Home Brew Forum

I had fatal gasps of froth & gas from 3 cornies last week which leaves me with 2 cornies of sub-standard lager and 11/2 cornies of Pop's stout..of which I can only drink 1 pint per sitting as each one contains about 3k calories. So I had 6 cornies to fill and a busy week-end finishing off the bathroom and garden....Thanks for the tiling by the way MartialAnt..excellent job.. even better than your dentistry

So what to brew, I am a bit of a pale ale fan myself with plenty of hops, but I thought I might have a change this time.. This is the schedule:

40litres Black sheep
20litres London pride
20litres Summer lightning

Details below.

Black sheep

7.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
0.50 kg Crystal Malt
0.40 kg Wheat, Torrified
0.10 kg Roasted Barley
51.80 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (90 min)
62.10 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (90 min)
20.71 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (15 min) H
20.71 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (15 min)
14.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (0 min)
2.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
2 Pkgs Safale So4
OG 1.049

London pride (poetic licence for what I had in stock

3.70 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
0.50 kg Crystal Malt
0.10 kg Wheat, Torrified
0.05 kg Black (Patent) Malt
25.00 gm Fuggles [4.00 %] (90 min)
25.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.60 %] (90 min)
10.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.60 %] (15 min)
10.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.60 %] (0 min)
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs London Ale (White Labs #WLP013)
OG 1.047

Summer Lightning

4.50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
0.11 kg Wheat, Torrified
50.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (90 min)
50.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (15 min)
7.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Hop Back yeast(Cultured from bottle)
OG 1.049

And for all these brews for the first time I used Daab's water test kit and Graham Wheeler's spreadsheet and this:

Water treatment chemicals added.


The mash tun with Black sheep grain bill.


Mashing in.


About to boil...the wort smiles at me



Grain Bill for the London pride.


and finally the SL gets under steam.


Culturing the SL yeast stage 1.


Stage 2


The Black sheep..put to bed.


and who was too idle to set up the FV cooler (which can be seen in the background.

MOI


But 12 hours later ...looks good


And so to bed...knackered...will tidy up in the morning ...

and I did.

And for next week-end Coniston Bluebird and finally that Boddingtons clone.

oooh you're a glutton for punishment aren't you? Nice pics and a well done chap from all here at The Lazy Brewery

Glad the tiles have stayed on the walls.

Is the water in our area that bad we need treat it?

Clean up in the morning..... You have such an understanding wife.

MartialAnt wrote:Is the water in our area that bad we need treat it?

Assuming you are on the same water as me, which you probably are.

Our water comes from Hawkshead and very good and very pure and soft but, probably in need of some Burtonisation as Oggy is doing above, but only if you feel the need. Somewhere on here there is a thread showing you were to go for the water analysis. Ours was very detailed.

I normally add a teaspoon of gypsum and a campden tablet for the chlorine etc. I don't know if it helps but I haven't been happy with any of my beer for quite a while so I'm doing something wrong, I may have to seek advice if anybody is willing to taste it.

If you are on Lancaster water it is horrible. According to an EHO I used to work with there is too much seagull shit going into those reservoirs in Quernmore meaning that they have to add a lot of chlorine and you can smell it. It also, coming off the moors, has high iron content which is why, after a while, it stains everything pink.

Excellent photos!

Smile and the wort smiles with you.

Three brews in one session. Very respectable.

Charlie - i've been using Asda smart price water in most of my brews lately to avoid tap water. But there are times where its a last minute decision & i end up using tap water. Ther

I do the same as MartialAnt - Buy ASDA Smart Water- Its usually 17p but on offer for 15p for 2 litres at the moment

I add a teaspoon of Gypsum to 25 ltrs when making a pale ale type - but I am also a newby!

If you use the ADSA Water - my knowledgable friends on here will advise you regarding any additives necessary to make a Lager or Stout

MartialAnt wrote:
Is the water in our area that bad we need treat it?

MA and Charlie,

My water comes from Haweswater reservoir and is in fact rather pleasant tasting...It does however have hardly any of the minerals often recommended for brewing most of the type of Ales I like. I would probably be better off with Lancaster water and seagull shit

Having said that only about 3 out of 20 ales so far brewed have had problems and the problem has been haze not taste.

Some brews seem to settle rapidly and others take for ever (3 not at all). It is this lack of consistency I am trying to resolve.

I visited Jennings brewery recently and they (judging by the sacks of minerals lying around) most certainly add a few to their brews and as likely as not they use the same raw water (albeit from a well) as me.

Vossy, I believe had some success with mineral additions (his Manchester water is also probably from Haweswater) So I'm giving it a try.

if you are a United Utilities customer, then go to www.unitedutilities.com and plug in your post code for a comprehensive water report. The report is lacking Alkalinity (as CaCo3) but I determined this using DaaBs water test kit as a measly 22mg/l, you'll need this to use Graham Wheelers spreadsheet.

I'll keep you posted on any beer improvement...or otherwise...should be ready to try some ......tomorrow