I gallon batch 1st attempt!

[Louis Macneice]

This is what I tried:

500g larger malt
125g crystal
100g golden syrup

Mashed in bag for 60 mins in 3.1 litres of water @ approx 65 degrees (used warmed oven to maintain temp)

Sparged (i.e. grain bag placed in) in 4.5 litres of water @70 degrees for 10 mins

All liquid combined (about (6.5 litres) and boiled 60 mins with 5g bramling cross and a further 5g bramling cross for the last 20 mins. Golden Syrup added with 10 mins to go.

Cooled in sink and Muntons Premium Gold yeast pitched at about 20 degrees.

I lost a lot more water to boil off and absorption by the hops than I expected, so there was plenty of head room in the demi john.

After a week fermenting I racked to a secondary (mainly because I wanted to try using the yeast in an adapted kit recipe).

Another week on I have just bottled a little under 6 pints in half pint and 330ml bottles; I batch primed with about 20g of brown sugar.

At this stage it is a little cloudy, a lot darker than I expected, quite sweet/malty but with some nice hops in there. I definitely tastes like beer.

I think the darkness and some of the sweetness will be because I probably mashed too high (I think it went significantly higher than 65 in my warmed oven where I placed my mashing stock pot) and boiled too vigorously; could this be right?


Cheers - Louis MacNeice

[Redimpz]

mashing at a higher temp will increase the amount of unfermentable sugars in your wort, this in turn will increase the sweetness.
a vigorous boil can add colour to the brew by caramelising on the bottom of the pan. the crystal malt can add quite a bit of colour too.
You do not mention any use of a hydrometer, you may have been able to add cooled boiled water to your finished brew to get it to the gravity you wanted.

[Louis Macneice]

Just a quick update - this has cleared and conditioned quite nicely. Some sweetness left in, decent head, plus a pretty full mouth feel, with hoppy bitterness coming at the end. Very chuffed that it tastes like proper beer and was great fun to make...so much so that I did my second one yesterday.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice