Anna's Brewdays

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

 

[DocAnna]

Any update on the imperial stout. Have you tried it yet

I tried it almost a couple of weeks ago and was a little disappointed the whisky taste overpowered some of the other flavours, though my eldest daughter tasted the coffee strongest. I toned down the vanilla from Pennine's original and I'm concerned I might have toned that down too far. However, I'm expecting over time the vanilla to be more prominent and the whisky to blend a bit more. I have shared a couple of bottles with a couple of other people so we'll see what they think. I am planning to try it again this weekend, so will try to take some photos. I was impressed that the F2 yeast had managed to carbonate it a little even at the strength it is.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

@The-Engineer-That-Brews are you saying I'm a Morticia looky likey? Not gonna lie I've had that before with my black hair and dark lipstick goth looks lol

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

@The-Engineer-That-Brews are you saying I'm a Morticia looky likey? Not gonna lie I've had that before with my black hair and dark lipstick goth looks lol

Now you come to mention it...

 

[Pennine]

I tried it almost a couple of weeks ago and was a little disappointed the whisky taste overpowered some of the other flavours, though my eldest daughter tasted the coffee strongest. I toned down the vanilla from Pennine's original and I'm concerned I might have toned that down too far. However, I'm expecting over time the vanilla to be more prominent and the whisky to blend a bit more. I have shared a couple of bottles with a couple of other people so we'll see what they think. I am planning to try it again this weekend, so will try to take some photos. I was impressed that the F2 yeast had managed to carbonate it a little even at the strength it is.

@strange-steve mentioned about his imperial stout not carbing and with the cost of this recipe so high using F2 seemed prudent. Glad it helped in yours too.

The coffee was the strongest for me initially too, then it mellowed out some. Hopefully the whiskey mellows for you.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

It's pretty difficult to get long term NEIPA hop stability because the beer does evolve in the keg or bottle. Commercially they go to great lengths to keep the oxygen out but also to keep it cold. Those volatiles you smell want to get out of the liquid and as the headspace in the keg builds up they balance into that as well and you can't get that CO2 full of volatiles into the glass.
Perhaps the key keg method with a bag of beer that collapses is the best, or those individual metal tins!

 

[paintingken]

Well I was feeling a bit down this morning as last night I tried a small glass of my NEIPA that I was so proud of, and it had already lost that punchy pineapple and fruit edging into floral finish. Oh it was ok, not oxidised, haze stable. I know I shouldn’t really complain, it’s just that I sent out the beer to a couple of people to try and think it if it tastes like that I’ve under delivered a bit.

So I ended up labelling this one as ‘Thrice as Nice’ as it was my third go at an NEIPA. Next is to work on flavour stability and aim for ‘Four-ever yours’ though that is a bit bad as puns go.

Needing a bit of that @LisaMC positivity I think - and a bit of head down technical reading on hop flavour stability for good measure !

Anna

I’m sure it’s lovely.

I can trump you though. My nephew helps me brew from time to time so as a thank you I brewed his favourite beer with him, Doom Bar.

Opened the first bottle last night and it is as black as the night! Looks like he’s getting 40 pints of stout instead.

I will will be opening the enquiry early next week as I am away for the weekend

 

[An Ankoù]

This is a genuine question:
Can anyone tell me what is the attraction of these NEIPAs? I tried one, a Brew Dog, I think. It looked and tasted pretty much as I expected it would. I'm glad I tried it, but I wouldn't go back for another. Sure, it's got malt and hops and alcohol, but it's just not beer!
Now if it's a technical challenge to try to make such an unforgiving drink under the obstacles inherent in homebrew kit, then OK, I get that, but having done it, tick the box and move on to Watney's Red or something.

 

[jof]

This is a genuine question:
Can anyone tell me what is the attraction of these NEIPAs? I tried one, a Brew Dog, I think. It looked and tasted pretty much as I expected it would. I'm glad I tried it, but I wouldn't go back for another. Sure, it's got malt and hops and alcohol, but it's just not beer!
Now if it's a technical challenge to try to make such an unforgiving drink under the obstacles inherent in homebrew kit, then OK, I get that, but having done it, tick the box and move on to Watney's Red or something.

Ditto Ankou,
I'd rather have several bottles of Banks' finest at 89p than a can of "hipster brew"

Maybe it's a sign of getting old.

 

[DocAnna]

This is a genuine question:
Can anyone tell me what is the attraction of these NEIPAs? I tried one, a Brew Dog, I think. It looked and tasted pretty much as I expected it would. I'm glad I tried it, but I wouldn't go back for another. Sure, it's got malt and hops and alcohol, but it's just not beer!
Now if it's a technical challenge to try to make such an unforgiving drink under the obstacles inherent in homebrew kit, then OK, I get that, but having done it, tick the box and move on to Watney's Red or something.

Done right in my view NEIPA's can be simply stunning; Fruit, floral punchy aroma with flavours that are fresh bright citric and tropical juice, a hint of bitterness and a creamy mouthfeel. You are completely right they are not like what most have ever experienced as 'beer'.... and that is the very essence of what makes them worth all that hard work and aspiration to technical expertise .

