matt76's Brewdays

[pilgrimhudd]

It's a lovely colour, proper golden sunshine! I know what you mean though, there seems to be different types of bitterness and if it suits this one then that's awesome! Don't think i've used galaxy before....maybe for my first NEIPA...can't remember, will have a look, so can't comment on galaxy. You've made me think that I should be trying my IPA which i've diligently been leaving for the last 4 weeks.

 

[matt76]

You've made me think that I should be trying my IPA which i've diligently been leaving for the last 4 weeks.

Yeah I'd definitely give it a whirl now

Dark beers, bitter etc I'd leave 4 weeks, lagers I might try at 4 weeks but really need a bit longer in general. But for hoppy beers I'd be happy to give them a try at 2 weeks while the hops are still fresh. By this logic I've no idea what you do with a Black IPA mind you

(I did notice recently that the hops in my Get Even IPA are a little more muted now, though it's still perfectly drinkable)

In fairness though I think 1 week is pushing it a bit but if it's carbonated, well, what else are we waiting for

 

[matt76]

Cider!

I made some cider today! I'm not really a cider drinker - I mean, I like it, it's ok, but it's not really my thing - but the opportunity came up so I figured why not, how hard can it be...

I've never made cider before, not a clue what I'm doing but Google was my co-pilot and I figured it could be a fun learning experience doing something a bit different.

Some friends of ours have a glut of Bramley cooking apples from the tree in their garden and they were happy for me to take a load. I combined these with a lesser amount of Gala apples (and a lemon) from the local Saturday market.

Another mate of mine had a beast of a juicer sat idle which was just the tool for the job.

It was all a bit rough and ready but went something like this:

~8kg Bramley apples juiced
~2-4kg Gala apples juiced
1 whole lemon juiced
1 cup of strong, stewed earl grey tea (for tannins)
100g brown sugar dissolved in 250ml boiling water

I juiced the apples in batches, heating each batch as I went, enough to pasteurize but not boiling (apparently boiling is bad for some reason???).

I ended up with about 9L of must (it's must for cider, right, not wort?) in the FV somewhere around 1.052. As far as I can make out, cider tends to have a lower FG than beer so I figure this will end up somewhere in the 6% ABV region.

Once it had cooled down I re-hydrated and pushed a full 5g pack of Lalvin QA23 wine yeast - leftover from a recent experiment but apparently also pretty good for making cider.

Initially the must (?) was a bit tart hence the sugar addition - still a bit tart after but noticeably sweeter for it, but I figured if I added more sugar it would just ferment out and push the ABV higher. pH was also a bit low (I think??? based on what I read), around 3.1 but we'll see how it pans out.

If I did it again I think I'd switch the proportions round, i.e. ⅔ Gala and ⅓ Bramley. Nevertheless I'm curious to see what comes of it - worst case is I spent an afternoon playing in the kitchen and my mates have a few kilos less rotting windfalls in their garden!

 

[freester]

Only just read this post. The extra sugar is going to add to the alcohol content. The tartness is due to the Bramley (cooking apples). To sort the pH out you *could* have added precipitated chalk this would also lessen the tartness a bit but as you say a better proportion of cookers to eaters would be 30/70%.

I tasted a cider made solely from Bramleys once. It was face puckering tart

 

[matt76]

Bottling: AG#55 Hurricane Porter

24 x 500ml bottles

FG = 1.019
ABV = 5.2%
SRM = 24
IBU = 26 (Rager)

I'm pleased with the yield though I was surprised to find it stopped at 1.019. The body seems pretty decent, I think down to the higher mash temp. I'm getting some bourbon biscuit flavours along with the chocolate rye notes I'd expect. I think it'll be a nice tasty sessionable Porter.

 

[matt76]

AG#56 Podium IPA

I've made this a few times before, starting all the way back in AG#5. But last time I kinda messed up by adding crystal malt which just totally neutered the hoppiness. So this time I've more or less gone back to basics and pretty much used my AG#5 recipe (I resisted the urge to mess around adding whirlpool hops!), though I have added some Munich malt and gone with CML Pia.

I'm getting way more efficiency from these overnight mashes so I could reduce the malt a bit, or as I've done here add more water to keep the ABV where I want it - plus get a few more pints out of it to boot.

20L tap water, 20ml CRS, half a Campden tablet.
(Calculated 193 Ca; 110 Cl; 272 SO4; 114 HCO)

Grain Bill:
3000g Golden Promise
500g Munich
TOTAL 3.5kg

Overnight (~9hrs) full-volume no-sparge mash, nominally @ 65degC

Boil 30mins:
15g Simcoe 12% 20mins
15g Amarillo 8.3% 10mins
15g Citra 13.5% 10mins
15g Simcoe 12% 10mins
15g Amarillo 8.3% 5mins
15g Citra 13.5% 5mins
1/4tsp Irish Moss powder 5mins

Plan to dry hop at the end of fermentation with 40g Amarillo and 20g Citra.

I ended up with 12L in the FV @ 1.050 pretty much as planned - about as much as I can fit in my small FV's without the yeast trying to escape. Pitched half a pack of CML Pia and put it in the brew fridge set to 18.5degC.

But thanks to my increased liquor volume I still had ~3L clear wort left over so what to do with this? Well, I've just chucked it in an old 5L Ashbeck bottle to ferment in the garage with half a pack of CML Midland - I'm curious to see what this yeast does with an IPA, though I haven't yet decided if I'll dry hop it or just take it as it is. Either way I'll get a few extra pints out of it.

This should end up around 5.5% ABV at a nice pale 5 SRM and 40 IBUs (Rager). As I recall from the first time I made it, all being well it should taste like being punched in the face with a tangerine!

 

[pilgrimhudd]

First Tasting: AG#54 "Rainy Days" Hazy IPA

View attachment 32796

Yeah baby, now we're talking! I'm very pleased with this...

Only a week after bottling but I couldn't resist... And they do say hoppiness fades with time... (they do say that don't they?)

I'm really pleased with the colour - it's opaque but "bright"...

Carbonation is modest but sufficient as intended so as not to be too bloating (and possibly not quite fully there after only a week). Head is pretty decent and lacing good...

Fruity aroma and taste, and certainly very drinkable... Possibly where it falls a bit short is it's almost certainly too bitter for the style - which I pretty much knew at bottling. Maybe it's all that Galaxy being over-assertive? That said it's quite a nice bitterness, like white grapefruit - and personally I do like my beers bitter so it works for me. But in this case it maybe gets a bit in the way of the fruitiness a little. On the flip side, it probably makes it more quaffable.

There's a bit of room for improvement but overall I'm very happy with my first go at this style, and for sure it's far from being the worst beer I've made lately!

Just read this after reviewing it and posting on the other thread, very similar to what I thought about it!

 

[bazzac]

Overight mashes, that sounds very interesting, i often say things can always come out nicely when nurtured slowly.

Should the general rule books be thrown out the window (eg.60 minute mash) Is the short temp controlld mash time more part of a process with mass production in mind. after all, this hobby is primarily for satisfaction in most cases.

I only ask because i am a newbie starting out



AG#56 Podium IPA

I've made this a few times before, starting all the way back in AG#5. But last time I kinda messed up by adding crystal malt which just totally neutered the hoppiness. So this time I've more or less gone back to basics and pretty much used my AG#5 recipe (I resisted the urge to mess around adding whirlpool hops!), though I have added some Munich malt and gone with CML Pia.

I'm getting way more efficiency from these overnight mashes so I could reduce the malt a bit, or as I've done here add more water to keep the ABV where I want it - plus get a few more pints out of it to boot.

20L tap water, 20ml CRS, half a Campden tablet.
(Calculated 193 Ca; 110 Cl; 272 SO4; 114 HCO)

Grain Bill:
3000g Golden Promise
500g Munich
TOTAL 3.5kg

Overnight (~9hrs) full-volume no-sparge mash, nominally @ 65degC

Boil 30mins:
15g Simcoe 12% 20mins
15g Amarillo 8.3% 10mins
15g Citra 13.5% 10mins
15g Simcoe 12% 10mins
15g Amarillo 8.3% 5mins
15g Citra 13.5% 5mins
1/4tsp Irish Moss powder 5mins

Plan to dry hop at the end of fermentation with 40g Amarillo and 20g Citra.

