Have a go at simple AG

[chthon]

And don't forget, if you dry hop, your beer can also become hazy. Brewed a saison, dry hopped it, a little bit hazy in the bottle (either when cooled or ambient). Brewed a witbier and bottled it around the same time, and let it carbonate at the same time. This one is already becoming clear in the bottle (luckily that a witbier depends on the yeast for cloudiness).

 

[chub1]

And don't forget, if you dry hop, your beer can also become hazy. Brewed a saison, dry hopped it, a little bit hazy in the bottle (either when cooled or ambient). Brewed a witbier and bottled it around the same time, and let it carbonate at the same time. This one is already becoming clear in the bottle (luckily that a witbier depends on the yeast for cloudiness).

Yup.
I have generally not had a problem with haze as i think i tend to underhop,including dry hopping.
Just made an EPA and put quite a few more dry hops in than i usually do.Although it is very young,just opened one up for sampling:mrgreen: it's actually quite hazy.I Don't care ,tasted damn good:thumb:

 

[MmmBeer]

Was directed to this thread last week and made my first batch yesterday. I think it went well, although like others have mentioned, it took a long time to cool to 20 degrees. I made 5 trays / bags of ice, but made a rookie mistake and chucked them all in a the start and watched them disappear in a couple of minutes, I should have waited until temp was down to abut 30-35 before adding ice.

Second issue, as I was transferring, I discovered my demijohn was 4.5l, not 5, so wasted some of the wort. This morning discovered that foam was coming out of the airlock, so decided to tip a little more away and quickly cleaned and re-sterilised the airlock. How much headspace should be left in a demijohn?

Was planning on making a second batch today with a different hop, but realised I don't have any airlocks spare, so will probably have to wait until next weekend when my kit IPA will be ready to barrel. Besides I have some work to do for Monday, which unfortunately has to come before play.

 

[MyQul]

Deleted...............

 

[pvt_ak]

First proper tasting of my simple AG this weekend. All I can say is , wowzer !!
If this is the simple recipe - bring on the good stuff.
A lovely malty yummy taste and no home brew twang !! It went down far too easily.
Hooked on this.
I've got my number 2 brew fermenting away and today I'm going to try out the Peco with a BIAB American style IPA.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[chub1]

First proper tasting of my simple AG this weekend. All I can say is , wowzer !!
If this is the simple recipe - bring on the good stuff.
A lovely malty yummy taste and no home brew twang !! It went down far too easily.
Hooked on this.
I've got my number 2 brew fermenting away and today I'm going to try out the Peco with a BIAB American style IPA.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh Oh,
better get some big containers for all the new malts etc and more room in the fridge for any opened yeast's:lol:

 

[MyQul]

Oh Oh,
better get some big containers for all the new malts etc and more room in the fridge for any opened yeast's:lol:

You forgot to mention chucking the useless stuff out the freezer, like food. To make room for all those half used packets of hops

 

[chub1]

You forgot to mention chucking the useless stuff out the freezer, like food. To make room for all those half used packets of hops

Yup,
either that OR
get another freezer for em:mrgreen:

 

[bobukbrewer]

no spare airlocks - scrunched up kitchen paper will maintain a fly barrier and a tinsy winsy over pressure in the fermentor - I always think lateral with brewing and gardening.....

 

[MyQul]

no spare airlocks - scrunched up kitchen paper will maintain a fly barrier and a tinsy winsy over pressure in the fermentor - I always think lateral with brewing and gardening.....

I've never used an airlock. Just cover the FV with cling film held on with a elastic band

 

[chub1]

I've never used an airlock. Just cover the FV with cling film held on with a elastic band

Bet you're one of these jokers who tie clingfilm to bog seats:lol:

 

[CheddarBrew]

If you've made a few kits and/or extract brews, why not have a go at a simple AG brew, to see the difference it makes? A small batch of AG beer is not difficult and you will discover the difference and feel the joy and pride of making it from scratch. All you need for 5 litres is 1kg of Maris Otter, or other pale malt, a packet of hops, and a sachet of yeast. You just need a thermometer, a decent sized pan and something to strain the grain from the wort. A big sieve, or a piece of cloth in a colander. A bag that fills the pan and,drapes over the sides and holds the grains, made from muslin or voile, is ideal. You also need a hydrometer to check the gravity before and after fermentation.

