Have a go at simple AG

[MyQul]

Hey MyQul,

Wondering where in Brixton you buy your malt, hops etc? And what are the prices like?

Thanks!

http://londonbeerlab.com/home-brew-supplies/

As for prices I'm not sure. I know there very competative. I just give em a list of what I want, they make up my order, tell me the price and I give them the money without actually asking how much each individual thing is :lol: The way I think of it it's going to be cheaper then ordering of the internet because no P&P cost. I've also started getting stuff from Ubrew because it's a little closer to me but they don't have what they have in stock on their website.

Karl a beerlab did ocne give the the price of marris otter though. I think it was £1.55/Kg

 

[thechan]

Great thanks! Yes buying in small batches isn't very cost effective when you add postage and packaging, so this will be useful! No waiting for delivery either.

 

[davejhs]

Well i did my first all grain today.
Quite easy realy,wish i had attempted this before.
Mashed grains in a bag contained in a low wide FV.
Then rinsed as per CLIBITS instructions by dunking bag of grains in more hot water.
Boiled,added hops and strained.
Cooling was a problem today as weather hot,but got it down to 22 by cooling wart in FV In tub of ice and water.
Have added yeast now hoping for some action by sunday.
Ended up with 13 litres so topped up with cooled water to 14 with a SG of .045.
All in all a good experiance that i am keen to repeat.

 

[clibit]

What did you make Dave?

 

[davejhs]

My recipe.
200 gms amber
20 gms black
2780 marris
20 gms progress at start and 30 gms challenger at end of boil.
Safale s04
Came out at about 13 litres and topped up to 14 with cold water to get temp down.
No idear why just chose these at random after some searching on the net.
Wort quite bitter and dark but tasty.
I was surprised with the sweetness from the grains after mashing.
As the malt when dry is quite plain and dusty.
Cant waite to try when bottled.
May get another brew on next week.

 

[clibit]

Progress and Challenger are a really good English hop combination. Glad you enjoyed the process, I'm sure you will enjoy the beer too!

 

[davejhs]

Its fermenting ok this morning.
Airlock is continually bubbling.
The yeast in FV is going up and down like a lava lamp.
Is this normal for the yeast to do that?

 

[clibit]

Yes it often does that during the busy fermentation period!

 

[davemorton]

Well after pitching my yeast at 2am, Saturday morning, I was worried when there was still no activity by saturday night, but checked this morning, and it looks like it is starting to awaken.

 

[davejhs]

Have just made my first AG Brew at the weekend and its fermenting ok and tastes nice. So hoping when bottled it will be great. Ive got hooked and want to make more AG Brews.
Does the same rules apply for all malts.mash at 66 for a hour and soak for ten mins as per CLIBITS Instructions.
As i would like to try a lighter lager style beer.
Thanks.

 

[clibit]

Ten minutes? Did I say that?

You can mash from 64 to 69C, I usually mash in the middle at 66/67.

Lagers are fermented at low temperatures, around 12C, do you have a way to hold a steady temperature like that?

 

[davejhs]

Thanks for the reply.
The 10 minute part was heat 4 litres to 80 put grains back in for ten minutes.
Could a light lager type beer be fermented at a higher temp.
Or would my FV In a tub of water keep temp down.

 

[clibit]

Thanks for the reply.
The 10 minute part was heat 4 litres to 80 put grains back in for ten minutes.
Could a light lager type beer be fermented at a higher temp.
Or would my FV In a tub of water keep temp down.

Ah get ya.

You couldn't make a true lager, water won't stay cool enough. The best option will be to use a clean ale yeast and ferment as cool as possible. People use US05 and Nottingham yeast to do this. If you can get it down to 16-18C it will produce a lager like beer.

Some people find places cool and stable enough temperature wise in the winter to ferment a lager. A cellar, attached garage maybe, or an unheated room.

 

[davejhs]

So I can use a lager malt, hops and USO5 Yeast to brew the nearest thing to a lager.
But better in winter when you can ferment at lower temps.

 

[clibit]

So I can use a lager malt, hops and USO5 Yeast to brew the nearest thing to a lager.
But better in winter when you can ferment at lower temps.

Yes, correct.

