Now we've done Theakstons old peculier
from a kit? that could be interesting. One of my favourite brews.
Just bottled 19l** of "Sankt Mickael", loosely based on the San Miguel recipe but done with pale malt & american pale ale yeast (Safale US-05 for those in the know) instead of lager malt & lager yeast*
Looking forward to trying this in 3-4 weeks.
I have another batch fermenting away, a blonde ale using Cascade & Citra hops. Should be nice & zesty 🙂
* my 2 previous experiments at lager have both ended in disaster, while all my ale brews have been fine - so I thought I'd eliminate the common factors, the lager malt & lager yeast, then reintroduce them one at a time for the next (if any) attempts at lager. October might be a good time to try again, fermenting outdoors in the greenhouse, shouldn't get too warm or too cold. no brewfridge & no plans to buy one at this stage, I don't really drink lager & mrs_d's opinion on the lagers I have tried isn't repeatable 😉
** well it started as 19l in the fermenting bin. after siphoning off the trub into a clean FV for finings, that lost a litre or so, and another half litre or so when siphoning into bottles. 31x 500ml bottles of blonde lagerish ale...
I'm posting on this just so I can find it again when Iive house in late September and have room to do a few brews!
and tomorrow I'm going blackberry picking, if there are any left...
recipe makes 6 bottles, scale up as required...
2kg blackberries
1kg sugar
1 campden tablet.
Into a clean fermenting bin, mash up the blackberries & add a couple of kettles of boiling water plus the sugar. leave for 2-3 days then strain through some (boiled) muslin cloth into a clean fermenting bin or demijohn. Top up to 4.5 litres with cold water & add a suitable red wine yeast. Leave it to do its stuff.
rack off (siphon) into a clean demijohn & add wine finings & 1 campden tablet & leave for 1 week, shaking 2-3 times a day to release the dissolved CO2. rack again using a filter if required. leave another week.
siphon into clean bottles and enjoy
I'm with bigblackshed on this - simple brews done well are my thing. Nz has taken to really hoppy American type pale ales which, while nice, are a bit much for regular drinking. I have done a fair few bitters with more of a malty bent and used the kegs to condition or force carb as well - both work equally well. I ran a Deuchars from the wheeler book and it was outstanding again, very simple single hop recipe. Next up I will run a landlord from the very same book and refine my black IPA recipe that I have done a few times. For the really complex beers I buy them off tap at the local bottle shop ! Oh and I will post pics of the kegerator later on.
I've been enjoying nice home brewed single hops over 'summer', thoughts are now turning to some darker brews...Hobnoblin (Hobgoblin clone with extra chocolate) went well last time, may get another on soon.
thoughts are now turning to some darker brews...
yep, with you there. Thinking of a porter or stout for next brew - I have the Wheeler book & a bottle of Fullers London Porter to try tonight. If I like, it'll probably be my next batch.
and of course, in the drummer household, thoughts start turning to the C word... winter warmer brews... hmmm
The Kegerator in all its gory glory [url= http://on.fb.me/TwJCky ]KEGERATOR[/url] this set is publically readable. Total cost about $190 as the fridge was free and so were the kegs, most of it was bits and a converted fire extinguisher for the Co2.
Reading/Counting Fail
I ended up with carbonating drops which have the sugar in for the bottle conditioning. Except I only added 1 instead of 2. At least it wont explode. Find out results in 4 days but have I screwed it?
Reading/Counting FailI ended up with carbonating drops which have the sugar in for the bottle conditioning. Except I only added 1 instead of 2. At least it wont explode. Find out results in 4 days but have I screwed it?
If you're doing a lager you may find it's not as fizzy as commercial stuff, but should be perfectly drinkable anyway. For most ales one carbonation drop per 750ml bottle will be fine (probably better than two drops IMO, but depends on personal taste and all that).
Hopefully good then it's an IPA
I've experimented in the past by leaving out the carbonating sugars and relying on the residual ones left behind after primary fermentation.
It worked fine so I can't see you having any problem.
I did my second home brew batch a few months ago. First is now very clear but tastes like home brew, you know, that aftertaste. The kit wasn't exactly premium. IPA.
It was made with mineral water and I used proper "sugar" not granulated.
