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Dark Crystal
Plan
- Brew the yearly barley wine
- improve efficiency
Graph
Actual Figures
Field Target Actual OG 1.088 1.072 FG 1.020 1.015 ABV 8.9% 8.0% Lessons
- I have a new mashing strategy. I’ve removed the top plate and charge the sparging hose for a spray sparger attachment.
- No top plate allows me to stir to ensure mash doesn’t get stuck.
- Double mashed to ensure grain wasn’t wedged into pipe.
- I forgot to press the gain after risning so could probably have got a greater efficiency, but it’s still going the right direction.
- I also have a new pump attachment to cyclone the beer during chilling to try and reduce haze further.
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Green Duck
I’ve made a cider!
Some apples from my own tree mixed in with many more apples from the established Lawrie orchard.
Washed, chopped, rested with pectolase then crushed to extract the juice.
60 litres of apples Ames 12 litres of cider at a sensible 5.5% ABV.
Practice will allow me to learn to control sweetness and carbonising.
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Ambassador – stuck mash
Plan
- Make a chocolatey, creamy, hazelnutty porter.
Graph
Actual Figures
Field Target Actual OG 1.048 1.047 FG 1.015 1.014 ABV 4.3% 4.3% Lessons
- Despite good figures, the mash got stuck twice.
- Allowed a 10 minute dough in, then stopped mash to stir every 20 minutes.
- Despite low mash flow the grain sill compressed.
- Time for a new mash process:
- No top plate
- continuous sparge spray
- direct access to stirring
- I’ve bought a new sparging spray and connecting hose to see if this improve things.
- I also got a washing sprinkler to plug into the same hose.
- I also got a whirlpool arm to try and clear the beer before fermenting.
- I need to do another brew so to play with my new toys.
- If I allow the hose to go directly into the grain and turn it off then it sucks grain into the pump that requires an hour of disassembly and cleaning.
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Bohemia Brew
Plan
- 3rd Annual Lager attempt
Graph
Actual Figures
Field Target Actual OG 1.046 1.047 FG 1.011 1.009 ABV 4.6% 5.0% Lessons
- I’ve got back to 75% mash efficiency!
- spend 10 minutes stirring before mash. The pump flow should be reasonably high. Still stop every 20 minutes to stir.
- Forgot the protafloc. After using to much now I dont’ have any Will be interesting to se how this affects the clarity and head retention.
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weizenbock eisbock
Plan
- Attempt a standard weizenbock
Graph
Actual Figures
Field Target Actual OG 1.067 1.049 FG 1.015 1.011 ABV 6.8% 5.1% Lessons
- Slowing the mash rate reduces efficiency.
- Sparging with cold water is fine.
- Use more spare water if necessary, then just boil for longer
- I’ll need a longer boil for the stronger beers.
- Boiling with steam hood at 1900 rather than the full 2500 reduces the boil off to 2.5 rather than 4l.
- Is boiling at full power wrong?
- this is going to be a weak beer.
- Using a whole protafloc tablet will clear the beer but destroy head retention. Use half, maybe a quarter.
- Hop spider has a use only just chilling, pump fluid through it as an extra filter prior to moving to FV
- And it was weaker than planned I moved to the back of the fridge during the cold crash to eisbock it and improve ABV. I think chilling for longer will increase the eis effect.
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Wee Heavy
Plan
- Attempt a Scottish winter beer, somewhere between a 120 shilling and a Wee Heavy
Graph
Actual Figures
Field Target Actual OG 1.075 1.060 FG 1.020 1.016 ABV 7.2% 5.8% Lessons
- Hot break can be managed by adding 2.5g of hops at start of boil, and the rest straight after the break.
- Jamming too much grain into hop pipe reduces efficiency. Ad extra water and stir every 20 minutes, I can always boil for longer to reach target volume.
- I can use hop spider with pump as extra filter during pre-boil and at cool down.
- Also remember the manual stats that the 1900w element is sufficient for a rolling boil.
