Have a go at simple AG

[clibit]

Just bottled this. It is quite dark in colour, but tastes lovely. Fresh and sweet, not too heavy. Nectar. :mrgreen: Very pleased with it. Now the wait for it to prime and be ready to guzzle. Many thanks

Great to hear it seems to be developing well. :thumb:

 

[Wicks]

Just a quick update on my first steps into brewing. I got the batch out of the Fermenter and into another bucket just before bottling, due to there being only 5 litres in the Fermenter it would have been tricky bottling it straight from the fermenter without sucking up all the trub into the siphon. Very pleased with the bottling stick I bought as well, useful bit of kit.

The batch turned out at OG 1044 and FG 1008. I make that about 4.72% ABV.
Very cloudy at the moment in the bottles, but from what I read I'm not that bothered as long as it tastes good. Got (9x) 500ml bottle and one 330ml out of the batch.

------

Also I've made a 2nd batch this time a Brown Porter, I adapted the recipe from the Greg Hughes book.

Went for a 10l batch this time

1952g Maris Otter
170g Crystal Malt
97g Chocolate Malt
146g Brown Malt
First Gold Hops 18g
One packet of yeast, 5.25g dried yeast is enough.

14 litres of water to start. Lost a bit more liquid on the boil than I expected and turned out with an OG of 1056, quite a bit higher than the recipe. All that boiling took it's toll on the wooden worktop next to the hob, I was wondering where that "sauna like" dry wood smell was coming from! I got a really cheap large stockpot off of ebay, I think that was part of the issue.

I guess I could have topped up the wort with some extra water to lower the OG but I'd already had it going in the fermenter a few days when I realised this. Batch came out at about 9l into the fermenter. Smells great, I can't wait to try this.

 

[clibit]

That porter recipe is brilliant, excellent beer ahead for you there. It's based on Fuller's London Porter.

You can add some water at bottling time if you like.

The cloudy bottles should clear. Maybe you got some sediment in there? Which will settle out after the priming sugars have been fermented. Pour carefully.

 

[Bevvied]

3rd FV purchased - check
3 gallon stove top pot from army surplus store - check
2KG Maris Otter - check
Cascade hops - check
Wilkos beer yeast (it'll have to do) - check
The missus gone out so I can turn the kitchen into a warzone - check

There's no turning back now. I have to admit, the dog even looks a bit scared, but, I'm going in.

 

[Spapro]

Clibit has claimed another soul !

Enjoy your brewday Bevvied, post some pics up so we can see the scene of devestation :-D

 

[Vallyred]

Ha ha ha!
The amount of people here who are creating very decent brews is surely a sign that homebrew is booming and adding to the beer revolution happening at the moment.
With all the talk of the current boom in 'craft' brewing in the UK I wonder if any changes will be made to the legalities of homebrewing?

 

[Bevvied]

Disaster #1.
The grain bag is mashing away Ok no problem.
But.
I bought the worlds biggest sieve from a catering suppliers to drain it/sparge it later.
Just realised I have nothing big enough to sterilize it in.
Nipping to Wilkos to get a huge plastic storage box thing.
'I'll need it for sterilizing bottles dear, honest, it's best to be safe'

 

[Vallyred]

Disaster #1.
The grain bag is mashing away Ok no problem.
But.
I bought the worlds biggest sieve from a catering suppliers to drain it/sparge it later.
Just realised I have nothing big enough to sterilize it in.
Nipping to Wilkos to get a huge plastic storage box thing.
'I'll need it for sterilizing bottles dear, honest, it's best to be safe'

Is it metal? Can you not put it in oven?

 

[MyQul]

Disaster #1.
The grain bag is mashing away Ok no problem.
But.
I bought the worlds biggest sieve from a catering suppliers to drain it/sparge it later.
Just realised I have nothing big enough to sterilize it in.
Nipping to Wilkos to get a huge plastic storage box thing.
'I'll need it for sterilizing bottles dear, honest, it's best to be safe'

You don't need to sterilize it cuz you boil the wort after you've drained the mash bag of wort

 

[Bevvied]

You don't need to sterilize it cuz you boil the wort after you've drained the mash bag of wort

LOL
Of course.
Oh well. luckily Wilkos only literally 3 minutes away and I now possess an empty tub for empty bottles.
This is turning into an episode of Some Mothers Do Have 'Em.

On a plus note, mash kept its temp perfectly. I wrapped it in a sleeping bag and have the oven below the hob turned on v. low.

