Clyne's (BrewBru's!) brewday

[clyne]

Had a few hours spare this evening, so after a good cleanout I've got version 2 in the fermenter. Re-hydrated the yeast this time after the last disaster although suspect something else was at play (I do wonder if the wort may have been a touch on the high side when I pitched the yeast but given it says to re-hydrate in 30-35C water I can't see that 22-23C would kill it. Who knows. Anyway, managed to get it from grain to fermenter in about 3 hours (minus the time for the strike water to come to temp but I was walking the dogs/doing dishes etc. meantime anyway so doesn't count!).

 

[clyne]

Can’t believe it’s been since August that I last brewed! Although I’ve done two batches of cider since then (really need to get some vids up on YouTube!)

Anyway yesterday I did a third batch of cider (friend gave us loads of apples!) and also made my version of a nice easy drinking mild - aiming for 4% ish.

First bash at trying an overnight mash - mainly as I knew I wouldn’t have my normal time available on brew day. All seemed to go okay and efficiency definitely improved, but the wort was very murky. Whether this is because my grain all managed to float to the top a couple of times and needed a good soaking and stirring (and therefore flowed down my overflow pipe in the robobrew) or whether it was something else I don’t know. Will be interesting to see how it clears during fermentation.

also had a mini disaster with my yeast. Reusing yeast slurry from a previous batch (about 6 months old) that was in a PET bottle rather than a jam jar. On coming to temperature it obviously expanded but hadn’t appreciated how much pressure would build so as I opened the bottle not only did it make a mess but also lost quite a bit. Whether enough yeast was pitched will again be interesting to watch.

Long post but as much for my own info/memory than anything

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Well after watching these brewday threads from the sidelines for over a year I finally decided to jump in and join the crowd. As much so I can make notes and remember what I did and when as I'm terrible at writing stuff up on brewdays. I tend to use a mixture of BeerSmith and a whiteboard in my garage but thought I'd start adding stuff on here as a bit of a diary.

So, last weekend was a double brew day!

First off was a variation of Dennis King's Galaxy Delight. Been meaning to brew this for ages and had the hops in the freezer for the best part of a year. Finally did it on Saturday (26th June). Didn't have Vienna Malt so used Munich instead, and used Cara amber as the "aromatic malt" in his recipe. Used a 20L strike, 90 minute mash @ 66C and used WHC Bond yeast (about 4th Gen I think). Bubbling away in the brew fridge as I type.

Second brew was an easier one, and also a first for me - tried the Hard Saltzer recipe from @Gerryjo on this thread. Didn't do any water adjustment as the water in the highlands is first class. Used the two lemons as suggested, but used a 5th Gen Safale US-05 yeast (previously used in a Citra SMaSH). Still fermenting away nicely, but keeping an eye on it to see if it does need more yeast and/or nutrient. Will take a gravity reading in a few days.

Uneventful brew day I think....oh no, hold on - I was attempting a closed transfer of a hoppy IPA I've been dry hopping from my SS Brewtech chronical to a corny and the hops clogged my disconnect so ended up having to just use a hose to do the transfer and then blast it with CO2. And then ran out of CO2. Then got a refill yesterday which was also empty. Brilliant (apparently the original supplier Adams Gas sent an empty up in a full pallet). Anyway got a refilled keg today and it's sitting under pressure now. Planning on transferring this again to another keg though and filtering it as didn't like the amount of hop matter that transferred. No brew day is ever perfect

Feel like I'm rambling now, so going to click "Post thread" before you get bored. You're still here? well done!

p.s. Also FINALLY managed to get another vid online as well, this time a brew of Orkney Dark Island Reserve clone (it was AMAZING!):

Bit late to this one haha, great video and the Orkney Dark Island clone sounds fab, might have to copy this one! You used a yeast starter but I missed what the yeast was?

 

[clyne]

Hey thanks @pilgrimhudd - I’ve just checked my notes and it was WLP001. Really must get round to brewing this again as absolutely loved it!

 

[Jamesman]

Hey thanks @pilgrimhudd - I’ve just checked my notes and it was WLP001. Really must get round to brewing this again as absolutely loved it!

Hi, I finally got around to brewing this yesterday. Only manged to get 9 litres into the fermenting bucket for some reason but the sample I took from the hydrometer reading tastes lovely already. It's bubbling away in the celler now. Cheers.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Nice one @Jamesman and @clyne I don't get on with wet yeasts, too many stuck fermentations or nothing at all, looking at the comparisons for dry, it seems us 05 would be ok, what do you think? Tapping the ingredients into beersmith i'm getting an estimated abv of 10.1% for 11 litres, I think that's a bit high but maybe worth using 2 packs?

