>non-infected starter edition Post about what you're brewing, or ask questions about brewing your own alcohol here.I'll be brewing a 10 gallon batch of IPA tomorrow, as well as starting a 5 gallon batch of a mixed berry mead.
>infectedIt’s ‘contaminated’. I am so freaking smart, OP BTFO FBPB ROFLCOPTER (4U!!)1!!!!Anyway, I’m brewing some epic copy pastas. Haven’t actually brewed in a pathetically long time. Please make me feel bad.
>>2388685Congratulations, you aren't aware of the previous homebrew general OP.
Mash and fermentor temperature controller. I use a 1250 watt element during the mash to maintain temps and a 15amp peltier module to heat/cool the fermentor. A pump inside the jacket recirculates water through a stainless steel coil in the fermentor and through the water block attached to the peltier. For heating I just reverse the polarity via a DPDT switch. Right now I just finished up a lemon shandy, about to cold crash before I add lemon crystals and keg
Here it is when mashing. I think eventually I'll get an Anvil bucket fermentor and repurpose the stainless steel coil into my HLT to make it a full RIMS, right now I just recirculate wort directly through the heating element which requires me to keep a close eye on everything so I don't accidentally scorch the wort
>>2388619Ingredient bought for:>Philly Sour "Berliner Weiss" to test out hypeyeast>A half-sized batch to test out Idaho Gem hops because I bought a pound for $5>Hefeweizen>Bell's Hopslam Kit my mother bought because she's obsessed with hopslamBut fuck do I not have any free time anymore to brew
>>2388685i wouldnt feel bad if i lived in america where i had access to decently affordable beer (even bad beer), but the govt monopoly set price for beer here in canada is skyrocketing. i am not poor but know value of products vs price and i am not motherfucking paying the current $3.50 per tallboy (canadian tallboys are 473ml vs EVERY OTHER TALLBOY at 500ml) when they would cost me about 70 cents to homebrew. and they arent even good shit. not fucking paying it.but now were on the verge of summer. i guess ill have to try kveik yeast now that theyve got lutra and voss (i believe) as dry yeasts and do some 35C fermentations. anons, its gonna be wild.
tried adding black tea because the internet told me its tannins give a dryer resultit didn't do much desu (2 bags/gallon)
>>2389650Damn that sucks I can get a shitty but drinkable natty lite for 1$.
What do starters specifically do that tossing dry yeast on your wort does not? I've never had bad results with dry yeast but I'm still brewing 5gal batches in buckets. Is it just a quicker fermentation or does it affect the flavors/quality by starting with more active yeast? I have all the equipment to do starters which I got from the guy I bought my setup off of, I just haven't bothered with it so far.
>>2389854Don't do starters with dry yeast, just pitch 2 packs. Liquid yeast starters are good at an OG of like 1.045 and up (don't quote me on that but it's somewhere around there). A starter is mainly used to provide more yeast to prevent the colony from getting stressed and giving off flavors.
>>2389841thats the thing. yes i do love great beer, stouts, english ales, belgian beers, etc, but they set these fucking minimum.prices. i can get a really shitty industrial discount lager for $2.25, 500ml of cheap ontario malt liquor is now 3 dollara. thryvr basifally.made 40ozs illegal by getting rid of almost all of them except OE, which is $7.50 a 40oz. yes no fucking reason to purchase yhat except some hipster or wigger explicitly needs a 40oz. i used to brew really good beers which i could supplement cheapo everyday beers i would buy from the storw. but now i have to basically make at least 75% of the beer i drink and its kind of a fucking pain in the ass.6pack (341ml size) of cheap industrial beer is minimum 10 dollars, but usually 12 dollars. that is for disgusting shit i dont want to drink. basic craft 5% type beers are about $17 or 18 a 6pack. and these are who??? ontario craft brewers who suck fucking ass.
>>2389872why would i "use 2 packs" of dry yeast for an ale? 1 pack for anything up to 1.055OG. i recently even did a lager using the temp-increase method with 1 pack of.diamond and it was fine. it all seems to be dependent on fermentation temperature.starters are made espefially for white labs yeast or old packs due to low cell counta for the former and poor viability for the latter. omega and imperial i believe claim hhigh enough and viable cell counts that they strongly encourage direct pitching.
>>2389907I use starters because I brew larger batches (10-15 gallons) and it's just cheaper than buying more packages of yeast.
>>2388619I racked from a pressurized fermenter to a keg for the first time today. It is such a huge step up from the pain in the ass that is bottling.
>>2389920Also put this cider in a keg. Fermented with Safale S-04 came out clear as shit without cold crashing or using any finings.
>>2389908are you talking about making a "starter" from one pack of dry yeast for a 10 or 15 gallon wort? lol thata hilarious, dry yeast is extremely viable and doesnt need aeration. if i have a high gravity beer its bery likely i will use 2 or 3 dry packs of yeast because well, i am incredibly cheap, but that is a retarded way to attempt to save money by reducing the vitality of your dry yeast and using DME ($) to make a starter rather than just buying 2 packs of yeast. fucking lol thats like an extra 4 dollars per 5 gallons. so like 3 cents extra per 500ml
>>2389922cider is so god damn disgusting. i dont know why tf peoplr dribk it unless theyre homeless or just too stupid to figure out beer making.
>>2389955>are you talking about making a "starter" from one pack of dry yeastLiquid yeast>>2389956Cider from store bought juices can be pretty gross since they are blended to be drank unfermented. Proper ciders with the right types of fruit juice can be very tasty though.
>>2389956Can you elaborate on why you feel like it's disgusting? I feel like maybe you've only been exposed to that nasty sickeningly sweet shit they sell at the grocery store. There's better ciders out there like the dry English style I'm making. Also, beer is hardly rocket science, plenty of people out there making it with Mr. Beer lol.
>>2389974Even if you are using store bought juice you can always adjust using wine tannins and acid blend after the fact or add things like tea or lime juice before fermentation. I have to agree though unadjusted it is pretty bland, still better than anal orchard though :)
How many volumes of CO2 can a typical used (a) 500ml beer bottle, or (b) 250 ml coca cola bottle take? I've added 150 g of priming sugar (100g candy sugar, 30g brown sugar and 20g honey) to a 10l batch which should be 3.3 volumes, the high end for Belgian ales. How likely am I to have proplems with bust caps or exploding bottles this way?
>>2390132This amount should produce about 3.5 vol btw
>>2389650Fuck your commie government, create a parallel society/economy. Brew your own shit, barter with your neighbors.
>>2389650>govt monopoly set price for beer on Canadathe what now? what the fuck is going on up there?But yeah, homebrew is damn satisfying, and most of the time it ends up being better than 90% of industrial crap
Why do you guys act so gay? You don't need big fucking machines for brewing unless your refining. Just throw the yeast in and make sure the shit isn't dirty. Working with other fungus yeast is probably the most badass. It literally just doesn't give a shit about 90% of anything. You can literally use the air to easily EASILY make whatever you want. It also takes a immense amount of abuse and neglect. I love it.
>>2390207until the 70s the liquor stores were fully soviet, where you had a paper list of products to choose from, no alcohol in sight. you request "1 bottle of _____ whiskey please" and they go to thr back and get it for you. apparently they were crazy for randomly choosing people to bully because they didnt like their look and blacklisting them, basically making it so they couldnt buy booze except at bars or restaurants. also even when i first started drinking you couldnt buy booze on sundays, just beer, and that ended at 5pm.
>>2389979no stupid americaine. ive had all the dry ciders, i admit i had some ice ciders reaching 12% abv without chapitalization. i had what would have been a "highly rated" dry cider last night from local apples. i just think its generally very shitty with the exception of those ice ciders. i hate thr taste of fermented apples, and its a last resort compared to even bad, industrial beer.
>>2390278Well that's unfortunate.
>>2389903That's the market of convience and the selection it brings.
>>2390278>I personally do not like this, which means it's objectively bad
I'm considering getting back into the hobby again after a few years, just a question of if I have the space to do it but I saw a mash tun/kettle combo for $600 I really like. Don't think I'll bottle this time around since I hated the cleaning/sanitizing process and it means needing to buy a lot of Belgian beers for the bottles. Anyone have experience with that brewzilla doohickey or is it a waste of money? Don't plan on doing anything bigger than 3 gallons, maybe 5.
Anyone have any good recipes and or tips for beginners making mead?
So I'm getting back into homebrew after a couple years of not doing anything, and I really want to step up game. Previously I had only done meads, ciders, fruit wines, and beer extract kits but I want to start making my own all grain beer and preferably make my own recipes but I'm completely lost as to where to start. Anyone have any suggestions? Id be doing brew in a bag since I don't have the space for a 3 tiered set-up. On a related note i want to graduate from a hydrometer to a digital refractometer. Is the Milwaukee MA871 good and worth the money? I'd prefer something like the MISCO ones but those are waaay outside my budget.
>>2391521I don't have my brew book with my right now but my general tips are try and use local honey if you can. This isn't a necessity its just a nice thing to do. Other than that in my experience mead ferments pretty slowly and it tastes like shit if it hasn't aged for at least 6 months. If i remember I'll post my recipe when I'm home.
