Homebrewists of STW, brewing 'owt at the moment?

Smashing, ta

they’ll tell you what to add to the water for specific beer styles.

Out of interest. what kind of thing might they be telling me to add?

Brewing salts.
Gypsum
Epsom salt
Calcium carbonate
Calcium chloride
Lactic acid
Baking powder
Precipitated chalk

Going off my Yorkshire water info, which is probably not very helpful, I always use those top 5. But I could probably do with a proper water report and some micro scales to do it properly.

what kind of thing might they be telling me to add?

If you're interested there's stacks of technical articles on the Murphy & Son site that go into water chemistry (and other technical aspects of brewing) in great detail!!
I was always crap at chemistry at school but now understand & have learned far more about it since I took up brewing 🤣
https://www.murphyandson.co.uk/resources/technical-articles/

Finally got round to checking the progress of the mead. It's now at 0.997, so I guess it is done!

The plan was for this to finish sweet, but with some character from the initial use of Saison yeast. When the slurry from the cider failed, I used mead yeast and nutrient and I think this is what caused the drying out; the saison woke up and started to out-compete the MJ Mead yeast.

I'm not 100% sure of the OG, certainly it was something like 1.120-ish, so the ABV on this is somewhere around 15/16%. There is still a note of honey on the nose, but it's strong stuff and there is a strong farmhouse taste to it. It's a lot like the cider I made with the same yeast, but with less apple (obvs).

I found myself getting a little jaded with porter, so I took the chance this afternoon to get a pale ale ina fermenter.

No planning, just used up the last of some old pale malt, topped up with some pilsner and a quarter of a kilo each of flaked rye and flaked oats. 3kg total grain bill.

Hope was simple… 10g of Magnum at the start of the 30 min boil, with 15g Melon at 15 mins and 25g of Melon at flame out. Yeast was the half packet of MJ Kveik I had in the fridge. It is already bubbling. I love kveik.

The heater for my beer fridge failed so I ended up looking at replacements for the Inkbird controller (it wasn't the controller, it was was the heater itself). I only knew about the problem as my iSpindel showed the temperature dropping.

If I was doing it again, I'd get 2 IFTT compatible plugs and an iSpindel. It would allow me to control the temperature without walking to the garage and more importantly be able to set temperature profiles i.e. hold 22c for 6 hours as yeast becomes established, drop to 19c until specific gravity below 1005 then raise to 22c until stable for more than a day and cold crash to 5c.

But then I wouldn't get any exercise!

Dear gods, it smells delicious! The kveik is really doing a number on it, but the airlock is making some really nice fruity bubbles.

This is all making me want to brew again! Things have been a little crazy of late so haven't made anything for a couple of months. Flip side of that is the mother-in-law has offered me her shed to turn into a brewery and having jumped at the chance I'm now in the process of turning a blank canvas into a beer den.
Currently waiting on parts for a HERMS vessel but when that's sorted I'll be using a 3 vessel system rather than an all-in-one which will be something else to learn and totally overkill for what I do but it all adds to the fun of it. Have sourced a second hand cooker hood so need to install that, give everything a clean and then we should be pretty much good to start brewing again. In my head not having to get everything out and then put it away again should make for a slightly quicker brew day, but we'll see.

I've just got around to ordering a water test kit, so it'll be interesting to see what that comes back with.

On a side note, if anyone wants any bottles for, er, bottling, I've got far more than I'm ever going to use at one time. If you're Peak/Stockport/Macclesfield kinda area, and want to come and get some, let me know.

Yeah, I'm not allowed more bottles. My GF keeps mentioning I have too many and doesn't seem to accept that I need different sorts for Belgian styles, half litre/weissbeer and "normal" beer.

Well, I've had my water report back. It says:

pH - 7.3
Nitrate - 3
Tot. Hardness (CaCO3) - 1
Calcium - 1
Magnesium - 0
Chloride - 22
Sulphate - 7
Alkalinity - 258

Obviously, I've got no idea what any of this means 🙂

It says that for a 25l batch of Ale/Bitter/IPA I need to add 30ml of AMS into the water, which is fine, I'll get some.

It also says to add 6g of calcium Chloride flake and 13g calcium sulphate into the mash. Now, I brew from extract, so I don't need those two, right? As the mashing has all been done already in the extract?

