tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30065815065946491552024-03-13T00:51:22.546+00:00Getting GristMark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-85992659424511460222023-04-16T15:35:00.001+01:002023-04-16T15:35:28.368+01:00Homebrew Review - Low Flying Crow<p>It has to be said, this didn't turn out quite as anticipated, but the experiment was a success in that I got a low-alcohol beer that tastes relatively good. </p><p>Starting gravity was 1.028 and final gravity was 1.020, making the ABV a tad over 1%. I was hoping for a FG of 1.016 making the beer more like 1.6% so I'll need to tweak the recipe. To be fair it doesn't need to be any drier, so aiming for a higher OG might be the answer. </p><p>It's cold, clear, and has a lovely flavour from the hops, but it finishes very short in the mouth, with a dry aftertaste. </p><p>I'm not easily pleased and while many might think this beer fine for what it is, I'll probably have another crack at this later in the year and change it up a bit.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_TeTsHtHQtBbDNfuZYrkPPfGkHUUeWFgY9lBagobYPJxTDG7d76amSlQZtI8SRMSetEsyFKfwX6sToaHBZ6dC9JPCyalZiGNiXr5HtbUnHvADc_H09sGVOYypWnS3IXytQbd4FbM3CXg5VnbStyQSQ3OQXDyLoeVvqEK9WvZ89mFI1FpP91fD7ta/s807/PXL_20230416_141636251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="454" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_TeTsHtHQtBbDNfuZYrkPPfGkHUUeWFgY9lBagobYPJxTDG7d76amSlQZtI8SRMSetEsyFKfwX6sToaHBZ6dC9JPCyalZiGNiXr5HtbUnHvADc_H09sGVOYypWnS3IXytQbd4FbM3CXg5VnbStyQSQ3OQXDyLoeVvqEK9WvZ89mFI1FpP91fD7ta/w225-h400/PXL_20230416_141636251.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-26146932632590101602023-03-23T16:06:00.000+00:002023-03-23T16:06:03.087+00:00Low Flying Crow<p>The weather was too lousy to get any jobs done in the garden today, so I decided to brew the low abv beer I've been planning. If it's any good I'll detail the recipe in another post when I review the beer. <br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPGdShp0LQDf96rrG7XgPgyDWwc-ayt07ldHX1eJh_MUarLQPjwVXE3mf_6cKcf-J6W_ZmstXOmDLrvJ24ROXjz-vw0vQmhHARqAy1ovNv5-W0u_swR3r4OmrJ0bBScCRznGD9ziI7xMJEv7lY4pvNzbiYB0oufdDeezXUXHNa_I39ezMPhmrhbrV/s665/lfc.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="484" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPGdShp0LQDf96rrG7XgPgyDWwc-ayt07ldHX1eJh_MUarLQPjwVXE3mf_6cKcf-J6W_ZmstXOmDLrvJ24ROXjz-vw0vQmhHARqAy1ovNv5-W0u_swR3r4OmrJ0bBScCRznGD9ziI7xMJEv7lY4pvNzbiYB0oufdDeezXUXHNa_I39ezMPhmrhbrV/s320/lfc.png" width="233" /></a></div>A very small bag of malt was all that was needed, and despite reservations of how things would go in the G40 with a total malt bill of just 2.4kg, everything was fine.<p></p><p>I did a single step mash at 79c for an hour. It was a fairly thin mash and I throttled back the circulation and there were no issues with the recirculation. </p><p>After sparging I took a refractometer reading as the wort was coming to the boil and it indicated a pre-boil gravity of 1.024.</p><p>As my expected OG was only 1.025, it looked likely I'd overshoot this by the time the boil was done, and that proved to be the case.</p><p>Once it was all done and dusted the OG was 1.028, so we'll see how it goes. </p><p>In other news, the Novalager beer will be being kegged tomorrow.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETJ8Bctl90YArFYg8V3z_EiVw65yoa5aRPT0Aa3_goyGOcam3WFUWq7yepatwntXcYx1UoNRQG2JhsTwJsFavydDJ8wnZIXh4tp8Se8iaBwpmmhc2sR18eSvISR2ScnHnFgHhvJjeeQYoyJe55OZ2-33ncHmnfeM4WjB7AJoBc5d6Dyy3Sj-0-pZX/s542/lfc2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="542" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETJ8Bctl90YArFYg8V3z_EiVw65yoa5aRPT0Aa3_goyGOcam3WFUWq7yepatwntXcYx1UoNRQG2JhsTwJsFavydDJ8wnZIXh4tp8Se8iaBwpmmhc2sR18eSvISR2ScnHnFgHhvJjeeQYoyJe55OZ2-33ncHmnfeM4WjB7AJoBc5d6Dyy3Sj-0-pZX/w200-h174/lfc2.png" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-38068044146286346162023-03-21T10:40:00.003+00:002023-03-21T10:42:02.487+00:00Still Learning<p>The <a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.com/2023/02/welcome-to-pleasuredome.html">Novalager beer </a>was a bit of a disaster tbh. I screwed up the water treatment and ended up tipping it. I've re-brewed and it's currently in the FV with dry hops. I'll dump those in a few days and then get it in the keg and lager it for a few weeks. </p><p>My next project is a low-alcohol beer. I do a banging pale ale with a hop combo that really hits the spot. As I like to sink a couple of beers in the evening during the week, I fancy doing a low alcohol beer, and using the same hop profile as this pale ale. </p><p>It's going to be a bit hit and miss as the grain bill is less than the recommended minimum for the Grainfather G40 and I'm planning to use a yeast I've not used before, to keep attenuation as low as possible. </p><p>The OG I'm targeting is 1.025 and if it finishes around 1.014 it'll make it about 1.4% abv. I did have a crack at this type of thing last year, but it wasn't quite what I was after. I've adjusted the malt bill slightly as the original was very pale and because it's such a small beer, that didn't help with the perception as it made it look 'thin' visually. Fingers crossed this will go well. I'll do a post on the brewday as soon as I've got a chance to get brewing - hopefully later this week. </p>Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-48761543048361292762023-02-26T14:38:00.001+00:002023-02-26T14:39:19.076+00:00Welcome To The Pleasuredome...<p>It was a brew day last Saturday - my take on a New Zealand pilsner and I'm trying the relatively new yeast from Lallemand - <a href="https://www.lallemandbrewing.com/en/canada/product-details/lalbrew-novalager/">Novalager</a>. It promises to deliver a clean profile, at warmer temperatures in a much faster time than traditional lager strains. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitk-kCDDe3YaHobEcnZyk95kDF3Tao_zWrMmD-4m8kFCZLHYfoDwcSRp5zrkEYec34kG7298Z7gS0u5B6UAyxppdkkGnTN0Zfo_aVXaXzSO5yT9PJ5iXAe2daxCK9JAJxwT_GsJg6pSn_TbD6KQCbgxIToW6LE_8UsC7sI3SD6czt9jfh_mF6oM-Ew" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="99" data-original-width="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitk-kCDDe3YaHobEcnZyk95kDF3Tao_zWrMmD-4m8kFCZLHYfoDwcSRp5zrkEYec34kG7298Z7gS0u5B6UAyxppdkkGnTN0Zfo_aVXaXzSO5yT9PJ5iXAe2daxCK9JAJxwT_GsJg6pSn_TbD6KQCbgxIToW6LE_8UsC7sI3SD6czt9jfh_mF6oM-Ew=s16000" /></a></div><br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">GRIST</h4><p>Pilsner Malt 87.2%<br />Flaked Rice 5.3%<br />Carapils 5.3%<br />Acidulated 2.1%</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">HOPS</h4><p>Motueka 25.00g Boil 30 min <br /><br />Nelson Sauvin 10.00g Boil 7 min<br />Riwaka 10.00g Boil 7 min<br /><br />Nelson Sauvin 10.00g Boil 2 min <br />Riwaka 10.0g Boil 2 min <br /><br />Nelson Sauvin 20.0g Hop Stand 15 min<br />Riwaka 20.00g Hop Stand 15 min <br /><br />Nelson Sauvin 60.00g Dry Hop 3 days<br />Riwaka 60.0 g Dry Hop 3 days </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKqcGo0nR-RQH8SYsAaBVnYlPoDQsUNJE-F9Cno3uzMYDXlA-0eTAL8XCTiKD8dfbKEeTzszu0OqG4y8U7z0gYki-asIlfmF7bDZWtlPT1KTubaZSYhjjO7ACwGZzPrz_07arBT1Kk2WtyWQrVgC6Da4PaJfHlof2WvV6dNEOB5gW27OL1epdlRa0/s3772/PXL_20230218_154653493_4.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3772" data-original-width="2122" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKqcGo0nR-RQH8SYsAaBVnYlPoDQsUNJE-F9Cno3uzMYDXlA-0eTAL8XCTiKD8dfbKEeTzszu0OqG4y8U7z0gYki-asIlfmF7bDZWtlPT1KTubaZSYhjjO7ACwGZzPrz_07arBT1Kk2WtyWQrVgC6Da4PaJfHlof2WvV6dNEOB5gW27OL1epdlRa0/w180-h320/PXL_20230218_154653493_4.jpg" title="There goes a supernova, what a pushover, we're a long way from home..." width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>There goes a supernova, what a pushover...</b></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It produced a lovely pale wort and the airlock on the fermenter had kicked off well before 24 hours after pitching at 15c.</p><p>After 7 days at 15c the gravity is stable, but I've ramped the temperature 20c. to make sure it's finished and as clean as possible, and will leave it another 4 or 5 days before dry hopping. </p><p>The Novalager is certainly a lot quicker than a normal lager yeast, and while there is some sulphur on the nose from a sample at 7 days, this should dissipate over the next week and I'll post an update once it's dry hopped and packaged. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-34427647166596534892023-02-19T12:50:00.002+00:002023-02-19T12:52:09.551+00:00Getting Grist (again)<p>Has it really been two and a half years? I guess it has. Much has changed since the first Covid lockdown, but one thing has remained constant. I'm still brewing beer, even though I've not been blogging about it. </p><p>The Covid situation gave me an opportunity to reflect on what I really wanted out of life and my wife and I came to the conclusion it wasn't money.</p><p>What we really wanted was less of the corporate stress, less of our lives wasted on a long daily commute. This would equal more time together, enjoying what we had already achieved and finding pleasure in the things closer to home. Our health. Our family. </p><p>As a result, I stepped down from a well paid position and found a job with a local business. Although supportive, friends were concerned whether we would manage financially and whether we could cope with missing out on some of the luxuries we had enjoyed in the past. Ah nostalgia, an ache for a misremembered past is horribly seductive. </p><p>I didn't succumb, and have ploughed on with the new, less stressful, vision of my life. </p><p>So here we are, two and half years later and we've been able to make ends meet. And that local business that took me on board. That just so happens to be <a href="https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk">The Malt Miller</a>.</p><p>So here we go again. I thought I would resurrect this blog and record my brewing exploits once more. I doubt the readership will be any more than the small handful that may have perused my musings in the past, but if nothing else, it's a handy record for me to reflect on what went well and what wasn't so great, as the brewing years go by. </p><p>I should clarify that anything written by me on this blog are my own thoughts, ideas and practises and not those of the company. </p><p><br /></p>Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-11061488310067321212020-08-09T09:56:00.003+01:002020-08-09T10:46:29.822+01:00Brewday - 09/08/2020 - Lockdown Lager<p>The session hazy beer I brewed last month turned out rather well. I'll post a review of the beer and the recipe soon. </p><p>Today I'm brewing a lager. I'm a bit late to the party with summer on the wane, but hopefully September will be nice and I'll still be craving a pint of something cold, wet and refreshing.</p><p>As is the norm for me it's going to be a small beer, so I guess if it had to be shoehorned into a category, it'll be a light American Lager. The mash is already underway at 63c</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ITKbiWDj62E/Xy--wROjhFI/AAAAAAAABuA/aVSc90J3rIECSBOFwlXLoQqv71zgeoVEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1101/lager2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="778" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ITKbiWDj62E/Xy--wROjhFI/AAAAAAAABuA/aVSc90J3rIECSBOFwlXLoQqv71zgeoVEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/lager2.jpg" /></a></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">So the recipe for this brew looks like this;</span></p><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">92% Pilsen malt </span><br style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">4% Carahell</span><br style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">4% Aromatic malt</span><br style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Mash for 55 mins @ 63c / 20 mins @ 67c </span><br style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"></div><br style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;">80 minute boil with 10g Centennial for 60 minutes</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;">Yeast will be Saflager W-34/70</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;">I'm thinking of pitching @ 15c for a couple of days to ensure the yeast takes off then reducing to 12c for 2 weeks and then lagering as low as I can get for a further 2 weeks. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;">I'll update on how things went in due course. Have a great brewday if you're brewing this weekend. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-56024909449608366122020-07-18T09:27:00.002+01:002020-07-18T10:09:37.528+01:00Brewday - 18/07/2020 - John Wayne Is Big Leggy<div>My first attempt at a Haysi. Sorry hazy...</div><div><br /></div>I hadn't really thought about it before. But after chatting with someone they commented 'oh you like traditional beers then'. I wouldn't have though of myself as a traditionalist in any form, but maybe that's just the part of my brain that still thinks I'm an 18 year-old punk, when we thought we could change the world.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v6bTpNalk_U/XxK76H7_8MI/AAAAAAAABss/RtX9aJ7zJs4vswo4DEuK9bqEBW_3cr3XACLcBGAsYHQ/s1035/NEIPA2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="1035" height="85" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v6bTpNalk_U/XxK76H7_8MI/AAAAAAAABss/RtX9aJ7zJs4vswo4DEuK9bqEBW_3cr3XACLcBGAsYHQ/w500-h85/NEIPA2.png" width="500" /></a></div><div><div>Brewing wise though, I do like bitters, pale ales, golden ales, IPA's, porters and stouts. Of course not all these beers have to have British hops. American and New World varieties do make it into some of them. However, shoving fruit and lactose into an IPA and calling it a milkshake isn't my idea of beer. So maybe I am a traditionalist. </div><div><div><br /></div><div>But I'm out of my comfort zone today. I'm brewing a hazy beer with lots of hops. I guess this makes it a NEIPA. Yes, I've knocked a couple back before, but I've never brewed the style. When homebrewing I like to have a beer that I can return to, time and time again, especially when sharing with friends. I don't want a keg full of a beer that's so in your face you only have one, maybe two before your palate disintegrates and you need to seek out something different. I guess that's why I like session ales. </div><div><br /></div><div>So why an NEIPA today? Well there's a competition run in conjunction with The Malt Miller so I thought I'd give it a crack. Details here; <a href="https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/blog/verdant-ipa-yeast-home-brewing-competition/">https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/blog/verdant-ipa-yeast-home-brewing-competition/</a></div><div><br /></div><div>There's sure to be loads of brewers out there that regularly brew NEIPA's so I doubt I'll even get close to winning, but it's an opportunity to brew a different style, so heck, I'm giving it a go. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w6VeYjMJi8o/XxK2o9Dk_DI/AAAAAAAABsg/M-L_goJ6Na44abN04No3AEVaqzbttvEogCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/NEIPA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="494" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w6VeYjMJi8o/XxK2o9Dk_DI/AAAAAAAABsg/M-L_goJ6Na44abN04No3AEVaqzbttvEogCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/NEIPA.jpg" /></a></div><div>However, so it fits in with my preference for 'sessionability' I'm not going all out to create a massive 6.5% beast with half a ton of hops. I'm looking for a 4.6% number that's still juicy, fresh and hoppy. Again, that might mean it's not exactly the style required to win, but hey - it's me that's got to drink it, so I'll brew it how I damn well like. </div><div><br /></div><div>If it comes out well I'll post the exact recipe later. As for the title, those of a certain age may remember a song by Haysi Fantayzee called John Wayne Is Big Leggy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Showdown!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-82016057052438636412020-06-21T16:58:00.001+01:002020-07-04T09:34:39.915+01:00Brewday - 24/06/2020 - Play it again Sam... ... just slightly different.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zU3aa1ofEJM/XvQ7EXH0unI/AAAAAAAABp8/tbVuvvL5KtMofQ2VFnOZv_lKcuFLIPkNwCK4BGAsYHg/s3212/DSC_1182_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1806" data-original-width="3212" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zU3aa1ofEJM/XvQ7EXH0unI/AAAAAAAABp8/tbVuvvL5KtMofQ2VFnOZv_lKcuFLIPkNwCK4BGAsYHg/w400-h225/DSC_1182_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>So the next brew is very similar to the <a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.com/2020/04/brewday-ordinary-ale-03052020.html">last.</a> In fact, the grist will be identical and I'm swapping hops from the original European hops to a combination of American and New World. Simcoe and Galaxy to be exact. <div><br /></div><div>So the recipe for this brew looks like this;</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">3350g Maris Otter</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">300g Cara-Pils</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">180g Dark Crystal</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Mash for 75 mins @ 67c</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;">Hops during a 75 minute boil;</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;">Galaxy 15g @ 50 mins</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;">Galaxy 15g @ 7 mins<br />Simcoe 15g @ <span style="font-size: 13.2px;">7 mins</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">Galaxy 5g @ 2 mins</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;">Simcoe 20g @ 2 mins<br /><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;">The hops have a higher alpha than the last brew so the quantities/timings are reduced but the intention is to hit an <span style="font-size: 13.2px;">OG of around 1.036 with around 30 units of bitterness again.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">Yeast this time will be Lallemand BRY-97</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><font color="#666666" face=""><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">Brewday is pencilled in for Wednesday June 24th. As usual I'll update this post on the day to report if things went to plan. </span></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><font color="#666666" face=""><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><font color="#666666" face=""><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">EDIT: The day was hot, but drama free. It tool a while to cool the wort, but got it to 20.5c before pitching and put it in the temperature controlled fermenting fridge, where it dropped a bit more and when the yeast krausen started to form it was sitting nicely at 18c.