0912 Cup of TEA - 19/03/09 (with video)

[Chiltern Brewer]

This was my first brew of the year, a basic recipe (based loosely on Hogs Back TEA) to get back into the swing of things and I wasn't planning to record it...

OG 1044 / ~35 IBU / 40L (36L)

Pale Malt 7400g (92.5%)
Crystal Malt 600g (7.5%)

Challenger 80g (90 min)
EKG 20g (90 min)
Challenger 20g (Late Hops - Last 15 min/End)
EKG 20g (Late Hops- Last 15 min/End)

Wyeast 1275 - Thames Valley

Then I remembered Bru4u's video post so I thought I'd have a go. I dug out an old compact digital camera with a video mode and spliced together the few clips I took using Windows Movie Maker this evening. It's not scintillating I know, and if you play it too often you may feel the need to visit the toilet , but at least I tried!

Video 2.6MB (WMV format)

[DarloDave]

Love the wort aerator sprayer thing!

[fivetide]

It's a great video. It loops nicely on DivX with a nice funk soundtrack. 'Higher Ground' worked for me Haha - well done, keep 'em coming. (Nice FV by the way - I'm not jealous at all.)

[Chiltern Brewer]

Thanks for the comments guys. I just thought it might encourage other members to make (better) videos of their brewdays. Putting homebrew to music? Now there's a challenge!

The "wort aerator" was an after thought... I had some 22mm copper pipe and JG fittings left over from making my sparge device:



Anyway, I have a 22mm slotted manifold on the boiler but wanted something to stop hop particles getting into the FV. The boiler's tap is pretty much level with the top of the FV so using a sieve was going to be a problem, rather I needed something to suspend inside the FV.

As a "hop stopper" it works well. I've increased the number of holes since my last brew (as you can see in the video a few get blocked up) and I have no problem draining the boiler. As a "wort aerator" I'm not so convinced. I don't get the foam I associate with a good aeration, and I've resorted to circulating a dozen or so large jugfuls via the FV's tap just to be sure.

[Chiltern Brewer]

Here's how it turned out:

[Chiltern Brewer]

Well it must be a few years since I last had a bottle/pint of TEA so I can't say how it compares, but then that wasn't the point really. My idea was to do a basic recipe and in particular to use no wheat malt which has become a staple ingredient for me - I love the creamy spiciness it lends - but I wanted to better understand the flavours coming from the yeast and hops. I also wanted to check my water treatment by measuring the pH of an "average" mash. It was around 5.0 as it turned out.

Anyway, how does it taste... Sweet malt and orange peel on the nose. Nutty, bitter orange and distinctive Golding flavours. It reminds me a bit of Speckled Hen.

[SiHoltye]

Oooh, I never use wheat malt and plan to use a bit soon (1-5% in bitters) as I bought 3kg a while back. Spicy/creamy contribution you say...is there a commercial beer that contains torrified wheat noticeably that I can think of when thinking of it's flavour?

[Chiltern Brewer]

Caledonian's beers spring to mind.

I was hooked on wheat malt early on in my AG career when I did the B&T Shefford Pale Ale recipe (6% wheat malt) from BYORAAH. It gives a different result to torrefied wheat IIRC.

[yashicamat]

Looks very nice that beer does.

I have the same glasses, I think they are excellent for beer. Slightly on the small side, so less than ideal when watching the snooker world championship or something, but otherwise very good.

[Chiltern Brewer]

Normally I use a straight pint glass, but I used that one because it is more photogenic.