Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Miller's Chill
If beer was a man then this would be the stereotypical gay man. It tastes like bad lemon softdrink. Bah.
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Monster Returns
Due to the recent aquisition of some very cheap Coopers Stout Kits, it's time for round two with the Monster.
Monster Stout Mk II
2 x Coopers Stout Kit
1kg Dark Malt Extract
200g Black Patent Malt, steeped
400g Milo
20g Fuggles @ 15 mins
5g Fuggles @ 5 mins
Kit Yeast
See 'The Monster meets The Otis', above, for the brew that eventuated from this idea.
Monster Stout Mk II
2 x Coopers Stout Kit
1kg Dark Malt Extract
200g Black Patent Malt, steeped
400g Milo
20g Fuggles @ 15 mins
5g Fuggles @ 5 mins
Kit Yeast
See 'The Monster meets The Otis', above, for the brew that eventuated from this idea.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Winter Warmer Ginger Beer Take 2 (and 3)
Due to popular demand, the winter warmer is making a comeback.
Winter Warmer Ginger Beer
1 Cooper's Ginger Beer Kit
1kg Dextrose
200gr Brown Sugar
500gr grated fresh ginger
3 tbs Ginger Powder
1 tbs Nutmeg
Juice and Zest of one Lemon
Cinnamon Stick
3 Cloves
Safale Dry Ale Yeast
Brewing Notes: Boiled Dextrose and fresh Ginger for 20 mins
@ 20 mins, added Brown Sugar, Ginger Powder, Nutmeg and Lemon Zest
@ 30 mins, added Kit, Lemon Juice, Cinnamon and Cloves.
@ 40 mins, flameout and into fermenter, topped to 23L and pitched yeast and yeast nutrient.
Two batches were made. as of 8 hrs later, one fermenter was obviously away, but the second took off more slowly, possibly due to higher pitching temp due to a greater boil volume.
15/07/08: Both Fermenters are underway, and smell wonderful. I was worried that I'd have to buy a new yeast for second one, but all is good.
14/08/08: Bottled with help from Herr Sean Skelton. Good times. Tasted quite nice out of the fermenter, so another two will be put on to use as a base for punch for Sean's 21st. Should be a ripper.
Winter Warmer Ginger Beer
1 Cooper's Ginger Beer Kit
1kg Dextrose
200gr Brown Sugar
500gr grated fresh ginger
3 tbs Ginger Powder
1 tbs Nutmeg
Juice and Zest of one Lemon
Cinnamon Stick
3 Cloves
Safale Dry Ale Yeast
Brewing Notes: Boiled Dextrose and fresh Ginger for 20 mins
@ 20 mins, added Brown Sugar, Ginger Powder, Nutmeg and Lemon Zest
@ 30 mins, added Kit, Lemon Juice, Cinnamon and Cloves.
@ 40 mins, flameout and into fermenter, topped to 23L and pitched yeast and yeast nutrient.
Two batches were made. as of 8 hrs later, one fermenter was obviously away, but the second took off more slowly, possibly due to higher pitching temp due to a greater boil volume.
15/07/08: Both Fermenters are underway, and smell wonderful. I was worried that I'd have to buy a new yeast for second one, but all is good.
14/08/08: Bottled with help from Herr Sean Skelton. Good times. Tasted quite nice out of the fermenter, so another two will be put on to use as a base for punch for Sean's 21st. Should be a ripper.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Monster Stout
I like stout. Sometimes I do silly things. So I made this.
Monster Stout
2 Coopers Stout Kits
1 kg of DDME
200g Lactose
200g Black Patent Malt, steeped
3 sachets of kit yeasts.
Brewing Notes: Pretty straightforward to brew. I boiled the Malt and Lactose, and steeped the Patent Malt in heated water for about 15 mins before straining it and adding the liquid to the boil. I then poured it into the fermenter, heated some more water, mixed in the kits, poured this in, topped to 23L, and pitched the yeast about an hour later. Fermentation started well, with a healthy amount of krausen. I suspect I shall buy a better yeast and add it later, if the kit yeasts have trouble.
