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Thought I’d keep all my brewdays on one thread from now on

Purchased a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone from The Malt Miller. First brew using my SS Brewbucket, thought I’d chuck a kit onto the order too. Service from TMM was excellent

Brewed this on 23rd Jan.

5.45kg lager malt
450g pale crystal malt.

30g Northern brewer @60m
30g Cascade @ 30m
Protofloc@15m
70g Cascade @ 0m

1/2 Camden, 1tsp gypsum & 25ml CRS added to mash water.

5ml CRS added to sparge water (7l)

Heated up 27l of water in the peco to 72 degrees, aiming for a mash temp of 66. The grain come straight from the garage and was very cold so ended up at 64. So I had to quickly boil up some of the sparge water and to the mash to get to 66.

100minute mash, wrapped in some camping gear, it ended up at 64 at the end.

Quick dunk sparge using the now depleted quantity of sparge water.

pre boil gravity of 1.055.
The OG for this recipe is 23l @1.057, so a bit high here, and maybe short on volume. Should have topped up here, but had a few other things on and didn’t check the gravity until the sample had cooled and I was well into the boil.

boil went off with no issues.

Ended up with 20L in the fermenter, a bit short. I think this is because I didn’t take into account the larger than usual grain bill.

cooled to 22 degrees and pitched the yeast (NBS West Coast Ale).Put in brewfridge and set to 19 degrees to ferment.
Volume into fermentor was 20L at an OG OF 1.061.

Checked the gravity on 30th Jan and it had reached target FG of 1.010. Making this 6.7-6.9% depending on what calculator is used. Definitely a sipper!

Added Wilko beer finings and cold crashed for two days.
Kegged it today and put it in the kegerator @30psi. I’ll turn it down to 14 in a day or two.

The brew bucket came into its own with the kegging, it was so quick and easy. The conical bottom also compacts the yeast and Trub nicely so I didn’t lose too much to the fermenter.

the beer looks and smells really good,a pale straw colour. Had a taste out of the trial jar and no surprise it tasted flat and alcoholic. However I reckon this will be nice with some
carbonation and a couple of weeks to condition.

Next brews are a Bramling Cross SHA and a Mandarina Bavaria SHA from DIY Dog and a Vacant a gesture clone.
 
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This has come out really nice. A paler colour than it looks in the photo.
Nice and bitter, and it hides the ABV very well.
It’s more of a west coast type ipa, rather than the more hoppy east coast ipas, but good for it.

ive got it really cold and really fizzy, goes down a treat
 

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First brew with the Brewzilla - Mandarina Bavaria Smash

This was my interpretation of a recipe taken from DIY dog. They were a bit vagueon hop timings:

6.4kg extra pale malt

60 minute mash @ 65 degrees

44g Mandarina Bavaria @FWH
30g MB @20minutes
1/2 protofloc @15mins
50g MB hop stand for 10 minutes at 80 degrees C

CML five yeast

Really enjoyed using the Brewzilla for this. It made the whole brew day so easy.

I used the Brewfather app to calculate water additions and volumes for the first time- this gave me too much mash water, the pot was almost overflowing.

Ended up with just shy of 23l in the fermentor with an OG of 1.062.

it’s now fermenting at 19 degrees.
 
Brewzilla Brew 2

back to back brewdays.
Today’s was the GH Honey Porter.

3kg Crisp best ale malt
500g light crystal
400g Vienna
200g Carafa 3
100g Crisp Chocolate malt
70m mash @ 65C

Bit of calcium chloride in the mash, 1/2 campden and 5ml CRS.

My other beer is in the fermenting fridge so I’m going to ferment this one with Hornindial Kveik so I can leave it in the utility in a bucket.
I changed the hip schedule slightly as late additions are a bit pointless with this yeast


60m boil:
23g Fuggles FWH
7 g Hallertau mittlefrau FWH
15g challenger @20m

500g honey@ 15m
1/2 protofloc @15m

Ended up with 24ish litres in the fermentor @1.046.
Brewfather thinks this will finish low so should be around 5%ABV

Yeast pitched @40C and wrapped in a sleeping bag to do it’s thing.
 
The MB single hop ale is fermenting along nicely sat at 19C in the ferm fridge.
It’s a monster!
24hours in and no sign of activity, 48 hours in and I had to change the blow off.
CML Five yeast
 

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Checked the gravities. The honey Porter is down to 1.013 after 7 days. It still has quite a thick Krausen on it and the airlock is bubbling still so it’s not quite finished. Whenever else I’ve used Hornindial it’s finished in 3-4 days. I wonder if the yeast wasn’t at its best after being in my fridge since last summer?
Had a taste of the trial jar and it seems fine though, no off flavours.


The MB single hop ale is down to 1.016 now after 8 days. I think this has a bit more to go though so I will leave it a bit longer. The blow off is still burping away.
Had a taste of this one, you can definitely smell a hint of orange and the colour looks good, very pale. The taste was obviously that of a warm flat and very strong beer. It’s up to 6.5% ABV and still not finished. Reckon this will be good though once chilled and carbonated.
 
