Dutto's Brew Day

[Dutto]

I thought I would start my own "Brew Day" Thread because, for the very first time, I have managed to complete an AG brew with no real disasters and only the one mishap ...

... which was to fill my left shoe with water when rinsing out the Mash Tun!

Today's brew (19/16) was a Fulstows AG Northfield IPA.

I didn't quite hit Fulstows OG of 1.046 (* see PPS) but consider the 1.042 I did achieve to be fairly good, considering that it was a cold day and the mash would have cooled rapidly.

The new coil cooler worked well and dropped the wort temperature relatively quickly; but I may add another two "coils" for the summer when the ambient temperature and the tap water are warmer.

I rehydrated the yeast with a spoonful of dark sugar, pitched it at 21 degrees and the FV it is now residing in my fridge at 20 degrees celsius.

An enjoyable day despite the cold. :thumb: :thumb:

PS

I had to move the Marsh Mild, that was carbonating in the fridge, to the garage shelves after only 8 days.

Proof enough that I need another Brew Fridge; but no-one in this house seems to agree with me! :whistle: :whistle:

PPS

Just re-read the instructions with my specs on (don't wear them when there's steam about) and I did better than I thought!

The OG target was 1.0445 and not the 1.046 that I originally thought ...

... so my OG of 1.042 was (by my standards) a roaring success! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Slid]

Nice One, Dutto!

I would add a large spoonful of sugar to the brew myself, It will get the OG back to where it should be and no harm will be done.:thumb:

 

[pms67]

Nice One, Dutto!

I would add a large spoonful of sugar to the brew myself, It will get the OG back to where it should be and no harm will be done.:thumb:

Hello Slid,long time no see(or hear)
Sounds good Dutto, just the left shoe,phaa that's a result 👍

 

[Dutto]

Nice One, Dutto!

I would add a large spoonful of sugar to the brew myself, It will get the OG back to where it should be and no harm will be done.:thumb:

I definitely considered it, but as I like low ABV beers I decided not to bother 'cos the Marsh Mild is a very "moreish" kind of beer when the evenings get cold! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Personal91]

I definitely considered it, but as I like low ABV beers I decided not to bother 'cos the Marsh Mild is a very "moreish" kind of beer when the evenings get cold! :thumb: :thumb:

Winter warmer ?

 

[Dutto]

Superb! Best drink to have when you're sat by a nice warm fire and it's blowing a hooley outside! :thumb:

 

[Gerryjo]

Congratulations on your achievement and hope all goes well.Practice makes perfect and I'll bet you have learned to keep your feet clear next time lol🍺👍

Sent from my ALE-L21

 

[Dutto]

Congratulations on your achievement and hope all goes well.Practice makes perfect and I'll bet you have learned to keep your feet clear next time lol🍺👍

Sent from my ALE-L21

The best bet would be to NOT wear open-toed Crocs when brewing!

Especially as before retirement I earned my living as a Health and Safety Manager/Consultant!

"Do as I say and not as I do!" is still a lovely phrase though! :whistle: :whistle:

 

[cheapbrew]

The best bet would be to NOT wear open-toed Crocs when brewing!

Especially as before retirement I earned my living as a Health and Safety Manager/Consultant!

"Do as I say and not as I do!" is still a lovely phrase though! :whistle: :whistle:

ha ha ha, I worked with two volunteers at the local watermill, one was an accident waiting to happen, propping up ladders with bricks on uneven ground and really hanging sideways off the ladder, the other bloke couldn't add up to save his life, first was a retired regional manager of HSE and second was a retired bank manager

 

[Dutto]

ha ha ha, I worked with two volunteers at the local watermill, one was an accident waiting to happen, propping up ladders with bricks on uneven ground and really hanging sideways off the ladder, the other bloke couldn't add up to save his life, first was a retired regional manager of HSE and second was a retired bank manager

Old saying:

"Those who can, do.
Those who can't do, teach.
Those who can't teach, manage!"
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:​

Builder mate of mine was working on a flat roof and had to install a lintel much higher than his ladder.

No problem. He leaned an old door against the wall, mounted a ladder on top of the door and climbed up with the lintel over his shoulder.

The second the lintel was in place he felt the ladder start to move.

The ladder finished up on the wall side of the door and Ian sprained both thumbs as he landed on the top of the door with a leg to each side and his nuts acting as shock-absorbers.

He was thinking "That hurt!" when the door started to keel over towards the edge of the roof.

As he stood a good chance of being catapulted another 3 metres down into a building site he opted to ignore all the pain, let go of the door, rest all his weight on his wedding tackle and throw himself towards the roof rather than over the edge; and he landed safely.

I saw some of the bruising and was mightily impressed ... :thumb:

... but I turned down his offer to show me all of it! :whistle: :whistle:

It's not all self-inflicted though!

How about the mate in Liverpool who owned a factory that made sheds?

He saw one of his workers with a nail-gun still plugged into the air-supply as he gripped the gun between his knees to change the nail cartridge.

One false move and "BANG" one nail that could penetrate 50mm of wood versus one scrotum.

Too terrified to interrupt the operation (and seeing his life's work disappear in the court cases that would ensue if the man shot himself) Paul waited for him to finish what he was doing and then hit him!

Happy Days! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Manxnorton]

Nice one pal!!
Love the shoes incident!!

 

[Dutto]

Visitor arrives next Monday for three weeks so, to get a bit ahead of the game, I transferred the Northfields IPA to the King Keg and then started a Woodfordes Wherry.

