October Belfast Meet - Brew day at the Hudson

[Bazza]

Believe it or not I only got the definite go-ahead from the Hudson bar about 2 hours ago

Yeast starter doing its thing in the brew fridge, just the car to pack now.
(stuff that; I'll have a few beers and do it in the morning)

See you all at the Hudson tomorrow from noon onwards.

Hopefully it rained all it needed to today.


-Barry

[sub82]

Good luck for today! Looking forward to sampling the results.

[kaipee]

Good to meet up today guys, nice to see a brew in action

@BrewBilly - here is the forum thread about Vanodine V18 sanitizer ( http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=26191 )
There are links to sites for purchasing and some details about dilution rates.

[sub82]

How did the brew go? Found a bottle today from the last demo so have it in the fridge for later 

[Roo]

Thanks guys for the great time today l really enjoyed the experience and the knowledge you are willing to impart. Had a few laughs too. Sorry I had to split but im not long home after pick ups and errands. Getting a curry shortly and a bottle of my home brew that was warmly welcomed by you all. Looking forward to getting down for the next one.

[@geterbrewed]

Sorry we missed another brew day, just not enough hours in the day lately, keep up the good work guys

[Bazza]

@Razzer and Kaipee, good to meed youse lads today. Hope you weren't put off too much by the torrential rain and tripped switches.

@Andy, good man. Solid as; you're now officially an all-grainer 

Left the wort outside to cool till about 9pm and finally dropped in the starter when I reckoned she was below 30 degrees. Who knows for sure?

Anyway, should make for some interesting samples at the next meet. I've dropped in some 4th gen Nottingham with a hint of Citra and Armarillo. Destined to be awful

Cheers to the guys who stuck it out today. Write-up and photos to follow.

-Barry

[Quiet_Man]

Apologies guys.....the day just ran away with itself - and I never made it down.

Well done to those who braved the elements.

[Bill_00]

Attacked by a hangover on Saturday Morning...sorry lads!

Glad it went well though!

[Bazza]

Hi All,

Here's a quick summary of last Saturday's brew day:

Overall, it was a pretty successful day, despite the low turnout. By my own admission I normally brew with a cup of tea in my hand, NOT 4 or 5 pints -and for good reason. I forgot to start heating the sparge water during the 1 hour mash and, to make up the time, thought it'd be a good idea to heat half the water in the boiler and half in the hlt - off the same extension lead!

Needless to say, it all went well initially until suddenly there were no more bubbles in the water and no more electricity in that circuit. A quick apology to Michael as he busied himself un-tripping the trip switch and we were back in business.

Well done to those who braved the elements.

You don't know how apt that statement was, Quiet_Man

Anyway, by the time the torrential rain had started we were safely under the canopy with a nice rolling boil going.

The next little glitch was the fact I'd brought the wrong hose connector for the outside tap, so couldn't use the wort chiller. No biggie; Andy and myself let the wort cool to around 70 degrees, in into 2 fermenters and we were on our way.

The recipe was loosely based on the Autumn ale recipe, originally planned for September's brew day, but our creative flair got the better of us and there were Bramling Cross thrown in there WVG thrown in there - Van Gogh didn't paint by numbers ,did he?

Thanks to Andy, Keith and Rory for all your help and participation, and big thanks again to the Hudson for being accommodating as ever and for not having us kicked out for wanton vandalism.

Here's a few snaps of the day:


The gang:



Strike water in:



Love that smell:



Home-made sparge arm doing its thing:



How's that for an improvised 3-tier setup?



I call this one 'Rolling Boil in Pi$$ing Rain':



Yours truly kickin' back, keepin' chilled:



Don't you just love them at that age (image reproduced from May brewday):



Cheers,

-Barry

[Roo]

Great photos Bazza.

[DEMPSEY]

Yeah luv the puppy. They say the chick's like a man holding a puppy

[Will_D]

What better use for a kidy booster seat!

It will NEVER say "Are we there yet, Are we there yet, Are we there yet, Are we there yet, Are we there yet"

[Bazza]

Quick update:

Bottled my half of the batch yesterday - 19 bottles in all, plus a little taster

You can really taste the Crystal and Chocolate malt, definitely there but not overpowering, kind of what we were aiming for. Can't remember exactly how much of the Bramling Cross we chucked into the boil but I could swear I'm getting a hint of blackcurrant too.

Love the colour as well - very Autumn-y. Best drunk tepid by a smoky coal fire with a cloth cap, a mangy Collie, and a mild dissatisfaction over milk quotas:


The only slight concern is that it seems to have attenuated pretty low (around 1010 FG; I remember thinking at the time the mash temp was a little lower than I would have liked), so I'm hoping the malts and hops disguise any overly-alcoholic thinness.

Anyway, we'll see what 2 weeks in here will do, but initial impressions are pretty positive:



I don't think I can make the November meet; it wouldn't be ready anyway, but I'll bring a few bottles along to the next one.

Cheers.

-Barry

[sub82]

That's a great colour! Hoping to do something like this soon.