foxbat's brewdays

[matt76]

Ah but the yeast isn't eating the sugars during the growth phase so your fancy gadget would be sitting there shrugging its virtual shoulders and drawing a flat line!

I know where you're coming from, but even allowing for changes in temperature in the FV I've been surprised just how quickly it does start to register a change in gravity, even before the airlock starts going.

Oh, and there's so much noise in the readings that a Tilt curve is anything but flat, even before and after active fermentation!

 

[Manxnorton]

Thanks Bri, I read your brew-day write up in your thread as well. It's great to see you back and brewing again. The water treatment in this one was aimed at bringing up the mineral levels from the very low level in Tesco Ashbeck to levels more appropriate for an English bitter. I use the Bru'nwater spreadsheet for this and it's really easy. You change the amount of an additive in one cell and just watch the spreadsheet change the outcome for you then keep fiddling until you get the numbers that you're looking for.

Sorry mate had a few bad days on my lil brain, and jusy woke.
Could you point me to the Bru'nwater spreadsheet you mentioned? maybe it'll help me before a big brew day tomorrow if i'm up to it lol.
Thx pal.
Bri

 

[foxbat]

Sorry mate had a few bad days on my lil brain, and jusy woke.
Could you point me to the Bru'nwater spreadsheet you mentioned? maybe it'll help me before a big brew day tomorrow if i'm up to it lol.
Thx pal.
Bri

Brunwater is available from Martin's website:

https://www.brunwater.com/
To get you going I downloaded the free version and have attached it to this post. I've also filled it in with the data from last brew to show you how to use it. Here's what I did.

1. On the pale blue "1. Water Report Input" tab I entered the mineral values for the water I'm using (Tesco Ashbeck) at the top under "Water Report Input" in the pale blue cells (B6, B7, B8, C6, C7, C8, C9). Ignore everything else on the page.

2. On the orange "2. Sparge Acidification" sheet I entered 6.2 as the pH of Tesco Ashbeck and 5.3 as the pH of the water I want for my brewing (B5, B6).

3. On the Yellow "3. Grain Bill Input" I entered the grains in the recipe. I fill in the "Grains", "Quantity (g)", "Color (EBC)" columns and ignore the "Quantity (kg)" column.

4. This is the big one. On the Red "4. Water Adjustment" page I enter the mash water volume (J17), sparge water volume (L17) and the total batch volume into the fermenter (N17). Under the "Water Additions" row 17 I play with the Gypsum, Calcium Chloride, Epsom Salts values (B19, B20, B21) until the "Mashing Water Profile" row 13 looks like I want it to. Now I play with cell B29 (lactic acid) until The Estimated Mash pH (B16) comes in at 5.30.

5. Finally I print off a copy of the White "5. Adjustment Summary" page because that's what I'll need to add on brew day.

If you need help let me know.

 

[foxbat]

It's kegging day today for my Never Felt Bitter, brewed with the Fullers 1845 yeast. All signs of active fermentation had ceased after 72 hours which did give me some cause for concern because I'm out on a limb a bit with this yeast.

Two weeks later and blind faith has paid off because it's finished at 1.009 for an ABV of 5.4%. I was hoping for something in the 4's but it's fine, I'll just drink less. Probably.

The sample is certainly amongst the clearest I've ever had straight from the fermenter. This is a flocculent yeast that certainly clears up after itself.

I got one keg and almost 2 full bottles, down by about 750ml from usual which is a bit of a head-scratcher. It could be down to higher boiloff during the colder months; I did notice 2 extra points gained during the boil compared to usual. The keg was purged 5x15psi, fined with Clear-It (though it doesn't need it) and it's now on at 12psi for a couple of weeks of conditioning.

Finally, the obligatory tasting of the sample jar. My first thoughts were flippin'eck this is a dead ringer for 1845. The taste has that distinctive 1845 character running all the way through it. I didn't intend to brew a clone but I'll not be disappointed if this is how it continues to taste after a couple of weeks conditioning.

 

[foxbat]

I've been drinking my Belgian Golden Strong, Nouvelle No. 2 for a few weeks now and here's how it's looking at the moment:

I intentionally didn't fine this, hoping for the yeast character to remain as long as possible but it's still gone and cleared. Happily though it has retained nearly all that Belgian yeast-driven character. The flavour is all banana, bubble gum and Saazy spiceyness with a strong backing from the 8.1% ABV (I fermented the Wyeast 1388 at 23-24C).

 

[Manxnorton]

Brunwater is available from Martin's website:

https://www.brunwater.com/
To get you going I downloaded the free version and have attached it to this post. I've also filled it in with the data from last brew to show you how to use it. Here's what I did.

1. On the pale blue "1. Water Report Input" tab I entered the mineral values for the water I'm using (Tesco Ashbeck) at the top under "Water Report Input" in the pale blue cells (B6, B7, B8, C6, C7, C8, C9). Ignore everything else on the page.