@IHN as I understand it, the reason for adding salts to the grist is that some don’t dissolve readily in water - so it’s better to have them suspended there rather than just sink to the bottom! (Willing to be corrected on this though!) And although one purpose is to adjust the pH and otherwise promote enzyme activity, it’s not the only purpose, as this article suggests: http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/water-for-extract-brewing/water-chemistry-adjustment-for-extract-brewing
So you might want to add them to your boil anyway. Or, get a bag, and start brewing properly 😉

Genus did (I think) a good stream on water chemistry, might be worth looking that up on YouTube, but at least you know where you are now and you can buy the various salts and start making the chemistry suit the beer you make.

pH is best adjusted with lactic acid during the early part of the mash. I use (most of the time) pH strips that let me know roughly if I am at about 5.3 - 5.5. The mash works better in that range (so the internet says).

BIAB really is easy to do. If you have a large enough grytta, something that will hold 20l, then a 10l BIAB batch is really straightforward. Call it 2.5-ish kg of grain for a 4.5% beer, the 60 minute mash and the 60 minute or less boil will add time to your brew day, but will let you do more in the way of making different beers.

Tried the new beer last night and am not super happy with it. I was hoping for something more bitter and with more hop character, but I ended up with a noticeably malt forward ale, with way less bitterness and none of the tropical hops that I was looking for.

It’s still drinkable, but I wanted more. I think the main problem was getting the alpha acid percentage wrong for the main hops and under adding in the early boil. I’m also going to dry hop next time.

Dry-hopping's a great way of getting super hoppy beers, don't be afraid to go big either - I do a DDH WC IPA that is about 18g/L of hops in total. Key with it is to keep your dry hop relatively short, 2 or 3 days.

I need more practice with dry hopping. I think I tend to under-hop, but leave it in for too long. Thinking about the last NEIPA I made, the 10L batch had 100g total hops in, but I left the first bag in for the whole time it was in the fermenter.

But, moving on from that, has anyone used smoked or peated malts in a stout or porter? I was thinking this might be something to try, but do not want something acrid.

Last NEIPA I made was a kind-of clone of Verdant's Even Sharks Need Water (different hops) but that was 222g in total for a 10L batch, 150g of that was a dry hop but only for 3 days.

As for smoked malt, I've only used it in a Blonde Stout so far and that was 60g out of a 2210g malt bill - but that must've been back when I was making 5L batches on the stove as there's no other way that'd end up as a 5.4% beer. Turned out nice, even if it did mess with your head - looked like a pale, tasted like a stout!
As for any advice, I'd say to not use too much of it, it may be that you don't perfect the recipe until after a couple of batches but I can't find any downsides in that 🙂

Dry hop in secondary for a few days is supposed to be the go.

I’m currently drinking a Belgian Ale infused with Davidson Plum juice (a homegrown Australian native plum that is off the charts in sourness). I’ve managed to get just the right amount (750ml in a 19 litre keg). It’s a shame the plums are only ripe every few years.

Did the first brew in the shed with my upgraded 3 vessel system at the weekend, all went pretty well apart from forgetting to close off a ball-valve at the start. The beer's a pretty simple Scotch Ale so hopefully it'll turn out decent enough while also being the test beer for my new processes.
The mash was much easier in a shallower & wider tun with a false bottom as opposed to the boiler/basket combo previously, not sure if it was that or the water treatment, but my efficiency is up too.
Have also used my iSpindel for the first time and having that extra info is pretty interesting, although one of us is a bit out as the measured OG vs iSpindel OG is 0.011 different. That said it's looking like it's fermented out already (2 days with S-33!) although the iSpindel is saying it's at 1.027 which (if it is over-reading) is really 1.016 which is pretty close to the 1.012 I'd predicted. If it's not over-reading I've a stalled fermentation to deal with - time to get the hydrometer out.

yeah my iSpindel is pretty hopeless accuracy-wise, I'd guess the krausen on the beer affects the float as it seemed pretty good during calibration/testing. Pretty good for showing when fermentation has stopped without me having to go out to the garage though! There's another device called a Plaato which I might look into as an alternative, quite expensive though.

all went pretty well apart from forgetting to close off a ball-valve at the start.

I need more practice with dry hopping. I think I tend to under-hop, but leave it in for too long.

My first attempt at a NEIPA turned out great (tasting) but not really the colour or crazy hoppiness I was going for... having done a bit more research sounds like preventing oxidisation is the key (as well as a better yeast!) so just about to pull the trigger on a kit for doing closed-transfers from FV to keg, and will give it another go!

OH's just stuck a 'Yorkshire Bitter' kit on with 500g each of light and medium spray malt and a dandelion leaf infusion for bitterness instead of hops- watch this space!

We've done this method (infusion) before with hawthorn leaves & flowers which is bloody delicious and I fancy trying a similar method but with nettle leaves too 😀

Beer hopped with nettles? Count me in! Actually, they should be starting soon here, so maybe I can go and harvest a load.

