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   1. If you had no money restrictions, would you keg or bottle?

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      by PistolPatch, 14 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      I know this seems a silly question as all of us brewers dream of having beer on tap.
      
      I have 8 kegs and can have 6 of them easily on tap. All 8 if I really want but...
      
      One thing I never thought of before following this dream was that most of the beer that comes out of those kegs, ends up in the bottle anyway. I don't consume much of my beer without company and this is usually on a brew day. In other words, most of the beer I make, I take elsewhere so I am bottling it out of the keg anyway....

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      Apart from this I also have a fermentation chamber / smaller chest freezer with a temperature controller...
      
      On the main beer storage option for kegs & taps, I wanted it to be simple. Set and forget temperature. Readily available and not expensive on Craigslist.
      37 Replies
      44528 Views
      Scott
      4 years ago
   2. Western Australian BIABrewers and Events

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      by PistolPatch, 14 years ago in Australia & New Zealand

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      Thought I'd start a thread that listed Western Australian BIABrewer.info members and events while the site is still young. This way, if anyone is having a brew day they can post it here and/or PM other W.A. brewers easily. Also, general events such as comps, tastings, interstate visitors etc could be posted here so as we can all be kept up to date.
      
      Here are the WA BIABrewers I am aware of to date (I've stopped adding names now but let me know if you want to be added to the list)...
      
      1. NME
      2....

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      Hi Pat,
      
      thanks again for the info. I decided to tip that Pale ale because it tasted like sh*t and i wanted the keg space for my next beer. Couldnt wait 4 weeks to see if it improved. Ive found another recipe to try on MadFermentationists's blog. I will do up a BIABACUS file and post if for comments and a second opinion.
      
      My Berliner sour is fermenting nicely atm.
      195 Replies
      203079 Views
      JayP
      5 years ago
   3. Royal Perth Beer Show 2018

      by PistolPatch, 6 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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      Meant to post this way earlier sorry. Anyway, if you have or can brew a beer over the next three weeks then put it in the show. That way you'll get to come to the Exhibitor's Tasting and other fun stuff. I've never missed a year :party:
      Full details are here . Key dates as follows...
      
      Friday 4pm (in four days!) : Decide what style you want to enter and fill in the online entry form .
      
      Tuesday 26th June : Make sure you've brewed your beer and then deliver it. Deliveries accepted the day...

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      Sorry you missed it Muggy Dawson . Another fun day at the show. I think our group was last to leave ;)
      
      Congratulations to lukasfab for his bronze wheat, stevem01 for his silver brown ale and sinkas who topped the fruit/veg class with a silver mulberry belgian (carefully fermented at my place :) )
      (Results here . Did I miss anyone?)
      I scored a personal best this year - first year I've put an entry in and didn't get a medal. Most expensive beer I've ever brewed too - lol.
      
      Hope you enjoyed the...
      10 Replies
      16612 Views
      PistolPatch
      5 years ago
   4. General Discussion on Site Quality of Commercial Malt, Hop and Yeast Suplies

      by PistolPatch, 6 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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      One thing I do know about this site is many hours and dollars are poured into it by a few silly members such as myself :). This is not a commercial site so we have no income or profit. That's beside the point though on this particular topic. What concerns me is...
      I'm at a total loss at why some commercial sites are so badly written and others so well-written. Here are some examples...
      
      Yeasts
      
      Look at the Lallemand site: For me, the info it offers there is excellent. Notice the flavour/aroma...

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      YEP! they just need to do it with all hops :thumbs:
      4 Replies
      10503 Views
      lukasfab
      6 years ago
   5. Partigyle Planning Using the BIABacus (An unoffical draft guide)

      by PistolPatch, 6 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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      I've wanted, for a long time, to write a procedure for using the BIABacus to partigyle. One main problem is that I generally do not brew high gravity beers ( Sarah Sarah has forced me several times) and the grain bill on those done has not lent itself to being re-used for a lower gravity brew e.g. Cherry Chocolate Stout! Since tasting Rocky Ridge's absolutely beautiful Rock Juice, I now have the desire!!!
      
      lukasfab and I will brew it on Sunday week. Ricky from Rocky Ridge has already given...

