First ever homebrewing experience

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

Hello to all,

First up, let me say, what a great community you have here. A little less confrontational than the Facebook group which I have also joined. The knowledge and willingness to share and impart that knowledge is impressive.

Now for the good stuff, after posting in the "Hazy IPA" thread and reading the replies from C3D, Robert Pretty and Dustin Frothman as well as the rest of that thread and many others, I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on a BeerDroid.

I should preface to tell a little about myself and what I like in beer and what and where I hope to get to with the droid. I'm in my early 50's, living in Sydney's lower north shore (I've put myself on the member map 🙂). I've been a beer wanker long before craft beers came to Australia. Having grown up in Canada before moving to Sydney, my early experiences was that I couldn't stand most Aussie beers, the range was limited and all tasted pretty much like the other being ice cold largers with the odd darker (Tooheys old anyone?) 

Then I went to the Australian hotel in the Rocks and discovered a couple of gems being Little Creatures Pale Ale and Sharers Ale (sp?). Not long after others came along such as those early beers from James Squires as well as European beers such as those from the Belgium Beer Cafes. This was then my hallelujah moment and I was hooked from then on. I've drunk every style of beer but these days I mainly keep to IPA's - Australian IPAs (such as Akasha Hopsmith IPA and Bentspoke Sprocket over Crankshaft) , the West Coast IPAs (think Dainton Overdrive), Hazy IPAs (too many to name but the Balter Hazy, the original and not the cheapened mainstream version, anything from Deep Creek, Parrot Dog and Garage Projects hazy ranges), NEPIAs (Jedi Juice, Old Wives Ales Old Man Yells at Cloud), IIPAs (Akasha's Korben D is the perfect example as well as the Bentspoke Cluster 8), IIIPAs, etc. So big hops, big flavour and strong alcohol.

Ultimately, I will be looking to replicate and explore my own versions of those beers which I prefer to drink. I'll definitely start with the BrewPrints, then go to the Ingredients but ultimately, I'd love to try some of the pre-packaged Fresh Wort kits such as the All In Brewing NEIPA wort kit.

Anyway, the BeerDroid was delivered on Friday (via Harvey Norman) along with the two BrewPrints I ordered directly from BrewArt (Narci-Citrus IPA and The Point IPA as well as the recommended Dry Hop Filter).

I decided to do the Narci-Citrus IPA first as the description from the website really sounded like my type of beer, hoppy, fruity-citrusy, strong'ish alcohol, etc.

In preparation, I watched all the "101" videos as well as scouring these forums and found the Narci-Citrus IPA thread. To my disappointment, the comments could be summarised as the resulting beer being a bit disappointing and definitely not as described  but rather dark in colour, less big hops and more caramel and malt which is a flavour profile I really don't like. Like the Little Creatures IPA, I find this to be too malty and not hoppy enough.

I spoke to a really good mate who's gotten into homebrewing in a major way for 4 years and his goal is to become a professional brewer. So I turned to him for advice. He read some of the forum comments and suggested going and getting some additional dry hops, mosaic and citra, which I did. Big thumbs up to Dave's Home Brew shop in North Sydney.

First up, I added  approximately (bloody kitchen scale was broken) 10 grams of each at the same time as adding the N-C ingredients to the beer droid. According to my mate, adding the hops at the start should help to balance the malty/caramel undertones and by using relatively small amounts, it should avoid too much "grassiness". He also suggests doubling up on the dry hops to 50 grams of each at the dry hopping stage. I'm thinking I might take a slightly more conservative approach to this and maybe add each 25 gram dry hop package from the BrewPrint and only add an additional 10-12 grams of each hop. This will be a total of approximately 90 grams of hops.

The N-C BrewPrint has been in since approximately 4 pm on Saturday and I used the App to start it by moving the BP from On Order to In Stock. Then clicked on the N-C and hit start effectively. It took 7 hours exactly in the Propagate Zone and then a further 13 hours before Fermentation was detected. Does that all sound right?

Now, question time

1. In terms of the above changes to the N-C recipe, what are your thoughts? Do you think it will achieve the sort of beer that is more to my liking or over hopped, too green grassy, etc?