View attachment 41000

2. On the orange "2. Sparge Acidification" sheet I entered 6.2 as the pH of Tesco Ashbeck and 5.3 as the pH of the water I want for my brewing (B5, B6).

View attachment 41001

3. On the Yellow "3. Grain Bill Input" I entered the grains in the recipe. I fill in the "Grains", "Quantity (g)", "Color (EBC)" columns and ignore the "Quantity (kg)" column.

View attachment 41004

4. This is the big one. On the Red "4. Water Adjustment" page I enter the mash water volume (J17), sparge water volume (L17) and the total batch volume into the fermenter (N17). Under the "Water Additions" row 17 I play with the Gypsum, Calcium Chloride, Epsom Salts values (B19, B20, B21) until the "Mashing Water Profile" row 13 looks like I want it to. Now I play with cell B29 (lactic acid) until The Estimated Mash pH (B16) comes in at 5.30.

View attachment 41005

5. Finally I print off a copy of the White "5. Adjustment Summary" page because that's what I'll need to add on brew day.

If you need help let me know.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your the man!! (one of them anyways)
if you dont mind i'm going to print out what i just read...........as you know my as slow as evolution!!!
Could please help, as i'm going to tackle water treament (AGAIN) in a separate thread.
This time, i have a fare understanding (courtesy of our steve ) the other year. He never got p'd off with til i produced i can do it
As normal....'SKILL FADE' set in.
Just found my water report online. dont know if i need to get a indepth one?
Anyhoooooo here we go......
Off to make a new thread (prob be a 'Shambles' ) but most of you know how i work......and just but in......(i wont be upset) "Bri hold on a min....what youve just type is confusing...Try doing this instead!" (etc. etc.)
Got to hand it to me.....i wont give up re-learning!
brain damage, 'learning difficulties' Asphasia and being a total baloon knot! just makes me battle more...

Btw i have to fire my weekend 24l brewday...a shorteded version (10 mins) hope it helps newcomers.

reet! ive waffle enough.
thank you so much m8, i apperice it.
Bri.

 

[Manxnorton]

mate doodloaded it (and donated)
yours

my test Ca was 40ppm........
got confused.

then adding my grains..

after that i stopped.
waiting for my pH meter.
least i got somewhere m8.

i'm reading yout tutorial again n again...
with me..
Bri

 

[foxbat]

I'm brewing this weekend and that means today is the day I get my yeast starter on the go. I'm excited to be back on the lagers again and this one will be a Munich Helles.

A Helles calls for a refined and malty lager yeast so normally I'd go straight to Wyeast 2308 but I noticed that The Malt Miller had some long-dated packs of the seasonal 2352-PC (Munich II) strain in stock so I bought one. This is supposedly the Augustiner strain.

Even though it's only a month old I'm still going to need a 3 litre starter for this 24 litre batch because I want to keep back 500ml from this starter for my next lager. That means my biggest 5 litre flask makes an appearance:

It's now on the stir-plate spinning away merrily at 20C in the brew fridge.

 

[matt76]

Sounds interesting, I'll be interested to hear how your Helles turns out - I've used 2206 before but never 2308 and certainly not 2352.

On a slightly different subject, have you had a proper try yet of the bitter you made with the Fuller's 1845 yeast? How would you describe this strain - does it most definitely have that fruity English Ale characteristic (like WY1318 for example) or is it on the cleaner side? Any idea if this is actually "the" Fuller's strain?

I happened to pick up a bottle of 1845 so may as well have a bash at growing it up

 

[foxbat]

Sounds interesting, I'll be interested to hear how your Helles turns out - I've used 2206 before but never 2308 and certainly not 2352.

It's been 3 years or so since I did a Helles. It won't be anything exciting; just a by-the-numbers pilsner+carapils+magnum+hersbrucker sort of thing.

On a slightly different subject, have you had a proper try yet of the bitter you made with the Fuller's 1845 yeast? How would you describe this strain - does it most definitely have that fruity English Ale characteristic (like WY1318 for example) or is it on the cleaner side? Any idea if this is actually "the" Fuller's strain?

I haven't tried it yet, not even a cheeky snifter and it's because the Belgian I did with WY1388 is lasting quite a long time because its strength means smaller measures. I think it'll be finished in 2 weeks then on to the ESB.

I happened to pick up a bottle of 1845 so may as well have a bash at growing it up

Go on, you might as well!

 

[foxbat]

48 hours on the stir plate and the Wyeast 2352-PC starter is done. Not much in the way of krausen was to be expected from a bottom-fermenting yeast and not much was given. There were lots of eggy sulphur smells and it seems eager to flocculate (which I like). I decanted off 500ml for next time and it started to settle out immediately:

Anecdotally it feels like I've got a lot of yeast from this starter.

 

[matt76]

Out of interest, when you're building up lager yeast like this do you just do it at room temp on the kitchen side or whatever?

Or do you have the means to put your stir plate in your brew fridge for temp control?

 

[foxbat]

Or do you have the means to put your stir plate in your brew fridge for temp control?

Exactly this. Stir plate in brew fridge set to 20C on the Inkbird.

