Redwulf's Brewdays

[Redwulf]

1st Brew yesterday afternoon, apologies if this is overly detailed.

Northern Brewer Block Party Amber Ale from a heavily discounted Brewery in Box Kit.

Boil time 60 mins
Batch size 19 litres
Boil size 10 litres

Fermentables

226g Caramel 80l
56g Special B
56g light roasted barley
2.7g Gold Malt Syrup

Hops
28g Willamette Pellets 60 mins

Yeast
6g Muntons Ale Yeast

First up I made some sanitiser put everything in and then a summoned the beer gods to bless my endevours
with a pint of a cheeky little blond callen Boon Doggle.

Filled the kettle was with about 10 (maybe 11) litres of best tapoline and crushed in half a campden tablet stirred it
and then started to heat the water.

Poured the grains into the sock provided in the kit and added it to the pot. Paused heating about 65c to
and left it to steep for 20 mins. The kit didn't say to do this it said to leave them in until 76c but I've read something about tannins
and it was slightly old malt so I didn't want to chance it.



At the end of the time I lifted it out and let it drain without molestation and popped it to one side.



Brought the pot up to the boil and put the liquid malt container in a washing up bowl of warm water to loosen it up while I waited.

At this point I made another sacrifice to the Beer Gods with a pint of Cumberland Golden ale

Once it started to boil I took it off the heat and stirred in the malt. Then Back on the heat
and I brought it back to the boil and added the hops and set the timer.



About 20 mins before the end I put another 9 litres of water in the clean fermenting bucket
and stirred in half a campden tablet and for want of a cooler filled the bath with 4 inches
or so of cold water.

At the end of the boil I took the pot with the lid on and added a couple more inches of cold water to the bath and
swirled it round the outside of the pot for 10 mins or so until the temp dropped to 100f.

Once it was cooled to about 35c I took it down stairs and gently poured it into the fermenting bucket and topped it up to 19 litres total with another litre and a bit.

At this point I took a Hydrometer reading of around 1.042-5 ish (first time using one).

6g of muntons ale years was sprinkled on top and I moved the fermenting bucket to the cupboard under the stairs which should remain relatively undisturbed. Looking in on it today and there are bubbles clinging to the side of the airlock and slightly malty odour so presumably its working but it sit tight for the time being.

Really enjoyed it, Planning the next one already.

 

[Redwulf]

Something completely different for my 2nd go, Mangrove Jacks Raspberry Belinner Weisse.



Started this off on Friday night with a pint of Purple Panther Porter.

Started boiling about 17 litres of water which in hindsight was became a pain in the ass later and sterilised my bucket, some scissors and the big spoon. Weighed out 600g of Brew enhancer and opened the packet to fish out the yeast pack and instructions.

Realised I only needed 3 litres of water boiled, but figured I'd use the rest anyway so let it all come to the boil. Once boiled I poured 4-5 litres into the FV and added the raspberry beer goop and then stirred in the brew enhancer.



Topped it off with the remainder of the boiled water which in hindsight was a mistake as it took forever to cool down and then made it up to 23l with cold tap water and transferred to a bathtub of cold water after taking a Hydrometer reading 1.036 once it had cooled down a bit.



4 hours later it was still too hot to pitch so I moved it to my fermenting cupboard and left it to cool down overnight with fv lid firmly on. This morning and it was 24° c, so I carefully opened up the FV and pitched the yeast.

F.G. should be 1.008, so fingers crossed.

 

[Redwulf]

Mangrove Jack Belgian Saison.

This was my 2nd Mangrove Jack kit and having bottled the first one this morning I've got straight on with another.

Boiled 3 litres of water and warmed up the Sachet, before stirring in the goop and added brew enhancer. Topped up to 18 litres and stirred it up before Pitching the yeast at 30° c.

I've stuck it in the Airing cupboard as the range is a bit higher then my usual spot.

 

[Redwulf]

Wilko Feeling Hoppy IPA 23 litre kit

Made this up with a tin of LME with a og of 1.046.

Pitched and Fermenting at 20-21° c for 10 days then I'll dry hop it.

