Miðgarð Brewhouse

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Eostre Witbier Brewday.

Spring has sprug and I was a little late to get my seasonal Witbier on the go but managed this weekend.

I was resolute I'd stick with the exact recipe and not mess about with it but while I was measuring out the 2 Saaz additions realised I didn't have enough in.  So the only slight amendment is swapping out a 5 minute Saaz addition with Mandarina Bavaria, which should go nicely with the coriander and bitter orange peel anyway.

Malt base is fairly simple with 44.4% Floor-Malted Bohemian Pilsner, 22.2% Torrified Wheat, 22.2% Wheat and 11.1% Flaked Torrified Oats.

15g Saaz for a 45 minute boil with 10g Mandarina Bavaria for the final 5 minutes with 35g of bitter orange peel and 25g of fresh crushed coriander seeds.

Cool to 21c and pitch Mangrove Jack's M21 Belgian Wit Yeast.

Efficiency was 9% down on my average, not quite sure where that went wrong as I've been making notes on all my processes trying to nail it down. Mash and sparge temps were the same, water volume and pH all balanced. Can't put my finger on it.

Wild Yeast Capture

It's been a while since I dabbled in some wild Yeast harvesting.

While I was collecting the latest couple of forced rhubarb stalks I wondered if I could harvest something from the leaves. I know they're poisonous if you eat them but is there some wild yeasties living there that are different to the usual ones I've collected in the garden?

Well, 500ml of water boiled for 10 minutes with 45g of DME and a pinch of Yeast nutrient is the start of the answer. Cooled and then the rhubarb leaf dropped in. Now to wait and see. Not forgetting to shake up daily of course.

A Decade of Homebrew 

Hulda 5% Elderberry Porter - Tasting Notes

There seems to be much confusion in the origin of Hulda as a proto Germanic earth goddess but she does seem to be heavily associated with the Elder tree so a perfect fit for this fruity Porter.

With a base of Mild malt, DRC, Chocolate malt, Torrified wheat and a dash of roasted wheat. A reasonable dose of Endeavour hops brings out hedgerow berries, Blackcurrant and blackberry, so the addition of 900g of homegrown Elderberries in 20L compliments the existing flavours.

Fuggle Update

Cawood Marshes Hop

Little bit late in the season to be repotting my Cawood Marshes Wild Hop cutting but managed it without disturbing the roots too much.

Bit of an upcycle idea with a log basket I got free off marketplace thinking it was a lot smaller in the picture, it would hardly even fit through the door.  So it's been sat outside for ages and I suddenly thought I could use that as a planter!

Utilising some offcuts from a pond liner, putting some holes in it for drainage along with some crocks to line the bottom and we're sorted. If it rots away after a few years, no issues as I'll just move the hop when it's dormant. Much easier to transplant a rhizome than for instance if I planted a shrub of tree in it.

Hopefully the hop should have loads of space to spread its roots with some fresh peat free compost and get established nice and quickly.

Saison Brewday.

Still working out what to do with all the hops I was donated after the sad closure  of Hopeye. After stocking up with some darker beers I knew it had to be something pale and refreshing. A combination of Chinook and Loral lead me down the Saison path.

Playing on the spicey, peppery, herbal and citrus properties of these hops I put together a relatively simple malt base of 63.4% Finest Golden Promise, 20.7% Torrified Wheat, 9.9% Dextrin Malt, 5% Caragold and 1% Crystal T50.

I'd not ordered in for this recipe so had to make do with what I had in, so it's not a 100% authentic Belgian Saison, more of an English/American/Belgian hybrid one.

It's also slightly more hoppy but still within the style guidelines, Saison is rather forgiving in those respects.

I bittered with just 5g of East Kent Goldings, I've found these are great for a mellow and rounded bitterness and use them in most of my pales now. Next 15g of Chinook when in for 15 minutes with another 20g for 5 minutes along with 30g of cryo Loral and 6g of fresh ground Grains of Paradise, for that extra bit of peppery kick.

I then whirlpooled my remaining 27g of cryo Loral at 75c for 20 minutes before cooling to 26c and pitching the yeasty feasty Yeast, which I'm told is basically Safale Belgian Saison.

OG was 1.048 so as long as the Yeast doesn't attenuate lower than predicted this should still make a nice sessionable sunny spring beer.

