Home brew? Homebrew? Winemaking

A few weeks ago I finally got round to brewing something with the hops I picked from my parents garden last year. They think it’s EKG but weren’t certain so I just wanted to do a golden ale smash brew and see what I could get out of the hops (not that I have any skill in being able to confirm from the final taste that they are or are not EKG). Simple Maris Otter base with the hops split up a bit over different boil additions. First time using Irish moss as well to see what that would do. The fermentation went really well and I’m extremely happy with the final result after a couple of weeks bottle conditioning. Had worried there’d be lots of cloudiness to it with using whole hops but I did some filtering between the transfer steps and it has kept it clear I think. Also happy that all ingredients (except the hops) were purchased from my local shop Water Into Beer which makes me feel happy inside that no internet shopping was required.

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Nice! A SMASH is always good to judge the hop flavour.

I'm harvesting the new Verdant IPA from Lallemand. Not actually harvested yeast before but the white layer over the trub is good.

Going to do a wash with boiled water but hopefully I'll be able to rebuild it and put it in the next IPA brew.

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Nice ! One of my favourite beers to brew is a smash Pilsner.

A bit of ginger in the rhubarb gin this year...

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Northern Monk homebrew competition announced. Fruit beers this year.

Did anyone watch that Beer Masters series that is on Amazon? Kind of passed me by but a link in the recent CAMRA magazine made me serch for it.

Kind of starts off with a good premise but rapidly goes downhill (Stella Artois on the Final?!?)

And, James Blunt, of course...

Anyway. While binge watching it on Sunday I made my first Saison. Supposed to be 6.6% but looking like 7.1% at the moment. Not sure what's happening as I update the Brewfather software with my Brewhouse and Mash efficiency regularly but keep making beers with higher ABV's than the recipe.

Not that I'm too fussed.

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Hi all,
You may have heard of drinkers for Ukraine, they are raising money for the humanitarian relief effort in Ukraine.
One of their ideas was to get brewers to devise a recipe that breweries here would brew and the proceeds go to charity.
Quite a few UK breweries have stepped up, but as an avid homebrewer I thought I would have a go......
The recipe is for a non imperial stout with a twist, the twist is a nod towards a Ukrainian dish.
Yep it's got beetroot in it and guess what it works !
So if anyone would like to donate to a good cause in return you'll receive a sample (330 ml bottle).
All you have to do is send me proof of your donation.
You can then either collect a bottle from KT4, I could deliver locally or if you want to cover the postage I'm happy to post it .
There's more information in the link including one to donate. Check out solidarity brew .
The stout has a beetroot aroma and taste, I'm also getting chocolate, a decent mouthfeel and a bitter finish.
It's also vegan and might count towards your 5 a day. Abv is 6.5 %.
It's also on keg and if you are lucky enough to be passing next week you might get a taste!
https://drinkersforukraine.com/

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Have you rebrewed any recipes to see if you get similar results?

Have you rebrewed any recipes to see if you get similar results?

Ha! No.

Do you know how many BJCB classifications there are? Gotta brew them all...

Joking aside, It's either that I'm getting better at the physical process of mashing, boiling and fermenting as I learn or my various methods of measuring OG and SG are off.

I am very temped to rebrew the Flanders Red Ale I've had in bottles for 500 days plus in a keg to see if if gets better but life may be too short.

Classifications 🤷🏻‍♂️ I'm just concentrating on a core range trying to be consistent. And also brewing a few seasonal specials.

I do love my S beers.

Saisons, Stouts and Sours.

Obviously Sours can be a problem as it can contaminate the FV's for future brews. I could use a specific bucket for it though.

I've got a Barley Wine at my Mum's garage that will sit there for a year. There will be a Imp Stout via reiterated mash that will join it.

Also looking at a Stingo (Yorkshire and all that) to see how it goes.

I'm just concentrating on a core range trying to be consistent. And also brewing a few seasonal specials.

Sounds like you are going Pro?

Not really but I'll be moving my kit into a better space later in the year!

With you on the stouts, but sours really aren't my thing. I couldn't tell good from bad !

Did anyone watch that Beer Masters series that is on Amazon? Kind of passed me by but a link in the recent CAMRA magazine made me serch for it.

Yeah watched that when it was first out, was a fun enough idea but the execution wasn't that great in the end.

I wondered how long they were given to make the beers. Some of the high percentage ones, like the barley wines, would need conditioning for a good few months to be at their best.

I'm conditioning my barley wine for a year at least!

I'd just assumed that they were given the brief for all the beers a few months before shooting and then brought them all and shot the judging parts over a few days. Feels like it would have been way to spaced out if they shot one, gave them a new brief, sent them off to wherever they live, brew for a few weeks or more depending on what they needed to make, then get them back for the judging and possibly next episodes brief? 5 episodes with a different brew each time with fermenting and conditioning would surely end up being a really long shoot for such a small program right?

I guess. I'm forgetting that editing means that programs aren't linear!

.

My brewing partner and I won a table prize for our BIPA at the open :)

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Which one are you (Kat here btw!)

Brilliant !, I haven't entered any competitions yet, always seem to find out too late to get organised.

Ha ha, I'm the Pete part :). WIB represent!

Congratulations! What was the recipe?