Bulldog, Hammer of Thor

[Lesinge]

Hi LM55

All seems good with the calendar and cant see any drastic problems appearing.
when I am brewing Hammer Of Thaw I tend to brew at around the 16 - 18 Degree mark and follow the instructions like obviously you are.

I don't bother to rack of as I don't see the point, but this Lager is quite a high gravity lager which will take a lot of time to condition.
I left mine for 9 months conditioning the same with the Bad Cat Beer from the same manufacturer and it started tasting good from the 9 month.
If you can leave it any longer then all well and good but it is certainly drinkable from the 9 month.

The reason for its long condition is because of its high gravity.

I hope this has cleared up any areas you were unsure of .

Please keep us all informed on how you get on with it.

Incidently this is going to be my next beer of which I am going to put on in time for xmas .

Good Luck
Big D 2657

Wow you have patience to wait 9 months for a beer! I read somewhere that the rule of thumb was one week per percent point. Normally, if I can keep my hands off them I ferment for three weeks, leave in the bottling bucket for a week, warm condition for two weeks and drink after four in the garage. Over time you will lose the hop profile in hop forward beers, at least the aroma, so six weeks in the bottle is good. However, with Belgium beers a good few months is supposed to be the best for them and for Christmas ales with complex ingredients then these can condition for a long time. In Greg Hughes book he has a Belgium red ale that conditions for a year but that would never last in my house :smile: most of my beers push 6-7% and I find that three months from fermentation they are good to go.

 

[LM555]

Took the first gravity reading today, 1.006. The leaflet says 1008 - 1014 is good, so dunno exactly what my lower number means. Should I take the gravity again tomorrow and then assume it's ready if it hasn't changed?

EDIT: Included a picture of the stuff, for reference.

 

[sdt7618]

Took the first gravity reading today, 1.006. The leaflet says 1008 - 1014 is good, so dunno exactly what my lower number means. Should I take the gravity again tomorrow and then assume it's ready if it hasn't changed?

In a word.... yes

 

[LM555]

Busyness stopped me from transferring the beer until tonight. Had a taste, it's definitely beer! Tastes a lot better than my first attempt, at any rate, and the colour is very gold. Have a couple of gigs at the end of the month, so might put off bottling until I get back on the 2nd or 3rd. I have to pick up more carbonation tablets, so it should work out.

 

[LM555]

Bottled it last night. It smells REALLY strong, and has a massive alcohol bang off it. I regret forgetting to take an initial gravity so I can find out what the volume is now. While it's going, I might do something less strong that'll be ready when the sun comes out proper over here.

 

[Clandestine]

thinking of picking this up. would it be ok fermenting at a steadt 22'C ?

 

[Fore]

Still young mine. It's sort of sweet and bitter at the same time; in other words, not balanced. It's low on hop aroma, which means other aromas come through. I can't tell if I'm getting a home brew twang from this, or of it's some carry over of plastic smell from the fermeter, or both. Anyway, I'm being picky. This kit is rare in the kit world for being quite low flavour profile. But it isn't of course, just when compared to the rest. A friend thought it was quite good. I'm now all too often comparing with AG. If I was doing only kits, it's not bad for a refreshing summer beer.

 

[Rover69]

My hammer of Thor second fermenting in bottles for 11 days now,going to cold crash on 14th day.After 11 days in fv it was sweet but nice sweet,took another reading on 12th day and sweetness gone and hop taste really nice.No homebrew taste to it.Going to let condition for two month before opening first bottle.

 

[Rover69]

Put my hammer of Thor in shed on Monday to cold crash,some bottles really clear after second fermentation and others slightly hazy.Yesterdays temp was 7c so had a look at bottles last night and all of them are now really hazy.Going to leave in shed for a couple month but no idea if going to clear.

 

[maverick 1675]

Brew it, keg it, let it condition in the warm for a month, then move the keg outside i.e. garage, shed etc. at Christmas so it's nice and chilly (if you're in the UK!)

Keg to bottle will result in an almost flat bottle of beer. Some people keg half a brew and bottle the rest....

Do you carbonate it in the keg before leaving it to condition or just purge the air then carbonate after a month

 

[Clarence]

This Special Gravity Lager with its 6% alcohol is extreme, yet easy to brew. This strong Viking combines a masculine bite with a soft liquid golden touch, good body and refreshing bitterness. Serve cold. Equipment not included.

What a great name for a beer, yet at 6% abv it's hardly "extreme". What's a "masculine bite with a golden touch". Refreshing bitterness, I understand.
Just love the name so I'm going to reformulate a decent lager worthy, even of the gods of Asgard. A proper lager with no Bullsiht Bulldog in it. Perhaps a touch of Fenris or even Hagrid's Fluffy, but no bulldog.