</span></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><font color="#666666" face=""><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><font color="#666666" face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h5VEKtISvig/XvQ8oO1VvSI/AAAAAAAABqY/hT6JU9NtMlYyaOnNy2nQ6oAwQpBKO76OwCK4BGAsYHg/s887/02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="887" height="308" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h5VEKtISvig/XvQ8oO1VvSI/AAAAAAAABqY/hT6JU9NtMlYyaOnNy2nQ6oAwQpBKO76OwCK4BGAsYHg/w400-h308/02.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><br style="font-size: 13.2px;" /></div></div></div>Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-70984469214039952892020-06-08T18:21:00.003+01:002020-06-09T10:00:46.075+01:00Homebrew Review - Ordinary AleOrdinary by name, ordinary by nature. <div><br /></div><div>Maybe that's little harsh because this beer is exactly what I set out to achieve. A nice everyday pint you can enjoy all evening, without consequences. It's like a friend you can while away the hours with, without any aggro. No needle, no falling out, just a pleasant time. But then again, nothing too memorable either. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TcblmiHeqXo/Xt5wfeFM6NI/AAAAAAAABok/P6Qa1zh88ug7fmVDxtOLEHVHUDTeILAUQCK4BGAsYHg/s942/Village.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="771" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TcblmiHeqXo/Xt5wfeFM6NI/AAAAAAAABok/P6Qa1zh88ug7fmVDxtOLEHVHUDTeILAUQCK4BGAsYHg/s320/Village.png" /></a></div><div>That's not to say I'm not pleased. It's clear as a bell with a nice tight white head (this was from the keg). The earlier pints were slightly hazy, but as always the last few out were stunning to look at. The head dissipated quite quickly but continued to lace the glass on the way down. </div><div><br /></div><div>The beer is nicely balanced, the body and the colour are ideal, but if I'm being particularly picky, the beer lacks a bit of bite. I was hoping for bit more hoppiness (which can't be a word as I've got a red line beneath that one) to give the impression it's punching above its weight. In reality it's the lightweight that's good in it's division but has no pretensions about stepping it up and mixing it at a different level. </div><div><br /></div><div>To be fair I did overshoot the gravity, the thin mash in the Braumeister made the extraction very efficient and the beer ended up at 3.9% rather than the expected 3.6%.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's nothing wrong with a small beer and I'm tempted to brew this again. Maybe with some American or New World hops, but keeping the grist the same, to see if the more feisty hops make a significant difference. </div><div><br /></div><div>I served this about 8c and it hit really hit the spot after a few garden jobs in the sun. I might make it my next brew with the hops I mentioned substituted - maybe Galaxy and Simcoe.... Until then Cheers!</div><div><br /></div>Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-84443799889729926472020-04-28T17:16:00.001+01:002020-05-04T09:51:02.684+01:00Brewday - Ordinary Ale - 03/05/2020Nothing in this world is ordinary at the moment. My next brew, however, is an ordinary ale.<br />
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To be honest I wouldn't usually brew so frequently these days, but it passes the time nicely during lockdown. And as the last brew is going to sit a while before being consumed, I thought I'd jump straight back in and brew a low-gravity, easy-drinker, that I'll be able to get on tap real quick.<br />
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The recipe is based on a brew I first enjoyed after moving to my current town of residence. The missus and I had been on a 7 mile hike through the countryside on the outskirts of town and the weather was glorious. Conveniently the walk started and ended at a pub and after exerting myself in the afternoon warmth, I was in need of a pint of something nice and refreshing.<br />
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Being new to the area, I didn't know at the time that the beer I had chosen to enjoy was brewed locally, a few miles down the road. The beer was Archers Village - 3.6%<br />
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Many years have passed since that first taste and sadly the brewery is no more. Come to think of it, neither is that pub we ended up at. Sadly, that's closed too.<br />
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A recipe for this beer appears in one of the newer editions of Graham Wheeler's book 'Brew Your Own British Real Ale'. Described by the author as '<i>a dry, well-balanced beer with a full body for its gravity. Malty and fruity on the nose, then a fresh, hoppy favour with balancing malt and a hoppy, fruity finish</i>'.<br />
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The recipe in the book calls for just pale and crystal malt, but in my version I've also included some Cara-Pils to boost the body and help with head retention. I'm also using a slightly different combination of bittering hops (Wheeler suggests Progress and WGV) but I'm using what I have in stock which is Progress and Aurora.<br />
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The full breakdown of the malt and hops I'm using is shown below. The brew is pencilled in for Sunday May 3rd when I'll update this post with how the brewday panned out.<br />
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3350g Maris Otter<br />
300g Cara-Pils<br />
180g Dark Crystal<br />
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Mash for 75 mins @ 67c<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Hops during a 75 minute boil;</span><br />
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Progress 26g @ 60 mins</div>
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Aurora 16g @ 60 mins<br />
Styrian Goldings 20g @10 mins<br />
Styrian Goldings 20g @ 2 mins<br />
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OG should be 1.036 with around 30 units of bitterness. </div>
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Yeast will be whatever I have available, which is likely to be dried Muntons Premium Gold.<br />
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As for the old Archers brewery, I happen to have one of their promotional bar runners from back in the day, with some quite scary looking west-country folk on. Cheers!<br />
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EDIT:<br />
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The day went fine, although I overshot the gravity despite the volumes being spot-on. SG is 1.040 instead of 1.036, so not quite the beer I was aiming for, but I decided not to liquor back and just go with it.<br />
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During the boil I did notice a dark twig-like object caught on the immersion chiller at one point. It looked darker than a bine, but thought no more about it until I had transferred the beer into the fermenter and then went back to deal with the clean-up. There, sitting on top of the trub was this fella. The same thing, but not a piece of hop bine. A caterpillar. Jeez.<br />
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On the plus side he was intact and hadn't ruptured. His insides only came out when I squeezed him after retrieval. Not sure how I feel about this brew now, but I doubt any damage has been done. Here's hoping and at least the wort is crystal clear above the cold break. </div>
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<br />Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-32588228274964740892020-04-18T13:36:00.000+01:002020-04-18T13:36:26.181+01:00Homebrew review - Brexit BeerThis beer was brewed at the end of January this year; <a href="https://gettinggrist.blogspot.com/2020/01/brexit-brewday.html">brewday post here.</a><br />
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I bottled half the brew and put the other half in a 9L keg. First impressions are inviting. It looks good - pours clear with a nice amount of carbonation (this was a bottled conditioned example).<br />
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The head didn't dissipate too quickly and continued to lace the glass all through to the end. But looks aren't everything.<br />
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The hops are slightly underwhelming - I was expecting more from the late addition of Citra and being a beer I've done many times before, this was slightly lacking in hop flavour compared to earlier versions. Maybe the hops for this particular harvest weren't as pungent as previously.<br />
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Also, despite this bottle being okay, other bottles I've sampled have a definite phenolic character. It isn't present in the kegged version, so I'm guessing there may have been some cleaning residue on some of the bottles.<br />
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And although the keg beer doesn't have the pehnolic characteristics of some of the bottles, there is a hint of oxidation, so that beer is far from being perfect too.<br />
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Overall not a bad brew, but nowhere as clean as I would like. I'll have to review the bottle cleaning process and also the keg transfer, as that's the most likely cause of the oxidisation I guess. Hopefully the next brew will be better in that respect.Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-20749385673034979062020-04-06T17:41:00.000+01:002020-04-18T18:27:33.031+01:00Brewday - Brave New World - 14/04/2020Whoever and wherever you are, I hope you remain healthy and are surviving the virus that continues to devastate the planet.<br />
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This brew is the one I mentioned in my previous post, something along the lines of the old Brakspear Triple. For those unfamiliar with the original brew, this is not to be confused with a Belgian Tripel, but a strong traditional English ale.<br />
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The 20l Braumeister I now use will struggle to cope with the grain bill required for a starting gravity of around 1.063 / 1.064 unless I reduce the final volume, but I've decided to go for it, with 10% of the grain bill being Golden Syrup to help me achieve the gravity required. So the grist for this one (23l) is;<br />
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4800g Maris Otter<br />
500g Dark Crystal<br />
400g Malted Oats<br />
150g Black Malt<br />
650g Golden Syrup<br />
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Mash for 90 mins @ 68c for a target SG of 1.064<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Hops during a 90 minute boil;</span><br />
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Target 22g (14%) @ 80 mins<br />
Target 15g (14%) @ 20 mins</div>
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Target 30g (14%) @ 10 mins<br />
Target 35g (14%) @ 1 min</div>
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Yeast will be Mangrove Jacks, New World Strong Ale Yeast<br />
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The yeast also gave me the inspiration for naming this brew. In view of what's going on around us at the moment, reference to 'New World', reminded me of the song 'Brave New World' from Jeff Wayne's musical interpretation of the War Of The Worlds. Ironically that story ends when a virus becomes the downfall of the alien invaders.<br />
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Hopefully I'll still be around to taste this brew once it's done. I'll probably age it in the keg for a bit, but I'll review it on here as soon as it's ready.<br />
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Take care all.<br />
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EDIT: The brewday was shifted to Tuesday as I took a chunk out of my finger in the garden the week before and wanted time for it to heal a bit, before dealing with lots of heat and cleaning. The wort was an incredible colour.<br />
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The day went smoothly and I adjusted the hop schedule from my original plan to lower the IBUs a bit and the revised details are shown in the main post above.<br />
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I drew off some boiling wort into a pan, to dissolve the golden syrup on the stove and thus avoid having sticky goo burning on the elements.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tZBJXHCSxis/XpbK-kY3E2I/AAAAAAAABjI/XmT44OJKMdQy8D25V4TFjv1F8GJofv85gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/syrup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tZBJXHCSxis/XpbK-kY3E2I/AAAAAAAABjI/XmT44OJKMdQy8D25V4TFjv1F8GJofv85gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/syrup.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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The starting gravity was bang on as predicted and the yeast is making good headway when I checked the fermenter this morning. My hydrometer reads slightly strong (2 pts) so although this looks like 1.066 it's actually 1.064.<br />
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Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-61517659505065086292020-02-28T16:59:00.000+00:002020-03-01T13:37:31.285+00:00Thoughts for the next brew...My last brew has been bottled and kegged so while I wait for that condition, it's time to muse over what to brew next.<br />
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I've got in mind a small beer I'd like to do at some stage, but as the last brew wouldn't be too dissimilar, I'll put that one on the back-burner for now and go with something a bit more robust.<br />
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I might go with a homage to Brakspear Triple. It's been discontinued but used to be a nice drop. In the book '300 beers to try before you die' by Roger Protz, Roger describes it thus; <i>'Triple is one of the best new beers to appear in Britain in many years - it's a glass of the Old Stunning, as Charles Dickens was want to say.'</i><br />
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The recipe did change over the years, with the label on the last few bottles that I acquired stating the hops were Northdown and Cascade. My preference was for the earlier version which was hopped solely with Target.<br />
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Descriptions of the two different versions can be found here;<br />
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<a href="https://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=173826">https://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=173826</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/brakspear-triple-72/46132/">https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/brakspear-triple-72/46132/</a><br />
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With a starting gravity of around 1.065 it will push my 20l Braumeister to the limit but I'll see what I can come up with. Time to get to work putting a recipe together...<br />
-Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-10777962359728722522020-01-30T09:15:00.001+00:002020-05-24T11:29:41.817+01:00Brexit Brewday - 31/01/2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Friday January 31st 2020. The day that the UK leaves the European Union. Am I brewing because of this historic event? TBH I couldn't give too hoots. It just so happens I have a day off and I'm going to brew beer.</div>
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It's not a special recipe to mark the day, just a pale ale. Probably the beer I've brewed most, so you could possibly regard this as my 'house ale', although that may suggest it's always on tap and sadly I don't brew regularly enough for that to be the case these days.</div>
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It's always turned out well in the past and hopefully this batch will be no different.</div>
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The grist for this one (23l) is;<br />
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4450g Golden Promise<br />
68g Pale Crystal<br />
68g Wheat Malt<br />
10g Chocolate Malt<br />
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Mash for 90 mins @ 68c for a target SG of 1.044<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Hops during a 90 minute boil;</span><br />
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Savinjski Goldings 40g @ 75 mins</div>
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Aurora 15g @ 75 mins</div>
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Progress 11g @ 75 mins</div>
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Citra 11g @ 15mins</div>
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Citra 11g steeped at 50c while chillling</div>
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Yeast will be Safale US-05</div>
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The coloured malts are simply to add a small depth of colour, the wheat is for head retention and the use of Golden Promise rather than Maris Otter is to let the late hops shine.</div>
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<br />Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-90135627954568155022020-01-26T08:51:00.001+00:002020-05-24T11:29:05.039+01:00PorterAs the years pass I'm mellowing in many ways. For longevity someone once said 'Sit loosely in the saddle of life'. Despite never being the most relaxed of people, age has tought me to slow down, not to sweat the small stuff and to drink dark beer.<br />
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That last bit might not be entirely true, but I am enjoying the odd darker brew from time to time and with that in mind I decided to brew a Porter toward the end of last year. It's my most recent brew and I have to say it turned out rather well.<br />
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To be fair the recipe's not entirely mine - I took it from an old home-brew publication by Marc Ollossen. The edition I have was printed in 1997 and is an ex-library book which cost pence to purchase, although I believe the book may still be about having been republished at some stage. I've only done a small handful of recipes from the book, but I can't remember a bad one so Marc has done his job well. <br />
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There's several Porter recipes within its pages and I narrowed the choice down largely based on ingredients I already had in stock. It's based on a commercial recipe but as far as I'm aware the brewery quoted (Marston Moor) is no longer around, unless it was swallowed up by one of the bigger boys.<br />
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The grist I came up with for a 23l batch was made up of;<br />
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4000g Maris Otter<br />
155 g CaraPils<br />
380g Roasted Barley<br />
120g Dark Crystal<br />
120g Wheat Malt<br />
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For an OG of 1.046<br />
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Hops were;<br />
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Challenger 43g @ 60mins<br />
Savinjski Goldings 20g @ 15mins<br />
plus<br />
Savinjski Goldings 10g steeped at 80c during chillling.<br />
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The yeast I used for this one was Muntons Premium Gold. Not the most popular of dried yeasts among the brewers I know, but I find it works very well for beers with a malty profile; <a href="https://www.muntons.com/home_brewing/muntons-premium-yeast/"> https://www.muntons.com/home_brewing/muntons-premium-yeast/</a><br />
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These days I'm brewing with a 20L Braumeister and the brewday for this one was a bit of a mare. The mash schedule I intended was;<br />
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80mins @ 68c<br />
5mins @ 78c<br />
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but I suffered a power outage - having left the German piece of kit to do it's thing unattended - this was the first time I hadn't sat like a nursemaid by its side while mashing (I'd nipped back to bed for an extra half-hours kip and a subsequent shower) - I returned to find the power dead due to a faulty extension lead.<br />
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I had no idea how long the power had been out, (I can't recall now what the temperature was when I returned to the mash either) so I decided to start the process over, so the upshot was a very long mash.<br />
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This may have contributed to a slightly thinner than anticipated body, but at the end of the day it didn't really detract from what was a damn fine pint. The recipe's a keeper. <br />
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<br />Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-86968563251847858152020-01-08T06:08:00.001+00:002020-01-08T11:25:09.149+00:00It's been a whileFive and a half years to be precise. I've not brewed much in the intervening time and I've sold my old 10 gallon brewery pictured on the right.<br />
<br />
But all is not lost. The hiatus is over and I'm finally brewing once more. Maybe only 3 or 4 times a year, but I'm enjoying it again and I'll bring you up to speed with details of the new set-up very soon.<br />
<br />
I rediscovered this old blog and found it a useful resource to remind me what went well and what didn't. I also find it therapeutic to write (even if no else reads it but me) so here we go again...<br />
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<i>Oh and apologies for any images missing on the old posts - there's nothing I can do to recover these.</i> Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-42118257772263037192014-06-01T19:16:00.001+01:002014-06-01T19:19:05.880+01:00Brewday - Cream Ale 05/06/2014It's been a while. A change of work regime has impacted more than expected, but I'm still here and I'm still brewing.<br />
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A Cream Ale is on the agenda this week. The local homebrew club has a 'lager' night coming up, but I didn't fancy brewing a lager and thought a Cream Ale might fit the bill just as well.<br />
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The weather forecast looks shite, so I'm guessing I'll be in the garage, rather than pulling the brewery out onto the drive and sitting in the sunshine, but hey, ho, I'm looking forward to a day off and what better way to spend it?<br />
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I'm not sure if this is an authentic recipe for this American style beer, but I found a couple of recipes on the internet and tweaked them to fit what I had ingredient wise. Either way it should be a pale, lightly-hopped beer, that will be nicely carbonated and served chilled. One that's likely to go down well, should the summer ever threaten to make an appearance.<br />
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<table bgcolor="#c0c0c0" border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><span style="color: white; font-size: x-large;"><i>Cream Ale</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="color: white;"><i>Cream Ale</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Type:</i></b> All Grain</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Date:</i></b> 05 Jun 2014</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Batch Size (fermenter):</i></b> 50.00 l</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Brewer:</i></b> Mark</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Boil Size:</i></b> 59.08 l</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Asst Brewer:</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Boil Time:</i></b> 75 min</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Equipment:</i></b> Elite Brewery 10G</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>End of Boil Volume</i></b> 54.08 l</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Brewhouse Efficiency:</i></b> 70.00 %</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Final Bottling Volume:</i></b> 50.00 l</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Est Mash Efficiency</i></b> 72.8 %</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Fermentation:</i></b> Lager, Single Stage</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Taste Rating(out of 50):</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"><b><i>Taste Notes:</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#c0c0c0" colspan="2"><div align="center">
<b><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;">Ingredients</span></b></div>
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<tr><td colspan="2"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="BeerSmithTable" style="width: 100%px;"><caption>Ingredients</caption><tbody>
<tr><th align="left" width="22%"><b> Amt</b></th><th align="left" width="50%"><b> Name</b></th><th align="left" width="11%"><b> Type</b></th><th align="left" width="4%"><b> #</b></th><th align="left" width="11%"><b> %/IBU</b></th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">8000.00 g</td><td align="left">Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett) (5.9 EBC)</td><td align="left">Grain</td><td align="left">1</td><td align="left">73.1 %</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">1260.00 g</td><td align="left">Munich Malt (17.7 EBC)</td><td align="left">Grain</td><td align="left">2</td><td align="left">11.5 %</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">1000.00 g</td><td align="left">Maize, Flaked (Thomas Fawcett) (3.9 EBC)</td><td align="left">Grain</td><td align="left">3</td><td align="left">9.1 %</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">450.00 g</td><td align="left">Cara-Pils/Dextrine (3.9 EBC)</td><td align="left">Grain</td><td align="left">4</td><td align="left">4.1 %</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">240.00 g</td><td align="left">Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (5.9 EBC)</td><td align="left">Grain</td><td align="left">5</td><td align="left">2.2 %</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">30.00 g</td><td align="left">Cluster [7.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min</td><td align="left">Hop</td><td align="left">6</td><td align="left">11.0 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">20.00 g</td><td align="left">Cascade [7.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min</td><td align="left">Hop</td><td align="left">7</td><td align="left">6.0 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">10.00 g</td><td align="left">Cascade [7.50 %] - Boil 7.0 min</td><td align="left">Hop</td><td align="left">8</td><td align="left">1.1 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">10.00 g</td><td align="left">Cluster [7.00 %] - Boil 7.0 min</td><td align="left">Hop</td><td align="left">9</td><td align="left">1.0 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">15.00 g</td><td align="left">Cascade [7.50 %] - Boil 1.0 min</td><td align="left">Hop</td><td align="left">10</td><td align="left">0.3 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">15.00 g</td><td align="left">Cluster [7.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min</td><td align="left">Hop</td><td align="left">11</td><td align="left">0.2 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">4.0 pkg</td><td align="left">Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml]</td><td align="left">Yeast</td><td align="left">12</td><td align="left">-</td></tr>
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<tr><td bgcolor="#c0c0c0" colspan="2"><div align="center">
<span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><b>Beer Profile</b></span></div>
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<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Est Original Gravity:</i></b> 1.048 SG</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Measured Original Gravity:</i></b> 1.046 SG</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><i><b>Est Final Gravity:</b></i> 1.010 SG</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Measured Final Gravity:</i></b> 1.010 SG</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Estimated Alcohol by Vol:</i></b> 4.9 %</td><td width="52%"><i><b>Actual Alcohol by Vol:</b></i> 4.7 %</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><i><b>Bitterness:</b></i> 19.5 IBUs</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Calories:</i></b> 427.1 kcal/l</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><i><b>Est Color:</b></i> 10.3 EBC</td><td width="52%"></td></tr>