Bottled: 2/07/08
I never put a better yeast in it, guess we'll trust Coopers. I believe it fermented out completely, so I primed with a full scoop into longnecks (750ml bottles), but just in case i left three unprimed; if it turns out fine then I'll leave them in the cupboard for a few years, if not then at least I'll have some record of the brew if the primed ones start exploding.
This will be recreated very soon, due to the recent acquisition of two Coopers Stout Kits at $8 a piece. Mavellous. One can never have too much Stout.
Tasting Notes:
18/07/08 Bloody good. Sweet burntness, just how I wanted it. Very little hop flavour or aroma, which will be the next addition; I think a small addition of Fuggles wouldn't go astray. My god it's alcoholic though. Half a longneck down and I'm feeling it. Its only lightly carbonated, I hope I didn't grab one of the unprimed ones.
22/06/09 Still bloody good, roastyness is still very much prominent, blending with the warmth of the alcohol very nicely to create a flavour somewhat reminiscent of a Cooper's Best Extra Stout. As before, hop flavour and aroma non-existent, and very little in the way of lasting bitterness, which was dissapointing. It was this lack of bitterness that lead me to adding the early-boil hop additions to the recent Kitchen Sink Stout, hopefully it works out.
Monster Stout
2 Coopers Stout Kits
1 kg of DDME
200g Lactose
200g Black Patent Malt, steeped
3 sachets of kit yeasts.
Brewing Notes: Pretty straightforward to brew. I boiled the Malt and Lactose, and steeped the Patent Malt in heated water for about 15 mins before straining it and adding the liquid to the boil. I then poured it into the fermenter, heated some more water, mixed in the kits, poured this in, topped to 23L, and pitched the yeast about an hour later. Fermentation started well, with a healthy amount of krausen. I suspect I shall buy a better yeast and add it later, if the kit yeasts have trouble.
Bottled: 2/07/08
I never put a better yeast in it, guess we'll trust Coopers. I believe it fermented out completely, so I primed with a full scoop into longnecks (750ml bottles), but just in case i left three unprimed; if it turns out fine then I'll leave them in the cupboard for a few years, if not then at least I'll have some record of the brew if the primed ones start exploding.
This will be recreated very soon, due to the recent acquisition of two Coopers Stout Kits at $8 a piece. Mavellous. One can never have too much Stout.
Tasting Notes:
18/07/08 Bloody good. Sweet burntness, just how I wanted it. Very little hop flavour or aroma, which will be the next addition; I think a small addition of Fuggles wouldn't go astray. My god it's alcoholic though. Half a longneck down and I'm feeling it. Its only lightly carbonated, I hope I didn't grab one of the unprimed ones.
22/06/09 Still bloody good, roastyness is still very much prominent, blending with the warmth of the alcohol very nicely to create a flavour somewhat reminiscent of a Cooper's Best Extra Stout. As before, hop flavour and aroma non-existent, and very little in the way of lasting bitterness, which was dissapointing. It was this lack of bitterness that lead me to adding the early-boil hop additions to the recent Kitchen Sink Stout, hopefully it works out.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Two massive days of brewing.
Given that my 21st is fast approaching, and given that I haven't done much brewing in the last few months, in true twisted illogical corks style I have embarked on a brewing crusade of sorts, with six brews being put on in the last two days, and possibly more to be done in the near future. Insane aye bruz...
Here follows the Brews:
Sl-hut Pale Ale
I made two batches of this. Recipe as follows:
Coopers Pale Ale Kit, added at flameout
approx 1kg LDME
approx 500gr Dextrose
approx 150gr Maltodextrin
approx 150gr Crystal Malt, steeped for half an hour
20gr Cascade at 30mins
10gr Cascade at 10mins
Salfale US05 yeast.
Made to 20l.
Fermenting Notes:
4/2/08 One fermenter didn't seem to take off, so I pitched the kit yeast as well.
No activity was noticeable throughtout ferment on either, other than the airlock bubbling on one fermenter, so I assume there is a leek in one fermenter. We shall see shortly, when I do some Specific Gravity readings.
Tooheys Dark
Tooheys Dark Kit
1kg DDME
approx 150g Roasted Barley
30gr Fuggles at 30mins.
