Ever done a homebrew?

[Andrew Walker]

Could one be so bold to say the days of craft beer are over for ism

[Big Dog]

Good news just before our game. After a week of worrying about my homebrew not working, I tested it with a hydrometer and it's ALMOST ready (also tested the WIP beer and it's passable - just needs a few more days).

Went to a brewing shop today and got some more kit for the next batch too (where they talked me through the brewing process and helped me analyse how my current batch is going). I'm excited!!!

Good stuff Izzy. Are you bottling or kegging?

[Andrew Walker]

Good stuff Izzy. Are you bottling or kegging?

Would not surprise me if he is drinking it straight from the still

[ism22]

Good stuff Izzy. Are you bottling or kegging?

I'll be bottling this time because the kit (which I got for free) came with bottles and carbonation tablets. However, long-term I'd like to get a more advanced setup and start doing some kegging. For now I'm just gonna experiment with a few different yeasts, sugars and canned worts. Baby steps...

The current batch is taking longer than the instructions stated but it's starting to smell like beer and my thermometer's always at 20'C (it's got lotsa froth too). I suspect it's gonna turn out average but drinkable, which is an upgrade as I was about to pour it out.

What's your setup like? Also, anything you suggest getting/avoiding? I'm all ears...

[Big Dog]

I'll be bottling this time because the kit (which I got for free) came with bottles and carbonation tablets. However, long-term I'd like to get a more advanced setup and start doing some kegging. For now I'm just gonna experiment with a few different yeasts, sugars and canned worts. Baby steps...

The current batch is taking longer than the instructions stated but it's starting to smell like beer and my thermometer's always at 20'C (it's got lotsa froth too). I suspect it's gonna turn out average but drinkable, which is an upgrade as I was about to pour it out.

What's your setup like? Also, anything you suggest getting/avoiding? I'm all ears...

I haven't done a brew for few years. I'm tempted to get back into though now.
I think the carbonation tablets are unnecessary and may not dissolve as good as plain sugar. I never tried kegging, just bottled all my brews.
The best brews I did were the no-name canned worts, and raw sugar.
You seem to be on top of it mate. I canna say much more.

One thing, if your brew doesn't taste any good, the missus can always drink shandies

[ism22]

I haven't done a brew for few years. I'm tempted to get back into though now.
I think the carbonation tablets are unnecessary and may not dissolve as good as plain sugar. I never tried kegging, just bottled all my brews.
The best brews I did were the no-name canned worts, and raw sugar.
You seem to be on top of it mate. I canna say much more.

One thing, if your brew doesn't taste any good, the missus can always drink shandies

Interesting! So I'll get solid carbonation if I just add a measured amount of dextrose?

[Big Dog]

Interesting! So I'll get solid carbonation if I just add a measured amount of dextrose?

I found dextrose tainted the flavour. Raw sugar was the best for me.

[ism22]

I found dextrose tainted the flavour. Raw sugar was the best for me.

Oh cool! Another thing to try for the next batch.

Out of interest how long did your brews take? Mine's been 2 weeks and there's still a fair bit of froth (though it's calming down). Temperature's a steady 18-20'C depending on the time of the day. It's starting to smell 'fruity' too, which gives me some confidence it'll be drinkable (my son said it smells like strawberries).

[Big Dog]

Oh cool! Another thing to try for the next batch.

Out of interest how long did your brews take? Mine's been 2 weeks and there's still a fair bit of froth (though it's calming down). Temperature's a steady 18-20'C depending on the time of the day. It's starting to smell 'fruity' too, which gives me some confidence it'll be drinkable (my son said it smells like strawberries).

A fruity smell is good. My brew times varied depending on the season, but two weeks is ok. In fact, the longer the better, to a point. I had a couple of batches fully ferment in under two days, and they tasted rather ordinary. (good for shandies).

[ism22]

A fruity smell is good. My brew times varied depending on the season, but two weeks is ok. In fact, the longer the better, to a point. I had a couple of batches fully ferment in under two days, and they tasted rather ordinary. (good for shandies).

Awesome. The froth's now settling down to the point where I can see golden lager around the edges (but the middle's still frothy). Hopefully I'll be able to bottle it within a few more days.

[ism22]

All bottled now. I went with the carbonation tablets as I had so many so we'll see how it goes. However, I'm fairly confident as the product I tested (followed the manual & did the gravity test) looked/smelled/tasted like beer. Though I have no expertise... if it started off as liquid Vegemite full of sugar, I think that the transformation into beer is almost there.

Now I'm just hoping that none of my (plastic, provided) bottles explode. I'm reasonably confident that they won't as I've done the gravity test (so am fairly confident that the initial 1kg of dextrose has all fermented) and I poured 23L (minus test quantities) into the 30 bottles provided. While I didn't measure the '2mm from the screw part' exactly, all the bottles look fairly even. So! Pretty confident they won't explode

FWIW I sanitised my fermenter last night and started a new batch of 'Mangrove Jack Munich Lager' using malt extract instead of dextrose and a 'premium' yeast from the brewing shop. While my first batch is still ~2 weeks away, I'm optimistic that this will be an improvement on the first batch. Guess I'll know hmmm... by about the time I get back from Japan in July, ay! haha

[Big Dog]

Sounds like a successful brew Izzy. You've got me thinking about getting back into it.

[ism22]

Sounds like a successful brew Izzy. You've got me thinking about getting back into it.

Cheers. Yes I'm now tempted to pop one in the fridge and see how it tastes (outta curiosity). However, they've only been bottled for a week so I reckon I'll wait at least another week before sampling. Getting exciting!

You should totally do one as you've had success with them in the past. Gives you something to look forward to during a dud season

[Big Dog]

How's the brew coming along Izzy?

[ism22]

How's the brew coming along Izzy?

It's going alright thanks!

The first batch is called a 'lager' but to me it tastes sorta like one of those White Rabbit dark ales. It's ready for drinking now and will probably last me a few months.

I'm starting to get excited about the second batch... which I'll call Jizzybräu. It's still in the fermenter but after about 3 weeks of brewing, most of the foaming has stopped (just needs a few more days at ~18'C before I'll be comfortable bottling it). It's the brew where I've used the 'Munich Lager' wort, a malt extract (instead of dextrose) and a hipster yeast (which seems to have gone better than the last).

Tempting to print out a few labels for this one... even if I just get a few cheap sticker sheets from Officeworks. Have already had a bit of interest from colleagues so would love to share it around a bit if the Jizzybräu is any good. Would be weird but if we miss out on the finals, I'd love to attend our last home game & do one in a gatorade bottle or something. Could colour it like a sports drink and sneak it in as a cheeky little bit of comfort