Step by step process

5 min read

Session IPA

Us brewers love big punchy IPA's! But what if you want a couple on a school night? Dont knock down the flavour, just knock down the ABV! This is a full flavoured, full bodied session IPA at just 3.5%

So... What is it?

Us brewers love big punchy IPA's! But what if you want a couple on a school night? Dont knock down the flavour, just knock down the ABV! This is a full flavoured, full bodied session IPA at just 3.5% so now you can enjoy an old school west coast punchy IPA, packed full of resinous, piney and citrus character AND still be able to wake up and go to work the next day!

‍

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 – 1.035
Final gravity 1.008
ABV – 3.5%
IBU - 57
Colour - 15 EBC
Mash Efficiency - 89%

‍

What ingredients?

Water

With sparging

30.5L (8 gal) Mash temp 70°C (158°F) 1 hour. use our calculator to determine your strike water temp

30.5L (8 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

60L (15.8 gal) Mash temp 70°C (158°F) 1 hour. use our calculator to determine your strike water temp

‍

Malts: 6.13kg (13.5 lb)

Pale Ale Malt – 5.119kg (11.3 lb) - 83.5%
Light Munich Malt - 399g (0.88 lb) - 6.5%
Gladfield Gladiator Malt (Dextrin Malt) - 307g (10.8 oz) - 5%
Gladfield Medium Crystal Malt - 307g (10.8 oz) - 5%

‍

Hops (606g / 21.4 oz) & whirlfloc tablets

Fuggles (5.3% AA)

10g (0.35 oz) - 3 IBU's - 60 minutes left in the boil

Centennial (8.7% AA)

57g (2 oz) - 8 IBU's) - 5 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) - 3 IBU's) - 20 min whirlpool @ 75°C (167°F)
85g (3 oz) - Dry Hop day 7

Lupomax Citra (18.5% AA)

57g (2 oz) - 17 IBU's) - 5 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) - 6 IBU's) - 20 min whirlpool @ 75°C (167°F)
85g (3 oz) - Dry Hop day 7

Lupomax Mosaic (16% AA)

57g (2 oz) - 15 IBU's) - 5 minutes left in the boil
57g (2 oz) - 5 IBU's) - 20 min whirlpool @ 75°C (167°F)
85g (3 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 Lallemand (LalBrew) Verdant IPA – ferment at 20°C (68 F)
Any other ale or IPA yeast of choice

‍

Water Profile

Ca²⁺87
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
‍Na⁺15
‍Cl^-67
‍^‍SO₄^2-136
‍^‍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 70°C (158°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, 10g (0.35 oz) of Fuggles
at 15 minutes left in the boil add 2 whirlfloc tablets
With 5 minutes left in the boil add 58g (2 oz) each of Fuggles, Centennial, Lupomax Citra & Lupomax Mosaic

‍

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

After 1 hour of boiling cool the wort down to 75°C (167°F) and add your whirlpool hops for a 20 min whirlpool
After 20 mins of whirlpooling 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 7) 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!)
At the same time as starting your Diacetyl rest, add your dry hops, 85g (3 oz) each of Centennial, Lupomax Citra & Lupomax Mosaic

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.

5 min read

How to Smoke Beef Brisket!

Texas-style smoked beef brisket is a signature dish of American barbecue! So get your BBQ on, check out this recipe and cook up a tasty feast!

So... What is it?

Texas-style smoked beef brisket is a signature dish of American barbecue! Known for its simplicity and bold flavour —seasoned simply with a coarse rub of salt and black pepper (sometimes with garlic or paprika), then slow-smoked over hardwoods like oak or mesquite for 10–16 hours at low temperatures around 107-121°C / 225–250°F. This long, slow cook renders the fat, breaks down connective tissue, and creates a deep smoke ring beneath a dark, flavorful bark on the outside. The result is incredibly tender, juicy meat with a rich, smoky flavour and a balance of savory crust and melt-in-your-mouth interior!

‍

Batch Size & Cook Time

2.5kg (but you can scale this up however big you want!)
aprox. 12 hours total - roughly 6 hours unwrapped, 4 hours wrapped, 1-2 hours rest
prep time 15 mins

‍

Equipment

Smoker (we used a texas style offset smoker but you could use other styles, or make it unsmoked in an oven)
unwaxed butchers paper or tin foil (I prefer butchers paper)
thermometer! This is important, we used an inkbird but any bbq Thermometer will do
charcoal chimney starter
lighter or matches

‍

What ingredients?

