Dave Line's Greene King Harvest Sweet Brown Ale (or is it?)

[Chris_1984]

Having ordered my grains from Worcester Hop Shop (and very good they are) I decided to make a mini-mash and try out one of Dave Line's receipes from his "Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy" (good little book for referencing I may add)

It had been a while since I made a beer on top of the stove. I also wanted to try out my HUGE stockpot I got off ebay as well.
With my other equipment otherwise engaged, i decided to go the route of the demi-john.

As good as Dave Line's book is for reference, the receipe quantities need a bit of re-jigging (anyone used saccharine tablets?)
Thanks to Beer Calculus, I tweaked the recipe thus:

1lb Bairds pale malt
15oz Holland & Barrett malt extract
3oz black malt
2oz crystal malt
1tbsp Challenger - 10 minute boil
1tbsp WGV - 5 minute boil

photos to follow...

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Looks like a lot of messing around mashing 1lb of malt..

 

[Chris_1984]

Sorry - should have said it's a 2 gallon receipe!

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

1tbsp Challenger - 10 minute boil :wha:
1tbsp WGV - 5 minute boil :wha:

It doesn't look good to me.... :hmm:

 

[Chris_1984]

I know but Beer Calculus hasn't let me down in the past. Soon as the wort gets to 93 degrees the first lot went in for 10 minutes followed by the WGV. i didn't factor in the faffing around transferring from pot to demijohn though...

 

[Chris_1984]

Photos as promised.

1. All ready to go here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79088431@N07/7874613808/in/photostream


2. Bringing it to the boil

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79088431@N07/7874609756/in/photostream/


3. The hops used

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79088431@N07/7874605556/in/photostream/


4. 2 gallons' worth (before fitting airlocks)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79088431@N07/7874601044/in/photostream/

 

[Chris_1984]

Two demijohns bubbling away now; here's a photo of them...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79088431@N07/7886741182/in/photostream

 

[Chris_1984]

5 days after the initial brew, fermentation has stopped so transferred both to the 2nd round of demi-johns; I used Wilkos Gervin Ale yeast which had left a nice big yeasty sludge cake at the bottom.
Apologies to any purists - Dave Line's receipe calls for Fuggles & Northern Brewer hops which i don't have; I also can't resist a bit of dry-hopping hence I added a rounded tablespoon of Chinook to each demi-john. HOWEVER, there was a nice subtle smell of hops prior to me & my incessant fiddling with receipes. Anyways, here's a photo of the two jars...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79088431@N07/7900870896/in/photostream


Another 7 days then it'll be time to bottle!