Brew Number Three: Smugglers Bramling Cross

[fivetide]

This Smugglers is 1018 today from 1053 nine days ago, which I'm relatively happy with actually.

I'm going to transfer into secondary for dry-hopping for five days tonight or tomorrow and if the Great Eastern was anything to go by it might even drop another couple of points in the new bucket. Pictures another time.

Talking of hopping, I only have experience so far of drinking the First Gold hops with the Wherry, which sadly I can only really explain as giving it a 'hoppy' aroma and pleasing dry after bite. My early test of the Great Eastern is MUCH more promising, the Cascade being really obvious adding floral smell and big citrus taste.

What could I expect from Brambling Cross? Thanks.

[fivetide]

Found this information, so I guess i'll suck it and see, for comparison.

[fivetide]

I managed to transfer this one succesfully from the tap to a clear bucket fermenter for secondary. The bubbler is indicating some further action, so may get the FG down a bit further.

I boiled up a muslin hop bag and a couple of non-porous stones (as weights) and added 40g of Bramling Cross which will sit in the bucket for 5-7 days before kegging either in a KK or a Corni for a further week in the warm then three in the cool.

Thought the Bramling Cross smelt like a middle-road between the fresh dry smell of the First Gold and the citrus floral nose of the Cascade, and hope it will work well with the Smugglers. Who knows?

Time for another brew soon! I'm so impressed by the early signs from the Great Eastern Cascade as a potential summer brew, I may try a lager with an ale yeast and some more Cascade, not decided yet, a lot depends on the CO2 situation and the availability of my Cornies (it's tricky, someone is getting it for me as a favour).

[J_P]

I think you are ready for all grain brewing now, it's a lot easier than what you are doing at the moment

Fivetide just earned his wings - kudos from Daab!

It's something we all strive for, one day I'll get there

[J_P]

Given all the Muntons / Woodefords threads about advising to go down the rousing / re-pitching / dry enzyme route I'm coming round to your way of thinking!

Just out of interest do you get many AG brews that stick?

[fivetide]

It's something I will definitely do, I love reading the brew day stories and seeing the photos, although it does look a bit daunting with lots of opportunity for flustering and cocking the whole thing up! The different grains and hops really interest me though.

If circumstances allowed I'd get stuck in after the summer, but I may have to wait until early 2008 now. That's fine though, it'll give me time to build up equipment on the cheap and make some Autumnal and Festive adapted kits while I'm waiting!

The transfer sample of this 'un tasted nice and dry anyway, and I expect it to be approaching 5% so could be a goodie, who knows.

[fivetide]

Just a quick update. This has stayed resolutely 1018, but that's fine from 1053 now as far as I'm concerned and I won't be testing again.

The hops will come out in a couple of days and it will then have to stay in secondary until i have either drunk the Wherry or received the much anticipated CO2 and fathomed my Corni approach.

[fivetide]

This brew is *still* in secondary, although the hops are long gone. That's three weeks total primary and secondary.

On the plus side, it's now down to 1014 and the secondary yeast settlement at the bottom of the bucket is about a half inch (it's even settled on top of the tap). This gives me a probable ABV of about 5.2% which is very respectable.

It really does need to be moved on now though. I've been holding out for CO2 so I can move this into a Corni, you see and it could be tomorrow or Thursday by the time this happens.

Never done the Corni thing before, but at least this will be brightish to start off with. Any gems of wisdom I should bear in mind transferring and carbonising this 'un?

[ade1865]

I've just got a query here, in case I'm generally doing something wrong, but with my fixby Gold, the only hot water I added was what I rinsd the tins out with. Is this a major boob? Only it wasn't on the kit instuction page. I did wonder why I needed to check if the temp was l;ow enopugh in the ferm, as it was pretty much all cold water...

or have i, yet again, got the wrong end of the stick?

And good luck with the young un' fivetide. there was little to choose between when jr arrived and my first brew being clear! think the first was a bit more of a shock to the system than the latter, but only just

[fivetide]

Muntons kits tend to ask for 3.5l (6 pints) boiling water, which you can use to wash out the cans too.

I bash this about and then add 16.5 litres of cold and aerate etc...

I'm sure you won't have messed it up by using a bit less boiling water, surely?

[Stonch]

I should think the only issues you'd face by putting in less boiling water than advised would be that

(a) the wort may be tool cool for pitching yeast in
(b) the contents of the cans/fermentables may not dissolve very well

Still, provided fermentation is working nicely and the wort wasn't very lumpy, I can't see any reason why you would be fine!

[fivetide]

Well this is finally barrelled!

Stuck it into my original KK, now free of Wherry, with 90g of light spraymalt solution as a primer.

It tastes better at this stage than I hoped, probably cos it's had such a lengthy fermentation period to sort itself out and clear up bits and pieces. With the hoppy nose I'd say the closest taste would be a rather green Broadside...

So, a week in the warm then it's out to the shed with it, which as luck would have it is now down to 11 degrees all over again.

That means two barrels now clearing but none to drink and none in the fermenter. Come on H&G, deliver me my goodies! I need to bottle the TC and get another brew on!

[J_P]

I'm currently drinking a bottle of Thwaites double century Ale (quite apt given KP's antics in the last test) and have noticed that it too is hopped with bramling cross and according to the bottle (and my taste buds) it gives a bitter orange flavour to the brew.

It's really quite pleasant, I have never knowingly had anything with bramling cross in it and I really like it. I am now busily thinking of a kit I could dry hop with them. Perhaps another Great Eastern is on the horizon to add to the one dry hopped with EKG's.

[fivetide]

After nine days in the barrel in the warm and a month to the day after first sticking it into a bucket, this Smugglers Bramling Cross has finally been moved out to the shed (now hornet free).

Had a crafty half before moving and first signs are good. It's a darker, more robust amber ale than either the Wherry or the Great Eastern with a lot of sparkle and character - you can really taste the extra hops but it's also dry and fruity.

However it does need to clear, so at least two to three weeks before I touch it next. Hurrah.

[fivetide]

It's been three weeks now since I moved the Smugglers out to the shed, so as work has ended for the day I just had a crafty half. It's not my first taste of progress, but the first proper pour.

Well, it's nearly clear but not crystal and of course it's a darker, redder colour to the golden beers I've made. The nose is very nice, and the Bramling Cross seems to give a much lighter citrus aroma than the Cascade.

On tasting however, it does need further maturation. It's quite drinkable, with no overt sweetness, and you can taste the potential. It's stronger than the other brews I've made, crisp and floral and more complex than the Great Eastern say, although not as obviously hoppy as the summer ales.

But, it does have a telltale yeastiness which I am hoping might subside if I leave it another couple of weeks. I did add Yeast-Vit to this one and fermentation was slow, but the Wherry improved in time, so fingers-crossed this will too. It's been about seven weeks or more since I first stuck the thing in a bucket!