General chit chat

kevc2 · 16-01-2013 5:47pm

Tube wrote: »

Plastic is gas permeable and not recommended for secondary.

Thanks for clearing that up, plastic bucket for primary is recommended though?

Khannie · 16-01-2013 6:55pm

Tube wrote: »

Plastic is gas permeable and not recommended for secondary.

I genuinely don't think a human could accurately (i.e. with significantly > 50% accuracy) taste the difference between a home brewed wine that had done secondary in a standard plastic fermenting vessel versus one that had done secondary in glass.

kevc2 · 16-01-2013 7:01pm

I was just looking for a cheap way to make it rather than buying 2 carboys as I could get the ballygowan bottles from work.

sharingan · 17-01-2013 1:27am

The water cooler bottles are effectively single use.

Used to use them myself, but they are impossible to clean, and stuck on brewing trub is full of all the stuff that will spoil your brew.

redser7 · 17-01-2013 11:10am

kevc2 wrote: »

Would 19 litre ballygowan bottles be suitable for making wine? As the secondary fermenter?

If you were using them for something quick like tea bag wine or a WOW they would be fine and are often used. So are plastic 5 lt water bottles in place of demijohns. But not recommended for anything longer like a pure fruit wine or for aging/bulk storage. And people tend not to use them more than once or twice as there is evidence about them not being safe (leaching chemicals and such the like).

eurofoxy · 24-01-2013 1:28pm

this is directed towards the mods of the forum, the rest of you carry on nothing to see here....
is it possible or feasible to create a new sticky with just recipes, not chat nothing just recipes and their brewing instructions?
then if anyone like a particular recipe they can thank it or if they have questions about a certain recipe they can put them here in the chat topic? or maybe make a separate topic for recipe questions.
Reason being its getting difficult to find any info on recipes without having to look through several different pages etc to find the recipe.

Khannie · 24-01-2013 1:42pm

It's up to the BeerNut. Site wide there is a guideline that there should be only 3 stickies per forum (so we're already slightly beyond that). The reason for this is so that people on mobile devices don't have to scroll too much to get to "the meat".

BeerNut · 24-01-2013 3:21pm

Well, the NHC competition one isn't permanent, so I'm going to allow this. And if those punks in the DA's office don't like it they can have my badge.

Tube · 24-01-2013 7:37pm

Problem with a Recipes sticky is there's no guarantee they're any good, or have even been tasted by their author. After 20 pages it has the potential to be a train wreck.

blueshed · 24-01-2013 8:53pm

how about a thread where about half a dozen well known and trusted members post 5 recipes each then every week/month they post another recipe.

if sombody is looking for a particular recipe then one of the dirty half dozen can post it.

Paz-CCFC · 24-01-2013 10:17pm

I'm looking into getting those 40 pint plastic kegs. There's a fairly cheap one for €45 (tap at the bottom), which I was thinking of getting. It has a two inch neck, though - would that require buying a keg cleaning brush to clean it, if dirt or mould ever sticks to the bottom? There's one with a four inch neck for €70 (plus, its tap is at the top and draws beer from the top, whereas the cheaper one does it from the bottom - not sure if this makes much of a difference), which would allow me to clean it with a normal cloth. Is the extra €25 worth not having to buy a bottling brush? These seem to cost €30+, but are there cheaper ones?

What'd be the best way to chill a 40 pint keg? A bath of ice? I'm guessing that'd be harder with the tap at the bottom rather than the top.

Just one more question - S30 cylinders v 8 gram CO2 cartridges. I know that, since they refill the S30s at less than half of its initial cost, you start saving after about two refills vs the cartridges. But how many cartridges would you use on a 40 pint keg (let's say it's to be carbonated as an average carbonated beer)? I've a Tap A Draft kit, as well, which only takes the cartridges, so I'd have to buy them anyway, which makes me think I'd be better off just sticking with them.

Thanks.

BeerNut · 25-01-2013 12:04am

Tube wrote: »

After 20 pages it has the potential to be a train wreck.

Every train has the potential to be a train wreck. Don't like the risk? Stay off the train.

Tube · 25-01-2013 12:05am

Khannie wrote: »

I genuinely don't think a human could accurately (i.e. with significantly > 50% accuracy) taste the difference between a home brewed wine that had done secondary in a standard plastic fermenting vessel versus one that had done secondary in glass.

One of our more active members is a plastics expert and deals in plastics for a living. He swears plastic over the long term, like months, is a no-no. For primary it's fine as the beer/wine/cider is still producing its own gas, but after that it will absorb whatever it is exposed to.

I don't know if I've ever tasted anything that was months in plastic. Most people I know will use bottles or cornies for long term storage/maturing.

Tube · 25-01-2013 12:08am

kevc2 wrote: »

Thanks for clearing that up, plastic bucket for primary is recommended though?

I think "recommended" is too strong. "Acceptable" is more like it!

Khannie · 25-01-2013 12:15am

Tube wrote: »

One of our more active members is a plastics expert and deals in plastics for a living. He swears plastic over the long term, like months, is a no-no. For primary it's fine as the beer/wine/cider is still producing its own gas, but after that it will absorb whatever it is exposed to.

