Airlocks... A necessary evil.

When people get into home brewing, craft brewing or hand made beer - what ever you would like to call it - the one piece of equipment that gets the most attention is the humble airlock.

After all - it's the only visible sign to someone new to brewing that something is actually happening in the fermenter.

If you haven't taken the steps into brewing, I had better explain what it is, what it does and what goes wrong.


Basically, it's an 'S' shaped tube that is inserted into the lid of your fermenter. It has two fat bits at the top and the bottom of the 'S' and narrow tube in between. Sterile water (or similar) goes in the fat bits.

Pic of an airlock in action.

It sole purpose in life is to keep nasties out of your brew while venting carbon dioxide and other brewing gases from the fermenter.

The kinds of things it's designed to keep out are airborne pathogens - wild yeast, bacterial, etc as well as dust, bugs, etc.

Carbon dioxide is one of the major by products of fermentation. There are some other gaseous by-products, but they are inconsequential at this level. All excess gas needs to be vented else the fermenter would pressurise and perhaps rupture, spraying beery sticky goodness all over the room in which the fermenter sits. So, when the gas is coming out, the water lets it out and makes a delightful bubbling or blopping sound.


What goes wrong is actually pretty simple. There is not a whole lot to go wrong. No moving parts. No magic. Medieval technology. It's a tube with water in it.

What people perceive to be 'wrong' is that there is no airlock activity. No bubbling, no noise - nothing. It's not actually a defect: it means the gas is getting out somewhere else. in the same way that 'nature abhors a vacuum' and 'electrons follow the easiest path' so does CO2 being vented from a fermenter - it will take the easiest way out: A leak.

The usual suspects for leaks are the o-ring (if you have an o-ringed carboy or similar style fermenting vessel) and the grommet through which the airlock is installed.

If your fermentation has already started (i.e. you have pitched the yeast), then leave it alone and mess around with it when you're cleaning before the next brew. Taking the lid off unnecessarily is an invitation to infect the brew and make it not fit for drinking. What you can do at this time is investigate a little to see where the leak is.

The simplest investigation is to see if the airlock grommet is leaking. Boil and cool some water - about 100 mls is more than enough. Pour a little around the airlock grommet on top of the lid. If there is gas escaping, you will see some bubbles. You've found your leak! I'll tell you two ways to fix it in just a moment. Don't be tempted to use the old trick for finding gas leaks using soapy water. If it makes its way into the brew, you may well stuff the brew.


After this brew has finished and you're cleaning the fermenter, you can check the o-ring. Before we get to that, remember - the way to check that the brew is finished and fermentation is complete is that you have a matching Specific Gravity reading (which becomes your Final Gravity or FG) on two or more consecutive days.

After bottling or kegging (Why the hell are you reading this if you're kegging? You're already experienced!) and disassembling the fermenter and cleaning it to make ready for the next batch, check the o-ring. Look for kinks, breaks, big scratches or something contaminating the surface. Check the groove it fits into in the lid for the same defects. Finally, check the lip of the fermenter which the o-ring mates for the same defects, including roughness around the moulding seams. If you spot any defects here, rectify those.

When you next are installing the lid, make the o-ring a little wet with some boiled and cooled water. It will aid in spinning the lid down tight and giving a good gas tight seal. You don't need to screw it in super tight like a sexually frustrated silver back gorilla. A good firm seal is quite adequate. It's easier to screw the lid on too tight than it is to unscrew it.

If you want to get fancy-schmansy about it, you can get some food grade lube and lubricate the o-ring before installing it into its groove and also wipe a little along the sealing face of the fermenter's lip. All very professional, but needless expense and extra things to clean even more thoroughly each batch. Recommended only for gluttons for punishment.


Now - on to fixing that airlock grommet leak!

There are three main things that can go wrong:
[1] The grommet is damaged or worn
[2] The grommet hole is too big or not a good fit
[3] The airlock's tube doesn't fit well with the grommet.