 

[Wicks]

Thanks for the recipe/instructions clibit.

Had a go at his last week for my first ever brew. Watched my Dad brewing up the Christmas Beer (always AG) a few times in the past and thought it was about time I gave it a go myself. Your post inspired me as I had some previous mis-conception that I had to brew 40 pints with lots of equipment! Hoping I can experiment more and do a few 5l or 10l batches so I can keep experimenting.

I few things I noted for myself, might help others.

Left the lid on while boiling the wort, I read now that lid off would have been better. It only lost 1l during the boil and that did surprise me at the time.

Took me ages, I enjoyed the process but all in all was around 5 hours. Went to bed around 1am.
Cooling was the main thing that caught me off guard, took around 1hr 30min using tap water, the warmer weather last week didn't help either. Next time I'll prepare a lot of ice for the sink and try and cut this time down.

Got a good OG 1044 reading on the wort before the boil.

By the time it got to pitching the dry yeast (Danstar Nottingham) I was getting tired, looked at the picture on the back of the packet and put about 3g in a small cup of 30c water and then gave it a mighty stir left it for 15mins then pitched, looking on the website the next day should really have left it sprinkled on the top for 15mins then stirred. Hopefully I didn't kill too many!

Ambient room temperature following 2 days was about 26c so the FV made lots of trips between the iced sink and the iced bath to get it down to 20. Might watch with weather a bit closer next time before I start a brew.

Looks like it's going OK, I only had a peek after about 3 days and saw a slightly crusty bits floating on the top. Smelt beery. Gonna wait a couple of weeks now and take another gravity reading.

The waiting is excruciating, I just want to start another brew. If this goes OK I can see myself getting another FV. I've already bought a bigger stove pot.

 

[clibit]

Hi Wicks. Re-hydrating the yeast won't have done any harm, a lot of people re-hydrate all dry yeasts.

I can get to the end of the boil now in about 2 and a half hours. The cooling can take time - I cool in the sink to 40, which doesn't take long, 20 mins or so, then transfer to FV and put the lid on, and wait for it to cool to 20. You can leave it overnight if its late, and pitch in the morning.

Interested to hear how the beer turns out, what grains and hops did you use?

 

[BeerCat]

That recipe looks good. Lots of ways to tinker. Use different crystal malts, like dark crystal or crystal rye, or replace some of the roast barley with black malt, or add some chocolate malt. A different yeast would change it too, and different hops. Try an American hop like Centennial or Cluster, or an English hop like Bramling Cross or Northdown.

Cheers Clibit, only just see this . Very encouraged by some of my recent beers and i finally got some different yeasts to try out and chems for water treatment and some rye.
The pale ale i did with Saaz came out really nice, in fact i did a few of them. Will def be trying more as soon as its stops raining.
Picked up more demijohns on gumtree for £3 each. Worth a look for anyone needing more.
Have knocked up a few gallons of mead recently and am wondering how i can make a honey beer?
Was thinking of a1kg pale malt, 10g saaz, 200g of honey and maybe add the other 140g from the jar for secondary.
Maybe that's too much though. I don't have a sweet tooth but i don't like it too dry.

 

[Spapro]

The waiting is excruciating, I just want to start another brew. If this goes OK I can see myself getting another FV. I've already bought a bigger stove pot.

Nice post, made me smile, sure your beer will turn out great. Enjoy the journey from here, and the constant yearning for better, usually bigger, kit

 

[clibit]

Cheers Clibit, only just see this . Very encouraged by some of my recent beers and i finally got some different yeasts to try out and chems for water treatment and some rye.
The pale ale i did with Saaz came out really nice, in fact i did a few of them. Will def be trying more as soon as its stops raining.
Picked up more demijohns on gumtree for £3 each. Worth a look for anyone needing more.
Have knocked up a few gallons of mead recently and am wondering how i can make a honey beer?
Was thinking of a1kg pale malt, 10g saaz, 200g of honey and maybe add the other 140g from the jar for secondary.
Maybe that's too much though. I don't have a sweet tooth but i don't like it too dry.

Try it with the 200g, maybe not the extra 140g, and prime with sugar. I've not used honey, but that sounds reasonable.