 

[Redwulf]

Just catching my brews up.

10th July
Wilko Chocmeister Stout
Short Brewed to 19l with 400g DME and 400g Dark Sugar
Came out at 5.25% but needed long time to condition, became Drinkable in September

2nd August
Bulldog Four Finger Jack
Batch was 23L Came out at 4.7%
First Kegged batch, slight smokiness that went over time.

6th September
BIAB IPA
3KG Maris Otter Pale
0.25KG Aromatic Malt
0.25KG Torrified Wheat

12g Challenger for Full Boil
12G Citra for Aroma
12G Citra Dry hop on Day 10

US-05 Yeast

Batch was about 13l and came out at 4.99%. Nice Brew, lost the citra aroma towards the end of the keg but kept citrusy flavour

 

[Redwulf]

13/09/2020
MJ Raspberry Berlinner Weisse
23 Litres gave me 9 bottles and about 18L in the keg at 3.8%. Kegged this is delicious, a proper raspberry sour.

 

[Redwulf]

3rd Oct

My first foray into BIAB allgrain was a bit striaght forward, For my second I wanted a "bigger" beer so I bastardised this using Leffe as a basis.

Belgian Blonde

Batch Size:23 L
Fermentables
5kg Pilsen Malt
0.25kg Aromatic Malt
0.25kg Torrefied Wheat
0.8kg Belgian Candi Syrup

Hop Additions
90 Mins 50g Halletau Mittlefruh
20 Mins 25g Halletau Mittlefruh

Dry Hop 25g Halletau MittleFruh

Pitched 10g MJ M41 Belgian Ale yeast

Biab Mash for 90 mins with 20l

Dunk Sparge 10l for 20 mins

Boiled for 90 mins + 20 to get starting gravity reading of 1.068

Krausen forming around 15 hours after pitching.

After 5 Days tested gravity as fermentation had stopped, it smelt foul. Gravity was 1.011 on Day 5 from around 1.068.

it had cleared up and F.G. was down to 1.006 pitched in the dry hops and I will give it 4 more days days and cold crash for for 48 hours days with gelatine before kegging next weekend. I think this one will benefit from a week or two in the keg before I try it.

 

[Redwulf]

Mangrove Jack Helles
Mangrove Jack Liquid Malt
Shorted to 20l with a Gravity of 1.044
Expecting F.G of 1.014 - 1.010 for 4-4.4%

Pitched at 20 degrees.

 

[Redwulf]

26th October

Coopers Preacher Hef Wheat

1 Can Coopers Hef Wheat
1 Kilo Muntons Brew Enhancer.

Inpromptu Brew to replace a bad batch.

S.g 1.042

 

[Redwulf]

27th October

Greg Hughes Christmas Ale,

Fermentables

4.4KG Pale Malt
500g Biscuit Malt
350g Caramunich 1
300g Medium Crystal Malt
100g Torrified Wheat Malt
100g Carafa Special 1 Malt
500g Light Candi Crystals

Hops
60 mins Challenger 18g
15 min Styrian Goldings 26g
Flameout Styrian Goldings 26g

Other
15min 1 Protofloc
10 mins 10g Star Anise
10 mins 2 Cinnamon Sticks
10 mins 1tsp Ground Nutmeg

Yeast
S-04 English Ale

O.G 1.065

This was my third all grain attempt.

The first part of the mash went well, but during the sparge I ended up with then manifold pipe breaking away and blocking the tap. I was able to get it going again but I think that brought my efficiency down.

All in all though I got 22 litres or so of 1.065 gravity wort and its fermenting away nicely next to the Hefe.

 

[Redwulf]

My third Brew of the Week.

Greg Hughes Winter Warmer

Brew Day 29th Oct 2020

Fermentables
5.1kg Pale Malt
200g Medium Crystal
100g Torrefied Wheat
100g Chocolate Malt
500g Honey (340g orange blossom and 160g of Clear)

Hops
30g East Kent Golding Pellets 60 mins
10g Progress Pellets - 10 mins
10g Target - Turn off

Other
Protofloc 15 mins
1tsp Cinnamon and 1tbsp Ginger to add to FV after 4 dats

Yeast 10g S-04 English Ale Yeast

Pretty stoked with how this one went. After coming up short on Tuesday I spent an hour checking measurements on the kettle and Fermenters and realised how far out my kettle scale is so I got my volume correct and was able to draw off 23 litres of wort and probably left 2-3 litres of trub/wort mix in the bottom of the kettle.

