Nicks90's Brewdays

[Nicks90]

Reason i remembered about the one above is because i did another brew today

AG51
Pilgrim SMASH

This is a very straight forward pale ale using up the last of my English hops. so a simple SMASH in honour of a truly fabulous hop!

3.5kg Irish Malt
100gm crystal 40ebc

Hops
10gm Pilgrim @30 mins
30gm Pilgrim @5 mins

18l mash at 67c for nearly 4 hours!!!! (got stuck on a major incident call with work), followed by a 2l sparge and a good bag squeeze.
Leaving 19l wort for a 60 minute boil and 15l in the FV

Yeast - i top cropped a load of notty from AG49, so will be using that once its cooled down
As usual I'm expecting about 5% abv with 26 ibus and a lovely pale SRM of 5

 

[Nicks90]

AG49
Proper beer bitter ale pint has come good, grain to glass in 4 weeks!
Definitely going to do this again, very similar to others I've done, and mainline bitter. So lots of variations on a theme - but you can't beat a proper English pint of ale!
Tried to show how clear it was, but failed to show how crystal clear it is.
Tastes malty and biscuit-y with a good earthy hop profile and aftertaste of the slightly bitter darker crystal. Very pleased.
I didn't bother with an fg, and going by previous performance from my yeast I reckon this is about 6%. However it does not taste alcoholic-y and I can profess that after 3 pints I felt a bit pissed!

 

[Nicks90]

Ag50 what's left IPA that I forgot to write anything down for - proper job jobbed.
Not a bad pint even if I do say so myself, easily on a par with generic shipyard type ipas

 

[Nicks90]

Ag52
My first saison

As per my post in the general recipe section, I've decided to have a go at a saison. I'm not entirely sure it's my cup of tea, but I've only had limited experience of commercial saisons and as there are soooo many types, I could spend years trying them all. So sod it, let's get something on!

Grain
2kg Minch pale pilsner malt
1kg Minch wheat malt

Hops
10gm huell melon @60min
20gm huell melon @5min

Yeast
Danstar bell saison

Mashed in 18l at 67c for 2 hours and then jug-sparged 2l followed by a good bag squeeze. Leaving 18l for a 60min vigorous boil and 15l in the fv.
Tried my new chiller out - wow how awesome are they! Half an hour later it was at 22c!!! As the water coming out initially was scalding hot, I used that to clean my fv after giving it a good rinse in wvp. New thing this, sterilisation of the fv. Normally dropping 15l of near boiling wort into it does the trick, so now I have to be good and do it properly.
Rehydrated the yeast as per the packet and took a quick refractometer reading before dropping it in. 10 and a tiny bit. So about 1.042 in old money.
I've been told this yeast can get down to 1.000, which means I could still be on for a 5.5% brew. Hopefully it's stops before then, as I'd like to keep it lower than 5%
SRM 3 and 20 IBUs

Let's see what this is all about eh!

 

[Nicks90]

AG53
Autumn Ale

This is a mix up of some of my previous favourite English ale recipes from the past 12 months or so - slowly starting to refine what it is i want and getting a house recipe sorted.

4kg Irish Malt
100gm crystal 100ebc
10gm chocolate
100gm special x 300ebc

Hops
10gm First Gold @60 mins
10gm Challenger @5 mins
10gm First Gold @5 mins

18l mash at 69c for 2 hours! Really impressed at my berghaus fleece wrapped around the tea urn, it only dropped 3c in that whole 2 hours.
Jug-sparged with 4l and a good bag squeeze leaving 19l wort for a 60 minute boil and 15l in the FV
Back liquored to 18l to make a more sensible 1.045 OG. Should be approx 20ebc and 25ibu

Yeast is going to be Danstar London ESB - which should give a nice fruity brew of about 4.2%

 

[Nicks90]

Ag51 pilgrim smash... Is a smash hit!
Damn this is a nice hop. It's just so......... English!

Just utterly pleasant, bitter fruity notes with a slight honey / woody backend. Combined with using a clean yeast and Minch malt, gives a really fresh session ale.

Note to self when browsing this thread for ideas on repeat brews. DO THIS ONE AGAIN NICKS!!!!

