I re-started brewing this year and have been keeping notes in an MS Access database. This page contains an exported version of my notes on brewing for each beer I've done, including mistakes and experiments.
If you're a beginner at brewing, you could try leafing through a brief presentation I produced on the beer brewing process (I was forced to do it for our regular 'Friday evening talk' at work, which is not at all brewing-related).
I've largely been using the excellent Graham Wheeler's Home Brewing, the CAMRA Guide and Dave Line's Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy. I have referenced their recipes where used. You will find repeats of recipes as I go back to a particular brew (particularly Middle Barrel), so you may have to consult several recipes to find the best.
Type of brew: Cider
Date begun: 20 October 1996
Ingredients: 46.5 lbs of apples
Pectolase
Sparkling wine yeast
Yeast nutrient
Campden Tablets
Chempro SDP
Precipitated chalk
5 gallon bins (2 off) - one with a tap
Hessian sack (home made)
5 gallon fermenting bin (1 off) with lock
syphon tubing
2 demi-jons
12 string pint bottles & tops
Hydrometer
pH measuring device
Electric drill & small metal bar (like an Allen key)
Caster sugar
Process: Wash the apples and sterilise the kit (including the
hessian sack) with Chempro SDP. Put the apples in
the bucket without the tap in batches and mash them
with a bent metal bar in an electric drill.
Transfer the apples to the hessian sack mounted in
the second bucket held a few inches up from the
floor of the bucket by something so that juice can
collect and run out of the tap freely. When all the
apples are in, add 2 tsp pectolase to help them
break down, close the sack and put a weight on top
(a few large tins of paint will do). Draw off the
fluid and put it in the fermenting bin.
This should yield 1.8 gallons of juice. Check the
pH - if less than 4, add precipitated chalk to raise
it to 4. Add 2 crushed Campden tablets to the juice
and leave for a day. Add the yeast to 2 tsp of
yeast nutrient, stir, leave for 15 minutes, add to
the juice.
Leave for stage 1 fermentation (I intended to stop
it before 1000 as this means it's as dry as one is
likely to get it and I didn't want an absolutely dry
cider), then syphon into two demi-jons for secondary
fermentation and settling.
Bottle after the end of secondary fermentation (I
used 'Grolsch' style bottles) and leave for as long
as possible - AT LEAST several months (time to
undergo malo-lactic fermentation in the bottle). I
added / teaspoon of caster suger per bottle (12 x 1
pint bottles), as the cider tasted very dry indeed
on siphoning and showed no signs of sparkle.
Yeast used: Gervin Wine Yeast No.3 (for sparkling wines) S. baya
Original 1044
gravity:
Final gravity: 1000
pH: 4.2
Duration of 8 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 8 weeks
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 20 weeks
first sample:
Comments from Very dry, clear, not very sparkling. Alice thought
first it tasted of lemon, probably the acidity. However,
sampling: quite drinkable. Could have been a little sweeter -
this would require mixing in sweeter cider apples.
We've got cooking cider.
Left until ---
second sample:
Comments from ---
second
sampling:
Type of brew: Beer
Date begun: 03 November 1996
Ingredients: 5 lb crushed pale malt
8 oz crushed crystal malt
6 oz crushed black malt
2.5 gallons water
2 oz Fuggles hops
1 lb soft dark brown sugar
2 oz brewers yeast
yeast nutrient
gelatine finings
0.5 tsp salt
Chempro SDP
5 gallon bru-heat boiler
sparge bag
long stirring spoon
5 gallon bin with lid
5 gallon fermenting bin with lock
syphon tubing
5 gallon pressure barrel
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Process: From p64 of Dave Line's "Brewing Beers Like Those
You Buy":
Sterilise all the kit with Chempro SDP, apart from
the sparge bag which if made from terylene should
just be boiled. Put the water into the boiler and
raise the temperature to 60 c then add 0.5 tsp of
salt (if you're in a hard water area). Stir in the
crushed pale malt.
