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Juicy Blood Orange NEIPA

Whats the best way to make a Juicy NEIPA Jucier!? Cram it full of zesty blood orange goodness!! This is an 8.7% boozy, sweet and tangy delight for hazy IPA beer lovers!

So... What is it?

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This is our attempt to make an already super juicy beer even JUCIER! By cramming it full of blood orange flavour and ramping it up to a 8.7% ABV! It gives Huge punchy flavours of mango, pineapple, fresh orange zest and and of course a ton of BLOOD ORANGE! For this beer we did a split batch to compare the blood orange infused version against the "regular" hazy IPA and wow were we stunned with the results, check out the full video below for the deets!

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Batch Size & ABV

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
50L (13.2 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.080
Final gravity 1.0135
ABV – 8.7%
IBU - 38
Colour - 12.6 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 80%

Brewfather link

Ingredients

‍Water

With sparging

45L (11.9 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 68°C (154.4°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)
25L (6.6 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

65L (17.2 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 68°C (154.4°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)

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Malts: 15.995kg (35 lb) of fermentable's

10.395 kg - 22.9 lb (65%) — Ale Malt
2.5 kg - 5.5lb (15.6%) — Gladfield Rolled Oats
1.2 kg - 2.6 lb (7.5%) — Rolled Wheat Malt
1.2 kg - 2.6 lb (7.5%) — Wheat Malt

700 g - 1.54 lb (4.4%) — Gladiator Malt

1 kg (2.2 lb) — Rice Hulls

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Adjuncts

Monin Blood orange syrup - 1.4L / 0.36gal into a keg and rack the beer onto it when finished (we only did this for 1 keg)

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Hops & whirlfloc tablets

112 g / 4oz (3 IBU) — Astra 7.9% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand

112 g / 4oz (7 IBU) — Lupomax Amarillo 13.5% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 78 °C

87.5 g / 3oz (3 IBU) — Astra 7.9% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 78 °C

87.5 g / 3oz (8 IBU) — Lupomax simco 19% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 78 °C

57 g / 2oz (5 IBU) — Lupomax Citra 18.5% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 78 °C

200 g / 7oz — Lupomax Amarillo 13.5% — Dry Hop — day 7

87.5 g / 3oz — Astra 7.9% — Dry Hop — day 7

57 g / 3oz — Lupomax Citra 18.5% — Dry Hop — day 7

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Yeast options & fermentation temperatures (we co pitched the below but you could use any strain you like)

11 g — Lallemand (LalBrew) Pomona - 25 °C (77 °F)‍
22 g — Lallemand (LalBrew) New England - 25 °C (77 °F)

alternatives below

23g (0.8 oz) Lallmand East Coast New England Ale Yeast ferment at 25°C (55°F)
23g (0.8 oz) Kveik (we used a Omega yeats Espe Kveik, but any kveik is great!) ferment at 32°C
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 20°C
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 19°C

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Water Profile

Ca²⁺‍ 130

‍Mg²⁺‍ 16

‍Na⁺‍ 15

‍Cl^-‍ 202

‍SO₄^2-‍ 100

‍HCO₃^-‍ 57

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Step by step process

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Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1mm / 0.039 inches) (BUT DONT crush the rice hulls or oats, add them into your grain separately after crushing them)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

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Step 2 – Mashing

Add your brewing salts and mix to ensure they are fully dissolved prior to mashing in grains
Mash for 60 minutes at 68°C (154.4°F)

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed
now add your mash hops!! This is going to free a bunch of bound thiols from your hops and make this beer even more juicy! I would recommend adding these in a hop bag to make sure you can remove all the hop particles before you start boiling so you don't get extra unaccounted bitterness

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise temperature to 77°C (170°F) for 10 minutes to Mash out

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Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 25L (6.6 gal) of sparge water at 78 °C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

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Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minutes
after 60 minutes of boiling turn of the heat and chill the temperature of the wort down to 75°C (167°F) and begin whirlpooling

if you don’t have a wort chiller you could rest your boil kettle in an ice bucket
if your system can’t whirlpool you can also achieve this with a mash paddle and a power drill, if you don’t have this either don’t worry about whirlpooling it’s not completely necessary

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Step 5 – Whirlpooling / whirlpool hop additions

once temperature reaches 75°C (167°F) and you have started whirlpooling add your whirlpool hops, 87.5 g - 3 oz each of Lupomax versions of Amarillo, Sabro, citra and El Dorado
allow hops to whirlpool in the wort for 20 minutes and then begin chilling wort again down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

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Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

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Step 7 – Fermentation, dry hopping and Soft Crashing (optional)

Allow yeast to ferment over the next 5 days to two weeks
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.016 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.013 – 1.014) "Soft Crash" your beer (optional, if you cant temp control move onto dry hopping), by reducing temperature to 13°C (55.4°F)
After 1 day of soft crashing add your dry hops, 75 g - 2.6 oz each of Lupomax versions of Amarillo, Sabro, citra and El Dorado and allow the temperature of fermentation to rise again up to 22 °C (71.6 °F)
1 to 2 days after dry hopping move on to cold crashing and dump trub / remove hops and take a final gravity reading
(If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)
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After beer was finished we racked one keg onto the 1.4L / 0.36gal of Monin Blood orange syrup

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Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Porter

5 min read

Cookies & Cream Sweet Stout

Its Easter once again so its time for another specialty stout! This time we go to the humble Oreo in an attempt to make a deliciously creamy cookies n cream sweet stout for Easter!

So... What is it?

Its Easter once again so its time for another specialty stout! This time we go to the humble Oreo in an attempt to make a deliciously creamy cookies n cream sweet stout for Easter! So this beer is going to be moderate in ABV, sweet and creamy finishing with a generous addition of lactose, and of course packed full of delicious chocolate cookie flavour!

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Batch Size & Stats

19L (19L corny kegs) / 5 gal finished beer
24L (6.3 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.055
Final gravity 1.018
ABV – 4.8%
IBU - 24
Colour - 81 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 78%

Sorry the brewfather link is a bit weird. dont know why all the finished numbers areoff!!

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What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

18L (4.7 gal) for a 68°C (154.4°F) mash for 1 hour
15L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F) - fermenter topped up with 4L (1 gal) post boil to reduce OG

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) for a 68°C (154.4°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

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Malts: Total 4.313 kg/ 9.5 lb

2.282 kg / 5 lb (50%) — Ale Malt

639 g / 1.4 lb (14%) — Light Munich Malt
320 g / 0.7lb (7%) — Dark Chocolate Malt
320 g / 0.7lb (7%) — Wheat Malt
320 g / 0.7lb (7%) — Rolled Oats
251 g / 0.55 lb (5.5%) — Medium Crystal 240
183 g / 0.4 lb (4%) — Midnight Wheat Malt
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560 g / 1lb — Rice Hulls

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Adjuncts

250g (0.5 lb) — Lactose (added start of boil)
2 kg (4.4 lb) — oreos crushed and added in the mash

2 vanilla beans soaked in voda & cacoa nibs for a week
400 ml (13.5 oz) — vodka for extract, use total to soak, but about half liquid is absorbed, so only half goes into the fermenter at secondary)
300 g — toasted cacao nibs (180C for 7 mins)

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‍Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

14g (12 IBU) (0.5 oz) – 60 mins
28g (4 IBU) (1 oz) – 10 mins

Fuggles

28g (8 IBU) (1 oz) – 10 mins

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Whirlfloc tablets

0.75g (0.025 oz) / 1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the boil

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Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

20g (0.7 oz) Lallemand (LalBrew) Nottingham Yeast – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F

23g (0.8 oz) Aus-05– ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F

Water Profile

Ca²⁺67
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 13
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-80
‍^‍SO₄^2-40
‍^‍HCO₃^- 139

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 mins at 68°C (154.4°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise the temp to 77°C (170°F) for 10-15 minutes to mash out, and deactivate the enzymes breaking down the sugars

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 14g (0.5 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 20 minutes left in the boil add your 250g / 0.5lb of lactose
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablets (or 0.75g of granulated whirlfloc)
at 10 min left in the boil add 28g (1 oz) each of fuggles and northern brewer

Step 5 – Cooling

After 1 hour of boiling start cooling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.014 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
Once fermentation is finished add the liquid from the cacoa, vanilla vodka tincture to the fermenter and let it all "marinate" for 2 more days
Once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Pale Ale

5 min read

American Cream Ale

Land of the Free, home of the brave, and creators of great Beers! America! This is the easy drinking, all afternoon sipper that keeps your thirst quenched and freedom strong!

So... What is it?

The American Cream Ale is a light, crisp, smooth and easy-drinking, highly carbonated beer, similar to a lighter lager but with a touch more character! It balances mild malt sweetness with a subtle hop presence and has a pale golden to straw color with good clarity and a white, frothy head. It’s brewed using a mix of pale malt and adjuncts like corn or rice, and often fermented with a co pitch of both ale and lager yeast to enhance the smooth clean finish!

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What's ours like?

Coming in at an easy drinking 4.6% & 14 IBU's, its crisp with a slightly sweet with a corn like flavour, and incredibly easy to drink! The hop character is sublte and slightly fruity with a citrus finish, and the body is light but not boring! This is an awesome summer beer that will become one of our go-to's for easy afternoon drinking in the setting sun!

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Batch Size & Stats

42L (2x 19L & 1 half 9L corny kegs) / 11 gal finished beer
46L (13.5 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.041
Final gravity 1.006
ABV – 4.6%
IBU - 14
Colour - 4.5 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 83%

Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) for a 64°C (147°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)
30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F) - fermenter topped up with 4L (1 gal) post boil to reduce OG

Without sparging

55L (14.5 gal) for a 64°C (147°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts:

Pilsner Malt – 2.2 kg (4.8 lb) - 31.7%
Ale Malt – 2.2 kg (4.8 lb) - 31.7%
Flaked Corn (Maize) – 3.4 kg (4.8 lb) - 31.7%
Corn Sugar (Dextrose) - 1kg (2.2 lb) - 14.4%

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Cascade

25g (0.88 oz) 12 IBU's – 60 mins
75g (2.6 oz) - Whirlpool at 80°C (176°F) for 20 mins

Huell Melon

25g (0.88 oz) 2 IBU's – 5 mins
50g (1.76 oz) - Whirlpool at 80°C (176°F) for 20 mins

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

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Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

1 packet (10.5g) fermentis US-05 American Ale yeast - ferment at 18°C (64.4°F)
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AND one lager yeast such as the below
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1 packet (10.5g) Lallemand Novalager yeast - ferment at 18°C (64.4°F)
1 packet (10.5g) Saflager S-23 – ferment at 14°C (57°F)
1 packet (10.5g) Saflager W-34/70 – ferment at 14°C (57°F)

Water Profile

Ca²⁺28
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-31
‍^‍SO₄^2-45
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 64°C (147°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

Once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 25g (0.88 oz) of Cascade
At 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets
With 5 minutes left in the boil add your first set of flavour and aroma hops, 25g (0.88 oz) of Huell Melon

Step 5 – Cooling & Whirlpool Hops

After 1 hour of boiling start cooling wort down to 80°C (176°F) for a 20 minute whirlpool, then add 50g (1.76 oz) of Huell Melon & 75g (2.6 oz) of Cascade
After 20 mins of whirlpooling cool the wort down to yeast pitching temp and take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.01 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2-4 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
Its important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like, temperature, amount of yeast pitched, healthiness of yeast, gravity of wort, pH etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
Once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Red Ale's

5 min read

Irish Red Ale

This beer is creamy and silky on the mouth, very similar to a Guinness, but with a complex toffee, to caramel sweetness and just a touch of roast with a crisp dry finish! Perfect for St Patties Day!

So... What is it?

Irish Red Ale is a smooth, malt-forward beer with a deep amber to reddish-copper hue, traditionally brewed with roasted barley for a subtle toasty dryness. It features flavors of caramel, toffee, and biscuit-like sweetness, balanced by a mild earthy or floral hop presence. With a medium-light to medium body and a moderate ABV (typically 4.0%–6.0%), it’s an easy-drinking ale known for its crisp, slightly dry finish.

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What's ours like?

Absolutely delicious! This beer is creamy and silky on the mouth, very similar to a Guinness, but carries a complex sweetness, starting with a toffee like character, before blending more into a dark caramel with just a touch of almost burnt toast, in a good way! Then is finishes dry and refreshing, leaving you longing for another sip!

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Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
23L (6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.044
Final gravity 1.008
ABV – 4.7%
Brewhouse Efficiency 80%
IBU - 18

Brewfather link

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What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

15L (4 gal) strike water approx. 65°C (149°F)
15L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

27L (7.1 gal) strike water approx. 65°C (149°F)

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Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (11 4lb)

Ale malt – 3.219kg (7 lb) - 81.7%
Crisp Light Munich Malt - 394g (0.87 lb) - 10%
Medium Crystal Malt - 276g (9,7 oz) - 7%
Roasted Barley- 52g (1.84 oz) - 1.3%

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

East Kent Goldings

20g (0.7 oz) 12 IBU - 60 min
28g (1 oz) 3 IBU - 5 min

Fuggles

28g (1 oz) 4 IBU - 5 min

Whirlfloc

0.75g (0.026 oz) / 1 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺62
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-80
‍^‍SO₄^2-60
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

S-04 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 11.5g (0.2 oz)
any other English varieties will also work

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F) with 15L (4 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 20g (0.7 oz) of East Kent Goldings Hops
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)
at 5 minutes left in the boil add 28g (1 oz) each of Fuggles and East Kent Goldings

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 60 mins of boil turn off your heat and start cooling the wort
Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Lager

5 min read

NZ New World Pilsner

Kiwi's & Aussie's have a bit of a rivalry! Over, actors, sport's and even food! (Pavlova ringing any bells?) But something we both agree on is Beer! And NZ Pilsners deliver all the best aspects of European lagers, with a refreshing fruity punch!

So... What is it?

This new world pilsner takes all the best aspects of old school European lagers, but adds a fantastic Kiwi twist! Hopped up on a variety of punchy new world NZ hops, it makes the resulting beer a beautiful golden straw coloured spectacle of tropical fruits, like passionfruit, lime zest, mango and generic fruit salad! Ours comes in at 5.4% and still has a subtle maltiness and decent bitterness to make this not just refreshing, but complex and layered with NZ beery goodness!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
47L (12.4 gal) wort

For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe

Starting gravity – 1.051
Final gravity 1.001
ABV – 5.4%
IBU - 30
Colour - 7.1 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 83%

Brewfather link

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) Mash temp 65°C (149°F) 1 hour. use our calculator to determine your strike water temp

30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

60L (15.8 gal) Mash temp 65°C (149°F) 1 hour. use our calculator to determine your strike water temp

‍

Malts: 9kg (19.8 lb)

Gladfield Pilsner Malt – 8kg (17.6 lb) - 88.9%

Gladfield Malt Gladfield Vienna Malt – 1kg (2.2 lb) - 11.1%

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Motueka

28g (1 oz) - 11IBU's - 60 minutes left in the boil
70g (2.5 oz) - 6 IBU's) - 5 minutes left in the boil

Nelson Sauvin

70g (2.5 oz) - 10 IBU's) - 5 minutes left in the boil

Riwaka

70g (2.5 oz) - 4 IBU's) - 5 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g SafLager S-23 – ferment at 14°C (57 F)
23g SafLager W-34/70 – ferment at 14°C (57 F)

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺24
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-31
‍^‍SO₄^2-36
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.05mm / 0.041 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

‍

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

‍

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 28g (1 oz) of Motueka
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets
With 5 minutes left in the boil add 70g (2.5 oz) each of Motueka, Riwaka, and Nelson Sauvin

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

‍

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

‍

Step 7 – Fermentation & dry hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 10-12 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.010 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2-3 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.009) & gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

Pale Ale

5 min read

Low Alcohol Session Ale!

Packed full of flavour but not alcohol! This session ale has tons of hoppy character, subtle malty sweetness and backbone, but comes in at only 3.3% so you can enjoy this all night long and still function tomorrow!

So... What is it?

We love beer! But sometimes you need a beer that wont blow your socks off with booze! so here we made an easy drinking, full flavoured pale ale... but made is sessionable! Imagine a hoppy Australian pale ale, with all the soft maltiness and hoppy punch you know and love, but only 3.3% alcohol! Thats exactly what this is, so you can enjoy it all night long, having a good time with your mates, but still be able to function the next day!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
21L (5.5 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.031
Final gravity 1.006
ABV – 3.3%
Brewhouse Efficiency 74%
EBC - 13.6
IBU - 19

‍

Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

14L (3.7 gal) strike water approx. 67°C (152.6°F) for 60 mins, then mash out at 77°C (170°F) for 15 mins
14L (3.7 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

24L (6.3 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (152.6°F) for 60 mins, then mash out at 77°C (170°F) for 15 mins

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (11 4lb)

2.54 kg / 5.6 lb (90.7%) — Pilsner Malt
140 g / 4.9 oz (5%) — Gladiator Malt / Dextrin Malt
120 g / 4.23 oz (4.3%) — Medium Crystal Malt

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer (8.5% Alpha Acid)

5g (0.17 oz) 6 IBU - 60 mins

Huell Melon (7.2% Alpha Acid)

30g (1 oz) 3 IBU - 2 mins

Lupomax Citra (18.5% Alpha Acid)

30g (1 oz) 6 IBU - 2 mins

Mosaic (12.25% Alpha Acid)

30g (1 oz) 4 IBU - 2 mins

‍

Whirlfloc

0.75g (0.026 oz) / 1 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺87
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-72
‍^‍SO₄^2-131
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 11g (0.38 oz) / (1 packet)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 11g (0.38 oz) / (1 packet)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 11g (0.38 oz) / (1 packet)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash at 67°C (152.6°F) for 60 mins, then mash out at 77°C (170°F) for 15 mins

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 14L (3.7 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 5g (0.17 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and at 2 mins left add 30g (1 oz) each of Huel Melon, Lupomax Citra and Mosaic

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 60 mins of boiling turn off your heat source and start cooling wort down
Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.08) & if gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

IPA

5 min read

Cold IPA!

This is a Cold IPA the most pure way to showcase the true essence of hops! Stripping back all the malt and yeast character and leaving you with a West Coast style hop profile and nothing else!

So... What is it?

The Cold IPA" is a variant of the classic West Coast IPA invented by Kevin Davey from Wayfinder Beer in Portland, Oregon. This beer strips back all the malt character, and leaves it clean finishing using lager yeast, which allows the symphony of hops to truly shine completely unimpeded by malt are yeast characteristics! Leaving you with the purest form of hoppy beer!

‍

What's ours like?

This is a truly sensational expression of pure hoppy goodness! the malt profile is extremely subdued and dry finishing curtesy of the rice (which we learned from our Japanese lager) and dextrose, and the yeast profile helps to keep everything clean but doesn't throw off any esters that get in the way of the final product. Leaving us with a 7.5% old school style hop bomb! Packed full of resinous character and pine notes, followed by west coast style grapefruit forward citrus and finishing with a slightly zesty orange note, making this an awesome way to see what these hops are really capable of!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
45L (11.9 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.066
Final gravity 1.009
ABV – 7.5%
IBU - 53
Colour - 6.1 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 85.7%

Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

32L (8.45 gal) for a 30 minute mash at 63°C (145°F) followed by 30 minutes at 70°C (158°F) then a mash out at 77°C (170°F)
30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

55L (14.5 gal) for a 30 minute mash at 63°C (145°F) followed by 30 minutes at 70°C (158°F) then a mash out at 77°C (170°F)

Malts: Total 13.6 kg / 30 lb

Pilsner malt – 8.38 kg (18.5 lb) - 74.3%
Flaked Rice – 1.9g (4.2 lb) - 16.8%
Dextrose Powder - 1kg (2.2lb) - 8.9%

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Centennial

22.2g (0.78 oz) - 11 IBU's - 60 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) - 11 IBU's - 10 min
57g (2 oz) - 0 min
114g (4 oz) - Dry Hops - day 15 / near final gravity

Lupomax Citra

57g (2 oz) - 20 IBU's - 10 min
57g (2 oz) - 0 min
114g (4 oz) - Dry Hops - day 15 / near final gravity

Simcoe

57g (2 oz) - 14 IBU's - 10 min
57g (2 oz) - 0 min
114g (4 oz) - Dry Hops - day 15 / near final gravity

‍

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g (0.8 oz) Saflager s-23 at 13.5°C / 56.3°F for 15 days, followed by diacetyle rest for 2 days at 15°C / 59°F then a cold crash
23g (0.8 oz) Saflager W-34/70 at 13.5°C / 56.3°F for 15 days, followed by diacetyle rest for 2 days at 15°C / 59°F then a cold crash

Water Profile

Ca²⁺110
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 18
‍Na⁺16
‍Cl^-100
‍^‍SO₄^2-200
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 30 minutes at 63°C (145°F) followed by 30 minutes at 70°C (158°F) then a mash out at 77°C (170°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise the temp to 77°C (170°F) for 10-15 minutes to mash out, and deactivate the enzymes breaking down the sugars

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 22.2g (0.78 oz) of Centennial
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2.5 whirlfloc tablets
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 57g (2 oz) each of Centennial, Lupomax Citra and simcoe
at Flameout / 0 minutes left in the boil add 57g (2oz) of the same hops

Step 5 – Cooling

After 1 hour of boiling start cooling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Dry Hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 14 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.011 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest its time to Dry Hop, add 114g (4 oz) each of Lupomax citra, Centennial and simcoe to the fermenter
Its important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like, temperature, amount of yeast pitched, healthiness of yeast, gravity of wort, pH etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
Once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Sour

5 min read

"Healthy" Açaí Berry Sour

After Xmas & New years we needed a detox, so we have brewed a "healthy" beer! Acai berry beer! It's sweet, with an earthy resinous quality that makes it super moreish, and at 4.5-5% its an excellent thirst quencher for the "healthy" Brewer!

So... What is it?

The Berliner Weisse is a sour wheat beer from (you guessed it) Berlin, Germany! characterized by its slightly sour character and light abv (normally around 3-3.5%) it's a fantastic drop for summer in the beer garden, typically having a very light body, tartness on the tongue, and fresh fruity character. This also makes it a fantastic beer for fruit infusions!

What is ours like?

This doesn't feel like beer! This is an acai berry smoothie with booze! Its a cheat code to feeling healthy while you drink beer, because you arn't drinking, you're "detoxing"! The mouthfeel is slightly tart, the bitterness noticeable, and the hop character subdued, because the star of the show is the sweet medley of Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries and of course HEAPS of Acai Berries! Its sweet but less so than the Raspberry sour, leaning more towards an earthy resinous sweetness which actually makes it super refreshing and moreish! Coming in around 4.5-5% its an excellent thirst quencher for the "healthy" Brewer!

Batch size & ABV

25L / 5 gal finished beer
30L (6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.042
Final gravity 1.008
ABV – 4.5%
Brewhouse Efficiency 88%
IBU 9
Pre Sour pH 5.8
Post Sour pH 3.41

Brewfather Link

Ingredients

Water

With sparging

15.5L (4 gal) strike water, Mash at 65°C (149°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 69°C (156°F) use our calculator for this

15.5L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

28L (7.4 gal) strike water, Mash at 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 65°C (149°F) use our calculator for this

Malts - 3.751kg (8.27 lb)

Pilsner malt – 1.988kg (4.38 lb) - 53%
Wheat malt – 1.763kg (3.9 lb) - 47%
Rice Hulls – 170g (0.5 lb)

Fruit Addition

2 kg (4.4 lb) Acai Berry Puree (around 1.01 / 7 days)
1 kg (1.2 lb) Pureed Mixed Berries - Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries (around 1.01 / 7 days)

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Hallertau Huell Melon

6g (0.21 oz) - 6 IBU's - 60 minutes left in the boil

Hallertau Huell Melon

15g (0.53 oz) - 2 IBU's - 5 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc Tablets

1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the toil OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)

‍

Yeast & Lactobacillus fermentation temperature

For the kettle souring we pitched 6 bottles of Yakult and allowed it to sour for 24 hours to reach a pH of 3.41
US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 22g (2 packets)

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Water Profile

Ca²⁺46
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-55
‍^‍SO₄^2-55
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Step by step process

‍Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15.5L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 Souring!

At this point allow your wort to cool down to 33°C (86-91.4°F) and then pitch 6 bottles (390mL / 13 oz) of Yakult into the wort, this will pitch around 390 billion cells!
If you can keep the temp around 33°C (91.4°F) whilst it sours, and at this point you are at the mercy of the lacto!
Check the pH using a pH meter every 6-12 hours until it reaches your desired level and then immediately move on to boiling!
We allowed ours to reach 3.41, but aim for anywhere between 3.3 - 3.6

Step 5 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 6g (0.21 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and 15g (0.53 oz) of Hallertau Huell Melon

Step 6 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 7 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 8 – Fermentation & Fruit additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 5-7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.012 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)

Time to add FRUIT!

2 kg (4.4 lb) Acai Berry Puree (around 1.01 / 7 days)

1 kg (1.2 lb) Pureed Mixed Berries - Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries (around 1.01 / 7 days)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.008-1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍Step 9 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Pale Ale

5 min read

Viking Pine Tree Beer

This is bringing to life an ancient beer of Viking Origins! we cut down a pine tree, we open ferment, we do a 4 hour boil! All to recreate something out of legend and drink with the gods in valhalla!

So... What is it?

‍

This is an ancient style (or as close as we can get) of Norwegian farmhouse ale, so the focus is all about amazing kveik yeast expression, pine tree resinous flavours and beautiful malty mouthfeel and character! To make this beer we ran a 4 hour boil, we cut down and made a pine tree luge and we ran an open fermentation! So this was a lot of firsts for us, but boy this beer does not dissapoint! Its packed full of sweet and complex malt character, almost like a decoction mash Marzen, but bursting with tropical fruits like mango, orange citrus and guava from the Kveik yeast, and underneath it all there's hints of the forest from the pine tree infusion. This is truely on of my favourite brews ever, and it was made with the symbol of Christmas!

‍

Batch Size & ABV

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
48L (12.7 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.077
Final gravity 1.01
ABV – 8.8%
IBU - 34
Mash Efficiency - 81%

Brewfather link

Ingredients

‍Water

With sparging

50L (13.2 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 67°C (152.6°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)
30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

70L (18.5 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 67°C (152.6°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)

‍

Malts: 14kg (30.9 lb)

14 kg - 30.9 lb (63%) — Pilsner Malt

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

70 g - 2.5 oz (4 IBU) — East Kent Goldings 5% — Mash

58 g - 2 oz (14 IBU) — East Kent Goldings 5% — 60 Min Boil

70 g - 2.5 oz (6 IBU) — East Kent Goldings 5% — 10 Min Boil

70 g - 2.5 oz (6 IBU) — Fuggles 4.5% — 10 Min Boil

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Adjuncts

250 g (8.8 oz)— Pine Shoots - Mash

250 g (14.1 oz) — Pine Shoots - Boil 10 min

1 Pine tree Luge - Mash

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Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

33 g — Lallemand (LalBrew) Voss Kveik - 34 °C (93 °F)

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺‍ 61

‍Mg²⁺‍ 9

‍Na⁺‍ 20

‍Cl^-‍ 50

‍SO₄^2-‍ 44

‍HCO₃^-‍ 155

‍

Step by step process

‍

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1mm / 0.039 inches) (BUT DONT crush the rice hulls or oats, add them into your grain separately after crushing them)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

‍

Step 1.1 – Cut your Tree!

Using a saw cut down a pine tree of your choice and slice off the branches of the tree from the trunk
Then cut a channel through the centre of the trunk to make a luge to flow the hot wort through during the mashing step
seperate your pine needles (shoots) to be used for both mashing and boiling

‍

Step 2 – Mashing

Add your brewing salts and mix to ensure they are fully dissolved prior to mashing in grains
Mash for 60 minutes at 67°C (152.6°F)

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed
now add your mash hops!! This is going to free a bunch of bound thiols from your hops and make this beer even more juicy! I would recommend adding these in a hop bag to make sure you can remove all the hop particles before you start boiling so you don't get extra unaccounted bitterness
Now begin recirculating your wort through your pine tree luge and add your mash pine needles!

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise temperature to 77°C (170°F) for 10 minutes to Mash out

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) of sparge water at 78 °C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

‍

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 4 hours!! we want a nice long boil to raise our original gravity and create complex Maillard reactions to produce melanoidins in our beer and help change the colour!
After 3 hours of boiling add your 60 minute boil addition of hops, 58 g - 2 oz of East Kent Goldings
With 10 minutes of boiling left add your final flavour & aroma hops, 70 g - 2.5 oz each of East Kent Goldings & Fuggles as well as your boil addition of pine needles, 400g / 14.1 oz

‍

Step 5 – Cooling & Transferring

After the full 4 hours of boil, begin cooling the wort down to yeast pitching temperature, around 34 °C (93 °F)
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

‍

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

‍

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next 5 days to two weeks
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity is the same 2-3 days in a row fermentation is finished

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

IPA

5 min read

100% OAT NEIPA

This is brewing on HARD MODE! Zero diastatic power and 100% Oats! This is the new version of our Thiolized Juicy NEIPA, but with the goal of being jucier, hazier and harder to brew!

So... What is it?

‍

Our Thiolized Juicy NEIPA was amazing, so how can we make it more juicy, more hazy and more challenging? By using 100% Oats!! This is the Thiolized juicy NEIPA on hard mode! It comes in at 7% and is loaded up with all the same juicy punch characteristics of the original recipe, featuring mango, pineapple, and fresh orange zest and candy-like sweetness! The body is certainly creamy, however has a drier finish than expected, so we recommend using half the enzymes we did in our brew-day video to keep that body thick and voluptuous!

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Batch Size & ABV

19L (1 corny kegs) / 5 gal finished beer
23L (6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.059
Final gravity 1.006
ABV – 7%
IBU - 38
Colour - 9.5 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 80%

Brewfather link

Ingredients

‍Water

With sparging

22L (5.8 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 68°C (154.4°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)
15L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 68°C (154.4°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)

‍

Malts: 7.5kg (16.5 lb) of fermentable's [8kg (17.6lb) with rice hulls]

6.5 kg - 22.9 lb (86.7%) — Big O Malted Oats
1 kg - 5.4lb (13.3%) — Rolled Oats

0.5 kg (1.1 lb) — Rice Hulls

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

19 g / 0.67 oz (10 IBU) — Lupomax Citra 18.5% — Mash

43.8 g / 1.55 oz (5 IBU) — El Dorado 11.6% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 75 °C

43.8 g / 1.55 oz (6 IBU) — Lupomax Amarillo 13.5% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 75 °C

43.8 g / 1.55 oz (8 IBU) — Lupomax Citra 18.5% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 75 °C

43.8 g / 1.55 oz (8 IBU) — Lupomax Sabro 19% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 75 °C

37.5 g / 1.3 oz — El Dorado 11.6% — Dry Hop — day 7

37.5 g / 1.3 oz — Lupomax Amarillo 13.5% — Dry Hop — day 7

37.5 g / 1.3 oz — Lupomax Citra 18.5% — Dry Hop — day 7

37.5 g / 1.3 oz — Lupomax Sabro 19% — Dry Hop — day 7

‍

Enzymes! (I recommend using half of the below rates to retain more body & finish with a higher gravity)

Benzyme AA 4X - 1ml / 0.035 oz
Benzyme Glucoamylase - 6.5ml / 0.23 oz
Novozymes Ultraflo Max (optional) - 1.8ml / 0.06 oz

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

11.5 g (0.4 oz) — Lallemand (LalBrew) Pomona - 22 °C (71.6 °F)

alternatives below

23g (0.8 oz) Lallmand East Coast New England Ale Yeast ferment at 25°C (55°F)
23g (0.8 oz) Kveik (we used a Omega yeats Espe Kveik, but any kveik is great!) ferment at 32°C
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 20°C
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 19°C

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺‍ 141

‍Mg²⁺‍ 9

‍Na⁺‍ 15

‍Cl^-‍ 202

‍SO₄^2-‍ 100

‍HCO₃^-‍ 57

‍

Step by step process

‍

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1mm / 0.039 inches) (BUT DONT crush the rice hulls or oats, add them into your grain separately after crushing them)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

‍

Step 2 – Mashing & Enzymes!

Add your brewing salts and mix to ensure they are fully dissolved prior to mashing in grains
Mash for 60 minutes at 68°C (154.4°F)

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
Mash in aprox 15% of your total grain bill then add the Enzymes listed above!! These will ensure you can actually convert sugars from the Oats because they have zero diastatic power of their own!

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed
now add your mash hops!! This is going to free a bunch of bound thiols from your hops and make this beer even more juicy! I would recommend adding these in a hop bag to make sure you can remove all the hop particles before you start boiling so you don't get extra unaccounted bitterness

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise temperature to 77°C (170°F) for 10 minutes to Mash out

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15L (4 gal) of sparge water at 78 °C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

‍

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 90-minutes
after 90 minutes of boiling turn of the heat and chill the temperature of the wort down to 75°C (167°F) and begin whirlpooling

if you don’t have a wort chiller you could rest your boil kettle in an ice bucket
if your system can’t whirlpool you can also achieve this with a mash paddle and a power drill, if you don’t have this either don’t worry about whirlpooling it’s not completely necessary

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / whirlpool hop additions

once temperature reaches 75°C (167°F) and you have started whirlpooling add your whirlpool hops,43.8 g / 1.55 oz each of Lupomax versions of Amarillo, Sabro, citra and El Dorado
allow hops to whirlpool in the wort for 20 minutes and then begin chilling wort again down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

‍

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

‍

Step 7 – Fermentation, dry hopping and Soft Crashing (optional)

Allow yeast to ferment over the next 5 days to two weeks
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.016 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.01) "Soft Crash" your beer (optional, if you cant temp control move onto dry hopping), by reducing temperature to 13°C (55.4°F)
After 1 day of soft crashing add your dry hops, 37.5 g / 1.3 oz oz each of Lupomax versions of Amarillo, Sabro, citra and El Dorado and allow the temperature of fermentation to rise again up to 22 °C (71.6 °F)
1 to 2 days after dry hopping move on to cold crashing and dump trub / remove hops and take a final gravity reading
(If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Not Beer!

5 min read

The Best Ginger Beer Recipe!

Ginger beer! The sweet sticky refreshing crowd pleaser hiding some boozy goodness! It makes for a delightfully refreshing, slightly spicy and zingy palate cleanser, so lets get brewing!

So... What is it?

Ginger beer! The sweet sticky refreshing crowd pleaser hiding some boozy goodness! Made from the fermentation of sugar and fresh chopped ginger, it makes for a delightfully refreshing, slightly spicy and zingy palate cleanser, especially in the warmer weather. So here is our super easy ginger beer recipe with a slight twist to add a bit of extra zing and flavour to make you feel refreshed and thirst quenched!

‍

Batch Size & Cook Time

19L Keg (5 gal)
5.3% Alcohol
prep time 30-45 mins
Fermentation time 1 week

‍

What ingredients?

Fermentation ingredients‍

33g (1 oz) yeast nutrient (I used yeast O-ife)
400g (0.88 lb) sultanas / raisins
2kg (4.4 lb) Raw Sugar
1.355 kg (2.99 lb) ginger
4 juiced lemons
4 lemons zest
15g Lalvin - EC-1118 Yeast (any bakers or brewers yeast will also work)
21L (5.54 gal) of water

Post fermentation sweeteners

345g (0.76 lb) agave syrup
1.065kg (2.35 lb) raw sugar
14.25g potassium sorbate (0.75g per liter / 0.096 oz per gal)
1.79g potassium metabisulfite (0.094g per liter / 0.012 oz per gal)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Prepping the fruits and ginger

peel the skins off of all the ginger with a spoon or a peeler and finely chop all the ginger and sultanas/raisins in a food processor
peel the lemons being careful not to peel too much pith with the skins (the skins provide zestiness but the white pith can be bitter) and mix them in with the ginger and sultanas/raisins
after peeling the lemons squeeze the juice out of them and set it aside

Step 2 – Mixing the ingredients

take 1 liter (0.3 gal) of the the total water and boil it, then dissolve all the raw sugar for fermentation with the hot water and mix until fully dissolved
mix into the hot sugar water the yeast nutrients and allow them to dissolve
now mix together the rest of the 20L (5.3 gal) of water with all the prepped ingredients, lemon juice etc and pour it all into your fermenter (you can use a bucket with an airlock for this, link here to see how you can make a basic fermenter from a hardware store)
after all the ingredients have been added, its time finally to add your yeast, we used 15g (0.5 oz) Lalvin - EC-1118 but any brewers or bakers yeast will also work, it will just provide a different flavour

Step 3 Fermentation

Fermentation will take about 1 to 2 weeks, towards the end of fermentation take a gravity reading with a hydrometer, when you get the same gravity reading 3 days in a row fermentation is finished and you are ready to back sweeten your ginger beer!

Step 4 Back Sweetening and packaging - Option 1 (kegging option)

To back sweeten (which basically means add sweetness after fermentation) you need a way to stop the yeast from fermenting the additional sugar you add to the beer, to do this we are going to do a couple of things.
- firstly we will let all the yeast settle out to the bottom of the fermenter and let the beer clear up before transferring it to our keg, this way at least 90% of the yeast is going to be left behind in the fermenter
- secondly by dropping the temperature of the beer to 1-2 degrees after kegging it any yeast that made its way over will fall asleep and no longer be active
- finally we will also add 1.79g potassium metabisulfite & 14.25g potassium sorbate, which together will prevent the yeast from further multiplying and growing, helping us to protect the sugar we add from the yeast so that the sweetness stays in the beer!
No to add our sweetness we are going to dissolved the additional 1.065kg (2.35 lb) of raw sugar and 345g (0.76 lb) of agave syrup in a small amount of boiling water, then add this sugary syrup to the keg we will transfer the beer into
after adding the sugars burp / purge the keg of oxygen by filling it with CO2 and releasing the CO2 from the PRV (pressure release valve) in intervals
finally transfer the beer into the keg by connecting the tap of the fermenter to the beer out post of the keg and the gas in post of the keg to the airlock hole of the fermenter. This creates a closed loop so you can perform a zero oxygen transfer
after all the beer has been transferred force carbonate the beer by connecting it to a gas tank on 30 psi for 3 days at serving temperature, then release the gas and re-pressurize to serving pressure (12 psi) before drinking!

Step 4 Back Sweetening and packaging - Option 2 (Bottling option)

To back sweeten without kegs or taps you can also bottle, but this will mean you cant add sugar the same way you can with the kegging option, because in this case we want the yeast to produce a bit more fermentation after entering the bottles to gas up our ginger beer. So this time you will add about a teaspoon of sugar to each bottle (1 teaspoon for about a 330-375ml bottle / 12.6 oz bottles) which will provide fuel for the yeast to carbonate the bottle
However, to add sweetness you will instead need to add a non-sugar based sweetener, such as stevia, I recommend about 15g (0.5 oz) per 330-375ml bottle / 12.6 oz bottle, however you can use less or more to taste
- Its important to note! this option will provide a different, and slightly more artificial taste to the final product than the kegging sugar option!
after filling all the bottle, allow them to condition for about 2 weeks, at which point you can whack them in the fridge and enjoy!

‍

Enjoy your zesty refreshing ginger beer!‍

‍

Pale Ale

5 min read

Sexy Blonde Ale!

Coming in at 5.1% its sessionable and delicious so you can enjoy this beautiful blond all night long! ;) The gentle bitterness, balanced malt sweetness & light hoppiness leaves you wanting more! Check out our full recipe in the link below!

So... What is it?

Blonde ale is a refreshing, easy-drinking beer that's all about balance! Light in body and golden in color, it’s the kind of beer that invites you to take a sip and savor its subtle flavors, such as hints of honey, biscuit and light hoppiness. Born in the U.S. in the 1980s as a lighter, more approachable alternative to hop-heavy brews, it was designed to be a crowd-pleaser for both seasoned beer drinkers and newcomers alike!

‍

What's ours like?

Coming in at 5.1% its sessionable & delicious so you can enjoy this beautiful blond all night long! ;) Brewed with moderation and balance in mind, it showcases a light malt profile with a subtle biscuit character and honey like sweetness, followed by gentle bitterness and a subtle herbal and floral hop finish leaving you wanting another sip!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
22L (6.8 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.048
Final gravity 1.009
ABV – 5.1%
Brewhouse Efficiency 80%
EBC - 8.5
IBU - 18

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Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

20L (5.3 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F) for 30 mins then 70°C (158°F) for 30 mins, then mash out at 77°C (170°F) for 15 mins
15.2L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F) for 30 mins then 70°C (158°F) for 30 mins, then mash out at 77°C (170°F) for 15 mins

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (11 4lb)

4.059 kg / 8.9 lb (84.5%) — Pilsner Malt
472 g / 1lb (9.8%) — Wheat Malt
150 g / 5.3 oz (3.1%) — Gladiator Malt / Dextrin Malt
125 g / 4.4 oz (2.6%) — Medium Crystal Malt

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Hallertauer Mittelfrueh (3% Alpha Acid)

28g (1 oz) 9 IBU - 60 mins
56g (2 oz) 9 IBU - 15 mins

Whirlfloc

0.75g (0.026 oz) / 1 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺24
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-31
‍^‍SO₄^2-36
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 11g (0.38 oz) / (1 packet)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 11g (0.38 oz) / (1 packet)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 11g (0.38 oz) / (1 packet)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash at 64°C (147°F) for 30 mins then 70°C (158°F) for 30 mins, then mash out at 77°C (170°F) for 15 mins

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 28g (1 oz) of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and 56g (2 oz) of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 60 mins of boiling turn off your heat source and start cooling wort down
Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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IPA

5 min read

Super Juicy Thiolized NEIPA

This ain't beer, this is breakfast booze juice!! Coming in at a whopping 8.7% and loaded with pineapple, orange, passionfruit and stone fruit sweetness. A NEIPA a day keeps the doctor away!

So... What is it?

‍

The Hazy IPA (also called NEIPA) is a super fruity low bitterness style of IPA that typically sits around the 5.5-7.5% ABV mark. This time we turned the voltage way up, making a 8.7% juice bomb! Huge punchy flavours of mango, pineapple, and fresh orange zest and candy-like sweetness make this a super drinkable boozy juice! You dont need your breakfast OJ anymore, this bad boy has you covered!

‍

Batch Size & ABV

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
50L (13.2 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.080
Final gravity 1.0135
ABV – 8.7%
IBU - 38
Colour - 12.6 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 80%

Brewfather link

Ingredients

‍Water

With sparging

45L (11.9 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 68°C (154.4°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)
25L (6.6 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

65L (17.2 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 68°C (154.4°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)

‍

Malts: 14.5kg (32 lb) of fermentable's 16.5kg (36.4lb) with rice hulls

10.395 kg - 22.9 lb (63%) — Ale Malt
2.475 kg - 5.4lb (15%) — Gladfield Rolled Oats
1.98 kg - 4.36 lb (12%) — Wheat Malt
990 g - 2.2 lb (6%) — Rolled Wheat
660 g - 1.45 lb (4%) — Gladiator Malt

1 kg (2.2 lb) — Rice Hulls

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

50 g - 1.76 oz (9 IBU) — Lupomax Citra 18.5% — Mash

87.5 g - 3 oz (5 IBU) — El Dorado 11.6% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 78 °C

87.5 g - 3 oz (6 IBU) — Lupomax Amarillo 13.5% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 78 °C

87.5 g - 3 oz (8 IBU) — Lupomax Citra 18.5% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 78 °C

87.5 g - 3 oz (8 IBU) — Lupomax Sabro 19% — Aroma — 20 min hopstand @ 78 °C

75 g - 2.6 oz — Lupomax Amarillo 13.5% — Dry Hop — day 7

75 g - 2.6 oz — Lupomax Citra 18.5% — Dry Hop — day 7

75 g - 2.6 oz — Lupomax El Dorado 18% — Dry Hop — day 7

75 g - 2.6 oz — Lupomax Sabro 19% — Dry Hop — day 7

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

33 g — Lallemand (LalBrew) Pomona - 22 °C (71.6 °F)

alternatives below

23g (0.8 oz) Lallmand East Coast New England Ale Yeast ferment at 25°C (55°F)
23g (0.8 oz) Kveik (we used a Omega yeats Espe Kveik, but any kveik is great!) ferment at 32°C
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 20°C
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 19°C

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Water Profile

Ca²⁺‍ 130

‍Mg²⁺‍ 16

‍Na⁺‍ 15

‍Cl^-‍ 202

‍SO₄^2-‍ 100

‍HCO₃^-‍ 57

‍

Step by step process

‍

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1mm / 0.039 inches) (BUT DONT crush the rice hulls or oats, add them into your grain separately after crushing them)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

‍

Step 2 – Mashing

Add your brewing salts and mix to ensure they are fully dissolved prior to mashing in grains
Mash for 60 minutes at 68°C (154.4°F)

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed
now add your mash hops!! This is going to free a bunch of bound thiols from your hops and make this beer even more juicy! I would recommend adding these in a hop bag to make sure you can remove all the hop particles before you start boiling so you don't get extra unaccounted bitterness

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise temperature to 77°C (170°F) for 10 minutes to Mash out

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 25L (6.6 gal) of sparge water at 78 °C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

‍

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minutes
after 60 minutes of boiling turn of the heat and chill the temperature of the wort down to 75°C (167°F) and begin whirlpooling

if you don’t have a wort chiller you could rest your boil kettle in an ice bucket
if your system can’t whirlpool you can also achieve this with a mash paddle and a power drill, if you don’t have this either don’t worry about whirlpooling it’s not completely necessary

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / whirlpool hop additions

once temperature reaches 75°C (167°F) and you have started whirlpooling add your whirlpool hops, 87.5 g - 3 oz each of Lupomax versions of Amarillo, Sabro, citra and El Dorado
allow hops to whirlpool in the wort for 20 minutes and then begin chilling wort again down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

‍

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

‍

Step 7 – Fermentation, dry hopping and Soft Crashing (optional)

Allow yeast to ferment over the next 5 days to two weeks
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.016 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.013 – 1.014) "Soft Crash" your beer (optional, if you cant temp control move onto dry hopping), by reducing temperature to 13°C (55.4°F)
After 1 day of soft crashing add your dry hops, 75 g - 2.6 oz each of Lupomax versions of Amarillo, Sabro, citra and El Dorado and allow the temperature of fermentation to rise again up to 22 °C (71.6 °F)
1 to 2 days after dry hopping move on to cold crashing and dump trub / remove hops and take a final gravity reading
(If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Porter

5 min read

Reece's Pieces Peanut Butter Porter

Trick or Treat! This is a chocolate & peanut butter infused bananza to celebrate the halloween season! so get your scare on and make this amazing reece's pieces peanut butter porter!

So... What is it?

The Porter is a dark beer originating from London in the early 18th century, named after the working-class porters who favored it. Historically, porters were one of the first mass-produced beers and evolved over time, leading to variations like the stout, which was originally a stronger version of the porter. While porters feature chocolate, caramel and coffee flavours they tend to be smoother and less bitter than stouts, which often have a more robust, bitter profile.

‍

What's ours like?

This one takes all the best aspects of the old school porter, with a fantastic chocolate and peanut butter filled twist! Working peanut butter flavours into beer is notoriously difficult, and we learnt that first hand with this experience! Our first batch was brilliant right up until we dry hopped the PB Fit powder, so dont do that! In our second batch we dissolved the powder into the beer at the end of the boil and oh boy did it deliver! The second version came out as an 8.3% peanut butter bomb! Creamy flavours of malty nuttiness and chocolate layer with the PB beautifully making this just so damn addictive! I am certainly going to experiment with peanut butter more in future! Happy Halloween!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

First batch (on camera failed batch!)

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
47L (12.4 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.067
Final gravity 1.016
ABV – 6.7%
IBU - 25
Colour - 74.5 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 73%

Brewfather link - 1st version (on camera)

second batch (Off Camera re-brew)

19L / 5 gal finished beer
25L (6.6 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.081
Final gravity 1.018
ABV – 8.3%
IBU - 19
Colour - 77 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 78%

‍Brewfather link - 2nd version (brewed off camera) - This recipe was better!!

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

37L (9.77 gal) for a 68°C (154.4°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)
30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F) - fermenter topped up with 4L (1 gal) post boil to reduce OG

Without sparging

55L (14.5 gal) for a 68°C (154.4°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts: Total 13.01 kg / 28.68 lb

9.05 kg / 20 lb (69.6%) — Ale Malt
1.48 kg / 3.3 lb(11.4%) — Dark Munich Malt
990 g / 2.18lb (7.6%) — Light Chocolate Malt
870 g / 1.92 lb(6.7%) — Medium Crystal 240
620 g / 1.37lb (4.8%) — Gladiator Malt (Dextrin malt)

Adjuncts

2.77 kg (6.1 lb) — reeces peices peanut butter cups 20min left in boil step
430g (0.95 lb) — PB Fit Peanut Butter Powder (changed from video, i recommend dissolving this in hot wort towards the end of boil and adding it in just before flameout)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

28g (10 IBU) (1 oz) – 60 mins
50g (9 IBU) (1.76 oz) – 15 mins

Fuggles

50g (5 IBU) (1.76 oz) – 15 mins

‍

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

20g (0.7 oz) Lallemand (LalBrew) Nottingham Yeast – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F

23g (0.8 oz) Aus-05– ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F

Water Profile

Ca²⁺85
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 9
‍Na⁺26
‍Cl^-100
‍^‍SO₄^2-50
‍^‍HCO₃^- 154

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 mins at 68°C (154.4°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise the temp to 77°C (170°F) for 10-15 minutes to mash out, and deactivate the enzymes breaking down the sugars

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 28g (1 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 20 minutes left in the boil add your 2.77 kg (6.1 lb) — reeces peices peanut butter cups
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets (or 1.5g of granulated whirlfloc) and 50g (1.76 oz) each of Fuggles & Northern Brewer
at Flameout add the 430g (0.95 lb) of PB fit peanut butter powder (it helps to have a seperate bucket to pull out some hot wort to dissolve the powder seperately before adding it all back to the main boil)

Step 5 – Cooling

After 1 hour of boiling start cooling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.014 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
Once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Not Beer!

5 min read

The Best Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

Sourdough focaccia is by far my favorite style of bread! it can be used for sandwich's, pizza or just with some fresh olive oil as a dip! It's light, airy, flavorful & so addictive!

So... What is it?

Sourdough focaccia is by far my favorite style of bread! it can be used for sandwich's, pizza or just with some fresh olive oil as a dip! It's light, airy, and flavorful Italian flatbread made with a naturally leavened sourdough starter instead of commercial yeast. It combines the tangy, slightly sour notes from the sourdough with the traditional softness and olive oil richness of focaccia. The dough is typically hydrated and soft, resulting in a pillowy texture with a crisp, golden crust. The bread is often topped with olive oil, salt, herbs like rosemary, and sometimes vegetables or olives, enhancing its flavor. To make it, a sourdough starter is mixed with flour, water, and salt, left to rise slowly to develop flavor, and then shaped, dimpled, and baked after being generously drizzled with olive oil. The taste is a delicious combination of savory, tangy, and fragrant, with a chewy interior and crisp exterior.

‍

Batch Size & Cook Time

1 Large Focaccia (use a large tray)
a couple of hours of prep (dough mixing & stretch & folds)
23 min total cook time

What ingredients?

Sourdough Starter

1.75 to 2.1 cups of flour
1.75 to 2.1 cups of water

Focaccia Ingredients

3 cups of bakers flour (plain flour will also work)
2 to 2.25 cups of water
drizzle of olive oil
2 teaspoons of salt
1 cup of sourdough starter
flaked salt (to sprinkle on before baking)
chilli oil or flakes (optional garnish on top of bread)

What Equipment?

Sourdough Starter

1 large glass jar (1 to 2L)
mixing spoon or knife
1/4 or 1/3 measuring cup

Focaccia equipment

large baking tray (I prefer non-stick)
mixing spoon
large bowl
large container (at least twice the size of your dough before it rises)
measuring cups (1 cup size)

‍

Step by step process

Making the Starter

Thoroughly clean a large glass jar (1-2L in size)
measure out 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of flour (depending on your jar size) and tip into the jar, then add an equal amount of water
mix the water and flour thoroughly then loosely close the lid of the jar and set aside in a relatively warm area of the kitchen out of direct sunlight
each day repeat this process, adding the same quantity of flour and water as day 1, and mixing
by day 5-7 you should start to see yeast activity in your new mother yeast, it will start to look bubbly and frothy, bam! you have created a mother yeast!
you can keep this in the fridge when you are not planning on baking for a while to keep the yeast dormant, then remove from the fridge and feed again in increments with flour and water 12 hours to 24 hours prior to baking until you see it frothing and bubbling again.

‍

Making the Focaccia

Step 1 - Mixing the dough

Measure out 3 cups of flour, 2 to 2.25 cups of water and 1 cup of yeast starter and add to a large mixing bowl
proceed to thoroughly mix together with a spoon or sourdough whisk until all the flour is dissolved with the water into a shaggy sticky dough
leave this to rest for 15 to 30 minutes (this is the autolyse period where the yeast starts to grow and munch away on the sugars of the dough and begin to build gluten networks)
after the initial rest add in 2 teaspoons of salt and mix into the dough, you will notice the dough will start to tighten up and become less runny, now leave to rest for a further 15 to 30 minutes

Step 2 - Stretch and folds (4 sets)

After the salt rest, wet your hands with water and grab under one side of the dough in the bowl and pull it up and stretch it over the dough itself (useful to watch our video for this step!) then rotate the bowl by 90 degrees and repeat this process until you have stretched and folded all 4 sides
allow the dough to rest covered by a cloth or cling wrap for 15 minutes then repeat this process
after completing 4 sets of stretch and folds with 15 minute breaks between each set you will notice the dough has built up far more strength, and is less sticky and holds more tightness than it did in the beginning.
If you can stretch out the dough without it ripping and breaking then you have healthy strong gluten networks, and its time to move onto coil folds!

Step 3 - Coil Folds (2-4 sets)

Drizzle oil into the container (it should be at least twice as big as your current dough size) and oil all the sides of the container
now transfer your dough from your bowl to the container and begin your coil folds
to coil fold you can reach both hands underneath the middle of the dough and lift it up so that it stretches under its own weight, then rest the dough back down on itself so the both sides fold underneath the dough like a big coil (watch our video to see how to do this)
If your dough is not tight or strong enough to coil fold in this way you can simply lift one side of the dough at a time and tuck it under itself
coil fold the dough 2 to 4 times with 30 minute rests in between each fold
by the end of your coil folds you will notice the surface of the dough is no longer sticky to the touch and its starting to fill with gas as fermentation progresses

Step 4 - Bulk Fermentation

if you are planning on cooking this dough the next day (or same day) Close the container and allow the dough to rest for a couple of hours until the size of the dough has doubled.
if you'd like to sour this dough for a day to a couple of days put the container into the fridge after finishing coil folds and allow it to develop complexity and flavour.
The cold of the fridge will slow down fermentation and allow wild yeasts in the dough from the mother yeast to grow and develop acidity and complexity in the flavours of the dough (hence sourdough!).
The longer you let your dough slowly ferment in the fridge the more sour it will become

Step 5 - Baking

Begin pre-heating your oven to 230 degrees Celsius on fan forced
whilst your oven heats oil your baking tray with a drizzle of oil and cover all the surfaces of the tray with your hand or oil brush
Take your dough out of the fridge and gently tip it out onto the baking tray, if you want your focaccia to rise extra high you can fold the dough over itself so that it traps more gas as it rises
Slip your fingers underneath the dough and gently stretch the dough out to fill the tray (optional not necessary)
Just before you bake the bread its time to oil the dough, if you want to use less oil you can mix oil and a smaller amount of water together in a glass (and mixx in chili oil of flakes if you want) then pour the mixture over the top of the dough and gently spread it with your hands or a oil brush
after coating the dough wet your fingers and poke them into the dough to dimple the bread so that it rises without splitting, this will also help create big gas bubbles and airiness in the bread
finally just before placing in the oven sprinkle salt evenly across the surface of the dough then place in the oven
Cook at 225°C (437°F) for 15 minutes, then spin the baking tray 180 degrees to evenly cook the bread, after spinning the tray dop the temperature to 215 to 220°C (depending on how brown you want your bread) and cook for a further 8-10 minutes for a total of 23-25 minutes
after cook time is complete, remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 15 to 120 minutes before slicing open and eating!

‍

Enjoy!!

‍

Lager

5 min read

Oktoberfest Decoction Mash Marzen

Wow this brewday was a fail, but this beer turned out awesome! Amber to orange in colour, with decent mouthfeel and rich malty character and complex sweetness, we can call this beer an Oktoberfest success!

So... What is it?

The Oktoberfest Märzen is a traditional German beer made using a decoction mashing process, which involves boiling a portion of the mash and returning it to the main mash to increase the temperature in stages. This technique was historically used in Bavaria to achieve certain mash steps & help extract more flavor and fermentable sugars from the malt. Märzen, meaning "March" in German, was brewed in late winter and stored in cool caves for consumption during Oktoberfest. The decoction process enhances the malt complexity and depth of flavor, giving the beer its rich amber colour, moderate bitterness and signature rich, slightly sweet finish!

‍

What's ours like?

Wow this brewday was a fail! But this beer was worth the pain! Showcasing an awesome amber to orange colour, decent mouthfeel and rich malty character and complex sweetness, we can call this beer an Oktoberfest success! The decoction mash has paid huge dividends despite the pain, creating a very complex sweetness, with flavors of candied prunes, deep caramel and rich delicious honey! Coming in at 6.3% its on the boozier side for a fest beer, but we absolutely love it and know you will too!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
22L (6.8 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.064
Final gravity 1.015
ABV – 6.4%
Brewhouse Efficiency 84%
EBC - 28
IBU - 23

‍

Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

16L (4.2 gal) strike water
Protein rest: 113F (55 C) — 10 min
Decoction Step - scoop out 1/3 of the mash and heat to 65C (149 F) for 15 mins, then heat up to boil for 15 mins and add back to main mash
Beta rest: 147F (64 C) — 30 min
Alpha rest: 158F (70 C) — 30 min
Mash Out — 170F - 77 °C — 10 min

14L (3.7 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

27L (7.1 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)
Protein rest: 113F (55 C) — 10 min
Decoction Step - scoop out 1/3 of the mash and heat to 65C (149 F) for 15 mins, then heat up to boil for 15 mins and add back to main mash
Beta rest: 147F (64 C) — 30 min
Alpha rest: 158F (70 C) — 30 min
Mash Out — 170F - 77 °C — 10 min

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 6.2kg (13.67 4lb)

Joe White Pilsner malt – 2.883kg (6.35 lb) - 46.5%
Light Munich - 2.48kg (5.47 lb) - 40%
Dark Munich - 620g (1.37 lb) - 10%
Medium Crystal - 217g (0.48 lb) - 3.5%

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Hallertauer Mittelfrueh (3% Alpha Acid)

28g (1 oz) 8 IBU - 60 mins
70g (2.5 oz) 10 IBU - 15 mins

Whirlfloc

0.75g (0.026 oz) / 1 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺21
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-31
‍^‍SO₄^2-27
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

70 ml — White Labs WLP820 Octoberfest/Marzen Lager - Ferment at 14°C (57°F)
SafLager™ S‑23 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)
Saflager W34-70 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash in with 16L (4.2 gal) for 95 minutes with the following step mash order (not whilst you pull out 1/3 of the mash for decoction keep the main mash going along with the set mash schedule simultaneously)

Protein rest: 113F (55 C) — 10 min
Decoction Step - scoop out 1/3 of the mash and heat to 65C (149 F) for 15 mins, then heat up to boil for 15 mins and add back to main mash
Beta rest: 147F (64 C) — 30 min
Alpha rest: 158F (70 C) — 30 min
Mash Out — 170F - 77 °C — 10 min

‍

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 14L (3.7 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 90-minute boil
After 30 mins of boiling (with 60 mins left remaining) add your bittering hops, 28g (1 oz) of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 70g (2.5 oz) of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh and 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz))

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 90 mins of boiling turn off your heat source and start cooling wort down
Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before, UNLESS you are using liquid yeast! in which case ignore the below steps!) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Lager

5 min read

Oktoberfest Munich Helles Lager

Here's our brand new Oktoberfest Munich Helles for 2024! Maltier and more traditional that its predecessor, its the perfect Munich lager for you to get your brew on and dive stein first into Oktoberfest!

So... What is it?

The Helles Lager (primarily produced in Bavaria - southern Germany) is much maltier and breadier than a classic style pilsner, and “Helles” translates to “brightness” and “light” describing the golden-hued colour of the lager. It typically sits between 4.5% to 5.5% in abv and is made as a refreshing and crisp style summer beer with a balanced malty bready base and fresh zesty hoppiness.

What's ours like?

Coming in at 5.4% with a beautiful golden hugh and frothy head it makes a cracker Fest bier for the Oktoberfest season! By using a combo of noble hop varieties with modern German variants its holds a floral and fruity aroma! But the star of the show is the complex malty character, giving layers of fresh baked sourdough, pretzels, nuttiness and a subtle honey finish to round it out and make it so bloody delicious!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
48L (12.6 gal) wort

For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe

Starting gravity – 1.052
Final gravity 1.009
ABV – 5.4%
IBU - 21
Colour - 9.7 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 88%

Brewfather link

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) Mash temp 65°C (149°F) 1 hour. Strike water approx. 71°C (160°F) use our calculator to determine your strike water temp

32.5L (8.6 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

60L (7.9 gal) Mash temp 65°C (149°F) 1 hour. Strike water approx. 72°C (161.6°F) use our calculator to determine your strike water temp

‍

Malts: 9.18kg (20.2 lb)

Pilsner – 7.711kg (17.1 lb) - 84%
Light Munich – 1.377kg (3 lb) - 15%
Supernova (or other melanoidin malt) – 92g (3.2 oz) - 1%

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Spalt Spatler

28g (1 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
50g (1.76 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Huell Melon

50g (1.76 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g SafLager S-23 – ferment at 14°C (57 F)
23g SafLager W-34/70 – ferment at 14°C (57 F)

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺23
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-31
‍^‍SO₄^2-32
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.05mm / 0.041 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

‍

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

‍

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 28g (1 oz) of Spalt Spalter
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets and 50g (1.76 oz) each of Spalt Spalter and Huell Melon

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

‍

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

‍

Step 7 – Fermentation & dry hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 10-12 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.010 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2-3 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.009) & gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

Wheat

5 min read

Oktoberfest Hefeweizen

So... What is it?

The Oktoberfest Hefeweizen is a traditional German wheat beer with origins in Bavaria, often enjoyed during Oktoberfest celebrations. Known for its hazy, golden appearance, it features a flavor profile that blends banana, clove, and sometimes subtle hints of bubblegum, all derived from the special yeast used in fermentation. This unfiltered beer is brewed with a high proportion of wheat, giving it a soft, creamy mouthfeel and a refreshing finish.

‍

What's ours like?

We are doing Oktoberfest right this year! This Hefeweizen comes in at a generous 5.9% and pours a gorgeous golden blonde, with a thick foamy head that lasts for days and leaves that signature wheat beer lacing on the glass! The bitterness is very subdued & hop character non existent which is just perfect for allowing the true star of the show to shine through, the amazing yeast character! First and foremost an explosion of cloves and cooking spice hits your palate, closely followed by waves of banana and vanilla which just coat the tongue with that beautiful silky German goodness!

