Homebrew thread

[Sebastian Cobb]

I've just pitched one of these:



But slammed over 1.5 extra kilos of dextrose into it to bring the starting sg up to 1062! Should be a strong bastard, and if my maths is right it'll have had exactly 3 weeks fermentation + 3 weeks finishing on boxing day!

[Ferris]

Shit that means I need to be brewing today in time for Christmas then doesn't it? And I won't be, bollocks.

[Blue Jam]

Getting impatient here too. Day 16 and my Belgian-style dubbel is still pretty lively. Airlock bubbling about once every thirty minutes. The gas coming out of it smells reassuringly like Chimay Rouge but it's obviously still nowhere near ready to bottle. Nrrrrgghhh, come on you fucker, it's only 41 brewing days until Christmas.

Got the Xmas pud today. Saino's Taste The Difference with brandy, port and rum, no cider and not too many currants. Got two 100g puds but think one will be enough to make 18 pints taste like Christmas.

Think the problem with the Prairie Vole was that I put too much bison grass in and the bitterness of that + the hop bitterness was too much. Oh well, you live and learn.

[Blue Jam]

Almost three weeks now and that airlock is still busy. SG is 1.010. It needs to be 1.006. Nrrrrggggghhh. Given it a bit of a shake and will keep taking readings.

The little drop I licked off the hydrometer tasted great though! Just getting impatient to bottle half of this batch and get the Xmas pud in the remaining 18 pints so we'll have the Xmas brew ready in time for Xmas.

Shit that means I need to be brewing today in time for Christmas then doesn't it?

Looks like it :(

Do a New Year Beer instead!

[Ferris]

I reckon 3 weeks would be alright in bottles so you have time yet! Really interested to hear how it turns out, bet it is dead nice.

We move into the new Casa del Ferris next week and there will be admin and movers etc etc to deal with, doubt I will get my brewing equipment out until mid December at the earliest. February beer... Valentine's Day beer? Except we both hate Valentine's Day so that's likely a no-go. Hmmm.

[Sebastian Cobb]

As we're locking down here for a few weeks and I've got bottling due during that period I popped in to the shop today. I picked up a kit that's been good to make a high strength one so asked the guy about finishing hops, he put me on to some citra for the IPA, so hopefully that'll cover up the extra strength.

Pricey though, tenner for 100g and he reckoned about 30-50g would be about right.

[Paul Calf]

Shit that means I need to be brewing today in time for Christmas then doesn't it? And I won't be, bollocks.

Bathtub, potato skins.

Sorted.

[Ferris]

As we're locking down here for a few weeks and I've got bottling due during that period I popped in to the shop today. I picked up a kit that's been good to make a high strength one so asked the guy about finishing hops, he put me on to some citra for the IPA, so hopefully that'll cover up the extra strength.

Pricey though, tenner for 100g and he reckoned about 30-50g would be about right.

Hmm that's about... $4 an ounce/28g? Seems about right and I agree with his amount for dry hopping - he seems on the level to me. Hops are always the most expensive bit of brewing which is a pisser if you like hoppy beer.

The citra will be nice, it's one of my fave hops. Bung the lot in a day before bottling for MAX AROMA. Also keep them in the freezer and they'll stay fresher - not a concern if you use it all up in a week or two but if you plan on saving some and using it for next batch then it's worth doing.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yeah, looking online they're about right really, he did say they were a bit pricey himself. They're usually a quid or so more on the kits versus online which probably works out about the same after postage. Plus it's worth slinging them a couple of quid here and there just for advice when you're getting stuff innit?

Cheers for the storage stuff, I did wonder about that after I got home as it's vacuum packed.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Just tried my own DIY double strength, nice and hoppy, turned out very nice.

[Ferris]

Just tried my own DIY double strength, nice and hoppy, turned out very nice.

DRUNK SOON

[Sebastian Cobb]

Quite possibly, I primed it well, makes an angry pop when you lever the bottle-cap off with the back end of a chef's knife anyway!

[Ferris]

Nice one. Was this the batch you added some (brown?) sugar to hit target OG? Did the body work out ok?

