Leemond Brewery Brewdays

[Leemond]

Hi all,

As you may have read in my original introduction post I am back on here after quite a lengthy absence. During this time I also didn't get to brew any beer but thankfully I have the time and resources available to me again so today is my first brew day in over 12 months...

Despite re-researching some parts of the process (to fill gaps in my memory) I have made what I have since read to be an error in squeezing my grain at the end of the sparge. (I also think I sparged a bit too quickly but my current setup isn't really optimal for maintaining the liquor temperature for this job). I probably extracted 1-2 litres of additional liquor by squeezing the grain. Will this have a significant impact on the drinkability of the beer? At this point as long as it's drinkable I will be happy!

Just before the boil the amount of foam was much, much higher than I have ever experienced before. Does this seem ok (see attachment)?

I will post my recipe up shortly but it's my go at a fruity IPA. Fingers crossed!

Cheers,

Lee

 

[Drunkula]

What did you read about squeezing the bag? It's not a problem and the tannin thing has been debunked. Lots of commercial breweries use a process that's like squeezing the bejaysus out of the grain at the end until it's like chipboad.

 

[Leemond]

A couple of places online... tannin issues were mentioned as was haziness of the beer (which doesn't bother me as long as the taste is right). Great news then, cheers. The brew is currently cooling in my outside fridge as my immersion chiller wasn't doing too much on such a nice day!

As said I decided to go for an IPA style beer with somewhat experimental hops. I probably should try and perfect the craft with some more simple recipes first but gave in to the little voice in my head that wanted something fruity and hoppy! I'm also still a novice when it comes to recipe building so definitely welcome (constructive) criticism!

Colour: 11.6 EBC
IBU: 47.58
OG: 1.065 (Recipe suggested 1.068)
FG: TBC (Recipe suggests 1.017)
Estimate ABV: 6.68%

16.25l Morrisons Yorkshire Vale Water (Mash - 90 minutes at 63C)

6kg Golden Promise Malt
0.5kg Hook Head Pale Malt

15l Morrisons Yorkshire Vale Water (Sparge - 77C Approx)

26g Galena - 60 Minutes
10g Huell Melon - 15 Minutes
10g Belma - 15 Minutes

11g Huell Melon - 10 Minutes
11g Belma - 10 Minutes
16g Huell Melon - 5 Minutes
15g Belma - 5 Minutes
20g Huell Melon - Flameout
20g Belma - Flameout

11.5g Sachet Safale US-05 Yeast at 22C

I am considering splitting the batch following fermentation and dry hopping some with different hops to see how different the final taste is. Assume demijohns are okay for this?
​

 

[foxbat]

That crud on the top can be skimmed off if you get bored and need something to do during the boil. I never used to skim it off but have started doing so recently just to reduce the amount of trub in the bottom of the fermenter come kegging day.

 

[Drunkula]

I am considering splitting the batch following fermentation and dry hopping some with different hops to see how different the final taste is. Assume demijohns are okay for this?

Yep, I do that all the time, or at bottling take off 5 litres at a time and try different hop teas.

 

[Leemond]

Thanks all for the replies. The brew sat in my fridge for around 9 hours before it cooled to pitching temperature. Checked on it this morning and there is an odd bubble coming from the airlock, albeit with quite a long gap in between. Thankfully its current temperature is just within an acceptable range for the yeast I am using! I am off to India for a week tomorrow so leaving the Mrs in charge of keeping an eye on it for me.

 

[Leemond]

So, I have returned from a week away to find the airlock has a cm or so less liquid (VWP/Water solution) in than when I left. The Mrs said she moved the bucket round slightly one day but that was about it. Is it more likely to have been sucked back into the beer or evaporated do we think? It was (at the start of the week at least) quite warm for a couple of days...

 

[Slid]

If the airlock is a 2 piece top hat sort of bubbler, it is most likely the liquid got kicked out by the fermentation gases. If it is the one piece series of little spheres type, it is more likely it got sucked in.

Either way, the processes are not reversible and you are, where you are.

Lifting the FV is what gives you suck back - dragging it around is much less volatile.

 

[Leemond]

It's the two piece type, so fingers crossed it's escaped out the top. Cheers Slid :thumba:

I think fermentation has finished so will be taking a gravity reading shortly. Just trying to work out the best way to take a sample

 

[Leemond]

So it's been two weeks since brewday and there doesn't seem to have been any activity in the airlock for sometime so I took the plunge and took a sample. Unfortunately the wine thief I ordered on amazon was damaged when it arrived to the impatience in me led to me sterilising a ladle instead (a technique I have read others use). To my surprise the gravity is 1.006 which, assuming my reading have all been correct, has given me a beer at 7.74% !!! My original gravity was only off (the recipe) by 0.003 so does it sound like something has gone wrong? It's meant to be an IPA so I am not too bothered and I did take a cheeky sip and it tastes good enough!