If I may be permitted an analogy ... (I am prone to them).. making beer is a bit like cooking potatoes. You can at home with fairly normal equipment mash, boil, bake, chip, dauphinoise, rosti, crisps, roast, and even make pomme Anna . It is though possible to aspire to make pomme soufflé which requires equipment, and technical wizardry beyond what most kitchens can provide. The difference between mashed tatties and pomme soufflé is remarkable but they are all still potato, not everyone will like eveything that can be done with a potato and think it a bit bonkers why go to the effort of a pomme soufflé. Some of us though see it as being something to aspire to in part because it's difficult but also because it is so very different.

So I still want to build a better NEIPA, they taste remarkable and they are deliciously complicated to make , which suits me just fine .

Anna

 

[An Ankoù]

Done right in my view NEIPA's can be simply stunning; Fruit, floral punchy aroma with flavours that are fresh bright citric and tropical juice, a hint of bitterness and a creamy mouthfeel. You are completely right they are not like what most have ever experienced as 'beer'.... and that is the very essence of what makes them worth all that hard work and aspiration to technical expertise .

If I may be permitted an analogy ... (I am prone to them).. making beer is a bit like cooking potatoes. You can at home with fairly normal equipment mash, boil, bake, chip, dauphinoise, rosti, crisps, roast, and even make pomme Anna . It is though possible to aspire to make pomme soufflé which requires equipment, and technical wizardry beyond what most kitchens can provide. The difference between mashed tatties and pomme soufflé is remarkable but they are all still potato, not everyone will like eveything that can be done with a potato and think it a bit bonkers why go to the effort of a pomme soufflé. Some of us though see it as being something to aspire to in part because it's difficult but also because it is so very different.

So I still want to build a better NEIPA, they taste remarkable and they are deliciously complicated to make , which suits me just fine .

Anna

An excellent reply. Thanks Anna.
It just so happens that I've got a recipe for Öxäback ale, Garshol, p319, which is a potato-based beer. I'll get onto it right away.

 

[user 18729]

This is a genuine question:
Can anyone tell me what is the attraction of these NEIPAs? I tried one, a Brew Dog, I think. It looked and tasted pretty much as I expected it would. I'm glad I tried it, but I wouldn't go back for another. Sure, it's got malt and hops and alcohol, but it's just not beer!
Now if it's a technical challenge to try to make such an unforgiving drink under the obstacles inherent in homebrew kit, then OK, I get that, but having done it, tick the box and move on to Watney's Red or something.

Brew dog isn’t a proper NEIPA I’m afraid, they’ve gone down hill. Try some Verdant if you ever get the chance

 

[matt76]

I'd read about adding lime and sea salt to a Mexican Cerveza and thought it was worth trying, it does smell wonderful at the moment which seems to be specific to this yeast. I'm really pleased I over built the starter and have some of the yeast for another lager type beer sometime. The balloon is a CO2 'life pack' which stops the fermenter sucking in air while it cold crashes and ensures air is not sucked in during lifting and moving of the fermenter when I eventually take it out for kegging/bottling.
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I do appreciate that being a lager it doesn't necessarily have to be kept as fastidiously clear of oxygen as would a highly hopped beer, but I now use either a balloon or ferment under a tiny bit of pressure as standard now as from my reading over time, keeping O2 away from beer appears to be a worthwhile effort whatever the style being brewed.

Anna

Hey @DocAnna , I just had a thought - when do you attach the balloon and how do you inflate it?

I guess you don't necessarily need it inflated mega high, but you must need it partially inflated - I think I worked out in a 4L headspace, cold crashing from 20 to 0degC the change in volume was about 300ml.

Do you wait until fermentation is completely done and then attach it, having given it a bit of CO2 from the cylinder? And do you bother purging the line of air?

Or do you attach it near the end of fermentation and use the naturally produced CO2? (Must be hard to judge!)

Cheers,

Matt

 

[DocAnna]

Hi @matt76, it's not really that complicated . The balloons have been made previously to this method: How to: Balloon CO2 collection (Bruloonlock) which means I have a set of balloons I can pull off/push on to a length of standard vinyl tubing. The balloon can be connected any time after the initial fermentation activity, I've only had one time it look rather tense but the connections are such that I'd expect them to push out or leak under pressure rather than burst the balloon. I then either stick another balloon on or the tube in a jar of starsan as a blow of tube, a wee bit of tape over the balloon and reconnect it shortly before cold crashing.

Because I'm a little paranoid, I do push out some of the CO2 before reconnecting, and also push out any residual CO2 left in the ballon from previously before initially connecting it which effectively flushes the tube of air as well. This was the first time I've forgotten to fill the balloon from CO2 from fermentation, hence the fill using the carbonation cap held onto the end of the tube, it didn't need to be a super gas tight fit, just enough to blow the balloon up. The cold crash sucks in enough CO2 to take the balloon down a little, which is great for when I have to move the brew bucket as it 'breathes' in and out of the balloon depending on how the bucket is carried.

In essence this is a way of doing O2 free brewing in a bucket. I haven't though come up with a great way of doing closed transfer to a keg from a brew bucket - but I'm working on that one
Anna

 

[Buffers brewery]

I haven't though come up with a great way of doing closed transfer to a keg from a brew bucket - but I'm working on that one

I don’t have corny kegs but my King Keg pressure barrels are fitted with corny beer and gas posts. I do “minimal O2 transfer” from a modified standard fermentation bucket. The video shows how (excuse the old buffer but he was all I could afford).



The tap fitted to the bottom of the bucket is connected to a float tube inside so beer is drawn from the top first. The transfer pipe is first primed from the bucket to get rid of the air and priming solution added, then without letting air back into the transfer pipe it’s disconnected from the “priming funnel” and connected to the beer post on the keg. The fermentation bucket bottom must be above the keg top to achieve a syphoned flow. The keg is full of CO2 having filled it with water and displaced it with CO2. Hope that helps. Keep up this great thread

 

[DocAnna]

Thanks @Buffers brewery, most of my brew buckets don't have taps, I have a vague aversion to them regarding leakage, sanitation and not the right level for the trub etc. I'll think of something eventually .

Kegerator had a new blackboard added today with the magnetic sheet, bit miffed with myself after carefully cutting out a template I slightly over cut the magnetic sheet bottom left. I doubt anyone but me will notice. I'll see how much it winds me up and if it stays annoying I'll redo it with a new template. The drip tray is going to have to wait a bit since after cutting the central hole I realised my 60mm bolts weren't even close to being long enough, so I've ordered some M5 80mm ones instead but they don't stock them locally which means a bit of a wait. Oh and to add to the disappointment, one of my carefully made wedges tore as I was drilling in to it since I had the drill on too fast. It's ok but I now definitely will need to finish with white sealant to cover this up. Hurrumph .

 

[matt76]

Thanks @Buffers brewery, most of my brew buckets don't have taps, I have a vague aversion to them regarding leakage, sanitation and not the right level for the trub etc. I'll think of something eventually .

Kegerator had a new blackboard added today with the magnetic sheet, bit miffed with myself after carefully cutting out a template I slightly over cut the magnetic sheet bottom left. I doubt anyone but me will notice. I'll see how much it winds me up and if it stays annoying I'll redo it with a new template. The drip tray is going to have to wait a bit since after cutting the central hole I realised my 60mm bolts weren't even close to being long enough, so I've ordered some M5 80mm ones instead but they don't stock them locally which means a bit of a wait. Oh and to add to the disappointment, one of my carefully made wedges tore as I was drilling in to it since I had the drill on too fast. It's ok but I now definitely will need to finish with white sealant to cover this up. Hurrumph .
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View attachment 49729

I have to hand it to you Anna, that looks superb, simple yet elegant.

However, the game is up, it's time to change clean, it's clear you are an imposter - with handwriting that neat you cannot possibly be a doctor! All doctors - as everyone knows - write in a totally illegible scrawl decipherable only by pharmacists!

In essence this is a way of doing O2 free brewing in a bucket. I haven't though come up with a great way of doing closed transfer to a keg from a brew bucket - but I'm working on that one

Funny you should mention this - I also ferment in buckets without a tap and have been figuring out how to do this. With a tap it's simple, and if you use carboys there are loads of videos on YouTube.

I haven't tried it with actual beer so far, only water, but I think I've figured it out. I'll try and take some photos but essentially...

(basically you're converting your bucket into a corny keg, except much, much lower pressure!)

Cut a second hole in your bucket lid, same size as first (about 13mm in my case).

Airlock grommet in each hole - mine are just the right size to take some 3/8 beer line and seal well enough.

Bucket high up, such as on a table, corny keg down low, e.g on the floor.

Gas in via one hole, liquid out the other leading to the beer-out post of your purged corny keg with pressure relief valve open.

Very, very carefully open up your regulator. Maybe just 0.5 - 1.0psi. You need just enough pressure into the bucket to start and maintain the syphon, but too much and your bucket will turn into a sphere!

A few other bits and pieces are needed/useful:

I have an in-line filter on order to catch up bits etc.

During fermentation I'd put a airlock on the liquid out hole in the bucket lid, and in the other a short tube with a 3/8 push fit valve - useful to hook up a gas line to purge if you want to add dry hops or finings etc. This will of course also be your gas-in during transfer.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Airlock grommet in each hole - mine are just the right size to take some 3/8 beer line and seal well enough.

Just FWIW, when I need an airtight connection through a lid I use these.…

 

[matt76]

Just FWIW, when I need an airtight connection through a lid I use these.…

View attachment 49783

Aha! Thanks very much TETB That's really useful to know - I was planning to post somewhere the detail of what I'm doing for exactly this kind of reason. Whereas you can adapt and make do, more often than not there is a widget of some kind of other that would do the job perfectly.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Aha! Thanks very much TETB That's really useful to know

You're welcome :hat:
For a good seal it's best to add a silicone or rubber washer/O-ring, which needs to go on the side with the fixed flange.
Shop around because the prices do vary a lot, e.g. 5-pack for £7 here.