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      Brew Update
      
      Transferred both these beers to secondary on Thursday for their last hop addition. Then crash-chilled to -1.5 °C. Should get a chance to keg them on Tues or Wed although they could be done now; you can see the trub has settled out already. Some numbers for you. (High gravity beer / partigyle)
      
      VIF and OG: 24.5 L (6.47 Gal) @ 1.097 / 22.5 L (6.0 Gal) @ 1.048
      Final Gravity: 1.025 / 1.012
      Apparent Attenuation: 73.2% / 78.5%
      Primary Fermenter Trub: 5.2 L* (1.37 Gal) / 1.1 L (0.29...
      14 Replies
      21230 Views
      PistolPatch
      6 years ago
   6. Diacetyl as a Flavour rather than a Fault

      by PistolPatch, 6 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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      Diacetyl, that butterscotchy/toffee flavour. It's pretty much always mentioned as a fault (correct me please if I'm incorrect on that) however, I often really like that flavour.
      
      A few batches ago, on one brew day, I brewed an APA and IPA, that, for reasons I still can't work out, were really heavy on diacetyl. Besides not being able to fathom what caused that diacetyl in those beers (I have very good temp control), the other amazing thing was that some non-brewers thought it was the best beer...

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      :lol: :lol: :lol:
      No, I'll never reproduce that one. I can't even remember if it was the APA or IPA that had it. I think it actually increased over time too! Very poor record-keeping by me :P
      5 Replies
      10251 Views
      PistolPatch
      6 years ago
   7. Lupulin Powder

      by PistolPatch, 7 years ago in Hopping

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      Has anyone had time to research this?
      
      I had a Feral Finn Diesel here in Ozland last week and loved it. I just received an email that said, Feral Finn Diesel IPA
      
      Inhale the intoxicating exhaust of pine, perfume and citrus as this rust bucket of a beer shudders and backfires sweet, heady fumes deep into the atmosphere.
      A front and centre stage for the new-to-market hop product Lupulin Powder, Finn Diesel uses both Simcoe and Citra extracts throughout multiple stages of the brewing process to...

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      Michael Tonsmeire is sharing his recipes and experience with Lupulin Powder on The Mad Fermentationist blog.
      3 Replies
      9400 Views
      robertz64
      6 years ago
   8. [Solved]: Silcone air-lock not working.

      by PistolPatch, 7 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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      [EDIT: Now solved. See this post below . A good example though of how hard some answers are to find.]
      
      Just when I thought I had seen everything!
      
      Okay, here's a pic of my (and youmustbemellow's) last brew... Copy of Fermenter.jpg It's a simple pail with two holes in the lid. The centre one was originally blanked off before I posted this but, in this pic, has a Steri-lock now attached. The hole that is off-centre has a five-holed bung that I can do all sorts of stuff with. A five-holed bung...

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      Kewl..... Glad to know it wasn't ALIENS !! :lol: :lol: :lol:
      17 Replies
      24434 Views
      jhough
      6 years ago
   9. BIAB Bag Materials/Design - Pros and Cons

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      by PistolPatch, 13 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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      I just read a post that dick kindly wrote here in the My First Post! - Post here to become Fully Registered thread.
      
      You often see questions on other forums as to what materials are good for BIAB. Brewers ask whether they are food-safe, at what temps they melt, how long they last etc, etc.
      
      dick always does great posts and I am hoping he will post here but if anyone else has any feedback on BIAB bag materials they have used or are using, please free to let us know how they have or are working...

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      I came here searching for info because I just re-listened to the Beersmith podcast on BIAB Brewing. It made me think I could benefit from a custom bag. The info you guys have provided here is great! Thanks.
      
      I contacted a guy who hangs out at the big homebrew site and advertises hem makes bags, he sews then to fit your kettle, they work great and are easy to handle, the first bag I got I ordered from my LHBS and it was a mess.
      82 Replies
      110899 Views
      Jamato
      7 years ago
   10. Tasting a 115 Year-Old Beer (That is not a typo)

       by PistolPatch, 7 years ago in Beer Appreciation (incl. Fault Identification)

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       Today I had that experience. I'm busting to write about it but, I've been up for twenty hours and, would be fascinated to hear what you think a 115 year-old beer would smell/taste like. (It was a 1902 King's Ale supplied by our member, sinkas.)

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       It certainly was wonder-full Jamato!
       
       mally, spam PM sinkas until he answers :lol:. He did spend a long time looking for one in good condition though and I believe he finally found this one two years ago on eBay.
       7 Replies
       20687 Views
       PistolPatch
       7 years ago
   11. A perfect example of a low integrity recipe.

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       by PistolPatch, 10 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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       When a new brewer wants to brew beer, they must begin with a recipe. That should be really easy right?
       
