Discussion
48k said:
marksx said:
It seems like more of a gadget than a serious piece of brewing kit
To be honest it doesn't bother me what the brewing snobs classify it as, if it produces beer with minimal effort with ingredients that get delivered through the letterbox it's a winner in my book. However if the beer tastes rubbish then it's a no from me.If you want to produce decent, drinkable beer with minimal effort, try the Mangrove Jacks kits. More effort than the Pinter but the upside is that you can actually drink, and enjoy, what you brew.
marksx said:
If you are pressure fermenting will that mitigate the effects of temperature at all?
Possibly a bit, I don't want to use much pressure early in the ferment as I want those fruity esters but will ramp up to about 10psi on about day 5 as the funk seems to be a product of the late fermentation and cleanup with 644.Tell you what, it smells ace! 25g Idaho 7 in the boil and 50g plus 25 each of cryo Citra and Mosaic in the whirlpool. Whole house smells like pine resin and ripe mango.
Edited by HM-2 on Monday 6th September 10:29
HM-2 said:
marksx said:
If you are pressure fermenting will that mitigate the effects of temperature at all?
Possibly a bit, I don't want to use much pressure early in the ferment as I want those fruity esters but will ramp up to about 10psi on about day 5 as the funk seems to be a product of the late fermentation and cleanup with 644.Tell you what, it smells ace! 25g Idaho 7 in the boil and 50g plus 25 each of cryo Citra and Mosaic in the whirlpool. Whole house smells like pine resin and ripe mango.
Edited by HM-2 on Monday 6th September 10:29
I've still not got round to brewing again. But the house project that has consumed most of the year, and available space, has now come to a finish. So a couple more weeks to tidy the shed and I'm going to get the old kit out and started testing.
I've good reason to pull my finger out as well, as this year's hop harvest from my Prima Donna has been a good one!
Swervin_Mervin said:
That sounds fantastic!
I've still not got round to brewing again. But the house project that has consumed most of the year, and available space, has now come to a finish. So a couple more weeks to tidy the shed and I'm going to get the old kit out and started testing.
I've good reason to pull my finger out as well, as this year's hop harvest from my Prima Donna has been a good one!
Those look amazing. Got a plan for them yet? I've still not got round to brewing again. But the house project that has consumed most of the year, and available space, has now come to a finish. So a couple more weeks to tidy the shed and I'm going to get the old kit out and started testing.
I've good reason to pull my finger out as well, as this year's hop harvest from my Prima Donna has been a good one!
I'm thinking of sticking with a single hop pale of some sort - alpha acid is supposed to be 7-9% from the Prima Donna, so should be a good all rounder. I've just finished dehydrating the first 2/3 (got to use the new oven and it's "special" functions for something!), and the last 1/3 is in atm. I reckon I'll end up with about 110g of dried hops. So will likely use the lot in one big whack, with say 80g in the boil and 30 in at flame out.
I'll likely use these next year. My aim for now is simply to get back to brewing, so will buy some hops in for the first couple of brews until I get my eye back in.
I have Yr1 and Yr3 harvests still in the freezer so I'll then use those first, just to give me an idea of the bitterness and aroma profiles. In an ideal world I'd then get to use this year's harvest around spring next year.
What do you think? Any suggestions would be most welcome!
I'll likely use these next year. My aim for now is simply to get back to brewing, so will buy some hops in for the first couple of brews until I get my eye back in.
I have Yr1 and Yr3 harvests still in the freezer so I'll then use those first, just to give me an idea of the bitterness and aroma profiles. In an ideal world I'd then get to use this year's harvest around spring next year.
What do you think? Any suggestions would be most welcome!
HM-2 said:
Anyone here used WLP644 (Saccharomyces brux-like Trois) before? I'm currently doing an 8% target DIPA with Idaho 7 T90 plus cryo Citra, Mosaic and Eukanot. 40/40/20% split between Maris Otter, wheat malt and malted oats. I have no temp control and pitched a 1.5L starter around 26°C at maybe 6PM and fermentation has taken off like a rocket.
I know 644 can introduce a bit of funk as well as tropical fruits but having not used it before I'm not really sure how to mitigate the funk whilst maximising the fruitiness in the absence of temp control. I was planning on letting fermentation run for a week or so then upping the pressure once I'm within a couple of points of FG to try and balance (as well as mitigating the dryness 644 is reported as producing). Any other tips?
Can confirm this one is amazing, definitely the closest to a high quality commercial NEIPA I've done so far (and no hop burn or hop creep!)I know 644 can introduce a bit of funk as well as tropical fruits but having not used it before I'm not really sure how to mitigate the funk whilst maximising the fruitiness in the absence of temp control. I was planning on letting fermentation run for a week or so then upping the pressure once I'm within a couple of points of FG to try and balance (as well as mitigating the dryness 644 is reported as producing). Any other tips?