 

[Nicks90]

AG54
Make it up as I go along IPA

Just cant stop brewing at the moment! Christmas stocks need some serious consideration so I'm at it like a demon at the moment. This time its a fairly run of the mill IPA and a moderately low alcohol one too. Just because

3.5kg Irish Malt
200gm crystal 100ebc
50gm torrified wheat

Hops
10gm Cascade @60 mins
30gm Cascade @5 mins
30gm Centennial @5 mins

18l mash at 67c for 2 hours. Jug-sparged with 3l and a good bag squeeze leaving 19l wort for a 60 minute boil and 15l in the FV
Back liquored to 18l to make a more sensible 1.042 OG. Should be approx 15ebc and 30ibu

Yeast is some random yeast i had in the fridge. Its either a notty or the remains of a mangrove jacks west coast ipa yeast. Not entirely sure.... meh, it'll brew ok either way - which should give a nice session brew of about 4.2-4.5%

 

[Nicks90]

And for anyone who wants to see how I brew, here is where the magic happens.
It's a 200 year old outhouse that's literally falling down, but still serves its purpose.
Absolutely everything has to be cleaned prior to use due to flaking paint, plaster and dust, and the multitude of humungus spiders!

 

[matt76]

Yeast is some random yeast i had in the fridge. Its either a notty or the remains of a mangrove jacks west coast ipa yeast. Not entirely sure.... meh, it'll brew ok either way - which should give a nice session brew of about 4.2-4.5%

As always I'm in awe of your meticulous attention to detail! Good luck with the brew, sounds like a solid reliable hop combo you've gone for there

And for anyone who wants to see how I brew, here is where the magic happens.
It's a 200 year old outhouse

Complete with vintage 200 year old washing machine (?) I see

 

[Nicks90]

Hahaha @matt76
Now if I was doing a very specific brew like my saison, yeast is absolutely crucial. But for an IPA, mj IPA yeast or notty both give great results and let the hops shine. So not massively concerned. And this brew is more of a stocking filler session beer. In fact I didn't know what I was going to brew until I started measuring out the grain! I happened to have an open bag of crystal 100 and there happened to be 200gm in it. In fact I didn't even decide if it was going to be an IPA or an English ale until it was almost at the boil and I went to the freezer to grab hops... Very organic recipe building hahahaha


And I'll have you know that's a brand new tumble dryer!!!!! Bloody cheek.
But it is the original Belfast sink. Shame it's so chipped and cracked or it would be worth something.

 

[Nicks90]

AG52 - my first saison

Bottled it all up today. not sure what the final gravity is, as my hydrometer is broken. But I took a brix of 10.abit when i added the yeast and its now showing as 0.
Either way, i didnt clean enough bottles, so dumped the rest in a stein for supping now. Whilst its totally uncarb'd i have to admit it feels a bit more 'genuine' being totally flat, like they would have drunk 200 years ago. Its dry as a witches *** and tastes very fruity/citrus/tart and is bloomin lovely.
Excuse the mess on my desk, I'm still 'working'...

 

[Nicks90]

AG55
Super Pale IPA

As I have chickened out of trying to do a 4 week grain to glass for all my work colleagues (I dont mind very green beer, i often finish the bloody lot before its even 4 weeks old!), i have decided to give them options on my last 3 brews and do a new one just for myself.
This is going to be very simillar to AG54, but with a slight twist. I've decided to add a healthy % of extra pale lager / pilsner malt to the grist this time to get a drier paler IPA. this should dial back on the fully malt flavour and let the hops really come to the forfront. Lets see how this one goes.

2kg Irish Malt
1.5kg Pilsner Malt
100gm crystal 100ebc
100gm rolled outs

Hops
10gm Centennial @30 mins
30gm Cascade @5 mins
30gm Centennial @5 mins

20gm Centennial dry hop
20gm Cascade dry hop

18l mash at 67c for 2 hours. Jug-sparged with 3l and a good bag squeeze leaving 19l wort for a 60 minute boil and 15l in the FV
Back liquored to 18l to give 11 Brix OG. Should be approx 10ebc and 30ibu
Yeast will be some S-05

 

[Nicks90]

AG56
Huell Melon Pilsner

As the weather is turning and its getting colder - time is nigh for a lager! I have some Huell Melon hops left over from an earlier saison brew and decided after a little research online that this would make an interesting Pilsner! I dont have any lager or pils yeast, so will be cheating a little bit by double dosing it with Notty for a partial faux lager, but i have had some success previously using this method.