2. I've read so much about adding the Dry Hopping to the brew program but it doesn't show up on program on the app for N-C. Does this mean it will miss the dry hopping phase or will it just tell me when it is ready, either on the app, on the LCD panel or both? (by the way, as it is new, my BeerDroid is on firmware version P018 which I believe is the latest)

3. I have an existing 4 litre early iKegger stainless double skin keg. I plan to use this but update/upgrade to the Stainless Steel Spear with Standard Homebrew Connections,   Mini Regulator on Check Valve Disconnect (allows force carbonating the keg lying down in the fridge) and Premium Stainless Steel Flow Control Tap With Steel Disconnect.

  I also have about 6x 2 litre glass growlers.

  My initial kegging/bottling plan once the brew is ready, is to put 4 litres into the iKegger, force carbonate then transfer to the glass growlers.

Now, I'm thinking that perhaps the 2l glass growlers aren't a great idea so I'm thinking to get the Complete PET Bottling Pack and put 4 litres into my iKegger and then bottle the rest.

What are your thoughts in terms of best results and maybe, easier to carry out for a noob such as myself?

4. Thinking to eventually get this setup from iKegger... 

https://www.ikegger.com/products/10l-ikegger-package-with-filling-kit-to-match-brewart-beerdroid#

going with the 2x 5l keg option. That way as I brew more, I have more flexibility which includes 3 iKeggers and the PET bottles.

Does this sound reasonable or are there other alternatives worth considering?

For those who made it this far, a huge thank you for your patience and look forward to any and all replies.

Cheers,
Warren (a.k.a Wazza 😄)

p.s. I'm as excited AF to have taken my first baby steps into the world of homebrewing and to be an active part of this community.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Wazza_wantsbeer
Adding pictures

[Dustin Frothman]

2 hours ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Hello to all,

First up, let me say, what a great community you have here. A little less confrontational than the Facebook group which I have also joined. The knowledge and willingness to share and impart that knowledge is impressive.

Now for the good stuff, after posting in the "Hazy IPA" thread and reading the replies from C3D, Robert Pretty and Dustin Frothman as well as the rest of that thread and many others, I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on a BeerDroid.

I should preface to tell a little about myself and what I like in beer and what and where I hope to get to with the droid. I'm in my early 50's, living in Sydney's lower north shore (I've put myself on the member map 🙂). I've been a beer wanker long before craft beers came to Australia. Having grown up in Canada before moving to Sydney, my early experiences was that I couldn't stand most Aussie beers, the range was limited and all tasted pretty much like the other being ice cold largers with the odd darker (Tooheys old anyone?) 

Then I went to the Australian hotel in the Rocks and discovered a couple of gems being Little Creatures Pale Ale and Sharers Ale (sp?). Not long after others came along such as those early beers from James Squires as well as European beers such as those from the Belgium Beer Cafes. This was then my hallelujah moment and I was hooked from then on. I've drunk every style of beer but these days I mainly keep to IPA's - Australian IPAs (such as Akasha Hopsmith IPA and Bentspoke Sprocket over Crankshaft) , the West Coast IPAs (think Dainton Overdrive), Hazy IPAs (too many to name but the Balter Hazy, the original and not the cheapened mainstream version, anything from Deep Creek, Parrot Dog and Garage Projects hazy ranges), NEPIAs (Jedi Juice, Old Wives Ales Old Man Yells at Cloud), IIPAs (Akasha's Korben D is the perfect example as well as the Bentspoke Cluster 8), IIIPAs, etc. So big hops, big flavour and strong alcohol.

Ultimately, I will be looking to replicate and explore my own versions of those beers which I prefer to drink. I'll definitely start with the BrewPrints, then go to the Ingredients but ultimately, I'd love to try some of the pre-packaged Fresh Wort kits such as the All In Brewing NEIPA wort kit.

Anyway, the BeerDroid was delivered on Friday (via Harvey Norman) along with the two BrewPrints I ordered directly from BrewArt (Narci-Citrus IPA and The Point IPA as well as the recommended Dry Hop Filter).

I decided to do the Narci-Citrus IPA first as the description from the website really sounded like my type of beer, hoppy, fruity-citrusy, strong'ish alcohol, etc.

