Equipment & Technique

Water Heating/Treatment

To be more efficient and save faffing around i procured an electric (Grainfather) temp controlled water heater (3.5 gallon version). The perfect size for my usual 5 gallon (~5KG grain bill) brews. One fill for the mash and another for the sparge.

• The sight-glass is very useful.

• The standard tap is poo - so i added two stainless half inch BSP ball valves, one for output to mash tun the other to top up from the mains.

Water Treatment

Have not yet had the inclination to try any water treatment. Pompey water seems to be good for my brews. Is on the 'to do' list. There is plenty of info on the topic and I'm assuming very important as beer is mainly water, but for my needs am currently making good beer without any water treatment.

Valve & Connectors

I have standardised on 1/2" stainless BSP valves. These are about £13 from eBay and are perfect for the job.

Have also gone for quick-release (Cam-Lock) connectors and silicone pipes which makes for a less messy and cleaner way of moving hot fluids around.

Hole cutting can be easily addressed with a 20mm Q-Max hole cutter, well worth the investment (£8 from eBay).

Boiling

I use a 32 litre stainless brew-pot with temperature gauge, gauze filter and two standard 1/2" BSP ball valves (bottom for emptying, top for sparge output).

You want a good rolling boil (my hob can just about cope) and am planning to upgrade to either:

• Convert the boiler to electric power

• Buy a large standalone gas powered burner ring.

Note: Careful when adding hops! As the boil will 'bloom', over-flow and stick to the lid, so lift the lid, give the hops time to settle down before getting back on with the boil (i really need to buy a bigger boil pot and large gas ring burner).

Fining

Not so keen as when i first started. So what if your booze is a little murky - i'd only be concerned if the brew i was drinking was meant to be clear and haze is all the rage these days! :)

• Irish moss: Not sure what it does, can add 5g to the last 15m of the boil and used to add to most brews

• Sachets of liquid were tried: Now no longer bother with these

• Gelatin works wonders! (dilute a sachet in boiled and cooled water, add to beer and stir, pic of alien life-forms to the right is after a day!)

• Even though i don't fine anymore most of my beers seem to settle to clear in a few weeks even if i'm trying for haze!

Mashing

I went for the (orange) cool box variety, again with standard 1/2" BSP stainless ball valve and gauze filter.

This is not temp controlled but so far i have seen no need for those kind of shenanigans.

Note(s):

1. Tend to mash at 75^oC: Higher than recommenced but am doing so as the mash tun is not heated and settles down to the desired temp ~65^oC (well it works for me)

2. Tend to spare at 80^oC: Higher than recommended but again by the time i pour it on the grain-bed it has cooled a bit

3. Now i have the water heater have lowered these numbers a bit and will probably do so again for the sparge once i sort my pump out.

Connecting

• Standardised on 1/2" stainless steel BSP valves on every bit of kit that needs them.

• All valves currently fitted with camlock quick release connectors or half inch barbs

• Silicone pipes with camlocks and hose pipe for mains supply

• Pump: have procured a pump to try moving fluids around.

Cooling

You can't pitch your yeast until the wort gas cooled to ~22^oC and as your wort is now sterile you'd like to get fermenting as quick as possible and limit the chances of anything infecting your beer.

You could just pop the lid on the boiler and leave to cool but that takes hours (and I find Brew day a pretty full on day already). I used to carry the tub to the garden and aim a hose at the tub (still took ages).

Then looked at the cost of wort chillers and being a tight fisted git made my own for about a tenner:

• Wound some micro-bore copper pipe around a biscuit tin

• Added Hozelock type connectors

• Can now cool five gallons to ~22^oC in under half an hour.

More efficient coolers and plate chillers are available but for now this does me fine!

Notes:

1. Add cooler at the end of boil to ensure sterile.

2. Ensure cooler input/outputs are connected when submerged in to hot wort - else you may get a face of super-heated steam due to any water left in the coils is viciously ejected!

Fermenting

Started out with the good old plastic buckets which worked very well.

Then invested in a beautiful SS Brewtech stainless steel conical fermenter vessel (FV), which is very shiny. Am not sure if it does a better job than a plastic bucket but is more robust/clean and has extra connections for yeast dumping and bottling etc. and is very shiny, which make everything better.

