Getting Grist

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Black Moon Creeping

I've started tucking into the recently brewed Best Bitter and Citra Pale Ale, both are pretty good and I'll try to get around to giving some tasting notes and pictures when I find some time. But right now, I'm itching to brew again.

Having sampled some fine oatmeal stout last week, I just have to brew some. I've not done a stout for a couple of years - my last attempt was far too roasty for my liking, but my palate has changed. While I'm still not a massive fan of dark beers, they're more agreeable than they used to be and nice smooth oatmeal stout will be just the job. I'm rather ashamed I've not already got one lined up for Christmas, so I'll have to pencil in a brewday real soon. I might also chuck in a few interesting ingredients to add a twist to the flavour - I'm currently thinking vanilla and coconut, so watch this space for the recipe.

And as I usually have the music cranked up when brewing, with it more often than not featuring tunes from the Black Crowes, there's only one name possible for this forthcoming brew. Black Moon Stout.

Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Brewday - Gatekeeper 03/11/2011

Thursday will see the brewing boots back on.

A stronger English pale ale, the grist for which will be made up of three malts; a combination of Pale, Carahell and Crystal.

The bittering hops will be my homegrown Target. Impossible for me to know the Alpha Acid content, which is why many homegrown hops are often used purely for aroma. It's difficult to know whether the harvesting of one's own hops will preserve more of the lupulin than the commercial approach, or vice versa. Charles Faram quote Target with an acid content between 8%-12% and with recent harvests at the upper end of the scale, I've assumed 10% for mine.

Two later hop additions will utilise a new hop for me. Delta. An American variety, which apparently has a softer profile than some of the usual suspects.

Target gravity is 1.054 and I intend to split the ten gallon batch between two fermenters and try a different yeast in each.

Interestingly, I decided to check the alkalinity of the brewing water prior to brewing this batch - something I've not done since the spring. It might be worth doing more frequently as the alkalinity appears to have dropped quite significantly. I ran the test three times and got the same result, so I have no reason to doubt the reading. I use Brupaks CRS and DLS to balance the water, and have adjusted my usual additions accordingly.

Update: Aside from a morning power cut, the day was drama free. The hops smelt gorgeous and beer was made, although my efficiency was down.

I ended up with 10 gallons at 1.052, so it won't end up as strong as planned, but it will hopefully still taste good. ( I mashed quite high at 68/69C for a full body and wonder if this contributed to the lower efficiency?)

A pH reading in the mash looked spot on with the new water treatment and I'll update with some tasting notes once it's ready to go.

Gatekeeper (Elite)

Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)

Type: All Grain

Date: 03/11/2011

Batch Size (fermenter): 46.00 l

Brewer: Mark

Boil Size: 57.03 l

Asst Brewer:

Boil Time: 75 min

Equipment: Elite Brewery

End of Boil Volume 52.00 l

Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %

Final Bottling Volume: 46.00 l

Est Mash Efficiency 76.1 %

Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage

Taste Rating(out of 50):

Taste Notes:

Ingredients

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
10500.00 g	Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC)	Grain	1	92.9 %
450.00 g	Carahell Malt (25.0 EBC)	Grain	2	4.0 %
350.00 g	Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (236.4 EBC)	Grain	3	3.1 %
70.00 g	Target [10.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min	Hop	4	36.2 IBUs
21.00 g	Delta [6.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min	Hop	5	4.3 IBUs
1.00 Items	Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins)	Fining	6	-
20.00 g	Delta [6.50 %] - Boil 7.0 min	Hop	7	1.8 IBUs

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG

Measured Original Gravity:

Est Final Gravity: 1.011 SG

Measured Final Gravity:

Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.6 %

Actual Alcohol by Vol:

Bitterness: 42.3 IBUs

Est Color: 17.3 EBC

Monday, 17 October 2011

Brewday - Citra Pale Ale 14/10/2011

There’s nothing worse than having a shortage of beer in the house when there’s a ten gallon brewery sitting in the garage.

To be fair, the shortage was self-inflicted when I decided life was too short for mediocre beer. And my last two brews were definitely no better than mediocre.

The Green Bullet Gold was an odd beer. The main problem with it was that I used some old hops I had in the bottom of the freezer. Not only had they had been in there a while, they were given free of charge from a brewery in the first place, so they had definitely lost a sheadload of Alpha.

In the brew prior to that one, I was experimenting with amber malt. I’d used it before in beers I hadn’t liked and gave it one last chance. It won’t get another.

I decided to ditch all the amber beer and all the bottled GBG. For some reason the kegged version wasn’t so bad, so I’ve been surviving on that.

The upshot was that I needed more beer. The Best Bitter has been bottled but will need time to condition, so in the interim I decided to get another brew on the go to replenish stocks.

Rather than devise a new recipe, I reached for my brewnotes for the Citra Pale Ale. This took third at the UK National Hombrew Competition and is exactly the sort of ale I needed in reserve. An easy drinking, sunshine number with a little hoppy bite at the death.

It was brewed on Friday – 50 litres at an original gravity of 1.042. My last batch fermented down to 1.012, giving an ABV of 3.9%. Exactly the sort of beer you can chuck down your neck when a thirst needs quenching.

The familiar sight of golden wort

I realise I’m lacking something a bit stronger with the winter approaching and I aim to put that right on my next brewday - using homegrown hops.

I’ve also got a dark winter ale to get sorted. For that pair I’ll probably just brew 5 gallon batches. Recipe and brewday notes to follow when I can find some time to fire up the brewery again.

Sunday, 2 October 2011

Brewday - Best Bitter 29/09/11

I was due to brew the week before, but a dose of incompetence saw the element in the copper burn out. Switched on in error, when the vessel was dry, meant the brewday was cut short.

Thankfully the element was replaced quickly and I was able to start again a week later. After some experimental brews, I wanted an easy drinker that I knew would be good.

The last brew lacked hop presence, down to the fact that the hops in question had been stored for quite some time. The brew prior to that had used amber malt, which didn't work at all well in a pale ale, so I've been immersed in mediocre beer for far too long.

This recipe is one I've done, in some form or another, for some time. It's a standard English best bitter. I tweak the hops here and there to try and obtain the beer I've planned in my head - I've not always succeeded, but it's always been a pleasure to drink, and I'm hoping this batch will be no different.

There were no hiccups along the way, other than the new element was a bit more efficient than the old one, which I guess should have been expected on the first brew. As a result I boiled off a bit more than planned and ended up slightly short on volume and a tad high on gravity. I couldn't be arsed to liquor back, so left it as it was.

It's currently fermenting at 20C, I'll check the gravity again on day 6 and 7 and see if it's finished. Until then, here's a shot of the sparge in action, and the wort going into the copper;

And here's the recipe, exported from Beersmith. I'll review the beer once it's ready to drink.

Best (Elite)

Special/Best/Premium Bitter

Type: All Grain

Date: 29/09/2011