Late Christmas brew!

[drjim]

Been planning a Christmas brew for a while. Do have a couple of hundred bottles of mixed beers a pressure barrel of stout and at least a corny of lager/Aussie sparkling ale, but I have a handpump and like to use it! Much delayed by a DIY utility room project I did it today.To offset the lateness it's a Kveik experiment and as handpulled no carbing time needed...

Normally I use a 3 vessel HERMS system, but for speed I grabbed a bag from the shed. I've finally got some foil insulation/bubble wrap and stuck a few wraps round my Buffalo boiler, even though it's 2 degrees outside it boiled quickly and kept temp during the mash so in warmer weather it'll be bubbling in no time!



This is the recipe...

https://share.brewfather.app/a0hiMRdASUhdeF

Jims Christmas Beer!

I ended up with about 28L at 1054. BIAB didn't match the volumes right, and I added 4L cold water post boil.

60G of the hopstand centennial is my whole hops harvested from plant in a pot. Whole harvest, so didn't quite return on the price of the plant, but hopefully it'll be back next year!

I've stuck it in the shiny stainless conical and it is cooling down out in the open air ready for the Voss Kveik to be pitched, have an electric heat belt to keep it warm for a couple of days.

Will update!

[MashBag]

Sounds very nice, I like the ginger & mixed spice. Have you done this recipe before?

Made me think of making a similar with cascade.

I would use a proper yeast though

[drjim]

It's a spontaneous invented recipe influenced by the need to use up a bag of chocolate malt and some ageing dark crystal. Tasted the wort at hydrometer stage and it could almost have been a christmas liquer, reckon it'll come out nice.

I would also rather use a "proper" yeast but time is of the essence! I pitched the dried voss (actually from CML) into the fermenter at 37 degrees, hydrated it first in the hydrometer sample which gave it a head start; within an hour it was bubbling through the airlock. Got a heater belt on it to keep warm and it's at 28 now, might wrap it up in something cosy so it's done by tomorrow!

[MashBag]

It does sound nice, keep us posted.

[drjim]

Well it's not quite gone as planned!

Sat the conical in the boiler room, temperature outside has been down around minus 10. Forgot that having moved the washer/drier into new utility I had left the duct dangling in the boiler room. Cold air pouring around conical, temperature down to 10-15 degrees at floor level. At 5 dys it was a sludgy soup and still over 1020.

Moved to cupboard under stairs with the heater belt and it was back above 25 next day, gravity now down to 1010 which is about right so it's gone to sit outside in the cold, been settling a day but still soup coming out of the tap so I'll give it another day.

christmas plans also changed with less family coming here, I'm thinking of kegging it as hand pulled tends to go off a bit too quickly if not drunk promptly!

[WalesAles]

still soup coming out of the tap

jim,
But it`s BEER soup!
Mmmmmm, dunk your bread in that mun!

WA

[drjim]

It's too lumpy and the Kveik makes it taste a bit odd. It'll settle out overnight and I'll get it in the keg after work tomorrow.

[MashBag]

I don't understand why it is lumpy. What sort of lumps?

[drjim]

Lumps of yeasty stuff settling towards the bottom. Still a little bit in the racking arm/tap this evening but once I ran that through I had clear stuff. It's now in a couple of corny kegs attached to the CO2.

[drjim]

Gave it a bit of force carb and shaking and just squirted a test snifter with party tap. Interesting taste, stouty with a hint of spice/ginger on the tongue and a fruity aftertaste. Still a little cloudy with yeast residue as expected for first squirt from the corny.

Seems to have come out at 5.8% so 25 or so litres of that will help Christmas pass by! Will post a pic of a properly poured one when I have a full glass of fully carbed beer in a day or two. Might taste different once some more of the yeast has settled out.