If the grommet is damaged, replace it. It's about fifty cents. It's worth keeping a spare grommet and a spare o-ring in case you have a disaster on brew day and your local home brew shop (LHBS) is closed - like mine is on Sundays.

Otherwise, improving the fit of the airlock and grommet to each other needs to be attended to. The easiest way is to use some teflon plumber's tape to increase the girth of the airlock. Wrap a few layers aound the part of the tube which goes into the airlock. Make a smooth job of it so that it can slide into the grommet easily but with a bit of resistance. This will give it a tighter fit in the grommet, at the same time forcing the grommet to fit the hole more tightly.

Detail pic of a teflon wrapped airlock.

So, overall, the airlock is a necessary evil and a source of needless worry for new members of the brewing world.


Please, remember - don't go to brewing forums and cry about 'my airlock isn't bubbling'. You will be told to 'RDWHAHB' (relax, don't worry and have a home brew) - which frankly a bit insensitive because that's what you want to be doing a few weeks after starting brewing. So instead, sit back, have a crap commercial and be patient for thine brew will be the sweet nectar of the gods.

Cheers!!

Brewing Equipment Part II - A little finesse.

In Part I of the brewing equipment article, you were shown what gear you need as basic kit to make your first hand-made beer.

Of course, as with any hobby, there are improvements you can make to your equipment that make the job easier, nicer and more fun. That's what this article is about.


Having been making beer and cider for a while, I thought I would share the list of extra gear that I have and how it works and why you should consider owning it too.


* Bottle Tree
* Bottle Rinser
* Bottle Brush
* Priming Scoop
* Side cutters
* Scales
* Thermometer
* Test vial / test tube with stand
* A big stainless steel stock pot


* Bottle Tree
This delightful lump of 1970's orange coloured plastic is worth its weight in gold, but certainly doesn't cost that much.

It has 63 positions for bottles. It's perfect for draining newly washed bottles and for draining freshly sanitised bottles prior to priming and bottling.

It's really a huge convenience.


* Bottle Rinser
Basically it's a bowl with a spring loaded squirty thing. You invert the bottle onto the nozzle and push down firmly, delivering a dose of no rinse sanitiser into the bottle and killing all those nasty bugs that would otherwise ruin your beer. It's better to give three squirts.

You remember we mentioned a sanitising agent (no, not the Pink) in the last article? This is one of the places where you use it. 30 ml in the bottom of the bowl, top up to one litre, insert the squirty thing and you're in business.

The only refinement I suggest you consider for this piece of equipment is a big galvanised or stainless steel washer to put on the bottle collar on the nozzle. It prevents the nozzle wearing and also assists accommodating a range of bottle neck sizes.

Usually, you can buy this item and the Bottle Tree as a kit for a lower price than buying them separately. Better yet, the Rinser has a storage place on top of the Tree. Clean, neat and tidy.


* Bottle Brush.
No matter how careful you are, sometime sooner or later there is going to be something stuck inside your bottles and you're going to need a way to clean it out. Enter the bottle brush.

There are nice fancy horsehair ones from brew shops. They're excellent. However in the spirit of being economical, I recommend the long handed ones for about $2 from $2 shops. They'll do just fine.


* Priming Scoop
This odd looking thing is actually a double ended spoon.

The larger end holds enough priming sugar for a 750 ml (tallie) and the smaller end holds enough priming sugar for a 330 ml (stubbie).

We can get into priming sugars in another ingredients oriented article.


* Side Cutters
Pretty normal stuff. Pliers that have an angled cutting blade.

Used to remove the tamper-evident collars from the PET bottle caps at the time of sanitising prior to bottling. After all, if the collar is still there, you can't put a new cap on, can you?


* Scales
Ideally, if you can find a low cost pair that measures up to 5 kg and has one or more decimal places (i.e. 500.2 grammes vs 500 grammes displayed weight) and you're happy with the price, you will be very happy.

