An Ankoù brewday:

[An Ankoù]

It's been a while and you might be forgiven for thinking I've been off the boil. Not so. Today I got up early to knock out a batch of "Tropical" for the WIse One and last week I put on a Wheat Porter and a Braggot. As I promised to post my recipe for Braggot elsewhere, here it is:
Trying to find a recipe is a minefield. Some say you mix ale (possibly unhopped) and mead together, others say you brew them together. Others allow so little malt in proportion to the honey that it would drink thin, nearly all say you should stick such a variety of spices in there that it would be more like mulled ale or wassail than anything you'd want to have a session on. So I looked carefully at @Cwrw666 thoughts and recipe and took it from there.
First, I wanted a drinkable strength, next, I thought that as this is a mediaeval drink, there would be some smokiness from the malt in there, I thought, too, that it would probably be fairly dark. Finally I reckoned (possibly wrongly) that adding malt to honey is a way of making it go further and I should be looking at a "stretched" mead rather than a honey flavoured beer. In spite of that, I've tried to get the best of both worlds by having the honey account for only about a third of the fermentables.
Here goes:
For 10 litres : Target OG 1075 : IBU 20
65% Pale Malt (Crisp's Best) 1.3 Kg
25% Chateau Smoked Malt 500 g
10% Dark Crystal Malt (Simpsons Double Roast 300 ebc) 200g
Bittering hops to 20 IBUs (I used Fuggles)
Protofloc ¼ tablet 10 minutes
60+10 minutes boil
Then add 1 Kg decent generic Honey (Super U Miel de Fleurs)
and 15 g Dried Sweet Orange Peel
Stirring mightily. Bring back to the boil and cut flame.
Mangrove Jack's M05 Mead Yeast (It's worth looking at the spec. Exactly what I wanted)
Overnight mash was at 66C.
I collected 11 litres with an OG of 1071. I'm happy with that.

Just racked this into secondary after 4 days fermentation. It's looking and tasting really good.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

It's been a while and you might be forgiven for thinking I've been off the boil. Not so. Today I got up early to knock out a batch of "Tropical" for the WIse One and last week I put on a Wheat Porter and a Braggot. As I promised to post my recipe for Braggot elsewhere, here it is:
Trying to find a recipe is a minefield. Some say you mix ale (possibly unhopped) and mead together, others say you brew them together. Others allow so little malt in proportion to the honey that it would drink thin, nearly all say you should stick such a variety of spices in there that it would be more like mulled ale or wassail than anything you'd want to have a session on. So I looked carefully at @Cwrw666 thoughts and recipe and took it from there.
First, I wanted a drinkable strength, next, I thought that as this is a mediaeval drink, there would be some smokiness from the malt in there, I thought, too, that it would probably be fairly dark. Finally I reckoned (possibly wrongly) that adding malt to honey is a way of making it go further and I should be looking at a "stretched" mead rather than a honey flavoured beer. In spite of that, I've tried to get the best of both worlds by having the honey account for only about a third of the fermentables.
Here goes:
For 10 litres : Target OG 1075 : IBU 20
65% Pale Malt (Crisp's Best) 1.3 Kg
25% Chateau Smoked Malt 500 g
10% Dark Crystal Malt (Simpsons Double Roast 300 ebc) 200g
Bittering hops to 20 IBUs (I used Fuggles)
Protofloc ¼ tablet 10 minutes
60+10 minutes boil
Then add 1 Kg decent generic Honey (Super U Miel de Fleurs)
and 15 g Dried Sweet Orange Peel
Stirring mightily. Bring back to the boil and cut flame.
Mangrove Jack's M05 Mead Yeast (It's worth looking at the spec. Exactly what I wanted)
Overnight mash was at 66C.
I collected 11 litres with an OG of 1071. I'm happy with that.

Just racked this into secondary after 4 days fermentation. It's looking and tasting really good.

Yum, that sounds lovely. How long do you think you'll need before that's drinkable?

 

[An Ankoù]

Yum, that sounds lovely. How long do you think you'll need before that's drinkable?

No idea, Pilgrim. It's the first time I've tried making it and I've never used that yeast before. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Dutto]

Current plan is that we will swing by at the beginning of December so please save me a bottle!

