Canadian Roll Call!!

[Nubiwan]

Petty sparse group of Canadians on here, but I'll doff my cap and say hello all. Living on the Rock, and lived just about everywhere in Canada. Originally from U.K. Started brewing back in the 90s. Gave it up when I got married started having kids. Usually the time many start LOL.

It's been about 20 years since I last brewed, and just started again in December '18. Already on my 5th batch. Just doing extracts at present, but threatening a grain in bag job soon.

Got 60 odd pints in my cold room and still have the commercial bottles from a New Years Eve party that haven't been touched since I cracked my first home brew bottle.

 

[Nubiwan]

Hey guys, total noob here. Fermenting my first beer ever, a Hefeweizen, think I totally screwed it up but we'll see in another couple of weeks!

How'd you make out with the hef? Second question. What is a hef? See it on here all the time, and I've never had one. Not even in a pub.

 

[Werner]

Vancouver Islander here.

Getting back into brewing after a good few years. Used to do plastic pail 'Coopers' kits and then some uBrew (including a medieval ale with Clover instead of hops!) ... Did my first 3 Gallon all grain batch a couple months ago on new gear (really like the Anvil kettle I got) as I turfed most of my cheapo/handmedown extract stuff, then life got lifey, so I'm finally giving the Belgian Table recipe another go this weekend. Trying desperately to stick to recipe until I get everything down and results are good before I start getting creative.

 

[beerlover77]

Vancouver Islander here.

Getting back into brewing after a good few years. Used to do plastic pail 'Coopers' kits and then some uBrew (including a medieval ale with Clover instead of hops!) ... Did my first 3 Gallon all grain batch a couple months ago on new gear (really like the Anvil kettle I got) as I turfed most of my cheapo/handmedown extract stuff, then life got lifey, so I'm finally giving the Belgian Table recipe another go this weekend. Trying desperately to stick to recipe until I get everything down and results are good before I start getting creative.

Welcome... also from Vancouver Island

 

[Nubiwan]

I confess to being an armchair sports fan that jumps on sports bandwagons during the playoffs, accept for rugby and soccer, but you have to love them Raptors...... Few late nights watching the last couple of rounds here in Newfoundland.

 

[johnnydoggs]

Northern BC guy here. Been BIAB for about 3 years now. Just a question now, any BC people know where to pick up a 1 bbl system in our neck of the woods?

 

[johnnydoggs]

How'd you make out with the hef? Second question. What is a hef? See it on here all the time, and I've never had one. Not even in a pub.

Hefeweizen is just another way of saying wheat beer.

 

[Nubiwan]

Hefeweizen is just another way of saying wheat beer.

'kin 'ell..... no way

Now I feel a right scheisse hausen.

 

[DocD]

Montreal, Quebec.

Canadian wheat in 50% of my beers. Amazing how it fits in with the noble German Hops as well as the fruity Americans. I would guess 75% of my grains and adjuncts are Canadian by type, 95%+ by weight.

Wheat’s easy with a Braumeister, so not a real accomplishment to brew mostly wheat beers, more of a palate choice. Small batch brewer, 10L, 2.5 Gallon Kegs, lotsa variety and not ready to increase batch size. Still learning too much.

 

[kilohertz]

Hi folks,

Just found this thread. I'm just north of Vernon BC. I have a 135 plant hopyard, many varieties, am just gathering parts to build my first electric brew rig...it will be Arduino based, still reading, learning about HERMS RIMS etc... have many kegs and stainless fittings already, many fridges to convert to fermentation chambers, kegerators etc. a new 830 sq' shop to put it in...

And to top it off, planting 25 grape vines today so I can start making wine in a few years. So much to do.....but lots of fun.

Cheers

 

[amber-ale]

anybody got any "Canadian" recipes?
it would be nice to have a selection of beer recipes that capture the essence of each Province (maybe even Region(?)), and be made from (as much as possible) ingredients from that Province (or at least grown in Canada)

 

[Apimyces]

anybody got any "Canadian" recipes?
it would be nice to have a selection of beer recipes that capture the essence of each Province (maybe even Region(?)), and be made from (as much as possible) ingredients from that Province (or at least grown in Canada)

Is there such a thing?

When I think of big hit breweries in Québec, things like Brasserie du Bas-Canada or Dieu du Ciel, or before that Cheval Blanc or Unibroue, none of it really screams "Québec" to me. None of them really have much in common with each other either.

 

[Werner]

anybody got any "Canadian" recipes?
it would be nice to have a selection of beer recipes that capture the essence of each Province (maybe even Region(?)), and be made from (as much as possible) ingredients from that Province (or at least grown in Canada)

Hmm wonder if anyone has the recipe for "Lucky Lager" doesn't get more B.C. (or at least Island anyway) than that...

 

[deltapapatango]

Where does everybody get their gear from?

