moreb33rplz
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Now that's a tasty looking beer right der
Munich Helles 2011 1st Place HBT- Light lager- Augustiner Lagerbier Hell
- Thread starter Joe Dragon
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rtstrider
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This is my hell brew lol Going to rebrew with a very healthy pitch of wlp838 next time and see how it comes out. This batch was close but it still needs to be done right
I concur.
Now you got me thinking this might be the route I go. How are you liking the conical fermenter? I heard they're pretty flimsy.This is my hell brew lol Going to rebrew with a very healthy pitch of wlp838 next time and see how it comes out. This batch was close but it still needs to be done right
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I enjoy mine quite a bit. I'm interested to hear if @rtstrider has any comparison to the original gen 3.
Can I ask...flimsy as compared to what? It's no SS vessel, of course, but for a pressure-capable every day fermentor mine have taken quite a bit of use with no issue. The occasional leaking post to chase down and tighten but it's solid. It's light and you can accidentally push it around a little but with a thin PET fermentor I think that comes with the territory. If you want to own it forever then buy SS. I don't regret the purchase at all, though. And I like these because you get to watch the magic happen. Not limited to just sniffing the airlock any more
rtstrider
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It's basically a big soda bottle. I love it and the pressure fermenting capability. The fact I can get lagers fermented, cold crashed, packaged, and ready to drink in around 14 days is huge! I followed the kegland pressure fermenting article and start around 54F for 24 hours and bump up 4F each day until it hits 66F then let it ride. It's set to 15psi the whole way. Also the container at the bottom has made yeast harvesting easier too!
rtstrider
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I haven't used a Gen 3 so I can't really comment too much there. I will say there was a learning curve moving to the Gen 4 from a 3 tier system. One of the issues I ran into right out of the gate was insanely high efficiency. The first 2 brews were right over 90% and were like drinking rocket fuel lol Had to dial back the crush a bit to help with circulation and lower efficiency.I enjoy mine quite a bit. I'm interested to hear if @rtstrider has any comparison to the original gen 3.
Can I ask...flimsy as compared to what? It's no SS vessel, of course, but for a pressure-capable every day fermentor mine have taken quite a bit of use with no issue. The occasional leaking post to chase down and tighten but it's solid. It's light and you can accidentally push it around a little but with a thin PET fermentor I think that comes with the territory. If you want to own it forever then buy SS. I don't regret the purchase at all, though. And I like these because you get to watch the magic happen. Not limited to just sniffing the airlock any more
Sorry, that question should have been elaborated on. I have used the PET Better bottles. I guess I should have clarified my question more. I heard the conical fermenter with the collection container/hardware seemed flimsy. I currently only use glass carboys, but am looking for something I can pressure ferment in, pressure transfer, but yeast harvesting with the collection container is a huge bonus for me. I would definitely have to build a bigger fermentation chamber because I am using an old freezer.I enjoy mine quite a bit. I'm interested to hear if @rtstrider has any comparison to the original gen 3.
Can I ask...flimsy as compared to what? It's no SS vessel, of course, but for a pressure-capable every day fermentor mine have taken quite a bit of use with no issue. The occasional leaking post to chase down and tighten but it's solid. It's light and you can accidentally push it around a little but with a thin PET fermentor I think that comes with the territory. If you want to own it forever then buy SS. I don't regret the purchase at all, though. And I like these because you get to watch the magic happen. Not limited to just sniffing the airlock any more
The pressure fermenting and pressure transferring is a huge bonus. I am somewhat considering the non-collection variety because I am height constrained in my fermentation chamber.
Is this about the Brewzilla in general here? I brewed my saison on my OG Grainfather in February and the same saison a few weeks ago. My efficiency was so high on the Brewzilla Gen 4 I thought I had the final water volume wrong. WILD. I think I hit 90% without paying much attention to it.
fluketamer
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i have a bunch of 2 row hanging around i am going to try this with 34/70 and see how it comes out
Let us know how it turns out. I have some 34/70 sitting here.
rtstrider
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I'd like to chime in and recommend Omega German Lager 1 DKO. I've been using that strain and have had really good results. 34/70 is hit or miss and WLP830 is decent warm fermented. That DKO strain, fermented low, is nice! I always get a weird twang when fermenting 34/70 and WLP830 low regardless of pitch rate. That strain is quickly becoming my house lager strain! It also repitches well too which is not something I've experienced with 34/70.
I will see if my local shop has it. Or I might be waiting until winter-ish time to order it. Thanks for the suggestion. I guess that one is the engineered version. OYL437
Back to the recipe. It is calling for Hallertau. Is this Mittelfruh or Hersbrucker? I presume not Traditional, since it is listed at 3.8 AAU which is closest to the current Mittelfruh offerings.
