New Stuff AND St Peter's goes in the barrel

So, I remember mentioning in a previous post that as well as all the swell stuff I got for Chistmas, I was due something else that hadn't arrived in time on account of stock shortage or something.  Well, it arrived and my parents brought it up to me last weekend.

These will be what I put my self-designed beers into so that I don't have to make (and drink) huge amounts of experimental beer that might taste rank.  They should also get a bit of use at parties as they're a good size and less complicated than the other kegs I have.  This is how one keg looks with the tap fitted:

The kegs themselves are pretty cheap too so I expect to buy a few more and get a good rotation going on them.  There is also a plan in the pipeline to use these kegs to deliver homemade beer to my friends and family, which I shall elabourate on further once I've worked out exactly how it will work.

Also in the news today: The St Peter's Ruby Red has been put in the barrel and is hopefully doing its secondary fermenting as we speak.  I'll let you know how it tastes in a week (I'm not going to wait for it to mature properly).

Happy Cask Ale Week!

So the powers that be (probably Cask Marque) have decided that this week is Cask Ale Week.  Not entirely sure what it means practically speaking, but it definitely means you should find your nearest Cask Marque approved pub and spend at least a little bit of time there at some point this week.  While there, you should drink some ale because it is the best drink ever and you will be supporting British microbrewers and British pubs, which has to be a good thing!

As for me, I will almost certainly be heading to the Jolly Brewmaster this evening, and possibly venturing even further afield.  Expect some more appreciation-style posts tomorrow where I will write up the ales I have tried.

Cheers!

Brewing: St Peter's Ruby Red AND General updates and whinery

Hey, so it's been ages huh?  Truth be told, I kinda fell out of love with brewing after the Geordie Mild went down with the same infection as the Old Ale before it and the Wherry ended up having been left too long and gone off, then decided to leak all over my record collection (thank god MDF is so absorpent -no records were harmed!).  I've gotta be honest, I felt pretty low about the whole thing.  But this weekend it seemed about time to head back into Pop's and pick up a new kit.  I initially went for Fixby Gold until I saw that they had the new(ish) St Peter's Ruby Red kit in.  I've heard great things about both this beer and the kit, so figured I'd pull the trigger on it.

So I left the fermenting vessel sterilising all night and day, then sterilised it again with all the equipment in it when I got home from school today and set about brewing.  It's a pretty standard 2 can kit (open can, pour in contents, add water) apart from the fact that it comes with a sachet of 'hop powder'.  It seems this is maltodextrin powder (some kinda sugar) infused with hop oils.  You make up the kit as usual, then add this powder and stir it in.  The hop smell is pretty damned powerful when you open it and stirring it in made the beer smell wonderful.

So anyway, I just put this to bed in the boiler room, will maybe check on it in a few days.  Another thing I have done to avoid contamination is leave the immersion heater out (in fact, I've thrown it away in a fit of frustration) as I think that may have been harbouring germs.

As ever, thanks for reading, and I'll update you when I check on this baby...

Update: Geordie Mild

I know I should have put this in the barrel yesterday but the day ended up being too full with being hungover and playing boardgames (the crazy Tomb) so I thought I'd do it today.  Unfortunately I hadn't banked on this being the first day of term and therefor I am shattered so may not bother.  I'm just sterilising the sample jar and hydro ready to test it.  If it's the same again tomorrow, in the barrel it'll go (really can't be bothered with bottling any after the nightmare that was last time...)

Update: Geordie Mild

Just tested the mild and it's down to 1.014 from a start of 1.038 (I think).  That's not bad but I think it's still got a ways to go (still tasting quite sweet).  Will test it again Wednesday with an eye to putting it in a barrel next Sunday.

Brewing: Geordie Mild

Not wanting to let the infection-appendix disaster of 2010 put me off, I have jumped straight into making a new brew.  The only kit I had knocking about was a can Geordie Mild, which is a budget kit so I made it up with 1kg of medium spraymalt.  It all went without a hitch (as far as I can tell so far), and I deliberately made it in a different fermenting bin, to avoid cross contamination.

OG came out at 1.036, which is a bit low (suppose that suits a mild) but perfectly respectable nonetheless.

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).