However, one with no decimal places will do just fine.

Digital scales are the most preferable as they give you a plain number result rather than having to interpret as you do with the older dial type ones.

One feature that is very necessary as a convenience is Tare. In other words, the scale reads zero when you start. You put an empty container on the platform and it shows 106g, you press a button and it shows zero again. Now you can weigh your ingredients without having to remember that the container's weight. It's also great when you're making multiple additions of ingredients to be used at the same time, such as 10 g of this hop plus 15 g of that hop to be used in the boil.


* Thermometer
Any reasonably well calibrated thermometer will do fine so long as it reads reliably from say 5C to 110C. That's pretty easy these days.

A reasonably priced digital thermometer is the one from Ikea. It comes with a remote probe and functions both as a timer and a thermometer. The best feature on it is that you can set an alarm when the measured substance reaches a certain temperature. Need 70C for steeping grain? Preset 70C on the pot of water on the stove top and walk away until it beeps.

The time is great too, for obvious reasons: Set it for 30 minutes after your boil has started and you have made the first hop addition. Beep! Time for the second hop addition. Perfect if you don't want to spend your brew day staring at a clock and a pot and would prefer to do other things at the same time.

Simple, inexpensive creature comfort that will give you much pleasure for under $20.


* Test vial / tube with stand
When you take samples to read the specific gravity, you need something tall and skinny into which you take the sample so that you don't waste too much of the brew. Big containers equal big waste.

If you buy a good quality glass hydrometer from your brew shop, they almost invariably come in a plastic tube with foam in the ends to protect it. Some brew shops suggest just to use the storage tube for taking the sample. That works, but it's not elegant and the tube doesn't stand up very well on its own.

If you can a large plastic test vial / test tube with a base or stand, then you're at a whole new level of simple luxury. It stands up on its own, can be washed separately and the case for the hydrometer can remain clean and the hydrometer can remain safe.

For only a few bucks, it's worth it.


* A big stainless steel stock pot
Less than $25 at any of the mega-chain-stores like K-Mart and maybe even cheaper at the $2 shop. Ideally, you're looking for something around 18 - 30 litres.

Aluminium is cheaper, but stainless is easier to clean and is a wee bit better for your health.

If you're following the instructions that come with kit beers, then this isn't strictly necessary. However, kit beers are rather plain and as you progress and want to make better beer this will become a necessity.

When you get into steeping specialty grains (Carapils, Cararoma, etc) and progress to all malt brewing using either unhopped cans or unhopped bulk malt pails and creating your own hopping schedules, this stock pot is where all the action is.


So - that brings us to the end of the Basic equipment list and the Additional Equipment list. By now, you will have spent somewhere around $200 - $275 and you will be equipped to brew plenty of good quality beer for many years to come.


Next up - I'll talk you through kit brewing - methods and ingredients - using both the manufacturer's instructions and also improved methods to move you on to the next stage of enhancing their product into something akin to premium beers.


Cheers!!

Brewing Basics - The Equipment

Quite a while ago, I promised a series of articles about brewing equipment and how to get started.

The idea is that I would like to help you save time, money and some frustration in getting started the right way with the right tools and keep it reasonably simple while you learn the ropes. For the most part, these articles are aimed at Australian readers. There are differing opinions and techniques in USA and UK which have their reasons and purposes but are beyond the scope of this "Get Started Easy" series.


First up, let's talk about equipment - the basics. Then, I'll explain some add-ons which you will find makes the process less fussy, faster and more pleasurable.


You're going to need a few simple things to get going:
* A fermenting vessel with a tap and airlock
* Bottling wand
* Bottles and caps
* Hydrometer
* Sanitiser
* Cleaning agent

That's it - that's your basic equipment list. Easy, huh?

Here's what it all does:

* A fermenting vessel with a tap and airlock
This is where you put your fermentables so that they, um, ferment.

