Disastrous Draught!

[drsmurto]

Effectively a 1L starter from 4 stubbies.......

That might just be enough yeast.

My method (from memory - it's on here somewhere) is to start with 3 stubbies (more is better) and add the yeast from them to a 250mL starter. Allow that to ferment out then add that to a 1.5-2L starter. This will result in a much larger amount of yeast.

It does involve extra containers but you can use PET bottles for this if you don't have access to laboratory glassware/stir plates etc. No need for an airlock, clingfilm works fine or even the lid on loosely. I used to do this, everytime i walked past the starter i would tighten the lid and shake it till my arm hurt then loosen the lid.

I also never add sugar to a starter, always malt. 100g of LDME per litre but then i very rarely add sugar when brewing.

[Anna]

I'll do it your way next time. One thing I was wondering though: Even though I left 2-3 cm of beer in the bottom of the stubbies when I added the water mixture and kept shaking at every opportunity, the thin sticky layer on the bottom never seemed to blend into the rest. I would have thought that was where the most yeast was and expected it to mix in (and that was one reason I did it straight in the stubby), but it never did. So if I did it your way, wouldn't that thin white layer stay in the stubby? How would you get it unstuck and into the starter bottle? (This is "Re-culturing Yeast for Dummies 1" remember!) Anna

[drsmurto]

I tend to drink my Coopers nice and clear so out of habit they will sit in a fridge upright. I prefer it to the cloudy stuff you get on tap. Yes, i am labelled a blasphemer by most people.

I simply pour off the beer from all 3 stubbies into a jug leaving about 2cm of beer.

Swirl the stubbies to dislodge the yeast from the bottom and then tip that into a starter.

I never make a starter in a beer bottle.

After i have made the starter i drink the nice clear beer

[Anna]

What I mean is, swirling the bottle even vigorously doesn't seem to dislodge the layer on the bottom - don't you find there is still some stuck on the bottom after you pour the beer off? Maybe that bit doesn't matter then? (Sorry, being pedantic today...)

[drsmurto]

No, never had any issues with yeast sticking to the bottom of the bottles.

No need to be gentle with it Anna, sometimes a bit of brute force is needed.

If it doesn't come off then add some starter to it and repeat the swirling.

Maybe check the best after dates on the bottle to check you have fresh bottles, not a problem here but i have heard of people buying CPA outside of SA that is 6 months past the best after date. Nice to drink aged beer, not so fresh yeast for re-culturing.

[Anna]

Thanks for your help, as always Doc.

(this thread has become a bit of an "Anna's Chat Room", so I'll stop now!)

[warra48]

No, no, no, DON'T stop.

We value and enjoy your input, Anna!

We all learn from turning our minds to solving other brewers issues, and seeing others solutions, and reading responses to our own issues.
Remember, brewing is a journey. You never stop learning. Nobody knows everything there is to know about brewing.

[Anna]

You're so sweet Warra - thank you for that! OK, I won't stop, but I was concerned this thread is in danger of becoming my personal blog!

So the CPA SG has come down a couple of points, to 1.024 - not much. But I'll follow Doc's advice and relax until Monday. I'm going on a bike rally this weekend anyway, so I'll have to forget about HBing for 2 whole days!!!

Eagerly awaiting Doc's verdict on the bottle of "Disastrous Draught" I posted to him. I opened another bottle of it last night and, weirdest thing, it's now drinkable! (Or was I just desperate - nothing else ready yet...).

Best wishes and stressfree brewing,
Anna

[bullfrog]

I think it's less a case of it becoming your blog, Anna, and more a case that nobody else is quite as active in posting as you are. I think we need to step our game up a bit

When you say the brew was drinkable, did it still have it's off flavours, just in lesser amounts, or have they seemed to vanish completely?

[Anna]

Hahaha! It's because I'm at work Bullfrog, and in front of a computer all day long. It's a bugger though having to fit work in around postings! I can't bear to even fire up the pooter after I get home.

No real off flavours - but still rather cloyingly sweet. OH drank it and said it was fine - and HE was the one who spat it out a few weeks ago! (But then, we had both been drinking VB beforehand and it does have its rather, er, "distinctive" taste... )

[bullfrog]

Well if you were drinking VB prior then there's no way you'd be able to detect any off flavours; all VB is is bottled off flavours!

[Anna]

I call it "Manure Beer", 'cause that's what it tastes like to me! OH wants to know how I know what manure tastes like - I say "Well it tastes like manure smells!" Call me warped, but I do like the occasional very, very, cold one. Sometimes it's a nice change from the sweetness of my HBs.

[bullfrog]

Yep, definitely warped

I will drink a Tooheys New or a Carlton Draught if there's nothing else available but I cannot bring myself to drink VB.

It's odd that your brew would get less sweet. Maybe you had dulled your respective palates a little too much with the VB before attempting the Draught again?

[Anna]

That thought had crossed my mind! (OH reckons Tooheys gives him a headache but VB doesn't!!)

[bullfrog]

That's odd, I was always the other way around; VB would give me a killer headache but I could drink Tooheys all night and pull up fine.

[Anna]

Well, he has got a pretty strange head!

It used to only be wine that gave me a headache - then cider, and now (shock, horror!) even beer! So sadly I've got to limit my consumption to 3 mugs a night now (steins? whatever....). Must be getting old!

Strangely, I can drink Bundy & Coke all night with no after-effects at all. (Wish they'd make that with Diet Coke !)

Obviously, work is very slow today.....

[bullfrog]

Mine too. Fridays are always slow for me.

Have you tried blending your sub-par brew with something else to try to salvage it? All you'd need would be a jug and perhaps a decently bitter brew -- then just go a bottle of each of the beers into the jug. May help with the consumption.

[Anna]

Not a bad idea! I just happen to have a crate of Dark Ale which is kinda weird and we're having trouble drinking that too. I used the slurry from a JSGA (US-05) to brew it and it has turned out with a kind of "smoked fish" flavour (shh, I didn't want to let Doc know about that one!). Soooo.... maybe if I mixed that with the sweet Draught... I'll give it a go!

[bullfrog]

I can already see Monday morning's discussion topic:

How to fix a candied fish taste in your brew

[Anna]