Bottled the honey Porter.

Got about 18L in the keg, 8 x 500ml bottles and then I managed another 1.5L in a 2L pop bottle. Used the carbonation cap to put a load of CO2 in it so I can try an early sample.

The yeast compacted really well and the beer looks very clear. This should be left to condition for 5 weeks according to the recipe. I’ll try my hardest but I doubt it will last that long 😂
 
The MB single hop ale has finished at 1.014, currently cold crashing.

I force carbed the 1.5L honey Porter in the pop bottle and drank it last night. It’s an absolutely stunning beer, it’s got a really rich chocolatey taste. My third stout ( I know there’s technically a difference between a stout and Porter, but they taste similar enough to me), and by far and away this one is my favourite. I’d happily brew this one again.

No taste of honey at all, but I presume the honey has contributed towards the low FG.
 
Kegged the MB single hop ale.

Ended up with a keg full, 2x500ml bottles and I put 1.5L into a PET bottle and force carbed so I could try a few this eve.

I thought the Brewzilla false bottom caught most of the hops, but there was quite a lot in the bottom of the brew bucket. The cold crash obviously did it’s job though as the beer has come out pretty clear.

Had a glass, I know it’s early days but it’s quite nice already. Fairly bitter, which I like from this style and it’s fairly smooth for 6.4% but I was expecting more “fruitiness” from the hops. Maybe next time add more whirlpool hops and add a dry hop.
 
Brewzilla brew #3: Mosaic Amber Ale

I ordered the ingredients before I had the Brewzilla and was brewing BIAB. It’s a touch stronger than the original recipe because of the increased efficiency of the BZ over the BIAB.

4kg Pale Malt
300g wheat malt
80g Caramalt

23g Challenger FWH
33g Mosaic @10m
1/2 whirlfloc @10m
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient @10m

75g Mosaic dr hop.

Treated water with campden and then roughly aimed for a pale ale water profile.

mash @65C for 60m

ferment @19C with Nottingham yeast.


Brewday went well, with only 2 minor hiccups:

-I used 23L of mash water instead of 19, which meant my Brewfather strike temp calculation was too high, mash temperature was 68C at the start, but it dropped to 65 after ten minutes.

-Pre boil volume was 27L @1.044 which was too high so I added 2L of hot water to reduce it to 1.041 ( still a little higher than the recipe)

Ended up with 23L in the fermentor with an OG 1.042.
 
Just dry hopped the Mosaic amber ale.
I looked at the recipe again, it’s actually a blonde ale.

SG looks like it’s finished at 1.012- making this a sessionable 3.9%.

I had a taste, it seems nice but I’m hoping that the 75g of mosaic bring a bit more to it flavour wise.
 
Brewzilla Brew 2

back to back brewdays.
Today’s was the GH Honey Porter.
.....

Yeast pitched @40C and wrapped in a sleeping bag to do it’s thing.

That's warm! Can I ask what yeast you used? The recipe sounds very interesting, and I'd like to have a go at some point. Maybe just trying half-quantities.
 
That's warm! Can I ask what yeast you used? The recipe sounds very interesting, and I'd like to have a go at some point. Maybe just trying half-quantities.
Hi,
I used WHC Hornindial Kveik yeast:

https://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/online-store/Liquid-Yeast-inc-Kveik-p212526994

it will ferment fine up to 40C, and does so really quick. I have found if I pitch it around 40C and then insulate the FV with a sleeping bag, the beer finishes fermenting in 3-4 days, before the temperature has fallen to room temp.

I had another beer in the fermenting fridge at the timeand this is a great way to make beer without off flavours with no temp control.

Have a look at the Kveik thread on here if you haven’t already, there’s loads on there.
 
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Kegged the Mosaic blonde ale.
Filled the keg and a 2l PET bottle.
The keg is in the kegerator carbonating.
The 2L PET bottle was hit with 35psi and shook a few times and then drank.

I think this is my favourite beer that I have made. Absolutely lovely flavour: the mosaic is really strong and complemented by a great malt/wheat flavour. The mosaic dry hop has given it a monster aroma.

This is an amazing beer, and at 4% it’s very sessionable.

This should get better with a bit of conditioning (and clearing) but if im honest I doubt it will last very long 🍺🤪

I based this on HarryBrew69’s vacant gesture, but with a few unintentional tweaks. This obviously isn’t a patch on the real thing, but a great beer all the same.

I’ll definitely be brewing this again.
 
Brewzilla brew #4: Bram X SHA

Did this last week but didn’t write up. Kegged yesterday and had a taste it’s quite good.

I used the DIY dog recipe for this, but used 200g of hops instead of 110, after my lastSHA lacked hoppy flavour.

Treated water as usual for a pale beer.

6.4kg extra pale malt
250g Crystal malt
130g carapils

recipe called for 60g Bram X @start and 50g@end

instead I used:
50g FWH(7%Aa)
50g @10m
30g whirlpool at 75C
70g dry hop for 3 days

Brewday went ok, apart from some issues with the mash meant efficiency was lower than expected.