I then left this for 45 minutes, raising the
temperature to 66 c before stirring in the rest of
the malt. This was then left for 1.75 hours,
letting the temperature drift between 60 and 66 c.
Put the sparge bag over the 5 gallon bin and pour
the wort in, using additional hot water to wash the
malt of all it's goodness, bringing the final
quantity of liquid in the bin to 4 gallons. Wash
out the boiler and pour the liquid back into it.
Add the hops and the sugar (pre-dissolved in a
little of the wort) to the liquid and boil it for
1.5 hours.
Strain the hops out of the liquid and pour it into
the 5 gallon bin again. Check the OG (which should
be around 1036) and leave to cool to between 18 and
24 c. Add the yeast, mixed with some yeast nutrient
and left for 15 minutes, to the fluid and leave
until it clears. It should brew down to about
1010. Syphon out into the 5 gallon fermenting bin
(leaving the crud behind), add finings and leave for
the secondary fermentation with an airlock fitted.
This is supposed to be at around 13 c.
After the secondary fermentation, syphon off into
the pressure barrel.
Yeast used: Edme Active Dried Yeast
Original 1040
gravity:
Final gravity: 1010
pH: ---
Duration of 6 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 1 week
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 2 weeks
first sample:
Comments from Just what the doctor ordered. Full bodied and dark,
first but not too strong. Some problems with the barrel
sampling: not holding pressure, so had to use CO2, but no
problems with yeastiness. Lasted about 1 month, no
souring, I just drank it all.
Left until ---
second sample:
Comments from ---
second
sampling:
Type of brew: Beer
Date begun: 06 February 1997
Ingredients: 7 lb crushed pale malt
8 oz crushed crystal malt
14 oz flaked barley
3 gallons water
2 oz Fuggles hops
1.75 oz Fuggles hops
12 oz soft dark brown sugar
2 oz brewers yeast
gelatine finings
Chempro SDP
5 gallon bru-heat boiler
sparge bag
long stirring spoon
5 gallon bin with lid
5 gallon fermenting bin with lock
syphon tubing
5 gallon pressure barrel
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Process: From p86 of Dave Line's "Brewing Beers Like Those
You Buy":
Sterilise all the kit with Chempro SDP, apart from
the sparge bag which if made from terylene should
just be boiled. Put the water into the boiler and
raise the temperature to 60 c. Stir in all the malt
and the flakes.
Leave this 1.5 hours, letting the temperature drift
between 60 and 66 c. Put the sparge bag over the 5
gallon bin and pour the wort in, using additional
hot water to wash the malt of all it's goodness,
bringing the final quantity of liquid in the bin to
4 gallons. Wash out the boiler and pour the liquid
back into it. Add 1 oz of the Goldings hops and the
sugar (pre-dissolved in a little of the wort) to the
liquid and boil it for 1.5 hours. Add a further 0.5
oz of the Goldings hops and leave for 15 minutes.
Strain the liquid and top up with cold water to 5
gallons, then add the Fuggles hops and boil for a
further 1.5 hours (OK, I admit it, the Fuggles
should have been added in the same boil as the
Goldings hops, but I cocked up).
Strain the hops out of the liquid and pour it into
the 5 gallon bin again. Check the OG (which was
around 1041 but should have been closer to 1049) and
leave to cool to between 18 and 24 c. Add the yeast
to the fluid and leave until it clears. It should
brew down to about 1010. Syphon out into the 5
gallon fermenting bin (leaving the crud behind), add
finings and the last 0.25 oz of the Goldings hops
and leave for the secondary fermentation under an
airlock. This is supposed to be at around 13 c.
After the secondary fermentation, syphon off into
the pressure barrel and add more finings.
Yeast used: Edme Active Dried Yeast
Original 1041
gravity:
Final gravity: 1010
pH: ---
Duration of 3 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 1 week
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 1 week
first sample:
Comments from The finings didn't work properly (they'd been left
first near the cooker and so had lost their consistency).
sampling: The beer was very cloudy and the hop taste was a
little metallic. If the beer had been of the
intended strength (1049 o.g.) the richness might
have balanced the hops, but as it was the whole was
not particularly pleasant. I threw it away after a
few weeks.