[Blue Jam]

My Belgian dubbel is still bubbling! SG has dropped to 1.008 now though, really hoping I can bottle it soon.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Nice one. Was this the batch you added some (brown?) sugar to hit target OG? Did the body work out ok?

Nah, worse, just slapped dextrose in to bring it up to 1061 then used a hop teabag from an over hoppy kit to try and cover it tasting a bit 'hot'.

I think the kit I nicked it out of had two different hop bags though, because the kit I nicked it out of tasted 'bread/malty' and this had a punchy slightly citrusy thing on it.

[Blue Jam]

31 days and still bubbling. Krausen all gone now but SG is still only a shade under 1.008. Want Xmas booze but don't want bottle bombs.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I haven't quite got bombs but my power ipa makes a big angry pop when you open it and it has a bit of a head.

It gets me right warm and fuzzy pissed though.

[Blue Jam]

The Prairie Vole was quite lively. Had a couple of gushers and got a nice big head on the rest. Only added 4.5g of priming sugar/litre though, the least I have added so far! Think that Nottingham golden ale yeast was a lively one and no mistake.

Need to do this for a few more years and get a feel for it and git gud.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Most of mine have been a little flat so I've been getting increasingly more generous whenppriming . I use the brewersfriend calculator as a rough guide.

My first ever batch gushed like fuck and at the time I assumed I'd fucked up the sterilising but I think  a bit more experience suggests I just bottled it a bit early.

[NattyDread 2]

Had a bit of a shed clear-out in the summer and found a couple of beer kit tins buried away. The labels had been completely tanned by the snails. I could read the best before dates however, and the oldest was 4 years past. Thought I'd give them a bash anyway. I've a feeling that they may have been a John Bull ipa and a Geordie Bitter but can't be sure. Anyway, I chucked them both in a bucket and hoped for the best. The brew was sat there for at least 2 months as I can never be arsed bottling.

Tried it this week and, bugger me. It's a bit decent. Quite a mellow booziness that I can see being spot on by Christmas. Shades of a porter about it so I may be totally off in guessing what the tins where, but not to worry. It's grand.

[Ferris]

BREWING GEAR COMING OUT OF STORAGE ON SATURDAY.

Moving into the lovely house we bought (wtf) next weekend, brewing store is about 100 yards away. Will be spending a load of cash on bottles (ugh) and doing 2 batches - I'll (likely) miss xmas but might sneak something in under the wire for new years.

Fucking yes lads!!

[Blue Jam]

YESSSSS, FUCKING GET IN

The Belgian Ale has finally fallen silent after just over five weeks. Last two gravity readings were both a shade under 1.008, maybe 1.0075. Target SG is 1.006 but I've now had a stable reading that hasn't budged in three days. Think some of the most recent bubbling must have just been gas expansion due to us having the heating on. Anyway, reckon I could go ahead and bottle tomorrow without ending up with a Hank Schrader bottle bomb situation?

Priming sugar was included with the kit so I can be very precise about that, or leave a bit out. Belgian-style ales are always a bit too foamy anyway.

Checked this morning and saw my siphon was mouldy, huh huh huh. Binned it and got a new one and picked up a Mangrove Jack's Roasted Stout kit while I was at it. Will chuck a load of tonka beans into that one.

I am steadily learning that making beer is somehow more addictive than drinking it.

[sirhenry]

I am steadily learning that making beer is somehow more addictive than drinking it.

Same with mead. I have a cupboard full of the stuff that will take me god knows how long to get through and I still want to make more.

At least I've got Xmas presents for a load of people, I suppose.

[Ferris]

Same with mead. I have a cupboard full of the stuff that will take me god knows how long to get through and I still want to make more.

At least I've got Xmas presents for a load of people, I suppose.

I'm super jealous of your mead, every time you post I think "ooh I really must do that!" then I forget like a twat. Would love to have a load of bottles ageing away in a cupboard somewhere. Very comforting feeling.