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
22L (6.8 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.057
Final gravity 1.012
ABV – 5.9%
Brewhouse Efficiency 69%
EBC - 10.2
IBU - 14

‍

Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

16L (4.2 gal) strike water
Ferulic acid rest: 113F (45 C) — 10 min
Beta rest: 135F (57 C) — 30 min
Alpha rest: 156F (69 C) — 30 min
Mash Out — 170F - 77 °C — 10 min

15L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

27L (7.1 gal) strike water
Ferulic acid rest: 113F (45 C) — 10 min
Beta rest: 135F (57 C) — 30 min
Alpha rest: 156F (69 C) — 30 min
Mash Out — 170F - 77 °C — 10 min

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 5.2kg (11.4 lb)

Wheat malt – 2.6kg (5.7 lb) 50%
Pilsner Malt- 1.976 (3.83 lb) 38%
Rolled Wheat - 520g (1.15 lb) 10%
Supernova (Melanoidin Malt) - 104g (3.7 oz) 2%

Rice Hulls

470g (1 lb)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Spalt Spatler (4.2% Alpha Acid)

28g (1 oz) 10 IBU - 60 mins

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺22
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺16
‍Cl^-32
‍^‍SO₄^2-32
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

11g (1 pkg) — Lallemand (LalBrew) Munich Classic - 22°C (71.6°F)
Any other bavarian wheat beer yeasts will work as well!

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes with the following step mash order

Ferulic acid rest: 113F (45 C) — 45 °C — 10 min
Beta rest: 135F (57 C) — 57 °C — 30 min
Alpha rest: 156F (69 C) — 69 °C — 30 min
Mash Out — 170F - 77 °C — 10 min

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 28g (1 oz) of Spalt Spatler

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 60 mins of boiling turn off your heat source and start cooling wort down
Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (Dont worry cold crashing is optional!)

‍

Lager

5 min read

Mexican Lager

Showing a beautiful golden straw colour, light body and sweet malt and corn finish, this is the ultimate beach side beer for lazy afternoons in the summer sun!

So... What is it?

Mexican lager is a light, crisp, easy drinking beer influenced by European brewing traditions brought over to Central America. Characterized by a golden straw colour, clean mild taste, subtle malt & corn based sweetness, minimal bitterness and relatively light ABV (4-5% normally) it is a fantastic summer beer and palate cleanser!

‍

What's ours like?

Ours is spot on the profile! Showing a beautiful golden straw colour, light body and sweet malt and corn finish its a brilliant summer beer to have beach side! The bitterness is certainly in check, showing only enough IBU's to keep everything in balance without overpowering the rest of the beer. It's clean, easy drinking and perfect for warmer weather and lazy afternoons in the sun!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
22L (6.8 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.044
Final gravity 1.009
ABV – 4.9%
Brewhouse Efficiency 88%
EBC - 4.7
IBU - 12

‍

Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)
15.2L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

27L (7.1 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (11 4lb)

Joe White Pilsner malt – 3.14kg (7 lb)
Flaked Corn (Maize) - 790g (1.74 lb)

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Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Spalt Spatler (4.2% Alpha Acid)

19g (0.67 oz) 10 IBU - 60 mins
30g (1 oz) 2 IBU - 5 mins

Whirlfloc

0.75g (0.026 oz) / 1 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

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Water Profile

Ca²⁺22
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-31
‍^‍SO₄^2-30
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

SafLager™ S‑23 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)
Saflager W34-70 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 64°C (147°F) with 15L (3.9 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15.2L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 19g (0.67 oz) of Spalt Spatler
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)\
At 5 mins left in the boil add the flameout hops, 30g (1 oz) of Spalt Spatler and start cooling wort

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 60 mins of boiling turn off your heat source and start cooling wort down
Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)

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Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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‍

Lager

5 min read

Japanese Rice Lager

Coming in at an easy drinking 4.7%, its crisp, fresh, lightly sweet and citrusy and has a beautiful dry finish! Perfect for hot summer days and Sushi dinners!

So... What is it?

The Japanese rice lager incorporates rice as a key ingredient alongside the usual barley, giving it a lighter and crisper profile compared to traditional lagers. The style originated in Japan as brewers sought to create a beer that paired well with the country's cuisine, particularly sushi and other delicate flavors. Rice helps to give the style its signature clean, refreshing character and subtle sweet dry finish.

What's ours like?

Coming in at an easy drinking 4.7%, its crisp, fresh, lightly sweet and citrusy and has a beautiful dry finish! The Rice certainly imparts the signature light body and dry finish of the Japanese style and the Motueka hops are perfectly balanced, providing just enough bitterness to keep it drinkable, with subtle citrusy and floral notes that make a near perfect replacement for the signature Japanese Hop, Sorachi Ace. Certainly a beer ill be brewing again and again!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

47L (2x 19L & 1 9L corny kegs) / 12.4 gal finished beer
51L (13.5 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.044
Final gravity 1.008
ABV – 4.7%
IBU - 16
Colour - 4.7 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 94%

Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) for a 64°C (147°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)
30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F) - fermenter topped up with 4L (1 gal) post boil to reduce OG

Without sparging

55L (14.5 gal) for a 64°C (147°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts:

Pilsner Malt – 5.01 kg (11 lb) - 62%
Flaked Rice – 2.83 (6.24 lb) - 35%
Gladiator (dextrin) Malt - 240g (0.53 lb) - 3%

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Motueka

28g (1 oz) 12 IBU's – 60 mins
60g (2.1 oz) 5 IBU's – 5 minutes left in the boil

Rice Hulls

400g (0.88 lb)

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g (0.8 oz) Saflager S-23 – ferment at 14°C (57°F)
23g (0.8 oz) Saflager W-34/70 – ferment at 14°C (57°F)

Water Profile

Ca²⁺23
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-31
‍^‍SO₄^2-32
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 64°C (147°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

Once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 28g (1 oz) of Motueka
At 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets
With 5 minutes left in the boil add your flavour and aroma hops, 60g (2.1 oz) of Motueka

Step 5 – Cooling

After 1 hour of boiling start cooling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.01 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2-4 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
Its important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like, temperature, amount of yeast pitched, healthiness of yeast, gravity of wort, pH etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
Once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Not Beer!

5 min read

The Best Spiced Mulled Wine!

Full of sweetness & spice and everything nice! This is a true winter warmer perfect for those colder months. So pull out a bottle of wine, fill it will some spice and get cozy by the fire!

So... What is it?

Mulled wine is a warm, spiced beverage typically made from red wine, along with various mulling spices and sometimes raisins. The origins of mulled wine date back to ancient Rome, where it was customary to heat wine and mix it with spices to ward off the cold. This tradition spread throughout Europe, evolving with regional variations. The common ingredients include red wine, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, citrus fruits (such as oranges), and sweeteners like honey or sugar. It's especially popular during the winter months and is a festive staple at Christmas markets in many countries.

‍

What's ours like?

Absolutely delicious! Its sweet, sticky, earthy and has just the right amount of spice! When we say spice, we of course mean cooking spice, think christmasy flavours like cinnamon and honey, blended with an earthy sweet warmth from the cloves & star anise, molassasy richness from the rum, a touch of zesty fresh citrus from the oranges and all marrying together with dark berry character and just a hint of old tobacco from the elderberries. Drink this one cozied up fireside and you'll feel warm and fuzzy like you're sitting by a fireplace in the Swiss alps!

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Batch Size & Cook Time

4-5 glasses (around 800ml / 27 oz)
10-11 standards of alcohol (Australian)
prep time 5 mins
cook time 20-30 mins (to taste)

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What ingredients?

Spices & Sweets‍

2 oranges (one for cooking, one for garnish)
3 cinnamon sticks (2 for cooking 1 for garnish)
8-10 cloves (to taste)
2 whole star anise
1/2 a tablespoon of elderberries (optional)
3-4 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup (to taste)

Alcohol

bottle of red wine (softer less intense wines are best, such as merlot or pinot noir)
1/3 to 1/2 of a cup of Rum or Brandy

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Spices & sweets

Measure out each of your spices and set them aside to add to a cooking pot or saucepan
slice one of the oranges to desired thickness (thinner slices will extract more flavour) however if you'd like less bitterness you can peel the orange first

Step 2 – Heating the wine

pour out a bottle of red wine into a cookpot or saucepan, generally softer reds are better for mulled wine, such as pinot noirs or merlots. Please not your wine does not need to be expensive! A good price point is something you are happy to cook with, we are going to add a bunch of flavours with our spices so no point spending top dollar on the wine itself!
Wines with less tannins and robust flavours will produce a sweeter mulled wine that lets the spices shine more rather than the tanic bitterness and astringency of the wine itself.
Add 1/3 to 1/2 of a cup of either rum or brandy to your pot, this will increase the alcohol content of our spiced drink, giving it more robust character and making it more of a winter warmer for those cold winter nights!

Step 3 Add spices and simmer!

Time to start simmering! add all your spices and sliced orange to the pot, as well as 3-4 tablespoons of either honey or maple syrup depending on your preference. Start with less and add more to taste!
allow your brew to reach a simmer NOT A BOIL! alcohol evaporates around 78°C (172°F) so keep the temperature around 70-75°C (158-167°F) max or you will start to loose your booze!
Now you can let your concoction simmer away from anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes or to taste! The longer you simmer the more spice character and bitterness you will extract, so taste every now and again and stop the simmer when you are happy!
Once you've reached your desired flavour strain the mulled wine out into heat safe glasses or mugs! But remember to strain all the spices out if you are not drinking it all at once! the longer the wine sits on the spices the more flavour it will pull, so if you leave it overnight it might taste like a tea that has had the bag in for too long the next day!

Step 3 Garnish & Serve!

Garnish however you'd like! I am a fan of adding a few orange slices, a cinnamon stick and maybe a star anise, but the world is your oyster, your mulled wine is now ready to drink! So play around with this recipe and add or remove spices to taste and make your perfect winter warmer!

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IPA

5 min read

Red Rye IPA

This is our second crack at a red rye on the channel and we can easily say it is significantly better than our first attempt! Robust, packed full of flavour and far more drinkable!

So... What is it?

The Red Rye IPA is a daughter of the American West Coast IPA, sitting between 5.5%-7.5% with a similar hop & bitterness profile to a westcoast. However the malt backbone leans deeper into the rich caramel, toffee, and/or dark fruit malt character side of things, similar in some ways to an Irish red ale, and of course a strong earthy spicy note from a hefty addition of Rye malt!

What's ours like?

This is our second crack at a red rye on the channel and we can easily say it is significantly better than our first attempt! The rye is far more balanced, the body thinner (in a good way!) making it far more drinkable, the IBU's and hop character are also far more in balance with the fruitcake, caramel and sticky date flavour of the complex malt bill. Coming in at 6.6% it still carries decent weight both in terms of ABV and overall flavour and character! Definitely a great beer for all seasons, holding more depth than a traditional IPA, but not so heavy as a black!

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Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
45L (11.9 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.073
Final gravity 1.012
ABV – 6.6%
IBU - 66
Colour - 36 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 80%

Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

40L (10.6 gal) for a 65°C (149°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)
25L (6.6 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F) - fermenter topped up with 4L (1 gal) post boil to reduce OG

Without sparging

55L (14.5 gal) for a 65°C (149°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts: Total 12.46 kg / 27.5 lb

Pale ale malt – 7.727 kg (17 lb) - 62%
Flaked Rye - 1.869 kg (4.12 lb) - 15%
Red Back - 1.495 kg (3.3 lb) - 12%
Aurora - 748 g (1.65 lb) 6%
Supernova – 679g (1.01 lb) - 4%
Midnight Wheat- 125g (4.4 oz) - 1%

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

57g (22 IBU) (2 oz) – 60 mins

Citra

57g (12 IBU) (2 oz) – 10 mins
57g (2 oz) - 0 min flame out
57g (2 oz) - dry hop day 7

Rakau

57g (10 IBU) (2 oz) – 10 mins
57g (2 oz) - 0 min flame out

105g (3.5 oz) - dry hop day 7

Lupomax Mosaic

57g (10IBU) (2 oz) – 10 mins
57g (2 oz) - 0 min flame out

100g (3.5 oz) - dry hop day 7

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Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g (0.8 oz) Aus-05– ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F

Water Profile

Ca²⁺111
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 18
‍Na⁺16
‍Cl^-100
‍^‍SO₄^2-200
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise the temp to 77°C (170°F) for 10-15 minutes to mash out, and deactivate the enzymes breaking down the sugars

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 25L (6.6 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 57g (2 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2.5 whirlfloc tablets
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 57g (2 oz) each of Citra, Lupomax Mosaic and Rakau
at Flameout / 0 minutes left in the boil add 57g (2oz) of Citra, Lupomax Mosaic and Rakau

Step 5 – Cooling

After 1 hour of boiling start cooling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Dry Hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.014 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest its time to Dry Hop, add 113g (3 oz) each of citra and Lupomax Mosaic, and 105g (3.7 oz) of Rakau to the fermenter
Its important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like, temperature, amount of yeast pitched, healthiness of yeast, gravity of wort, pH etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
Once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Brown Ale

5 min read

Code Brown! Nutty Brown Ale

We screwed up!! This is... Code Brown! Imagine a stout and a brown ale had an illegitimate love child, that's basically what happened to this winter warmer, but just like parents who have a "mistake" we love our child anyway!

So... What is it?

A brown ale is a dark, malty beer that typically showcases a rich, caramel or toffee-like sweetness, balanced with a moderate bitterness. Originating from England, this ale features a deep amber to brown hue and often carries nutty, toasted bread, or chocolate undertones. With moderate alcohol content, a smooth medium bodied mouthfeel and slightly lower carbonation its an easy drinking malt driven beer for the cooler whether.

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What's ours like?

Well there's no way around it... we screwed up! from forgetting to check the mash temp, to stuck sparges to using too much roasted malts in our grain bill, we made a lot of mistakes! BUT, the beer itself is actually very solid, certainly leaning more towards roasted stout territory rather than brown nuttiness, and with a slightly light body it is a very unique beer! imagine a lighter bodied stout with a decent amount of breadiness and nutty character, that's pretty much our code brown ale! Coming in at 6.2% its definitely darker and more boozy than intended, but its made for a great fire side winter sipper!

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Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
23L (6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.057
Final gravity 1.01
ABV – 6.2%
Brewhouse Efficiency 87%
IBU - 28

Brewfather link

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What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)
15.2L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

27L (7.1 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (11 4lb)

Pale malt – 3.026kg (6.67 lb) - 62%
Crisp Light Munich Malt - 781g (1.72 lb) - 16%
Gladfield Brown Malt - 683g (1.5 lb) - 14%
Medium Crystal Malt - 244g (0.54 lb) - 5%
Dark Chocolate Malt - 146g (5.15 oz) - 3%

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

14g (0.5 oz) 13 IBU - 60 min
28g (1 oz) 9 IBU - 10 min

Fuggles

28g (1 oz) 5 IBU - 10 min

Whirlfloc

0.75g (0.026 oz) / 1 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺81
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-101
‍^‍SO₄^2-75
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 11.5g (0.2 oz)
S-04 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 11.5g (0.2 oz)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (151°F) with 15L (3.9 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15.2L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 14g (0.5 oz) of Northern Brewer hops
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 28g (1 oz) each of fuggles and northern brewer

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 60 mins of boil turn off your heat and start cooling the wort
Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.005) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

‍

Sour

5 min read

House Hightower Green Apple Skittles Sour

"I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!" This Berliner Weisse is an explosion of sweet cherry goodness and crisp tart sourness! come get your fruit on and brew this summer sour!

So... What is it?

A kettle sour is made by inoculated the wort after the mash step with a bacteria like Lactobacillus. It's then left to sour for a few hours to days until the pH reaches the desired level which is halted by immediately boiling the wort and carrying on with the brew-day and pitching yeast as you would with a normal beer!

The Berliner Weisse is a sour wheat beer from (you guessed it) Berlin, Germany! characterized by its slightly sour character and light abv (normally around 3-3.9%) it's a fantastic drop for summer in the beer garden, typically having a very light body, tartness on the tongue, and fresh fruity character. This also makes it a fantastic beer for fruit infusions!

‍

What is ours like?

House Hightower, aka "the greens" are a prominent family in the world House of the Dragon & Game of Thrones, renowned for its wealth, influence, and strategic acumen. Known for their conniving and devious nature, the HighTower's navigate the intricate web of alliances and rivalries, manipulating events from the shadows to secure their power.

So what better way to symbolize house Hightower, than with a Sour! and of course because they are the "Greens" our beer must be too! So here is the Green apple skittles sour! Its tart, acidic and definitely sour, with a surprisingly sweet finish from the hefty addition of the green apple skittles! Its super smashable despite the 5.9% ABV which is definitely on the higher side for a sour, but every sip is packed full of the tart and acidic sweetness of a green apple, making it perfectly aligned with the personalities and personas of house Hightower!

‍

Batch size & ABV

19L / 5 gal finished beer
23L (6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.042 (after skittles addition 1.053)
Final gravity 1.01
ABV – 5.9%
Final pH - 3.64
IBU - 11
Skittles dissolved to 95%, so we added 693.5g of sugar to 23 litres of beer meaning we increased our gravity by 1.011!
brewfather link

Ingredients

Water

With sparging

15.5L (4 gal) strike water, Mash at 65°C (149°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 69°C (156°F) use our calculator for this

15.5L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 65°C (149°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 66°C (151°F) use our calculator for this

Malts

Pale ale malt – 1.75 kg (3.86 lb)
Wheat malt – 1.55kg (3.4 lb)
Rice Hulls – 150g (5.3 oz)

Fruit Addition

1 kg (2.2 lb) Green Apple Skittles (around 1.012 / 7 days)

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

6g (0.21 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Hallertau Huell Melon

15g (0.53 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc Tablets

1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the toil OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)

Yeast & Lactobacillus fermentation temperature

For the kettle souring we pitched 6 bottles of Yakult and allowed it to sour for 30 hours to reach a pH of 3.46
US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 22g (2 packets)

Water Profile

Ca²⁺46
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-55
‍^‍SO₄^2-55
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

Step by step process

‍Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15.5L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 Souring!

At this point allow your wort to cool down to 30-33°C (86-91.4°F) and then pitch 6 bottles (390mL / 13 oz) of Yakult into the wort, this will pitch around 390 billion cells!
If you can keep the temp around 30-33°C (86-91.4°F) whilst it sours, and at this point you are at the mercy of the lacto!
Check the pH using a pH meter every 6-12 hours until it reaches your desired level and then immediately move on to boiling!
We allowed ours to reach 3.46, but aim for anywhere between 3.3 - 3.6

Step 5 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 6g (0.21 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and 15g (0.53 oz) of Hallertau Huell Melon

Step 6 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 7 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 8 – Fermentation & Skittles additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.015 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
Time to add FAKE fruit! 1kg (2.2 lb) of green apple skittles to the fermenter

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.008-1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 9 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

IPA

5 min read

House Of The Dragon Black IPA

Big, bold, fierce and intense! These are the qualities of house Targaryen, and these are the qualities we incorporated into this big & bold Black IPA!

So... What is it?

A Black IPA, or Cascadian Dark Ale, originated in the early 2000s in the Pacific Northwest, combining the roasted malt characteristics of stouts or porters with the hoppy profile of an IPA. Typically having an ABV of 6.0%-8.5% and an IBU range of 50-90, this style offers a balance of dark roasted malt flavors like coffee and chocolate with bold hop notes of pine, resin, and citrus. Its deep brown to black color and medium body create a complex, layered taste experience that appeals to fans of both dark ales and hop-forward beers.

What's ours like?

Big, bold, fierce and intense! These are the qualities of house Targaryen, and these are the qualities we incorporated into this big & bold Black IPA! Coming in at a hefty 7.9% it certainly packs a punch, but it doesn't drink like it! Balanced by a robust malt body and 69 IBU's (not intentional!) the beer comes together perfectly, expressing big punchy citrus, piney, earthy and spicy hop character, followed by a dark chocolate to smoky espresso finish thanks to the addition of the heavily roasted wheat malt. Truly this is the beer that represents house Targaryen in the dance of dragons!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
47L (12.4 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.073
Final gravity 1.012
ABV – 8%
IBU - 76
Colour - 24 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 82%

Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

40L (10.6 gal) for a 65°C (149°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)
22L (5.8 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F) - fermenter topped up with 4L (1 gal) post boil to reduce OG

Without sparging

55L (14.5 gal) for a 65°C (149°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts: Total 13.6 kg / 30 lb

Pale ale malt – 11.63 kg (25.6 lb) - 85.5%
Briess Midnight Wheat Malt - 883 g (1.95 lb) 6.5%
Medium Crystal Malt – 679g (1.5 lb) - 5%
Gladiator Malt (dextrin malt) - 408g (0.9lb) - 3%

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Chinook

57g (2 oz) – 60 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) – 10 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) - dry hop day 8

Riwaka

57g (2 oz) – 10 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) - 0 min flame out
113g (4 oz) - dry hop day 8

Citra

57g (2 oz) – 10 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) - 0 min flame out

113g (4 oz) - dry hop day 8

‍

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g (0.8 oz) Aus-05– ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F

Water Profile

Ca²⁺110
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 18
‍Na⁺16
‍Cl^-100
‍^‍SO₄^2-200
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise the temp to 77°C (170°F) for 10-15 minutes to mash out, and deactivate the enzymes breaking down the sugars

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 22L (5.8 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 57g (2 oz) of Bravo
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2.5 whirlfloc tablets
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 57g (2 oz) each of Chinook, Citra and Riwaka
at Flameout / 0 minutes left in the boil add 57g (2oz) of Citra & Riwaka

Step 5 – Cooling

After 1 hour of boiling start cooling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Dry Hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.017 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest its time to Dry Hop, add 113g (4 oz) each of citra and simcoe, and 57g (2 oz) of chinook to the fermenter
Its important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like, temperature, amount of yeast pitched, healthiness of yeast, gravity of wort, pH etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
Once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

IPA

5 min read

Fiesta Wombat West Coast IPA

This old school west coast IPA is the love child of our first international brewing collaboration Zak & Chris of Santa Fe Brewing company! A big bold explosion of flavours celebrating the god father style of the craft beer world!