Many thanks!

Woof, whine, grrr etc. (Which means "I hope the summer isn't too hot for you!")

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

No idea, Pilgrim. It's the first time I've tried making it and I've never used that yeast before. I'll keep you posted.

Fascinated by this one - any update on how it worked out sir?

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Fascinated by this one - any update on how it worked out sir?

Yes, I meant to ask about this one as well.

 

[An Ankoù]

Thank you for your kind enquiries. I have to say that in the beginning it was pretty awful. The smoke and the honey made for a really sort of "unclean" flavour and yet the stuff was never undrinkable. More recently (about a few weeks ago) the whole thing had mellowed down to something like you've never tasted before, but ultimately moreish and with a flavour that is neither that of beer nor of honey.
I've got one in the back and I'm going to open it now instead of the Old Peculier I was going to finish on. Will keep you posted.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Thank you for your kind enquiries. I have to say that in the beginning it was pretty awful. The smoke and the honey made for a really sort of "unclean" flavour and yet the stuff was never undrinkable. More recently (about a few weeks ago) the whole thing had mellowed down to something like you've never tasted before, but ultimately moreish and with a flavour that is neither that of beer nor of honey.
I've got one in the back and I'm going to open it now instead of the Old Peculier I was going to finish on. Will keep you posted.

I've still got all the stuff to make it, just not got round to it yet....

 

[An Ankoù]

....... Braggott. Bottled 5th July. Rich chestnut colour. Good head which quickly collapses. At 8% abv, it drinks much lighter than its weight (which is to be expected as half the fermentables come from the honey). Body and mouthfeel solid and, while it's not dry and there's sweetness after the swallow, there's no cloying sweetness from the honey. In many respects it's like drinking a good sparkling wine. The similarities stop there, though. The taste is just different- I can't describe it. It's not overwhelmingly pleasant or unpleasant it's just mediaeval! And there's a deep raisin flavour which has nothing to do with oxidised flavours. I don't know whether you'd like it. I love it. Would I make it again? Yes. Would I expect my mates to come clamouring round for another glass? Probably not. Would I leave out the smoked malt and replace it with plain malt? I really can't make up my mind whether that would ruin the character. If I entered it in a competition I'd expect it to come bottom and wouldn't give a Donald Duck.
There. Apart from sending you a bottle, I don't know what I can add.

 

[An Ankoù]

I've still got all the stuff to make it, just not got round to it yet....

Go, Pilgrim. Do it. But give it a good few months to mature and meld together. It's an experience.
I think someone else made some too,. I think @Cwrw666 makes the stuff, too. I wonder what he'd think of mine.

 

[An Ankoù]

Current plan is that we will swing by at the beginning of December so please save me a bottle!

Many thanks!

Woof, whine, grrr etc. (Which means "I hope the summer isn't too hot for you!")

I haven't looked at this thread for a while, @Dutto . Are you still swinging by? I've got a bottle or two left to rub on your chilblains.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Go, Pilgrim. Do it. But give it a good few months to mature and meld together. It's an experience.
I think someone else made some too,. I think @Cwrw666 makes the stuff, too. I wonder what he'd think of mine.

Oh fine, you've sold it, I'll do a 10l batch.

 

[Dutto]

I haven't looked at this thread for a while, @Dutto . Are you still swinging by? I've got a bottle or two left to rub on your chilblains.

I'm afraid that Covid 19 put an end to Plan "B"! I am now booked on the same Portsmouth > Caen > Portsmouth for 12th to 15th October 2021. Brittany Ferries were very understanding so well happy!

Also, according to UK Gov the EHIC will be okay "until it expires" (at which point it will be replaced by a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) so visiting France is on again! Now all we have to do is to not catch the virus, get the vaccine and still not catch the virus and hope and pray that 2021 will start approaching normality.

Have a great New Year, don't let anyone cough on you and we will see you sometime in 2021 - Inshallah!

BTW, I still have a few Euros left on my "Balleine" card!

Oh and "Woof, whine, whine, woof, growl." Which translates to "Need more drink. Deliver or else!"

