As dark as it looks don’t let that that fool you into thinking this is a heavy beer. The beer pours a reddish brown colour with hints of caramel and malts on the aroma. The carbonation was quite low giving very little head at all. The opening taste I picked up was caramel backed up with some raisin notes.
I guess most would be fooled initially into thinking this is a heavy beer, I will admit that the 5.6% does lend itself to that direction. However, when you first take a mouthful you will find it’s very easy drinking. You could easily see yourself drinking a many of these in Munich with some good food.
As with most German beers they are very inoffensive in the fact that you can’t help but be drawn into drinking more than one. They are well brewed and often have great flavour but still simple enough to make them a beer you could drink all night long.
This for me would be a great BBQ beer or really an any time beer as it is an easy drinker. There may be better German beers out there but this one still hits the mark where it is needed.
As dark as it looks don’t let that that fool you into thinking this is a heavy beer. The beer pours a reddish brown colour with hints of caramel and malts on the aroma. The carbonation was quite low giving very little head at all. The opening taste I picked up was caramel backed up with some raisin notes.
I guess most would be fooled initially into thinking this is a heavy beer, I will admit that the 5.6% does lend itself to that direction. However, when you first take a mouthful you will find it’s very easy drinking. You could easily see yourself drinking a many of these in Munich with some good food.
As with most German beers they are very inoffensive in the fact that you can’t help but be drawn into drinking more than one. They are well brewed and often have great flavour but still simple enough to make them a beer you could drink all night long.
This for me would be a great BBQ beer or really an any time beer as it is an easy drinker. There may be better German beers out there but this one still hits the mark where it is needed.
Pours jet black with a thick brown head of carbonation in the glass. The first hint of aroma which hits you is a rich dark chocolate just like when a bar of 85% cocoa chocolate is first opened.
There is an unmistakable hint of smoke on the beer like a smoked German sausage or smoked cheese; as weird as it sounds the beer really invokes the aroma of the smoked foods, it draws you in and you can feel your mouth watering not just for the beer but for some smoked food, which I feel would go well with the beer.
I do think smoked beers can be a marmite of beers; you will either love them or hate them. It is far too easy and common for them to have too much smoke, the beer then becomes a struggle to finish. I would say that most smoked beers would be the type of beer you may only consume one of; they are to my mind definitely not a session beer.
That said this might be the most sessionable smoked beer I have had to date, if not for the 5.9% abv. It is so smooth I found it very hard to put the glass down. This is the second beer I have had from Nils Oscar, having had their fantastic God Lager, this beer also lives up to god like status. They really seem to nail each style so well.
If you love porter and are yet to try a smoked beer this is a must try at entry level and I mean that in only the best way. The smoked malts are so well balanced it is unobtrusive to someone who has never had a smoked beer before. This beer is a solid beer, I have tasted many beers over the years and I very rarely put any in my top 10, but for the style it is right up there at number 1 for a smoked beer.
Brewed in Hanwell a stone throw from where I live this is certainly not my first Weird Beard beer. It is safe to say I know I am in for a treat even before I have had the first sip as I have always found their beers to be some of the best I have sampled.
Milk stouts are one my favourite styles. The inclusion of lactose adds an un-fermentable sweetness to the beer, while the oats give it a fantastic creamy smoothness. The addition of the Hasbean Coffee Nicaragua Finca Limoncillo Pacamara Natural Funky Beans gives a superb coffee hit. For a 3.8% beer it has fantastic depth to it, to the point you would be fooled into thinking there is more strength than stated. However, with a sessionable strength the beer is a real treat allowing you to enjoy more than one. I would love to sample this beer on cask as I know this is another thing Weird Beard do really well, I can only imagine it would be even better. If you love your stout a little sweeter then this is the beer for you.
Weird Beard tick all the boxes for me in a brewery in that they are always pushing the boundaries in their creations from their collabs to their varied added ingredients. Their “Lupin” design on each bottle makes them instantly recognisable on the shelf.
They have regular open days where you can purchase bottled and beer fresh from the brewery, so if you are local they are definitely worth checking out.
Redwell Brewing’s pale ale comes in a 330ml can. Decorated with a really nice spaceship design it gives a futuristic feel and you know you are in for something special before you open the can.
The pour is quite a clear hazy orange, I suspect the haze maybe from a big dry hopping of this beer that gives it the wonderful aroma that hits you as you pour. The smell is as if you have just cut into a fresh pink grapefruit
On first taste I expected a very hoppy bitter finish as some breweries got over the top with the hops, even in their pale ales. This however has a very smooth well rounded true hoppy finish. It is still packed full of flavour and just like the aroma there is masses of pink grapefruit with a slightly sweet biscuit hint right at the end.