In preparation, I watched all the "101" videos as well as scouring these forums and found the Narci-Citrus IPA thread. To my disappointment, the comments could be summarised as the resulting beer being a bit disappointing and definitely not as described  but rather dark in colour, less big hops and more caramel and malt which is a flavour profile I really don't like. Like the Little Creatures IPA, I find this to be too malty and not hoppy enough.

I spoke to a really good mate who's gotten into homebrewing in a major way for 4 years and his goal is to become a professional brewer. So I turned to him for advice. He read some of the forum comments and suggested going and getting some additional dry hops, mosaic and citra, which I did. Big thumbs up to Dave's Home Brew shop in North Sydney.

First up, I added  approximately (bloody kitchen scale was broken) 10 grams of each at the same time as adding the N-C ingredients to the beer droid. According to my mate, adding the hops at the start should help to balance the malty/caramel undertones and by using relatively small amounts, it should avoid too much "grassiness". He also suggests doubling up on the dry hops to 50 grams of each at the dry hopping stage. I'm thinking I might take a slightly more conservative approach to this and maybe add each 25 gram dry hop package from the BrewPrint and only add an additional 10-12 grams of each hop. This will be a total of approximately 90 grams of hops.

The N-C BrewPrint has been in since approximately 4 pm on Saturday and I used the App to start it by moving the BP from On Order to In Stock. Then clicked on the N-C and hit start effectively. It took 7 hours exactly in the Propagate Zone and then a further 13 hours before Fermentation was detected. Does that all sound right?

Now, question time

1. In terms of the above changes to the N-C recipe, what are your thoughts? Do you think it will achieve the sort of beer that is more to my liking or over hopped, too green grassy, etc?

2. I've read so much about adding the Dry Hopping to the brew program but it doesn't show up on program on the app for N-C. Does this mean it will miss the dry hopping phase or will it just tell me when it is ready, either on the app, on the LCD panel or both? (by the way, as it is new, my BeerDroid is on firmware version P018 which I believe is the latest)

3. I have an existing 4 litre early iKegger stainless double skin keg. I plan to use this but update/upgrade to the Stainless Steel Spear with Standard Homebrew Connections,   Mini Regulator on Check Valve Disconnect (allows force carbonating the keg lying down in the fridge) and Premium Stainless Steel Flow Control Tap With Steel Disconnect.

  I also have about 6x 2 litre glass growlers.

  My initial kegging/bottling plan once the brew is ready, is to put 4 litres into the iKegger, force carbonate then transfer to the glass growlers.

Now, I'm thinking that perhaps the 2l glass growlers aren't a great idea so I'm thinking to get the Complete PET Bottling Pack and put 4 litres into my iKegger and then bottle the rest.

What are your thoughts in terms of best results and maybe, easier to carry out for a noob such as myself?

4. Thinking to eventually get this setup from iKegger... 

https://www.ikegger.com/products/10l-ikegger-package-with-filling-kit-to-match-brewart-beerdroid#

going with the 2x 5l keg option. That way as I brew more, I have more flexibility which includes 3 iKeggers and the PET bottles.

Does this sound reasonable or are there other alternatives worth considering?

For those who made it this far, a huge thank you for your patience and look forward to any and all replies.

Cheers,
Warren (a.k.a Wazza 😄)

p.s. I'm as excited AF to have taken my first baby steps into the world of homebrewing and to be an active part of this community.

Hey @Wazza_wantsbeerand welcome again. 

I think we have similar tastes in beer. Thanks for sharing your background, it's interesting to learn what brings people to this brewing system.

I'm sure as you've read here and on Facebook, you can make some fantastic beers with this thing. Temperature control and sanitisation are everything in home brewing and the Brewart hardware makes this so simple.

Fresh Wort Kits are great and I've used some and plan to use some more in future. You can also do partial or mini mashes on the stove or in a bigger vessel should you wish. The Brewart ingredients are pretty impressive though and if value is a consideration for you then I reckon the time they save and ease and consistency they provide is worth the slightly higher cost. 

I won't try and answer all of your questions because as you rightly pointed out this is a fantastic community and there's so many people who are keen to help out. I'm also on the Facebook groups (a bunch of beer groups actually) but don't like the platform in general so limit what I share there.

But, in order to help out with at least a couple of your questions I can offer the following:

- The Narci Cirtrus Brewprint is a Dry Hop program by default so you will get the notification both on the Droid and your app when it's time to add hops.