I don't know if I've ever tasted anything that was months in plastic. Most people I know will use bottles or cornies for long term storage/maturing.

Fair enough. Good to know.

The longest I have left (or would leave) home brew wine in secondary is about 2 months before bottling.

Tube · 25-01-2013 12:36am

That reminds me... my own first attempt at cider is in a carboy in the shed for over 2 months now. It better be good!

Apple juice came from Con Traas in Tipperary who supplies a lot of cider makers with juice. We're going to make it an annual thing, so I'm looking forward to having cider permanently in the shed!

Tube · 25-01-2013 1:16am

BeerNut wrote: »

Every train has the potential to be a train wreck. Don't like the risk? Stay off the train.

Just giving my 2c. We created a section, Best Recipes, to avoid train wrecks. Poster must have seen recipe to completion, and been so happy with it that they have the intention of brewing it again if they haven't already.

BeerNut · 25-01-2013 1:51am

Tube wrote: »

Poster must have seen recipe to completion, and been so happy with it that they have the intention of brewing it again if they haven't already.

Great idea but sounds like a modding nightmare. I'm going with the suggestion of tasting notes and we'll see if it works.

It's very quiet up there, guys. A sticky has to earn its keep.

Khannie · 25-01-2013 10:54am

BeerNut wrote: »

It's very quiet up there, guys. A sticky has to earn its keep.

I'll add some stuff when I get the time.

kevc2 · 29-01-2013 4:16pm

I was in Ikea the other day and noticed they had 1l bottles with swing tops for €2.50:

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/30213552/

BeerNut · 29-01-2013 4:41pm

They may not be spec'd for carbonated drinks, though. Beware!

kevc2 · 29-01-2013 4:43pm

Good point! Going to try one of those prohibition kits and fill them with it

Conmaicne Mara · 29-01-2013 6:18pm

kevc2 wrote: »

I was in Ikea the other day and noticed they had 1l bottles with swing tops for €2.50:

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/30213552/

Aldi/Lidl had similiar last year, but they were only for water etc, plus they were $1.50 cheaper than Ikea! I wouldn't chance them for carbonated drinks, could get messy.

tteknulp · 30-01-2013 12:47am

I got some from homebrew company 20 for €26 ,i have used many times ,well worth the money ,they have brown and clear ,750ml & 500ml

Herb Powell · 05-02-2013 7:38pm

What is the absolute minimum size pot you could get away with brewing an extract brew with?

eurofoxy · 05-02-2013 9:59pm

i have done brew in a bag brew in a 15L pot and gotten roughly 8-10L of wort from it...

but i think you can use a smaller pot than that just expect a smaller volume of wort at the end...

BeerNut · 05-02-2013 10:10pm

I've done a 20L extract batch in an 8L pot but I seriously wouldn't recommend it. Concentrated wort burnt on to the stainless steel hob didn't do me any favours with the missus. Being careful about boil-overs is just another thing to be worrying about.

Herb Powell · 06-02-2013 8:17pm

Right, so the main problem is the wort burning if it's too concentrated?

BeerNut · 06-02-2013 8:20pm

No, it's the danger of filling the pot too full and it boiling over and then burning. You really need to watch it carefully as it nears the boil and reduce the heat if it starts to boil over.

Herb Powell · 06-02-2013 9:56pm

BeerNut wrote: »

No, it's the danger of filling the pot too full and it boiling over and then burning. You really need to watch it carefully as it nears the boil and reduce the heat if it starts to boil over.

Ok, so, the smaller the pot, the harder it's going to be to keep it in that "range" ?

BeerNut · 06-02-2013 10:15pm

Pretty much.

Herb Powell · 06-02-2013 11:00pm

Sound.

Going to have to sort myself out with a tall pot so.

Tube · 06-02-2013 11:28pm

Paint scraper (the one with the inbuilt stanley blade) will take anything off a hob.

Only serious problem I've come across using a hob is that once the pot is bigger than a certain size the hob doesn't have the muscle to boil it. In my case I have 15L pots and the hob struggles.

BeerNut · 07-02-2013 12:13am

The worst case scenario is someone who managed to get concentrated wort all the way into the gas jets, and DME sets like rock. It meant taking the hob apart and soaking the bits in hot water.

Tube · 07-02-2013 6:02pm

I rarely advocate electric hobs over gas, but for boil overs the flat glass of an electric hob can't be bettered.

I've heard great things about induction hobs, and provided your cookware is compatible they're apparently better than electric or gas in every way.

BeerNut · 07-02-2013 6:25pm

I used a portable induction hob at my last homebrew class -- worked really well, though I was only boiling 5L. I've heard they're very expensive, though.

