Homebrewing

[Guest cookoff013]

If you like stout, try Muntons Imperial stout. Condition for 8 weeks, taste and congratulate yourself on making the best stout out there.

 

its bumping up the to-do list !

[simondt]

Another good brewing forum is the homebrew forum. They have a section called "Your First AG Brew - A Guided Tour". Easy to understand, now just done my 4th brew.

 

1 tip though, brew when the missus is out for the day. Mine went mental when she got back as didnt have gas burner at the time and had it on the home cooker bubbleing away.

[Jonty]

Zapp,

 

my usual brew lengths with that setup are about 23-25l. To get that the mash is usually 4-5kg grain and 10-12 litres of strike water. I'd say the tun is two thirds full with that, you could maybe manage another kg or so of grain for a stonger brew.

 

The new set up is half way through being built

 

2 off 100l stainless pots for the HLT & Boiler as below and 1 off 50l insulated thermo pot for the mash tun

 

 

[40grain]

I have all grain brewing for some time only using a mastun and boiler, I would have a hot liquer tank if I fly sparged but as i batch sparge it is not required.

Here is some of the finished product Irish Stout.

and some bitter

The system is made from normal sized beer kegs which means that I can brew 40 liters at a push but as i use cornie kegs I stick to 25 litres. This picture shows the heat exchanger cooling coils (It had just been made at this point so is very dirty) These get attached to the hose, it is very efficient.

The final mod was the addition of a hop and trub strainer for the boiler

Edited April 26, 2012 by 40grain

[Zapp]

Zapp,

 

my usual brew lengths with that setup are about 23-25l. To get that the mash is usually 4-5kg grain and 10-12 litres of strike water. I'd say the tun is two thirds full with that, you could maybe manage another kg or so of grain for a stonger brew.

 

The new set up is half way through being built

 

2 off 100l stainless pots for the HLT & Boiler as below and 1 off 50l insulated thermo pot for the mash tun

 

 

 

They look very smart

 

So, what has everyone on tap at the moment?

 

I have clones of Bath Ales Gem, Coniston Bluebird Bitter, Archers Village Bitter and Burton Bridge Golden Delicious, plus a self-designed American pale ale using all Amarillo hops, a Hefeweizen, a Munich Helles (lager) and a Dortmund Export (lager).

 

Brewing again this weekend, a 23 EBC, 35 EBU 4.2% bitter of my own design.

[Fatcatsplat]

http://www.beerlabelizer.com/

 

Fun and free!

[40grain]

I only brew to my own recipies, currently I have a dark bitter 1050 brew conditioning, I am drinking a 1040 bitter and have plans for another brew but it is dependant on what hops and malt I have available. It will probably be a "throw all the malt remnants into the mashtun and see wort it comes out like" excuse the pun!! I only use liquid yeasts and that will make a huge difference to the final product. I only have one vile in stock at the moment and that is a White Labs dry English ale yeast - just have to wait and see what happens. I am looking forward to it.

[working dog]

They look very smart

 

So, what has everyone on tap at the moment?

 

I have clones of Bath Ales Gem, Coniston Bluebird Bitter, Archers Village Bitter and Burton Bridge Golden Delicious, plus a self-designed American pale ale using all Amarillo hops, a Hefeweizen, a Munich Helles (lager) and a Dortmund Export (lager).

 

Brewing again this weekend, a 23 EBC, 35 EBU 4.2% bitter of my own design.

 

I have 2 cornies of Ruddles County clone

1 cornie Black IPA (my take on Thornbridge Raven)

2 cornies of a pale IPA using Amarillo, Cristal, Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops(my take on Buxtons Axe Edge)

2 cornies of Dark Belgian beer (7.5%) using WLP 550 yeast

And 1 cornie of cider for the wife

 

Will be dropping down from 45L brews to 23L brews now due to the hot weather hopefully being upon us (just got the one brewing fridge)

[leeds chimp]

Many thanks as that is cracking reading....Love to get into it but dont have the space at all or budget really

[leeds chimp]

been into the local homebrew shop and got a starter kit to make some cider and beer for my 30th should be fun

[Guest cookoff013]

been into the local homebrew shop and got a starter kit to make some cider and beer for my 30th should be fun

 

thats the spirit ! (excuse the pun)

 

i threw myself in the deep end, but did have some advisers on hand. just bottled batch 2.

if you do like brewing and will continue, i`d suggest buying a keg. i`ve come to that reality pretty quickly. i`m having to drink 2 pints everytime i open a bottle, when sometimes i want a quick 1/2pt. but i`m learning what i want.

 

i`ve a john bull kit drinkable.

conditioning a EDME super stout, 1kg spraymalt and 150 grams treacle. conditioning at the moment.

smells fantastic and the brew has a nice body. very thick.

