New Zealand Brewers

Cheers guys, I will try my pils on Saturday (7days after setting it) and see how that turns out.

Wowsers!!


Feijoa wine, on the left, currently at 12.33% and still slowly bubbling away. No fermentation control at all just ambient temperature. Seems to be doing well. Still a lovely feijoa nose. Taste has started to tart up which is awesome!!! Nice smooth after taste and lingering feijoa. Cannot wait for this one to be ready!!!

MoPils on the right - Pilsner with Riwaka/Motueka bittering and Motueka throughout the boil. Fermented right down to 1.006 so a crisp 6% pilsner for summer. Only just started the cold crash. Down 10 degrees from fermentation temperature for about 3 weeks then cooooold crash in the keg until I'm ready to serve. Nice smooth Motueka nose with a hint of biscuity malt. Nice lime taste with a hint of pepper. Stupidly smooth bitterness and so easy to drink! This one will be awesome with the simmer BBQs!!!!!

Next up, the Chubby Highlander (Fat Yak clone with all of the Nelson Sauvin). Fermented with Brett......Nelson Sauvin and Brett? Sounds like and marriage made in funk heaven.

Sounds awesome man! big ups!

Just thought id provide an update on my kegging expeditions.

I have tried two ways to force carbonate now, the first was set and forget, and I must confirm @Iseneye was bang on. After 1 week it was half carbed, tried it again last night (2 weeks) and it was really good, just not quite perfect... but pretty much there.

The second was the 30psi for 48hrs. This produced a near perfectly carbed beer, I think 2-3days left on 10psi will finish it off nicely. Though i did notice this hasnt given it time to settle so there was a little bit of yeast and hop matter floating arounf in the first couple of pints.

Otherwise i would call it a success. Kegging is by far the greatest addition to homebrewing! cheers guys

Mohanz said:

Just thought id provide an update on my kegging expeditions.

I have tried two ways to force carbonate now, the first was set and forget, and I must confirm @Iseneye was bang on. After 1 week it was half carbed, tried it again last night (2 weeks) and it was really good, just not quite perfect... but pretty much there.

The second was the 30psi for 48hrs. This produced a near perfectly carbed beer, I think 2-3days left on 10psi will finish it off nicely. Though i did notice this hasnt given it time to settle so there was a little bit of yeast and hop matter floating arounf in the first couple of pints.

Otherwise i would call it a success. Kegging is by far the greatest addition to homebrewing! cheers guys

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Nice work Mohanz. I was all geared up to do a mot/riwaka bopils like yourself but checked brewshop in the weekend and no liquid yeast and no mot hops. Decided to order grains for an ESB instead.

Kegging is great if you can afford it. I would struggle to go back to bottling again.

Finally got to brewing some new beers over the weekend (been too long)

Brewed a Christmas Saison on Saturday, I have no idea how this will work, with all the spices it could end up being disgusting but it tasted reasonable going into the ferment, maybe a little too much ginger but that won't be an issue.
STATS:
Batch Size: 21L
Original Gravity: 1.080
Final Gravity: 1.020
ABV (standard): 7.86%
IBU (tinseth): 38.99
SRM (daniels): 17.35

6.25 kg - United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale (78.1%)
1 kg - United Kingdom - Brown (12.5%)
200 g - Belgian - Biscuit (2.5%)
200 g - Rolled Oats (2.5%)
200 g - United Kingdom - Wheat (2.5%)
100 g - German - CaraAroma (1.3%)
50 g - Belgian - Special B (0.6%)

HOPS:
50 g - Fuggles, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.96, Use: Boil for 55 min, IBU: 25.13
50 g - Fuggles, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.96, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 12.75
50 g - Fuggles, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.96, Use: Aroma for 1 min, IBU: 1.11

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
2 each - Cinnamon stick, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
25 g - Ginger fresh grated, Time: 5 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
1 each - Vanilla Bean, Time: 5 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
2 each - Orange Zest (2 oranges), Time: 5 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Wyeast - French Saison 3711

And then brewed a massive triple ipa on Sunday. 750grams of hops in 21L of 12% beer should go down nicely

STATS:
Batch Size: 21L
Original Gravity: 1.101
Final Gravity: 1.018
ABV (alternate): 12.01%
IBU (rager): 297.07
SRM (daniels): 10.19

FERMENTABLES:
7.5 kg - German - Pale Ale (89.3%)
200 g - German - CaraAmber (2.4%)
200 g - German - Wheat Malt (2.4%)
0.5 kg - Corn Sugar - Dextrose - (late addition) (6%)

