A few of worries, witbier

[chazam]

So I'm making witbier and this is my recipe:

Spoiler

Witbier

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 7.3
Total Grain (kg): 1.806
Total Hops (g): 2.71
Original Gravity (OG): 1.049 (°P): 12.1
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.81 %
Colour (SRM): 3.5 (EBC): 6.9
Bitterness (IBU): 11.6 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
0.795 kg Pilsner (44.02%)
0.492 kg Wheat Malt (27.24%)
0.375 kg Torrified Wheat (20.76%)
0.144 kg Rice Hulls (7.97%)

Hop Bill
----------------
1.6 g Magnum Pellet (14% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 g/L)
1.1 g Mandarina Bavaria Pellet (10% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------
0.3 g Campden Tablet @ 10 Minutes (Mash)
2.3 g Lactic Acid @ 0 Minutes (Mash)
2.2 g Orange Peel @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
7.3 g Coriander Seed @ 5 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 69°C for 90 Minutes.
Fermented at 22°C with Mangrove Jacks M20

Would a few things be a problem:
a) I noticed the fermzilla had some krausen/hop residue left which I didn't notice before. After previous batch I poured in fermzilla with water and starsan, let it sat there for days, siphoned it away, put another starsan solution in, shook the fermzilla, poured some hot water in which had been boiled, shook again, siphoned in another batch.
b) After pouring in dry yeast @22c and waited 12.5h, I noticed that I could use the saunas 28.1c to get some banana flavors to the beer so I put the beer in. However I don't know how well the beer takes temperature changes, thoughts?
c) After I was done with my hopped wort, I waited the wort to cool down. I had it in the fridge (no light 99% of the time) and then in room with lights on (all the time lights on). Then I remembered the light is not good for the beer. Can there be affect in taste if the hopped wort was in contact with light for an hour or two?

 

[chazam]

I red some forums and for lack of better information, I returned it back to 22c after 45minutes of being in the warmer temperature. Thinking of "high temperature produces banana flavour" I thought it'd be naturally close to 30c since that is Mangrove Jack M20s top range.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

45 minutes made minimal changes to the temperature of the wort

 

[chazam]

45 minutes made minimal changes to the temperature of the wort

Good, thank god I noticed early enough to change the fermenting space!

 

[kiwipen]

Am I reading it wrong or did you use star san to clean the fermenter after your last brew? Star san is not a cleaner, it's a sanitizer.

It looks to me like Mangrove Jacks M20 is meant for german wheat beers, not belgian wit.

 

[chazam]

Am I reading it wrong or did you use star san to clean the fermenter after your last brew? Star san is not a cleaner, it's a sanitizer.

It looks to me like Mangrove Jacks M20 is meant for german wheat beers, not belgian wit.

What would you suggest for a fermzilla cleaner? PBW is quite expensive. How about beer yeast?

 

[kiwipen]

I think dish washing powder or oxiclean should do the job, but I'm not sure. It's very important that things are cleaned or they can't be sanitized well.

The data sheet recommends Keglands own cleaner
https://www.kegland.com.au/media/pdf/FermZilla Tri-Conical 27L and 55L Instruction Manual.pdf
As for the yeast Mangrove Jacks 21 is a Belgian wit yeast. I don't have any experience with it.
I'm sure your beer will turn out fine with the MJ 20 yeast, it wont be a true wit, but some sort of hybrid.

 

[RM-MN]

Then I remembered the light is not good for the beer. Can there be affect in taste if the hopped wort was in contact with light for an hour or two?

It isn't all light that is bad for beer, it is UV light. Your room lights aren't likely to have a significant UV component.

 

[chazam]

I think dish washing powder or oxiclean should do the job, but I'm not sure. It's very important that things are cleaned or they can't be sanitized well.

How about Fairy? Better to use something that is used in dishwasher due to the potency?

The data sheet recommends Keglands own cleaner
https://www.kegland.com.au/media/pdf/FermZilla Tri-Conical 27L and 55L Instruction Manual.pdf

I'm always suspicious with them saying to "use only our products".

As for the yeast Mangrove Jacks 21 is a Belgian wit yeast. I don't have any experience with it.
I'm sure your beer will turn out fine with the MJ 20 yeast, it wont be a true wit, but some sort of hybrid.

Well, I was going to aim for just plain witbier but hybrid will do as well.

 

[Drewch]

What would you suggest for a fermzilla cleaner? PBW is quite expensive. How about beer yeast?

Try any of the dollar-store knockoffs of OxyClean -- not quite as good as PBW, but they work pretty well for (sometimes a lot) less money.

 

[kiwipen]

How about Fairy? Better to use something that is used in dishwasher due to the potency?

I'm not familiar with Fairy, but if it's meant to go in the dishwasher it's probably good enough. Go for something unscented.

I'm always suspicious with them saying to "use only our products".

i agree, but they also mention max temperature and time the cleaner can be in the fermenter and those points I think are more important to follow.

 

[chazam]

It's hard to get my hands to OxyClean in Europe.

By Fairy I mean Fairy (brand) - Wikipedia but it's not for dishwasher since it foams too much. If the direction is "go towards something that's used in dishing washing machines" alright, I can buy Sun dishwashing powder. Finish and Fairy had their dishwashing powders as well.