- Yes it's a maltier style of IPA, more English than American but still pretty good. I reckon your hopping schedule sounds good. Up to 100g of hop pellets works just fine in the Droid as long as you let the pre-programmed cold crash finish. I'd advise you to cold crash the beer further for a day or two by forcing it into storage mode once the program is finished. You can do this easily from the app.

- Once your beer has finished brewing you want to protect it from light so your glass growlers are probably not the best option and the bottling kit would be a handy addition. One of the great things about the PET bottles is that they allow you to sample your creations at intervals along the way to let you decide when your beer is at its best. As a guide, the higher alcohol beers need 4 to 6 weeks worth of maturing. That said, the hop flavours do mellow a little in this timeframe so it's good to sample along the way to work out the sweet spot.

- As for kegging; yes iKegger produce some great solutions and I have recently purchased that hopping basket connection and intend to use it with half Corney kegs and a kegerator setup sourced from another supplier. If you do force carbonate your brews they will still likely need some maturing time so please keep that in mind. Again, this is where bottling a portion of a brew has its advantages.

Anyway, enough from me, I'll let the others contribute but it's nice to have another keen brewer on board.

Cheers!

[Captain 3 Droids]

2 hours ago, Dustin Frothman said:

Hey @Wazza_wantsbeerand welcome again. 

I think we have similar tastes in beer. Thanks for sharing your background, it's interesting to learn what brings people to this brewing system.

I'm sure as you've read here and on Facebook, you can make some fantastic beers with this thing. Temperature control and sanitisation are everything in home brewing and the Brewart hardware makes this so simple.

Fresh Wort Kits are great and I've used some and plan to use some more in future. You can also do partial or mini mashes on the stove or in a bigger vessel should you wish. The Brewart ingredients are pretty impressive though and if value is a consideration for you then I reckon the time they save and ease and consistency they provide is worth the slightly higher cost. 

I won't try and answer all of your questions because as you rightly pointed out this is a fantastic community and there's so many people who are keen to help out. I'm also on the Facebook groups (a bunch of beer groups actually) but don't like the platform in general so limit what I share there.

But, in order to help out with at least a couple of your questions I can offer the following:

- The Narci Cirtrus Brewprint is a Dry Hop program by default so you will get the notification both on the Droid and your app when it's time to add hops.

- Yes it's a maltier style of IPA, more English than American but still pretty good. I reckon your hopping schedule sounds good. Up to 100g of hop pellets works just fine in the Droid as long as you let the pre-programmed cold crash finish. I'd advise you to cold crash the beer further for a day or two by forcing it into storage mode once the program is finished. You can do this easily from the app.

- Once your beer has finished brewing you want to protect it from light so your glass growlers are probably not the best option and the bottling kit would be a handy addition. One of the great things about the PET bottles is that they allow you to sample your creations at intervals along the way to let you decide when your beer is at its best. As a guide, the higher alcohol beers need 4 to 6 weeks worth of maturing. That said, the hop flavours do mellow a little in this timeframe so it's good to sample along the way to work out the sweet spot.

- As for kegging; yes iKegger produce some great solutions and I have recently purchased that hopping basket connection and intend to use it with half Corney kegs and a kegerator setup sourced from another supplier. If you do force carbonate your brews they will still likely need some maturing time so please keep that in mind. Again, this is where bottling a portion of a brew has its advantages.

Anyway, enough from me, I'll let the others contribute but it's nice to have another keen brewer on board.

Cheers!

Great stuff Warren and response from Dustin. There is heaps of good info on this forum and your move to a BeerDroid will be well rewarded. Hop additions at the start will impart some bitterness thus reducing the malt effect however dry hopping tends to enhance aroma and flavour. Quite a few of us experiment with different hops and amounts. It has been said that in a 10l brew a total of 80gms is probably the limit as far as absorption is concerned.
Enjoy your brewing, ask away and inform on your progress and outcomes.