 

[Jamesman]

Nice one @Jamesman and @clyne I don't get on with wet yeasts, too many stuck fermentations or nothing at all, looking at the comparisons for dry, it seems us 05 would be ok, what do you think? Tapping the ingredients into beersmith i'm getting an estimated abv of 10.1% for 11 litres, I think that's a bit high but maybe worth using 2 packs?

Hi, I've never used wet yeasts before. I used Nottingham dry yeast that Clyne recommended. I put about 3/4 of a packet into the 9 litres in the fermenting bucket. I really don't know much about brewing though I'm only onto my tenth brew. Does the amount of yeast play a part in the alcohol content? I've got no idea. It seems to be fermenting though cause it's making a racket in the celler. Cheers.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Ahh i didn't see/hear that! Cool ok, I might try nottingham then! Cheers!

No, not a part in the alcohol content, it's just with such a big OG 2 packs can give the yeast a bit more of a chance, I mean i've never done it but i've seen people who have and wondered if that's what you'd recommend. It's not necessary though.

 

[Jamesman]

Ahh i didn't see/hear that! Cool ok, I might try nottingham then! Cheers!

No, not a part in the alcohol content, it's just with such a big OG 2 packs can give the yeast a bit more of a chance, I mean i've never done it but i've seen people who have and wondered if that's what you'd recommend. It's not necessary though.

Ah ok thanks. I'm just gonna soak the woodchips in whiskey now for a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to trying this when it's finally finished. I'll try it at Christmas see how it is. Cheers.

 

[Jamesman]

Well after watching these brewday threads from the sidelines for over a year I finally decided to jump in and join the crowd. As much so I can make notes and remember what I did and when as I'm terrible at writing stuff up on brewdays. I tend to use a mixture of BeerSmith and a whiteboard in my garage but thought I'd start adding stuff on here as a bit of a diary.

So, last weekend was a double brew day!

First off was a variation of Dennis King's Galaxy Delight. Been meaning to brew this for ages and had the hops in the freezer for the best part of a year. Finally did it on Saturday (26th June). Didn't have Vienna Malt so used Munich instead, and used Cara amber as the "aromatic malt" in his recipe. Used a 20L strike, 90 minute mash @ 66C and used WHC Bond yeast (about 4th Gen I think). Bubbling away in the brew fridge as I type.

Second brew was an easier one, and also a first for me - tried the Hard Saltzer recipe from @Gerryjo on this thread. Didn't do any water adjustment as the water in the highlands is first class. Used the two lemons as suggested, but used a 5th Gen Safale US-05 yeast (previously used in a Citra SMaSH). Still fermenting away nicely, but keeping an eye on it to see if it does need more yeast and/or nutrient. Will take a gravity reading in a few days.

Uneventful brew day I think....oh no, hold on - I was attempting a closed transfer of a hoppy IPA I've been dry hopping from my SS Brewtech chronical to a corny and the hops clogged my disconnect so ended up having to just use a hose to do the transfer and then blast it with CO2. And then ran out of CO2. Then got a refill yesterday which was also empty. Brilliant (apparently the original supplier Adams Gas sent an empty up in a full pallet). Anyway got a refilled keg today and it's sitting under pressure now. Planning on transferring this again to another keg though and filtering it as didn't like the amount of hop matter that transferred. No brew day is ever perfect

Feel like I'm rambling now, so going to click "Post thread" before you get bored. You're still here? well done!

p.s. Also FINALLY managed to get another vid online as well, this time a brew of Orkney Dark Island Reserve clone (it was AMAZING!):

Hi, just a quick question. How much whisky did you use to soak the wood chips? Cheers.

 

[clyne]

Oops sorry @Jamesman - only just spotted this question I just used enough to cover the chips in the jar, probably about 300ml give or take I'd imagine.

 

[clyne]

And the reason I came back to my thread was to update on my last brew day (2 weeks ago now, I'm rubbish with this stuff ). Anyway, decided to brew up a nice mild bitter.

3k MO, 250g Crystal Mal, 250g Torrified Wheat
25g Fuggles @ 60m
25g EKG @ 30m
Can't remember what yeast I used (probably have it in the garage somewhere, possibly WLP001)

Don't have a beer engine so I've kegged it and going to leave it on CO2 for a week or so but then transfer to my 70/30 gas mix with the idea of getting a nice creamy head but not too fizzy.

This was my first bash at an overnight mash as well, so had a few interesting things happen (like the grain bed "floating"). Resulted in a murkier wort going into the fermenter and definitely affected the clarity going into the keg too - even after sitting for a week or so in a cold garage. Will leave it to carb up and see how it goes - may add some gelatin, undecided as yet.

SG was 1040, FG 1010 - so bang on the money in terms of my recipe and where I was heading for.