There are two main types in use in Australia - the pail and the carboy. The Pail is basically a big plastic bucket with a tight fitting lid. The Carboy is a big plastic container with a screw-on lid with an o-ring to assist the seal. What you choose is up to you, but the Carboy is superior in my experience.

The tap is to eventually release the beery goodness into bottles, obviously.

The airlock is a little piece of equipment that goes into the top of the fermenting vessel so that the CO2 produced by the fermentation process can escape (otherwise your well sealed fermenter could burst, or just eject your precious beer out through the seals), but stop normal atmosphere and all the fun microbes that travel in it from entering your ferment.


* Bottling wand
This is a semi-rigid pipe that inserts into the tap. It has a valve (either spring loaded or gravity operated) in the tip.

You insert the wand into the bottle, press up and beer flows down. Magic stuff, this gravity.

This method is the simplest way to fill the bottles without exposing the beer to excessive oxygen which would be detrimental.


* Bottles and caps
Obviously you need something to store the beer in while it undergoes conditioning, and of course to dispense it from.

You can re-use glass beer bottles. However, if you're starting out, I strongly recommend using PET bottles from a brew shop or one of the Coopers or similar kits from a big store such as K-Mart.

The bottles are re-usable and will last quite a number of years with simple care and cleaning. The caps can also be reused if you wish, but at only a few dollars for a pack you may as well get new ones each time at the beginning of your brewing hobby so that there is one less variable to contend with.

The reason for using PET instead of glass is because if you make a mistake in assessing the end of the fermentation or there is a contaminant in the bottle, a PET bottle exploding has much less danger than a glass bottle. These kinds of bottles are known as "bottle bombs" for a reason - high speed flying glass is deadly. When your experience and confidence are matched, then you could progress to glass.


* Hydrometer
This simple tool is used to measure the specific gravity of the liquid you put into the fermenter and to take measurements to make sure that the fermentation is complete.

The measurements you're going to make will be:
* OG - or Original Gravity. This is after you have added all your fermtentables to the vessell but before you add the yeast.
* FG - or Final Gravity. This is at the end of the fermentation. After it is stable (i.e. same reading) for two days, then it's time to bottle.


* Sanitiser
In brewing, we need to sanitise. Not sterilise. Sanitise.

Sanitising is killing most of the microbes and bugs that aren't beneficial to our process. Sterilising is killing all.

A good no rinse sanitiser is needed for all of your equipment that will come into contact with the wort (unfermented goodies that go into your fermenter) and the beer (the fermented result).

There are a few kinds on the market, but I would be inclined to recommend 'Sanitise' from Morgans. Simple, effective, but not the least expensive. It's reliable and a very good starting point. You can get fancy or cheap later when you know a little more about what you're doing.


* Cleaning Agent
The most common cleaning agent used is simply called "Pink Powder".

It's a strongly alkaline cleaning agent that is bright pink in colour. That way you won't sprinkle it on your cornflakes - it's a safety thing. Speaking of safety - read the safety warnings on the package. This material is caustic and can be dangerous if mishandled. If the safety precautions are followed, there is nothing to worry about.

Usually, you clean your fermenter with warm water and a non-scratch scourer, then add two teaspoons of Pink, three or four litres of very hot water and carefully agitate to ensure that every internal surface of the fermenter has been washed thoroughly. Then, rinse a few times to make sure any residue is removed.


Does it all make some sense so far?

It's simple, isn't it?


Next article? A few extra tools to make the process easier, quicker and more fun - all without spending a fortune.


Cheers!!

It's Cider-tastic!

Recently, we went for a bit of 4WD fun with some mates up through the Bells Line of Road, taking in Bilpin.

If you don't already know, Bilpin is pretty famous for apples. Many, many different varieties.

However, we were a bit late in the season so I expected less kinds to be available. In fact, there was only one kind and at the time of day we went through there was only one kind to be had. I don't even know what kind it is to be certain. However, at the price, the quality is excellent has made for some exceptional eating.