So... What is it?

An old-school West Coast IPA is a bold and assertive beer that pays homage to the origins of the American craft beer movement. Characterized by its golden to amber hue, this IPA boasts a crystal-clear appearance with a generous, foamy white head. The aroma is a vibrant bouquet of pine, resin, and citrus, with grapefruit and orange peel notes taking center stage. On the palate, it delivers a robust bitterness balanced by a sturdy malt backbone, offering hints of caramel and toasted bread. The finish is dry and crisp, leaving a lingering bitterness that invites another sip.

What's ours like?

This one is a booze filled celebration of the old school style of American IPA's! our version coming in at a a very generous 8%, packs a huge hop forward presence of citrus, fruit and a touch of resinous dank pine notes. The body hold up to the bitterness and impressive quantity of a whopping 76 IBU's! On paper this beer is bitter beyond belief... but it definitely doesn't drink like it! It holds a fantastic balance between thick, sweet and chewy mouthfeel, booziness and a hop forward explosion, making this beer deliciously moreish!

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
47L (12.4 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.073
Final gravity 1.012
ABV – 8%
IBU - 76
Colour - 24 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 82%

Brewfather link

https://share.brewfather.app/9cX1VWrxmbRBAT

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

40L (10.6 gal) for a 65°C (149°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)
20L (5.3 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F) - fermenter topped up with 4L (1 gal) post boil to reduce OG

Without sparging

55L (14.5 gal) for a 65°C (149°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts: Total 13.6 kg / 30 lb

Pale ale malt – 12.512 kg (27.58 lb) - 92%
Medium Crystal Malt – 680g (1.5 lb) - 5%
Gladiator Malt (dextrin malt) - 408g (0.9lb) - 3%

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Bravo

70g (2.5 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Chinook

57g (2 oz) – 10 minutes left in the boil

Simcoe

57g (2 oz) – 10 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) - dry hop day 7

Citra

57g (2 oz) – Flameout / 0 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) - dry hop day 7

‍

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g (0.8 oz) Aus-05– ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 18°C / 64.4°F

Water Profile

Ca²⁺111
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 18
‍Na⁺16
‍Cl^-101
‍^‍SO₄^2-200
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise the temp to 77°C (170°F) for 10-15 minutes to mash out, and deactivate the enzymes breaking down the sugars

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 20L (5.3 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 70g (2.5 oz) of Bravo
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2.5 whirlfloc tablets
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 57g (2 oz) each of chinook and simcoe
at Flameout / 0 minutes left in the boil add 57g (2oz) of citra

Step 5 – Cooling

After 1 hour of boiling start cooling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Dry Hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.015 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest its time to Dry Hop, add 57g (2 oz) each of citra and simcoe to the fermenter
Its important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like, temperature, amount of yeast pitched, healthiness of yeast, gravity of wort, pH etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
Once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Sour

5 min read

Cherry Kettle Sour Berliner Weisse

"I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!" This Berliner Weisse is an explosion of sweet cherry goodness and crisp tart sourness! come get your fruit on and brew this summer sour!

So... What is it?

‍

What is ours like?

Ours is a "ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!" and with this being our first kettle sour we stoked with how it turned out! The mouthfeel is a little tart, partly from the souring effect and partly from the cherries, bitterness & hop character very subdued to allow the star's of the show to shine! This Berliner clocked in at 4.7% which is slightly above what the style should be because we didn't account for the cherries sugar! But the cherries come through in spades, with the cherry tartness & subtle residual sweetness pairing beautifully with the sour acidity produced by lactobacillus, producing a gentle sour effect that feels more complex and complete than its philly sour cousin! Making this a super yum beer for sour lovers and the un-initiated alike!

‍

Batch size & ABV

19L / 5 gal finished beer
20L (6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.04 (after cherry addition adjusted to 1.046)
Final gravity 1.01
ABV – 4.7%
Final pH - 3.64
IBU - 11
we used this calculator to check our ABV after the cherry puree addition
brewfather link

Ingredients

Water

With sparging

15.5L (4 gal) strike water, Mash at 65°C (149°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 69°C (156°F) use our calculator for this

15.5L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 65°C (149°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 66°C (151°F) use our calculator for this

Malts

Pale ale malt – 1.75 kg (3.86 lb)
Wheat malt – 1.55kg (3.4 lb)
Rice Hulls – 150g (5.3 oz)

Fruit Addition

3.95 kg (8.7 lb) Puréed Cherries towards end of fermentation (around 1.012 / 7 days)

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

6g (0.21 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Hallertau Huell Melon

15g (0.53 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc Tablets

1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the toil OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)

Yeast & Lactobacillus fermentation temperature

For the kettle souring we pitched 5 bottles of Yakult and allowed it to sour for 28 hours to reach a pH of 3.61
US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 22g (2 packets)

Water Profile

Ca²⁺46
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-55
‍^‍SO₄^2-55
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

Step by step process

‍Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15.5L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 Souring!

At this point allow your wort to cool down to 30-33°C (86-91.4°F) and then pitch 5 bottles (325mL / 11 oz) of Yakult into the wort, this will pitch around 325 billion cells!
If you can keep the temp around 30-33°C (86-91.4°F) whilst it sours, and at this point you are at the mercy of the lacto!
Check the pH using a pH meter every 6-12 hours until it reaches your desired level and then immediately move on to boiling!
We allowed ours to reach 3.61, but aim for anywhere between 3.3 - 3.6

Step 5 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 6g (0.21 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and 15g (0.53 oz) of Hallertau Huell Melon

Step 6 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 7 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 8 – Fermentation & Fruit additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.015 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
Time to add fruit! purée 3.95 kg (8.7 lb) of Cherries and throw them all into the fermenter
we used this calculator to check our ABV after the cherry puree addition

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.008-1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 9 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Sour

5 min read

Philly Yeast Cherry Sour

"I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!" This Berliner Weisse is an explosion of sweet cherry goodness and crisp tart sourness! come get your fruit on and brew this summer sour!

So... What is it?

‍

What is ours like?

The mouthfeel is slightly tart, bitterness & hop character very subdued to allow the star's of the show to shine! Its all about the sour acidity and cherry bomb! This Berliner clocked in at a very easy 5% which is slightly above what the style should be because we didnt account for the cherries sugar! But the cherries come through in spades, with the cherry tartness pairing beautifully with the sour acidity produced by the Philly yeast. Its a sour, but only lightly sour, making this a super yum beer for sour lovers and the un-initiated alike!

‍

Batch size & ABV

19L / 5 gal finished beer
20L (6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.04 (after cherry addition adjusted to 1.046)
Final gravity 1.008
ABV – 5%
Final pH - 3.91
IBU - 11
we used this calculator to check our ABV after the cherry puree addition
brewfather link

Ingredients

Water

With sparging

15.5L (4 gal) strike water, Mash at 65°C (149°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 69°C (156°F) use our calculator for this

15.5L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 65°C (149°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 66°C (151°F) use our calculator for this

Malts

Pale ale malt – 1.75 kg (3.86 lb)
Wheat malt – 1.55kg (3.4 lb)
Rice Hulls – 150g (5.3 oz)

Fruit Addition

3.95 kg (8.7 lb) Puréed Cherries towards end of fermentation (around 1.012 / 7 days)

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

6g (0.21 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Hallertau Huell Melon

15g (0.53 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc Tablets

1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the toil OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)

Yeast & fermentation temperature

Wildbrew™ Philly Sour [Lallemand] – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 22g (2 packets)

Water Profile

Ca²⁺46
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-55
‍^‍SO₄^2-55
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57‍

Step by step process

‍Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15.5L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 6g (0.21 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and 15g (0.53 oz) of Hallertau Huell Melon

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Fruit additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.015 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
Time to add fruit! purée 3.95 kg (8.7 lb) of Cherries and throw them all into the fermenter
we used this calculator to check our ABV after the cherry puree addition

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.008-1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Lager

5 min read

Fosters Lager Clone... But Better!

Ours tastes remarkably similar to the real thing... but better! Crisp, refreshing and slightly floral, this is a superior replica of the symbol of Aussie beer culture!

So... What is it?

Foster's Lager is an iconic Australian beer known for its refreshing taste and distinctive branding. It's a pale lager that's light and crisp, making it a popular choice for social gatherings, barbecues, and good times with good mates. With a golden hue and a balanced flavor profile, Foster's Lager offers a smooth drinking experience with subtle malt sweetness and a clean finish.

What's ours like?

Ours tastes remarkably similar to the real thing... but better! coming in at 4.7% it is slightly lower in ABV than the original's 4.9%, but it carries through with the same crisp finish, refreshing floral and slightly fruity character, low bitterness and beautiful straw to gold colour. However, it actually has a slightly lighter finish, and lacks the slight artificial chemical aftertaste of the original commercial giant, making this (in our opinion!) a better version than the original symbol of Australian beer culture!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
26L (6.8 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.042
Final gravity 1.006
ABV – 4.7%
Brewhouse Efficiency 82%
IBU - 11

‍

Brewfather link

https://share.brewfather.app/KrXxXnWZ5ERdQr

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)
15.2L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

27L (7.1 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (11 4lb)

Joe White Pilsner malt – 3.16kg (7 lb)
Crisp Light Munich Malt - 160g (5.6 oz)
Mangrove Jakcs Corn Sugar (Dextrose) - 420g (14.8 oz)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Pride of Ringwood

10g (0.35 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
30g (0.53 oz) - Flameout

Whirlfloc

0.75g (0.026 oz) / 1 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺22
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-31
‍^‍SO₄^2-30
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

SafLager™ S‑23 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)
Saflager W34-70 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 64°C (147°F) with 15L (3.9 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15.2L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 10g (0.35 oz) of Pride of Ringwood
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 60 mins of boil turn off your heat and add the flameout hops, 30g (1 oz) of Pride of Ringwood and start cooling wort
Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.005) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

‍

Pale Ale

5 min read

Aussie Pale Ale Version 2!

This is beer flavoured beer! its clean, refreshing, and has a light citrus and floral character, and a short sharp finish. If you want an easy drinking easy to brew beer, this is your go to!

So... What is it?

The Australian Pale Ale is a vibrant beer that captures the essence of the Land Down Under. Its flavor combines tropical fruit and citrus with a balanced hop bitterness and malt sweetness. The aroma offers hints of mango, passionfruit, and grapefruit, alongside a subtle caramel undertone. This style has its roots in Australia's brewing history and represents our nations diverse hop varieties, love for beer and adventurous spirit!

What's ours like?

Ours is bang on the money with the twist of combing some classic old school Aussie hops with new world varieties! Coming in at a sessionable 4.8% it has a very crisp and light body up front, and is an easy drinking thirst quencher for the hot Australian summer! Ultimately... this one is a beer flavoured beer! its clean, refreshing, and has a light citrus and floral character, and a short sharp finish. If you want an easy drinking easy to brew beer, this is your go to!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
46L (13.2 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.043
Final gravity 1.007
ABV – 4.8%
IBU - 24
Colour - 16.7 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 86%

Brewfather link

https://share.brewfather.app/TopKZRwK7tdMXO

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) for a 65°C (149°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)
30L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F) - fermenter topped up with 4L (1 gal) post boil to reduce OG

Without sparging

60L (7.9 gal) for a 65°C (149°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts:

Pale ale malt – 7.62 kg (16.8 lb) - 95.5%
Medium Crystal Malt – 360g (0.79 lb) - 4.5%

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Pride of Ringwood

10g (0.35 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
60g (2.1 oz) – 3 minutes left in the boil

Galaxy

50g (1.76 oz) – 3 minutes left in the boil

Topaz

70g (2.47 oz) – 3 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g (0.8 oz) Aus-05– ferment at 20°C
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 20°C
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 19°C

Water Profile

Ca²⁺58
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-56
‍^‍SO₄^2-82
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C (149°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 34L (9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 10g (0.35 oz) of Pride of Ringwood
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2.5 whirlfloc tablets
With 3 minutes left in the boil add your flavour and aroma hops, Pride of Ringwood 60g (2.1 oz), Galaxy 50g (1.76 oz), Topaz 70g (2.47 oz)

Step 5 – Cooling

After 1 hour of boiling start cooling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.01 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
Its important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like, temperature, amount of yeast pitched, healthiness of yeast, gravity of wort, pH etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
Once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Stout

5 min read

Easter Hot Cross Bun White Stout

Our White stout takes an already strange style... and makes it even stranger! Its blonde and beautiful, full of roasted coffe flavours, vanilla, spice & everything nice... oh yeah and Hot cross buns!!

So... What is it?

A white stout is a beer that challenges traditional expectations by combining the appearance of a light-colored beer, often resembling a pale ale or even a golden lager, with the flavors typically associated with a stout. Unlike a traditional stout, which is typically dark brown to black in color with roasted malt flavors, a white stout achieves its stout-like characteristics through the use of coffee beans, cocoa nibs and even spiced tinctures in the fermentation step, to maintain a lighter color with full body stouty goodness!

What's our like?

Our White stout takes an already strange style... and makes it even stranger! not only is ours a blonde ale infused with all the roasty goodness of a coffee bean based stout, it is also packed full of spices such as vanilla, sultanas, allspice berries, cinnamon, cacao nib extract and of course, REAL hot cross buns thrown into the mash! To top it all off is a late boil addition of lactose to bring everything together with a creamy sweetness that lingers on the tongue. Coming in at a reasonable 4.7% it is a very sessionable hot cross bun in a glass to keep you warm and cozy all Easter weekend long!

‍

POST BREW ALTERATIONS

In hindsight we would increase our sultana (raisin) addition from 500g (1.1 lb) to 1kg (2.2 lb) to really boost the Hot cross bun character!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
25L (6.6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.048
Final gravity 1.013
ABV – 4.7%

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

20L (5.2 gal) Strike water at 69°C (156.2°F)
15L (3.9 gal) Sparge water approx. 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 69°C (156.2°F)

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 4.91kg (10.8 4lb)

Pale ale malt – 3.98kg (8.77 lb)
wheat – 490g (1.08 lb)
Rolled Oats - 290g (0.64 lb)
Gladiator malt (dextrin malt)– 150g (0.33 lb)
Rice Hulls - 250g (0.55 lb)

‍

Adjuncts

Traditional Hot Cross Buns - 450g (1 lb) in Mash
Lactose - 220g (0.48 lb) start of boil
sultanas (raisins) - 500g (1.1 lb) - end of fermentation

‍

Spice Tincture - soak all spices in cacao nib spirit for a week before adding to fermenter at final gravity

2 vanilla beans
1 cinnamon stick
8 all spice berries
cacao nib spirit 250mL - (to make this toast 500g of cacao nibs at 180°C (356°F) for 5 mins then soak nibs in 700mL of rum or vodka for a week then strain)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

20g (0.7 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Spalt Spalter

35g (1.23 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc

0.75g (0.025 oz) / 1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

Water Profile

Ca²⁺62
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 9
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-98
‍^‍SO₄^2-49
‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 69°C (156.2°F) with 20L (5.2 gal) of strike water (with sparging - 30L (7.9 gal without sparging)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15L (3.9 gal) Sparge water approx. 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 20g (0.7 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)
at 5 minutes left in the boil add 35g (1.23 oz) of Spalt Spatler
after 60 mins of boil turn off your heat source

‍Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

after 60 mins of boil turn off your heat source and begin cooling
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Fruit and Spice additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week or two (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

After 4 days of fermentation or around 1.015 gravity, we added our sultanas (raisins)
On day 6 of fermentation we added our 250g (0.5 lb) of Arabica coffee beans and spice tincture and if you have temp control then raise the temperature of fermentation by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest for the next 2 days
2 days after adding the coffee and spice tincture it is time to cold crash (if you can) and bottle / keg!

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.014) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

‍

IPA

5 min read

Super Juicy Hazy IPA

Boozy, Juicy and oh so fruity! This Hazy IPA comes sits at a hefty 7.9% with a silky smooth body & mouthfeel and comes bursting with mango, pineapple, orange and other tropical goodness!

So... What is it?

‍

The Hazy IPA (also called NEIPA) is a super fruity low bitterness style of IPA that typically sits around the 5.5-7.5% ABV mark. This particular recipe makes an 7.9% tropical juice bomb! Huge punchy flavours of mango, pineapple, and fresh orange zest and candy-like sweetness make this a super drinkable boozy juice! And with the hefty amount of wheat and oats added to the grain bill, it has a super silky balanced mouthfeel, accentuating all the hoppy goodness!

‍

Batch Size & ABV

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer

50L (13.2 gal) wort

For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe

Starting gravity – 1.073

Final gravity 1.013

ABV – 7.9%

Cheeky sample from the tank on Kegging day

Ingredients

‍Water

With sparging

40L (10.6 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 68°C (154.4°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)
30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

60L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. for a 60 min mash at 68°C (154.4°F) with a 10 min mash out step at the end at 77°C (170°F)

‍

Malts: 14.5kg (32 lb) of fermentable's 15.5kg (34lb) with rice hulls

Pale ale malt – 10.5kg (23 lb)
Rolled Oats – 2kg (4.4 lb)
Wheat malt – 2kg (4.4 lb)
Rice Hulls (not necessary, just helps with sparging) – 1g (2.2 lb)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

20g (0.7 oz) - First Wort Hops

Lupomax El Dorado

50g (1.76 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
50g (1.76 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.014 (approx. day 5-10 depending on your yeast)

Lupomax Mosaic

50g (1.76 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
50g (1.76 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.014 (approx. day 5-10 depending on your yeast)

Lupomax Sabro

50g (1.76 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
50g (1.76 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.014 (approx. day 5-10 depending on your yeast)

Lupomax Amarillo

50g (1.76 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
50g (1.76 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.014 (approx. day 5-10 depending on your yeast)

Lupomax Citra

50g (1.76 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
50g (1.76 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.014 (approx. day 5-10 depending on your yeast)

Whirlfloc

1.5g granulated whirlfloc / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g (0.8 oz) Lallmand East Coast New England Ale Yeast ferment at 25°C (55°F)
23g (0.8 oz) Kveik (we used a Omega yeats Espe Kveik, but any kveik is great!) ferment at 32°C
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 20°C
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 19°C

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺‍ 131 Mg²⁺‍ 15 Na⁺‍ 15 Cl^-‍ 199 SO₄^2-‍ 100 HCO₃^-‍ 57

Brewing Salts & Water Adjustments (this is for my original water profile, so adjust yours to your own profile, you can watch the video under here to learn more!)

‍14 g — Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) — Mash

3.9 g — Epsom Salt (MgSO4) — Mash

3.9 g — Gypsum (CaSO4) — Mash

4.5 ml — Phosphoric Acid 85% — Mash

10.5 g — Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) — Sparge

2.93 g — Epsom Salt (MgSO4) — Sparge

2.93 g — Gypsum (CaSO4) — Sparge

1.73 ml — Phosphoric Acid 85% — Sparge

‍

Step by step process

‍

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1mm / 0.039 inches) (BUT DONT crush the rice hulls or oats, add them into your grain separately after crushing them)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

‍

Step 2 – Mashing

Add your brewing salts and mix to ensure they are fully dissolved prior to mashing in grains
Mash for 60 minutes at 68°C (154.4°F) with 40L (10.6 gal)

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)
after 60 minutes of mashing raise temperature to 77°C (170°F) for 10 minutes to Mash out

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) of sparge water at 78 °C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

‍

Step 4 – Boiling

After removing the grains from your mash tun add your first wort hops (before wort begins to boil)
once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minutes
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets
after 60 minutes of boiling turn of the heat and chill the temperature of the wort down to 75°C (167°F) and begin whirlpooling

if you don’t have a wort chiller you could rest your boil kettle in an ice bucket
if your system can’t whirlpool you can also achieve this with a mash paddle and a power drill, if you don’t have this either don’t worry about whirlpooling it’s not completely necessary

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / whirlpool hop additions

once temperature reaches 75°C (167°F) and you have started whirlpooling add your whirlpool hops, 50g (1.76 oz) each of Lupomax versions of Mosaic, Amarillo, Sabro, citra and El Dorado
allow hops to whirlpool in the wort for 20 minutes and then begin chilling wort again down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

‍

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

‍

Step 7 – Fermentation, dry hopping and Soft Crashing (optional)

Allow yeast to ferment over the next 5 days to two weeks
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.014 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.013 – 1.014) "Soft Crash" your beer (optional, if you cant temp control move onto dry hopping), by reducing temperature to 13°C (55.4°F)
After 1 day of soft crashing add your dry hops, 50g (1.76 oz) each of Lupomax versions of Mosaic, Amarillo, Sabro, citra and El Dorado
1 to 2 days after dry hopping move on to cold crashing and dump trub / remove hops and take a final gravity reading
(If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

IPA

5 min read

Chat GPT Hazy IPA

This hazy IPA, brought to you by chat GPT's open AI, is like a tropical vacation in a glass - so juicy and boozy, it'll make your taste buds break out in a conga line!

So... What is it?

A hazy IPA is a modern style of beer known for its cloudy appearance and juicy, fruity flavors. It's brewed with a combination of hops, grains like oats and wheat, and yeast strains that contribute to its hazy appearance and smooth texture. The result is a refreshing and aromatic beer with a tropical fruit-forward taste, often featuring notes of citrus, mango, and pineapple. Hazy IPAs typically have an alcohol by volume (ABV) ranging from 6% to 7.5% and an International Bitterness Units (IBU) range of 30 to 50, providing a balanced bitterness that complements the fruity hop character.

