Brew UK Forum | Brewdays
Exmoor Gold from real ale brew book
Hi guys. Just done my 2nd AG brew today
4.59kg Maris otter pale malt
47g challenger hops main boil
16g goldings hops 10 mins from end
9g styrian goldings 15 min steep after boil
Safale s-04 yeast
All started according to plan and mash went well (90 mins at 66c). Fly sparged with 14.70 litres at 76c and got boil volume to 21 litres.
Now the fun began with my electrim 'alleged' boiler. Got onto a rolling boil and got my hot break (only just
!!!) and after that it decided to keep cycling on and off - pain in the rear being polite! I disconnected the thermostat and rewired it so it bypassed straight to the element but found it was the element clicking on and off. Had a look at this and could not do any running mods ( it was off at the mains so I have no frizzy hair tonight !) in the end I had to settle for a poor performance from my boiler. Used my irish moss on last 15 mins and when done I used my wort cooler and got down to 23c. Checked gravity on top up to 5 gals and I hit 1.046 (1.045 target). Pleased with sparging as seem to hit 75% efficency both times I've sparged.
Pitched safale s-04 yeast at 22c and now the wait begins!
Wort was lovely golden colour and smelt soooo good!
Overall apart from my boiler that I've only used Twice not a bad day. Now on the lookout for a new boiler.
cheers H
Conditioning - Theakston Old Peculier
Conditioning - Christmas 2010 (Strong Xmas ale)
Maturing - Peach wine kit
Drinking - Summer Lightning, Summer Wit
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Nice one H...
Glad you got the book in the end.. In answer to a question you posed in one of my threads. No i didn't shop in Waterstones, i can't afford their prices lol.
Electrim i'm afraid are notorious for not doing what they say on the tin. I've read numerous reviews on websites and none of them are favourable. I was lucky enough to get my Swan boiler of Ebay so it might be worth trawling there for one.
Back to your brew though sounds like it's got potential. You'll have to let us know how it goes...
Neil
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Cheers Neil. Just checked out swan boilers. Good price. Did you mod yours for rolling boil. If so, was it easy to do? What about adding a hop strainer to it? Again any advice most welcome. Cheers Howard
Conditioning - Theakston Old Peculier
Conditioning - Christmas 2010 (Strong Xmas ale)
Maturing - Peach wine kit
Drinking - Summer Lightning, Summer Wit
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Cor blimey Howard you didnt waste long in getting that 2nd AG done!
Did you use and water treatment or is that for another time? The hop schedule looks great. I'm loving styrians at the moment they smell great and you cant go wrong with classic challenger and goldings.
I think im gonna move back to fly sparging as the 2 times I have dome batch sparging my eff. is around 69% where on fly sparging I was easily getting 76%.
Good man, will be great to hear the outcome.
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Nath. Thought Id sneak another all grain in. Totally agree with what you say about the hops. The styrians smelled absolutely gorgeous - thought was gonna get high on them as kept lifting the pack to my nose! Did the water treatment and used the left overs for orange squash. The water was really soft and tasted better than bottled. Got email from Portsmouth water saying the water report we have is the most up to date and they release each years test at the end of that year. Not very current but better than nothing. I enjoy doing fly sparging as seems to work really well and I suppose the if it ain't broken don't fix it attitude is what I have. Sounds relaxing listening to running water apart from when my legs are crossed!
Conditioning - Theakston Old Peculier
Conditioning - Christmas 2010 (Strong Xmas ale)
Maturing - Peach wine kit
Drinking - Summer Lightning, Summer Wit
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Yep I'm gonna do a all styrian ipa next, about 200g of them! Did Portsmouth Water say about the magnesium? I dont think it will make much difference anyway so not to worry there.
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi H
I have one of those electrim 'boilers'... I only use it as an HLT because of those things you mention. Pain!
Sounds like everything else went to plan though! Nice work!
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Up early then Tony, sneaky brew on before school?!
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi H,
If you look on my raspberry blower thread Stu Williams kindly showed me a way of modifying my swan boiler. However, all i've done at the moment until i get around to doing it is sticking the reboil button down then tieing a piece of string tightly around the boiler. It works a treat though i must admit.
I wish i'd added a hop strainer to it because the tap is now blocked. Oh well you learn the hard way...
Neil
Posted 1 year ago by Member
On the subject of hop strainers, I originally fitted a stainless steel flexible tap connector braid thingy. What a mistake a to make a. It drained VERY slowly. So I have binned that and built a nice shiny copper tube matrix type thing. just debating how best to cut the holes necessary in it (my dremmel blew up last time I used it...)
If you do go down the swan route, you'll want to change the tap to, so include that in your budget. I think I started a thread about mine a few months ago. Here's the link http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/swan-26l-hot-water-urn
Stu.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
heh heh ... I wish Nath.... I get up at 5.30, leave at 6.15, walk the 2 miles into school and usually arrive about 6.50. Best time of the day to get things done - no kids (or staff) to bug me :o)
I usually look in here with my cup of tea before I leave!
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Nath - Portsmouth Water don't measure Magnesium so they tell me. Styrian IPA sounds like a lovely brew, bet that would be mega tasty indeed. Cheers Neil and Stu - some excellent info on the Swan boiler - looks a good price on eBay. Certainly food for thought! The Electrim is a pain - like you say Tony, not much use other than an HLT - trying to think what use i could have for mine if i get a decent boiler - could set a timer and put it next to the bed as a large Teasmade I suppose!
Any other suggestions?
Cheers
Howard
Conditioning - Theakston Old Peculier
Conditioning - Christmas 2010 (Strong Xmas ale)
Maturing - Peach wine kit
Drinking - Summer Lightning, Summer Wit
Reply
You must log in to post.