Returning to the fold, need to nuke my kit clean

[Matt]

Well I have made an auspicious start to my brewing revival, I've discovered there's a LHBS down the road in Faversham, and I foraged a bootful of Goldings on the way home tonight!

[simmyb]

Foraged? Was there a pesky fence in the way?!

[Matt]

Nope, my conscience is clear, these were growing just in a hedgerow next to a field full of sheep. I had to don my hi viz vest for fear of getting spangled by a car! I've stripped 300g so far.

[BeerEagle]

Matt, sounds like you're reasonably local. There's a Homebrew club which runs out of the Goods Shed at Canterbury West station. First Wednesday of the month from about 7:30 onwards.

The October meeting will be to judge a good seasonal home brew which will be taken up commercially by a new micro in Brogdale.

Come along and meet some like-minded folks.

[Matt]

Matt, sounds like you're reasonably local. There's a Homebrew club which runs out of the Goods Shed at Canterbury West station. First Wednesday of the month from about 7:30 onwards.

The October meeting will be to judge a good seasonal home brew which will be taken up commercially by a new micro in Brogdale.

Come along and meet some like-minded folks.

That sounds excellent, thanks for letting me know about it. I'm in Sittingbourne but its not too far. I'll get a few brews under my belt and maybe come over. Is there a website/twitter/fb for it?

Cheers,

Matt

[barneey]

Matt,

Don't forget the Canterbury Green Hop this weekend, a few of us are going Saturday

[Matt]

Barneey, thanks for the heads up on that

[SiHoltye]

Hello Si!Matt

Hi Matt, hope you are well. Back from the good old days eh I hope the brew goes good for you. Picking my garden grown Challenger hops this afternoon, may have a beer while I do.
Love this hobby

In the same 'get it brewed and drink it quick' vein as that 'Chugging Mild' recipe (which was v.nice) I've tried to get close to Elgoods Black Dog Mild and rate the current variant below as lush, very much especially since adding an active carbon filter (not expensive) to my brewing procedure and therefore really getting to know S04. I did have a minerally edge to all I brewed back in those days. It's all smooth and soft as nature intended now. Triffic yeast.
Anyway, I like it:

52L@70%efficiency

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7.25 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 79.7 %
0.75 kg Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 2 8.2 %
0.75 kg Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 8.2 %
0.35 kg Roasted Barley (1200.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.8 %
90.00 g Fuggles [4.50 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 5 22.3 IBUs
10.00 g Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 1.2 IBUs
2.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) [23.66 ml] Yeast 7 -

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.038 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 3.6 %
Bitterness: 23.5 IBUs
Est Color: 27.5 SRM

Drink that in 2 weeks, mmmmmmmmmmm

[Matt]

Hello Si!Matt

Hi Matt, hope you are well. Back from the good old days eh I hope the brew goes good for you. Picking my garden grown Challenger hops this afternoon, may have a beer while I do.
Love this hobby

In the same 'get it brewed and drink it quick' vein as that 'Chugging Mild' recipe (which was v.nice) I've tried to get close to Elgoods Black Dog Mild and rate the current variant below as lush, very much especially since adding an active carbon filter (not expensive) to my brewing procedure and therefore really getting to know S04. I did have a minerally edge to all I brewed back in those days. It's all smooth and soft as nature intended now. Triffic yeast.
Anyway, I like it:

52L@70%efficiency

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7.25 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 79.7 %
0.75 kg Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 2 8.2 %
0.75 kg Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 8.2 %
0.35 kg Roasted Barley (1200.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.8 %
90.00 g Fuggles [4.50 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 5 22.3 IBUs
10.00 g Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 1.2 IBUs
2.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) [23.66 ml] Yeast 7 -

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.038 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 3.6 %
Bitterness: 23.5 IBUs
Est Color: 27.5 SRM

Drink that in 2 weeks, mmmmmmmmmmm

Hello hello. Good to hear from you Si. My return to brewing 1st brew is going well, I've got to keg it tomoz but I've been slurping it from the fv. Tasty

Thanks for posting your recipe above, that looks very cool. I am looking for another one to do next. My old man says he doesn't drink much but I've got him one of those half size cornies and I know he'll be needing more, and we are on the Mild trail this winter.

Have you dabbled with Mild malt and/or the east mids mild yeast from Brewlab?

Ah fond memories of you and I snagging a gong in '07! That was great

[SiHoltye]

Ah kegging day is fun, I've got dead space of 2.5 litres in my fermenter as long as the yeast is a good flocculator. That's a sweetener for sanitising kegs.

I was googling mild malt last night. £40 for a sack! Think I'd want a sack too, that would get 3 brews out using it as base malt. What recipes to try though, and what yeast? I think because I know how it tastes number one could be Chugging with S04. I should then be able to appreciate what the mild malt does. Then maybe the EBD variant above with the Brewlab recommended yeast. Mmmmm, new liver please!

I haven't comped for a few years now, had thought about next years London perhaps. Comp beer seemed to be getting more and more extreme, with less and less appreciation of balance.

I'm kegging a 10L polypin for a mate each time I brew, they're dead cheap from Murphy's and reusable. Sharing beer is cool.

I remember Richard Burns mild he brought to Sutton in 07. Wasn't entered in the comp but was pale and soft and fruity and about 3%. Might look into a fruit salad light mild for the third. More mmmmmmm.

[Matt]

Good stuff. Sounds like a plan Si. I'm going to order up some mild malt and the brewlab yeast and do similar

In flavour terms how does a corn/wheat/roasted barley mild compare to a crystal/black one?

I didn't get around to kegging mine today but drew off another pint from the fv and its there now. Nice nice nice.

Interesting your observations on the comps, are they dominated by US style ales now?