Blog Tracker
12-02-2016, 11:19
Visit the Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog site (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/02/home-brewing-mojo/)
http://i2.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/homebrewing_gubbins_500.jpg?resize=500%2C347We had a bit of a wobble when it came to home brewing, hardly touching the kit for more than a year, but now*the magic seems to be back.What went wrong? A couple of batches that didn’t turn*out as we’d hoped. A load of lager that froze because we made a stupid mistake with a fridge. A few late starts because we didn’t have a bit of pipe or a tap, which in turn led to tired out, late finishes. And, of course, the increasing*availability of the kind of beer we wanted to drink at reasonable prices on the high street.
A*25kg sack of malt went untouched until we decided it was probably past its best and, anyway, might start to attract vermin, so we threw it away. What a waste.
The kit literally gathered dust.
Then, last October, we gave ourselves a stern talking to and*ordered just enough stuff for a single brew. If it wasn’t fun, and the beer was rotten, we’d made no serious commitment.
Amazingly, it*went better than ever. Having had a break, somehow the routine had embedded itself as habit and we suddenly knew what to do without panicking, rushing or repeatedly consulting guidance online. Water was heating before breakfast, recipe formulated over a plate of scrambled eggs. We didn’t make any stupid mistakes — forgetting to fit the hop strainer, leaving taps open, breaking thermometers in the mash — the kind of thing we used to do all the time.
Giving up on liquid yeast and just pitching dry yeast straight into the fermenting vessel seems to have removed one entire level of stress, too.
Even cleaning seemed easy. (Bar the frustration of trying to buy thin bleach which is apparently on its way to extinction.) We were done by lunchtime leaving the afternoon free for a session in the Star Inn.
The resulting HLA (http://zythophile.co.uk/2016/02/10/shall-we-call-this-new-british-beer-style-hoppy-light-ale/) wasn’t amazing but it wasn’t bloody bad either and we achieved exactly the kind of lower bitterness, high aroma Proper-Job-type hop character we were aiming for.
Since then we’ve managed to not screw up a batch of lager, not screw up another HLA and, today, (tempting fate) we’re in the process of not screwing up a*Victorian porter.
With less anxiety, brewing leaves plenty of long gaps for reading, watching films, undertaking errands, so that it feels like a kind of productive loafing. We’re glad to have it back in our lives.
Home Brewing Mojo (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/02/home-brewing-mojo/) from Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog - Beer blogging since 2007, covering real ale, craft beer, pubs and British beer history. (http://boakandbailey.com)
More... (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/02/home-brewing-mojo/)
http://i2.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/homebrewing_gubbins_500.jpg?resize=500%2C347We had a bit of a wobble when it came to home brewing, hardly touching the kit for more than a year, but now*the magic seems to be back.What went wrong? A couple of batches that didn’t turn*out as we’d hoped. A load of lager that froze because we made a stupid mistake with a fridge. A few late starts because we didn’t have a bit of pipe or a tap, which in turn led to tired out, late finishes. And, of course, the increasing*availability of the kind of beer we wanted to drink at reasonable prices on the high street.
A*25kg sack of malt went untouched until we decided it was probably past its best and, anyway, might start to attract vermin, so we threw it away. What a waste.
The kit literally gathered dust.
Then, last October, we gave ourselves a stern talking to and*ordered just enough stuff for a single brew. If it wasn’t fun, and the beer was rotten, we’d made no serious commitment.
Amazingly, it*went better than ever. Having had a break, somehow the routine had embedded itself as habit and we suddenly knew what to do without panicking, rushing or repeatedly consulting guidance online. Water was heating before breakfast, recipe formulated over a plate of scrambled eggs. We didn’t make any stupid mistakes — forgetting to fit the hop strainer, leaving taps open, breaking thermometers in the mash — the kind of thing we used to do all the time.
Giving up on liquid yeast and just pitching dry yeast straight into the fermenting vessel seems to have removed one entire level of stress, too.
Even cleaning seemed easy. (Bar the frustration of trying to buy thin bleach which is apparently on its way to extinction.) We were done by lunchtime leaving the afternoon free for a session in the Star Inn.
The resulting HLA (http://zythophile.co.uk/2016/02/10/shall-we-call-this-new-british-beer-style-hoppy-light-ale/) wasn’t amazing but it wasn’t bloody bad either and we achieved exactly the kind of lower bitterness, high aroma Proper-Job-type hop character we were aiming for.
Since then we’ve managed to not screw up a batch of lager, not screw up another HLA and, today, (tempting fate) we’re in the process of not screwing up a*Victorian porter.
With less anxiety, brewing leaves plenty of long gaps for reading, watching films, undertaking errands, so that it feels like a kind of productive loafing. We’re glad to have it back in our lives.
Home Brewing Mojo (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/02/home-brewing-mojo/) from Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog - Beer blogging since 2007, covering real ale, craft beer, pubs and British beer history. (http://boakandbailey.com)
More... (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/02/home-brewing-mojo/)