So who's brewing this weekend?

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Planning a beer I'm interchangeably describing as a "British Strong Ale" and "Imperial Special Bitter", but which also just about fits the bill for "English IPA".
Should be:

6.6%
About 22EBC
40 IBU

Mostly Crisp Finest MO, with 5% each CaraGold, Extra Light Crystal and Wheat Malt, plus 2% Crystal DRC and 6% golden syrup.
Bittered with Harlequin, with Opus (50g) and Olicana T45 (25g) in the whirlpool.
Might do a token dry hop with Opus/Olicana, maybe up to 3g/L
 
When you’re mostly retired pretty much any day can be a weekend day. Mashing a 4 gal batch of Weissbier at the city house.
36AFF1A6-C9D6-4A98-9C4E-A08A12717118.jpeg
 
HM-2 said:
Planning a beer I'm interchangeably describing as a "British Strong Ale" and "Imperial Special Bitter", but which also just about fits the bill for "English IPA".
Should be:

6.6%
About 22EBC
40 IBU

Mostly Crisp Finest MO, with 5% each CaraGold, Extra Light Crystal and Wheat Malt, plus 2% Crystal DRC and 6% golden syrup.
Bittered with Harlequin, with Opus (50g) and Olicana T45 (25g) in the whirlpool.
Might do a token dry hop with Opus/Olicana, maybe up to 3g/L
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Not "weekend" per se, but brewed this one today. Super smooth brew day, only "snag" was achieving ~85% mash efficiency rather than my usual ~75% and ending up overshooting my target OG by a fair bit (1.065 target, 1.072 actual). Already in the Fermzilla and showing signs of beginning fermentation.
 
Just got the grain conditioned for a batch of hazy IPA, based off of Georgetown's Bodhizafa. Labor Day weekend has always been at least a two-brew weekend for the last four years, and Monday I'll do another batch of the House Blonde.
 
jcav said:
I like your mash tun insulation!

John
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My SIL gave me that coat a few years ago. He’s an aircraft mechanic and maintenance supervisor for a large FBO at KBIL (AKA Logan Int’l Airport). His employer issued all the maintenance staff cold weather gear and the coat was much too large for him. They got him a coat that fit and told him to keep the other one. It’s a little snug on me but it fits my kettle perfectly.
 
I’m doing a total beer experiment today. I made some homemade pale malt with new crop barley I got from a local farmer who is one of my fuel customers. I’m using it paired with a bunch of fresh dried whole cascade cones from a vine that grows at my mom’s house. It’s the recipe for pale ale from Sierra Nevada’s website. It will also have some C-60 added. Hopefully it’s a great beer in about 5 weeks. The mash just started so hopefully I get good efficiency and hit my preboil SG as planned.
:bigmug:
 
Getting low on base malt. Ordered enough for about a 6 month supply from Morebeer a few days ago and decided I had enough Pilsner and White Wheat for a 4 gal batch of Cream Ale (I have plenty of adjuncts on hand). With the Cali Common and Märzen which are kegged, and the Irish Red which is fermenting, this batch will pretty well fill my pipeline for awhile.
 
My pale ale is in the fermenter and ready to turn into beer. Not the cleanest wort I’ve ever made, but it smells and tastes like most of the others I’ve done. OG was a tad lower than the estimated figure at 1.053 (estimated was 1.058). First time ever using whole hops… 6oz are a lot of goop. Hopefully is isn’t swill in 5 weeks.
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camonick said:
My pale ale is in the fermenter and ready to turn into beer. Not the cleanest wort I’ve ever made, but it smells and tastes like most of the others I’ve done. OG was a tad lower than the estimated figure at 1.053 (estimated was 1.058). First time ever using whole hops… 6oz are a lot of goop. Hopefully is isn’t swill in 5 weeks.
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I bet it turns out great. Looking good so far I think. I have never used whole hops yet.
 
