I've managed to leave my extract Landlord clone for a full week of warm keg-conditioning before giving in to a cheeky sample this afternoon!
It's certainly well carbonated already and nicely cleared. Body is perhaps a little thin and while it wouldn't fool anyone in a blind tasting, there is certainly a reasonable likeness to the real thing. I've high hopes that it will turn into a decent session brew over the next few weeks.
My first small-batch all grain efforts are causing a bit of concern. Of course, in my inexperience, I forgot to take any starting gravity readings, and I think I made every mistake in the book during the brewing. I also haven't been able to take a hydrometer reading as the 1 gallon fermenter is too shallow! Added to that, neither brew really 'took off' after pitching. There's some evidence of a krausen, but nothing like I've experience in previous kit efforts. I stirred them a couple of times a few days back, but this didn't seem to rouse any sleeping giants.
I ordered a refractometer, which turned up today. I made sure it was calibrated and tried a sample from each brew. After 11 days, the Stout is at 1.026 and the IPA, after 10 days, is 1.022. There's not much going on in the fv to suggest it's going to go much lower, however, I've moved the buckets under the stairs and I'll take another reading in a few more days. My fingers will remain crossed! The mosaic IPA smells gorgeous, but I'm a bit concerned that the dry hops might screw up the beer if I have to wait another couple of weeks to bottle it.
I was hoping to do another brew with some of the Maris Otter and EKG which turned up from The Home Brew Company this afternoon, however I was relying on clearing the two all grain fermenters before doing this! I think I'll change my plans and put together a hard cider with the WLP775 Wyeast instead! I'll try my hand at a starter and ferment my first batch in a 1 gallon PET water bottle from Sainsburys.
It's certainly well carbonated already and nicely cleared. Body is perhaps a little thin and while it wouldn't fool anyone in a blind tasting, there is certainly a reasonable likeness to the real thing. I've high hopes that it will turn into a decent session brew over the next few weeks.
My first small-batch all grain efforts are causing a bit of concern. Of course, in my inexperience, I forgot to take any starting gravity readings, and I think I made every mistake in the book during the brewing. I also haven't been able to take a hydrometer reading as the 1 gallon fermenter is too shallow! Added to that, neither brew really 'took off' after pitching. There's some evidence of a krausen, but nothing like I've experience in previous kit efforts. I stirred them a couple of times a few days back, but this didn't seem to rouse any sleeping giants.
I ordered a refractometer, which turned up today. I made sure it was calibrated and tried a sample from each brew. After 11 days, the Stout is at 1.026 and the IPA, after 10 days, is 1.022. There's not much going on in the fv to suggest it's going to go much lower, however, I've moved the buckets under the stairs and I'll take another reading in a few more days. My fingers will remain crossed! The mosaic IPA smells gorgeous, but I'm a bit concerned that the dry hops might screw up the beer if I have to wait another couple of weeks to bottle it.
I was hoping to do another brew with some of the Maris Otter and EKG which turned up from The Home Brew Company this afternoon, however I was relying on clearing the two all grain fermenters before doing this! I think I'll change my plans and put together a hard cider with the WLP775 Wyeast instead! I'll try my hand at a starter and ferment my first batch in a 1 gallon PET water bottle from Sainsburys.
