Born in the UK but moved to the US when 35.
Just starting out on the home brewing front, but hoping to be able to bring classic British beer to the US, especially southern ales.
Nephew of Apprentice-Brewer-UK.
| Date Added | Name | Style | ABV | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/21/2018 |  Gabriels Archangel Ale II |
American IPA | 7.1 % | 5.25 Gallon(s) | |
| 3/1/2018 | Gabriels Archangel Ale |
American IPA | 7.0 % | 5.25 Gallon(s) | |
| 12/25/2017 |  Ace of Spades Black IPA - All Grain |
American IPA | 6.7 % | 5.45 Gallon(s) | |
| 11/12/2017 |  Dead Ringer IPA - Extract - II |
American IPA | 6.0 % | 5.5 Gallon(s) | |
| 11/12/2017 |  Sierra Madre Pale Ale - Extract |
American Pale Ale | 4.6 % | 5.5 Gallon(s) | |
| 8/15/2017 |  Ace of Spades Black IPA - Extract |
American IPA | 6.1 % | 5.3 Gallon(s) | |
| 6/30/2017 |  Tribute - All Grain 2 |
Best Bitter | 4.2 % | 5.5 Gallon(s) | |
| 6/29/2017 |  Abbot Ale - All Grain |
Strong Bitter | 5.0 % | 5.5 Gallon(s) | |
| 6/26/2017 |  Old Speckled Hen - All Grain |
Unknown Style | 5.5 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 6/23/2017 |  Wadsworth 6X - All Grain |
Best Bitter | 4.3 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 6/20/2017 |  Tribute - Extract II |
Best Bitter | 4.2 % | 5.25 Gallon(s) | |
| 3/26/2017 |  Evil Dead Red - English Style |
American IPA | 6.6 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 3/19/2017 | Cascade Extra Pale Ale |
American Pale Ale | 4.7 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 3/5/2017 | Old School American IPA |
American IPA | 6.3 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 1/25/2017 | Experimental Japanese Ginger IPA III |
American IPA | 6.1 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 11/6/2016 |  Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout Clone - All Grain |
Unknown Style | 6.5 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 10/29/2016 | Japanese Ginger IPA Beta |
American IPA | 6.3 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 10/14/2016 |  Tribute Tribute - Extract |
Best Bitter | 4.1 % | 5.5 Gallon(s) | |
| 10/14/2016 | Tribute Tribute - All Grain |
Best Bitter | 4.2 % | 5.5 Gallon(s) | |
| 10/9/2016 | Northern Brewer InnKeeper |
Best Bitter | 4.2 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 9/3/2016 | Experimental Japanese Ginger IPA |
American IPA | 7.0 % | 4 Gallon(s) | |
| 9/1/2016 | St. Austell Salute II |
Best Bitter | 4.5 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 5/25/2016 |  Off the Topper |
American IPA | 6.9 % | 6 Gallon(s) | |
| 5/25/2016 |  Jamils Evil Twin |
American IPA | 6.2 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 5/25/2016 | Dead Ringer IPA |
American IPA | 6.2 % | 5.5 Gallon(s) | |
| 4/19/2016 | MO Cascade Extra Pale Ale - SMASH |
American Pale Ale | 4.6 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 3/26/2016 | eXmoor eXtra Gold - XXG |
Best Bitter | 4.6 % | 5.25 Gallon(s) | |
| 3/15/2016 | St. Austell Salute |
Best Bitter | 4.5 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 2/23/2016 |  Arrogant Bastard Clone - All Grain |
Old Ale | 7.0 % | 6 Gallon(s) | |
| 1/30/2016 |  Caribou Druel |
American Brown Ale | 5.1 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 1/30/2016 | The Dogs Bollocks Brown Porter |
English Porter | 5.1 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| 12/26/2015 | NB Cascade Extra Pale Ale |
American Pale Ale | 4.4 % | 5 Gallon(s) | |
| Date Added | Name | Style | ABV | Amount |
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
5/20/2018 12:00:00 AM
Did not filter from the boil kettle to the fermenter so got lots of hop material across.5/28/2018 - SG: 1.012 - 6.6% ABV6/2/2018 : Started to cold crash.
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
3/18/2018 12:00:00 AM
BIAB water infusion:Allow 35 mins to get to starting temp (162F).Allow 15 min heat soak with insulation, brew bag (expect 2F drop to 160F strike temp).Brew Day : 3/18/201810:35am 8.9 gallons : started heating10:11 temp @ 162F. Shutoff and lagged kettle.1045am : temp @161F added grain.10:48 lid on. Temp @ 154F (on target)11:01am : temp @136F ???? Checked with instant probe 151.2F (phew)11:52am temp @148.7F12pm heat on. Refractometer : 1.045 (very low expected 1055 pre-boil). Hydrometer ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
2/10/2018 12:00:00 AM
Had 10g of Willamette and Styrian Goldings left over, so throwing that in at 10 mins. Could account for age of hops too (nearly 2 years old in freezer).Used boil kettle with brew-in-a-bag. Strike water 165F. 7.5 mins 159F.Pre-boil gravity 1.040 which should result in a 1.047 OG (high).Skipped cane sugar due to high pre-boil gravity. Looks like the steep actually mashed. Temporarily changed malt ppg to mash ppg, and it is a lot closer to the actual (1.046).OG 1.044 @ 66.6 = ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
12/28/2017 12:00:00 AM
Strike Water 164F0 mins - Mash Temp 156F30 mins - Mash Temp 152.6F60 mins - Mash Temp 151.F7.5 gallons in the boil kettle. About 1 gallon over planned. Need to figure out why.Pre-boil gravity: 1.075 @ 73.8F = 1.076 (woah!)OG: 1.062 @ 60.8F = 1.062 (mmm, makes sense if we ignore the pre-boil gravity since we were 1 gallon over the volume). Efficiency is 74%.1/8/2018 AM (Day 11)Still some bubbling (slow). Small yeast cap still present (not sure of thickness ... no visibility from the side).SG ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
11/22/2017 12:00:00 AM
Took 1 hour 15 mins to bring 6.5 gallons to boil.15 mins to get 1/2 gallon to 170F.So start the boil kettle first, then steeping.5 gallons into fermenter (left 0.2 gallons in kettle). Added 1/2 gallon to bring up to 5.5 in fermenter.OG reading: 1.047 @ 66.6F = 1.048 (spot on).11/23/2017.Yeast cap already formed. Using active starter accelerated the yeast startup dramatically.11/26/2017 (4 days)Yeast cap mostly dropped (still some on top). Upped temp to 69 /-1 as ambient is 60F.11/28/2017 (6 ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
10/22/2017 12:00:00 AM
Brew Day (10/22/2017)Strike temp for steep needs to go a bit lower .. try 165 ... as it hardly cooled off to start. Had to add some ice.Added the last 3.5lb of Gold Malt pre boil too.0.5oz Centennial in at 15 min wen it should have been 20 min. Oops.OG measured at 1.065. Added 1.25 pints to fermenter to adjust to 1.063.10/24/2017Took over 24 hours to develop a yeast cap. Probably caused by a lack of oxygenation. Should have aerated the wort in the fermenter (as I did not filter it through ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
3/12/2017 12:00:00 AM
Second attempt. Need to make sure I use the right amount of Maris Otter this time.Converted lbs/ozs to grams and adjusted hops for actual AA% variance from recipe.2360 grams Maris Otter Extract544 grams Munich Malt LME31.6 grams Fuggles26 grams Willamette * 226.4 grams Styrian Goldings * 2 Had difficultly measuring out the LME. Ended up with 1.3lb of Dark Munich and 5.25lb of Maris Otter.Added Fuggles FWH @ 160F.Got 4.7 gallons out of boil kettle. OG 1.050. Added 3.3 Quarts Spring Water to ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
2/11/2017 12:00:00 AM
Alterations:Dissolved all DME in 6 gallons cold water.Brought up to 165F, then steeped grains in boil kettle for 30mins.**3/16/2017 : Go back to steeping grains separately in smaller amount of water on stove top **Added Maris Otter LME @ 20 mins (turned heat off).Added another 5 mins to timer to bring back to boil.Rested for only 10 mins @ flameout.**3/16/2017 : Rest back to 20 mins next time **Added spring water (about 1/4 gallon to bring up to 5.5 gallon in fermenter.Sprinkled yeast rather ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
1/2/2017 12:00:00 AM
Initial quantity into fementer was about 5.5 gallons, with an OG of [email protected] (1.077). Added spring water to bring it up to 6 gallons, and re-measured : OG now [email protected] (1.070).1/3/2017 : Should have put in a blow off tube at the start. Woke up this AM to see the top had blown. Tube in now.1/14/2017 : Added 1st dry hop.1/18/2017 : Transferred to secondary (5.5 gallons). Hop bag was floating on top as not enough marbles added.1/21/2017 : SG [email protected] = 1.013 (target achieved). ABV is ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
12/10/2016 12:00:00 AM
Pre-boil G 1.040 @ 78F (7 gallon) = 1.042OG 1.055 @65.1F = 1.055Got 5 gallons out of boil kettle. Added 1/2 gallon water. OG [email protected] = 1.050Ouch ... why so high?Figured it out. Recipe asked for 5lb Maris Otter Malt extract. I used 6lb. Oops.12/27/2016 : FG 1.011 @ 65.5F = 1.011. 77% attenuation for 5.1% ABV.
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
10/30/2016 12:00:00 AM
Steeping: 1 gallon water @ 163F, added grains -> 160F (excellent). After 10 mins was at 157F. After 20 mins was at 145F (not good). Applied gentle heat, finished at 149F.Forgot to add sugar during boil. Added it towards end of rest. Used wort to dissolve sugar first before adding.Was able to chill wort to 75F (ground water is cooler now).11/13: FG 1.010 @ 68.4F = 1.011 corrected. 81% attenuation (nice), ABV 6.7%.