 

[MyQul]

LOL
Of course.
Oh well. luckily Wilkos only literally 3 minutes away and I now possess an empty tub for empty bottles.
This is turning into an episode of Some Mothers Do Have 'Em.

On a plus note, mash kept its temp perfectly. I wrapped it in a sleeping bag and have the oven below the hob turned on v. low.

If it's only three mins away and you don't need the tub I'd just take it back again

 

[clibit]

You might use the sieve later when you pour the beer into the FV after cooling, to strain the hops out, and it will need to be sterilised then.

 

[thechan]

Mash, bang, wallop, I gave brewing a 5 litre batch of all grain ale a go last bank holiday Monday.

I went with the simplest recipe as recommended, 1kg of Maris Otter malt, and some Fuggles Hops.

Process:
1) 1kg Maris Otter in 4L of strike water heated to 69 degrees. Gave it a good stir (put the grain in a bag).

2) Brought the pot into my living room and covered it with 3 duvets for an hour. Over the hour the temperature dropped to 62 degrees.

3) Heated 4L of sparge water to around 77 degrees (near end of mashing period)

4) Poured off the mash water (?) into the sterilised container. Added the sparge water to the pot with the grain and stirred for a bit. Left for 10 minutes.

5) Removed the grain, and returned the mash water to the pot.

6) Boiled for 60 minutes on hob (total of 8L). Added 5g of Fuggles hop pellets at start of the boil, and 10g for the last 5 mins. Over the 60 minutes the volume reduced to a bit less than 5L. SG was 1.041.

7) Cooled in the sink, which was filled with ice water. Took longer than expected, need a lot of ice.

8) Transferred to fermenter and added 3g of Safale-04.

9) Left for 10 days

10) Bottled last night. Got x6 Grolsch bottles, x2 500ml bottles and x2 330ml bottles. Tasted quite nice, and didn't have that twang that the beer kits do! FG was 1.006 so around 4.6%. Batch primed with 30g of cane sugar.

Great experience, I'll definitely be trying another batch in the near future!

 

[Spapro]

To Bevvied: Could've bought a large spare FV, handy for sterilising kit in on brew day and for brewing (obviously).

To The Chan: Nice piccies, you won't look back once you have tasted it !

 

[Bevvied]

Update.
Boiling away nicely.
Disaster #2 averted.
Pot quite not big enough for a 10L as it is, so fitted a splash guard around top of pot using 70,000 Metres of tin foil. Obviously not watertight but I have been able to double up the original recipe.
Quick replies then onto it in earnest.
I'll keep the tub, was only 8 quid and is massive with a lid, perfect for the cellar, will keep all brewing stuff in easily, or as that is where we get bevvied up, is perfect for empty bottles. It won't go to waste.
Shouldn't need the sieve again barring a disaster. Hops are in muslin bags.
Sieve is too big to fit into a FV.
What's that saying? Prior Preparation Prevents Pi......Performance...
Haha
Loving it though.
Next time gonna film it for youtube, or take photos. I'm making a pigs ear at the moment without any distractions!
Will defo take some pics when we get around to giving it a damn fine spanking.

 

[clibit]

Entertaining updates, thanks!

Another use for the new tub - get an aquarium heater and use it to keep the FV at a constant temperature. FV in the tub, water in the tub, aquarium heater in and set to 20C.

 

[SiWHU]

Clibit has claimed another soul !

Enjoy your brewday Bevvied, post some pics up so we can see the scene of devestation :-D

The next visitor looking for a kit in their local HBS..?

 

[Vallyred]

You might use the sieve later when you pour the beer into the FV after cooling, to strain the hops out, and it will need to be sterilised then.

That's what I thought he meant...

 

[Bevvied]

Right then.
Sorted.
In FV, yeast pitched.
Somehow managed to keep timings spot on. Temps spot on and came out with a smidge over 10 litres.
Smells like beer, looks like beer, gravity 1048, everything was sanitized to the max, so should be OK.
The kitchen looks like the PG Chimps have had a field day, but I'm living proof that any halfwit can knock this brew up without a seconds planning.
Does anyone think I need to dry hop this? Anything that might compliment the Cascade hops? I'm fond of IPA if that helps. I've obviously still got time to order a different hop if need be.
Thanks.

 

[clibit]

Dry hops are not essential by any means. But you could use some more cascade if you fancy it.

You're obviously not a halfwit, but yes, anyone can do it! :thumb: