Arkells Kingsdown Ale

[PD]

I can't believe how fast my Arkells 3B brew has been drunk, I was wary of it as many folks I spoke to said it wasn't a good beer.... So much for individual taste then...It was a light 3.9% easy drinking beer that for both son and me was first choice from the shelves.

So seeing as I've just made a Scottish Heavy ( sort of ) and used an expensive yeast ( £6 ! ) I've decided to reclaim the yeast and use it again in a similar type beer. Arkells Kingsdown Ale 5.5% ish

Again its a Graham Wheelers recipe ( page 113 of his book ) so I can't give the full recipe here, but it is lightly hopped with EKG and Fuggles.

Brew day is tomorrow, but I've weighed the 5.9kg of grains out and brought them into the house to warm up a little ( temps 8C at moment. ) I will be doing an overnight mash tonight.
I've also got the yeast out of the fridge and within 30 mins its bubbling away in its DJ ( about a litre of the stuff )

Whilst I was in beer mode I've filled the mash tun to above the false bottom level with hot water to " warm the pot " that will be emptied away before I start the mash.
Can you tell I really wanted to brew..lol ... anyways already for the morning.

How come every time I decide to brew it pigging SNOWS ! ! :party:

 

[Buster]

Not quite sure how many said it was not a nice beer, I beg to differ greatly, Arkells 3B,s and 2B,s was sold from the wood with 2lb psi top pressure and Angram pump at my local and the last 10 pints from the barrel were often fought over by the regulars who like me, thought it was pure nectar. I live next door to the brewery as well

 

[PD]

just got the last bottle of 3B, to have with my roast Beef.... :shock:
Think this means a bigger brew is on the cards !

 

[fermentall]

Made this last year & it was a cracking beer,will be doing it again in a couple of weeks time. : ken.

 

[PD]

I lost 4C on the o/night mash however due to circumstances beyond my control... it was a 14 hour mash !
First lot of batch water put in and being left for an hour.

I do like these foam rings in the mash tun.

 

[graysalchemy]

I lost 4C on the o/night mash however due to circumstances beyond my control... it was a 14 hour mash !
First lot of batch water put in and being left for an hour.

I do like these foam rings in the mash tun.

Well done I usually lose 12c :thumb: :thumb:

 

[PD]

First batch done, 23 litres produced so far. 2nd batch in for 30 mins hopefully to make my required pre boil amount of 33.5 or 34 litres. First batch in boiler with heat on...don't you just love brewdays......
Ist runnings lovely and clear.

 

[calumscott]

A man could go off you rapidly PD. It's Monday morning and I'm driving a desk and you're telling us about your lovely brewday... :x :lol:

 

[PD]

:whistle: :whistle:

one of the benefits of old age.........don't rush it.

 

[calumscott]

Hairy smurf.

Brewing Sunday so at least I've got one to look forward to... :thumb:

 

[PD]

well at least I can keep you entertained........................... I dropped me tea towel in the brew !

luckily it was only 5 mins into the boil so any nasties will be killed ... any thing that can be done wrong...I'll do it !

Anyway brew done and its chilling nicely woo hoo and its only 1230. I'm usually at it till 4.0pm, and I've cleaned the mash tun out.
O/night mashing certainly cuts down on the time.

My yeast is waiting in the warmth to be introduced later when the wort gets below 25C,
Lunch time now and then all the bits and pieces can be washed and cleaned......hmmm whats' next ? :grin:

 

[PD]

brew turned out at 1050 temp corrected, so a little bit down on target but still in the range for a 5% abv so I'll settle for that. But I did get 24 litres... without resorting to the dead space area of the boiler.... :twisted:

 

[PD]

the yeast took 2 hours to get working in the fermenter.... :clap:

 

[PD]

This morning the brew has a huge yeast head on the top..... and it got going within 2 hours of adding it. Will do this more often with reclaimed yeast !

As the brew came to the boil, I skimmed the foam off, which I don't normally do, and the yeast head now formed is extremely white and clean, this may help with a cleaner/crisper ale, we will see.

 

[PD]

9 days into the ferment and she's still bubblin..... :clap:

 

[fermentall]

Made this a while back,turned out very nice i hope yours is equally as good : :

 

[PD]

Well this ale has just about finished fermenting and has a reading of 1010. That gives me an approximate abv of 5.3%
Tasting the sample and it seems a relatively sweet ale, with no harshness anywhere, and its very clear to say its still sat on the trub and just finished working.
The ale has kept a completely white cap of I presume yeast on the surface and the yeast on the bottom looks thick and quite hard.
I'm going to syphon it off tomorrow into a clean fermenter and leave cool for a week before I think of putting it into bottles.

 

[Underground]

I lost 4C on the o/night mash however due to circumstances beyond my control... it was a 14 hour mash !
First lot of batch water put in and being left for an hour.

I do like these foam rings in the mash tun.

Well done I usually lose 12c :thumb: :thumb:

Sorry to hijack - but do you mean 'Celcius' in 12C?

 

[graysalchemy]

or centigrade take your pick :lol:

 

[fermentall]

C'mon what's it going to be -Dave :lol: