Discussion
227bhp said:
marksx said:
Am I right in thinking sunlight affects beer in clear bottles? So they would be OK if covered?
It's the case with red wine (not white), you'll never see red in a clear bottle. Beer I don't know, but what about Newkie Brown? Not a great example I guess....Brewers using clear bottles are doing it for marketing reasons, have low hop content, and/or possibly using tetrahops extract which is a hop extract modified to not react with light.
Quick question to work around my stupidity!
Are beer recipes easily scalable?
My recipe I am working to is for 27 litres, yet my buckets are 23! I only just realise this an hour before I brew my first batch!
Can I just multiply all my ingredients by 0.852 and carry on? Or will something go wrong?
Are beer recipes easily scalable?
My recipe I am working to is for 27 litres, yet my buckets are 23! I only just realise this an hour before I brew my first batch!
Can I just multiply all my ingredients by 0.852 and carry on? Or will something go wrong?
marksx said:
Quick question to work around my stupidity!
Are beer recipes easily scalable?
My recipe I am working to is for 27 litres, yet my buckets are 23! I only just realise this an hour before I brew my first batch!
Can I just multiply all my ingredients by 0.852 and carry on? Or will something go wrong?
Is it a beer kit?Are beer recipes easily scalable?
My recipe I am working to is for 27 litres, yet my buckets are 23! I only just realise this an hour before I brew my first batch!
Can I just multiply all my ingredients by 0.852 and carry on? Or will something go wrong?
Can you post a link to the recipe?
If it is a kit then I would be happy to use less water. However, I only drink one pint at a time, so it doesn't matter if it comes out stronger.
My stupidity is multiplying faster than yeast. I thought the DME bags were 1 kg. They are 500g. What a Pollock I am. The original recipe is:
27itres water
95g crystal malt
2.75 kg of Light DME.
35g northern brewer hops
23g goldings
16g Stygian
Protofloc yeast etc.
I am basically making a half batch now. I am steeping my grain now.
27itres water
95g crystal malt
2.75 kg of Light DME.
35g northern brewer hops
23g goldings
16g Stygian
Protofloc yeast etc.
I am basically making a half batch now. I am steeping my grain now.
Blown2CV said:
of course i read that as crystal meth
Maybe that's what I should have used. If that were the case there may be a positive to this first brew!It seems I have made more mistakes. I'll be surprised if this first batch turns out pleasant.
To summarise:
Recipe larger than fermenter.
Not enough malt extract ordered.
Final hops added while still boiling. (Recipe stated at end of boil. I now realise this means once the temp has dropped a bit).
Everything from the boiler transferred to the fermenter.
Forgot to keep the heating on in the room with fermenter. No sign of anything happening yet. (10 hours after pitching).
I burnt my dressing gown on the hob!
Probably other things too!
marksx said:
Maybe that's what I should have used. If that were the case there may be a positive to this first brew!
It seems I have made more mistakes. I'll be surprised if this first batch turns out pleasant.
To summarise:
Recipe larger than fermenter.
Not enough malt extract ordered.
Final hops added while still boiling. (Recipe stated at end of boil. I now realise this means once the temp has dropped a bit).
Everything from the boiler transferred to the fermenter.
Forgot to keep the heating on in the room with fermenter. No sign of anything happening yet. (10 hours after pitching).
I burnt my dressing gown on the hob!
Probably other things too!
I made more mistakes on my first home brew, and it turned out fine.It seems I have made more mistakes. I'll be surprised if this first batch turns out pleasant.
To summarise:
Recipe larger than fermenter.
Not enough malt extract ordered.
Final hops added while still boiling. (Recipe stated at end of boil. I now realise this means once the temp has dropped a bit).
Everything from the boiler transferred to the fermenter.
Forgot to keep the heating on in the room with fermenter. No sign of anything happening yet. (10 hours after pitching).
I burnt my dressing gown on the hob!
Probably other things too!
If you get the temperature right, it should start fermenting. If the temperature went wrong enough to kill the yeast, then just add some more yeast when the temperature is correct.
My latest batch was started last night. I've used a Woodford's Wherry, but I have added 250gn of medium spraymalt as well as about a pound of sugar. The odour when I added the spraymalt was magnificent. When it finishes fermenting I will add some Goldings hops. It is bubbling away like mad at the moment.
What are you using to boil the mash? Would you recommend it?
I ask because I hope to start brewing from malted grain soon, and later from barley. My back isn't good, so I don't want to be lifting heavy weights off the gas cooker.
If the yeast is dead, how long is OK to leave it before I add more?
I fly to the Netherlands tomorrow, and won't be back until Wednesday night. If it isn't fermenting by then, is it still salvageable? The room temp is now 20 deg.
Regarding the boiler. I am using the simple big brupaks 32 litre pan on the cooker hob. Without a tap. Definitely not the best for a bad back!
Have you taken a kit, then 'hybridised' it to make something completely different?
