Anna's Brewdays

[DocAnna]

LIDL have a vacuum sealer for £24 at the moment.

I tried to get one at Lidl but both our stores had run out of them.

 

[Gerryjo]

Relived to find I can fit 3 fairly comfortably into the fridge but will need to sort out something to lift the lowest keg off the base a bit to make space for the door lip to fit under. I could cut the door lip off instead but I do like things to look smart and smooth and I'm concerned cutting the bottom lip off will look messy - am I being daft?

Cut a wooden shelf to slide into the shelf rails at the bottom where the glass drawer lid would have been and cut two legs to prop under so as to take the weight and this will level your kegs without cutting the door lip.

 

[Gerryjo]

I tried to get one at Lidl but both our stores had run out of them.

Just seen about a dozen of them about half an hour ago and if I had known I could have got one for you...

 

[Buffers brewery]

are you convinced yet?

Yes! Of course!
I'm sure you've got lots of ideas for your shelf already.....but.....you could make a block from insulation board slabs (available from all good Wickes) held together with gaffer tape and covered in Fablon for easy wipe clean cleaning

 

[DocAnna]

Need to get a starter on today for the Mexican Cerveza that my son asked for as the next beer. Last time I made a Cerveza was with a Coopers kit, which seems an age ago now, but it really wasn't bad at the time. It will be interesting to compare at least in memory with me now adding in all the complications and fiddly stuff that I use now. This will use WLP940 a Mexican lager white labs yeast, and based on some reading about these lagers, I'm planning on adding some lime extract and salt at bottling, though might split the batch to half with and half without the additions... we'll see . I'd love to try another double brew day if I can manage it and make another batch of the Bombay bomber, this time fermenting at room temperature and not pressurised to see if it makes much of a difference (also because my fermenting fridge will be tied up with the Mexican Lager.

Oh - also need to package up the rest of the hops, and sorry @Random Badger I found I hadn't posted your hops yet..I will really try to get them in the post in the next couple of days.

Anna

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Oooh the Cerveza sounds excellent - I'm tempted to give that a try myself!

 

[Random Badger]

Need to get a starter on today for the Mexican Cerveza that my son asked for as the next beer. Last time I made a Cerveza was with a Coopers kit, which seems an age ago now, but it really wasn't bad at the time. It will be interesting to compare at least in memory with me now adding in all the complications and fiddly stuff that I use now. This will use WLP940 a Mexican lager white labs yeast, and based on some reading about these lagers, I'm planning on adding some lime extract and salt at bottling, though might split the batch to half with and half without the additions... we'll see . I'd love to try another double brew day if I can manage it and make another batch of the Bombay bomber, this time fermenting at room temperature and not pressurised to see if it makes much of a difference (also because my fermenting fridge will be tied up with the Mexican Lager.

Oh - also need to package up the rest of the hops, and sorry @Random Badger I found I hadn't posted your hops yet..I will really try to get them in the post in the next couple of days.

Anna

Thank you Anna. It would be great if you can get them to me this week please as I have an IPA sat in the fermenter that I will dry hop with them. I won't be adding any lime or salt though!

 

[DocAnna]

Thank you Anna. It would be great if you can get them to me this week please as I have an IPA sat in the fermenter that I will dry hop with them. I won't be adding any lime though!

Right - that's a great bit of incentive to get on with posting them! Thank you x

 

[Brewnaldo]

Need to get a starter on today for the Mexican Cerveza that my son asked for as the next beer. Last time I made a Cerveza was with a Coopers kit, which seems an age ago now, but it really wasn't bad at the time. It will be interesting to compare at least in memory with me now adding in all the complications and fiddly stuff that I use now. This will use WLP940 a Mexican lager white labs yeast, and based on some reading about these lagers, I'm planning on adding some lime extract and salt at bottling, though might split the batch to half with and half without the additions... we'll see . I'd love to try another double brew day if I can manage it and make another batch of the Bombay bomber, this time fermenting at room temperature and not pressurised to see if it makes much of a difference (also because my fermenting fridge will be tied up with the Mexican Lager.

