Nicks90's Brewdays

[Nicks90]

A few months ago, my lovely long suffering wife bought me on of these.
https://www.menkind.co.uk/fizzics-draftpour-beer-dispenser
Now when I first got it, I was proper skeptical. It would be explosive, suck all the sediment out of my bottles, effectively be a useless gimmick.
However after having used it extensively for a few months I can report the following....


It's pretty good!
It actually uses positive air pressure in the chamber to 'push' the beer up the tube out of the bottle, rather than a pump to suck the beer out. This means that the carb'ing sediment stays completely undisturbed. It makes carbd ale come out way more handpull than you would expect and its very easy to clean.
On commercial beer it's great. I now use this exclusively on cans of beer, as I always pour in to a pint pot anyway, as I detest drinking from cans. Plus as it slightly decarb's as it pours, it's good for lager as I find it always too fizzy.
The ability to use batteries means I can have it out in the bbq area or take away in the caravan.
Drawbacks?
Two. Highly carb'd beers like saisons are a little lively for it. Plus removing a lot of the fizz kinda defeats the object of the style. Would imagine wheat beers would be the same. Second is you absolutely must know the exact level a 500mm bottle fills your pint pot. As if you let it glug that last bit from the bottle, you get quite a forceful glug in the glass, resulting it a foamy overload hahaha

Overall really nice bit of kit and well worth it.

 

[Nicks90]

AG number 80
Sorachi IPA

Using up some of the scrag ends of my bags of hops and thought I'd do a fruity little citrus number, using up the last of my sorachi ace and centennial hops. Both are citrusy lemony and should go well together. It'll be the exact opposite of the El Dorado ipa that's for sure!

3.5kg Maris Otter
100gm crystal 113ebc

20l mash at 66C for 90mins followed by a 4l dunk sparge and a good bag squeeze
Leaving 21l wort for a 60 minute boil and 17l in the FV

Hops
15gm centennial @30min
25gm sorachi ace @5min
30gm centennial @5min

Yeast
Some recovered Nottingham yeast from ag78

Expecting 7srm, 35ibu and 5%.
Should be a real thrust quenching citrus quaffable ale.

 

[Nicks90]

Oh my god! Ag78 is an absolute dead ringer for old speckled hen!
It's thr same colour, the same taste the same Aftertaste... Its a complete Clone!
What a happy coincidence, I have a few cans in the larder and was able to do a back to back and it's uncanny.
I'll do a photo comparison for your delectation tomorrow

 

[Nicks90]

how very strange - AG number 79 Sorachi Saison (Duplicate) isnt saison-y!
had a tester bottle last night and it just tastes like a light fruity ale, not saison hints at all. Almost like its been brewed with notty. It definitely wasnt, as there was only one bottle of yeast in the fridge and that was from AG76, sorachi saison and it was even labelled.

not complaining, its very pleasant... but it aint a saison. Anyone else had this before where the fundamental flavour of the yeast changes in a second or 3rd generation?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Anyone else had this before where the fundamental flavour of the yeast changes in a second or 3rd generation?

Could it be that the original is a blend, and at some stage one of the components didn't make it through the reproduction process?

 

[Nicks90]

Could it be that the original is a blend, and at some stage one of the components didn't make it through the reproduction process?

The yeast was Mangrove Jacks French Saison M29. No idea if this is a blended yeast or not. But it sounds possible I suppose.
Either way, it's a pleasant beer and once fully carbd a d conditioned it'll get drunk just the same!

 

[Nicks90]

AG number 81
English IPA

Using up some of the scrag ends of my bags of hops and an old bag of Progress i found in the freezer. Decided to just use the lot up and make a super hoppy English IPA. Whilst 75gm of Progress seems a lot, i dont reckon its up to much now and i like the flavour anyway - so bring it on!

3.5kg Maris Otter
120gm crystal 113ebc
20gm Carafa111 (Just for some colour adjustment)

20l mash at 66C for 90mins followed by a 4l dunk sparge and a good bag squeeze
Leaving 21l wort for a 60 minute boil and 17l in the FV

Hops
10gm Target @30min
5gm Admiral @30min
75gm Progress @5min


Yeast
Some recovered Nottingham yeast from ag78

Expecting 10srm, 40ibu and 5%.
Hoping this is a good complex tasty IPA

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Looks good to me :-)

 

[Rodcx500z]

AG number 81
English IPA

Using up some of the scrag ends of my bags of hops and an old bag of Progress i found in the freezer. Decided to just use the lot up and make a super hoppy English IPA. Whilst 75gm of Progress seems a lot, i dont reckon its up to much now and i like the flavour anyway - so bring it on!

