New Zealand Brewers

[crusader1612]

Oh wicked. I'll send u a bottle of some Flanders red. . When it's carbed.

 

[Mohanz]

So hit my target final gravity for my Citra Bomb, sample tasted OK - awesome aroma too. hopefully no off flavours develop due to a stressful start of fermentation.

Anyway Baylands Brewery are doing something awesome if anyone is keen to get amongst:

Is your beer good enough to sell? Want to brew with the pros? Here’s your chance.
Our Home Brewer Tap will showcase one home brewer’s creation each month.
To get involved, simply drop a bottle of your finest brew and the recipe into the brewery by the 20th of the month. The Baylands team will sample the entries and decide on the winning brew.
The winning brewer will join us to brew a 50L batch… and bask in the glory when your beer is launched.
On the last Thursday of every month, join us from 6pm-7.30pm at the brewery for drinks and nibbles. We’ll announce that month’s winning brewer and the previous month’s winning brew will hit the taps.
Our monthly winner scores:
• A session to brew a 50 litre batch of your beer with us
• Your beer will be sold on the FYO taps until it runs out
• Your name and beer on the Wall of Champions at Baylands Brewery
• A 1.25L rigger of your creation to take home
• A $50 Baylands Brewery voucher
• Unlimited glory and back-slapping at the launch of your beer

Anyone can attend the Thursday events, you don’t have to have entered the competition (but it’s more fun if you have). Each month we’ll have something interesting happening like Q&A sessions, tastings, guest speakers, introductions of new products, technical briefings, and some special deals in-store.
T & C's apply. Full details in store.

 

[ol-hazza]

I like the sound of that Baylands idea, just need to get some decent beer and a trip to Wellington to coincide. Been having trouble with washed yeast again, think I need to get some starters and a stir plate going because it's driving me nuts.

I have never had a sour beer, whats a good one to try and where can I find it?

In other news I'm off to Melbourne tomorrow to check out their brewing scene and do a 4 brewing course and am getting quite excited.

 

[crusader1612]

I like the sound of that Baylands idea, just need to get some decent beer and a trip to Wellington to coincide. Been having trouble with washed yeast again, think I need to get some starters and a stir plate going because it's driving me nuts.

I have never had a sour beer, whats a good one to try and where can I find it?

In other news I'm off to Melbourne tomorrow to check out their brewing scene and do a 4 brewing course and am getting quite excited.

Awesome work o the brewing course.
Get yourself a rodenbach grand cru. That'll help with the Spurs. It's pasteurised so no use using the dregs.

 

[Mohanz]

Nice one Hazza, not sure where to get them in Taranaki, but you could even try get a Moa sour banc or Moa Cherry sour. They are usually pretty accessible at supermarkets like New World (well... at least in Wellington).

Otherwise try Regional Wines & spirits website?

 

[Microphobik]

I have never had a sour beer, whats a good one to try and where can I find it?

There are some pretty different styles of sour out there. Some are a bit sweet, the more trendy ones at the moment are bone dry. I'm a fan of duchesse de bourgogne and Rodenbach Grand Cru. They are on the sweeter side. I believe that duchess is in stock at beercellar.co.nz. Last I looked they still had Rodenbach, but not grand cru. They carry grand cru fairly often though.

If you want to try some of the hipper sours (which to me are really hit or miss) then you can try any of these: http://www.cultbeerstore.co.nz/collections/sour

There are of course Lambics as well. BeerCellar.co.nz has a decent selection. But I find most of the framboise to be too sweet and the geuze to just sort of be... meh. But I don't personally like the dry sours. Many do.

I'd try the Duchess myself. It's a Flanders brown and one of my favorite beers out there.

 

[ol-hazza]

I managed to track one down at a bar yesterday. Unfortunately I inundated myself with beer research and can't remember what it was called but I was surprised by how selections it was. Not sure what I was expecting but love the crispness of them. Might have to try and brew one for next summer.

And thanks for the advice, will get some more when I get back.

 

[ol-hazza]

I also got to try stone brewings arogant bastard IPA. It's good

 

[Tokoroa_Brewer]

Had one of these tonight.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1431785530.282103.jpg
I wanted to get the Black Dog APA but they had run out and only had their hopped Pilsner left. Might get that next time.

 

[ol-hazza]

What did you think of it?

Im just having a mountain goat steam ale, its pretty good, only one i have ever had though so nothing to compare it against

 

[Mohanz]

Just made a Red IPA, was wondering what the general consensus is on fermentation temps using safale-05? i am doing it at 18C, but was wondering about the Diacetyl Rest some people do with Ales... when do you do this and for how long?

 

[Microphobik]

Just made a Red IPA, was wondering what the general consensus is on fermentation temps using safale-05? i am doing it at 18C, but was wondering about the Diacetyl Rest some people do with Ales... when do you do this and for how long?