Mǫgr 3.8% Amber Ale - Tasting Notes

Well it started out as a hoppy pale but I put too much Melanoidin malt in, which not only changed the colour more than brewersfriend said but also knocked the diastatic power. 

So what I ended up with was Mǫgr (old norse for boy or son, as this is the bastard son of my Pale Gungnir ) a 3.8% Amber Ale, quite heavily hopped with Ernest and Jester with a bit of UK Cascade as well.

Top of the hops!

Brewday - Elderberry Porter

Despite spring being on the horizon I really fancied brewing something dark that wasn't over 8%, so I set my sights on a simple Porter. But me being me I decided to pimp it up a bit after I found last years elderberry harvest in the freezer. I'd totally forgotten about them and had originally planned to do an Elderberry beer last year but didn't get round to it.

I went with a base of 67.7% Mild Ale Malt, 11.3% Chevallier Malt, 7.9% DRC, 4.5% Chocolate Malt, 3.4% Torrified Wheat, 2.9% Roasted Wheat and 2.3% Rolled Oats. So not exactly simple but I'm still using up a few leftover bits and wanted to see if using Mild Ale Malt as a base would make any difference to the flavour as apparently historically this was more common in Porters.

I wanted to compliment the Elderberry flavours with the hop additions so decided to use Endeavour, which is described as complex blackcurrant, loganberry and spice aroma, with a wonderful grapefruit and lime flavour.

20g went in for 60 minutes with an additional 30g for the final 10. At 8.2% alpha this is at the higher end of IBU for a Porter but I wanted a bit more hop flavour for this beer.

My efficiency was a bit poor again at 65%, not sure where I'm going wrong with that one but it does mean this beer will be below 4% if the Lalbrew London English Ale attenuates as the guide says, I suspect it might go a bit lower.

First Hopdate of 2022

Brewday - (sort of) Pale Ale

Brewday - Barleywine

First brewday of 2022 and we're going big! 👊 Jan or Feb is when I usually look to brewing something for Christmas to give it the aging it deserves, previously its been Imperial Stouts, but as I've a good Milk Stout recipe that I want to do again which doesn't require so much aging, I thought I'd change tact. Inspired by Brew York’s Grainsly Harriet, a Ryewine, I put together my own Barleywine with a bit of Rye, but not too much. The malt bill was 51.9% No. 19 Floor-Malted Maris Otter, 13% Malted Rye, 6.5% Crystal Dark and 6.5% Dextrin Malt. The rest of the bill to be made up of 15.6% Liquid Malt Extract and 6.5% Dark Brown Sugar. I know the limitations of my Brewzilla, the bigger we go the less efficiency there is so this one needed a little boost. The mash went fine, a little slow on the sparge but no major issues. Went with 66c mash and 75c sparge. For the 2 hour boil I just added 50g of homegrown Fuggles for 60 minutes with another charge of 50g at 15 minutes and finally 47g of Keyworth Midseason for the final 5 minutes. Aiming for about 39IBU, but this is always a bit of a guess with my homegrown hops. At flame out I added the sugar and extract. Boil off wasn't too much actually so I think I ended up with around 19L. I should have made a starter but didn't get round to it so it took Nottingham a day or so to get going but of course being Nottingham it's hardcore and is currently bubbling away. I was only a few points off at 1.080 which should still give around 9%, probably the highest I've ever gone without the addition of honey. We'll see how this one develops over the next few weeks.

Skaði 4.2% Sour Wheat Beer - Tasting Notes

A labour of love, a kettle soured American hopped Belgian Wheat Beer... A risk combining so many things but it sure paid off. I say this quite often but I really mean it for this beer, it's possibly the best I've ever made and definitely a firm favourite to be rebrewed. Mashed with Crisp Maltings Hana, Torrifed Wheat, Wheat, Flaked Torrifed Oats, Hana Vienna, Cara Gold and Juniper Berries. Kettle soured with Omega Yeast Laco blend, then boiled with Coriander Seeds, Grains of Paradise, Bitter Orange Peel & a Lemon. Hopped with Amarillo, Simcoe and Sladek, including dry hop as well... Finished off with Mangrove Jack’s M21 Belgian Wit Yeast... Wow, what a combination. Lemons, peach, pear to the nose. Mouthfeel is thick and luxurious with a crisp sourness followed by complex citrus, green hoppiness and Belgian spice. It's just a taste sensation and 100% up my street. The best of all countries and styles in one.