I bought the apples with a view to making cider. Delicious apple cider!

So, we grabbed about 12 kilos of apples which co-incidentally produced around 6 litres of premium grade juice, with the real ever-so-slightly golden-amber hue that was in real, fresh apple juice so long ago.


Here's the recipe:
** Common Cider
* 24 litres apple juice (6 litres freshly made, 18 litres Aldi)
* 1 x S-04 yeast
* Ferment until SG is stable
* Bottle, adjusting the priming dose to your preferred level of carbonation
* Cellar / mature for at least two weeks. Longer is better.
* OG = 1048


And here's some notes for you to consider for when you try this:

* Juice:
Apples nominally produce 40 - 55% juice by volume compared to weight. In other words, you will get about 4 - 5.5 litres of juice from ten kilos of apples. Smaller apples, less juice. These were fairly large eating apples just past their 'looks good' prime.

* Pasteurisation / anti-microbe warfare:
Apples, for the most part are reasonably clean. However, as with any fruit or vegetable they are likely to have been sprayed with some form of pesticide. You must wash them well to assist in removing any residue which may be on the skins.

Not all apples are picked from the trees. Some have fallen. Most orchards use some kind of fertiliser and often it's chook poo (chicken droppings for those of you who don't speak Australian). Chook poo is particularly nasty, biologically speaking, and can harbour some rather deadly bugs.

In addition, there may be wild yeasts living in or on the apple. These may be undesirable for your fermentation. In the case of this recipe, they're undesirable.

What to do? Pasteurise!

Cut and juice your apples as you would normally to make fruit juice to drink. Put the total amount of freshly made juice into a large pot and heat to only 75C. Allow it to cool with a well-fitting lid on the pot. Pasteurisation complete.

Prior to adding the juice to the fermenter, skim off the crud. There is a thick layer of foamy brown stuff on top. The crud won't make your cider taste or look good. Skim it reasonably well. The rest will either drop out in the fermenter or float to the top. Floc up or down, so to speak.

The other option which some people prefer is Campden tablets or sodium metabisuplhite. This has been a reasonably common way of achieving the same effect as pasteurisation and lends itself to some other production methods. However, I'm not a fan because sometimes a sulphur aroma remains for quite some months after bottling.

* Not enough apples?
Go buy some preservative free apple juice. Aldi sells two litre for around $1.80-something at the time of writing. You could even use 100% commercial juice. Think of it this way - you will make 30 x 750 ml cider for about $22 plus yeast. Bargain! Cost at a bottle shop? $195.00 for a rather good one or about $1.35 for something less special.

* Why S-04 yeast?
It's a matter of personal preference. I chose S-04 because I like a little bit of residual sweetness in my ales and cider. You could use S-05 which will give a dryer result. However, according to some folk who have used it, the S-05 can result in too dry a finish and in some cases ferment to SG=<1.000. YMMV, etc.

There are other speciality yeasts from White Labs and Wyeast. Choose what you would prefer to be drinking.


Best of luck on your cidery adventure!

Cheers!!

The joy of krausen.

Krausen? Yes, Krausen. Not the Kraken.

Krausen is a foam which forms on top of the wort once fermentation has commenced. It's usually white or creamy but sometimes is darker depending on the yeast or the wort colour (e.g. a stout can be quite a bit darker, etc). Being that tell-tale sign that fermentation has started, it's a grand assurance that everything is on the right track.

Usually, the signs of fermentation are visible between twelve and forty-eight hours after pitching the yeast. This all depends on the yeast and how you pitch it.

The main signs that fermentation have commenced are:
* krausen
* condensation inside the lid of the fermenter
* bubbling air lock.

Krausen? As above.

Condensation? Yes, because the process is exothermic. If the ambient temperature is say 17C, then there's a good chance that the fermenter will be about 20C.

