What are you brewing?

[nzbrewer]

Since this is the most popular thread on the RealBeer.co.nz forum I thought I would start it here just to see what happens

[Scarrfie]

I brew in ambient so have to do lagers for the winter. Although I have one down (tweaked also)on an S-23 yeast cake but I put that down before I tasted the two dodgy ones, so it has the flaked barley in it. I will taste when I rack to secondary for lagering (outside in the bush, lol) and if not so good then I might put some crystal in to counter the effect. It is the sixth time I have brewed it but No3 is still the best :-) This latest one is on Munich as the base malt and it does smell amazing so far.

[jt]

I do ambient - but with a heatpad in winter if needed
Sundays brew with'05 at 16-18 at the moment
85% pale
15% caramalt
1032 and the hop schedule Joe suggested for a late hopped ale a couple of years ago
5g Super Alpha at 60 just for saftey then
20min 10g cascade 5g mot 5g pac
15min 10g cascade 5g mot 5g pac
10min 15g cascade 8g mot 8g pac
5min 15g cascade 8g mot 8g pac
1min 20g cascade 10g mot 10g pac
Dry hop 40g cascade 20g each Mot and Pac

I've tried it without the dry hop but it just isn't the same:-)

[Scarrfie]

Looks nice and will take on the "just for safety" point. The beer in the fermenter is actually late hopped with NZHallertau and I upped the chocolate %. Sort of a hoppy schwazbier. I like the citrus against the chocolate so I thought it would be a good twist to my favourite recipe.

Can you fit two fermenters on your heat pad? Although I sometimes have three going:-) Will post my pending brews as well.

[Scarrfie]

I was up at the Leigh Sawmill cafe in the weekend and tried the tasting tray of 5 beers. It is a year or so since the last visit and my ability to perceive flavours is improving, so it was a useful visit. Really enjoyed the "12 Gauge" Czech Pilsner so thought I would try brewing one next week. Something along the lines of:

96% Bo Pilsner

4%   Munich

4%   Carapils

50/50 Sticklebract/Motueka @ 60, 30 & 15 to around 45 ibu (I might sneak this up to 50 or 55)

Dump onto a yeast cake of W34/70

Mash at 55 for 30min, 67 for 60min, drain then add sparge water to bring up to mashout temp. This is my standard process for my BIAB in chillibin method which give about 85% when it goes well. I am on tankwater so I might forego any mineral additions. I think the concrete tank may provide a bit of help there. I might also try a bit of a decoction in the middle of the 60 min rest. Hop schedule is based on using the Sticklebract to moderate some of the floralness of the Motueka.

[Scarrfie]

I also like "The Doctor" and thought my favourite ESB might come close with the addition of some peat smoked malt. Was down in town yesterday so dropped into Brewerscoop to get some, and a few hops and bits and pieces. Hopville is down but it will be something along the lines of:

88% Munich

4% Home Dry toasted

4% Home Wet Toasted

2% Chocolate

1% Caraaroma

1% Heavy Peat Smoked 

PG @ 60 to around 35 IBU.

Mash at 67

Dump onto S-23 yeast cake

This will be AG no30 :-)

[Kelly Milligan]

I really like The Doctor too, tried it at City of Ales :) Keep that peat malt at 1%, had a sneaky taste of a pilot batch IPA at Brewery Britomart which uses 3%.. The amount of character that comes through at 3% is insane!

[Stu McKinlay]

3%? Pffft... I don't get out of bed for anything under 50%.

 

[Kelly Milligan]

Lol well you guys are kinda the exception to the rule ;P crazy bastards!

[Dave W]

I think you need to try the De Molen Bloed Zweet & Tranen Stu.

[Scarrfie]

Had a bit of a taste and heck even 1% is more than I was aiming for! It is still going to be a very nice beer but I was aiming for a little more subtlety. Perhaps 3-4 months in the bottle might bring some of the other flavours through it.

[Liam Callaghan]

I helped a mate of mine from work the other week make her second beer (first one was not too great although greatly anticipated).  Straight extract with hop additions on the stove in 5 litres of tailing from a grain brew (probably about 1.020), 100g saaz b with 3 additions over 40 minutes.

We used the Breiss extract with 1 container of Pilsner malt and 1 of Munich malt, added the hop tea and water up to 18 litres.  Shook the bejesus out of it and pitched in a roaring helle lager yeast.

Tasted it yesterday raw from the fermentor and its a little cracker!  Really nice flavours coming through from the malt although we might have over hopped a little bit - I think the thin wort ripped out more of the bitterness than we expected was meant to be 35 IBU.  Might tone down a little with age.

Stoked with the liquid malt though, she is saving two bottles for the Regional competitions so watch out!

[Dougal]

Just mashing this Bo Pils in:

OG: 1.054

FG: 1.013

IBU 37.3

Gladfield Pils 4.905 kg (93.7 %) 

CaraPils 0.261 kg (5.0 %)

Melanoidin 0.070 kg (1.3 %)

Step Mash (55-64-68-72-78C)

Motueka (7.3 % alpha) 16 g @ 60

Motueka (7.3 % alpha) 28 g @ 30

Motueka (7.3 % alpha) 21 g @ 10

Motueka (7.3 % alpha) 29 g @ 0

Wyeast 2278-Czech Pilsner pitched at 8C, fermented at 10C  

Just tasted the beer off the previous 2278 yeast cake before it went into the keg for lagering. It was a German pils and because I'd run out of hops it was all NZ Styrians at 60 and 0 mins. Surprisingly tasty, noble hop character with this yeast. Who would have thought?