‍

What's our like?

Crafted by an AI chat GPT model, our hazy IPA is a masterpiece of flavor innovation. Coming in at a boozy 8.4% and bursting with juicy citrus and tropical fruit aromas, it tantalizes the palate with notes of ripe mango, zesty orange, and succulent pineapple. The soft, pillowy mouthfeel from the addition of flaked oats and wheat creates a smooth canvas for the explosion of hoppy goodness. With each sip, you'll experience a harmonious balance of hop bitterness and fruity sweetness, culminating in a lingering finish that leaves you craving another taste. Whether enjoyed on a sunny day or as a delightful indulgence, our AI-crafted hazy IPA offers a refreshing twist on traditional beer styles, inviting you to savor every moment of its flavorful journey

‍

Batch Size & Stats

14.5L / 3.8 gal finished beer - (yes we stuffed up our mash efficiency on the day!! im sure you can do better than us)
20L (6.3 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.076
Final gravity 1.012
ABV – 8.4%

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

20L (5.2 gal) strike water approx. 66°C (15.8°F)
8.3L (2.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 66°C (15.8°F)

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 7.5kg (16.5 4lb)

5.5 kg (12.1 lbs) Pale Malt
1 kg (2.2 lbs) Flaked Oats
0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) White Wheat Malt
0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) Munich Malt

Rice Hulls – 400g (1.1 lb)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

30 g (1.1 oz) Citra (12% AA) - First Wort Hop
30 g (1.1 oz) Citra (12% AA) - 15 minutes
60 g (2.1 oz) Citra (12% AA) - Whirlpool for 20 minutes at 80°C (176°F)
60 g (2.1 oz) Mosaic (12% AA) - Whirlpool for 20 minutes at 80°C (176°F)
Dry Hop #1: 60 g (2.1 oz) Citra + 60 g (2.1 oz) Mosaic - After primary fermentation, for 3-4 days
Dry Hop #2: 60 g (2.1 oz) Citra + 60 g (2.1 oz) Mosaic - 3 days before bottling/kegging

‍

Whirlfloc

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Water Profile:

Calcium: 143 ppm
Magnesium: 20 ppm
Sodium: 15 ppm
Sulfate: 150 ppm
Chloride: 199 ppm
Bicarbonate: 57

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

LalBrew New England™ – ferment at 24°C (75.2°F) 10g (0.35 oz) / (1 packets)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (150.8°F) with 20L (5.2 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 8.3L (2.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 30g (1 oz) of Citra

at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and 30g (1 oz) of Citra

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

after 60 mins of boil turn off your heat source and cool wort down to 80°C (176°F) & add 60g (2.1 oz) each of Citra and Mosaic

after 20 minutes of hop steeping / whirlpooling cool wort down to yeast pitching temperature & take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Dry Hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

After 4 days of fermentation or around 1.02 gravity, its time for the first dry hop of 60 g (2.1 oz) each of citra and mosaic. put the hops in a hop bag so that you can remove them after 2 days
at final gravity (around 1.014) add the final hop edition 60 g (2.1 oz) each of citra and mosaic and leave for 2 more days before kegging/bottling

If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.014) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Stout

5 min read

Imperial Christmas Gingerbread Stout

I Like Big BARRELS and I cannot lie, all you other BREWERS can't deny, when that STOUT comes our that itty bitty spout you gotta get it in yo MOUTH!

So... What is it?

Imperial Stouts, originating in 18th-century England, are robust beers known for their intense flavors and high alcohol content. Inspired by a desire for a stronger stout, these brews have a deep history tied to the Russian imperial court. With a dark, rich appearance and opulent malt profiles, Imperial Stouts offer a complex taste of chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, and caramel. Boasting an alcohol content surpassing 8% ABV, these ales are revered for their indulgent sipping experience.

What is ours like?

So what better way to get silly for the silly season than with Christmas in a glass! This 10% Imperial Gingerbread Christmas Stout is creamy with a decent heft of body considering its impressive abv! The bitterness definitely sits on the lower side at 32 IBU’s and feels even lower than that due to the high gravity and ABV of the beer (next time I make this id bump the IBU’s up to 50-60). The malt character comes bounding through with bready biscuit, strong espresso, a touch of burnt coffee and sweet caramel toffee notes infused with a touch of sticky date pudding and plums! But the true star of the show is the big ginger note that cuts through the sweetness of the beer, tasting a little more like fresh ginger than gingerbread, but perfectly in balance with the bouquet of spices from the cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Don't leave too many of these out for Santa or he may not be able to drive his sleigh!

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Batch Size & Stats

41.1L / 10.85 gal finished beer
47.9L (12.65 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.097 (approx likely a bit higher)
Final gravity 1.022
ABV – 10% (incl. Vodka addition and measuring bias)
IBU - 32
Mash Efficiency 81%
Brewhouse Efficiency 73%

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

90 minutes, 60L (15.85 gal) strike water 69°C (156.2°F) mash

16L (4.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

90 minutes, 70L (18.5 gal) strike water 69°C (156.2°F) mash

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Water Chemistry (Salts) - (optional)

Mash water

Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) - 6.1g (0.22 oz)
Epsom Salt (MgSO4) - 4.9g (0.1.7 oz)
Slaked Lime (Ca(OH)2) - 3g (0.1 oz)

Sparge water

Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) - 1.63g (0.057 oz)
Epsom Salt (MgSO4) - 1.31g (0.046 oz)
Slaked Lime (Ca(OH)2) - 0.8g (0.028 oz)
Phosphoric Acid (85%) – 2.2ml (0.0744 oz)

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Malts

Total Grain Bill 20.12kg (44.35 lb) + 1.7kg (3.75 lb) rice hulls

Total Fermentables - 21.12kg (46.6 lb)

Pale Malt – 10.07kg (22.2 lb) - 50.1%
Dark Munich - 3.01kg (6.63 lb) - 15%
Rolled Oats - 1.61kg (3.55 lb) - 8%
Wheat malt – 1.61kg (3.55 lb) - 8%
Dark Chocolate malt 1.41kg (3.1 lb) - 7%
Medium Crystal Malt - 1.41kg (3.1 lb) - 7%
Roasted Barley - 1kg (2.2 lb) - 5%

Rice Hulls – 1.7kg (3.75 lb)

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Adjuncts

Extra Dark Belgium Candi Syrup - 1kg (2.2 lb)

Extra Flavouring Additions

For these additions split all ingredients in half, and in 2 separate jars soak the spices to make a tincture, ideally to soak for 5 days before brewday

Use half the tincture after flameout on brewday, use the other half in the fermenter near final gravity (id recommend straining out the spices for the fermenter addition)

400 ml Vodka (40% abv)
Ginger Root (dry and kibbled) - 120g
All Spice (bought whole then roughly crushed) - 16 berries
Cinnamon stick (bought whole then roughly crushed) - 2 sticks
Nutmeg (bought whole then roughly crushed) - 2 tsp
Vanilla Beans (whole then cut in half and seeds scraped out) - 4 beans
Cloves (bought whole then roughly crushed) - 4 cloves

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Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

52.7g (1.86 oz) - 90 minutes left in the boil
50g (1.76 oz) 15 minutes left in the boil

Fuggles

50g (1.76 oz) 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

Lalbrew Nottingham Ale yeast – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

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Step by step process

Step 0 - Prep spices! (pre brew-day step)

For these additions, split all ingredients in half, and lightly crush whole ingredients with a mortar and pestle, and slice the vanilla beans in half and scrape out the insides to help the flavour be released.

Then place all ingredients evenly into 2 separate jars with the vodka to make a tincture, ideally to soak for 5 days before brewday

Use half the tincture after flameout on brewday, use the other half in the fermenter near final gravity (id recommend straining out the spices for the fermenter addition)

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 90 minutes at 69°C (156.2°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain, and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

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Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 16L (4.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

(Optional) - for this beer we wanted to bump up the starting gravity, so we boiled the wort for an extra half hour BEFORE we added our 90min bittering hops when the “real” boil began!
At the beginning of the boil add your belgian Candi Syrup

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 90-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 52.7g (1.86 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets (OR granulated whirlfloc 1.5g (0.053 oz)) and 50g (1.76 oz) each of Northern Brewer & Fuggles

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Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
Right after flameout strain out the spices from 1 tincture jar and add it to the boil kettle, then add the tincture liquid directly to the fermenter
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (approx.)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.024 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
At this point strain out your last jar of tincture and add the LIQUID only to your fermenter
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.018) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

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Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Lager

5 min read

Low Carb Lager

How do we solve beer belly? we could stop drinking.... (yeah right!) or we can make a super low carb extra crisp, thirst quencher Aussie lager! with only 6 grams of carbs per glass and all the flavour, this is the beer of summer!

So... What is it?

Beer, aside from dogs its definitely mans best friend, but what happens when a man drinks too much of the frothy goodness... Beer belly! So how do we solve this? we could drink less... (yeah right!) or we can reduce the carbs! Thats where this recipe comes in, a classic, crisp style Aussie lager, BUT with only 6 grams of carbs per serve!

The classic Australian Lager is traditionally an amber-hued beer with a balanced malt profile and slightly bitter hop flavour, typically brewed with Pride of Ringwood hops or its descendants. However with the modern craft movement new world styles of Aussie lager are being made with much fruitier and fresher hop profiles, leaning into the citrusy and tropical flavours found in a lot of new world New Zealand pilsners!

What's ours like?

This Low carb Aussie lager comes in at a very sessionable 4.5% and very easy drinking with a golden hue, light malty body and a very crisp finish! The hop profile is well in balance providing enough bitterness to add to the crispness of the finish, without overpowering the palate. The hops and yeast esters provide a light tropical aroma and flavour of citrus, passionfruit and general fruit-salad making this lager an absolute thirst quencher for a man who loves to grab an ice cold beer on a hot day, but doesn't want to grow his belly!

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You can use this Link to calculate your final carbs in your beer after Fermentation! (full credit to andrewmaixner over on the homebrewing sub-Reddit!) - Just make a copy of this excel spreadsheet and whack in your numbers!

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Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
26L (6.8 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.037
Final gravity 1.0024
ABV – 4.54%

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What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)
21L (5.5 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)

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Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (11 4lb)

Barret Burston Pilsner malt – 4.1kg (9 lb)

ENZYMES!

Glucoamylase - 10mL (0.34 oz) - Add during mash step

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Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Pride of Ringwood

5g (0.17 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
15g (0.53 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Galaxy

15g (0.53 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Topaz

15g (0.53 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

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Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

SafLager™ S‑23 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)
Saflager W34-70 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)

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Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 64°C (147°F) with 15L (3.9 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed
after you have mashed in your grains, add your enzymes! 10mL (0.34 oz) of glucoamylase

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

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Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 21L (5.5 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 5g (0.17 oz) of Pride of Ringwood
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 15g (0.53 oz) each of galaxy, Pride of Ringwood and Topaz

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 60 mins of boil turn off your heat source start cooling
Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.005) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)

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Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Sour

5 min read

Imperial Raspberry Sour!

The Imperial Raspberry sour is the juicy, boozy big brother of our original Raspberry Berliner Weisse, and we are "berry" excited to show you how we made it!

So... What is it?

The Berliner Weisse is a sour wheat beer from (you guessed it) Berlin, Germany! characterized by its slightly sour character and light abv (normally around 3-3.5%) it's a fantastic drop for summer in the beer garden, typically having a very light body, tartness on the tongue, and fresh fruity character. This also makes it a fantastic beer for fruit infusions!

What is ours like?

Well for starters... its Imperial baby! So unlike the traditional 3.5% ours comes in at a whopping 8.4% ABV and is absolutely packed full of the tart sweetness of freshly pureed raspberries!

The mouthfeel is slightly tart & dry, the bitterness leaning on the medium side of things (Perhaps a touch high for what we were going for, I'd reccomend reducing the bittering addition) and the hop character is quite subdued to allow the sour notes and raspberry flavour to shine! The colour is a vibrant fruity red thanks to the huge dump of Raspberry puree added during the end of fermentation which also carried through a load of fresh sweetness to round out the palate!

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Batch size & ABV

35L / 9.2 gal finished beer
38L (10 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.074
Final gravity 1.01
ABV – 8.4%

Ingredients

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 69°C (156°F) use our calculator for this

25L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

52L (13.7 gal) strike water, Mash at 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 66°C (151°F) use our calculator for this

Malts

Pale ale malt – 6.6kg (14.5 lb)
Wheat malt – 5.4kg (11.9 lb)
Rice Hulls – 1kg (2.2 lb)

Raspberry Pure - 6.5kg (14.3 lb) - (1kg (2.2 lb) per 7.3l (1.93 gal) wort)

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Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer - 30g (1 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Hallertau Huell Melon - 40g (1.4 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc Tablets - 1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the toil OR granulated whirlfloc 1.4g (0.049 oz)

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

Wildbrew™ Philly Sour [Lallemand] – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 22g (2 packets) (0.77 oz)

Step by step process

‍Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (151°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 25L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 30g (1 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 1.4g (0.049 oz)) and 40g (1.4 oz) of Hallertau Huell Melon

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Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Fruit additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.012 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
Time to add fruit! purée 6.5kg (14.3 lb) of Raspberries and throw them all into the fermenter (we used frozen raspberries but if you have fresh raspberries even better!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Pale Ale

5 min read

Piña Colada Pale Ale

Do you like Pina Coladas!? We sure do, which is why we combine the classic Aussie pale ale with a delicious Caribbean cocktail! Come get your vaccay on with this delicious treat!

So... What is it?

A fruited beer is brewed with added fruits during the brewing process, giving it unique flavors, aromas, and sometimes colors. It can include various fruits like berries, citrus, or tropical fruits, resulting in a range of tastes from tart to sweet. Fruit beers come in different styles and are a refreshing alternative to traditional beers, especially in warm weather or as a dessert-like treat. The brewing process can vary, with some using fresh fruits and others relying on concentrates, purees, or extracts to achieve desired flavors.

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What's our like?

Here is our Fruited beer! Coming in at 5.8% the Pina Colada Pale Ale is a tropical-inspired fruited beer with a hazy golden colour and a captivating aroma of ripe pineapples and creamy coconut. The beer presents a light touch of acidity and gentle notes of citrus & tangy pineapple, but the real star of the show is the big, bold creamy & slightly nutty coconut body! All this is balanced with a light malt sweetness and very creamy body courtesy of the wheat & oat in the grain bill, followed by a mild hop bitterness. If you are looking for a refreshing and exotic beer that transports you to a tropical paradise with every sip then look no further, this is it!

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Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
24L (6.3 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.054
Final gravity 1.01
ABV – 5.8%

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What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water approx. 66°C (15.8°F)
17.5L (4.6 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 66°C (15.8°F)

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Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (10.58 4lb)

Pale ale malt – 4kg (8.38 lb)
wheat – 1.05kg (2.3 lb)
Rolled Oats - 1.05kg (2.3 lb)
Medium Crystal – 400g (0.88 lb)
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Rice Hulls – 400g (1.1 lb)

Adjuncts

450g (15.87 oz) of pureed pineapple (end of fermentation)
1kg (1.1 lb) oven toasted coconut shavings (180°C (356°F) for 8 minutes) (half in whirlpool, half end of fermentation)

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Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

20g (0.53 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Galaxy

40g (1.41 oz) - whirlpool/hop steep after boil for 20 mins at 75°C (167°F)

Azacca

40g (1.41 oz) - whirlpool/hop steep after boil for 20 mins at 75°C (167°F)

El Dorado

40g (1.41 oz) - whirlpool/hop steep after boil for 20 mins at 75°C (167°F)

Amarillio

40g (1.41 oz) - whirlpool/hop steep after boil for 20 mins at 75°C (167°F)

Whirlfloc

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

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Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (150.8°F) with 15L (3.9 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 17.5L (4.6 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 20g (0.53 oz) of Northern Brewer

at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz))
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 15g (0.53 oz) each of amarillio and galaxy

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

after 60 mins of boil turn off your heat source and cool wort down to 75°C (167°F) & add 40g (1.41 oz) each of El Dorado, Azacca, Amarillio & Galaxy AND 500g (1.1 lb) of oven toasted coconut shavings (180°C (356°F) for 8 minutes)

after 20 minutes of hop steeping / whirlpooling cool wort down to yeast pitching temperature & take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Fruit Additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

After 7-10 days of fermentation or around 1.012 gravity, its time to ADD FRUIT!
Add 500g (1.1 lb) of oven toasted coconut shavings (180°C (356°F) for 8 minutes) and 450g (15.87 oz) of pureed pineapple (we used tinned crushed pineapple in syrup) into the fermenter and allow to ferment for another 5 days

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.014) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Pale Ale

5 min read

Piña Colada Sour

Yes we like Piña coladas! and we love beers on the beach, so we combined two of our greatest loves with a little sour twist makes this a bloody fantastic tropical treat that is just dripping with pineapple juiciness!

So... What is it?

‍

What's our like?

Here is our Fruited beer! Coming in at 5.8% the Piña colada Sour is a tropical-inspired fruited beer with a hazy golden colour but unlike the pale ale version this one is ALL about the pineapple punch! Huge punchy aromas and flavours of ripe pineapples and gentle acidity punch through with a very suble coconut aftertaste. The acidity of the sour yeast leans pushes this beer to be much fresher & more zesty than its pale ale cousin, with the light coconut and creaminess playing a more subdued background role again balanced by subtle bitterness. So If you are looking for a refreshing and exotic beer that leans way more into full robust pineapple juiciness rather than coconut cream then allow this Piña colada sour to take you to a tropical paradise!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
24L (6.3 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.054
Final gravity 1.01
ABV – 5.8%

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water approx. 66°C (15.8°F)
17.5L (4.6 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 66°C (15.8°F)

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (10.58 4lb)

Pale ale malt – 4kg (8.38 lb)
wheat – 1.05kg (2.3 lb)
Rolled Oats - 1.05kg (2.3 lb)
Medium Crystal – 400g (0.88 lb)
‍
Rice Hulls – 400g (1.1 lb)

Adjuncts

450g (15.87 oz) of pureed pineapple (end of fermentation)
1kg (1.1 lb) oven toasted coconut shavings (180°C (356°F) for 8 minutes) (half in whirlpool, half end of fermentation)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

20g (0.53 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Galaxy

40g (1.41 oz) - whirlpool/hop steep after boil for 20 mins at 75°C (167°F)

Azacca

40g (1.41 oz) - whirlpool/hop steep after boil for 20 mins at 75°C (167°F)

El Dorado

40g (1.41 oz) - whirlpool/hop steep after boil for 20 mins at 75°C (167°F)

Amarillio

40g (1.41 oz) - whirlpool/hop steep after boil for 20 mins at 75°C (167°F)

Whirlfloc

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

WildBrew Philly Sour – ferment at 25°C (77°F) 11g (0.39 oz) / (1 packets)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (150.8°F) with 15L (3.9 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 17.5L (4.6 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 20g (0.53 oz) of Northern Brewer

at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz))
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 15g (0.53 oz) each of amarillio and galaxy

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

after 60 mins of boil turn off your heat source and cool wort down to 75°C (167°F) & add 40g (1.41 oz) each of El Dorado, Azacca, Amarillio & Galaxy AND 500g (1.1 lb) of oven toasted coconut shavings (180°C (356°F) for 8 minutes)

after 20 minutes of hop steeping / whirlpooling cool wort down to yeast pitching temperature & take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Fruit Additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

After 7-10 days of fermentation or around 1.012 gravity, its time to ADD FRUIT!
Add 500g (1.1 lb) of oven toasted coconut shavings (180°C (356°F) for 8 minutes) and 450g (15.87 oz) of pureed pineapple (we used tinned crushed pineapple in syrup) into the fermenter and allow to ferment for another 5 days

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.014) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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XPA

5 min read

Fruity XPA Recipe

Hoppy, vibrant and fruity fresh, the XPA is the perfect for when you want a beer that is more hop-forward than a standard Pale Ale but not as intense as a full IPA!

So... What is it?

XPA beers are known for their lighter color, often golden to light amber, which is achieved by using paler malts. The defining characteristic of XPA is the generous use of hops, typically showcasing a variety of hop flavors and aromas, typically sitting between 4.5-5.5%. This results in a beer that is more hop-forward than a standard Pale Ale but not as intense as an India Pale Ale (IPA).

What's our like?

Well first and foremost, we stuffed up! there was a couple hiccups on the brew-day which resulted in the aroma and whirlpool (flameout hops) steeping for too long at too high a temperature, so end result was an XPA that was just wayyy too bitter! But ignoring that the actual zesty fresh fruit and citrus flavours of the hops came punching through, the colour was a little dark despite the body being very balanced and the abv finished at a relatively sessionable 5.5%, so all in all a great summer beer for when you want a bit more than just a pale ale, but not quite a full IPA!

I would recommend taking note of the adjustments we would make to our recipe before brewing this one like we did in the video! notes below!