 

[foxbat]

This morning's brewday was my Munich Helles. I was up at 6:30 which is the right time for me if I want to be all done and washed up by lunch time. The recipe is a simple one:

Recipe: Mittelstrasse Helles
Style: Munich Helles

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size (fermenter): 24.00 L 
Estimated OG: 1.044 SG
Estimated Color: 6.3 EBC
Estimated IBU: 20.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.6 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Water profile: Ca:29 Mg:4 Na:10 SO4:11 Cl:46

Ingredients:
------------
Amt         Name                                             Type         %/IBU
29.51 L     Tesco Ashbeck                                    Water        -       
3.20 ml     Lactic Acid (Mash)                               Water Agent  80%      
1.00 g      Calcium Chloride (Mash)                          Water Agent  -       
0.20 g      Calcium Chloride (Sparge)                        Water Agent  -       
0.20 ml     Lactic Acid (Sparge)                             Water Agent  80%     

4.00 kg     Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner (4.0 EBC)             Grain        90.0 %  
0.44 kg     Weyermann Carapils (3.3 EBC)                     Grain        10.0 %  

14.00 g     Magnum [10.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min                 Hop          17.1 IBUs
25.00 g     Hallertauer Hersbrucker [3.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop          3.3 IBUs

1.00 Items  Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 7.0 mins)                 Fining       -       
1.0 pkg     Munich Lager II (Wyeast Labs #2352-PC)           Yeast        -       

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 4.44 kg
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash In           Add 24.51 L of water at 71.6 C          66.0 C        60 min       

Sparge: Dunk sparge with 5L

No problems to report on the brew day. Everything went as planned and I even hit the estimated pre-boil and OG figures exactly which shows that I'm calibrated correctly for the Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner and need to remember to adjust downwards the next time I use Crisp Maris Otter to avoid a stronger than expected outcome!

The wort is of course an extra-pale lager colour.:

The quoted temperature range from Wyeast for #2352 is 11.1-16.6C (52-62F) which is quite high and wide for a genuine lager yeast. I always plan to ferment right in the middle of the range which makes it 13.8C. The ground water is still nice and cold so I was able to get the wort down to 20C with the immersion chiller. It's now in the brew fridge coming down the rest of the way to 13.8C when I'll pitch the yeast. Hopefully by tonight.

 

[BeerCat]

Your beers are looking awesome as always mate. Been brewing a few Helles type lagers myself recently myself. A great style of beer. Wyeast 2007 is the most flocculant lager yeast i have tried so far. All the others seem similar but that drops clear in the flask after a few days in the fridge. Just bought some clear choice malt and wondering if you need to add finings in the fermenter to clear it?

 

[foxbat]

Your beers are looking awesome as always mate. Been brewing a few Helles type lagers myself recently myself. A great style of beer. Wyeast 2007 is the most flocculant lager yeast i have tried so far. All the others seem similar but that drops clear in the flask after a few days in the fridge. Just bought some clear choice malt and wondering if you need to add finings in the fermenter to clear it?

Cheers BeerCat, I have a couple of Pilsners planned for later in the year and might give 2007 a try if it's in stock with a good long date on it when I need it. I haven't used Clear Choice in a while but looking back at my notes I did use it for a batch that went in bottles so it would not have been fined and my notes say "sample looks very clear". All of the batches that went into a corny would have been fined in the keg.

 

[foxbat]

Kegging day today for my Munich Helles after a total of 3 weeks in the fermenter. The first 5 days or so was about 13.5C (middle of the range for Wyeast 2352 ) and when I noticed it slowing down then I raised it to 16C for the rest of the time.

FG was 1.006 for an ABV of 5.0%. I got 1 keg and 3 bottles from it. The keg was fined with Clear-It, purged with 5x15psi and is now on at 20psi for a set-and-forget carbonation and conditioning. The sample jar tasted fine and the trub cake smelled lovely so it looks like it'll be a good one.

 

[matt76]

Is your hydrometer off by a point? I'm reading that as 1.005.

Or have you finally succumbed and got yourself a Tilt and now take that as the gold standard?

 

[foxbat]

Is your hydrometer off by a point? I'm reading that as 1.005.

It's off by 1. I went a whole year before bothering to check it.

Or have you finally succumbed and got yourself a Tilt and now take that as the gold standard?

 

[foxbat]

I'm going to brew a Munich Dunkel this weekend despite not having tried my Helles yet. I'm sure it'll be fine. That means last night was yeast starter night so I made up a 2.5l starter wort in my big flask.

Two litres-worth of the yeast will go into the beer and 500ml will get saved back for the next brew. I got the Wyeast 2352-PC overbuild out of the fridge.

The spent wort on top of the yeast was extremely clear and when I tasted it was very crisp and clean despite being fermented at 20C which bodes well for the lagers that I'm making with it.

After decanting the spent wort I put the two together and the flask is now sitting in the brew-fridge on the stir plate at 20C. A couple of days should do it and then I'll chill it ready for brew day on Sunday.