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Small quantity real ale grain brewing

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  • #16
    Can I recommend Page 74 Old Speckled Hen - marvellous.
    Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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    • #17
      Sparge

      I have been making a brew from the grain for years and will post a recipe in a mo but can someone tell me what they mean by 'sparge'

      Malc
      Malc

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      • #18
        Sparging basicaly means rinsing the remaining sugars from the grains, it can be done by fancy methods or quite simply adding some additional water to the left over grain and straining.
        Discount Home Brew Supplies
        Chairman of 5 Towns Wine & Beer Makers Circle!
        Convenor of Judges YFAWB Show Committee
        National Wine Judge
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        • #19
          Washing up for beer makers

          Looking forward to the recipe!
          Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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          • #20
            First All grain brew

            The wife is away for the weekend, so had a go at 1 gallon all grain brewing, yesterday.

            Its a bit of hassle but not that much, relatively easy, using the usual homemade mash tun.

            Thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and living in Leeds the whole house smelled of the old tetleys brewery 20 years ago.

            mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

            Now the garage also smells lovely now the fermenting has started.

            For those that have never tried it, have a go, worse case is you will make a mess, best case you could be comparing your home-brew against your favourite bought beer.

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            • #21
              I fluked a wonderful batch of Kentish Strong Ale the other day. I'm not one to toot my own horn (as Monty Python once said 'if you take it out in public they will stick you in the dock, and you won't, come, back' But I digress...) and it was marvelous.

              I'd say that failing equipment failure and infection you can make great beer pretty much all the time.

              My top tip for happy homebrewing is to brew often and brew smaller. Keep within the limits of your equipment (I recently dropped from 6 to 5 gallon brews and my quality is FAR higher).

              Welcome to the beery club mate. You'll know where to find us. We're all at various points down the slippery slope!
              Dutch Gunderson: Who are you and how did you get in here?
              Frank Drebin: I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.
              -Police Squad

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              • #22
                Are you making smaller batches 'cos your are drinking less and it goes over/off?
                Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by Cellar_Rat View Post
                  Are you making smaller batches 'cos your are drinking less and it goes over/off?
                  Beer going off in Scotland? Not likely

                  I wasn't too happy with how my beers were turning out and it was doing my nut running my boiler at the limits of its capacity (I can squeeze in a 5 gallon brew).

                  I was making the 6 gallon batches to get a keg and some bottles, but when I started this last few batches I decided to cut back and only do 4.5 gallons (or just enough for 1 cornelius keg). I've kept everything else the same but my beers seem to be far better and have lost what I can only describe as 'the homebrew tang'. Don't get me wrong, the beers I made before were loverly but recently I seem to have improved the flavor dramatically.

                  I had a Kentish Strong Ale I made n the 3/11 and it's already VERY drinkable (sorry Rich, better get a move on or it'll be gone!). Same goes for a Clone of Bishop's Farewell. Both primed in the keg and both ready to drink.

                  Anyway, for my setup I'm convinced that by scaling back and making a 'comfortable' volume of beer you'll get a better brew at the end of the day and my brew days have been a whole lot less stressful.
                  Dutch Gunderson: Who are you and how did you get in here?
                  Frank Drebin: I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.
                  -Police Squad

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by koomber View Post
                    I had a Kentish Strong Ale I made n the 3/11 ...
                    Sounds like a candidate for a 1 gal BIAB experiment. Care to post the recipe?
                    Pete the Instructor

                    It looks like Phil Donahue throwing up into a tuba

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by goldseal View Post
                      Sounds like a candidate for a 1 gal BIAB experiment. Care to post the recipe?
                      No problem Pete. I'll see if I can convince Rich to come round and try some (or to be more accurate, if I can get his missus to drive him round and back so he can actually try some!)

                      This is for a 20L batch, but will scale down to a gallon easily enough.

                      Recipe: Bishop's Back Hander
                      Brewer: Kaptain Koomber and the Kooks
                      Style: English IPA
                      TYPE: All Grain
                      Taste: (35.0)

                      Recipe Specifications
                      --------------------------
                      Batch Size: 18.93 L
                      Boil Size: 21.67 L
                      Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
                      Estimated Color: 10.1 SRM
                      Estimated IBU: 42.7 IBU
                      Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
                      Boil Time: 90 Minutes

                      Ingredients:
                      ------------
                      Amount Item Type % or IBU
                      4.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 89.25 %
                      0.37 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 8.23 %
                      0.11 kg Amber Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 2.52 %
                      20.00 gm Target [12.53 %] (90 min) Hops 33.9 IBU
                      28.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (15 min) Hops 8.8 IBU
                      28.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] Flame out -
                      1 Pkgs London Ale (White Labs #WLP013) Yeast-Ale

                      Total Grain Weight: 4.48 kg
                      ----------------------------

                      Step Time Name Step Temp
                      75 min Mash In 66.2 C


                      Notes:
                      ------
                      Primed on 12/11 with 110g of sugar, put in keg with a it of carbonation on it (for sealing the keg)
                      Yeast washed of (mix with water, allow to ettle for 20 minutes, pour to layer, allow to settle for 20 minutes pour and retain top layer). Yeast retained for Newcastle Brown Ale
                      Ready to drink on the 18th! SERIOUSLY.
                      Dutch Gunderson: Who are you and how did you get in here?
                      Frank Drebin: I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.
                      -Police Squad

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by koomber View Post
                        ..brew days have been a whole lot less stressful.
                        I that that feeling - I have found much less stress in the two day method (no chilling) and since I have polished the process a remove some of the variation.

