Home Brewing

[donburke]

Gunk on top is generally bad. Most often indicative of an infection, unless you are talking about krausen or hops floating to the top.

Gunk on top when bottled is pretty much a guarantee that the beer is off.


Speaking of brewing... Has anyone managed to do some home brewing with matrix hops? I had a taste the other day (last half-pint of a Riverside Resurrection Ale) and liked it a lot!

the gunk might just be krausen that hasn't dropped, or in a bottle it might just a fine krausen ring from the secondary fermentation of bottle priming, not always bad, but best to taste it and let your taste buds be the judge

I think the hop you are referring to is mosaic, fantastic hop, full on passionfruit, I brewed a saison that used a fair whack of mosaic a couple of months ago, i'm down to my last few glasses and the hop character is still shining ! love it

[donburke]

i emptied 35 King browns of bad beer this weekend - In the sink and not my mouth unfortunately

MY thought are i got lazy with this one and brewed it to hot - ie 28 degress most days - still bottled it with what looked like a white sort of mold on the wort-

then that continued to grow in the bottle at the top - Tasted like vinegar.

lesson lernt - Temp control

sounds like acetobacter, sad to throw the beer out

give that fermenter a good soaking and sanitise it well before you use it again

[kendoll]

the gunk might just be krausen that hasn't dropped, or in a bottle it might just a fine krausen ring from the secondary fermentation of bottle priming, not always bad, but best to taste it and let your taste buds be the judge

Yeah it is a fine sort of ring but i may just crack one this weekend and give it a taste test.

Will also check the taste of the non bottled brew and bottle/chuck depending on the result.

It still looks and smells okay.

Oh well, wasn't expecting too much from my first attempt.

Ken

[peteru]

I think the hop you are referring to is mosaic, fantastic hop, full on passionfruit, I brewed a saison that used a fair whack of mosaic a couple of months ago, i'm down to my last few glasses and the hop character is still shining ! love it

I think you may be right about it being mosaic rather than matrix.

I need to order some for the next batch. The current batch has Galaxy and Cascade and it's just not enough spice. Luckily I still have a bit of Saaz to throw into the fermenter today for a bit of aroma before the fermentation finishes.

[donburke]

I think the hop you are referring to is mosaic, fantastic hop, full on passionfruit, I brewed a saison that used a fair whack of mosaic a couple of months ago, i'm down to my last few glasses and the hop character is still shining ! love it

I think you may be right about it being mosaic rather than matrix.

I need to order some for the next batch. The current batch has Galaxy and Cascade and it's just not enough spice. Luckily I still have a bit of Saaz to throw into the fermenter today for a bit of aroma before the fermentation finishes.

try citra as well, its a powerful hop with lots of tropical fruit flavours

[kendoll]

So what would you use to give your wheat beer an orange or lemon flavour/aroma?

Would love to make something like Blue Moon.

Ken

[donburke]

So what would you use to give your wheat beer an orange or lemon flavour/aroma?

Would love to make something like Blue Moon.

Ken

orange zest, just the zest, not the pith, and be careful as a little goes a long way, try 10g for a 20 litre batch

boil for a minute or two to sanitise before adding to fermenter

[peteru]

And if you are going for the orange touch, ground up coriander seeds complement quite nicely.

I paid a visit to Dave's Homebrew in North Sydney this arvo and picked up some Mosaic and Citra. The Mosaic is in the fermenter now, the aroma was great, just what I was looking for! Thanks for the tip.

[kendoll]

So the actual zest (and seeds)? Or including the water they were boiled in too?

Ken

[peteru]

Zest (as in the top 1/2mm of the skin, just the orange bits, none of the white stuff) and the water / tea, which will have a lot of the flavour. You don't want anything from the inside of the orange , so no seeds or juice or any of the fleshy bits. Just the aromatics from the peel.

[shayneh2006]

I dropped into my local fruit shop today, and they had a "Prices reduced" table setup, when i saw and grabbed all this brew gear at 5 bucks a peice




Its a big saving for the higher end Coopers kits. They also had the Coopers Dextrose that i left behind as it works out cheaper if i get it in bulf at my Home Brew dealer.

The kits are just over their best before but at 5 bucks, i aint complaining


Shayne

[donburke]

The kits are just over their best before but at 5 bucks, i aint complaining


Shayne

I take it the effect is a higher priority than the taste for your homebrew

just being a bit of a smart arse, but I do recommend using the freshest possible ingredients if you are trying to make good beer

[shayneh2006]

just being a bit of a smart arse

I am happy that your are upfront about your status

but I do recommend using the freshest possible ingredients if you are trying to make good beer

As i said, they are just beyond their "BEST BEFORE" (not "use by"). I have no problems brewing this in the next week or two,,,,,and be my guest if you can taste the difference between it, and a batch canned yesterday .

The yeast might be getting abit old,,,,, but thats no problem (if ever it was), i have plenty of good fresh French lager yeast in my fridge ready to go .


Shayne

[donburke]

just being a bit of a smart arse

I am happy that your are upfront about your status

but I do recommend using the freshest possible ingredients if you are trying to make good beer

As i said, they are just beyond their "BEST BEFORE" (not "use by"). I have no problems brewing this in the next week or two,,,,,and be my guest if you can taste the difference between it, and a batch canned yesterday .

The yeast might be getting abit old,,,,, but thats no problem (if ever it was), i have plenty of good fresh French lager yeast in my fridge ready to go .


Shayne

thats cool, if you cant notice any difference then it doesnt matter

whats the strain of french lager yeast you have ? i have never heard of a french lager strain

[shayneh2006]

whats the strain of french lager yeast you have ? i have never heard of a french lager strain

Saflager-S23. I think its a German/Belgium Lager yeast, made/distributed by the French or,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i might be wrong



Shayne