Homebrewing - Part 3

[Twisted]

since i'm only up to page 14 of the first thread of this [still around 400 pages to gan] i'm sure this may be covered but few questions:

*has anyone so far tested sunderland water to filtered sunderland water to bottled water and given us any feedback on what to expect and/or recommend for certain types of beer?

from what i've read so far soft water is better for lighter kinds of beer and lager whilst hard water lends itself more to IPAs due to the dryness

it takes an exceptional beer for me to enjoy a really hoppy taste but that doesn't mean i like light beer or lager much. i'd guess if it is good for light beer it means it won't really impact the beer much and give front and centre to the hops & malt.

*also i'm wondering it one bottle brewing can be done? for really experimental flavours i was curious if you can just brew in one bottle with an airlock on it, perhaps it would be a bit too lively and just froth arl ower the shop though?

in cider, which i have made before, it is really bad for the cider to come into contact with oxygen so you limit it as much as you can for example fermenting in a demijohn as close to full as you can risk [too full and it will froth up and gan everywhere, less full and more oxygen to react with the cider. since in beer many people use a bucket instead of a demijohn i guess this doesn't happen or matter so much?

 

[PTR]

You can get a water report from whoever you pay your bill too - Northumbria water have provided me a couple of times

Making small batches sounds good - but in practice, 90% of the job is cleaning, and that stays exactly the same - all you save is a few quid.
I find I give most of my stuff away

 

[Twisted]

You can get a water report from whoever you pay your bill too - Northumbria water have provided me a couple of times

Making small batches sounds good - but in practice, 90% of the job is cleaning, and that stays exactly the same - all you save is a few quid.
I find I give most of my stuff away

well that's why i was thinking washing one bottle instead of 40 odd would be alot easier if i make a rank brew.

sounds interesting getting a water report. not that it'd probably mean much to me but thanks, i will do that. do you just phone up and ask?

 

[PTR]

well that's why i was thinking washing one bottle instead of 40 odd would be alot easier if i make a rank brew.

sounds interesting getting a water report. not that it'd probably mean much to me but thanks, i will do that. do you just phone up and ask?

I emailed them.

Single bottle brews? Hmm, how about 4L water bottles - then you've got "controlled" water too?

 

[Twisted]

I emailed them.

Single bottle brews? Hmm, how about 4L water bottles - then you've got "controlled" water too?

not a bad shout. that. would make it easy to run a test too of making the same beer but one with tap, one filtered tap and one bottled water. for that process probably using a kit would be best rather than bothering boiling wert since it is just to the effects of the water.

 

[PTR]

not a bad shout. that. would make it easy to run a test too of making the same beer but one with tap, one filtered tap and one bottled water. for that process probably using a kit would be best rather than bothering boiling wert since it is just to the effects of the water.

Its a nice idea.

That said, I'd honestly concentrate on just getting the process down before you look to "optimise" things. Its hard enough just to make consistent beers in the first place.

 

[Twisted]

Its a nice idea.

That said, I'd honestly concentrate on just getting the process down before you look to "optimise" things. Its hard enough just to make consistent beers in the first place.

yeah, since i'm away i've got nowt to do but overthink things

 

[Wilfy]

since i'm only up to page 14 of the first thread of this [still around 400 pages to gan] i'm sure this may be covered but few questions:

*has anyone so far tested sunderland water to filtered sunderland water to bottled water and given us any feedback on what to expect and/or recommend for certain types of beer?

from what i've read so far soft water is better for lighter kinds of beer and lager whilst hard water lends itself more to IPAs due to the dryness

it takes an exceptional beer for me to enjoy a really hoppy taste but that doesn't mean i like light beer or lager much. i'd guess if it is good for light beer it means it won't really impact the beer much and give front and centre to the hops & malt.

*also i'm wondering it one bottle brewing can be done? for really experimental flavours i was curious if you can just brew in one bottle with an airlock on it, perhaps it would be a bit too lively and just froth arl ower the shop though?

in cider, which i have made before, it is really bad for the cider to come into contact with oxygen so you limit it as much as you can for example fermenting in a demijohn as close to full as you can risk [too full and it will froth up and gan everywhere, less full and more oxygen to react with the cider. since in beer many people use a bucket instead of a demijohn i guess this doesn't happen or matter so much?

Nor.

 

[Twisted]

Nor.

