"Hillcrest IPA" & "Harvest Gold"

[Smod]

S04 is a mighty hungry yeast. I can't believe how fast it works!!! :shock:

Let's hope :pray: everything turns out perfect for these beers. Well done Wez :thumb:

 

[Jonnyv]

Fantastic brew day Wez :thumb:

With the IPA i brewed yesterday, I added the sugar to my second batch sparge which disolved nicely - it was then added to the boiler once dissolved. I don't know whether it caramalised during the boil but the elements weren't scorched so I think it went ok.

With a fly sparge I guess it's different and you have to be wary of adding sugar directly to the boil.

Great brew day, good job executing it without too much incident, grand job :thumb: : ... :drink:

 

[Wez]

The IPA decided that it would quite like to explore it's surroundings over night and started to escape through the airlock:

Measured the SG tonight, it's gone from 1.070 to 1.026 in 24hrs, target FG is 1.019 :)

 

[Smod]

Bigger FV may be on the cards. :lol:

 

[Wez]

The IPA is down to 1.012 (7.7% abv) and the Harvest Gold is down to 1.008 (5% abv) all should be kegged/bottled tomorrow night.

 

[Wez]

Got around to dealing with this today, well kind of.

I put the Harvest Gold into cornies, force carbonating one of them and used spraymalt to prime the other one just to see what/if there is a difference.

Both cornies will be served via the beer engine using a cask breather and a check valve. A cheeky sample was very nice, looking forward to this one. The kegs stocks are building up nicely now

The IPA is to be bottled tomorrow. I'll batch prime that before bottling.

:)

 

[Wez]

Having my first proper try of the IPA tonight

Here it is...

The harsh bitterness has dropped significantly - and it's now a nice palletable beer - it's not as "smack you in the face with a big feck off sack of THIS IS A BIG BEER YOU WEED!!!" that i'd hoped for. But it's a nice beer.

Looking forward to tryng it in stages as the year goes on.

 

[llannige]

Looks a good un Wez :thumb:

 

[Wez]

Cheers :thumb:

Actually that pic looks a bit murky - in actual fact it dropped bright nicely and doesnt have any haze problems, I believe that the two bottles that young A T took back to the Emerald Isle have been 'boxed off' already - I hope he concurs. :grin:

I'll brew this again - although I feel like I have the Durden Park bug now :shock: :?

 

[Vossy1]

The harsh bitterness has dropped significantly - and it's now a nice palletable beer

Which when translated from DP talk means, you've had your first, and if you have any other non DP beer in the same week, it will taste like water :lol: :thumb:

 

[Wez]

Just opened a bottle of IPA (Brewed Jan 18th this year) and it's actually quite a nice beer. A few sampled through the year had left me worried that there was an overpowering higher alcohol flavour but that seems to have gone, what has appeared though is a candyfloss flavour!? Only slight but it's there.

This is the most full bodied beer i've brewed and I think i'll do it again in Jan for Christmas 2010.

I have a few bottles left for me over Christmas and a few that i'll be sending out for samples to folks that have kindly agreed to sample it for me.

 

[A T]

Nice one Wez

 

[Vossy1]

Glad to hear it's turning out well

This is the most full bodied beer i've brewed

I've found highly hopped/alcohol beers do mature with a body taste which is hard to get from any other way of brewing...I love it :drink:

 

[corby_brewer]

Just opened a bottle of IPA (Brewed Jan 18th this year) and it's actually quite a nice beer.

God i wish i had you will power Wez, mine usualy gone after 6 weeks in the bottle.

 

[Wez]

Update..

This was brewed in Jan 2009 so it's 2yrs 5mth old.

It's actually improving, at 7.7% though I think i'll leave the rest until Christmas :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

You better let me have a bottle of this....or else :lol:

 

[Wez]

You better let me have a bottle of this....or else :lol:

:lol: no probs :thumb: