Update: Fixby Gold

Just got a chance to test this today, after roughly 2 weeks in the fermenter.  It's dropped down to 1.012, which I reckon means it has stopped.  Unfortunately, my second pressure barrel sprung a leak with the last brew I had in it so I need to buy a new one before I can barrel this.  Hopefully that should arrive by next weekend and I'll sling it in there then.  An extra week to let the yeast settle out a bit more shouldn't hurt it.

On another note, a friend and I got pretty seriously stuck into the Terrier last night and it was good.  Didn't even feel too bad this morning either...

Update: Yorkshire Terrier

I got back from a lovely weekend in Northern Ireland (or Norn Iron as the natives call it...), which incidentally is a total dry spot for real ale. If anyone knows of any decent breweries in the County Tyrone or County Derry areas it would be great if they could let me know.

Anyhow, I've just tested this brew and it is down to 1.014, which is showing good progress.  I guess I'll check it again in a couple of days then put it in a barrel at the weekend, all being well.  Had a cheeky taste from the test jar and it seems to be losing quite a bit of the harsh bitterness it had when it first went on.

First Taste: 'I Agree With Nick' Summer ightning clone

I cracked open a bottle of this honestly not knowing what to expect last night and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.  It wasn't overly carbonated, which I quite like and is probably down to bottling method (the real test of this beer will be when I tap the mini keg).  The colour is a bit darker than Summer Lightning is, which I think is due to the boiling of the extract, I'm looking into ways of avoiding it next time. Taste wise, it is very light in the mouth and not overly bitter.  It has a wonderfully pleasant hop aroma and taste that is nicely balanced (I'm starting to dislike overly hopped light ales because they are everywhere, so this is a good thing).

All in all, I'm very impressed and will now forge on ahead with extract brewing, knowing that I can produce genuinely good results.

Update: St Peter's Ruby Red

I've been tasting small amounts of the Ruby Red every now and then since it went into the barrel and I have to say I started out disappointed.  It had a very harsh, almost astringent hop aftertaste to start with.  Tried a bit today and it seems it is starting to get better, so here's hoping for it being really nice in about two/three weeks.

Update: Brewer's Choice Old Ale

So I've come back to my house after convalescing at my parents' place for a couple of weeks after the operation.  This means I've finally been able to check up on the Old Ale.  I wasn't too hopeful when I smelled vinegar after opening the fermenting bin.  I was even less hopeful when I saw a whiteish film on top of the beer.  Not to be put off, I took a sample and checked the SG (down to 1.010, which is good).  Just to make sure all was definitely lost I took a swig from the sample jar.  Disgusting vinegar taste.  Disaster!

Oh well, I'll tip it down the drain and start the next brew (Geordie Mild).

On a more positive side, I brought the Wherry in from the shed and have drawn off a bit to see what it looks/tastes like.  Pretty happy with it (it's a bit cloudy but I think that's just a chill haze).

Update: Brewer's Choice Old Ale

I've just taken a sample of this to check the gravity after a week in the FV.  It's at 1.014, meaning it could do with dropping another couple of points.  I was planning on leaving it in for another week anyhow, which I will definitely do now.  After all, I've still got about 8 pints of Linthwaite left in the barrel.

I obviously had a sneaky taste of the sample I'd taken out, am drinking it now actually.  It's pretty dark and tastes malty rather than hoppy.  Smelling it, there is very little hop aroma.  In the mouth it has a decent amount of body and some dominant smoky/coffee flavours.  These will mellow as it matures in the cask. At the end, you get just enough hop bitterness coming through to balance the maltiness.

It's a promising start...

First Taste: Linthwaite Light

 The Linthwaite should be ready on Monday but I'm an impatient man so I've (tried at least) to pour myself a pint tonight.  It seems that I may have over primed it slightly as the pint I just drew off was actually only a half of beer with a half of head on top.  Hopefully this will settle down a little because it is a cracking beer.  Will definitely be trying another of these Brupaks Pride of Yorkshire kits...

Linthwaite Light progress

That's progress as in how well it's going, not as in the hops...

Just took a sample of this and SG was at 1.012, which is normally what a 2 can kit will go down to with S04. Will check it again tomorrow and if it's constant I'll probably wack it in the barrel (will try and take pictures to put up). Was thinking about bottling a few of these in the glass bottles I've been collecting but will see if I can be arsed to go buy a crown capper and caps after school.

I obviously took a swig from the sample I took and it's tasting luverly...

Milestone Lion's Pride

Chris and I just drank the last couple of pints of this darkish session ale last night. It's the third Milestone kit I have done, and the only one to get down to its target gravity of 1.009 (from 1.040) which I put down to me getting the yeast (a pack of Safale S04 that I substituted) going in a bottle of the wort before pouring it in, and using Yeast Vit.

It was a good, drinkable beer. Being quite sweet and not particularly hoppy, some might say too sweet and not hoppy enough, made it the sort of beer one could knock three or four of which back before noticing how many you'd drunk. One problem was a slight after taste of banana (more so than in the stout that I'm currently drinking) which I think was down to fermenting it a little bit too high.

Cooper's Stout

So I had the first couple of pints of this last night and I must say it is brilliant. I made the kit up with Medium Spraymalt (dry malt extract) and reduced the brewlength to 20l (most kits are 23l as standard). Reducing the length tends to give the brew more body, and this is certainly the case for this beer.

I'd describe the taste as a little more malty than Guinness, but a similar level of hop flavour and bitterness. I overprimed the barrel a little (not deliberately) which means it's quite lively out of the tap. To poor a pint you have to open the tap very very slightly and let it trickle out slowly until the last bit when ou can open the tap up more to get a good head on the top. This is the first of my brews that retains its head for a substantial amount of time, but I don't really care about the sort of thing much.

The only taste problems are that the overpriming has left it a little more carbonated than I would like and there is still a slight 'chemically' after taste to it. For the next brew, I'll try treating the water with a campden tablet to get rid of any nasty chloramines. There is also a hint of a fruity aftertaste (banana?) which I've read can be caused by fermenting too hot, so I'll watch that in the future.

Photo to follow...