Good news! My order of Maris Otter and a few other bits has arrived. Now I can plan for that porter and another batch of bitter 
Hazelwood’s Brewday Part 2
- Thread starter Hazelwood Brewery
- Start date
Help Support The Homebrew Forum:
I use an Inkbird. I have the boiler temp control on max because I’m using the Inkbird to switch the boiler on and off and I plug the boiler into the Inkbird.
You see the Inkbird is plugged into a simple timer switch so I can set this to start heating the mash water ready for when I get up. The plug on the left is the boiler and the thinner wire heading off the top of the bar is the Inkbird temperature probe - which is in the boiler.
At the end of mash out the gravity reading is 1.049 so a little higher again than my last batch at 1.046. The pH at the end of the mash (before sparge) is 5.08 and is a little lower than the last batch at around 5.2. Clearly the lower pH has not had any detrimental effect on extraction with this batch having a higher gravity.
Here you see the wort, colour and clarity.
I use a thin rope and pulley to lift the grain basket out of the boiler and fit some hanging brackets to let the grain drain for a couple of minutes.
Here you see the wort, colour and clarity.
I use a thin rope and pulley to lift the grain basket out of the boiler and fit some hanging brackets to let the grain drain for a couple of minutes.
While the grain basket drains, I heated the sparge water to about 70C. I put the grain basket in another bucket, poured over the heated sparge water, gave it a good stir and a few dunks then left the grain basket to drain again.
10 litres of sparge water were collected and added to the wort in the boiler. The pre-boil gravity is now 1.038, again higher than my last batch at 1.035.
10 litres of sparge water were collected and added to the wort in the boiler. The pre-boil gravity is now 1.038, again higher than my last batch at 1.035.
The pre-boil pH was 5.04, I’ll not measure the post-boil pH until I put the wort in the fermenter, same with the gravity reading.
A few minutes before the end of the boil I added the glucose mentioned previously, dissolved in a little hot wort and added back to the boiler. The last addition of hops next, 60g of Saaz in the last 10 minutes. These were added to a hop bag in the boiler, you can see the bag hanging over the front. At the end of the boil the wort was quickly chilled using a plate chiller and is now resting to allow all the cold-break to settle before I put it in the fermenter. So that’s it for now, I’m off to the pub, see you later!
A few minutes before the end of the boil I added the glucose mentioned previously, dissolved in a little hot wort and added back to the boiler. The last addition of hops next, 60g of Saaz in the last 10 minutes. These were added to a hop bag in the boiler, you can see the bag hanging over the front. At the end of the boil the wort was quickly chilled using a plate chiller and is now resting to allow all the cold-break to settle before I put it in the fermenter. So that’s it for now, I’m off to the pub, see you later!
Right, back from the pub so time to get this brew in the fermenter. First a couple of readings. The gravity is 1.051, the post-boil pH is 4.69, and the temperature is 62.8F (17C).
For this brew I’m going to add a dose of ALDC (Alpha Acetolactate Decarboxylase) an enzyme that prevents the formation of diacetyl. This small 1ml vial costing £1.75 is enough to dose a 23 litre batch. It’s added at the same time as the yeast at the start of fermentation.
The wort, nice a clear at this point is just poured on top to mix it in and the yeast added.
This is the inside of the boiler showing the cold-break all settled at the bottom.
The wort looks good in the fermenting bucket and 22 litres is now in the fermenting cabinet where it will sit for the next couple of weeks. In the meantime my cask batch of best bitter will be ready to put in the cask tomorrow.
For this brew I’m going to add a dose of ALDC (Alpha Acetolactate Decarboxylase) an enzyme that prevents the formation of diacetyl. This small 1ml vial costing £1.75 is enough to dose a 23 litre batch. It’s added at the same time as the yeast at the start of fermentation.
The wort, nice a clear at this point is just poured on top to mix it in and the yeast added.
This is the inside of the boiler showing the cold-break all settled at the bottom.
The wort looks good in the fermenting bucket and 22 litres is now in the fermenting cabinet where it will sit for the next couple of weeks. In the meantime my cask batch of best bitter will be ready to put in the cask tomorrow.
I brew a lot because I drink a lotWhat a brilliant set up , no wonder you brew so much.
