Hoddy’s Brewing Odyssey

[Hoddy]

Another day off and another brew day.

This time I’m testing out falconers flight for the first time. I’ve never got round to trying this hop combo before so when I saw 450g at a reasonable price on CML I couldn’t resist.

Thought I would go with a really simple grain bill of extra low colour MO, flaked wheat and some carapils. Mash at 64oC and as you would expect there were LOTs of hops VERY LATE in the boil and whirlpool. s/c ratio of 1.3 using the yellow balanced water profile using Tesco’s ashbeck water.

Gonna ferment this one with MJ52 Californian common as well for an overall lager vibe.

Not many pictures sadly as was doing other stuff. Slightly over shot (again) by two points but generally all good.

6 gallons in my SS brew bucket which I double packet pitched to make sure I got a quick start.

 

[Hoddy]

Plus today I received my pack and sample tube to send off to murphys. Decided to get my water tested as I’m not convinced my local water report is very accurate as I swear my sulfate is way off as my beers keep on cooming out drier and more bitter than they should.Or at least that is what i am detecting and i want to check/confirm i am treating to the right water ions.

Anyway 10 days time I will soon enough know.

 

[Hoddy]

So today I kegged and bottled the centennial, simcoe and Columbus Vermont IPA I made back at the begining of December.

Might be just about drinkable by Xmas. Defo conditioned and ready for NYE.

All went well and I feel like I've got the pressure transfer procedures nailed these days. Top tip : don't add the float and transfer pick up tube until your ready to transfer. Makes the risk of hop debris blocking the fittings much much less.

Got a good few bottles for swapping too

 

[dan125]

Top tip : don't add the float and transfer pick up tube until your ready to transfer. Makes the risk of hop debris blocking the fittings much much less.

Is there a risk of a little O2 getting in when you open up the top to add the float?
I've been pushing CO2 through the beer out post to clear any blockages before transfering and it seems to work well

 

[Hoddy]

Is there a risk of a little O2 getting in when you open up the top to add the float?
I've been pushing CO2 through the beer out post to clear any blockages before transfering and it seems to work well

Previously I’ve had the float in from the start. But I have had many issues with hop debris blocking the poppet on the beer out post which slows or stops the transfer. Considering I flip the lid off for dry hopping and I purge the headspace with c02 afterwards I’ve taken then decision it’s little to no 02 exposure. I was able to fill a keg in 10 minutes this time.

The real test will be when I do a super pale NEIPA and if it oxidises. But I do feel like I’ve nailed beers not oxidising now with c02 transfers into kegs etc.

 

[Hoddy]

So today was my last brew of the year. A remake of my “something about Mary” Rosemary Pale Ale that I’m going to enter into the NHBC.

Brew day went well and I managed to hit all the numbers bang on. Including volumes. Big healthy WLP001 starter pregrown and pitched into the Fermentasaurus so hoping for activity come midday tommorow with dry hopping with 250grams in about 10 days time.

Managed to over chill the beer down due to the ground water being so cold At the moment. But the last brew squeezed into 2018 went well and hopefully will turn out to be a good one.

 

[BeerCat]

How did the lager come out? Have you brewed anything else this year? My last NEIPA has not oxidised in the keg even after a good few weeks. I don't think it would of been much good bottle conditioned though.

 

[Hoddy]

Prep all done for a full brew day tomorrow. I find getting the grist weighed out and the water in and treated the night before means I can smash the brew in if I start at a reasonable time. Also given the weather forecast tomorrow I don’t think I’ll want to be backwards and forwards from the brew shed to much.

It’s a murky NEIPA attempt tomorrow. Lots of golden promise, oats and wheat with very late Amarillo, Citra and galaxy. And many many hop additions in the fermenter.

I’m loving the new PH meter too.

 

[Hoddy]

How did the lager come out? Have you brewed anything else this year? My last NEIPA has not oxidised in the keg even after a good few weeks. I don't think it would of been much good bottle conditioned though.

