^ I got this book for my father in law and from the few reads I’ve had seems really good.
That book that Brewcraft throw in with their kits will get you started, but just gets confusing once you want to improve things.
I’m about four brews in (would be a lot more if I could the temperature in my laundry down over summer), would be good to swap notes at some point.
Cheers P!N20. Looks like that book comes pretty well recommended elsewhere too. I’m on it.
Definitely up for comparing notes once I get up and running.
Palmer is the godfather, one of the best resources you can get. I’d also suggest checking out some of Jamil’s podcasts and recipes (The Brewing Network.com - Beer radio | The Brewing Network).
Michael Jackson’s Beer Hunter - Beer Styles
good general beer education stuff here also.
Cross-posting from the Bridges of Brisbane thread, this is what I’ve got set up for next weekend:
^^
Next year I am going to get up with a set up like this. Is it hard to maintain?
Bloody easy, and kegging takes away a lot of the hard work of bottling. Plus you never have to think ahead about putting beer in the fridge 
Plus you always have freinds, hahaha
Looks good Dan even to a non drinker
Mmmmmmmmm, Jens Voigt’s Pain Cave Porter.
Looks like a sweet setup antmandan. My first brew is currently bubbling away. Battling to keep a constant temperature though, no thanks to these cold Melbourne mornings. Also not helped by the fact that the thermometer on the side of the fermenter isn’t working, so I’ve no idea what temp it’s at. A little guesswork needed, fingers crossed it’s alright.
First batch has been bottled now for a couple of weeks, sitting inside at a nice temp. Will move it out to the shed today, with plans to crack the first one in another two weeks.
Going to brew a second batch tomorrow, and planning on doing the basic pale ale recipe in antmandan’s link (which has been pretty handy mate, thanks for writing). Still working my way through Palmer’s How to Brew as well.
Have got the fermentation fridge set up, with the STC1000 temp controller all wired up and ready to go, so I should be able to get a constant 18 degrees for fermentation, and will definitely be bulk priming this second batch now that I’ve got a second fermenter.
Quite enjoying this home brew thing, and I haven’t even drunk any of it yet.
dan, how much would it cost to get a set up like that?
Great to hear mate! It’s a never ending quest for better quality and weirder styles.
I got his for my 30th but I think they’re around $500, then you need kegs, couplers, font, line and taps. As an alternative if you can get an old chest freezer they are pretty good for converting for this purpose.
I’ve got a schwarzbier brewing at the moment. Reminding me why I hardly ever make lagers as they take so long!!! Going to save some brewing space by conditioning it in the keg at least. That said I’m very tempted to throw another lager on this weekend so I can use the yeast cake from the schwarzbier.
Kegs are good - I’ll sell around 8,000 x 50lt kegs this yr at my venue.
Closer to 9,000 actually.
Great moneysaving trick. I use to regularly pitch a wort onto a fresh yeast cake after racking. it makes for a very vigorous and fast start to fermentation. Just be aware that with a lager you will want to keep the temps in check, and not have a runaway start at high temps. better to start lowish and let the ferment generate it’s own heat.Tha extra yeast cell count of a repitch always saw me get better attenuation and a lower FG.
Planning to do an IPA tonight - last chance before my brewery (aka laundry) gets too hot.
The recipe I’m using calls for Demerera sugar, does anyone know when to introduce that into the boil? Or just add it to the fermenter? I found a vague bit of info that seemed to think ten minutes before the end of the boil was about right.
I’m excited.
Sounds great mate. I’d just boil it a bit for 5 to 10 minutes to make sure it all dissolves. That should add an interesting dimension to the beer, and I’ll be keen to hear how it turns out. I’ve used brown sugar once before when I used to can kit brew and it turned out pretty well as I recall.
We’ve got a public holiday this weekend and I’ve got a stack of grain to do 42L of a Falconer’s Flight IPA with. We had a massive party last night and went through 3 kegs so I need to rebuild my stock levels!
^ Cheers Dan. Chucked it in for ten minutes, seemed okay. I used Northern Brewer hops in the boil and the smell was fantastic, so I’m really looking forward to see how this one turns out. I was going to dry hop with some Falconers Flight that I have left over when I rack it.
42L!? Holy shit, do you use two fermenters or do you have a big motherfucker?
This happens to every brewer at least once, right? Two bottles of delicious Porter exploded and covered my laundry with beer…
Had a chain reaction explosion of a wardrobe full of beer in my bedroom once, that will wake you up, with a beer fountain spewing out of your wardrobe in the middle of the night!
Biggests lesson learned, let primary ferment go longer than you expect…