What does is really cost to brew your own beer? Some people have asked me if homebrewing beer is cheaper than buying beer. My answer has simply been “No, I totally lose out on economy of scale. It is cheaper to go to my favourite craft brewery and buy off the shelf”. Something I became acutely aware of while brewing...
Beer Review : Pas St. Ambroise Back in October 2022, I brewed an oatmeal stout modelled after McAuslan Brewery’s St Ambroise. As my beer title suggest, Not St. Ambrose. I have the original, and mine, so I will be able to compare them side-by-side. I came into this with an open mind, but also with the sense mine would not...
Codename : Westfort Best Bitterthorpe Returning to a lighter coloured beer, doing a Westfort version of my Mountain Portage Best Bitter. In a similar tradition to that one, I used a bit of a helter-skelter of speciality malts to use up old stock. Trying something out of the ordinary, instead of doing a usual 60 minute boil, brought it down...
Bottling Day After the beer has undergone the fermentation process, it is now the time to bottle it. I will expand below. Sanitise everything required for bottling. Prepare the recommended amount of sugar with enough hot water to dissolve it. Add the mixture to the pot. Transfer the beer from the carboy to the bottling pot. Consider filtering during this...
Codename : Westfort Export Stouthorpe In my ongoing attempts to brew more stouts, and try more stout styles, I have arrived on a foreign extra stout. In the older British tradition it was brewed a little stronger for the export market, and tended to be a little hoppier. Recipe inspiration : https://abthorpe.org/tag/stout/ Ingredients 2 lbs 7 oz Maris Otter malt...
Codename : Westfort Pig Dog IPA Doing an English IPA has been in the pipeline for a while now, this will will be dry hopped. The clever name is an hommage to Monty Python’s “Holy Grail”, the exchange between the French sentry and King Arthur. 🇫🇷💨🏴 Recipe inspiration : https://abthorpe.org/tag/ipa/ Ingredients 2 lbs Maris Otter malt (3.8L) 2.5 oz Rye malt...
Codename : Westfort Milk Stouthorpe As I have covered off most of the stout styles I enjoy drinking, it was time to try a milk stout, also known as a sweet stout. Introducing some lactose sugar sweetens the profile of the stout, while not contributing to the fermentable sugars. Recipe inspiration : https://abthorpe.org/tag/stout/ Ingredients 1 lbs 13 oz Maris Otter malt...
Codename : Westfort Heart of Oak Alethorpe While researching recipe ideas, I discovered the notion of adding oak chips to a beer after it has completed the first week of fermentation. The title is loosely inspired by the song Heart of Oak, an anthem used by many Commonwealth navies. Recipe inspiration : https://abthorpe.org/category/breowanthorpe/ Ingredients 2 lbs 10 oz Maris Otter...
Codename : Westfort Irish Stouthorpe After all the stouts I have brewed, it was about time to do a regular Irish Stout. Recipe inspiration : https://abthorpe.org/tag/stout/ Ingredients 1 lbs 5 oz Maris Otter malt 2.2 oz Roasted barley (488L) 2 oz Torrified wheat 1.5 oz Chocolate malt (325L) 1 oz Crystal malt (67L) 0.10 oz Cascade hops at 60 minutes...
Codename : Westfort Cocoa Oatmeal Stouthorpe This is a do over on my first chocolate oatmeal stout. Back then I made rookie mistakes, I am still making them. Despite the fact I had a recipe properly composed, I added 5x the amount of cocoa powder. Oops. It will be interesting to see how this one works out. Recipe inspiration : Chocolate...