I ended up with 12L in the FV @ 1.050 pretty much as planned - about as much as I can fit in my small FV's without the yeast trying to escape. Pitched half a pack of CML Pia and put it in the brew fridge set to 18.5degC.

But thanks to my increased liquor volume I still had ~3L clear wort left over so what to do with this? Well, I've just chucked it in an old 5L Ashbeck bottle to ferment in the garage with half a pack of CML Midland - I'm curious to see what this yeast does with an IPA, though I haven't yet decided if I'll dry hop it or just take it as it is. Either way I'll get a few extra pints out of it.

This should end up around 5.5% ABV at a nice pale 5 SRM and 40 IBUs (Rager). As I recall from the first time I made it, all being well it should taste like being punched in the face with a tangerine!

 

[matt76]

I mentioned I was fermenting a few extra litres of this IPA separately as I couldn't fit it all in the main FV - check out my hi tech fermentation equipment

And for those of a nervous disposition, no the lid is not on tight

 

[samale]

I mentioned I was fermenting a few extra litres of this IPA separately as I couldn't fit it all in the main FV - check out my hi tech fermentation equipment

View attachment 33312

And for those of a nervous disposition, no the lid is not on tight

That's what I call winging it.
Brilliant

 

[pilgrimhudd]

I mentioned I was fermenting a few extra litres of this IPA separately as I couldn't fit it all in the main FV - check out my hi tech fermentation equipment

View attachment 33312

And for those of a nervous disposition, no the lid is not on tight

Lovely colour!

 

[matt76]

Overight mashes, that sounds very interesting, i often say things can always come out nicely when nurtured slowly.

Should the general rule books be thrown out the window (eg.60 minute mash) Is the short temp controlld mash time more part of a process with mass production in mind. after all, this hobby is primarily for satisfaction in most cases.

I only ask because i am a newbie starting out

To answer your questions.....

I listen to Experiemntal Brewing a lot, and Drew Beechum & Denny Conn make some interesting points - it seems a lot of the dogma in homebrewing comes from commercial brewing which is (a) on a totally different scale and (b) designed to wring every last penny out of the process. It seems those conventions are being challenged a lot in homebrewing now and it turns out you don't have to do everything that way just because that's the way it's always been done.

I generally do only 30min boils rather than the usual 60 or so and this works fine for me. In the past I've also done mashes as short as 30mins and I don't notice any significant differnce from 30mins to 2hrs (which begs the question why I do see such a difference between 2hrs and overnight around 9hrs!).

For me it's about simplicity and speed for stress free brewing - that's not to say I'm slapdash, I'm still very methodical - but that's how I keep brewing enjoyable for me.

Overnight mashes have a lot of plus points, but there are drawbacks - if the power goes off in the night I'm stuffed, and also on my system the temperature control isn't great so I'm probably yo-yo-ing +/- 4 or 5 degC either side of the mash temp through the night. Oh, and I suspect in the middle of winter I will be somewhat less inclined to get up at 6.30am to go and continue my brew in the garden!

 

[matt76]

AG#57 Munich Helles

I made a Helles recently just back in July. However, something obviously went pear shaped - although the right flavours were there, I had trouble getting it to clear and there was also a nasty yeasty aftertaste. Best guess, I pitched too little yeast too cold and the yeast got stressed (this was one of the last brews I did before I got my brew fridge set up).

So, not to be deterred, and seeing as this is a really tasty beer when you do it right I figured I'd have another go.

I've taken a break from my recent overnight mashes - I like the big jump in efficiency I get, but I don't like the yo-yo-ing mash temps and the knock on affect I think it has on achieving a predictable attenuation and/or FG.

Instead I've gone completely the other way and done a 30 minute mash instead - couple of reasons for this: First I'm impatient! But I've done a few 30min mashes before without issue; Second, I read an article recently (scroll down the article to "The Building Blocks") suggesting that short mashes might add more body so was curious to give this a go.

