Brewday Update #3: Top Secret Autumn Ale

Nothing much to report before the weekend, when we’ll be checking the hops in the makeshift loft ‘oast’ to make sure they’re all fully dried. That’ll mean bagging them up and freezing them until a suitable brewday comes around. We still haven’t invested in a vacuum sealer, so it’s just a matter of stuffing ziplocks [...]

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Brewday Update #2: Top Secret Autumn Ale

Just a quick update on the progress of the Autumn Ale, which has taken off like a rocket. It seems very happy in a room at almost exactly 20c. The constant burping of the airlocks is actually quite comforting (as well as off-putting and gas-inducing!) and I think the kräusen will hit the lids on [...]

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Brewday Update: Top Secret Autumn Ale

Good news – the upgraded brewery works a treat and the inaugural brew went very well indeed. We collected 50L split across two fermenting buckets at the anticipated starting gravity of 1.043. It should ferment out at around 1.012 and deliver a deep brown 4% brew with a fat slice of bitterness and a pleasing [...]

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Brewday: Boxshed Premium APA

Just ten years ago it seemed that a trip to America meant drinking a lot of low-grade, fizzy, rice-filled lager, seeking out a few bottles of Anchor Steam or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale if you were lucky enough to be on the West Coast, or plumping for some form of Sam Adams as the best [...]

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