Brewferm, Diablo

[morethanworts]

I think you'd be fine just in primary, if you have no option. I've done other Brewferm kits like that. The yeasts have settled really well. Their own instructions didn't used to call for secondary anyway.

10 days or so primary, stand on a cold floor for 3 days, and bottle if you're happy on the hydrometer. Small batches in a 5 gallon FV have a relatively higher surface exposed to the air, so I'd keep it under airlock from the start and avoid lifting the lid until at least 8 days.

 

[nhenson22]

I think you'd be fine just in primary, if you have no option. I've done other Brewferm kits like that. The yeasts have settled really well. Their own instructions didn't used to call for secondary anyway.

10 days or so primary, stand on a cold floor for 3 days, and bottle if you're happy on the hydrometer. Small batches in a 5 gallon FV have a relatively higher surface exposed to the air, so I'd keep it under airlock from the start and avoid lifting the lid until at least 8 days.

Great, thanks for the reply. I have the FV that came with the Coopers DIY kit. It doesn't seem to have an airlock, apparently the combination of the krausen collar and lid sort that area out. You think that will be ok? I tried to post a URL to a pic of the coopers fermenter but not allowed yet due to low post count :cry:
Thanks :thumb:

 

[mikeyjay84]

I think you'd be fine just in primary, if you have no option. I've done other Brewferm kits like that. The yeasts have settled really well. Their own instructions didn't used to call for secondary anyway.

10 days or so primary, stand on a cold floor for 3 days, and bottle if you're happy on the hydrometer. Small batches in a 5 gallon FV have a relatively higher surface exposed to the air, so I'd keep it under airlock from the start and avoid lifting the lid until at least 8 days.

Great, thanks for the reply. I have the FV that came with the Coopers DIY kit. It doesn't seem to have an airlock, apparently the combination of the krausen collar and lid sort that area out. You think that will be ok? I tried to post a URL to a pic of the coopers fermenter but not allowed yet due to low post count :cry:
Thanks :thumb:

You'll be fine. I'm doing the brewferm oranje bock at the moment. Will transfer it into the coopers fv i got with a kit. Only because i will use the tap to bottle with. My primary doesnt have a tap and i cant be arsed to **** around with a syphon.

The coopers fv lid is such a close fit that you dont really need an airlock. The lid lifts with gas and pops open a little when there is too much. Kinda like a giant dry airlock i guess. I would have made the bock in it from the start, but it was being used elsewhere.

I wouldnt worry. :thumb:

 

[nhenson22]

I think you'd be fine just in primary, if you have no option. I've done other Brewferm kits like that. The yeasts have settled really well. Their own instructions didn't used to call for secondary anyway.

10 days or so primary, stand on a cold floor for 3 days, and bottle if you're happy on the hydrometer. Small batches in a 5 gallon FV have a relatively higher surface exposed to the air, so I'd keep it under airlock from the start and avoid lifting the lid until at least 8 days.

Great, thanks for the reply. I have the FV that came with the Coopers DIY kit. It doesn't seem to have an airlock, apparently the combination of the krausen collar and lid sort that area out. You think that will be ok? I tried to post a URL to a pic of the coopers fermenter but not allowed yet due to low post count :cry:
Thanks :thumb:

You'll be fine. I'm doing the brewferm oranje bock at the moment. Will transfer it into the coopers fv i got with a kit. Only because i will use the tap to bottle with. My primary doesnt have a tap and i cant be arsed to **** around with a syphon.

The coopers fv lid is such a close fit that you dont really need an airlock. The lid lifts with gas and pops open a little when there is too much. Kinda like a giant dry airlock i guess. I would have made the bock in it from the start, but it was being used elsewhere.

I wouldnt worry. :thumb:

Thanks a lot for the encouragement. I have really been wanting to try a couple of these Brewferm kits and get them out of the way so that they have plenty conditioning time, then move onto something that is a bit quicker. You have persuaded me to go ahead with what I have got.

Any recommendations for their other kits, I like the sound of Ambiorix?

 

[user 6139]

Since I started brewing in February this year, I've done LOTS of BrewFerm Triples and Diabolos. As they take 6-8 weeks to bottle condition, I started a Henry Ford style production line.

