Codename : Westfort Breakfast Stouthorpe Redux This is an update and refresh on my first breakfast stout. Ergo redux in the title. This is the next one in what might just become my de facto 30 minute boils. My first batch, I used 2 oz of maple syrup, and felt it was a little too sweet for my taste, so...
Learning and Creating a Hop Schedule When I first started home brewing, I had some brew fails. I followed the recipes close enough, yet I neglected to adjust for boil off and other factors. So in addition to not getting the ABV (alcohol by volume), I was not getting the hop / bitter taste I wanted, particularly from my early...
Codename : Westfort Oatmeal Stouthorpe Doing basic oatmeal stout, but 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 to 30 minutes. I think I nailed it. Recipe inspiration : https://abthorpe.org/tag/oatmeal-stout/ Ingredients 1 lbs 10 oz Maris Otter malt...
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...