That caught my eye. Do you malt your own barley at home?
Cwrw666's 2021 brewdays
- Thread starter Cwrw666
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No, I'm not that much of a masochist.
The Durden Park book recommends you make your own amber malt. Not sure if that's because it's different to commercial stuff or because it was simply harder to get back in the seventies when the book was published. It's easy to make however and smells lovely and gives the beer distinct toffee flavours. It's also somewhat diastatic, having some enzymes left in it which the commercial stuff doesn't - otherwise 30% amber malt would be way too much.
All you do is cook your pale malt in your oven - 45 minutes at 110C followed by 45m at 150C.
Brewing today:
AMBER FIRST GOLD
Own recipe.
GRAINS: 6.5 Lb Pilsner malt, 8 oz Amber malt, 7 oz biscuit malt.
HOPS: 40g EKG (80m) 40g EKG (30m) 40g FIRST GOLD (0m)
Protofloc at 10m.
4 gallon (18L) brew as usual
YEAST: CML US Pale Ale.
(I don't really like this yeast very much but it's all I've got left ATM)
And I'll be having one of these in a minute: Greg Hughes Milk Stout. Which has come out very nice. I chucked a teaspoonful of sodium bicarb into the mash to keep the mash ph up a bit as our water is very acid. Not very scientific but it seems to have given me a higher than expected OG and it tastes good too.
AMBER FIRST GOLD
Own recipe.
GRAINS: 6.5 Lb Pilsner malt, 8 oz Amber malt, 7 oz biscuit malt.
HOPS: 40g EKG (80m) 40g EKG (30m) 40g FIRST GOLD (0m)
Protofloc at 10m.
4 gallon (18L) brew as usual
YEAST: CML US Pale Ale.
(I don't really like this yeast very much but it's all I've got left ATM)
And I'll be having one of these in a minute: Greg Hughes Milk Stout. Which has come out very nice. I chucked a teaspoonful of sodium bicarb into the mash to keep the mash ph up a bit as our water is very acid. Not very scientific but it seems to have given me a higher than expected OG and it tastes good too.
Today's brew is a new one for me:
1933 LEES BITTER
From Pattinson.
GRAINS: 7Lb Pale Malt
BOIL: 22g Brewers Gold (90m), 22g Saaz (30m), 200g Golden Syrup + protofloc (10m)
BREW LENGTH: 4 gallons (18L)
Mash @ 152F
YEAST: CML Hog Norsk
Using Golden Syrup as a substitute for No1 Invert sugar, a little more than for the invert to allow for the water content of the syrup.
Half way through the mash ATM.
1933 LEES BITTER
From Pattinson.
GRAINS: 7Lb Pale Malt
BOIL: 22g Brewers Gold (90m), 22g Saaz (30m), 200g Golden Syrup + protofloc (10m)
BREW LENGTH: 4 gallons (18L)
Mash @ 152F
YEAST: CML Hog Norsk
Using Golden Syrup as a substitute for No1 Invert sugar, a little more than for the invert to allow for the water content of the syrup.
Half way through the mash ATM.
Ok - just finished the mash and done the sparge.
First complication of the day - this is definitely not Pale malt. It's Pilsner malt.
Ok, this is a new 25Kg bag of base malt which I've had from THBC (2 day delivery - not bad at all). In fact I ordered Pilsner malt but received a bag clearly labelled ale malt. One of my brews from this bag is going to be a Pilsner which is great news but it does mean that all the ales I'll be making are going to be a bit lighter in colour than they should be.
And enjoying this fellah at the moment - Amber first gold. Nice orange marmalade overtones from the first gold. Plenty of body. Came out at OG - 1046, FG - 1009. So 4.8% ABV.
First complication of the day - this is definitely not Pale malt. It's Pilsner malt.
Ok, this is a new 25Kg bag of base malt which I've had from THBC (2 day delivery - not bad at all). In fact I ordered Pilsner malt but received a bag clearly labelled ale malt. One of my brews from this bag is going to be a Pilsner which is great news but it does mean that all the ales I'll be making are going to be a bit lighter in colour than they should be.
And enjoying this fellah at the moment - Amber first gold. Nice orange marmalade overtones from the first gold. Plenty of body. Came out at OG - 1046, FG - 1009. So 4.8% ABV.
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Today's disaster, waiting to happen: first attempt at a raw farmhouse ale.
Loosely based on a recipe in Garshol's `Histiorical Brewing Techniques'. Most of his recipes involve the use of copious amounts of juniper, which doesn't grow round here - so I'm basing this on the recipe on page 294 for Julius Simonaitis's Kaimiskas from Lithuania.
