Recent content by phillc

We don't have an automated keg washer. We want to use easier to clean kegs. We would rather move away from 50 litre kegs to something smaller. We sell to commercial enterprises that are commonly using Type A fittings.

To partly answer my own question, there is a commercial product available in Europe called the "Thielmann Starter Keg". Almost all information I find on this is in German, it doesn't exactly meets the requirements I had because it's a whole new keg, rather than just the lid for a Corney. Also...

For reasons, I'm interested in fitting a commercial keg fitting to a Corney keg. Specifically, to suit a Type A flat fitting (see images below). Does anyone know if lids with such fittings have ever been made for Corney kegs? I guess I can imagine something like: a) The Corney posts are...

Welcome Helmut. Where in Austria are you?

We've recently started a new craft brewing enterprise in Austria. Our launch beer is a hefeweizen. Why? First and foremost, we wanted to brew what we like to drink and none of us much like hop forward beers. Secondly, we looked at the craft beer market here and there really weren't any good...

I've found Lallemand Nottingham can be quite fast. Their marketing spiel isn't far off: In Lallemand’s Standard Conditions Wort at 20°C (68°F) LalBrew Nottingham™ yeast exhibits: Vigorous fermentation that can be completed in 4 days LalBrew Nottingham™ – High Performance Ale Yeast | Lallemand...

To throw into the mix an alternative, but not cheap, solution...... We had two refractometers and two hydrometers. We found that each instrument would return a slightly different reading, which is not ideal when trying to package and sell beer commercially. Therefore, we bought an Anton Paar...

I indulged in one or two last night:

There's a German/Austrian beer style called Zwickel (also closely related to Kellerbier). There are both light and dark Zwickels. You could make one using majority Pilsner or Pale Ale malt. It's meant to be served young and hazy. Using a nice neutral ale yeast like Nottingham, which ferments...

You can have that one and I'll have Highway to Helles 😁

Brewed again on Friday. This time was meant to be a Festbier, as mentioned earlier. The brew day seemed to go reasonably well, but the gravity was a little lower than expected. Only looking at something around 5% ABV now, rather than the 6.5% we thought should have resulted. Not sure where we...

Here’s that keg cleaning rig connected today as I rinsed a keg with water.

We got the kegs from Brau Union, the company which owns all the biggest breweries in Austria, and are in turn owned by Heineken. They will rent kegs for a €40 deposit, returned when you return the kegs. Obviously there is a limit to the number they will supply. We have 12 and I don’t think they...

That's an interesting idea. Honestly, we probably just really overpitched. The tech sheet for the yeast said, "pitching rate varies between 50 grams and 100 grams of active yeast to inoculate 100 liters of wort." We started with 400 litres of water, but that reduced to about 325-350 litres after...

Back at the brewery yesterday, preparing for Friday's brew day - CIP process, cleaning kegs, general prep. Current honey beer seems to be going well. It's not finished fermentation yet (still about 1020 gravity, 5deg Plato) but we took a small sample and at least it doesn't taste sour...