Saturday was an interesting day, I transferred the Empire of gold over to secondary for lagering.
I also brewed up an american amber. It's slightly out of style guidelines for bitterness and OG, based on the recipe, although the eventuating day didn't bring about the numbers i was looking for.
Here is my red IPA Recipe. Dubbed Bathed in Blood.
Brew day itself went ok, and i hit an extra litre again, and a slightly lower OG because of it.
The numbers I hit are as follows:
OG1.061
22 Litres into Fermenter.
Mash temp 67 degrees, Choc malt added with 15 mins to go.
609 min Mash time.
strike temp: 74deg c
I added 2g Chloride and 7g Sulfate to the mash.
Fermenting at 18.5 degrees for 48 hours ramped to 19 degrees this morning.
FG of the Empire of gold has turn out to be around 1.011 and currently lagering in my second fridge. It will sit in there at low temperatures until I bottle the Red IPA. they will then be bottled at the same time.
Then it'll be onto my last NHC recipe... An American Pale Ale. I'm not entirely sure of a name yet I'm still working on that.
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
This is my Empire..... of Gold
Hi Everyone, another beer brewed, another fermentation under way... Despite a couple of small issues.
Firstly, the Beer: this beer dates back to one of my first Extract batches, which had not real fermentation control, and as such the temperature got a taqd warm, causing some flavour issues to start with. The resulting beer at 4-6months, was actually rather tasty. A nice malty blonde ale, no real hop kick to speak of. i was initially disappointed with the beer, but in retrospect, it turned out to be a good beer. a nice entry into craft beer.
Here is the original recipe from the first time I did it: Ska Tru Blonde Ale
followed closely by the new updated recipe, Empire of Gold
As you can see theres a couple of changes to the recipe, mainly to keep it within style and a nice light summery type beer.
The only real issue to speak of was the yeast starter, I used WYeast 2565, Kolsch (another change to the recipe) The pack I had was actually considerably older than I had anticipated, meanin a slightly longer lag time on the beer beginning fermentation. I'm hoping it won't crap out early. But other than that it went relatively smooth, Hit gravity, and 1 litre under volume, which I'm ok with, Given I pitched the starter direct into the brew.
There aren't that many commercial examples out there, because everyone like big bold flavours. this will be a nice light, simple true to style beer. Beer number 2 into NHC2013.
Lastly Beer#1 into NHC, my Sons of Liberty Porter, Finished a tad higher than I expected, but its tasting mighty fine, and Theres a good Hop aroma on it, taste wise dark roasty, and smooth. finished at what turned out to be 1.019, which is acceptable.
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
New Beers...Some Tasting Notes and a Good Weekend All Around!
Hi everyone.
the weekend just been was a pretty good one, We spent most of the weekend drinking and tasting beers.....
I could have asked for worse :)
Heres a list of beers I tried and tasted over the weekend: List from best to Worst
1. Behemoth - Celia Wade Brown Ale (Best of the weekend)
2. Green flash West coast IPA
3. Kakariki - Goldilocks Blonde ale
4. Green Flash - Hop Head Red
5. Epic - Comet
The Celia Wade Brown Ale had to be the pick of the weekend, for me. Here is a review of the beer
Appearance: Dark Brown, Nice and clear with a good off white head., lacing round the glass to the end.
Aroma: smells of roasted malts and minor ash, with a good chocolatey hit.
Flavour: Dark and roasty, superb, poured at room temperature. off the hand pull. nice and sticky, qwuite creamy.
Overall: Superb beer, shame its not more common around Christchurch, would be interested to see how it tastes off the tap./bottle.
Worst; well not so much worst but most disappointing, Epic's New Comet. As a Hop Head I was bitterly disappointed...'so to speak' good aroma and flavour, but it tastes.... just. like,. the rest of them. Zythos and Mosaic I mean. I'm a bit over the whole Epic craft beer thing I guess, there are so many new breweries doing so many exciting things out there, and it just seems like another Pale Ale, and not alot of thoughts been put into it.
A Beer of note while a the twisted Hop, is the Kakariki Blonde Ale. Nice for entrants into the craft beer scene, I reckon it has some Honey malt in it, even though its not generally available in New Zealand. big honey taste, very sweet. no real hop aroma to speak of.
And speaking of Blonde Ale; I've got a Re-brew of one of the original recipes from my early days, transferred to all grain, from extract. and some little tweaks. Watch this space for the recipe on Brewtoad.
Wish me luck.
Sunday, 25 August 2013
The American Revolution - Porter Style
Howdy everyone.
Sunday was a brew day for me, and it was a good one, couldn't have gone any better.
I hit all my numbers; Pre boil O.G, Mash temps and Even got an additional 1 litre out of it for my troubles.
