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https://www.charlies.co.uk/young-s-basic-white-barrel-with-co2-injection-system-tap-5g.html?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwgZuDBhBTEiwAXNofRBzOqkrLG-oXac8mIxjYhtrOHJudco8pguIw_JFa4VielcQhfKm27hoCv20QAvD_BwE
Still best to keep them at the temp you want to serve the beer at but mine just lives on top of my fermenting fridge. It's not ideal but it does the job.
On a separate note, I kegged my IPA this morning. Used burst carbonation which means it's already drinkable. It needs a bit more time to reach its best but it's drinking very nicely already. Used fuggles and first golding for dry hopping. Much more subtle than an American IPA but there's a bit of fruitiness behind the bitterness. Think it's going to be a good one.
Thanks for that! Looks deceiving on the website as it doesn’t look like it holds 40 pints, but obviously does.
RedRabbit said: @duotone don't know why I didn't think of this before but have you looked at pressure barrels?
https://www.charlies.co.uk/young-s-basic-white-barrel-with-co2-injection-system-tap-5g.html?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwgZuDBhBTEiwAXNofRBzOqkrLG-oXac8mIxjYhtrOHJudco8pguIw_JFa4VielcQhfKm27hoCv20QAvD_BwE
Still best to keep them at the temp you want to serve the beer at but mine just lives on top of my fermenting fridge. It's not ideal but it does the job.
On a separate note, I kegged my IPA this morning. Used burst carbonation which means it's already drinkable. It needs a bit more time to reach its best but it's drinking very nicely already. Used fuggles and first golding for dry hopping. Much more subtle than an American IPA but there's a bit of fruitiness behind the bitterness. Think it's going to be a good one. I’m learning that this varies quite a bit, so how do you decide when certain beers taste ‘at their best’? Just follow the brewing instructions & taste often?
Conditioning is, I think, a preference thing. I don't mind young beer (and I'm pretty impatient) so for most standard strength beers (around 5%) I'll leave it in the fermenter for a couple of weeks which usually leaves a few days for cold crashing etc once the yeast has done its job. It then gets a week in the keg at whatever pressure is needed and then I'll start drinking. If bottling I'd probably leave it for a couple of weeks to carbonate. Some things will hardly change after that others will noticeably "mature". My saison changed a lot while in the keg but I'm not sure it was better for aging, just different. I'd happily drink a young saison again.
If I had carbonated the IPA as normal I doubt it'd improve all that much but the quick carbonation method I used meant it had only been in the keg 8 hours when I tapped it. A few more days will complete the carbonation and allow it to settle a bit and, hopefully, allow some of the yeast haze to settle.
Stronger styles tend to need longer to condition. I think this is mainly to let the boozyness to mellow a bit and allow the other flavours to come through more. I do think the 6 months recommended for the Belgian triple I made was hugely over the top though. I gave it 6 weeks and didn't notice much change over the few months it was in the keg for.
If in doubt follow the recipe guide but you aren't going to spoil a batch by trying it earlier (especially if bottling). If you keep notes you'll know how long to leave it if you repeat the recipe.
Brewing from grains and hops can produce great results though. Generally I prefer what I brew to most of what's easily available in pubs or supermarkets. With brew in a bag and all in one systems the equipment costs can be kept reasonably low now as well.
It’s been bottle conditioned now for about 3 weeks (2 weeks in a dark room & 1 week in the fridge). It’s not a bad beer, but tbh I wouldn’t drink 2-3 in a row in a pub.
It’s the first extract kit I have done & I think that I now know the chemical like aftertaste that people often mention.
Not homebrew but I got a crate of Belgian beers from beer52. I've had the dubbel and an IPA from it so far. I had been planning to brew a dubbel but I don't think I'll bother now - wasn't hugely impressed.
I bottled 30 more pints of it today, so that’s the full 40 pints bottled now. Phew! Am REALLY glad I bought an auto siphon. Made my day much easier! https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/auto-siphon-56cm/
My next brew will be a small 5 Litre all grain batch of Belgian Witbier to see how it turns out. A test batch I guess.
Brewing a kolsch today. Not a style I've drunk before but it seems like a happy cross between an ale and lager so should be good as the weather turns warmer. Planning on lagering for at least 2 weeks so it'll be around a month before it's ready. It's another David Heath recipe so I'm confident it'll turn out well.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174744820893
Collection only from Norfolk though.
I wouldn't have room for a multi vessel system but for £200 I'd have been sorely tempted if I lived closer to Norfolk.
Looks like someone got a bargain @Troglodyte
Will you still brew in the future or have you given up?
If I were to restart it would be on a lot smaller / more compact kit. To be honest I'd been brewing for 20-odd years and I wasn't brewing enough to justify the space it took up.
It's an Indian Pale Lager - essentially a pilsner using an IPA hop schedule. Opted for citra, mosaic and Simcoe for the hops. Not going to dry hop this one but will do next time if the hop character isn't present enough. Not going for a hop bomb so I think it'll be fine as is. Should be a good one to have on tap over summer.
I started my brew day at 10am today. Am having a 2nd attempt at Rob’s Belgian Witt. https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/robs-belgian-witt/
Edit: Finished rinsing the grains at 8pm. Just put the 30 Litre bucket in the garden, it needs to get down to 20 Degrees C, before I can pitch the yeast. Yeast pitched this morning (as it was too hot last night) & it seems to be happily bubbling away!