Thread: Home Brew

mmmmmmm- draino.

Originally Posted by Redback

That would be VB then

No this didn't take paint off if you spilled some

yeah, beer, I think everyones added some great hints here...some info for beer connoiseurs......the original VB was brewed at the Buffaloe Brewery via Wangaratta Vic, until Carlton took or bought the recipe......but its nothing llike its original taste,,,it was originally an ale,,,,,but anyway if you go to the brewery for afternoon tea on any sat or sunday you may get to taste what may be the original VB.....under a different name.....or perhaps any one of the delicious brews they make there. They only brew in short half hogs heads (a brewing term for qty) so you may be drinking something you enjoy and they run out and you have to have something completely different.....its a great spot to visit for a drink if you live in Victoria or southern NSW. and yeah, you can get VB there.

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

yeah, beer, I think everyones added some great hints here...some info for beer connoiseurs......the original VB was brewed at the Buffaloe Brewery via Wangaratta Vic, until Carlton took or bought the recipe......but its nothing llike its original taste,,,it was originally an ale,,,,,but anyway if you go to the brewery for afternoon tea on any sat or sunday you may get to taste what may be the original VB.....under a different name.....or perhaps any one of the delicious brews they make there. They only brew in short half hogs heads (a brewing term for qty) so you may be drinking something you enjoy and they run out and you have to have something completely different.....its a great spot to visit for a drink if you live in Victoria or southern NSW. and yeah, you can get VB there.

Didn't Calton release a short run of the original recipe VB Ale a while ago.

There has a lot of the original ales dropped by brewerys, Hunter Old, Flag Ale, DA (Dinner Ale), just too name 3.

Originally Posted by St3pho_62

Come on Ben

I've brewed and bottled nearly 88 lites whiles you have been frigging round with you first one.

??? Maybe not as quick as you, but I have brewed and bottled 46L since I first started this thread.

For anyone interested - the first brew (coopers lager) tasted great - very crisp with a slightly fruity aftertaste (NFI where that came from). Very drinkable.

The 2nd (fancy) brew took 4 WEEKS!!! in the fermenter before it got down to a stable FG. It has been bottled for 2 weeks, and is tasting GREAT, but I am hoping it will still improve over the next few weeks (if it lasts that long). The strainer I used for the hop mixture wasn't as fine as it could be, so I had some hop seeds in the fermenter, which meant the brew has quite a strong hop flavour, but not unpleasant. Overall very happy with the result! Doesn't taste much like Duvel, but it is a VERY drinkable, belgian style beer - about 6.5% alcohol (not quite the 8.5% I was aiming for...)

I will definitely be using the safale pink again. Gave a compact sediment (like in the bottom of a coopers stubbie), but the beer still has a cloudy look like commercial unfiltered beer. Andy's brew using the yellow Safale on the other hand, was crystal clear.

Will be starting another brew tonight! Washing bottles is a PITA - might switch to a keg system soon...

Originally Posted by isuzurover

??? Maybe not as quick as you, but I have brewed and bottled 46L since I first started this thread.

For anyone interested - the first brew (coopers lager) tasted great - very crisp with a slightly fruity aftertaste (NFI where that came from). Very drinkable.

The 2nd (fancy) brew took 4 WEEKS!!! in the fermenter before it got down to a stable FG. It has been bottled for 2 weeks, and is tasting GREAT, but I am hoping it will still improve over the next few weeks (if it lasts that long). The strainer I used for the hop mixture wasn't as fine as it could be, so I had some hop seeds in the fermenter, which meant the brew has quite a strong hop flavour, but not unpleasant. Overall very happy with the result! Doesn't taste much like Duvel, but it is a VERY drinkable, belgian style beer - about 6.5% alcohol (not quite the 8.5% I was aiming for...)

I will definitely be using the safale pink again. Gave a compact sediment (like in the bottom of a coopers stubbie), but the beer still has a cloudy look like commercial unfiltered beer. Andy's brew using the yellow Safale on the other hand, was crystal clear.

Will be starting another brew tonight! Washing bottles is a PITA - might switch to a keg system soon...

4 weeks, good grief Ben, i wouldn't worry so much about the gravity, if it's close after 10 days, transfer it too another fermenter and clear it that way, don't forget to put 3 teaspoons of suger (use normal suger) and give it a stir, let it sit for about 2 or 3 days or when it looks clear, this will also bring the gravity/FG to where you want it, then bottle it.

The sugar stops it going off if left for long periods, the stir help it settle more and blends the sugar in too, this just helps with a clearer brew.

It's the cold weather that slows the fermenting down.

Baz.

Co-incidentally I barrelled my first batch of home brew on Sunday for about 6 years. Now I have to clean out all the 750ml bottles.

I reckon the bagged glucose tablets will still be ok to use after that long, sugar doesn't go off does it ?

Regards


Martin

Originally Posted by Redback

There has a lot of the original ales dropped by brewerys, Hunter Old, Flag Ale, DA (Dinner Ale), just too name 3.

I reckoned Toohey's Hunter Old was the best commercial beer in Australia. Made only at Toohey's Broadmeadow brewery in Newcastle and only sold in the Hunter district. You could get it at Singleton but not at Muswellbrook. I used to buy a dozen every time I used the Putty road. Didn't know they had stopped making it. I suppose the Broadmeadow brewery has been closed? In most of the pubs and clubs in the Hunter in those days, if you asked for a beer you got served a schooner of Toohey's Hunter Old. Smaller serves and other beers were for wimps and invalids. Most of the women drank schooners of Old.