I think most of us should have that tattooed somewhereI brew a lot because I drink a lot
This morning I kegged the cask version of my bitter. The pH of the fermented beer is 3.98 and the final gravity is 1.018 giving an ABV of 3.8% - a good session strength.
After sanitising the kit I siphoned the beer into the King keg along with 50g of glucose dissolved in a little boiled water. It’s more sugar than I need but I want to make sure I clear the air in the head-space through venting, the pressure release valve will ensure the beer isn’t too over-carbonated and I can always release more gas through the Schrader valve. You’ll notice this beer doesn’t have my usual clarity and that’s because I forgot to add the kettle finings. D’Oh! Probably in too much of a rush to get to the pub! Never mind, it will just take a little longer to clear.
I filled the keg pretty well with 24 litres and put it in the fermentation cabinet along with the corny keg version of my bitter and the lager I prepared yesterday. It will sit there at 16-17C for a couple of weeks to carbonate and will then be moved into the brewshed at 13C for another 2-4 weeks to condition.
After sanitising the kit I siphoned the beer into the King keg along with 50g of glucose dissolved in a little boiled water. It’s more sugar than I need but I want to make sure I clear the air in the head-space through venting, the pressure release valve will ensure the beer isn’t too over-carbonated and I can always release more gas through the Schrader valve. You’ll notice this beer doesn’t have my usual clarity and that’s because I forgot to add the kettle finings. D’Oh! Probably in too much of a rush to get to the pub! Never mind, it will just take a little longer to clear.
I filled the keg pretty well with 24 litres and put it in the fermentation cabinet along with the corny keg version of my bitter and the lager I prepared yesterday. It will sit there at 16-17C for a couple of weeks to carbonate and will then be moved into the brewshed at 13C for another 2-4 weeks to condition.
Had a fairly busy morning replacing the deionisation crystals on my RO machine then washing, sanitising, and storing six corny kegs.
I need space in the brewshed so I can re-fit the interior and install the bigger glycol chiller my wife bought for me. I’ll keep 3 or 4 kegs going but run the others down until after the refit.
I’m not doing any more today though, it’s time to head off to the pub
I need space in the brewshed so I can re-fit the interior and install the bigger glycol chiller my wife bought for me. I’ll keep 3 or 4 kegs going but run the others down until after the refit.
I’m not doing any more today though, it’s time to head off to the pub
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2015
- Messages
- 11,014
- Reaction score
- 11,613
I know the glucose will drop it down a bit more but are you worried it will be a bit too sweet, or do you purposely aim for them to finish high?
Hi Leon. This beer normally finishes at 1.014 so this batch didn’t fully ferment. This might be because I had a stuck fermentation or it might be because I reduced the temperature of my fermentation cabinet to reduce esters a little and the fermentation is taking longer.
The beer is certainly carbonating well so there’s no issue with the yeast and maybe if I measure the gravity again in a couple of weeks it will have come down.
At the moment the balance is definitely bitter-sweet, drinkable but not as good as I know it can be.
Yesterday I brewed another batch of porter. I didn’t take many pictures because they’d be pretty much the same except the beer is darker! Here’s one of the beer and one with the beer in the fermentation cabinet.
No more brewing now until after the bitter comes out on Tuesday.
No more brewing now until after the bitter comes out on Tuesday.
I stripped out the inside of my brewshed today in readiness for a refit, I’ll be fitting that bigger glycol chiller my wife bought for my birthday - this is the main reason for the refit but I do have a couple of ideas I’d like to incorporate…
As part of the refit I want to build a cold box that will hold 4-6 kegs at low temperature for cold-crashing or dispense and I want to incorporate space for a couple of King kegs I’ve been using to produce cask-like beer and I want that beer served through my taps.
One problem with squeezing all this in my brewshed is that there’s very little room above the kegs for a CO2 feed used to fill the head-space as beer is drawn off. I think I have a solution but need to give it a test run first. It uses a 3/8 bulkhead fitting, a 3/8 stem elbow, a piece of 3/8 pipe, a 3/8 tap, and a 3/8 stem to 3/16 reducer - this will be connected via 3/16 pipe to the gas supply. The second picture shows it assembled - the actual cap will also have an S.30 valve to retain the pressure release valve. I’ll test it some time over the next few days.
As part of the refit I want to build a cold box that will hold 4-6 kegs at low temperature for cold-crashing or dispense and I want to incorporate space for a couple of King kegs I’ve been using to produce cask-like beer and I want that beer served through my taps.
