Have a go at simple AG

[BeerCat]

Right that's on the cards for the coming week then. :)

 

[Wicks]

Interested to hear how the beer turns out, what grains and hops did you use?

I used 1kg of Maris Otter with 5 grams of First Gold into the boil followed by 10 grams of First Gold after 55mins. Smell of Malt and Hops steaming away is glorious.

 

[clibit]

I used 1kg of Maris Otter with 5 grams of First Gold into the boil followed by 10 grams of First Gold after 55mins. Smell of Malt and Hops steaming away is glorious.

It is indeed, and First Gold is a lovely hop. :thumb:

 

[ilikemysocks]

I accidentally bought a Maris Otter pale blend to have a go with this but I've just taken a gravity reading and it has turned into a lovely hoppy, proper beer. I'm quite proud of myself and it is very satisfying to follow the process from grains into beer. It's been in the FV for a week and I'll leave it another week (after some good advice received last week). I'm not sure I can wait another 2 weeks after bottling though [emoji6]

 

[ilikemysocks]

Also I really have caught the bug. I just ordered another few bags of grain and a sparging bag. I have some grain leftover from last week so I'm going to get another small batch on now. Thank you for putting this post up. It was a fantastic motivator into making an AG brew.

 

[clibit]

I was hoping people would have a go and find out what beer from scratch made at home is like, delighted you've had a go! :thumb:

 

[ilikemysocks]

One of my favourite things about it is, although it is a long process, you can still get on with your day. Like right now I am brewing beer.. but I'm also taking the dog for a walk.

 

[Tony1951]

Nice post, made me smile, sure your beer will turn out great. Enjoy the journey from here, and the constant yearning for better, usually bigger, kit

A lad I know applied for a job here.

http://www.thebridgetavern.com/microbrewery.html

When I saw that copper kit, I wanted to work there too.

Turned out the job was behind the bar and not in the brewery - much less attractive.

 

[Tony1951]

I was hoping people would have a go and find out what beer from scratch made at home is like, delighted you've had a go! :thumb:

You've created an army of grain brewers Clibit. I think the maltsters and sellers of grain should put you on the payroll. Maybe you're due 5% of turnover.

 

[BeerCat]

This is my 33rd brew going nuts after 24 hours. I have never ever heard them fizz before. So much gunk in the airlocks the noise was unreal. Gonna clean em out today.

10l batch
Yeast 3g of sv33 in one DJ and 3g of nottingham in other

1500g pale malt
300g rye
100g cararye
100g caramunich type2
100g torrified wheat

28g saaz @60
19g saaz @5
10g amarillo @1
Will dry hop after a week with 10g amarillo per demijohn

Cheers again Clibit, doubt i would be doing this now without your thread.
1st AG was only 222nd May now i have boxes of grain and FV's everywhere. Couldn't be happier! :)

 

[davejhs]

Just bottled my first AG Brew.
24 Bottles for about six quid,dont think i will be brewing any more kits.
Surprised how clear it has turned out.
Tastes ok looking foward to sinking a few pints when it has conditioned.

 

[davejhs]

And a big thank you to CLIBIT For this post and converting me to AG.

 

[clibit]

That looks great Dave, I'm sure it'll be lovely when it's conditioned.

 

[Bevvied]

Kudos to clibit for starting this thread and for his continuing contributions throughout.
As a complete and utter novice (with my first two kit brews in the FVs at the moment) I had absolutely no idea that an AG brew could be possible without specialist expensive equipment.
I've some ways to go yet, but when I've cut my teeth with a couple more kits, I'm with 100% certainty going to dip my toes into the world of AG. I'm predominantly fond of supping Stout and IPA, so hopefully when the time comes I can be pointed in the right direction.
Many, many thanks clibit and to all those who have contributed to this.
Mark.

ps. Is there a forum favoured online store for buying grains?

 

[clibit]

Forum members get 5% discount from The Home Brew Company and from Geterbrewed.com, the discount codes are in threads in the information and announcements forum.

There are other good suppliers, such as the Maltmiller, Brewuk, the Worcester Hop Shop, and others.

 

[davemorton]

So my brew has been left for 16 days now, so decided to open her up and have a look.....Is this normal, it has a slight oily film on the top, and bits floating on it. It is a lot darker than the blonde I was trying to create.

[/URL][/IMG]

 

[stevej]

Looks normal to me :-D

 

[davemorton]

Looks normal to me :-D

Phew!! Cheers!

Now to decide if I should put in into a different FV for another week, or just go ahead and bottle it.

 

[stevej]

Phew!! Cheers!

Now to decide if I should put in into a different FV for another week, or just go ahead and bottle it.

Looks totaly normal dont worry, if your planing on bottling i would transfer it to a second fv/ bottling bucket and leave it for half a hour or so to let everything settle out to the bottom to avoid getting anything in your bottles!:thumb:

 

[davemorton]

The yeast is crucial. Get a good liquid Belgian yeast and it will make the beer. Costs more, but it will make a big difference. The rest of the ingredients are cheap. Here's that recipe reduced to 5 litres:

Belgian Blond Ale

Batch Size (L): 5.0
Original Gravity (OG): 1.063 (Based on 70% mash efficiency)
Final Gravity (FG): 1.013
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.57 %
Colour (SRM): 4.5 (EBC): 8.9
Bitterness (IBU): 25.5
Boil Time (Minutes): 90

Grain Bill
----------------
1.100 kg Pilsner (81.48%)
0.150 kg Cane Sugar (11.11%)
0.050 kg Aromatic Malt (3.7%)
0.050 kg Wheat Malt (3.7%)

Hop Bill
----------------
8.0 g Hallertau Mittlefrueh Pellet (6.3% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (start of boil)

Mash at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Ferment at 18-20°C with WLP500 - Trappist Ale

Just bottled this. It is quite dark in colour, but tastes lovely. Fresh and sweet, not too heavy. Nectar. :mrgreen: Very pleased with it. Now the wait for it to prime and be ready to guzzle. Many thanks