For 5.6% this beer could easily be taken as lot lower in abv. It drinks so well you can hardly notice it is gone before you are reaching for another can. As the beer is conveniently packaged in cans it would be a great barbeque or picnic summer beer.
Redwell Brewery is made up a group of beer lovers from Norwich and beyond
Redwell say they are “committed to making craft beers and lagers from the best malting barley available which happens to be on our door step.”
David Jones and David Subjak, head brewers, both have a beer each in the ‘1001 beers to try before you die’ book. The brewery also has range of SIBA awards
The Ayinger Brewery is a brewery in Aying, Bavaria, Germany, about 25 km from Munich.
The brewery use water from their own well, malt from their own farms and surrounding areas and hops derived from the Halleteur region.
This beer pours with a big head and it tries to escape from the bottle. The colour is a deep orange and is naturally cloudy when served, as it is meant to be. It is brewed especially for Oktoberfest and brewed in accordance with the Regenhesitbot.
The Regenhesitbot, known as the German Purity Law, according to the 1516 Bavarian Law states that the only ingredients that can be used in the production of beer are water, barley and hops.
There is present a really nice orange taste along with a very moreish caramel on the finish. The body is smooth and almost creamy in texture, so smooth that its not long before the glass is empty. On the finish there is a very nice dry bitter that helps to draw you back for more.
This beer was a real thirst quencher and you could imagine yourself sitting in a beer hall in Bavaria drinking this from a stein eating some bratwurst.
Humbug ….
A fitting beer to have so close to Christmas
Humbug is a smoked milk porter from The Hop Studio, a brewery based in York. The brewery was founded in 2012, their mission to brew great beer.
First appearances, the label has quite a festive look with its green and red text and stripes, it reminded me of candy canes or humbugs. It wouldn’t look out of place on the set of Elf.
The beer pours rich, dark and black which gives the impression it’s a much stronger beer with a higher abv. I have to admit I am often wary of smoked beers as sometimes they can be a little hard going. Humbug however has a very subtle smokiness on the aroma that instantly invites you in to take a sip.
On first taste it is a very welcome surprise that the smoke flavour is balanced and not overpowering. Once the smoke moves away you get hints of chocolate. A nice sweetness is left coated on your lips reminding you of what you just tasted. It is moreish and hard to put the glass down.
The body of the beer is velvety smooth and certainly feels like it’s a beer to be had next to an open fire on a cold winter’s night. That said with an abv of 5.0% it is certainly a beer you can enjoy several of.
I did expect that there would be some inclusion of lactose in the ingredients given the description as a smoked milk porter. However, the ingredients are listed only as water, malted barley, oats, hops and wheat. I think the smoothness of in the body of the beer is gained from the inclusion of oats, which also gives it great head retention; this clings to the glass right until the final sip. The smokiness is derived from the Rauchmalt, the chocolate taste from the Carafa 1 malt.
This is one of the best smoked beers I have had, unlike most the smoke is not overdone, it is easy to finish and I would have no issue sinking a few more!
Whenever new and exciting homebrew equipment comes to market it is a shame that it takes such a long time to reach the suppliers in the UK, however it is exciting to see that recently UK suppliers are starting to become quicker at picking up and importing these items, especially the small scale replicas of commercial equipment at affordable prices. This is the type of kit I am looking for to add to my collection as I slowly improve on the plastic buckets that I started out with, although of course a great brew is dependent on the skill of the brewer and not the equipment!
I was excited therefore to be sent the Fast Ferment Plastic Conical Fermenter and Wall Mount made by FastBrewing , available from Brew UK (priced at £84.98). This is a new addition to Brew UK’s range and something I have been interested in as I already own the Fasttrak 24 Combo bottle drainer by FastBrewing and this has become an invaluable piece of kit.
The Fast Ferment is a 30 litre conical fermenter. The conical shape is designed is to make yeast management easier. It is also designed to enable fermentation and bottling to be carried out from the one vessel. The unit is designed to be hung from the wall with brackets provided but for the purpose of this review I am using the Fast Ferment Floor Stand which is sold as an extra.
I decided to test out the Fast Ferment using it to brew a 23 litre batch of Oatmeal Stout, the recipe is from the Brew UK recipe book (Home Brew Beer by Greg Hughes), affectionately known as the bible in the home brew community, again an invaluable piece item.
The unit comes with everything you need including the wall brackets. You will note I also have the optional extras; the thermometer and the floor stand.
The Fast Ferment is made of HDPE plastic and feels very robust but light enough to handle when empty. The unit does not come ready assembled and you need to attach the union valve and the collection ball to get started. The union valve is the part that allows the beer or yeast to flow into the collection ball or out of the vessel for racking. The collection ball as the name suggests collects the yeast for harvesting.
