Christmas homebrew thread

[suityou01]

I started brewing for Christmas last weekend. First batch is a Deuchars IPA equivalent.

Deuchars IPA (28L)

(Mash at 66 degrees for 90 mins then sparge)
4900g Golden Promise
250g Wheat Malt

Then boil the following
16g Aurora
16g Fuggles
20g Styrian Goldings (all 60 min boil)

Then boil
26g Williamette
82g Styrian Goldings (15 min boil)

I used Nottingham yeast.

I spoke with OwlHoot at the ship and shovel about home brewing, but if anyone was considering it, it really isn't that hard to do. PM me with questions if genuinely interested.

Wheat beer next, yum. (Beer kit, not full mash)

[MarillionFan]

Suityou. For once. Good idea.

I'll add that to the list.

[Zippy]

I hae no idea what SY is talking about but I'm going to pinch that beer-swilling smiley.

[MarillionFan]

I hae no idea what SY is talking about but I'm going to pinch that beer-swilling smiley.

It's a good smiley, but to be fair compared to you, it's sipping that pint.

[Zippy]

It's a good smiley, but to be fair compared to you, it's sipping that pint.

[suityou01]

I hae no idea what SY is talking about but I'm going to pinch that beer-swilling smiley.

Basically ....

You need one of these (mashing tun and boiler)



Fill with 20 litres of water.

Then fill your sparge bag with the grain



Pop this into the water (@66 degrees)

You'll need a thermometer (jam making one will do nicely)

Keep it at 66 degrees for 90 minutes then sparge.

Sparging is the process of jugging some of the wort (water now brown with the mashed grain in it) over the grain. This should be done lots and lots. This extracts the remaining sugar from the barley.

Then remove the sparge bag and do the boil as prescribed above.

Takes all afternoon but is a lot of fun.

Then allow the wort to cool, transport to a fermenting bin and add the yeast.

4-5 days later, bottle it (adding 1/4 teaspoon of sugar to each bottle first) and then apply the crown caps to the bottles using a "crown corker"

Leave the bottles out of direct sunlight but in the warm for a couple of days. Then put them into longer term storage (garage, shed, loft) and whip them out 3 months later for the best part

[CheeseSlice]

I started doing it in 2009 when benched. Went straight into all-grain brewing because I'm a bit of a real ale nut.
The most challenging bit for me was building my brewery. Was proper mans work - drills / hole saws, hack saws, black and decker workmate, welding copper pipes with a blow torch, wiring circuits, etc.

Hot liqor tank / Boiler - 60L food grade plastic bin modified 2 kettle elements for heat, ball valve tap and hop strainer made from copper pipe with small holes drilled out.
Mash tun - old cool box with a ball valve tap connected and grain filter made from copper pipe joints and holes cut for optimum syphon effect.
Temperature controlled fermentation cupboard - old chest freezer connected to a thermostat circuit which cools when too hot and heats when too cold by the use of a household light bulb
Copper Immersion cooler for cooling wort - micro bore copper pipe coiled and connected to outdoor garden tap via hose.
Various 25L fermentation bins, and a 33L bin for general purpose transfer of liquid.
Lots of syphon tube, and various brewing odds and sods.
oh, and 1 tub of vaseline

I've probably done about 6 or 7 brews so far, and have made loads of little mistakes but keep learning from them. So far (touch wood) I've not lost a brew.

The worst bit for me is the weeks and weeks of waiting before you can drink the stuff!

[suityou01]

I started doing it in 2009 when benched. Went straight into all-grain brewing because I'm a bit of a real ale nut.
The most challenging bit for me was building my brewery. Was proper mans work - drills / hole saws, hack saws, black and decker workmate, welding copper pipes with a blow torch, wiring circuits, etc.

Hot liqor tank / Boiler - 60L food grade plastic bin modified 2 kettle elements for heat, ball valve tap and hop strainer made from copper pipe with small holes drilled out.
Mash tun - old cool box with a ball valve tap connected and grain filter made from copper pipe joints and holes cut for optimum syphon effect.
Temperature controlled fermentation cupboard - old chest freezer connected to a thermostat circuit which cools when too hot and heats when too cold by the use of a household light bulb
Copper Immersion cooler for cooling wort - micro bore copper pipe coiled and connected to outdoor garden tap via hose.
Various 25L fermentation bins, and a 33L bin for general purpose transfer of liquid.
Lots of syphon tube, and various brewing odds and sods.
oh, and 1 tub of vaseline

I've probably done about 6 or 7 brews so far, and have made loads of little mistakes but keep learning from them. So far (touch wood) I've not lost a brew.

The worst bit for me is the weeks and weeks of waiting before you can drink the stuff!

Wild thang, I think I luuuuuuuuurve you.

[blacjac]

I thought you'd fooked off

[MarillionFan]

I thought you'd fooked off

More Comebacks than Liberace this one.