Bubbling air lock? Yes, CO2 being released by the fermentation has to go somewhere, but atmosphere needs to be excluded. Oxygen at this stage is a bad thing for beer making, as is particulate (dust, etc) or biological (wild yeast, bacteria, insect, etc) contamination.. If it's not bubbling, don't worry - that's usually a sign that there is a leak. However, your fermentation chamber will remain pressure-positive until after you have achieved FG so there is a limited chance of oxidation or contamination. CO2 will still be coming out of solution, for the most part, after FG is achieved.

As long as you have at least one of the three conditions above, there's a very high chance that fermentation is underway.

If after three days from pitching there is limited or no sign of fermentation having commenced, draw off a sample and measure the SG. If there is no change from OG, it would be advisable to pitch a new batch of yeast. If there has been a decrease in SG, then fermentation is taking place albeit slowly.

In general, if your OG is <1080 then a standard pitching, single fermentation in the vessel is adequate. If you're working with higher SG wort, then some special rules come into play but I can tell you more about that another time.

Also, take into consideration the temperature of where your fermenter is sitting. The ideal temperature range for the yeast you're using should be on the packaging or at least available at the supplier's web site. If the temperature is too low, fermentation may either not commence or commence very slowly. If the temperature is too high then fermentation may kick off, perhaps violently, and be very short-lived. A hot fermentation has some negative side-effects, the least of which can be a brutal hangover.


So - why all the talk about the Joy of Krausen?

I feel joyous.

My new batch has krausen.


Cheers!!

Back in the brew.

Well, after a longish hiatus from brewing, I'm back into it and put down my first brew for June.

I hadn't been sure what to start with again as I've been hanging to make some apple cider but haven't been able to find a good, well priced source of apple juice. After all, apple cider is merely apple juice fermented in the same manner as beer, albeit with a different kind of yeast. One of my good friends is somewhat a cider fan, so thought to see what I could make which could tickle his tastebuds. If you happen to know of a good source of bulk, organic, preservative free apple juice then do let me know.

So what did I kick off with? A simple English Ale. ESB - Extra Special Bitter.

Here's the recipe:
* 500 g cracked Carapils steeped at 78C for 20 minutes
* 500 g wheat malt
* 4.5 kg liquid light malt extract (Coopers)
* 45 g Pilgrim hops @ 60 minutes
* 20 g Fuggles hopes @ 30 minutes
* 25 g Fuggles hopes @ 10 minutes
* US-05 yeast, dry sprinkled and stirred, pitched @ 17C, ambient 19C.
** OG = 1060

ESB? Hmmm - not quite. It doesn't completely match the statistical profile listed in some of the judging associations' guidebooks, but then again, quite a few favourite beers, ales, stouts and more don't match a given profile yet are well enjoyed world over. Just like cooking, some people prefer more or less something or another - it's just personal taste.

In this case, it wasn't taste. My stock of Pilgrim is about four or five months old so it's possible that it is no longer as strong. Thus, this brew is experimental.

There wasn't anything new or exciting to photograph during production, so I will make good with some pics as soon as it's in the glass.

Cheers!!

Back to brewing...

Soon. Maybe this weekend.

It has been far too busy with work and some onsite upgrades for some of my major hardware clients. I haven't even had a chance to bake some bread for a week or so.

I'm missing brewing and drinking the fruits of my labour. It's time to get started again with something perhaps towards the Pilsener or maybe even Lager end of the spectrum. It's bitterly cold here in Sydney - only 12C at 11:40 am. The newspaper this morning said it was only 3C around the city this morning before the dawn.

As part of deciding what to make, research is in order. I'm looking at the various beers of the world which are flavoursome, quick to get finished so that the brewery re-start is quick.

Have a look at the following link - it's inspirational source material for the most part, and deterrent if nothing else in other parts. I mean - after all - they show VB as representative of Australian beer. WTF? Megaswill is not FTW.

http://www.sloshspot.com/blog/11-19-2008/Around-the-World-in-116-Beers-80


Time to go play with Beersmith this evening...


Cheers!!