One problem with squeezing all this in my brewshed is that there’s very little room above the kegs for a CO2 feed used to fill the head-space as beer is drawn off. I think I have a solution but need to give it a test run first. It uses a 3/8 bulkhead fitting, a 3/8 stem elbow, a piece of 3/8 pipe, a 3/8 tap, and a 3/8 stem to 3/16 reducer - this will be connected via 3/16 pipe to the gas supply. The second picture shows it assembled - the actual cap will also have an S.30 valve to retain the pressure release valve. I’ll test it some time over the next few days.
I’ve done a little work in the brewshed this afternoon. It’s really no more than two shelves but all the mental effort went into figuring out how to fit it all in - not just the shelves but the plumbing, drainage, wiring, insulation, heat exchangers, power supply, pumps, and cabinetry. There will of course be more pictures. 
Tonight’s update. I focused more on the coolant pipes and control signals today (before going to the pub!). I also pressurised one of my King kegs to test out that gas connection from two posts ago.
Starting with the keg pressurisation, I pressurised the keg to 8psi which is more than I will need and will leave the keg for 24hrs before testing to see if the connections are gas tight - in particular that tap. More on this tomorrow.
The coolant pipes and control signals (which switch on the pumps) used to be routed to the bottom of the glycol chiller cabinet. The new glycol chiller is much bigger and needs the pipework and signalling to be raised somewhat. In the first picture you see the pipes and wires on the ground. In the second I’ve moved the pipes on the right hand side further up. I have done some work on the left but not taken a picture as yet. The left hand side is more complex with an extra set of coolant pipes and drainage. This will make more sense tomorrow, probably!
Starting with the keg pressurisation, I pressurised the keg to 8psi which is more than I will need and will leave the keg for 24hrs before testing to see if the connections are gas tight - in particular that tap. More on this tomorrow.
The coolant pipes and control signals (which switch on the pumps) used to be routed to the bottom of the glycol chiller cabinet. The new glycol chiller is much bigger and needs the pipework and signalling to be raised somewhat. In the first picture you see the pipes and wires on the ground. In the second I’ve moved the pipes on the right hand side further up. I have done some work on the left but not taken a picture as yet. The left hand side is more complex with an extra set of coolant pipes and drainage. This will make more sense tomorrow, probably!
Today’s update on my refit project. I noted above that I’d been moving pipes and cables up from the floor level and I completed that work today. On the left-hand side I also added some drainage pipes (you might be able to see a couple of small white stubs coming out from the ply lining), and I added a new set of pipes and cables that will be used for the new cold box.
After completing that work I refitted the 2 shelves from post 1096 and started lining the cold box with Kingspan insulation. I still need to fit Kingspan in the roof space, fit the front panel/door, fit the heat exchanger and fans, fit the drainage gutter that will carry away condensation drips from the heat exchanger and fit the Inkbird that will control the temperature of the cold box.
I haven’t done any more work on the lower chamber where the glycol chiller will sit but maybe I’ll do a little work on that tomorrow. We’re out at the pub from late morning though so I’ll probably not get a great deal done.
One other piece of news on the King keg gassing test. It works! After 36 hours I reconnected the gas, opened the tap, and listened for gas going in to replace any that leaked out - not a whisper!
After completing that work I refitted the 2 shelves from post 1096 and started lining the cold box with Kingspan insulation. I still need to fit Kingspan in the roof space, fit the front panel/door, fit the heat exchanger and fans, fit the drainage gutter that will carry away condensation drips from the heat exchanger and fit the Inkbird that will control the temperature of the cold box.
I haven’t done any more work on the lower chamber where the glycol chiller will sit but maybe I’ll do a little work on that tomorrow. We’re out at the pub from late morning though so I’ll probably not get a great deal done.
One other piece of news on the King keg gassing test. It works! After 36 hours I reconnected the gas, opened the tap, and listened for gas going in to replace any that leaked out - not a whisper!
This morning I kegged the corny version of my best bitter which finished at 1.012 and pH of 4.1. This batch was clear as is usual.
Before going to the pub I managed to complete the electrical work for my brewshed refit.
Before going to the pub I managed to complete the electrical work for my brewshed refit.
Tommo 2
Regular.
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2020
- Messages
- 400
- Reaction score
- 177
Similar threads
