New Year - Slid Brewday

[Slid]

On to today. It was Jan 2018 the last time I did the Cornish Tin Miners' Ale from the GH book.

MO 5.1kg
Biscuit Malt, home toasted, 300g
Crystal 113 300g
Special B 200g
Dark Crystal 80g
Sussex Hops 7% Alpha @ 45 / 15 / 15 grams @ FW / 15m / 0m

Re-used the Liberty Belle yeast.

Brew day went OK, but efficiency (BHE) was down to 75%, due to a lot of hot break material left at the end that did not want to let the last of the wort into the FV. I suppose I could have just chucked it in, but WTH, it should be a decent enough beer in a few months time.

 

[Slid]

A little while ago I picked up 500g of Bobek pellets for £7 (they are a little middle aged, like so many of us!). They are 3.6% Alpha and I thought about using them in a Durden Park inspired recipe with loads of low Alpha hops for bittering a strong beer.

But today I put them in this instead: Styrian Amber Ale.

Maria Otter 4kg
Wheat Malt 250g
Crystal 113 180g
Aromatic Malt 70g
Admiral 13% 26g @ FW
Styrian Goldings (Bobek) 27g @ 15m
Styrian Goldings (Bobek) 27g @ 5m
US05
As 4.5kg is the efficiency "sweet spot" on the GF, all went very well today

 

[Slid]

Do you get many esters/phenols off the Kristallweizen yeast? I have a couple of sachets and I'm doing some research. I want to make a quick brew to fill one of my new kegs and haven't done a weizen for over a year. Last time I used this yeast it was rather bland fermented at 21degC. Do you know how to get the best out of it?

Belated reply I'm afraid, but I used the Krystallweizen again in a beer I bottled yesterday. It is a bit hard to get beyond the raspberries in a RWB but the second was a Hefeweizen sort of an effort and there were no noticeable yeast flavours for mine. It seems to drop pretty clear and my solution is to revert to the MJ Bavarian Wheat yeast, and just "get out of it", as it were.

I actually think that the Brewferm Blanche wheat yeast was pretty good as well.

 

[clib]

A little while ago I picked up 500g of Bobek pellets for £7 (they are a little middle aged, like so many of us!). They are 3.6% Alpha and I thought about using them in a Durden Park inspired recipe with loads of low Alpha hops for bittering a strong beer.

But today I put them in this instead: Styrian Amber Ale.

Maria Otter 4kg
Wheat Malt 250g
Crystal 113 180g
Aromatic Malt 70g
Admiral 13% 26g @ FW
Styrian Goldings (Bobek) 27g @ 15m
Styrian Goldings (Bobek) 27g @ 5m
US05
As 4.5kg is the efficiency "sweet spot" on the GF, all went very well today

Only 446g to go!

 

[clib]

Do you get many esters/phenols off the Kristallweizen yeast? I have a couple of sachets and I'm doing some research. I want to make a quick brew to fill one of my new kegs and haven't done a weizen for over a year. Last time I used this yeast it was rather bland fermented at 21degC. Do you know how to get the best out of it?

The Lalbrew Munich Classic is supposed to be the king of the dry weizen yeasts, according to those who brew and love them. I have a pack but not got round to using it yet. Higher priorities.

 

[Slid]

Only 446g to go!

Easily get 50g to the gallon in an old style beer, so maybe not quite enough for 2 batches!!
Better buy some more.

 

[Slid]

Do you get many esters/phenols off the Kristallweizen yeast? I have a couple of sachets and I'm doing some research. I want to make a quick brew to fill one of my new kegs and haven't done a weizen for over a year. Last time I used this yeast it was rather bland fermented at 21degC. Do you know how to get the best out of it?

OK 3 weeks later to the day, The Hefeweizen with CML-Krystallweizen yeast is pretty good. Very easy to drink beer and very much suited to a summery afternoon in the garden. So pleased with it that I have reprised the recipe again today, more or less:

Pale Malt 2.75kg
Wheat Malt 2.25kg
Rice Hulls 190g

Hops were the last of the Sussex I used in the Cornish Tin Miners Ale - 22g to get IBU in the 15.'s for the Hefeweizen and re-used the Krystallweizen yeast.
Don't suppose the hops will make much difference as the beer seems very much yeast driven, taste-wise.

Now all we need is the aforementioned summery afternoon to spend in the garden!

 

[cushyno]

Thanks Slid, that's good to hear. A nice and simple grain bill and hops leaves all the expectation on the yeast department. Do you get much flavour from the yeast? Banana or cloves?

I am still yet to brew my wheat beer, so debating whether to experiment with a stepped mash with the Kristallweizen or to keep it simple on the yeast and do a pseudo-wit with kveik and chuck in some coriander. Either way, I'll likely use a bit of Saaz but pair it with tettnang for weizen or a few grams of Admiral for the wit.