Grain
3.5kg Pilsner Malt

Hops
20gm Huell Melon @30 mins
25gm Huell Melon @5 mins

25gm Huell Melon dry hop

18l mash at 65c for 2 hours. Jug-sparged with 4l and a good bag squeeze leaving 20l wort for a 60 minute boil and 17l in the FV
Measured as 10.5Brix, which is equivalent of 1.042 OG. Should be approx 5ebc and 25ibu and finishing off at 4.2%
Yeast as said earlier will be a double dose of Notty and brewed in my cellar at approx 12C. But i will keep a close eye on it and if i see it stalling, then i will bring it somewhere warm and hopefully get it restarted as a proper faux lager. Once brewed, i'll definitely be bringing it up to 20C for a week for the dry hop and diacetyl rest and then it can get wrapped up and put outside in the shed for a month to clear.

 

[Nicks90]

AG55 has just been bottled up and smells super dooper hoppy! Got high hopes for this one come christmas!

AG56
English IPA

I didnt really have much choice in what to brew for this one, as I have run out of crystal - other than chocolate which I didnt want to use - so its an English IPA or nothing! However I do love a good pale ale with English hops, so dont feel to bad for me, LOL!

3.5kg Irish Malt

Hops
20gm First gold @30 mins
10gm First gold @5 mins
30gm Challenger @5 mins


18l mash at 65c for 2 hours. Jug-sparged with 3l and a good bag squeeze leaving 19l wort for a 60 minute boil and 16l in the FV
Back liquored to 18l to give 11 Brix OG. Should be approx 10ebc and 30ibu
Yeast is some washed S05 from AG55, which will do the job nicely. I dont mind using this type of yeast for an English IPA, as its fairly neutral and dry, which should let the traditional hops shine through.

 

[Nicks90]

As its starting to get a bit chilly now - and i dont leave the heating on in my office overnight - the temp has started to swing between 20 and 15C overnight. Whilst that isnt a lot and 16l of beer probably wont change temp that much over that time, I thought it prudent to try and insulate my english IPA by wrapping it in my Berghaus jacket that is so effective at insulating my tea urn during mashing.
Ooops. came to the office this morning and my beer was at 24c! Would appear the yeast is being rather active and has generated a fair amount of heat which has been thoroughly and incredibly well insulated by the jacket.

Jacket now removed and waiting for the temp to drop back down to 20c and then i will keep an eye on it. More than likely the majority of the fermentation has now been done, 24 hours at that temp will have had it chewing through the sugar at a rate of knots!

 

[Horners]

One of my final kit beers was a festival Scottish heavy which became known as Horners Banana Heavy on account of my kids leaving the heating on in the outside office whilst I had put a heat belt on the FV to deal with the low temps. Fruity esters is an understatement.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Would appear the yeast is being rather active and has generated a fair amount of heat which has been thoroughly and incredibly well insulated by the jacket.

Never ceases to surprise me how much the yeast fermentation can raise the temperature, especially in a well-insulated FV.
As you say, the trouble is that if the temp starts going up then the yeast gets more active sending the whole thing into 'thermal runaway'

 

[Nicks90]

I bottled the English IPA today, but i dont hold out much hope. It very smelly, bit astringent sulphary spicy on the nose so i think the high temperature has done it in. But its bottled and can be kept somewhere for a couple of weeks to carb/condition and I'll take a snifter. If its utterly rank, it can stay hidden for a few months and tried again in spring. If its still gopping, then down the drain it goes!

Anyway, more pleasant news - my Super Pale IPA is absolutely amazing. Rich hoppy flavours right from the nose all the way through to the lingering after taste!
But onwards and upwards, another brew day beckons

AG57
Black Stuff

I cant believe I havent done a stout for over a year. Time to rectify that. Almost identical to the last one I did, which was such a lovely pint. And you just cant beat Challanger hops in a pint of black stuff, proper traditional hop for a thick rich chocolately brew.

3kg Irish Malt
150g carafa III
150g Chocolate malt

Hops
20gm Challenger @30 mins
20gm Challenger @5 mins


Full volume 20l mash at 69c for 2 hours. A good bag squeeze leaving 18l wort for a 30 minute boil and 16l in the FV
Giving 11 Brix OG. Should be approx 60ebc and 30ibu
Yeast is some brand new Lallemand Notty

 

[Nicks90]

And inspired by @Appleyard I saw a chunk of ginger that was looking a bit sorry for itself. so I have made some 'orrible stuff'.
60gm fresh ginger finely grated and boiled for 30 minutes in 4l of water. 400gm of sugar added, along with some yeast nutrient. Strained it in to a DJ and added a spoon full of the yeast trub from my English IPA ale. coming out at 11.6 brix OG and should end up being about 5-6% once done.
Lets see how disguting this 'orrible stuff' really is.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Lets see how disguting this 'orrible stuff' really is.

I'll be watching this one with interest, as it's something I quite fancy trying