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@The-Engineer-That-Brews

What size are those ? john guest fittings, looks like onto 8mm external tubing but the threaded connector size onto the pump looks about right for some flow meters I have and want to use on my raspberry pints project.
The pump threads are 1/2” BSP parallel, and the adapters are from that to 3/8” push fit :-)
 
The Cali Common got off to a pretty fast fermentation once it got going (WY2112 California Lager, 18ºc):

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Just done the gravity check (three days after the above was taken) and it looks to be down to about 1.014. Guessing it will drop 3 or 4 more points over the next week or so.

1687253544808.png


It got pretty whiffy at first but that seems to have all gone now and a sip from the trial jar is pretty reassuring: strong malt backbone and quite an assertive bitter hoppy finish although that I suspect will round out a bit in conditioning.

Quite relieved that liquoring back doesn't seem to have thinned it out too much :-) It does also mean more beer of course! Probably 2-3 litres more than will fit in a Corny so this might have to be one of my very occasional bottling runs (in part, at least)

acheers.
 
This is the stuff that Crossmyloof are selling.

https://www.lallemandbrewing.com/en/united-kingdom/product-details/protosol/
I've just bought a few sachets to try out. Works out a out 5p more per application, they do however have a 250ml bottle for a shade under £17 so would work out cheaper than the Harris product. It sounds very similar in that you just dose the brew and stir, 24/48 hrs later you're good to go.

Cheers Tom
Hmmmmm......

First use a couple of days ago, no pictures unfortunately but it seems to have worked. I say seems as it's dropped the remaining yeast out but the hop sludge that poured out of the dry hop bag as I lifted it out of the fermenter stayed in suspension. I have no idea why I disturbed the bag, must have been one of those good ideas at the time that got past the "don't be an idiot" filter in my brain.
Ho hum, will try again on the next brew 🤞

Cheers Tom
 
It's been way too long since I've had a chance to brew, but today was the day athumb..
Kind of an oatmeal stout, based on the GH one I did last November but aiming for something a bit darker and more complex.

I'll admit I may have got slightly carried away with the grain bill but it's a bit of a user-upper.
I know I'll also probably get some stick for the S-04 but it's all I had...

Screenshot 2023-10-31 at 17.09.20.png


I was a bit rusty but everything went pretty smoothly: no dramas and I hit 22L and 1.052 OG which is what I was after :-)

Nice to be back in the game.
 
Next up: Munich Helles (to be precise, this one: https://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/Edel_Hell) in a couple of days time.

I've had mixed success with lagers in the past as they've often come out with a harsh hop bitterness and/or been a bit too strong. But I got some extra pale malt earlier in the year so it's really time I got round to using it.

Screenshot 2023-11-07 at 17.08.40.png


I just don't trust the tap water here for anything pale so I'm staying as close to the recipe as possible and starting with 100% RO+DI; then adding a bare minimum of minerals to hit the recipe profile (I'm fairly confident that the mash will bring in enough trace elements to assure the yeast health).

Screenshot 2023-11-07 at 17.11.54.png


Talking of yeast, I'm being a bit lazy and going with dried w-34/70. I know I'd probably get slightly more character from something like WLP2308, but the only stuff at THBS is "use by 12th Nov" and I'm not really sure it will make that much difference. I'll probably ferment at the bottom of the range for the w-34/70 though, as I seem to recall @Alastair70 got some esters from it.
 
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I’ve sworn off dried yeast for lagers. I’ve had estery brews, acetyl aldehyde, something that tasted like pear drops and other such disappointments along the way. I think pitching two sachets and keeping it cool is probably the way to go with 34/70.
Hmmmm. Now I'm concerned... however the w-34/70 seems to be quite widely used. What temps have you used it at?
 
Hmmmm. Now I'm concerned... however the w-34/70 seems to be quite widely used. What temps have you used it at?
Just looked back through the brew notes, and w-34/70 has not been the offender I thought it was. M54 and Lallmand Diamond have been the biggest culprits for off flavours, and I made an indifferent German lager with CML Hell. These more recent experiences coloured my views on dried lager yeast. The last brew with w-34/70 was in July 2022 and the tasting notes say "Worked a treat, cant wait to serve it the August BBQ"! Fermentation was at 12C until the gravity hit 1.020 then a slow ramp to D-rest.
 
Just looked back through the brew notes, and w-34/70 has not been the offender I thought it was. M54 and Lallmand Diamond have been the biggest culprits for off flavours, and I made an indifferent German lager with CML Hell. These more recent experiences coloured my views on dried lager yeast. The last brew with w-34/70 was in July 2022 and the tasting notes say "Worked a treat, cant wait to serve it the August BBQ"! Fermentation was at 12C until the gravity hit 1.020 then a slow ramp to D-rest.
Really useful - many thanks acheers.
 
Brewed the Munich Helles today: 23.3L and 1.047 - all good.

Discovered I didn't actually have any Vienna despite what my spreadsheet said :roll:
Ho hum... used Munich I instead (15%). Should be OK in a Munich Helles I guess?

Did as Kai's recipe suggests and added 2.0ml lactic to the pre-boil to reduce any harsh bitterness extracted from the hops (magnum and hallertauer mittelfruh). It'll be interesting to see how that works out.

Chilled it down to 20ºc with the CFC and it's now in the brew fridge heading down to pitching temp.


Couple of photos from today...

IMG_1228.PNG


Wort was crystal clear after the boil... then it went through the CFC :roll:

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The Helles was down to 12.5° by 10pm last night so I pitched it with two packs of w-34/70 just before turning in.
Unsurprisingly only the merest visible signs of activity so far, but the temperature readings tell the real story. Beer temp 12.0, air temp 11.6; so the fridge controller is already working to control the metabolic heat athumb..

98225A0A-ADF0-4BB7-B52C-A60CEFF6EE9C.jpeg
 
Just kegged the oatmeal stout after 12 days in the FV with S-04 at 18ºc.
It's cleared down nicely and tastes pretty decent.

Mashed this one a bit higher than usual (67.5º x 60min) to give it more body. Seems to have done the trick :onechug:

Vital statistics: OG 1.051 FG 1.016 ABV 4.7%.

IMG_9174.jpeg
 
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