British hops

[MashBag]

It will be interesting debate. I have started another thread about the book.

I too prefer hopstand rather than dry hopping. Might try cooler. Thanks.

[bitter_dave]

Six days since I brewed my Ernest ale and I have just bottled it (as in put the beer in bottles, rather than getting scared )

FG was about 1.012 so about 4% ABV. Aroma was great; did not quite translate into the same level of flavour but it is early days. I was surprised how bitter it was; think this might be because I used hops that are fresher than I am used to. It's not unpleasantly bitter, just a bit more than I was expecting.

Beer was pretty clear as liberty bell yeast is pretty flocculant (despite the 30 min boil and being brewed less than a week ago).

I did something I've never done before and did not prime it. With hindsight the last couple of beers I've made have ended up a bit too carbonated for me as time has passed so I thought I would do something radical and try not priming. Graham Wheeler obviously used to argue that priming was not necessary if you were patient so let's see what happens. It's currently sitting in my brew fridge at 19c where I''ll leave it for a week.

I'll try a bottle in a couple of weeks and give my initial verdict (although I'm guessing it will be still fairly flat at this stage).

[MashBag]

Not primed at all? I dropped down to 1/2 tsp.

[bitter_dave]

Not primed at all? I dropped down to 1/2 tsp.

Nothing. I used 1 muntons carbonation drop per 500 ml bottle last couple of beers (equivalent to 2g sugar, so less than half a teaspoon) and this ended up being a bit over carbed for me after a few weeks. Perhaps it relates to the yeast and the extent to which it continues fermenting. Or perhaps it's just preference.

The Greg Hughes book suggests 2.8gm of sugar per litre for bitter-like carbonation, so 1.4gm per 500gm. I'm now wondering whether I was a bit hasty with the no carbonation thing and might go back and add 1/4 teaspoon per bottle for perhaps half the batch.

[MashBag]

It will of course depend on the any residual sugar too.

1/2 tsp I find is very similar to real ale (tin hat on)

[bitter_dave]

1/2 tsp I find is very similar to real ale (tin hat on)

I would say my beer is more similar to real ale a week after bottling, and less so as time passes after this

Are you drinking all your beer in a week MashBag?

Yes, residual sugar when bottled matters of course, but I've not been bottling with high FGs.

[MashBag]

Are you drinking all your beer in a week MashBag?

Er no. I can only just keep up with one (or2) week nights.

But I have to say mine, does not appear to change or time. Will check tho

[bitter_dave]

Are you drinking all your beer in a week MashBag?

Er no. I can only just keep up with one (or2) week nights.

Yes, I was joking really.

I think it's yeast-related. I made a mild using MJ Empire ale yeast a while back and it maintained a more modest level of carbonation and didn't change in the same way.

[MashBag]

I would say my beer is more similar to real ale a week after bottling, and less so as time passes after this

Hmm. I find this quite interesting. How did it change? Better : what did it change into?.. Does it fizz more. Like a purchased bottled beer?

Yeast thing... Yeah I an inclined to agree. Are you bottling at fermentation temp or after a cold crash?

[IPA]

Six days since I brewed my Ernest ale and I have just bottled it (as in put the beer in bottles, rather than getting scared )
I'll try a bottle in a couple of weeks and give my initial verdict (although I'm guessing it will be still fairly flat at this stage).

Next time use at least one PET bottle and then check carbonation by squeezing the bottle.

[bitter_dave]

Hmm. I find this quite interesting. How did it change? Better : what did it change into?.. Does it fizz more. Like a purchased bottled beer?

Yeast thing... Yeah I an inclined to agree.

Yes, it gets fizzier as time goes on and gets a little thinner tasting (presumably because it is attenuating further). There is nothing wrong with the beer per se, I would just like to it be a get a bit less carbed up. Perhaps I notice it more because I don't make 'big' beers and I'm also bottling now. In a pressure barrel pressure is presumably maintained to some degree when you take beer. I should probably just try a low-ish attenuating yeast; I've got a sachet of Lallemand London Ale Yeast I could try next time, or maybe do something really radical and get some liquid yeast. Liberty Bell is easy for me to get (from the hombrew shop near me) and is reliable but I would ideally like something a bit less attenuating. Empire ale yeast is also easy for me to get, and is less attenuating, but I'm not sure it would be the best for beers designed to try out new hops.

I also think a lot of commercial bottled beers are too fizzy, so perhaps it is also about personal preference. I've got a wherry kit I made and bottled some time ago and it is now super fizzy; FG at bottling was pretty low at 1.010 so it wasn't lots of unfermented sugar at bottling; used equivalent of 2g sugar per bottle, so less than 1/2 teaspoon. They now provide two sachets of yeast and you never seem to hear from people on forums about stuck wherry kits so presumably they are including something like gervin yeast, which obvious attenuates a lot.

I primed six bottles of the Ernest ale yesterday (and left the rest un-primed) so I'll try one in a week or so and give you my fascinating views on carbonation then!

Are you bottling at fermentation temp or after a cold crash?

I've bottled at ferm temp and cold crashed. The mild I made with empire ale yeast which was less carbed up was cold crashed. Not sure if it would make much difference, accept perhaps if you were cold crashing early which I have not done.

[bitter_dave]

Six days since I brewed my Ernest ale and I have just bottled it (as in put the beer in bottles, rather than getting scared )
I'll try a bottle in a couple of weeks and give my initial verdict (although I'm guessing it will be still fairly flat at this stage).

Next time use at least one PET bottle and then check carbonation by squeezing the bottle.

Thanks for the tip IPA. All my beers are bottled in PET bottles (the Coopers ones) and I agree squeezing the bottles is a good way to monitor carbonation.

[MashBag]

Cold crashing will cause a yeast to become somewhat inactive, some of which will not recover. Whereas at Ferm temp, they are just getting a lunch of priming sugar and crack on.

[guypettigrew]

Cold crashing will cause a yeast to become somewhat inactive, some of which will not recover. Whereas at Ferm temp, they are just getting a lunch of priming sugar and crack on.

Doesn't that depend on how cold? I drop my beers from fermentation temperature to 10°C once they are close to 1/4 of the starting gravity. Then they are kegged with no priming sugar and soon develop a nice amount of gas.

Guy

[bitter_dave]

Cold crashing will cause a yeast to become somewhat inactive, some of which will not recover. Whereas at Ferm temp, they are just getting a lunch of priming sugar and crack on.

Doesn't that depend on how cold? I drop my beers from fermentation temperature to 10°C once they are close to 1/4 of the starting gravity. Then they are kegged with no priming sugar and soon develop a nice amount of gas.

Guy

That's interesting Guy. But isn't 1/4 gravity pretty much FG for many yeasts? So 1/4 gravity of 1.040 would be 1.010? Some yeasts are not supposed to get to 1/4 gravity. Or have I misunderstood?

Also, if you're crashing before FG has been reached you must do this quite swiftly? Some yeasts are pretty much done in three days for regular beer.