Another New Year Brew

Graz · Jan 6, 2016

Made my Festival Pride of London Porter kit last night. Hopefully this will be ready by the time my Christmas brew runs out.

Smelt nice and very dark. Forgot to have a look this morning to see if it had got going yet but don't normally have any problems so expect it to be bubbling away nicely this evening. This is my second Festival kit and this time I'll think I'll not add the hop addition until the fermentation is nearly over. Went in a bit early last time and the brew was a little too bitter for my taste but then again I drank it all.

Need to order some more kits now, have gained an extra pressure barrel so more scope for letting beers mature a bit more before drinking! Also decided to try wine making in 2016 so have been collecting bottles and think I'm approaching the 30 I need. Need to buy some new FVs and a few other bits and bobs.

Happy 2016!

Graz · Jan 7, 2016

Hmm, not got the usual vigorous fermentation I'd expect, there's some froth on the top but not loads. Guess I'll leave it another day and then whack in some more yeast if it's not going well.

Used the yeast that was in the kit as I'd hoped it was decent stuff given it's a premium kit and there was a decent sized sachet of it. I hydrated it as I usually do and normally wait until it's gone a bit frothy in the water before pitching it. Seemed to take a bit longer to reach that stage this time (20 mins+) so maybe it wasn't so good

Really need to sort out a brew fridge, at least then the temperature variable is no longer an issue.

Slid · Jan 7, 2016

Ambient temperatures are very low at the moment, Graz, but it is very unlikely to be detrimental to your beer in the end, given that it is clearly fermenting.

Patience is the unadded ingredient to every brew, especially if you are making up a kit!

As you say, a brew fridge would be great, as temperature is a very important element in successful brewing. So, good luck with sorting that out!

Graz · Jan 8, 2016

It's was looking a bit more lively yesterday evening so should be okay. I turned the TRV on the radiator in the utility up a notch so that should help.

Brew fridge is very high on the list of things to do especially as I have an old fridge already that's been sat in the garage for years unused. Never thought of using it for such a purpose until I joined on here. As soon as I saw a thread about making one and realised how easy it is (I'm an electronics engineer) I immediately decided that's what it should be used for. Only thing that is stopping me is that I need to rearrange my garage a bit so that I can create a platform for it to sit on. That way I should be able to syphon a completed brew straight from the FV in the fridge so as not to disturb it. Need a length of kitchen worktop + a couple of legs. Space underneath then for another fridge for serving the beer from

Graz · Jan 19, 2016

So this bubbled away nicely after the initial concerns about it getting going. Last Thursday I added the hop pellets, just sprinkling on the top as instructed, and intended to rack this tonight. The pellets have broken up but all the hop matter has just stayed on the surface forming a hoppy crust :)

The last one of these Festival kits I did it didn't do that, the hops dispersed into the wort and eventually settled out on the bottom.

Probably a silly question but should I give it a gentle stir to get the hops to disperse / drop to the bottom? I try not to leave any ale kits in the fermenter for more than a couple of weeks, I take it there is no major concern about leaving it another day or two?

Graz · Jan 21, 2016

Gave it a stir to get the hops to disperse, had a look this morning and its all floated back up to the top again :lol:

Oh well it's going in the pressure barrel this weekend regardless. Hopefully the little stainer bag they supply to go over the end of the syphon will keep most of it from going into the barrel.

Graz · Feb 12, 2016

Had the first couple of pints of this last night. The barrel had pressurised nicely so a decent head and it's lush, quite malty but the dry hops really come through as well without being too overpowering and I'd left them in for longer than I'd intended. I'm sure it will improve further with age, if it gets a chance, but it's started out well.

Project for this weekend is to finish my brew fridge build and get my next kit under way. Not good having pressure barrels laying around empty.

Another New Year Brew

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Another New Year Brew

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