A Thames Valley Bitter - 16/12/2008

[coatesg]

I'm lining one up for tomorrow, and I'm gonna use the Brakspear yeast I've recultured from a couple of Oxford Gold bottles. Keeping this one down on the gravity to reduce the risk of an under-pitch (though actually there's a good layer of yeast at the bottom of the demijohn, so maybe not a problem )

2.7kg Maris Otter
100g Crystal 120L
30g Flaked Barley
20g Black Malt
270g Dark Brown Sugar

OG 1034ish

and a tour of the various goldings for hops:

30g EKGs (4.1%)
20g WGV (8.7%)
35g Styrian Goldings

Treating the water with CRS, and aiming for Burton style liquor (~450ppm SO4, ~190ppm Ca+) so the relevant treatment from Graham's water calculator. Will sort the water out tonight to save time tomorrow evening.

[Horden Hillbilly]

Good luck tomorrow, I hope it goes as smooth as mine did today.

[adm]

I second HH's comments!

I think I'm probably done brewing now until after Christmas. All my kegs and FVs are full.

(Although, I could get the WInter Sun out of it's FV, into a secondary and maybe get a crafty Barley Wine on....)

[coatesg]

Cheers - water treated (alk up to 194mg/l tonight so in 36L 31ml CRS, 10g gypsum, 5g Epsom Salts - oh, and a Campden tab!), and grain all weighed - upped the flaked barley to 50g.

Brew tomorrow!

[coatesg]

Okey-dokey. Mash is in at 66C - time for dinner I think!

[adm]

Have a good one! Looks like you'll be up late tonight.

[coatesg]

Not too bad in fact - done with 22L at 1034 - lost a litre or so to the hops, but otherwise pretty much as expected. I'll leave the photos until tomorrow (as well as emptying the hops/grain - raining outside

The yeast seems to be starting off well - fingers crosed on this stuff (first time with it).

[coatesg]

Bugger! Forgot the photos! Will have to find them...

Anyhow, bottled this last night at 1008 - batch primed with 65-ish g of normal sugar. Quite a fruity malt flavour from sample jar sample - I think it could have taken more bittering hops - something to think about for the future, though not so bad really - since it's low ABV (3.3%) so it's be easy to overdo it.

I saved about 400ml of yeast/trub/etc from the bottom of the FV for use early next year - need to try and drain off the yeast from the crud in the stuff I harvested .