Glorious Five Year Plan

[maxashton]

Hi folks.

I've seen all the AG'ers talking like this, and i don't see why i should be excluded from such recipe based fun, so here it is:

Glorious Five Year Plan Lager

1 can Telford's Continental Pilsener,
1 kilo munton's light spraymalt
1 pk Safale yeast, rehydrated in my patented* airlocked lucozade flask.

* not patented.


That was much easier reading for my untrained eyes.

I'm brewing up this weekend, aided by my ever-patient best mate, who is the lager drinker i've mentioned in other posts.

I plan on fermenting in a bucket, and transferring to a barrel for secondary.
From there i will probably bottle if i decide i have the energy to do so, or just try and get the best carbonation i can from the keg.

I picked up some brupaks body bru, in the hopes of improving head retention. I find the head on my beers disappears after a few centimeters, and i bloody hate it. This will go in at the end of fermentation as reccomended on t'box.

Will this work OK in a lager?

When i decide to either bottle or keg, i will add isinglass.

However it goes, i will be taking pictures. Not nearly as interesting as those incredibly impressive AG setups, but i'd like to think i have a really nice plakky bucket!

Max

[chopperswookie]

When i decide to either bottle or keg, i will add isinglass.

don't want to sound daft but what is isinglass? (there is a restaurant near to where i live called that btw)

[bitter_dave]

1 pk Safale yeast, rehydrated in my patented* airlocked lucozade flask.

* not patented.

[maxashton]

isinglas is.. well, it's the lining of a fishes swim bladder, in all honesty.

It sounds repugnant, but it imparts no flavour.

You add it before you bottle/keg and it makes all the yeast and other randomness to flocculate and drop out of the beer, thus aiding you in your quest to get crystal clear beer.

Thanks for the tip on body brew. Probably a bit late for heading powder right now. I wanted creamytop really, but i couldn't find it on the hop and grape website.

Fully reccomended, hop and grape, btw. Very friendly and very helpful!

[chopperswookie]

cheers max, now thats what the missus means by "when are you going to add fish scales". i think she has much latent brewing potential...........

[maxashton]

thanks again for the tip, DaaB.
The isinglass came with the home brew beginner kit i bought from art-of-brewing.

I'm still contemplating ordering a "better bottle" plastic carboy from somewhere tho.

[bitter_dave]

I'm still contemplating ordering a "better bottle" plastic carboy from somewhere tho.

I'm curious: is there any advantage to buying one of these over a normal fermenting bin?

[maxashton]

I have no idea.
I find the fermentation process bloody fascinating to watch, so that's one part of it. But i've always seen people using carboys for secondary, so i thought it'd be nice to have one.

[prolix]

I have two glass carboys and I love em great for secondary fermentation and storing under airlock, until a barrel becomes free (drunk). You can see how the brew is clearing. they don't squish at the top and get you worrying about handles and my plastic fermenter lids just do not fit anymore after using them as HLT's.

[maxashton]

Yeah, and i've seen all kinds of handles and whatnot for them.

These better bottle things apparently are super easy to clean, presumably because the surface is difficult for the crap to adhere to..

Plus, the better bottles come with a sort of racking attachment you drill into the side of the wotsit.

[maxashton]

Apparently, i am a muppet.

I just spoke to the lovely people at hop-and-grape, and they've told me i actually ordered Brupaks PGA powder, not body-bru.

They're going to have a think about wether or not this is wise for lager, and come back to me.

Jolly good service, imo!

[maxashton]

Yeah, that is a worry, but since it's lager i'm doing, i was gonna keep it in the garage.

It's bloody freezing in there!

[maxashton]

I just made up the Glorious Five Year Plan lager.
Sadly, it involved the consumption of several pints of Caffreys and Boddingtons, and as a consequence i'm pissed as a fart.
On the bright side, the airlock is bubbling away merrily, so i'm hopeful that i did everything OK. Pictures to follow.

[oxford brewer]

I just made up the Glorious Five Year Plan lager.
Sadly, it involved the consumption of several pints of Caffreys and Boddingtons, and as a consequence i'm pissed as a fart.
On the bright side, the airlock is bubbling away merrily, so i'm hopeful that i did everything OK. Pictures to follow.

Brew more and stay away from the Caffreys and Boddingtons

[maxashton]

I can't help it. They slip down so easily, and with the right soundtrack and company..