So to kick off this new section of my brewing blog I thought it only appropriate to get back to my roots and speak to someone back in Port Elizabeth who has been brewing for about as long as I have been legally allowed to consume adult bevvies. This wizard goes by the name of Kevin whom I learned of via my best mate from Uni who kept telling me about his uncle that brews his own beer. Needless to say when you are young and stupid you have pretty much the same goals as any hard drug user: when can I get my next one and where will it be cheapest so I can get as many as possible. Nowadays fortunately that is very different...
Naturally I set my mate Rick up as the middle man and he arranged a meet for a quick Sunday afternoon get together at the converted wendy house formally named the “Twin Orbs” brewery. Located in the spacious backyard setting somewhere between the pool and the big rain water tanks it has been adorned with all kinds of brewing paraphernalia both young and old. To me the fact that they were brewing in a wendy house was quite exciting considering I keep all my equipment in one Addis container in my bedroom.
Naturally I set my mate Rick up as the middle man and he arranged a meet for a quick Sunday afternoon get together at the converted wendy house formally named the “Twin Orbs” brewery. Located in the spacious backyard setting somewhere between the pool and the big rain water tanks it has been adorned with all kinds of brewing paraphernalia both young and old. To me the fact that they were brewing in a wendy house was quite exciting considering I keep all my equipment in one Addis container in my bedroom.
As soon as we started talking Kevin laid out the law explaining that they brew (he brews with a mate named Paul) for quantity and the end goal is not to compete or show off the end product, but to simply sit back and enjoy a good beer when the time is right. He is a very relaxed guy and it speaks in his brewing habits as he describes it as “not perfect, but just enough to produce a solid and more-ish session ale”. The more he speaks the more I realise how much there is for me to learn. When starting our chat this English Bitters buff explains:
“when we started out we were very much into producing a technically perfect, competition ready product and even went as far as to measure the water PH throughout the brewing process...we were very pedantic about the whole thing. After a while we realised that you have to make pretty silly mistakes to get a batch to taste off so we eased off a bit and have learned that there is quite a bit you can get away with in the process as long as you do not skimp on sanitation”.
“when we started out we were very much into producing a technically perfect, competition ready product and even went as far as to measure the water PH throughout the brewing process...we were very pedantic about the whole thing. After a while we realised that you have to make pretty silly mistakes to get a batch to taste off so we eased off a bit and have learned that there is quite a bit you can get away with in the process as long as you do not skimp on sanitation”.
Initially they started out with extract beers, but after not having too much luck they soon made the change to all-grain and have since then been acquiring bits and tweaking the brew house to produce the maximum yield of good-quality session beer with the least amount of effort – my kind of guys...
First thoughts upon seeing what is going on inside the little wooden brew house will definitely give you an idea that these guys are very keen on their brewing and have over the years acquired quite a bit of kit whether it be begged, bought or forged themselves. This is a large scale operation geared for producing around 70 litres per brew, but I think what was even cooler was the way that this mini-brewery used its environment and the master wizard's problem solving skills to get around things like cooling and avoiding water restrictions in the Eastern Cape.
First thoughts upon seeing what is going on inside the little wooden brew house will definitely give you an idea that these guys are very keen on their brewing and have over the years acquired quite a bit of kit whether it be begged, bought or forged themselves. This is a large scale operation geared for producing around 70 litres per brew, but I think what was even cooler was the way that this mini-brewery used its environment and the master wizard's problem solving skills to get around things like cooling and avoiding water restrictions in the Eastern Cape.
Equipment:
They have a setup of a Hot Liquor Tank, a mash tun, boiling vessel and then some large fermenters. The HLT and “kettle” are large 90 litre containers whereas the mash tun holds 50 litres – all are top quality food grade plastic containers that have been modified to now include a 3KW element which allows for heating and boiling as required. Additionally these have been wrapped in “yoga mats” to ensure that heat does not escape.
They have a setup of a Hot Liquor Tank, a mash tun, boiling vessel and then some large fermenters. The HLT and “kettle” are large 90 litre containers whereas the mash tun holds 50 litres – all are top quality food grade plastic containers that have been modified to now include a 3KW element which allows for heating and boiling as required. Additionally these have been wrapped in “yoga mats” to ensure that heat does not escape.
- Basically the process goes as follows:
- the HLT is filled the night before the brew with around 75 litres of water – this is either done with captured rain water from the huge tanks sitting just outside the brewhouse or just regular tap water
- the water is then set to heat up to around 85 degrees which is controlled by a thermostat and this is left to happen overnight
- on brew day, this hot water is fed through to the mash tun and the grains are added directly and allowed to mash for an hour
- once mashing is complete the mash tun is drained out straight into the kettle with some more of the hot water from the HLT used for a basic sparge running over the grain bed from an “overhead shower head” hanging just above the boiler
- the wort is boiled for an hour and the various hops etc. added
- to cool the wort a clever system has been invented where the immersion chiller uses cold water it pumps from the pool, around the coils and back out into the pool! How genius is that!?