Oh - also need to package up the rest of the hops, and sorry @Random Badger I found I hadn't posted your hops yet..I will really try to get them in the post in the next couple of days.

Anna

My current lager (of sorts, its warm fermented with MJ Californian Lager) has some lime in the boil, and I just added some lemon and lime skin lastnight as it has reached FG and just needs a few days to clear before bottling. Wont be ready before you brew years but i'll let you know how the lemon and lime additions plays at bottling time. The skin of 2 each of lemon and lime was a complete stab in the dark............. The admittedly very yeasty sample I tasted lastnight whilst checking gravity pre skin addition was pleasinly dry and sharp... I have high hopes for it.

 

[Clint]

I'm thinking...how many cornies is a "comfortable " amount?
And then there's crunching the recipes to 19l...
But to facilitate...garage needs rewire/extra sockets...and a jolly good clear out!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I'm thinking...how many cornies is a "comfortable " amount?
And then there's crunching the recipes to 19l...
But to facilitate...garage needs rewire/extra sockets...and a jolly good clear out!

I’d say a dozen. After that you spend too much time brewing and your mind starts to turn to 30 & 50-litre kegs.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I'm thinking...how many cornies is a "comfortable " amount?
And then there's crunching the recipes to 19l...
But to facilitate...garage needs rewire/extra sockets...and a jolly good clear out!

I am aiming for 4 i have 2 at the moment 3 fv's and 2 pb's and a good selection of bottles, my plan is rotation with the equipment i have, i will still do 23L brews and bottle what is left over, the sticking point is the fridge so timing is important, i plan to use the pb's for cask type ales that really look after them selfs it's a minefield that could quite easily run to hundreds of pounds, at the end of the day it is a hobby but a bloody good one

 

[Scrattajack]

And then there's crunching the recipes to 19l...

You don't have to, carry on as normal and bottle the 'excess'. Some of mine goes to the BiL who gives me some of his and the rest is a useful test of quality for the kegged stuff.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I’ve got 3 cornies and I fill two and leave one fallow. I find that this really improves the finished beer. I then rotate when I empty one.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

I am aiming for 4 i have 2 at the moment 3 fv's and 2 pb's and a good selection of bottles, my plan is rotation with the equipment i have, i will still do 23L brews and bottle what is left over, the sticking point is the fridge so timing is important, i plan to use the pb's for cask type ales that really look after them selfs it's a minefield that could quite easily run to hundreds of pounds, at the end of the day it is a hobby but a bloody good one

I was aiming for about four. I now have eight

 

[Rodcx500z]

I was aiming for about four. I now have eight

O dear looks like i got that wrong then

 

[An Ankoù]

I'd love to try another double brew day if I can manage it

Really Anna! Just give up all this leech-craft and go full time.

 

[DocAnna]

Ok quickie update as still busy today, and at some stage I need to reply to some of the above comments. Ok starter is on but the magnet I'm using I think is the small one and makes far too much noise

I also packaged and posted up the remaining hops but will post on that elsewhere. Taking a sort of half day off tomorrow as my bestie is coming up to visit for a work thing, so going to enjoy catching up properly and a bit of sun .

Anna

 

[Random Badger]

Ok quickie update as still busy today, and at some stage I need to reply to some of the above comments. Ok starter is on but the magnet I'm using I think is the small one and makes far too much noise
View attachment 48716

I also packaged and posted up the remaining hops but will post on that elsewhere. Taking a sort of half day off tomorrow as my bestie is coming up to visit for a work thing, so going to enjoy catching up properly and a bit of sun .

Anna

Sounds as though you could do with a break!

 

[DocAnna]

First time properly using my brew setup in the garage in place without having to assemble it all first so much better. The pulley is brilliant and makes it feel so much safer - I used to feel quite anxious about the sparge and having to lift the malt pipe up.