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Totally fine, just looking for more detail
The plastic is overall thinner than a PET Better Bottle but it's thicker in the right places to me. It's true that it's light and you can push the whole thing around some if you're not careful. If you're mindful of your basic physics and use sense instead of force, though, then it's not a problem. Overall construction feels sturdy for the weight. I also think the hardware collection on the latest version of the Fermzilla looks like a big improvement. That was actually my question to rtstrider but I should have also been clearer myself Let me see if I can fix it.Sorry for the confusion, but I actually meant the past version of the Fermzilla tri-conical. There is a 3.0 version with an older style collection jar that everybody hates. I've got that one. They recently released a new 3.2 Fermzilla version with an updated collection jar. You've got the updated version and I was curious if you have experience with the old version to compare. Thanks for all the other info too!
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I assume they mean Mittelfruh. That would be my choice too, but I think Hersbrucker would work just fine if you prefer it.
rtstrider
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This is the only version I've ever played around with. So far I absolutely love it!Totally fine, just looking for more detail
Sorry for the confusion, but I actually meant the past version of the Fermzilla tri-conical. There is a 3.0 version with an older style collection jar that everybody hates. I've got that one. They recently released a new 3.2 Fermzilla version with an updated collection jar. You've got the updated version and I was curious if you have experience with the old version to compare. Thanks for all the other info too!
rtstrider
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Yep that's the bioengineered version and the best version of 34/70 yet imo. Omega did a really good job with that strain! I feel your yeast shipping pains. Living in FL really limits the time of year you can get yeast shipped down to a few months.
Have you used WLP860 Munich Helles? Not much info out here on HBT.
rtstrider
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I've never used the white labs variant, but, I've used Omega Bayern which is supposedly the same strain. That's a good strain! I do want to get my hands on one of the WLP860 dry yeast packs and prop it up in a starter to see how it stacks up
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Basically same as @rtstrider on this one. That's supposedly the Augustiner strain and it makes a really nice helles. I saw the dry version go up on Yeastman a couple weeks ago and Morebeer has it now too. I am very excited about that. I'm sure more stores will pick it up soon.
My local shop has WLP860 in stock. I might have to try it out. If it works out, I might harvest and do a side by side with the dry yeast and see if I can tell any differences. Pretty busy summer planned, but hope I can at least get this batch done with the liquid yeast.
Method: All Grain
Style: Munich Helles
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Pre Boil Size: 7.8 gallons
Post Boil Size: 5.5 gallons
Post Boil Gravity: 1.051 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)
Calories: 169 calories (Per 12oz)
Carbs: 19.2 g (Per 12oz)
Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity: 1.015
ABV (standard): 4.7%
IBU (tinseth): 18.4
SRM (morey): 4.2
From Brewer's Friend. I just use the water at Publix, have been for over 10 years and never had an issue. Should I do anything to adjust the recipe or the water? I have never had the water tested, but the old homebrew shop was adamant that it was the best way to get good results with low effort and I never changed. I will do some research on my fermentation schedule.
Style: Munich Helles
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Pre Boil Size: 7.8 gallons
Post Boil Size: 5.5 gallons
Post Boil Gravity: 1.051 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)
Calories: 169 calories (Per 12oz)
Carbs: 19.2 g (Per 12oz)
Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity: 1.015
ABV (standard): 4.7%
IBU (tinseth): 18.4
SRM (morey): 4.2
| 9 lb | US - Pale 2-Row | 37 | 1.8 | 88.9% | |
| 0.50 lb | American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) | 33 | 1.8 | 4.9% | |
| 0.50 lb | Munich Malt | 36.8 | 7.87 | 4.9% | |
| 0.13 lb | Weyermann - Melanoidin | 34.5 | 27 | 1.2% |
| 1.25 oz | Hallertau Mittelfruh | Pellet | 3.75 | Boil | 60 min | 18.4 | 100% |
| White Labs - Munich Helles Yeast WLP860 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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From Brewer's Friend. I just use the water at Publix, have been for over 10 years and never had an issue. Should I do anything to adjust the recipe or the water? I have never had the water tested, but the old homebrew shop was adamant that it was the best way to get good results with low effort and I never changed. I will do some research on my fermentation schedule.
rtstrider
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I got lucky and had a brewery open about 6 doors down from the house. They got the ward labs report and our water is pretty much bare as is so it's perfect for light brews and lagers. The most TDS I've ever pulled unfiltered is in the high 30's which is insane. I moved to only using tap water with campden and adjusting ph with lactic acid. One of our local breweries is pulling in gold in FL beer championships and they really do nothing with the water is what I found out. If it's good enough to pull gold state wide then it's good enough for my homebrewery
That's awesome. We are on Well. So no chlorine, but it's pretty hard and the pH is definitely way out of whack. I may send it off. Anything I can do to make brewday more simple and less money.I got lucky and had a brewery open about 6 doors down from the house. They got the ward labs report and our water is pretty much bare as is so it's perfect for light brews and lagers. The most TDS I've ever pulled unfiltered is in the high 30's which is insane. I moved to only using tap water with campden and adjusting ph with lactic acid. One of our local breweries is pulling in gold in FL beer championships and they really do nothing with the water is what I found out. If it's good enough to pull gold state wide then it's good enough for my homebrewery
The FG on my recipe will be quite a bit higher if I hit a high efficiency. I suppose if I hit a higher OG, I might need to add AE to the secondary. We will see.