Cheers

[Robert Pretty]

Hey Wazza 

You want regret it. Have you got a copy of the shem sheet? That's where you will find the Pirate Life  and Sierra Nevada IPA's recipes. Two of the best, if you are in to IPA's. Also a useful tool when ordering. Most of us buy bulk hops from different suppliers. I vacuum seal and freeze in 25g  bags. An just buy the ingredients we need from Brewart. Can make some significant savings over buying the brewprint box. There are no silly questions, so ask away, been great experimenting with different hop combinations and amounts. Keep us informed of your progress.

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Robert Pretty

[Captain 3 Droids]

Shem sheet, need ability to download excel sheets

https://community.brewart.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=605

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

Thank you all for the replies, much appreciated.

Looks like I've "gone Droid" at a bad time in terms of supplies. Virtually no BrewPrints in stock (and those that are are just not my cup of tea).

Looked at the clone recipes in the Shem sheet, thank you C3D, they all use E5 which is out of stock making it impossible to complete the recipe for any of the clones that interest me being in order of preference:

Hazy IPA, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, Pirate Life IPA and BrewDog Punk IPA.

Fortunately, I did order The Point IPA when I ordered the C-N IPA so I'll have something to put down once this one completes.

I'm actually thinking to get one of the All In Brewing NEIPA fresh wort kits from Dave's Home Brewing (@49 for the kit) and put that down. I might even do that one next to have that over the Xmas/New Year period. The obvious pain with these kits is how to best store the leftover 1/2 wort kit. In the fridge? Suggestions on how to do this best to maintain a clean uncontaminated wort?

Another question and sorry to be such a pain...

The BrewArt PET bottles versus 500 ml swing top glass bottles. What are your thoughts? Which is easier to clean and sanitize and generally just better overall? Also, are the BrewArt PET bottles BPA free? Looking at the webpage, it doesn't give much details.

If not BPA free, TBH, that will play into my decision making.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Wazza_wantsbeer
Spelling

[Captain 3 Droids]

8 hours ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Thank you all for the replies, much appreciated.

Looks like I've "gone Droid" at a bad time in terms of supplies. Virtually no BrewPrints in stock (and those that are are just not my cup of tea).

Looked at the clone recipes in the Shem sheet, thank you C3D, they all use E5 which is out of stock making it impossible to complete the recipe for any of the clones that interest me being in order of preference:

Hazy IPA, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, Pirate Life IPA and BrewDog Punk IPA.

Fortunately, I did order The Point IPA when I ordered the C-N IPA so I'll have something to put down once this one completes.

I'm actually thinking to get one of the All In Brewing NEIPA fresh wort kits from Dave's Home Brewing (@49 for the kit) and put that down. I might even do that one next to have that over the Xmas/New Year period. The obvious pain with these kits is how to best store the leftover 1/2 wort kit. In the fridge? Suggestions on how to do this best to maintain a clean uncontaminated wort?

Another question and sorry to be such a pain...

The BrewArt PET bottles versus 500 ml swing top glass bottles. What are your thoughts? Which is easier to clean and sanitize and generally just better overall? Also, are the BrewArt PET bottles BPA free? Looking at the webpage, it doesn't give much details.

If not BPA free, TBH, that will play into my decision making.

I’ve done a number of brews using the kits and having to split the ingredients (tin) in half. Putting the the 1/2 can into one of those large zip lock bags and into the fridge works well, I’ve even used the vacuum seal machine/ bag but be carful as the tin tends to crush a bit.

The old saying “good things come in glass” however PET bottles have quite a few advantages:-

. Don’t break if dropped

. No potential dangerous bottle/glass bombs

. Safe around kids

. Easy to seal and remove air by squeezing the bottle before tightening the lid

. Easy to clean

. Are not heavy

. BPA free

. Designed for beer

. Can easily determine carbonation as the bottle goes hard

. The dimples in the base hold settled sediment well

The only real disadvantage is they are really only good for storing beer for about 6 months (imo but 12mths has been mentioned) and not good for long term maturing of stouts, dark ales etc.

 

 

[Eltham Brauhaus]

On 27/10/2021 at 12:38 PM, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Thank you all for the replies, much appreciated.

Looks like I've "gone Droid" at a bad time in terms of supplies. Virtually no BrewPrints in stock (and those that are are just not my cup of tea).

Looked at the clone recipes in the Shem sheet, thank you C3D, they all use E5 which is out of stock making it impossible to complete the recipe for any of the clones that interest me being in order of preference:

Hazy IPA, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, Pirate Life IPA and BrewDog Punk IPA.