Recipe:

• 1kg Maris Otter (about �£1.50)
• One packet of hops (any you like - EKG, Citra, Amarillo, Galaxy, Fuggles, First gold etc) (About �£3-4, but you will only use 15g of the 100g, so cost is around 50p)
• One packet of yeast, 3g dried yeast is enough. (50p ish)

Method:

1. Heat 3 litres of water to 75C in big pan.
2. Pour in the pale malt while stirring - get rid of lumps.
3. Check temp is 65-70C - adjust if necessary with cold or boiling water.
4. Wrap a thick towel round the pot and leave alone for one hour.
5. Strain into a bucket or other vessel through sieve, or colander lined with cloth.
6. Heat another 4 litres of water to 80C and add the grains back to it. Leave 10 mins, stir, and strain the liquid to your bucket. You should have about 6 litres, which will reduce when you boil it for an hour.
7. Dispose of grains, add wort to pan and bring to boil.
8. Add 5 grams of hops when boiling point is reached.
9. 55 Mins later add 5 to 10g of hops, depending on your hoppiness requirements, boil another 5 mins and switch off.
10. Cool the wort in sink, with lid on, add to sterilised FV/demijohn via sterilised sieve to catch hops, and top up the level to 5 litres if necessary. Pitch yeast at around 18 - 20C.

[Measure the amount of water added if you top up the FV, and add this amount to the sparge water next time you brew]

You should get 8 or 9 x 500ml bottles of lovely beer for about �£2.50. It takes me about 3 hours start to finish, making 10 litre batches in this way (see below).

10 Litre option: You can just double all the quantities and make 10 Litres, which is what I do most of the time, it's a good amount of beer. About 18x500ml bottles, or 27x330ml bottles. You just need a 15ish litre pot.

If you've never made an all grain beer it's really worth giving this a go.

Here's a youtube video that shows the method quite well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPRLc9-C73Y

Thanks so much Clibit - you inspired me to have a go at my first all-grain brew last week (after a few kit brews in the past), and can't wait to give it a try! :mrgreen:

 

[MmmBeer]

I made my first 5L AG brew a week and a half ago, using Boadicea hops. Checked the FG for the first time today and it is down to 1014, I will give it a few more days before bottling, despite the recent heat.

When taking a cheeky sip or two out of the hydrometer jar, I found the hop flavour slightly underderwhelming. I bought the Boadicea hops based on the published flavour profile "light floral, spicy", but the proof of the beer is in the drinking.

That was when I had an idea, I'm planning on doing a 10L batch of Summer Ale from Greg Hughes book this weekend, for a weekend family get together in late July, which specifies Goldings and Progress hops. I have some Goldings in the freezer, but would need to buy some Progress or maybe Fuggles on Saturday, so I tried mixing some of my Boadicea ale with some Bath Ales Gem, which is all Goldings and what a revelation:thumb:, it improved both, imparting a light lemon flavour to the earthy Goldings taste. I reckon I will need about 4:1 Goldings to Boadicea and I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[MmmBeer]

I made my first 5L AG brew a week and a half ago, using Boadicea hops. Checked the FG for the first time today and it is down to 1014, I will give it a few more days before bottling, despite the recent heat.

When taking a cheeky sip or two out of the hydrometer jar, I found the hop flavour slightly underderwhelming. I bought the Boadicea hops based on the published flavour profile "light floral, spicy", but the proof of the beer is in the drinking.

That was when I had an idea, I'm planning on doing a 10L batch of Summer Ale from Greg Hughes book this weekend, for a weekend family get together in late July, which specifies Goldings and Progress hops. I have some Goldings in the freezer, but would need to buy some Progress or maybe Fuggles on Saturday, so I tried mixing some of my Boadicea ale with some Bath Ales Gem, which is all Goldings and what a revelation:thumb:, it improved both, imparting a light lemon flavour to the earthy Goldings taste. I reckon I will need about 4:1 Goldings to Boadicea and I'll let you know how it turns out.

