NPi Brewday

[NPi]

Thanks @honeymonster, is there any way in which I can measure ABV now I've primed and bottled.

I think I'll have made all the mistakes and learnt all the lessons at this rate.

Cheers, Nick

 

[Session]

Thanks @honeymonster, is there any way in which I can measure ABV now I've primed and bottled.

I think I'll have made all the mistakes and learnt all the lessons at this rate.

Cheers, Nick

Hi again Nick,
Glad your first brew went well - sorry to hear the second has been less straightforward. There is a way to fudge a gravity reading post-bottling, but it depends on knowing how much priming sugar you have added per litre of beer and that this sugar was mixed equally between all of the bottles.

Using the following chart you can work out how many extra points of gravity the priming sugar will have added to your reading. For example, if you have added 2.5g of sugar to each 330ml bottle, that would equate to 7.5g/L or thereabouts.

You can see from the chart that that will add about 0.003 points to your reading, and I suspect is more due to your mash temperature in this case.

Did you correct your hydrometer reading for temperature? This can often throw out a reading if it’s not taken at 20’C. There are lots of calculators online to help with this.

Do you know your expected FG? It’s a tricky one as mashing at 70’C will certainly have caused the beta-amylase to denature far more quickly. It tends to denature very quickly at temperatures over 70’C or so I have read(1,2). If you held the mash there for a decent length of time I suspect you may have denatured most of the beta-amylase and will have been left with a lot of unfermentable sugars.

This may mean that fermentation has finished (as there are no more fermentable sugars left), but the body and mouthfeel of your beer will be very thick. The only way of knowing is to do multiple gravity readings on subsequent days prior to packaging unfortunately.

I would be really interested to know how it turns out. I’m sure it’s cold comfort, but even if this doesn’t end up being the best beer you’ve ever made, at least you will have learnt loads about mash temperatures and enzyme activity!

(1)The Science of Step Mashing - Brew Your Own
(2)https://www.researchgate.net/public...t_Dextrinase_on_Potential_Wort_Fermentability

 

[NPi]

Hi again Nick,
Glad your first brew went well - sorry to hear the second has been less straightforward. There is a way to fudge a gravity reading post-bottling, but it depends on knowing how much priming sugar you have added per litre of beer and that this sugar was mixed equally between all of the bottles.

Using the following chart you can work out how many extra points of gravity the priming sugar will have added to your reading. For example, if you have added 2.5g of sugar to each 330ml bottle, that would equate to 7.5g/L or thereabouts.

View attachment 26572
You can see from the chart that that will add about 0.003 points to your reading, and I suspect is more due to your mash temperature in this case.

Did you correct your hydrometer reading for temperature? This can often throw out a reading if it’s not taken at 20’C. There are lots of calculators online to help with this.

Do you know your expected FG? It’s a tricky one as mashing at 70’C will certainly have caused the beta-amylase to denature far more quickly. It tends to denature very quickly at temperatures over 70’C or so I have read(1,2). If you held the mash there for a decent length of time I suspect you may have denatured most of the beta-amylase and will have been left with a lot of unfermentable sugars.

This may mean that fermentation has finished (as there are no more fermentable sugars left), but the body and mouthfeel of your beer will be very thick. The only way of knowing is to do multiple gravity readings on subsequent days prior to packaging unfortunately.

I would be really interested to know how it turns out. I’m sure it’s cold comfort, but even if this doesn’t end up being the best beer you’ve ever made, at least you will have learnt loads about mash temperatures and enzyme activity!

(1)The Science of Step Mashing - Brew Your Own
(2)https://www.researchgate.net/public...t_Dextrinase_on_Potential_Wort_Fermentability

Hi @Session

Thats really helpful, thanks. I feared the high mash temp may have been the cause. I had thought low alcohol beers were mashed at a lower temp? Obviously there is good reason for specified temperatures in mashing.

The samples I took were actually quite good, considering the mistakes made.

I ended up with 22no 330ml bottles, having disolved 83g of demerara sugar in 100ml of water. However that does account for the near 1l of trub left over.

I think the take aways are definitely to take multiple readings over numerous days. I also think I will measure the gravity and temperature of the finished batch again tomorrow, as well as calculating my hypothetical FG. All in all a good lesson, and if the beer comes out drinkable not a wasted brew.

Funnily enough my 2nd batch of the Sorachi looks to have stopped all airlock activity, so I'll begin my readings.

Cheers, Nick

 

[NPi]

I'm happy to report the second batch of the Sorachi brew is looking very promising. Unfortunately its too warm to get a decent reading on, but the sample I have just taken is very good.

Still can't decide on whether to dry hop it, I still have 50g of Sorachi calling me from the freezer.

I think I'll take a couple of samples and see how it looks, before making a decision.