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<br />Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-24122318862404600682014-02-22T15:21:00.001+00:002014-02-22T15:23:50.467+00:00Homebrew Review - Blind TigerLife is too short for mediocre beer. And if you're brewing ten gallon batches and get it badly wrong, that's a shedload of mediocre beer to get through.<br />
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I'm not sure when I last ditched a batch, but<a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/brewday-blind-pig-16012014.html"> this particular beer</a> was a disaster from start to finish. It started with the recipe. A good idea, badly executed.<br />
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The idea of a low gravity easy-drinker with a nice hop combo appealed, but the idea of pairing carahell malt with mild ale malt to create a bit more body than you might expect from a lightweight beer, was a bad one. The sickly sweet malts completely dominate this beer and the hops fail to punch their way through.<br />
<br />
I overshot on the gravity too, so it wasn't the small beer I was hoping for and the combination of malts made for a much darker beer than the software predicted, so it wasn't as pale as anticipated either.<br />
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To add insult to injury, I also took the beer off the yeast too early. Pressure of work made me use a window of opportunity that was far too early, so there's some diacetyl to add into the mix too. Lovely.<br />
<br />
So all in all, a pretty poor effort, both in design and execution. I'm ditching all the bottles and will make a decision on the other half of the batch (which is kegged) in the next couple of days. I'm pondering whether to chuck in a load of dry hops to the keg, to see if this makes it more a amenable brew.<br />
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Anyhow, I've brewed again since revisiting a recipe that won me a bronze at the National Homebrew Competition a few years back. I'm not sure why I've taken so long to re-brew this one, but at least I can be hopeful of some decent beer to drink in a few week's time.Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-49145871129505302342014-02-07T15:51:00.000+00:002014-02-12T12:53:21.869+00:00Homebrew Review - Best BitterThis beer was <a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/brewday-best-bitter-06112013.html">brewed back in November</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-thspASsqems/UvT7yC1AdDI/AAAAAAAAA_0/SL1rNPuCN7A/s1600/IMG_20140207_151805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-thspASsqems/UvT7yC1AdDI/AAAAAAAAA_0/SL1rNPuCN7A/s1600/IMG_20140207_151805.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Best Bitter? </b></i></td></tr>
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To be honest, it's another disappointing beer. Yes, it looks the part, but in all other aspects it's very unexceptional.<br />
<br />
It pours nice and bright, is a decent colour, although the white head doesn't hang around very long. There's not much on the nose, a few earthy and spicy notes, but nothing particularly inviting.<br />
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The taste is slightly better, hints of citrus, but the hops are largely underwhelming. To be fair, it was only meant to be an easy drinking ordinary bitter and neither hops nor malts dominate. I guess in that respect, you could say it was nicely balanced, but I was hoping for a bit more from the Simcoe hops.<br />
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Mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side. My brewday notes show I mashed on the low side, so I ought not to be surprised. Other than that, I can't detect any obvious brewing faults. It's limitations are purely due to design.<br />
<br />
Perhaps if I was drinking this with the sun on my back during a summer heatwave, my impressions would be more favourable. As it is, conditions are grey and wet, much as they have been for the last six to eight weeks. My mood is sombre and the beer is distinctly average. At best.<br />
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<br />Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-25651255063199059262014-01-31T15:23:00.000+00:002014-01-31T15:23:28.985+00:00Homebrew Review - RIPI brewed this beer at the beginning of December and it's one I've done in some guise or another for several years.<br />
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I'm not sure what style you would class it as, but I brew it as my winter ale. But I don't want to give the impression it's verging on old ale or barley wine territory. It's not. I brew it as a traditional English ale, that's a tad stronger and a shade darker than my usual fare.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7F0vUGcUIWo/Uuu_TyWGFzI/AAAAAAAAA_E/CLT_WOiEcP4/s1600/DSC_0527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7F0vUGcUIWo/Uuu_TyWGFzI/AAAAAAAAA_E/CLT_WOiEcP4/s1600/DSC_0527.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Bottle Conditioned RIP</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
So how did it turn out? The appearance is exactly what I was aiming for. A really deep copper colour with a malty nose, although it maybe a little top-heavy on the roasted malt aroma, which is surprising as there's not very much of it in there. There's also a slight hint of diacetyl.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the roasted malts carry through into the flavour, as it's a shade more acidic than it should be, verging on sour. I hadn't picked up on the slight sourness until the beer was sampled at my local homebrew group, showing the usefulness of meeting with like-minded souls. The handful of roasted barley I used had been in my malt store for quite some time and I'm wondering if this might have contributed to the flavours?<br />
<br />
I did take the beer off the yeast quite early too, which probably accounts for the diacetyl. It's a shame, as underneath, there's a nice beer. It looks the part, is nicely carbonated and had I used fresh ingredients and not rushed the fermentation, it could have been a belter. As it is though, I'll drink it, but it's not really one for sharing.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/brewday-rip-06122013.html">Recipe here.</a><br />
<br />
<br />Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-10884929039846805522014-01-09T11:43:00.000+00:002014-01-18T10:16:11.551+00:00Brewday - Blind Tiger 16/01/2014Having spent much of the Christmas and New Year period drinking my<a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/brewday-hgh-pale-ale-12092013.html"> HGH Pale Ale</a> (5.5%), <a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/brewday-export-porter-22082013.html">Porter</a> (5.7%) and the recently brewed <a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/brewday-rip-06122013.html">RIP</a> (5.8%), I'm in the mood for something lighter and more refreshing.<br />
<br />
I do have some of my Best Bitter left (a review of that one and the RIP to follow soon), but for now, I fancy brewing a low gravity beer, with plenty of flavour.<br />
<br />
I've decided on American hops, with a simple grist made up from Mild Malt and Carahell. Although the starting gravity will be very low, I'm hoping the body from the sweet malts, combined with the citrus punch from the hops, will give the impression of a beer punching above its weight.<br />
<br />
The recipe currently looks like this and I've pencilled in the brewday for a week today (providing my bad back allows).<br />
<br />
Coincidentlaly, home brewing on Jan 16th will be quite fitting, for I believe it was on that date back in 1920 that Prohibition came into effect in the US. And with a 'Blind Pig' being a term for a low class drinking establishment that illegally sold alcohol, what better name for my first beer of 2014?<br />
<br />
<b>EDIT:</b><br />
The answer to that question is 'Blind Tiger'. I've decided to change the name of this brew, so as not to confuse it with the beer brewed by Russian River BC in the US. Thanks Mark.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table bgcolor="#C0C0C0" border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><span style="color: white; font-size: x-large;"><i>Blind Tiger </i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="color: white;"><i>Standard/Ordinary Bitter</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<table border="0" style="width: 95%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Type:</i></b> All Grain</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Date:</i></b> 16 Jan 2014</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Batch Size (fermenter):</i></b> 45.00 l</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Brewer:</i></b> Mark</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Boil Size:</i></b> 52.43 l</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Asst Brewer:</i></b></td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Boil Time:</i></b> 60 min</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Equipment:</i></b> Elite 45L Brew</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>End of Boil Volume</i></b> 48.88 l</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Brewhouse Efficiency:</i></b> 70.00 %</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Final Bottling Volume:</i></b> 45.00 l</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Est Mash Efficiency</i></b> 73.1 %</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Fermentation:</i></b> Ale, Two Stage</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Taste Rating(out of 50):</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"><b><i>Taste Notes:</i></b></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="2"><div align="center">
