Brewing an IPA

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glenwilson

glenwilson

NRU Heed
NRU Member
15 Mar 2012
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Falkirk, United Kingdom
Not done a brew for awhile so got down to doing an IPA today.

Below is a video of the process which uses a couple gratuitous slo-mo clips. The photo was taken about 9 hours after the yeast was added. Ale yeasts top ferment whereas lagers ferment at the bottom. After the visit to the brewery the other week and chatting to one of the Brewers I used a lot of hops at the very end of the boil and also some of the other tips he gave me. Like the colour of this brew too.

Did do a realtime version for laka but it was soooo boring to watch I gave up.

Brewing an IPA - YouTube
 

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lol cock. first i was a bit disapointed because there are no slo-mo but at 4:40 i got it :) also a fast-forward effect. brilliant video again. :D

it looks really like a shitload of work but as always if you like to do some stuff like this, you don´t see the "work" just the fun to make it.

but still can´t help myself, it looks always as a view in a kolombian drug kitchen with all your brewing stuff. LOL change the name to "brewing an cocaine" would fit as well. hihi
 
LOL!

The video has been updated to include the fermentation in full swing!

The first batch I did took about five hours as I was still learning how to do things. Much more organised now. When mashing the grain at the start Imwas checking the temp as it should stay about 64° and you need to warm it up if it drops too low. So far the heat is retained so you don't really have much to do for an hour. The same for when it is boiling. - every so often just throw some hops in. This batch from end to end was about 3 hours. The only difference between beers is the type of grains you use and the hops.

All of the video was done on my iPhone 5S. Typing the captions in was the hardest part as my sausage like fingers and autocorrect was conspiring against me.

Worth the effort though. Last couple of batches taste just as I wanted and Isobel was even asking if we could have them to drink before her favourite Leffe!
 
Fermentation on this batch finished a few days early but that is probably due to the amount of yeast used rather than anything else. As you can see in the first pic it actually became pretty clear. Cloudy beer only really affects the appearance and doesn't affect the taste. In this batch I got 7 500ml bottles plus a small amount that I will taste later to see if it is ready. A quick sip showed that it actually tastes rather good even though it was a bit flat! It is probably a little light in colour but that is because I was using up the amber malt I had and should normally use some additional, darker malts. After visiting a brewery and chatting with one of the brewers, they suggested adding a good dose of hops right at the end of the boil. From the quick taste you can certainly get the hoppy taste and aroma.

To carbonate the beer you can add normal sugar but I use Belgian candi sugar. Residual yeast in the beer ferments, generates CO2 which carbonates the beer. A by-product is a touch more alcohol but nothing significantly higher. A couple of things that I learn't was that before you store the bottles, leave them inside a normally warm room to allow the yeast to do it's job. Also I was using 1.5 pieces of the candi sugar and that carbonated it but not enough in a 500ml bottle so that has been upped to 2.

Having done a few batches now I am confident with the process and get the initial mash and boil done more efficiently and even the bottling process is faster now that I have some tube and siphon that works well.

Obviously I am going to say the beer I've made is great ( :D ). Well a couple of batches are not bad and drinkable but the last few have been rather good! Isobel actually liked the 60-Minute IPA more than one of our usual favourites. It was a good job I was sitting down. :)
 

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IPA is one of my favourite beers, send some to me too - a crate or two will do nicely ;)
 
I'll remember to do that in a few weeks!

If you like IPAs then if you get the chance try the Dogfish Head Brewery's 60-Minute IPA. Had that in the U.S. and it is wonderful. I probably would be happy drinking IPAs but it is fun trying new styles of beer. It is occasionally worth trying the likes of Bud and Coors just so you know what you are not missing!

Amazes me when you have conversations with people and ask them why they drink something like Bud and it is because it is relatively cheap. Then ask them if they like it and the answer is that it is OK. Personally I would rather have a beer I like once a week, or even a month and nothing the other days than just have something cheap. Same goes for most things in life. If someone really likes Bud then good for them. Because I'm not a fan of it doesn't make it rubbish. Same as any beer I like doesn't mean others should like it. Mm mm, think that applies to weapons in BF also apart from the airburst of course. :D
 
Which IPA was it? Always interested to, find another one. Just tried the IPA I made ( it was about a 1/3 of a bottle) and that is rather good!

It is funny how snobby beer is becoming. It seems that you should pair beer with food in the same way you would with wine! An IPA shouldn't, apparently, be drunk with Thai food! I imagine that you will go to a restaurant and the waiter will give you that disapproving look when you order the "wrong" beer to go with your meal! :D


Personally, I think you should have what you enjoy and IPAs can go with anything, at anytime!
 
Thanks, I'll have a look out for that. Should have interesting flavour and aroma has the hops they use are different from those you would normally associate with an IPA. I really like breweries that are open about what they use in their beers. From the ingredients you can get reasonable guess at what it would look, taste and smell like. I need to get some more malts and hops so I will see what I can come up with.

The other funny thing is that the site is (obviously) in Swedish. When I've seen Swedish <cough> films the dialogue usually sounds like "blah blah blah" and not have any clue what is being said. The written language is reasonably understandable. Not going to suggest I could translate it but I could work out what was being said without using Google translate.

Just checked some of the Edinburgh beer shops and they don't stock it. :( A good excuse to travel though.

Here is the beer list from one of them: http://static1.squarespace.com/stat...e4b0d2cfb205ac41/1431362656353/BEER+11.05.pdf

The only guide I use for what beer goes with what food is when travelling have something local. If you are at home, anything goes with anything! :)
 
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