Hazelwood Brewday

[Benfleet Brewery]

Ouch! You'd think there'd be some sort of thermal cut-out?

Nah, it’s just a basic plastic bucket with a Kettle element.

 

[Nottsbeer]

Hi @Nottsbeer The idea is flavour and colour without bitterness. The example I give is coffee - freshly made it’s a beautiful drink but after stewing for an hour it isn’t nice at all. With roasted malts the same must surely apply so the darker the malt the later I add it.

I only have three points regardless; at the start for base malts and anything below about 100EBC, at 40 minutes for darker crystal malts, a few minutes before the end for the darkest roast malts.

I think it does give a better flavour although I’ve really only started doing it recently.

Thanks for your reply. Sounds good, and something I'll keep in mind for future brews.

 

[Scrattajack]

I've done two milds and a Scottish ale (functionally the same as mild) that have been enjoyable but all have had an astringency that I'd rather wasn't there. From research (googling), this seems to be due to adding the dark malts at the start of the mash so my next brew is going to be Hazelwood Mild, with the staging of ingredients as specified. Can't wait!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I've done two milds and a Scottish ale (functionally the same as mild) that have been enjoyable but all have had an astringency that I'd rather wasn't there. From research (googling), this seems to be due to adding the dark malts at the start of the mash so my next brew is going to be Hazelwood Mild, with the staging of ingredients as specified. Can't wait!

I hope it makes the difference for you. Best of luck - let us know how it turns out.

 

[Scrattajack]

I hope it makes the difference for you. Best of luck - let us know how it turns out.

I'm confident it will. Your method fits what I'd already sussed out. I'll let you know!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Thanks, Hazelwood!

Hi Moto, please note there was a misprint in the Mild recipe 50g Challenger should say 15g! If you’ve already brewed it I’m sure it will be okay but more bitter than intended for a mild. Sorry.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I've done two milds and a Scottish ale (functionally the same as mild) that have been enjoyable but all have had an astringency that I'd rather wasn't there. From research (googling), this seems to be due to adding the dark malts at the start of the mash so my next brew is going to be Hazelwood Mild, with the staging of ingredients as specified. Can't wait!

Hi Scrattajack, please note misprint on the Mild recipe - 15g Challenger not 50g

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

As pretty much every keg is empty or running low I need to get on with some brewing. This morning I decided to brew another batch of Mild and discovered an error on my recipe sheet, I noted 50g of Challenger hops rather than 15g for bittering.

If anyone has already had a go at brewing this recipe with 50g - don’t worry, I didn’t notice the error myself until now so the beer that went into the competition had 50g of bittering hops and still managed to get 37 points.

 

[Leon103]

As pretty much every keg is empty or running low I need to get on with some brewing. This morning I decided to brew another batch of Mild and discovered an error on my recipe sheet, I noted 50g of Challenger hops rather than 15g for bittering.

If anyone has already had a go at brewing this recipe with 50g - don’t worry, I didn’t notice the error myself until now so the beer that went into the competition had 50g of bittering hops and still managed to get 37 points.

Nothing like mentioning it 3 times

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Nothing like mentioning it 3 times

Well I’m pee’d off, horrified, and sorry! It was necessary.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Anyway, I’m having a pint of the offending mild and it is more bitter than intended though still nice. Is that a fourth mention? If so we’ll associate that one with relieved

I’ll say no more…probably

 

[moto748]

I hadn't started. The mild is a few down on my 'to brew' list.

 

[Scrattajack]

Hi Scrattajack, please note misprint on the Mild recipe - 15g Challenger not 50g

Thanks for the update, I hadn't noticed! The recipe went into Brewer's Friend and the IBU was ignored as it's always unrealistically high. Even with the quantity changed to 15 g, it reads 27.86, off the top end of the scale for Tinseth (though just in for Rager).

John.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Thanks for the update, I hadn't noticed! The recipe went into Brewer's Friend and the IBU was ignored as it's always unrealistically high. Even with the quantity changed to 15 g, it reads 27.86, off the top end of the scale for Tinseth (though just in for Rager).

John.

I use Rager - the best

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Yesterday I brewed another batch of Mild (how I discovered the misprint) but I made a couple of changes as usual. Other than having too much bitterness, I wanted to thin the body a little and lower the ABV a little.

To thin the body a little I used a yeast with higher attenuation, I’m expecting a lower FG as a result. To lower the ABV I need to first counter the higher attenuation of the yeast and then lower the ABV. In all I reduced the grain bill by 10% and I’m hoping for about 0.2%-0.3% lower ABV.

Naturally, I reduced the bittering addition after noticing my little typo

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Today I’ve brewed another batch of English Bitter. It’s just chilling down now and is basically the same recipe as the last few batches with minor tweaks to the water profile.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

It’s time to get a couple of fermented beers into kegs. Today I’ll be kegging my Pilsner and one of the batches of Bitter. An hour ago I thought it might be a bit miserable with howling winds and lashing rain. Now…

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

That’s two kegs refilled.

Czech Pilsner
I reduced the grain bill on this batch to reduce the ABV but the beer had other ideas and finished lower than usual It normally finishes at 1010 and today finished at 1007. The ABV is actually a little lower at 5.38% rather than 5.78% but I was aiming for something closer to 5%.

English Bitter
This is a really good reliable recipe and always hits the numbers on the nose. The beer also comes out of the fermenter pretty much ready to drink. It’s exactly where it should be, finished at 1012 for an ABV of 4.46%.

 

[531Man]

That’s two kegs refilled.

Czech Pilsner
I reduced the grain bill on this batch to reduce the ABV but the beer had other ideas and finished lower than usual It normally finishes at 1010 and today finished at 1007. The ABV is actually a little lower at 5.38% rather than 5.78% but I was aiming for something closer to 5%.

View attachment 54862

English Bitter
This is a really good reliable recipe and always hits the numbers on the nose. The beer also comes out of the fermenter pretty much ready to drink. It’s exactly where it should be, finished at 1012 for an ABV of 4.46%.

View attachment 54863

That's yeast for you,
Don't we just love them - the unpredictable little critters?
(sometimes!).


Couldn't find a suitable yeast emoji!
Just returned after a week away, and my Czechish beer seems to have completely cleared whilst being unobserved and undisturbed.
Time to rack off into polypins and possibly some bottles if the final volume dictates.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

That's yeast for you,
Don't we just love them - the unpredictable little critters?
(sometimes!).

View attachment 54886
Couldn't find a suitable yeast emoji!
Just returned after a week away, and my Czechish beer seems to have completely cleared whilst being unobserved and undisturbed.
Time to rack off into polypins and possibly some bottles if the final volume dictates.

This one might do the job. It is a little off target of the FG because I’ve made many batches and all have been the same FG until this batch. Next time I’ll use the same recipe (assuming it tastes good!) and see if I get the same lower FG. If so, then this is quite likely a result of the changed conditions the yeast is presented with.

I’m pleased your beer has cleared, mine takes a lot longer than that.