jayk34 brewdays

[Rodcx500z]

It will be beer

 

[jayk34]

It will be beer

Fingers crossed. Trying to build up stock for Xmas when I'm taking 6 weeks annual leave

 

[jayk34]

Well, that was quick !!! 34 hours after pitching M15 Empire into the milk stout and it had finished. I was working in the garage on Sunday and the airlock was going like the clappers. 7 hours later it has stopped and temperature started dropping so I knew it had finished the main fermentation. Currently at 1.023 with recipe stating target of 1.018. It might drop another point or two in the next 12 days, but if not it's probably down to the mistake of mashing at 71°C at the start due to me but being used to new boiler. Hopefully still beer.

 

[jayk34]

The milk stout did not drop at all after the first few days. The ispindle was a bit out in this occasion and ended up with 39 bottles at 1.025 (3.9% ABV)

 

[jayk34]

AG#10 Oatmeal Porter

Going To try and get this done in the next week so I will just about be ready for Xmas. An oatmeal porter very loosely based on hokum stomp recipe with ingredients i have available

Fermentables
4 kg - Finest Maris Otter® Ale Malt 6.5 EBC (...
550 g - whites oats 3.9 EBC (10.1%)
300 g - Oat Hulls 0 EBC (5.5%)
275 g - Chocolate Malt 1045 EBC (5%)
250 g - Dextrin Malt 1.4 EBC (4.6%)
100 g - Special B 290 EBC (1.8%)

Hops (80 g)
60 min - 20 g - Magnum - 12% (28 IBU)
0 min - 60 g - Bramling Cross - 6%

 

[jayk34]

AG#10 - American IPA

Didn't do the oatmeal stout but instead tried the Greg Hughes American IPA again as I really liked it.

Had new magnetic pump like this to try out with this brew to recirculate during mash and then also to sparge.

2nd brew with the Digiboil and remembered this time to change the temperature on the Digiboil back to the mash temperature after hitting the strike temperature. Did however realise after the brew day that I hadn't calibrated the Digiboil and it is in fact 2 degrees C lower than the display indicates. Brew day went relatively well but missed the pH a bit. Might need to revisit the figures being calculated in brewfather for this.

Recipe called for 50g of citra and 50g simcoe dry hop but only had 62g of simcoe left so threw that all in and 62g of citra to match.

The OG hit the target of 1060 but I missed the expected FG of 1012 by four points 1008 which I'm putting down to the low mashing temperature due to calibration issue with the boiler.

Cold crashed using mylar balloon filled with CO2 attached to fermenter.

Transferred 17.3 litres into my first new keg. I used a fv with no tap and then had to use a syphon through the lid of keg. Will use my fv with bottom top next time and also get a pipe with ball lock disconnect to transfer through the beer post.

Tap handle label holder 3d printed and ready to go. I don't currently have a spare fridge, so the keg it just in garage and tap temporarily connected to a set of shelves.

 

[jayk34]

AG#11 Oatmeal Porter

This is the one I was going to attempt before Christmas but opted for the American IPA instead. Hope to get some free time this weekend to do it so got the Irish Ale yeast starter done today and in the temperature controlled fridge.

Fermentables
4 kg - Finest Maris Otter® Ale Malt 6.5 EBC (...
550 g - whites oats 3.9 EBC (10.1%)
300 g - Oat Hulls 0 EBC (5.5%)
275 g - Chocolate Malt 1045 EBC (5%)
250 g - Dextrin Malt 1.4 EBC (4.6%)
100 g - Special B 290 EBC (1.8%)

Hops (80 g)
60 min - 20 g - Magnum - 12% (28 IBU)
0 min - 60 g - Bramling Cross - 6%

Overbuilt starter so that I could decant some to store for another brew.

 

[jayk34]

Well was getting everything ready for doing this brew and the first catastrophe. Measured all of the grain out into a bucket to store until tomorrow morning.

I was measuring every ingredient separately and adding it to the bucket. I thought that there was a lot of grain in the bucket and I was right. The recipe calls for 5.4kg in total and I have 6.5kg !! no idea which of the grains I have put in too much. Naffed off as I don't think it will fit into the boiler. I can't start again as I used up the remainder of my base malt and all of the grains are mixed in the bucket

I'm not sure what to do other than to try and muddle through !?

 

[jayk34]

Going to try and muddle through. It will be touch and go with the amount of grain and a bit of an unknown as to how it will turn out.

Setup the equipment in the garage ready for the morning. Using old kitchen chairs temporarily until I can design/build a cabinet on castors with adjustable legs to level up. Using this brewday to see if this configuration works and then base a cabinet on that.

Also made some modifications on my Digiboil lid to add a nozzle for recirculating during mash and sparging. Seen the nozzle courtesy of a post in @Hazelwood Brewery thread

Blanked off the original hole with a stainless steel plug and added quick disconnect on top. Also moved the handle and put stainless steel M4 nuts, washers and bolts in old holes.

 

[jayk34]

Keg and beer line cleaned. Used a bicycle foot pump connected to gas post to push sanitiser through dip tube and out through liquid post and then through lines to save on using CO2.

Cobbled together a transfer pipe using a bottle filler with end removed and Syphon tube attached and then a barbed liquid disconnect.

Had 22 litres, so filled 6 x 500ml bottles primed with 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and then transferred the remainder from fermenter to keg using the transfer tube.

Cleaned the transfer tube with a carbonation cap attached to a 2 litre sprayer filled with star San

Final stats for porter:

• OG 1.050
• FG 1.014
• ABV 4.7%
• 22 litres 6x 500ml bottles and 1 keg
• Keg set at 11 psi.