One other change is I'm using W-34/70 instead of CML "Hell" - they may well be the same strain (I'm not totally convinced) but I had a pack of W-34/70 to use up, it's a much more known quantity and it worked well in the German Pilsner I made at the start of this year.

15L tap water, 5ml lactic acid 80%, 2g CaCl, half a Campden tablet.

2.0kg Lager Malt
250g Carapils
250g Vienna Malt
50g Victory Malt
2.55kg Total

30min full-volume no-sparge mash @ 68degC

Boil 30mins:
30g Hersbrucker 3.2% 30mins
20g Hersbrucker 3.2% 15mins
1/4tsp Irish Moss powder 15mins (oops - should have added this a bit later!)

One thing that has really confused and surprised me is I measured the mash pH as 6.09 @ 25degC. Now my pH is normally a bit higher than ideal (maybe 5.6-5.8) due to my mega-hard water - I performed a hardness test just to check and it hasn't changed from normal (I know I could use Tesco Ashbeck but I prefer to avoid the plastic waste).

I've used exactly the same grist many times in a range of beers, along with the combination of 5ml lactic acid and CaCl in more malty beers (you don't want to overdo it with lactic acid as it can have a flavour impact over about 0.3ml/L). So even allowing for all this, it's an odd result.

9L crystal clear wort into the FV + 4L more crud in bottles to settle out and top up the FV, expect to end up with 10-11L in total.

OG was a touch over at 1.047 so I liquored back with 400ml water to 1.045 - each to their own but I'd rather have the extra bottle of beer.

It's in the fridge now just cooling down to 15degC then I'll pitch a pack of W-34/70.

3.65 SRM - very pale!
16 IBUs Rager
OG 1.045, should end up around 4.8% ABV.

 

[matt76]

Bottling: AG#56 "Podium" IPA

I think I'm gonna stop using CML "Pia" - yet again it's taken days to creep slowly down those last few points. It makes nice beer but this behaviour (which no one else seems to have by the way!) just irritates me. Maybe I'll try BRY-97 for my next hoppy beer, or maybe M36.....

Anyway, once it was done fermenting I dry hopped cold for 40 hours with 40g Amarillo + 20g Citra and bottled this morning.

Yield = 22 x 500ml bottles - batch primed with 40g table sugar.

FG = 1.011 (a couple of points higher than predicted, but this is fine)
ABV = 5.1%
SRM = 5
IBU = 40 (Rager)

Colour = Gold to amber
Aroma = Hoppy
Taste = Bitter; Orange; Citrus

It's currently looking very hazy, ideal if I was making a NEIPA! But from experience I expect this will settle out over the coming days. Also I suspect this haze is contributing to the bitterness so likewise I expect this to sort itself out.

Bottling: Cider

Oh and while I'm at it, I bottled my cider the other day - In the end I got 13 x 500ml bottles with FG = 1.001 and ABV = 6.4%, so pretty potent and very dry. I used some "Clear It" 2 part finings as an experiment which certainly have a rapid and dramatic effect on clarity.

It's also finished very sour/tart (that'll be the bramley apples!) which has got me thinking more about pH...

Even for a cider the pH was very low, about 3.1 (weirdly it didn't seem to change before/after fermentation). Now I like sour, but even for me this is face puckeringly sour! I was interested to note that adding sugar didn't seem to affect pH - of course it sweetened it, but any sugar I added would just ferment out.

In the end I added bicarbonate of soda to raise the pH a bit - I did it in stages over a few days and kept rechecking the pH. Interesting to note how a small increase in pH (from about 3.1 to 3.6) can have a marked impact on the taste - it's still damn sour and I think it'll need 0.5-1.0 tsp sugar in the glass at serving but is at least just about palatable now.

But this has really piqued my interest and got me looking much more closely now at pH in my beer all the way from the mash, through fermentation and all the way to the glass.

 

[matt76]

AG#58 Chocks Away Bitter

For some reason I use the same name for my bitter and ESB - but this one is the regular bitter.