After an initial cleaning, the union valve and collection ball are easily screwed on the bottom of Fast Ferment vessel. The manual suggests that all threads need PTFE tape applied, this proved essential to later on. The value itself can be taken apart for deep cleaning, but as stated in the manual the manufacturer will not warranty valves that are taken apart. The manufacturer confirms that they have long term tested cleaning the valve not disassembling and this has worked very well, they advise not the disassemble. Obviously it is up to the individual whether to follow instructions, personally if I was long term using I would disassemble for deep cleaning every so often.
The lid to the fermenter has a rubber gasket on the inside to create a seal and comes complete with a 3 piece airlock, which is a nice addition.
The union valve above and the the collection ball
The last thing to install the thermowell where the temp gauge sits this is screwed into the main body of the vessel.
After cleaning I decided to fill the unit to its maximum to leak test, which proved to be a good idea as beads of water soon showed. I found that the thermowell needed the most attention. I discovered the key to getting this part water tight was to ensure at least 6 turns of PTFE tape on the thread and make sure it is sitting flush with the unit.
The thermowell fitted and ready to accept the thermometer
Leak free the next day after an overnight mash and morning boil it was finally time to test the Fast Ferment. Racking the wort was a breeze as the big open neck of the Fast Ferment not only allows for easy transfer and cleaning but you can get in with a paddle to aerate the wort. Once the yeast was pitched it was time to move the fermenter to its location for the fermentation. Fast Ferment do make a lifting strap to aid transport and in hindsight this is needed it can be cumbersome to lift the stand and the unit together. It may be easier to lift onto the wall bracket, but I did not use them this time.
The fast ferment filled up and ready
A few hours after settling the fermenter down I noticed some beading of beer around the stand which appeared to have originated from the thermowell . It was clear some beer was escaping I managed to get a slight turn on the thermowell and this seemed to have solved the issue for good.
I left the Fast Ferment a full two week period at 20 degrees, thanks to the thermometer this was easy to monitor. To check the beer had reached its final gravity I needed to take the lid off to access a sample for the hydrometer reading. The lid felt like it was quite tricky too remove and I felt a small recess in the lid would make this a far easier one hand job.
Fast ferment do intend on added a sampling port in the future which would be welcomed and make gravity readings far easier and less chance of contaminants entering.
It was then time to open that valve and allow the yeast to come through and enter the collection ball for hopefully a clean beer transfer. At this point I should mention I had my reservations about allowing a pocket of air to go through my beer, Fast Ferment do state that the small amount will cause no effect. If you are concerned you can use distilled water or as I did a blast of CO2 (this avoids watering down).
On opening the valve nothing happened, I tapped the side with my hand and nothing, I left it a while and still nothing. I guess the yeast had compacted and needed a little prod, I did this with the long end of sterilised bottle brush, and there was movement. I left it overnight for the yeast to gather in the ball and then unscrewed the ball and emptied. There still seemed to be a lot of yeast in the fermenter so I repeated the process and left the ball in situ until bottling day. Try as I might I couldn’t get the last of the yeast to drop out and I opted to chance it hoping that the yeast would not move.
Then came bottling, the hose included for bottling had two issues. One it is too short to be used for anything other than a straight to a keg option. Two there was no bottling wand that would fit even though I thought wands were a standardised size. I decided to swap the bottling hose for my own this worked somewhat but there were some issues with the pressure and flow. Furthermore, when using the stand rather than the wall bracket it would appear that there is no enough clearance between the bottom of the vessel and the ground/counter top to avoid bending in hose. The bend in the hose restricts the flow. The only solution I could come up with was to balance the stand on a corner of my counter top however, balancing 23 litres in the fermenter on a stand on the kitchen side was a bit nerve-racking.
The really short length of hose included for racking and bottling
Hiccups with flow control aside the bottling process was a breeze I wish I had captured more on film but after the flow issues the camera got neglected. I love the fact that with the fast ferment getting the last bit of beer out was easy due to the conical design; no need for tilting. Sadly as I had compacted yeast which decided to work its way out the last bottle was a tad cloudy.
Apart from the minor issues I had the fast ferment is a solid and well-built unit and if looked after and cleaned should last a long time. It is easy to use and a welcome addition to any home brewers inventory. For anyone getting into using conical fermenters it is an affordable and worthy investment.
As for the beer that was brewed, the Oatmeal Stout turned out quite well, it is a solid winter beer which should see me through the darker November evenings.