I have been fermenting at 18 until I see the bubbles start to slow just a little (but still active). Usually about three days or so. Then I ramp up a degree a day until I hit 22. I keg around day 10 if it's a normal gravity beer. Sometimes I'm in a rush and keg sooner. Been getting great results since I started doing that D rest. I wasn't noticing Diacetyl before, but the beer seems cleaner since I started doing it.

 

[Mohanz]

Awesome thanks man, how long do you leave it at 22? until day 10?

 

[Microphobik]

I crash it to 1 degree for about 24 - 48 hours or so before I keg. The 10 day mark is just my goal. I kind of wing it in reality. Often I'm in a rush and keg sooner. Other times I'm busy and leave it longer. But yeah, I leave it at that temp until I cold crash. And I cold crash until it looks pretty clear, or until I just can't be bothered waiting any more

 

[crusader1612]

I crash it to 1 degree for about 24 - 48 hours or so before I keg. The 10 day mark is just my goal. I kind of wing it in reality. Often I'm in a rush and keg sooner. Other times I'm busy and leave it longer. But yeah, I leave it at that temp until I cold crash. And I cold crash until it looks pretty clear, or until I just can't be bothered waiting any more

Yep, sounds about right.

 

[Mohanz]

Cool I'll give that a whirl, thanks for the advice.

I'm pretty keen to get into kegging, but i am a little worried I'll just drink to much and get super fat

However, bottling sucks and takes too long.. has anyone had any experience with the Mangrove Jacks Kegerator? It looks like an easy way to get set up etc.

 

[Microphobik]

Cool I'll give that a whirl, thanks for the advice.

I'm pretty keen to get into kegging, but i am a little worried I'll just drink to much and get super fat

However, bottling sucks and takes too long.. has anyone had any experience with the Mangrove Jacks Kegerator? It looks like an easy way to get set up etc.

I have not, and they do look like they are an easy way to get a nice looking kegerator going. My concern would be the taps. I just built a 4 tap keezer (I had just been using picnic taps until recently,) and I spent lot of time researching taps. The front closing taps seemed like a big deal unless you want taps that stick if you don't use them fairly often. But more than that was the fact that most cheap taps, especially those sold in New Zealand, are chrome plated. I read numerous accounts of the chrome wearing off (and being drunk over time) and then exposing your beer to brass which can add some off flavors and who knows what health impact.

Perlick taps really seem to be the way to go but I couldn't find them anywhere in NZ. I found a few stainless steel taps, but I couldn't find forward sealing SS taps, nor could I find a complete set up with stainless shanks and nipples, so I ordered them on ebay from kegworks: http://www.ebay.com/itm/301419755926

They were a bit more expensive than anything I could find in NZ, especially after shipping, but I probably read 40 forum threads from people saying they went cheaper and eventually needed to replace them with perlicks.

I ended up getting a free chest freezer on trademe, some untreated Popler 2 X 6s and made what I think is a really nice looking keezer.

The cost for the whole thing was about $1750

$0 Chest freezer
$50 untreated popler
$150 approx for paint, stain, angle brackets, hoses, odd bits
$500 for the copper tun 2 keg set (which was more than I needed to pay
$300 for a 5kg C02 bottle
$200 for 2 extra kegs from http://www.kegs.co.nz/
$50 for a 4 way distributor
$500 for 4 perlick taps, a drip tray, and a growler filler,plus shipping from the US.

So if you compare that to the 3 keg set up from Mangrove Jacks which sells for $1280 (It will be at least $1580 after the C02 bottle) it's about the same considering you could shave off at least $200 from the home made keezer if you had one less keg. Plus I have the ability to add up to 8 kegs with mine, the hardware is likely much better, and I really like the look of the home made one. Plus it feels good to say "I made that". I also could have saved about $200 if I didn't get the coppertun kit and instead pieced it together myself with kegs from http://www.kegs.co.nz.

But if you didn't want to do it yourself I'd imagine you could always just replace the taps, shank, and nipple on the MJ one
.
Here's a pic of the one I made, before and after...

As for drinking to much... I kind of think I drink less because I can just have a small glass which is often all I feel like, as apposed to the 500ml bottles I normally bottle in. But I can't say that has stopped me from getting fat

 

[ol-hazza]

^^ What this guy said ^^

That keg website is just what i have been looking for.

 

[Pkrd]

I usually start at 17.5 and bump up to 20 for a few days when bubbling slows. Then drop to about 18 again for dry hopping. STC1000+ is great for this.

 

[Mohanz]

Man that keezer looks slick, nice job man! Thanks for the resources, ill look into building one - as you say it would be cool to say "I made that".

Also

I read numerous accounts of the chrome wearing off (and being drunk over time) and then exposing your beer to brass which can add some off flavors and who knows what health impact.

I just saw my kettle after its been drying and noticed a not insignificant amount of copper flakes from my wort chiller. Apparently when i was vigorously stiring my wort on brew day, my metal mash paddle was chipping away the inside of my chiller. Im gonna go ahead and assume a cold crash will make it sink to the bottom haha slightly worried now.