Tasted pretty good when I had a sneaky taste at the weekend

 

[Jamesman]

Oops sorry @Jamesman - only just spotted this question I just used enough to cover the chips in the jar, probably about 300ml give or take I'd imagine.

No problem, I used 200ml in the end and left it for 4 days in the fermentation bucket. It's been bottled for 2 weeks now. It tasted lovely when I bottled it. Fg was 9.98. Abv. I'll open a bottle at Christmas. Looking forward to it. Cheers.

 

[Jamesman]

Hey @Jamesman, sorry for delay in getting back to you. Lochinver is beautiful, we often camp around that area with some friends. The whole west coast is stunning though, my favourite place in the world (even more so when it’s sunny!)

re the dark island questions, yes I’d definitely use more strike water next time - probably an extra 3 or 4 litres.

the whisky was just a blend,can’t even remember which one. I’d be tempted to try a malt next time but would probably do a split batch to see how much difference it made to the flavour profile.

dry yeast - I’d probably use something like danstar Nottingham as I’ve used it successfully in other brews where it will let the flavours of the malt etc shine through

Fermented at 20C and left it for around 4 weeks but it definitely improved with age. I’d bottle some next time and leave it to mature in the cupboard.

let me know how you get on if you have a bash!

Hi @clyne, I had a bottle of the Orkney dark island reserve clone last night. It was lovely. I think its the best thing I've brewed thus far. Its been about 8 weeks in the bottle up till now. I'll try and leave a few bottles another few weeks and see how it goes. Cheers for the recipe.

 

[clyne]

Hi @Jamesman - glad to hear it's turning out nice. You're being very restrained having left it for 8 weeks - well done

 

[clyne]

Had planned to do a brew on New Years day but ended up going for a dip and a nip in the North Sea instead. It was invigorating (especially the dram!) :)

Brewed yesterday instead. This time wanted to do a "Winter Warmer" after trying Lidl's version and being bitterly (boom, boom!) disappointed in the lack of spice flavours. So, here's the recipe. A bit of a mish mash of ingredients as was also trying to use up some out of date/spare ingredients.

450g Honey malt (I reckon this could be at least 3 year out of date)
100g Peat Smoked malt (exp June 2021)
450g Cara amber (exp Sep 2020)
90g Caramunich malt (exp June 2020)
400g Crystal Malt (exp Dec 2020)
400g Flaked Oats (exp June 2021)
900g RedX (exp June 2021)
1.5kg Maris Otter (in date!)

25g Minstrel @ 60m
25g Minstrel @ 10m

WLP001 5th Gen yeast.

Also tested a modification to the whirlpool arm on my Robobrew/Brewzilla - keep an eye on my youtube channel if you are interested in the findings (very interesting IMO!) - search for BrewBru on youtube.

Much like @DocAnna, I found the whole process so calming. Can't think of many better things to do with a day off

 

[clyne]

Wee update on the winter warmer. I added some cloves, star anise and cinnamon at the end of the boil and then also left some steeping in some vodka which I added after primary fermentation (the smell of the vodka concoction was amazing!). It's in the keg and carbing up nicely. Early tastings are very positive, with a nice cinnamon aroma and flavours coming through quite nicely (for me anyway - I wanted to be able to taste the spices). The wife even said she would drink it! I've got a video on this which I'll be putting online at some point once it's fully ready and I can get it edited. Watch this space :)

 

[clyne]

This weekend past I started brewing a kind of honey beer type thing. A good friend of mine is having a bee themed wedding so I thought it might be nice to brew a beer that had a honey tone to it. Started with 4kg MO as the base and then used 400g Gambrinus Honey Malt. 200g Flaked oats to help with body and head. Fairly low hops - 12.5g EKG @ 60 min, 12.5g EKG @ 5 min and then 20g Pacifica @ flame out. Planning to add honey (not sure of exact amount yet - probably 500g) about a week into fermentation. Used WHC Bond (WLP007 lookalike). Also planning to add some bee pollen towards end of fermentation as well to try to get a bit more of that floral flavour into the beer. Bit of an experiment so may chop and change a bit. As I type it's bubbling away nicely in the fermenter tho!

 

[clyne]

Got a brew in today for the first time in ages. Just finished last years Elderflower Ale so decided it was perfect timing to get another one on the go. Elderflowers in full bloom right now with us (highlands of Scotland).

Modified the recipe a little from last year - a little more elderflower (150g vs 125g) and dialled back the hope a little as last years just a bit on the bitter side for this beer. Slight change in hop as well (EKG vs Northern Brewer).

Good brew day except I forgot to run the pump when cooling and didn’t have my cooling arm in the kettle when boiling so didn’t want to risk infection by plunging it.

Also not sure about the yeast. Used a liquid WLP002 but was best before May and didn’t look too hot when I pitched it. Will wait and see