It was my 2nd time using the mash tun and it worked well.

I think we were 1.060 when I pitched the yeast, so hopefully it will come out at about 6% give or take.

 

[Redwulf]

Three Brews missing from this I think.

1. Galaxy SMaSH - Early Dec
2. 86 Day Pilsner - Mid Jan
3. Session IPA - Poxed batch
4. Golden Ale - 1st Grainfather brew 29th Jan - details in what did you brew today thread.

 

[Redwulf]

Grainfather Brew #2

Yorkshire Bitter

Grain Bill
4.1kg Maris Otter
0.25kg Torrefied Wheat
0.2kg Medium Crystal
0.05kg Chocolate Malt

Hops
15g Progress @ 60 mins
15g Challenger @ 60 mins
15g EKG @20 mins
15g Progress @20 mins

Yeast
Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire Ale Yeast - Pitched at 21c

Other Additions
Protofloc @ 15 mins

Expected O.G 1.046
Actual O.G 1.049
Expected F.G 1.012
EBC 20.1
IBU 38
Expected ABV: 4.5% 4.8% if the yeast performs to plan

Wow, this was my 2nd time brewing on the G30 Connect, absolutely thrilled with the result. I took Greg Hughes Yorkshire bitter recipe and tweaked it for what I had in stock with a little nod to Black Sheep as its one of my favourites. Weighed out the Grain Bill and popped it in an old bucket to warm up a bit and measured out the mash water rounded up to nearest litre and added 1 litre as I found the mash a bit stiff first time out. I crushed half campden tablet and popped that next to the grain.

At this point I spent an hour giving the Kitchen a once over as I've been trying to do this as part of my brewing routine. (Scores points with the Missus!) Once I'd finished Mopping, I set the Grainfather up and tipped in the mash water and kicked off the brew on my phone, before taking the dogs for a walk sans phone.

20 mins or so later I returned with about 5 mins before I had to mash in. I mashed in slowly and gave it a good stir and set up the top plate and the optional overflow filter. Let it run for 20 mins and then gave it a another good stir and let it run. I could already see clear Wort in the filter at about 30 mins.

Once I'd mashed out and lifted the basket I sparged by adding 2-3 litres of water waiting adding some more until it was done. I let it drain through and then sat the malt tube in a bucket while I started the boil.

I took a sample about 3 mins from the end of the boil and adjusted for temp I was expecting 1.051 or so. Once I got it down to 21c it was more like 1.049 which was 3 points better then I was anticipating and what looked like a full 23l of clear Wort.

An amazing Brewday and I am absolutely thrilled with the Grainfather!

 

[Redwulf]

Grainfather Brew #3

New England IPA - Loosely based on Brewdog Hazy Jane.

Batch Size 20 L

Grain bill

5kg Maris Otter
0.6 kg Wheat Malt
0.3 kg Rolled Oats

Hop Schedule
5g Chinook @ 60 Mins
20g Chinook - 20 Min Hop Stand
20g Simcoe - 20 Min Hop Stand
20g Amarillo - 20 Min Hop Stand
50g Simcoe - Dry Hop
50g Citra - Dry Hop
50g Amarillo - Dry Hop
50g Mosaic - Dry Hop

Yeast - WHC Brexit Pitched at 20c

S.G. 1.068
Was expecting an F.G of 1.017 was pleasantly surprised with a 1.012

Abv 7.3%

60 Minute Mash at 66c
60 Min Boil.

 

[Redwulf]

Grainfather Brew #4

Belgian Dubbel - Based on Greg Hughes

Batch Size 23L

Grain Bill
3kg Pilsner Malt
2.5kg Maris Otter
0.4kg Special B
0.3kg Caramunich 1
0.4kg Belgian Candi Sugar - Dark

Hop Bill

35g Hersbruker @ 60 min
35g Tettnang @ 15 mins

Other
1/2 Protofloc at 10 mins

60 min mash @ 65°c
70 min boil

20.5 Litre Mash.
12.5 Litre Sparge.

S.G 1.062

Expected F.G 1.012

Came out at 1.009 so around 6.9% abv.