<b><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;">Ingredients</span></b></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="BeerSmithTable" style="width: 100%px;"><caption>Ingredients</caption><tbody>
<tr><th align="left" width="22%"><b>Amt</b></th><th align="left" width="50%"><b>Name</b></th><th align="left" width="11%"><b>Type</b></th><th align="left" width="4%"><b>#</b></th><th align="left" width="11%"><b>%/IBU</b></th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">7500.00 g</td><td align="left">Mild Malt (7.9 EBC)</td><td align="left">Grain</td><td align="left">1</td><td align="left">90.4 %</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">800.00 g</td><td align="left">Carahell Malt (25.0 EBC)</td><td align="left">Grain</td><td align="left">2</td><td align="left">9.6 %</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">20.00 g</td><td align="left">Simcoe [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min</td><td align="left">Hop</td><td align="left">3</td><td align="left">18.9 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">20.00 g</td><td align="left">Cascade [7.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min</td><td align="left">Hop</td><td align="left">4</td><td align="left">5.6 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">1.00 Items</td><td align="left">Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins)</td><td align="left">Fining</td><td align="left">5</td><td align="left">-</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">20.00 g</td><td align="left">Willamette [6.30 %] - Boil 7.0 min</td><td align="left">Hop</td><td align="left">6</td><td align="left">2.1 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">2.0 pkg</td><td align="left">US West Coast Yeast (Mangrove Jack's #M44)</td><td align="left">Yeast</td><td align="left">7</td><td align="left">-</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="2"><div align="center">
<span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><b>Beer Profile</b></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Est Original Gravity:</i></b> 1.039 SG</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Measured Original Gravity:</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><i><b>Est Final Gravity:</b></i> 1.010 SG</td><td width="52%"><b><i>Measured Final Gravity:</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><b><i>Estimated Alcohol by Vol:</i></b> 3.9 %</td><td width="52%"><i><b>Actual Alcohol by Vol:</b></i> </td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><i><b>Bitterness:</b></i> 26.6 IBUs</td><td width="52%"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td width="40%"><i><b>Est Color:</b></i> 11.3 EBC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-31600003032535143332014-01-07T11:33:00.000+00:002014-01-07T11:33:30.015+00:00Homebrew Review - East India PorterHappy New Year to one and all.<br />
<br />
I had planned to brew my first beer of 2014 this week, but having put my back out last weekend, that first batch of the new year will have to wait a week or two. It's struggle just to sit and write, so I'll keep this one short and sweet.<br />
<br />
I brewed this beer back in August and the recipe can be found<a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/brewday-export-porter-22082013.html"> here</a>.<br />
<br />
Regular readers and friends might know that my everyday preference is for pale beers, but that's not to say I don't enjoy the odd dark one. I have brewed a Fuller's Porter in the past, but this was my first crack at a stronger one.<br />
<br />
The beer pours liquorice black with a light tan head. Although I primed these bottles in the same way as all my other brews, carbonation could be better. Only a small head forms, but it does hang around and laces the glass on the way down.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1et31xPswuk/UsvlRcikoII/AAAAAAAAA94/0Y3kkKJIPmU/s1600/DSC_0517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1et31xPswuk/UsvlRcikoII/AAAAAAAAA94/0Y3kkKJIPmU/s1600/DSC_0517.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Bottle conditioned Porter</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Aroma is much as you might expect; coffee and molasses with slight herbal notes from the hops. Taste is very similar with plenty of chocolate and coffee, backed up by a whack of hop bitterness. It's probably more bitter than you might expect for a porter, but not massively so. There's also some acidity from the roast malts.<br />
<br />
It's very drinkable for its gravity (OG measured at 1.062) and has been well received by friends who appreciate dark beers, although it hasn't convinced me that I ought to be brewing more of these.<br />
<br />
There are no discernible off favours and, all in all, it's a good beer.<br />
<br />Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-2042149719910784492013-12-11T14:22:00.002+00:002013-12-11T14:59:16.637+00:00Homebrew Review - Homegrown Hop 2013I brewed this beer in mid-September with my new harvest of Bramling Cross hops.<br />
<br />
Last year's incarnation was good, but unfortunately, the 2013 brew hasn't turned out quite so well, even allowing for the fact that I'm particularly hard on my beers.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hd7BxBK5VIM/UqhrWxlqIYI/AAAAAAAAA9o/sQjoiXu8Kmg/s1600/IMG_20131211_131322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hd7BxBK5VIM/UqhrWxlqIYI/AAAAAAAAA9o/sQjoiXu8Kmg/s320/IMG_20131211_131322.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Homegrown Hop 2013 </i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was out of carahell malt when I came to brew, so substituted that with caragold this time around. It produced a paler beer, probably the colour I was looking for initially, but at the expense of some body. I definitely preferred the rounder flavour the German malt provided last year.<br />
<br />
I also increased my estimate of the alpha. This was a good move as last year's beer was possibly a shade too bitter and this year's is nicely balanced. The disappointment comes with the flavour and aroma.<br />
<br />
Hop aroma is earthy, spicy, but definitely muted. Not the assertive, fruitiness, I was expecting.<br />
<br />
The flavour is not too bad and was better received by my local homebrew group than it was by me. To be fair, it is nicely balanced, has more fruit to it than you get on the nose, but overall the beer is a shade thin. I think reverting to last year's recipe with the carahell malt would help in this respect.<br />
<br />
It's nicely clear and has a bright white head which dissipates about half way through. But although it looks the part, because of the lack of body and aroma, the beer is ultimately underwhelming.<br />
<br />
Only I know what I was setting out to achieve, which is why I'm probably a harsher critic than most and I think the problem lies with my hop picking. Worried about them 'going over' I harvested a couple of weeks earlier this year and while the hops looked great, they probably lacked some of that 'paperiness' that you need to ensure the Lupulin is at its peak.<br />
<br />
Having said all of that, the beer is perfectly palatable and I'll have no qualms about sharing this among friends. I've bottled the whole batch, rather than splitting half into a keg, as I get more requests for handouts of this brew, than any other.<br />
<br />
I'll keep trying, though. I'll revert to the carahell malt and pick the hops a shade later and hopefully this time next year I'll be singing its praises.<br />
<br />
Edit: If you're a hop geek, there's an article and some great pictures from this year's British hop harvest <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2426591/Bumper-crop-hops-stripped-bine-workers-time-honoured-fashion-just-THREE-PER-CENT-fields-remain-compared-century-ago.html">HERE</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-22624483690951586102013-12-04T13:26:00.000+00:002013-12-04T13:26:45.540+00:00Brewday - RIP 06/12/2013Friday is pencilled in for my next brewday. I've brewed this particular beer in some guise or another for a number of years. My father died unexpectedly a while back and I've tried to brew each year on the anniversary of his passing and that original beer I dubbed 'RIP'.<br />
<br />
I'm not quite sure where you would pigeon-hole this brew. It's not really and ESB and I just tend to refer to it as my winter ale. The lower gravity version I did last year didn't really come up to scratch, so I'm bringing it back to a more respectable 1.055 gravity this year.<br />
<br />
I've always found it very palatable. The British Challenger and EKG hops give the beer a moderate level of bitterness, with a late addition of Cascade delivering a hint of citrus.<br />
<br />
And for this year, I've made a change to the grist, dividing the pale malt in half and substituting the other with mild ale malt. The other malts remain unchanged, the handful each of chocolate and roasted barley giving a nice touch of complexity to the finished beer.<br />
<br />
I'm happier with my recent beers more than I have been in a long time and hopefully this will be another good one. A little later than usual this year, but dad, this one is for you...<br />
<br />
<br />
