….don’t lose hope too soon! This post is about a batch of oatmeal stout I did which suffered almost every conceivable fuck up during the brewing process and yet almost miraculously has emerged as a really nice smooth and drinkable beer. I was pretty much convinced this one would end up down the drain but I soldiered on anyway and for now at least it looks like its beaten the odds and produced something drinkable. The moral is if it smells and tastes ok it probably is so don’t rush to ditch a brew if things aren’t going to plan stick it out and the brewing gods may yet favour you. Anyway heres what went down.

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This was my first attempt at a lager and the resulting beer was probably my best to date… my other half reckons it’s the best lager she’s ever drank… high praise indeed.!  The fermentation schedule was a little complex, but this was recommended to me by the brewer at Chorlton Brewery… I followed to the letter and the result was so good, I’ll do it again for definite.

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I did this one a about a year ago but it remains one of my best Bitters to date, it was loosely based on some information I found about Timothy Taylors Boltmaker which is a lovely beer and a multiple award winner. As with most brews in this style I put it into a pressure barrel which gave a great pub style pour to the beer. The yeast is key 1469 is supposed to be the actual Timothy Taylor strain and it has bags of character, you could use something else but make sure it has some fruity esters or the beer will be lacking in flavour. If you do use 1469 a blow off tube is recommended, its a lively one! I found it attenuated higher than the specified range so my version was a bit stronger than intended but it was still very drinkable.

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Another old tutorial but again getting a few views on the old tube so thought I’d post it here as well for reference, lots of people have issues with PBs and they get a lot of stick online but if you get a decent one to start with (avoid the cheapest ones from wilko etc) and follow these methods you should be good. Its the best way to get a handpump style dispense without having a beer engine/cask set up in my opinion and works great with english style ales.