Skip to main content
search
0

 

FAQs

INGREDIENTS

My recipe specifies a malt that you don’t stock. Which grain should I choose?

Maltsters all have different names for their malts based on colour, barley variety, naming conventions and many other factors. We recommend choosing a grain variety that suits the style of beer you’re making, and the flavour you’re expecting from the grain.
For example, Gladfield American Ale is a great choice for hop-forward styles because it has a clean malt flavour which lets the hops really shine.
Barrett Burston Pale Malt on the other hand is a lighter colour Pilsner malt, which will make a lighter bodied, straw coloured beer.

Have a look at our GRAIN GUIDE for a thorough breakdown of what each grain variety brings to your beer. Be sure to pay attention to colour (EBC), region and tasting notes when choosing grains for your recipe.

* side note: all the malts we sell are ‘2-row’ barley.

I just got set up for All-Grain brewing. Which crush size should I select for my grain?

Not all brewing systems are the same, therefore we like to mill grain to the correct spec for your equipment. Achieving the correct crush on your grain will allow for better efficiency, faster lautering, and an easier brew day all round.

We offer 2 options for crush size: COARSE or FINE. We generally recommend a COARSE crush for all-in-one systems such as the Grainfather, Guten, and BrewZilla, to allow for better recirculation and lautering.
Choose FINE if you are Brew-In-A-Bag brewer or use a traditional 3-vessel system.
If you’re not sure which crush to select, leave a comment in the order notes and we will crush to your specifications.

I’ve found a recipe that calls for Crystal 20L but I can’t find this on your site. Which malt should I use?

L, or degrees Lovibond, is a colour value for malt that is common overseas. In Australia we generally follow the EBC (European Brewing Convention) colour scale. Thankfully, this is an easy conversion:
1L = 2.3EBC (approximately)

Crystal 20L  = ~46EBC
A suitable malt in this case would be Gladfield Light Crystal (typically 50EBC)

What’s the best way to store my hops and grain after opening the packet? I want to keep them as fresh as possible

We vacuum seal our hops as soon as we pack them to ensure delicate aromatic oils are retained. After opening, we recommend you pack the hops you don’t use into a zip-lock bag with the air squeezed out and store them in the freezer. Better yet, consider investing in a vacuum sealer to bag, seal and store your hops as required.

 

GRAIN

We don’t always find the time to brew when we want to. For this reason, we offer the option to have your recipes vacuum sealed for maximum shelf life and freshness. Otherwise, we recommend storing your grain in air-tight containers in a cool, dry place. We sell 10L and 20L pails which are great for storing grain while keeping pests away.

Can I order bulk grain and have it packed into smaller bags?

GRAIN PACKAGING and MILLING POLICY

We understand the importance of using fresh ingredients and because of this we give you the option of having your grain bills vacuum sealed. However, due to materials cost and packaging time required for ingredients, we will not repackage your grain orders into smaller custom amounts.

For grain recipes, our policy is:

  • Up to 6.5kg can be vacuum sealed
  • Under 25kg can be milled
  • 25kg and over is UNMILLED ONLY
  • Weights will not be subdivided. ie 8kg = 1x 8kg bag, not 8x 1kg bags
  • Minimum individual packing size is 250g

 

Ordering Process

1. Choose the first grain in your recipe and the amount. Our ordering weights are per kilo so for 500g enter “0.5”

2. Choose the MILLING type (COARSE, FINE, or UNMILLED) and BAGGING type (SEALED or VACUUM SEALED),

3. Choose whether the grain is to be MIXED with other grains in your recipe or UNMIXED. To easily clarify which grains are to be mixed with which, write a reference in the RECIPE DETAILS box, eg. “Recipe 2” or “Pale Ale

4. Repeat process for other grains in recipe

FERMENTATION

My airlock isn’t bubbling. How do I know if my beer is fermenting properly?