10gr Fuggles at 20mins
10gr Fuggles at 10 mins.
Kit Yeast.
Filled to 20l
Tasting: Bloody good drop a month later at the party, and at last tasting (5/2008), still good, but somewhat over-carbonated. Perhaps bulk-priming and racking to secondary would be advisable to counter this in the future. But all in all a recipie to try again, as it was one of the favourites at the party.
Coopers Bitter
Coopers Bitter Kit
1kg light malt?
some dextrose?
40g Goldings?
crystal malt?
kit yeast?
Tasting: It's a shame I didn't write down the actual recipie for this, because it has proved to be an intriging ale. After two weeks in the bottle it was somewhat undrinkable, and due to the party it became rather infamous. But in the last few months (4/2008-6/2008) it has come good in a big way. The key is to drink it after it has warmed up a bit, and ye gods does it go down easily.
Coopers Real Ale
Coopers Real Ale Kit
1kg Amber malt?
some dextrose?
40g Goldings?
crystal malt?
kit yeast?
Tasting: named the Son of a Bitch, or the S.O.B, as Mull clamped his hand between the lid and the bottle whilst capping. Similar to the Bitter, except that it was drinkable earlier. Looks amazing in a glass, just like a proper English Bitter.
Thomas Cooper's Wheat
Thomas Cooper's Wheat Kit
1.7 kg wheat malt
40g Hallertau?
some dextrose?
Specialty wheat yeast.
Tasting: At the 21st it was fantastic, and due to its popularity there were precious few left at the end. However, as of May it is certainly past its best. One to attempt again, but it needs to be consumed within a couple of months.
Here follows the Brews:
Sl-hut Pale Ale
I made two batches of this. Recipe as follows:
Coopers Pale Ale Kit, added at flameout
approx 1kg LDME
approx 500gr Dextrose
approx 150gr Maltodextrin
approx 150gr Crystal Malt, steeped for half an hour
20gr Cascade at 30mins
10gr Cascade at 10mins
Salfale US05 yeast.
Made to 20l.
Fermenting Notes:
4/2/08 One fermenter didn't seem to take off, so I pitched the kit yeast as well.
No activity was noticeable throughtout ferment on either, other than the airlock bubbling on one fermenter, so I assume there is a leek in one fermenter. We shall see shortly, when I do some Specific Gravity readings.
Tooheys Dark
Tooheys Dark Kit
1kg DDME
approx 150g Roasted Barley
30gr Fuggles at 30mins.
10gr Fuggles at 20mins
10gr Fuggles at 10 mins.
Kit Yeast.
Filled to 20l
Tasting: Bloody good drop a month later at the party, and at last tasting (5/2008), still good, but somewhat over-carbonated. Perhaps bulk-priming and racking to secondary would be advisable to counter this in the future. But all in all a recipie to try again, as it was one of the favourites at the party.
Coopers Bitter
Coopers Bitter Kit
1kg light malt?
some dextrose?
40g Goldings?
crystal malt?
kit yeast?
Tasting: It's a shame I didn't write down the actual recipie for this, because it has proved to be an intriging ale. After two weeks in the bottle it was somewhat undrinkable, and due to the party it became rather infamous. But in the last few months (4/2008-6/2008) it has come good in a big way. The key is to drink it after it has warmed up a bit, and ye gods does it go down easily.
Coopers Real Ale
Coopers Real Ale Kit
1kg Amber malt?
some dextrose?
40g Goldings?
crystal malt?
kit yeast?
Tasting: named the Son of a Bitch, or the S.O.B, as Mull clamped his hand between the lid and the bottle whilst capping. Similar to the Bitter, except that it was drinkable earlier. Looks amazing in a glass, just like a proper English Bitter.
Thomas Cooper's Wheat
Thomas Cooper's Wheat Kit
1.7 kg wheat malt
40g Hallertau?
some dextrose?
Specialty wheat yeast.
Tasting: At the 21st it was fantastic, and due to its popularity there were precious few left at the end. However, as of May it is certainly past its best. One to attempt again, but it needs to be consumed within a couple of months.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)