Homebrew Beer Howto

What are people doing for chilling? Most of those coil things I’ve seen would never fit 90% of kitchen taps.

BeerNut

I use hose connectors to fit mine to an outside tap.

Bogwoppit

BeerNut wrote: »

Leave it at least two weeks and don't do anything until you're sure the gravity has completely stabilised.

This, definitely. The instructions on those kits are complete nonsense.

BeerNut

BeerNut wrote: »

I use hose connectors to fit mine to an outside tap.

Cheers. Hadn’t thought of that but the outside tap is right outside the window behind the sink so I could get away with that.
Do the chillers tend to take garden hose (size wise) or do you need to specify?

raxy

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Cheers. Hadn’t thought of that but the outside tap is right outside the window behind the sink so I could get away with that.
Do the chillers tend to take garden hose (size wise) or do you need to specify?

I bought 8mm copper pipe from a plumbers merchants & made my own chiller. Then got compression fittings & quick disconnects for attaching hoses.

BeerNut

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Do the chillers tend to take garden hose (size wise) or do you need to specify?

Mine did. Just needed jubilee clips to attach it.

BeerNut

BeerNut wrote: »

Mine did. Just needed jubilee clips to attach it.

Found one after that has two hozelock fittings on it, which looks handy

Actually I’m wondering if it’s worthwhile buying a small one at all or if buying one is the time to buy what I need to make from scratch?

What would need to be added to a kit home brew setup to that? Do people get a big saucepan and a sieve (or bag) or is it better to go with a heater bucket type thing that you can filter the liquid out the bottom of? Is there anything else?

RasTa

You can buy that stuff cheap second hand.

Google, brew in a bag

RasTa

RasTa wrote: »

You can buy that stuff cheap second hand.

Someone selling a BIAB(brew in a bag) setup cheap here

https://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/for-sale/biab-setup-(peco-chiller-extras)/

Looks to be gone going by the post date and no reply to the query but that’s a great guideline on price anyway.

Is that basically what I want then? Mountmellick had that exact setup on offer yesterday but they were gone in a few minutes.

1 x peco boiler
* Custom insulation jacket installed
* Additional kettle element installed (without lead)
* Hop strainer
1 x copper wort chiller (HBC)
1 x mash bag (HBC)

RasTa

https://www.adverts.ie/crazy-random-stuff/home-brew-mash-tun-and-peco-boiler/19543432

Bit different that setup and you'll need to get a chiller.

I still don’t get what the difference is between the mash tun and boiler. Are they for different things? I thought you just needed to boil the grains/hops and drain out the liquid.

RasTa

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

I still don’t get what the difference is between the mash tun and boiler. Are they for different things? I thought you just needed to boil the grains/hops and drain out the liquid.

You are making the wort yourself. That sticky crap you get in the home brew kits.

Steep the grains for an hour at 60-67c depending on the style. Have a look at partial mash stuff on youtube first. Then BIAB then full all grain. Then grainfather set ups.

Then Herms brewery.

RasTa

RasTa wrote: »

You are making the wort yourself. That sticky crap you get in the home brew kits.

Steep the grains for an hour at 60-67c depending on the style. Have a look at partial mash stuff on youtube first. Then BIAB then full all grain. Then grainfather set ups.

Then Herms brewery.

Ah so you steep all the grains when making all grain? I thought you only steeped the speciality ones like I do now (I steep them, add the water to a bigger pot of water with the gloop mixed in, and then boil the hops in it).

So you soak the base ones too then? Do you drain off the water and then boil if for the hops after then? That would explain the two different bucket items.

And then is the BIAB I’d guess where you have a big bag of grains in a boiler so you can lift it out and boil the remaining liquid then, thus all in one ‘pot’.

Edit - I haven’t the terms right but (less long winded than above) is it:

A - soak grains in mash tun, drain wort to boiler and then add hops during boil.

B - soak grains in boiler in a bag, remove bag, boil wort and do hops, etc.

Which is generally better?

RasTa

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Ah so you steep all the grains when making all grain? I thought you only steeped the speciality ones like I do now (I steep them, add the water to a bigger pot of water with the gloop mixed in, and then boil the hops in it).

So you soak the base ones too then? Do you drain off the water and then boil if for the hops after then? That would explain the two different bucket items.

And then is the BIAB I’d guess where you have a big bag of grains in a boiler so you can lift it out and boil the remaining liquid then, thus all in one ‘pot’.

Edit - I haven’t the terms right but (less long winded than above) is it:

A - soak grains in mash tun, drain wort to boiler and then add hops during boil.

B - soak grains in boiler in a bag, remove bag, boil wort and do hops, etc.

Which is generally better?

B takes about 90mins off your brew day.

With method A you add two amounts of water. Once at 65c etc for an hour and then drain. Then dump another amount of water at say 76-77c and let steep for 15mins to rinse any residual sugars from the grain.The drain again

I watched all of these videos during the brewdays when I used to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IneNZ4l6das

raxy

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Which is generally better?

That really personal preference. I started with a stainless steel pot & a diy mash tun & chiller.
I've since bought a robobrew all in 1 system.
The beer is just as good either way but the robobrew is an easier brew day. Went for this because of the kids. Takes less space & I was using gas with the pot.