- Once cooled it is transferred into one of the massive fermentation vessels and the yeast is added
- the way Kevin prepares the yeast is also quite clever – some wort from a previous brew is kept in a number of two litre plastic colddrink bottles and frozen. Two days before brew day this is thawed out and some hot water added before shaking it like crazy to introduce some air. Next the yeast is added to this starter and is then capped and left on a counter where it is in sight. Every now and then the cap of the bottle is opened to let off the CO2 as fermentation starts and eventually this hungry yeast is added to the fermentation on brew day
- the way Kevin prepares the yeast is also quite clever – some wort from a previous brew is kept in a number of two litre plastic colddrink bottles and frozen. Two days before brew day this is thawed out and some hot water added before shaking it like crazy to introduce some air. Next the yeast is added to this starter and is then capped and left on a counter where it is in sight. Every now and then the cap of the bottle is opened to let off the CO2 as fermentation starts and eventually this hungry yeast is added to the fermentation on brew day
- The fermentation vessel is then placed in one of the modified fridges where the temperature is controlled by an external thermostat to allow for fermentation in a temperature controlled environment allowing for better fermentation and also dropping the temperature down after a week allows all the sediment to drop down producing a much clearer beer
- Bottling is done straight from primary fermentation using some regular white sugar for priming – the process is so streamlined by now that they can bottle 70 litres of beer in just under two hours which I find quite amazing.
What I learned from this:
I knew that chatting to Kevin would be helpful as twelve years is a big learning curve, but I could never have guessed by how much. My current setup is just a big pot which I use for mashing and boiling and then I have a big steel bath that I fill with ice for the cooling before transferring to my primary (and only) fermentation stage. Sadly my yield for each batch is around 4.5ltrs which is very little for about five hours of my time even thought I truly enjoy doing it. These guys pump out massive volume and the most valuable lesson I learned here is that one can easily get bigger volume by brewing smarter in smaller spaces.
I knew that chatting to Kevin would be helpful as twelve years is a big learning curve, but I could never have guessed by how much. My current setup is just a big pot which I use for mashing and boiling and then I have a big steel bath that I fill with ice for the cooling before transferring to my primary (and only) fermentation stage. Sadly my yield for each batch is around 4.5ltrs which is very little for about five hours of my time even thought I truly enjoy doing it. These guys pump out massive volume and the most valuable lesson I learned here is that one can easily get bigger volume by brewing smarter in smaller spaces.
This is what Kevin advised me and probably the most valuable thing I learned on the day:
“perhaps living in an apartment or having a small section of garage to utilise lends itself well to the 'brew in a bag method' which basically means using a single vessel for both mashing and boiling. Instead of getting massive gas burners and equipment, get a 3KW element and dunk it in a big food safe plastic bucket – just make sure to be safe and keep it away from edges etc.” It is at this point of our talk that he instructs me to pull something off some hooks on one of the walls of the Wendy House which turns out to be two extended elements with a cable that runs off and connects to a plug.
“perhaps living in an apartment or having a small section of garage to utilise lends itself well to the 'brew in a bag method' which basically means using a single vessel for both mashing and boiling. Instead of getting massive gas burners and equipment, get a 3KW element and dunk it in a big food safe plastic bucket – just make sure to be safe and keep it away from edges etc.” It is at this point of our talk that he instructs me to pull something off some hooks on one of the walls of the Wendy House which turns out to be two extended elements with a cable that runs off and connects to a plug.
“This is how we brewed our first couple of batches, tap in some mash water and then drop in the element to get it to mashing temp. Once it hits temp, line out a grain bag and hook it over the edges so it just submerges in the water then add the grains stir and let sit. Once mashing is over lift out the bag and have a mate help with sparging – now simply drop the element back in and get the boil going.”
So simple I feel stupid for not thinking of it before...this will easily help me get a 20 ltr yield without having to buy much more than a good quality bucket and element compared to huge stainless steel pot, gas burner, gas bottle and then of course trying to figure out where in my 70 m2 fifth floor apartment I can strike a match...
So simple I feel stupid for not thinking of it before...this will easily help me get a 20 ltr yield without having to buy much more than a good quality bucket and element compared to huge stainless steel pot, gas burner, gas bottle and then of course trying to figure out where in my 70 m2 fifth floor apartment I can strike a match...
I asked Kevin to give me a story on his worst or best/most memorable batch and this is what he responded with:
“Here are some quips rather which illustrate some flops
“Here are some quips rather which illustrate some flops
- Draining a mash run without a false bottom or filter doesn't work.
- Never use corn starch as an adjunct unless you have days to wait for the run off to the kettle.
- When bottling from a carbonated keg be aware the volume of foam produced defies all known scientific laws.
- If it smells like nail varnish remover, it won't mellow out with time.
- Don't be offended when your friends say 'I love your beer, but do you have any castle?'
- The sediment of 3 or 4 bottle conditioned homebrews is as effective as brooklax.
- When the kettle is emptying but the fermenter is not filling, the wort is going somewhere its not supposed to be. “
Has anybody out there tried a similar method? Are you currently using a brew in a bag method to brew your beer? Do you have some other clever ideas? Of course as the saying goes there are many ways to skin a cat so share your story via email or comments or feel free to recommend someone you know that could be a home brew hero.
Salute!
Salute!