The second batch was an Australian lager from Coopers, made with spray malt ( as suggested in the instructions) . Here I used sugar drops in the bottles instead of sucrose. It's clear, fizzy but still tastes of home brew. It as made with decent mineral water this time
Does all home brew have that home brew aftertaste? Or am I doing something wrong or could I be doing something better?
Try a two can kit, eg Woodfordes, st Peter's, brupak etc.
If that doesn't improve matters then it's all grain for you 😉
I only ever truly got rid of that taste after ditching the kits and brewing from grain.
Even the premium kits were badly affected, Fixby Gold came highly recommended but turned out horrid both times.
If you can justify the extra time and space you'll need then go all-grain, it can be done relatively cheaply and the improvements are vast.
Not to mention the sense of achievement of brewing something that really is all your own work 🙂
Does all home brew have that home brew aftertaste? Or am I doing something wrong or could I be doing something better?
Maybe worth leaving the beer in the fermenting bin longer before bottling. Lets more of the yeast fall out of suspension to the bottom. I usually leave it for 2 weeks before bottling. After bottling I find taste improves after 4 - 6 weeks in the bottle.
Other things worth trying are adapting kits. Use less water - maybe make it up to 18L rather than 23. Add hops etc.
My favourite brew is a Cooper's IPA made up with a bit more sugar than suggested and with added hops 50g or so simmered in a couple of L of water before making up the brew.
As for water - Tesco or Asda still value water is chlorine free. I tend to use about have tap water and half bottled water. Other than that I haven't needed to add anything to remove the chlorine in the tap water,.
If you can justify the extra time and space you'll need then go all-grain, it can be done relatively cheaply and the improvements are vast
Can anyone point me in the right direction for this?
hi, this thread has moved on since i was last on and lots of useful advice from the STW hive as always. A couple of quick questions if i may:
In the absence of a good LBS* what online shops would you recommend? I am looking at brewuk for purchasing my kit (i was going to get the woodfordes wherry [url= http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/micro/complete-woodfordes-starter-equipment-set.html ]kit[/url]) because it seems to be quite an active site and they get good reviews.
2nd question - forgive the naivety here. The yeast produces c02 when fermenting and in a closed FV there is an airlock to help prevent contamination. The theory should be that the vented c02 has no smell but is that the case? The wife will go crazy if i make our living room smell like a brewery while the kit is churning away in the cupboard under the stairs 🙂
*local brew store 🙂
Hello all, i stopped brewing about 3 years ago (just before li'l Smoggy was born) but this thread has relit my passion! i've still got all the kit, so just need to buy the right ingredients now. Preferably looking at a one can only and a stout/porter type drink (i remember Muntons being quite good) but can anyone else recommend a different porter/stout?
cheers!
🙂
Coopers Irish Stout gets good reviews.
coolhandluke - the simplest way (which is what I do) is "brew in a bag", although strictly speaking it's really "mash in a bag".
For this you'll need a big stainless steel pot or electric boiler, and a voile bag. My pot has a tap at the bottom, holds 32 litres and cost £70; the voile bag cost less than a tenner. And yes, BrewUK seem to be good, in the absence of a decent LHBS. where are you BTW? There are a couple of good brew shops in the Leeds/Bradford area
Method is as here:
basically, fill your pot with the specified amount of water, add the voile bag & bring it up to strike temperature (about 72degC). Add your grain, stirring all the time. put the lid on, turn off the heat & wrap in blankets/towels/duvet/etc. Leave for 60-90mins according to the recipe.
remove the lagging & take the bag out of the pot - drain this into a clean sanitised FV, then discard the grains & return the liquid to the pot. Bring up to the boil, add your bittering hops & boil for 60-90mins according to the recipe. 10-15 mins from the end, add your aroma hops plus some irish moss or protofloc (helps clearing). At the end of the boil time, turn off the heat & add any post-boil hops.
