tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18546031792059477622023-11-26T01:20:14.647-08:00Tim BrewsTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-69168249685733197602013-09-20T02:01:00.003-07:002013-09-20T02:01:36.084-07:0037 - WheatAnother birthday party beer, again half to jerrycan and half bottled. This time a wheat, for no other reason than the quick turnaround. I forget what the gravity ended up as, but it was under target. We decided not to do anything about that though. Also, I would have chucked some oranges in this but forgot to buy them. We'll chuck some slices in at the party.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>.5kg Flaked oats</li>
<li>1.4kg Pale Wheat malt</li>
<li>1.7kg Pilsen malt</li>
<li>15g Northdown @ 60</li>
<li>29g Bobek @ 5</li>
<li>1.5 tsp crushed coriander seed @ 15</li>
<li>1 chamomile teabag (contents) @ 5</li>
<li>Mash @ 66 for 60 minutes</li>
</ul>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-53724952251312897732013-09-20T01:57:00.001-07:002013-09-20T01:57:29.391-07:0036 - Fuggly PaleI'm not sure why, possibly because I destroyed my decent thermometer somehow, but the next couple of beers both came out 10 points under the gravity that I was aiming for. Either that or I messed up the recipe creation in BeerSmith2.<br />
<br />
I decided to do a more classic British pale ale, mainly to use up a packet of Fuggles, if I'm honest. This was also destined for the 40th birthday party, however, in the end we decided to bottle and keep half of it. There was a sugar addition to this, but Daz did it at fermenting time, so I'm not sure exactly what he added.<br />
<br />
The birthday party beers have been put back into jerrycans. The idea being that we'll syphon into another jerrycan after they've settled and serve from that. I have some taps that should be OK for serving. I know this isn't exactly ideal, but it was the best we could come up with with limited time and resources.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>2.13kg Pale malt</li>
<li>0.35kg Pale crystal malt</li>
<li>0.35kg Pale wheat malt</li>
<li>45g Fuggles @ 60</li>
<li>30g Fuggles @ 15</li>
<li>Mash @ 66 for 90 minutes</li>
<li>Make up to 1038 with sugar</li>
</ul>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-31995673407238472292013-09-20T01:50:00.003-07:002013-09-20T01:50:35.868-07:0035 - WeaklingWe realised with something of a start that we had agreed to make some beer for a 40th birthday party and hadn't done anything about it, so I had a few brew sessions after knocking off work early.<br />
<br />
I thought it might be an idea to make a reprise of the Thornbridge Kipling-a-like that I brewed a while ago, but perhaps knock the gravity down. And thus decided it should be called Weakling.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>2.69kg Pale malt</li>
<li>0.26kg Wheat malt</li>
<li>0.26kg Munich</li>
<li>15g Nelson Sauvin @ 60</li>
<li>15g Nelson Sauvin @ 30</li>
<li>45g Nelson Sauvin @ 5</li>
<li>Mash @ 65.6 for 60 minutes</li>
<li>OG 1041</li>
</ul>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-18469562019768738152013-09-20T01:45:00.001-07:002013-09-20T01:46:23.299-07:0034 - 100% WheatI had quite a lot of wheat malt left and not that much of anything else, so I started casting around to look for articles/posts about doing a 100% wheat. There was a lot of 'thou shalt not do this' style talk, mainly centering around stuck mashes and the like. Well, since we do brew in a bag I figured that wouldn't be an issue.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>5kg Wheat malt</li>
<li>36g Hallertauer Northern Brewer @ 60</li>
<li>30g Bobek @ 10</li>
<li>Mash at 66.7 for 60 minutes</li>
</ul>
<div>
This had an additional random couple of litres of water chucked in as it was coming up to the boil, a 90 minute boil and an additional litre of water to compensate for evaporative loss. OG 1043.</div>
</div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-3447293951391534842013-09-20T01:39:00.002-07:002013-09-20T01:39:26.452-07:0033 - Smoked Amber LagerI haven't kept this blog up to date with recent brewing. Naughty me.
