Home Brew Forum

So we are off. Starting with a coniston bluebird as per Norm's Real Ale Almanac and finished off with a bourbon stout.

Mash temp on the bluebird hit 68 but I guess that's ok.

There's gonna be some creative use of vessels later on as I try and mash the stout while still boiling the bluebird.

Already a shambles.....banjaxed my mash for the stout...72!! panicked and lugged in loads of cold, now mashing at 64' groan. Hey ho, I'm three pints down...brewing while lashed, doesn't help. It's only gonna get worse

2pm's a late start for a double brew day !!

I'm on for a double brew day tomorrow, Big Kenny and Red Indian IPA.

I'm hoping to dough in the first one no later than 11am, generally takes me 7 - 8 hours including cleaning up.

Good luck for the rest of the brew day, they'll both turn out fine I'm sure

Finally have the stout on the boil, 90 mins till the end (ish).

hardly a text book mash and sparge but as you say, I'm sure they'll be ok.

Well it'll all come down to flavour and body, but both OGs were spot on. 1033 for the Bluebird and 1047 for the stout, yeast is pitched and FVs are sitting in the garage. All is well with the world (until it doesn't ferment, or gets an infection, or just tastes rank etc..)

Both down to FG within four days.

Comical balls up, I felt the bluebird was finished but stout had a little way to o, so I crash cooled the bb at 2 degrees for three days.

Racked it to the keg tonight...only to discover it was a bit dark. Very dark. In fact it was the stout. You wouldn't think it'd be hard to tell the difference between a pale ale and a stout.

The upside, is the stout tasted amazing....so job done. Bb now being chilled.