If I wanted cheap, perfectly serviceable beer, I would buy a kit and avoid the faff of full mash brewing. But cost isn't a key driver in this. Although I am expecting to be able to brew beer at some point in the future to a better standard than is available in the average pub, more cheaply than I would likely spend at the supermarket.
Good beer is made with at least the following ingredients:
So phase 1 will involve keeping the moving parts to a minimum and brewing the same brew over and over in order to get a sense of what impact changes to the water will make.
Water
As mentioned we have hard water which from chalk aquifers rather than surface water. Boiling would not only precipitate Calcium Carbonate as CaCO3 or Chalk but would also get rid of Chlorine and other Volatile Organic Compounds (VCO's). This removes valuable calcium that would then need to be re-added as pure salts in the form of Calcium Sulfate (Gypsum) and or Calcium Chloride, dependent on the target taste. We may also need to add Epsom Salt to bring up Magnesium levels which is a trace mineral required by yeast.
Malted Barley
I have chosen Maris Otter Extra Pale which has a EBC colour rating of 2.5. Brewing with pale malts push the envelope in brewing with pale malts require soft water. Where I am situated, we have hard water. This will require some real tinkering to get the pH of the mash into the ideal target 5.4 to 5.5 range. Maris Otter is not a transparent barley in the way that a 2-row is, so we will have space to see what all the fuss is about with Maris Otter. Also later we can move to darker MO varieties which may require less water treatment.
Hops
Keeping it simple, adding bittering hops early boil, and aroma hops late and post boil. Also using hops from Kent to keep things local.
Yeast
Danster Nottingham Dry Ale Yeast is quick to attenuate, transparent and avoids the requirement for a yeast starter. This yeast is a viable alternative to liquid yeast which most people see as the way to get the best tasting beer. At these early stages using a transparent yeast before a liquid Yyeast will keep things simple. Later we can introduce a liquid yeast with a starter and see what all the fuss is about.
The recipe that I have chosen is a simple one.
Hop Back Summer Lightening Clone as published in the Graham Wheeler Book - Camra's Brew Your Own British Real Ale. This fits the requirements nicely as it is simple - i.e. good for begineers and keeps the moving parts down, pale so as to create a challenge with mash pH, and is apparently better with a liquid yeast, which we are not using in the first rounds.
Good beer is made with at least the following ingredients:
- Malted Barley
- Water
- Hops
- Yeast
So phase 1 will involve keeping the moving parts to a minimum and brewing the same brew over and over in order to get a sense of what impact changes to the water will make.
Water
As mentioned we have hard water which from chalk aquifers rather than surface water. Boiling would not only precipitate Calcium Carbonate as CaCO3 or Chalk but would also get rid of Chlorine and other Volatile Organic Compounds (VCO's). This removes valuable calcium that would then need to be re-added as pure salts in the form of Calcium Sulfate (Gypsum) and or Calcium Chloride, dependent on the target taste. We may also need to add Epsom Salt to bring up Magnesium levels which is a trace mineral required by yeast.
Malted Barley
I have chosen Maris Otter Extra Pale which has a EBC colour rating of 2.5. Brewing with pale malts push the envelope in brewing with pale malts require soft water. Where I am situated, we have hard water. This will require some real tinkering to get the pH of the mash into the ideal target 5.4 to 5.5 range. Maris Otter is not a transparent barley in the way that a 2-row is, so we will have space to see what all the fuss is about with Maris Otter. Also later we can move to darker MO varieties which may require less water treatment.
Hops
Keeping it simple, adding bittering hops early boil, and aroma hops late and post boil. Also using hops from Kent to keep things local.
Yeast
Danster Nottingham Dry Ale Yeast is quick to attenuate, transparent and avoids the requirement for a yeast starter. This yeast is a viable alternative to liquid yeast which most people see as the way to get the best tasting beer. At these early stages using a transparent yeast before a liquid Yyeast will keep things simple. Later we can introduce a liquid yeast with a starter and see what all the fuss is about.
The recipe that I have chosen is a simple one.
Hop Back Summer Lightening Clone as published in the Graham Wheeler Book - Camra's Brew Your Own British Real Ale. This fits the requirements nicely as it is simple - i.e. good for begineers and keeps the moving parts down, pale so as to create a challenge with mash pH, and is apparently better with a liquid yeast, which we are not using in the first rounds.
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