The AG Boadicea has now been in the bottles for just over a week and has been moved to the garage to chill (as best it can in this weather). So I've just tried one and initial impressions; it was a bit cloudy and a bit flat, then when I tasted it, it was lovely, not a strong hop flavour, but a beautiful gentle summer beer, extremely drinkable.

I did a second batch a few days later, with Ahtanum and I couldn't resist trying one of these too, a much more pronounced hop flavour, but lovely too. I now have 10L of the Goldings / Boadicea Summer Ale in the FV, to which I added half a protofloc tablet, I hope this will help reduce the cloudiness.

Thanks Clibit, :thumb:you have got me hooked on AG.

 

[SeagullRich]

OK Folks, has taken me a few days to trawl through all this – but it has absolutely inspired me to take the next step, huge thank you to everyone that has posted here – I thought would be a while away yet from AGB as I needed more kit but reading this and the wife informed me yesterday that she is going to stay at her folks on Sat night so in my excitement I ordered all the grains/yeast etc. 9 kits done now, but this is where I want to go, educating myself on the way. Saturday is BREWDAY!!

Some of this may seem so basic sorry, but a) I have written out a schedule for myself as a) I am quite forgetful b) always tired (kids are young) and c) I do like to crack a brew when brewing! Timings may well meander which is no problem, but does anything look obviously awry with the below. For AG1 I have literally followed exactly post1 (just doubled quantities)

Thank you in advance, I will let people know how it goes, with the aim of at least trying to give something back to the noobies! Paranoid about screwing it up, so any thoughts/advice welcome please


6:00pm

Boil kettle
Put boiled water in 15l pot then top up to 6l & heat to 75C

6:30pm

Add in the 2kg Maris Otter in bag & stir to remove clumps
Check Temp is 65-70C – Add Hot/Cold where necessary
Put pan with lid on, on Trivets on side & Wrap lots of towels around – leave for 1h

6:45-7:45 Bath kids, stories etc

7:45pm

Boil kettle

Check temp (for notes)
Take grain bag out & put in muslin lined collander over bottling bucket (simply used as a container for now)
Pour wort through sieve into bottling bucket (additional sparge?)
Put boiled water into pot then top up to 8l & heat to 80C
Add grain bad back then stir after 10 mins
Repeat putting grain bag in sieve & pouring liquid through it

8:30ish?

Chuck the grains and pour wort into pan & bring to boil
Add 10g pellet Hops when boiling point reached
Keep lid off, keep an eye on boil – careful of overboil, especially when adding hops

45 mins after 1st hop addition
Add 2/5 of a petrafloc tablet (not to self, this is a pain in the @rse – get some Irish moss!)

55 mins after 1st hop addition
Add 20g pellet hops

Collect some ice in a bowl

9:30ish

5 mins after hops added turn off heat, put lid on pot and put in sink
Add ice round the sides and top up with cold water
When sink water getting warmer, drain & refill with cold water/ice

In meantime, sterilise carboy, thermometer, funnel, wine thief and muslin

10:15 ish

When temp is 20C, strain into carboy via muslin & funnel
At some stage during this, strain some into sample pot to take initial gravity reading

Add in 6g dried yeast, then swish carboy round to aerate it & mix in yeast
Pop on bung & airlock (filled with cooled boiled water)

10:30ish,

Crack a brew and watch Match of the Day with hopefully a Brighton win!


Wait a few weeks until stopped bubbling & FG is consistent 3 days running
Put 11l Carboy in fridge to cold crash for 3 days (if it fits!)

Sterilise, bottle and enjoy!!!

 

[pms67]

Remember and tidy up,swmbo will notice straight away 👍

 

[chub1]

OK Folks, has taken me a few days to trawl through all this �" but it has absolutely inspired me to take the next step, huge thank you to everyone that has posted here �" I thought would be a while away yet from AGB as I needed more kit but reading this and the wife informed me yesterday that she is going to stay at her folks on Sat night so in my excitement I ordered all the grains/yeast etc. 9 kits done now, but this is where I want to go, educating myself on the way.Saturday is BREWDAY!!