A while ago we made wort for a smoked amber lager which, for one reason or another, has sat in jerrycans for ages. We're kind of ready to ferment it now - this will be our first lager since we used to do kits <b>ages</b> ago.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>2.5kg Pilsen malt</li>
<li>1kg Munich malt</li>
<li>1kg Rauch malt</li>
<li>40g Tetnang @ 60</li>
<li>Mash @ 66.9 for 60 minutes</li>
</ul>
<br />Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-48171177394552852652013-04-01T08:33:00.000-07:002013-04-01T08:33:21.604-07:00On no-chillUsing jerry cans for no-chill wort production is working out quite well for us. Because of changes in the kitchen I no longer have much room to ferment - and until recently Daz's cellar has been off limits. These factors has changed now, but we have managed to build a stockpile of wort ready to ferment, which is quite nice. Removing the chilling step also knocks the length of the brewday down by quite a bit and also not wasting all the water is nice.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-78573630073212055532013-04-01T06:32:00.001-07:002013-09-20T01:34:49.134-07:00Beer 32 - Blackberry surpriseI got given a 2 tin <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0026WZBUO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0026WZBUO&linkCode=as2&tag=doyouhateme-21">Woodford's Wherry kit</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=doyouhateme-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B0026WZBUO" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> for my birthday. I decided just to chuck this in a fermenter with some old frozen blackberries and also chucked in 25g of Bramling Cross into the fermenter.
<b>Update: </b> Realised I totally forgot to take a hydro reading for this. Just tested it after a week and a bit and it's down to 1012. Not sure whether much sugar will have been added from the blackberries. I intend to rack it to another vessel this afternoon and leave it for a day or two to settle out and then bottle from there.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-13274091060218178392013-04-01T06:28:00.000-07:002013-04-01T06:28:19.098-07:00Beer 31 - American IPADaz ended up staying over one evening after I cooked for him & Jen. In the morning when we got up we decided on an impromptu brew session because the allotment was off the cards due to snow. We knocked together a US IPA recipe on the fly as a user-upper of hops in the freezer.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>0.32kg Pale Wheat Malt</li>
<li>1.44kg Munich Malt</li>
<li>4.84kg Pilsen Malt</li>
<li>30g Simcoe @ 60</li>
<li>17g Challenger @ 50</li>
<li>10g Cascade @ 40</li>
<li>10g Colombus @ 30</li>
<li>10g Cascade @ 20</li>
<li>10g Colombus @ 10</li>
</ul>
<br />
Mashed at 69 for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes. Hit 1070 bang on post-boil - after a fairly large sparge step.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-15711563464796114432013-02-07T23:30:00.000-08:002013-02-07T23:30:18.066-08:00Beer #30 - Table SaisonI had a very early morning at work, and left very early, Gemma was away, so what else to do of an afternoon except get a quick brewday in. With the exciting news that the <a href="http://themaltmiller.co.uk/">Malt Miller</a> is stocking a new <a href="http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/belle-saison-yeast">dry saison</a> yeast, I decided a saison would be in order, so set about constructing a recipe. Because all of the available recipes seem to be for quite punchy, high in alcohol beers I had a bit more of a dig around to get inspiration finding <a href="http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/allgrain/AG-PetiteSaison.pdf">Northern Brewer's Petite Saison</a> and their former videographer Chip Walton's <a href="http://brewingtv.com/recipe/2011/5/18/le-saisonette.html">Le Saisonette</a>. Although I didn't exactly follow these, they gave me some ideas for my smaller, table saison.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>2.59kg Pilsen</li>
<li>0.74 Munich</li>
<li>0.37 Wheat malt</li>
<li>10g Northdown @ 60</li>
<li>25g Tettnang @ 30</li>
<li>20g East Kent Goldings @ 5</li>
<li>1g Black pepper, coarsely crushed @ 5</li>
<li>5g Coriander, coarsely crushed @ 5</li>
<li>Rind of 1 Seville orange @ 5</li>
</ul>
<br /><br />
Ended up mashing a degree too low at 67.2C for 60 minutes. OG 1.042, which was a couple of points higher than anticipated.<br />
<br />
Went into the no-chill cubes without problem. I await Daz picking it up to ferment. The temperature control box for the fridge is now constructed, it just needs modification of the fridge door and we're away.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-65551245251591031542013-01-28T11:04:00.000-08:002013-01-28T11:04:16.239-08:00Beer # 29 - Porter Hot on the heels of the <a href="http://tim-brews.bizarro.org.uk/2013/01/beer-28-american-wheat.html">previous day's brew</a>, I got the liquor on and grains measured out and wondered whether assistant brewer Daz would turn up at all given his day out at the beer festival. He did as I was doughing in, and seemed relatively chipper. We'd decided a while ago to try our hands at a dark beer, and not satisfied with the recipe that we had selected from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1852492589/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1852492589&linkCode=as2&tag=doyouhateme-21">Brew Your Own British Real Ale</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=doyouhateme-21&l=as2&o=2&a=1852492589" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, I did a bit of reading the previous evening and constructed a recipe.<br />
<br />
Daz did seem to start suffering more and more as the day went on, but at least whilst he was in the up-phase we got the groundwork laid for the temperature controller we're building for a fermentation fridge.<br />
<br />
This was also the first time I've dabbled with water chemistry, by basically chucking a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in the mash to up the carbonates because we have very soft water here. This is an area we really need to explore more.<br />
<br />
The recipe:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>.26kg Wheat malt</li>
<li>.31kg Chocolate malt</li>
<li>.52kg Munich malt</li>
<li>.52kg Dark Crystal malt</li>
<li>1.03kg Pilsner malt</li>
<li>2.53kg Maris Otter malt</li>
<li>1tsp Bicarbonate of soda</li>
<li>20g Northdown @ 60</li>
<li>10g Northdown @ 10</li>
<li>10g East Kent Goldings @ 10</li>
</ul>
<br /><br />
90 minute mash, at 66.4. The hydrometer straight out of the mash indicated that we were slightly high on gravity, so I chucked another 1.5L in the kettle, on reflection I should have put a little more in as we finished the boil a touch high at 1.056 when the target was 1.054. The colour of this was lovely, deep and dark. It will just be ready for summer when we don't want to be drinking dark beers - ha!Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-17104913516833107512013-01-28T10:51:00.002-08:002013-01-28T10:51:14.308-08:00Beer #28 - American WheatI was left sad and alone on Saturday as everyone went to the Winter Beer Festival in Manchester. Because the medication I am on at the moment is strictly no-alcohol I decided not to go. The perfect excuse for a lazy brew day even though I already had one planned with Daz for the following day.<br />
<br />
Looking at the stocks of malt and hops led me to think about making wheat beer, but then I thought I'd mix it up a bit by using US hops. As the last couple of brews had come out short in gravity terms, I adjusted my efficiency down to 65% in Beersmith 2 and came up with the following.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>.3kg Munich malt</li>
<li>.42kg Rolled Oats</li>
<li>1.44kg Pilsner malt</li>
<li>1.66kg Wheat malt</li>
<li>11g Columbus @ 60</li>
<li>15g Cascasde @ 10</li>
</ul>
<br /><br />
Mashed at 68.7C for 90 minutes, losing 1.4 degrees. After the mash I topped up with 1.5L boiling water as the hydro reading was indicating it was already around the target gravity (before loss to evaporation). I had issues with the hop stopper blocking as I ran off into the no-chill cubes, which was annoying and meant I had to get busy with a spoon. It came in on target gravity wise though, and aforementioned issues notwithstanding was quite relaxing, if a little odd for the lack of a homebrew in hand during the process.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-47604947012291607492012-12-28T23:26:00.001-08:002012-12-28T23:26:18.238-08:00Beer #25 & #26 updateI did think number 26 was going to be for the sink too, as it had quite a difficult ferment and in the end finished very high. I tried a bottle after a month and it was undrinkable sweet water. Because time heals all wounds in homebrew I decided just to leave it another month and then feed it to Daz, who pronounced it fine. Not the world's greatest beer, but certainly drinkable.<br />