2.5kg Brisket (we used a small point cut for this one, but the same methods apply!)
Salt Rub of your choice
BBQ Charcoal (i prefer lumpwood)
Hard wood (can use this alone or charcoal alone) I used Iron Bark
Smoking woods (optional) such as cherry wood

‍

Step by step process

Step 1 – MEAT PREP – THE NIGHT BEFORE (OR AT LEAST 2 HOURS BEFORE COOKING)

Ideally you want to cook a whole brisket, as the smaller it is the easier it is to dry out, but like us you could just cook the point
Trim excess fat to about ¼ inch on top, and remove any hard fat that won’t render.
Pat the brisket dry with paper towels.

Step 2 – Season generously / Rub your Meat!

Using a salt rub of your choice pour it over the meat and rub it / pat it into the meats surface as evenly as possible
if you have the time or patience you could also rest it in a fridge overnight to help dry-brine the brist and gain better bark development, but this is optional!

Step 3 BBQ Prep

Start your fire in the smoke box, or if using charcoal use your chimney to light the coals, once hot tip them into the fire box
take your time to stabilize the BBQ temp, aiming for 107-121°C / 225–250°F. You want this to be stable before starting the cook, aim for 30 mins of stability before starting

Step 4 Place brisket on the smoker

Insert your thermometer into your brisket then place on the BBQ
Fat side up if heat is from below, down if heat is from above or side. We had ours fat side down
Position thick end (point) toward the heat source.
(optional) you can also sprits with apple cider vinegar, water, or beef broth to keep surface moist and enhance bark if you wish to.
Smoke until internal temp hits ~165°F (74°C) This may take 6–8 hours. The brisket will stall (stop rising in temperature) as moisture evaporates from the surface.

Step 5 Wrap the Brisket

wrap tightly in butcher paper (preferred for better bark) or foil (for juicier, softer bark)
return to the smoker and cook until the internal temp reaches 200–205°F (93–96°C)

Step 6 Rest the brisket

Let it rest wrapped in a cooler or warm oven (around 67°C / 150°F) for at least 1 hour, preferably 2–4 hours. This helps juices redistribute.

Step 7 Time to Slice!

Cut against the grain of the flat, and rotate 90° when slicing the point.
Aim for pencil-thick slices (about ¼ inch) / a little over half a cm
ENJOY!!

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5 min read

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?

‍

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!

‍

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%

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: 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

‍

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)

‍

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

‍

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

‍

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!)
‍
After beer was finished we racked one keg onto the 1.4L / 0.36gal of Monin Blood orange syrup

‍

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

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!

‍

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!!

‍

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)

‍

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
‍
560 g / 1lb — Rice Hulls

‍

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)

‍

‍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

‍

Whirlfloc tablets

0.75g (0.025 oz) / 1 tablet – 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⁺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.

‍

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!

‍

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!

‍

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%

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

‍

Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

1 packet (10.5g) fermentis US-05 American Ale yeast - ferment at 18°C (64.4°F)
‍
AND one lager yeast such as the below
‍
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.

‍

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.

‍

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!

‍

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

‍

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)

‍

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.

‍

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%

‍

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.

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

‍

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.

‍

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%

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)

‍

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.

‍

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%

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

‍

Adjuncts

250 g (8.8 oz)— Pine Shoots - Mash

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

1 Pine tree Luge - Mash

‍

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.

‍

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!

‍

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%

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.

‍

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!‍

‍

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

‍

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.

‍

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 - 1st version (on camera)

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

‍

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.

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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.

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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!

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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%

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!!

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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)

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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

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Whirlfloc tablets

1.5g (0.052 oz) / 2 tablets – 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⁺85
‍^‍Mg²⁺ 9
‍Na⁺26
‍Cl^-100
‍^‍SO₄^2-50
‍^‍HCO₃^- 154

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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)
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.

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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!

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Enjoy!!

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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!

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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!

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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

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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%

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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

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Water Profile

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

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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

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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)

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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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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%

‍

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

‍

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!)

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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

‍

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)

‍

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

‍

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)

‍

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.

‍

‍

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%

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.

‍