Section1 said:
I bet it turns out great. Looking good so far I think. I have never used whole hops yet.
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I’ll just be happy if I can drink it and it tastes remotely like a pale ale. I flew blind on this whole brew. I wasn’t sure my grain would even make wort and I have no clue what AA% these hops are. Wish me luck.
 
I brewed an ordinary bitter yesterday and threw in some Cascade hops straight off the bine at the ten minute mark. Today it's happily fermenting away sitting in front of an AC. I think I'll get up early tomorrow and do a green hop pale ale with my Cascade and Columbus hops.

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Brewed a Cream Ale, 4 gal batch as I only had a 5 gal fermenter available. Pretty uneventful brew day; hit every volume and gravity number exactly. Not the clearest wort I’ve ever racked to a fermenter but I’m thinking there will be beer in a few weeks.
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I spent some time under one of my pecan trees today brewing 15 gallons of hefe. SWINBO loves hefe. I wish she would help my bottle it.
Both My chillers together in my kettle took the wort to 85F in 30 minutes. It's chilling in an ice bath now. My brew shed is full again.
A brewers work never ends.
 

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Today I brewed the 2nd batch of some German malt SMaSH beers; same recipe and process, different base malt. The Vienna batch is conditioning in the keg and I'll pitch yeast into the Munich 6L batch tomorrow morning. Next up is Munich 10L to round out the season :D
 
Just put my Festbier in the fermenter. A little late brewing it but should be fine.

Over shot my OG at 1.061. Nice golden yellow color.

Hydrometer sample tasted more than promising.
 
A few days ago, in another thread, I mentioned that I had more beer in the pipeline than at any time since I started brewing, 11 years ago. But, I was still wondering what I should brew next.

Well, today I have the day to myself and an empty fermenter. So, I’m brewing a Czech Pilsner.

Don’t judge me. I’m just chipping. I can quit any time. :ghostly:
0355F65B-E589-4995-99D6-AA2F2814579A.jpeg
 
grampamark said:
A few days ago, in another thread, I mentioned that I had more beer in the pipeline than at any time since I started brewing, 11 years ago. But, I was still wondering what I should brew next.

Well, today I have the day to myself and an empty fermenter. So, I’m brewing a Czech Pilsner.

Don’t judge me. I’m just chipping. I can quit any time
Click to expand...
You seem to brew quite often, or at least way more often than I do. I assume you're generally brewing smaller batches? Reason I ask is because I'm recently retired but am still brewing 5 gallon batches, kegging them, and serving from my keezer. However each time lift full kegs into the keezer I ask myself how much longer am I going to be doing this. I'm going to at least start looking at smaller, maybe 3-ish gallon options for down the road. If you are brewing smaller batches what fermenter(s) are you using? Kegs, or bottling? I'd like to keep on kegging, just with a smaller fermenter and smaller kegs. And also want to keep the ability to do pressure transfers, which I feel is really a must.
 
BongoYodeler said:
You seem to brew quite often, or at least way more often than I do. I assume you're generally brewing smaller batches? Reason I ask is because I'm recently retired but am still brewing 5 gallon batches, kegging them, and serving from my keezer. However each time lift full kegs into the keezer I ask myself how much longer am I going to be doing this. I'm going to at least start looking at smaller, maybe 3-ish gallon options for down the road. If you are brewing smaller batches what fermenter(s) are you using? Kegs, or bottling? I'd like to keep on kegging, just with a smaller fermenter and smaller kegs. And also want to keep the ability to do pressure transfers, which I feel is really a must.
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I tend to brew whenever the opportunity presents itself. I’ve brewed a lot in the last 6 weeks, mostly to fill the pipeline, because from now until the end of the year I won’t have as many chances. I’m in the process of unwinding my place in the family business and turning over the management and majority ownership to our son. The farm is a corp. so there are a few more hoops to jump through. We’re also planning to move from the farm, where we have lived for 46 years, to the small house 250 miles away which we bought to provide a “safe house” where my wife could stay when she was undergoing cancer treatment.