Fortunately, I did order The Point IPA when I ordered the C-N IPA so I'll have something to put down once this one completes.

I'm actually thinking to get one of the All In Brewing NEIPA fresh wort kits from Dave's Home Brewing (@49 for the kit) and put that down. I might even do that one next to have that over the Xmas/New Year period. The obvious pain with these kits is how to best store the leftover 1/2 wort kit. In the fridge? Suggestions on how to do this best to maintain a clean uncontaminated wort?

Another question and sorry to be such a pain...

The BrewArt PET bottles versus 500 ml swing top glass bottles. What are your thoughts? Which is easier to clean and sanitize and generally just better overall? Also, are the BrewArt PET bottles BPA free? Looking at the webpage, it doesn't give much details.

If not BPA free, TBH, that will play into my decision making.

Hi Wazza, welcome to this group. I was completely ignorant re brewing until I got my first Droid in Jan this year and this forum has helped me enormously. I have done 26 brews since embarking on this journey and each batch has turned out beautifully.

I have used the Coopers 700ml PET bottles as well as 330ml, 450ml and 700ml swing lid bottles. I have also used a 1.5Lt swing lid bottle just to see how it worked out for me. I know its subjective but from my limited experience I prefer the glass 450ml swing lids and some 330ml swing lids.

450ml are perfect for me as I can have a pint when ever I like and not having to worry about finishing off one of the 700ml size bottles. I like the robustness of the glass over the PET and I can remove my labels from the glass easily where as with the PET bottles there as a sticky residue left which I had to remove with thinners. I am also addicted to the popping sound when opening a swing lid. 

The glass swing lids bottles are more expensive to buy new but I have bought many Grolsch bottles quite cheaply on Market Place. With the 2nd hand bottles I replace the lid seals with new quality seals as I don't want any leaks for my ales & stouts which I will store up to 12 months.

As I said its just my personal preference.

 

[Dustin Frothman]

On 27/10/2021 at 12:08 PM, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Looks like I've "gone Droid" at a bad time in terms of supplies. Virtually no BrewPrints in stock (and those that are are just not my cup of tea).

Looked at the clone recipes in the Shem sheet, thank you C3D, they all use E5 which is out of stock making it impossible to complete the recipe for any of the clones that interest me being in order of preference:

Hazy IPA, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, Pirate Life IPA and BrewDog Punk IPA.

Fortunately, I did order The Point IPA when I ordered the C-N IPA so I'll have something to put down once this one completes.

I'm actually thinking to get one of the All In Brewing NEIPA fresh wort kits from Dave's Home Brewing (@49 for the kit) and put that down. I might even do that one next to have that over the Xmas/New Year period. The obvious pain with these kits is how to best store the leftover 1/2 wort kit. In the fridge? Suggestions on how to do this best to maintain a clean uncontaminated wort?

It looks like ingredients will be back in stock next week. There's a semi-regular "free postage" promotion and many of us here stock up when its offered. You can store your dry ingredients in a cool dry place and any yeasts, hop oils and dry hop pellets in the fridge or dry hop pellets in the freezer if you are storing them long term.

I think saw it mentioned above - using 2 BeerDroids gives you the flexibility to try those fresh wort kits without needing to worry about storing the unused portion. This is obviously a large financial investment and may not be an option to begin with, but you might find that you end up heading down this path anyway as your brewing progresses and you want to experiment more. 

If you purchase one of those FWKs in the plastic cube like All In Brewing supply then you can just squeeze as much of the air out as possible, tighten the lid with a cube spanner and store in the fridge until you're ready. Some FWKs like the new ones from Kegland are being supplied in a plastic bladder which probably makes this process a little tricker. The good thing about the cube is that once you're done with it you can clean, sanitise and re-use for your brewing water in future.

[Captain 3 Droids]

I have been brewing for many years now and regardless if  I bottled/keg it’s about the personal outcome. I have brewed in a bag (basic all grain), many, many kit recipes, and several wort cubes (which are a product of all grain).

If I were to rate the brewing experience in terms of outcome/taste and not effort, the BrewArt ingredients, ease of brewing and recipe choice and results are outstanding. Second, purchased wort cubes.

 

 

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

Okay wow, so I'm now freaking out a bit.

Today completed day 6 of brewing the N-C IPA and I got the notice just as I was leaving the house to do my daily exercise, that it was time to dry hop.

6 days in, this seems early to me based on the BrewPrint estimate (7-10 days) and what I read in the N-C IPA thread.

So I did dry hop, being very careful to remove the lid and not disturb things too much.

I added the 25 g of the included Citra and Mosaic hops and an addition 20 g of each for a total of roughly 90 grams for the dry hop.

I do love a hippy beer so this shouldn't not be an issue for me.

But yeah, back to the timings, does 6 days from pressing the start button on the brew to adding dry hops, does that seem right?

Edited October 29, 2021 by Wazza_wantsbeer
Corrections

[Dustin Frothman]

35 minutes ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

 

But yeah, back to the timings, does 6 days from pressing the start button on the brew to adding dry hops, does that seem right?

 

Yeah that's about right for the Narci-Citrus IPA these days.

The Brewart techs updated the algorithm that predicts end of fermentation and it's now a little more accurate than previously.

One method of dry hopping is to add the pellets as fermentation is starting to taper off. The Brewart algorithm is predicting this based on various readings logged each day during the fermentation test and then it let you know when you're in that window.

The brewing time estimates on the webpage have not been updated yet in line with this. So you're on right on track.

Once you've brewed and bottled (or kegged) the real science is in the playing the waiting game. The Narci-Citrus will need 6 weeks secondary fermentation/conditioning/maturing before you drink it. 

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

10 hours ago, Dustin Frothman said:

Yeah that's about right for the Narci-Citrus IPA these days.

The Brewart techs updated the algorithm that predicts end of fermentation and it's now a little more accurate than previously.

One method of dry hopping is to add the pellets as fermentation is starting to taper off. The Brewart algorithm is predicting this based on various readings logged each day during the fermentation test and then it let you know when you're in that window.

The brewing time estimates on the webpage have not been updated yet in line with this. So you're on right on track.

Once you've brewed and bottled (or kegged) the real science is in the playing the waiting game. The Narci-Citrus will need 6 weeks secondary fermentation/conditioning/maturing before you drink it. 

Thank you Dustin, that was a most excellent explanation, very helpful and has put my mind at ease.

(As someone who works in IT, as a manager so not technical for many years, I can certainly understand updating your algorithms and code but not the documentation. Generally most IT folks hate to document their work, it's not the fun coding or building stuff 🤣)

Whew! 🤗

And yeah, that 6 week maturation is going to be hell.

Now I can understand why you guys brew regularly (and have multiple Droids... looking at you @Captain 3 Droids and others) and keep stocks of beer in bottles because of the lag time between starting a brew and drinking said brew.

It will take me a while to get my stocks up so the lag can be accounted for. Because in reality, it's like 8 weeks (or more depending on style) from brew start to sitting back and enjoying the fruits of your and the Droids labour.

So based on those calculations, I should at least get 2 brews completed and matured before the holiday break.

😁🍺🕺🍻

[Captain 3 Droids]

12 minutes ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

It will take me a while to get my stocks up

Pain in the rear end, most of us when we first started continued with purchasing beer (good way to get bottles if requiring glass) until stocks were up. 

[Dustin Frothman]

3 hours ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Thank you Dustin, that was a most excellent explanation, very helpful and has put my mind at ease.

(As someone who works in IT, as a manager so not technical for many years, I can certainly understand updating your algorithms and code but not the documentation. Generally most IT folks hate to document their work, it's not the fun coding or building stuff 🤣)

😁🍺🕺🍻

I hear you. Computer Science background and ex corporate IT robot here too. I’ve done something a bit different for the last 15 years or so but still somewhat tech based. 

Anyway, just keep on brewing (one out and next one straight in) and your stocks will build up quickly enough.

[Robert Pretty]

Talk about career change this year I have gone from Aircraft Engineering manager. To mine haul truck Driver and loving it. @Wazza_wantsbeer I'm a solo droider , you just need to build stock, which takes time. Will come.

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

Okay, not so alarmed this time but to give an update, whilst still in the "Ferment" zone, the temperature is now being dropped to a target of 4°C.

I take I have now hit the cold crash time?