[Jonty]

I'm in the middle of building a new brewing setup at the moment. It's taken me a longer tan I wanted but I'm slowly getting theere. It will comprise of 1 off 100l hot liquuor tank 1 off 100l boiler and 1 off 50l mash tun. All the vessels are stainless steel and can be bought relatively cheaply from a cetering suppliers in franve via ebay.

 

I made a new false bottom for the mash tun the other night, basically it keeps the grain away from the drain hole in the bottom of the tun. I used 2mm stainless steel sheet whicg has 1.5mm perforations.

 

Marked the sheet up

 

 

Bit of very careful cutting

 

 

The beer line round the outside acts as a seal against the side of the tun

 

 

Jeesus - it fits!! (You can just see the drain hole in the middle of the base of the tun as well)

 

 

It needs a handle fitting as it's a very snug fit but it's almost there

Edited May 2, 2012 by Jonty

[Zapp]

That's excellent Jonty. I wish I had the skill to do something similar.

[bruno22rf]

Dont know if anyone is interested but i have 5 demi-johns and about 40 small grolsh type resealable bottles free to collector-just outside MK if you want them.

[Zapp]

Whereabouts are you Buster, if you're close-ish I'd love to take the demijohns off your hands

[libs]

This thread has reminded me to get my kit out for another go!

 

The last lot I brewed started with a cider kit, double the amount of sugar recommend and champagne yeast. If I read the hydrometer correctly it came out at 10%vol and beautifully clear. Perfect for the discerning student!

 

Any cheap and cheerful lager kits recommended?

[Jonty]

That's excellent Jonty. I wish I had the skill to do something similar.

 

It really isn't that difficult mate - I know that's easier said than done, but it is all factory made fittings, a bit of measuring and some very careful cutting. Also, I would like to stress that nothing I'm doing is original - I'm just copying the same set up that plenty of people have done before me.

 

Whilst I'm on, I pretty much finished the mash tun tonight by plumbing in the bottom drain...

 

Cut away the outer skin and the insulation to fit the pipe work (insulation will be re-instated)

 

 

here's how it looks with the tap from the outside

 

 

Here's the central drain (plug hole) from the inside

 

[40grain]

I'm in the middle of building a new brewing setup at the moment. It's taken me a longer tan I wanted but I'm slowly getting theere. It will comprise of 1 off 100l hot liquuor tank 1 off 100l boiler and 1 off 50l mash tun. All the vessels are stainless steel and can be bought relatively cheaply from a cetering suppliers in franve via ebay.

 

I made a new false bottom for the mash tun the other night, basically it keeps the grain away from the drain hole in the bottom of the tun. I used 2mm stainless steel sheet whicg has 1.5mm perforations.

 

Marked the sheet up

 

 

Bit of very careful cutting

 

 

The beer line round the outside acts as a seal against the side of the tun

 

 

Jeesus - it fits!! (You can just see the drain hole in the middle of the base of the tun as well)

 

 

It needs a handle fitting as it's a very snug fit but it's almost there

 

 

Where did you get the stainless steel mesh from? I would like to make something similar for my boiler to act as a hop and trub strainer.

[Jonty]

I got it from here mate Click Here

Edited May 5, 2012 by Jonty

[leeds chimp]

bottled it last night and had a small taste..forgot what bottom of the barrel does to you in the morning.... Jus hope it clears now after i have put it in the shed

[p-a-s]

I made a woodfordes wherry kit a few weeks ago and sampled a bottle last night.Although a pleasant drink it does have a strange after taste,what is it lads i cant put my finger on it.I know it needs to mature but couldnt resist a tester.

[FalconFN]

The batch I made was slightly floral but a very nice brew. If the temp gets a bit too high during fermentation it can produce different tastes and smells that aren't supposed to be thete.

[Zapp]

How would you describe the taste?

 

Is it medicinal? Or "band-aid"/sticking plaster like? Or is it like TCP?

 

It could be that the beer just needs longer to condition (because it is still young, or "green"). Kit beer needs about 8 weeks in the keg or bottle to be at its best.

 

Medicinal or TCP flavours could be down to chloramines in your tap water. These can be removed using sodium or potasium metabisulphate, usually sold in the form of Campden tablets. Half a tablet should be added to the water and left for 30 mins prior to mixing with the kit's contents.

 

Band aid flavours are often associated with high fermentation temperatures.

 

Most off flavours (except those caused by chloramines) will dissipate over time. As long as it isnt starting to taste like vinegar (in which case you are screwed), it should get better with time.

[p-a-s]

Falcon, it is rather a floral taste but not quite flowers if you know what i mean

 

zapp,its not a bad after taste,ie tcp,vinegar it is rather nice actually.I think it is the hops i can taste,maybe still a touch on the green side.This is the 1st woodfordes kit i have tried so wasnt sure what it was i could taste.

 

Cheers lads.

[Zapp]

That's the hops

 

Give it a few more weeks and it will balance out with the other flavours.