YESSSSS, FUCKING GET IN

The Belgian Ale has finally fallen silent after just over five weeks. Last two gravity readings were both a shade under 1.008, maybe 1.0075. Target SG is 1.006 but I've now had a stable reading that hasn't budged in three days. Think some of the most recent bubbling must have just been gas expansion due to us having the heating on. Anyway, reckon I could go ahead and bottle tomorrow without ending up with a Hank Schrader bottle bomb situation?

Priming sugar was included with the kit so I can be very precise about that, or leave a bit out. Belgian-style ales are always a bit too foamy anyway.

Checked this morning and saw my siphon was mouldy, huh huh huh. Binned it and got a new one and picked up a Mangrove Jack's Roasted Stout kit while I was at it. Will chuck a load of tonka beans into that one.

I am steadily learning that making beer is somehow more addictive than drinking it.

5 weeks in primary sounds bags, you'll be grand to bottle that and I'd definitely add the priming sugar (you could just use ~70% if you're not certain). Also, bottles hold a pretty substantial amount of pressure, to get them to explode you have to be out by quite a lot. That said, I'm a total fraidy cat so I usually end up under carbing mine...

I wonder if there's a way of calculating degrees of FG against how much actual sugar is left in the wort? There must be a way, and if you can get it right you could bottle the beer directly at a certain point without the need for priming sugar because the yeast would finish up the residual sugar in the beer. Sort of a combo primary+secondary.

[Blue Jam]

Bottling the Belgian dubbel now! Tastes a bit like flat, strong Leffe Brun right now which I'm pretty impressed with, I wasn't expecting Festival to get their kits producing something tasting so authentically Belgian.

The hop bag has been repurposed as an Xmas pud bag. Left 10 litres in the fermenter and have pudded it up good and proper. Microwaved the pud according to the instructions to get the flavours all toasty as well as getting it nice and sterile before spooning it into the bag. I figured one 100g mini pud would be enough, it is now taking up about as much space as the hops which seems about right. Think the extra sugar will wake up the yeast and get it bubbling again soon.

Got high hopes for this one lads:

[Blue Jam]

Now making some ale bread with the yeasty dregs. Got some dark rye flour in there, gonna get a nice slow rise on it.

Meanwhile in the fermenter the yeast have started hungrily gobbling up the Xmas pud already. Airlock just did a violent gurgle. Hope this one ends up making us very merry indeed.

[Ferris]

Taste the Difference pud! Phwoarr

[Blue Jam]

I chose that one because it had no cider and fewer currants than others. Maybe this is completely irrational but I had a feeling those things would make the ale taste a bit snakebite-and-black.

Also went for one with port and brandy. I did consider buying all the ingredients separately but then realised that buying port, brandy, vine fruits, nuts, spices etc would have set me back a lot more than £2 for the pud.

Reading up on this it looks like one problem with chucking Christmas pud into ale is the fat content, and the layer of oil or fat that forms on the surface. I had the same thing with my coconut porter though, and it was easy enough to just skim off the coconut oil. The oil certainly isn't inhibiting the action of the yeast anyway...

The nutrition information says a single pud (100g) contains 24g of sugar. Perhaps some of the other starches in there are fermentable too. I doubt all that will up the strength by a significant amount but the yeast cells seem to be enjoying their tasty Xmas treat all the same.

[sirhenry]

Now making some ale bread with the yeasty dregs. Got some dark rye flour in there, gonna get a nice slow rise on it.

Meanwhile in the fermenter the yeast have started hungrily gobbling up the Xmas pud already. Airlock just did a violent gurgle. Hope this one ends up making us very merry indeed.

Yes, the mince pie mead is noticeably more vigorous than the others I've made, for whatever reason. And still bubbling away, so it looks like it may never get actually bottled, just decanted and drunk.

[Blue Jam]

I was hoping for a mince pie mead update, thanks sirhenry. If anything minced pies are even more sugary than Christmas puds. They are a load of what is essentially fruit jam, wrapped in loads of wheat and sugar with even more sugar sprinkled on top. You've got a nice big dose of fermentables in there. Nice one sirhenry, I hope it's absolutely lethal.

Do you basically add minced pies to water and yeast and that's it? Never made mead before but you're tempting me now.