>>2392972BIAB is good, less efficiency but you'll just have to use a little more grain or finer crush. If I could start over from scratch I would go that route on a 120 or 240v electric system; brewing outside is a pain in summer and winter. Clawhammer supply makes a good setup or you can DIY with the right pot and malt pipe or basket. Invest in fermentation temperature control first, something that can sustain lager temps consistently when needed, then work on maintaining proper mash temp.Why a digital refractometer? The $20 ones are fine as long as you keep them calibrated. Better to spend on a good pH meter in my opinion.
>>2392977Include a few raisins for yeast nutrient. I've never made it but it looks pretty simple to get into, with infinite opportunities to go in whatever direction you want. I forget what the style is called but meads made with honey that has been darkened through cooking sounds interesting.
>>2392977>>2393104I once replaced some of the water in my mead with cherry juice and it was one of the best things I've drank in my life. I highly recommend. >>2393101>Why a digital refractometerI hate using a hydrometer, especially with the amount of wort i need to pull off to measure and a digital refractometer seemed cool, and less fiddly that an analogue one. Forgive my ignorance, up to this point when i brew i just kinda throw stuff in a kettle with some brewing yeasts and let it go, then hope it turns out good. So I don't really understand the importance of monitoring PH. Can you explain or link me to some reading material?
>>2393104raisins as a nutrient source is mostly a mythi think orange peels like in JAOM are a way better sourcesomeone posted an article about it in an earlier thread a few years ago so no way i'm going to find that now
>>2393139btw the first thing that comes up when i google "raisins yeast nutrient">Raisins are not a suitable Nutrient substitute. Although many people use raisins, and raisins do have trace amounts of Vitamin B and Amino Acids, it is nowhere near enough (and the Amino Acid in Raisins are Proline which is not utilized by Yeast), and raisins contain very little YAN (Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen).
>>2388619Went down a rabbit hole yesterday and started looking at homebrewing mead. I don't usually drink outside of social occasions, but a sweet honey drink sounds like something I might enjoy.I've never done homebrewing before, so I was wondering if making mead is more difficult or easier than your standard beers or wines. Other than some jugs and caps (gross oversimplification), is there anything needed that couldn't be found in your average home kitchen?
>>2393139Ok, I am glad I put in both rains and orange slices.
>>2393119Throwing everything into the kettle is fine. If you want to improve your craft there's two main areas to start. 1 would be to get to the point where you can reliably keep your mash at a specific temperature, and 2 would be to get to the point where you can reliably keep your fermentation at a specific temperature. Next would be making sure your mash pH is between 5.2 and 5.5, as this creates a good environment for converting sugars. If during your mash your pH is too high (which is usually the case) you can use lactic acid to bring it back down into this range. If the mash temp or pH is too low/high it can throw your target ABV off and/or give off-flavors. As for resources How to Brew is a good book for diving deeper into these areas as a beginner.I get you on the hydrometer, I also use a refractometer instead. You don't need a digital one though, just one that has a scale in Brix and SG that you put up to your eye; they're under $20USD on *mazon. Search how to calibrate it, it just takes some sugar and water. Throughout the boil you can check the gravity at any time with it to see where you're at, at the end of the boil after everything has cooled, record the gravity reading as this becomes your original gravity. During the fermentation you'll measure your wort daily using the Brix scale on your refractometer and then use a calculator to convert this to gravity using your OG. It may seem a little complex but it far outweighs the inconvenience of hydrometers, and there's tons of calculators online for doing the Brix conversion
>>2393139>>2393141I stand corrected then, thanks for searching
>>2393249Thanks for the advice. Up to this point I've just been using filtered tap water and fermenting in a glass carboy at room temp. I don't really have a cellar or other kind of room where I can keep the temp specific for my beer and generally my house is in the high 50s/low 60s in the winter and the low 80s in the summer. I've worked with ph meters in chem labs before and I absolutely fucking hate them, i hate having to constantly fuck with buffer solution, so I think I'll just pick up some brewing test strips that only have a range between 4.5 and 6. If after a few brews i feel like I really need better gear I can always step up to it. As for the refractometer I kept seeing people shit on analogue ones on like brewing forums and stuff, but if they're that cheap i might as well get one and try it. Again I can always upgrade if I don't like it. In the past with my hydrometer I'd measure my OG and then just wait until I didn't see any more signs of fermentation, because i found it a pain to siphon off a cylinder of wort every day.
>>2393249>>2393312Oh, and one more thing. I have a mix of malic, citric, and tartaric acid i use when I brew cider and fruit wine to make it more tart if it doesn't taste right. Is that fine to use?
How much hops and at what stage of the boil to achieve that hoppy citrussy flavour without too much bittering? My last boil was 12 us gal and I added 0.5 oz at the start and 0.5 oz with 15 minutes left, and my beer doesn't noticeably taste of hops.
>>2391521i always make a nutrient tea for the yeast. I add this to the water and honey before i pitch the yeast. water, a few black tea bags, a cinnamon stick, a star anise, and whatever kind of fruit i have laying around. i dont do it for the flavor, just the benefit of the yeast
>>2393143mead is way easier than beer. all you need to do is mix water and honey and throw in some yeastalso mead can be very dry. it doesnt have to be sweet
>>2393509Cool, thanks anon. I'll have to look more into the homebrew process before I decide to get into it, but this seems like it could be a nice way to have the occasional good drink.For a beginner starting out who drinks infrequently, what size of a batch would you recommend?>also mead can be very dry. it doesnt have to be sweetI have heard that elsewhere, but I'm a bitch who chooses hard ciders and sweet cocktails over beer.
Prepping my wild starter for the next batchThink I'll just let it sit a bit wash just one time before moving to the main thing
Anyone ever try to do a real ale with a cornelius keg? I think with a CO2 cask breather and a floating dip tube I could get close enough. I really want to get a beer engine for serving but they seem fairly rare here in the US with a bunch of old crusty ones on ebay.
Got my first kegged beer into my newly made kegerator! Too lazy to force carb, so I will wait a week. Got sparkling water with auto refiller, and 2.5 gallons of nitro yerba mate in there.Beer is a 4% golden ale extract. Usually do all grain, but it's been a while. Waiting for my bitter beer to finish. I was able to brew both beers in the same day because extract batch lol.
>>2393834I made new tap handles because I wanted to. The black wood is ebony lol. The white one is curly somethinf and amboyna burl. Have plans to make a really fancy mirror finished stainless one for the last tap.
>>2393835Inside shot. I have metal tubes with the co2, nitro, and water coming in from the back. This was a bigger project than I thought, but sooooo worth it.
>>2389956I have a variety of fruits, and when they start producing can hopefully produce a very tasty cider. I have no way to grow hops or barley, and am trying to do this in a sustainable way. I don't drink alcohol at the moment, but will likely start again occasionally when I can produce my own. If beer production could be done small scale I'd try that too
>>2393836I wanna know more about the nitro yerba mate. Can you just add nitro to any soda and get a creamy head? Fuck I miss Boddingtons :(
>>2393902Steeped the mate at 160f for 10 mins. 250g for 2.5 gallons. I've got a gas blender(black box) that adds some co2 to the nitrogen, but pure nitrogen works as well. It won't be bubbly. Just become a bit creamier and has the nice head on it.For nitro beers people normally buy "beer gas" which is preblended co2 and N.The yerba mate keg is highly reccomended. It costs about 4 dollars per gallon in tea. A lot better than the bottled stuff as well.
>>2394000Here's the Guinness effect after pouring. You also need a special nitro tap.
Anyone make plum wine?I've got a seasonal surplus of plums and if I really want plum wine as a technical product to make brandy, vinegar and the various Japenese products you get from the combination of these.
>>2394000>>2394001Thanks dude, very neat.I just finished adding an adjustable temp controller to this freezer to prepare to turn it into a keezer
Someone can explain why do you have to keep warm the mosto during fermentation
>>2394797Clean install, how are you having the inkbird kick the compressor on and off? Also you gonna do a tower or collar for the taps?
>>2393312Always curious why people shit on refractometers given their ease of use. As long as you've calibrated it and understand its limitations you're fine.>>2393323I'm not sure if those may have any effect on flavor; particularly citric acid. Typically people use phosphoric or lactic acid for adjusting mash pH. Citric acid is good for pacivating stainless steel though so keep it handy
>>2394801Not sure what you're asking but it's probably to keep the yeast at the manufacturers recommended temperature band to prevent off flavors or slow fermentations
Is there some way I can remove yeast sediment from beer after I've already bottled it?
>>2394884The controller is mounted in the same spot as the mechanical thermostat. I just snipped the wires going into the thermostat and put them into the cooling relay on the Inkbird. There used to be a 120v ac power LED on the front too so I snipped that and used that circuit to power the Inkbird.
>>2394884The temp sensor runs out a hole in the back of the fridge, then up the outside and into the refrigerated area by going under the lid seal. Not the cleanest but it works for now
>>2394884I like the idea of what is called a "coffin box" so the taps can be on the top. But it's more likely that I will make a collar since it's cheaper and simpler.If do end up with a collar it will be as narrow as possible and made from cellular PVC trim boards since they have a much better insulation value than wood and are waterproof. Hopefully that will help maintain the temps. I will also be adding a muffin fan to circulate the air inside, and a water bottle for the temp probe to go in. That should help to keep the temp swings from turning the compressor on as frequently.