 

[Cwrw666]

I think someone else made some too,. I think @Cwrw666 makes the stuff, too. I wonder what he'd think of mine.

I do, in fact it's my next planned brew. Never tried it with some smoked malt though. I think I'd be worried that it might overpower the honey flavours, though I do like smoked beers. Haven't made one for a few years.

 

[An Ankoù]

I do, in fact it's my next planned brew. Never tried it with some smoked malt though. I think I'd be worried that it might overpower the honey flavours, though I do like smoked beers. Haven't made one for a few years.

In truth, the smoke and the honey muddle each other. I used smoked for an attempt at authenticity, but I think I'll use something clean and rich like Chevallier next time.

 

[An Ankoù]

Last Year:

New Year’s resolution is to start a brew day thread for the record and to share the ups and downs of various brews.

Failed miserably with this one and I firmly intend to try harder this year.

Got off to a good start with two brews under my belt and a little one planned for tomorrow. As always, the festering season is a time for sessions with your family and mates or dog if you haven't got any of the former. And all the session beer gets drunk leaving crates of Death Stout, Dubbels, Trippels and the nearly full bottle of advokaat that's been handed down from grandad to dad to son. So it's time to brew some proper drinking beer:
The Mild With No Name
I've made this before and it's better than my standard Dog's Bollocks Mild so I think we can wave good by to the Dog's. My brewing notes for the first batch indicate it's loosely based on a Graham Hughes recipe. Looking at the recipe, I see that the only reason for such an attribution is that I was thumbing through his book and thought "I fancy a mild". That's as close as it gets.
25 litres. OG 1036. IBU 22 Brewed on the frozen wastes of my patio in a small pot. Collected 17L of wort at 1048, which I liquored back to 22½ litres to get 1036.
3.4 Kg Mild Ale Malt
390g Caramalt
80g each of Carafa Special #1, #2 and #3
Fuggles pellets at 4.5% alpha acid 61g FWH
Protofloc last 10 mins, 12.5g Fuggles pellets last 5 minutes.
Pitched with MJ M-36
My abiding problem has been how to separate the hop detritus from the wort. Pellets clog a Bazooka really quickly and whirlpooling is for the birds as far as I'm concerned. I ended up using one of those fresh produce bags from Sainsbury's (my lad sent me half a dozen) and it works well. There's plenty of room for the hops to circulate and most of the fragments are contained. I put the late hops in the leg cut off a pair of tights. That works well, too.

New Pony Club
I'm not a great fan of Brewdog. I think most of their beers, including Punk IPA, are overated and Elvis Juice is undrinkable. BUT, I love Dead Pony Club- it's an amazing session beer and I've made it a couple of times now. But this time I want to use just Citra and Galaxy hops as I don't really like the dankness that Simcoe provides.
25 litre batch. OG 1040 (a tad higher than the original) 40 IBUs
Pale Ale malt 4 Kg,
Caramalt 800g
Crystal Malt 240g
Galaxy to 30 IBUs FWH (the other 10 IBUs come from the late hops, but it's a bit hit and miss)
Citra, Galaxy, Protofloc last 10 mins 10g, 10g ½ tab
Citra, Galaxy at flameout 10g, 10g,
Dry hop with 55g each Citra and Galaxy for 3 days.
I've got MJ M-36 ready for pitching so that's the one that's going in. It'll be neutral enough at these low temperatures.
EDIT: 25 litres collected at OG of 1044. I'll use a bit less malt next time. I'd forgotten that my full-batch brewing is more efficient than the 12 litre batch I had scaled up from. Oh well, I'll chuck another litre in to make up for the volume of yeast and trub left behind when I rack into secondary. Hardly a disaster.

