Random Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I know a few of the guys here are also into home brewing... So here's what I'm up to! Back in the mid to late 80s my Dad used to brew his own beer. It fascinated me from about age 3 onwards. Especially the air locks bubbling away! At 5 my dad let me have a taste and it put me off alcohol entirely until my late teens and I firmly believe it removed the mystery of alcohol and kept me from abusing it. Anyway on to today! Currently got about 15 pints of my first ever home brew left. It was from a kit my parents bought me for christmas, It turned out pretty well! Only about half an hour's work and It keeps you in cheap alcohol for a month! I've also bitten the bullet and gone all-grain which has cost me a bit in equipment but its where the real fun is! As i'm still new its about 5-6 hours worth of work to brew a batch. I'm rather ambitious so went with my own recipe for the first batch. It turned out surprisingly well! Very unusual but pleasant taste as I used a smoked malt along with more conventional marris otter malt! I like fairly strong beer so this one is up around 6.5% - 7%! I have about 10 pints left of this in a MiniKeg plus 2 bottles due to be sent out as samples to friends! The kegs haven't carbonated well but the bottles should be good Its actually a lot paler in "real life" and please forgive the huuuge head on it. Not sure what happened there! Second all grain batch is fermenting now. A revised version of number 1 with additional crystal malt to darken the beer up and give it a bit more body. Plus an increase in the amount of hops. Hopefully be bottling and Kegging at the end of next week. This one's another strong un..... 1060 original gravity.... If it fully ferments out this could be 8% or so. Probably too strong but I can easily adjust the recipe next time to get it to a more sane level! I'm already thinking of what to do next if this turns out well. A bitter? Perhaps even a Lager if I can find a cheap fridge to ferment it all in?
joey45 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Being North London we have wine.... red wine. And that's not even half of it... Oh and that's 1 of 3 vines.. There was a 5th one there but it broke..And there's about 3 more dotted around the house. Half the time it turns into red wine vineger.:doh: The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. "Me, the 13th Duke of Wybourne, here on the ED forums at 3 'o' clock in the morning, with my reputation. Are they mad.." https://ko-fi.com/joey45
Random Posted February 10, 2015 Author Posted February 10, 2015 Who knew grape vines grew in London! I've had a demijohn break on me before... It was full of coins though! Went to lift it and SMASH. Do you use specific yeast for the wine or just let the naturally occurring stuff on the grapes go at it? Also what causes it to turn to vinegar? I really need to try some UK made wine, I've delivered to a vinyard in kent before but when I asked if they had any bottles I could buy they just laughed. Bottling day was the next day, hence the huge delivery of 8 tonnes of empty wine bottles!
panzerd18 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Kit brewer myself. Started dry hopping too. Will continue until I get bored.
Random Posted February 10, 2015 Author Posted February 10, 2015 Friend of mine is planning to do exactly that. Kits are plenty good really and dry hopping gives you that bit of customisation to make it your own!
joey45 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Who knew grape vines grew in London! You'll be surprised. depending on the seasons we could get some pretty good crop. I've had a demijohn break on me before... It was full of coins though! Went to lift it and SMASH. Bet your back room didn't smell of wine....:lol: Do you use specific yeast for the wine or just let the naturally occurring stuff on the grapes go at it? Also what causes it to turn to vinegar? We use camden tablets to kill the inital yeast, then red wine yeast. If you leave it too long in the demijohn it can... I really need to try some UK made wine, I've delivered to a vinyard in kent before but when I asked if they had any bottles I could buy they just laughed. Bottling day was the next day, hence the huge delivery of 8 tonnes of empty wine bottles! Our vines are a bit young about 8 years I think so they havn't matured much.. At the moment it's probably only good for cooking with....:smilewink: The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. "Me, the 13th Duke of Wybourne, here on the ED forums at 3 'o' clock in the morning, with my reputation. Are they mad.." https://ko-fi.com/joey45
Random Posted February 27, 2015 Author Posted February 27, 2015 Second batch is now bottled and kegged! Roughly 30 pints. I've just opened the first keg and its very similar to "old tom" an award winning ale... so I'm pretty pleased! Next batch will feature a little wheat to add head retention and lighten it a bit as its a pretty heavy hitter now!
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