Brewing my Black Ale for the second time – single hop, first process

After almost 3 months of not brewing, I finally managed to get my extract in, clear some time, and just brew.

I’ve mentioned that I want to focus more on hops, and use my Black Ale for it, so step one is to actually perfect the basic recipe. The main work here is to have a better log, and run a couple of identical rounds of brewing.

Due to the more exact logging, I can tell you that the whole process, from turning the pot on to closing the door on my fermenting room (the laundry cupboard), was 1 hour and 20 minutes flat – much quicker that I thought.

Start was the same as previously – Coopers Dark Extract, 33g of Fuggle (6.4%) and a second batch of 33g Fuggle at 45 minutes. This time I kept the wort under 100°C, which proved to be a mistake (I never got it to foam), so got a much lower OG (1034 vs 1055), and since I aim for 1050, will try a hotter boil next time.

The process was good and I feel more confident, but I do need to work on bettering reaching my target OG – maybe some more reading and implementing it next time (I will write about it when I find out). All and all, I’m really glad I’ve brewed. It’s been a while and I forgot how exciting it is to have the smell of the cooking wort and the hops in the house.