Left until ---
second sample:
Comments from ---
second
sampling:
Type of brew: Beer
Date begun: 17 March 1997
Ingredients: 7 lb crushed pale malt
8 oz cracked roast malt (roast black barley will do,
but not as smooth)
8 oz crystal malt
3 gallons water
1.5 oz Northern Brewer hops
1 oz Fuggles hops
2.2 lb Demerara sugar
2 oz brewers yeast
gelatine finings
Chempro SDP
5 gallon bru-heat boiler
sparge bag
long stirring spoon
5 gallon bin with lid
5 gallon fermenting bin with lock
syphon tubing
5 gallon pressure barrel
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Process: Sterilise all the kit with Chempro SDP, apart from
the sparge bag which if made from terylene should
just be boiled. Put the water into the boiler and
raise the temperature to 60 c. Stir in all the
malt. I used roast black barley in this brew.
Leave this 2.5 hours (rather than 1.5 hours since my
sparging technique is not efficient enough), letting
the temperature drift between 60 and 66 c. Put the
sparge bag over the 5 gallon bin and pour the wort
in, using additional hot water to wash the malt of
all it's goodness, bringing the final quantity of
liquid in the bin up to 4 gallons. At this point
the OG was around 1040. Wash out the boiler and
pour the liquid back into it. Dissolve the sugar in
a little of the wort and add it to the boil. Add
all the hops and boil it for 1.5 hours. Strain the
liquid and top up with cold water to 5 gallons.
Strain the hops out of the liquid and pour it into
the 5 gallon bin again. Check the OG (which was
1044) and leave to cool to between 18 and 24 c. Add
the yeast to the fluid and leave until it clears.
It should brew down to about 1010. Syphon out into
the 5 gallon fermenting bin (leaving the crud
behind), add finings and leave for the secondary
fermentation under an airlock. This is supposed to
be at around 13 c.
After the secondary fermentation, syphon off into
the pressure barrel and add more finings.
Yeast used: Edme Active Dried Yeast
Original 1044
gravity:
Final gravity: 1010
pH: ---
Duration of 3 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 1 week
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 1 week
first sample:
Comments from Good and full bodied with a marvellous red colour.
first Cleared really well. A little sweet at this stage.
sampling:
Left until 3 weeks
second sample:
Comments from At it's peak, without a doubt. The over-sweetness
second replaced with a lovely rich taste of strength. A
sampling: pleasure to drink, though it tastes quite a lot
stronger than it probably is.
Type of brew: Beer
Date begun: 22 June 1997
Ingredients: 7 lb crushed pale malt
8 oz cracked roast malt (roast black barley will do,
but not as smooth)
8 oz crystal malt
3 gallons water
1.5 oz Northern Brewer hops
1 oz Fuggles hops
2 lb Demerara sugar
4 oz granulated sugar
Irish Moss
2 oz brewers yeast
'Condessa' finings (silicic acid)
Chempro SDP
5 gallon bru-heat boiler
sparge bag
long stirring spoon
5 gallon bin with lid
5 gallon fermenting bin with lock
syphon tubing
5 gallon pressure barrel
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Process: Sterilise all the kit with Chempro SDP, apart from
the sparge bag which if made from terylene should
just be boiled. Put the water into the boiler and
raise the temperature to 60 c. Stir in all the
malt. I used roast black barley in this brew.
Leave this 3.5 hours, the temperature should drift
between 60 and 66 c, but I let it get up to 71 c in
this case. Put the sparge bag over the 5 gallon bin
and pour the wort in, using additional hot water to
wash the malt of all it's goodness, bringing the
final quantity of liquid in the bin up to 4
gallons. Wash out the boiler and pour the liquid
back into it. Dissolve the sugar in a little of the
wort and add it to the boil. Add all the hops and
boil it for 1.5 hours, adding the Irish Moss 15
minutes before the end of the boil. Strain the
liquid and top up with cold water to 5 gallons.