I fly to the Netherlands tomorrow, and won't be back until Wednesday night. If it isn't fermenting by then, is it still salvageable? The room temp is now 20 deg.
Regarding the boiler. I am using the simple big brupaks 32 litre pan on the cooker hob. Without a tap. Definitely not the best for a bad back!
Have you taken a kit, then 'hybridised' it to make something completely different?
marksx said:
If the yeast is dead, how long is OK to leave it before I add more?
I fly to the Netherlands tomorrow, and won't be back until Wednesday night. If it isn't fermenting by then, is it still salvageable? The room temp is now 20 deg.
I'm not an expert. I fly to the Netherlands tomorrow, and won't be back until Wednesday night. If it isn't fermenting by then, is it still salvageable? The room temp is now 20 deg.
I would think that you can add more yeast as long as the brew is at a temperature that won't kill the yeast. If the room is 20C then I would just chuck in a bit more.
marksx said:
Regarding the boiler. I am using the simple big brupaks 32 litre pan on the cooker hob. Without a tap. Definitely not the best for a bad back!
Have you taken a kit, then 'hybridised' it to make something completely different?
My latest brew is the Woodfords "Wherry" kit with added spraymalt. I will be adding some Golding hops when the fermentation stops. See here for details:-Have you taken a kit, then 'hybridised' it to make something completely different?
http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&...
There was an incredible aroma when the spraymalt was added. I will report back in 6 weeks when I have tasted the result.
marksx said:
Update, I returned from NL last night and had a nosy at the beer. Still no bubbles in the airlock, but, a definite foam on the beer an inch or so thick, with hops on top. The hops on top tell me this is fresh, so it looks like something is happening, albeit slowly!
Is there a tight seal on the lid?If there is foam, then I would think that it is fermenting.
I'm only on my third brew. Each time the foam has appeared on days 2 and 3. Usually it has dissappeared by day 4 or 5.
I've just had a bottle of Woodford's Wherry that was bottled on the ninth of December.
It is awesome. I am absolutely certain than nobody could pick this out as "home brew" in a blind tasting.
It is as creamy as a good pint of Guinness in Dublin.
I've been having a bottle every 4 weeks, and I cannot believe that it keeps getting better. I'm not sure that I can wait another 4 weeks for my next pint, but this is important research.
It is awesome. I am absolutely certain than nobody could pick this out as "home brew" in a blind tasting.
It is as creamy as a good pint of Guinness in Dublin.
I've been having a bottle every 4 weeks, and I cannot believe that it keeps getting better. I'm not sure that I can wait another 4 weeks for my next pint, but this is important research.
My second batch of pale ale on the go:
Slightly different this time with the final hop addition. I let the temp drop below 90 before adding. Also, I didn't try and rehydrate my yeast, I just sprinkled it in.
My first batch is now bottled:
A couple of weeks and I will give it a try.
I just realised I may have been misinterpreting my recipe though. My first batch I made half because I cocked up. This recipe I scaled down slightly as it called for 27 litres of water, yet my fermenter is 23 litres.
I used 25 litres of water, to account for evaporation, then had to top up another 2 litres back to 23. So, I think my recipe may already be accounting for evaporation, not that it states it. It does say at the top makes 23 litres, but that is for the all grain version.
I scaled all my ingredients down to suit the 23 litre water level. So my beer may be a bit 'weak'?
Slightly different this time with the final hop addition. I let the temp drop below 90 before adding. Also, I didn't try and rehydrate my yeast, I just sprinkled it in.
My first batch is now bottled:
A couple of weeks and I will give it a try.
I just realised I may have been misinterpreting my recipe though. My first batch I made half because I cocked up. This recipe I scaled down slightly as it called for 27 litres of water, yet my fermenter is 23 litres.
I used 25 litres of water, to account for evaporation, then had to top up another 2 litres back to 23. So, I think my recipe may already be accounting for evaporation, not that it states it. It does say at the top makes 23 litres, but that is for the all grain version.
I scaled all my ingredients down to suit the 23 litre water level. So my beer may be a bit 'weak'?
Just made a batch of Festival Ale's 'Summer Glory' from a kit.
Oh. My. God. This stuff is incredible.
I love strong , very hoppy ales like old speckled hen, but this beats the living crap out of it. It comes with dried elder flowers and some hop pellets (challenger, I think) and I followed the recipe on the box to the letter, other than only making it up to 20l instead of 21l because I lost count!
Takes a while to brew (14 days primary,14 days secondary) but absolutely worth every minute. I've found my new poison!
Oh. My. God. This stuff is incredible.
I love strong , very hoppy ales like old speckled hen, but this beats the living crap out of it. It comes with dried elder flowers and some hop pellets (challenger, I think) and I followed the recipe on the box to the letter, other than only making it up to 20l instead of 21l because I lost count!
Takes a while to brew (14 days primary,14 days secondary) but absolutely worth every minute. I've found my new poison!
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