Brewday tomorrow but not picked up ingredients; what to brew?

[Joeyriles]

Hi chaps,

I have no idea what to brew tomorrow. I have some specialty grains such as chocolate, crystal and cara red and my freezer has Northern Brewer, EKG, Chinook and Styrian Goldings (though how much of each is a bit of a mystery to me as I'm at work.)

I plan on going out to the HBS when they open tomorrow to pick up some MO and possibly one or two other bits and bobs (though I'm aiming to spend under £15). I have some of my Hog's Back yeast in a starter (though it smells...different to a few weeks ago despite being refrigerated) and I have some US05 and S04 on standby in case of an emergency.

My question is: what to brew? I have looked at the recipes in GW's book and, though I like a lot of them, I want to brew something a little more 'me.'

I've just finished my debut beer in the corny keg and want to brew one that would suit being force carbed rather than bottled.

Cheers in advance!

JR

 

[MyQul]

Those grains look like either a Bitter a mild or a brown ale

 

[TartanSpecial]

I want to brew something a little more 'me.'

JR

Define 'me'..... that may help guide your decision.

 

[Joeyriles]

An enigma wrapped in a conundrum, also a total w*nker.

I just meant something that isn't a clone.

 

[TartanSpecial]

Depending on quantity of hops you could go down the road of traditional english bitter with the crystal/cara maybe with a small amount of chocolate and use EKG and Stryians ?? and use the 04 if the hogs head smells dodgy.

 

[Joeyriles]

Not a bad shout, Tartan. I've chucked the HB yeast as the starter looked watery and smelled foul. Have made a new starter with S04.

I'll probably go for a darker version of TT Landlord with quite a pronounced Styrian Goldings profile.

 

[Joeyriles]

Or not. I've just got my mash on with the following:
Pale: 4.2kg
Dark Crystal: 250g
Light Crystal: 175g
Torrefied wheat: 250g
Brown: 270g
Chocolate:100g

Hops:

Willamette: 30g @ 60mins

EKG: 10g @ 40 mins

Columbus: 20g
Chinook: 22g
Citra: 5g

All the 'C' hops @flameout.

This is either going to be a disaster or a miracle...it certainly feels more original than my recent clone brews.

 

[TartanSpecial]

so a bit like a Porter with an american hop twist...definitely original and more interesting than a bog standard bitter. :thumb:Interesting to see what it tastes like when is finished.

 

[Joeyriles]

Me too...hoping it's more of a dark brown beer rather than fully black.

 

[Joeyriles]

View attachment uploadfromtaptalk1448121947048.jpgView attachment uploadfromtaptalk1448121958053.jpgView attachment uploadfromtaptalk1448121973420.jpg

An enjoyable brew day after a seriously stressful week at work. Boil is rolling...

 

[MyQul]

Where did you get your pot. What's its capacity and how much did it cost? Also do the hops block the tap?

 

[Joeyriles]

Blimey, MyQul; nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

33l, Maltmiller (forgot the price) and the hop strainer does a pretty good job.

 

[MyQul]

Blimey, MyQul; nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

33l, Maltmiller (forgot the price) and the hop strainer does a pretty good job.

Your lucky I didn't get my thumbscrews out!

Cheers btw

 

[Joeyriles]

UPDATE: The Krausen is absolutely storming away!

 

[Joeyriles]

View attachment uploadfromtaptalk1449088695520.jpg

Just popping this in the corny keg. Am going to leave as long as I can to mature and clear (probably this weekend.)

 

[Joeyriles]

Very interesting beer, this. The choc malt and the brown malt really come through, as do the EKG/Citra,Chinook, Centennial aroma hops. It's very pleasant but is missing that certain something...

Maybe the US05 yeast wasn't the right fit for this or I'm just drinking it very young and it needs more time. That's the only issue with the force carbonation: it makes the beer available straight away, even if you probably shouldn't touch it for a month or so.

 

[clibit]

Maybe CAMRA was right all along.... :shock:

 

[Joeyriles]

I can just hear the plaintive mutterings of the tweedy, leather elbow-patched brigade as I pour a frothing, cold pint...

Cask conditioned beer done well is a thing of beauty. I feel that the margin for error is pretty small in comparison to kegging and F.C.

 

[clibit]

I can just hear the plaintive mutterings of the tweedy, leather elbow-patched brigade as I pour a frothing, cold pint...

Cask conditioned beer done well is a thing of beauty. I feel that the margin for error is pretty small in comparison to kegging and F.C.

Yes, there's loads of sub standard cask ale out there. I've been ploughing through lifeless murky brown liquid for decades....

I've been in CAMRA pubs and the beer has been terrible and I've wondered what criteria they are using to assess the beer. And realised it's just the standard tick box exercise that doesn't stretch to whether the beer is actually pleasant to drink! Or even reasonably well kept in many cases.

Bit controversial perhaps.

 

[Joeyriles]

This has smoothed out and is now tasting very good indeed.

For next time: I would reduce considerably the amount of brown and chocolate malt as I feel it smothers the hops a little. I would also drop the amount of PM and therefore the ABV. This should be more of a session beer than it is and at 5% it's a little too strong to quaff without guilt.

Still, this is the fun of learning new recipes I guess!