AG#2 White Shield

[Manx Guy]

I had a day off today so I decided to get a brew on...

I like White Shield so gave GW's recipe from BYOBRA a go

Everything went well sparge issues more or less sorted now

Except I had my first boil over...

After I put the IC in the boil lost some vigor so I put the second element on while I went to fetch the second batch of hops and the irish moss ot boiled over - lost about 2 litres....

Luckily for me I was boiling outside....

I got nearer my final volume (still miss judged the aount lost to evaporation and trub/hops - but got closer!) 21 litres in the FV at target gravity so happy days!

Pitched a good amount of active slurry from a previous brew and a few hours later there is significant airlock activity...

I might dry hop this either in secondary or after initial ferment has died back
Not sure wether to go with Northdown or Challenger

Or maybe even some goldings?



Guy

[Dennis King]

Did this one a few months ago, liked it so much I`m doing again tomorrow

[Manx Guy]

Hi DK!

Cool, hope your brewday goes better than mine... (no boiling wort all over the decking)

Any suggestions on a dry hopping choice? or do you find this 'hoppy' enough as per the recipe?

My water is quite soft and although I added a tsp of gypsum to the mash and boil I'm concerned it will lack sufficient hop aroma/flavour

I used Nottingham yeast - hoping this would help

Do you find it quite dark? I know its hard to tell as it always looks darker in the FV than in the glasss....


Guy

[HighHops]

Hi Guy,

I made this a couple of weeks ago and bottled mine last Thursday. I had a problem on brewday too. I got a stuck run off on my boiler after cooling, so lost a couple of litres there. Never had this before and made a couple of brews since without any problem.

Anyway mine turned out at 1044 instead of target 1050 due to the lost wort, but got it down to 1010, so 4.5% ABV. I cultured the yeast from a bottle of White Shield, so am hoping to get close to the original flavour. Nottingham has a high attenuation too, so should let the hops come through.

Any suggestions on a dry hopping choice? or do you find this 'hoppy' enough as per the recipe?

My water is quite soft and although I added a tsp of gypsum to the mash and boil I'm concerned it will lack sufficient hop aroma/flavour

I used Nottingham yeast - hoping this would help

Do you find it quite dark? I know its hard to tell as it always looks darker in the FV than in the glasss....

I didn't dry hop this one, but you can't go wrong with Goldings.

When I bottled mine I remember thinking that it looked lighter than Worhies White shield, but I put it down to the lower OG.

Let us know how it turns out.

[Dennis King]

Hi DK!

Cool, hope your brewday goes better than mine... (no boiling wort all over the decking)

Any suggestions on a dry hopping choice? or do you find this 'hoppy' enough as per the recipe?

My water is quite soft and although I added a tsp of gypsum to the mash and boil I'm concerned it will lack sufficient hop aroma/flavour

I used Nottingham yeast - hoping this would help

Do you find it quite dark? I know its hard to tell as it always looks darker in the FV than in the glasss....


Guy

Never bothered dry hopping, I`ve always found this a a well balanced recipe so I`ve stuck to GW`s version to the letter. As I`m in hard water area it`s hard to comment on your soft water. I used White labs British yeast WLP005 just because its my favorite yeast. Always found the colour to be close to the real thing. Never bottle it like the original but let it mature at least 4 weeks then drink it draught [polypin].
I`ve tried the slightly differing recipes from all 3 of GW`s books and enjoyed them all [had to substitute the maltrose syrup in the 2nd book].
Think the 3rd recipe is the best. Got an OG today of 1052 so pretty pleased.

[Manx Guy]

Thanks for the replies guys...

I took an SG sample last night 1016 after 6 days so I should get to the 1008-1010 area at 10-14 days as I had planned...

The colour seems to be lighter than I thought and as HH said lighter than WW WS... The flavour although very green and somewhat yeasty was good malt with a classic english hop flavour-the mouthfeel is encouraging too right for an IPA (medium) but then there was still a bit of effervesance from the fermentation which may influence this...

I'm impressed with the beer thus far and have decided not to dry hop this one...

I will save that particular idea for a APA I have in mind (my first own AG recipe)

Chees!

Guy

[Manx Guy]

Hi!

Just a quick update on this...

I bottled this last night it was stuck at 1010 for the last 5 days (after rousing on 2 occasions) so I guess maybe my mash chem/temp was slightly out as the predicted FG is 1008...

I bulk primed with 120g of normal white sugar into Grolsch swing tops...
I'll sample one after the bottles have had 2 weeks in my nice warm 'home office' ( I work 6 days a month from home)
Then I'll move them to the cellar for another few weeks of cooler (12-15C) conditioning...

The SG sampple on bottling showed soem promise! It was 'juicy' and slightly hoppy but there was still abit of yeastyness (green beer I guess) despite it being fairly clear

I'll get AG#3 on on the 6th which will be a version of Deuchars IPA (my brews are getting slightly paler each time

Guy