       What about if you chose to brew the same recipe that, earned Jonathan Perman the illustrious title of Homebrewer of the Year in the 2012 AHA National Homebrew CompetitionNational Homebrew Competition. Source: American Homebrewers Association / Homebrew Recipes / Sitzung Helles.
       
       How excited are we to get that recipe? :party: :drink: :party: :drink:. Why wouldn't you be excited?
       
       1....

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       What a great thread.
       Not afraid to tell the truth
       
       I agree that to much art is taking place in the home brew community, but then I cannot tell someone how to brew their beer.
       But I have tried recipes before and was totally frustrated by the lack of information or the ponderousness of bad information in them.
       
       I see sentences like this, pour in 2 gallons of RO water to soften your water . OK soften it to what level? and pour it into how much water?
       
       Thanks for the post
       33 Replies
       46418 Views
       Jamato
       7 years ago
   12. Big Mistake - first batch I've ever dumped from fermenter.

       by PistolPatch, 8 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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       This is in the intermediate forum because beginners would never have this problem.
       
       The Background
       
       Brewed a very simple recipe a few weeks ago, very few malts and only one hop spread over two additions. On transfer from primary to secondary, had a taste and pretty puckering. It was an ale so in secondary, I ramped up the temp but tasted today and, it is going to be ditched.
       
       What Went Wrong?
       
       Definitely one thing, possibly two...
       
       Yeast: The yeast I used was a dried one, just bought, but,...

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       I have now stuck permanent markers where I can easily get to them.
       
       I started doing that too, but then mistakenly used permanent on my whiteboard I use for my brew days.
       They are now strictly separated. :idiot:
       7 Replies
       16117 Views
       Muggy Dawson
       7 years ago
   13. Uh oh! Things that go wrong.

       by PistolPatch, 7 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       D8gub0NrEIo

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       That last one looked so sad  :nup:
       2 Replies
       7619 Views
       Lumpy5oh
       7 years ago
   14. Cold Crashing Cluster

       by PistolPatch, 7 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       Desperate times call for desperate measures :).
       
       Three fermenters of same wort with 3 different dry hops. My co-brewer youmustbemellow is unsure whether the malt backbone is strong enough to support the column... Column Cold Crashing.jpg Safety first though!... Jockey Strap.jpg

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       Wish you would pressure ferment :drink: You could easily hold 4 kegs in there, for sure, without stacking and also have a shelf above it for rosters and such.
       
       7/5/2013 by Mad Scientist Brewhaus , on Flickr
       6 Replies
       8635 Views
       Mad_Scientist
       7 years ago
   15. How much beer can I get from my kettle?

       by PistolPatch, 8 years ago in Full-Volume Variations - FVV (diluting and/or sparging)

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       How much beer can I get from my kettle?
       This question is almost nearly always asked by stovetop brewers, and, therefore, I am going to use a 19L/5Gal stock pot as an example in this 'article'. Other brewers who are wanting to make enough beer to fill a 19L/5gal keg or the equivalent in bottles, will generally have bought themselves a 40 to 50 L/quart kettle which is large enough to handle that 'Volume into Packaging (VIP),' (see Clear Brewing Terminology ).
       
       This article covers the following:...

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       Hi there jayP :thumbs:. Another Perth brewer - excellent! (Subscribe to this thread .) Feel free to drop in for a beer or a brew day some time.
       
       Glad to hear you are stumbling across a bit of info that might be useful. I'm now working on the new site full-time which has two goals; the first is to make info really easy to find and the second is to get it up and running before I go broke :lol:.
       
       As for dilutions, lost in one of the posts above is... The technique of holding back water from the...
       16 Replies
       32929 Views
       PistolPatch
       7 years ago
   16. Prepping the day before brew day.

       by PistolPatch, 8 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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       This is in the Old Hands forum because, you've done quite a few brews now and I want to hear your thoughts on preparation the night before versus on brewday.
       
       My question is: Do you find that weighing grain and hops (crushing grain if needs be) and setting up equipment the day before brew day makes a difference?
       
       I imagine, but I'm by no means sure, that we'll get different answers depending on people's circumstances. For example, is it more important for a person in a small home who has to...

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       A lot of what I have here is an accumulation of small parts; o-rings, washers, irrigation bits, fermenter lids/bodies; stuff that is useless to anyone. Yes, there are some bigger items (plate chiller) and various pumps but it is the small stuff that really costs a brewer in money and time.
       