>>2393718ok I've found two type of apple cider juice available on my locale, unfortunately nothing like someone able to get me fresh ground produce like it should bethere are two brands I've found that seem to offer the whole produce without any additives, one is a very clear cider juice, the other is "reconstituted" apple juice for whatever that means, the first is nearly double the price of the secondI guess there is no other way to figure it out besides testing, I'm guessing that besides being more expensive, the clearer option is probably severely filtered so it has less of those side nutrients you would want for a stronger cider, either way I should be supplementing the mosto with something else
>>2395741I always use the cheapest apple juice never had any problems. Add some cheap DAP for nutrients or Fermaid K or O if you can get your hands on it. It'll be fine. I have heard people say that the more expensive apple juice makes a better product but that's really up to your individual taste.
>>2395781>if you can get your hands on it>cheap DAPWhat is actually that? I'll be ordering some stuff from the homebrewing store soon, but they're not specifically strong with cider productsI think the more expensive one, being very clear, is probably way better drinking by itself, but that's not what we want for a brew right, I'm just worried about the heel re-constituted juice means,like usually for these consumer tier juices they will usually grind everything to pulp and boil to submission, I guess like making an extract or syrup, like even separating the most they can the flavoring from water and sugar, and then later on reusing those, like most regular store brought juice use cider elements for sweetening and rounding taste, so I guess in this case they reconstitute the same elements to make it look a cider againhowever, fuck knows how would that interfere in the fermentation process
>>2392972BIAB is great, you just gotta dial in the crush. The biggest upgrade will come from fermentation temp control (just get a minifridge hooked up to an inkbird). This is assuming you already have good sanitary practices. The hydrometer is fine, but refractometers are definitely more convenient. Bru'nwater is pretty good at predicting mash ph and is the next step after getting the other numbers right (OG and ferm temp)source:me, assistant brewer (i.e. brewery bitch)
>>2395867Diammonium phosphate (DAP) is a really cheaply available yeast nutrient. Some people don't like it for whatever reason and use Fermaid O. I haven't noticed a difference.>fuck knows how would that interfere in the fermentation processYou're really over-thinking this, t it won't interfere. As long as the juice is pasteurized and doesn't have any sorbate or sulfites on the ingredient list you're gtg. The more expensive apple juices may end up making a "better" (depending on your tastes) product but the cheap juice is perfectly fine and won't have any problems fermenting.
>>2390207>>2390277Olde Canada, Ontario especially, gave the Liquor Control Boards a lot of power. If you bought more than the limit for a week, they issued you a little red card. The card didn't do anything, but you legally had to show it when buying alcohol. However, like today, the staff could just refuse to sell you anything for any reason. In the most Canadian way ever, the deterrent created by the alcoholic id card just embarrassed the owner into buying less.Fast forward, provinces that still have Liquor Control Boards have turned them into liquor stores. There's no difference between the LCBO and "a liquor store," but it is in a special category of business called "crown corporation." A Crown Corporation is a corp that is owned wholly and solely by the government. Through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario Act, the LCBO is the ONLY legal seller of alcohol in the province. All sales made at breweries, wineries, distilleries, pubs, bars, etc are made through the LCBO on site by a restaurant's or alcohol manufacturers' employees. This is the law.Through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario Act, the LCBO also has the power to set the minimum price of alcohol. Buying from the LCBO is generally cheaper than buying from a restaurant/bar/etc except in legally grey or weird circumstances. As a rule, most domestic 473mL cans of beer are about $3.00 to $4.00 in Ontario, while domestic 750mL bottles of wine are around $10 to $25. Spirits come either in cheap PET bottles and taste like an inner tube smells or they are more expensive and come in glass bottles. Despite being the largest importer of hooch anywhere, the LCBO also tends to have bad selection. In terms of imported products, most alcohol has a markup of 200% to 350%, depending on where they're from and their alcohol content. This isn't a hard rule; on occasion I've seen the LCBO sell products for less in Canadian dollars than they're worth abroad. However, that's the exception, not the rule.
>>2396326I'll try that out thanksI also want to spice out the cider with either orange, ginger, or both. I'm leaning on leaving peels and/or the ginger slices in a hop along with the brew, as opposed brewing it all together in a boil beforehand. Any pointers on that?
>>2395741Probably not viable for everyone, but I live quite close to the Niagara region and juice presses are always for sale by old farmers and widows down there. You could go whole hog and grab a press, crunch your own apples into juice. Buying apples in bulk from farms also tends to be cheaper than grocery store products.I'm always tempted to do it, but I'm more of a beer guy than an apple cider guy. I like pear cider but I think I'd get tired of it if I made 5 gallons of the stuff.
>>2396356Not viable for me, unfortunately I don't live in a place with that sort of culture, even though I find a fruit press of vapor*something for a hefty high price, even then the price of buying apples would go over the price of buying boxed juice (I live in a city too)If I lived anywhere where cider was more common culturally, I would rather just buy straight off a farmer or someone who presses them, I heard people tend to do that a loot in the country sideFor reference, last time I've a large-ish batch, for a 10L bucket I had to buy like 18 kilos of apples, that was a big fucking bag, and I had to manually squeeze every single one through a centrifugal juicer, but even then there is a heck of a lot loss of juice within the pulp, that would only come out through a press, despite also being very labor intensive workspeaking of which, maybe I could mix up a bit on apples to add some flavor to the cider, like they do when pressing actual cider, but instead using mostly box juicy and then pressing a few tarty apples to spring it up?Also curious how bring up the sugar concentration, I'd imagine adding raw sugar doesn't taste that good in the end product, so what else could I do? boil the juice to get a more syrup result?
>>2396409Yes. The best ciders are always blends and often incorporate tannic apples and sour apples.If you're extremely based and have years on your hands you can make an apple tree that has grafts of different apples that make a delicious balanced cider.
>>2395921So that mean i should probably buy a mill and crush my own grains rather than buy pre-crushed?
i want pure ethanol. no flavor, just ethanol. probably using dextrose. i was thinking of using EC-1118 due to the high alcohol tolerance of the yeast.
>>2396764You need to distill for that. Use turbo yeast and a stainless reflux column.
>>2396766yeah i don't have any problem doing distillation. i'm currently doing my phd in chemistry on polymers, but i also do stuff at home because i like it. anyway, i have access to a distillation apparatus is what i'm saying. there are just many byproducts in fermentation of alcohol. stuff like aldehydes and ketones and esters. i'm wondering if there's a "preferred" yeast which will limit those side products.
Currently got some peach ice tea brandy ready to distill, who else here is on the distil? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAXpWirKJbQ
>>2396772Usually special technique is involved when making a cleaner high abv. More sugar stresses the yeast out, so you need to gradually add the sugar in stages until the yeast caps out at its abv limit. A yeast like white labs california ale wlp001 produces extremely clean tasting beers, although not a very high abv. Slow and cold ferment helps as well.Depending on your distillation apparatus you can take the "cleanest" portion of the distillate or "scrub" out impurities. Look into heads, hearts, tails as well as reflux columns and condensers specifically for distilling alcohol. They're a bit different than for chemistry. You may be able to fashion something that makes 180ish proof super pure ethanol in a one shot sort of distillation.
>>2396783Rebuilding my column tomorrow then going to do the second run of white rum. Should end up with just under 3 gallons after cutting.
>>2396818Mint mate, what % do you like to keep it at?I'm a fan of 55%-77%how many runs do you do in pot mode, for the purity and taste? I find 3x is the sweet spot.>Nothing like the warmth of sine aye.
>>23970602 runs to get around 80% then cut back to 50%. My main column is a hybrid reflux/pot, usually use 6 inches or so of loose packed copper mesh. Have a small barrel for aging but it sprung a leak so only white spirits for now.If I run slow with full packing I can get over 90% with the two runs.Just welded up a new column based on the alcoengine pot. Will see how it works once it's cleaned.
>>2396783https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_m0TCpziLg
>>2396772You could try pressurized fermentation. Hold the CO2 in the fermenter at 15 PSI and see what happens. The pressurization is supposed to help suppress the production of esters and byproducts from stressed yeast. Hell people are using this method to produce lagers at room temperature.
>>2388619Beginner homebrew newfag here.I'm trying to find a spot to throw my jugs while they ferment. If I toss them outside, will the fermentation attract raccoons or rats that will come fuck with my shit? If not, I'm thinking of converting a busted freezer into a temp controlled water bath. Figure I'd nigger some PVC pipes with holes into the lid to provide airflow/CO2 venting (pic related), but I do not want the fumes to bring pests around my home.If it matters, I'm looking to homebrew mead.
>>2397599You're over thinking it massively. Keep it somewhere dark or out of sunlight that doesn't have crazy temp swings. The set Temp depends on what you're trying to do.They are kind of noisy, so your bedroom isn't ideal if you like quiet at night.
>>2393385>hoppy citrussy flavour without too much bitteringDry hopping - adding hops to the fermenter after primary fermentation has calmed down. Your boiling hops seem way to small to me too, I'd try 4x those amounts.
