my first brewday post

[pokerswazi]

well, yesterday was brewday and my mother in law was here to take all the lovely pics. she snapped away like a papparazzi so got a bunch hosted on photobucket.

i mashed 4 kilos of maris otter pale malt and then boiled with 60 grams of goldings and 35 grams of fuggles. (goldings were open and needed using, fuggles are new). another 12 grams of fuggles went in for last 10 min of boil. This is my slacker version of "caroline's fine ale" recipe from GW's camra homebrew guide which reads as:
original gravity 1035
pale malt 4kg
goldings hops 95g
bitterness(EBUs) 40
final gravity 1009
acohol (ABV) 3.6%

this is my gear, ready and waiting for a busy day...


here goes the grain, into my untreated, heated up tap water, easy...


here is the first batch from my batch sparge running off


and into the boiler the 1st batch goes while tyhe second batch sits for 10 min...


now the second batch


all in the boiler, starting to boil...


in go the hops, the best part of the day. the smell is unreal... i'm getting thirsty...


lovely rolling boil, hops 'n all...


he he he, some dodgy irish moss the wife got from somewhere. packet says at the bottom
"through the ages it is said to have aphrodisiac qualities and may help in your lovemaking!!! go get them!"
good stuff then...


chilling...


into the fermenter it goes...


job done, wife is happy...


and i'm happy...


all in all was a good day and everything went as smooth as... i've made this beer before and am confident that i'll be loving the drinking...thats the short version. i have about 150 pictures detailing the whole process and would be willing to put together a how-to, the simple way with no jargon. just say the word and i'll get on it. thanks for looking in...cheers...

[Madbrewer]

Great way to spend a Sunday especially when the westhers like this. I Like the Carolines recipe too.

[YetiBrewer]

I for one would be extremely grateful for a "dummies guide to beer making". Looks like it was a fun day despite the weather

[iowalad]

Looked like a good day!

[Gurgeh]

why does your missus keep toothpaste and toothbrush in her handbag then?

So did you stir the mash when you topped up for your first & second runnings?
That tin foil thing is usually employed for 'continuous sparge' or 'fly sparge'.

if you're batch sparging, have the tap closed, top up, stir, recirc and then drain, repeat.

Glad you had a good day, CFA is a cracking drop!

[Horden Hillbilly]

Excellent brewday post, thanks for sharing it with us. If I may give you some advice though, please don't brew in bare feet! There was a post on here a while ago where a forum member scalded his foot & it looked terrible.

[Dennis King]

why does your missus keep toothpaste and toothbrush in her handbag then?

You should`nt look in a ladies handbag

[fivetide]

I loved this post! Gave me a big grin and looked like a top day. Great stuff - make sure you write up your next brewday too.

[pokerswazi]

ah... the foil thingy was for returning the first run off back to the mash and the wife stayed with the old lady she cares for on sat night.
i have been doing this for 4 yrs now but not very often. i'm still making baby steps at the moment. next few steps will be putting all i have learnt here into practice. it's time to up my game i think.
happy days ahead...

[Immy's Dad]

Looks like a quality set up and a great day. All I need is time and I'd be doing full mash too. Unfortunately I have a few sprogs. I agree that a 'how to' would be an excellent addition to the forum. We might even be able to sticky it. Congratulations on an excellent day and a very supportive MIL.

[Gurgeh]

Only poking fun - there's a bit of a tradition on here to hunt for completely off-topic items for discussion in photos

looks like you've got a good little routine there - good job!