Jump to content

Fresh wort brewing


Robert Pretty

Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, Robert Pretty said:

Thinking of trying a fresh wort kit  Anyone brewed with one of these? Any brand to recommend? Any tips?

Cheers

Not sure where you are Robert however I’ve used https://www.allinnbrewingco.com/pages/fresh-wort-kits and I think Rob Courtney has as well - good product.

These brews are generally for 20l so would you be using 2 Droids?

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed, I've also used an All Inn Brewing FWK and it turned out really well in the Droid.

One consideration is that they are 15 litre kits, so you use half, top up with water, 2.5l, and then chuck in the yeast.

Storing the remaining 7.5l can be a bit tricky. I froze mine after squeezing out as much air as possible from the original wort bag.

If I was to do it again, I would put the remaining portion into a keg purged with CO2.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Agreed, I've also used an All Inn Brewing FWK and it turned out really well in the Droid.

One consideration is that they are 15 litre kits, so you use half, top up with water, 2.5l, and then chuck in the yeast.

Storing the remaining 7.5l can be a bit tricky. I froze mine after squeezing out as much air as possible from the original wort bag.

If I was to do it again, I would put the remaining portion into a keg purged with CO2.

“Original wort bag”, mine were in a 15l plastic cube anyway your brilliance- “into a keg….” I’d could use my 2 x 5l kegs (make up the 10l, thus 5 in each). Never thought of the kegs as brewing/kegging was the priority.

This is the brilliance of forums like this, you always learn something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

“Original wort bag”, mine were in a 15l plastic cube anyway your brilliance- “into a keg….” I’d could use my 2 x 5l kegs (make up the 10l, thus 5 in each). Never thought of the kegs as brewing/kegging was the priority.

This is the brilliance of forums like this, you always learn something.

Thanks guy's. Can get All Inn at Country Brewer in Maitland. Was thinking of using a 19lt corny as the primary fermenter. As I got a couple with the Kegerator.

https://hazyandhoppy.com/how-to-ferment-in-a-corny-keg/

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have bottled my Kissaki brew yesterday. I was able to have a chat with the guys from AllinBrewing who told me that on that particular brew to not go adding any extra hops as that would give a close as possible representation of the brew they make. Looked a little darker in the sampler compared to the Brewart brews and was no great shakes in the sampler taster so will be interesting to give this one a quick check in a few weeks time.

They did have a good selection of brews for sale but I went the Japanese lager first as it is something I can't do through Brewart. I'll update when I have a drink of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

2 weeks in and decided to see what it is like so I can chart it's journey.

It's OK but it is 2 weeks, I won't try another til 4 weeks to guage it but it has cleared up in the two weeks. Bit all over the place at the moment but it is more promising than the sampler when I was bottling.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

4 weeks in on a Japanese Rice lager (Kissaki).

Is coming together, is a very clear beer. The flavour still has a touch of a home brew twang to it which is surprising to be honest but is far less than my previous tasting.

What does interest me though is it has far less body and mouthfeel to it. It begs the question of whether you should add maltodextrin to it...or is it a true representation of what you do get from the brewer. Hard to guage because I can't get my hands on the original to check it out and maybe that improves with later consumption.

The further into the glass I get, the twang goes, so maybe a representation of what will come which is a dry lager ( don't mistake that to be like a Carlton Dry or other Aust dry beers...which frankly are crap), easy drinking, probably 4% which is good but at this stage right now...not impressed with the FWK in comparison to a brewprint. It is a ton better than a Kit and Kilo though. Maybe the ale FWK would have more body to it.

Might try again next week to see where the stubbie is at

IMG_0981.jpg

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 weeks in...yeah, this is turning into a nice beer. Still think it improves over the next few weeks but it is light and crisp and the Sorachi hops gives it a nice sort of lemony taste, a bit of sour to go with the bitter. I reckon you would go pretty stupid with these on a hot summers day and at 4% could afford to do it as well, would be a handy BBQ beer too.

IMG_0984 (1).jpg

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm very tempted to have a go at the All Inn Stronghold Assassin Double IPA (what's not to love about that many hops and 8.8% ABV)?

If I do it in the 'droid though, I'll have to do it in two batches.  I guess the best I could hope for is to run those batches about 10 days apart.

Anybody think the remaining portion of wort would be ok in the fridge for that long?   I'd be concerned about freezing it.

I guess I could do it old-school in my fermenter but I'd like the 'droids ability to manage EOF detection without mucking around with gravity and also to trivially cold-crash it for me afterwards.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, dcm said:

I'm very tempted to have a go at the All Inn Stronghold Assassin Double IPA (what's not to love about that many hops and 8.8% ABV)?

If I do it in the 'droid though, I'll have to do it in two batches.  I guess the best I could hope for is to run those batches about 10 days apart.

Anybody think the remaining portion of wort would be ok in the fridge for that long?   I'd be concerned about freezing it.

I guess I could do it old-school in my fermenter but I'd like the 'droids ability to manage EOF detection without mucking around with gravity and also to trivially cold-crash it for me afterwards.

