" Ditch's Stout " Master Class .....

[Ditch]

Steady as ye go with testing that heater, mate. Put it in at least a couple of litres of water.

I say this because I ~ thinking I was being crafty stuck mine in a one litre, steel thermos. Thought heating less water would save time and electricity.

FFS! Spent a hair rending Week, watching it leap back and forth between 20 and 30. Never in between. F**king thing!

Then, a guy who's more switched on pointed out that, in such a low volume of water, the thermostat simply doesn't to 'react' properly.

I put an FV, holding 20 Ltrs of water into a trug. Topped the trug up to full. Plopped my heater in the trug water. Had it at 23C inside 36 hours.

[avtovaz]

well not sure if i have done the right thing, i have put it in the fv 20 odd ltrs with some WP cleaner...


Hope the cleaner dosnt affect it but i can take a good measurement tomorrow i think.

[Ditch]

Hope the cleaner dosnt affect it .....

VWP's basically a bleach, isn't it? Okay. Then it'll really depend on the exact type of heater ye have there. See; Two of mine are the exact same type. They have a calibrated 'clock face' with a dial switch one turns to the required setting.

Fine, as far as it goes. Only, bleach type contacts eat the f**king 'paint' off the face! That's what happened to both mine, look. So, once the dial switch drifted out of true? I didn't have a clue where to point it to, to get the temperature I wanted!

My other heater, the one I now far prefer, has a 'Stick' type dial. It sticks out of the top of the heater. Twist that and it effects an up and down sliding scale inside the side of the glass tube.

Nothing ye put That baby in is going to effect what that slider, inside the glass tube, looks like. See?

Just look at ye own heater and consider that

[tazzymutt]

Thanks Ditch.

I'll prime with a little of the same sugar I used in the initial brew and see how I get on with that. Brew is looking good with the krausen now just a thin film on top of the beer. I reckon I'll barrel it on Friday then just a short wait before the first test.

As for serving temperature, I reckon you may need to use your heater in the brew (beware when the level drops, you don't want the heater to run dry). You could also consider something like a heater tray or a heated blanket (small ones are available for pet beds and might be suitable) under the brew or even making up a box with room for a small tube heater under the brew and a door to allow you to get to the tap at the important moments.

I have yet to decide where my barrel will live, but the small (well insulated) room in my garage is where my other brews live until required so that is the best guess. Last night it was around 11C (52F) in there, which ought to be OK but, if not, I have recently acquired a secondhand fridge that is going to become a brew fridge, so I may have to press that into service.

Thanks for your help and advice... not long until I get to test how good my taste buds think it is. I'm looking forward to it.

Happy brewing,


Ian.

[Ditch]

Ian, I must say that some form of thermo regulated serving box is something that does occur to me, some of these colder nights.

At the moment, I'm 'happy' enough to siphon a pint straight out of the FV. But, that being out in the store room, it comes out as a bloody cold pint! Of course, it'd still be cold if I'd transferred it to a BK. But, yes; A keg would be more amenable to some sort of warming / insulating.

That said? What ever Heath Robinson affair I might dream up, it's going to remain just that, a dream, for now. I can probably get a thermostat for around £30.00. Sheet of Kingspan for a bit less. Sheet of ply ....? Tube heater too, about the thirty. But, whoops! Already, look, we're looking at a f**king ton! Amazing how these little projects bite ye.

I wouldn't mind, normally. But, I've just ordered a rather pricey tool ~ figuring that was my treat for this month. Then, yesterday, one of my Dogs has said; " Hey, Dad, look at my ear. Ever seen this before? "

Hematoma, apparently. I could just leave it to go away naturally. But, it can't be comfortable for the poor bugger. So, I'm looking at about £250.00. And my account hitting the red for the first time in living memory!

No more little treats or projects for Ditch this month. I'll drink cold beer.

[tazzymutt]

Ditch,

The friend pictured in my avatar tells me that looking after the dog is far more important than keeping beer at optimum serving temperature. I'm not sure I agree about importance, but I guess urgency has to factor in somewhere.

Never mind, your beer should soon warm up with the weather and stay OK for a few months, so a summer scrounging project might be able to turn up the bits you need cheaply.

Fingers crossed,


Ian.

[avtovaz]

Ditch the submercible ones, how far down the FV do you the one you showed me?

I had it near the top and it dosnt seem to come on much, not i have put it about half way and its on.

I was thinking should it be near the bottom so the hot water rises and circulates?

thanks mate!

[Ditch]

My heaters ~ probably much like anyone elses? ~ are about eight inches long, I'd guess.

I just like to ensure their heads are under water, as it were. This is simple, in an FV or a trug. Just give them enough flex that they can lay down.

Regards ye observation about depth effecting the on / off though? Yes. I agree that letting them lay submerged is better than having them nearer the surface.

Question then, of course, is; Where do we position the thermometer ....?

[avtovaz]

LOL!

Well, ill do as you say.