 

[McKraken]

Where does everybody get their gear from?

You can try www.ontariobeerkegs.com. They have free shipping over $100, which takes a lot of the pain out of ordering online in Canada.

Since I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. I've been brewing for about seven years, but took a few years off after moving around a bit. I picked it back up about a year ago, and started brewing smaller 10-12 L batches. The small batches have let me brew more often and have more variety on tap with 2.5 and 3 gal kegs.

Cheers!

 

[hawkbox]

That's where I've got most of my hardware, grains and whatnot I get from wherever is local. Winning Wines in Edmonton is pretty decent.

 

[Drunkenboar]

Brewer in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At it for a few years but just got finished setting up my new 30 gal garage brewery.

Spike kettles but it's all custom welded tri-clamps (self-designed and done up at a local machine shop). Running a kegerator with RaspberryPints and Fermentrack with 1/3 HP chiller for the 1Bbl fermenter.

 

[jayroc]

Brewer in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At it for a few years but just got finished setting up my new 30 gal garage brewery.

View attachment 647640 View attachment 647641View attachment 647642

Spike kettles but it's all custom welded tri-clamps (self-designed and done up at a local machine shop). Running a kegerator with RaspberryPints and Fermentrack with 1/3 HP chiller for the 1Bbl fermenter.

What are you running for a mill

 

[Nubiwan]

Brewer in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At it for a few years but just got finished setting up my new 30 gal garage brewery.

View attachment 647640 View attachment 647641View attachment 647642

Spike kettles but it's all custom welded tri-clamps (self-designed and done up at a local machine shop). Running a kegerator with RaspberryPints and Fermentrack with 1/3 HP chiller for the 1Bbl fermenter.

Impressive! Where does one put the dilithium crystals?

No way I am showing you my BIAB setup with 4-5 x 5 gallon beef buckets, plastic airlocks, 10 gallon kettle, 30 foot garden hose, and 200 x 450 ml grolsch bottles. No way!

 

[Nubiwan]

Brewer in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At it for a few years but just got finished setting up my new 30 gal garage brewery.

View attachment 647640 View attachment 647641View attachment 647642

Spike kettles but it's all custom welded tri-clamps (self-designed and done up at a local machine shop). Running a kegerator with RaspberryPints and Fermentrack with 1/3 HP chiller for the 1Bbl fermenter.

I hope your beer tasts as impressive as this all looks. My BIAB operation is pathetic in comparison.

EDIT - Feck! been so long since I last posted here, I never knew I'd already repliedto @Drunkenboar, so my apologies for repetition.

 

[Buddycat]

Hi all,

Just found this thread. I'm brewing in Golden, BC with a 20 gal BIAbasket system. Got it setup 8 months ago and working pretty well so far. Shout out to Hop Dawgs in Armstrong BC for supplying most of my brewing supplies.

 

[squared]

Been brewing in Edmonton for about 10 yrs. Just got a brewzilla for my birthday so I guess I don’t have to do as much heavy lifting with keggles anymore!

 

[ChickenLambChops]

Brewer from the GTHA, am I the only new brewer from canada since 2022???

 

[amber-ale]

Sorry not from Toronto, but New Westminster BC…
Anybody else from the Vancouver BC area?

 

[lutherieguy]

I searched around and couldn't find a thread like this so I guess I'll get the ball rolling!

Just drop in say hi, say where you're from, that way we can more easily find people close to us!


A little about me, I'm from Winnipeg, Manitoba...home to the longest Grey cup winning drought and the Jets!! I just started brewing, on my second batch, I messed up my first pretty bad...can't wait for the second batch to be ready! I'm looking for the go to place for beer supplies here in the peg, If anyone can help out that would be awesome!

Darrell

Middle aged guy in the 905 brewing everything but mostly beer.. enjoying the Brewzilla/Fermzilla conical pressurized setup I put together for oxygen free 5-6 gal batches going to kegs. Experimenting with wine, mead, and cider. Just saying hello to the group and the OP in the 'peg

 

[Bottoms_Up]

Middle aged guy in the 905 brewing everything but mostly beer.. enjoying the Brewzilla/Fermzilla conical pressurized setup I put together for oxygen free 5-6 gal batches going to kegs. Experimenting with wine, mead, and cider. Just saying hello to the group and the OP in the 'peg

Welcome! I'm also in the GTA area, and have been brewing beer since 1990 (wine since the 1970's). I'm loving my Brewzilla and Fermzilla. I mostly brew the more difficult lagers and true sours that take a year to a year and a half to complete (not the hyped-up overnight kettle sours). I'm a senior who still feels and acts and drinks middle-aged. I might be one of the oldest homebrewers in the GTA.

