New brewer from Sheffield, UK here

[biochembrewing]

Hi to anyone reading this!

I'm a novice brewer and just found this forum so thought it'd be good to get in with a community.

I'm a biochemistry student at the Uni of Sheffield and having lived here for a few years now I've been inspired by the fantastic range of pubs and beers this city has to offer, plus the rather ridiculous amount of local breweries.

So I thought I'd give it a go myself!

I've done a few kits and they've turned out surprisingly well but I recently took the plunge and have started all grain brewing. After my first proper brew day last weekend I can say I am definitely going to get hooked on this.

Any tips, advice or general words of wisdom from anybody out there will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers for reading

 

[flars]

Make sure you read up on mash temperature for the style you are brewing. Especially the results of mashing at 146°F to 148° compared to a mash at 154° to 156°.

 

[unionrdr]

I'm from Sheffield myself...Ohio! I'm up to partial boil, partial mash brew in a bag myself. Made some good beers this way. I even made a Burton ale once. We have everything to drink here & a lot of foodie stuff as well. Enjoy!

 

[okiedog]

Control your mash and fermentation temps, and don't rush your beers. If you want beer fast, go buy it. What has really helped me, is that I constantly read articles, books, anything about beer and brewing that I can find. This site is a great place to gain insight and have people to bounce ideas off of. Good luck and success with all your current and future brews. When something doesn't go as planned, take Charlie Papazian's advice: Relax. Don't worry. Have a home brew.

 

[Joewalla88]

Hey! My step dad's from Sheffield. Welcome to HBT.

 

[biochembrewing]

Thanks for the welcome and advice guys! Yeah I should have said, I'm not up to proper all grain; use boil in a bag too as I got a 3 in 1 mash run, boiler and fermenter as a starting point into making the leap to the proper method. Fermenter is currently bubbling away so that's reassuring haha. Don't have huge expectations for this first batch but we'll see.

Unionrdr, what sort of material do you use for your bags? Cos I'm concerned mind's a bit too porous so I'm worried about having lots of bits in my beer.

 

[unionrdr]

I use a nylon 5 gallon bag from LD Carlson, but it's course mesh. I need to find one that's more of a medium mesh. But since I have my Barley Crusher grain mill set at .039", the crush is good enough to keep most of it in the bag. I strain out maybe a cup's worth when pouring the chilled wort through my fine mesh strainer into the fermenter.
Here's a pic of the Barley Crusher;
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/barley-crusher-maltmill-w-7-lb-hopper.html
And the strainer I use;
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/stainless-steel-strainer-10-1-4-diameter.html

 

[biochembrewing]

Ah cool, straining it sounds like a good idea. I'll keep an eye out for other bags as well.

 

[unionrdr]

See if you can find the nylon 5 gallon bags to not only fit your kettle's rim, but a medium mesh would be better as well.

 

[Calder]

I use a 5 gallon paint straining bag from the hardware store.

I saw a band at Sheffield Uni about 35 years ago. Can't remember who it was: had back stage passes and had a great time. Just drove down from Leeds for the night. It was probably someone like the Ramones, Debbie Harry, or UB40.

 

[unionrdr]

UB40. Reminds me of one of my Cheech-n-Chong albums shaped like a red when you open it, called OD40.

 

[biochembrewing]

I'm a bit too young for these haha. Btw, if there's any bits of grain left in the fermenter that slipped through the bag they should eventually sink to the bottom right? Would it be best to rack to a secondary to remove them or just wait a fair while?

 

[flars]

I'm a bit too young for these haha. Btw, if there's any bits of grain left in the fermenter that slipped through the bag they should eventually sink to the bottom right? Would it be best to rack to a secondary to remove them or just wait a fair while?

I would wait to see if they do sink while your beer is finishing and all the other sediments are dropping out. Most, if not all, will end up on the yeast/trub layer.

It is possible some very light pieces may not drop out. These, if it does happen, can be kept out of the siphon with a small piece of filter material on the end of the siphon tube. Start the siphon with the end well above the trub layer, gradually moving it downward. This will keep the filter material from plugging with hop debris.

 

[biochembrewing]

For some filtering material to cover the end of the syphon, do you think a coffee filter would work OK or would that be too fine?

 

[flars]

A coffee filter would sog up completely and restrict flow to a trickle. A fine mesh hop bag would do it. Pantyhose would work very well. Buy the cheapest you can find. High price and low price are probably the same mesh.

 

[okiedog]

Yes, a coffee filter would be too fine. Let fermentation finish. Everything should settle out. I have never used any kind of screen, just an auto siphon racking cane kept above the trub. Carefully tilt the carboy when the the beer level gets close to the bottom, and stop when you start to draw yeast and trub. You should be fine.

 

[biochembrewing]

OK cool, cheers guys!

 

[Calder]

UB40. Reminds me of one of my Cheech-n-Chong albums shaped like a red when you open it, called OD40.

The band was named after the reference number of the dole card (unemployment card). All the band members were 'on the dole' (unemployed). Their first single was '1 in 10', and was about the fact that the unemployment rate in the UK was 10% at the time

Their first album cover was a blown up unemployment card. Great band.

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the hobby, and the group, from Colorado.

I don't know if he ships internationally, but Wilserbrewer makes great BIAB bags.

 

[Wrinkletusk]

Hello from sunny Edinburgh! Check out http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/ if you haven't already. Beats my LHBS on price (including shipping) and selection of hops and grain.

 

[okiedog]

Edinburgh is a nice city. I haven't been there in several years, but I really like Scotland. What is the home brew scene like there?

 

[biochembrewing]

Hey guys, just thought I'd keep you updated on the beer.
I'm really happy with it! I bottled it in my ibrew tap-a-draft set and it's unbelievably clear, with good head retention too. Shouldve made some more!

So for my next batch I was thinking a hoppy pale ale, perhaps a single hopped one, but if there are any recipes you guys think are especially good, send then my way!

 

[okiedog]

Take a look at the recipe section here on HBT. There are a lot of good recipes. some are for SMASH brews. You should be able to find something that interests you.

 

[Wrinkletusk]

Edinburgh is a nice city. I haven't been there in several years, but I really like Scotland. What is the home brew scene like there?

I'm not in any clubs or anything, but as far as I can tell, it's a busy little scene. The only LHBS (that I know of) is over 30 years old, and has recently moved into a much larger location. There's also a yearly competition where the winning recipe is brewed and sold by the sponsoring brewery.