Sounds like a worthy cause then. If I do get round to it ill let yer nar

 

[PTR]

yeah, since i'm away i've got nowt to do but overthink things

Read that book.

By the way, aye, mixing oxygen into anything kills it. My autosyphon failed during racking a batch of cider last year and totally wrecked it. Headspace is one thing, but its mainly moving from one place to another where the biggest risk comes into it.

 

[Twisted]

Read that book.

By the way, aye, mixing oxygen into anything kills it. My autosyphon failed during racking a batch of cider last year and totally wrecked it. Headspace is one thing, but its mainly moving from one place to another where the biggest risk comes into it.

Hence the splash avoidance. Aha. So I'm going to ferment in a demijohn over a bucket for this reason.

I am planning to buy that book when back. Sunderland waterstones gets my money over some.other bunch of clusterfuckers

 

[Thackeray]

Just bottled thirty bottles of crisp white wine this morning. Now enjoying the fruits of my labour.

The wife's not going to be happy when she gets home...

 

[PTR]

Hence the splash avoidance. Aha. So I'm going to ferment in a demijohn over a bucket for this reason.

I am planning to buy that book when back. Sunderland waterstones gets my money over some.other bunch of clusterfuckers

The online version is free. Its been updated in print, but for a starter its perfectly ok online.

 

[Twisted]

Just bottled thirty bottles of crisp white wine this morning. Now enjoying the fruits of my labour.

The wife's not going to be happy when she gets home...

not when she gets home to find 28 empty bottles, 1 full one and 1 half empty

The online version is free. Its been updated in print, but for a starter its perfectly ok online.

is it? i couldnt quite figure out if the whole book is on there or not. do you have to read it one little tab at a time? seemed to have trouble loading when i checked so i thought id feck it off and buy the actual book

 

[PTR]

is it? i couldnt quite figure out if the whole book is on there or not. do you have to read it one little tab at a time? seemed to have trouble loading when i checked so i thought id feck it off and buy the actual book

By all means buy it. Its been updated apparently. I think I got a download from somewhere and read it on my kindle thingy

 

[Twisted]

By all means buy it. Its been updated apparently. I think I got a download from somewhere and read it on my kindle thingy

aye, seems a bit of a faf on to go through the web pages. kindle would be useful or print out the pages i'd use during the process. i've got a kindle somewhere, ill dodge on amazon and see if it is free there

nar luck. if you remember where you got this free download [if it was free] let us know please, oherwise i'll pick up a copy when back in sunny sunderland

 

[Twisted]

i've had a really barmy idea like but i think i'm going to try and grow a hop plant in the back garden.

no idea how well they will grow in the sunderland climate but has to be worth a gan just for the crack.

reading that one harvest will be enough for 20-40 gallons so even if you scale that down for our cooler climates it should mean 2 or so brews per year i'll get to green hop. which would be absolutely class like

 

[DoctorMick]

i've had a really barmy idea like but i think i'm going to try and grow a hop plant in the back garden.

no idea how well they will grow in the sunderland climate but has to be worth a gan just for the crack.

reading that one harvest will be enough for 20-40 gallons so even if you scale that down for our cooler climates it should mean 2 or so brews per year i'll get to green hop. which would be absolutely class like

I've tried 2 green hopped beers, absolutely class is the last phrase I'd use to describe them. It;s a nice idea but it the brew doesn't work out it'd be mortifying, it's bad enough when a brew with hops someone else has grown and dried out doesn't turn out great never mind adding the disappointment of it being your own hops.

 

[PTR]

I've tried 2 green hopped beers, absolutely class is the last phrase I'd use to describe them. It;s a nice idea but it the brew doesn't work out it'd be mortifying, it's bad enough when a brew with hops someone else has grown and dried out doesn't turn out great never mind adding the disappointment of it being your own hops.

There's some discussion on this on the homebrew forum. I seem to recall our climate in the north east isn't right for growing hops.

You can buy them foil packed and really fresh. Commercial brewers use the crushed pellets, and there's a big divide from people who think this is actually better.

 

[Twisted]

I've tried 2 green hopped beers, absolutely class is the last phrase I'd use to describe them. It;s a nice idea but it the brew doesn't work out it'd be mortifying, it's bad enough when a brew with hops someone else has grown and dried out doesn't turn out great never mind adding the disappointment of it being your own hops.

When you say you've tried 2 do you mean green hop beers in general or you've brewed two batches of green hop beer?