UPDATE: Reviews section refreshed, redesigned, searchable: Go take a look
Thought I would resurrect this thread for 2026!
Long story short, have done two small brew sessions this year, the first of which was an experimental mead using the honey I found in a cupboard that had crystallised a bit. That delivered a 8%-ish mead with a little bitterness thanks to the juice and pulp of the grapefruit I also added.
The second is currently cold-crashing and is a 5% ginger beer that I decided I would try with the yeast that was left over from the mead. Fermentation took a while to get properly going, but it's now clearing out well and has the same look as a normal ginger beer (Fentimen's). I should be able to bottle it up this weekend if I get the time.
Other than that, I'm actually tempted to get a fullsize brew done. Something light and sessiony, for the summer. I can keg up 20l or so if I clear both of the kegs I have, but it might be more sensible to just do a 10l batch.
Ah, quite a fortuitous thread resurrection.
Somewhere, a long way up there ^, I described a chocolatey stouty thing that I tried to make. It didn't go brilliantly; it was initially really bitter as I just used cocoa powder, then I tried to balance that with some lactose, then it took an age to clear, it foamed all over the place when the bottle was opened, it was not my most successful brew ever.
Anyway, five, maybe six years and one house move later, I found about ten bottles of it in a box in the garage last week. I thought sod it, let's see what it's like.
Tell you what, it's not bad at all. It's calmed down foam-wise, it's nice and clear and it's got a lovely liquorice flavour.
I’m planning to brew a 23l 1811 Whitbread Porter this weekend ready for the imminent arrival of winter.
T'is the season for elderflower champagne.
I'm disorganized and never actually make a note of recopies I've used, but some were more successful than others, does anyone have any good recommendations? Even before AI you could tell some of the recipes online were just SEO rubbish generating clicks to cookery websites.
Anyway, five, maybe six years and one house move later, I found about ten bottles of it in a box in the garage last week. I thought sod it, let's see what it's like.
I love finding surprise homenbrew squirreled away around the house.
I was enjoying what could best be described as a barely wine the other day that was the leftover of what used to be a very hoppy (and very strong) west coast IPA. Annoyingly I'd recently tried to brew that same recipe again and it had been a disaster.
Other than that, I'm actually tempted to get a fullsize brew done. Something light and sessiony, for the summer. I can keg up 20l or so if I clear both of the kegs I have, but it might be more sensible to just do a 10l batch.
I'm always a bit torn on batch sizes, I've got a brewdevil so 20l batches are easy. But I sold my keezer/bar setup last year because although filling 3x 19l corny's was easy, drinking it wasn't. Bottling is a bit of a faff, and doing 5l batches feels wasteful when you lose a couple of pints each time your transfer, but at least it's scale able and you don't end up with 19l of a porter you really like, but no one else does!
Yeah, I am currently treating brews like experimental batches and using a 5l demijohn for them, almost deliberately being sloppy making stuff. If I did a bigger batch I would take more care.
Yeah, I am currently treating brews like experimental batches and using a 5l demijohn for them, almost deliberately being sloppy making stuff. If I did a bigger batch I would take more care.
I think the best thing about demi-john batches is the what-if's. I did a run a few years ago where the elderflower champagne yeast got re-used (unwashed) into a couple of ciders and a pale ale. I could probably achieve similar just by dumping a bottle of the champagne into cider or ale batches, but then I probably wouldn't. It's just that the demi-johns were sat there with the yeast trub after racking, and I had some extra wort in a batch.
The problem is just the inventory. All the malt's, hops etc get sold in roughly 20l batch sized packages.
I'm always a bit torn on batch sizes, I've got a brewdevil so 20l batches are easy. But I sold my keezer/bar setup last year because although filling 3x 19l corny's was easy, drinking it wasn't. Bottling is a bit of a faff, and doing 5l batches feels wasteful when you lose a couple of pints each time your transfer, but at least it's scale able and you don't end up with 19l of a porter you really like, but no one else does!
I recently got back into homebrewing after gap of 20 years or so. Just kits with some dry hopping. I'm doing 9-12l batches. Bottling 20l felt a bit of a hassle and it's a lot of beer to drink if it doesn't turn out great. Also doing cider, and ginger beer, popular with Mrs IRC, about 40 pints in seperate gallon batches since March.