It got an infection. DAM IT! I used my SS brew bucket and somehow it picked up an infection. It’s been a while since I had to use it to have two brews running side by side and I couldn’t have cleaned it properly. Gonna have to brew that one again now. Grrrrr

 

[An Ankoù]

It got an infection. DAM IT! I used my SS brew bucket and somehow it picked up an infection. It’s been a while since I had to use it to have two brews running side by side and I couldn’t have cleaned it properly. Gonna have to brew that one again now. Grrrrr

Bag up next time. Beerially transmitted infections are fun to catch and a pain in the crotch to get rid of.

 

[dan125]

I’m loving the new PH meter too.

Are you targeting a specific liquor pH, or just checking what it is?

 

[Hoddy]

Are you targeting a specific liquor pH, or just checking what it is?

Targeting 5.3ph. Adjusted the mash water to what it is predicted to need to be before mashing then I’ll check it again after mashing in to check I’ve hit target ph.

 

[BeerCat]

It got an infection. DAM IT! I used my SS brew bucket and somehow it picked up an infection. It’s been a while since I had to use it to have two brews running side by side and I couldn’t have cleaned it properly. Gonna have to brew that one again now. Grrrrr

That sucks. I will send you some beer next week.

 

[Hoddy]

That sucks. I will send you some beer next week.

I was due one as I hadn’t had one for a few years. Needless to say I’ve brewed hard to fill the gap

 

[Hoddy]

Brew day going well so far. Only 1 pt under target OG post mash and sparge. I’ve really maxed the BM out this time with 6kg of grist and 27L of start mash water. But given the high FG and oat/wheat content I thinks it’s needed to hit a semi decent target volume after losses of about 23L.

And given the apocalyptic weather outside too. Jeeess!

 

[Hoddy]

Mid boil numbers are just on target. I think the losses will be big for such a oat heavy grist. Looking super hazy

Just getting the 200g hop stand done and then it’s chill and pitch.

 

[Hoddy]

Boil and chill complete. Actually over shot the FG by 2 pts so topped up. Not so bad as that got my volumes back on target to 25L. Only 1L short for the fermenter fill. The pictures don't do it justice but it's super pale yellow and hazy. I'm loving the look of this already. That transfer hose is transparent normally

It always pains me to throw away hop pellets after use. But the Amarillo/citra combo for the whirlpool smells amazing.

Big healthy pitch of a London fog starter and should be dropping in the bio hops around wed/Thursday.

 

[Hoddy]

A quick check this morning at 8am showed fermentation had already started after I pitched at 6pm the day before. A good short lag phase is what we want

A quick check when I got home tonight and it’s turning away quite nicely and being kept under control and not running away at 19oC and 0.25bar pressure.

 

[Hoddy]

So i thought i would drop in the beer review of a very original and very thought provoking beer sent to me by @strange-steve which was a saison and white wine blend.

So first thoughts when i tasted this was of a bretted saison that i brewed a few years ago. and i think i shared a bottle with you Steve? Anyone that knows me knows i have a love for all things saison. French, Belgian and all other variants.

This is in the same category. It was dry and crisp with that great French saison character but with a slightly tart edge. It was so confusing complex I couldn’t, and didn’t know where to place it. But not in a bad way. Just in a way that i dont think i have anything to gauge it by, or another beer that my taste buds are accustomed to either. But again not in a bad way.

What i really liked about this beer more than anything was “it”

The fact that it was a blend. It was something different that someone has tried to push the boundaries of what they have brewed and then experimented with. That and i quite happily drank the whole glass might have explained my thoughts better as my brain was becoming accustomed to the flavour and i kept going back for more sips to put the flavours together in my mind.

It was funny, the white wine almost had a German character to it because of the way it was blended in dry saison. I would be really interested to know what kind of white it was and how acidic it was as i think that was lending to the slightly tart after taste. Again this made me think of some of the sour beers i have had, but nothing fermented with a Saison and white wine.

All in all a really nice beer and one that has (like all experiments should) made me think about future beers and how i could blend and age beers to develop new and complex characters. I really like this Steve and any future developments on this I would really like to try. Thanks!

 

[strange-steve]

Thanks for the comments, I'm glad I could let you try something a little different. No Brett in there but well spotted with the wine, it was an Alcase reisling hence the German character you mentioned.