Strain the hops out of the liquid and pour it into
the 5 gallon bin again. Check the OG (which was
1040 - 10% down for 10% less sugar than the first of
these brews I did, so much for any improvement in my
sparging technique) and leave to cool.
Add the yeast to the fluid and leave until it
clears - unlike the Edme yeast, the Gervin yeast
really does require a starter. I didn't realise
this until too late, so I just kept the beer in a
well heated room for a few days. It should brew
down to about 1010. Syphon out into the 5 gallon
fermenting bin (leaving the crud behind), add
finings and leave for the secondary fermentation
under an airlock. This is supposed to be at around
13 c.
After the secondary fermentation, syphon off into
the pressure barrel and add more finings. Add the 4
oz granulated sugar to prime the barrel and leave.
Yeast used: Gervin English Ale Yeast (S.cerevisiae. Strain NA)
Original 1040
gravity:
Final gravity: 1010
pH: ---
Duration of 4 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 1 week
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 1 week
first sample:
Comments from To early to expect it to taste good, but it had
first cleared completely and was showing potential - a
sampling: little too sweet just now. Leave a few more weeks
to let the sweetness brew away to body.
Left until 3 weeks
second sample:
Comments from Good, definitely cracked this one. I have a feeling
second though that it tastes a little too strongly of the
sampling: Demerrara sugar. Worth trying a variant with less
sugar and more malt. The 'Condessa' finings worked
really well but were ridiculously expensive.
Type of brew: Beer
Date begun: 29 June 1997
Ingredients: 7 lb crushed pale malt (Maris Otter)
8 oz crushed crystal malt
3 gallons water
1 oz Fuggles hops
2.75 oz Goldings hops
8 oz Demerara sugar
2 oz brewers yeast
4 oz Demerara sugar
yeast nutrient
Gelatine finings
Irish Moss
Chempro SDP
5 gallon bru-heat boiler
sparge bag
long stirring spoon
5 gallon bin with lid
5 gallon fermenting bin with lock
syphon tubing
5 gallon pressure barrel
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Process: From p87 of Dave Line's "Brewing Beers Like Those
You Buy":
Sterilise all the kit with Chempro SDP, apart from
the sparge bag which if made from terylene should
just be boiled. Put the water into the boiler and
raise the temperature to 60 c. Stir in all the malt.
I then left this for 2.5 hours, raising the
temperature to 66 c and then letting it drift
between 60 and 66 c. Put the sparge bag over the 5
gallon bin and pour the wort in, using additional
hot water to wash the malt of all it's goodness,
bringing the final quantity of liquid in the bin to
4 gallons. Wash out the boiler and pour the liquid
back into it. Add the Fuggles and 2 oz of the
Goldings hops and the larger portion of the sugar
(pre-dissolved in a little of the wort) to the
liquid and boil it for 1.5 hours. 15 minutes before
the end of the boil add another 0.5 oz of the
Goldings hops and the Irish Moss.
Strain the hops out of the liquid and pour it into
the 5 gallon bin, topping up to 5 gallons with cold
water. Cool this as quickly as possible to below 30
c. Add the yeast, mixed with some yeast nutrient and
left for 15 minutes, to the fluid and leave to
ferment. It should brew down to about 1012, but I
let it go to 1010. Syphon out into the 5 gallon
fermenting bin (leaving the crud behind), add
finings and the remaining 0.25 oz of Goldings hops
and leave for the secondary fermentation with an
airlock fitted. This is supposed to be at around 13
c.
After the secondary fermentation, syphon off into
the pressure barrel. Add more finings and the
remaining sugar to prime the barrel. Leave.