I've only ever brewed 23l batches. I don't think I could be bothered with the faff for anything less.
All the malt's, hops etc get sold in roughly 20l batch sized packages
Not here they don't. I buy a sack of base malt and specialty malts by the gramme. Mill it as I need it. Hops in 100g increments.
About to try some new to me liquid yeasts that are made for 23l batches and don't need a starter.
I run a fermenting fridge (when fermenting obvs) and a keg and bottle fridge.
But the fresh wort kits I can get locally are so good (and reasonably priced) if it wasn't for the fact I make different styles to them I'd probably not bother with it all anymore.
I started buying sacks of pre-milled base malts when the pandemic hit and it suits being able to puit a batch together at a moment's notice. Storage is not ideal, but that's manageable right now.
Bottling was the pain for me. I hate it for larger batches, so I invested in a PET keg setup from Keglang. Game changer. Brew 10l, 8l in the PET keg, 2l in bottles for friends.
I didn't know you could get PET kegs.
I've got a few old cornelius kegs - they were really cheap 15 years ago when I got into brewing. I only ever did a few bottled batches and once a kid was on its way we thought it better to avoid having lots of glass bottles around.
@reeksy https://kegland.eu/search?q=oxybar&options%5Bprefix%5D=last
Aus company as well I think, so local. ish...
Brewed my porter today. Massive brown malt bill. Got to try a new liquid yeast which is supposed to be good so fingers crossed.
First pint tonight. Definitely drier than with S04 … but rest tasty 🤤
You get bonus points for the glass!
My ginger beer is now conditioning in bottles. I have a strong feeling it will need some sort of sweetning to make it drinkable.
You get bonus points for the glass!
My ginger beer is now conditioning in bottles. I have a strong feeling it will need some sort of sweetning to make it drinkable.
I have found this as the sugar fermented out completely. When I bottle mine I prime it with a 4g sugar cube a d at the same time add two level teaspoons of Tesco powdered sweetener.
It is drinkable unsweetened but just on the dry side for my taste. Two tsps is still far less sweet than commercial ginger beer
Huh, had not really thought of using a sweetener. My plan was to give it time to carbonate and then backsweaten in the glass with honey or maple syrup
Never thought of using sweetener, always just used lactose. Will try and remember that one as the lad's fancying making cider.
Anyhow, did a bit a cheat the other week and did a mid-week brew with DME 😯 Saved a good few hours and meant I've done my first brew in months!! Making a WCIPA so a simple malt bill which translates ok into DME ... or at least I think it will, we'll see when the beer's done.
Weirdly, you'd think I'd nail the OG using DME but somewhere along the line my 5% beer has turned into a 7.5% beer (well, 7.2% and counting). I'll chuck a dry hop in next week and keg at the weekend, it's a bit of a user-upper this one so it'll get moutere, cascade & centennial along with a few others that only have a few grammes left in the foil. Should be a big ol' citrusy WCIPA for the summer.
Did another first which was using a no-chill cube. Could fit way more than 20L in it (got almost 23) but fill it with hot wort and it loses a fair bit of strength so it just cooled overnight on the brewery floor, beer seemed fine when moved to the fermenter. If it works it'll be another time saver as well as a water saver.
That's what I've done with cider in the past, just add a bit of sugar syrup to taste and you can keep it in the fridge so it's ready to go.
Finally gave in and picked a kilo or so of very ripe redcurrants from the bush in my garden. I have boiled them down with some table sugar and thrown them in the "experimental" demijohn to see what happens. It's currently cooling, but I am trying to decide which yeast would be most acceptable. I _could_ use kviek, but I have this packet of bread yeast....
I also need to pick, crush and press the apples from my trees and get a cider on the go, but not today.
I've nearly finished a keg of 1941 Whitbread IPA (a very weird recipe because it's supposed to be 7.2% alcohol which makes no sense in WWII). It was the first full grain recipe i brewed and I've done versions of it over 15 years.
Anyway I harvested the yeast from that ferment about six weeks ago and put another batch down using that yeast last weekend... except I didn't think about the dose and chucked a whole jar in. It's one cloudy MF at the moment, so hoping when I crash chill it there's something worth drinking at the end!