POST BREW GRAIN ALTERATIONS

In hindsight we would swap out the medium crystal with either honey malt or toffee malt for a lighter colour and sweetness

POST BREW HOPS ALTERATIONS

Instead of adding hops at 10 minutes left, instead add those hops to the flameout hops and only hop steep for 15 mins
OR
add the hops as in the recipe, but before adding the flameout hops drop the temperature of the wort down to 75-80°C (167-176°F) then add the flameout hops for hop steeping

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
24L (6.3 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.051
Final gravity 1.009
ABV – 5.5%

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water approx. 66°C (15.8°F)
20L (5.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 66°C (15.8°F)

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (11 4lb)

Pale ale malt – 3.8kg (8.38 lb)
wheat – 800g (1.76 lb)
Medium Crystal - 200g (0.44 lb)
Carapils malt – 200g (0.44 lb)

POST BREW ALTERATION - In hindsight we would swap out the medium crystal with either honey malt or toffee malt for a lighter colour and sweetness

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Chinook

15g (0.53 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Galaxy

15g (0.53 oz) - 10 minutes left in the boil
20g (0.7 oz) - hop steep at flameout for 20 mins
20g (0.7 oz) - dry hop near end of fermentation

Amarillio

15g (0.53 oz) - 10 minutes left in the boil
20g (0.7 oz) - hop steep at flameout for 20 mins
20g (0.7 oz) - dry hop near end of fermentation

Whirlfloc

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (150.8°F) with 15L (3.9 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 20L (5.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 15g (0.53 oz) of Chinook
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 15g (0.53 oz) each of amarillio and galaxy
after 60 mins of boil turn off your heat source and add 20g (0.7 oz) of galaxy & amarillio and allow to steep for 20 minutes

POST BREW ALTERATION - In hind sight we would reccomend making 1 of 2 changes!

Instead of adding hops at 10 minutes left, instead add those hops to the flameout hops and only hop steep for 15 mins
OR
add the hops as in the recipe, but before adding the flameout hops drop the temperature of the wort down to 75-80°C (167-176°F) then add the flameout hops for hop steeping

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 20 mins total of hop steeping begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Dry Hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

After 7 days of fermentation or around 1.011 gravity, its time to dry hop, add 20g (0.7 oz) each of galaxy and amarillio and allow fermentation to continue for a further 4 days
It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.014) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

‍

Pale Ale

5 min read

Pale Ale Extract Kit + Grain Recipe for Begginers!

This recipe is designed to be a really quick and easy entry platform to the world of homebrewing for people who've never done it before!It Combining low barrier to entry and flexibility to make your own recipes!

So... What is it?

The Pale Ale is one of the most common and popular beer varieties on the planet! typically a golden sometimes amber coloured ale with low to moderate bitterness, a balanced malt profile and hop forward flavours and aromas. Typically sitting between 4.2%-5.5% ABV its a very drinkable and sessionable style of beer.

What's ours like?

This particular recipe is designed to be a really quick and easy brewday for people who have never brewed before or have only just gotten into home brewing. It allows you to combine all the ease of extract brewing, with an element of all grain, requiring minimal start up costs, equipment and ingredients, but providing you with the ability to really make this recipe your own and make some awesome homebrew pale ale! Coming in at 4.7% it sits in the middle of the ABV scale for the style. On the hops side we use Galaxy for a fresh, tropical, citrusy, passionfruit flavour profile, balanced by a light malt base for easy sessionable drinking.

Batch Size & Stats

24L (6.3 gal)
Starting gravity – 1.040
Final gravity 1.004
ABV – 4.7%

What ingredients?

Equipment required

large cooking pot (anything between 4-20L (1-5 gal) will work)

hydrometer
measuring cylinder
Stellarsan
mixing spoon
2 hop socks or grain bags
fermenter (a regular food safe sealable bucket will do)
airlock
bucket tap (optional but very useful)
about 24 750ml (25 oz) bottles OR 44 500ml (17 oz) bottles
PET bottles & resealable flip top bottles are both good options

Water

30L (7.9 gal) for a 66°C (151°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts:

Pale ale extract Kit – (we used Coopers pale ale, but any pale ale extract will work!)
Medium Crystal Malt – 200g (7 oz) - 30 mins soak at 70°C (158°F)
dextrose OR dried malt extract (id recommend DME over dextrose) - 1kg (2.2 lbs)

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Galaxy

40g (1.4 oz) - 20 minutes soak at 70°C (158°F)
20g (0.7 oz) - dry hop 2 days before bottling (Optional!)

Yeast options & bottling sugar

Yeast packet from the extract kit (what we did!) - Ferment at 18°C / room temp (64.4°F)
11g US-05 – ferment at 19°C (66°F)
11g S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F)
some regular table sugar OR carbonation drops for carbonating your finished beer

Step by step process

Before starting!

Wash all your pots, buckets, bottles and anything that will come into contact with your beer with a solution of stellarsan (easy to use and you dont have to rinse) or dishwashing detergent (just make sure you thoroughly rinse off if using detergent), we want yeast to grow not bacteria!

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

pour 200g (7 oz) of crushed Medium Crystal Malt into the hop sock / grain bag
in a pot measure out a portion of your 22L (5.8 gal) of water - anywhere between 3-10L (0.8-2.6 gal) will work fine (just note its easier to keep more liquid at a stable temperature than less liquid)
heat up your pot of water to about 70°C (158°F), drop your grain bag into the pot and start your stop watch for 30 minutes
check the temperature of your pot every now and then and turn the heat back on if needed to keep it around 70°C (158°F) - just make sure when your heat is on the grain bag doesnt sit at the bottom of the pot or it will burn! so keep stirring and stop the bag from touching the bottom of the pot while the heat is on!

Step 4 – Hop Additions

In your other hop sock / grain bag pour in 20g (0.52 oz) of Galaxy hops
when your stop watch is at 10 minutes drop your hops into the pot, they will soak in there with the grains for the remaining 20 minutes
once soaking has gone for 30 minutes total remove both the hops and grains and turn off your heat source

Step 5 – Making the wort

Wort is the sugary syrup made from grain sugars and water which will be fermented into beer! to make your wort for this recipe follow the below

open your extract kit and scoop/pour out all the syrup into your pot of hot water (remember to take both the grain and hop bags out first!) and stir the mixture until the syrup is fully dissolved
it helps to pour some hot water in the tin to get some extra syrup out!

Step 6 – Cooling / topping up the water

now pour both your wort and the remainder of your unused water into your fermenter to bring it up to a total of about 24L (6.3 gal)
Dont fill your fermenter right to the top! beer foams up when it ferments so make sure you use a fermenter big enough to leave 30% head room! (for this batch a 30L (7.9 gal) fermenter will do)
now take a gravity reading with your hydrometer by gently dropping it into your wort and giving it a spin, record this number, this is your Original gravity and it is how we will determine the final ABV (alcohol percentage) of your beer!
just note hydrometers are calibrated to work at 20°C so if your wort was hotter or colder than this when you take the reading use our correction calculator

Step 7 – Yeast Pitching

check the temperature of your wort in your fermenter, once it has reach about 18-21°C (64-70°F) pour your packet of yeast into the fermenter
now seal your fermenter and remember to pour a little bit of water into your airlock to make it air tight

Step 8 – Fermentation & dry hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
if you would like you can add some more hops into the fermenter around day 7, we added 20g, just open your fermenter, throw your hops straight in and close your fermenter
after about 7-10 days take a small sample of beer from your fermenter into a measuring cylinder and drop in your hydromter (give it a spin to bubbles dont push it up and ruin the reading)
record this reading, and take the same measurement the next day, when the reading is the same 3 days in a row fermentation has finished!

Step 9 – Bottling

It's time to bottle your beer! add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar or 1 carbonation drop to your bottles to carbonate your beer if you are using 330-375ml (11 - 12.6 oz) bottles, double this for 750ml (25 oz) bottles
now allow the residual amounts of yeast to ferment that little sugar addition over the next 2 weeks inside the bottle to carbonate your beer.  After that its steady to drink!

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Stout

5 min read

Chocolate Stout with real cacao nibs

Once you go BLACK you never go BACK! heres our big, bad choccy stout, made with a whole bunch of rum soaked cacao nibs! if you love beer and chocolate, this is a match made in heaven

So... What is it?

The Chocolate stout is a rich beer that combines the robustness of stout with luscious chocolate. Its roots date back to the 18th century, gaining popularity in England. This decadent brew features a velvety texture, dark color, and a delightful aroma blending roasted malt notes with hints of cocoa and espresso. The flavor offers a harmonious mix of bittersweet chocolate, roasted malts, and subtle caramel undertones, creating a satisfying complexity for beer enthusiasts seeking a luxurious treat.

What's ours like?

Ours is packed full of chocolate like you wouldn't believe! on the nose its all dark choc and fresh baked dark bread. The palate its far less bitter and astringent than what you would usually get in a stout that uses heavily roasted malts and leans more into dark chocolate rather than espresso or cold drip coffee. Coming in at a moderate 5.7% its easy drinking for a dark beer, but if we couldve changed a couple thing with this brewday we would add more chocolate malt, Oats and increase the mash temp to 69°C (156°F) to give a little more body and mouthfeel!

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
49L (13.2 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.066
Final gravity 1.015
ABV – 5.7% (before rum addition) – 7.2% (after rum addition)
You can use this website to calculate final ABV after rum addition Vinocalc

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water for a 67°C (152°F) 60 min mash (you can use our calculator to measure ideal temp for strike)
30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

57L (15 gal) strike water for a 67°C (152°F) 60 min mash (you can use our calculator to measure ideal temp for strike)

Post brew edits / potential changes thoughts: perhaps mash at 69°C (156°F) to give more body

‍

Malts:

Light Munich – 8.625kg (19 lb)
Big O (oat malt) – 1.575kg (3.47 lb)
Golden Naked Oats – 840g (1.85 lb)
Medium Crystal Malt – 480g (1.05 lb)
Dark Chocolate – 480g (1.05 lb)

Post brew edits / potential changes thoughts: for more body and darker colour

increase dark chocolate to 624g (1.38 lb)
add wheat malt 840g (1.85 lb)‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

20g (0.7 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
50g (1.76 oz) 15 minutes left in the boil

Fuggles

50g (1.76 oz) 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Adjuncts

Cocoa Nibs (lightly crushed with either mortar & pestle or food processor and toasted at 180°C (356°F) for 5 mins

500g (1.1 lb) – 5 minutes left in the boil
500g (1.1 lb) – soaked in 700ml of rum for at least a week – “dry hop” fermenter when fermentation is close to finished (e.g. 1.020) around day 7-10

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 67°C (152°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 20g (0.7 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2.5 whirlfloc tablets & remaining hops, 50g (1.76 oz) each of Northern Brewer & Fuggles

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. If its around 1.020 – 1.025 “dry hop” with rum soaked cocoa nibs
When the gravity reaches around 1.018 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
Its important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like, temperature, amount of yeast pitched, healthiness of yeast, gravity of wort, pH etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
Two days after dry hopping take a gravity reading, fermentation should finish at about 1.015, if you haven’t reached this yet wait another day and take another reading, once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Pale Ale

5 min read

Australian Pale Ale

Coming in at a generous 5.7% and bursting with citrus, passionfruit and tropical aroma it is a cracker thirst quencher after a long day under the Aussie sun!

So... What is it?

What's ours like?

Ours is bang on the money with the twist of some new world hops! coming in at a generous 5.7% and bursting with citrus, passionfruit and tropical aroma it is a cracker thirst quencher after a long day under the Aussie sun! the caramel body adds depth and balance to the hoppy profile without overpowering the whole profile of the beer. Punching through with a refreshing crispness, it truly makes this the land "Where beer does flow and men chunder!" - Down Under, by Men at Work

‍

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
50L (13.2 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.054
Final gravity 1.01
ABV – 5.7%

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) for a 66°C (151°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)
35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

60L (7.9 gal) for a 66°C (151°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts:

Pale ale malt – 9.6kg (21.16 lb)
Medium Crystal Malt – 400g (14.1 oz)

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Galaxy

8g (0.3 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
60g (2.1 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
60g (2.1 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.013 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

El Dorado

60g (2.1 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
60g (2.1 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.013 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

El Dorado

60g (2.1 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
60g (2.1 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.013 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g (0.8 oz) Aus-05– ferment at 20°C
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 20°C
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 19°C

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (151°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 8g (0.3 oz) of Galaxy
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2.5 whirlfloc tablets
after 60 minutes of boiling turn of the heat and chill the temperature of the wort down to 75°C (167°F) and begin whirlpooling
if you don’t have a wort chiller you could rest your boil kettle in an ice bucket
if your system can’t whirlpool you can also achieve this with a mash paddle and a power drill, if you don’t have this either don’t worry about whirlpooling it’s not completely necessary

Step 5 – Whirlpooling & whirlpool hops / cooling

once temperature reaches 75°C (167°F) and you have started whirlpooling add your whirlpool hops, 60g (2.1 oz) each of Galaxy, El Dorado and Azacca
allow hops to whirlpool in the wort for 20 minutes and then begin chilling wort again down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & dry hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow off tube / airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.014 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, its not the end of the world!)
Its important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like, temperature, amount of yeast pitched, healthiness of yeast, gravity of wort, pH etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
On day 2 of the diacetly rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.012 – 1.014) add 60g (2.1 oz) each of Galaxy, El Dorado and Azacca to your fermenter
One day after dry hopping take a gravity reading, fermentation should finish at about 1.010, if you havnt reached this yet wait another day and take another reading, once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

IPA

5 min read

House of the Dragon Red IPA

The HotD Red IPA (Red India Pale Ale) is a daughter of the American West Coast IPA, sitting between 5.5%-7.5% with a similar hop & bitterness profile to a westcoast. However the malt backbone leans deeper into the rich caramel, toffee, and/or dark fruit malt character side of things, similar in some ways to an Irish red ale.

So... What is it?

What's our like?

This particular recipe makes a 6.5% IPA with a creamy mouthfeel, red hues and citrus & blueberry-like hop flavour. However, the biggest flavour by far is the spicy earthiness of the ryle malt and almost chewy flavours of rich fruitcake and caramel like flavours from the malt base.

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
49L (13.2 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.072
Final gravity 1.022
ABV – 6.5%

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) 67°C (152°F) mash (you can use our strike temp calculator to find your ideal start temp)
30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

55L (14.5 gal) 67°C (152°F) mash (you can use our strike temp calculator to find your ideal start temp)

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 12kg (15.4lb)

Pale ale malt – 7.2kg (15.8 lb)
rye – 1.8kg (3.9 lb)
Aurora (Gladfield) – 1kg (2.2 lb)
Red Back (Gladfield) – 1kg (2.2 lb)
Supernova (Gladfield) – 1kg (2.2 lb)
Rice Hulls (not essential but helpful for sparging) - 500g (1.1 lb)

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Galaxy

15g (0.52 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
70g (2.47 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil
70g (2.47 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.023 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

Topaz

70g (2.47 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil
70g (2.47 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.023 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

Riwaka

70g (2.47 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil
70g (2.47 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.023 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

Whirlfloc

1.5g granulated or 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
Kveik - ferment at 32°C (89°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 67°C (152°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 10g (0.35 oz) of Galaxy
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets
at 5 minutes left in the boil add 70g (2.47 oz) each of Galaxy, Topaz and Riwaka

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & dry hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.023 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.022) add 70g (2.47 oz) each of Galaxy, Topaz and Riwaka
One day after dry hopping take a gravity reading, fermentation should finish at about 1.022, if you haven't reached this yet wait another day and take another reading, once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Lager

5 min read

Aussie Lager!

The Australian Lager is traditionally an amber-hued lager with a balanced malt profile and slightly bitter hop flavour, typically brewed with Pride of Ringwood hops or its descendents. However with the modern craft movement new world styles of Aussie lager are being made with much fruitier and fresher hop profiles, leaning into the citrusy and tropical flavours found in a lot of new world New Zealand pilsners!

So... What is it?

The Australian Lager is traditionally an amber-hued lager with a balanced malt profile and slightly bitter hop flavour, typically brewed with Pride of Ringwood hops or its descendants. However with the modern craft movement new world styles of Aussie lager are being made with much fruitier and fresher hop profiles, leaning into the citrusy and tropical flavours found in a lot of new world New Zealand pilsners!

What's ours like?

This Aussie lager is no different, coming in at a moderate 4.8% and leaning into the new world styles of hops it is a lightly malty crisp bodied lager with medium bitterness and a hop profile of citrus, passionfruit and “fruit salad” like flavour & aroma, making it a perfect “lawn mower” session beer for a hot day when you want to enjoy a full flavoured lager with a moderate abv!

Batch Size & Stats

44LL (2 19L corny kegs & 6L for a half keg) / 11.6 gal finished beer
53L (14 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.046
Final gravity 1.009
ABV – 4.85%

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) for a 66°C (151°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)
35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

60L (7.9 gal) for a 66°C (151°F) mash (you can use our strike water calculator to find your ideal strike temp)

Malts:

Australian Pilsner – 9.5kg (20.9 lb) (if you cant get Aussie pils any pils malt will do)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Galaxy

10g (0.35 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
60g (2.1 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil

Topaz

60g (2.1 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g SafLager S-23 – ferment at 15°C (59 °F) OR [under 12psi pressure 19°C / 66.2 °F]
23g SafLager W-34/70 – ferment at 14°C (57.2 °F) OR [under 12psi pressure 19°C / 66.2 °F]

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (151°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 10g (0.35 oz) of Galaxy
at 5 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets and 60g (2.1 oz) each of Galaxy and Topaz

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & dry hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 10-12 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.010 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.008) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Wheat

5 min read

Banana Split Milkshake Wheat Ale

Milkshake beers are a weird and wonderful new addition to the beer world, the most famous version being a milkshake IPA, So for our first milkshake on the channel, we decided to take a beery twist on a desert classic, the banana split!

So... What is it?

Milkshake beers are a weird and wonderful new addition to the beer world, the most famous version being a milkshake IPA (smoothie IPA). Milkshake beers ramp up fruit additions, unfermentable sugars (such as lactose), and adjuncts such as vanilla. This gives the beer a sweet, creamy, and silky quality similar to what you find in a classic milkshake!

What is ours like?

For our first milkshake beer on the channel, we decided to take a beery twist on a desert classic, the banana split!

The mouthfeel is silky and smooth, the bitterness very mild and subdued with a healthy hop character for a wheat beer, leaning towards tropical and fruity flavours such as mango, pineapple, nectarines, and peaches! The vanilla and lactose add the silky sweet character to the beer and finally the bananas! there's a decent banana addition to the mash of this beer but surprisingly it didn't comes through as powerfully as we expected, instead making its debut more in the lingering bananery aftertaste, so I would recommend taking notice of our post-brew notes in the ingredients section and ramping up the banana additions for this one! even so, there is definitely a banana vibe lingering in this beer and a big punch of peach and nectarine-like lingering sweetness!

Batch size & ABV

19L / 5 gal finished beer
25L (6.6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.053
Final gravity 1.016
ABV – 4.85%

Ingredients

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 69°C (156°F) use our calculator for this

20L (5.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 66°C (151°F) use our calculator for this

Malts

Pale ale malt – 2.75kg (6 lb)
Wheat malt – 2.75kg (6 lb)
Rice Hulls – 500g (1.1 lb)

Fruit & Adjuncts

Lactose - 250g (0.55 lb)

3 kg banana in mash (banana flesh weight without skins) - Post brew adjustments I’d recommend tripling or even quadrupling this quantity! and adding towards the end of the boil instead of in the mash, just be carful not to scorch the banana (use a false bottom!) (In Hind sight we reccomend adding the banana towards end of fermentation instead of the mash)

1kg (2.2 lb) fresh
1kg (2.2 lb) oven baked 15-25 min at 160 °C / 320 °F until the skin is totally black and some of the bananas are splitting
1kg (2.2 lb) pan-fried on medium to high heat with butter and some brown sugar until caramelized

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

5g (0.17 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Lotus

25g (0.88 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil

Astra

25g (0.88 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc Tablets

1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the toil OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

SafAle™ K-97 – ferment between 18-26°C (68°F to 78.8°F) 22g (0.78 oz) / (2 packets)

Step by step process

‍Step 1 – Milling

peel and weigh out 3kg of banana flesh then split into 3 batches,

leave 1kg (2.2 lb) fresh
oven bake 1kg (2.2 lb) for 15-25 min at 160 °C / 320 °F until the skin is totally black and some of the bananas are splitting
pan fry 1kg (2.2 lb) on medium to high heat with butter and some brown sugar until caramelized
‍
Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (151°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 20L (5.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 5g (0.17 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz))
at 5 minutes left in the boil add 25g each (0.88 oz) of Lotus, Astra and Azacca

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Fruit additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.020 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.016) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Sour

5 min read

Watermelon Sour Berliner Weisse

Crisp, sour and fresh as a juicy watermelon on a hot summer day. Come get your Watermelon sugar high with this Berliner Weisse!

So... What is it?

‍

What is ours like?

For our second crack at a sour we decided to get our watermelon sugar high on!

The mouthfeel is slightly tart, the bitterness soft & gentle, and hop character slightly fruity but all in moderation to allow the sour character and watermelon flavour to shine! Our Berliner clocked in at a moderate ABV of 3.8% and surprisingly didn't adopt the red hue of pineapple flesh but stayed a straw-like golden colour. Finally the water melon! Coming through with a suppressed presence, it doesn't hold the same weight of flavour as the raspberry sour, but instead tastes more like a traditional Berliner with a watermelon flavour closer to the rind of the fruit rather than the meaty flesh. However, in my opinion the lack of fruit forward sweetness makes it a much more sessional beer than its raspberry cousin, drink up and enjoy!