 

[An Ankoù]

This has been an adventure. It's Greg Hughes' American Wheat Beer with a few changes. First, I wanted to use up my Wyeast 1007 German Ale yeast that had been hanging about in my fridge since August 2019, but it was already out of date since I got it in a 5 for £10 lucky dip from Brew UK. Well the culture took a few days to get going, but I think it's ok. The other weirdity is that although the OG should have been 1058, I only got 1050. Everything went well, the mash wash good and the sparge amazing. So where did the OGs go? Certainly, the grain bill was sufficient for the job. When I got to the bottom of my 12 litre pot, I saw something I'd never seen before: the trub was massive and it had set a bit like when you're making cheese. See photo. The rest of the trub was in my straining cloth mixed with the hops and the wort was crystal clear. A first. I'll make it again and just increase the fermentable by wheat and lager malts by 15%. The other difference is that I wanted to use Eldorado throughout. So I did. Here's the recipe:
12 litres. OG 1058. IBUs 26
Wheat Malt from Thehomebrewcompany 1.56 Kg
Pilsner Malt Bestmalz 1.3 Kg
Carapils 180 g
Eldorado hops FWH to 26 IBUs
Eldorado hops 10 minutes with protofloc 15 g
Eldorado Flamout 6 g
Overnight mash at 64C. 75 minute boil.

 

[An Ankoù]

I've got a few to catch up on here, not least that I threatened to post a recipe for my marmalade wine, I think @Northernblues123 started a thread on jam wine. Well, I'll catch up on those tomorrow but for today I want to talk about yesterday's brew, which was taken from the Durden Park booklet, recipe #122, Brown Stout (1835) William Black. I still had 2 Kg of my "well past its use by date" brown malt left so I scaled the recipe up to 16 litres and because I wasn't particularly concerned to reach the 101 IBUs that using the fuggles at recipe rates would have given, and because I had a bag of "well past its use by date" Sovereign in the freezer, I decided to substitute those for "authenticity". Here's the recipe. They describe it as "A mouth-filling, strong Scottish porter with a soft roast flavour" :
16 litres : OG 1077 : IBUs 101 (calculated from recipe)
Pale Malt 2Kg
Amber Malt 2 Kg
Brown Malt 2Kg
Black Malt 140g
Overnight mash started at 64C allowed to fall a couple of degrees in first hour with 8 ml Amyloglucosidase 300 (which is optimised at 60C).
150g Sovereign 2016 harvest at 5.4% alpha acid (cones). FWH.
75 minute boil with ½ a protofloc tablet last 15 mins.
Dry hop with 10g fuggles
Pitched with 1st generation MJ M36

The first thing to note about this recipe is that it smells gorgeous from mash through sparge through boil. It's like walking past a coffee roaster's shop, but it's not just coffee. It's intensely rich in colour and the flavour of the unhopped wort is like you could just drink it from the mash tun.
Enough of all that.

I collected 30 litres of wort sparging well, I thought, but obviously not that well as the last runnings were still sweet and dark. So I collected another 8 or 9 litres and boiled it up separately to make a mild.

After the boil, I ended up with just over 15 litres of hopped wort with an OG of 1070. I'm perfectly happy with that since, as I've mentioned before, I'm a pints swiller rather than a sipper, and I pitched it yesterday evening with a flask of M36 from a previous brew.

As for the mild, I boiled that up with enough EKGs to give me 25 IBUs and let it cool overnight as I had a lamb curry to make. In fact I've probably got nearer to 30 IBUs as I boiled off more than I expected. Ended up with the merest tad over 6 litres with an OG of 1030. Scraped some of the head off yesterday's brew to start off this morning's mild and Bob's your uncle. Also have the tale of today's beer to tell, but that can wait.

I usually give the spent grain to next door's chickens, but unsure whether the undenatured enzyme might produce Frankenhens, so this lot went on the compost heap.

 

[Cwrw666]

Sounds great. I've liked the Durden Park brews that I've done but it's a shame that so many of them are so strong. I can't handle anything much over 1050 OG.

After making the Cobb & Co Amber small beer I've started using homemade amber malt in some of my pale ales. Really adds a lot to them.

 

[An Ankoù]

Sounds great. I've liked the Durden Park brews that I've done but it's a shame that so many of them are so strong. I can't handle anything much over 1050 OG.

After making the Cobb & Co Amber small beer I've started using homemade amber malt in some of my pale ales. Really adds a lot to them.

Ah. So you think it's worth the effort and there's an improvement over "bought" amber malt? I had been using Imperial malt instead of Pale Amber- it's a bit darker than specified. I think it's about time I had ago at these home made versions.