 

[lutherieguy]

The sours sound really interesting. I read about them a while back, and the pro's all seemed to turn their noses up at the 'quick' sours as opposed to something truly natural like the real bacterial process happening during the ageing of a sour beer. A specialty trade like Lambic beer or sourdough bread making! I am a fan of the latter not having yet tried the former. Looking forward to early retirement in under 3 years, so lots of projects in mind. I must get around to tasting a sour beer... Maybe I will get hooked. I have my first real all grain porter lined up for the fall, and a basic apple cider going in a keg in the vestibule right now since the fall temps have arrived. Was thinking of a hard seltzer but I don't drink fast enough (until retirement lol) Cheers and thanks for the welcome my older wiser Canadian compadre

 

[Bottoms_Up]

The sours sound really interesting. I read about them a while back, and the pro's all seemed to turn their noses up at the 'quick' sours as opposed to something truly natural like the real bacterial process happening during the ageing of a sour beer. A specialty trade like Lambic beer or sourdough bread making! I am a fan of the latter not having yet tried the former. Looking forward to early retirement in under 3 years, so lots of projects in mind. I must get around to tasting a sour beer... Maybe I will get hooked. I have my first real all grain porter lined up for the fall, and a basic apple cider going in a keg in the vestibule right now since the fall temps have arrived. Was thinking of a hard seltzer but I don't drink fast enough (until retirement lol) Cheers and thanks for the welcome my older wiser Canadian compadre

If you're going to try a sour in the future, I recomend Rodenbach to start with. You can usually get it around here before and during Christmas Season.

 

[ZapperMike]

I'm from Kitchener Ontario just west of Toronto. I’m an electrician specializing in industrial automation so needless to say I am running a custom built all electric RIMS system with Craft BeerPi for control. I currently run 2 Grainfather fermenters for 10 gallon batches and 2 Mammoth fermenters for 5 gallon batches. I also keg and carbonate in a freezer with an InkBird temp controller. It’s been a long journey from extract kits to all grain using coolers and a single plastic FastFerment to all stainless and computer control but I have finally found pleasure in my setup and brewing some great beers!
Cheers!

 

[Tartan1]

I am running a custom built all electric RIMS system with Craft BeerPi for control

Nice looking system, good idea using a lift for the heavy stuff it sure saves the wear and tear on the back!!

 

[ZapperMike]

Nice looking system, good idea using a lift for the heavy stuff it sure saves the wear and tear on the back!!

Thank you. Ya the motorcycle lift works out perfectly and gets me to counter height.

 

[Funkfacekliff]

thread appears alive so ill say hi to my fellow hosers. mid 40s, Southwestern ontario my whole life (london area) been home brewing wines on and off since i was a teenager mostly fruit wines, had mostly sucsess a few intresting outcomes. excited to get a batch going this year with all my ingredients grown myself, mostly red wine grapes(forget the strain) some raspberries, and i also have some red mac ,gala and golden delicious apples (tree has several grafted branches). Dont know if i put it all together if its a fruit wine or a cider or somthing else but im gonna find out! hmm... would it "bee" a mead if i also use honey? im gonna need more carbouys

 

[lutherieguy]

If you're going to try a sour in the future, I recomend Rodenbach to start with. You can usually get it around here before and during Christmas Season.

Thanks for the tip.. I will look at the liquor store

 

[lutherieguy]

I'm from Kitchener Ontario just west of Toronto. I’m an electrician specializing in industrial automation so needless to say I am running a custom built all electric RIMS system with Craft BeerPi for control. I currently run 2 Grainfather fermenters for 10 gallon batches and 2 Mammoth fermenters for 5 gallon batches. I also keg and carbonate in a freezer with an InkBird temp controller. It’s been a long journey from extract kits to all grain using coolers and a single plastic FastFerment to all stainless and computer control but I have finally found pleasure in my setup and brewing some great beers!
Cheers!

Welcome. Truly awe inspiring..! a real micro-brewery. I am envious of your space and equipment, while at the same time very satisfied with my own comparatively simple setup. It suits my needs and keeps me busy, and tipsy if not careful. I am sure you produce a very fine product with such a carefully controlled environment. What do you prefer for clarification? Whirfloc.. gelatin.. biofine? Or simply cold crashing and time? I like gelatin best, personally. Though Whirfloc worked well also. In cider and wine I prefer bentonite.

