Testy

Not much to do over the last couple of days other than wait while the brew does its thing. The bubbling has stopped now. The smell also seems to have gone away (which is good news for the washing drying on the rack.) Bit of a worry that the thermometer is showing a temperature of 19 degrees celcius though. That is only JUST withing acceptable brewing temperature. So much for the hot weather we had been having.

Key reason for today's update is that it has now been five days since I first put the brew on so according to the instructions it may well be ready for bottling. Only one way to find that out though and that is some more science. Break out the hydrometer and see what numbers it gives me. This time the numbers have changed (which I assume is good). This time we have 112, 37 and 2.5%. According to my instructions I should be looking for a ready of between 1.010 and 1.012. I really do need to learn how to ready that hydrometer...

Smell's like a brewery in here

Not much to do with the brew other than check on it today. The air lock seems to be bubbling away happily. This had me a bit concerned but my friend Tim (who has a degree in chemistry) tells me that that will be the carbon dioxide finding a way out. As that sounds plausible and he is officially more qualified at science than I am, I am happy to let it keep bubbling. Another concern is that the temperature seems to be going down. The instructions say that it needs to stay between 18 and 30 degrees celcius. It seems to be down around 20 degrees. Still within range but hoping it will warm itself up a bit.

I've also found a nifty white bucket with a lid on to keep my utensils clean and together. Moore Wilsons rules.

Can't do much about the stench though. Unfortunately our laundry seems to be taking on a bit of a beery pong. Once it all warms up I may need to open a window.

All in one pot

With all the Christmas festivities behind me it was time to see exactly what there was in store for me in that box of brewery goodness. Some advice from my brother suggested that I should get underway while the weather was hot (which Christmas sure was) because the brew needed heat to do its thing. Boxing Day wasn't quite as nice, unfortunately but with rain threatening to spoil any attempt to paint my windows beer seemed to be the thing to do. So I pulled it all out of the box and had a look at the instructions before me. When it comes down to it all brewing is just chemistry. However, science was never my strong suit so I have every intention of following the instructions until I get the hang of things. If I like it some freestyling may ensue...

Step 1: Assemble
There weren't too many pieces in the box that needed adding together, so after figuring out how the tap fitted together and slapping the thermometer on the side of the barrel we were assembled.

Step 2: Clean

Over half of the instructions were devoted to cleaning so I didn't need telling twice it was time to clean. I didn't want any nasty bacteria giving me green beer (unlike the green beer we drunk in our first week in London, which was awesome....) First sachet of cleaning powder mixed with water, lid on and shake like crazy and I had a regular washing machine going (should have covered the hole in the lid to stop the water getting out though...) Wipe it all down and tip out the water (probably the cleanest it is ever going to be again) and then on to the next sachet. This time it was steriliser. The instructions said be sure to wear protective gloves. I didn't have any, so decided just to wing it....Throw all the utensils in to get them cleaned up, mix in the sterilser and water, shake it about again and hey-presto, clean and sterile (hopefully).

Step 3: Brew

Finally time for the main event. Throw in all the ingredients and see what happens. First some water. 1 litre pyrex jug is a bit slow going, might need to do something about that. Next is the brew enhancer, which seems to be some random powder full of tasty sugary treats for feeding the yeast. All a bit brown and mucky, but a good stir with the spoon and it is still brown  but less mucky. Then comes the tin of malt. In this case I have a tin of Mangrove Jacks Munich Lager. It's kinda gooey like golden syrup but I bet it wouldn't be too good on my crumpets...More stirring and then time to add some more water. Sorry pyrex but I have  moved on to the pasta pot. Can't measure but at least I can get more than 1 litre at a time. 23 litres full and then time for the last sachet. This time the all important yeast sprinkled over the top. Hopefully it will do its magic.



Step 4: Science
So up until now it has been a pretty easy case of throwing things together without too much finesse. However now it all starts getting a bit technical. There is a twisty piece of plastic called the airlock which you fill with water and I guess it locks the air in. Then you plug it into the hole in the top of the barrel and it should keep out all that nasty air. Already I am concerned as there are two chambers for air but the water stubbornly only stays in the left hand one. Oh well, nature will do what she wants to do. Check the temperature on the side 27 degrees celcius. That's within range so happy with that. Then comes the really sciencey stuff. There is a random thermometer type device called a hydrometer. It measures alcohol levels and some other stuff (I'll do some research later and let you know.) Fill the tall jar with beer, plop the hydrometer in, spin it around and see where it ends up. In this case my numbers were 117, 56 and 5.5%. Science. (Whatever that all means...)

Final step was clean up all the water spilt on the ground before the wife sees it, but hopefully that will only be a one-off.

And now the brew is underway. If you want to see the whole process then check out the photos in the gallery HERE

Ins-brew-ation

The introduction to the Real Ale movement in the UK, spearheaded by CAMRA was one of those things I was sad to be leaving behind when I returned to NZ. My memory of little choice and lack of variety in beer made me just a little bit sad. However, if the market wasn't going to give me interesting beer choices it was up to me to try and create that interesting beer myself. Little did I know that while I had been away beer in New Zealand has undergone a revolution with the Craft Beer movement giving me that choice and variety that I had worried had been lacking. Breweries like Epic, Tuatara and Emersons had been around before I went away but they were few and far between at the pubs and even harder to find at the supermarkets. Now they are commonplace and joined by many others like 8 Wired, the Garage Project and Moa Brewery. With all that choice what's the need to brew for yourself? And so with all that choice the original plans to get brewing had been replaced by time spent tasting. But with Christmas presents arriving and a great big box under the tree, it all finally began. One Copper Tun Starter Brewery from my wife was all I needed to get the beer brewing underway. Have to get all that Christmas eating out of the way first though....