Your brew plans for 2018

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I've all the grains and hops ready for a foreign extra stout, a robust porter, a punk IPA, an English golden ale. I've got a couple of hoppy brews bottled already so I'll get them drunk before I do the punk and once that's done I've got 5kg of MO I'm going to use with as much of my freezer hops as I can to have a clear out, that'll be my last IPA for a while. That, along with the few hundred bottles in the garage is my quaffing stuff sorted for the year.
What I want to do in between is some long conditioning brews in 10litre batches, looking at a Belgian triple, a barley wine, and a variety of RIS's which is something I've developed a real taste for. At some point in the year I want to start an oud bruin style sour too.
 
I've already bought in everything I need for my first 6 brews:

Honey ale
French Saison (x2)
IPA
Black IPA
Dry Stout - going to have to buy in water for this one as ours is very acid.
 
Ive decided that the only way forward after absorbing a lot of advice is with a grainfather, so Ive chucked all my gear in the loft and ordered one
 
I am going to finish of 2017 with a version of the John Palmer stout. I have subbed Mt Hood hops in for Fuggles and added a small amount of black patent malt to the recipe. Planning to brew on NYE.

For 2018 the first two brews I have lined up (not sure which order) are a PNW Pale ale and a pilsner. The PNW will use Cascade, Willamette and Mt Hood hops and probably pale, crystal 60 and a little wheat (maybe a touch of melanoidin as well) and the Pilsner will be classic pilsner malt and saaz hops (given I live in Prague this is the easiest and cheapest brew I can do I think). I might add a smidgen of cara-pils. Any tips for either would be gratefully received.

After that I have rough ideas for an ESB and a Scottish ale. I'd also like to try the Greg Hughes patersbier...
 
Last brewday of 2017 tomorrow.

20171229_113510_HDR.jpg
 
Santa was very good to me and now I have the ingredients to make several brews.

1st up will be an Austrian style dark malty lager, probably in the next 2 or 3 weeks. And then a choice between a Belgian Abbey, an English ESB and an Octoberfest. Do the Octoberfest last I reckon, ready for October '18 :party:
 
A beautiful bohemian pilsner?

That's a nice one, and definitely on the roll for 2018. One of my students has interned in Czechia and will be returning to the school desks in a few months; recently on one of my social posts (accompanied by pictures) he asked me where HIS beer was.

Well, it's in the works :) With ordinary pilsen malt, not the Bohemian, and with the S23 instead of the 34/70.
 
I got a bulldog grain mill for Christmas so I've just ordered my first sack of uncrushed malt (I got extra pale Propino for low cost and versatility) along with ingredients to keep me brewing for half the year. I've got lots of AG brews planned an NZ Pilsner (Riwaka and Nelson Sauvin with Kolsch yeast), a Columbus, Cascade and Amarillo pale ale, a ruby bitter, a Nelson Sauvin single hop, an old ale and a Tripel hopped with Wakatu.
 
Plans for 2018. Improve the consistency of my brewing process. For me that means getting my control panel finished for my 2 vessel kettle RIMS system as well as implementing temperature controlled fermentation via maxi chiller + heat tape or via thermoelectric cooler ( DIY version of brewjacket). Fermentations to be controlled ,logged and monitored by raspberry Pi and ispindel using craftbeer pi.

In the long term I'm also learning programming to create my own brewing software.

Oh and get into top 3 best of show at either Welsh National or National Homebrew competition, having nabbed 3rd place at the Welsh national this year for Pale International Lager, I want to do better.
 
I’ve decided another of my brew plans is to clean out our shed and turn it into a brew shed. It’s an 8x6 so should be big enough ?


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I’ve decided another of my brew plans is to clean out our shed and turn it into a brew shed. It’s an 8x6 so should be big enough ?


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I'm going to turn the kitchen into a dedicated 'brew shed'; the missus can move the cooker/ washing machine etc etc into the shed.
 
It’s all about increasing my knowledge of yeast and yeast care, really developing and getting a deep understanding of brewing processes and developing 6 ish recipes to a high level and getting them into some comps.


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In summer I fancy doing a Lambic. I think I’ll get a couple of 10L demi johns and either do one raspberry and one plain, or one cherry and one raspberry.

If I can research this well enough I'd like to give it a go. The Mrs drinks "Timmermans" so would be good to make something she could get excited about too.

Edit: Scratch that, it seems far too complicated - can you brew fruit beers more simply?! :lol:
 
Actually had a change of plan. Going to do 10l SMaSH and simple wheats (TMaSH) to get a grasp of different hop and malt flavours.
 
2018 is going to be a step up year for me.

1. New set up which I'm still to decide on
2. Batch size increase from 2 gallon to 5
3. Learn a lot more about yeast, hops and malts.

Happy New year everyone.
 
2018 is going to be a big year for me. I've got to fit a new kitchen, which means I'll have to build a keezer/kegerator which doesn't look crap (SWMBO's rule). I've also got to stop brewing in the kitchen (another rule by SWMBO), which means I've got to build/buy a big enough shed to house a 3 vessel HERMS system.
Luckily I can draw a lump sum from my pension to pay for it all, but it's a challenge I'm looking forward to. :wha:
 
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