>>2397608>You're over thinking it massivelyI do that.>somewhere dark or out of sunlight that doesn't have crazy temp swingsLike an old freezer? I'm currently living with family, and this freezer in an old shed seems like a good enough out of the way place.
How's beer turn out if you don't add any hops or gruit?Like how would it turn out if I chose to just ferment some DME/LME and water (or a combination of grains) with no bittering agents or other flavors?Would it be drinkable and pleasant?
>>2397615Yep that will work perfectly. >>2397624Probably fine, maybe bland, but it won't store very well i suspect.
>>2397625>Yep that will work perfectlyAt the risk of sounding paranoid, pests should not be a problem if I brew my mead in an old shed's freezer, right? The fumes aren't gonna be a rat magnet?
>>2397630Not sure. I don't think so. My main concern is fruit flies that carry vinegar bacteria.
>>2397625I know hops are an antimicrobial but i figure with modern sanitation and refrigeration I'm not sure how much hops actually do to keep bacteria out. I'd probably go for a mix of different grains to try and bring some depth of flavor
>>2397624>How's beer turn out if you don't add any hops or gruit?You get malt liquor.>Would it be drinkable and pleasant?If your fundamentals are there - good ingredients, sanitation, temperature control and patience - yeah probably.
>>2397614I meant 12 l, so about 3 us gal.
My honey ended up no fully mixing, am I fucked or should I mix it up?
>>2398209It'll be fine. The honey will dissolve on it's own over time.
I a very nigger rigged pot still and am looking to add a thump keg to the equation, any recommendations for something relatively common that will last? Or should i just get one thats meant for this and start replacing my pressure cooker pot/ old bucket worm combo?
>>2388619I want a kegerator but they're expensive and I've heard it's a lot cheaper to build my own from a used mini fridge.But I can't find much info on exactly how big the fridge needs to be. I want a double-tap kegerator so it would need to be big enough to fit two 5 gallon kegs. How big does it need to be? And what about the fridges that have a small freezer up top? Can you take the freezer out and just combine that space with the rest of the fridge?
>>2399736You'll need to have the gas on the outside if you to use a minifridge for 2. Just look up the dimensions of a keg. I think sanke and corny are pretty close to the same dimensions.
>>2389922recipe? Ive made cider a few times but it wasn't great and I didn't bother to bottle it. I would like to start on a batch soon for thanksgiving. >>2389956>>2390278its okay anon its 2022 you can be openly queer
bump
>>2399736Measure a keg.
>>2399736Maybe look into building a keezer?This is the one I ended up using, it holds 4 cornelius kegs: https://www.target.com/p/galanz-7-0-cu-ft-chest-freezer/-/A-79812907
Hey brewers,I'm a complete fucking noob, but I wanna brew my first beer this summer. I've been watching lots of youtube vids and I'm close to taking the plunge.Here's my plan. Please let me know how to improve/ tweak it. >goal: brew 6 Litres of beer>buy a normal 20L pot>buy a thermometer>heat 10L of water on a stove (I have a normal gas stove)>throw in 1.2KG of malt (whichever pilsner malt) when temperature reaches 50 Degrees Celsius>brew for an hour and have the temperature reach 75 degrees>throw in hops (how much?) and brew for 45 min at same temp>throw in more hops and brew for 15 more min>turn off the gas and throw in the last bit of hops>siphon off the hot wort into a 7-8 litre drinks dispenser>wait for it to cool to 30 degrees celsius>add the yeast (still gotta look up how to prepare it)>check if there's bubbles in the beer 2 days later. if no, add a sugar cube.>Put the dispenser in a place without direct sunlight and forget about it for 6 weeks.>drink from the dispenser. as you can tell, i'm trying to do it very small scale. I don't care about the exact taste profile of my beer as long as it tastes like lager/pilsner. I'm not worried too much about cleaning up and I don't care about being too precise with the temperature. (fuck i'm not sure i can even control it that well). Also I'd like my beer to have at least 4% alcohol content. I don't care if it's clear or cloudy as long as I don't get poisoned drinking it. picrel is the "equipment" i'm gonna buy. just a pot and a cheapo drinks dispenser. I'll buy a ~20 eur thermometer too. What do you think?
>>2401064If you're planning on just doing a small scale brew and can't do temp control, why not just do an extract brew? Its less stuff to worry about and yoh won't need to filter out grains.
>>2401134Yep! I think I'll do that too, in parallel, both to compare the experience and the end-result. but what about the general process (for grain brewing) that i outlined? Does it sound more or less right?
>>2393657Be aware: while mead might be piss easy to make, it takes months to years to taste really good. It’s a lot more like wine in that regard. If you want something fun and quick I’d try making applejack. It’s strong and sweet. The off-flavors of fermentation get removed by freeze distilling it. Will give you nasty hangovers if you drink lots tho.
>>2401162Well its close. I'd bring the water up to 70-75c before adding the malt and then just turn the burner off and let it soak for an hour. I'd also invest in a brew bag so that when the hour soak is done you can just pull the grains out. They're pretty cheap on amazon or you can just make one yourself. It just has to be a big enough cloth bag to line your kettle and when you're done with the grains you just lift the bag out, let the water drain off, and toss the grains away. I've never left the grains in my brew so idk how it would affect it. After the hour soak you should bring the wort to a boil and do your hour long boil throwing in your hops when appropriate, this is to both get to your desired volume and to also give the hops time to do their thing. The earlier you add the hops the more bitter they get, while latter additions are more floral and citrusy. Also the boil will sanitize the wort. From this point on everything that touches the wort should be sanitized. If you don't want to get sanitizer solution you can pour the still boiling wort into the dispenser and hope that does the trick, but it might not. Once the wort cools (you can make it cool faster by putting the pot in your sink filled with ice water) pitch the yeast. If you're using dry yeast you don't need to prepare it, just dump it in. I'd suggest SafAle US-05, its a pretty sturdy yeast with pretty neutral flavors, and a wide range of optimum temperature You don't need to use the entire 11g package. The rest seems fine but be aware there will be a pretty thick layer of dead yeast and sediment at the bottom, so that might be kinda gross to drink. Overall your plan will work but it won't be ideal. That said if you just want to mess around and have fun, its fine. Just be aware things might not turn out great.
>>2401191Ohhhh nice!!!Thanks a lot anon! This is just what I'll do then. Sounds very doable.Thanks for taking the time to explain stuff.If this turns out well enough (and I'm sure it will) the next thing I'm getting is a keg and a little fridge+tap. Ohhh yeah!! Exciting!!!!
>>2401191I got a question about "brew in a bag" though. The bags I see on amazon are mostly made from Polyesterum... i can't imagine they don't seep microplastics into the beer. >Does anyone have experience brewing in a cotton bag? Or does the cotton disintegrate into the beer as well? It shouldn't, right, since it's possible to wash bedsheets at 90cAlternatively, maybe i can use the cotton mesh to filter the wort while pouring it from one pot to another
>>2401244Cotton is fine, look for a medium/large muslin bag on Amazon. Your grain bill is so low you could also get away with a fine mesh stainless steel colander if you wanted as well
>>2401064I did a 5 gallon batch of Coors Light once that turned out fine, if you're wanting a light lager you'll need to do 70/30 grain/rice. You can use flaked rice from a brew shop or instant rice works as well. For yeast as long as you have a cool place around 60°F you could use Saflager W-34/70, it will ferment lagers up to 64°F. Be aware that any error in your brew process will show up in a light lager vs something with more of a flavor profile like a ales or stouts
>>2401255Great news! Can't wait to try it>>2401263Ohhh crap. I forgot that fermentation needs to have a certain temperature!I think what i can guarantee is ~20 degrees Celsius in the day and 15 in the night. How fucked am I? :))
>>2401281That's a pretty large temperature difference between day and night, yeast doesn't like being heated and cooled over and over like that. All brewers yeast will give an ideal temperature range on the packet, generally you want to start at the lower end of that range and slowly raise a few degrees each day. Is there another place you can put your fermentor that is more consistent? If you can't maintain under 64°F then just use a different yeast, Safale US-05 is great at 68°F/20°C.
>>2401202Oh yeah one mote thing. If your fermenter doesn't have an airlock then either cover the top with cloth so it can breathe or burb the bottle once a day. Otherwise you'll have a bomb on your hands
>>2401333You can do a bunch of stuff for this. Poke a hole and drop a golf tee in it. If there is a big hole then sometimes you can just set a ball on it. Use a curly straw and put some water in it so it lets pressure pass but stops air flow.
>>2401333>Otherwise you'll have a bomb on your hands
>>2401377ive had bottle bombs go off in my brew closet and its always a pain in the ass to clean up
Making pale ale.Took my first reading today, we're at 1.023 down from 1.050. Hopefully the yeast still has some life left to it otherwise I've fucked something up.
>>2401426Bro if you wanted piss you could’ve just asked
>>2399736About three fiddy
>>2401446
Tips on maintaining a consistent temperature between hot days and cold nights?
>>2401451Wait is it an IPA or just a pale ale? I misread
>>2401455Mini water pump. Depending on conditions, you can even put ice in the reservoir. Shut the system down to stop cooling.
>>2401459It’s just a pale ale
>>2401474Oh ok, I take it back I’m drunk on cider. Also how many people in /hbg/ are just stingy alcoholics larping as beer experts?