                        The reason I ask, is because I am coming to the conclusion that beer keeps better in a bottle than a keg. I don't drink as much as I make and kegs (even with mixed gas ) loose something as they get older.

                        Your bishop sounds nice.
                        Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Cellar_Rat View Post
                          I that that feeling - I have found much less stress in the two day method (no chilling) and since I have polished the process a remove some of the variation.

                          The reason I ask, is because I am coming to the conclusion that beer keeps better in a bottle than a keg. I don't drink as much as I make and kegs (even with mixed gas ) loose something as they get older.

                          Your bishop sounds nice.
                          What do you use to store the wort post boil Brian? A 'cube' as per the aussie way, or something else? This could be a viable way for me to brew one afternoon, leave the wort overnight to cool, and then pitch the following morning before going to work - instead of using the immersion cooler and adding an hour or so to the brewday....

                          Oh, and thanks for posting the recipe Graham - will have to try it out soon
                          "There are 10 types of people who understand Binary; those that do and those that don't.........."

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                          • #28
                            Dave,

                            I am sure i have posted this before but never mind...

                            Day one. typically Sat afternoon
                            Do everything as normal.
                            When you boil, put the hops in something you can remove*
                            After boil, turn boiler off. Put lid on. Leave to cool (thats it)

                            Day two. typically first thing Sunday
                            Beer is now about 30c. Make starter. Rack (as with wine) into fermenter. Top up with cold to volume. Beat it up with a plasters paddle. check temp. Add yeast. Done.


                            * Retaining Hops
                            Grahem uses paint strainers over the top of the bucket.- a bag to retain the hops in. But the price on ebay scared me rigid. It about trebles the cost of a brew!!

                            I have tried a rice ball - I got the feeling the hops needed more space.

                            Due to a minor oversight I forgot this step completely this time (Doh) so my last batch, had hops till the morning !!.
                            I will let you know how the flavour is affected. It did make racking a bit tougher, but no issue really. Perhaps a strainer will do the trick next time if the flavour is OK.

                            PS I can also confirm that the LIDL boiler stat is utter Sh1t3 for mash. Sorry chaps!

                            But two day brew is mucho better IMO
                            Last edited by Cellar_Rat; 21-11-2011, 12:23 PM. Reason: washed my fingers this morning and cannot do a thing with them !!
                            Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Cellar_Rat View Post
                              Dave,

                              I am sure i have posted this before but never mind...

                              Day one. typically Sat afternoon
                              Do everything as normal.
                              When you boil, put the hops in something you can remove*
                              After boil, turn boiler off. Put lid on. Leave to cool (thats it)

                              Day two. typically first thing Sunday
                              Beer is now about 30c. Make starter. Rack (as with wine) into fermenter. Top up with cold to volume. Beat it up with a plasters paddle. check temp. Add yeast. Done.


                              * Retaining Hops
                              Grahem uses paint strainers over the top of the bucket.- a bag to retain the hops in. But the price on ebay scared me rigid. It about trebles the cost of a brew!!

                              I have tried a rice ball - I got the feeling the hops needed more space.

                              Due to a minor oversight I forgot this step completely this time (Doh) so my last batch, had hops till the morning !!.
                              I will let you know how the flavour is affected. It did make racking a bit tougher, but no issue really. Perhaps a strainer will do the trick next time if the flavour is OK.

                              PS I can also confirm that the LIDL boiler stat is utter Sh1t3 for mash. Sorry chaps!

                              But two day brew is mucho better IMO
                              Cheers mate! Appreicated
                              "There are 10 types of people who understand Binary; those that do and those that don't.........."

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                              • #30
                                Just to clarify I use nylon bags. Lauch hops in bag, tie-wrap put on backwards round the top so the bag has heaps of room and cannot open and then chuck in boil. Once done, remove bag, empty hops, clean dry and reuse.

                                I think thy're cracking. They also seem to act as a nucleation point for hot break which suits me just fine.



                                Also, I've been doing some pricing up and I reckon that I can knock up a 10m CFC for about £30-£35 (or a bit less if you want to use your own hose to connect it to the mains)
                                Dutch Gunderson: Who are you and how did you get in here?
                                Frank Drebin: I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.
                                -Police Squad

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