 

[Microphobik]

Thanks man. I'm about the least handy guy I know, so if I can do it, anyone can. Just took a tiny bit of patience. There are a bunch of youtube tutorials out there and many go with a thinner outer frame that extends down over the edge of the freezer to hold it in place but I didn't bother.

I just found some nice wood, gave it a 45 degree mitre cut and filled the gaps with a little wood putty, stained it and then added polyurethane to protect it from any condensation. The hardest part was being patient enough to give it three coats or so of paint and stain. The work itself couldn't be easier. You just unscrew the hinges, place the wood collar on the freezer top, and then reattach the hinges to the wood. That's it.

As for the copper, I'm no metallurgist, but I think I remember hearing that copper isn't really a problem and that a small amount of copper is always in there when using a copper wort chiller, but that its actually good for the yeast and they consume it as a micro-nutrient. Namely zinc. So unless you got some crazy amount in there, I don't think it's an issue. After all boil kettles (aka coppers) were traditional made of copper. But use common sense and maybe ask your home brew shop if you're in doubt.

 

[Pkrd]

However, bottling sucks and takes too long.. has anyone had any experience with the Mangrove Jacks Kegerator? It looks like an easy way to get set up etc.

The Williams Warn might be a little cheaper...
http://www.williamswarn.com/Shop/Brewing-Accessories/Kegerator#.VWLc22D6Q20

I built my own last month, just attacked my mini fridge with a hole saw and added the kegging starter kit from brewshop and a 2 tap tower (350$). Splurged on two nice AEB kegs from WW (another $350), and chucked a STC1000 off TM at it ($30). CO2 from local gasman for $200.

 

[crusader1612]

Cool I'll give that a whirl, thanks for the advice.

I'm pretty keen to get into kegging, but i am a little worried I'll just drink to much and get super fat

However, bottling sucks and takes too long.. has anyone had any experience with the Mangrove Jacks Kegerator? It looks like an easy way to get set up etc.

A friend of mine bought the MJ one, its a top unit, plenty of line, all the bits to setup etc. its well made, and very nice to look at. You can swap the taps out if needs be. Much like the keezer above. BTW they're nice flow control perlicks you've got there.

i built mine, and currently have 3 taps, mines a fridge, about 1400 high. I'm in the middle of painting it and making it look presentable.... I'm getting married, so I kinda have to. I use the European Flow control taps.

Its all about how much time, patience, and DIY skills you have really. While its not too hard to make, it can esily go wrong, much like anything.

 

[Mohanz]

Hey guys,
bit of a n00b question, I cold crashed my Red IPA to 2 Degrees on Tuesday and will bottle it tomorrow night or Sunday. Do I need to bring it back up to temperature? or is it sweet to bottle cold then bring it back to 18C for bottle conditioning?

Also I assume the priming solution should remain the same amount yeah? I noticed the calculator takes temp of beer into account but have read a lot of debate about it on these forums so a little confused.

 

[Microphobik]

You don't need to warm the beer up. It won't hurt anything but it's not necessary. I bottle cold with no issues. The reason those calculators ask for temp is because the colder the beer ferments, the more CO2 will be left in solution. So it's kind of like having a head start on carbonation. But, if you ferment warm the C02 leaves solution, and chilling it down doesn't really effect it. I believe technically it may pull a tad bit of C02 that is in the fermenters head space back into solution, but that shouldn't effect anything at all.

Short answer... Don't worry about it, no need to heat it up.

 

[Mohanz]

You don't need to warm the beer up. It won't hurt anything but it's not necessary. I bottle cold with no issues. The reason those calculators ask for temp is because the colder the beer ferments, the more CO2 will be left in solution. So it's kind of like having a head start on carbonation. But, if you ferment warm the C02 leaves solution, and chilling it down doesn't really effect it. I believe technically it may pull a tad bit of C02 that is in the fermenters head space back into solution, but that should effect anything at all.

Short answer... Don't worry about it, no need to heat it up.

After reading probably 20 different pages in various forums, this is the most concise and easy to understand answer. Thanks heaps man

 

[Microphobik]

After reading probably 20 different pages in various forums, this is the most concise and easy to understand answer. Thanks heaps man

Happy I could help

 

[ol-hazza]

Hey guys, looking at buying a malt mill. Doesn't seem to be much choice out there and considering something like this but would prefer to buy from a NZ store.

Anyway any advice would be appreciated and if you know of a local supplier who has a good rig would love to know.

 

[Pkrd]

Hey guys, looking at buying a malt mill. Doesn't seem to be much choice out there and considering something like this but would prefer to buy from a NZ store.

Anyway any advice would be appreciated and if you know of a local supplier who has a good rig would love to know.

Can't go wrong with this:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/browse/listing.aspx?id=897058991&/listing?rfm=1

 

[ol-hazza]

Especially at 150,000 below the cost of a new one.

Problem is that its a wet mill, im really after a dry mill.