Hopsteep Brewing

[samale]

I am on the look out for some new beer styles to try. Belgian wit is high on the list along side a robust porter

 

[user 18729]

So the blond has been kegged and canned this evening

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

View attachment 49271

So the blond has been kegged and canned this evening

Good work there

 

[user 18729]

Good work there

The counterflow chiller moved a bit out of shape with its maiden voyage as the base it was sat on didn’t support all of the weight. So after canning I found an old off cut of hardwood and bottled that to the brew bench and gave it a lick of paint. Fingers crossed that should keep the coils neat and tidy now.

 

[user 18729]

Spent a few hours this evening giving everything a deep clean as I’ll be going from Belgian yeast to a lager so definitely don’t want anything left behind from previous batches in the FV.
First a good clean with PBW and then a 20 minute soak in a solution of Antiformin
Currently collecting RO water with the aim of firing up the brew rig tomorrow evening for an overnight mash.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I am on the look out for some new beer styles to try. Belgian wit is high on the list along side a robust porter

Hi Sam, that is my next beer i am waiting for wheat grains to arrive, ignore the yeast i will use cml gretel or kristalweisen, here is my recipe
Witty wonderland
Witbier

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 21.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.725
Total Hops (g): 73.50
Original Gravity (OG): 1.049 (°P): 12.1
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.81 %
Colour (SRM): 3.5 (EBC): 6.9
Bitterness (IBU): 18.6 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
2.625 kg Pilsner (55.56%)
2.100 kg Wheat Malt (44.44%)

Hop Bill
----------------
10.5 g Target Pellet (9% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.5 g/L)
31.5 g Saaz Pellet (3.6% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (1.5 g/L)
31.5 g Saaz Pellet (3.6% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (1.5 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------
21.0 g Coriander Seed @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
42.0 g Orange Peel @ 15 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 30°C with WLP400 - Belgian Wit Ale


Recipe Generated with BrewMate

 

[user 18729]

Did an overnight mash last night with the recipe below

I had planned on sparging first thing this morning and being finished by now but life has gotten in the way The mash tun is currently sat at 53 degrees which is quite impressive though!

When I get back this afternoon the brew day will resume...

Lockdown Lager
Czech Premium Pale Lager
40L Batch

Colour 6 EBC
Est Abv 4.5%
32.5 IBU

Fermentables
Lager Malt 8500g / 89.5%
Carapils 1000g / 10.5%

Boil (60 minutes)

30 mins
Hallertauer Hersbrucker 60g / 9.7 IBUs
20 mins
Hallertauer Hersbrucker 60g / 7.7 IBUs
10 mins
Hallertauer Hersbrucker 100g / 7.6 IBUs
5 mins
Saaz 130g / 7.5 IBU

Yeast
Crossmyloof Hell German Lager (4 x 11g packets)

Adjusted Water (RO filtered)
Ca 10ppm, Mg 0ppm, Na 8ppm, SO4 23ppm, Cl 4ppm and a mash PH of 5.3

 

[user 18729]

Did an overnight mash last night with the recipe below

I had planned on sparging first thing this morning and being finished by now but life has gotten in the way The mash tun is currently sat at 53 degrees which is quite impressive though!

When I get back this afternoon the brew day will resume...

Lockdown Lager
Czech Premium Pale Lager
40L Batch

Colour 6 EBC
Est Abv 4.5%
32.5 IBU

Fermentables
Lager Malt 8500g / 89.5%
Carapils 1000g / 10.5%

Boil (60 minutes)

30 mins
Hallertauer Hersbrucker 60g / 9.7 IBUs
20 mins
Hallertauer Hersbrucker 60g / 7.7 IBUs
10 mins
Hallertauer Hersbrucker 100g / 7.6 IBUs
5 mins
Saaz 130g / 7.5 IBU

Yeast
Crossmyloof Hell German Lager (4 x 11g packets)

Adjusted Water (RO filtered)
Ca 10ppm, Mg 0ppm, Na 8ppm, SO4 23ppm, Cl 4ppm and a mash PH of 5.3

Brew day, although delayed, has gone really well. Currently recirculating through my counterflow chiller and summoning some motivation to start the clean up
Here’s a little video of the mash earlier…

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Really like that recipe - bet that’ll come out lovely

 

[user 18729]

Really like that recipe - bet that’ll come out lovely

Fingers crossed! I don’t brew lagers very often, usually twice a year. I tend to tweak the previous year’s recipe for a bit of fun and experimentation.
This is my first time using CML’s dried lager yeast. I’ve heard good things!

 

[user 18729]

The wort was down to 14 degrees after cooling in the fermenting fridge over night, so the yeast was pitched and temp controller set to 12 degrees

Edit- the mash efficiency was through the roof yesterday after a mash of 16 hours came in at 1.050, several points above target

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Be interested to hear whether you detect any difference with the extended mash time... I've heard the head retention can be slightly reduced?

 

[An Ankoù]

I am on the look out for some new beer styles to try. Belgian wit is high on the list along side a robust porter

A bit late, but just caught this at the top of the last page. Why not log on to Castle Maltings site? Go to the malts list and each malt has a description and a couple of recipes. You don't have to use their malts, but for those that you do, thehomebrewcompany stocks a good range. It's a similar story with the Crisp's site although what they recommend you do with Chevallier is a bit contentious to say the least.

 

[user 18729]

Had a great time away in Norfolk with our caravan.

Got back yesterday to find my lager fermented out, so gave it a quick diacetyl rest overnight and now crash cooling it for a few days. The extended mash meant instead of 1.044-1.010 it’s actually gone and fermented from 1.050 to 1.006
Sample at this stage tastes really nice, crisp and with plenty of hop flavour coming through.

 

[user 18729]

We’ve been invited round a friend’s house on the 17th and he has excitedly informed me he has a garden bar with a beer engine which he built during so I’m going to try and get a beer brewed to take round and hitch up to his engine.

As Time is going to be an issue (not long now and I have a lager taking up my brew fridge) I’m planning on brewing a small batch of something hoppy and hazy

 

[user 18729]

So, the boss is having her nails done so I thought it was a good opportunity to disappear in the garage for an hour and plan a brew day!

Whilst milling the grist I thought I would sample @Benfleet Brewery ’s Harvest Pale Ale

A thirst quenching, crisp and citrusy pale ale that lasted about 5 minutes. Thoroughly enjoyed this

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

We’ve been invited round a friend’s house on the 17th and he has excitedly informed me he has a garden bar with a beer engine which he built during so I’m going to try and get a beer brewed to take round and hitch up to his engine.

As Time is going to be an issue (not long now and I have a lager taking up my brew fridge) I’m planning on brewing a small batch of something hoppy and hazy

Funny you should mento this - I went to see a friend at the weekend and he has beer engines in his home bar; took a couple of 5L bags of my bitter and mildl down and it really is a fantastic way to serve them

 

[user 18729]

Funny you should mento this - I went to see a friend at the weekend and he has beer engines in his home bar; took a couple of 5L bags of my bitter and mildl down and it really is a fantastic way to serve them

View attachment 50305

That looks great! I was tempted to buy a couple of bags but thought I may as well take a corny and CO2 bottle. That way I can take home what’s left

He’s got the Beer365 engine which looks to have a built in check/demand valve. So the plan is to maintain about 1 or 2 psi in the corny using my CO2 bottle. We’ll see how we get on, in theory this should work.

Brewing a hazy American pale today using two vessels for a 19L batch. Not a lot of time for any other style to clear so I’m cheating

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

He’s got the Beer365 engine

My friend's pumps are the Angram Counter Mounting (CM) ones - thought I'd just have a look at the price on those and I nearly fell off my chair!

 

[user 18729]

My friend's pumps are the Angram Counter Mounting (CM) ones - thought I'd just have a look at the price on those and I nearly fell off my chair!

Blimey, they are silly money. If I ever get one it'll be a second hand job