Yeast used: Gervin English Ale Yeast (S.cerevisiae. Strain NA)
Original 1040
gravity:
Final gravity: 1010
pH: ---
Duration of 3 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 1 week
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 1 week
first sample:
Comments from Actually at 1 week it was still a little fuzzy, but
first at 1.5 weeks it had cleared sufficiently. A really
sampling: pleasant hoppy smell and a good rounded light hoppy
foretaste. The after taste is a little odd - sort
of like Laurel leaves but not chemically or
unpleasant. Quite an apparent show of strength
though.
Left until 2 weeks
second sample:
Comments from Oh dear, the laurel leaves after-taste has got
second stronger and has been identified as Lactose
sampling: fermentation. A visit to the Peterborough beer
festival a month later revealed that several of the
beers there had a similar after-taste. Obviously an
effect of the heat. Beer was thrown away
Type of brew: Beer
Date begun: 14 January 1998
Ingredients: From p159 "Home Brewing - The Camra Guide":
4.6 kg crushed pale malt (Maris Otter)
12 litres water
45 g Goldings hops
15 g Fuggles hops
30 g Northern Brewer hops
'Kwik Clear' two-component finings
Irish Moss
11.5 g brewers yeast
100 g granulated sugar
Chempro SDP
25 litre bru-heat boiler
sparge bag
long stirring spoon
25 litre bin with lid
25 litre fermenting bin with lock
syphon tubing
25 litre pressure barrel
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Process: Sterilise all the kit with Chempro SDP, apart from
the sparge bag which if made from terylene should
just be boiled. Put the water into the boiler and
raise the temperature to 72 c. Stir in all the
malt - the temperature should drop to 66 c.
I then left this for 2.5 hours, letting the
temperature drift between 62 and 69 c. Put the
sparge bag over the 25 litre bin and pour the wort
in, using additional hot water to wash the malt of
all it's goodness, bringing the final quantity of
liquid in the bin to 23 litres. Wash out the boiler
and pour the liquid back into it. I forgot to ensure
that the boiler element was clean, so the boil was
somewhat intermittent. Add all the hops to the
liquid and boil it for 2.5 hours (normally 1.5 hours
on a more vigourous boil). 15 minutes before the
end of the boil add the Irish Moss.
Strain the hops out of the liquid and pour it into
the 25 litre bin, topping up to 23 litres with cold
water. Cool this as quickly as possible to below 24
c. Add the yeast to the fluid and leave to ferment.
It should brew down to about 1010, though mine
didn't get that far. Siphon the liquid into the
fermentation bin, add the finings and leave for the
secondary fermentation with an airlock fitted. This
is supposed to be at around 20 c.
After the secondary fermentation, syphon off into
the pressure barrel. Add more finings and the
remaining sugar to prime the barrel. Leave.
Yeast used: Edme Active Dried Yeast
Original 1044
gravity:
Final gravity: 1016
pH: ---
Duration of 4 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 1 week
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 1 week
first sample:
Comments from Still slightly yeasty. Taste and colour are both a
first little light and it's a little sweet for my liking,
sampling: but since it's such a simple beer, that's only to be
expected. I hope it will become less sweet and
develop some complexity during the next week,
otherwise I'm going to have a go at brewing a stout
to replace it with.
Left until 3 weeks
second sample:
Comments from No, suffers from a protein haze. I think the
second intermittent boil did it. Ah well. Throw it away.
sampling:
Type of brew: Beer
Date begun: 15 January 1998
Ingredients: From p161 "Home Brewing - The Camra Guide":
5.9 kg crushed pale malt (Maris Otter)
60 g crushed black malt
14 litres water
70 g Goldings (alpha acid 5.3%) hops
20 g Goldings (alpha acid 5.3%) hops
Irish Moss
11.5 g brewers yeast
50 g granulated sugar
'Kwik Clear' two-component finings
Chempro SDP
25 litre bru-heat boiler
sparge bag
long stirring spoon
25 litre bin with lid
25 litre fermenting bin with lock
syphon tubing
25 litre pressure barrel
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Process: Sterilise all the kit with Chempro SDP, apart from
the sparge bag which if made from terylene should
just be boiled. Put the water into the boiler and
raise the temperature to 72 c. Stir in all the
malt - the temperature should drop to 66 c.
