This photo of the mash tun plates shows quite clearly the source of yesterday's troubles - the gap should not be a gap. And the plates should be horizontal too...
All fixed and this morning's 'run-off' is going smoothly once again. 'Great Scot!' has proved more popular than I imagined a peaty pale ale could, so we're brewing it again. You'll remember I tweaked the recipe to get a little more hop and a little less Lambert & Butler? Well it seems to have done the trick - isn't it nice when that happens?
The usual rhythm of the brewing process has been disturbed by leaking mash tun plates passing grain, as you'll clearly appreciate from this photo of the wort collection sight glass. It's a minor annoyance in the grander scheme but things run best when they run smooth and that applies to this little beer making contraption that I call a brewery, more than most. I don't know the precise cause yet but I suspect I'll find a small plastic riser (er, a raw plug pressed into action the last time this happened, about 3 years ago) slightly out of place when I clean the tun. Grrrr.
We don't want grain in brew; the husks contain polyphenol material that will cause haze problems and possibly a slightly harsh flavour. I'll finish collecting the wort in 9 minutes time, leave the copper to stand for a further 9 and then tap off a gallon from the base of the vessel. This ought to remove much, if not all, of the errant cereal, rendering this batch serviceable.
for voting for Gadds' Number 3 as the Best Kentish Beer at the (highly prestigious) TOKAs - we were informed this morning that we're in the final. This means:
1. You all bothered to follow the links and clicked for Gadds'. Thanks, again. 2. We send a case of beer to Produced in Kent with supporting printed matter - a tasting panel will compare our beer with a beer made in Sussex (yaboohiss - surely we can beat this, since ours is actually made in Kent) and SN's national favourite, Spitfire. Ratebeer give us the edge by a small but significant margin, however, I personally rate Spitfire having been up against it once before in a competition: way back in 1994 at the International Brewing Industry Awards it took gold to Dogbolter's bronze but I wasn't disappointed; I got to take all my mates to a flash awards dinner paid for by the company we worked for. We were the youngest, scruffiest bunch of brewers the Industry had ever had to dinner and, as I remember, we were tremendously popular for all that. It was riotous fun. 3. Me & Mrs Gaddsbeershop get to go to a flash dinner in Leeds Castle all paid for by someone else. Fab. I'll be smarter and better behaved than I was 15 years ago, I think.
The awards are at the end of February - in the meantime Mrs Gaddsbeershop will be practicing her Kate Winslet, just in case.
I get very enthusiastic about some things and they tend to dominate for a period of time - golf, letter writting and blogging are just three examples - then for reasons unknown I can't bring myself to continue with the activity and move on to something else or just do nothing for a while.
Thankfully, brewing isn't like that. I'd be poor indeed if it were. And thirsty.
Last week we delivered the first of the year's 'Great Scot!' - a very pale beer redolent of hops with a firm bitterness and dryish finish. And with smoke. Not as much as last year but it is there never the less. Why? Because I can and as far as I know no-one else does, well, not in a pale ale anyway. I use malted barley dried over peat fires, properly done in Islay where they use it for whisky. The smoke is quite different in character to the hardwood smoked malt of Bavaria - the phenolic peat is more complex and demanding. It's very Scottish. I do like it, but I recognise it isn't everyones' cup of tea. Marmite beer, as they say. Thankfully, 80 Shilling Ale is also available for the non-peat lover, such is the beauty of this year's bi-monthly special program.
You'll find it on every decent bar top in East Kent until the end of February. If you can't get there then try the usual haunts on Burn's Night where it ought to create an interesting counterpoint to Macsweens finest.
There you go - I blogged again at last. It's quite enjoyable.
It's Homecoming Year and there's a decidedly Scots edge to some of my brewing in January-February. I kicked it all off a couple of weeks ago by brewing an 'export' style ale, full of malty sweetness with a smidge of underlying hoppy goodness. Wanting all those wonderful flavours that my maltster creates, without overdoing some of the more the demanding ones, and, of course, keeping the 'traditional' butterscotch notes to an acceptable minimum (not my favourite beer atribute) kept me focused in the design and delivery of the beer.
It's already out in a couple of pubs, with more set to recieve deliveries when we go back to work next week, and since it is available for two months, you all ought to get a good chance to try it. Failing that, ring us at the brewery and we'll do our best to ensure you get what you want.
When you do get your hands on a pint of this deep brown coloured ale, and as you slurp back the first mouthful, close your eyes and remember Rannoch Moor.
Last year was fun wasn't it? Our 'year in beer' series was a great success, keeping me busy and creative and keeping you lot in varied and interesting flavour sensations. The beauty of having a small production run is that I can take the risks where others perhaps fear not to brew. And the risk taking is ever so slightly addictive.........
So we continue the game into 2009, changing and adapting the plan to advantage. Thus, instead of 12 x 1 monthly specials I'm offering, for your delectation, 6 x 2 bimonthly specials, retaining some of the old favourites and allowing space to find new ones.
Details of the full series have been drawn up will be sent to the printers next week. In the meantime, I can confirm the Jan/Feb offerings of an all new '80 Shilling Export' and a return of the ground breaking peated pale ale that is 'Great Scot!'.
I'm Eddie Gadd, Head Brewer of the Ramsgate Brewery on the East Kent Coast. I've been in the Biz for nearly 20 years, working for the big and the small, the greedy and the good. And now that I only work for myself I can say what I like, which is what I do here.
All requests, the odder the better, are given full consideration. email the shop Pictures of the Brewery, the Shop, the Beers and local Pubs Photo Album Cyclops Tasting Notes for our regular cask ales are all here.
1/2 gallon - from £6 full gallon - from £11 10 litre mini pin - from £25 20 litre poly pin - from £45 9 gallon firkin - from £80 18 gallon kilderkin - from £150 36 gallon barrel - from £280 54 gallon hogshead - from £400
