Galaxy Pale Ale

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mozza
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Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by mozza » Sat Apr 29, 2017 6:33 pm

So today was the first time using my new equipment and the first time brewing again in about two years :beer:

I was a little apprehensive at first as it's been so long and using the new shiny stuff, I was pretty sure I'd cock something up!

Batch Size 25L
Original Gravity 1.056
Bitterness 40.1 IBUs
Color 9.6 EBC
Est ABV 5.1%
(assuming 80% efficiency)

Grain Bill_

Maris Otter 5.5 kg
Cara Gold 0.2 kg
Torrified Wheat 0.2 kg

Hop Schedule_

Galaxy 30g - 15 mins
Galaxy 30g - 10 mins
Irish Moss - 3g - 10 mins
Galaxy 30g - 0 mins (steep at 80 degrees for 20 mins)

Surprisingly everything went smoothly, hardly any swearing all day \:D/
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I had a play around previously with water trying to work out the amount of preheating required with the thermopot, but today I let Beersmith do all the work. Was aiming for 69degrees so very happy with that.
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I asked a few weeks back if anyone would be kind enough to share their water report with me. A big thank you to AnthonyUK, absolute legend! After dialing Anthony's report into the laptop I added salts to the grist and treated the mash liquor with phosphoric acid.
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First runnings looking nice and clear, the stainless sheet doing its job nicely. I only recirc'd for two or three minutes where as in the past I've been there all day waiting for it to clear up.

The smell from the Galaxy hops was out of this world (excuse the pun :wink: ) Definitely up there as one of my all time favorite hops.
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I ended up stirring the wort through the chiller just to speed things up, and create a bit of a whirlpool effect.
The wort was chilled to 17 degrees and I pitched some rehydrated Malt Miller's American West Coast yeast (or BRY-97 I believe)
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I ended up with 24 liters in the fermenting bucket at a gravity of 1.050, so the efficiency was a little over estimated there lol.

This is also the first time trying out the Brew fridge (very excited to see how this turns out!!!) I plan on keeping it at a steady 17 degrees to try and get a really clean beer to let the hops really stand out. I will dry hop for a couple of days before kegging with another large handful for Galaxy :D

I've made a few notes on how the day went and I'll dial that into Beersmith to try and properly suss out the new equipment. It's been a long time away from brewing but very happy to be back!
Cheers and gone,

Mozza

Haydnexport
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Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by Haydnexport » Sat Apr 29, 2017 7:33 pm

looks to be a good brew , always nervy using new gear ! My first ever hop use was a galaxy dry hop in a tc , not my bag at all , but if you like grapefruit its a winner :lol:

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mozza
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Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by mozza » Thu May 04, 2017 3:04 pm

Haydnexport wrote:looks to be a good brew , always nervy using new gear ! My first ever hop use was a galaxy dry hop in a tc , not my bag at all , but if you like grapefruit its a winner :lol:
I like galaxy because of its complexity I guess. Not a huge fan of citra as I find it pretty one dimensional (grapefruit overload) but that's just me.

Took a gravity reading and she's at 1.014 with the fermentation slowing down. 30g of galaxy added in a Chinese tea Ball and will leave until Sunday.

The slurp from the hydrometer was very promising, can't wait to get this one in a keg!
Cheers and gone,

Mozza

smuggles

Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by smuggles » Sat May 06, 2017 11:44 am

That fridge cabinet looks great! Do the taps connect into the fridge, or do they come from somewhere else? I'm curious as to how you fit two beers in there if they go to the fridge.

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mozza
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Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by mozza » Sat May 06, 2017 12:03 pm

smuggles wrote:That fridge cabinet looks great! Do the taps connect into the fridge, or do they come from somewhere else? I'm curious as to how you fit two beers in there if they go to the fridge.
Thanks mate, a labour of love!
There is a two inch gap from the bar top to the top of the fridge- I've drilled into the top of the fridge and ran beer lines from the taps down and inside. I need to remove the bulky plastic housing of the thermostat on the right and then there will be room for both of my 20L crusader kegs to sit next to each other. I'm tempted to bypas the thermostat whilst I'm at it or may just relocate the thing to save knackering the fridge.
Cheers and gone,

Mozza

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D4nny74
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Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by D4nny74 » Fri May 26, 2017 11:37 pm

Do you leave beer in the lines until next time you use the font ?, building something similar

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mozza
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Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by mozza » Sat May 27, 2017 8:30 am

D4nny74 wrote:Do you leave beer in the lines until next time you use the font ?, building something similar
Yeah both kegs will be connected up and left alone. Will just disconnect on the couplers between using incase of a regulator failure or something.
Cheers and gone,

Mozza

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D4nny74
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Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by D4nny74 » Sat May 27, 2017 5:54 pm

Cheers :D

MrN
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Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by MrN » Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:25 pm

What fridge do you have?

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mozza
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Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by mozza » Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:43 pm

MrN wrote:What fridge do you have?

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It's an old hot point jobby. A good 15 years old lol not sure on model number
Cheers and gone,

Mozza

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alexlark
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Re: Galaxy Pale Ale

Post by alexlark » Thu Jun 08, 2017 11:10 am

The Hotpoint RLA larder fridges fit 2 Crusaders nicely without mods, I got 2 of them (Crusaders & fridges).

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