Hamstead homebrew Cornish ale

[dowden87]

Just a quick update on the hamstead homebrew Cornish ale. I brewed it before we had this hot weather, I tried fermenting without heat. It stopped fermenting at 1.016 and stayed there for a few days, so I bottled some and kegged some. I poured some from the pressure barrel yesterday and I was really surprised by it. I know it's not to everyone's cup of tea but it reminds me a bit of John Smith's. Really enjoyable fairplay. I think the abv ended up about 3.7-3.8%

 

[soupdragon]

On the subject of "not everyone's cup of tea", I used to be ribbed frequently by some of my drinking buddies because I quite liked Tetley's bitter. Hand pulled mind you.
Have you got any of the Cardinals ale left by the way?

Cheers Tom

 

[dowden87]

Haha I like Tetley's too! I've got two litre bottles left then it's all gone. I tell you what any more than 3 pints of cardinals ale and I'm proper tipsy

 

[soupdragon]

So what's next up in the fermenter? The bow wow or one of the lagers. Don't know if it's just me but kit lager doesn't really seem to taste like the refreshing lager I'd be expecting. Having said that, it's a good few years since I've brewed a lager, kit or grain

Cheers Tom

 

[dowden87]

Its the pilgrims reward ipa in the fermenter at the moment. It's only been doing two days and it's down on 1.015.
I know what you mean, I try and leave them as long as I can if brewing a lager to try and get the clean crisp taste and serve ice cold

So what's next up in the fermenter? The bow wow or one of the lagers. Don't know if it's just me but kit lager doesn't really seem to taste like the refreshing lager I'd be expecting. Having said that, it's a good few years since I've brewed a lager, kit or grain

Cheers Tom

 

[soupdragon]

I nearly asked if you had the heat on your fermenter. In this weather though, I think not.
Last time I brewed when the temperature was this high it didn't turn out very well. That prompted me to get my fastferment sleeping bag thing. A couple of frozen 2 litre bottles of water inside and it drops the temp by a good 5⁰c

Cheers Tom

 

[dowden87]

I nearly asked if you had the heat on your fermenter. In this weather though, I think not.
Last time I brewed when the temperature was this high it didn't turn out very well. That prompted me to get my fastferment sleeping bag thing. A couple of frozen 2 litre bottles of water inside and it drops the temp by a good 5⁰c

Cheers Tom

No heat, I've been keeping an eye on it with my ispindle and the temperature was 23 degrees it's now dropped to 22 degrees so it will be ok :-)
With the pilgrims reward ipa the instructions said to add the hops to 250ml boiling water dissolve malt extract and spray malt in fermenter then add the hops to the brew at the start. I just poured a bit off to check the gravity compared to my ispindle reading and it was on 1.018.
I had a taste (I know it's only been brewing a few days ) but the hops wow it's a massive extreme overpowering taste of earthy wood. I know the taste will change when fully brewed. Il keep you updated

 

[soupdragon]

No heat, I've been keeping an eye on it with my ispindle and the temperature was 23 degrees it's now dropped to 22 degrees so it will be ok :-)
With the pilgrims reward ipa the instructions said to add the hops to 250ml boiling water dissolve malt extract and spray malt in fermenter then add the hops to the brew at the start. I just poured a bit off to check the gravity compared to my ispindle reading and it was on 1.018.
I had a taste (I know it's only been brewing a few days ) but the hops wow it's a massive extreme overpowering taste of earthy wood. I know the taste will change when fully brewed. Il keep you updated

Out of curiosity, what weight of hops were included?

Cheers Tom

 

[dowden87]

Out of curiosity, what weight of hops were included?

Cheers Tom

I didnt weight them but at a guess about 30-40g not loads

 

[soupdragon]

Should be enough to make a difference

Cheers Tom

 

[martin.warner]

I would appreciate a score rating on English bitter style beer kits, that make up a strong 5% drink. Give some suggestions folks. Peace be unto you.

 

[dowden87]

Few pints of the Cornish ale yesterday, poured from my Pinter and despite being under 4% it certainly didn't feel like it. I knew I had them

 

[dowden87]

No heat, I've been keeping an eye on it with my ispindle and the temperature was 23 degrees it's now dropped to 22 degrees so it will be ok :-)
With the pilgrims reward ipa the instructions said to add the hops to 250ml boiling water dissolve malt extract and spray malt in fermenter then add the hops to the brew at the start. I just poured a bit off to check the gravity compared to my ispindle reading and it was on 1.018.
I had a taste (I know it's only been brewing a few days ) but the hops wow it's a massive extreme overpowering taste of earthy wood. I know the taste will change when fully brewed. Il keep you updated

I bottled the pilgrims reward ipa yesterday. It had only been brewing for 5 days but it was steady on 1.010. I bottled the abott ale clone after six days and that ended up great. The hops mellowed a bit and you can deffinately taste the lemon and grapefruit notes. It's already starting to clear today in the bottles, it's a lovely golden colour :-)

 

[soupdragon]

I'm going to need to crack on with the stock I've got. My thumb keeps hovering over the buy button of the basket with a few of their wares in

Cheers Tom

 

[dowden87]

I'm going to need to crack on with the stock I've got. My thumb keeps hovering over the buy button of the basket with a few of their wares in

Cheers Tom

Haha I know the feeling! To be honest I was a bit dubious about their kits before I bought the cardinals ale. I've always been one of the ones that brew for two weeks minimum condition for two weeks minimum. With most of the hamstead homebrew kits you throw everything in at the start. Which I was worried about and thought it wouldn't work. Or it would effect the taste of the brew. With the cardinals ale I bottled after six days as it was done. The only thing I noticed is, I got a bit more sediment in the bottle but as long as I put them in the fridge for a few days before I drink them it's not an issue and it pours no problem without any sediment. Same with the pilgrims rewards everything in at the start and it finished within five days. Lovely flavour when botling too. I'm not sure how the flavours would be If you brewed it at a lower temperature for 14 days. Might get some grassy flavours from the hops ? Possibly. But it works for me with those kits so I'm going to stick to it. :-)

 

[soupdragon]

Mmmmmmmm. It was a tasty pint. No comments from Greene King haters please

Cheers Tom

 

[starseeker]

I don't mind a decent pint of Abbot when i see it on

 

[dowden87]

It was a lovely brew the cardinals ale fairplay. Definitely abott like.