. If you can't taste or feel the diacetyl then there's no real need to do one. Having said that I still do them out of habit.
 
cheers for the feedback bro, yeah i haven't really used this yeast so i put it at the low end of its ideal temperature range. probably could have gone lower though.

The rest got that last lot of activity knocked out, and its looking clear as; will taste it tonight to see how it is. Just wondering if i should immediately cold crash, or drop it back to like 10-11C to condition for a few days prior to crashing? also have no idea about dry hopping it either as i know the cold temps of lagering slow down this process. I was thinking of doing a dry hop of 100g for 14days at 1C before moving to secondary and lager for a further 2-4weeks
 
Been having some adventures with my new keg recently.

Firstly the natural carbonation didn't seem to work properly. 130g of dextrose into a 19l keg, and two weeks later no real carbonation.

Then my sodastream adaptor finally arrived, wasted half the bottle trying to get the nipple at the right height so that the pin was depressed, but not so far that it couldn't close properly.
Finally go it adjusted and gave it all a good squirt with soapy water to check for leaks. Found a couple and tightened them up, no more leaks.

However when I checked it this morning gauges are reading zero, so there goes my no leak theory. I'm figuring that the leak is coming from the regulator - adaptor join, which I couldn't tighten as I only had one spanner which was big enough.

So when I get home today I'm going to get some plumbers tape onto it, try a new sodastream cannister and tighten the joins in the hope that this one works.
Must have just missed that join when i was testing it, or perhaps I didn't spray enough on the gas quick connect.

Rant over.
 
ol-hazza said:
Been having some adventures with my new keg recently.

Firstly the natural carbonation didn't seem to work properly. 130g of dextrose into a 19l keg, and two weeks later no real carbonation.

Then my sodastream adaptor finally arrived, wasted half the bottle trying to get the nipple at the right height so that the pin was depressed, but not so far that it couldn't close properly.
Finally go it adjusted and gave it all a good squirt with soapy water to check for leaks. Found a couple and tightened them up, no more leaks.

However when I checked it this morning gauges are reading zero, so there goes my no leak theory. I'm figuring that the leak is coming from the regulator - adaptor join, which I couldn't tighten as I only had one spanner which was big enough.

So when I get home today I'm going to get some plumbers tape onto it, try a new sodastream cannister and tighten the joins in the hope that this one works.
Must have just missed that join when i was testing it, or perhaps I didn't spray enough on the gas quick connect.

Rant over.
Click to expand...

Been there my friend, many many times. I've found overusing the teflon tape on the bottle itself helps seal leaks. I have had a leaking bottle a couple of times, getting a little over excited tightening and the spanner slips off the brass and boom, slight leak.

Yet to try a natural carb. LHBS does that and swears but it. I'm far to impatient for that ****!
 
On the natural carb also too impatient, especially this time of year with the cooler temps. Should have left it in the ferm chamber but why think of that a week ago.

Didnt end up getting another tank tonight, might borrow a mates tank to get it under pressure while im away for the weekend though. Put a decent amount into this brew n would be a shame to oxydise it
 
I looked into the sodastream bottles but then figured out that in NZ they are only half as big as in the US, and cost twice as much. :smack:

Kegged my Nelson red IPA tonight. :mug:
 
Yeh its a stepping stone for me to get into kegging while I save up the 300 to buy a decent bottle.

Do you rent or did you buy one? I've heard different stories about the merits of each
 
Do you have any trouble filling it? Ive heard that in Taranaki most engineers shops are attached with botle rental schemes that aren't very well priced and refuse to fill bottles you own.
 
Yeah id be interested to know how long they last too, like how long would a 5kg tank last?
In Welly we can get 5kg swaps, but not many places fill your own bottle - sounds like the same problem with the swapa schemes.
 
Oh and in other exciting news I made my first sour beer. Pitched some dodgy old harvested yeast that had a pellicle on top of it. Disgusting plasticy flavour at first but now it is getting quite sour after about 3-4 months.

Probably going to have to blend it to make it sessionable, and I really have no idea what I'm doing (other than never keeping harvested yeast in the fridge for months and using it without a starter) or aiming for but that could be half the fun.

The one question I do need answered is If I do end up blending, will it stay stable or will it turn the blend as sour as the original beer?
 

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