Batch size & ABV

25L / 5 gal finished beer
30L (6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.037
Final gravity 1.008
ABV – 3.8%

Ingredients

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 69°C (156°F) use our calculator for this

20L (5.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 66°C (151°F) use our calculator for this

Malts

Pale ale malt – 2.25kg (5 lb)
Wheat malt – 2.5kg (4.4 lb)
Rice Hulls – 250g (0.5 lb)

Fruit Addition

3.65 kg (8 lb) Fresh Watermelonpurée towards end of fermentation (around 1.009 / 7 days)

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

8g (0.28 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Hallertau Huell Melon

15g (0.53 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc Tablets

1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the toil OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

Wildbrew™ Philly Sour [Lallemand] – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 22g (2 packets)

‍

Step by step process

‍Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (151°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 20L (5.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 15g (0.53 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and 15g (0.53 oz) of Hallertau Huell Melon

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Fruit additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.015 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
Time to add fruit! purée 3.65kg (8 lb) of Watermelon and throw them all into the fermenter

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.011) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

Stout

5 min read

Easter Milk Chocolate Stout

Big, black, luxuriously velvety and drenched in milk chocolate! if you could milk the easter bunny and put it in a glass this is it right here!

So... What is it?

The Milk Chocolate Stout is a dark, creamy and rich full-bodied black beer, overflowing with roasted espresso and dark chocolate-like flavours. The sweet silky body is owed not just to the wheat and oats often used in the grain bill, but also lactose which is added to provide unfermentable milk-based sugars. Typically these beers range from 4-6% ABV with a few leaning into the boozy above 7% side of the spectrum, and have a high final gravity, which is why they remain so thick, creamy, and luxurious!

What's our like?

Our Easter-themed version of the big black stout comes in at a hefty 7.2% so sip slowly, don't chug! The mouthfeel is creamy, silky, and luxuriously thick, the bitterness very subdued, and thanks to the huge additions of REAL milk chocolate, cacao nibs, lactose, and vanilla extract this stout exudes massive flavours and aromas of rich dark chocolate, freshly baked pastries, and just enough sweet malty character to keep it all in balance! So enjoy this bad boy in the depths of winter and feel snug as a bug in a rug as the rich boozy choccy milk stout warms you from the inside out!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

42L / 11 gal finished beer
48L (12.6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.077
Final gravity 1.024
ABV – 7%

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

90 minutes, 30L (7.9 gal) strike water 69°C (156.2°F) mash
34L (9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

90 minutes, 65L (17.2 gal) strike water 69°C (156.2°F) mash

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 12kg (15.4lb)

Light Munich – 7.2kg (15.9 lb) - 60%
Wheat malt – 1.3kg (2.8 lb) - 10.8%
Rolled Oats - 1.2kg (2.6 lb) - 10%
Eclipse Midnight Wheat - 1kg (2.2 lb) - 8.5%
Medium Crystal Malt - 720g (1.58 lb) - 6%
Dark Chocolate Malt - 580g (1.27 lb) - 5%
Rice Hulls – 1kg (2.2 lb)

Adjuncts (A LOT!)

2.2kg (4.8 lb) of milk chocolate (added last 10 mins of boil)
250g (0.55 lb) Lactose (added last 15 mins of boil)
500g (1.1 lb) cacao nibs oven-toasted at 180°C (356°F) for 7 minutes and added to last 10 mins of boil
500g (1.1 lb) cacao nibs oven-toasted at 180°C (356°F) for 7 minutes and soaked in 700ml of vodka for a week then added to the fermenter at the end of fermentation
60ml (2 oz) Vanilla extract - added to the fermenter at the end of fermentation

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

15g (0.52 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

50g (1.76 oz) 15 minutes left in the boil

Fuggles

50g (1.76 oz) 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc

1.5g granulated or 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 90 minutes at 69°C (156.2°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 15g (0.52 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets (OR granulated whirlfloc 1.5g (0.053 oz)), 250g (0.55 lb) Lactose and 50g (1.76 oz) each of Northern Brewer & Fuggles
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 2.2kg (4.8 lb) of milk chocolate and 500g (1.1 lb) of oven-toasted cacao nibs

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (approx.)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.026 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
At the same time as starting diacetyl rest you can now add the 60ml (2 oz) of Vanilla extract and strain and add the cacao-infused vodka to the fermenter
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.024) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

‍

IPA

5 min read

Mid Coast IPA (From man vs machine part 2)

What the heck is a “Mid-Coast” IPA? Well to be honest… it's not really a thing! but it's our tongue and cheek joke at an IPA that sits somewhere in the worlds between a West Coast and an East Coast style

So... What is it?

The India Pale Ale (IPA) is a hop-forward beer style with higher alcohol content (typically average 7-7.5%). It originated in the 18th century during British colonization of India, when brewers added extra hops and increased alcohol to preserve beer for long journeys. George Hodgson's "October beer" gained popularity in India, leading to the term "India Pale Ale." Now the IPA has evolved, and is largely responsible for the boom of the new era of craft beer, with breweries the world over experimenting and creating various sub-styles of amazing and unique IPA’s!

What's our like?

So what the heck is a “Mid-Coast” IPA? Well to be honest… it's not really a thing! but it's our tongue and cheek joke at an IPA that sits somewhere in the worlds between a West Coast and an East Coast style. For our “Mid-Coast” the grain bill leans towards a west Coast style, whereas the hop schedule leans more towards an East coast style, almost NEIPA-esque, with low bitterness but big bold citrus, berries and tropical juice hop character! Clocking in at 7.2% it sits in the average ballpark for the IPA style and the crystal backbone makes it a very balanced and smashable IPA!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
48L (12.7 gal) wort
For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe
Starting gravity – 1.067
Final gravity 1.012
ABV – 7.2%

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. mash temp of 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins
35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

60L (15.8 gal) strike water approx. mash temp of 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins
‍

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 7kg (15.4lb)

Pale Ale – 11.2kg (24.7 lb)
Medium Crystal – 800g (1.76 lb)
(I would recommend adding some carapils / cara foam for better body, maybe swap out 500g (1.1lb) from the pale ale malt)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Galaxy

10g (0.35 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
10g (0.35 oz) - 10 minutes left in the boil
10g (0.35 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil
60g (2.1 oz) - 20 minutes whirlpool after boil at 75 °C (167°F)

Lotus

10g (0.35 oz) - 10 minutes left in the boil
10g (0.35 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil
60g (2.1 oz) - 20 minutes whirlpool after boil at 75 °C (167°F)

Lupomax Sabro

10g (0.35 oz) - 10 minutes left in the boil
10g (0.35 oz) - 5 minutes left in the boil
60g (2.1 oz) - 20 minutes whirlpool after boil at 75 °C (167°F)
100g (3.53 oz) - Dry hop near end of fermentation (around day 7 & 1.013 gravity)

Lupomax Mosaic

100g (3.53 oz) - Dry hop near end of fermentation (around day 7 & 1.013 gravity)

Whirlfloc

1.5g granulated or 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

LalBrew Verdant IPA – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 22g (0.77 oz) / (2 packet)
lallemand west coast ale – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 22g (2 packet)
US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (151°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 10g (0.35 oz) of Galaxy
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets / 1.5g of granulated whirlfloc
at 10 minutes left in the boil add 10g (0.35 oz) of Galaxy, Lupomax Sabro & Lotus
at 5 minutes left in the boil add 10g (0.35 oz) of Galaxy, Lupomax Sabro & Lotus
once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total bring the temperature of the wort down to 75 °C (167°F) and add 60g (2.1 oz) each of galaxy, lotus, & lupomax sabro and hold temperature here for 20 minutes

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

after your 20 minute hop steep / whirlpool off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Dry Hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 5-7 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 5-7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.015 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
whilst you start your diacetyl rest add your dry hops, 100g (3.53 oz) each of lupomax mosaic & lupomax sabro!
It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.012) & gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

‍

IPA

5 min read

Open AI Chat GPT IPA

The Robots are taking over! We got Chat GPT Open AI to write us a beer recipe and then brewed it! Welcome to part 1 of man vs machine!

So... What is it?

What's our like?

So how do you take such a popular and notorious style of beer to the next level? you get open AI (artificial intelligence) from Chat GPT to write you a recipe and brew it to the letter!

This may be a beer made by a machine, but it punches with the classic flavour of an old school west coast IPA, and this AI IPA has balls! coming in at a boozy 8.1% The mouthfeel is full and well rounded with a decent weight of bitterness balancing the malty backbone. The hops come punching through with citrus, a touch of pine and finishing with a resinous weight of hop oil.

‍

Batch Size & Stats

19L / 5 gal finished beer
24L (6.3 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.076
Final gravity 1.014
ABV – 8.1%

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

23L (6 gal) strike water approx. 67°C (152.6°F)
9.3L (2.4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 67°C (152.6°F)

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 7kg (15.4lb)

Pale ale malt – 5.5kg (12.1 lb)
Light Munich malt – 500g (1.1 lb)
Carapils malt – 500g (1.1 lb)
medium crystal malt – 500g (1.1 lb)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Chinook

50g (1.7 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Citra

50g (1.7 oz) - flame out boil then allow to steep for 15 mins
50g (1.7 oz) - dry hop day 7

Simcoe

50g (1.7 oz) - after Citra’s been steeping for 10 mins add citra and steep for 5 more mins
50g (1.7 oz) - dry hop day 7

Whirlfloc

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

lallemand west coast ale – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 11g (1 packet)
US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 67°C (152.6°F) with 23L (6 gal) of strike water

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 9.3L (2.4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 50g (1.76 oz) of Chinook
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)
after 60 mins of boil turn off your heat source and add 50g (1.7 oz) of Citra and allow to steep for a total of 15 minutes
after citra has been steeping for 10 minutes add 50g (1.7 oz) of simcoe and allow all to steep for a further 5 minutes. then move on to cooling

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 15 mins total of hop steeping begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Dry Hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

After 7 days of fermentation its time to dry hop, add 50g (1.7 oz) each of simcoe and Citra and allow fermentation to continue for a further 5-7 days
It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.014) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

‍

Stout

5 min read

Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout

I Like Big BARRELS and I cannot lie, all you other BREWERS can't deny, when that STOUT comes our that itty bitty spout you gotta get it in yo MOUTH!

So... What is it?

The Oatmeal Stout is a cousin of the classic Stout, the one major difference being a little obvious, oats! This gives the resulting beer more malty sweetness and a luxurious silky mouthfeel! Now add a barrel to the mix and Bam! you get a Barrel-aged oatmeal stout! Aging the beer for a period of time in a barrel allows the natural tannins and organic compounds in the oak to add additional layers of complexity to the Stout that you can't get in any other way, introducing layers of Vanilla, caramel, spiciness, and even Coconut!

What is ours like?

Here is our attempt at a winter classic! The mouthfeel is creamy, silky, and luxurious, the bitterness mild and in balance, as is the hops profile. The star of the show is the slightly sweet malty nutty character, with delicious flavours of freshly baked bread and espresso coffee-like flavours! Coming in at 6.3% its definitely not low abv but not the 10% target we had in mind! Finally, half this batch was thrown into a 20L Oak barrel that once held irish whiskey, contibuting further flavours of vanilla & oaky sweetness!

‍

Batch Size & Stats

35L / 9.5 gal finished beer
51L (13.47 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.066
Final gravity 1.018
ABV – 6.3%

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

90 minutes, 30L (7.9 gal) Mash water 69°C (156.2°F) - use our calculator to determine strike water

42L (11 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

90 minutes, 65L (17.2 gal) strike water 69°C (156.2°F) mash - use our calculator to determine strike water

‍

Malts

Total Grain Bill 14.2kg (31.3 lb) + 1kg (2.2 lb) rice hulls

Light Munich – 5.74kg (12.65 lb) - (40.4%)
Dark Munich - 1.96kg (4.32 lb) - (13.8%)
Wheat malt – 1.94kg (4.27 lb) - (13.7%)
Rolled Oats - 1.7kg (3.74 lb) - (12%)
Dark Chocolate malt 980g (2.16 lb) + 200g (7 Oz) end of mash for colour - (8.3%)
Medium Crystal Malt - 840g (1.85 lb) - (5.9%)
‍
Rice Hulls – 1kg (2.2 lb)

‍

Adjuncts

Vanilla extract - 3 small vanilla beans, sliced down the middle & soaked in a small cup of bourbon

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

20g (0.7 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
50g (1.76 oz) 15 minutes left in the boil

Fuggles

50g (1.76 oz) 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

US-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
AUS-05 – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 23g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)
S-04 – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 22g (0.81 oz) / (2 packets)

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 90 minutes at 69°C (156.2°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain, and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 42L (11 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

(Optional) - for this beer we wanted to bump up the starting gravity after our very efficient mash! so we boiled the wort for an extra hour BEFORE we added our 60min bittering hops when the “real” boil began!

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 20g (0.7 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets (OR granulated whirlfloc 1.5g (0.053 oz)) and 50g (1.76 oz) each of Northern Brewer & Fuggles

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (approx.)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.020 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.018) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

‍

IPA

5 min read

Tropical Juice bomb Hazy IPA (NEIPA)

Looking for a tropical juice bomb? look no further! click here to learn how to brew a super fruity NEIPA and come get your juice on!

So... What is it?

‍

The New England India Pale Ale (NEIPA) is a super fruity low bitterness style of IPA that typically sits around the 5.5-7.5% ABV mark. This particular recipe makes a 6.5% tropical juice bomb of a beer, with big flavors and aromas of mango, peaches, guava, orange, pineapple, and a touch of watermelon, lychee, and candy-like sweetness! If you haven't brewed a NEIPA before or just wanted to know what ingredients go into brewing a NEIPA, this is the guide for you!

‍

Batch Size & ABV

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer

50L (13.2 gal) wort

For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe

Starting gravity – 1.063

Final gravity 1.013

ABV – 6.5%

Ingredients

‍Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 75°C (167°F) use this calculator to determine your strike water starting temp for a 69°C (156°F) mash https://chasethecraft.com/calculators
30L (7.9 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

60L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 74°C (165°F) use this calculator to determine your strike water starting temp for a 69°C (156°F) mash https://chasethecraft.com/calculators

Malts:

Pale ale malt – 7.7kg (17 lb)
Wheat Malt – 1.65kg (3.6 lb)
Rolled Oat – 1.1kg (2.4 lb)
Crisp Cara Gold (light caramalt) – 550g (1.2 lb)
Rice Hulls (not necessary, just helps with sparging) – 550g (1.2 lb)

‍

Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Galaxy

10g (0.35 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Lupomax El Dorado

40g (1.4 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
65g (2.3 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.017 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

Lupomax Mosaic

40g (1.4 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
65g (2.3 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.017 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

Lupomax Sabro

40g (1.4 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
65g (2.3 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.017 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

Lupomax Amarillio

40g (1.4 oz) – whirlpool for 20 minutes at 75°C (167°F)
65g (2.3 oz) - Dry hop at gravity 1.017 (approx. day 6-10 depending on your yeast)

Whirlfloc tablets

2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g (0.8 oz) Kveik (we used a Omega yeats Espe Kveik, but any kveik is great!) ferment at 32°C
23g (0.8 oz) US-05 – ferment at 20°C
23g (0.8 oz) S-04 – ferment at 19°C

‍

Unafraid of the haze! Our NEIPA cold crashing in the tank

‍

Step by step process

‍

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

‍

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 69°C (156°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use this calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be https://chasethecraft.com/calculators

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 30L (7.9 gal) of sparge water at 78 °C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

‍

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 10g (0.35 oz) of Galaxy
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets
after 60 minutes of boiling turn of the heat and chill the temperature of the wort down to 75°C (167°F) and begin whirlpooling

if you don’t have a wort chiller you could rest your boil kettle in an ice bucket
if your system can’t whirlpool you can also achieve this with a mash paddle and a power drill, if you don’t have this either don’t worry about whirlpooling it’s not completely necessary

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / whirlpool hop additions

once temperature reaches 75°C (167°F) and you have started whirlpooling add your whirlpool hops, 40g (1.4 oz) each of Lupomax versions of Mosaic, Amarillo, Sabro and El Dorado
allow hops to whirlpool in the wort for 20 minutes and then begin chilling wort again down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

‍

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

‍

Step 7 – Fermentation & dry hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next week to two weeks
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 7) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.014 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.015 – 1.017) add 65g (2.3 oz) each of Lupomax versions of Mosaic, Amarillo, Sabro, and El Dorado
One day after dry hopping take a gravity reading, fermentation should finish at about 1.013, if you haven't reached this yet wait another day and take another reading, once the gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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Lager

5 min read

German Inspired Helles Lager (Oktoberfest Bier!)

If there is one thing the Germans do better than anyone else, its beer! so get your brew on for your next Oktoberfest and learn how to brew a German style Helles lager!

So... What is it?

The Helles Lager (primarily produced in Bavaria - southern Germany) is much maltier and breadier than a classic style pilsner, and “helles” translates to “brightness” and “light” describing the golden-hued colour of the lager. It typically sits between 4.5% to 5.5% in abv and is made as a refreshing and crisp style summer beer with a balanced malty bready base and fresh zesty hoppiness.

This particular recipe takes on the fundamentals of the style with a slight wombat twist! Coming in at 5.5% it sits at the higher ABV end of the style. As far as hops go a traditional Helles would use older noble hop varieties, however, we used some fresher fruitier new world hops balanced by the woody earthiness of UK fuggles for a more summery style zest (and also its all we had available at the time!). All in all making a fresh, malty german style lager with a bit of a twist.

Batch Size & Stats

38L (2 19L corny kegs) / 10 gal finished beer
50L (13.2 gal) wort

For a smaller 19L (5 gal) batch size simply half the ingredients of this recipe

Starting gravity – 1.052
Final gravity 1.010

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30L (7.9 gal) Mash temp 66°C (151°F) 1 hour. Strike water approx. 71°C (160°F) use our calculator to determine your strike water temp

35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

60L (7.9 gal) Mash temp 66°C (151°F) 1 hour. Strike water approx. 72°C (161.6°F) use our calculator to determine your strike water temp

Malts:

Pilsner – 8.7kg (19.4 lb)
Light Munich – 1.2kg (2.64 lb)
Aurora – 100g (3.5 oz)

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Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Fuggles

15g (0.52 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil
60g (2.1 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Huell Melon

60g (2.1 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

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Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

23g SafLager S-23 – ferment at 15°C
23g SafLager W-34/70 – ferment at 14°C

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Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.05mm / 0.041 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

‍

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (151°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 35L (9.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

‍

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 15g (0.52 oz) of Fuggles
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets and 60g (2.1 oz) each of Fuggles and Huell Melon

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Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

‍

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

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Step 7 – Fermentation & dry hopping

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 10-12 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.010 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.008) & gravity is the same 2 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

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Sour

5 min read

Raspberry Berliner Weisse

how do we make our super fruity raspberry sour click here and find out!

So... What is it?

What is ours like?

Seeing as this is our first crack at a sour we figured there was no better place to start than with a Berliner! We are stoked to say our turned out brilliantly!

The mouthfeel is slightly tart, the bitterness very mild and hop character slightly fruity but all very subdued to allow the sour character and raspberry flavour to shine! Our Berliner clocked in pretty high on the ABV at 5.5% (but hey who's ever complained about a bit more booze!) and has a fantastic red colour thanks to the huge dump of Raspberry puree added during the end of fermentation, which also produced a brilliant fruity sweetness, complementing the sour acidity perfectly.

Batch size & ABV

19L / 5 gal finished beer
23L (6 gal) wort
Starting gravity – 1.053
Final gravity 1.011
ABV – 5.5%

Ingredients

Water

With sparging

15L (3.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 69°C (156°F) use our calculator for this

20L (5.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

30L (7.9 gal) strike water, Mash at 66°C (151°F) for 60 mins, strike temp approx. 66°C (151°F) use our calculator for this

Malts

Pale ale malt – 3kg (6.6 lb)
Wheat malt – 2.5kg (5.5 lb)
Rice Hulls – 500g (1.1 lb)

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Hops & whirlfloc tablets

Northern Brewer

15g (0.53 oz) - 60 minutes left in the boil

Hallertau Huell Melon

15g (0.53 oz) - 15 minutes left in the boil

Whirlfloc Tablets

1 tablet – 15 minutes left in the toil OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

Wildbrew™ Philly Sour [Lallemand] – ferment at 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F) 22g (2 packets)

Step by step process

‍Step 1 – Milling

Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches)
Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing

Mash for 60 minutes at 66°C (151°F)

Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature, you can use our calculator to determine what your strike temperature should be

ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)

its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

‍

Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 20L (5.2 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 15g (0.53 oz) of Northern Brewer
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and 15g (0.53 oz) of Hallertau Huell Melon

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

once wort has been boiling for 60 minutes in total turn off your heat source and begin chilling wort down to yeast pitching temperature
once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively

To make a yeast starter you can use either:

DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

To rehydrate yeast

Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation & Fruit additions!

Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
Monitor the fermentation activity over the first 7-10 days by the bubbling of the blow-off tube/airlock of your fermenter, as the bubbling slows down (roughly around day 10-12) take a gravity reading. When the gravity reaches around 1.015 raise the temperature of your fermenter by 1-2 degrees for 2 days for a diacetyl rest (if you don’t have temperature control don’t worry about this step, it's not the end of the world!)
Time to add fruit! purée 3kg (6.6 lb) of Raspberries and throw them all into the fermenter (we used frozen raspberries but if you have fresh raspberries even better!)

It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide

On day 2 of the diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.011) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing! (If you can’t / don’t want to cold crash go straight to kegging/bottling your beer!)

‍

Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing

begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are
If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated remember to add about 5-7grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

‍

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