This recipe started way back in AG#4 when I took the grist from my Black IPA minus the dark malt. I also wanted to try mashing at 70degC as an experiment (and for the record it does not in my experience result in sweet beer!).

Similar idea this time, aiming for a modest strength bitter through a combination of mashing warmer and a smallish grain bill.

In the past I've added a touch of chocolate malt for colour, though this time I'm using Briess Extra Special Malt which I happen to have on hand from a Baltic Porter. I'm also using Caramunich as I seem to have a load of it, whereas I've used Carared in the past.

16L tap water, 10ml CRS, 5g gypsum, 1g CaCl, 0.5g NaCl, half a Campden tablet.
Calcium 225
Chloride 134
Sulfate 272
Alkalinity 168 (yes, I know it's high!)

2.0kg Golden Promise Malt
250g Munich
250g Caramunich
50g Briess Extra Special Malt
2.55kg Total

30min full-volume no-sparge mash @ 70degC

Boil 30mins:
15g Simcoe 12.0% 30mins
25g EKG 4.84% 5mins
25g Willamette 4.7% 5mins
1/4tsp Irish Moss powder 5mins

Cooled and into the fridge at 20degC with 5g MJ M36 - 9.5L in the FV with another 4L crud on bottles to settle out which should net me another litre or two.

9.4 SRM - amber, like bitter should be.
32 IBUs Rager
OG 1.041, should end up around a very sessionable 3.8% ABV.

 

[matt76]

A few updates...

Cider - this is now ready for drinking and I've shared a few bottles with Mrs76, plus had some positive feedback from friends. The bicarb I added has done a good job of getting the acidity under control. It's still very dry and tart (kinda reminds me of a Berliner Weisse) but very drinkable - dangerously so at 6.4% ABV!

AG#57 Munich Helles - Fermentation and cold crash done inside 2 weeks, 30 x 330ml bottles, soon all I have to do now is sit back and wait and worry whether there's enough residual yeast to carbonate it even though I've been here before.

AG#55 Hurricane Porter - Had a couple of these already, very nice. Need to take my time though as I think they'll get even better with a bit more aging.

AG#56 Podium IPA - Already had a couple of these too! It's a really tasty hoppy AIPA, very drinkable and I'm certainly pleased how it has turned out. But.....

My overriding memory when I've made this before (AG#5 & AG#15) is that all the Amarillo made it like being punched in the face with a tangerine (in a good way!).

Don't get me wrong, this is a damn nice beer but I'm asking myself what's the difference.....

Hop amounts, IBUs, OG, FG are all near enough similar. I did add in some Munich this time (14%) but surely that can't make that much difference can it?

Yeast - I used 1056 and 1272 in the past, this time I used CML Pia. Despite what I read I'm wondering if this yeast is really all that. Next time I'd like to try something like MJ M36 or BRY-97.

Water - Previous attempts would have used Tesco Ashbeck, whereas these days I use treated tap water. Very different mineral content but my water now should still be in the right ballpark for a hoppy AIPA.

My tastes - could my tastes really have changed so much that it's actually my perception that is different now more so than the beer? Ah, who knows...

Guess I'll just have to keep trying...

 

[matt76]

AG#59 "Chequered Flag" Black IPA

One of these days I'm going to settle on a recipe for something - anything! - and actually brew exactly the same beer twice. But not today!

I'm wondering if Black IPA might actually be the ideal beer for me - enough character from the malt to keep things interesting combined with the hoppiness I love.

I've brewed this a couple of times before starting all the way back in AG#3. One change I've made this time is to reduce the bittering addition a bit. I've a feeling in this case that less is more - or at least less is enough, bearing in mind the dark malt will bring a bit of bitterness itself.

18L tap water, 15ml CRS, 2g gypsum, half a Campden tablet.
Calcium 161
Chloride 99
Sulfate 180
Alkalinity 119

2500g Golden Promise Malt
225g Munich
250g Carared
250g Carafa 2
3.225kg Total

30min full-volume no-sparge mash @ 67degC

Boil 30mins:
15g Simcoe 12.0% 30mins
15g Citra 13.5% 15mins
15g Amarillo 8.3% 5mins
1/4tsp Irish Moss powder 5mins

Plan to dry hop with 15g each Simcoe and Citra.

