Tuesday 19 December 2006

Old Speckled Hen in under 4 hours

Old Speckled Hen

Modified to my taste from a recipe By DAAB from http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum

Brewer: Orfy Email: -
Beer: Old Speckled Hen Style: English Old/Strong Ale
Type: All grain Size: 23 liters
Color:
15 HCU (~10 SRM)
Bitterness: 47 IBU
OG: 1.051 FG: 1.010
Alcohol: 5.4% v/v (4.2% w/w)
Water: Tap Water
Grain: 4.350kg British pale
0.54kg British crystal 50-60L
Mash: 68% efficiency
Single infusion Mash at 68°C for 75 minutes. @ 2.6l/kg
Batch sparged with 23L
Boil: 60 minutes SG 1.039 30.5 liters
75g Brown sugar
454g Golden Syrup
Golden Syrup and sugar added at the beginning of the boil.
Irish moss added at last 5 minutes
Hops: 45g Northern Brewer (8.5% AA, 60 min.)
15g Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)
10g Kent Goldings (aroma)
Yeast: Nottingham English Ale
Put to Secondary on 21/12/2006. Maybe a little early but it'd gone to 1010 and I wanted to clear the dining room before Christmas.
Kegged on 30/12/2006 with 130g DME.
Tasted on 02/01/2007 and has carbed already.


I've tried to cut my brew time down and have got it so it's possible to brew in under 4 hours.

My wife went out at lunch time, go back at 6.30pm and didn't even know I'd done a brew. AND I got praised for tidying the kitchen Laughing

This is the theory. If it takes a little longer I don't worry. I don't rush, not worth it.

Heat Mash water from hot tap water 55c to 77c in home made boiler. In mean time set up mash tun and weigh grain. I also nipped the shop to get the syrup. I rehydrate the yeast.30 mins
75 mins Mash. I cut this from my usual 90 minutes because people keep telling me conversion only takes 20 minutes. I use that time to set my kettle up. To save time I added my first run off to the kettle to start the boil quicker. To batch sparge I add more water which has been heating while I mash. I let the sparge water sit 5 minutes and run off adding that to the already near boiling wort in the kettle. I do this once more.
25 mins Time to sparge and bring to the boil
60 mins boil. In this time I've emptied cleaned and put the mash tun away. I've racked a brew to keg to give me a spare carboy, which I've cleaned and sanitised ready for the wort.
20 mins to cool. By this time all the stuff in the kitchen is clean and away. I collect the hot water from the chiller to clean the chiller and keg.
15 mins to aerate to the carboy and pitch yeast.
Whilst the wort is draining I clean an put away the wort chiller.
All I do then is scoop out the hops 'n stuff from the kettle dump in the hot water in the keg with a bit of oxy clean and empty in the morning.

So you can do AG in <4hrs.
But why rush it, Relax and have a homebrew.
Laughing