anyone else noticed any changes

[Ianb]

I had this discussion with the local micro the other day. They have found decreased efficiency which is costing them roughly a firkin in a five barrel brew.

Added to a 60-70% rise in grain costs, with hops following suit, and you can understand why they're looking at raising prices in the new year.

[Graham]

A maltster at a well known maltings has been heard to say that barley which would normally go for animal food is now finding its way into the breweries

Tis true. The majority of brewing barley these days is up to 1.85% nitrogen; far too high for clear cask-conditioned ales. we need around 1.55% for pale and 1.65% for mild ale malt. The big brewers, whose majority of output is tinned supermarket fizzy-pop and lager means that they can get away with cheap feed barley. Their high-tech, temperature-stepped brewhouses and post processing; chilling the beer to throw a protein haze which is then filtered out, means that they don't need "quality" malt. Although a high nitrogen malt will have less extract, as long as the price is right it doesn't matter to them. The haze issues they simply filter out.

Less than 5% of all brewing barley grown today is suitable for cask conditioned ale. meaning that 95% of brewing barley is too high in nitrogen. It is no longer good enough to order "brewing barley" from a maltster - you can end up with anything - it must be ordered to a nitrogen specification otherwise you'd end up with same stuff the big brewers use. We have to rely on the home brew suppliers knowing what they are doing and getting the right stuff, but I doubt if that is true in all cases, particularly with shops that buy their malt directly.

Here is a link to a report by the Institute of Brewing,
linky, which although quite old, shows the extent of the problem. It will not be any better today.

I would think that the variable growing conditions of this season is making matters worse, and we are not necessarily getting quality stuff. It does not explain why people are having problems with Maris Otter though, if indeed it is exactly what it says on the bag. Time for the nitrogen spec to be printed on our packages.

[nobby]

Apparently most of these eco power solutions do such as roof top solar panels and wind turbines, people seem to forget they have a finite life span which is before they actually make any contribution to emmisions reduction and cost savings.

The big wind power things you see on hill tops take 70 years to save the CO2 released in the making and transporting the things. I bet most wont last that long

[Horden Hillbilly]

It looks like it is my turn.

Here is the link to the brewday, I estimated an OG of 1042 & ended up with 1038!

I am sure that I read somewhere a while back, possibly one of Graham Wheeler's books that "new season" malt can be difficult to extract the maltose from until it has "matured" for a few months.

That is why I set my efficiencies at 79%, if it is out it is normally only by a couple of points, but not usually 4 points less like this time!

I can also recall the same thing happening before, possibly around 6-7 years ago. IIRC I had to drop my target effiencies down to 74%-75%-ish.

[ColinKeb]

if it is the grain , shouldnt we all just demand grain with the right nitrogen content and force the home brew suppliers hands here? if we dont they are laughing as we'll have to use more grain to make the same gravity. I will certainly be looking next time i order anyway

[mysterio]

Incidently I have a new sack of MO that i've been using - I haven't noticed any dunt in my efficiency. I get mine from H&G, I can't remember what maltster they use (Fawcett?). However I don't monitor efficiency precisely, so if there is any change, it's very slight for me.

[Garth]

I've noticed for a while my efficiency has been poor, but I've just used some low colour MO to do a historical IPA and efficiency was amazing, better than it ever has been, I don't know what this means though....

[mysterio]

Probably either a different crush, different maltster or both I would imagine.

[steve_flack]

Just like hops and the varying alpha acid content, I believe the varying yield is simply down the years growing conditions.

As well as the hop shortage meaning hops are hard to find and expensive, there's also the problem of some European hops having appalling alphas this year. Saaz for example is about 1% alpha Hersbrucker has been low for a few years too (2%).

[steve_flack]

For a 1.040 20L brew I spend about

£4 on malt (OK I get mine cheap)
£4 on hops (if I'm being extravagant)
£2 on yeast (dried or slanted liquid)

£1 on leccy and water and chemicals

so still £11 for about 35-ish pints is good value for me. Plus I like doing it and I really like my own beer. So it's a no-brainer for me.

[Vossy1]

or you could just go down the supermarket and pay an extra 30p for a bottle of ale and spend your spare time watching footie, come dancing or x-factor (or whatever the latest tragic waste of time is prefered).

Or really lower yourselves and go back to Stella at 50p a can

[Jim]

......or you could just go down the supermarket and pay an extra 30p for a bottle of ale and spend your spare time watching footie, come dancing or x-factor (or whatever the latest tragic waste of time is prefered).

Where's the fun in that, though?

[johnmac]

http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mi ... &bid=50074

[Vossy1]

[johnmac]

The point was

She explained that we are going through a period of poor wheat quality, last seen five years ago

Don't tell me you were too lazy to read that far