Hello from Warrington

[Thodd]

Hello to everyone from Warrignton.

7 months ago I decided to start making my own beer - To be honest I'm just as much interested in the whole beer making process as drinking the stuff so after a little research I came to the conclusion that All Grain was the way to go.

Armed with only enthusiasm, very little knowledge and no specialist equipement I pottered along to my local homebrew shop and bought the following:

1kg Maris Otter
100g Fuggle Hops
1 gallon Demi John and an airlock.
S-04 yeast

I mashed in a washing up bowl, boiled in 2 pans as I didn't have a pot big enough and cooled it down by leaving it outside (uncovered) for a bit.
I didn't have a clue how much hops to add so added a fistful of fuggles at the start and end of the boil.

The result was beer.
Far from great beer but none the less - it was beer....... it was clear... it was fizzy... it was bitter.... it was full of flavour. I Loved it and I was hooked.

Since then I started to perfect the 1 gallon AG brew process and succesfully brewed about 10 batches. IPA's, Chocolate Porters, Jet Black Stouts and things I have no idea what category they should be in.
I experimented with adding different hops at different times, making Hops tea, dry Hopping, yeast harvesting - I love it all.

So last month I finally upgraded and bought some proper brewing equipment - a large 30 litre kettle with tap and built in thermometer and a decent well insulated Mash Tun and a Wort Chiller.
I've just finished my 2nd brew using this equipment and I have 2 more already lined up.

2 Single Hop IPA's - one using just Citra Hop and the other just using Mandarin Bavaria Hop. ( I do like really bitter Pale ales)

Anyway.... Hello...... :thumb:

 

[Delmol]

Welcome Thodd! Glad to welcome you to the forums

I mashed in a washing up bowl, boiled in 2 pans as I didn't have a pot big enough and cooled it down by leaving it outside (uncovered) for a bit.
I didn't have a clue how much hops to add so added a fistful of fuggles at the start and end of the boil.

The result was beer.
Far from great beer but none the less - it was beer....... it was clear... it was fizzy... it was bitter.... it was full of flavour. I Loved it and I was hooked.

I love hearing stories like this, it just goes to show you that you don't need fancy equipment, high precision scales, a labcoat or a masters degree to cook up some good ol' beer.

As someone who's looking to get into AG this is my kind of brewing - it's simple, it's easy and it works.

It might need tweaking, but the simplest solutions are almost always the best!

Keep it up and keep us posted on future brews!

 

[Thodd]

Hi Delmol - I can massively recommend having a dabble with 1 gallon All Grain brewing for some fun.
The whole process is much quicker that 5 gallons as the small amount of liquid heats up and cools down so much faster (probably save 3 hours on a brew day) - the whole process from start to finish is about 3.5 - 4 hours including the clean up.

I ended up buying a 5 litre stock pot and a mash bag after my 2nd brew which made things so much easier....
Heat water in pot up to 70 degrees - drop bag with grain into it and put the lid on, and then put into the oven (which is off) for an hour...... and that was the mash!!!
Then just boil - lob hops in..... cool down and ferment..... and BEER!

I've started to complicate things quite a lot now with my new gear - but that's the beauty of home brew - its supposed to be hobby and as long as you get what you want out of it and enjoy it, it can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum :

 

[geigercntr]

Hi Thodd & welcome!

Out of interest, where is your local homebrew store in Warrington? I'm there with work on a regular-ish basis, so would be handy to know where to pop :)

 

[LarryF]

Heat water in pot up to 70 degrees - drop bag with grain into it and put the lid on, and then put into the oven (which is off) for an hour...... and that was the mash!!!
.

Welcome the forum Thodd, chuck it in the oven, what a brilliant idea for mashing. Simple, effective......brilliant. It's pre-insulated to hold the heat, fantastic.

 

[Thodd]

Hi Thodd & welcome!

Out of interest, where is your local homebrew store in Warrington? I'm there with work on a regular-ish basis, so would be handy to know where to pop :)

Its a good 30min drive out of Warrington in a place called Northwich the shop is called, Brew2Bottle.
They have a website:
https://www.brew2bottle.co.uk

 

[chuffer]

booooooo

we hate wire, we hate wire (etc etc)