First Brew....Extract or Mash?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Barry on October 5, 2008 at 10:06am

With a fridge controller, unfortunately more spend, but totally worth it in my opinion.
This time of year though, around Auckland anyway, thats basement temp for me, I can leave my fermenters on the basement floor and they only just get to around 21 at high krausen.

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Permalink Reply by studio1 on October 7, 2008 at 5:19pm

How often should I be taking a Hydrometer reading during the fermentation process - I haven't taken any to date (4 days in - apart from the OG reading) - presume there is no need until I expect primary to be complete?
Is it ok to take the reading via the spigot at the bottom of the barrel (seems like there's a lot of sediment in the bottom)?


Thanks,

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Permalink Reply by JoKing on October 7, 2008 at 5:30pm

You can take as many readings as you like from the tap in the bottom of your fermenter. Just wash it out once you're done (from the outside).

I often taste the sample once I have taken the reading to get an idea of how the brew is going: ie. at the end of fermentation to see how the diacetyl clean up is going. You have to worry when you tase the sample... then consider pouring a whole pint to drink straight out of th fermenter!!!!!

Don't tell me I'm the only one who thinks this!!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Kempicus on October 7, 2008 at 5:38pm

not at all....i generally taste it every day it's fermenting!
Oh and i don't use a hydrometer until it's finished fermenting, i use the beer whisperer approach and listen to it, once it's stopped 'snap, crackle and popping' it's ready to bottle!

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Permalink Reply by HerrSchnapps on October 7, 2008 at 5:45pm

Often! I leave it until it stops bubbling before taking the first reading, generally its at about 3/4ths the way there by then, and it takes another week to get down to bottling FG. My ferments are slow... oh, and I got my Wyeast today! Woo! (its quite warm though, postie just left in the postbox, it sat there all day :( )

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Permalink Reply by studio1 on October 7, 2008 at 9:28pm

ok, gravity down to 1.017 from 1.068 - she's gonna be a strong brew. tastes pretty bloody awful to be honest - bitter type taste that lingers for ages...still only 4 days into it.

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Permalink Reply by Reviled on October 8, 2008 at 9:28am

Alot of that bitterness will die down with age mate, I did a "Sheep Shagger" NZIPA with about 75-80IBUs and it was undrinkable out of the fermenter, actually made me gag it was so chronically bitter, but now after 4 weeks in the bottle its beautifull :o) Hops get less intense over time and the malt will stand out a bit more also.

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