I also plan on getting spruce tips when they start coming out.

a dandelion leaf infusion for bitterness instead of hops- watch this space!

I kegged my DIPA over the weekend using an oxygen-free process for the first time - worked well & not really any more effort. Hopefully see some improved results (I think it also has the potential for me to be more efficient/lazy as I can probably get away in future without cleaning a keg if the new beer is similar!) The beer tasted pretty good already, even raw (unconditioned & uncarbonated)!

Brewed another beer too, an ESB this time (wanted to do a more "normal" ale for when the inlaws come this Easter as he doesn't do hoppy beers really) however will probably chuck a couple of Tonka beans in at some stage (just can't bring myself to do a beer that's too pedestrian lol) 🤣

Lidl had red grapes on 99p for 500g so we got four punnets and we're going to make a demi of wine with those. We did (locally picked, ie free!) cherry last year and it ended up being a really nice sparkling refresher so I'm hoping we'll get the same kind of Generic Pink Fizz™ from the grapes. They're in the freezer now to help break the skins and stuff down before we start.

Never made cider/Perry or fruit wine but will have a crack this year as we have a few fruit trees and the majority just seems to go to waste at the moment!!

I'll probably get panned for this as I suspect home brewing is like coffee expertise or sound systems in terms of masculine intensity but....

I've just bought a Brewery in a Box and am going to give their IPA a crack. Got to start somewhere!

I’ll probably get panned for this

The kit is pretty bare-bones though - no chiller (not the end of the world for only 5L) and it looks like you'll be fermenting and dispensing the beer in the same vessel, so it might get a bit... yeasty 😃

Plenty of scope to see if you get into it & expand from there tho!

Anyone use the Brewferm party star deluxe for 5L mini kegs? Just tried for first time and having some issues.
1. When tap is open, there’s a leak of beer from under the base of the tap (between tap and keg). It’s not between the bung and drawtube, it’s after it comes out. Stops as soon as tap is closed. I’m tempted to take it off and check the draw tube is tightly screwed on
2. Everything so far is very cloudy. Is this because first draws are all gunk at bottom, and might I expect this to start flowing clear after 1-2 pints?

The hawthorn's on! We popped out and picked a good bag full of blossom and leaves earlier on today and it's now fermenting away in the corner. I'm also running an experiment with grapefruit zest with the beer that we have at the minute (generic bitter kit hopped with a dandelion leaf infusion before the yeast is pitched)- so far, so tasty!

Ooooh! Nice! We still have a week I guess until blossom, but I missed the birch sap. Was it a natural fermentation from the blossom?

I did put a smoked porter on at the weekend, collected about as much as I had planned and then threw angry norwegian at it. It started pretty soon and on Monday I got photos from my GF to remind me that the bucket I used probably did not have enough headspace to deal with that kind of fermentation. I came home and started cleaning krausen off the worktop...

I may need to drop hop it with some scorched birch if I want it proper smokey,

We used a kit and added the hawthorn infusion to it then pitched the yeast when it was the right temperature.

We've had incidents like yours too, like elephant's toothpaste sometimes 🤣

The porter is done. In bottles, carbonated, the lot.

It had a couple of weeks while I was in Klatovy and it’s not a bad beer. I think I have a bottle of the previous incarnation left and I really think this has a bit more body/mouthfeel to it. That could be he changed grain bill though; whilst not a huge change, it was enough.

One minor disappointment was the smoked malt. It’s too subtle. I wanted a distinct smoke, something, anything. This is, well, barely a hint. If I do it again, I’ll chat up some birch and dry hop with that.

Next brew: pale ale. Something with a tonne of hops in too, I want a hoppy beer in the house again.

We put a grapefruit and mango IPA kit on last night, it smells lush and we're really looking forward to it 🍻

Never made cider/Perry or fruit wine but will have a crack this year as we have a few fruit trees and the majority just seems to go to waste at the moment!!

I made a few bottles of cider last year. Juiced the apples in a cheap whole fruit juicer, chucked in some packet ale yeast, and waited. Bottled in champagne bottles with a bit of yeast and sugar as I like bubbles. It was surprisingly good.

Been a while since I posted in here.

So, the last beer I made has had an interesting time of it, the thermostat in the fridge went and froze the keg solid, so I stuck it on the inkbird I use in the HLT and let it defrost on gas. Went back to check a week or so later and it turns out my new gas manifold isn't on/off as I'd thought but rather off/on/off so it hadn't been carbonated. Fast-forward another two weeks and we're finally drinking it, luckily it was a scotch ale rather than something hoppy so it's actually tasting rather nice! Not sure I'll repeat that lot again though!