Because of the visitor, bringing the IPA into the house to carbonate was a non-starter so I decided to sit the keg on a Heat Pad.

I've not done this before. The temperature of the keg is controlled at 20 degrees by a temperature controller switching the Heat Pad on and off so, not having an insulated jacket for the keg, I have wrapped in in an old lifejacket and an old duvet cover to keep the heat in.

It was bitterly cold all day and by the time I had mixed up the LME for the Wherry with water, the wort was down to 14 degrees! So, I pitched the yeast, banged it in the Brew Fridge at 20 degrees and headed in to the fire before I lost the will to live!

Here's hoping it all turns out okay! :thumb:

 

[Dutto]

Okay, I'm breaking ALL my own rules ...

... but I'm running out of beer ...

... and I wanted (needed?) to play with my new toy and mill some malt.

I moved the Wherry on to the worktop after only FIVE days in the fridge carbonating! The "good news" is that it is quite well carbonated; but I am now wondering if it was "stuck" when I transferred it into the keg! :whistle: I live in hope on that score!

Anyway, on to today's Brew Day using this recipe:

5.50kg of Maris Otter Malt (milled in new toy!)
0.25kg of Caramel Malt (ready milled)
0.25kg of Crystal Malt (ready milled)
0.50kg of Toasted Rolled Oats (Lidl oats toasted in the wok)
75g EKG full leaf (50g bittering and 25g aroma)
1 Protafloc Tablet
Wilco Ale Yeast

Mashing and boiling went to plan (exception being listed below) and the Wilco Yeast was looking good in the starter.

Anyway, I started at 11.30 this morning toasting the oats in the kitchen and sat down for my tea at 5.30pm with the new brew in the fridge and everything cleaned, washed, dried and tidied up!

By my standards an excellent "mill it then brew it" day! :thumb:

My only mistake was straight out of:

First Principles of Brewing
Chapter One
Paragraph One
Sentence One
"Close off the valve on the boiler before starting to wash it out."​

Not catastrophic but out came the mop yet again!

When I ran the recipe past the Brewers Friend it gave me an OG of 1.031 so imagine my surprise when I discovered the OG was up there at 1.070.

If it ferments out to 1.010 it will give an ABV of over 7% which is way above what I wanted!

The only thing I can hope for is that either the Toasted Oats contributed a lot of non-fermentable sugar or (more possible) amazed by the novelty of milling my own malt I actually measured out an extra kilo of Maris Otter!

Either way, whatever is produced will be treated with great respect! :thumb:

 

[MyQul]

I'm probably missing something here but isnt crystal malt and caramel malt the same thing. Just a difference in UK and American description. Also what does toasting the oats bring to the party? When I did an oatmeal pale I just chucked em into the mash as is. I'm doing another oatmeal pale next weekend

 

[Dutto]

I'm probably missing something here but isnt crystal malt and caramel malt the same thing. Just a difference in UK and American description. Also what does toasting the oats bring to the party? When I did an oatmeal pale I just chucked em into the mash as is. I'm doing another oatmeal pale next weekend

Grimsby Homebrew sell both products and on Brewer's Friend they are also listed separately. I'm presuming that the Caramel Malt brings a different taste to the drink in the same manner as Chocolate Malt.

I read on another site that it improves the flavour if the oats are toasted. I quite often toast the oats before making our breakfast porridge. It gives breakfast a really "nutty" flavour and I expect some of this taste to be carried over into the beer! :thumb:

Try doing it for your morning porridge if you're uncertain about the taste. The oats are "toasted" when they change colour to a golden brown ... :thumb:

... and experience has taught me that when they go black they are burned ... :whistle:

... and the taste is not quite so acceptable!

Enjoy! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[MyQul]

Grimsby Homebrew sell both products and on Brewer's Friend they are also listed separately. I'm presuming that the Caramel Malt brings a different taste to the drink in the same manner as Chocolate Malt.

I read on another site that it improves the flavour if the oats are toasted. I quite often toast the oats before making our breakfast porridge. It gives breakfast a really "nutty" flavour and I expect some of this taste to be carried over into the beer! :thumb:

Try doing it for your morning porridge if you're uncertain about the taste. The oats are "toasted" when they change colour to a golden brown ... :thumb:

... and experience has taught me that when they go black they are burned ... :whistle:

... and the taste is not quite so acceptable!

Enjoy! :thumb: :thumb:

I think I'll give this a go as I use lager malt for both ales and (pseudo) lagers and just add some specialty malts like biscuit, amber or munich to try and get a more marris otter flavour to it. MO is sometimes described as 'nutty' so toasting the oats might help things along. What temp is the oven and for how long? Can I do them the eve before or do I have to do them on brew day? Cheers :hat:

 

[Dutto]

I do mine in a wok ...

... which is why and how I know all about "burned"! :thumb:

Off to watch some American Football for a few hours! :thumb:

 

[Leon103]

What size brew was it because with that size grain bill and guessing 23l brew day, there is no way you would have hit 1.031. I guess brewers friend cocked up.

 

[MyQul]

What yeast did you use. To hit an FG of 1.010 it would have to hit 85% attenuation

 

[wfr42]

I do mine in a wok ...

... which is why and how I know all about "burned"! :thumb:

Off to watch some American Football for a few hours! :thumb:

NFL SPOILER FOR ANYONE WHO DIDN'T/ISN'T WATCH(ING) LIVE
(highlight below for text)
Think the packers can come back?