Anna's Brewdays

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

How much are you charging him?
Funnily enough, I've got my copy of GH open in front of me right now... I've just ordered the makings of the Yorkshire Bitter, and the Ruby Mild

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Eldest son has just texted asking nicely if I can refill his keg.... beginning to realise I need to be a bit more organised with a brew schedule If I'm going to keep him and his friends supplied. Think I might do something reasonable straightforward as well that doesn't need closed transfer, rather than the rather nice beer I made for him last time. Hmm.. I can see a GH recipe perusal coming on .

Anna

Make him a Belgian Strong Ale, that’ll slow him down

 

[DocAnna]

So the experimental keg for my son hasn't really worked. I picked up what was left today, and despite him saying they could only get foam out of it, the keg is fairly well emptied... oh as is the mini gas cylinder which I think they got a bit gas crazy with and kept filling the keg with it.

So I've a keg back for my own use...mind you I did drop off 60 bottles of various beers for him and his friends, along with a bag of parental goodies from the supermarket . I've left him strict instructions to return at least 80% of the bottles, since last time almost all of those nice screw top bottles went missing. He'd like a Mexican corona type lager next. Ok so that's to be added to the schedule!

Anna

 

[cheeseyfeet]

What was the festbier recipe you brewed Anna?

I fancy having a go at one for the summer.

 

[DocAnna]

What was the festbier recipe you brewed Anna?

I fancy having a go at one for the summer.

Oh the Festbier was surprisingly straightforward as a brew - well other than the pump blocking, but from a recipe perspective pretty simple. It’s tasting really quite fine at the moment, well pleased with it, and I’m hoping it will continue to improve with holding it cold. I’ve attached the brew sheet for the batch - though I’ve been conditioning at 0.2 deg C not 2 deg C. I think much of the merit fir this was a really good steady cold temperature in our shed.

edit - oops just noticed it says ferment at ale temperature- that’s not correct. It was held at 10-11 deg, at most 12.

Anna

 

[cheeseyfeet]

Thanks for sharing!

This looks like a cracker

 

[DocAnna]

I've always struggled with an odd 'kit' taste in the white wines I've made, which seems to be consistent no matter what quality or brand of kit that I use. I've been a bit upset about this and had thought it was the sorbate and sulphites, however @LisaMC 's delicious strawberry wine did not have this taste at all so I'm wondering if I've been looking in the wrong place about the off flavour. I'm now wondering if it's a light strike flavour since I tend to ferment the wines at room temperature in my home office which is quite bright.

Inspired by @Gwen 's knitted covers ( I blame the weather ) I'm now planning to make a set of fermenter covers out of thermal blackout material. I'm thinking of bonding the blackout material to something a bit smarter as a material which will add further to the thermal insulation too. A bit of a fun sewing project too ☺, if it works out well then I'll try to do a how to guide too!

Anna

 

[DocAnna]

So as usual I bit off a bit more than I should today. Thought I’d do a brew day, and while I was about it tidy up the mess of the garage, rearrange my brewing bits and pieces to be neater, sweep out the grain when I’d discovered a mouse had nibbled through the grain bag, put the grain in sealed old plastic fermenting bins instead, nip out to the shops, fill up the car with petrol, make a roast beef dinner, tidy the kitchen, and I even had dreams of doing some paperwork!

To be fair I have done most of those - dinner in progress, wort chilling, most of it tidied…
…I am though now a bit of a puddle from running around juggling family, brew and tidying. I’ll write the brew up properly in a wee bit, but I now have my very own bit of brewing space in the garage that I can keep in place without having to assemble everything .

it’s not much but it feels rather lovely to have that bit of my own space all set up ready to go!

Anna

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

So as usual I bit of a bit more than I should today. Thought I’d do a brew day, and while I was about it tidy up the mess of the garage, rearrange my brewing bits and pieces to be neater, sweep out the grain when I’d discovered a mouse had nibbled through the grain bag, put the grain in sealed old plastic fermenting bins instead, nip out to the shops, fill up the car with petrol, make a roast beef dinner, tidy the kitchen, and I even had dreams of doing some paperwork!

To be fair I have done most of those - dinner in progress, wort chilling, most of it tidied…
…I am though now a bit of a puddle from running around juggling family, brew and tidying. I’ll write the brew up properly in a wee bit, but I now have my very own bit of brewing space in the garage that I can keep in place without having to assemble everything .

it’s not much but it feels rather lovely to have that bit of my own space all set up ready to go!

