Cambridge Beer Brew Experiment - POLL

[Tequilla6]

LOL Jubby,

I also had a look at using a bottle of White Shield to allow us both a taste of what we are trying for and a yeast to go with it, using the YouTube demo Chris posted to show everyone how to do a starter from a bottle. But as you have found out the yeast used in the bottles it's not actually the primary yeast. I need to make an order for the Hops whichever brew we decide on and another FV so would be happy to bulk order the yeast or even the hops for anyone and distribute at the next Cambridge beer meet.

I relation to the Yeast, the White Labs yeasts can be of indeterminate age and if I have to bulk order 6 or more of the Brewlabs yeast, then it would be a special order and would take a week to deliver. But it would be guaranteed that the yeast slant was as fresh as it could be and the whole Brewlab catalogue( PDF courtesy of SF) would be available to us. A thought to ponder.

[smp465]

I don't mind tackling either of those recipes, but i can probably cover White Shield from stock, yeast apart, so i lean towards that. Good work Steve!

Not sure about lobbing either of those hops in late by the bucket load Jubby! Northdown, in particular, is a hop i am very cautious of quantities with.

Hmmm! The Fuggle/Goldings combo now looks good.....STOP IT SHANE!

[jubby]

Not sure about lobbing either of those hops in late by the bucket load Jubby! Northdown, in particular, is a hop i am very cautious of quantities with.

That's interesting because although i have Northdown, I have never used them so I was looking around earlier to get a feel for what they will contribute. I read that they are similar to Challenger but with a spicier aroma. What would you say?

[cooldad]

Hats off to you Steve . I'm up for anything and have most of the hops for white shield (aren't they mostly American hops) This is going to be fun never brewed anything with that high a ibu rate.

[cooldad]

What nobody voted for a larger. Could try that one for next summer

[DrewBrews]

Excellent work Tequilla6, I thought we were going to have to have a poll for each ingredient!

White Shield, gets my vote.

Also, I've never brewed with sugar before. What do you do? Just whack in in the boil?

As for yeast, I'll be making a starter no matter which yeast we go with.... I'll go with which ever yeast is decided on but my vote would still be brewlabs (as I know they culture them fresh so you never end up with yeast that's been sitting around for a year)

Hop and grape is the only place I can find selling White Labs Burton Ale Yeast, hope they've got a lot of stock!

Looking forward to this brew now

[Tequilla6]

Ok, Most of the Cambridge Beer Meet Guys have gone for the White Shield it seems.

The only sticking point would now be the Yeast. I will speak to a HBS tomorrow to determine the White Lab yeast availability as I have already determined the Brewlab availability. As we are doing a Burton-on-Trent IPA then I will stick to that style of Yeast.

If I decide on the Brewlabs it will be the 2556 Burton 1 Single if it's the White Labs it will be the WHITE LABS BURTON ALE YEAST -WLP023.

I have decide that if anyone wants to place an order via me for the yeast and/or Hops then just pop me a private mail for your requirements and I will be happy to order along with mine and pass on at the next Cambridge Beer meet. If you are interested in culturing a yeast starter either from slant or Liquid,then I will also be happy to help as I also have the yeast culturing equipment available.

As to sugar additions Drew, it should be added to the boil along with the bittering hops.

I trust everyone will have the required Malts?

[smp465]

That's interesting because although i have Northdown, I have never used them so I was looking around earlier to get a feel for what they will contribute. I read that they are similar to Challenger but with a spicier aroma. What would you say?

I would agree with that, but reiterate that they can be pretty potent. Even when just used as a bittering hop, Northdown are very prominent. Even early (bittering) additions of Northdown leave a much stronger taste than Challenger and, from my perspective that spicier flavour, if too strong, can also make a beer come across as more bitter (for the same IBU). I must admit, i love Challenger. Have probably used more of them than any other hop because i love them as a bittering hop for both English and American aroma hops.

I am thinking of bittering with 2g Challenger per 1g Northdown, and using a small amount for Northdown for aroma if the hop schedule is left open?

[jubby]

Thanks for the info Shane. Looking at the recipe here: http://www.hopandgrain.com/default.aspx ... 98a0ec374d It's pretty much what you are aiming for. Might bung a few in as dry hop though!

[jubby]

What nobody voted for a larger. Could try that one for next summer

[smp465]

Thanks for the info Shane. Looking at the recipe here: http://www.hopandgrain.com/default.aspx ... 98a0ec374d It's pretty much what you are aiming for. Might bung a few in as dry hop though!

That would do it!

[cooldad]

i'm being really dense when looking at the recipe I thought that crystal was one of the hop's as I've just used it in a brew . been playing with beersmith on the recipe and the penny dropped that it is crystal malt .

[Maltloaf]

Also, I've never brewed with sugar before. What do you do? Just whack in in the boil?

You can, but not as a lump, you want it to dissolve not caramelise on the element (or hot bit next to the flames). Add it somewhere in the middle of the boil.
Another way is to catch the last litre or so of the last runnings to dissolve the sugar in that. If you're running your boiler nearly full this also gives you the chance to raise your end-of-boil volume. Get the last runnings into a pan and boil it on the stove (with the sugar) while your main boil is reducing in volume. When there's room, chuck the pan contents into the main boil.
Note that the sugar will affect the hop extraction rate.

Looking forward to this brew now

Absomalutely!
ML.

[Tequilla6]

Everyone,

After reading all your posts, comments and gaining feedback I am now ready to state the final Recipe and rules I guess. I have finally decided on the Yeast issue. I have decided that although I would have liked to use a yeast slant, that as this is the first time we have tried this little experiment and I understand that for some the thought of a yeast starter, let alone a liquid yeast is a bit daunting. So to stay inclusive and to allow us to bring some of the less experienced brewers along for this exciting ride that the White Labs liquid yeast will be the way to go for our first brew. I hope that I am correct in the expectation that this will be the first of many future brews for us as a group and that we can move onto trying the Brewpacks Yeast Slants in the near future. Without further ado here is your mission should you choose to accept it.

Make a Modern style IPA based loosely on the well known Worthington White Shield IPA using the following ingredients.

Approximate Ingredients for 25 Litres based on 75% efficiency

Malt
4350gms Pale Malt
520gms Sugar (Any White Granulated or Invert sugar is acceptable)
365gms Crystal Malt

Hops
A mixture of Challenger and Northdown with an IBU range of between 50-65IBU (Actual Hop Schedule Open)

Yeast
WHITE LABS BURTON ALE YEAST WLP023 (Pitch or Starter)

Water Profile
Not specified

Approximate OG 1.050 ABV 5.5%

Also required is a reasonable log of your actual Ingredient list, brew process, hop schedule and fermentation ect, else how are we going to learn anything.

I will be ordering my hops and yeast on Monday so as offered I can place an order for you and pass the ingredients on at the next Cambridge Meet if you would like me to. Good luck to all and I look forward to the tasting session when these mature. As to sampling some of the actual beer from the info on the Worthington's website, Sainsbury in Cambridge do it as well as Beers of Europe (This is where I bought a bottle or two) near King's Lynn. Thanks to everyone for their support on this experiment I am really looking forward to it. As for any other Jim's Beer Kit Forum poster/brewers out there, we may not be able to get to try your beer but would welcome anyone joining in and brewing your IPA along with us.

Good Luck to everyone

[jubby]

That will do for me then! I'm off to Sainsburys for a couple of samples