Now cool it - you can leave it overnight, or you can use an immersion chiller, which is basically a coil of copper pipe, one end goes into the sink, the other connected to the cold water supply. If you have one of these, about £60, you need to put it in the pot for the last 15mins of the boil to sterilise it.
when it's cool, drain into your FV & add the yeast - the rest is as per kit beers
I find this takes me about 4-5 hours with a 60min mash & 60min boil, including cleaning, prep, getting the water up to temp, boiling, chilling & cleaning up afterwards, so it's not a quick half hour job - but the results are well worth it.
an invaluable resource for the home brewer: http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php
I switched from kits to all grain in the BIAB method around last christmas & I haven't looked back. If you drink bottled beers from the shop, many of the bottles can be reused - but I find Wychwood & Fullers bottles to have too fat a neck / mouth for my capper. Theakstons/Black Sheep bottles are great as the labels come off really easily.
I find if I brew a few different styles in quick succession, I can go a couple of months (when they're ready) without buying any commercial beer at all - and with a number of books available, it should be easy to replicate your favourite commercial brew.
this year I've brewed the following:
Theakston's Old Peculier & Best Bitter (2x each)
Hobgoblin
Old Speckled Hen (x2)
a couple of cascade pale ales of my own recipe (not entirely successful, but ok)
a citra based blonde ale (and there's another in the FV right now)
a blonde ale loosely based on San Miguel, bottled this week
and a couple of disasters with lager malt & lager yeast (hence the San Miguel based blonde ale)
Next up - Fullers London Porter
2nd question - forgive the naivety here. The yeast produces c02 when fermenting and in a closed FV there is an airlock to help prevent contamination. The theory should be that the vented c02 has no smell but is that the case? The wife will go crazy if i make our living room smell like a brewery while the kit is churning away in the cupboard under the stairs
negligible - you have to stand with your nose over the airlock as it bubbles to get any whiff of it.
Boiling the hops in AG method does stink though
I have 100ltrs fermenting now and it's a bit smelly in a nice way. My wife has noticed my two new 100ltr fermenters - its where she normally parks her car 😯
Can anyone point me in the right direction for this?
Luke, try [url= http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php ]Jims Beer Kit[/url].
Too much to go into here, but since you already know the basics of homebrew you should be able to pick it up the rest from there, lots of very good information in the forums.
Don't get too carried away with your first, it's pretty forgiving. Simple mash and batch sparge in a converted coolbox will serve you well until you decide to delve deeper.
Just got a starter on for my next weeks brewday, stepping up White Labs WLP 500 for a nice Trappist brew.
Bottled mine today. Is it usually still cloudy at this point?
I know its probably dependent on the brew. I have done Coopers Canadian Blonde which to me sounds like it should be cloudy but the reviews say it should be like Stella. It also smells pretty yeasty is that normal?
Yeah it's not normally bright bright, you'll probably have quite a decent sediment in the bottle so chill them and pour v.carefully.
To avoid this I tend to leave it in the fermentor for 10 days, it's normally pretty clear by then, but still plenty of yeast still in suspension for a secondary ferment to condition in the bottle.
yeah, it'll be a little hazy as you bottle it. I've got 31 bottles sat in my dining room, bottled about a week ago. Clear at the neck, not clear anywhere else yet.
leave it somewhere warm for 2-3 weeks for the secondary fermentation, to gas it up in the bottle, then move it somewhere cool - if you can for the same time or longer - to let it settle out.
Then handle it carefully, keep it upright & pour carefully, ensuring you leave a little in the bottle. you'll see the sediment start to move from the bottom of the bottle as you pour, so you'll know when to stop pouring.
From the instructions on the Coopers European Lager kits, Coopers recommend 12 weeks bottle conditioning before drinking... presumably as cool as you can get it , i.e. "lagering", 2-3degC if possible. I'd imagine the Canadian Blonde to be similar.
Usually start drinking mine around 4 weeks after bottling/kegging. 1 week at room temperature then into the garage.
They're mostly clearing by then, always the odd bottle from every batch that never seems to clear.
It's mostly cosmetic so I don't worry about it tbh, though I guess it looks the real deal if you're showing it off or something.
Great thanks guys. Always good to be reassured about something you havnt done before.
Just poured my first pint and its still pretty yeasty tasting, it's not lovely but its drinkable in small volumes. I'm hoping a bit more time will help with the flavor.
What is concerning me is that it isn't fizzy at all. I put the recommended amount of brew enhancer tabs in each bottle so I'm confused.
Any ideas?