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
9/5/2016 12:00:00 AM
Steeping the grains, started at 165F strike, had to add a little ice to bring down to 156F once the grains were in. At 15 min was down to 148F, put on burner low. Unfortunately walked away and forgot about it. Got up to 177F. Ouch. Well, not going to start over, but immediately pulled the grains out (21 min steep). We will see. Want to go with a dark crystal malt next time anyway.Also, not using a Safale-US-05 yeast, but a Danstar (Lallemand) BRY-97, an American West Coast Ale Yeast.Boil ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
7/31/2016 12:00:00 AM
Steeping: 11 pints at 168F strike, drops to 160F when grain added. Cooled down to 148 at 15 min. Applied more heat for 3 mins. Added to kettle at 30 mins.LME: Added to 3 gallons (approx) of cold water, and dissolved, before adding steep.Topped off to 7 gallons and measured Pre-boil gravity: 1.046@90F, 1.054 corrected.Transferred 5 gallons to fermenter, measured OG: 10.60@84F, 1.067 corrected. Added 0.75QT to bring down to planned 1.064 (5.25 gallons in fermenter).8/20/2016 (Day 21): ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
6/17/2016 12:00:00 AM
Grains steeped at 156F dropping to 154F in 20 mins.Pre-boil Gravity for 7 gallons was 1.048@84F (1.054). Predicted OG would be 1.068 (high).5 gallons into fermenter. Lost quite a bit to sheer hop mass and boil over, even towards the end when adding hops. Need a bigger boil kettle.Happy with OG 1.060@74F (1.064)... on the mark. But predicted higher .. mmm ... need to double check my prediction calculator.Measured FG on 7/2/2016 (1.011@67F) . Yeast still in suspension (cloudy). So, ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
5/22/2016 12:00:00 AM
Added Flame out hops after cooling to 175F. Rested for 30 mins. Then chilled to 75F. Then whirlpooled briefly and let settle for 10 mins. Still a lot in suspension (hop matter). Siphoned through hop spider.Did not read about prepping Nottingham yeast. It is different from S-04 and US-S-05. Stood 15 mins, then stirred for about 45 mins before pitching.Next time, add hops at flameout. Golden rule - follow recipe to the letter first time, then adjust if needed.2.5 weeks in. Raised ferm ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
4/17/2016 12:00:00 AM
I estimate we went 1/4 gallon past the target post-boil volume of 5.25 gallons. Should have added spring water to the fermenter to bring up to 5 gallons, but pretty much drained the boil kettle.Also, pre-boil gravity was on the high side. I estimated a post-boil OG of 1.048. Reduce/eliminate the DME next time.Also, only after measuring out the hops did I notice the AA on the bags were different from the recipe. Need to adjust amount of hop to bring IBUs back in line with recipe.Need to brew ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
3/6/2016 12:00:00 AM
With an OG of 1.050 and an FG of 1.017, we are down from a predicted 5.1% ABV to around 4.4% ABV, which is a BIG drop. Need to figure out a better steep, and need more oxygen in the wort, and better fermentation temp control.
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
2/21/2016 12:00:00 AM
Very happy with actual boil.6 hours: Fermentation active. Temp started at 75/76F. Reduced to 72 with wet tea towel.1 day: Blew lid off 6.5gallon fermenter. Very very active. Using a blow-off tube into jar of Star-San. Temp still at around 73/74F. Aiming for 68F but not getting there. House ambient is 71F. Got regular airlock back on 8 hours later (9pm). Temp at 72/73F.2 day: yeast cake dramatically smaller. Down to 1/2 inch. Still bubbling, but more slowly. Temp down to 70F.
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
1/30/2016 12:00:00 AM
5 gallons water to 150F.Added steeping grains in bag. 20 mins.Then rinsed grains with hot liquor about 10 times using jug.Add water running through grains to 6.5 gallons (oops ... forgot about the LME volume).Added the LME and brought to a boil.At flameout, immediately chilled to 80F using wort chiller and 5-gal paint stirrer on drill. Only took 15 mins!Followed Fermentis website instructions on hydrating yeast. 15 min rest on 80F water, stir 15-30 mins. Pitch. Also added whirlfloc this ...
Apprentice-Brewer-US-GA
12/27/2015 12:00:00 AM
Brew Day:Steeping grains added @ 150 F, left in 20 mins (heat turned low), removed @ 166 F.Had a small boil over (very small).Let wort steep for 10 mins after flameout before using wort chiller to increase extract from 1min hops.22 mins to chill to 76.5FLet settle 5 mins before tranferring to fermenter.Re-hydrated yeast too early. Did it while waiting for the wort to boil. Need to leave to flameout, or just before.Also, need to get a better filter for the hop pellets. A lot got through the ...
