My Homebrewing Escapades

[JoshW]

That looks pretty cool! I had friends that pressure fermented (without fancy tools though), but they always forgot about them until one of the bottles finally exploded. Oops, haha.

That sounds like they were at the secondary ferment/carbonating stage and have either mixed up their sugar ratios, or bottled too early and got a bottle bomb. You really need to leave the beer until you get stable readings for at least 3 days. Yeast can stall and then surprise, your hard work has ended up on the walls and not in your belly. Hopefully that didn't stop them and they refined their processes. It's a great little hobby with mostly delicious rewards.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Haha I'm not sure. I know they had this mishap a couple years in a row. Didn't seem like they learned from their mistakes, haha.
I still have a bad batch of honey in the back and I'm really not sure how to get rid of it. It's probably abt 10kgs of honey + whatever we added to it at the time. We've been willfully ignoring it for months now, but one day we'll have to clean it up...

 

[DThille]

At least honey in and of itself doesn't go bad. The question would be what was added to it and is there a possibility of that having mold / spoilage (if any is on top exposed to air...I wouldn't expect any issues if it was mixed in).

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

True, sadly it was mixed with yeast, water and I'm pretty sure the waterlock dried up after all these months. Not risking it...

 

[Tinks Go Lightly]

Hi all.

Recently started getting back into homebrewing to save some money (lol).

This evening I poured the result of my first partial mash and I must say I won't be going back to the kit and kilo method of old.

Very, very decent NEIPA/Hazy IPA style

My fermentables were;

1.7kg tin Coopers Australian Pale Ale
1.4kg Barrett Burston Pale Malt
375g rolled oats
500g Light Dry Malt Extract

I used US-05 for my yeasties, and fairly substantial hop additions (which I will post the detail tomorrow - my toddler has taken my brew book into his room and he's in bed).

Starting Gravity was 1.050 and final gravity was 1.010 resulting in a reasonable 5.25%.

My next brew will be saying goodbye to the rim entirely, using ale malt and LDME and doing my own hop additions during the boil.

My system currently is just a Big W 19L pot ($20) and a Bunnings paint strainer bag (3 for $9) - cheap and cheerful, budget BIAB.

Cheers!

Oooh exciting! I dont drink beer.. unaustralian, i know. But i love, love honey wine. Just put a fresh batch down using bread yeast instead of champagne yeast. Never done it that way before. If it works, im going to try the next batch with a sourdough starter.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Let

Oooh exciting! I dont drink beer.. unaustralian, i know. But i love, love honey wine. Just put a fresh batch down using bread yeast instead of champagne yeast. Never done it that way before. If it works, im going to try the next batch with a sourdough starter.

Let us know how it goes! I know my partner would be very interested

 

[daveb]

ran across some old mead recipes i have made over the years while looking for some other recipes to send Mandy so have a fun read of variations. for number of years i owned a brew supply store and late wife had a cross stich and craft store , then i went to work as a brew master for a pub ( with secondary hats as bar keep and part time chef in kitchen ) here are a few I have actually entered in competitions. Chuckles a bit i could fill a whole area with recipes i have for beers wine and meads not to mention regular cooking.

20 lb. (9.07 kg) honey (raspberry, orange, or blackberry blossom recommended)
5+ gal. (19 L) water (bottled spring water is best)
7 g (1.4 tsp.) ground cinnamon
7 g (1.4 tsp.) ground nutmeg
7 g (1.4 tsp.) ground, dried ginger (optional)
1 g (0.2 tsp.) ground cloves (optional)
1 small vanilla bean
Yeast
15 g (3 tsp.) rehydrated yeast (Lalvin 71B-1122 or Wyeast 1056 recommended)
----------------------

6 lbs Raw Wildflower Honey
1 Gallon Apple Juice
3.5 Gallons Water
1 oz. Wyeast Wine Yeast Nutrient
5 Campden Tablets (if desired)
5 packets Lalvin D-47 yeast
4 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
6.4% abv
----------------------

7.25 lbs Raw Wildflower Honey
4.5 Gallons Water
1 oz. Wyeast Wine Yeast Nutrient
5 Campden Tablets (if desired)
2 oz. Falconer's Flight 7C's Hop Blend
5 packets Lalvin D-47 yeast
7% abv
----------------------

5 lbs Raw Wildflower Honey
4.5 Gallons Water
1 oz. Wyeast Wine Yeast Nutrient
5 Campden Tablets (if desired)
1 Packet of Wyeast Dry Mead
5.7% abv.
----------------------

Ingredients:
5.5 lbs Raw Wildflower Honey
.5 Gallons pure Cranberry Juice
4 Gallons Water
1 oz. Wyeast Wine Yeast Nutrient
A few packets of saison yeast (if desired)
8.5% abv.
----------------------

Ingredients:
9 lbs Raw Wildflower Honey
4.5 Gallons Water
1 oz. Wyeast Wine Yeast Nutrient
5 Campden Tablets (if desired)
5 packets Lalvin D-47 yeast