Cheers, Nick

 

[NPi]

Bottling of the second batch went great, was crystal clear by the end. I racked the brew from FV to bottling bucket with no trouble. The beer had cold crashed at 9degrees for a few days and had been fined with gelatine.

After bottling 20no 500ml bottles I used a calpol syringe to add my priming sugar in solution to each bottle.

Very happy with how it turned out.

I also managed to get my raspberry blonde on recently which again is looking very promising. My only issue is it's very dark for a blonde. Time will tell.

 

[NPi]

10 days post bottling the Sorachi V1 has come out to be a really nice beer. Very clear and crisp. If I'm honest the ABV doesn't bother me, the body is good as well as the mouth feel. Considering it's not as per the plan I'm a happy man. My only grey lining to a brilliant white cloud is noticing a small dark spec inside one of my bottles. I was, as I always am, very meticulous so slightly concerned I must have missed something (see photo).

V2 is nicely carbed and sitting waiting to crash. Just need to keep my hands off it...

My raspberry blonde has finished fermenting, so instead of racking to a secondary (I haven't a spare FV), I have chilled for a few days at 9degrees, before I added my raspberry puree. So far so good. I'm going to get V2 of the blonde on tomorrow and hopefully bottle V1 on the weekend.

All's well that ends in beer!

 

[NPi]

Bottling of the raspberry brew-nette (blonde) went off well yesterday, with a higher than expected yield and ABV. It has a sweet tart raspberry aftertaste, a promising body and mouthfeel. Very excited about this one, I just know I won't be able to keep it in the bottle. I may have to start a post Covid time capsule, so I can save some of them to their full potential.

Just a note on bottling and the yeast trub, a prolonged cold crash made it so compacted it stayed stuck to the bottom even when I tilted the FV. Very happy with the result, only problem was I had to wait for my sample to warm up before I measured it.

Roll on the next batch
Nick

 

[Session]

Hi Nick!
Sorry I missed your mention a while back - not sure what happened there! The raspberry purée sounds interesting... looking forward to hearing what it tastes like in a few weeks

 

[NPi]

Hi Nick!
Sorry I missed your mention a while back - not sure what happened there! The raspberry purée sounds interesting... looking forward to hearing what it tastes like in a few weeks

It's looking to be very similar to the below (both in style and taste)(I last had it about 4 years ago on the Leeds Liverpool tow path), however slightly darker currently (the photos don't do its chestnutty pink justice!). Like you say, very much looking forward to tasting in a few weeks.

 

[NPi]

Managed to squeeze out a 12l batch (that ended up nearer 10l ) of a pilsner yesterday. Recipe was very kindly drafted by @MyQul some time ago, however I've wanted to refine my skills some before taking on a lager. Proposed bottle lable as

All was well, till I came to weigh out my grain and found 35g of roasted barley, that should have gone into my previous brew.

Throwing caution to the wind I threw it in along with 2kg of pilsner malt and 200g of sugar. Any thoughts on to its likely effect to taste. I know roasted barley is mainly used as a colour addition, and with it being such a small amount I don't expect anything too drastic.

I was originally hoping to ferment with bohemian lager yeast, but that only arrived today, so I have double pitched cali common yeast and plan to ferment as cold as my garage goes (about 15c in the day, colder at night).

I also seem to be having BIAB issues, of the two bags I own, one had holes too large and the other too small. Any one suggest sizes that would suit, without blocking when draining (meaning I have to squeeze relentlessly), or leaving large amounts of debris?

V2 of the raspberry brew-nette is coming along nicely and will most likely be bottled over the weekend.

I even managed to find 10m of 8mm copper pipe for £10 locally, so have smashed out a immersion chiller.

As always, many thanks for the feedback.
Cheers, Nick

 

[NPi]

As is always the way, having only just built (read - twisted poorly) an immersion chiller that fits my boiler, I have upgraded to a new larger pot.

The pot is 50l SS Vogue, which I snapped up for a bargain £15! My only problem is it does not come with a lid. Unless I can find a suitable replacement its a new one, for likely the same price as the pot.

Hopefully it will still be able to achieve a full boil when making a 23l batch. If not I may have to look into whether an induction hob works.

 

[NPi]

Unfortunately my biggest bag (for BIAB) has gone missing, so my other bag not being able to fit my new larger pot meant I was stuck brewing with my smaller pot . For this brew I made a 12l (which turned out a little larger) Guinness clone, based on the Graham Wheeler recipe.

Brew day went well, with a really high efficiency. When sparging I opened the bag and squeezed the grains, making sure I got as much of the wort out as possible. By the end the I had lost barely any liquid to the grain.

Unfortunately my measure on the FV is by no means accurate, and I wasn't able to get a good reading pre or post boil (I ended up taking one mid boil that was between the expected efficiency).

