homebrewandbeer.com

Hey guys and girls,

I may be a novice to this forum, but have been brewing for a quite few years now.

Years ago as an amateur brewer i did the old plastic carboy, coopers brews, bottles, etc and tell you the truth,
found these to be somewhat unrewarding. (Crap).
My next step was partial mash with steeping, and discovered the wet packs from TCB, not bad for the price but rather lenghty
and still not quite there on the flavour department.

Then I got kegs (3 over the years) and my quest for decent brews led me to the fresh wort from St Peters Brewery.
I have had nothing but great results over the years, and just finished a Czech Pilsener, and tell you what, the best brew I have ever done, and so spot on to a real commercial beer, full of great pilsener flavour and aroma. Pilsener being my favourite type of lager.

Now, after discovering fresh wort and its great flavours and ease of making, I am looking at the next step to AG, I have done hours of research
on this site and others and am aware of equipment needed.

My question is, will AG give me that flavour I have come to loooooove from fresh wort if brewed correctly?

Also has anyone got a DIY grain crusher plans? (I have access to lathes etc and can fabricate metal parts fairly easily.)

Can anyone in Sydney let me watch an AG brew taking place would be great. (and to try some samples would be greatly appreciated!!!! )

cheers all
Brendan

My question is, will AG give me that flavour I have come to loooooove from fresh wort if brewed correctly?

I am also interested in the AG brewers comments

Can anyone in Sydney let me watch an AG brew taking place would be great. (and to try some samples would be greatly appreciated!!!! )

Although you can't taste , you could view the process here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIGrsGPV ... re=related

Cheers

yeah thanks gunna, watcherd most of these videos and done all the research (but still learning everyday)
just want to know flavour comparisons, reliability of flavour

Fresh wort IS AG. Its just no-chilled which people like me aren't a fan of. It tends to be brewed over gravity so you can water it down a bit.

I've never brewed a fresh wort kit simply as they werent readily available in Adelaide when i was brewing kits.

I've seen them recently but at nearly $50 for 1 batch i nearly fell over.

AG is as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.

You can pick up a marga mill for <$100. Or you can get your local HBS to crush your grain for you. If they charge you for that then find a new HBS. I still use a marga.

IMO, AG will give you a better result as you can tailor the beer to suit you. You have complete control over the process.

My 2 c
DrSmurto

drsmurto wrote:You have complete control over the process.

umm, no my missis does actually!!!

yeah I did wonder wether they chill or not, and do they aerate, I usually aerate when pouring out of tub into fermenter by dropping from height, seems to get oxygen into the wort!

yeah about cost I get them for $41 each with a saf series yeast included, and $2 cash back on tub, so $39 each

What is the average cost of AG approx. doing my sums I am thinking around $20-$35 depending on grains and hops, plus my time I guess.

I guess AG will be the go once I get all the gear together

cheers

goq11k_76 wrote:

drsmurto wrote:You have complete control over the process.

umm, no my missis does actually!!!

yeah I did wonder wether they chill or not, and do they aerate, I usually aerate when pouring out of tub into fermenter by dropping from height, seems to get oxygen into the wort!

yeah about cost I get them for $41 each with a saf series yeast included, and $2 cash back on tub, so $39 each

What is the average cost of AG approx. doing my sums I am thinking around $20-$35 depending on grains and hops, plus my time I guess.

I guess AG will be the go once I get all the gear together

cheers

Thats a shame about the missus........
You will aerate when you pour the FWK into the fermenter...
$39 is a better price, still about $20 a carton using them which is better than paying $40+ for commercial...
My average AG is about the $23 mark for ingredients, mind you, thats with Bulk Grain Costs, Yeast Farming and a couple good deals on some hops.. So compared to FWK, its about $16 cheaper for beer that you have made YOURSELF from scratch.. There is a initial cost for set-up but it still works out much better....

CB

Clean Brewer wrote: My average AG is about the $23 mark for ingredients, mind you, thats with Bulk Grain Costs, Yeast Farming and a couple good deals on some hops..

yeah thats the ball park I am aiming for (i aint the worlds best tight arse but saving a bit here and there helps the mortgage out), and still a quarter/fifth the price of commercial beer, and better flavour when brewed correctly IMHO.

anyone know the cheapest place in Sydney for bulk grain and hop sales, there are plenty of brew shops but the difference in price can be quite remarkable for similar products.

goq11k_76 wrote:My question is, will AG give me that flavour I have come to loooooove from fresh wort if brewed correctly?

Without wanting to come across all elitist - and I know this will - I'm quite impressed that fresh wort packs result in a beer that's almost as fresh as an All Grain batch made on the day!!!

All grain beer works out relatively cheaper, by the litre, once you've sunk some cost into a brew setup. No, you don't need Dr Strangelove's laboratory - there are plenty of kitchen utensils that will make do for a while. Once you've got the basics nutted out, you can make virtually any beer you like - rather than the one that's on the label of the fresh wort kit.

As for cheap grain, you need to go into a bulk buy - there are plenty of brewclubs in Sydney who should be able to help you out there. In the Canberra Brewers bulk buy set up, members who are financial have quite a range of grains to select from (including belgian malts) and we can score 25kg sacks of pale ale malt at around $1.80 a kilo. There are bulk hop buys happening regularily, to tide you over until you decide to grow your own!! Out of desperation I popped down to the HBS shop this am to get some Cascade pellets - $17 for a 100g bag!!!

That makes the dozen potted and dormant Cascade cuttings quite valuable!!

Cheers,
TL

growing hops would be nice, just dont have the room or the sun at this stage

will go AG but not just yet, still learning and will get equipment together

scored a 23lt glass carboy on ebay for $20 the other day absolute bargain!! goes well with my other $70 glass carboy

cheers all