I don't have the right hops so I'm substituting EKG for Saaz. Otherwise it's a straightforward recipe - just pilsner malt mashed at around 150F with a couple of hop tea additions.
Also, Lithuanian farmhouse yeast isn't available so I'm going to use CML Voss Kveik which will hopefully introduce some funky fruit flavours.
So far, I've boiled the mash water and allowed it to cool to around 160F I'm doing it BIAB, so added 8 Lb approx of freshly ground pilsner malt. I will be sparging, so I've sterilised the FV and added 3 kettle-fulls of boiling water which is currently cooling.
Around 60g of EKG is boiling on the stove for about an hour.
Another 60g will go on to boil for 15 minutes. Actually I think I'll chuck it in the same pan for the appropriate time. Should work.
Hardest thing is that everything has to be done as sterile as possible as there's not going to be a boil, including all water as our tap water is not usable cold.
Loosely based on a recipe in Garshol's `Histiorical Brewing Techniques'. Most of his recipes involve the use of copious amounts of juniper, which doesn't grow round here - so I'm basing this on the recipe on page 294 for Julius Simonaitis's Kaimiskas from Lithuania.
I don't have the right hops so I'm substituting EKG for Saaz. Otherwise it's a straightforward recipe - just pilsner malt mashed at around 150F with a couple of hop tea additions.
Also, Lithuanian farmhouse yeast isn't available so I'm going to use CML Voss Kveik which will hopefully introduce some funky fruit flavours.
So far, I've boiled the mash water and allowed it to cool to around 160F I'm doing it BIAB, so added 8 Lb approx of freshly ground pilsner malt. I will be sparging, so I've sterilised the FV and added 3 kettle-fulls of boiling water which is currently cooling.
Around 60g of EKG is boiling on the stove for about an hour.
Another 60g will go on to boil for 15 minutes. Actually I think I'll chuck it in the same pan for the appropriate time. Should work.
Hardest thing is that everything has to be done as sterile as possible as there's not going to be a boil, including all water as our tap water is not usable cold.
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Well it's in the FV cooling now. Came out at nearly 5 gallons instead of the 4 it was meant to be.
Even so there was barely enough water for a decent mash and even less so to make a proper hop tea - 120g of hops don't half swell up in the pan!
For future reference - just a single kettle of water would have been enough for the sparge.
Even so there was barely enough water for a decent mash and even less so to make a proper hop tea - 120g of hops don't half swell up in the pan!
For future reference - just a single kettle of water would have been enough for the sparge.
Just bottled this today and it's actually quite pleasant. Hazy, mildly citrussy, mildly hopped, plus a little grainy.
Came out at 5.1% ABV despite being a gallon more than it should have been. Biggest problem I had was how to make a hop tea with 120g leaf hops with enough water plus enough water for the mash, bearing in mind you can't lose volume as there's no boil...
Also much more stressful than a conventional boiled brew - just keeping everything sanitised to a sufficient level is a nightmare.
Came out at 5.1% ABV despite being a gallon more than it should have been. Biggest problem I had was how to make a hop tea with 120g leaf hops with enough water plus enough water for the mash, bearing in mind you can't lose volume as there's no boil...
Also much more stressful than a conventional boiled brew - just keeping everything sanitised to a sufficient level is a nightmare.
Brewing today:
1885 YOUNGER XP
Souce - Pattinson
GRAINS: 8Lb Pilsner malt (hook head)
HOPS: 45g Cluster (90m), 45g Spalt select (60m), 45g EKG (30m)
mashing at 152f which is higher than I normally mash at so presumably will produce a sweeter beer.
I've not used the first 2 hops before so it'll be interesting to see how they affect the flavour.
Yeast: CML 5 (I like this yeast - clean tasting and compacts very firmly on the bottom of the bottle so you can pour it without worrying about getting yeast in your glass.
1885 YOUNGER XP
Souce - Pattinson
GRAINS: 8Lb Pilsner malt (hook head)
HOPS: 45g Cluster (90m), 45g Spalt select (60m), 45g EKG (30m)
mashing at 152f which is higher than I normally mash at so presumably will produce a sweeter beer.
I've not used the first 2 hops before so it'll be interesting to see how they affect the flavour.
Yeast: CML 5 (I like this yeast - clean tasting and compacts very firmly on the bottom of the bottle so you can pour it without worrying about getting yeast in your glass.
I have used Spalt before as a replacement for Saaz in a Pseudo Lager it was very similar not much taste to it but ideal for Lagers never used Cluster but I think I have had it in a IPA twinned with another hop or was that Comet?