For a look at the Fast Ferment in action check out my video review
It was Thursday and with all good intentions my plans for a Saturday brew day were underway in my head. I have lots of hops to use up and for fear of overloading the freezer anymore I decided to brew up a black IPA using a generous amount of hops. Like most brew days this was getting well planned in my mind until something decides to crop up and make the brew that bit more challenging.
At present I like to brew with BIAB, I find it has been both time saving and easy to manage in the limited space of my flat. To prepare I normally crush the grains the night before the brew and get the mash on once the brew space is child free. I leave the mash overnight, the temperature normally only drops a degree by the morning, then all that’s left to do is pull the bag and start the boil.
To crush the grain I recently adapted an old fermenter to house the grain mill. It’s a basic hand type and I had never found anywhere to mount it without causing damage and lots of dust. So I had a brain wave; to contain it in an old fermenter with a hole in the lid for the hopper. Once it is all in place it’s pretty dust free. I also removed the handle and used an old bolt with the head cut off this is so I can attach a cordless drill which makes crushing 5kg of grain a breeze.
Grain mill with hopper onInside view of the grain mill bucket
I recently purchased a new thermometer for my Brewtech 10 gallon boil pot to make the process that bit easier and to avoid lifting the lid and loosing precious heat to see the temp. To raise some funds for the new thermometer I sold my old brewpot. To sweeten this deal I had included the hose barb that I also used on this pot, there begins the downfall of a very well thought out brew day.
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I decided to press on barbless knowing that I could still make do. Friday night the grain was all crushed and I went about fitting the new thermometer probe; a couple of spanners later and all was good to go.
I had fully intended to get the mash on and boil on Sunday but got some exciting news via Twitter and needed to be somewhere better than staring in the black abyss of the brewpot on Sunday morning(more on that later!). I decided I could get it all done on Saturday afternoon and finish early evening.
Grains in the bag and strike water on the go I was off. I love using the SS Brewtech pot due to the induction capabilities. I think induction is a fantastic option for home brewers, the benefits of no naked flame with quick temp ramp ups make a safer and more efficient brew day. Without going too much into the science, the pot becomes the element due to ferromagnetic energy. The induction plate itself doesn’t get hot to touch either. It makes a strange sci-fi whirring sound when on and I have found that insulating the pot helps speed up the heating process.
It almost seems a shame to cover a super shiny brew pot but every brew pot I have had has benefited from a £3 camp mat. I normally get 35ltrs of strike water up to 67 degrees in about 30 mins or under depending on temps of water out the tap. To insulate the lid where the greatest heat loss occurs I’ve also got a big block of Kingspan insulation cut to size.
Top tip: Get the water in the boil pot the night before in the winter to allow it to come up to room temp before adding heat.
Buffalo 3kw induction burnerPot with its super insulated jacket
My one other useful piece of equipment is a Ikea £12 stool that is both used for standing on to pull the grain bag but also doubles as my steam extraction source see below.
Just when I was near my final hurdle of the boil I experienced the biggest near boil over I have ever had. This beer had the dark malts steeped separately as I had first planned to do a cold steep the night before but that was scrapped. Instead they were steeped on their own prior to the main boil. I couldn’t actually get the camera in time or have enough hands to capture the massive foam beast that tried to escape as I hit hot break. Maybe it was something to do with the dark malts being added separately just before the boil, I’ll remember not to do that next time! Panic set in as I haphazardly flicked water at it (some trained brewers have a spray gun ready), that and a big spoon it was soon under control.
The boil was 70 mins with some big hop addition, which resulted in slightly less wort at the end of the boil. The gravity of 1.055 was reached which was what I was aiming for.
All that was left to do was get the wort out the kettle without the missing hose barb and no hose. I am pleased to say the Ikea stool came in useful and once again saved the day.
On Sunday I made my way to Kew Village Market on a very sunny morning. The exciting Twitter news that changed the brewing plan was that David Scott from the newly established Kew Brewery would be at the market selling his beer and newly printed t-shirts.
I jumped at the chance to finally acquire some of David’s beers and have a bit of a chat. It was a real pleasure to meet David and discuss all things beer including how he came to set up the brewery. I could of stayed all day conversing over a couple of samples of his brews. I purchased a bottle of each which will be reviewed at a later date. I was thrilled to be able to get a t-shirt as I’m bit of a collector. I usual find most brewery t-shirts to be rather bland, but Kew’s has a excellent logo so it’s a worthy purchase, also all printed on Fairtrade cotton; a great ethical way to support your local brewery.
Kew brewery are producing beers using hops and malt all grown in England they also donate 5p from every pint sold to the World Land Trust. Their beers are unfiltered and unfined making them fresh and flavoursome. Be sure to follow the links below for more details on this exciting new brewery
Humbug ….
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