I then left this for 2.5 hours, letting the
temperature drift between 62 and 69 c. Put the
sparge bag over the 25 litre bin and pour the wort
in, using additional hot water to wash the malt of
all it's goodness, bringing the final quantity of
liquid in the bin to 23 litres. Wash out the
boiler, ensuring the element is clean, and pour the
liquid back into it. Add the first portion of the
Goldings hops to the liquid and boil it for 1.5
hours. 15 minutes before the end of the boil add
the second portion of the Goldings hops and the
Irish Moss.
Strain the hops out of the liquid and pour it into
the 25 litre bin, topping up to 23 litres with cold
water. Cool this as quickly as possible to below 24
c. Add the yeast to the fluid, then leave to
ferment. It should brew down to about 1012, though
mine didn't get that far. Siphon the liquid into
the fermentation bin, add the finings and leave for
the secondary fermentation with an airlock fitted.
This is supposed to be at around 20 c.
After the secondary fermentation, syphon off into
the pressure barrel. Add more finings and the
remaining sugar to prime the barrel. Leave.
Yeast used: Edme Active Dried Yeast
Original 1052
gravity:
Final gravity: 1018
pH: ---
Duration of 4 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 1 week
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 1 week
first sample:
Comments from Slightly yeasty, but very rich in taste and quite
first violent with the sides of the tongue. A good
sampling: darkish brown colour - very much my type of beer.
Brown, strong tasting and rich. This is promising,
since a sip when I was siphoning the beer left me
with the distinct impression that sightly upping the
black malt from 55 g to 60 g had been a mistake.
Left until 3 weeks
second sample:
Comments from Still has a slightly bitter after taste, but it has
second now mellowed and is a much easier drink. Rich in
sampling: flavour, good colour, clear. Maybe try again with
Roast Barley instead of Black Malt.
Type of brew: Beer
Date begun: 08 February 1998
Ingredients: From p161 "Home Brewing - The Camra Guide":
5.6 kg crushed pale malt (Maris Otter)
55 g crushed roast barley
14 litres water
45 g Goldings (alpha acid 5.3%) hops
25 g Fuggles (alpha acid 4.2%) hops
20 g Fuggles (alpha acid 4.2%) hops
Irish Moss
11.5 g brewers yeast
50 g granulated sugar
'Harris Filters' two-component beer finings
Chempro SDP
25 litre bru-heat boiler
25 litre insulated two-part mash tun
hop bag
long stirring spoon
25 litre bin with lid
25 litre fermenting bin with lock
syphon tubing
25 litre pressure barrel
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Process: Sterilise all the kit with Chempro SDP, apart from
the hop bag which if made from terylene should just
be boiled. Put the water into the boiler and raise
the temperature to 73 c. Let this water into the
insulated mash tun. Stir in all the malt - the
temperature should drop to 66 c. The original
recipe calls for Black Malt rather than Roast
Barley - I changed this to see if it would reduce
the bitter after-taste.
I then left this for 2 hours, during which the
temperature dropped to 64 c. Pour off the wort and
sparge the remainder gently and slowly with water at
77 c. Pour the liquid into the boiler. Add the
first portion of the Goldings/Fuggles hops (I'd run
out of Goldings, hence the mixture) to the liquid
and boil it for 2 hours. 15 minutes before the end
of the boil add the second portion of the Fuggles
hops and the Irish Moss.
Strain the hops out of the liquid using the hop bag
and pour it into the 25 litre bin, topping up to 23
litres with cold water. Cool this as quickly as
possible to below 24 c. Add the yeast to the fluid,
then leave to ferment. It should brew down to about
1012, but mine didn't make that. Siphon the liquid
into the fermentation bin, add the finings and leave
for the secondary fermentation with an airlock
fitted. This is supposed to be at around 20 c.
After the secondary fermentation, syphon off into
the pressure barrel. Add more finings and the
remaining sugar to prime the barrel. Leave.
