Homebrew

[Bl4cK32]

Howdy,

reading the thread on hombrew in the japanese section

linky : http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...143553&st=0

got me thinking of laying down another batch of beer. Anyone here got brands / types that they like better than others?

Im looking for a lighter beer this time, so i can enjoy a few without being a cheap date

Thinking of maybe trying the Japanese ones listed in the thread i mentioned too...

My birthdays coming round soon, so i think its time i laid the foundations for my own whiskey still

[4door_Sleeper]

I home brew.

I used to do a lot of beer, but now brew spirits. I make a mean Vodka, scotch and Burbourn, but have made many others.

[Bl4cK32]

whats the setup costing like? Any things to lookout for?

[4door_Sleeper]

The cost is in getting a quality refulx still (I didnt want to trust a home made job, but in principal they are simple enough)

You can sometimes find them on ebay and the traiding post, but I bought my whole set new for around $300 I think, but the bigger sets that can distill 25L are about an extra $200.

If you are a spirit drinker they can pay for themselves in a very short time. (1.125L Vodka $6 - this is one of the cheapest, but eern the Liquers are about $15)

[Bl4cK32]

cool Found a few designs on the web for different still types, but yes i like the idea of going relfux type. 1 pass only is all i could take i think....(the faster the better)

Does anyone have any empty long necks beer bottles they wanna part with for a small fee?

I need (for 1 batch) about 30 of them. So its time to start buying the longies

[TBee]

Ive done a few batches and if you do thngs right the brewhas can come out tasting as good as somehting you'd buy and if not better if you've done well!

I do my buying from The Jovial Monk - in Duthy Street, Parkside (think that;s right), good prices and good advice. He's got brand new 640ml bottles, think @ $1 each....I grabbed a sweet 30 last time. If you keep using them they dont end up costing much in the long run, plus then you dont have to worry so much about cracks in old glass...

[writeoff]

I might be able to help with some long necks. I'd only have a few personally but two of my mates tend to buy them and I know they haven't returned the empties for some time now. I'll ask next time I speak with them. How many do you want?

[Bl4cK32]

COOL

the more the merrier. For 1 batch i need about 30 longies, so whatever u have i will take.

I prefer using the glass over the plastic (even though some say it makes no difference)

[4door_Sleeper]

2L PET bottles work well, but you need to keep beer out of the light (hence why most bottles are dark brown/green). The 2L bottles catch the sediment and produce a nice beer but you need to drink 2L at a time (not that I see a problem with that)

[Bl4cK32]

Just spoke to a mate who works for the malting place that supplies Coopers, Heineken etc all the malts that they use to make the beer.

He said i can get some 50kg bags of malt ready to make my own wort for brewing.

Can anyone say bulk brews

[4door_Sleeper]

Just spoke to a mate who works for the malting place that supplies Coopers, Heineken etc all the malts that they use to make the beer.

He said i can get some 50kg bags of malt ready to make my own wort for brewing.

Can anyone say bulk brews

The malt is only a small part of the process, and the easiest to get.

The yeasts, water, temperatures and other bits added to the wort etc are all critical to the final flavour. (but 50kg of malted barley will be a good start for lots of nice beer)

PS Heineken is from the Nederlands, so I doubt they source malt from SA, but Coopers certainly did.

[Bl4cK32]

They export malt world wide, and he did tell me Heineken among the places they ship to.

Im still doing the research on how to make my own wort properly and yer its a long process with getting temps right.

Im off to the brew shop tomorrow to have a chat, and check out my options there as well

Coopers almost own the malting place now -

We own 75 percent of the Adelaide Malting Company. It supplies Coopers but also it's now the third biggest maltster in Australia. It is also the number one supplier of malt barley to Heineken and Carlsberg in Asia.

link - http://www.safoodcentre.com/buyershub/a8_p...owcasingcoopers

as well as that place, they also work along side Joe white malting

Edited January 1, 2007 by Bl4cK32

[4door_Sleeper]

Thing have changed then (and I was wrong)

When I worked for CBH Joe White used to supply Coopers.

Your biggest problem making the Wort will be getting that volume hot. A BBQ or some Wok burners usually work, all you need is a container.

[Bl4cK32]

Yup, he mentioned they sold out a while back (ive seen his uniform change 2 or 3 times since hes worked there for over 6/7 years now)

Just looking at the book me mate lent me now -

Home Brewing in Australia (by Laurie Strachan) - great book by the way, as its local...

It explains thing in great detail, and it appears i need about a 8-9 Lt pot to boil the malt / hops in + something to strain it into the fermenter.

Funnily enough they recommend culturing your yeast from Coopers sparkling ale / pale ale / extra stout and using that as a liquid yeast for better results....

I think the kitchen will be the first try (with extraction fans running) until im booted out by the mrs

[4door_Sleeper]

We strain it through a stocking (cheap and easy)

Looks like you will have to buy a carton of coopers just to get some yeast - Lifes tough.

You may want to wait for some cooler weather (April perhaps) as I believe Coopers ferment at quite low temps for Sparkling and Pale. Whilst the yeast may work at 25 degrees the taste will be different to a beer brewed at 16 degrees. One of my mates set up a fridge and fiddled with the thermostat settings so that he could brew beers in much cloder temps.

Did you know Coopers are offering tours through their factory. You can see the whole process and taste the end products.

[Bl4cK32]

lol...yep. Suggested in the book that an old stocking is the way to go. Ill get the mrs to buy me some, so i dont get the weird looks

Ive got a room here at home which is suprisingly always cold (a family member passed away in it). Pretty eerie, but makes for a good constant temperature. Ive also got ducted reverse cycle, so i can choose the room i want and set it for say 23 degrees if it gets too hot

Whats your favourites 4door? Brewed anything other than Coopers kit ones? Im thinking of trying the Crown ale kit then a Japanese (Kirin), followed by some Kilkenny Cream style ones.

If i get through those, i will start with the experimenting with the malt my mate can get, and honey etc...

[4door_Sleeper]

I didnt tend to use the kit beers too much (started that way then went into making my own of varying styles)

Experimented with a variety of yeasts, temperatures, and differing amounts/types of Hops, even Vanilla pods in the wort. I wouldt'n make the same brew twice as I would end up with too much. If you brew one after another after another (so that I could store them - never drink them under 3 months old) you end up with large quantities.

3 friends and I chipped in together and bought a pallet of bottles from down on Port Rd (green bottles but they were press tops rather than screw tops and quite thick glass).

[Adz2332]

i work for a recycling centre, and we sell pop top long necks for around $4 a dozen. Give them a good clean and they work out cheap. we sell heaps!

[Bl4cK32]

thanks fer the tips ;

Adz, which recyclers is that as i think my local doesnt want to sell any

edit/ just rang the next closest place to me, and they sell long necks for 15c each which is about $4.50 for 30 of em.

Edited January 2, 2007 by Bl4cK32

[Adz2332]

thanks fer the tips ;

Adz, which recyclers is that as i think my local doesnt want to sell any

edit/ just rang the next closest place to me, and they sell long necks for 15c each which is about $4.50 for 30 of em.

Thats pretty good, but make sure u are getting the Pop top kind, its hard to seal the bottles without it. wprk for the scout recycling centres. we have 8 yards so depending where u live to which one is closest. but the Yard at Port Adelaide always has a few