Any other homebrewers out there

**Rallye Sport** · 29-10-2016, 08:58 PM

G'day all, just wondering if anyone partakes in the art of beer brewing?
We've been at it for a few years now, almost 200 brews down, mainly 'replica' kits. Just started doing our own recipes, had some wins and losses but have my honey beer down pat now. We pick up honey when we head country for car shows, theres a real difference in tastes between different areas and its a nice reminder of a day out...
Anyone got any good recipes to share?

mcflux · 29-10-2016, 10:15 PM

YES!!

200 brews, damn I'm years off that. I did maybe 5-6 brews as a uni student, then started up again 12 months ago. I just to kit & kilo stuff but have done 9 brews since then with another 2 on the way. I have a fridge & a freezer & run temp controllers + small element heaters in both, & I bottle rather than keg (2 brews at a time since autumn).

Regarding honey, I have a Canadian Blonde with honey, malt & maple syrup currently conditioning, & put down a draught + redgum honey + malt the other day.

So what do you do, kit & kilo, BIAB, AG? Bottle or keg?

**Rallye Sport** · 30-10-2016, 12:14 AM

We started off kegging but to be honest just can't drink that much beer

Bottling nowadays, between us, my two brother in-laws and the old man we've got it covered, that and you can let them age and come back to them.
We do scratch made mashes every so often but tend to stick with the canned malt and kit convertors.
Honey beers have got to be my fave, they're a bit hit and miss due to differing sugar contents and can range from 4% up to 6.5, thats getting a bit pokey for me.
Good base for a honey brew is...
1x tin of wheat malt
1kg light dry malt
500g of honey(if fresh heat to about 60 degrees to pasteurize)
1x safbrew WB06 yeast
22L water
Temps about perfect this time of year and should brew at room temp

mcflux · 31-10-2016, 09:48 AM

200+ brews & you bottle it... That's keen lol.

You mention room temp... What kind of setup do you have here? If you can spare ~$150-200 you could get a chest freezer, temp controller & heater and be able to brew two batches at a time, 24/7 year-round, to the exact temperature you want.

Sounds like a tasty honey brew, zero hops though? (I do prefer malty beers over hoppy beers)

**Rallye Sport** · 31-10-2016, 11:49 AM

I prefer the malty beers myself, we don't hop the honey brews, just let the honey do the talking...
We brew in the usual coopers fermenter. Through trial and error we use different temperature yeasts and beer styles according to time of year so no need for heating or cooling. We do struggle in the height of summer but take this into account and bang out multiple brews at a time before hand to keep us going over that period.

mcflux · 31-10-2016, 02:14 PM

My two setups (fridge now has a ceramic heater instead of a hot-lamp)

That's pretty cool allowing the seasons to influence what you can and cannot brew, a bit more old-fashioned.