Yeast used: Edme Active Dried Yeast
Original 1046
gravity:
Final gravity: 1016
pH: 5.0
Duration of 3 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 1 week
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 1 week
first sample:
Comments from Definitely a smoother, rounder, maltier taste than
first the standard version, while the bitter hop after-
sampling: taste is just as strong. Better, in my opinion, but
suffers from a very slight haze. Since the sparging
and the boil were tip-top, I can only think that the
Roast Barley is to blame somehow. However, the
slight haze is no real problem and can no-doubt be
dealt with by varying the other ingredients somehow.
Left until 2 weeks
second sample:
Comments from The haze has now gone - the beer simply took longer
second to clear properly. I have a suspicion that the
sampling: finings had been left in the sun in the shop. The
taste is good, but I took the brew to a party on
Saturday and found that after drinking several other
beers the taste was too bland. I think this means
the original sharper recipe was good and that I must
sort out my yeast and get a drier brew.
Type of brew: Beer
Date begun: 08 February 1998
Ingredients: From p144 "Brew Your Own Real Ale At Home":
3.54 kg crushed pale malt (Maris Otter)
340 g crystal malt (EBC 150)
480 g amber malt
290 g chocolate malt (EBC 800)
190 g black malt
14 litres water
50 g Goldings (alpha acid 5.3%) hops
40 g Fuggles (alpha acid 4.2%) hops
25 g Goldings (alpha acid 5.3%) hops
Irish Moss
11.5 g brewers yeast
100 g granulated sugar
'Harris Filters' two-component beer finings
Chempro SDP
25 litre bru-heat boiler
25 litre insulated two-part mash tun
hop bag
long stirring spoon
25 litre bin with lid
25 litre fermenting bin with lock
syphon tubing
25 litre pressure barrel
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Process: Sterilise all the kit with Chempro SDP, apart from
the hop bag which if made from terylene should just
be boiled. Put the water into the boiler and raise
the temperature to 72 c. Let this water into the
insulated mash tun. Stir in all the malt - the
temperature should drop to 65 c. This recipe
originally required 240 g (5% of the total) of Wheat
Malt, which I didn't have at the time. I increased
the Pale Malt to compensate.
I then left this for 2 hours, during which the
temperature dropped to 63 c. Pour off the wort and
sparge the remainder gently and slowly with water at
77 c. Pour the liquid into the boiler. Add the
first portion of the Goldings/Fuggles hops to the
liquid and boil it for 2 hours. 15 minutes before
the end of the boil add the second portion of the
Goldings hops and the Irish Moss.
Strain the hops out of the liquid using the hop bag
and pour it into the 25 litre bin, topping up to 23
litres with cold water. Cool this as quickly as
possible to below 24 c. Add the yeast to the fluid,
then leave to ferment. It should brew down to about
1012, but mine didn't make that. Siphon the liquid
into the fermentation bin, add the finings and leave
for the secondary fermentation with an airlock
fitted. This is supposed to be at around 20 c.
After the secondary fermentation, syphon off into
the pressure barrel. Add more finings and the
remaining sugar to prime the barrel. Leave.
Yeast used: Edme Active Dried Yeast
Original 1046
gravity:
Final gravity: 1018
pH: 5.0
Duration of 3 days
stage 1
fermentation:
Duration of 1 week
stage 2
fermentation:
Left until 1 week
first sample:
Comments from Quite a dry bitter porter, combining a soft taste on
first the middle of the tongue with a strong bitterness on
sampling: the sides of the tongue. Chocolatey, with a deep
red-brown colour and a wonderful light brown head.
A very drinkable porter for a first attempt. In
fact, I'm not sure how I'd improve it as if it were
any drier it wouldn't be such a comfortable drink.
Need to brew this again to find out what the effect
of the missing Wheat Malt is; there certainly seems
to be no lack of head-retention.
Left until 2 weeks
second sample:
Comments from This one survived the party test rather better.
second Could still do with brewing down a little further
sampling: though.