OG was 1.054 instead of recipe prediction of 1.067.

pitched ~300ml of Nottingham slurry from a previous brew.

Fermentation started quickly and it fermented out in 5 days down to 1.009- giving a 5.9% ABV beer.

I dry hopped for 3 days and cold crashed at the same time( my fridge takes nearly two days to drop to 2C). I kegged yesterday.

Put 1.5L into a PET and force carbed so I could sample.

Needs conditioning- tasted a bit alcohol like and a bit yeasty, should have left it cold crashing longer.

The beer is quite dark for an IPA, and the flavour from the hops is fairly prominent. However the hop flavour obvioisly isn’t typical citrusy/piney IPA hops ( although not bad for it).

I thought this would be like an IPA ( in the American sense) but it’s more understated. Quite a nice beer and I have high hopes for it once it’s had time to condition properly.
 
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Brewzilla brew #5 Verdant IPA

Found this recipe on the @David Heath homebrew YouTube channel. It’s also got loads of great reviews.

The original recipe was for a 19L batch. I have scaled up on Brewfather to make 23L and also tweaked the hops slightly to (try and) account for AA differences between the recipe and what I purchased from GEB.


3.35kg Maris Otter
950g Vienna
840g flaked oats
280g Cara blonde
170g Carapils

mashed @65C for just over an hour. Mash water was treated with campden, CRS and gypsum to get a light and hoppy water profile.
After my last brew day with low efficiency I went for 26L of mash water and 4.5 L sparge. (This is roughly what I used when I did BIAB in the peco and effiency always seemed decent).

Boil:
34g centennial 8.5% @10min
34g Mosaic 12% @ 10min

30g Mosaic and centennial for a 20min whirlpool.

60g each Mosaic and centennial dry hop.

Yeast: Lallemand Verdant.

As the only hop additions are 10mins and whirlpool so I scaled my mash and sparge volumes for a 20m boil. However my pre boil gravity was a bit low so I did a 30 min boil.

Brewday went well, ended up with 23L into FV however my OG was 1.048. Recipe, with 75% efficiency should have been 24L@ 1.053.

Efficiency seems to be really down compared with my first two Brewzilla brews. This time I used a much thinner mash, but I was still down.
My first two BZ brews I had my grain already ordered as a fine crush as it was ordered for the peco, and both brews also had 90-120minute mashes, so I am wondering if trying either of the above will boost efficiency. Got my grain for the next two brews already so I’ll try a longer mash to see if that helps next.

I pitched the yeast @22C and set in the fermentor @19C.

I also experimented with adding the dry hops at yeast pitch. I read a Brulosophy xBmt where the results didn’t make a noticeable difference in taste between dry hopping at yeast pitch and doing it at the end. I figure this should only take a week to ferment out so why not give it a try? It saves another job and reduces another source of possible oxygen exposure. I’ll see how it turns out.
 
I kegged the Verdant IPA this evening.

I didn’t cold crash this as didn’t want to risk the oxidisation, so went into the keg at 21C.
I got a keg full +2.5l into PET bottles.

finished at 1.010- making it 5% ABV.

The keg is in the fridge under 15psi while it chills.
The PET bottles are in the freezer for an hour or so. Once they’re chilled I’ll force carbonate and drink either this evening or tomorrow.

Really excited to try this- the smell while I was kegging was almost pure fruit juice.
 
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Brewzilla brew #6 Mosaic blonde ale

I brewed the same beer again as I did in post number 11.

Only changes were:

-Added the 10m mosaic addition as a whirlpool addition instead
- Added the dry hop at yeast pitch. I tried this in my last brew and seems to have worked fine.
-fermented with 1/2 pint of Verdant yeast slurry from my last brew
-Efficiencies are a bit all over the place still and I’m trying get them more consistent. After my last two brews were low efficiency, I left off the top screen, and stirred the mash 15m in. This meant that my OG was a bit higher than last time at 1.046. The beer is supposed to be around 4% but this will end up at 4.7% if it drops to 1.010.
 
Brewzilla brew #6 Mosaic blonde ale

I brewed the same beer again as I did in post number 11.

Only changes were:

-Added the 10m mosaic addition as a whirlpool addition instead
- Added the dry hop at yeast pitch. I tried this in my last brew and seems to have worked fine.
-fermented with 1/2 pint of Verdant yeast slurry from my last brew
-Efficiencies are a bit all over the place still and I’m trying get them more consistent. After my last two brews were low efficiency, I left off the top screen, and stirred the mash 15m in. This meant that my OG was a bit higher than last time at 1.046. The beer is supposed to be around 4% but this will end up at 4.7% if it drops to 1.010.

kegged this today. FG was 1.010 making it 4.7%. Ended up with about 21L packaged. Smelled amazing. I’m going to try really hard to let this condition for a couple of weeks before I drink it.
 
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