Will your old school fermenter fit in the fridge (if not a sanitised pot that will hold the remaining wort) and lay glad wrap on the surface. This prevents oxygen (air) getting to it and will be ok to use later. (I do this with food in containers, stops freezer burns.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

Will your old school fermenter fit in the fridge (if not a sanitised pot that will hold the remaining wort) and lay glad wrap on the surface. This prevents oxygen (air) getting to it and will be ok to use later. (I do this with food in containers, stops freezer burns.

I think the wort arrives in a plastic bladder (like a wine cask) so my thinking would be to only extract the quantity of wort needed and leave the remainder in the bladder.  The bladder could be refrigerated for sure.

Somebody who has actually bought one of these kits might be able to enlighten us here...

I was in a brewshop just the other day picking up some hops (I'm in the habit of dosing my brewprints with extra dry hops) and I saw the kit there and thought "hmm...  that looks nice..."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, dcm said:

I think the wort arrives in a plastic bladder (like a wine cask) so my thinking would be to only extract the quantity of wort needed and leave the remainder in the bladder.  The bladder could be refrigerated for sure.

Somebody who has actually bought one of these kits might be able to enlighten us here...

I was in a brewshop just the other day picking up some hops (I'm in the habit of dosing my brewprints with extra dry hops) and I saw the kit there and thought "hmm...  that looks nice..."

I thought the All Inn worts were in 15l cubes however if a bladder then don’t see and issue. I think someone here had frozen wort with no issues. Should get some responses.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Robert Pretty said:

All Inn Brewing wort kits now come in a 15lt bladder inside a box, unscrew the cap , pull the plug and pour in. I prefer to take the bladder out of the box to pour. You will still need to buy yeast and any additional hops 

Yep, had a look on YouTube and that seemed to be the size of it.  Do you reckon that if I re-sealed the bladder and refrigerated it after taking half out it would be good for 10 days or so?

Roger on the yeast and hops...  I've actually made my own wort with grain before but it's a heck of a lot of work and my wife hates the mess in the kitchen afterwards.  Pre-made wort seemed like a reasonable compromise if I can 'droid it in 2 batches

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, dcm said:

Yep, had a look on YouTube and that seemed to be the size of it.  Do you reckon that if I re-sealed the bladder and refrigerated it after taking half out it would be good for 10 days or so?

Roger on the yeast and hops...  I've actually made my own wort with grain before but it's a heck of a lot of work and my wife hates the mess in the kitchen afterwards.  Pre-made wort seemed like a reasonable compromise if I can 'droid it in 2 batches

Yes, reseal the bladder but push as much air out as you can. Can’t see 10days in the fridge doing any harm.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree based on NO experience using this product but have refrigerated half cans of syrup, fresh yeasts and sourdough/bread.  
Fridge is generally a safe bet. The   Enemy is oxygen.  
 

Keep it sealed in the bladder and don’t allow back flow of air and it should be OK.  
 

If there’s air in the bladder you can drop it into a water bath with the opening facing upwards to drive out the extra air then reseal.  Most of the kits ferment out in 7-10 days.  
 

Cant see a problem with your plan…

Edited by J P
Grammar
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've done 2 FWK from All Inn, their NEIPA and the Hazy. Been thinking to try the Stronghold Assassin Double IPA myself, using my Fermzilla and without diluting too much.

A warning, splitting the bladder can be a bit tricky and you can expose the unused half to air and therefore oxidation.

I did speak with All Inn when doing the first FWK and they recommended that if storing for more than 7 or so days, best to freeze it. And yes, I was the person who froze the second half of the FWK as I wasn't planning on using it for more than a month after the first batch and the 2nd batch came out just as good as the first.

That being said, it does take a couple of days to thaw in the Fridge so storing for 10 days shouldn't be to bad.

Make sure, after filling the droid with the first 7.5 litres, that you sanitise the absolute crap out of the bladder, especially the opening, both inside and out and don't forget to sanitise the cap. That's where a spray bottle of Star/Stellar SAN does the trick.

And as both @Robert Pretty and @Captain 3 Droids  have said, get as much of the air out of the bladder as possible before resealing it is crucial. O2 is your enemy as well as any bacteria and yeast that are generally in the air.

Once you've done your first batch, please post pictures and your thoughts of the Assassin, very keen to hear what you think @dcm

Edited by Wazza_wantsbeer
  • Thanks 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, dcm said:

I feel a science experiment coming on...

image.png.a3149443f0efeb141e2bf3bba1174385.png

I'm wondering how much children's food I'll have to throw out of the freezer to accomodate 50% of this.

@dcm keen to hear how this one goes. Recommended hops for that one is 50g each of Simcoe, Galaxy, Warrior and Centennial. Is that what you doing. Just kegged their Legbreaker IPA using 50g of Citra and Centennial.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

Wow, 50g each in 10l? total 200g. Is not some waste there? Perhaps 20g of each?

It's 50g x 4 for the 20l mix.  I'll just weigh out half for each phase for the droid.  I'll probably program the 'droid for a similar dry hop recipe - maybe mountain IPA

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
  • Create New...