Long brewday

[MEB]

Sitting here typing as I wait for my brew to cool.

Decided to do 2 x 40L batches today. Wish I hadn't-it's been a long day and one of my yeast starters decided it will be lazy. I started them yesterday morning. Might be time to replace one with some fresh stuff. The other yeast is trying to overtake the entire brewery. The sooner my brew cools down the better.
These two batches will be bottled up. Not looking forward to that either really. One day someone will invent a way of bottling 80L of beer in an hour... :pray:

Had quite a fun day though-was the first brewday in a while where I didn't get interrupted, it wasn't 'work' and i didn't have the compressor on. So the stereo was on, the sun was shining and I supped a few nice ales. :thumb: Brew1 is 40L of Shelob's Sting - MEB's ESB style Ale. Brew2 is a Pale Ale with NZ Cascade and Nelson Sauvin hops. Got to try out some new NZ Pale Ale malt too. Very good efficiency-82% for B1 and 80% for B2. Very sweet smelling malt. Next brewday will be a DP IPA. I think the new malt will go very well indeed in a DP IPA.
Also discovered some malts in the bottom of one of my malt bins that I'd forgotten about so I'll be doing a Porter and trying a stout for the first time soon. Gotta love this brewing mallarkey :

 

[Polymath]

Hey it sounds like you have a good brew going on there. Hope it turned out well for you.

Litres brewed 2009-over 10,000 commercial, 1750(ish) MEB

I noticed this in your signature. I'm guessing you work in a brewery as a living, and do homebrew at home? If so i'm interested in what level of skills your job actually helps you out in a brewery? Is it the same general stuff or ....

 

[Wez]

Sounds like a busy day M :thumb: :thumb:

 

[evanvine]

Take a leaf out of Davesiv's book, bottle in dj's and use a straw!

 

[MEB]

Hey it sounds like you have a good brew going on there. Hope it turned out well for you.

Litres brewed 2009-over 10,000 commercial, 1750(ish) MEB

I noticed this in your signature. I'm guessing you work in a brewery as a living, and do homebrew at home? If so i'm interested in what level of skills your job actually helps you out in a brewery? Is it the same general stuff or ....

I don't work in a brewery for a living. I 'work' for malt, hops and yeast at my local brew pub-http://www.frings.co.nz/ from time to time. The owner and Master brewer Dennis Fring is a top bloke. So one brew there is 1100L. I get all the 'fun' stuff to do like shovelling out the mash tun, cleaning stuff, weighing hops and pouring sack after sack after sack of malt into the mash tun.
You learn a lot working in a professional brewery. Commercially you want the best beer you can get in the shortest time. No different really to home brewing. It has certainly changed the way I homebrew though.

Best thing I've learnt is the 70% meth cleanser. Just a quick spray of this and away you go-no waiting hours for that stupid stuff they sell in HBS to work. No need to rinse either. I sterilise everything with this now-FV's, beer paddles, bottles etc. Saves a lot of time and money. Very handy for quickly spraying your taps prior to testing or racking off too. Dennis was very surprised that homebrewers hadn't heard of this trick as he tells me it's a standard brewery procedure.

Managed to knock out a little 25L batch of a 'mild'ish brew last night too.

 

[evanvine]

Hello MEB
I like the idea of the "meths" cleaner!
Is this 70% methylated spirit with 30% water?
Whats the problem with 100% methylated spirit ?

 

[Aleman]

I don't like the idea of using methanol as a disinfectant . . . it does the job really well, and 70% has a higher kill rate than 100% . . . it is however a poison and can cause serious health issues . . .It's ok if you let it evaporate first . . . or you are disinfecting things that do not come into contact with samples for consumption.

Obviously the best alcohol to use is ethanol . . . but trying to get hold of it in the UK to dilute down to 70% is difficult . . . and it is exceedingly expensive . . . I use Iso Propyl Alcohol (IPA) for hard surface disinfecting, which is easily available in 1L cans from maplin . . . Again I am wary of using it as a no rinse disinfecting agent . . . but for surfaces for yeast prep its difficult to beat. . . .I have been known (when I am prepared enough) to use a 70% IPA spray on my FV's which get inverted and allowed to dry.

I would not recommend either methanol or IPA be used as a disinfectant agent in a no rinse situation where food stuff for consumption could come into contact with the wet solution. . . . A 70% ethanol spray is different, and is the ideal. . . . In these situations Using something like Star San or Videne are just as effective . . . and much less problematical.

 

[jamesb]

Best thing I've learnt is the 70% meth cleanser. Just a quick spray of this and away you go-no waiting hours for that stupid stuff they sell in HBS to work. No need to rinse either. I sterilise everything with this now-FV's, beer paddles, bottles etc. Saves a lot of time and money. Very handy for quickly spraying your taps prior to testing or racking off too. Dennis was very surprised that homebrewers hadn't heard of this trick as he tells me it's a standard brewery procedure.

Possibly because over here the brewery suppliers have got everyone to use Peracetic acid. The best bug killer known to man.

I'd be concerned about the other stuff that contaminated meths in this country.

Davesiv on the other hand would be likely to run out of the stuff when it's needed because he's drank it all.

 

[evanvine]

As usual AM another concise factual account; many thanks.
Ethanol looks like the kiddo then; I assume you are talking 70% ABV.
Would the best way to check the ABV be to weigh a 10ml sample, the result being 7g?

 

[jamesb]

As usual AM another concise factual account; many thanks.
Ethanol looks like the kiddo then; I assume you are talking 70% ABV.
Would the best way to check the ABV be to weigh a 10ml sample, the result being 7g?

Alcohol is lighter than water - hence why our hydrometers work.

Just add 3ml of water to every 7ml of ethanol.

EDIT: I'll just wait for Aleman to point out that even "pure ethanol" contains about 4-5% water anyway.

 

[evanvine]

Yes I agree James, but don't you need to know the purity of the ethanol first?

 

[jamesb]

Yes I agree James, but don't you need to know the purity of the ethanol first?

Yes. But unless you're getting some random bottle from somewhere, the datasheet or back of bottle should say.

 

[evanvine]

I believe that is a taboo subject on this forum!

 

[Aleman]

If you know the right suppliers it is possible to get 99.9% pure ethanol . . . If you are willing to cough up the 120 Quid a litre. . . . most lab suppliers supply 90-95% for about 30 quid . . . but as James said 350ml of 'alcohol' and 150ml of water (deionised preferably) is close enough.

They work by dissolving the cell walls of the bacteria etc, and the effect is instantaneous.

Of course as James also said the disinfectant of choice for most UK Breweries is Peracetic acid, and for fogging a Large FV it is difficult to beat . . . It does require very careful handling though

 

[MEB]

I have no issues whatsoever with using 70% meth solution. I use it as a contact sterilser. As do commercial breweries. I'm more concerned with the effects to my health that drinking alcohol causes than I am with 70% meth solution for sterilising. I use it in a 1L pump sprayer-you only need to mist the surface. Within minutes the 70% has evaporated to next to nothing. Nuking the bejesus out of anything that can interfere with your brew.

Up to you whether you take the advice-i'm not forcing you.

 

[evanvine]

Thank you all for your advice, I get educated every day on this Forum!