Got the next beer fermenting now, a pale that I'm making for a mate's 40th. Looks like I'm getting better efficiency than I thought as 5.2% appears to have turned into somewhere between 5.8% and 6.6% depending on whether I believe the adjusted iSpindel readings (will take a proper hydrometer reading later this week). Gonna be a hoppy one, just had a bit of Centennial, Citra & Chinook for bittering, then a hopstand of Jester, Simcoe & Vic Secret. Next up is a dry hop of Mystic, Citra, Simcoe & Vic Secret so should be full of tropical fruits with a bit of luck. Dry hop totals 4.5g/l so I'm thinking of upping that.

Thought I would resurrect this thread in time for the autumn season of brewing!

My GF treated us to a fruit crush and press, so we spent a fun sunday afternoon collecting and then pressing apples from one of the neighbours. The wheelbarrow we collected allowed us to collect about 12 litres of juice of which 3l got pasteurised and put into bottles as juice and the other 9 got the same treatment, but went into a fermenter with a starter of Voss Kveik yeast I had in the fridge from my last beer.

Fermentation is going, but slower than I would have expected, but I should be getting 9l of cider at some point, probably around the 5% ABV mark if the yeast does its job.

The beer front has been quiet recently. I keep meaning to make some sort of hoppy IPA using the hops I got from the garden as a whirlpool, but have not got around to it yet. I'm also missing a bunch of hops as the biggest fruiting plant is a non-Swedish one and is only now really producing kottar, sadly too late in the season to develop fully. I still have a few bags from the Korsta plants, so will give them a try I think.

I also need to go and get the Christmas Mead started, which means buying a big tub of local honey. This year I will _NOT_ be using saison yeast as I want some residual sugar and, quite frankly, having a dry, 17% ABV mead is just asking for trouble.

cool, I keep meaning to get a fruit press as we have loads of pairs and they mostly end up going to waste! We had loads of hops this year so I made two green hop beers, an ESB and a West Coast IPA (with additional dried hops, but still has that green hop twang!) Both in the keg now & tasting good, I'd forgotten how much liquid the fresh hops soak up though so got a bit less than planned... really must start making notes when I brew rather than trying to remember everything 😃

Got another conical fermenter now so I can either do back-to-back brews thus cutting down on the amount of cleaning or will probably try some experiments in the form of brewing a double batch and then fermenting and/or dry-hopping them differently to see what happens!

I never got into home-brewing to save money (and in fact sunk equipment costs probably mean that'll never happen) but I was paying £7/pint for a locally-brewed strong IPA the other day, which was perfectly-good-but-not-amazing... I can make one just as nice for under £2, so satisfying to think every pint I drink earns me a fiver 😂

depending on whether I believe the adjusted iSpindel readings (will take a proper hydrometer reading later this week)

Yeah, it's not really about the money, it's more about the process and making beers that I want to drink. Being honest, half my run gets given away to friends anyway, so the beers I drink are artificially more expensive.

I'm also thinking about buying another stainless fermenter, but the plastic buckets are cheaper and an easy option.

Yeah, it’s not really about the money,

’m also thinking about buying another stainless fermenter, but the plastic buckets are cheaper and an easy option.

I’ve always been interested in giving this a go but seems a minefield of complications!

is there a beginners (idiot) starter kit that people would recommend?

A pint of Fuller's ESB in that London reminded me how good traditional English styles can be. So I've ordered up all the ingredients for a clone and will be brewing this weekend.

I’ve got two gallons of blackberry wine that’s almost ready to bottle. Just need it to clear a tiny bit more. I’ve also got enough blackberries in the freezer for another twelve bottles and I was going to start a second batch but I don’t keep my house warm enough in the winter for it to ferment so I’ll leave it till next year now.

For me the iSpindel is not about absolute values, it's about seeing when fermentation is complete and temperatures. I always used to use 3 kettles of boiling water for a brew, the iSpindel showed that gave a temperature of high 20s which is fine for Saison but not for most others, I now use less boiling water. If the iSpindel reads the same for three days, fermentation is finished regardless of the reading which will be influenced by yeast on the cap.

@rockbus Beer is really quite easy to make, seriously. As long as you have some space, can clean stuff well and can follow a process, it should just work.

I’m in Sweden, so kit recommending is going to be not so good for you, but find a good local homebrew shop and ask them for something. Steeping grains (kind of like a tea bag) will give a kit/extract beer more flavour, but even extract can be decent. Plastic bucket fermenters are cheap, easy to clean and work really well. You can even use them to store stuff in between batches.

If you like it, want to learn more or go further, it’s possible to go Brew In A Bag with crushed grain and a recipe from the internet.

is there a beginners (idiot) starter kit that people would recommend?