Look at some youtube videos of different brew set ups & see which would suit you better.
Personally I wouldn't buy a peco boiler but plenty of people seem very happy with them.

Sparging. Just to get it right in my head, if instructions say 8 litre sparge; that’s running 8 litres of water (at mash temp?) through the grain bag after you’ve let it drain over the pot?
Are there any methods to it? I’m presuming you do it slowly instead of lashing it over it but not sure.

raxy

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Sparging. Just to get it right in my head, if instructions say 8 litre sparge; that’s running 8 litres of water (at mash temp?) through the grain bag after you’ve let it drain over the pot?
Are there any methods to it? I’m presuming you do it slowly instead of lashing it over it but not sure.

Pretty much. Doesn't have to be mash temp but the cooler the sparge water the longer you will take to reach a boil.
I heat my water to ~80 & pour it into a cooler before I mash in. Then I use a jug & gradually add the sparge water.

raxy

raxy wrote: »

Pretty much. Doesn't have to be mash temp but the cooler the sparge water the longer you will take to reach a boil.
I heat my water to ~80 & pour it into a cooler before I mash in. Then I use a jug & gradually add the sparge water.

Cheers for that. Not being too specific a temperature sounds so much better.

Also, one other thing (think that’s it before I attempt), I can’t find a big sieve anywhere so is it ok to use hop bags in the boil? Mine are big-ish so they should let them fairly lose inside it.

I see a 26cm strainer on Amazon which I’ll probably get at some stage, but for the sake of another tenner would I be better getting a hop strainer instead?

raxy

Do you mean for putting hops in during the boil? It's a hop spider your looking for. They aren't necessary either. You can throw the hops straight in.
I bought 1 & used it twice. A lot of the hops will settle out while your cooling the wort. It's not a problem if they go into the fermenter.

raxy

raxy wrote: »

Do you mean for putting hops in during the boil? It's a hop spider your looking for. They aren't necessary either. You can throw the hops straight in.
I bought 1 & used it twice. A lot of the hops will settle out while your cooling the wort. It's not a problem if they go into the fermenter.

Spider, sorry yeah that’s the one. Actually comes up way cheaper on Amazon when you search that instead of strainer (14 quid vs 25). Like you say though, I might just chuck them in - 90% of any videos I’ve seen that’s what they do too. Thanks.

When mashing in the peco bucket, can the bag go in and sit on the element at 70 degrees or will it burn? I’ve a false bottom but it sits at the 10 litre mark which means I’ve only 6 litres of water for the grains to sit in if I use it.

raxy

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

When mashing in the peco bucket, can the bag go in and sit on the element at 70 degrees or will it burn? I’ve a false bottom but it sits at the 10 litre mark which means I’ve only 6 litres of water for the grains to sit in if I use it.

If you need the element on you should left the bag off the element. It'll burn it or scorch the grain. You shouldn't need it on during the mash unless the temp goes too low. Get some radiator insulation foil to wrap to put around the peco to help maintain temp.

loyatemu

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

When mashing in the peco bucket, can the bag go in and sit on the element at 70 degrees or will it burn? I’ve a false bottom but it sits at the 10 litre mark which means I’ve only 6 litres of water for the grains to sit in if I use it.

I'd imagine it'll burn if you turn on the element, and the weight might damage the element too.

Best approach is to have an insulated mash vessel so it holds the temperature for the full hour - I've seen people on homebrew forums insulating their peco with foil insulation, or camping mats. It's make it come to the boil quicker too.

The high horse brigade

I'm hoping i've not had a bit of a disaster here. I prepared some IPA in my fermentation bucket yesterday evening but pushed my airlock too far down and today the krausen came up the airlock. I removed it, covered the hole with a glass for a minute, cleaned and re-inserted it. What are the chances I have i ruined my beer?

mordeith

The high horse brigade wrote: »

I'm hoping i've not had a bit of a disaster here. I prepared some IPA in my fermentation bucket yesterday evening but pushed my airlock too far down and today the krausen came up the airlock. I removed it, covered the hole with a glass for a minute, cleaned and re-inserted it. What are the chances I have i ruined my beer?

I'd say very little chance the beer is infected unless your airlock wasn't clean initially.

The high horse brigade

mordeith wrote: »

I'd say very little chance the beer is infected unless your airlock wasn't clean initially.

No it was sterilised. I was more worried about air getting in but it's probably not an issue. Thanks btw!

loyatemu

The high horse brigade wrote: »

No it was sterilised. I was more worried about air getting in but it's probably not an issue. Thanks btw!

A lot of brewers don't use airlocks at all, I wouldn't worry about it. The brewing process is quite robust.

The high horse brigade

loyatemu wrote: »

A lot of brewers don't use airlocks at all, I wouldn't worry about it. The brewing process is quite robust.

I've had to improvise. It spilled over again during the night, it's a very active fermentation. So I attached my siphon tube to the airlock and fed it into water in a pot. The teaspoon is just weighing down the tubing to keep it from floating on the water. There's no way the airlock could cope with the amount of co2 being expelled. I'm quite chuffed at my ingenuity although my missis isn't too pleased at me using her good pot on a Sunday

raxy

most people would use star san instead of water.