Artists Revival.
3.52kg Pale Malt
130g Crystal Malt
400g Muscovado sugar
43g East Kent Goldings
14g Fuggle
11g Bramling Cross
11g Goldings @ turn off
Batch: 23l OG: 1.043 Colour: 19 ECB IBU: 38 Efficiency: 75%
I used BeerAlchemy for most of the figures.
I always used to boil my brewing water for a few min and rack it off the carbonates when cooled so I thought I would do the same now, I got caught on the phone and this is what I skimmed from the surface after 15min boil plus I left about the same in the bottom when I racked it off.
Not very fresh eggs
My preference is for an overnight mash but for my first brew back I’m doing an extended mash of 4hr. I’ve added 1tsp gypsum to about 15l of water @78C I want a fairly slack mash to start at 67C, after doughing in I needed to add some boiling water to get up to that and end up with a total of 11L, Just on 3L/Kg. pH was 5.9 I added 2tsp gypsum and got 5.5 I didn’t want to add more reckoning that 5.5 was just ok. How much do you guys use? Should I have added more?
Temp ok.
Into bed.
Duvet on.
Now I can get and walk the dog.
Bit longer than normal today met an attractive girl out walking her dog so chatted awhile, my dog was interested to, could not get him away, he just wanted to sniff her Schnauzer.
Crack on, squash soup to make, Karachi and sweet corn.
4hrs up and temp is 63C (-1C/hr). Sparge water @80C, stopped at 26L sg1.012 29L sg1.011 33L sg 1.009 so stopped approx 55min SG 1.018 @46C = 1.027 100% = 1.033 = 81% Eff
Foil SEE, (sparge eff enhancers) direct water away from walls into centre of bed.
Decide to increase the batch to 24L, the addition of the sugar will give me the target og, calculated approx 2.5hr. Boiled as much as the boiler would safely take and the rest in 2 large stock pots on the stove. Added the hops as the schedule with 90min left, added the sugar and stockpots as evaporation allowed. Sat for 15min and cooled, sparged hops with a kettle full of boiling water. 24L @21C OG1.044 100% = 1.052 = 84% Eff.
Dark now, overnight next time.
Pitched Gervin ale yeast starter and sat down for some soup
Conclusion:
• Cool box to big for 3-4kg grain, only had bed depth of 12cms. (With 81% eff I won’t be looking for a smaller one).
• Lid especially needs extra insulation, as you would expect of something that is designed to keep things cool.
• I was expecting to use 23L sparge water and collect 27L wort, can’t explain that.
• CFC highly efficient, wort was 15C at first, slowed the feed to a slight trickle to get right temp.
• Why is mash eff lower that brewhouse? 360º/kg/L Extract figure wrong? And would lose sugar in hops.
• Pleased as punch.
Any comments on my procedures or techniques welcome. (Did I get my sums right)?
BTW the recipe is adapted from DL’s Morland Bitter, Morland no longer brew,
their inn sign was an artist with his palette. 