Had a great time doing it too, Got up bright and early at 6:30am and was finished by 11:30-12, 20 hours after pitching the Mangrove Jacks M.44 West Coat yeast its beginning to bubble and has a small ring of krausen forming.
The brew is a Porter, Loosely based on Jamil's Robust Porter. With some minor changes.
As per my last Post, it has been dubbed The Sons of Liberty Porter. As its a mix of an English style beer, with american Hops and yeast. Th hop schedule, is more to the English style of schedule. I'm hoping for a good solid porter, with a little hop kick from the Beautiful Amarillo Hops used.
Now for a small Plug for my brew mate Paul Finney, who has just opened a Home brew-shop. Sourcing Local ingredients from Gladfields, along with Liquid yeast and Imported and Local Hops.
Its in Bishopdale Mall, and is called Finney's Homebrew Emporium.
Secondly, Bottled the Zombie King IPA with Alan yesterday afternoon. This is an amazing beer already, and although its pretty hazy, it's going to taste damn awesome. The aroma was like Fresh Fruit, which for some would be too much. But not for me the big hop head I am.
Now, I have concerns about my BIAB techniques:
#1 is Beer Clarity - The Zombie King is pretty cloudy, This is Hop Haze, but it almost seemed like there was something else too it, a protein of some sort floating around...
Could be chill Haze, from a poor cold break? For those who read this: Is this something that happens when Inputting Flame-out hops and leaving for 10-20 mins to lock in that aroma?
I reckon its something also to do with the BIAB technique. As there is no Grain Bed to filter and Vorlauf the Wort accordingly. Something to think about.
and #2 is Trub - The Porter has a pretty solid amount of Trub even though I whirl-pooled (sort of) and let things settle out as well. This is a BIAB issue I'm pretty sure, I also used a Sieve to get rid of some of this stuff. which should eliminate some of this. this is based on the visual I had this morning when I checked it. It may settle out, so watch this space to see what happens.
I may have to secondary this one, as its my first beer for NHC2013.
Leave comments below regarding the possible solutions using the BIAB techniques on clarity and Trub in the fermenter, would be very interesting to see what others do.
:-)
Sunday was a brew day for me, and it was a good one, couldn't have gone any better.
I hit all my numbers; Pre boil O.G, Mash temps and Even got an additional 1 litre out of it for my troubles.
Had a great time doing it too, Got up bright and early at 6:30am and was finished by 11:30-12, 20 hours after pitching the Mangrove Jacks M.44 West Coat yeast its beginning to bubble and has a small ring of krausen forming.
The brew is a Porter, Loosely based on Jamil's Robust Porter. With some minor changes.
As per my last Post, it has been dubbed The Sons of Liberty Porter. As its a mix of an English style beer, with american Hops and yeast. Th hop schedule, is more to the English style of schedule. I'm hoping for a good solid porter, with a little hop kick from the Beautiful Amarillo Hops used.
Now for a small Plug for my brew mate Paul Finney, who has just opened a Home brew-shop. Sourcing Local ingredients from Gladfields, along with Liquid yeast and Imported and Local Hops.
Its in Bishopdale Mall, and is called Finney's Homebrew Emporium.
Secondly, Bottled the Zombie King IPA with Alan yesterday afternoon. This is an amazing beer already, and although its pretty hazy, it's going to taste damn awesome. The aroma was like Fresh Fruit, which for some would be too much. But not for me the big hop head I am.
Now, I have concerns about my BIAB techniques:
#1 is Beer Clarity - The Zombie King is pretty cloudy, This is Hop Haze, but it almost seemed like there was something else too it, a protein of some sort floating around...
Could be chill Haze, from a poor cold break? For those who read this: Is this something that happens when Inputting Flame-out hops and leaving for 10-20 mins to lock in that aroma?
I reckon its something also to do with the BIAB technique. As there is no Grain Bed to filter and Vorlauf the Wort accordingly. Something to think about.
and #2 is Trub - The Porter has a pretty solid amount of Trub even though I whirl-pooled (sort of) and let things settle out as well. This is a BIAB issue I'm pretty sure, I also used a Sieve to get rid of some of this stuff. which should eliminate some of this. this is based on the visual I had this morning when I checked it. It may settle out, so watch this space to see what happens.
I may have to secondary this one, as its my first beer for NHC2013.
Leave comments below regarding the possible solutions using the BIAB techniques on clarity and Trub in the fermenter, would be very interesting to see what others do.
:-)
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Welcome Back to Brewing!!
After a Much needed Holiday I was actually able to brew a beer.
It felt pretty damn good to brew. with the help my a mate. Al was really helpful, and has a bit of an interest in brewing himself. We are splittingthe beer in half after bottling.
Heres the recipe on brew toad: Its a variation on the Three Floyd IPA available on Homebrewtalk.com.
ZOMBIE KING IPA
I hit 1.064 on Post Boil, which is 1 Point away from where I was hoping to be. and Hit Volume perfectly, after saving some wort from the 3 odd litres of trub after putting in the fridge for a few hours. It something Jo from Liberty has done in the past as well.
Fingers crossed it turns out, due to the issues (probably my own fault) with the S-04. It was going like a machine gun, and I've been away with work for a couple of days and ramped up to 21 now. hoping for 1.016 FG.I'll ramp to 22 in another couple of days to make sure its finished, and dry hop on Monday night... After an FG check of course. :)
With the NHC only 2-3 months away, its time to ramp up the brewing again, got 4 planned for the NHC 2013, a Porter, Blonde ale, American Amber and American Pale ale.
1st is the Porter Dubbed "Sons of Liberty". The reason I've called it is this:
The Sons of Liberty were and organisation of American Patriots, who originated i nthe Pre-Independence North American British Colonies. they were formed to Protect the rights of Colonists and take the streets against the abuses of the British Government. Where as the English Porter brewed in the 18th Century. It is a well hopped Dark beer.
So I kinda figured that the two would be good together... American Porter is the Style, using a British Porter recipe, and American hops and yeast, not heavily late hopped, more of an english hop schedule.
I'm excited.
It felt pretty damn good to brew. with the help my a mate. Al was really helpful, and has a bit of an interest in brewing himself. We are splittingthe beer in half after bottling.
Heres the recipe on brew toad: Its a variation on the Three Floyd IPA available on Homebrewtalk.com.
ZOMBIE KING IPA
I hit 1.064 on Post Boil, which is 1 Point away from where I was hoping to be. and Hit Volume perfectly, after saving some wort from the 3 odd litres of trub after putting in the fridge for a few hours. It something Jo from Liberty has done in the past as well.
Fingers crossed it turns out, due to the issues (probably my own fault) with the S-04. It was going like a machine gun, and I've been away with work for a couple of days and ramped up to 21 now. hoping for 1.016 FG.I'll ramp to 22 in another couple of days to make sure its finished, and dry hop on Monday night... After an FG check of course. :)
With the NHC only 2-3 months away, its time to ramp up the brewing again, got 4 planned for the NHC 2013, a Porter, Blonde ale, American Amber and American Pale ale.
1st is the Porter Dubbed "Sons of Liberty". The reason I've called it is this:
The Sons of Liberty were and organisation of American Patriots, who originated i nthe Pre-Independence North American British Colonies. they were formed to Protect the rights of Colonists and take the streets against the abuses of the British Government. Where as the English Porter brewed in the 18th Century. It is a well hopped Dark beer.
So I kinda figured that the two would be good together... American Porter is the Style, using a British Porter recipe, and American hops and yeast, not heavily late hopped, more of an english hop schedule.
I'm excited.
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Another Tasting Night...
Yet another night Spent at Pomeroys on Monday Night! This was a one I was looking forward to as well.
LIBERTY BREWING, Joseph Wood.
On the cards 9 Beers, and a Bonus Beer, which was still in the conditioning tanks.
Most ofthese were Hop Bombs, includingthe new one Sauvignon Bomb, an IPA Made exclusively with Nelson Sauvin Hops. Based off the Website, this was a simple Grain Bill of base plus Pale Crystal.
The few non Hop Bombs were Dark Stouts, and the Bonus Beer a california Steam Beer, made with one of the girls from Beer NZ.
Theres something else I'll say as well. He's a definite Fly by the seat of your pants kinda guy, if he wants to do something he'll do it, many collaborations etc. and confirmation there will be no Yeastie/Liberty Collab this year, a bit disappointing, but hey, they're all pretty busy doin their thing. Jo has a great sense of humour, and had plenty of stories about his mishaps and people he had met along the way, some beer was talked about as well.
Onto the beers:
Top Beer: had to be Citra!, at 9% and 99 IBU, it was always going to be the beer of the night. Overly Hoppedwith Citra, and funnily enough he actually revealed, its not a single hop brew, despite the misleading name. No Information was given on which hop it was... Something big and American no doubt.
Worst Beer: This is a hard one, as they were all actually very good, but if I had to choose, it'd be the Darkest Days Stout, it didn't quite hit the Creamy stout flavour for me, but still an awesome beer.
With only 9 beers on tap, it was a much shorter night at Pom's than normal, so pints were had.
All in all a good night, with some good beers, most of which I had tried already, including the Monster! Love that beer. I actually have a recipe of 2 for a couple of these beers, Scarlet and Monster, Not sure how accurate they are, but still worth a crack.
There will be no update for a couple of weeks from here, as I'm away on Holiday and there's not alot to talk about, but plenty going on behind the scenes.