>>2401467>Mini water pumpSorry for being retarded, but am I supposed to be pumping water over my jar so it drips into a reservoir? I'm wanting to get into homebrewing, but I'd like to have all my ducks in a row before making the first attempt
>>2401492Hydrometers aren’t expensive just get one already
figured this would be the place to ask. Not into homebrewing but need to tear apart and take out the guts of a mini fridge. I've done this in the past caveman-mode and I am curious to know if any of you that have done that know of any tips/tricks I may not know to come out the other end free of cuts and sore arms from pulling things apart
>>2401180I don’t get this sentiment, aged mead is only nice because there’s no stinky yeast to block the floral scents. So the only thing needed is to remove the yeast.Cold crashing and adding a few tablespoons of citric acid kills the yeast almost instantly. Rack it off and you now have a 100 year old mead with a hint of lemon.Also if you boiled your honey instead of just stirring it you won’t get those floral hints anyway. Not that caramelized mead is any bad, it’s got a soda taste almost.
>>2401529Oh I see you just enjoy the cooking aspect.The science of microbiology is very interesting, please don’t discredit it.
>>2401455A closet with no outside facing walls or a dark room with a concrete floor will probably have less temperature fluctuation. You could also try and ferment with a kviek yeast as it wants to be hot; in which case keep it off the floor and wrap a blanket around it.
>>2401506>Sorry for being retarded, but am I supposed to be pumping water over my jar so it drips into a reservoir?My friend needed to regulate a few degrees so he put his keg in a garbage can and poured water into the gap between the keg and the can. He used a pump to bring the water up and flow over the keg. He tried adding some ice to the water. It's a little tricky getting it to stabilize for a full work day. It worked OK but he later built a copper coil that goes down in the keg that is fed by the pump. He filled the whole garbage can with water with some ice with the keg sitting next to it. The bigger volume made it more stable. I hope this is more understandable. I am not in the mood for MS Paint tonight - maybe tomorrow.
>>2401560That makes sense. Thanks anon
started a new batch. took my time so hopefully It turns out good.
>>2401889Pro move with the string, annoying when the bung wants to come out. What yeast did you use?
>>2401897safcider ab-1. yeah I got so pissed that the plug wouldn't stay in I though fuck you Im making stay.it also has 1/8 cup brown sugar, 1/8 cup lemon juice, 1tsp bread yeast boiled is some water and 1 bag of English breakfast tea steeped.
found this. pretty interestinghttps://youtu.be/pktzm0kRKJA
>>2401909Sounds good, what ABV are you shooting for?
>>2401952I dont have a Hydrometer but i got one on the way. Im just letting it go till its completely dry. im also going to try bottle conditioning. my goal is to have something nice for thanksgiving.
Why the fuck can't I find a good yeast nutrient dosage/frequency chart for Fermax? Everything I find is for Fermaid, but I know they're different enough to where I can't use the measurements interchangeably.Making mead btw
>>2402055Says right on the bag the dosage
>>2402133Mine doesn't say that shit but that also doesn't help me that much because I don't know whether I should be using an entire teaspon with each dose or am I staggering a teaspoon over multiple doses,
I have come to the conclusion that 1 gallon batches of beer are too much work to be worth it. Cider is fine because I can add yeast to apple juice or something and get a gallon of cider really cheap. 1 gallon beer kits are like 15$, so more than 1$ a beer plus all of the time. I enjoy the brewing process, but I also don't like taking up the kitchen when I have roommates for four hours to make 12 beers. I think I'll go ahead with some 2 gallon hopped wort extract kits to scratch the beer itch. On an aside, I measure out my bottling sugar on a common kitchen food scale and my beer/cider often comes out flat. I'm thinking my scale isn't accurate at such small amounts. Does anyone use a precise/coffee scale to measure small amounts of sugar?
>>2402222You add it all at once. >>2402266Money has very consistent weight. I think a US dollar weighs 1 gram exactly and a penny weighs 3.5g?
Pretty sure my mead fermentation has stalled.Any ideas of what to do?
>>2402503Some more information would help. What's the general recipe you're using, and how long has it been fermenting so far? If you have a hydrometer you can take a reading then wait a couple days, and take another to check if it's truly stalled. If not just give it a taste to see if it's still far too sweet.
If you're brewing anything besides kombucha, you're wasting your time, and mine.
>>2402689Fuck off
>>2402733Sorry I forgot this was a hoppy IPA board, lmao. Enjoy your phytoestrogens and mantits
>Sorry I forgot this was a hoppy IPA board, lmao. Enjoy your phytoestrogens and mantits
Does mead contain phytoestrogens and mantits?
>>2402787No it doesn't. Almost all beer does though, and hoppy shit has the most. Wheat beer is significant better in this regard
>>2402771>posts a picture of hoppy IPA's biggest fanAnon...
>>2402790I've done quite a bit of digging on the phytoestogen effects of hops, and it's greatly overstated. You get more estrogen from a glass of whole milk than from drinking several liters of beer. In order to get any meaningful amount of phytoestrogens from beer you'd have to use so much dry hops that your beer would be undrinkable. The phytoestrogen effect of hops was traditionally only observed in young girls who would spend all day picking, and handling large quantities of the fresh flowers causing them to have precocious puberty.
>>2402802Its effects were also observed by Christian monks which is why they started making beer from hops, because they noticed that it made men more docile and lowered their sex drive.Also, I'm sure you've noticed that big-time beer drinkers always end up with man tits. And yes phytoestrogens are a complex subject, for example some actually reduce the effects of estrogen on the body by taking up receptors and being weaker than normal estrogen or other, stronger phytoestrogens or xenoestrogens. Still though, they're generally best avoided, especially the most potent ones. Another common misconception is that they reduce testosterone - that's not true, neither do they increase estrogen, they simply mimic the effects of estrogen in the body.
>>2402808>I'm sure you've noticed that big-time beer drinkers always end up with man tits.Maybe it's because they're fat?
>>2402810Yes, but hormones also affect fat distribution. Hormones influence where the body stores fat, this is why fat women and fat men store it differently, at least until they reach sphere-mode.
>>2402808>Its effects were also observed by Christian monks which is why they started making beer from hops, because they noticed that it made men more docile and lowered their sex drive.This doesn’t make sense. If that was the case I’d expect IPAs to come from monasteries but they didn’t it came from trying to preserve beer for long ocean voyages.
Boutta start my first ever brewHelp I'm terrified
>>2402951Don't overthink things. People have been brewing since before they knew what yeast was. Worst case scenario you have a learning experience, and will do better next time.
>>2403078How long will the water in a water lock last? What are the things most likely to go wrong and how will I notice it before chugging?What temps should I aim for?My plan was to set the brew going and skedaddle for a month or so, I don't want anything blowing up
>>2403152Might want to go with propylene glycol instead of just plain water. Fruit flies or sugar ants would be the main thing to look for. Try and keep it under 70°F if you can
>>2402689Put on another batch of cider, used Fermaid O and less lime juice this time. Probably going to try to cold crash it before racking so it comes out clearer.
>>2403271What good does pressure fermenting do for cider? Or are you just naturally carbonating it?
>>2403279Based on what I've done so far it seems to help prevent off flavors that are generally created when temperatures are not controlled. Maybe tastes a little bit more like apple in the finished product.Mainly it's just easier to set and forget a spunding valve than bother with checking and refilling an airlock. It's more sanitary this way.
>>2401426Measured again last night. We’re at 1.021. Recipe says final gravity should be around 1.010 so we’re looking at sometime next week to rack it to a keg and start conditioning.
any tips for making apple jack better?
>>2403152>water lock waterin my experience weeks/a few months, I once forgot about a brew and after 3 months it was still fine>things most likely to go wrongstalled fermentation is probably most common, you will notice by lack of bubbles after 48 hours. Can be fixed by adding more yeast>tempsyeast likes to live at the same temps we do, 60-70 degrees>blowing upnothing will blow up unless you seal the system
>>240343460-70 degrees is around pasteurisation temperatures, he's gonna kill off the yeast for sure
>>2403457sure if you're using homosex units
>>2403466Which units are homosex?
>>2403493the ones written with -isation. That's where the "s" in "homosex" comes from.
>>2403493the ones thought up by Godless heathens and promoted by lovers of "science" also know as metric.
>>2403457>60-70 degrees is around pasteurisation That’s prime fermenting temps.
cider is doing great. smells bright and clean, no sour or off smells.
>>2403574pretty sure they meant 60-70c
>>2403643>cNever heard of it.
>>2403633Love that smell, glad to hear things are going well ciderbro.The smell that comes out of the spunding valve (>>2403271) is a super concentrated apple smell it's fucking awesome.
>>2403457How many loicenses are needed to /diy/ in euroland?
anyone making full grainim making a sweet beer with 1.08 og and it comes to 5-8abvid like to have less alcohol in it, im mashing at 66c and i heard above that you get less fermentable sugars?mashing out is at 80c so id guess somewhere bit below that
>>2403926If you want less alcohol wouldn't you just use less grain?
>>2403951thats just gonna make it more watery overall
>>2403953??? Do you want unfermented starch in the beer?
>>2403962suredoes the body not come from whatever's infused from the grains
>>2403844>eurolanddo you know how many countries use communist degrees?