This is only 48 hours after dry hopping. Does this sound right?

Interestingly, there was no alert sent via the App like there was at the other key milestones.

[Dustin Frothman]

9 hours ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Okay, not so alarmed this time but to give an update, whilst still in the "Ferment" zone, the temperature is now being dropped to a target of 4°C.

I take I have now hit the cold crash time?

This is only 48 hours after dry hopping. Does this sound right?

Interestingly, there was no alert sent via the App like there was at the other key milestones.

Yes that's the correct behaviour.

The Dry Hopping window is 48 hours by default. When the cold crash is active there is no “cold crash” notation on the app or the Droid control panel. There isn’t a notification or alert sent for this milestone either.

After the 48 hour cold crash the Droid will return the brew to 18 degrees C in preparation for bottling or kegging.

[Dustin Frothman]

1 hour ago, Dustin Frothman said:

Yes that's the correct behaviour.

The Dry Hopping window is 48 hours by default. When the cold crash is active there is no “cold crash” notation on the app or the Droid control panel. There isn’t a notification or alert sent for this milestone either.

After the 48 hour cold crash the Droid will return the brew to 18 degrees C in preparation for bottling or kegging.

Just correcting what I stated above:

When the Droid is cold crashing your brew it will state “Clearing Hops” on the app. There is no push notification for this.

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

2 hours ago, Dustin Frothman said:

Just correcting what I stated above:

When the Droid is cold crashing your brew it will state “Clearing Hops” on the app. There is no push notification for this.

Thanks for the replies Dustin, much appreciated.

Interesting, on my app, it doesn't state "Clearing Hops". In the Notifications section, it reads "Temperature Change 4°" otherwise, no mention of "clearing hops" anywhere.

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by Wazza_wantsbeer
Adding image, screen shot of app

[Dustin Frothman]

2 hours ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Thanks for the replies Dustin, much appreciated.

Interesting, on my app, it doesn't state "Clearing Hops". In the Notifications section, it reads "Temperature Change 4°" otherwise, no mention of "clearing hops" anywhere.

 

If you look towards the top of the page it will state “Clearing Hops” near the recipe label image.

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

1 hour ago, Dustin Frothman said:

If you look towards the top of the page it will state “Clearing Hops” near the recipe label image.

D'OH! And yes, there it is... right under the name of my Droid, "Wazza's Droid" and above the picture of the Narci-Citrius IPA BrewPrint.

Didn't see it there, as always, thanks for the directions and education... it's much needed.

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

Okay 48 hours later, the "cold crash" has completed. However... HELP!!!

My PET bottles haven't yet arrived and not due to arrive until Thursday. I would like to do another 24 hours in the cold zone to aid in clarifying the beer before tomorrow, Wednesday getting it to Kegging temp. The brew is now warming up and well, now it's panic stations.

Also, just drew a small sample from the tap and it's as cloudy AF with a very weak flavour and what seems like little alcohol!

How do I use the app to put it back into the cold zone of 4C? Or do I simply cancel the brew program and then manually do it via the droid itself?

Finally, have I stuffed this up as the taste is, well, really disappointing  😔

[Captain 3 Droids]

5 minutes ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Okay 48 hours later, the "cold crash" has completed. However... HELP!!!

My PET bottles haven't yet arrived and not due to arrive until Thursday. I would like to do another 24 hours in the cold zone to aid in clarifying the beer before tomorrow, Wednesday getting it to Kegging temp. The brew is now warming up and well, now it's panic stations.

Also, just drew a small sample from the tap and it's as cloudy AF with a very weak flavour and what seems like little alcohol!

How do I use the app to put it back into the cold zone of 4C? Or do I simply cancel the brew program and then manually do it via the droid itself?

Finally, have I stuffed this up as the taste is, well, really disappointing  😔

The flavours will taste flat/weak due to the cold temperature and no allowance for maturing/conditioning. 
I believe you can just push the store button and it will go to 4C until you press the keg button.

[Robert Pretty]

Hi Wazza

After it has been in cold crush for 48 hours , it will go to Kegging and raise the temperature, where it will stay for another 48 hours. If it isn't kegged with in that 48 hours it will go to store. Otherwise on the App just press the store button. Then press it again if you want to get it to kegging temp.