View attachment 47700
Anna

your work rate leaves me breathless just reading about it... slow down for heaven's sake: you're showing the rest of us up... and that is far too clean and tidy for a man cave, then for goodness sake do the job properly and have it piled high with forgotten cups of coffee and 'things that might come in handy one day'

 

[DocAnna]

your work rate leaves me breathless just reading about it... slow down for heaven's sake: you're showing the rest of us up... and that is far too clean and tidy for a man cave, then for goodness sake do the job properly and have it piled high with forgotten cups of coffee and 'things that might come in handy one day'

I never quite get done all that I'd like to do, though this weekend has been particularly industrious since we were working in the garden most of yesterday and I ache a bit today from not being used to the exertion. As for it being tidy only just, I'd be happier with tiled walls and an industrial seam free floor, but I guess the garage will do for now.

Something I'm particularly chuffed with is that now I have a proper home for my brewzilla, I can make it all the more comfortable... and I'm really pleased with this... I have a pulley to lift up the mash pipe . Yay no more embarrassing myself hefting up the mash pipe as I huff puff and feel it's the most precarious part of the brew!

I still need to write up the brew properly, which I feel I should since it was a fairly expensive grain kit from the maltmiller. The short version is grrr... fine crush improves efficiency does it indeed.. and sticks a sparge like glue, but ok in the end.

Anna

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Try 10ml glucanase enzyme in the water added at the salts stage. Works well to dissolve those sticky bits, doesn't take up volume as rice or oat hulls do.

 

[DocAnna]

Try 10ml glucanase enzyme in the water added at the salts stage. Works well to dissolve those sticky bits, doesn't take up volume as rice or oat hulls do.

Interesting, I'd not heard of gluconase before. Only supplier I can find in the UK only does 5kg as the smallest of batches and it's not cheap either. I'm also a little uncomfortable using this rather than rice hulls as not 'natural', I know that's a bit daft since it is naturally derived but it's one further step away from the malt+yeast+water=beer equation.

Anna

 

[Hop_it]

I never quite get done all that I'd like to do, though this weekend has been particularly industrious since we were working in the garden most of yesterday and I ache a bit today from not being used to the exertion. As for it being tidy only just, I'd be happier with tiled walls and an industrial seam free floor, but I guess the garage will do for now.

Something I'm particularly chuffed with is that now I have a proper home for my brewzilla, I can make it all the more comfortable... and I'm really pleased with this... I have a pulley to lift up the mash pipe . Yay no more embarrassing myself hefting up the mash pipe as I huff puff and feel it's the most precarious part of the brew!

View attachment 47725

I still need to write up the brew properly, which I feel I should since it was a fairly expensive grain kit from the maltmiller. The short version is grrr... fine crush improves efficiency does it indeed.. and sticks a sparge like glue, but ok in the end.

Anna

I really like your hoist. I noticed in your previous photo that you sit the Brewzilla on a metal trolley. This clearly makes it easier to get at the control panel, but does mean that you have to lift the malt pipe up quite high in order to set it on the brackets for draining and sparging. The hoist makes a lot of sense
How did you get on with high altitude sparging?

PS - I empathise with your stuck sparge issues . . . . . I've been there myself. However, I'm intrigued with the suggestion from RoomWithABrew to use glucanase in the strike water. I think I'll give it a try.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Only supplier I can find in the UK only does 5kg as the smallest of batches and it's not cheap either. I'm also a little uncomfortable using this rather than rice hulls

Try a mash rest at 56°C instead - apparently, according to ‘the science of step mashing’ that should maximise the beta glucanase activity. I did that for my dunkelweizen (50% wheat) and had no issues with the mash at all :-)

 

[RoomWithABrew]

You can put the sticky stuff ( flaked ingredients ) in early at the salts stage with the enzyme so a sort of step mash without the malt enzyme contribution.

Have to admit that the water from tap is about 50 celsius with our solar heater and I do lob in a few pounds of the grains at the same time and the rest I dough in just below strike temp as the water is nearly heated on the guten. That way it's bang on temp once doughed in without starting high and going lower. Just to look after the enzymes a bit more carefully.