 

[lutherieguy]

thread appears alive so ill say hi to my fellow hosers. mid 40s, Southwestern ontario my whole life (london area) been home brewing wines on and off since i was a teenager mostly fruit wines, had mostly sucsess a few intresting outcomes. excited to get a batch going this year with all my ingredients grown myself, mostly red wine grapes(forget the strain) some raspberries, and i also have some red mac ,gala and golden delicious apples (tree has several grafted branches). Dont know if i put it all together if its a fruit wine or a cider or somthing else but im gonna find out! hmm... would it "bee" a mead if i also use honey? im gonna need more carbouys

Welcome. It sounds very satisfying to make beverages from your own garden products. I want to use my crab apple tree for cider but the deer always beat me to it LOL. My fave so far for taste and ease is making apple cider from the cheapest juice I can find I fill a 5 gallon keg (floating dip tube) with pasteurized apple juice (which all seems to have a gravity of around 1.050). I add a muslin bag filled with 5 cinnamon sticks, 15 cloves, and 50 raisins (AFTER soaking filled bag in minimal amount of boiling water to sterilize! I add the flavoured water also). I then add a slurry made of about 100 ml (1/4 cup) boiling water and a teaspoon of bentonite clay - mixed so there is no clumps and allowed to cool a little before dumping into the juice. I finally add a pack of ale yeast. I use the 11 gram packet of LalBrew Nottinham Ale yeast for a great taste. I leave it in the keg for around a month, with a spunding valve set for around 15 psi. The bubbling of the ferment keeps the bentonite clay in suspension doing its job the whole time. and leaving a crystal clear cider around 5% ABV. It will be dry so I like to backsweeten with around 20% fresh juice as I pressure transfer the carbonated cider to a clean, purged, and counter-pressurized serving keg. It sounds like a lot but it is very easy with no boil required. My last batch I added a pound of dextrose (boiled in minimal amount of water then cooled) to raise ABV, so that when I backsweeten with 20% fresh juice the ABV should still be 5% ABV or higher. Should be done at end of September. I NEVER use yeast nutrient because the 3 times I tried the cider was cloudy and would not clear, and had a sulfur-like taste that was unpleasant. It may speed up the ferment, but any time saved is lost waiting months for it to clear - if ever. That is my experience anyway

 

[ZapperMike]

Welcome. Truly awe inspiring..! a real micro-brewery. I am envious of your space and equipment, while at the same time very satisfied with my own comparatively simple setup. It suits my needs and keeps me busy, and tipsy if not careful. I am sure you produce a very fine product with such a carefully controlled environment. What do you prefer for clarification? Whirfloc.. gelatin.. biofine? Or simply cold crashing and time? I like gelatin best, personally. Though Whirfloc worked well also. In cider and wine I prefer bentonite.

Thank you. The quality of my beer is definitely better since I have total control over temps and process. Using a RIMS system has boosted my efficiency and gives me a super clear wort for the boil. I use Wirlfloc tablets and do a whirlpool while chilling with a plate chiller. I also have conical fermenters and run my finished beer through an inline filter while filling the kegs. I used to just fill my kegs by gravity and purge the air out with Co2 but now I do closed transfers when kegging. That also makes a difference to eliminate oxidation. I’m having a good time and seem to have a lot of friends dropping by for a pint on the patio. Cheers!

 

[ZapperMike]

Welcome. It sounds very satisfying to make beverages from your own garden products. I want to use my crab apple tree for cider but the deer always beat me to it LOL. My fave so far for taste and ease is making apple cider from the cheapest juice I can find I fill a 5 gallon keg (floating dip tube) with pasteurized apple juice (which all seems to have a gravity of around 1.050). I add a muslin bag filled with 5 cinnamon sticks, 15 cloves, and 50 raisins (AFTER soaking filled bag in minimal amount of boiling water to sterilize! I add the flavoured water also). I then add a slurry made of about 100 ml (1/4 cup) boiling water and a teaspoon of bentonite clay - mixed so there is no clumps and allowed to cool a little before dumping into the juice. I finally add a pack of ale yeast. I use the 11 gram packet of LalBrew Nottinham Ale yeast for a great taste. I leave it in the keg for around a month, with a spunding valve set for around 15 psi. The bubbling of the ferment keeps the bentonite clay in suspension doing its job the whole time. and leaving a crystal clear cider around 5% ABV. It will be dry so I like to backsweeten with around 20% fresh juice as I pressure transfer the carbonated cider to a clean, purged, and counter-pressurized serving keg. It sounds like a lot but it is very easy with no boil required. My last batch I added a pound of dextrose (boiled in minimal amount of water then cooled) to raise ABV, so that when I backsweeten with 20% fresh juice the ABV should still be 5% ABV or higher. Should be done at end of September. I NEVER use yeast nutrient because the 3 times I tried the cider was cloudy and would not clear, and had a sulfur-like taste that was unpleasant. It may speed up the ferment, but any time saved is lost waiting months for it to clear - if ever. That is my experience anyway

It sounds like you have a good cider recipe figured out. I make cider as well but mostly from kits or when my local brew shop gets in fresh juice in the fall. I have had a similar experience with sulphur smells and off flavour but I use a modified two stage water filter to remove it. I reversed the flow on the first stage and put in a piece of silicone tubing to fill from the bottom and through a copper mesh. The next stage is a throw away filter element that clears the cider and gets rid of any sediment in the bottles. The sulpher is removed like magic.