These are my favourite beers, and at anytime I've got one or two in primary, one in secondary and a few in bottles maturing.

My routine is to leave them in primary normally for around 10 days ( though in the recent warm weather, my last Ambiorix only needed 7 days to ferment down to 1.010).

After 10-14 days in primary, the yeast settles quite nicely into a lovely thick sludge at the bottom of my 10 litre FV.

Then I rack them to a secondary, somewhere a bit cooler (the garage) for another week before bottling. Sometimes leave it longer in secondary if I can't be a*sed washing bottles.

I prime each 500ml bottle with 2 coopers carbonation drops (or 2 cheap Tate&Lyle white sugar lumps from Tesco), and leave for 2 weeks in the warm before moving them out to the beer-shed.

Following (and refining) this method, I've managed to get a degree of consistency in my brews. The Trippel is normally OK to drink at 4 or 5 weeks, but Diabolo seems to take a bit longer, really tastes good from 8 weeks onwards.

Tried my first Ambiorix this week, just racked it to secondary, and my hydrometer sample tasted very much like Leffe Brun. Looking forward to this in a few months time :-)

Also recently tried the BruPaks Trappist beer. Really impressed with it, tastes just like Leffe Blonde.

 

[nhenson22]

Since I started brewing in February this year, I've done LOTS of BrewFerm Triples and Diabolos. As they take 6-8 weeks to bottle condition, I started a Henry Ford style production line.

These are my favourite beers, and at anytime I've got one or two in primary, one in secondary and a few in bottles maturing.

My routine is to leave them in primary normally for around 10 days ( though in the recent warm weather, my last Ambiorix only needed 7 days to ferment down to 1.010).

After 10-14 days in primary, the yeast settles quite nicely into a lovely thick sludge at the bottom of my 10 litre FV.

Then I rack them to a secondary, somewhere a bit cooler (the garage) for another week before bottling. Sometimes leave it longer in secondary if I can't be a*sed washing bottles.

I prime each 500ml bottle with 2 coopers carbonation drops (or 2 cheap Tate&Lyle white sugar lumps from Tesco), and leave for 2 weeks in the warm before moving them out to the beer-shed.

Following (and refining) this method, I've managed to get a degree of consistency in my brews. The Trippel is normally OK to drink at 4 or 5 weeks, but Diabolo seems to take a bit longer, really tastes good from 8 weeks onwards.

Tried my first Ambiorix this week, just racked it to secondary, and my hydrometer sample tasted very much like Leffe Brun. Looking forward to this in a few months time :-)

Also recently tried the BruPaks Trappist beer. Really impressed with it, tastes just like Leffe Blonde.

Thanks for the tips. You don't find that two sugar lumps is too much? (I do like my beer fizzy and will be using plastic PET bottles).

I may give the Trippel I try as well. For the 9ltr kits have you ever tried making two in the same FV? Or do they produce too much foam?

 

[user 6139]

Two sugar lumps is 6 grams, so not as much as it sounds. Works well for me.

I mainly use glass bottles and crown caps, I have a few Grolsh pop-top bottles, and I like to do one or two PET bottles with every batch to help check on carbonation.

Never done a double batch, having to clean only 18 500ml bottles per brew suits me :smile:

 

[Monte Cristo]

Also recently tried the BruPaks Trappist beer. Really impressed with it, tastes just like Leffe Blonde.

This sounds interesting, was it the Trippel?

 

[user 6139]

Yeah. They're slightly bigger than the BrewFerm kits (10l I think) as you can brew them in their BruBox system.

 

[GJB]

Silly question, but if is sugar individual bottles, how much for a Becks / Bud style 275/300 ml bottles.

1/4 of a teaspoon for bubbly, 1/2 for fizz-tastic?

 

[mikeyjay84]

Silly question, but if is sugar individual bottles, how much for a Becks / Bud style 275/300 ml bottles.

1/4 of a teaspoon for bubbly, 1/2 for fizz-tastic?

I did a brewferm oranje bock. bottled last week. i did 1 tsp for 350ml bottles and 2 for 500-550ml bottles. I was going for fizz tastic.

 

[user 6139]

I'd do 1 white sugar lump, in a 275ml bottle. I think that's half a teaspoon. (3 grams)


I like my beer pretty fizzy.