>>2403962It's not starch it's sugars assuming you let your mash go long enough for conversion to complete. Anyways mash at 151/152°F for more unfermentable sugars, 148/149 for less. Convert to gaycius when your country code is not +1
I'm trying to brew a hard seltzerIngredients were>5l tap water>1kg table sugar>2g citric acid>5g organic yeast nutrient >1 packet champagne yeastIt's rather cold in my basement, so I went to rack to secondary after three weeks, but fermentation seems to have barely taken off and the was got sour instead, so now I have some sweet-sour swill. I repitched more yeast, lets see if this can still be saved. Any idea what happened? The sourness is baffling to me, maybe lactobacillus? But I see no signs of infection...
beer
had a dream last night about taking Hydrometer readings
Alright lads I'm anon from >>2393718Got about 13L of apple cider juice (reconstituted) gonna clean up my fermenting bucket, and am ready to start up the main batchI put a starter with 1/2L to just to get my wild yeast going, looking good so far, the juice is surprisingly clear, but rather low in sugar, about 22g per 200ml, it gave me a reading of 1.05 specific gravityNow comes the planning question, should I spruce it up with more sugar? I'm thinking of running this just bland pure cider on this juice just to figure how it would turn out without any additions, but later on when the times comes for bottling, for carbonation, I wonder if just adding more raw juice is a good idea, even though it probably would be a bigger increase in volume than it is in sugar.Another question is, if I'm racking to let sedimentation settle for a week in the fridge, wouldn't adding liquid for priming (and also assuming you have to mix it a bit) screw things up?
>>2404548i'm nt really up to date with zoomer trends, is selzer just a fancy word for kilju?
>>2404665if understand it right you don't want to use priming sugar but get the sugar from unfermented liquid for your carbonation? not really a difficult calculation.your initial apple jucie contains 110g/L according to you (perfectly plausible), and 10g/L of sugar is a good amount for carbonationif we want to carbonate 1L of fermened juice (with 0g/L of sugar) by adding V volume of unfermented juice, we get 1+V total volume and 110.V total sugar.sugar concentration = 110.V/(1+V)=10solve this for V and you need to add 0,1L for every 1L of your cider to get a good carbonation
This gave me a lot of good info very cool not an ad I promisehttps://www.meadmaderight.com/mead-making-cheat-sheet
>>2404828>per gallonstopped reading there
has anyone ever reused Coors Light bottles?
>>2404846I’ve reused all kinds of bottles. Generally if you know the product was carbonated and the bottle isn’t cracked it’s good, even plastic ones. Sometimes glass can get invisible hairline cracks, in which case you need a special lens to see. But I keep my beers in a plastic box so any explosions wouldn’t be a mess. I’ve only had one explosion and I was intentionally trying to make an ultra carbonated sugar bomb.
>>2404854even screw top bottles
>>2404867Yes, you can use sprite bottles or whatever. But things like water bottles are not pressure rated and will explode.
>>2404870I know to use presser safe battles. I just didnt know if there was any capping issues
>>2404798Good point, except I looked again and its 19g/200ml, or 95g/L, well not as good but should still be enough, the question still remains though, I need to mix it but bottle after racking, not stirring to much to bring up all the sediments back into the bottles
>>2404846>>2404867I've reused screw-top Budweiser bottles without problem. But they are noticeably inferior bottles, very thin glass.
>>2404918did you reuse the caps or did you use new pop top caps?
>>2404937New caps. The difference between a screw cap and a pop cap is the bottle it's pressed onto.
>>2404956ok thanks. I can get free bud-light bottles so ill be using those
>>2404914>except I looked again and its 19g/200ml, or 95g/Lyou should be able to calculate the new volume with these vaules right? as for your other question, 10g/L of additional sugar really isn't a lot, i think your purism is making your life unnecessary difficult
>>2404959Good luck. Be prepared to shatter some bottles. You might not break any, you might break one or two, you might find the entire batch exploded. Results are somewhat unpredictable for the home brewer.
Anyone else getting high on their own supply this beautiful Saturday evening? Summer shandy
>>2404937Keep in mind you need different caps for screw top glass bottles, normal ones won’t work.
>>2404787Yes, but carbonated and (in most cases) favored
>>2405020All my brews are winter stuff like dark stouts and pumpkin ales. Didn’t plan very well.
>>2404956>>2405068
>>2405082Or you're 4 months ahead
>>2405020I've been cold crashing the cider for a few days and decided to try it last night. Ended up drinking about 60 oz of it because it turned out quite good.
>>2404960>as for your other question, 10g/L of additional sugar really isn't a lot, i think your purism is making your life unnecessary difficultSo what? You suggesting adding more sugar?Carbonation has always been a hit/miss for me, with it turning very gassy with per-emptive bottling, and sometimes turning completely flat, I think probably because I took too long to bottle and thus the brew has very inactive or settled, so my more important question remains, to let it settle or not to settle.On another note, I think my bucket lid isn't having a proper seal, it still hasn't shown activity in the air lock, but also start giving a faint smell of the brew filling the room,regular tape probably wont cut it either, so I will have to open the lid and apply some sealing tape around it and hope that it works
>>2405596>So what? You suggesting adding more sugar?in the bottles, yes>On another note, I think my bucket lid isn't having a proper seal, it still hasn't shown activity in the air lock, but also start giving a faint smell of the brew filling the room,i have some locks that don't properly seal either, it's not a big deal desu.
How much space and gear do you need to homebrew effectively? Can I do it in my apartment? Australian alcohol prices are fucked
>>2406087Depends on how much you are willing to spend. If you don't want to DIY lookup an all-in-one system like clawhammer supply or brewtools. Bare minimum is a stove, pot, muslin bag, and food grade plastic bucket. Kegging takes up less space than bottling but price makes it a higher barrier to entry
I'm looking to get into homebrewing by starting with a mead. Everyone seems to recommend Starsan as a disinfectant, but I live in Japan and I can't find a bottle of it for less than $80, which is way more than I want to spend right out of the gate.I did find this bottle called Pasteuriser 77 Food Grade Disinfectant Sterilizer for about $10.Anyone know if this will work instead?
>>2406352yeah probably
>>2405918Well regarding the seal, its bad because you can't tell when the fermentation stops, but either way I applied some sealing tape and put the lid back, while open I could notice the brew was bubbling like crazy.A bit later after i put the lad back I also noticed there was a bit of liquid coming the airlock, so maybe it airlock was inserted too far down, hopefully now it will be just about enough. Lets see how it goes.
I'm looking to buy a few supplies and need some proper sanitizer for my stuff, is this a good one to use?Seemed like a main option for cleaning up bottles and its main component is iodine, suggest at a 0,5 to 1% ratio in solution.I'm also thinking of just using a regular sprayer instead of one of those flashy inside of bottle sprayers that look more like overpriced piece of plastic. But I've also included a sprayer that screws into a regular faucet for spraying inside the bottle, but just washing it up.So is the iodine solution one of those sanitizer sorts that you don't need to wash up or is the sprayer really necessary to speed the process up?
Is this good?
>>2407200Consider using starsan. You don't need to rinse bottles or carboys. You can just dump whatever into the foamed up container.
>>2406352Really StarSan is the best option, just get the 32oz bottle and it will last a long time.
>>2407340>starsanNot available as far as I can tell, the only other options at least on wher eI'm getting my supplies are citric acid (far more expensive) and powered detergent
Is there a good way to avoid having a bunch of hop sludge at the bottom of my kettle? I brew with pellets and whenever i go to pour into the primary i always end up tossing out the bottom inch or so of liquid cause its this gross green hop goo and I don't want that sitting in my beer. Is there a way to avoid this? Or should I just not worry about it?
>>2406352>>2407200what's wrong with some good old bleach?
>>2407841lookup how to do a whirlpool, if you don't have a pump and whirlpool port on your kettle then just stir very fast and let it sit for 20 minutes, the hops should form a cone. a hop spider is also useful, or you could go with something like brewtools' trubinator
>separate beer from the trub for finishing>put it back into the fermentation vessel after santising as I don't have another container to use>airlock starts bubbling againIt's been going for 4 weeks now, how can it still be fermenting? I haven't added any more sugar.
>>2407939I brew in a bag and my kettle doesn't have any spouts or anything. I just pick up the pot and pour it into a 5 gal bucket. I think I'll look into a hop spider or a small brew bag just for hops. Ty!
>>2407943if it's beer i'm guessing it may just be co2 coming out of solution, have you been monitoring the gravity? if your specific gravity hasn't changed in a couple days you're ok to keg/bottle unless you're aging or something else
>>2407951no prob. even with a hop spider you'll still get some trub at the bottom of the kettle but it should be less. in addition to a spider i also whirlpool for at least 20 minutes so everything collects in the middle and also adjust my recipe to account for an extra 1/2 gallon of unused wort
>>2407867nothing wrong with using chlorine you just have to let it air dry so it all evaporates and doesn't make your beer taste like a band-aid
>>2407981did some reading on actual brewing forums and some users suggested rinsing with something acid based so even if there were some tiny leftovers it would be neutralisedjust don't mix it with bleach in significant numbers or you get homemade crystals
Is there a good reason not just leave my hydrometer in the carboy with the drink?
what would happen if i were to macerate white grape juice in black grape pomace, and ferment that?