Have a good brew day
Have a good brew day
Cheers Baron!I have used Spalt before as a replacement for Saaz in a Pseudo Lager it was very similar not much taste to it but ideal for Lagers never used Cluster but I think I have had it in a IPA twinned with another hop or was that Comet?
Have a good brew day
Currently having breakfast:
This is my Kaimiskas, Lithuanian raw ale. I still haven't decided whether I like this stuff or not. Don't get me wrong - if I'd bought this in a pub I'd be thinking it wasn't bad and probably have a second, but...
I dare say by the time I've got through 40 bottles I'll be saying it's amazing stuff.
Well the Kaimiskas is all gone and for that I am very relieved. I didn't enjoy it at all though it wasn't too bad when chilled down to about 3c in the fridge. Surprisingly though everyone else who had some said it was really good - so it's probably just me...
Todays brew, as mentioned by peebee in his Victorian porter thread and which I'd totally failed to spot in the Pattinson book:
1804 BARCLAY PERKINS TABLE PORTER
4 gallon brew
GRAINS: Pale malt 2 Lb 3 oz, Homemade AMBER malt 1 Lb 9 oz, homemade BROWN malt 2 Lb.
HOPS: 25g EKG (@ 60m in a 90m boil)
YEAST; cml 5
TARGETS: OG 1030, FG 1009, ABV 2.8%, IBU 17, SRM 22.
I've no idea how this will turn out with those percentages of roasted grains to pale malt - it hardly seems possible to get a decent mash but 5 minutes in it's got a good healthy froth on top which is always a good sign.
BTW the brown malt smelled absolutely gorgeous while it was roasting. (PM cooked for 45m @ 110c, then 45m @ 150c and finally 30m @ 175c.)
Todays brew, as mentioned by peebee in his Victorian porter thread and which I'd totally failed to spot in the Pattinson book:
1804 BARCLAY PERKINS TABLE PORTER
4 gallon brew
GRAINS: Pale malt 2 Lb 3 oz, Homemade AMBER malt 1 Lb 9 oz, homemade BROWN malt 2 Lb.
HOPS: 25g EKG (@ 60m in a 90m boil)
YEAST; cml 5
TARGETS: OG 1030, FG 1009, ABV 2.8%, IBU 17, SRM 22.
I've no idea how this will turn out with those percentages of roasted grains to pale malt - it hardly seems possible to get a decent mash but 5 minutes in it's got a good healthy froth on top which is always a good sign.
BTW the brown malt smelled absolutely gorgeous while it was roasting. (PM cooked for 45m @ 110c, then 45m @ 150c and finally 30m @ 175c.)
And this is the 1933 Lees Bitter which is very nice indeed. Definitely one I'll be doing again.
OG: 1050
FG: 1009
ABV: 5.4%
Slightly above target which was for a 5% brew. Unusually strong for the period. One way of getting all the punters heading for your own pubs...
OG: 1050
FG: 1009
ABV: 5.4%
Slightly above target which was for a 5% brew. Unusually strong for the period. One way of getting all the punters heading for your own pubs...
Today's brew:
CASCADE TABLE BITTER ALE
Recipe: Made it up on the fly, a bit of a user-upper.
4 gallon brew
GRAINS: 5 Lb Pilsner malt, 2 oz Crystal 225, 2 oz Crystal 145, 2 oz Chocolate malt.
HOPS: 30g Cluster (80m), 40g EKG (30m), 30g Homegrown Cascade (0m)
Protofloc @ 10m
YEAST: Gervin
Only using 5 Lb PM should make this a fairly weak one, hence the table in the title. Hopefully it'll end up with a bit of colour, plus the chocolate should combine nicely with the citrus notes from the cascade.
Whilst on the subject of `table' beers - here's my 1804 BARCLAY PERKINS TABLE PORTER. It's still a bit young yet, though it's lost the slightly grainy feel it had a few days ago. Quite pleasant really though I doubt it'd fulfill modern expectations of a porter which seem indistinguishable from a stout. This one is kind of halfway between a Victorian amber and a 20th c. brown ale. Quite pleasant really, and a nice change from the stronger stuff I've been hammering lately.
CASCADE TABLE BITTER ALE
Recipe: Made it up on the fly, a bit of a user-upper.
4 gallon brew
GRAINS: 5 Lb Pilsner malt, 2 oz Crystal 225, 2 oz Crystal 145, 2 oz Chocolate malt.