Conmaicne Mara · 11-02-2013 3:18pm

Talked to a guy elsewhere that uses water cooler bottles to ferment his cider, they're 19 litres full. I thought it was a good idea if a person could get their hands on them.

kevc2 · 12-02-2013 11:42pm

I'm going to grab a 19l water cooler bottle tomorrow from work, I'd like to make some cheap cider. Would anyone know the exact amount of apple juice, water, and yeast to use in it? Also I'll be using general yeast that you can get from tesco.

I currently have one of these brewing, I'll let you's know how it turns out: http://www.homebrewwest.ie/prohibition-high-alcohol-liqueur-coconut-rum-407-p.asp

BeerNut · 13-02-2013 12:25am

No water. Just sanitise it and fill it (ish) with apple juice and sprinkle on a sachet of cider yeast. Add a cup of strong black tea if you want to give it a bit more body.

Lovely Bloke · 13-02-2013 8:47am

BeerNut wrote: »

No water. Just sanitise it and fill it (ish) with apple juice and sprinkle on a sachet of cider yeast. Add a cup of strong black tea if you want to give it a bit more body.

Would you not need to heat it a bit? Or if not doing that, prime the yeast first?

Herb Powell · 14-02-2013 11:16pm

Experienced brewers, is the procedure for using spraymalt any different to using sugar? I wanna use spraymalt for my next brew instead of sugar (very soon), so I'm just wondering do you add it in the same way as sugar, or does it require more care?

BeerNut · 15-02-2013 12:17am

Herb Powell wrote: »

do you add it in the same way as sugar, or does it require more care?

In kits? Exactly the same way: get the can contents and the spraymalt dissolved in about 5L of very hot water and once it's all dissolved top it up with cold, stirring all the way.

Herb Powell · 15-02-2013 12:53am

Oh, I didn't disolve my sugar at all last time, haha, I just added it gradually. Thanks for the correction!

BeerNut · 15-02-2013 1:00am

It won't make any difference to the finished beer but your OG reading is less likely to be accurate if you don't mix it all in evenly.

Edwardius · 18-02-2013 11:38pm

Picked up a pair of these today, tenner each, they were from the jameson distillery apparently http://www.adverts.ie/plants-pots/oak-whiskey-barrel-planters/2668097
Gonna make a cider press and also use some as a source of oak chips for various projects!

Khannie · 19-02-2013 10:56am

Edwardius wrote: »

Gonna make a cider press

Nice! Interested to hear how you get on. I would love to build a press. Unfortunately I have no woodworking skills.

Piercemeear · 19-02-2013 3:38pm

Khannie wrote: »

Nice! Interested to hear how you get on. I would love to build a press. Unfortunately I have no woodworking skills.

Neither do I, really, but I built one 18 months ago to these plans and it wasn't too onerous. You'd need access to a few tools, though.

Khannie · 19-02-2013 3:47pm

Fair play! Do you get good extraction rates from the pulp? How long does it take you to press, say, 25L of juice?

I bought a cider making book there a while back and it has plans for a basket type one which I'd guess would result in slightly faster extraction but a lot more effort to build.

Piercemeear · 19-02-2013 4:07pm

Extractions rates are surprisingly decent, but nothing like you'd get from a big press. I never put a percentage on it, but it was dry enough pulp at the end. Eh, I could do some maths, but it was, say, three 5 litre buckets of apple quarters (then pulped) was filling my gallon demijohn, in three goes.

I was only doing 1 gallon demijohns, but I managed to fill four in a short few hours once I got used to its quirks. Helps to have someone there quartering the apples, pressing while you pulp, etc.

We had so many apples that year I wasn't too stressed about getting everything out of them. We'd more than we could possibly use. Then last year (2012) we got zero. All my sources were in Leinster orchards. Complete washout.

By the end of the process I was beginning to think of how to improve it though. This year, unless I build something entirely new, I'll need to put on a heavier, sturdier support metal (where the jack meets the top of the frame) and maybe buy a stronger jack.

Getting too technical:
I like the idea of building a barrel one a lot, but getting the jack (or winch) mechanism is the tough part. A bottle jack (like my picture) won't fit so well into that system.

Edwardius' barrels above look like a good starting point, but I'm a bit concerned about the barreled sides. If the sides aren't an even cylinder then I'm not how your pressing disc would contain the pulp. At the middle where it's wider there'd be space for the pulp to push up around the disc.

Edwardius · 19-02-2013 7:45pm

Piercemeear wrote: »

]I like the idea of building a barrel one a lot, but getting the jack (or winch) mechanism is the tough part. A bottle jack (like my picture) won't fit so well into that system.

Edwardius' barrels above look like a good starting point, but I'm a bit concerned about the barreled sides. If the sides aren't an even cylinder then I'm not how your pressing disc would contain the pulp. At the middle where it's wider there'd be space for the pulp to push up around the disc.

Good point, I may have to go back to the drawing board. I had thought about disassembling it, cutting the wooden pieces in half and weighing them down to flatten them and the plan was to end up with something like this.

If I keep it fairly short the curvature of the wood might not be a probem but I'll have to see

The bottle-jack method looks a lot more reasonable though!

I also have zero woodworking skills but I reckon something like this is not massively difficult (famous last words!)

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