A while back there was some talk on The Forum about old fermenters, and in particular the very old Black Olindas. Well Oliver and I got to thinking - we reckon that there is a whole world unusual brewing equipment out there, so we've decided to start a new thread on The Forum: I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
Got some interesting gear? Then let's see it!
I'll start the ball rolling with the aforementioned Olinda.
I don't know much about the provenance of this Black Beauty. It was a gift from a mate in the late 1980s. He'd had it for years having originally acquired it second hand at a flea market or garage sale. It's great for making strong ales and stouts, as its a bit smaller that standard, producing about 26 bottles, so that the whole brew is a bit more concentrated. I love it!
Smabb era 1 was made from a fermenter that looked identical to the Olinda, except it was 50L capacity.
The provenance- borrowed it from a mate, where he got it from I have no idea. He repossessed it eventually and I now have a boring white bought from Woolies.
"Listening to someone who brews their own beer is like listening to a religous fanatic talk about the day he saw the light" Ross Murray, Montreal Gazette
Geoff, I note the fermenter is black. I wonder if that is a better idea than the white which seem to allow light through - or does skanky beer only occur after it is bottled and exposed to light?
Don't see many of these in use, and word from MSB is they are being edited for a second release with new items.
Original 11.5 MSB "Malt Shovel Brewing" fermentor, stand tap and underneath pre-fit heaterpad.
Great for smaller brews, select racking and producing original and edited MSB brews. Produces very concentrated final products, with minimal sediment flow as fermentor is has an indented crown on bottom for sediment holding.
Just a few pics of my new bottle drying rack undergoing its first trial run.
The base piece of wood is the cutout from when they cut a hole in our new benchtops for the sink. Its only holds 55 bottles, 5 short of a full brew of stubbies, but that sacrifice was made so that it can deal with the width of my Grolsch bottles, and possibly (to be tested) to let it hold 750ml longnecks without sacrificing pegs. What do you think?
Looks good NT, but do bottles sit all the way down onto base board? If they do will they drain properly or will you get water sitting in neck as no air can circulate to to help with drying. If the latter you can always put a small block of wood (10mm high) at bas of each peg to lift bottle of base board.
Other wise handy little gadget!
Grabman
Some people say I have a drinking Problem....
I drink, I get drunk, I fall over....
What's the problem?
Here are a couple of my gadgets I've made.
A draining rack made from some offcut pine & a fanforced thermostaticly controlled brew heater that can be used for the fermenter or keeping bottles warm
The heater is made of the controlls of a waterbed, 12volt computer fan & a lightglobe for heat.
G'day NTRabbit,
I would make sure you seal the edges of the board pretty well, that stuff will self destruct pretty quickly if it gets any moisture on it! Maybe a couple of liberal coats of varnish around the edges and underneath.
I have a bottle tree, but I have recently discarded it for a sheet of aluminium,(an old road sign actually) with 40mm holes drilled with a holesaw, since I built my new brewroom with the double laundry troughs, I wash the bottles in one side, and lay the sheet over the other trough and put the bottles in the holes, it drains into the second bowl now you can call me "no mess Ross"
grabman wrote:Looks good NT, but do bottles sit all the way down onto base board? If they do will they drain properly or will you get water sitting in neck as no air can circulate to to help with drying. If the latter you can always put a small block of wood (10mm high) at bas of each peg to lift bottle of base board.
Other wise handy little gadget!
Grabman
They do sit all the way down, however with just the slightest tilt on the board for drainage the bottles all tilt to one side, leaving a nice big gap for water to escape.
I like your heater Redsicks, i might have to utilise my long forgotten Electrical Engineering skills (one year of it long ago) and knock something up myself
r.magnay wrote:G'day NTRabbit,
I would make sure you seal the edges of the board pretty well, that stuff will self destruct pretty quickly if it gets any moisture on it! Maybe a couple of liberal coats of varnish around the edges and underneath.
My dad knocked it up for me, i know he varnished the pegs but I'll check to see if he did the edges, I've seen what moisture does to chipboard
do you really need to dry them? i just rinse the crap out with water sterilize with sodium met then rinse with boiling water leaving a bit of moisture there
My bottle drain is my wifes washing basket with a towel lining the inside, might be primative but it works and then i use the bottles straight out of this when i actually bottle, i dont wash or steralise till the day i want to bottle just rinse well when i empty them and put in the shed till bottle day