<br />
Beer 25, the red ale, on the other hand, after 2 months was a lovely balanced hoppy beauty. If anything the initial shock of the hops had worn off somewhat, perhaps it could have done with some dry hopping. But still, a very good beer.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-73259739146222006902012-12-28T12:59:00.000-08:002012-12-28T12:59:39.292-08:00Beer #27 - RuinedUnfortunately for one reason or another (mainly my illness of the past few weeks) this beer ended up sat in primary for way too long. When I went to check it when I was able there were clear signs of infection on top, so the lot got tipped down the drain. Not a happy job.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-71511320882511611212012-12-03T09:31:00.002-08:002012-12-03T09:31:46.232-08:00Beer #27 - Christmas WheatI decided to get a brew in quickly once the no-chill cubes arrived. Because I don't have a massive stock of beer available at the moment I wanted something that will turn around quickly, so settled on a repeat of the Wheatherder recipe with a bit of festive spice added.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>2kg Pilsen</li>
<li>1.75kg Wheat Malt</li>
<li>500g Oats</li>
<li>30g Saaz @ 60</li>
<li>20g Bobek @ 10</li>
<li>200g mixed peel @ 10</li>
<li>1 tbsp cinnamon powder @ 10</li>
</ul>
<br /><br />
Came out at 1054. Yeast not pitched, but will be W06.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-79044342999526477442012-11-27T23:54:00.002-08:002012-11-27T23:54:57.965-08:00Changes afootI've got minor changes happening with the brewing system. I recently changed the kitchen up a bit, removing a table which was too large and replacing it with a small kitchen island with breakfast bar for two people. This gives me a lot more worktop and generally more space in the kitchen, but does somewhat scupper the brewing, as I used to put fermenters on the table whilst the yeast did it's thing. The solution? I'm going to move the fermenting upstairs to the 'brewing room' - a tiny room in which I store my grain and bottles, etc.<br />
<br />
This has some benefits - keep the door closed and I should be able to keep the room warm during the winter months as there is a radiator in there. It also has some downsides - I don't much fancy having to lug full fermenters up the stairs from the kitchen. For this reason I have bought a set of <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8x-10L-10-LITRE-NEW-PLASTIC-WATER-DRUM-CONTAINER-JERRY-CAN-JAR-BOTTLE-2-GALLON-/321016895959?pt=UK_Home_Garden_GardenEquipment_HandTools_SM&hash=item4abe1919d7">8 10 litre</a> plastic (food safe, naturally) jerrycans that I can use for wort transfer. I was never completely satisfied with the chilling process as it takes ages, I don't have a tap connector for the chiller hose that fits properly, so we waste a lot of water. So I shall be using the no-chill method, as popularised by the Aussies. This may also allow me to batch up wort in mad production sessions and then just dump it in fermenters as they come free.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-41130009024096567772012-09-30T03:57:00.000-07:002012-09-30T03:57:30.482-07:00Beer #26 - Best Bitter<br />
Having just recently had a couple of lovely pints of classic best bitters at The Blake, another pub that's local to me, I decided to make something along those lines for the second beer of my <a href="http://tim-brews.bizarro.org.uk/2012/09/beer-25-red-ale.html">double brewday</a>. Again more or less winging it recipe-wise. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>3.25kg Maris Otter</li>
<li>0.2kg Pale Crystal</li>
<li>0.2kg Pale Wheat</li>
<li>0.41kg Dark Crystal</li>
<li>20g Northdown @ 60</li>
<li>10g Northdown @ 15</li>
<li>10g East Kent Goldings @ 15</li>
<li>20g East Kent Goldings @ 0</li>
</ul>
Got a little more from this batch than the last because of the lower hopping. OG was 1044, pitched S04 but awoke to no activity - perhaps I hadn't cooled enough - so I've chucked a packet of Nottingham in this morning. </div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-67484112908627569082012-09-30T03:51:00.001-07:002012-09-30T03:51:35.165-07:00Beer #25 Red ale<br />
