Hazelwood’s Brewday Part 2

[Hazelwood Brewery]

After a weekend in Norfolk with family and a friends birthday party I needed to keg the latest batch of Pirate Pale today.

While syphoning the beer into the keg I took a sample as usual and the clarity immediately grabbed my attention because this beer is usually very clear out of the fermenter and this batch is a little hazy.

A quick sniff confirmed this isn’t right at all and a taste was the final confirmation, far more malty that it should be and the bright hoppiness I expect from this beer was missing. Then I became aware there was no hop debris in the fermenter - I’d completely forgotten to dry hop the beer before we went away, probably distracted thinking about the weekend!

What to do? The beer tastes OK but isn’t the beer I was looking forward to having at Christmas. Decision made.

I filled the keg to the rim to minimise any waste, washed up the fermenting bucket and transferred the beer back into the bucket, then added the dry hops along with a little ascorbic acid. To further minimise oxidation I fed CO2 into the head space for a minute or so and fitted the bubble trap. Fingers crossed

That can sit in secondary now for 2 of 3 days and I’ll have another go at kegging it.

 

[Clint]

I'm sure it'll be fine H!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I didn’t realise but it’s been three months since I last posted in this thread . I did keg the Pirate Pale in the last post and the beer was fine.

On Friday I brewed my first beer of the year (and since the Pirate Pale above), a batch of my Best Bitter. This will be my cask version so my boiler is pretty full because the King Keg is 23 litres and I don’t want too big a head space or the beer might oxidise.

I will also brew a batch of Best Bitter to go into a corny sometime in the next few days.

 

[Twostage]

I didn’t realise but it’s been three months since I last posted in this thread . I did keg the Pirate Pale in the last post and the beer was fine.

On Friday I brewed my first beer of the year (and since the Pirate Pale above), a batch of my Best Bitter. This will be my cask version so my boiler is pretty full because the King Keg is 23 litres and I don’t want too big a head space or the beer might oxidise.

View attachment 108741

I will also brew a batch of Best Bitter to go into a corny sometime in the next few days.

Seeing the picture of your cygnet makes me think wistfully of mine gathering dust now I've switched to a Brewzilla. Wondering about a double brew day - either sequential using the cygnet to get the second batches water upto mash temp while batch one boils or parallel with full cycle in each but I've moved away from BIAB. Is there such a thing as a malt pipe for a cygnet ?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Is there such a thing as a malt pipe for a cygnet ?

I use a large hop spider, it pretty much fills the boiler with a 1cm gap all round. It holds about 5.5Kg of grain which is enough for most brews going in a corny keg.

 

[Twostage]

I use a large hop spider, it pretty much fills the boiler with a 1cm gap all round. It holds about 5.5Kg of grain which is enough for most brews going in a corny keg.

 

[Twostage]

Where did you get it from ? I can see one at TMM but its only 20cm diameter.

 

[Appleton Brews]

I’ve got one of these to use with a Burco Cygnet boiler. Grain basket not a spider.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

View attachment 108801
I’ve got one of these to use with a Burco Cygnet boiler. Grain basket not a spider.

That’s it. Hop spider / grain basket - depends on the sellers description but this is the right size. I think mine cost about £80 but I’ve seen them lower cost and higher.

 

[Appleton Brews]

I got mine for about £40 but as HB says the price varies a lot.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Another brew day and I’m brewing a batch of best bitter to go in a corny keg.

At the end of the mash (before sparge) I have some nice looking wort at 1.056 and pH 5.2. After the sparge the gravity dropped to 1.043 which is exactly what I expect and the pH has risen a touch to 5.29.

On to the boil now and as I have the brew shed in winter configuration (temporary walls to keep out the worst of the weather) I leave the door open and open up the top left corner of the pvc sheeting to let the steam out - without doing this I’ll end up in a steam bath!

 

[Tongue In Cheek]

Another brew day and I’m brewing a batch of best bitter to go in a corny keg.

At the end of the mash (before sparge) I have some nice looking wort at 1.056 and pH 5.2. After the sparge the gravity dropped to 1.043 which is exactly what I expect and the pH has risen a touch to 5.29.
View attachment 108973View attachment 108974View attachment 108975

On to the boil now and as I have the brew shed in winter configuration (temporary walls to keep out the worst of the weather) I leave the door open and open up the top left corner of the pvc sheeting to let the steam out - without doing this I’ll end up in a steam bath!
View attachment 108976

Looks like a pretty sweet setup!

 

[Clint]

H...just an idea...you could let it all steam up and sit there in your trollies like as if in a sauna. You could then thrash yourself with some twigs. If it snows you could also roll round in it...
Always thinking me!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

H...just an idea...you could let it all steam up and sit there in your trollies like as if in a sauna. You could then thrash yourself with some twigs. If it snows you could also roll round in it...
Always thinking me!

I think you think too much Clint!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Been down the pub while the cooled wort settled .

22 litres now in the fermentation cabinet. OG is 1.048 and pH is 5.03, the OG is exactly where it should be, pH is 0.1 higher than expected but is in tolerance so I’m looking forward to some nice beer.

The fermentation bucket on the top shelf is the cask version of the bitter and will be ready to put in the cask on Saturday.

 

[Clint]

Very efficient!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

My wife is having her hair done tomorrow so I’m going to get another brew on. This brew will be a Czech lager because I’ve used up all my Maris Otter and most of my regular brews use MO. I do have more on order so in the next few days I’ll probably get another porter brewed. In the meantime for tomorrows brew day the grist is prepared, the water is prepared, and the timer is set to heat the mash water.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

The day has arrived and the mash is on. Probably my most simple recipe, the grist is just pilsner malt and a handful of melanoidin. Later I will add some glucose to dry the beer out a little.

Here is the grain basket/hop spider inside the boiler. The legs of the basket hold it just above the bazooka and the tap outlet.

The water is already up to temperature at 152F (about 66C). In with the grain, a good stir, and switch on the pump to recirculate the wort. This helps to maintain a more even temperature through the grain bed and continuously filters the wort so it gradually becomes clear. I’ll leave this now for about an hour and a half before raising the temperature to 161F (71C) for a half hour and then mash out.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

At the end of the main mash stage you can see the wort is fairly clear (compare with the last picture in my previous post). Gravity is a touch up at 1.046 compared to my last batch at 1.044. Temperature raised to 161F (71C) for the glycoprotein rest. At this temperature you encourage proteins that are needed to produce a good head and aid retention.

After the glycoprotein rest there’s plenty of foam! The gravity at this point is still a smidge higher than my last batch, 1.047 vs 1.046. Raise the temperature again for mash out.

 

[Deej]

Really like the setup you have. Just wondering what you do for mash temperature control? I was thinking about using an inkbird with a cygnet boiler but I think it's a bit over the power rating. Cheers!