3.5kg Maris Otter
120gm crystal 113ebc
20gm Carafa111 (Just for some colour adjustment)

20l mash at 66C for 90mins followed by a 4l dunk sparge and a good bag squeeze
Leaving 21l wort for a 60 minute boil and 17l in the FV

Hops
10gm Target @30min
5gm Admiral @30min
75gm Progress @5min


Yeast
Some recovered Nottingham yeast from ag78

Expecting 10srm, 40ibu and 5%.
Hoping this is a good complex tasty IPA

I always find my user upper brews are some of the best i have brewed

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I always find my user upper brews are some of the best i have brewed

... and the worst thing is, it's easy to forget what went into them!

 

[Nicks90]

... and the worst thing is, it's easy to forget what went into them!

That's why I post all my brews on here! If one becomes a miracle brew, I'll have it recorded!

 

[moto748]

We are all watching you...

 

[Nicks90]

We are all watching you...

Ermmmm
Did I leave my webcam on at an 'inconvenient moment of self reflection' without realising?


Anyway, in other news. The sorachi ace saison is definitely just a slightly weird pale ale. Not horrible, not brilliant... Just not something I'll be upset about when they are all finished.
The sorachi and cascade ipa is carb'ing up nicely - but again it's really not hitting the spot. I don't think I'll bother with sorachi again. Even for a proper saison using 1st gen yeast, I'll stick with European noble hops.

 

[Nicks90]

Ag 78 photo op.
It's an absolute cracker

 

[Nicks90]

AG number 82
Fake lager user-upper

Using up some of the scrag ends of my malt and hops i found in the freezer. Nothing particularly spectacular about this one, its just a fake lager!

3kg Maris Otter

20l mash at 66C for 90mins, no sparge but a damned good bag squeeze
Leaving 18l wort for a 60 minute boil and 15l in the FV

Hops
25g Hallertau Mittelfruh @60min
25g Hallertau Mittelfruh @5min


Yeast
Safale S-05, which is the only yeast i had kicking about. Its clean so should be ok in a fake lager.

Expecting 5srm, 25ibu and 4.5%.
Its a fake lager, it will be wet and alcoholic (and hopefully pleasantly drinkable)

 

[Nicks90]

Here's a piccy of the AG number 80 - Sorachi IPA
It's nice, just not something I will ever brew again. A bit meh. Not really hoppy enough for an IPA, not really different enough with using sorachi ace to be termed 'interesting'
Just, well, beer really. Indeterminate beer. Easily forgettable

 

[Nicks90]

AG number 81 English IPA

Ooof. Only been bottled a few days but fancied a purely scientific taster. It would appear those progress hops were a bit less that knackered and more potent than I presumed.
VERY hoppy and quite bitter.... Bit more than I would normally accept in any English ale. Tastes good underneath though, so I have high hopes it'll settle nicely.

But again purely in the name of science and reading it on another thread on here, apparently salt takes away bitterness.
Second bottle poured of 2 grinds of salt.
OMG!

Not only does it work - spectacularly so - but it acts as nucleation points on what is still fairly under carbd beer and turns it in to a beautiful smooth hand pull pint. Think proper barrel handpull levels of carbonation with a beautiful thick long lasting head. This is a gooooooood pint.
Do I start only using 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and a spot of salt going forwards for my 'real ales'?

 

[Nicks90]

A week (we'll working week) later, decide to have another of my super hopped English ipa.
Tastes great, BUT.... there is a distinct sweaty sock sulphurous after taste. Hmmm
Don't think I've had this before. Is this a symptom of using old hops or oxidation?

 

[Nicks90]

Update. Had a second and this one is totally without any of the off flavours from the first. Maybe that bottle was the last one filled and sucked some bubbles through......

 

[Nicks90]

Bottled up AG number 82 today and made a discovery in the trub. A wood bee. No idea how it got in there, as once the boil is completed i put the cooler in and close the lid. So it must have fallen in just before or during the boil. Had a small sample and its tasty and clean, so mustnt have caused too much of a disturbance to the force of brewing!

So i am renaming this brew as the "Wood Bee Lager" - as its a fake lager anyway it has a certain poetic continuation to it.

Yes i will drink it, no it doesnt bother me. Its an insect. Now if i found a slug..... that would be down the drain, blurgh! But a 'ickle bee, narr thats fine.

So has anyone else discovered any unwanted guests in their fermentation bucket, and more importantly did it bother you?