>>2408269my guess is you would get some kind of alcoholic beverage.
>>2408220depending on what you're fermenting it may or may not work due to krausen interfering with your readings; try it and see what happens. there are products out there like the tilt that do this
I'm brewing some ale right now with Safale Us-05, and according to the manufacturer the ideal temp range tops out at 78.8 degrees. Its been hovering around 80 in my house this past week. How much will this negatively affect my brew? I'm hoping not too much because I can't afford to run the AC all the time to keep the house under 80.
>>2408502it will be completely ruined
>>2408220Well, for starters I think it could a hassle to get off, and like other anon said, foam and other stuff could get in the way from seeing...And speaking of which, dad just fucking broke my hydrometer that was left out drying... fuck, good thing I still haven't ordered my other supplies.
>>2397624it will be incredibly blandgo get a shot of jameson, taste whats beyond the alcohol, and you just taste breadwater, thats what you'll get, you might aswell just make porridge with excess water, strain it, add vodka, carbonate it, and thats what youll have
>>2408545>dad just fucking broke my hydrometer that was left out drying...This is my issue. I can't leave it anywhere to dry, because it gets broken by demented boomers (worse than children).It feels like I have to buy new gear with every other brew,.I'm not willing to let it get stored damp, and covered in mould/algae.
>>2408651they don't have towels where you live?
>>2408657Doesn't get it dry enough for storage. Still needs to bake in the sun.
>>2408545>>2408651>>2408677get a 17 dollar refractometer on amazon
>>2408696yeah, it's probably what I'm getting next time.Everything is 10x the price because I live on an island and the shipping jew charges lots to get it here.
>>2402813a bunch of beer in your belly also affects fat
>>2408847i drink so much beer and Im fucking jacked. I eat really healthyfully and work out everyday. People around me be like>I dont get it bro!!! how are you so jacked I me I eat salad every day BLASTS ONE PATHETIC FUCKING LOSER AS LEAF OF LETTUCE WITH HALF A JAR OF RANCHmeanwhile im just over here eating a bowl of rice with some cucumbers. and of course beer.
would fermented orange juice be any good?
>>2409687Make it and try. There are hordes of people who say it's dogshit, and if you read their claims, it's invariably because they used sunnyd and bakers yeast and made prison wine.I had good results with lemon juice and grapefruit juice.If you use real fruit, extract juice with pectin and try to minimize the amount of peel.I added yeast nutrient and wine tannin.
>>2409687>>2409723Just raw orange juice leaves off too much acidity, lemon not so much because its assumed you're adding lots of water and sugar.I've experimented quite a bit because I love OJ and citric stuff, it does indeed turn out like shit, a bit of a vomit smell because of the acid, but make it work with some variations, for example ginger ale is one of them, orange juice with honey for some mead is another. Using store brought whole juice might be different as well, if they use some acidity regulator, or the final alternative would just be using peels and try to extract their essence (its said that a lot of the fruit specific flavor is in the peel), either as a hop bag during fermentation, during boil earlier on, or through a high alcohol infusing to be added later.
>>2409914what about pineapple? they sell (supposedly) pure pineapple juice in the local store
>>2409723>>2409914hmmm, i ask because i have a bigass orange tree that produces way more oranges than i can eat or give away. In the past i've made orange soda or just drink orange juice all winter but the idea got in my head to ferment it, but i did figure the acid would be a problem. This winter i might try making an oleo saccharum out of the peels (basically soak the peels in sugar to extract all the oils), mix that with the juice, and add enough water (and probably base) to get the thing to a reasonable wine PH. Then ferment it. That might just work out. Ty guys. >>2409936Ive seen people make pineapple wine, but only to turn it into pineapple vinegar so they didn't taste it at the wine stage. But it is possible to do.
>>2409941https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev3IxSwf9YgThis guy made orange wine from actual oranges and added some baking soda, presumably to reduce the acidity a bit.someone in the comments claimed he had a good wine with this method so it's probably legit
>>2409941>In the past i've made orange soda or just drink orange juice all winter but the idea got in my head to ferment itI tried just lightly fermenting it, like sort of an orange ale, and it turns pretty great, but it needs to be really lightly fermented, which can be a problem if you can't reliably stop the fermentation half way.>basically soak the peels in sugar to extract all the oilsThat's basically the idea to soak it in high alcohol, dunno if pure alcohol is a good idea, but its probably gonna just be a higher concentration, while using something like rum could turn out really well.Either way, keep us posted because, this is something I like to do as well but been having trouble with.>>2409969Gonna check that out, just baking soda really? Before or after fermentation?
>>2410022beforehe also added a bit of salt but i have no clue what the point of that wasalso looked it up and apparently orange juice isn't that much more acidic than apple juicelet us know how it turned out, i'm actually curious.
>>2401889hah, I do the same string wrapping with the plugniggers tend to pop out when they new
I'm planning to build a still, I want to have a distillation set from chemistry lab (all glass) and then pressure cooker with drilled hole to attach the column to (standard 29/32 glass plug)My question, what's the best way to attach the glass to the pot ? Is there some ready made copper/brass fitting that would accept the glass plug and be well sealed ?
with beer do you guys use carbonation drops or just mix in sugar/dextrose before bottling?
>>2411260for me sugar is fine, just fill up to top with little spaceif you make the space large, it will take more time to build up pressure and dissolve co2
>>2411260if i'm making like a single gallon i'll use carbonation dropsif i'm making 5+ gallons i mix in dextrose
How do I reduce the amount of sediment in my bottles of ale without filtering? I just bottled a batch 2 weeks after racking off the trub and after a couple of hours there is already a thick layer of sediment in the bottles. I knew there'd be some because I don't filter and I used wheat but it's ridiculous considering I already poured the 2.5 litres away 2 weeks ago. I know about Irish moss and I'm going to use it in my next batch, but what else can I do to remove sediment?
>>2411347i am making two 5-gallon batches so yeh probably easier for me to mix in dextrose before bottling.
>>2407217Opinions, please?Also can 4chan autism find me some camaralet grapes for sale?
>>2412121>4chan autismYeah, I found them bro, just over at the market...
>>2412062Have you gave it enough time for racking?Also define thick layer of sediment, and do you prime it with extra fermentation or do you inject co2? This is relevant, but if we're talking about a foamy layer, I don't think that's bad at all, in fact, a lot of famous brand beers will recommend that you turn the bottle around first to better spread the sediment.
>>2412231Fuck off, I can't find people even really growing the stuff. Just like one place in France has it
>>2412261>Have you gave it enough time for racking? What do you mean? I racked into a new container and discarded the trub, then left it in the new container for two weeks, then bottled.>Also define thick layer of sedimentSeveral mm of what looks like trub. There is more to settle because the beer is completely opaque. There is also some foam at the top.>do you prime it with extra fermentation or do you inject co2? I prime with caramelised honey/candy sugar. I've never added CO2.>a lot of famous brand beers will recommend that you turn the bottle around first to better spread the sediment.In my previous beers the sediment tasted of yeast proteins.
>>2412370you're bottling hazy beer. the haze eventually drops out of suspension, and collects as sediment at the bottle. bottle clear beer instead. use biofine or geletin, or filter. or don't worry about it because pretty much all homebrew ever will have sediment unless you wait forever for everything to drop out before packaging. if it's supposed to be hazy, rouse the yeast into suspension before opening and pouring (flip, roll, turn, whatever the bottles). if it's supposed to be clear, don't rouse it and leave the sediment at the bottom.
>>2412370>>2412377didn't read your whole post the first time. if you're naturally carbonating (priming) then you're going to have sediment. nothing you can do about it. just manage it via my last suggestion in the previous post
>>2412377>>2412380Right. I'm going to use some Irish moss before secondary on this batch but it's a wheat beer so it's going to be hazy anyway.
Does anyone know if it is legal to redistill already distilled alcohol? Like if I redistilled a bottle of vodka I bought?
>>2412520Depends entirely on where you live. Some places it's illegal to distill at all without a license, other places it's fine as long as it's for educational purposes only, etc. Look up your local laws before you try to concentrate ethanol. It's kinda dumb how strict some places are, but it is understandable given that distilling is a much more dangerous process than simple brewing.
>>2412380Here's a pic of the sediment btw. The beer is still cloudy as I expected it to be, but surely this is too much sediment? The bottom layer is break, right, and yeast on top?
>>2412520who gives a shit? as long as you're not selling it to anyone
>>2412370>What do you mean? I racked into a new container and discarded the trub, then left it in the new container for two weeks, then bottled.Sorry I jumped to the conclusion that you also had a cold crash before racking. >>2412779That's definitely a lot of sediment, so how long did you leave in the primary before moving to a secondary?Also keep in mind that cold crash doesn't particularly need a lot of "crashing", it can be just a colder fridge (10°C) and for a few days it ought to clear quite a bit. I also use a few things that help with that, like if its a bucket with a tap, you can have sediment filter that avoids trub getting sucked in. Then when bottling starts to get more turvy liquid from the bottom, I put it in a bigger bottle and let it cold crash for longer in the fridge, where most of the trub has clear separation from the liquid, the good stuff I drink and what remains of the trub I go through yeast washing.