@DocAnna Surprised it's expensive in the uk as its quite cheap here 100ml for about 3 pounds fifty. So 35 pence per brew or just less.

Oat hulls here are 2 pounds fifty a kilo and they take up volume.

On the enzyme subject I use Clarity ferm ( brewery strength ) on any beer that needs to be clear. It prevents chill haze and helps the clearing without finings, also eliminates nearly all the gluten and extends shelf life. Commercial stuff so only need 3ml in the fermenter.

 

[samale]

You can put the sticky stuff ( flaked ingredients ) in early at the salts stage with tthe enzyme.

@DocAnna Surprised it's expensive in the uk as its quite cheap here 100ml for about 3 pounds fifty. So 35 pence per brew or just less.

Oat hulls here are 2 pounds fifty a kilo and they take up volume.

On the enzyme subject I use Clarity ferm ( brewery strength ) on any beer that needs to be clear. It prevents chill haze and helps the clearing without finings, also eliminates nearly all the gluten and extends shelf life. Commercial stuff so only need 3ml in the fermenter.

I have looked at using clarity ferm for brewing. My sister is gluten free, how much would you use in a 20 litre brew

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@samale

The stuff I have now is the commercial concentration and have attached the info that was sent with it. I have been adding 4 ml to the fermenter which usually has about 28 litres in it.
I think the first dose that I bought was in a homebrew package and was 10ml. It was more expensive than this that I sourced. Ideal to buy it with a few other brewers in the bigger commercial quantity.

There are some other similar products to the clarity ferm if you look on the MurphyandSon website. Might have to enquire from them as to the differences and they might send a sample or point you to a brewer who uses it and they might be open for negotiation.

 

[Hanglow]

Malt miller sells a repacked clarity enzyme that works great, 0.5ml per batch so it works out at 30p per batch.

 

[An Ankoù]

The short version is grrr... fine crush improves efficiency does it indeed.. and sticks a sparge like glue, but ok in the end.

I don't know if this helps or is relevant to your system, but I started getting regular stuck mashes, especially when mashing overnight. I found that rather than the mash "setting", the grain was clogging either: the slots in the manifold of my Thermos picnic box mash tun, or the holes in the false bottom of my SS mash tun. I started putting a large BITB bag in the tun as a liner and I've not had a stuck mash since.

 

[DocAnna]

I really like your hoist. I noticed in your previous photo that you sit the Brewzilla on a metal trolley. This clearly makes it easier to get at the control panel, but does mean that you have to lift the malt pipe up quite high in order to set it on the brackets for draining and sparging. The hoist makes a lot of sense
How did you get on with high altitude sparging?

I prefer the Brewzilla a bit higher up so I can drain with the ball valve tap into a fermenter at the end of the brew rather than risk the pump blocking, and having had both block once before I am definitely not going to try lifting that thing while full again . Before the hoist, lifting the mash pipe out was an ungainly one foot on a stool, one on the trolley, me huffing puffing and muttering 'oh no' as I struggle to engage the four lugs for the pipe. I have to admit I've not used the pulley while loaded yet as this was fitted after Sunday's brew.

Try a mash rest at 56°C instead - apparently, according to ‘the science of step mashing’ that should maximise the beta glucanase activity. I did that for my dunkelweizen (50% wheat) and had no issues with the mash at all :-)

I might just try that, thanks. This was a fine crush grain kit with quite a lot of oats... and there are contributing factors that err sort of make the stuck sparge my own daft fault but I'll explain that later.

@DocAnna Surprised it's expensive in the uk as its quite cheap here 100ml for about 3 pounds fifty. So 35 pence per brew or just less.

Oat hulls here are 2 pounds fifty a kilo and they take up volume.

On the enzyme subject I use Clarity ferm ( brewery strength ) on any beer that needs to be clear. It prevents chill haze and helps the clearing without finings, also eliminates nearly all the gluten and extends shelf life. Commercial stuff so only need 3ml in the fermenter.

Murphy and sons do 5kg of gluconase for £27 +VAT which based on your volumes would last me a lifetime... problem is it only has a shelf life of 1 year which makes it a lot lot more expensive.

I started putting a large BITB bag in the tun as a liner and I've not had a stuck mash since.

Thanks, I like this idea but I'm less keen on there being something else to clean for each brewday, hmm worth thinking about though.

Anna