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That Barley Wine was only my third all grain brew, so I really had no idea about mashing big malt bills. Just did a big Imperial Stout using parti gyle and got 64% efficiency, which is a lot better than the 50% for the Barley Wine. Good idea about making an extra beer with the sparge. One day I...

Out of interest what gap are you using? I’m surprised by how tight some people go, and wondering if that’s purely to chase better efficiency. I have mine set at 1.1mm/.043”. At that the crush looks nice with no flour at all. I get up to 88% efficiency with small grain bills under 6kg in the 65L...

Thanks :)

I actually just won best Imperial Stout of show in my first beer comp today for a Partial Mash/Extract RIS. I have learnt a ton since making that beer and am doing all grain RIS now, so I have a lot more going on these days. But for the RIS I entered in the comp I didn't muck with water...

That’s awesome stuff Dunc, thanks. You’ve given me some great ideas I hadn’t considered before. I’ll rig something up through the tap so I can whirlpool, rather than use a seperate whirlpool arm. I can see now that will be a better, cleaner solution.

I have two beers in my first competition tomorrow. I think they are pretty good, but I’m mostly keen to get feedback and see if there’s anything I could do better. I’ve volunteered as a steward for the day which means I’m going to get to taste a LOT of beer, which I’m looking at as another...

Sounds like you should go into production and beat them to version 5. I do want to improve my whirlpool method, and was going to give the whirlpool arm a try. However, now you mention it, how would you add a dedicated whirlpool port to a BrewZilla?

I do like buying late model products that have matured and had all the early development finished. Given their track record, I figure V4 will be another bug fest, and I might line up for V4.1 or later models once it gets sorted out. I do like the connectivity they are talking about and having...

The BrewZilla V4 was supposed to be released in 2020. When I contacted KegLand at the start of this year they said they were having trouble with it and it wouldn’t be released until mid year. Now they are talking a possible 2022 release. I decided not to wait and bought the 65L V3.1.1 version...

I transfer wort from my BrewZilla to my Grainfather conical using the pump and CFC. The CFC is one of my favourite bits of gear because of how easy it makes transferring cooled wort into the fermenter. I do have them next to each other for the transfer, and I doubt the pump could push through...

I was thinking the same thing in the first month. I couldn't believe I had made that beer. While it is still drinking very nicely at 3 months, I think that initial 'magic' has faded.

PTE is Pliny The Elder. I haven't scored a bottle myself, but everyone raves about it so much, I thought it was a good starting place to brew my first IIPA. It may just be the best beer I've ever made, so I'm a fan. I have a pretty sweet CO2 setup, so I do everything in a low O2 environment all...

I made a IIPA, something along the lines of a PTE. It's coming up to 3 months in the bottle now and I'm almost all out. To my mind it doesn't have the same beautiful hop aroma and flavour it did to begin with. It's still quite nice, but maybe past its peak IMO. Is there a considered time line...

Are you using anything at the end of your boil to drop out the hot break? I use Brewbright with 5 minutes to go. Then I cool to 80C, add whirlpool hops if required and whirlpool. I get a massive amount of hot break drop out. It’s around 4cm thick in the middle and tapers to around 1cm thick at...

Sounds like you made a great beer. I know it’s common knowledge, but no matter how good it is now, it will be a lot better in 6 or 12 months. I have 3 RIS batches at various ages. The flavours in the 1 year old have all melded together and its drinking super smooth now.

I had trouble finding where La Trappe source their yeast. Seems a lot of people use Wyeast 3787 for their La Trappe clones. I have the 3787 on hand already so I’ll just stick with it this time.

I’ve used all the Candi Syrup’s, and the D180 in my Rochefort 10 and Imperial Stout beers. Good suggestion, but I think I will stick with the D90. The Special B or C-120 is a good idea I’ll think about.

I haven’t been able to find too many recipes for this beer. The brewery website states they use Pale, Munich, Caramel and Roast. I’ve not seen a recipe remotely resembling that. Anyway I’ve come up with something I think will work. The basic recipe for 22L into the fermenter looks like this...

I'm in the new brewer category, but it's amazing how much you learn when you take a virus enforced year off to brew full time. My goal is to make beer that people would pay good money for in any bar. Win some competitions. Impress the s**t out of my mates. I look back to my first pretty average...

I’ve written in my notes to recirculate the wort slowly to avoid denaturing the wort proteins as they pass through the system of valves and pump. I don’t recall where I read that information. It may not be that important in the scheme of things. I open the valve fully, then back it off a touch...