Sunday 25 September 2011

First Meet-Up Confirmed - Thursday 20th October 2011

I'm happy to announce that the first meet-up for readers and contributors to this blog will be Thursday 20th October, at Mr Foley's Cask Ale House on The Headrow in Leeds.

Dean, the manager of Mr Foley's (and blog contributor) has very kindly offered us space in the pub. I'm unsure yet as to whether his hospitality will extend to dropping the bottles off beforehand!

The format of the evening is as yet undecided, but will certainly involve drinking each others homebrew, and giving constructive and supportive feedback. Exactly how that will pan out, I've no idea, but let's use that as a guide, and see how far it gets us.

Any comments on how the evening should work are welcomed.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Blanche de St. Oswald

Grist
2.043kg (39.3%) German Premier pilsner malt (Weyermann)
2.043kg (39.3%) Wheat malt
424g (8.2%) Oat malt
340g (6.6%) Flaked Oats
243g (4.7%) German spelt malt
102g (2%) German acid malt

Hops & Additions
20g German Tettnang (4.5 %) Whole hops FWH
30g Czech Saaz (3.0%) Whole hops 15 mins

7g fresh orange zest 15min
7g coriander seed (ground) 15min
1 tbsp. Seville marmalade 15mins
4g pure camomile flowers at flame out

Yeast
Safbrew T-58

Water
Adjusted to ‘general purpose’ as per http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/water/water.html

Method
Mash at 68 degrees for 60 minutes
Boil for 60 minutes with additions as above.
Cool to 20 degrees and pitch yeast



Target Specifications
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.012
ABV: 5.3% ABV
IBU: 14.5 (Tinseth)
SRM: 3.5
Mash efficiency: 80%
Batch Size: 20L

Comments
After visiting Bruges in May I was fascinated by how varied this
style can be. I wanted to try and emulate the fine balance of flavours that good Belgian wit beers such as ‘Blanche de Namur’ and ‘St. Bernardus Wit’ demonstrate.
I chose to include camomile in the spices as I hope it will add a herbal note without being overpowering the other additions, or the fermentation characteristics.
I’m hoping to get another version of this beer brewed with WLP410 (Belgian Wit II) and with more flaked, unmalted grist additions before the Leeds HB meet for a comparison.


Contributor
Neil Gardner (Leedsbrew)

Thursday 1 September 2011

New Zealand Pale Ale

Grist
4kg Maris Otter pale malt
300g Torrified Wheat
500g Vienna Malt

Hops & Additions
10g Motueka (13.8%AA) at First Wort
10g Nelson Sauvin (12.6%AA) at First Wort
1x Protofloc tablet at 15 minutes
20g Motueka at 10 minutes
20g Nelson Sauvin at 10 minutes
20g Motueka at 1 minute
20g Nelson Sauvin at 1 minute
50g Motueka dry hop (1 week)
50g Nelson Sauvin dry hop (1 week)

Yeast
Safeale US-05

Method
Mash at 68 degrees for 90 minutes, second mash for 45 minutes.
Collect 25 litres total.
Boil for 60 minutes with additions as above.
Cool to 20 degrees and pitch yeast

Target Specifications
OG: 1.056
FG: 1.014
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 62.76
SRM: 5.3
Mash efficiency: 70%
Batch Size: 23 litres (5 gallon)

Comments
I have high hopes for this brew. The hops gave off a great aroma in the kettle so I am hoping that this will follow through for a flavourful beer. It was brewed on Monday and is currently fermenting, with another 100g of hops to be added whilst conditioning. I collected slightly to much, however this doesnt seem to have effected the OG too much, although it may be closer to 1.054.

Contributor
Dean Pugh