Folkpunk's Brewdays 2021

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folkpunk

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Bought myself a Brewzilla and took the plunge into AG. First time using was a fortnight ago where I did the Totally Tropical recipe from James Morton. So slightly delayed report here.

9th January 2021


Used Safale US-05 Yeast and re-hydrated (2 packs) whilst preparing.

Put Brewzilla together and cleaned through. Then put 33 Litres in and batch treated water. I then drained off 13L into Sparge pot. I put this on the hob and heated up to around 80C so it would cool slowly.

Meanwhile heated Brewzilla to about 69C then Mash in and hold at 65 for 75 mins. I used all the screens including the second bottom screen on the mash pipe and the top screen to hold the grain down.

I used the re-circulation pump during Mash and just made sure the flow didn’t go too far above grain. Flow seemed reasonable so left it about half speed.

Mash out – then up to 75C and sparged to 28L

75 min boil added hops at 15, 10 & 5. Protofloc at 10.

Cooled down for 75C steep but overshot, the chiller with a whirlpool arm was very fast. So brought back up to 75 and steeped for 30 mins. :laugh8:

Cooled to 18C put on the whirlpool before transferring to FV and pitching yeast.

OG was 1.044 – a bit under projections. About 22L.

Fermentation went like a train.

I racked after 10 days- settled at 1.005 so actually ended up about 5% and it smelt like Lilt! Dry hopped for three days. – seemed to kill the lilt smell but smells like a good citrus IPA.

Lost a fair amount to trub but managed about 20L with careful tilting on the FV.

So lessons learned, be careful cooling to steep, it drops very quickly. OG was lower than expected, not sure if this was bad in the end as the yeast took FG right down. Dry hopping, I think I need to think about a hop bag, maybe easier to manage.

Fairly happy with Brewzilla – overall really enjoyed the day and can’t wait to try the first brew.
 
23 January

Dukla Pilsner (my own recipe)

Second go with the Brewzilla – this time why not go crazy and attempt a double decoction mash!

I love Czech pilsner, especially fresh out the tank. After reading about the process it seemed decoction mash was worth a try.

This time I had cleaned the system the night before so was ready to go. Added 32L treated and drained to 22L.

Grain bill was 4.5Kg Floor Malted Bohemian plus 250g Acidulated Malt.

Heated to 50C and mashed in. This time left the top screen off. Held for 10 mins once settled. I used an independent thermometer in the grain and it seemed quite low so upped the Brewzilla until it was reading 50C.

Then pulled about 2KG grain/mash and took off to the hob and raised slowly to 69C.

Held for 10 mins before raising the temp and boiling for 15 mins.

Added back to the mash and it seemed hard to get it up to the next step – about 63C. After 20 mins pulled another 2Kg to the hob.

Brought up to 69C again for 10 mins and boiled for 15 mins. Then back in the mash.

Brought Brewzilla up to 72C for 20 mins. Again Brewzilla seemed out from the independent thermometer. Also the recirculation seemed to keep sticking so had to stir the mash to allow the flow. Finally Mash out and needed all Sparge water to bring up to 26L

Boiled 90 mins with hop additions at 90 and 15 (using Sladek and Saaz) Protofloc at 10 mins

Cooled down to 76 (Didn’t overshoot this time) Steep for 30 mins.

Cooled down to 15C Whirlpool for 20 mins and left to sit for 30 mins before transfer to FV.

OG was 1.058 so a lot stronger than anticipated. However only got 20.5L into FV – next time I’ll keep some spring water handy to water down - I'll try it out this time athumb..

FV into fridge and pitched about 11C.
 
Bought myself a Brewzilla and took the plunge into AG. First time using was a fortnight ago where I did the Totally Tropical recipe from James Morton. So slightly delayed report here.

9th January 2021

Used Safale US-05 Yeast and re-hydrated (2 packs) whilst preparing.

Put Brewzilla together and cleaned through. Then put 33 Litres in and batch treated water. I then drained off 13L into Sparge pot. I put this on the hob and heated up to around 80C so it would cool slowly.

Meanwhile heated Brewzilla to about 69C then Mash in and hold at 65 for 75 mins. I used all the screens including the second bottom screen on the mash pipe and the top screen to hold the grain down.

I used the re-circulation pump during Mash and just made sure the flow didn’t go too far above grain. Flow seemed reasonable so left it about half speed.

Mash out – then up to 75C and sparged to 28L

75 min boil added hops at 15, 10 & 5. Protofloc at 10.

Cooled down for 75C steep but overshot, the chiller with a whirlpool arm was very fast. So brought back up to 75 and steeped for 30 mins. :laugh8:

Cooled to 18C put on the whirlpool before transferring to FV and pitching yeast.

OG was 1.044 – a bit under projections. About 22L.

Fermentation went like a train.

I racked after 10 days- settled at 1.005 so actually ended up about 5% and it smelt like Lilt! Dry hopped for three days. – seemed to kill the lilt smell but smells like a good citrus IPA.

Lost a fair amount to trub but managed about 20L with careful tilting on the FV.

So lessons learned, be careful cooling to steep, it drops very quickly. OG was lower than expected, not sure if this was bad in the end as the yeast took FG right down. Dry hopping, I think I need to think about a hop bag, maybe easier to manage.

Fairly happy with Brewzilla – overall really enjoyed the day and can’t wait to try the first brew.

I brewed this recently, but with Wy1056. It was seriously good, I think I totalled the batch in under a month.
 
Bought myself a Brewzilla and took the plunge into AG. First time using was a fortnight ago where I did the Totally Tropical recipe from James Morton. So slightly delayed report here.

9th January 2021

This has turned out superb, a really fruity IPA which tastes as good as any commercial brew. Really pleased with the brewzilla and all grain. I really enjoy the brewday although I need to try and get the time down a bit.
 
23 January

Dukla Pilsner (my own recipe)

Second go with the Brewzilla – this time why not go crazy and attempt a double decoction mash!

I love Czech pilsner, especially fresh out the tank. After reading about the process it seemed decoction mash was worth a try.

This is now bottled/kegged and waiting for carbonating/conditioning. Had a cheeky taste when dispensing and tastes promising.
 
1 March

Slight delay in producing this write-up. Third brew in the Brewzilla. (I've been waiting for the fermentation fridge as previous batch was lager).

Lost Evenings (Own recipe)

I thought I would have a stab at something similar to a Camden off-menu. However it has turned out a lot darker than anticipated. Not sure I understood the projected SRM scale. Basically it's a pilsner/pale cross malt bill with aromatic, wheat and caramunich.

Hops are just Simcoe.

90 minute mash with recirculation pump on, had to slow it down a few times as it was overflowing. Sparge took a long time - eventually boiled for 90 minutes with hop additions at 90, 10 and 5. Then steeped, chilled and whirlpooled. Used US-05 and it's bubbling away nicely. I've bought a dry hop tube so will experiment with this. OG 1.052
 
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