Easy mash & quick sparge.

 

[Redwulf]

Grainfather Brew #5

Kveik Session Ale - Based on Brew Dog Dead Pony Club

Batch Size 20L

Grain Bill
2.5KG Maris Otter
1KG Wheat Malt
0.1KG Caramunich
0.1KG Torrefied Wheat
0.1KG Crystal Malt

Hop Additions
5g Citra @ 60 mins
5g Simcoe @ 60 mins
10g Citra @ 15 mins
10g Simcoe @ 15 mins

25g Citra Dry Hop - Planned for 50g
25g Simcoe Dry Hop - Planned for 50g
25g Amerillo Dry Hop - Planned for 50g

Others
0.5 tablet Protofloc @ 10 mins
4g Yeast Nutrient @ Flame out.

Mash 15L @ 68°C
Sparge 13L @ 74°C

S.G. 1.040
Expected F.G 1.010
Expected ABV 3.9%

I was working today but I decided to do a brew and rely on the app to shout when I needed to do something.. Bit of an experimental brew. I lost the first batch of this to a lacto infection I managed to introduce while Dry hopping, I only had 2.5kg MO so I swapped in a 1kg of Wheat malt and I constantly running out of beer so I'm giving Dry Kveik a go for some quick turnaround brews.

I stirred the mash twice at 20 and 40 mins, very fast sparge.

Uneventful boil, cooled to 32°C and pitched 11g dry CML Voss Ale Yeast and set it on a heat mat under a box @ 28°C

Update
Looks like it fermented out in about 48 hours @ 28°c. Quite Fruity tasting so I've halved the dry hop for this batch and done 25g each of Citra, Simcoe and Amerillo. I've turned off the heat pad and I'll give it another 48 hours before kegging and cooling down to 5°c and fining with Gelatine in the keg. I'll stick the carbonation lid on as well and it should be gassed up and drinkable on Wednesday night.

 

[An Ankoù]

Dead Pony Club is one of my favourite commercial beers and one of the very few I enjoy from Brewdog. I particularly like the malt bill and as well as copying the beer, I've substituted the hops many times over so we have Pony Club Bitter, with Goldings and Fuggles, New Pony Club with New World hops- Citra and Galaxy and New Phoenix Club with Phoenix hops.
I can't imagine what any of these would taste like with Voss, though. Keep us informed.
Back to your first post: the detail's great. Keep it coming.

 

[Redwulf]

Dead Pony Club is one of my favourite commercial beers and one of the very few I enjoy from Brewdog. I particularly like the malt bill and as well as copying the beer, I've substituted the hops many times over so we have Pony Club Bitter, with Goldings and Fuggles, New Pony Club with New World hops- Citra and Galaxy and New Phoenix Club with Phoenix hops.
I can't imagine what any of these would taste like with Voss, though. Keep us informed.
Back to your first post: the detail's great. Keep it coming.

I had to look up Phoenix hops, would Voss and a little Amerillo give you a hint of chocolate orange?

 

[An Ankoù]

I had to look up Phoenix hops, would Voss and a little Amerillo give you a hint of chocolate orange?

In truth, I don't know. I'm uneasy with Voss. It's spoilt some of my beers with its flavour, but it does mellow back with ageing. In any case, if you do as you say, your beer won't be yours, it'll be Terry's!

 

[Redwulf]

In truth, I don't know. I'm uneasy with Voss. It's spoilt some of my beers with its flavour, but it does mellow back with ageing. In any case, if you do as you say, your beer won't be yours, it'll be Terry's!

I've read that about Voss, There is a demand for fruity beer in my house so I think come the summer I'll be very glad of it but it seems to have its place.

I will add New Phoenix club to the brewing schedule and maybe work on a chocolate orange session IPA for Christmas.