I brew mostly 5 gal batches, and keg. I have a pretty low buck system at both houses, 3 vessel at the farm, BIAB in the city. I’ve brewed 2.5 gal batches in the city, and bottled, until a couple of months ago when I put together a small, 2 tap keezer there. I’ve brewed a couple of 4 gallon batches there recently, because my kettle isn’t big enough for full volume, no sparge, 5 gal batches. I ferment in plastic, better bottles at the farm, buckets in the city. Moving kegs around isn’t as easy as it used to be, but the keezer in the city is pretty low (doesn’t have a collar) so it isn’t that bad.

I can brew a lot more than I drink, but I don’t have any trouble getting rid of beer. I have more than enough family and friends who can drink any given amount. :cool:
 
grampamark said:
I tend to brew whenever the opportunity presents itself. I’ve brewed a lot in the last 6 weeks, mostly to fill the pipeline, because from now until the end of the year I won’t have as many chances. I’m in the process of unwinding my place in the family business and turning over the management and majority ownership to our son. The farm is a corp. so there are a few more hoops to jump through. We’re also planning to move from the farm, where we have lived for 46 years, to the small house 250 miles away which we bought to provide a “safe house” where my wife could stay when she was undergoing cancer treatment.

I brew mostly 5 gal batches, and keg. I have a pretty low buck system at both houses, 3 vessel at the farm, BIAB in the city. I’ve brewed 2.5 gal batches in the city, and bottled, until a couple of months ago when I put together a small, 2 tap keezer there. I’ve brewed a couple of 4 gallon batches there recently, because my kettle isn’t big enough for full volume, no sparge, 5 gal batches. I ferment in plastic, better bottles at the farm, buckets in the city. Moving kegs around isn’t as easy as it used to be, but the keezer in the city is pretty low (doesn’t have a collar) so it isn’t that bad.

I can brew a lot more than I drink, but I don’t have any trouble getting rid of beer. I have more than enough family and friends who can drink any given amount. :cool:
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Thanks for your reply. Brew on….
 
Brewed my first all grain batch today in my new (to me) BIAB setup. Spruce tip ale. Everything was great until the tips clogged my transfer port, lesson learned on needing to keep those contained in the future! Didn’t hit the target numbers like I would have liked but smells like beer, so fingers crossed!
 
HM-2 said:
Planning a beer I'm interchangeably describing as a "British Strong Ale" and "Imperial Special Bitter", but which also just about fits the bill for "English IPA".
Should be:

6.6%
About 22EBC
40 IBU

Mostly Crisp Finest MO, with 5% each CaraGold, Extra Light Crystal and Wheat Malt, plus 2% Crystal DRC and 6% golden syrup.
Bittered with Harlequin, with Opus (50g) and Olicana T45 (25g) in the whirlpool.
Might do a token dry hop with Opus/Olicana, maybe up to 3g/L
Click to expand...
This came out really well. A bit lighter than I was expecting and, for some reason, it's not dropped especially clear despite being gelatine fined, but it's very delicious. Glad I didn't dry hop it actually as I think you'd have lost some of the fruity complexity of the malt bill and yeast esters.

It could have done with a touch more bitterness, but only because I massively overshot my OG numbers. I think had it kept to 6.6% instead of ending up closer to 7.5% it would have been pretty much perfect.
 
Well, my impromptu brew day yesterday turned into a huge cluster. Long story short, I ran out of propane, broke both my hydrometers, and had to stop to dispose of a dead barn cat. A 4 1/2 hour brew turned into about twice that by the time the fermenter went into the fridge. Oh well, it will result in beer.
 
I brewed two batches today. I woke up very early and realized I wasn't going back to sleep so I brewed a black saison, then I reset the kettle a brewed a nice big stout. I also bottled a 1 gallon batch of saison so I could harvest the yeast and a 4 gallon batch of ordinary bitter.
 

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