chromosphere

This was going to be a short old post – I have the lurgy and generally feeling naff – so a quick catchup. Though before I contracted this head cold, I did a mild which is currently sitting in the beer fridge (and looks to have not quite finished yet).

Recipe based on Ollorson’s “Hoddesdon Dark” but replacing torrefied wheat with wheat malt, and omitting the late hops.

3.16kg Maris Otter
0.32kg Wheat malt
0.32kg Crystal
0.16kg Roasted barley

60-odd min mash at 64C

Challenger 7.1% 30g 60min (~23IBU Tinseth)

Fermenting this with recultured Fullers 1845 yeast – trying for the second time with this one – let’s hope it turns out better than the last one I used this yeast in…! Landed with 23L at 1036 so almost bang on.

Also, today, I received a big parcel containing (almost all) the malt I’ve been waiting for, as well as Hersbrucker hops and some liquid yeasties. I have some Weissbier and Begian style ales to make in the next month or two – and I must get round to sorting out the lager I have been meaning to brew – I have all the stuff, but don’t want to tie up the fridge for the minute!

Also, I have enough stuff to make two large batches of 7:2:1 stout to try and use up some old Northern Brewer hops I found in the freezer.  Plus there’s the issue of an old packet of Brambling Cross that must go soon – a made up brew called “BX Porter” is my plan there. Double brew days are going to have to be in order – especially since I need to keep “normal drinking stocks” up in the meantime…and I’m already getting low!

The Queen’s new website was released today – even Sir Tim Berners-Lee helped her out at the official launch.

I think she could maybe do with a new calendar too… Their current one (see screenshot on left in case they fix it) seems to be a day out. It’s Friday the 13th Feb tomorrow – there’s no Saturday the 13th Feb, well, at least not this year…

My guess is that there’s a developer somewhere that doesn’t realise that the day of the week returned by the function that retrieves the royal appointments is for weeks that start on a Sunday and not a Monday…

(PS – Oooh, Friday the 13th – do the Hogs Back Brewery still do their special brew on such dates?)

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Brewed up a barley wine yesterday evening with another mash-tun busting effort. This one has been brewed as a celebration ale for the 100th monthly “handicap run” by my running club – I was tempted to try for an OG of 1.100, but even I can’t squeeze that much into a 24l mashtun without taking the outturn right down to less than 4 gallons!

So here’s the deal:

7kg Maris Otter
140g Black malt
100g Torrefied Wheat

Mash 66C for 2hrs

320g Brown Sugar
180g Amber Candi Sugar

Hops:
Target (9% slightly old 2006 crop) – 32g, 90min
Fuggles (4.4%) – 20g, 90min
Fuggles (4%) – 50g, 90min

Fuggles (4%) – 50g, 15min

Irish moss at 15min

Pitch 2 packets S04

All went very well and hit 20.5litres at 1.086, and should have a bitterness about 60IBU or so – lost a load of wort to the 150g of hops in there, but a decent enough outturn nevertheless. The yeast has really kicked off too – big fluffy merangue top just 16 hours after pitching.

Not bothering with temperature control on this one as the large 6G fermenter doesn’t actually fit in the fridge…

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