FV Temp control

• Heating: I use a heat belt around the FV connected to a two channel 'Mangrove Jacks' temp control box

• Cooling: Not yet tried (or as yet seen the need). If required will look at the kit for my VF vessel, else it'll mean buying an old fridge

• Insulate the FV with a jacket made from a foam camping/yoga mat.

Pitching Yeast

Modern dry yeasts are awesome and there are lots to choose from. I just sprinkle on to the cooled wort.

You can make a liquid starter but my view is that these companies have not invested millions for the sprinkle not to work and has never failed yet!

Harvesting Yeast

My fermenter allows me to drain of yeast, not yet tried and is on the 'to do' list.

Fermenting Notes

• I leave my brews in the FV for a minimum of two weeks and will dry hop in the FV prior to bottling

• If you want to condition longer then they recommend you rack off from the yeast (my FV allows me to dump all of this goop and continue in the one vessel if needed)

• Scum: I tend to leave alone (unlike the old days) but if I pop the lid to take a gravity reading, may - as the fancy takes me - gently remove any lumps from the surface with a sterilized slotted spoon)

• Check your specific gravity and make notes.

Pumping

Procured a food-safe pump (fish pond) and built a speed controller so i can both pump and sparge.

Will use the pump when i upgrade all connectors to camlock.

The speed controller was built to allow fast pumping and slower for sparging.

• • Worked with an old motor.

  • Did not work with pump motor, think it may be a stepper motor so will control flow with a good old 1/2" BSP ball valve to the outlet of the pump.

• Sparging will just then be a pipe adding a slow trickle of hot water to keep a head of water above the grain bed. Was looking at complicated rotating/sprinkler systems but the 'head' of water method worked very well and is much simpler!

Bottling

Currently have only used glass bottles, both 500 ml and 330 ml, Preferably brown.

Prime with ~5g of granulated white sugar depending on the brew. If you have racked of would be good to prime the whole batch to ensure each bottle gets the same amount of sugar.

I have a 5 gallon plastic pressure barrel but don't drink it that quick and doesn't taste as good.

Capping i would recommend a decent capper. The small hand-ones are not good with varying bottle types.

Am looking at 5l and 10l 'Growler' CO2 minikegs.

Note: Saisons, Belgiums and Porters seem to either have very greedy yeasts or as they were less efficient at turning sugar to alcohol tend to get over carbonated with the standard 5g of sugar for bottle conditioning so i'd suggest half of this and see how you go.

Cleaning

It is very important to make sure all kit is clean and sterile.

Especially post boil! As after all that effort why risk trashing it for the sake of a few minutes sterilising anything that now comes into contact with your beer.

I'm a messy pup but you really do need to be quite OCD with cleanliness, yes our ancients had a magic wooden spoon, open vats for the birds to 'add flavour', but you'd really have to be a dick to risk all your hard work now!

Hydrometer & Specific Gravity (SG)

Now this is a fundamental tool in your brewing kit and your friend!

Is important as it's a guide as to how your beer is getting along.

The SG is all relative to the baseline of room temperature water (with an SG of 1000).

After the boil you now have: sticky, sugary water (thin syrup) which is denser than water and will have a higher SG (think Golden Syrup as an extreme) i.e. the hydrometer won't sink so deep!

You now take the Original Gravity (OG) reading of your wort and adjust accordingly:

• Additive like lactose etc will increase the SG but are unfermentable.

• A good strong beer will have an OG around 1054.

• If you need to decrease add water.

• If you need to increase add sugar (I have no issues with having a bag of white sugar on standby).

Once primary fermentation had subsided you can then check how your brew is getting on:

• • Sterilise your hydrometer (or take a sample)

  • As the yeast is eating the sugar (and pooing alcohol) the beer (now beer as it is part alcohol) will get less dense and your hydrometer will sink lower.

When the SG settles you can bottle but I tend to leave to mature for a minimum of two weeks.

Notes:

Once you have the OG and final gravity (FG) you can do a little sum to estimate the percentage Alcohol by Volume (%ABV):

• • ABV = (FG - OG) x 0.129

  • Am not sure how accurate the above calculation as I got it from the paperwork with my ancient Hydrometer, but seems good enough for my needs and at least I'm consistent.

SG is a guide! As not all things ferment fully or at all. So if adding say lactose (unfermentable) take an SG reading before and after adding so you can take account of any impact on your ABV.

You can buy electronic SG meters but I rely on a trusty Boots one from 1974.

Good luck!

Any questions please contact me:

Egstonevonbrick@gmail.com