Cooled and into the fridge at 20degC with 5g MJ M36 - 11L in the FV with another 3.5L crud on bottles to settle out which should net me a bit more.

26 SRM - Black
35 IBUs Rager
OG 1.045, should end up around a pleasant 4.5% ABV.

 

[matt76]

AG#60 Amber Hoppy Ale

A few inspirations for this brew (although not for the name it would seem!):

- I want to make sure I've got plenty of sessionable beers in for Xmas so with a fair wind I reckon this will be ready in time - just!

- I used essentially the same grist way back in AG#19 when I made a Chinook-hopped beer. I recall it turned out well although looking back now 10% Amber Malt (yeah, I had to double and triple check that too) seems a bit odd but I'm game.....

- A few months back Denny Conn was saying on the Experimental Brewing podcast he'd made a beer hopped with Amarillo, Cascade and Centennial. He gave no further details but I figured I'll have me some of that.....

- I've nicked the hopping schedule from @foxbat which is supposed to be amounts in the ratio (I think) 1.0 : 1.4 : 2.0 added with 15, 10 & 5mins left in the boil respectively.

All told this is netting me 33 IBU's (Rager) which I reckon will be "plenty" without being too aggressive - no need for any additional bittering charge.

I'm really curious about the merits of adding different hops at different times vs. a blend of different hops added at the same time - in this case I've gone for a blend.

16L tap water, 15ml CRS, 2g gypsum, half a Campden tablet.
Calcium 164
Chloride 93
Sulfate 180
Alkalinity 118

1500g Golden Promise Malt
500g Vienna Malt
250g Amber Malt
250g Carapils
2.5kg Total

60min full-volume no-sparge mash @ 65degC

Boil 30mins:
I'm using a blend of hops, Amarillo 8.3%, Cascade 6.7% and Centennial 9.5% AAU
5g of each for 15mins
10g of each for 10mins
15g of each for 5 mins
1/4tsp Irish Moss powder 5mins

No plans to dry hop, but I might change my mind if I feel it really needs it.

Cooled and into the fridge at 20degC with 5.5g Lallemand BRY-97.

Recently I've been using CML "Pia" in this style but again and again it's leaving me underwhelmed (plus it always takes flippin' ages to finish, every time for me) so time to try something different.

I've not used BRY-97 before, though I hear very good things about it. I believe it may be the same as WY1272 and MJ M44 which I have used. If that's the case then it's alleged to be a slow starter but can then be expected to try and escape!

10L in the FV with another 3.5L crud in bottles to settle out and top up the FV later.

5.6 SRM - Amber
33 IBUs Rager
OG 1.043, should end up around a pleasant 4.4% ABV.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Sounds like another no nonsense pale ale that. What's your thinking behind the amber malt addiction?

 

[matt76]

Sounds like another no nonsense pale ale that. What's your thinking behind the amber malt addiction?

Yep, that's pretty much the size of it

Regarding the amber malt I genuinely have no idea!

I used it before in a Chinook pale ale (AG#19) which I recall being good - back then I think I was wanting to experiment a bit but didn't really have the experience to know what works and what doesn't.

(As if I'm any different now! )

My "go to" light grist is quite similar, lager malt, Vienna, Carapils and a touch of Victory malt - but it has sometimes ended up quite cloying and sweet (like when I tried to remake my Chinook beer, AG#35! ).

I think amber and victory are quite similar (and arguably not a million miles from melanoidin malt, I believe) so in a sense I'm just increasing the quantity.

Amber malt is the palest of the roasted malts, before brown and then chocolate malts. Chewing the grains it reminded me of toasted granary bread crusts.

So when all this massively overthinking it is said and done I think it's adding a bit of colour and will push the bready notes even more than the Vienna to give it a bit of backbone compared to base malt alone.

And if nothing else hopefully it'll taste nice