Home Brewing

R

[)roi(]

Guest
I await with baited breath.


Today, I brewed for the first time since early March. All my kegs are empty! FUCK! How did that even happen?
(There may have been a chick involved)
Sucks when that happens... fortunately I came home to a well stocked fridge.
 
R

[)roi(]

Guest
Some arbitrary notes / tips

Sugar fermentations (alcoholic seltzers)
For the sugar brewed alcoholic beverages (end result is an alcoholic seltzer like drink); I started using:
This works out quite expensive; once you factor in the cost of sugar, cost of flavour extracts and non fermentable sugars.

A far better and affordable solution is to buy:
Whilst the Distillique products will require you to manually measure out an equivalent turbo yeast compound; the price and quantity is simply a no brainer:
  • Brewcraft's at a combined price of ~R200 (3 products: Turbo yeast, Turbo Clear, Turbo Carbon) is for a single 20l batch
  • Whereas the Distillique products are typically for 10 to more equivalent batches (the bentonite clay is for >100 batches), and you can order even larger quantities at a lower unit price if needed.

Flavour extracts that can be used for alcoholic seltzers and beers
The addition of flavour extracts to enhance the flavour of beers, ciders and alcoholic seltzers. For example; it is quite normal that when fermenting apple juice; the final gravity ends up below 1.000 -- leaving you with very dry and bitter cider that is not enjoyable for most people. this very dry cider also doesn't have much Apple flavour left over; you're left with something that tastes like sour alcohol.

To correct this commercial cider makers and home brewers:
  1. Back sweeten their ciders using a non fermentable sugar e.g. Erythritol is popular choice to avoid having to sterilize their bottles half way through the carbonation to lock in the sweetness.
  2. Add flavour extracts e.g. https://flavournation.co.za/shop/apple-flavouring/
In South Africa the best unsweetened flavour extract supplier I've found is https://flavournation.co.za/flavour-nation-range/

Brewing a natural fruity flavoured beer
If you'd however prefer to brew a naturally fruity flavoured beer like Hefeweizen with e.g. Banana esters -- then I'd suggest you use a locally available yeast that is know to produce a high level of esters (natural fruity flavoured molecules); also keep in mind with a Hefeweizen the amount of wheat used has a notable impact on the ester profile e.g. less than 50% will typically produce more phenols flavours (e.g. clove), and higher than 50% will produce more esters. Also open fermentations for the first 2 to 3 days will also bolster the ester production.

...but it you want to try a butter scotch or apple flavoured beer, then https://flavournation.co.za would be a simple way to get there.
 

biometrics

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Messages
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@[)roi(] Glad to see you post your detailed posts again. Certainly was a factor in me getting into this. Though I'm still stuck with cans until I can upgrade the structure outside into a brew room (already have all the gear). Later this year perhaps.
 
R

[)roi(]

Guest
Btw... when one looks at the cost of the Speidel Braaumeister 200l it's alarmingly expensive; however we've approached this as a brewing club of sorts, where we commit to all contribute an equal share of the expenses, and an equal share of the effort to brew and bottle the beers.
The same concept has been done for scuba divings clubs where the costs of the equipment including compressors, diving rubber duck, etc. are shared;.

So in essence; we've pooled our resources to brew together with equipment we now jointly own, as opposed to each of us having to separately purchase our own equipment. Naturally you'll need a venue to house this; in our case my farm has more than sufficient space in my existing brew room for this. So far we've agreed to meet on average every 2 weeks to both brew, bottle and braai. This weekend will be our first run on the new Speidel Braaumeister 200l and using the 220l drum fermenters. Legally we're still home brewers and hence don't require a liquor license.
 

biometrics

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Joined
Oct 17, 2019
Messages
20,270
Btw... when one looks at the cost of the Speidel Braaumeister 200l it's alarmingly expensive; however we've approached this as a brewing club of sorts, where we commit to all contribute an equal share of the expenses, and an equal share of the effort to brew and bottle the beers.
The same concept has been done for scuba divings clubs where the costs of the equipment including compressors, diving rubber duck, etc. are shared;.

So in essence; we've pooled our resources to brew together with equipment we now jointly own, as opposed to each of us having to separately purchase our own equipment. Naturally you'll need a venue to house this; in our case my farm has more than sufficient space in my existing brew room for this. So far we've agreed to meet on average every 2 weeks to both brew, bottle and braai. This weekend will be our first run on the new Speidel Braaumeister 200l and using the 220l drum fermenters. Legally we're still home brewers and hence don't require a liquor license.
Sounds very communist.

















Ha ha, j/k.
 
R

[)roi(]

Guest
@[)roi(] Glad to see you post your detailed posts again. Certainly was a factor in me getting into this. Though I'm still stuck with cans until I can upgrade the structure outside into a brew room (already have all the gear). Later this year perhaps.
Thanks for that.

