Questions On Stuff I don't Understand???

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Hey guys just going over a recipe for my First IPA!! and if I am to do a 23L batch of Beer then my calculations are for a 6Gallon batch? and if so is it ok just to add the 5Gallon + 1Gallon ingredients together to work out a 6Gallon batch?

Second question...If dry hopping is optional and says "you can add a handful" what measurement is that? and always with about 4-5 days left in fermentation left you do it?

Third question.....How do you work out the IBU (bitterness?) level if not stated in recipe?

Last question......How many packets of dry yeast US.05 would you use? basing it on adding the 5G + 1G together, it would be 1 and a half??

Cheers Guys appreciate it. 

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Is it a pretty simple IPA? what's your recipe? And can you use dry yeast with it? I still dunno about the heat pad in fridge haven't seen any on google images but did see a guy selling a fridge on trade me for $100 using a light bulb for heating?? It's on there now might be good score for someone? I paid 50 bucks for mine, so only ten bucks more than a heat pad. Haha. Stoked!! Cheers guys for suggestion.

[Craig Howard]

I will tell you 2 reasons why I use this as an airlock and BTW its a simple rig based on the principle of preventing air getting back into the fermenter. Not rocket science.

1. I had major blow back on one brew and it makes such a mess going thru the spiral airlocks on to the top of the fermenter repeatedly for 2 or 3 days!. PIA.

2. I was a bit stupid and in my custom fermenting chamber..I designed it about 25mm to low inside...to be able to use the standard airlock.  (There are short ones available but they would be crap in blow back)

I am much happier with the tube anyway...and it looks cool ( mad scientist)

Why do you need the sensor lead longer??

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

To be honest I am not too certain now whether or not I'll need to lengthen it, I mean it's pretty short so The stc needs to be close to where you store your fermenter, I now have it sitting on top my fridge and will drill a hole in the box I made so the sensor comes out the front which will give me a bit more length, Hey hypothetically speaking if I was to have 2 fermenters in fridge both to be at same temp would i only need to put the sensor on one fermenter?  but as I am not using the fridge just yet the sensor is stretched to my fermenter which is on a table beside the fridge and I have it enclosed for darkness and warmth.

I was a little bored this afternoon, and so painted on front of fridge with Blackboard paint a square so i can write with chalk what's in there and when I put it in, thought it would look cool too! That is how I intend to do my labeling on my glass bottles too. blackboard paint and then write on it APA or IPA etc... so as not to be confused with other beers i have 6 dozen new 500ml bottles and probably need more haha.

[Craig Howard]

Hey hypothetically speaking if I was to have 2 fermenters in fridge both to be at same temp would i only need to put the sensor on one fermenter?

You wont have any choice because there is only one sensor off the STC. 

Thing is...if each fermenter is at a different stage of "ferment" ..they will be different temps.  SO which one controls what happens?  ie active fermentation raises the temperature.

You could make a couple of those basic therm wells that I posted up about and swap the sensor back and forth easily.  Still a bit of a PIA.

You could also just create an ambience at correct temp in your fridge and work off that.  Your sensor will measure ambient temp just fine.  Not as precise as a therm well but remember... they made beer in stone huts, caves and pyramids.....without thermometers and STC-1000's. (ha ha)

[Cain Harland]

So what's worst case scenario if you go off the temp of the active fermentation?  The yeast in that one produce some heat while the other fermenter and air are at the set point and the stc cools. I may be wrong but I don't see the other fermenter getting more than a couple of degrees colder and don't see that as a problem.

May be a case against a thermowell or insulation here if the probe is taped to the outside of the fermenter it's effected by both what's in it and the air temp in the fridge which is effected by the other fermenter.

Something I see as a bigger deal is the proximity of each fermenter to the heat and cold source. I saw a kegerator where a guy had improved the temperature  control by adding a cheap computer fan to improve circulation moving the probe after water proofing inside a bottle of water.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Well that's true haha, I think I'll use the sensor on the fresh brew and set the inside temp of fridge to 19C so both will remain in the optimal temp zone. See if that works also have to remove air locks and use blow off valve tubing into a bottle of starsan mix with water. Wonder what their brews tasted like centuries ago?

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

It is pretty squashed in there too so could I just use fridge unit for first week of each new brew then remove are active fermentation and place somewhere else with no control on temp like a bedroom or a corner floor spit in shed? Or do one brew a month? Just thinking of the summer months ahead

[Craig Howard]

Do a brew every two weeks if you are wanting to build up a Summer Stock.

Let the beer condition in the bottle.

I see you said you are using 50ml bottles.  How are you going to carbonate them?

BTW - moving fermenters around is difficult and it stirs up the sediment.

I think I'll use the sensor on the fresh brew and set the inside temp of fridge to 19C so both will remain in the optimal temp zone.

Probably best achieved with a light bulb heater rig.

[Craig Howard]

Sorry - 500ml bottles.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

using dextrose i have a sugar measurer fir 500ml bottles, i will add that first to all of them, then fill bottles.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

BTW - moving fermenters around is difficult and it stirs up the sediment.

hey do you not take it out of fridge but rather just bottle it from where it sits so as not to get the sediment moving? or I think someone said move it the night before you bottle? not a problem as this first batch is not in the fridge and is on the table I used to transfer to fermenter from kettle so good height for bottling. 

[Grant R Baker]

Its gets pretty warm were you are so you don't really want to leave a brew out of the fermentation fridge until it is in the bottle.

Easy answer is '2nd fridge' or a bigger fridge. I can get two barrel fermenters side-by-side in my 560*560mm fridge and have balanced a third on top of those.

.. but you have time before summer to stock up as mentioned already then ferment only in the fridge during summer.