So, just waiting for the sun now...

 

[Slid]

Thanks Slid, that's good to hear. A nice and simple grain bill and hops leaves all the expectation on the yeast department. Do you get much flavour from the yeast? Banana or cloves?

I am still yet to brew my wheat beer, so debating whether to experiment with a stepped mash with the Kristallweizen or to keep it simple on the yeast and do a pseudo-wit with kveik and chuck in some coriander. Either way, I'll likely use a bit of Saaz but pair it with tettnang for weizen or a few grams of Admiral for the wit.

So, just waiting for the sun now...

Banana and clove? Maybe not so much, but then, I associate cloves (or clove oil) with toothaches and never really liked bananas much, even when I was playing at being an amateur endurance athlete.

You want Noble hops for authenticity, of course, but at 15 IBUs and no late addition, is it really going to matter that much? Not so sure myself, but then, I do make simplistic and crude sort of beers!

 

[Slid]

Wow, 2 months since I last updated the thread. Since then I have been brewing, but mainly reprising the ones I've done several times before, so IPA with fancy hops like Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic, and a Dry Stout (GH recipe).

Today I made the second Saison of the year, though, using BE-134 yeast. The first (pitched 12/6) is already just great, hence today's brew:

Pale Malt (MO) 4.5kg
Wheat Malt 255g
Special B 250g

Mosaic 14g @ First Wort
Bobek (Styrian Goldings) 34g @ 5mins

Had a bit of a sticky mash and added some Rice Hulls half way through, which took quite a while, so ended up with a long-ish mash altogether.
Very good efficiencies today, possibly due to a 5kg grain bill (efficiency sweet-spot) and a long mash with a very big stir in the middle for the Rice Hulls.

Added marmalade instead of honey to the FV.

 

[Slid]

Belgian Dubbel day! Out of the Greg Hughes book:

Maris Otter 5.3kg
Special B 400g
Caragold 300g
Sugar 1kg and a few Rice Hulls.

First Gold 15g @ FW
Styrian Goldings 57g @ 15m

Safale S-33

Got 27.5L today, due to a pretty long sparge. The plan for this strong beer is bottle some and blend some with the 11L of beer I have had since November in a Carafe in the garage. Will then refill the same Carafe and leave for while before repeating again this blending of old and new strong-ish beers. The carafe is on the 3rd iteration now, I think? Could be more.

I got the idea from a thread on the Homebrew Talk Forum, where a guy had a cask that he re-filled each time he did a strong beer, along the lines of a beer equivalent of the Sherry wine style.

 

[An Ankoù]

The plan for this strong beer is bottle some and blend some with the 11L of beer I have had since November in a Carafe in the garage. Will then refill the same Carafe and leave for while before repeating again this blending of old and new strong-ish beers. The carafe is on the 3rd iteration now, I think? Could be more.

Sounds interesting, but I'm not quite sure I've got it. Do you, say, drink half of the carafe and then add fresh beer to the remaining old beer in the carafe? Is the old beer under a blanket of CO2 to minimise oxidation?

 

[Slid]

Sounds interesting, but I'm not quite sure I've got it. Do you, say, drink half of the carafe and then add fresh beer to the remaining old beer in the carafe? Is the old beer under a blanket of CO2 to minimise oxidation?

So, After I rack this beer to secondary, I have maybe 26L of New in a FV and 11L of Old in the Carafe.
After 1 week I bottle 15L of New from the FV, using the tap, then siphon the Old beer from the carafe into the FV to create a blended 22L.
After adding some sugar, I leave this in the warm for a further week, the sugar should push out any air from the top of the FV.
After a further week, I fill the carafe up again from the blended beer FV and bottle the rest.
The Carafe (said to be 10L, but is 11L to the neck) goes back in the garage for 6 months, or until I feel like doing another strong beer, when the same approach gets replicated. The Carafe is filled to the neck and again, a teaspoon of two of sugar will create some sort of seal from the air, as it is under airlock.

Does this explain?

 

[An Ankoù]

So, After I rack this beer to secondary, I have maybe 26L of New in a FV and 11L of Old in the Carafe.
After 1 week I bottle 15L of New from the FV, using the tap, then siphon the Old beer from the carafe into the FV to create a blended 22L.
After adding some sugar, I leave this in the warm for a further week, the sugar should push out any air from the top of the FV.
After a further week, I fill the carafe up again from the blended beer FV and bottle the rest.
The Carafe (said to be 10L, but is 11L to the neck) goes back in the garage for 6 months, or until I feel like doing another strong beer, when the same approach gets replicated. The Carafe is filled to the neck and again, a teaspoon of two of sugar will create some sort of seal from the air, as it is under airlock.

Does this explain?

Yes, thanks. It sounds a bit like what I imagine they used to do in days gone by- especially with Guinness, mixing a little very old and strong beer, with a bulk of mild beer and them Krausening it with partly fermented beer. I'll look through your two posts again. Thanks again.

