GINGER BEER: pitching problems...

Hi there, Paul here with my first post!

I pitched my yeast into my ginger beer on the same day as josh did his draught. I decided to pitch without making a starter culture. Unfortunately it didn't start fermenting and after a three or four days I finally had the chance to get to the homebrew barn to get some more yeast, on Friday 25th. I made a starter from a little of the ginger beer mix from the fermenter, and a couple of extra teaspoons of sugar to give it a kick start. Within an hour or so it had a good creamy head on it, so i pitched it into the fermenter, popped it into the unused fridge (as josh had bottled his draught a few hours previously), gave it a swirl, and within a few more hours there was movement in the airlock! It seems, in the last few days, to be bubbling quite slowly, and the head on the wort is more a collection of large bubbles, instead of one uniform head, but I'm not worried as this is the same as the last time i made it, and it was awesome!

Large bubbles on top of the ginger beer wort

The last time i made this same mix, with a little less chilli and ginger, I pitched with a starter, and it also failed, and i needed to get another yeast from the homebrew barn. I can't be sure, but i think there may be a problem either with the addition of chilli, or with the yeast packets that come in the kits, so it may pay, dear reader, to pick up a spare yeast if your going to make this worthwhile brew. Ginger beer will ferment slower and longer than its normal beer counterparts, so don't expect the airlock to go crazy, but a slow steady bubble, maybe only four or five a minute is fine. As long as its moving. usually it will be ready after a week or so. Bottle condition as per normal, but this also will take a while. You can try it at two or three weeks, but the alcohol gives the ginger beer a strange aftertaste, which will disappear longer you leave it to mature. I would recommend a month as a good time to test it. The problem I found with tasting my last couple too early is that once you taste the green aftertaste, even when it is matured and delicious you will still sense that taste, even though no-one else will know what you are on about! That said, it is still extremely delicious either way, especially with the addition of the extra ginger and chilli for that refreshing, lasting burn. Mmmm Mmmmm.....

BREWING: Chilli Ginger Beer & Traditional Draught

Time to brew some more beer!
Paul's Chilli Ginger Beer proved ridiculously popular at a party a couple of weeks ago (it was ALL gone within a few hours), and now more was needed. Paul has decided to up the fresh Chilli and Ginger content, which adds a fresh, zingy burn to the brew.
His recipe:

6 Small hot chillies, finely chopped

About 2 cups of fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 Ginger Beer Kit, from our local Homebrew shop

The Chilli and Ginger is simmered in water for about 10 minutes before the other ingredients are added and yeast is pitched once the wort has cooled. Should be delicious!

I have gone for Draught style beer:

1 Can of Thomas Cooper's Traditional Draught

1.5kg Light Malt Extract

1 Packet of Lloyd's Lager Booster 

Foolishly I forgot the lager booster, and had to throw it in after the yeast - requiring a good stir to dissolve thebooster. This was a worry because I dont normally stir in the yeast. All Fine though - 12 hours later there was a thick yeasty layer on the top of my brew and the airlock bubbling away :)
I've brewed my last few beers in a disused fridge. This is working really well, as the insulation keeps the brew at a steady 18-20 Degrees.

Bottling: Irish Stout & Australian Pale Ale

Today we bottled our most recent Brews.
I did a Pale Ale using:

1 Can of Cooper's Australian Pale Ale

1 Kg "Ultra Brew" (250g Dextrose, 250g Corn Syrup, 500g Light Dry Malt)

1 Packet of Lloyd's Lager Booster

I've actually made this one before, which was pretty damn good, and even better after around 4 months. Its all gone now so I thought I had better make some more. 

Paul did an Irish Stout:

1 Can of Morgan's Chairman's Selection Irish Stout

1 kg "Stout Combo" (250g Light Malt, 500g Dark Malt, 250g Corn Syrup)

1 Packet of Lloyd's Stout Booster

That's the first Stout we've done before. Hopefully it'll be ready while we still have some cool weather.

We also spent some time organising our brew room, which shall be dubbed "The Brisbane Institute of  Fermentational Studies"

Josh & Pauls Homebrew Blog

Hey there!

We have decided to start documenting our adventures in homebrew - in blog form!

We've not been brewing long- Paul about a year and myself (josh) for about 6 months. But so far we've done about 15 brews between us, and made some pretty damn drinkable beer!

So the main point of this blog will be to record our beer recipes, how we brewed it and finally what it tastes like.