Temperature
Available sugar
Time
I have no idea what the chemical make up of 'brew enhancer' is , in a commercial brewery we dont use such things.
Try warming a few bottles / keg to 28 - 30'C for 48 hrs and see if that makes a difference.
Might be too many tri saccharides or dead yeast cells .
Oops Not brew enhancer I meant carbonation drops is basically a sugar tablet. You drop a tab in the bottle when bottling for the secondary fermentation.
Wondering if there wasn't enough sugar in one tab as the brew is a larger. Is it too late to add a little more?
how long has it been in the bottle?
I leave my bottles in the warm for at least 2 weeks, sometimes 3, for carbonation, then I move them somewhere cool for at least 2 weeks for clearing. The longer you can leave it in the bottle, the clearer and brighter it will get.
I also use plain granulated sugar dissolved in a little boiling water, let it cool to room temperature (covered!) before adding to the fermenting bin a day or two before bottling. 80-110g in a couple of hundred ml for a 23l batch depending how much fizz you want. Or 1/2 teaspoon of granulated or brewers sugar per bottle after bottling but before capping (obviously)
I bottled it and put it in a cupboard two weeks ago. It's very clear just not fizzy. Actually the second bottle I had was fizzier and I got a bit of a head when pouring. The second bottle was one of the last to be bottled and had a little more sediment in the bottom of the bottle.
Looking at starting brewing myself now.
How eefective is wrapping the fermenting bucket in a duvet a keeping the brew warm enough to ferment?
My first go is under way in the fermentor. It is Brewkit Linthwaite Pale Ale I think. A 2 can kit. I am considering getting a second fermentor and syphoning into that for a week. I was told this was a good way to avoid sediment.
Good thread
Jimster - unless your room is very cold, that shouldn't be necessary. Ale yeast likes temperatures between 18 and 25 degC, lager yeast prefers it a bit cooler. Room temp should be fine
Cheese - not a bad idea. Don't forget the priming sugar when bottling or kegging the beer. 80-110g in keg for a 23l batch, 1/2 a teaspoon per bottle. More sugar = more fizz
Anyone any tips for home cider making?
Just about to bottle my first ever brew, made with apples from the garden and then left to ferment in demi-johns with yeast and some sugar. Seems to have worked but taste's a bit sharp at the moment. Hoping a few weeks under the stairs will 'mature' it and maybe it'll stop looking like the contents of a colostomey bag 😯
timely question smoothchicken - I've got a bunch of apples, some cider yeast a couple of demi-johns and just waiting to borrow an apple press.
Is it as simple as squash apples and add yeast and put in demi john and leave?
What's the best way to sterilise the demi-johns?
What's the best temp to leave it at (cellar - coolish or in the cupboard with the boiler - warmish)?
VWP or thin bleach to sterilize EVERYTHING, then a damned good rinse.
Room temp should be fine. May need water and/or sugar as well.
Try www.jimsbeerkit.co.UK, see if you can find a recipe under "other brews" in the forum
StuF - as above VWP to sterilise everything. I kept it relatively simple by chopping the apples with one of those Ikea coring things, pulped the chopped bits in a bucket with a fence post. Used a fruit press to squeeze the juice out of the pulp then poured it into the demi-johns. Add a bit of cider yeast and sugar pop an airlock on and watch it go. Couple of weeks at 20 deg or so should do it. Bottle it and leave for as long as you can to mature. I should have a red veiny nose about Christmas time!
Started on my woodfordes wherry last week...little early but it's good despite the many small errors during production. Yes well happy 😀
Will I be okay to use "Spring water" from one of the many springs on the Malverns for a first brew, or get some cheap water from Morrison's/Tesco's?
I would use bottled water from Tesco, it has a pretty good mineral content for brewing (although this less important if you are not mashing). I wouldn't use spring water from the side of a hill, could easily be contaminated.
Yes. Tap water works too. Sometimes it needs a bit of treatment.
Now we've done Theakstons old peculier
from a kit? that could be interesting. One of my favourite brews.
Kind of, we got it [url= http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beerkits/brewextract/theakstons-old-peculiar-recipe-pack.html ]here[/url].
Twas lovely 😀
That looks good. I've used Graham Wheeler's AG recipe a couple of times and it's very nice.