I've was experimenting quite a bit with sugar fermentations prior to my trip with mixed results... they were largely a mix bag -- problematic because of the concentrates I was using... For anyone wanting to try their hand at alcoholic seltzers I certainly would advice avoiding my early recipes mentioning this. I'll cover a far better way to make alcoholic flavoured seltzers in a future post; where the option to back sweeten them including controlling how much is completely flexible independently for both flavours and sugars.

Biggest draw backs with the concentrates were:
  • Impossible to balance the sweetness and flavour because the concentrate is a premix of sugar and flavour at a certain concentrate that only works well for plain water -- mixes can taste too sweet when mixed with alcoholic water. FYI the concentrates I last used was Slimsy sold at Checkers and Spar.
  • Preservatives were not always clearly mentioned -- resulting in a drink that would not carbonate in the bottle.
 
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R

[)roi(]

Guest
Sounds very communist.

















Ha ha, j/k.
Nope that's a very capitalist solution.
Communism would require mandated taxes and a self appointed dictator who would do none of the work, but make all the decisions including how much beer if any the serfs (aka slaves) get as part of their monthly stipend. Naturally the dictator would liberally share the beer with his family and friends who also did none of the work.

Ps. the unwritten house rules strictly forbid any socialist / communist a-holes. If the applicant is left leaning, we direct them to their nearest SASSA bottle store.
 
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biometrics

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Messages
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Difference appears to be: concentrated wort versus DME; i.e. similar product to Beerplus Wort Brewing kits (and a similar price). https://www.beerplus.co.za/category/wort-brewing-kit/266

As for all grain... is there a buddy or two or three or more... who'd be willing to form a beer club with you.
Principle is many hands make light work.
I only know @Spizz around here and he's kinda busy with stuff (he buys retail *spits*). @Papa Smurf is a bit further but he has no taste. ;)

I've got everything I need, just need to add a roof and other things to the outdoor structure then I have a brew room.
 
R

[)roi(]

Guest
Where did @Snyper564 go?

Would be good to get an update on his ongoing use of kveik. I still haven't decided to pursue kveik; largely because it's more expensive than dry yeast, and would require harvesting to reduce the cost to the same level as bulk buying dry yeast.

Anyway the appeal of kveik was fast fermentation without off flavours at high temperatures. A new fermentis yeast that they recently released called SafAle HA-18 shares a number of similarities with kveik e.g. high temperature tolerance 25C to 35C with a very fast fermentation rate.

Plus it's produces a very high ester count i.e. fruity flavours and is highly tolerant to high ABVs e.g. it can brew up to 18%.

Also from experience with brewing with sugar only; I have found that almost any fermentation can be sped up significantly by adding yeast extract (or any yeast including extract from the trub) at the end of the boil, and then feeding the yeast with DAP during the fermentation (di-ammonium phosphate for additional nitrogen). This btw is how turbo yeasts are made, for example:
  • A high ABV tolerant yeast mixed with yeast extract, DAP and bentonite clay.
 
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biometrics

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2019
Messages
20,270
Where did @Snyper564 go?

Would be good to get an update on his ongoing use of kveik. I still haven't decided to pursue kveik; largely because it's more expensive than dry yeast, and would require harvesting to reduce the cost to the same level as bulk buying dry yeast.

Anyway the appeal of kveik was fast fermentation without off flavours at high temperatures. A new fermentis yeast that they recently released called SafAle HA-18 shares a number of similarities with kveik e.g. high temperature tolerance 25C to 35C with a very fast fermentation rate.

Plus it's produces a very high ester count i.e. fruity flavours and is highly tolerant to high ABVs e.g. it can brew up to 18%.

Also from experience with brewing with sugar only; I have found that almost any fermentation can be sped up significantly by adding yeast extract (or any yeast including that extract from the trub) at the end of the boil, and then feeding the yeast with DAP during the fermentation (di-ammonium phosphate for additional nitrogen). This btw is how turbo yeasts are made, for example:
  • A high ABV tolerant yeast mixed with yeast extract, DAP and bentonite clay.
Last seen: Jan 27, 2021
 
R

[)roi(]

Guest
I only know @Spizz around here and he's kinda busy with stuff (he buys retail *spits*). @Papa Smurf is a bit further but he has no taste. ;)

I've got everything I need, just need to add a roof and other things to the outdoor structure then I have a brew room.
What's the problem with brewing without a roof in the mean time?
Isn't that just similar to brewing outside?
 
R

[)roi(]

Guest
There is nothing in the structure atm (excl the wheelie bin). Needs work.
Reason I asked is that e.g. a number of youtubers brew outside without too many problems. Naturally an enclosed structure is preferred, especially if it allow you counter tops and cupboard space.
 

biometrics

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Messages
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Reason I asked is that e.g. a number of youtubers brew outside without too many problems. Naturally an enclosed structure is preferred, especially if it allow you counter tops and cupboard space.
Guess I'm a project type. Don't want to move shit around and then dismantle it later. I want a permanent setup.
 
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