55% Maris Otter pale
30% wheat malt
10% malted oats
5% Cara Munich I
25g Idaho 7 at 30 minutes
25g each of Idaho 7, cryo Citra and cryo Mosaic in the whirlpool
100g Idaho 7, 50g cryo Eukanot and 25g each of cryo Citra and Mosaic dry hop at 7 days.
WLP644 yeast
I've continued on my IPA experimentation journey over the last few months and have, much to my amazement, produce a beer that IMO rivals many of the better commercial offerings I've had recently.
Hesitant to call it a "NEIPA" because it's ~65 IBUs but it harks back to the glory days of maybe 2015-16 when some of the UK craft brewers were starting to experiment with hazier IPAs (I remember stuff like Magic Rock Half Cut in particular).
39% Wheat Malt
39% Maris Otter malt
7% Clear Candi Sugar
6% Light Caramel Malt
4% Melanoidin Malt
2.5% Caramunich I
2.5% Carawheat
37 IBUs Magnum @ 30m
11 IBUs Mandarina Bavaria @ 10m
11 IBUs Sultana @ 10m
25G Mandarina Bavaria Hopstand 20m
25G Sultana Hopstand 20m
25G Lemondrop Hopstand 20m
50G Mandarina Bavaria Dry Hop @ Day 7
50G Simcoe Cryo Dry Hop @ Day 7
50G Sultana Dry Hop @ Day 7
30G Lemondrop Dry Hop @ Day 7
2 packs of dry Lallemand Verdant IPA yeast.
Ferment unpressurised 4 days at 18°C ramping 1°C per day up to 21°C at day 7.
Soft crash to 14°C then dry hop for 3 days with pressure valve setting of 5PSI.
Transfer at day 10 or 11 to a sanitised keg and condition for 10 days.
Fermented down from 1.078 to about 1.007 for ~9.2% and it's bloody awesome.
Hesitant to call it a "NEIPA" because it's ~65 IBUs but it harks back to the glory days of maybe 2015-16 when some of the UK craft brewers were starting to experiment with hazier IPAs (I remember stuff like Magic Rock Half Cut in particular).
39% Wheat Malt
39% Maris Otter malt
7% Clear Candi Sugar
6% Light Caramel Malt
4% Melanoidin Malt
2.5% Caramunich I
2.5% Carawheat
37 IBUs Magnum @ 30m
11 IBUs Mandarina Bavaria @ 10m
11 IBUs Sultana @ 10m
25G Mandarina Bavaria Hopstand 20m
25G Sultana Hopstand 20m
25G Lemondrop Hopstand 20m
50G Mandarina Bavaria Dry Hop @ Day 7
50G Simcoe Cryo Dry Hop @ Day 7
50G Sultana Dry Hop @ Day 7
30G Lemondrop Dry Hop @ Day 7
2 packs of dry Lallemand Verdant IPA yeast.
Ferment unpressurised 4 days at 18°C ramping 1°C per day up to 21°C at day 7.
Soft crash to 14°C then dry hop for 3 days with pressure valve setting of 5PSI.
Transfer at day 10 or 11 to a sanitised keg and condition for 10 days.
Fermented down from 1.078 to about 1.007 for ~9.2% and it's bloody awesome.
HM-2 said:
I've continued on my IPA experimentation journey over the last few months and have, much to my amazement, produce a beer that IMO rivals many of the better commercial offerings I've had recently.
Hesitant to call it a "NEIPA" because it's ~65 IBUs but it harks back to the glory days of maybe 2015-16 when some of the UK craft brewers were starting to experiment with hazier IPAs (I remember stuff like Magic Rock Half Cut in particular).
39% Wheat Malt
39% Maris Otter malt
7% Clear Candi Sugar
6% Light Caramel Malt
4% Melanoidin Malt
2.5% Caramunich I
2.5% Carawheat
37 IBUs Magnum @ 30m
11 IBUs Mandarina Bavaria @ 10m
11 IBUs Sultana @ 10m
25G Mandarina Bavaria Hopstand 20m
25G Sultana Hopstand 20m
25G Lemondrop Hopstand 20m
50G Mandarina Bavaria Dry Hop @ Day 7
50G Simcoe Cryo Dry Hop @ Day 7
50G Sultana Dry Hop @ Day 7
30G Lemondrop Dry Hop @ Day 7
2 packs of dry Lallemand Verdant IPA yeast.
Ferment unpressurised 4 days at 18°C ramping 1°C per day up to 21°C at day 7.
Soft crash to 14°C then dry hop for 3 days with pressure valve setting of 5PSI.
Transfer at day 10 or 11 to a sanitised keg and condition for 10 days.