Ill take a temp reading, i have taken them from different places, and that is why im not happy atm with temp...


To be fair though, it just feels a bit cold to me at 21 degs, the brew belt must hkeep my wine/beers a lot warmer...


Starting to wonder about all this fine tuning etc, that is what im missing, however, i like what i have made so far so much...


This stout is making me think about changing from being a wine drinker to beer! but my belly is overhanging already LOL!

[Ditch]

Well; I've just removed my first ever FV from a Trug. (For those who are lost already; Some people favour putting the FV into a trug of water and put the heater into that liquid)

The trug water, having taken the Spew from my FV, had long since become disturbingly brown and iffy looking. Just for the record? Having now lifted the FV from it, disturbing the 'water'? F**k Me!!! The look and the stink of it?!

I can't quite put my finger on it. (Wouldn't want to put my finger in it!) Let's just say, " Aging Sluts Nursing Home " sprang to mind! For F**k Sake! That was just f**king Vile!!!


Oh well. Stout tastes absolutely glorious, as ever. So, nothing wrong there then. It worked. And, that rank, slimy, stinking liquid aside? I must admit; It was a lot less harrowing, scrubbing the tide mark of filth out of the trug than it was rinsing a heater. Hard to break a trug.

Stage Two: Having scrubbed the trug out. I've now half filled it with crystal clear water and a cup of cheap bleach. I've put the heater in there and have turned it on. Maybe, tomorrow, I'll knock out another kit?

Thinking about it though? All that exposed surface area? Heater's never going to warm that water enough It needs, at least a dummy loaded FV in there. Frankly? I just don't feel I have the will to go farting about any more tonight. A man's got to switch off some time.

There's a point spotted though. I also plan to get some 'Kingspan' insulation board and make trug covers, with big holes to accommodate FV's too. Cut slits for the trug handles to poke through. Keep that essential heat in.

F**k!!! Hang about though; That'll mean the Spew going onto the top of the Trug Lid. Then running off onto the floor? Heh! Yeah, but, that's never bothered me before!

Guess you guys are just going to have to figure ye own little tweaks and body swerves here? I'm only adapting what others have suggested to My own situation, look .....

[tazzymutt]

Rather than a trug I use a kids toy bucket. It is deep enough that the lid of the FV is below the rim of the bucket. When I first set it up I had just replaced a hot water cylinder and so had one of the old insulation jackets lying in the heap waiting for a trip to the tip; two sections of that and a little duck tape and I have a well insulated water bath. As Ditch suggests, a piece of left over Kingspan (actually mine was branded Cellotex, but it is more or less the same stuff) provides a simple and effective lid. With that set up, a 50 watt heater is more than adequate the keep the temperature up, even in an unheated garage. I use a cheap (99p!) digital aquarium thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature, but to be honest, it seems to be sufficiently stable that I don't check it very often.

I always put the sterilising solution I use to clean the FV into the waterbath, once it has done its' job. That is sufficient to prevent anything growing in it and has kept the smell down. I don't know if I just got lucky, but my brew did not spew this time. I clipped the lid down all around (it's leaky enough that it was never going to be airtight) and the krausen looked really impressive early on and has covered the whole area of the lid in the inside, but nothing, well, no more than a few drips, escaped. That's probably a consequence of starting the brew with the thermostat set a little low, the waterbath sat at just under 20C and by the time I noticed and wound it up to the recommended 22C the krausen had started to subside. Actually, I quite like that; a good spew may be visually impressive, but that is ingredient and flavour escaping, which seems a terrible waste.

Anyway, the brew has now finished, just a few small islands of bubbles on top of the brew and the hydro does not seem to have moved for a couple of days, so I reckon it will go into the barrel tonight or tomorrow, depending on what time I escape from the office. Looking forward to this one more than I have looked forward to any brew for a while.

Watch this space.

Happy brewing,


Ian.

[WalesAles]

Hello Everyone,
Ditch`s Stout is Awesome! Brewed 36 pints on 15th Feb, Kegged 28 pints on 25th Feb, no priming, no gas. Tasted 9 pints on that night, Mmmmm V.Nice. Nothing left after a couple of days! As an experiment I bottled 4 with sugar and 4 without sugar. Tasted the sugar ones last night, too sweet, won`t do that again. The ones without sugar are Fantastic. They even taste stronger than the Kegged Stout.
WA

[Linus]

Did a stout kit last saturday,been in the FV 6 days,and the airlock is quiet(this was wednesday by the way) i thought oh its done.

Was going to leave it for 10 days anyway just looked at the plug socket and noticed the fish tank heater has been turned off .

The Mrs has turned it off

[Ditch]

Just looked at the plug socket and noticed the fish tank heater has been turned off The Mrs has turned it off

Oh, that's just Baaad!!! .......... Coming on here and talking about f**king air locks!!!

[Geezah]

Amazing how a coopers Stout, 1kg of DME and a cup of sugar has made 57 pages

You should buy some dairy cattle Ditch