HOPS:
40 g - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.7, Use: First Wort, IBU: 15.48
40 g - Columbus, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.7, Use: First Wort, IBU: 27.93
40 g - Waimea, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.8, Use: First Wort, IBU: 28.11
30 g - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.7, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 34.15
30 g - Columbus, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.7, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 61.64
30 g - Waimea, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.8, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 62.03
30 g - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.7, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 9.12
30 g - Columbus, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.7, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 16.45
30 g - Waimea, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.8, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 16.56
30 g - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.7, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 5.54
30 g - Columbus, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.7, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 10
30 g - Waimea, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.8, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 10.06
40 g - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.7, Use: Aroma for 0 min
40 g - Columbus, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.7, Use: Aroma for 0 min
40 g - Waimea, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.8, Use: Aroma for 0 min
40 g - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
40 g - Columbus, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
40 g - Waimea, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.8, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
40 g - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.7, Use: Dry Hop for 4 days
40 g - Columbus, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.7, Use: Dry Hop for 4 days
40 g - Waimea, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.8, Use: Dry Hop for 4 days

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.5 tsp - Wyeast yeast nutrient, Time: 10 min, Type: Other, Use: Boil
6 g - Gypsum, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
2 g - Calcium Chloride, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Starter: Rehydrated
Form: Dry
Attenuation (custom): 82%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 12.22 - 25 C

NOTES:
2 packs of US-05

Dextrose added after 3 days of fermentation
Aerated after 12 hours of fermentation

dat Triple IPA

Ok so now i know why i can never quite get my hop flavour and aroma big enough, I'm not using enough hops

Yup, fingers crossed it ends nice and dry

Mohanz said:

dat Triple IPA

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Apparently Four Horsemen Hopocalypse is 50grams/litre
So that's one of my reference point
The other is close to 3 IBU:OG ratio for IIPAs
so in this case 297:101

ol-hazza said:

Ok so now i know why i can never quite get my hop flavour and aroma big enough, I'm not using enough hops

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Wow. I though my Pliny clone at 22g/litre was crazy. Though that's mostly AA > 12.

What hops do you have in the pliny clone?

Pliny seems to vary depending on which recipe you use.
For 10L I used:

• 96g Columbus (13%, 60grams for 90 minutes!!)
• 86g Simcoe (13%)
• 41g Centennial (10%)

Theoretical IBU 178.

Trub is looking pretty compact after two weeks, but I see why people use hop extract on these big IPAs.

Is that all up?

Not too much

Pkrd said:

.....but I see why people use hop extract on these big IPAs.

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I might know someone local who has a fair amount of the stuff

NZLunchie said:

I might know someone local who has a fair amount of the stuff

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Oh, you haven't used that small amount you had yet?

Pkrd said:

Oh, you haven't used that small amount you had yet?

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I've gifted more than I've used and I've not used any just yet. In the planning stages of a DIPA/TIPA/BarleyWine that will use it

2 new kegs, 5kg co2 bottle, all the connections, lines n taps to set it up.

Been a good couple if days shopping. Who wants to come over for a beer

Nice. Just to avoid the "my pours are foamy" question - make sure you use 10' (3 metres) of beer line for each keg. Home brew shops normally supply 5'.

Haha thanks, I got 3 meters for each, 5.5mm.

Iseneye said:

Nice. Just to avoid the "my pours are foamy" question - make sure you use 10' (3 metres) of beer line for each keg. Home brew shops normally supply 5'.

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interesting mine is only 2 metres.
it tends to vary between systems, so just make sure you get it all balanced. and do leak tests on everything, i learned that the hard way. use starsan to check for leaks as it foams nicely, and check and double check everything.

My current system is running 6m of 6mm line, its a massive PITA.

Cant wait to set it up with the narrower line.

also noticed last night that I'm gonna need a shorter line for my porter (and secondary regulator but thats a purchase for a different day).

Has anyone got experience brewing with oats? Working on a porter recipe and it needs some extra body, keen to give oats a try.

My plan was to boil rolled oats from the supermarket for 30-45 mins and then add them to the mash.

Thoughts?

ol-hazza said:

Has anyone got experience brewing with oats? Working on a porter recipe and it needs some extra body, keen to give oats a try.

My plan was to boil rolled oats from the supermarket for 30-45 mins and then add them to the mash.

Thoughts?

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I have used them a few times in some stouts. Rolled outs should be pre- gilatanized and can go straight into the mash. But many people seem to pre cook them for whatever reason.

You might add them to the top of your grain bed to help avoid a stuck mash.

Microphobik said:

I have used them a few times in some stouts. Rolled outs should be pre- gilatanized and can go straight into the mash. But many people seem to pre cook them for whatever reason.