Fermented down from 1.078 to about 1.007 for ~9.2% and it's bloody awesome.
This sounds and looks lovely, I’m tempted to have a go myself. I had to look up some of those hops as I’ve never heard of them before.Hesitant to call it a "NEIPA" because it's ~65 IBUs but it harks back to the glory days of maybe 2015-16 when some of the UK craft brewers were starting to experiment with hazier IPAs (I remember stuff like Magic Rock Half Cut in particular).
39% Wheat Malt
39% Maris Otter malt
7% Clear Candi Sugar
6% Light Caramel Malt
4% Melanoidin Malt
2.5% Caramunich I
2.5% Carawheat
37 IBUs Magnum @ 30m
11 IBUs Mandarina Bavaria @ 10m
11 IBUs Sultana @ 10m
25G Mandarina Bavaria Hopstand 20m
25G Sultana Hopstand 20m
25G Lemondrop Hopstand 20m
50G Mandarina Bavaria Dry Hop @ Day 7
50G Simcoe Cryo Dry Hop @ Day 7
50G Sultana Dry Hop @ Day 7
30G Lemondrop Dry Hop @ Day 7
2 packs of dry Lallemand Verdant IPA yeast.
Ferment unpressurised 4 days at 18°C ramping 1°C per day up to 21°C at day 7.
Soft crash to 14°C then dry hop for 3 days with pressure valve setting of 5PSI.
Transfer at day 10 or 11 to a sanitised keg and condition for 10 days.
Fermented down from 1.078 to about 1.007 for ~9.2% and it's bloody awesome.
king great. Not done a brew for a little while, this is something a bit different.
"British" Tripel, brewed using only UK malts (mostly Maris Otter, bit of extra light crystal) and new British hops (Jester+Olicana T45 to 35 IBUs, plus a 4.5g/L dry hop) but with Belgian Abbey yeast and clear candi sugar.
Slow fermenter, took ~3 weeks to drop from 1.078 to 1.010 for circa 9%. Fermented at the warmer end of the yeast range, so loads of pepper, clove and a bit of banana with lots of stone fruit and floral notes from the hops.
Needs a couple more weeks on it to finish conditioning and drop clearer, but very good.
"British" Tripel, brewed using only UK malts (mostly Maris Otter, bit of extra light crystal) and new British hops (Jester+Olicana T45 to 35 IBUs, plus a 4.5g/L dry hop) but with Belgian Abbey yeast and clear candi sugar.
Slow fermenter, took ~3 weeks to drop from 1.078 to 1.010 for circa 9%. Fermented at the warmer end of the yeast range, so loads of pepper, clove and a bit of banana with lots of stone fruit and floral notes from the hops.
Needs a couple more weeks on it to finish conditioning and drop clearer, but very good.
After a few brews with my BIAB setup, I never really got on with it, so I've moved to on to a Brewzilla 3.1.1. First brew was on Saturday, a 6.2% ESB hopper with Target and First Gold.
Miscalculated my sparge water and ended up having to do an extended boil of 70 minutes rather than 30. Thankfully caught it before hopping. I need to make some efficiency tweaks and play about with pump speeds or rice hulls (and maybe look at getting a slightly courser crush) as I had a stuck mash at at a couple of early points. Ended up 2 points over target pre-boil gravity and three over target OG, so actually probably more like 6.7% when it's done fermenting assuming it gets down to 1.010.
83% Maris Otter
5% Crystal DRC
4% Golden Syrup
3% Amber Malt
3% English Caramalt
2% White Wheat Malt
23IBU Target at 30m
8IBU First Gold + 5 IBU Target at 15m
10g Target + 30g First Gold whirlpool for 20m at 80 C
Fermenting with WLP007 Dry English Ale yeast which has become my absolute favourite. Going to try cropping this one to keep a load of in the fridge. All going well it should ferment down to 1.010 in a week or so to free my Fermzilla up for a Hopfenweiss.
Miscalculated my sparge water and ended up having to do an extended boil of 70 minutes rather than 30. Thankfully caught it before hopping. I need to make some efficiency tweaks and play about with pump speeds or rice hulls (and maybe look at getting a slightly courser crush) as I had a stuck mash at at a couple of early points. Ended up 2 points over target pre-boil gravity and three over target OG, so actually probably more like 6.7% when it's done fermenting assuming it gets down to 1.010.
83% Maris Otter
5% Crystal DRC
4% Golden Syrup
3% Amber Malt
3% English Caramalt
2% White Wheat Malt
23IBU Target at 30m
8IBU First Gold + 5 IBU Target at 15m
10g Target + 30g First Gold whirlpool for 20m at 80 C
Fermenting with WLP007 Dry English Ale yeast which has become my absolute favourite. Going to try cropping this one to keep a load of in the fridge. All going well it should ferment down to 1.010 in a week or so to free my Fermzilla up for a Hopfenweiss.
