Tongue In Cheek
New Member
My first brewing in the UK! I hadn’t discovered the joys of homebrewing when I last lived in London, so brew number 72 is a great opportunity to transition to the metric system and try things out with an entirely new kitchen and water profile. I wanted to make something that will be ready to drink quickly and have a low ABV because my wife prefers those types of beers. I love a good British mild, and I don’t see ruby milds very often so I found this recipe which sounded delicious to give it a try. I scaled it down to 11L for an easy job – it had been almost exactly a year since the previous brew day and I was working with an entirely new kitchen so there were a lot of other things on my mind.
Brew date: 12 January 2025
Recipe: Ruby Mild from Dan Smullen (Beer Is My Life)
Batch size: 11L / 3 gallons
Grain bill:
2.25kg Maris Otter
78g Medium Crystal
78g Chocolate
64g Torrefied Wheat
Hops:
14g East Kent Goldings (60 minutes)
7g East Kent Goldings (flameout)
Additives:
5 mL Irish moss (15 minutes)
Yeast: Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale
Set out 10 gallons of tapwater for the chlorine to outgas overnight. I’d forgotten to do this Friday, so my intended Saturday brew day turned into a Sunday brew session. I forgot to order campden tablets with the brewing supplies - next time. And I was very surprised at the price for liquid yeast, very different from what I was used to in Chicago. My friend pointed out something called a yeast slope so I am going to have a closer look at this option going forward.
Used 6L of 70 degree strike water to mash in the brewpot, in a large nylon mesh bag. That was not enough to thoroughly wet all the grain and the mash temp was down to 60 degrees (target 66). So I topped up with another 2L of 80 degree water and it did the trick.
During the hour-long mash (actually more like 75 minutes, counting the extra time needed to heat up an additional 2L of liquor) I had to apply heat a couple of times to bring the mash temp back to the 66 degree target, lifting the nylon bag off the bottom of the pan while the heat was on to avoid scorching. I was pleasantly surprised by this stove’s high-output burner maximum strength.
I have a large strainer with extensible arms that works well for sparging the nylon grain sack over the brew pot. Sparged with another 5L of 85 degree water, and 20 minutes later we were at full boil.
That was another thing I’d forgotten – how quickly an 11L batch moves from boiling to room temperature than the 19L batches I’m used to working with. Especially when your tapwater is only 3 degrees!
Then comes my least favourite part of the brewing process – filtering liquor into the fermentation vessel. But time passes quickly with a beer in hand and a good podcast in the background. Hit an original gravity of 1.047 - the recipe didn't specify a target but predicts a 4.6% ABV. I won't be upset at all if it comes in a fair bit lower - my mashing is not always super efficient.
I am still getting used to the new place and how the heating works. I think the guest bedroom next to the heater is probably the best option, with a blanket wrapped round the carboy to reduce any temperature swings from the heater turning on/off. Seems to have stabilized at 21 degrees – a hair lower than I’d prefer – but I’ll keep a close eye on it over the coming days. I was hoping that a nice ruby colour would come through but it looks to be too brown for that. Would like to have another go someday without the chocolate malt and adding roasted barley.
I'll move it to a smaller carboy for secondary in another week - next up is 11L of an Irish red, but next weekend looks pretty busy so we'll see when that happens...
Brew date: 12 January 2025
Recipe: Ruby Mild from Dan Smullen (Beer Is My Life)
Batch size: 11L / 3 gallons
Grain bill:
2.25kg Maris Otter
78g Medium Crystal
78g Chocolate
64g Torrefied Wheat
Hops:
14g East Kent Goldings (60 minutes)
7g East Kent Goldings (flameout)
Additives:
5 mL Irish moss (15 minutes)
Yeast: Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale
Set out 10 gallons of tapwater for the chlorine to outgas overnight. I’d forgotten to do this Friday, so my intended Saturday brew day turned into a Sunday brew session. I forgot to order campden tablets with the brewing supplies - next time. And I was very surprised at the price for liquid yeast, very different from what I was used to in Chicago. My friend pointed out something called a yeast slope so I am going to have a closer look at this option going forward.
Used 6L of 70 degree strike water to mash in the brewpot, in a large nylon mesh bag. That was not enough to thoroughly wet all the grain and the mash temp was down to 60 degrees (target 66). So I topped up with another 2L of 80 degree water and it did the trick.
During the hour-long mash (actually more like 75 minutes, counting the extra time needed to heat up an additional 2L of liquor) I had to apply heat a couple of times to bring the mash temp back to the 66 degree target, lifting the nylon bag off the bottom of the pan while the heat was on to avoid scorching. I was pleasantly surprised by this stove’s high-output burner maximum strength.
I have a large strainer with extensible arms that works well for sparging the nylon grain sack over the brew pot. Sparged with another 5L of 85 degree water, and 20 minutes later we were at full boil.
That was another thing I’d forgotten – how quickly an 11L batch moves from boiling to room temperature than the 19L batches I’m used to working with. Especially when your tapwater is only 3 degrees!
Then comes my least favourite part of the brewing process – filtering liquor into the fermentation vessel. But time passes quickly with a beer in hand and a good podcast in the background. Hit an original gravity of 1.047 - the recipe didn't specify a target but predicts a 4.6% ABV. I won't be upset at all if it comes in a fair bit lower - my mashing is not always super efficient.
I am still getting used to the new place and how the heating works. I think the guest bedroom next to the heater is probably the best option, with a blanket wrapped round the carboy to reduce any temperature swings from the heater turning on/off. Seems to have stabilized at 21 degrees – a hair lower than I’d prefer – but I’ll keep a close eye on it over the coming days. I was hoping that a nice ruby colour would come through but it looks to be too brown for that. Would like to have another go someday without the chocolate malt and adding roasted barley.
I'll move it to a smaller carboy for secondary in another week - next up is 11L of an Irish red, but next weekend looks pretty busy so we'll see when that happens...
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