02/08/2015: This brewing day was first published on the 01/06/2015 but it is now updated with the tasting notes you will find at the end. As my beer making skills improve, I'm trying to find new alternatives to using liquid malt extract (LME) as it is expensive for longer term making and if I try and make a bigger batch it will make it very, very expensive. My Black Ale … [Read more...]
Home brewing guidelines – beer at its simplest
When making beer at home, you usually find a good recipe for a known beer style (a great resource for these is at BeerSmith) and you get ingredients to match and try and replicate this. There is a slight problem with those recipes, however: it never actually comes out the same. There are too many variables when home brewing, so I prefer to instead go for guidelines on what … [Read more...]
Pale Ale Brewing Day – repeating the BIAB recipe
The Pale Ale that I have made several times in the past (the one I thought was an IPA) has become a house staple, so as we are reaching the last few bottles it made sense to make some more. This brewing day was actually fully based on my previous Pale Ale brewing (I just added notes to the last page) with a few changes/adjustments: Mashing - I reached a slightly … [Read more...]
Final recipes for the home beers – Light Pale Ale and Black Ale
The first time I decided to make my Black Ale was a couple of years ago, and since then I have been trying to perfect the recipe, adjust it and try and find the right balance - and I think I finally did. Over the last few months I have also been playing with BIAB, focusing on making an IPA but ending up with a very aromatic light Pale Ale, which has become my wife's favourite … [Read more...]
What on earth is a wort?
What on earth is a wort? When I started brewing it took me a while to get the whole wort concept, what it is and how to do it right. So what is wort? The wort is probably the most crucial part of the brewing process, and if done right will make a great beer. The wort is the mix of malted water (from mashing using all-grain or BIAB, or from malt extract) and hops being … [Read more...]