An Airlock isn’t a great tool for monitoring fermentation. Temperature changes, dry hopping, and settling of yeast can all cause an airlock to bubble – none of these are indicators of fermentation. The only way to be sure a fermentation is progressing is to monitor the SPECIFIC GRAVITY with a hydrometer. Not only will this help you to work out the alcohol-by-volume (abv) of your beer, it will also show you definitively that your beer has finished fermenting and is ready to be packaged. Monitor the specific gravity of your brew with a hydrometer and bottle/keg your beer when it is stable (no change) over 24-48hrs

If you are using a hydrometer and you do not notice any yeast activity or change in specific gravity, make sure of the following:

  • You’ve fermented within your yeast’s temperature range,
  • You’ve used enough yeast (we recommend 2 or more sachets for worts over 1.050 OG)
  • Your wort is fermentable. Worts with a very low pH, with excessive adjuncts, a high proportion of dark malts, or mashed too hot may all struggle to ferment.
My final gravity should be 1.010 but I took a gravity reading today and my beer is only at 1.020. I think my fermentation has stalled

The Final Gravity of your brew will depend on the fermentability of your wort, yeast viability, and the variety of malts (grist) in your recipe, among other factors.

Most darker malts do not contain starches to convert into fermentable sugars, and therefore will raise the final gravity of your beer. Keep in mind that some brewing software will not take this into account.

Yeast Attenuation

All yeasts will have a predicted apparent attenuation level. This refers to the percentage of fermentable sugar the yeast is able to convert into alcohol. For example, English Ale yeasts often have a low attenuation range (often 70-75%) while American ale yeasts often higher attenuating (around 80%). You can use these numbers to help predict the final gravity, and therefore the sweetness/dryness of your beer.

How do I get maximum hop aroma in my beer?

To answer this question fully we need to look at how to best use our hops during the brew day (“Hot Side”) and also during fermentation (“Cold Side” aka “Dry Hopping”)

HOT SIDE HOPPING

If you’re following a recipe you might find that it calls for a late boil hop – for example with 10 minutes left to go – or a whirlpool/hopstand hop addition. Keeping in mind that hops are full of delicate aromatic oils that are easily cooked away in boiling wort, the later you can add hops throughout the boil, the more aroma you’ll retain in your beer. Better yet, consider letting your wort cool to below 90°C after the boil before adding your aroma hops. If you’re brewing hoppy beers, avoid recipes that call for several long hop boils. Many of the most desirable hop oils such as myrcene and citranelol (responsible for citrus fruit aroma) can be “isomerised” at temperatures as low as 60°C, so the cooler we can add them to our wort the better.

HOPSTAND METHOD

After the boil, allow your wort to cool to 85°C. Stir your wort in a circular motion with your mash paddle constantly until you form a whirlpool. Add your hop addition gently to the whirlpool and place the lid on your kettle. Leave for approximately 15 minutes, then continue to chill your wort to fermentation temperature.

COLD SIDE HOPPING

Arguably the best way to give your hops a huge burst of aroma is to add them during fermentation. This is called “dry hopping”. While there are many different ways to do this, there are 2 main things to consider:

  1. Add while fermentation is active. Oxygen is the enemy of hops, so by adding the hops while your yeast is still producing CO2, you’re ensuring that most of this aroma is retained. It’s for this reason that many of our recipes call for a dry hop addition on day 4 of fermentation.
  2. Filter your hops before packaging. Nothing tastes worse than grassy bits of hop matter getting into your glass of beer. Put your dry hops into a hop sock or hop tube. If you have temperature control, “cold crash” your beer after fermentation to allow your hops to settle to the bottom of the fermenter.

To bag or not to bag?

If you’re planning to do multiple dry hops, you may want to bag at least your first dry hop so that you can remove it before your 2nd dry hop. You may find you get better hop utilisation from adding the hops loose without a bag. If you do choose to use a hop sock, make sure you leave plenty of room in the bag for your hops to expand

HOP CREEP

Big beers call for big dry hops. Pay extra attention to your fermentation when adding big dry hop doses (150g or more, for example) as enzymes within hops can cause further fermentation to take place. Unexpected fermentation from dry hopping – aka “hop creep” – can easily lead to packaged beer that is full of unwanted yeast byproducts such as diacetyl (butter) and acetaldehyde (green apple peel). Allow extra time post-dry hop to ensure your fermentation is complete, or consider dry hopping after cold crashing.

Close Menu
SHARE YOUR CART