Since my last post, Ive been working on improving/modifying my most successful brew (G.E.B. Pale Ale) after reading back at my notes in my brew diary and the memory I have of it the malt backbone was slightly week compared to the hops.  I like flavourful hoppy beers but it was a little one sided. So I set to work on this aspect of beer for improvement.

During this time Strong Island announced their 7th Annual Home brew Competition, I set out the plan to get this beer ready in time.

G.E.B. Pale Ale 

Fast forward a few weeks from brewday. I've been trying my allocated test bottles prior to the competition this coming week at Meat & Barrel, Portsmouth. After 2 years of brewing I am still taken aback how the bottled beers change overtime.
Over a space of a week of 'testing' the beer went from very malty to the hops coming to the forefront and being quite bitter to achieving a nice balance with a punchy tropical aroma blended with a slightly spicy malt base.

I've now had all my bottles and have 1 non competition bottle left, which I'll give to my Dad (it's named after him after all). Hopefully the taste wont change much from now till Wednesday, I may have to chill them down abit more just to be on the safe side.  The beer is certainly in the 3-4 week sweet spot - so its been perfectly timed!

In myself I am happy how this beer has turned out, really very happy, the competition if nothing else will allow me to get unbiased, expertly judged feedback. I would love to get in the prize spots (don't we all) that would just be a bonus to me.

I'll report back on how I did next week.






Until next time.......Happy Brewing

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So my latest brew, a Fathers Day brew- American Pale Ale using Galaxy, El Dorado and Bravo hops (that share the same initials as my Dad) turned out to be a great success, my best brew so far.

At the time on brew day I got myself all in a state as I had already wrote my own step instructions but 1/2 way through the mash some part of me decided to follow Brewers Friend session.

After a few other little hiccups/problems faced I thought it wouldn't come out anything like I had planned and researched.

I bottled 18 bottles (as I specifically made it a small batch) I had 12 bottles for my Dad and 4 for myself, come Fathers day on Sunday, there was only my Dads left, how it turned out was incredible, deep layers tropical flavours. This would go into the core range of my home brewery, definitely going to brew this again and part of me wants to as soon as, just to correct my wrongs on in the first place.  

I was luckly enough to get a Proper Job Clone recipe kit for my recent birthday, which went like clockwork. I've being toying with the idea of purchasing a Braumeister but after settling myself back down with this Clone recipe kit I don't think I really need or can justify it. This is still brewing, so I cant comment on how close it tastes to the real thing however going by reviews prior to adding it to my birthday list it should turn out very close.

What makes me really happy and relieved at same time that my Dad liked it so much. So much  so after trying a bottle earlier in the day Dad was singing its praises all day long (it wasn't even that strong!). If only he really knew how much sweat & tears went into producing it. If I remember right my wife came home to a very emotional husband that day.

I ultimately put too much pressure on myself to get it right. Thanks to my brew journal I wont be making the same mistakes again. 

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Do you listen to music while brewing? Do you have a dedicated playlist or create one based on mood prior to the big day?

Regardless if I've only brewed a kit or an extract on the cooker top I've always liked to have something on in the background. I write what I'm listening to in my beer journal to keep track of what I've been listening too, its a nice little remembrance thing like in a normal diary, a piece of history. Even though current musical tastes are lent towards the Alt. Rock side of the spectrum. 

Like the saying that people play music to plants to encourage growth, its like in beer you wont get the same outcome playing two different styles of music. My wife must even think I talk to the brew during fermentation. I've haven't done this yet, but I've been very close to and always "tuck it to bed". 

With now not owning a dedicated CD player and not really using my iPod very much now, I've virtually gone digital within the "cloud".

I'm brewing my second extract brew (Hob Goblin Clone) tomorrow and have setup a Spotify Playlist built around the punk rock songs from early 2000. Clocking in at just under 4 hours for a complete run of the playlist should cover most if not all of the brew day activities.
Feel free to follow the playlist yourself (or play via the embedded player below) and enjoy some classic songs! On your own brew day. 

 Until Next Time.......Happy Brewing 

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Brew Diaries/Journals//Notes I keep one, I expect you keep one but they are a great means to keep track of how the brew has gone and any unexpected outcomes during the course of the brew.

I have kept one since I first started brewing up kits, even the simplest form of brewing your can come up with noteworthy points, especially points on how well its conditioning over time and flavour development.

I also keep a track of the music I am listening to at the time, its a nice little remembrance thing like in a normal diary, a piece of history. Do you remember the study/saying that people play music to plants to encourage growth, its like in beer you wont get the same outcome playing two different styles of music. 

As a standard each entry in my Brew Diary I'll have:

• Recipe (instructions from recipe packs/kits or a list written by me and affixed to the page) 
• The name of the kit or beer I'm brewing (this could be a made up name if the recipe is my own) I usually have given a kit a nickname for the brew as it looks better on the labels I make on ones I give away and its also abit of fun
• The date of brew and bottle day OG, FG and ABV
• Any noteworthy points or observations from the start of the brew day all the way through to the drinking the beer after conditioning. Things like how well the brew day went, how long it took before fermentation started, if the temperature drops during primary fermentation, flavour development during conditioning
• Things I would do differently next time if I brewed this again - like reducing or increasing volume, making sure I strain hops better etc.

There are many forms out there, I just use a spiral binned A5 notebook, some probably buy a premade book, others use blogs.  All aimed at doing the same thing.

What do you keep in yours? How long have you kept one?  

Until next time......Happy Brewing 

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