Introducing Stonch's BrewCam
If you look to the left hand side of the page, you'll see Stonch's BrewCam has replaced the normal welcome graphic. The image updates every two minutes.
Now you can watch a brew as it ferments, instead of having to stare at my hirsute visage.
At the end of primary fermentation, we'll post a video clip showing the entire process compressed into just thirty seconds of yeasty madness. Enjoy.
This batch is another stout, and we're fairly optimistic after the last effort. We're using a condensed wort from Cooper's of Australia, made up with a kilo of dried malt extract.
PS. In case you're wondering, this isn't an open fermentation. After taking the photo above left, we covered it over with lashings of cling film to keep the nasties out.
[CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FINAL VIDEO]
29 comments:
You are clearly the man. That beer cam is entirely 1991 coffee pot.
I've never seen anyone embrace homebrewing so enthusiastically so quickly. Long-Arm and yourself make great ambassadors for the hobby, and what a great hobby, unlike stamp collecting or train-spotting you can drink the fruits of your labour (while stamp collecting or train-spotting if you prefer). Long may your good work continue. DaaB
It's alive!
a Brewcam - what a fabulous idea! But how do you get it in there and keep it air tight? Or are you going all lambic?
Much as wild fermentation is attractive, rest assured the brew is covered. It's covered over with lashings of cling film, over the top of the brew, the exterior bin and the brewcam.
Those who read about our first brew may recall that the black bin used to insulate our fermentation vessel is the same one we used to brew our "real ale in a bin".
So what's all that duct tape for? Does that keep the nasties out too?
The duct tape is to hold the camera steady. When Long Arms was setting it up, it looked like it was going to spring off any moment for a swim in the brew.
That would have been an event classified as "not OK".
Brewcam - top idea, I'm looking forward to seeing the 30 second clip when it's done.
Just out of interest what yeast are you using? I get some mad old heads when I use Safale S04, it'd be quite fun to watch them forming on the brewcam.
John, we're using the Cooper's yeast we got with the kit. I do have Safale S04 in the fridge but decided to use what they provided as they claim it ferments best at a 21-27 degree range - perfect for this warm weather. We pitched it in dry (no starter, no rehydration).
Both Daab and SubSub reckon that the coopers yeast is a decent strain and will perform better than the safale s04 in the circumstances. Naturally, I used the Coopers yeast when I made up the Coopers IPA I have in primary now.
If it's good enough for Daab then it's good enough us mere mortals!
The brew cam is well weapon!
Awesome, that is genius. I'm looking forward to the Koyaanisqatsi time-lapse version!
It currently looks like bubble bath with fag ash on top!
I'm sure it's going to end up very good though. Maybe I'll get to try it some day?
maeib, we're going to rack this batch in wine bottles, as opposed to putting our beer in barrels as we have up to now. I'm sure I'll be able to get a bottle across to you if you're local...
Looking good!
Will you be subjecting this one to the "tramp test" as part of your quality control process ?
Stonch,
Had a couple in the Florence in Herne Hill on Friday. The local brew is not on yet, but the pub only reopened a week ago so that is perhaps acceptable.
The pub itself is a lovely space but they they removed the carpets, what I assume was previously a full-height bar and anything on the walls with no thought to the acoustic effect, with the result that it was unbearably noisy inside. The garden is just an expanse of concrete dotted with picnic benches, but nice enough in the sun.
Beers they did have on were an Adnams Summer thing, about a dozen foreign lagers and Budvar Brown (which has never done it for me, though usually I like the style).
I'll reserve judgement until they've had a couple of months to settle down but it does not look like becoming a beer-lovers' destination pub.
Scoff.
Scoffer, thanks for that. On Sunday we met up with Tony, the brewer at both the Florence and the same company's Fulham brewpub, The Cock and Hen. Weasel, the Florence's house ale, will be available on sale in the next couple of weeks.
The Cock & Hen is a great place and we certainly enjoyed the house beer, Bonobo. It's undoubtedly the best pub in the Fulham Broadway area. A full review of the pub and the brewing operation will appear here during the week.
Further - a note on the microbrew thing.
I know that it is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest, but the main reason for the development of a brewpub culture here is simply margin. A pub's own brew can often be produced for on the order of 50p a pint, where name-brand lager can approach four times that. Sold at 250-300p a pint that's a big difference.
I am pleased to see more brewpubs in London but have yet to find one (out of only The Horse Shoe, The Florence, Bünker and Mash admittedly) which was obviously doing it from love of beer rather than as a margin raising gimmick.
If a brewpub produces an enjoyable beer that's always going to be in perfect condition, I'm happy that they're getting a bigger profit margin out of it.
We're talking about money in the pockets of a person (or at least a small company) who has put their own money on the line, as opposed to a massive multinational pubco/brewing conglomerate. I know where I want my pocket money to end up, given the choice.
By the way, you've picked a bad example with the Horseshoe. Not only is the beer there great, but also it's the reason the owner started the pub, as opposed to being a gimmick. His family have a history of brewing in Australia. I also think you've picked a bad example with the Florence, but I need to save something for my article!
Well, your 10:05 makes my subsequent post (written before I saw it) seem rather mean-spirited.
That's not really my intention but I am unquestionably an old git in this respect: most pubs/bars of the sort I listed are run for a fairly hands-off proprietor who considers a dozen pretty teenagers on a bit better than minimum wage (plus, in the case of the Florence, a couple of bouncers) somehow to be preferred over a few efficient, experienced bar staff, but in the end likes the ego boost of owning a pub but doesn't want actually to run it nor rely on it exclusively for his/her livelihood.
Compare that with a traditional freehouse or even the better tied pubs.
Wow, I really am an old git.
Stonch,
You are correct that the Horseshoe is a bad example, which reduces my sample set to two bad West-End bars and a pub which has only just opened and doesn't even have own-brew on yet.
You are absolutely right that is is desirable that people who are taking risks should have rewards available.
I just am not sold on the idea that the proprietors (not the staff) of many of these venues really give a monkey's about the beer. In the case of at least Mash and Bünker, that is plain in the product. I will have to invest a few evenings in seeking confirmation or refutation of this impression.
A final point:
Just as a very welcome (if minor) cider revival has been one of the accidental side-effects of the millions C&C spent pushing Magners, so I am very pleased that drinkable beer is getting into the sorts of pubs which would previously have had only imported lager and maybe one months-only hand-pull.
Scoffer, Mash and Bunker aren't pubs by any stretch of the imagination, they're West End bars. I'm not fond of either of them. My advice is to avoid Mash at all costs - badly run with terrible beer. Bunker isn't quite as bad to be fair, and some people might like the place and the beer.
The Florence, on the other hand, is run by someone who is very hands on, with a dedicated team around him. The key people live at the pub, which says a lot. As in a traditional freehouse, it's a home as well as a business.
I shall return to reserving judgement about the Florence. I wish them well but as a paying customer rather than in insider, the site of their beautiful brewing kit was the only positive part of the experience the four of us (with me as the only bigot) had there on Friday.
Fair enough. Once they start selling their own beer you might feel differently!
Stonch, there are some startling similarities between your brewcam and my slop-bucket cam.
And no one else thought that Stonch's pic with this post looks like he's advertising illicit drugs for sale?
Stonch,
Regarding your plan to rack the beer into wine bottles, I'd suggest using Champagne/sparkling wine bottles, as they will be able to withstand the pressure that builds up during bottle conditioning. You probably already know this, but I'd hate to see you end up with bottle bombs!
Love the blog.
All best,
Duke
Great stuff.
Brendan/ioniaales.com
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