 

[nhenson22]

Just about ready to get the Diablo on the go. I was thinking of going for the Golden Syrup as I have seen suggested in various places. Can anyone provide feedback on how it turned out with the syrup? Also, if the recipe calls for 500g sugar then how do I work out how many grams of syrup to use?

 

[GJB]

I've done one with brewing sugar and one with Syrup.

I thought the sugar one was nice, but the Syrup one has more "oomph" to the beer; more middle flavours etc. Just remember to add an extra 10% on top of required sugar - just for the fact the sugar has had water added.

 

[nhenson22]

I've done one with brewing sugar and one with Syrup.

I thought the sugar one was nice, but the Syrup one has more "oomph" to the beer; more middle flavours etc. Just remember to add an extra 10% on top of required sugar - just for the fact the sugar has had water added.

Ok, that would be about 550g syrup then. I am sure I have read of other people using a whole 907g tin, that must be wrong then?
Is there anything else I should add as well as the syrup to ensure that the brew reaches the desired 8% (I have some spray malt as well as maltodextrin and regular brewing sugar)?

 

[nhenson22]

I've done one with brewing sugar and one with Syrup.

I thought the sugar one was nice, but the Syrup one has more "oomph" to the beer; more middle flavours etc. Just remember to add an extra 10% on top of required sugar - just for the fact the sugar has had water added.

Ok, that would be about 550g syrup then. I am sure I have read of other people using a whole 907g tin, that must be wrong then?
Is there anything else I should add as well as the syrup to ensure that the brew reaches the desired 8% (I have some spray malt as well as maltodextrin and regular brewing sugar)?

Scratch that. I think I read about the 907g addition on a Brewferm Ambiorix thread, which is a 15 litre kit.

I just checked the sugar content of syrup and it is 80.5g per 100g, so 80.5%. To work out exactly how many grams of syrup needed would I be correct in using this figure?

i.e. 500g syrup contains 402.5g sugar
so 97.5g sugar is needed in addition, which would be a further 121.1g syrup.

As golden syrup comes in 454g or 907g tins would it be possible to use the 454g tin and then make the rest of the sugar (134.5g in this case) up with regular sugar, or would most advise that if I am using syrup I should use it for the full 500g?

 

[PremierCru]

I used a 680g jar of golden syrup which I think roughly equates to 500g white sugar. Also I used a little over 1tsp priming sugar per 500g bottle and it has turned out quite fizzy. Next time I might actually use slightly less, i.e. no more than 1tsp per bottle. I drank my 2nd bottle tonight, 4 months after bottling, and it had really benefited from the extra conditioning compared with the 1st bottle I sampled after 8 weeks. I would now highly recommend this kit provided you have the time and patience to let it develop properly in the bottle. It is malty, smooth and well rounded though at 8% its strength is obvious. A session beer it definitely is not!

 

[GJB]

My little bottles of Diablo are now in the garage, maturing.

Had a sneaky one the other evening and can only say that it is still the best lager non ale kit I have done.

It's as close to Leffe Blonde as I have made. Kind of getting towards Duvel.

I need a time-locked safe that will shut beer away to the proper date. They look so tempting sitting there in their little bottle.....

 

[mikeyjay84]

My little bottles of Diablo are now in the garage, maturing.

Had a sneaky one the other evening and can only say that it is still the best lager non ale kit I have done.

It's as close to Leffe Blonde as I have made. Kind of getting towards Duvel.

I need a time-locked safe that will shut beer away to the proper date. They look so tempting sitting there in their little bottle.....

if you like the leffe style - try the milestone crusader. These are fantastic after 4-5 weeks.

 

[beechwood]

AN EXCELLENT KIT LIKE MANY OF THE BREWFERM KITS, BREWED THIS ONE A COUPLE OF MONTHS BACK, BEEN IN THE BOTTLE JUST OVER 5 WEEKS TASTES VERY GOOD, CLEARED AFTER ABOUT 4 WEEKS, MINE CAME OUT A BIT HIGHER THAN STATED AT 8.5%

THIS IS MY FOURTH BREWFERM KIT HAVING PREVESLY BREWED: TRIPLE, ABBY AND CHRISTMAS.

HOPING TO DO THE GOLD OR PILS NEXT