You might add them to the top of your grain bed to help avoid a stuck mash.

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It has to do with rolled not being fully gelatinised by the sound of it but there doesn't seem to be a lot of agreement on the subject from what I was reading. Also gets confusing reading about flaked vs rolled vs quick not to mention are the terms used in the same way in the US and here.

Glad you cleared it up, cheers.

ol-hazza said:

It has to do with rolled not being fully gelatinised by the sound of it but there doesn't seem to be a lot of agreement on the subject from what I was reading. Also gets confusing reading about flaked vs rolled vs quick not to mention are the terms used in the same way in the US and here.

Glad you cleared it up, cheers.

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Yeah, there does seem to be a lot of confusion on the issue one way or the other. My homebrew shop originally told me to just throw them right in the mash, which is what I did without any issues. While I wouldn't hesitate to do it again that way, it doesn't sound like pre-cooking them would cause any harm.

Microphobik said:

Yeah, there does seem to be a lot of confusion on the issue one way or the other. My homebrew shop originally told me to just throw them right in the mash, which is what I did without any issues. While I wouldn't hesitate to do it again that way, it doesn't sound like pre-cooking them would cause any harm.

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Yeh I figure it could be done while I was heating my strike water, takes a while when you do full volume for BIAB.

Might try it both ways and see what it does for the brew.

I've always just thrown them in the mash and never had any issues , didn't even know people were precooking them. I guess I've only been using small amounts though (200g in 8kg bills) so may not experience any issues

My last two brews have had 15% or more oats. Just thrown in the mash, with zero issues on lautering. With the small particle size from the rolled / quick cook oats the starch is likely to largely gelatinize in the mash temps.

Hey all, just heard about this home brew comp "Nautilus Craft Brew Championships 2015"

Not much detail yet but its Wellington Based and they have a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/871345249580370/

Mohanz said:

Hey all, just heard about this home brew comp "Nautilus Craft Brew Championships 2015"

Not much detail yet but its Wellington Based and they have a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/871345249580370/

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Will keep an eye one it, hopefully its for homebrewers too.

ol-hazza said:

Will keep an eye one it, hopefully its for homebrewers too.

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From the facebook page:

Turn up for a light hearted night of enjoying home brewed craft beer from the local and brave as well as the usual BBQ and nibbles fare from the Nautilus Team

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I need to start paying attention to what i read

Seeking the collective wisdom of brewers here to save a batch...

Long story short in the quest to make that hoppy pils...I over hopped it and it tastes like a bad fruit juice... but heres where it gets weird. I had about 6 bottles which i primed with sugar, and a 19L keg which i forced carbed. I have had the keg sitting in the kegerator for weeks now, and it still tastes like arse - was about to dump it down the drain.

I just opened one of the bottles which has been sitting at room temp for maybe 6weeks or so... and it tastes really nice - it smells hoppy (not like rancid banana) and is actually pretty enjoyable.... now is there any way to save this keg by keeping it at room temp for a few weeks do you think? or have a missed the boat? would i have needed to prime it to get the same effect?

Junk settling out in the keg?

Pkrd said:

Junk settling out in the keg?

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Yeah the keg is pretty clear and everything has settles out of it as far as I'm aware.

Mohanz said:

Yeah the keg is pretty clear and everything has settles out of it as far as I'm aware.

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I have had this happen twice, bottles were nice, keg was sweet and cloying, turned out my keg cleaning/sanitizing wasn't as good as i thought.
The bad tastes were a slight infection.

I did wonder that but I tried a cold bottle of the pilsner (carbed for 3 weeks then put in fridge), the warm bottle of the pilsner (out for 6+weeks at room temp) and the keg (2C in kegerator). the Cold bottle and Keg taste identical so there isn't an infection, it seems as though the temperature is the differentiation and perhaps its the conditioning that has cleaned it up. But not sure the same effect will work with the keg without the presence of additional sugar?

Mohanz said:

I did wonder that but I tried a cold bottle of the pilsner (carbed for 3 weeks then put in fridge), the warm bottle of the pilsner (out for 6+weeks at room temp) and the keg (2C in kegerator). the Cold bottle and Keg taste identical so there isn't an infection, it seems as though the temperature is the differentiation and perhaps its the conditioning that has cleaned it up. But not sure the same effect will work with the keg without the presence of additional sugar?

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I believe you have a diacetyl problem.
there won't be any fixing it once its off the yeast. generally they call it a buttery taste, butterscotch, but sometime in beers it can be perceived itself as an overly sweet almost weird toffee flavour.

New yeast could fix the issue, but its unlikely.