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1st Brew ever - MJ Belgian Pilsner

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  • #16
    Do you have airlock activity on the beer? It's not really an indicator of fermentation. I'm unfamiliar with MJ yeast and "how long" they take, but had an ale on fermentis us-05 for 15 days without temp control way back when I started - was quite frustrating iirc. Patience will be rewarded

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    • #17
      Ya look, if it's going to get there eventually, I can wait and/or try to heat the area little bit.

      The main reason I went with the Mangrove Jacks Mead yeast was the the temp range looked nice. The obvious reason was the alcohol tolerance, but the temps did convince me. Now that we are starting a cold front here in GP I have my doubts about going with that yeast hehehe.

      I imagine it's all part of the learning curve. I learn best by doing, so the experience is good at least

      Learning to get myself intoxicated on some nice home brewed beer. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

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      • #18
        TBH I dont think that MJ makes yeast, they just repackage. Easy and cheap enough to get an aquarium heater (drill hole in lid for cord and insert grommet) that you can set the heat before closing the lid. Guess if you're in GP then coldcrash is easy, just put it outside overnight :-)

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        • #19
          Ah ok, didn't know about the yeast being a repackaged yeast. Heard good things about the MJ, so just went that route.

          The idea about cold crashing was also nice, thanks. I will try it if the timing is right.

          Learning to get myself intoxicated on some nice home brewed beer. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

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          • #20
            So just a little update on my brews going ATM

            My Belgian Pilsner is still bubbling and temp shows around 18-20deg. I did put the heater ons a few times yesterday and the day before also. With this cold we're having I thought it would help. Spoke to a friend of mine that's been brewing for about 20 years now, also extract brewing. He suggested we test the gravity to see where in the process the ferment was. Like a real NOOB I didn't take the SG, so that's a bit of a silly mistake I learned. Anyway, he recons that those extracts are usually in the region of 1042, so after filling my tester, it seems I have a way to go with that one, it's sitting on about 2.68% abv atm.

            Then my hard lemon I'vebeen trying to get going with Mead yeast M-05. That one I thought would be going crazy according to the yeast spec as I had it, but it's been real slow. Even with the heater fan on them, that one was slow to the point of worry. So yesterday I managed to find some other yeast, LALVIN EC-1118 and some yeast nutrients as well. Mixed about 2g of each into a glass with some cooled down kettle water and a teaspoon of sugar. This morning that one is going well. I haven't even switched on the heater yet and it's outperforming the Pilsner. So I'm happy that it's making a progress.

            It seems that I have a lot more to learn about this hobby. After reading the thread with a few random questions, I started realising that I have no clue. I need to first learn how to make the yeast happy. So now I have a few experiments to do.

            Made an apple brew yesterday with some of the newly acquired yeast and nutrients. I suspect it will be a really hard apple drink, because when I tested the SG it was about 1085 ish. That brew is in a 3L jar with very fine mesh tied on top with the lid just pushed over. Looks like it's go some activity on top. With some decent temps, it should be ready to drink soon enough hehehe.

            I need to learn about yeast temps and what is ideal. Is that something yeast specific? Some prefer cooler than others?

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            • #21
              Yes, each yeast strain has it's own temperature preferences. Generally though, lager yeasts like a cold ferment. Ale and wine yeasts like a cool to medium ferment temp and others like Kveik like it hot.

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              • #22
                Does the yeast also add anything to the taste? It sure smells bad, well some of them once they start doing their thing hehehe

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                • #23
                  Different fermentation temperatures would allow/deny the yeast to throw esters/different esters. 34/70 at higher (but still within range) temps does a very clean lager fairly fast. Water also has an effect on your yeasts fermentation
                  Some reading
                  https://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practic...0736626&sr=8-1
                  whilst you're at it
                  https://www.amazon.com/research-dire...0736966&sr=8-1
                  a bit more
                  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...t_bibl_vppi_i0
                  also good
                  https://www.amazon.com/New-IPA-Scien...0737100&sr=8-1

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by RudiC View Post
                    Does the yeast also add anything to the taste? It sure smells bad, well some of them once they start doing their thing hehehe
                    In addition to reading the links above, yes, yeast adds something. Some yeasts add a lot of taste, others very little to none. Depends on the beer and therefore the yeast style.

                    For example, you're going to be a bit disappointed when you're brewing a Belgian Trappist beer using a lager yeast at 11°C, and you're going to be properly surprised when you use a Lambic yeast to ferment your sweet stout.

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by RudiC View Post
                      Does the yeast also add anything to the taste? It sure smells bad, well some of them once they start doing their thing hehehe
                      That Lager yeast would surprise you yes ... read up on that

                      The Ale yeasts usually smells nice and fruity
                      The Problem With The World Is That Everyone Is A Few Drinks Behind.!

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by RudiC View Post
                        Does the yeast also add anything to the taste? It sure smells bad, well some of them once they start doing their thing hehehe
                        Here's a little chart where you can flip through a lot of yeasts and get an idea of different flavours and fermentation styles (https://byo.com/resource/yeast/?beer...-submit=Submit)

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                        • #27
                          Thanks for all the info and liks to very good info, much appreciated.

                          It will take me long to work through those, so I will try and find a source for the audiobooks hehehe

                          My hard lemonade is doing very well since putting the EC-1118 and yeast nutrients, glad I added it.

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                          • #28
                            So after a long wait my Belgian Lager is bottled.

                            When filling the bottles, I managed to forget the sugar drops in my first beer, so that lesson was learned very quickly. My boy helped me with the capping and made sure they don't leak.

                            Now I have 24 x 750ml - 4 x 440ml - 2 x Grolch flip tops, just over 20L I guess. So now I wait, was thinking of maybe giving one of them a try next weekend, but might end up trying one this weekend. I'm not very good at waiting, luckily I got a few beer on Monday so I might manage it.

                            So very happy to get the first brew behind me. Thanks to everyone for helping me get to this stage, the help is appreciated.

                            Today I finish the clean up of that fermenter, then it's on to an American Pale Ale (gluten free I might add). The wife likes the idea of gluten free beer.

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                            • #29
                              OK so beers usually take around 2 weeks for proper carbonation. You should be fine if you have one by this weekend, but keep it at room temp for as long as possible. Move it into the fridge only a few hours before drinking to give the yeast as much time to clean up as possible.

                              PS: I'm also impatient.

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                              • #30
                                I have beer, Windhoek, so I will be able to wait a little bit, for now. Hehehe

                                I will try the ones in smaller bottels first, just in case it's not fully carbonated.

                                Thanks again for all the help

                                Learning to get myself intoxicated on some nice home brewed beer. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

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