chromosphere

…then it means that Apache is back to normal. On the server (I run it), we had a little bit of fun with a post ranking quite highly on Reddit. The corresponding traffic saturated Apache’s processes meaning that the whole server started to run slowly, and became apparently unresponsive.

Of course, increasing MaxClients doesn’t help if you start to be RAM/CPU limited, and it helps even less when the kernel starts sending out syncookies in light of the barrage of requests.

Anyhow, back to normal for the minute, but we need to move to a better front end… (at least sometimes) we are:

Ok - things I now have:

• An ATC800 (temperature controller)
• Fridge
• Beer in a fermenter in said fridge with said controller

The brew is much like Orfy’s Hobgoblin but since I had no carapils I used caramalt instead (less body, probably more sweetness). I used Nottingham, which decided (though it’s not that warm here, it’s warm enough!) that it’s going to try to make it’s way out of the fermenter by pushing it off the top.

It was running at 20C, which is on the warm side, but probably OK, and maybe could give some fruityness (though it’s Nottingham, so it could be very clean still…) - so i chucked the FV into the fridge, whacked it on the ATC800 and have left it too it - I set the temperature to 19C but it overshot slightly overnight to 17.6C - fine, and there’s no heater in there at the minute so the daytime temps will have to do their work on it to bring it back up a bit.

On the subject of yeast, I found Fuller’s 1845 in the shops the other day, and I’m gonna have a go at reviving the yeast from it for future use. John has a good guide to reviving yeast from an 1845 and I’ll follow his lead…

Here’s the Hob Gobbler type thing I brewed up (got 22L@1049 with Nottingham):

4.80 kg Marris Otter
0.25 kg Crystal Malt
0.20 kg Caramalt
0.15 kg Chocolate Malt

Mashed at 65°C for 90min; Add first wort hops to boiler (well - collection bucket…) at start of sparge.

Boil for 75 min
20g Styrian Goldings 3.9% (75 min) (First Wort Hop)
15g Fuggles 4.5% (75 min) (First Wort Hop)
20g Styrian Goldings 3.9% (30 min)
15g Fuggles 4.5% (30 min)
Irish Moss (15 min)
15g Fuggles 4.5% (15 min)
18g Styrian Goldings 3.9% (15 min )

More grain on the way - though unfortunately Tucker’s Maltings can now only ship in multiples of 25kg - so no more ordering a sack and then bits and pieces. Bugger. Landed up ordering some wheat, amber, cara and roasted barley from Hop and Grape (and got some yeast while I was at it).

Back brewing shortly we hope.

Bottled up my last brew (Bearskinful-ish) on Weds - FG of 1010 giving 40 bottles (mix of 500ml and pints) at about 3.6% ish. Tastes good from the FV too.

All grain brewday number 6 on the 19th May - and that’s it for that sack of pale malt! I had almost exactly 3.5kg left over and decided to go for the following recipe (which is pretty much like Norm’s Real Ale Almanac version of Beartown Bearskinful but with a slight alteration on the malt and hops):

(more…)

Ages since I actually posted here - and time for a bit of a catch up on brewing activities.

First off was AG brew 4 on 23rd April. Following Dave Line’s BBLTYB recipe for “Harvey’s Sussex Best”.

3.8kg Maris Otter
300g flaked maize

Mashed for 90min at 66C

Goldings 50g (4.1%) 90min
Northern Brewer 20g (7%) 90min
250g light soft brown sugar

Treated water (30L) with 30ml CRS, 1 1/2tsp Gypsum and 1/2 tsp Epsom salts

OG - 1041 (23L)
Yeast: Safale-04

Went off like the clappers but then halted suddenly at about 1022 (think it got a bit cold), so warmed, roused and finally and repitched - finally finished at 1012. Bottled up 44 bottles with 3/4 tsp brewing sugar in each to prime. It’s a bit yeasty at present from the first few samples (probably from the re-pitch), but if it lasts long enough to mature properly, it’s going to be a good pint!

Second up was a bank holiday brew in preparation for a Badger BBQ in July. Following the recipe for Townes IPA:

4.45kg Maris Otter
180g Wheat Malt

Treated water (30L) with 30ml CRS, 1 1/2tsp Gypsum and 1/2 tsp Epsom salts.
Mashed for 1 3/4 hr at 65C and fly sparged.

64g Cascade (5.4%) - 90min
19g Cascade - 15min
Irish Moss 15min

Yeast: US-05

Landed up with 21L @ 1044 according to the refractometer. Cool - smells gorgeous in the FV.

Pitched at 21C - first time with this yeast and it fermented way past where I was expecting. It finished up at 1004 giving me somewhere about 5.3%ABV. I had to get out the hydrometer to check this - it seemed way too low! Racked this to keg with finings (very cloudy) and 55g table sugar. The US-05 is notoriously hard to clear and it looked a lot cloudy. A lot had settled out in the FV but there’s a fair bit more to go, so hoping the two part kiesesol/gelatine finings (Kwik Clear) will do their job - they’ve got 6-7 weeks to do it, and with any luck it’ll clear in time left to it’s own devices…

RA: 05h 35m 17s, Dec: -5°23′28″
The Orion Nebula (M42 (NGC 1976) & M43) is located in the “sword” of Orion and is a large emission nebula that is easily visible to the naked eye. It is an area of star formation - the closest such to Earth at a distance of 1500 light years. The nebula is an estimated 30 light years across, and contains a young star cluster (the Trapezium) in the bright core of the nebula. The reflection nebula at the top of the image is the “Running Man” nebula (NGC 1973, 1975 and 1977) - so named due to the resemblance of the silhouetted dust lanes.

I had lots of trouble with this image (taken on 6th Feb, 2007) - the flats I took didn’t work out (there’s the odd artifact here and there!), and I’m not quite happy with the colour balance - have another go at this later I think…