       I'm working on a prototype of something atm and the large bit of it cost $115 AU. I can't count the times I have been to the hardware in the last week but the last receipt I scored yesterday was $130 AU,...
       11 Replies
       16095 Views
       PistolPatch
       8 years ago
   17. For your brewing pleasure.

       by PistolPatch, 8 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       Did an IPA today with a fellow brewer.
       
       Manage to chill to about 26°C (69F). Wanted to pitch at 18°C (64.5C) so transferred and put the fermenter in my brewing fridge. In the interests of the new site being written, I also did some experiments of which most failed.
       
       My final experiment was to line my fermenter with a completely boiled, washed and sanitised BIAB bag as we're dry hopping this one and I thought, How cool would that be if you could use the BIAB bag as a dry hop sock as well!!!
       
       I...

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       Putting the Re in Research. It is what happens.
       The bag obviously overhangs the rim of the bucket in your first photo. What kind of seal does the lid provide, and if not airtight, why would a blow-off tube help reduce the mess? Even if the lid fits, doesn't the bag allow air to pass through? And if air could get in (or CO2 out) is that not the lowest point for liquid to escape, followed by capillary action? Obviously you never brew drunk SP :lol:.
       
       I did quite a few equipment experiments on...
       7 Replies
       8462 Views
       PistolPatch
       8 years ago
   18. Where sugars come from and go to.

       by PistolPatch, 8 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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       Yesterday I received a PM that was essentially asking how to work out where the sugars come from and go in the production of sweet liquor. The PM finished with...
       My foggy brain, cannot figure a way to measure the sweet liquor left in the spent grains.
       The main error the questioner was  making is an easy one to make; he was trying to find the answer to the above by weighing. Not only did he weigh the spent grain, he even dried it and weighed that as well.
       
       The problem is that when you weigh...

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       Just had a question via PM re the files above having the 'Adjust Volume Loss from Lauter to:' field set to 0.4. I'd done the first half of the diagram before noticing that I'd used a file with that default in it.
       
       0.4 would be a good default to use for a stove-top brewer using a small grain bill of a few kilos or about 5 pounds. The default the BIABacus uses is a bit over 0.6 and is a good place to start for say a grain bill of around 5 kgs / 11 pounds. Double batches or really heavy beers...
       2 Replies
       9436 Views
       PistolPatch
       8 years ago
   19. Office Water Cooler/Heater Brewing Possibilities

       by PistolPatch, 8 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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       I was getting some office supplies today and noticed that they had office water cooler and heaters for sale for AU$75 (US$53 at time of writing).
       
       Water Cooler.jpg
       There was also another cooler/fridge unit for AU$245 (US$173 at time of writing).
       
       Water Cooler and Fridge.jpg
       The fridge is tiny so forget that but the idea of a water cooler/heater on top of a wine (read fermentation temperature) or bar fridge certainly got the cogs turning. (Just had another quick look online and there are...

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       I wish you where my neighbor :love: , we could talk over the fence and you can pass your unwanted beer to me...
       7 Replies
       14098 Views
       Mad_Scientist
       8 years ago
   20. Advanced BIABacus Pre-Release Questions

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       by PistolPatch, 11 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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       There are a few BIABacus Pre-Release Questions being asked on the forum that don't quite fit into the current pre-release structure - they are not feedback questions or scaling questions.
       
       I'll reserve a few posts here on the off-chance it might make life easier on the mods. In the meantime, I would like to get at least one advanced answer done here.
       
       (Please bear in mind that I am also quite short on time atm and so any answers I can give here will be more, Discuss between yourselves ones,...

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       Contraian, My Post Boil temperature Greatly Varies with the Ambient Room Temperatures
       
       The rate of Cooling can be 1F per Minute at the start, and as All Cooling systems, drops of to less than 1F per 20 minutes Near Ambient.
       
       All I do is Wrap the Kettle In a Home Made Kettle Cozy , (an Old Sleeping Bag cut in to a thick Cup shape).
       
       Then add the Flavor hops until the Flavor Rocks, about 5 to 20 minutes depending of the Hop, then Un-zip the Cozy and let it cool to 140F, and add the Aroma Hops,...
       204 Replies
       171633 Views
       joshua
       8 years ago
   21. How to speak Australians - Season 1

       by PistolPatch, 9 years ago in Australia & New Zealand

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       Wasn't sure where to post this :scratch:. As good a place as any I suppose :).
       
