Search found 155 matches

by drjim
Tue Apr 23, 2024 10:24 pm
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: 2 batches poured down the drain!
Replies: 14
Views: 8712

Re: 2 batches poured down the drain!

Fermentation is at ambient in the chosen room! Guinnish was under the stairs at about 20 degrees, the bitter was in the boiler room on the floor with its temperature sticker showing 20 as well. The previous lagers were done in the shed in Feb/March so very cool slow lager fermentation as it should b...
by drjim
Tue Apr 23, 2024 9:18 am
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: 2 batches poured down the drain!
Replies: 14
Views: 8712

Re: 2 batches poured down the drain!

I built a HERMS thing a couple of years ago which has a 20L buffalo boiler wrapped up in foil insulation as the heat source, acopper coil in there heat exchanges to the mash tun. For the HERMS batches the probe was sat in the 20L tank rather than the tun itself. Previously I just had the thermostat ...
by drjim
Mon Apr 22, 2024 1:52 pm
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: 2 batches poured down the drain!
Replies: 14
Views: 8712

Re: 2 batches poured down the drain!

It was bang on first time but maybe changing the probe messed it up. I'll see what temps it actually runs at next time.
by drjim
Mon Apr 22, 2024 9:33 am
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: 2 batches poured down the drain!
Replies: 14
Views: 8712

Re: 2 batches poured down the drain!

The yeast packets were bought last summer, and have been sat in the shed since. Mostly been cold out there, these were the last two packs of the batch I had, so maybe been there 6-8 months.
by drjim
Mon Apr 22, 2024 9:31 am
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: 2 batches poured down the drain!
Replies: 14
Views: 8712

Re: 2 batches poured down the drain!

The fermenters are sat with chemclean in, and will stay there for a while. I'm going to give the cooling coil a boil in something strong as well. Next batch will be done using the mash tun/HERMS, wood fired boiler, and into the 60L spiedel fermenter, so different kit all round apart from the copper ...
by drjim
Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:19 pm
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: 2 batches poured down the drain!
Replies: 14
Views: 8712

2 batches poured down the drain!

It's my neighbours 50th in a few weeks so I said I'd bring beer to the party. I have several kegs of shed lager and my catfish vienna lager ready to go. However that's not enough really, so I brewed a guinnish stout and a bodgles bitter, used the recipes before. Done on separate days as 25L brew in ...
by drjim
Tue Apr 02, 2024 6:17 pm
Forum: Hops
Topic: Hop suppliers (whole)
Replies: 21
Views: 6623

Re: Hop suppliers (whole)

I would say crossmyloof but they mainly do pellets. If you ask they get stuff in though.
by drjim
Thu Mar 21, 2024 8:27 am
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: Kveik Bitter
Replies: 8
Views: 3265

Re: Kveik Bitter

Funny yeasty taste. Caveat - I made it shortly before my Dad died. It was left in the fermenter for about 3 weeks after it had finished, I remember tasting it out of the fermenter and thinking it was OKish. It then got hurriedly kegged and force carbed, then abandoned in the shed throughout the summ...
by drjim
Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:03 am
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: Kveik Bitter
Replies: 8
Views: 3265

Re: Kveik Bitter

Kveik and lager didn't go well for me last year. I actually found a keg full of it in my spare fridge the other day, over carbed and been at ambient temp since last May at a guess. still tastes weird so planning to pour it down the drain!
by drjim
Fri Feb 23, 2024 6:57 pm
Forum: Kit Brewing
Topic: sugar
Replies: 6
Views: 5176

Re: sugar

Just don't use dark brown for priming, it's brown from molasses and the taste doesn't clear like if you put it in the boil stage. Want to ask how I know???

Although a bit of dark muscovado primes an imerial stout nicely!
by drjim
Fri Feb 09, 2024 6:38 pm
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: First brew of the year...
Replies: 0
Views: 2649

First brew of the year...

Day off today and bizarrely (for South Manchester) the skies were clear this morning with no rain so I went out to clean up my brewing area. It's under a roof but outdoors and has had a lot of footballs kicked at it since last used! Green liquid in the bottom of the mash tun, and some of the copper ...
by drjim
Tue Jan 30, 2024 8:02 pm
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: Shed!
Replies: 13
Views: 19648

Re: Shed!

I suppose I've actually lagered it! Have to see what the other two equally aged lagers taste like.
by drjim
Mon Jan 29, 2024 11:02 pm
Forum: Beer Recipes
Topic: How Much Roasted Barley?
Replies: 9
Views: 3178

Re: How Much Roasted Barley?

I usually just do the bittering hops in stout - it's about the roasty taste not hops. I've sampled a few so called "craft" ale stouts recently that were cherry flavoured or had loads of american hop flavour at the end - not nice at all. Your northdown/challenger concept is entirely inoffensive thoug...
by drjim
Mon Jan 29, 2024 8:18 pm
Forum: Beer Recipes
Topic: How Much Roasted Barley?
Replies: 9
Views: 3178

Re: How Much Roasted Barley?

I tend to add the roasties in the mash tun but been contemplating chucking it in later or even in the kettle which supposedly adds less bitterness....
by drjim
Mon Jan 29, 2024 7:40 pm
Forum: Beer Recipes
Topic: How Much Roasted Barley?
Replies: 9
Views: 3178

Re: How Much Roasted Barley?

Would work for a stronger brew though - that's supposedly at 5.8%. I normally get 40ish in my stouts - according to the calculating software, who knows what it really is! My Imperial mad strength (really nice coffee laced) stout was nominally 83IBU from chinook and first gold, so bitter can be good ...