Then it's onto Brewery Talk, Brew Rig building and NHC 2013, I'm still on the fence on what to make. I have a massive choice of recipes to choose from.
Oh and I'll be starting up a Brewtoad Page too! Posting my recipes for all who wish to try, as I believe in open source brewing, if people like drinking my beer, why shouldn't they be able to attempt to make it themselves...
Here is the Brewtoad Page: http://www.brewtoad.com/brewers/39840/recipes
LIBERTY BREWING, Joseph Wood.
On the cards 9 Beers, and a Bonus Beer, which was still in the conditioning tanks.
Most ofthese were Hop Bombs, includingthe new one Sauvignon Bomb, an IPA Made exclusively with Nelson Sauvin Hops. Based off the Website, this was a simple Grain Bill of base plus Pale Crystal.
The few non Hop Bombs were Dark Stouts, and the Bonus Beer a california Steam Beer, made with one of the girls from Beer NZ.
Theres something else I'll say as well. He's a definite Fly by the seat of your pants kinda guy, if he wants to do something he'll do it, many collaborations etc. and confirmation there will be no Yeastie/Liberty Collab this year, a bit disappointing, but hey, they're all pretty busy doin their thing. Jo has a great sense of humour, and had plenty of stories about his mishaps and people he had met along the way, some beer was talked about as well.
Onto the beers:
Top Beer: had to be Citra!, at 9% and 99 IBU, it was always going to be the beer of the night. Overly Hoppedwith Citra, and funnily enough he actually revealed, its not a single hop brew, despite the misleading name. No Information was given on which hop it was... Something big and American no doubt.
Worst Beer: This is a hard one, as they were all actually very good, but if I had to choose, it'd be the Darkest Days Stout, it didn't quite hit the Creamy stout flavour for me, but still an awesome beer.
With only 9 beers on tap, it was a much shorter night at Pom's than normal, so pints were had.
All in all a good night, with some good beers, most of which I had tried already, including the Monster! Love that beer. I actually have a recipe of 2 for a couple of these beers, Scarlet and Monster, Not sure how accurate they are, but still worth a crack.
There will be no update for a couple of weeks from here, as I'm away on Holiday and there's not alot to talk about, but plenty going on behind the scenes.
Then it's onto Brewery Talk, Brew Rig building and NHC 2013, I'm still on the fence on what to make. I have a massive choice of recipes to choose from.
Oh and I'll be starting up a Brewtoad Page too! Posting my recipes for all who wish to try, as I believe in open source brewing, if people like drinking my beer, why shouldn't they be able to attempt to make it themselves...
Here is the Brewtoad Page: http://www.brewtoad.com/brewers/39840/recipes
Friday, 19 July 2013
CHCH Homebrew Club Collaboration
Last weekend I took part in one of the most ambitious brew days ever, two big imperial style beers and a partigyle.
A total of 120 Litres of beer brewed in one day.
A big thanks to the guys who showed up at Oli's place and contributed gear and ingredients.
The recipes decided on were:
the CYBI iStout by 8wired: OG 1.102
A Belgian Stout, Loosely based on the iStout, with some lowering of the grain bill and Some Dark Candi sugar: OG 1.090 Plus belgian sugar later
And a bits and Pieces Partigyle, using some of the runnings from the Grains. OG 1.057
Early indication, of these were good, the yeast were US-05 for the iStouts.
3522 for the Belgian stout, and was split between 2 the other half used the New Mangrove Jacks Belgian Ale, and lastly, they tried out the Newcastle dark ale by mangrove jacks and the /US mangrove jacks yeast.
Will be interesting to see how these turn out.
we did the Beglian stout BIAB, and brewed up 40 odd litres of it, heres some pictures to show you.
Heavy lifting involved. of which I couldn't do any of.
A total of 120 Litres of beer brewed in one day.
A big thanks to the guys who showed up at Oli's place and contributed gear and ingredients.
The recipes decided on were:
the CYBI iStout by 8wired: OG 1.102
A Belgian Stout, Loosely based on the iStout, with some lowering of the grain bill and Some Dark Candi sugar: OG 1.090 Plus belgian sugar later
And a bits and Pieces Partigyle, using some of the runnings from the Grains. OG 1.057
Early indication, of these were good, the yeast were US-05 for the iStouts.
3522 for the Belgian stout, and was split between 2 the other half used the New Mangrove Jacks Belgian Ale, and lastly, they tried out the Newcastle dark ale by mangrove jacks and the /US mangrove jacks yeast.
Will be interesting to see how these turn out.
we did the Beglian stout BIAB, and brewed up 40 odd litres of it, heres some pictures to show you.
Heavy lifting involved. of which I couldn't do any of.
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