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vdog
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What are you brewing?
Replied Aug 24
What are you brewing?
Replied Aug 24
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On the flipside, great to see a new brewer getting some press and profile in the very same rag:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/career/news/article.cfm?c_id=141&objectid=10669792
Interesting - I've not used pale choc without the regular choc, so you could well be right about the flavour. I still think for the sake of colour you'd want to up the dark stuff though, if you have/can get some.
Seems like you'll lose quite a lot of colour using pale choc instead of the darker stuff, and I'd expect to get less of the chocolate coming through on the palate too - it's a pretty big component to miss out on in the recipe isn't it? Maybe sub in…
This sounds good - not sure how many sessions I'd be able to get to (assuming it's more than one) but a good way to get to talk to other brewers in person and taste a bunch of different beers. Pending availability, count me in.
A good hoppy NZPA last night:
90% Golden Promise
5% Light crystal
5% Dark crystal
Shedloads of hops - can't remember exactly but bittered with Pacific Jade, then big additions of Motueka and Nelson Sauvin at 15, 10, 5, and flame out. Will also have…
Over the last few days while in Sydney:
Kosciuzsko pale ale - didn't rate this at all, very ordinary IMO.
Redoak IPA - fantastic, beautiful balance with really nice firm hops against a good malt backbone.
Redoak English Pale Ale - should have had th…
You'll lose more with the stocking, plus it's just another thing to sanitise. On the positive side, easier to get the hops back out when you're done. I'd still go no sock and rely on fining to clean up any floaties...
Won't you lose the same volume whether you dry hop in primary or secondary? Or were you planning to dry hop in the keg?
If you're doing it in primary, you could just chuck the pellets in, then rouse after a few days, crash cool and let the yeast se…
Profile Information
- Favorite Beers?
- Epic pale ale
Galbraith's Bitter & Twisted
Bookbinder
Renaissance Stonecutter
C&B Monks Habit
Epic Armageddon
Anything I've brewed (I'm nothing if not biased)
- Favorite Breweries?
- Epic, Hallertau, Emersons, Renaissance, Harringtons, Croucher
- Favorite Bars/Pubs?
- Galbraiths and Hallertau (the latter being miles away so not visited often...), and the Cock&Bull.
- About Me:
- 30-ish, living in Auckland and still getting my head round this brewing lark. I brew in a co-op with my brother-in-law and a good mate, and just finally got my kegging setup sorted so don't have to bottle anymore!
Vdog's Blog
Commissioning the new brewery
I thought I’d drop a blog on here outlining our first brew in the new brewery – thanks to Barry for advice on the use of hot water cylinders – we’re stoked with the results!
The brew went really well on Sunday, considering that the brewery has been completely reworked so we were starting with a brand new (to us) setup that hadn’t yet been calibrated! I’ll be adding sight-glasses to the vessels before the next brew, so hopefully that will make things a bit easier.
For the sake of explanation, w… Continue
The brew went really well on Sunday, considering that the brewery has been completely reworked so we were starting with a brand new (to us) setup that hadn’t yet been calibrated! I’ll be adding sight-glasses to the vessels before the next brew, so hopefully that will make things a bit easier.
For the sake of explanation, w… Continue
Posted on July 6, 2009 at 11:00am — 20 Comments
Comment Wall (10 comments)
- At 1:16pm on April 8, 2010,
Daron said… - Sounds good mate ! Send me your numbers or you can call me on 4810508 (goes to my cell if I'm not at my desk)
- At 10:01pm on January 10, 2010,
JackoNZ said… - Awesome!! That first pint should taste fantastic! Thanks for the kegkits.com link, I'll check that out too. Hopefully I can get kitted out by the end of the month and be pouring a beer from the keg myself.
- At 11:00pm on January 9, 2010,
JackoNZ said…
- Nice one mate. Did you put your system together from different sources then rather than go a keg system from one of the various places? I'm thinking the same, source some kegs from Hallertau hopefully, then a reg and stuff from elsewhere. What have you set yourself up with? Couple of kegs? What kind of regulator?
- At 11:47am on November 25, 2009,
Nick T said… - Hi there vdog! Just have a query on your elements - are they the normal hot water cylinder 'prong' types, and if so, it there an issue cleaning them? I am thinking about an electric kettle and want to put in 2 x 2000 kW (for an 80 litre kettle), but was worried that the normal ones would be difficult to keep clean.....
- At 10:49am on November 25, 2009,
James P said… - Not yet, it's still sitting in the backyard! Been working on my efficiency with my current set up albeit sporadic! I have collected all the steel for my stand, so in the next month will be learning how to weld and weld up the frame. Will decide on which vessels to use then! How is your co-op going?
- At 9:24pm on August 3, 2009,
James P said…
- 75L... hmm that will take up all my kegs... maybe I need to get a co-op with a couple of mates to help bottle it!
I have yet to consider the right set up for heating. I see you guys used 3kW for and had issues with getting 80L up to boil for the kettle, which sort of pushes me back to gas for the kettle. The HLT will be set up with a timer to come on before I get my lazy ass out of bed on brew day. :) Are you guys using the HWC thermostat?
- At 4:25pm on August 3, 2009,
James P said…
- Thanks for that. It's an older one, probably 1960's but it has the copper vessel which I want to look at for HLT conversion. At 270 litres, if I cut it in half I can easily double my batches from my 50L keggle.
I'll take a look and if it looks dodgy research it some more!
- At 8:24am on July 15, 2009,
Reviled said… - Hey bud, it was the recipe that Joseph posted on here, but I changed it a bit.. Can PM you the recipe when I get home tonight...
Cheers
- At 3:08pm on June 12, 2009,
Barry said… - 45l !! WOOHOO!
That's awesome. I've steered clear of double batches, maybe I need to give one a try :)
- At 8:11am on April 22, 2009,
Barry said…
- Hey mate,
yeah I use a hot water cylinder. It's copper. Couldn't tell you what size.
I cut it in half, the bottom half is my HLT and the top half my boiler. I only make keg size batches, I reckon the boiler would struggle with any more than say 35lt - I would probably have to leave the lid half on to maintain a boil (of course I could add another element but I would have to rheostat one of them for some control otherwise my keg-size batches would scorch).
One of the issues I have is element placement. In my HLT the top one is pretty high up, and the temp probe is above that - means I have to have it quite full to be able to use it. In my kettle the minimum boil volume is about 18lt. Just over half of my usual batch sparge volume, so I have to complete the sparge before I can switch the heat on. Bummer.
If your gear already does 50lt (!!) I'm not sure what you'd gain from using a hot water cylinder.
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