The AIO systems are fantastic. I have been keeping my eye on the Brewzilla's to replace my Brewdevil later on this year.
It will always take a while to dial in the efficency of the batches, but I have kinda given up on worrying about that. The brew will be what the brew is. Although that has bitten me in my last brew with a very thin supposed NEIPA.
Recipe looks great.
It will always take a while to dial in the efficency of the batches, but I have kinda given up on worrying about that. The brew will be what the brew is. Although that has bitten me in my last brew with a very thin supposed NEIPA.
Recipe looks great.
HM-2 said:
That's an outstanding looking beer. How do you get that level of clarity? I kettle fine with Protafloc and have experimented with gelatin in the keg but never been able to get crystal clear beer.
My routine is to brew (from a Muntons 1.8kg Connoisseurs Traditional Ale kit) Ignoring the instructions, I use 1.5 lires of boiling water to rinse out the tin, repeat, boil the wort until it 'breaks' (changes from foaming to almost foamless in the pan), simmer for ten minutes then add it to a sufficient quantity of cold water in the fermentation bin (hard from chalky hills in the Chilterns via Thames Water) to make it practical to carry the fermentation vessel to my basement even after a further 1.5l of water hot enough to dissolve 1kg ordinary sugar. Once in situ in the basement I top up to the 23 litre level mark, add the yeast provided, stir and fit the lid but not quite snapped down all around. Using a Brewbelt heater it is left to ferment for up to a fortnight - usually slightly less. It is then drawn off through the tap into a KIng Keg (bottom tap) not primed, and Kwik Clear two part finings added. If I time it right it's ready to drink in a week or so. Not priming ensures that the sediment remains settled but that in cooler conditions it sometimes needs CO2 added to draw it off. Usually though, if the cap is really tight it has natural condition even at a cellar temperature of 15º to 18ºC. Sometimes it is so lively than a pint glass holds only half a pint! I always very briefly open the tap wide (half a second or less) before drawing a pint off a new keg to clear any yeast settled in the tap. No idea whether that's necessary or not - it's ritual!These days I use a pub cylinder of CO2 instead of the Sodastream bottles in the photograph as the current Sodastream cylinders have no adapters available. A pub cylinder lasts years at my usage rate.
Just to show that it's not a freak pint...
And a lively one...
SwanJack said:
I found a rouge bottle of my sour cherry beer in the garage fridge on the weekend (I never label what gets bottled after the keg is full!), 12months in the bottle, It was superb. Passion fruit sour being brewed tomorrow 
That looks epic.Brewed my first saison last weekend- a bit of an experience. I was bumping up at the top end of the grain capacity of my system with a grain bill that was nearly 50% wheat malt, so it was basically one long stuck mash with a lot of stirring required. At 60 minutes I was something like 15 points off my temperature adjusted target pre-boil gravity so I did another 30 minutes of pretty much solid stirring at 63°C mash temperature before mashing out. Got decent efficiency in the end (actually ended up over target due to an extended boil too) but it was a slog.
Fermented with Mangrove Jack M29 French Saison, pretty hot (ramp from 26 to 32°C). Fermented down from from 1.072 to 1.010 in 3 days (!) and appears to have settled at 1.006 for...quite a lot more % than I'd anticipated (Brewfather predicted 1.066 down to 1.008).
48% wheat malt
37% extra pale pilsner
5% caragold
5% rye malt
3% Belgian clear candi sugar
2% carawheat
20 IBU of CTZ at 60 minutes
10 IBU of T45 Olicana at 10 minutes
30g each of T45 Olicana and CF185 20 minute whirlpool
50g T45 Olicana and 70g CF185 dry hop at 7 days
HM-2 said:
After a few brews with my BIAB setup, I never really got on with it, so I've moved to on to a Brewzilla 3.1.1. First brew was on Saturday, a 6.2% ESB hopper with Target and First Gold.
This one has been conditioning a week now so cut my first sample. 
Carbonation a little too high so I've toned that down by dropping it to 10psi. Clarity improving but still a bit hazy, that might be a product of the wheat in the recipe or possibly a bit of chill haze, will have to see if it clears up.
Tastes great though. Caramel nuttiness, a bit of dried fruit and good clean bitterness. In hindsight it potentially could do with rolling the IBUs back a touch (maybe 5) as they're slightly overwhelming the malt at the back end.
Saison in the other keg to condition (zero movement on FG of 1.006 for 3 days, for a touch over 8.5%), and on to planning the next brew, a Simcoe/Vienna Malt SMaSH IPA which will be 150g T90 and 50g cryo and continuous-hopped at 20m intervals.
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