With the other half off working surveying for bats, I decided I might as well try and get a double brewday in. I was going to try and get an overnight mash done to get a headstart on the day, but met a friend after work. She's a bad person and made me spend most of the night in the pub. Nonetheless I still managed an early start, so had the liquor heating up by 06:30. Because I'm a bit lazy this ended up being a very relaxed and unorganised brewday. I decided I wanted to make a lovely red coloured ale, but fairly bittered with US hops. So this is what I came up with, mainly based on what was in the malt box. This was also the first time I'd used the first wort hopping technique, so it'll be interesting to see how that turns out<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>0.27kg Pale Wheat malt</li>
<li>0.5kg Caraaroma</li>
<li>0.5kg Carared</li>
<li>4.5kg Maris Otter</li>
<li>15g Columbus @ FWH</li>
<li>15g Simcoe @ FWH</li>
<li>10g Columbus @ 60</li>
<li>10g Simcoe @ 60</li>
<li>10g Columbus @ 30</li>
<li>10g Simcoe @ 30</li>
<li>10g Columbus @ 15</li>
<li>10g Simcoe @ 15</li>
<li>20g Cascade @ 15</li>
<li>20g Cascade @ 0</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
This had a couple of litres sparged through, which I was glad about because the hops did soak a fair amount. I think I need a bigger boiler, although I struggle enough getting things boiling on the hob at the moment. Collected 16L at 1061 and pitched 2 packets of Nottingham, which may have been overkill.</div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-4592254418874397712012-09-30T03:34:00.000-07:002012-09-30T03:34:35.623-07:00Beer #24 - Wrong Tim's Aussie Summer<br />
My friend and former work colleague came to visit for Sheffield's excellent Tramlines. So following the festivities I gave him a bit of a lesson in how I brew. I have to say I probably wasn't the best tutor because of the raging hangover from a weekend's massive over-indulgence. However we did manage to get a beer out of it. This time I decided just to do a straightforward single-hopped beer with the Australian hop Summer - mainly because I had some kicking around and also because Tim's local brewery makes a commercial beer with this hop, so he can do a comparison.<div>
<ul>
<li>0.27kg Pale Wheat malt</li>
<li>0.3kg Pale Crystal malt</li>
<li>2.75kg Maris Otter</li>
<li>20g Summer @ 60</li>
<li>20g Summer @ 30</li>
<li>60g Summer @ 0</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
Mashed for 60 minutes @ 64.5 C. Ended up with an OG of 1044 onto which US05 was pitched. For various reasons I didn't get to bottling this until 3 weeks after pitching and it had dropped right down to 1004, for about 5.3% ABV, which is a bit more than I was aiming for. I need to send some bottles down to Suffolk for Tim to try.</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-41078295005761448722012-09-30T03:26:00.000-07:002012-09-30T03:26:11.084-07:00Beer #23 Nelson Sauvin Pale AleThe idea behind this beer was because I'd been drinking a lot of<a href="http://www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk/thornbridge-cask-beer.php"> Thornbridge Kipling</a> in one of my local pubs, <a href="http://www.myhallamshire.co.uk/House.html">The Hallamshire House</a>. Unfortunately when I came to make it I realised I had no Munich malt in the box, which I know is in the actual recipe. I had planned to chuck in a bit of Pale Crystal for interest, which I weighed out, but forgot to add it. I've left it out of the following recipe.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>0.3kg Wheat Malt</li>
<li>3.43kg Maris Otter</li>
<li>17g Nelson Sauvin @ 60</li>
<li>12g Nelson Sauvin @ 30</li>
<li>50g Nelson Sauvin @ 0</li>
<li>S04</li>
</ul>
<br />
Ended up at an OG of 1050 and a FG of 1008 for about 5.6% ABV, slightly higher than Kipling. I probably should have dry hopped, however this was widely lauded by friends as the best beer I've done yet. Early tasters were like drinking grapefruit juice. Nelson Sauvin will definitely get an airing again.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-12518237755924102172012-09-30T03:15:00.000-07:002012-09-30T03:15:13.672-07:00Bit behindFor whatever reason I've not managed to post the last couple of brews I did. I shall endeavour to fix that in the next 10 minutes or so.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-48914717394869659852012-05-28T09:39:00.001-07:002012-05-28T09:39:56.994-07:00Beer # 22 - WheatherderVery late in posting this, but last weekend I managed to get a day free to brew. Since we're off to the <a href="http://beatherder.co.uk/">Beat Herder</a> festival at the end of this month, I thought it would be nice to brew the easy and totally not authentic version of a Wit that I've brewed previously, with some modifications based on a very active thread on Jim's beerkit.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>2kg Pilsen</li>