Some of this may seem so basic sorry, but a) I have written out a schedule for myself as a) I am quite forgetful b) always tired (kids are young) and c) I do like to crack a brew when brewing! Timings may well meander which is no problem, but does anything look obviously awry with the below.For AG1 I have literally followed exactly post1 (just doubled quantities)

Thank you in advance, I will let people know how it goes, with the aim of at least trying to give something back to the noobies! Paranoid about screwing it up, so any thoughts/advice welcome please


6:00pm

Boil kettle
Put boiled water in 15l pot then top up to 6l & heat to 75C

6:30pm

Add in the 2kg Maris Otter in bag & stir to remove clumps
Check Temp is 65-70C �" Add Hot/Cold where necessary
Put pan with lid on, on Trivets on side & Wrap lots of towels around �" leave for 1h

6:45-7:45 Bath kids, stories etc

7:45pm

Boil kettle

Check temp (for notes)
Take grain bag out & put in muslin lined collander over bottling bucket (simply used as a container for now)
Pour wort through sieve into bottling bucket (additional sparge?)
Put boiled water into pot then top up to 8l & heat to 80C
Add grain bad back then stir after 10 mins
Repeat putting grain bag in sieve & pouring liquid through it

8:30ish?

Chuck the grains and pour wort into pan & bring to boil
Add 10g pellet Hops when boiling point reached
Keep lid off, keep an eye on boil �" careful of overboil, especially when adding hops

45 mins after 1st hop addition
Add 2/5 of a petrafloc tablet (not to self, this is a pain in the @rse �" get some Irish moss!)

55 mins after 1st hop addition
Add 20g pellet hops

Collect some ice in a bowl

9:30ish

5 mins after hops added turn off heat, put lid on pot and put in sink
Add ice round the sides and top up with cold water
When sink water getting warmer, drain & refill with cold water/ice

In meantime, sterilise carboy, thermometer, funnel, wine thief and muslin

10:15 ish

When temp is 20C, strain into carboy via muslin & funnel
At some stage during this, strain some into sample pot to take initial gravity reading

Add in 6g dried yeast, then swish carboy round to aerate it & mix in yeast
Pop on bung & airlock (filled with cooled boiled water)

10:30ish,

Crack a brew and watch Match of the Day with hopefully a Brighton win!


Wait a few weeks until stopped bubbling & FG is consistent 3 days running
Put 11l Carboy in fridge to cold crash for 3 days (if it fits!)

Sterilise, bottle and enjoy!!!

Go for it:thumb:
BUT
come on,a Brighton win!:hmm::rofl:

 

[bobukbrewer]

looks good to me - I been brewing 45 years and still learning.....

 

[MrL73]

What about conditioning? Do you bottle or keg this? How much fermentable ingredients do you add?

 

[SeagullRich]

OK, so all done on sat night. Seemed to go fairly well, very interesting seeing it all evolve - especially a few days in now where it is bubbling away nicely! The Kits I did in a plastic bucket, so now you can see it all going on

Took a very long time to chill though, I have already invested in a wort chiller as that was really the only tricky part. Timings went pretty well initially ,similar to above, aside from the chilling - I was all done by around 11:15 (just in time to see us fail to score against 10 man Watford!)

Quite pleased in that as someone said on one of these many pages - there is time to get the other things like the sanitising and cleaning during the process. Didn;t quite appreciate how much the steeping of the grains makes the house smell mind. I am not sure as I got the full 10L at the end, but I'll find that out when I bottle it up (or in fact before if I am working out the sugar amount)

We shall see how we go from here. I plan to bottle this by adding 5g litre priming sugar into the bottling bucket & then put in 500ml bottles - prob after 2 weeks in fermenter & then cold crash in old fridge for a couple of days. Appreciate this is a simple recipe, but all about the process for the 1st AG brew. I had a couple of books for my birthday and so I think a couple of recipes from there will follow - next two will be a Punk IPA clone as I like the idea of comparing my one to an actual one and then some sort of Christmas Ale.

Tis an exciting world ahead! Again, thank you to everyone for this invaluable thread!