What do you guys think about plain NaHCO3?

i agree, but they also mention max temperature and time the cleaner can be in the fermenter and those points I think are more important to follow.

Embarrasinly enough I haven't followed any of that. I hope I have not left any PBW in for too long of a time. Honestly at this point I can't remember.

 

[kiwipen]

NaHCO3 as in baking soda? Not my field of expertise, but I don't think it'll do the trick.

 

[chazam]

What are some of the things are are a big no-no to the Fermzilla? I see bleach/whitening ingredients in some of the dishwashing machine products.

If I were to not use OxyClean or anything like that, these are the products that KegLand suggests:
- StellarClean (thinking, just use a very minimal amount of PBW)
- StellarSan (thinking, can be replaced by non-brand sodium percarbonate)
- StellarOxy (thinking, can be replaced by StarSan/SaniClean)

Btw. What can be a problem if I've had PBW inside the Fermzilla for too long once or twice?

NaHCO3 as in baking soda? Not my field of expertise, but I don't think it'll do the trick.

Yes. Some company called a natural cleaning soda so I got interested, but maybe it's not good then.

 

[Homebrew Harry]

Try any of the dollar-store knockoffs of OxyClean -- not quite as good as PBW, but they work pretty well for (sometimes a lot) less money.

I use the Kroger brand Oxi and it is good stuff.

 

[Dancy]

Try any of the dollar-store knockoffs of OxyClean -- not quite as good as PBW, but they work pretty well for (sometimes a lot) less money.

I use this - might have got the link off HBT — Super-charge your Oxiclean – Bertus Brewery

 

[chazam]

I might use OxiClean if I get my hands to it. Haven't closed anything off.
Where I live tho I have to say I have maybe 20-30% of what is in USA.

 

[rock_n_herm]

I use Palmolive pure +clear unscented liquid dish soap and a soft cloth to clean the insides of my fermenters (FerMonster and Speidel - I can get my hand inside both). It is most important not to scratch the plastic surfaces inside your fermenter(s), so use a soft cloth with dish soap (or some other cleaning agent) to wipe away any materials left behind from previous brews. Clean gently but thoroughly, then sanitize.
It looks like you should be able to get your hand inside your FermZilla.

 

[chazam]

Would any of you suggest having a power drill with soft bottle brush attached and use that to wipe some of the residue off? Some of the bottle brushes aren't as hard as, say, the plastic of a toilet brush (toilet brush just as an example, not saying that thing should be anywhere near fermzilla).

 

[tripelthelightfantastic]

if you live in Europe this is easy to get:
https://braumarkt.com/Arsegan-PURO-OXI-1000-gr
i use it on all brewing/fermenting/kegging equipment

 

[chazam]

if you live in Europe this is easy to get:
https://braumarkt.com/Arsegan-PURO-OXI-1000-gr
i use it on all brewing/fermenting/kegging equipment

Thank you, this is great. PBW I saw 1,8kg package being 37€ so this would be cheaper for me.

 

[goddess]

I could rant like hell regarding home brewer's use of sanitisers but I will leave that for another time. I don't know MJ yeasts whatsoever, but I presume it's pof+ since it's a wheat ale yeast... Thus yes, you might get more of a banana flavour on higher temps (28 is too much though imo, 24-26 is ideal but maybe 28 would pull it off). Going lower end will change the flavour, i.e. 18-22, I suppose with such a small batch you can easily try the 2 batches readily over time.

Regarding light, yes keep a cloth or so around your fermenter or in a dark room etc., but hops being exposed to light etc. lol... relax, don't overthink it all.

Learn from experience, usually mistakes teaches us more than successes.

 

[yohoe]

I'm partial to White Labs WLP300 for wheat beers thus 22C+ will yield bubblegum flavor, 20-21 will yield more banana with some clove, 18-19 will yield more clove with some banana. 28C seems very high

 

[chazam]

I could rant like hell regarding home brewer's use of sanitisers but I will leave that for another time. I don't know MJ yeasts whatsoever, but I presume it's pof+ since it's a wheat ale yeast... Thus yes, you might get more of a banana flavour on higher temps (28 is too much though imo, 24-26 is ideal but maybe 28 would pull it off). Going lower end will change the flavour, i.e. 18-22, I suppose with such a small batch you can easily try the 2 batches readily over time.

Regarding light, yes keep a cloth or so around your fermenter or in a dark room etc., but hops being exposed to light etc. lol... relax, don't overthink it all.

Learn from experience, usually mistakes teaches us more than successes.

I don't want to tell too much just yet, but last batch failed a month or two ago but it was closest to what I was aiming at. I think I'm doing the cleaning right now, using PBW at the beginning always but just having it mixed into a few liters and shaking it repeatedly.

I haven't got the banana flavor yet but I guess there are more important things with the flavor. And yeah, trial-and-error has been my way even with doing some research to start with (even though I guess it always doesn't seem that way, lol).

 

[chazam]

I'm partial to White Labs WLP300 for wheat beers thus 22C+ will yield bubblegum flavor, 20-21 will yield more banana with some clove, 18-19 will yield more clove with some banana. 28C seems very high

Liquid yeast is too expensive for my trials. I do think it might be better though. Maybe in the future.