       How to Speak Australians - Season 1
       Excellent Comedy by Aussie Indians.
       (International Viewers: Try Episode 4 first.)
       This is as good as beer!!!!! Not sure if our international audience will find this anywhere near as funny as Aussies (original, old or new) will.
       
       Episode 1: G'Day Knackers - An introduction to the Australian vernacular, with particular emphasis on their penchant for expletives and derogatory...

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       I am swiss and i love the aussie humor!
       
       Fat Pizza anyone ?
       1 Replies
       9701 Views
       doomy86
       8 years ago
   22. Windows 10 - Exclusive Interview with Patrick Hollingdale

       by PistolPatch, 8 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       I know we're more used to hearing BIAB pioneer, Patrick Hollingdale (Pat on this forum), being interviewed in podcasts but I just stumbled across the following interview. Inspiring stuff!...
       
       Exclusive Interview
       On Working with Microsoft
       
       The following interview with Patrick Hollingdale was recorded at his home where he has been working for five weeks now in his new full-time job with Microsoft ( Jack Dorff — 23/10/15)
       
       Jack: This is a great set-up you have here Patrick. Two computers,...

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       Thanks for reminding me PP. I have about 20 old versions of the Biabacus that I could delete to make more room. My Windows ME is keeping up nicely though. It sure beats my old Atari!
       6 Replies
       9029 Views
       Lylo
       8 years ago
   23. Royal Perth Beer Show 2015 - Tomoz 01/08 - Free ticks avail.

       by PistolPatch, 9 years ago in Australia & New Zealand

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       Royal Perth Beer Show - 2015
       For we W.A. Amateurs, this event has become a great social event. Basically, if you enter one beer ($20) in this comp, you get two tickets to attend the tasting on Saturday 1st August (1pm to 4pm and then we kick on after). At the tasting you get to taste all the amateur and craft and commercial beers. It is great fun and no other beer comp does that!!!
       
       As for judging of amateur beers, the committee has apparently listened to feedback and so we can expect more...

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       haha I always miss out on the after session :(
       
       its only a 10min drive into Freo from Claremont? I could see Case was merry but not that bad lol.
       
       many nice beers drank but thought the Brown Ale was a really nice beer, cant recall the brewer? case would remember or maybe not haha.
       
       Case - Did you try that Alt beer by Last Drop? i went into the Last Drop for a pint, nice beer!
       22 Replies
       30588 Views
       lukasfab
       8 years ago
   24. Polar Brew 2015 (BobBrews Video)

       by PistolPatch, 9 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       BobBrews has a bit on his plate atm but in my last check-up email to him yesterday, entitled, Are you dead yet? , in his reply, entitled, Are you dead yet? NOT Quite! , he gave a thorough update which finished with... I will be back soon so let the overworked gang know! I thought I'd take advantage of Bob's temporary absence and post the video link to the annual Polar Brew highlighting the bits I found most interesting as an antipodean and/or general BIABrewer member...
       
       3:02 Our first glimpse...

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       Bob , glad to see you around . How's the wife ? Missed seeing you around.
       
       The wife is fine but the new knees limits her yard work and cleaning. I am carrying the load until (if ever?) she gets back to kneeling? It's a busy time of year (Spring) so I am active and working around the house. I only work when sober to limit accidents due to drinking. Sometimes working as much as 20 minutes a day!
       
       My brew club won the Golden Growler trophy with my Belgian Double's help. :champ:
       
       Next Month I...
       18 Replies
       15789 Views
       BobBrews
       9 years ago
   25. Yeast Starter Made. What do I do with it?

       by PistolPatch, 10 years ago in Fermentation (Wort to Still Beer)

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       If someone asked me this question, I would have no idea how to answer it well.
       
       I well remember a post made by a guy called Darren on an Aussie website years ago, saying for this beer you will need to make a 15 litre starter (it was not a typo). The batch size was only 23 litres and so I was left scratching my head, like I do on so many brewing forum posts.
       
       Some commercial brewing software has a starter feature but I think it is a little gimmicky. For example, it might ask you to supply...

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       Interesting questions for sure. Haven't been brewing long enough to have starters older than maybe 4 or 5 generations, but I have read that between 7-10 is the most you should go to avoid mutation. I'm also not set up nor have the time to do side by side comparisons, so although interesting, they are not questions I will be able to answer for now. One thing I have noticed is that the older the washed yeast, the longer it seems to take the starter to 'wake up'...
       15 Replies
       14648 Views
       goulaigan
       9 years ago

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