<table bgcolor="#c0c0c0" border="0" style="width: 100%px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><span style="color: white; font-size: x-large;"><i>RIP</i></span></td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="color: white;"><i>Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale
Ale)</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table border="0" style="width: 95%px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><b><i>Type:</i></b> All Grain</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Date:</i></b> 12/06/13</td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><b><i>Batch Size (fermenter):</i></b> 45.00 l</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Brewer:</i></b> Mark</td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><b><i>Boil Size:</i></b> 52.43 l</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Asst Brewer:</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><b><i>Boil Time:</i></b> 60 min</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Equipment:</i></b> Elite 45L Brew</td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><b><i>End of Boil Volume</i></b> 48.88 l</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Brewhouse Efficiency:</i></b> 70.00 %</td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><b><i>Final Bottling Volume:</i></b> 45.00 l</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Est Mash Efficiency</i></b> 73.1 %</td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><b><i>Fermentation:</i></b> Ale, Two Stage</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Taste Rating(out of 50):</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><b><i>Taste Notes:</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#c0c0c0" colspan="2"><div align="center">
<b><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;">Ingredients</span></b></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><div align="center">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="BeerSmithTable" style="width: 100%px;">
<caption>Ingredients</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th align="left" width="22%"><b>Amt</b></th>
<th align="left" width="50%"><b>Name</b></th>
<th align="left" width="11%"><b>Type</b></th>
<th align="left" width="4%"><b>#</b></th>
<th align="left" width="11%"><b>%/IBU</b></th></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">5300.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Mild Malt (7.9 EBC)</td>
<td align="left">Grain</td>
<td align="left">1</td>
<td align="left">46.2 %</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">5300.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC)</td>
<td align="left">Grain</td>
<td align="left">2</td>
<td align="left">46.2 %</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">500.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (118.2 EBC)</td>
<td align="left">Grain</td>
<td align="left">3</td>
<td align="left">4.4 %</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">230.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Wheat, Flaked (3.2 EBC)</td>
<td align="left">Grain</td>
<td align="left">4</td>
<td align="left">2.0 %</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">75.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Chocolate Malt (1000.0 EBC)</td>
<td align="left">Grain</td>
<td align="left">5</td>
<td align="left">0.7 %</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">55.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Roasted Barley (1199.7 EBC)</td>
<td align="left">Grain</td>
<td align="left">6</td>
<td align="left">0.5 %</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">20.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Challenger [7.10 %] - First Wort 60.0 min</td>
<td align="left">Hop</td>
<td align="left">7</td>
<td align="left">8.4 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">20.00 g</td>
<td align="left">East Kent Goldings (EKG) [6.45 %] - First Wort 60.0 min</td>
<td align="left">Hop</td>
<td align="left">8</td>
<td align="left">7.7 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">22.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Challenger [7.10 %] - Boil 60.0 min</td>
<td align="left">Hop</td>
<td align="left">9</td>
<td align="left">8.4 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">22.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Goldings, East Kent [6.45 %] - Boil 60.0 min</td>
<td align="left">Hop</td>
<td align="left">10</td>
<td align="left">6.5 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">1.00 Items</td>
<td align="left">Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins)</td>
<td align="left">Fining</td>
<td align="left">11</td>
<td align="left">-</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">40.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Cascade [7.50 %] - Boil 7.0 min</td>
<td align="left">Hop</td>
<td align="left">12</td>
<td align="left">4.4 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">30.00 g</td>
<td align="left">Cascade [7.50 %] - Boil 1.0 min</td>
<td align="left">Hop</td>
<td align="left">13</td>
<td align="left">0.5 IBUs</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">3.0 pkg</td>
<td align="left">Nottingham Yeast (Lallemand )</td>
<td align="left">Yeast</td>
<td align="left">14</td>
<td align="left">-</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#c0c0c0" colspan="2"><div align="center">
<span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><b>Beer
Profile</b></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><b><i>Est Original Gravity:</i></b> 1.055 SG</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Measured Original Gravity:</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><i><b>Est Final Gravity:</b></i> 1.013 SG</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Measured Final Gravity:</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><b><i>Estimated Alcohol by Vol:</i></b> 5.6 %</td>
<td width="52%"><i><b>Actual Alcohol by Vol:</b></i></td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><i><b>Bitterness:</b></i> 36.0 IBUs</td>
<td width="52%"><b><i>Calories:</i></b> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><i><b>Est Color:</b></i> 26.5 EBC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div id="header">
<div class="logo">
<h1>
</h1>
</div>
</div>
Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3006581506594649155.post-37404788695596172652013-11-22T14:41:00.003+00:002013-11-25T16:37:59.533+00:00Homebrew Review - GalaxyFirstly a big thanks to Scott, who kindly supplied the hops and the recipe for this one, all the way from Oz. Brewed at the beginning of October, the recipe for this one is <a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/brewday-galaxy-03102013.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
I split the batch into two and bottled half and stuck the other half in a keg. Gravity was 1.046, slightly under what was expected, but the beer is certainly no worse for it.<br />
<br />
It pours a lovely golden colour, with decent carbonation producing a bright white head which laces the glass nicely. It's a cracking looking beer, but it sadly lacks the hop aroma I was expecting. It wasn't dry hopped, but I anticipated more from the good whack of late hops.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbfVfgbeFck/Uo9qPgHuIcI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/If__9xEmIQw/s1600/IMG_20131122_135921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbfVfgbeFck/Uo9qPgHuIcI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/If__9xEmIQw/s320/IMG_20131122_135921.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Galaxy</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Initially, I was underwhelmed with the taste, but in fairness I was drinking the beer quite cold. Having raised the serving temperature a tad, the beer came to life. Even so, it's still a delicate number, no massive hit of peach, passion fruit or mango. More a gentle caress, with sweet herbal notes added in.<br />
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The more I drink it, the more I like it. I think my initial problem was that I was expecting something truly hoppy. With the bulk of the hops added from 10 minutes onwards, I guess that was never going to be the case.<br />
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As such, the beer makes much more sense as a summer drinker, but for now it gives me a nice low-gravity option over the Porter and IPA that were also recently brewed.<br />
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Ultimately it's a good beer, but I also liked the promise of the similar beer I brewed where the <a href="http://gettinggrist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/homebrew-review-galaxy.html">Galaxy hop was combined with Nelson Sauvin</a>, although that brew wasn't without it's issues either. I reckon there's a really good beer somewhere between the two, which offers plenty of promise for a summer beer next year.<br />
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EDIT: A day after writing this review (of the kegged beer) I sampled one of the bottles. The beer was fresher and more vibrant, for sure. Although still a delicate number, the Galaxy aroma is definitely present in the bottled version and it drinks a nicer beer. I think the co2 in the keg might be responsible for masking a bit of the aroma. 25/11<br />
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<br />Mark Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18086235759157741876noreply@blogger.com2