This brew was the first time using my new immersion chiller, whilst great at bringing the temp down it did get a little messy, with the connections leaking, thankfully not into the pot.

When syphoning off the wort into the FV, I did so filtering it through to bag, leaving a lovely crystal wort. So far this brew looks to be really promising.

Unfortunately the same can't be said for my previous Pilsner brew. Originally I pitched cali yeast, and had good activity. Trying to reduce oxidisation, I set the temp in my fridge to 15 and left it til today. From the outside I could see a good build up of krausen and yeast cake. However when I opened the lid, I could see yeast still sitting on the surface (either that or an infection ). So I decided to pitch half a pack of bohemian lager yeast and will see how it gets on. Any advice would be appreciated!

Cheers all
Nick

 

[NPi]

I really must have upset the beer gods. Yesterday was a terrible day in beer terms. Firstly I came to sample my raspberry blonde, to find it had definitely oxydised (but was still drinkable ), then I came to move my pilsner to my new glass carboys to secondary ferment. Firstly, there was a growth forming on the surface, with an infection just like I feared.

At this point I was thinking of pouring it down the drain, but restrained myself. Having racked it into the carboys it was a muddy brown, with lots of suspended yeast. I figure if I leave them for 8 weeks and they are still terrible it's no more of a waste .

I then came to sample a Sorachi, only to have it gush out all over the work top. To finally top it off, I managed to lose my new digital thermometer, having only bought it the same day.

Needless to say I am frustrated and a bit disheartened. Hopefully my raspberry blonde v2 and new Guinness clone will get me back on track.

Cheers, Nick

 

[cushyno]

Regarding the Califormia Common yeast, I always get little floating bits of yeast left on the surface that look just like yours here. Three batches I've used that yeast in have been the same, regardless of the recipe.

Something to consider over the coming weeks with this yeast, it takes a while to condition. With both a Cali-common recipe fermented at 18degC and a lager fermented at 12degC it's taken a few weeks for the toffee-like flavour to mellow. Don't be surprised by it, it's not oxidation, just the after affects of fermentation that need time to mellow.

 

[NPi]

Regarding the Califormia Common yeast, I always get little floating bits of yeast left on the surface that look just like yours here. Three batches I've used that yeast in have been the same, regardless of the recipe.

Something to consider over the coming weeks with this yeast, it takes a while to condition. With both a Cali-common recipe fermented at 18degC and a lager fermented at 12degC it's taken a few weeks for the toffee-like flavour to mellow. Don't be surprised by it, it's not oxidation, just the after affects of fermentation that need time to mellow.

Cheers @cushyno, I'm planning on leaving it as long as I can to hopefully save the brew. I've had beers before that I was certain were doomed, but came out okay.

The Guinness clone I have uses a s04 yeast, another one I haven't used before. Hopefully that clears better than the cali.

Cheers

 

[cushyno]

S-04 drops clear quicker than CML CC yeast. It sticks reasonably well to the bottle and sediment becomes firmer over time.

Nothing sticks quite like Nottingham, though!

 

[NPi]

That's good to hear, Nottingham is what I've got in my raspberry blondes. It looks to be working well as you say

 

[zeptobrewer]

How many fermentation vessels have you got on the go at once? Looks like you're smashing them out!

 

[NPi]

How many fermentation vessels have you got on the go at once? Looks like you're smashing them out!

Only 2 FV's and 2 5l demi John's. I have been trying to do a brew a week recently so always keeping them in rotation. My next brew day is tomorrow, and it's the biggest I've done yet (excluding kits).

All being well I will be brewing 23l of kolsh. Hopefully this heatwave sticks around and I can enjoy some in the sun.

After that I'm planning on finishing off the other half of the Guinness clone and moving on to some simple (cheap) Brewdog recipes. Hopefully this way I can fill the stores should I get called back from furlough.

 

[NPi]

Yesterday's brew day went well, other than some slight hiccups. Firstly heating the mash took longer than anticipated (obviously!), which meant I had to run some errands in between mash and boil. In all, the mash was left to cool for 2 hours before boiling. So far (and from a bit of background reading), this doesn't seem to have caused a problem.

Next, I didn't maintain a full boil through out my 60m boil. Not knowing that gas settings to keep my pot on meant that at my wort temp had dropped on a few occasions. Not wanting to impact too much on my timings I kept the boil length as was. Hopefully this won't effect the wort too much.

Finally, the yeast supplied with my Kolsh kit is Safale w34/70, which is a bottom fermenting yeast . Obviously not en keeping with the style. There are also no notes on fermenting temp. I'm unsure as to whether I should ferment warm or cold. Taking a risk I've decided to ferment cold, with only a single 12g packet.

That said, my efficiency is up over 84% (!!) and I've collected more wort than anticipated. Hopefully if I have enough time to properly lager it the kolsh should come out very nice. Now I just have to find enough bottles.