>>2413020>how long did you leave in the primary before moving to a secondary? Two weeks in primary, two in secondary and one day so far in the bottle.>Also keep in mind that cold crash doesn't particularly need a lot of "crashing", it can be just a colder fridge (10°C) and for a few days it ought to clear quite a bitI'll cold crash my next batch then.
>>2388619Can I grow everything I need to make beer
>>2413425yes
>>2413037Yeah keep in mind that if you're doing nothing else to clear up the brew, moving to a secondary is rarely needed, for example you could just keep it in primary for longer and let settle naturally, for a month its still good I believe, though it may vary per brew type. And also depending on how you're moving the brew out.I for one am in a colder weather so I just prefer leaving in the primary for longer, and move straight into bottles later, that usually leaves just small amounts of sediment in most of the bottles. I also have a tap in my fermenting bucket. And speaking of which I just bought something else that releases the liquid at the bottom of the bottle, supposedly to help with twirling and carbonation loss.
Anyone ever make English Barleywine?I'm a bit curious.
>>2407217>gallons>pounds>handfuls>fingerswhy are mutt units so fucking stupid
>>2413699For most of human history people have been using units and methods of measuring similar to those. A handful isn't going to be as consistent as a precise weight, but precision kitchen scales haven't been a wide spread thing for very long. This is part of the reason why old recipes from before the 20th century are often hard to replicate because they expected you to use some intuition to figure things out with trial and error.
is this a fuck load of slurry left in my primary in a 4 liter ale @,@
there is no airlock activity in my fermenter, but it's definitely fermenting. can't find a leak anywhere but there must be one. probably won't be an issue i reckon.
>>2413699I'm translating an old recipe to modern times it has no instructions just ingredients.
>>2414226a lot of my airlocks don't seal properly, they only bubble at the start of the fermentaiondoesn't realy matter as long as the eternal fruit fly doesn't get iti know get why WW got so fucking mad when there was a fly in his lab
>>2402808"phytoestrogen" is a botanical hormone, although the name is similar is it actually in no way analogous to the mammalian hormone "estrogen""
>>2414212We can't tell, post it from the side
I bought a kilogramme of ginger that was on cheap. Any kino ginger beer recipes? Not looking to make a ginger bug or anything, probably just going to use some beer or cider yeast.
>>2397630I really want to see an update on this post.
>>2415103probably cider yeast is better, a kilo of ginger may be too much, unless you chop it all in a hop bags in a big fermenter for a slow steep.its basically just lemon juice + tons of sugar, I"m also likely to do something like that soon.
>>2415147i might save some of it to add towards of the end of the fermentation, i've heard that the ginger bite can go away if you ferment it all.
>>2415147Nah. Kilo of ginger + 5l water is good.
Alright, went through bottling today everything is looking pretty goodGot a few new gadgets that really help me out speeding things upFirst things first, this thing for letting the bottles hang dry, pretty useful and not to mention safer for keeping around while handling multiple bottles at onceWhile talking about bottle cleaning, I used a bunch of old ones I've kept, some from my own, but others from regular beer brands, its there any surefire way to clean them up?I used a heat gun to help remove the plastic branding, but the glue itself is pain to fully take off
This little gadget here is also a fucking great help, I've used the iodine sanitizer, left it for a half an hour and washed it off with water, and this made that job heck of a lot easier
This one gadget also is kinda cool, make it easier to pour, supposedly helps with not swirling the brew so it loses carbonation, even though it feels like it swirls quite a bit in the tubeit worked fine and does make it to tell how is going into the bottletho it looks very /diy/sh, initially it didn't fit in the tap so I had to file down a bit on both ends
>>2415633>but the glue itself is pain to fully take offTake a paper towel and get it saturated with any type of cooking oil, then wrap the paper towel around the bottle. The oil will dissolve the adhesive, and you can just wipe it off.
Here is what I got so far (plus another 2 bottles)I made the mistake of running out of caps, of all things, and even today I went so close to place that sells them.
And as I said, I got the slurry with most the trub, gave it a good shake and put in this larger bottle, probably not good to fill this much, as the trub tends to get a lot more active than regular bottlesbut I let this sit in the fridge and settle, separate the liquid of whats drinkable and the rest is good to be reused or even go through some yeast washing.Speaking of which the liquid was surprisingly clear, as we were on the topic of sendiments earlier on the thread, and all of this just 2 weeks of fermenting.>>2415642good idea, I actually did have some different types of solvent didn't even think of using themor maybe more heat, though I'm really careful with the heat gun as to have the bottle explode in my hand
What if I were to brew my ginger beer using an actual cheap LME beer kit?
>>2415793then you would have ginger beer, brewed from a cheap LME beer kit
>>2415809but would it be better than ginger beer that simply uses sugar?
It'd probably be simpler, since LME has more minerals for the yeast than water + sugar + ginger. Not sure it'd be better. The best part about ginger beer is the fiery finish, so whatever enhances that.
>bottling day is today i hate it so much bros
>>2416057Bottling usually goes very smoothly for me, but I pretty much always have someone helping me out. I've bottled almost 2 hundred bottles in one go with no issues. It really helps having one person to fill the bottles while the other person primes them, and caps them as they get filled.
>>2416105ive never had any issues but i just find the whole thing tedious. The process of washing and sanitizing a million bottles sucks especially cause i dont have a garage or dedicated space to brew so i do it all in my tiny ass kitchen. I do have a roommate who helps with the filling and capping, and priming is easy for me cause i prime with a sugar syrup i mix into the beer before filling. Maybe this year it will be different because i got a bigger siphon so hopefully it pumps liquid faster.
>>2416163>i got a bigger siphon so hopefully it pumps liquid faster.The main thing with siphoning is the difference in height of the source over the container you want to fill. Raising the source, lowering the bottles, or both will help speed up the flow.
>>2416175not that guy but the viscous friction decreases massively with a larger diameter and also the increased surface area mean larger flow ratehaven't done these sort of calcs in a very long time but the relation between diameter and flow rate for a given pressure drop is somewhere around the power of three i believe
>>2416215oh wait looked it up, it's the power of 4 actually; Hagen–Poiseuille Equationdoubling the diameter means 16 times the flowrate
>>2416175>>2416215>>2416225sorry for the imprecise language, when i said bigger syphon i meant both larger in diameter and a longer hose. My old one had a 5/16 inch ID, and the new one has a 7/16 inch ID. My old one's hose was only like 2 feet long whereas the new one is closer to 3 feet. So i can have my bottling bucket much higher up, and the flow rate was much much faster
>>2415633oxyclean is quite good at removing a bunch of labels>>2416057take the keg pill. Having done both, it's much cleaner and easier (Plus you can control the CO2 level to a higher degree.
>>2416312i want to, but i don't have the space. I live in an apartment with 2 other roommates and i'm already pushing it by taking over the hall closet to become my brew closet. If i could convince one of them to leave i'd gladly take over their portion of the rent and turn their old room into my brewery.
>>2416316oof, yeah, that's a difficult problem to solve. I assume there' s no room for a kegerator? If you're willing to take over part of their rent, then it might be possible to rent a tiny storage space somewhere and store your brewing stuff there? Admittedly that makes it more complicated to actually brew, but it's an idea
>>2416319yeah no space for that, and i prefer to brew where i live that way i don't have to travel or get dressed. It's not that big a deal really since i only brew maybe 20 gallons of beer/cider a year at max. One of these days i'll move to a place with no roommates but my rent is so fucking cheap here i can't convince myself its worth it yet.
>>2416303i know that i'm being a pedantic cunt right now but if you increase both the hose length and height by the same factor (2 to 3 feet here, so times 1,5) and with delta P~height, you'll see that they cancel eachother out and the increased height difference doesn't significantly contribute to an increased flowrate which i suppose can be a bit counter-intuitivehowever the increase of your diameter of +40% means roughly 4 times higher flowrate
>>2416343Based and math-pilled, but the mouth of the bottle cannot accommodate a 40% increase in hose diameter, in which case a pump might be required.
>>2416353are you the guy i was replying to?were the dimensions you gave inner or outer diameters?anyway (7/16)/(5/16) is 1,41,4^4 is 3,84still, the point remains that even a slight increase in diameter makes a massive difference in flow rate, and that increasing the height difference can only do so much, or even nothing at alli think there are even cases were it would be counter productive if you started to go into flow transition from laminar to turbulent but that is becoming CFD territoryin this case the reynolds numbers are probably too lowthe rabbit hole of fluid dynamics goes very deep
>>2416447shit just noticed the ID part in your post
>>2416447No, I'm a diff guy.I'm coming at the problem from a purely practical perspective; obviously you're correct in that a larger hose would result in faster flow. However, getting a hose that is substantially larger such that it makes an appreciable difference in flow rate & still fits in the mouth of the bottle, with space for air to escape, has an obvious upper limit. My swingtops could probably accommodate a 5/8" hose a maximum. The hoses I used to use to fill my bottles were 3/8", so you'd have to compare the flow difference between 3/8" and 5/8". I guess if you changed your bottles to mason jars (Not pressure safe, I'd assume) you could fill them faster, but that's a totally different convo.