<li>1.75kg Wheat Malt</li>
<li>500g Oats</li>
<li>30g Saaz @ 60</li>
<li>20g Bobek @ Flame out</li>
<li>2 Chamomile tea bags @ flame out</li>
<li>10g Coriander seeds, crushed @ flame out.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Didn't bother with a sparge and collected 14L @ 1053 into the fermenter, in hindsight maybe I should have sparged or otherwise diluted. I intend to bottle into 2L plastic bottles to take to the festival.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-36216054184093653872012-04-02T09:12:00.001-07:002012-04-02T09:12:22.653-07:00Beer #21 - Belgian BlondeBecause I'd taken the day off as a recovery day following a trip to Birmingham to dance to techno, and didn't feel too awful, I decided to do some brewing stuff. I brewed a Belgian Blonde ale and bottled the smoky beer.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>250g Abbey Malt</li>
<li>250g Biscuit Malt</li>
<li>250g Candi Sugar (clear, home-made)</li>
<li>740g Wheat Malt</li>
<li>3.45kg Pilsen Malt</li>
<li>35g Hallertauer @ 90</li>
<li>20g Saaz @ 30</li>
<li>WLP530</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>OG 1059, 19.5L</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
Into the fermenter it was a beautiful golden colour, which is what I was aiming for. I intend to make a second stronger beer and pitch onto the yeast cake.<br />
<br />
Continuing problems with immersion chiller tap and connectors meant that the kitchen floor ended up a proper state.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-10914780791205051072012-03-26T11:25:00.003-07:002012-04-02T02:48:20.730-07:00Beer #20 - Lightly SmokyI finally got a malt and hops order in, went a bit crazy in the end and had 86kg of stuff sent! Although that's not all for me -Daz will be diving into the stash too.<br />
<br />
So with all that waiting, and it being a pea souper, I couldn't resist getting a brew on. Daz appeared on the scene just after the mash had finished so I had another pair of hands, which was useful. Because Gemma likes Rauchbier, specifically <a href="http://www.schlenkerla.de/indexe.html">Schlenkerla</a>, I'd ordered 500g of rauch malt which in hindsight may have been too little, but hopefully will give a lightly smoky taste to the finished beer. Certainly when tasted from the sample jar there was a hint under the sugary maltiness. I used a mix of Pilsen and Munich malts as the base with a touch of wheat for body and a pinch of chocolate to add some colour.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>50g Chocolate malt</li>
<li>160g Wheat malt</li>
<li>500g Rauch malt</li>
<li>1kg Munich malt</li>
<li>1.6kg Pilsen malt</li>
<li>32g Hallertauer @ 60 minutes</li>
</ul>
<b>OG: 1040</b>, 20L into the fermenter.<br />
<b>FG: 1010, 3.9% ABV</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-58464811030639929252012-03-10T06:08:00.002-08:002012-03-10T06:12:57.810-08:00Beer #19 - BottledFortunately, I'd managed to sup just enough bottles to allow me to bottle, after 3 weeks in the fermenter, the crazy user upper brew. I'm determined not to crack into it too early.<div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately the need to bottle came just prior to my birthday. I say unfortunately because as a gift I received an 80 capacity bottle tree and a bottle rinser (Avinatore). This would have come in handy and shortened the washing and sanitising of 60-something bottles. I've just assembled the thing and taken it for a test run on the empties that were building up in the kitchen. I reckon it'll be a boon - with such a small kitchen and lack of sink and drainer space, I normally have to ferry armfuls of bottles back and forth. This will let me do a large batch at the kitchen table.</div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854603179205947762.post-42002416784086118102012-02-06T11:11:00.001-08:002012-02-06T11:13:04.437-08:00Beer 16, 17, 18These all fermented out as they should with 16 and 17 going all bottles and 18 going into bottles and a couple of mini-kegs. I was very disappointed with all of them to start, the 16 and 17 being pretty one dimensional and the 18 seeming quite watery and boring. All have enhanced with a bit more time conditioning and they're all fairly drinkable now.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16306304469179308207noreply@blogger.com0