Vienna...ale?

[Harhm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Harhm]

Down the line, this setup may be ideal for using a 30 min boil like many are doing these days. [With wide/ low pot you are probably boiling off the volatiles quicker as well anyway]

I agree, be careful with these wide/low pots ito boil off rates and too aggressive boil, its important to measure those pre and post boil volumes accurately. I stand corrected but 15% boil off is bout the target I think

Don't bother with the strips rather save yourself the frustration and money and buy a far more accurate digital pH meter vs the strips.

a quick search got me to the pH meter that I use for R239

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Alright, ladies and gents! I learned one more thing: Winter is AMAZING to brew in, specially if you're aiming for lower temp brews. OK, two things: I have a VERY cold room in the house. Like, super cold. I was initially thinking "well, I probably won't be able to ferment the lager yeast in it's target temperature range of 11~15°C", but you know what, it turns out that room gets down to 14°C if I keep the door closed so it doesn't pull heat from the rest of the house. So yeah, my lager is happily bubbling away at pretty cool temps. Can't wait for this one to be ready, but I'm going to give it a good time this time. Doing this one right.

PS: The smell in that room is amazing. Like biscuits and nuts.

[jakeslouw Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jakeslouw]

Don't bother with the strips rather save yourself the frustration and money and buy a far more accurate digital pH meter vs the strips.

a quick search got me to the pH meter that I use for R239

My daughter is an analytical chemist and she reckons those things are so shite they need re-calibration EVERY TIME you want to use them..........
I have one here that wouldn't even calibrate properly.

[BeerHolic Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BeerHolic]

My daughter is an analytical chemist and she reckons those things are so shite they need re-calibration EVERY TIME you want to use them..........
I have one here that wouldn't even calibrate properly.

So what do you use ??. I have one of these ph meters and yes it is not the best quality and the most accurate. However I do regularly check it and find that it takes several brews before needing calibration and I manage to calibrate it just fine.

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Guys guys guys, I couldn't help it. Took a shot glass and tapped off a drop out of the fermenter. I am in love. This is the best beer I have ever made, and it's not even done. The bitterness is absolutely spot-on for this batch, and the malt is in-your-face strong. I absolutely cannot wait for this one to finish up. I'd actually love Atron to give this one a bash when it's done (and I've lagered it for a bit)...

[groenspookasem Banned Find all posts View Profile Close groenspookasem]

When did you pitch? How low did your SG get? Isn't it a bit quick to get your taste on?

I love Vienna...Pilsner, here's my take, I do enjoy a little sweetness from the carapils
5kg vienna
0.5kg carapils
~20 IBU magnum bittering
~10 IBU tettnang on aroma

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

That's Toxxyc for you ... he is a very impatient man when it comes to brewing

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

So what do you use ??. I have one of these ph meters and yes it is not the best quality and the most accurate. However I do regularly check it and find that it takes several brews before needing calibration and I manage to calibrate it just fine.

Good to know .... and that info is also on par with what so many other homebrewers i follow on YouTube are saying ... many of them dont have a problem with these PH testers .... some have even go so far as to test it against some more expensive ones and the results were very close.

Im yet to get one ... what's your take on them Harhm ?

[Langchop Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Langchop]

I bought a Ph meter once and still havent used it! I have also heard they arent that accurate, but really, I think most of us homebrewers just want some indication and not accuracy to 5 decimal places.

Toxxyc, If those beers are really good young, enjoy a good few while they are young. I have had quite a few batches (mostly IPAs admittedly) which were amazing in their early days. I savoured them and held back, but the awesomeness faded quickly

Glad you are happy with how things are going.

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

LOL - I pitched on Monday. Yes, it's early, but the smell made me curious! Anyway, this morning I checked and I think the yeast has done it's job. It's no longer bubbling and the airlock has "pushed back" a tiny bit. I think the fermentation is done. Makes sense, since it only had like 25 gravity points to eat through, which isn't a lot at all. I'll be giving it the time it deserves in the fermenter though and it still won't be opened or bottled soon. I have some other plans for this fermenter as it is now, so let's see how that'll work.

On my impatience - I love being impatient. How else will I know how half-fermented beer tastes if I don't, you know, taste it? :P I have to add that I taste VERY small amounts, like teaspoon quantities, so it's not impacting the volume in the fermenter. I'm also not opening the fermenter, so I'm not introducing oxygen. I've learned some lessons

[jakeslouw Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jakeslouw]

So what do you use ??. I have one of these ph meters and yes it is not the best quality and the most accurate. However I do regularly check it and find that it takes several brews before needing calibration and I manage to calibrate it just fine.

I dunno, I'm looking at something like this:

https://reliablestore.co.za/products...smart_campaign

[Harhm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Harhm]

Good to know .... and that info is also on par with what so many other homebrewers i follow on YouTube are saying ... many of them dont have a problem with these PH testers .... some have even go so far as to test it against some more expensive ones and the results were very close.

Im yet to get one ... what's your take on them Harhm ?

I'm very happy with mine, I have used it for almost 3 years now and only re-calibrated it after replacing the batteries.

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

^ Thanks, that confirms it then Time to put in my order and stop messing around with PH strips

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

OK so it seems like this yeast being called "high flocculating" and "fast sedimentation" is not an understatement. The beer is already visibly clearing up in the fermenter, and I haven't added any fining agents. I haven't even opened the top. I hope this one will clear up to crystal. That would be awesome!

Anyway, I had another taster. About 2ml out of the tap. This beer is awesome. I think my mashing temps were too low, and the thermometer misread the temps. I think that caused a lot of the sugars to not get where they need to be, so I have the flavour of the grains without the ABV of the sugars. The flavour so far is very full, rich, biscuits and nuts. The bitterness is more than regular lagers, as I expected, but I don't care. It blends well. It's not sharp and it's not too bad. My wife's reaction was "it's bitter, but not too bad actually".

I'll be fining it in a week or so. Going to use mother nature to help the process along. Might just make another batch right on this one's yeast cake, will have to wait and see.

[Harhm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Harhm]

Maybe I have missed it, what yeast did you use?