 

[Slid]

Did a very straightforward IPA, with an NZ feel last Sunday, since it was a very wet weekend in Bolton (again):

Maris Otter 3.9kg
Munich 1kg
Hops were CTZ to bitter at FW - 15g
then Wai-iti 30g & 20g @ 10m and 0m
Plus the *** end of a bag of Mosaic - 18g @ 0m
US05.

 

[Slid]

The Wai-iti beer is pretty good already and I would recommend the recipe!

Since then I have brewed another Saison using BE-134 yeast, which I really like much more than Belle Saison yeast.
Also a Weizenbock, using Mangrove Jacks M20 Bavarian Wheat, which is due for bottling tomorrow.

Today was a reprise of Clibit's (now Clib) Centennial Brown, which is still discussed on the "Complete and Brewed Beers" area. This is a grain bill that goes well with a number of hop combinations. US05 is a good yeast:

Maris Otter 3,800
Wheat Malt 250g
Crystal (Medium Dark) 275g
Chocolate Malt 175g
Brown Sugar 300g

Centennial 20/25/25g @ FW/15/2mins and the rest as a hop tea, if I remember!

The Malt bill, our man Clibit told me, is based on a clone of Orkney Dark Island, which uses EKG and First Gold and goes very well with a number of different hop combinations..

 

[Slid]

Yes, thanks. It sounds a bit like what I imagine they used to do in days gone by- especially with Guinness, mixing a little very old and strong beer, with a bulk of mild beer and them Krausening it with partly fermented beer. I'll look through your two posts again. Thanks again.

Hi @Ankou, apologies for not responding earlier! The combination of the Old beer and the new Dubbel is just amazing. I did think at first that I had left the Carafe too long at 8-9 months, but am well pleased with the result.

 

[clib]

The Wai-iti beer is pretty good already and I would recommend the recipe!

Since then I have brewed another Saison using BE-134 yeast, which I really like much more than Belle Saison yeast.
Also a Weizenbock, using Mangrove Jacks M20 Bavarian Wheat, which is due for bottling tomorrow.

Today was a reprise of Clibit's (now Clib) Centennial Brown, which is still discussed on the "Complete and Brewed Beers" area. This is a grain bill that goes well with a number of hop combinations. US05 is a good yeast:

Maris Otter 3,800
Wheat Malt 250g
Crystal (Medium Dark) 275g
Chocolate Malt 175g
Brown Sugar 300g

Centennial 20/25/25g @ FW/15/2mins and the rest as a hop tea, if I remember!

The Malt bill, our man Clibit told me, is based on a clone of Orkney Dark Island, which uses EKG and First Gold and goes very well with a number of different hop combinations..

I still do this one from time to time. Good malt bill. I have done it with Verdant yeast a couple of times, I like this yeast a lot. And M44 goes very well in it too. Flyer hops were great in it. Cascade and Willamette is a good combination. Of my recipes, this is one that always gets great feedback from people who brew it.

 

[Slid]

A little while ago I picked up 500g of Bobek pellets for £7 (they are a little middle aged, like so many of us!). They are 3.6% Alpha and I thought about using them in a Durden Park inspired recipe with loads of low Alpha hops for bittering a strong beer.

But today I put them in this instead: Styrian Amber Ale.

Maris Otter 4kg
Wheat Malt 250g
Crystal 113 180g
Aromatic Malt 70g
Admiral 13% 26g @ FW
Styrian Goldings (Bobek) 27g @ 15m
Styrian Goldings (Bobek) 27g @ 5m
US05
As 4.5kg is the efficiency "sweet spot" on the GF, all went very well today

Yesterday's beer was a reprise of this one, which turned out pretty well. Slight differences in the recipe, so:
Maris Otter 4.4kg
Crystal Light 230g

Chinook 30g @ FW
First Gold 24g @ 15m
Bobek 6g @ 12m
Bobek 30g @ 2m
US 05

When I put this into BrewMate, it comes out very bitter indeed, but it seems a little paler and may be a Styrian Golden, like the Hamsters that always escaped 50 years ago.
Suspect it is going to need a few months in the bottle, but that should be fine.

 

[Slid]

We are having a long weekend as it was SWMBO's birthday last week, so plenty of time for a brewday yesterday. Decided to use T-58 in a Belgian Blonde sort of recipe from GH. It turned out a bit darker than I thought, as often happens:

Maris Otter 5kg
Wheat Malt 250g
Crystal "Light" 250g
Sugar 500g
East Kent Goldings 5.5% @ FW
Bobek 15g @ 12m and 30g @ 2m

The T-58 kicked off like a rocket (I usually use US-05).
This is a bigger grain bill (5.5kg) than my recent beers (at around 4.5kg) and the extra kilo meant I got BHE in the mid-70's as opposed to around 80%.