HOPS: 30g Cluster (80m), 40g EKG (30m), 30g Homegrown Cascade (0m)
Protofloc @ 10m
YEAST: Gervin
Only using 5 Lb PM should make this a fairly weak one, hence the table in the title. Hopefully it'll end up with a bit of colour, plus the chocolate should combine nicely with the citrus notes from the cascade.
Whilst on the subject of `table' beers - here's my 1804 BARCLAY PERKINS TABLE PORTER. It's still a bit young yet, though it's lost the slightly grainy feel it had a few days ago. Quite pleasant really though I doubt it'd fulfill modern expectations of a porter which seem indistinguishable from a stout. This one is kind of halfway between a Victorian amber and a 20th c. brown ale. Quite pleasant really, and a nice change from the stronger stuff I've been hammering lately.
This is the 1885 YOUNGERS XP IPA -
I've had good reactions from people who I've given this to. Personally I find it a bit too bitter, though sometimes I don't so I guess it's just about dead on my limit for bitterness tolerance. According to Pattinson it's got 92 IBUs.
Targets were - OG 1054, FG 1013, ABV 5.42%
Actual figures - OG 1052, FG 1009, ABV 5.6% - all close enough in my opinion.
Flavour wise, it's quite pleasant. Hops are Cluster (90m), Spalt select (60m) and EKG (30m). I can definitely pick out the floralness of the EKG and Spalt, there's also a slight grapefruitiness though Greg Hughes's descriptions for all these hops don't include citrus flavours. Anything else is lost on me.
Over all it's not bad at all though I don't think I'll be making this one again as there's other historic brews I much prefer.
I've had good reactions from people who I've given this to. Personally I find it a bit too bitter, though sometimes I don't so I guess it's just about dead on my limit for bitterness tolerance. According to Pattinson it's got 92 IBUs.
Targets were - OG 1054, FG 1013, ABV 5.42%
Actual figures - OG 1052, FG 1009, ABV 5.6% - all close enough in my opinion.
Flavour wise, it's quite pleasant. Hops are Cluster (90m), Spalt select (60m) and EKG (30m). I can definitely pick out the floralness of the EKG and Spalt, there's also a slight grapefruitiness though Greg Hughes's descriptions for all these hops don't include citrus flavours. Anything else is lost on me.
Over all it's not bad at all though I don't think I'll be making this one again as there's other historic brews I much prefer.
Since my last post:
The Cascade Table Bitter turned out a bit of a disappointment - way too bitter for the strength. The homegrown cascade gave it a strong citrussy hit though, so when I try it again I'll just reduce the bittering hops a bit and perhaps make it a bit stronger.
OG - 1035, FG 1009, ABV 3.4%
Nice to have a few bottles though and not feel rough the next day!
Since doing that brew I've also made 1 gallon of Raspberry wine, currently fizzing away in the airing cupboard in a DJ, 2 gallons of Sloe wine - currently with about 6Lb of fruit soaking in a fermenting bin which I'll be straining off in a few days before adding the sugar, pectolase and yeast.
Also made a bottle's worth of Sloe gin and the same of Raspberry gin.
Today brewing a PILSNER from the Greg Hughes recipe - a straightforward Saaz SMASH with Hook Head Pilsner malt. I'll be using CML Hell yeast again as it turned out so well last time. My beer store is currently sitting at 16c which is well within the yeast's working range, so that's where I'll be fermenting it.
The Cascade Table Bitter turned out a bit of a disappointment - way too bitter for the strength. The homegrown cascade gave it a strong citrussy hit though, so when I try it again I'll just reduce the bittering hops a bit and perhaps make it a bit stronger.
OG - 1035, FG 1009, ABV 3.4%
Nice to have a few bottles though and not feel rough the next day!
Since doing that brew I've also made 1 gallon of Raspberry wine, currently fizzing away in the airing cupboard in a DJ, 2 gallons of Sloe wine - currently with about 6Lb of fruit soaking in a fermenting bin which I'll be straining off in a few days before adding the sugar, pectolase and yeast.
Also made a bottle's worth of Sloe gin and the same of Raspberry gin.
Today brewing a PILSNER from the Greg Hughes recipe - a straightforward Saaz SMASH with Hook Head Pilsner malt. I'll be using CML Hell yeast again as it turned out so well last time. My beer store is currently sitting at 16c which is well within the yeast's working range, so that's where I'll be fermenting it.
Today's brew - a second attempt at 1933 Lees bitter. Same recipe as the last time but I've reduced the pale malt to 6 Lb (4 gallon brew) to attempt to get the ABV down a bit. This time I'm boiling the Brewers Gold pellets in a bag as the last time they totally clogged up the bazooka filter in my boiler. Hope this doesn't affect the bitterness extraction.
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