Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Tixy, all the folks at http://www.aussieslivingsimply.com.au lust after the All American Canner. I know nothing about them, apart from the name

Well, the All American is the brand I'm thinking of splurging on. Like the idea of not having to buy replacement seals and the fact that it is a really heavy duty pot. It does cost like twice as much plus some over the next cheaper brand and most people around here seem to think the cheaper stuff is just fine. I'm probably going to still go with the high price/low maintenance All American model anyway.

Hi IMY, don't use the clear bottles ! light effects hops giving beer a funny smell. They say it's a skunky smell, not knowing what a skunk smells like, I can say that the beer does not smell very inviting. Brown bottles are best.

The reason that some beer comes in clear bottles is that they don't use Hops, rather they use a hops essence. Your kit would have been made with real hops , so light would be bad for it.

Himzo.

I use clear bottles also - they just cant be left in bright light.

I maintain.. Brown bottles are best. Green ones next,

and clear bottles for the inlaws and unwanted guests.

Himzo.

The ball blue book is a good guide for canning freezing and preserving. Times and temps should be adhered to to prevent spoilage/ Botulism. http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid ... Categories
Pressure cookers are good for much more than canning! Cooking small game and other foods they keep much more of the flavor in the food, just a little more difficult cooking with having to watch your heat and time more closely.

I have a grog cabinet built in under the stair case, clear bottles will work just fine

+1

Re: Sediment......just be careful when bottling. I even tip the fermenter at angle to get all the brew out & I dont have any sediment in the bottles. I also use Dark Brown Sugar for all beer (when bottling) IMO ... it gives it extra body & taste.

I just made my first batch of home brew! It wasn't as straight forward as I had hoped.

It came with the tin of stuff, some bag of sugars and malt and stuff and a packet of hops... there was also an extra pack of yeast? Weird. AND to top it off, it didn't come with any step by step instructions about how to use the stuff they gave me... just a book which is 300 pages long.

I tried my best, but I'm not sure it will work!

So I boiled up the 'extras bag' like it said in the instructions, added hops (which, by the way, smell very sus) and boiled them for a min like the instructions said, added warmed can of mix... but whoops... mix had a bag of yeast in the top... and the brew kit had ANOTHER bag in the box. I only used one bag in the final brew (after adding cold water so as not to kill the yeast), the one from the top of the can.

This should be interesting. I hope I did it right. I'm hoping to have a bottle on christmas day

The house smells disgusting... like a dirty old drunk farted. I hope it doesn't smell like this while it brews away under the stairs all week!

It does not smell when it is in the bottle - and they wont be the best before xmas - you need a good month after bottling at least.

I liked the smell of brewing the beer. Just didn't like the taste of the end product. Did use clear bottles and our town water sucks. Might have to give it another go. Spirits are a lot easier and faster.

Well, the smell is not hanging around anymore but I don't have any bubble action just yet. I don't think I screwed the lid on tight enough and over filled the airlock a little so its all screwed on tight now and the airlock looks like its beginning to push up but not heaps.

It probably doesn't help that the weather is freezing today so I've started a fire just to get the house warm enough for brewing! LOL

Dufflight, did you buy a still for your spirits or make something? How do YOU do it? I'm very curious because I'd love to get some vodka happening one day!
Whis brew of beer did you use? I noticed there are a HEAP of different kinds. The one I have 'brewing' (?dunno if it will work though?) is a pale ale.

Imy, get a drum from bunnings with the clip on lid:



These drums do not require an O-Ring seal, makes cleaning a lot easier, and they seal perfectly every time.
I found that the O-Ring style drums became very hard to seal over time, and then were nearly impossible to undo.


This is my wall of beer now Have two more fermenters ready to bottle too, probably should do that today, they have been in there for over a month

Wow, well done. Love the mirror in there to make it look like more beer LOL

The fermenter is bubbling now. SO tempted to put the nozzle of a whoopee cushion on there to make it do beer farts (I love a fart joke. I'm very easily amused )

What is the bottle top on your air lock for? I'm not sure if mine is working so well. The bubbling has pushed the water all into the last chamber (and emptied the extra out which I over filled it with)

quote (OBO)
These drums do not require an O-Ring seal, makes cleaning a lot easier, and they seal perfectly every time.
I found that the O-Ring style drums became very hard to seal over time, and then were nearly impossible to undo.

Hi OBO.......I had the same problem (with 2 fermenters).....the rim gets distorted, (IMO plastic rim is to thinn).
Here is how to fix it: Take flat board about 30cm square(must be flat & bigger than opening - put on top of rim.....figure out where the high spots are.
Get another flat board (10cm wide x 40cm long x 2cm thick) - get a strip of sandpaper>medium< (of the roll @ hardwarestores) the kind the painters use, about 50cm long about 10cm wide. Staple strip to flat board and start sanding off all the high spots. Check frequently with square board until the rim is flat. Medium or coarse sandpaper will leave fine grooves in the plastic - get wet&dry emery paper & put on a flat board and clean off - use 2 grades to get it shiny
Why throw away a good fermenter Somebody else might pick it up
oh and don't forget to rinse and clean the fermenter before use!