By The Mash Tun – Détails, épisodes et analyse

After multiple years and over 50 episodes Cal and Mike have decided to shake things up a bit with a brand new season and a brand new format. But before starting that we thought we'd tie up some of the loose ends of Season 1 by trying some of our finished brews.

In this Final Gravity Extravaganza we combine the self indulgence of the Christmas Special with our Final Gravity sections at the end of episodes to give you our tastings and thoughts on:

American Stout (episode 46)
Session Märzen (episode 48)
Belgian Tripel (episode 49) and even talk about the episode that never was, a Tonka Bean Birthday Cake Imperial Stout that would have been episode 50.

Find out what went right, what went wrong and what we learned by brewing.

See you all in a few weeks for the start of Season 2!

If you're a fan of strong beers and have an appreciation of subtle and easy drinking complexity, then a Belgian Tripel will always be a great beer to grab. A simple recipe and malt bill combines with delicate and delicious yeast esters to make a pale beer style that is famous worldwide.

We brew one ourselves then try these commercial examples:

Chimay - Tripel - https://chimay.com/us/

St. Bernardus - Tripel - https://www.sintbernardus.be/

Karmeliet - Tripel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosteels_Brewery#Tripel_Karmeliet

FINAL GRAVITY

We also try the Fruited Porter brewed in Episode 47. Find out what went right, what went wrong and what we learned by brewing.

If you're interested in brewing the beer in this episode, you can find the recipe at https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/

A tradition in that there London for hundreds of years Porter was designed to be dark, rich, and yet easy going. A good version will let you know you're drinking it without slowing you down.

We brew one ourselves and talk about our recipe before trying these other examples:

Mike's Old Homebrew - Smoked Porter
Meantime - London Porter - https://www.meantimebrewing.com/
Fuller's - London Porter - https://www.fullers.co.uk/

FINAL GRAVITY
We also try a bottle of the Kveik Helles brewed in episode 30. Find out what went right, what went wrong and what we learned by brewing.

If you're interested in brewing this beer, yourself you can find the recipe for this beer at www.themaltmiller.co.uk

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In this slightly festive (yearly?) episode, Mike and Cal take a break from brewing and reflect on the past year. We discuss our favourite brews and which beers we learned the most from, as well as taking some time to really appreciate the beers in front of our faces.

We try "Holly Cutter" by West Berkshire Brewery, that was featured in episode 34, we try the Brutx Fizz experiment that was brewed all the way back in episode 17 (!) and we also have a Siren beer because we like them and the beers they do.

Good times, good beers, good company. See you next year!

In the first of our new series on fermented bevarages other than beer, Cal and Mike take a look at a potentially delicious way of using up a lot of spare fruit. Fruit Wines can be quick and simple to make, and most of the kit needed will already be owned by most homebrewers. So why not try something against the grain?

In the episode we also try other examples of fruit wine:

A bottle of last year's batch (which was mango and grapefruit)

Cherry Wine "Cherry B" (no website)

Little Earth Project and Neon Raptor - "Damsons In Excess" (technically still a beer, but Damsons were added pre fermentation so maybe technically a fruit wine/beer hybrid) https://www.littleearthproject.com/ https://www.neonraptorbrewingco.com/

FINAL GRAVITY
We also try a beer from a previous episode, the Rye IPA from episode 25. Find out what went right, what went wrong and what we learned by brewing.

If you're a fan of sour beers, then you've probably already heard of Berliner Weisses. Crisp and refreshing they go down easy, but are these clean modern takes authentic? In this episode Mike tries to brew (to the best of his knowledge) a somewhat traditional take on the Berliner Weisse, something with a mellow sour funk that may end up taking quite a long time to finish...

We also try these other examples of the style (or thereabouts):

Undisclosed - Mystery Infected Beer

Siren Craft Brew - Calypso - https://www.sirencraftbrew.com/

Garage Beer Co - See Watch - https://www.garagebeer.co/

FINAL GRAVITY
We also try two beers from previous episodes, the Coffee Stout from Episode 33 and the Imperial Milk Stout from Episode 28. Find out what went right, what went wrong, and what we learned by brewing.

If you are interested in brewing this beer yourself you can find the recipe at https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/

It's easy to look down on American Lagers. They're popular and have flavours so subtle that some would argue slip into the relms of being bland. In reality, brewing something as clean and neutral can be very difficult and as a homebrewer creating something this flawless is possibly the ultimate challenge of your abilities.

As usual, we brew one ourselves and talk about it, then try these examples:

Coors Light - https://www.coorslight.com/

Budweiser - https://www.budweiser.co.uk/

Pabst Blue Ribbon - https://pabstblueribbon.com/

And if you're interested in brewing this beer yourself, you can find the recipe at https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/

When choosing hops for your recipe, location and "terroir" can be just as important as variety. Hops from New Zealand in particular are highly regarded not only for having unusual intense flavours but also keeping things deliciously subtle in a well balanced beer. What better style to try them out than a New Zealand Pilsner, a crisp refreshing lager balanced with those new world hop notes.

As usual, we brew one ourselves and talk about it, then try these examples:

Mac's - Hop Rocker - https://macs.co.nz/

Cloudwater - It Took Over The Airports - https://cloudwaterbrew.co/

Burnt Mill - Moutere and Mosaic - http://www.burntmillbrewery.com/

FINAL GRAVITY
We also try two beers from previous episodes, the Schwarzbier from Episode 23 and the Pineapple Icecream Pale Ale from Episode 29. Find out what went right, what went wrong, and what we learned by brewing.

One of the key parts of beer is the delicious grain that gives it its body, sweetness, colour and potentially many of its other attributes, the malted barley. If you're a fan of a big malt character in your beers, then Old Ale might be a great style to try, since it's packed full of big, biting and tasty malt flavours.

In this episode Mike chats with Will Twomey, head brewer of West Berkshire Brewery (where Mike also works, which is totally a conflict of interest) about an Old Ale that was brewed recently, named Holly Cutter.

We try Holly Cutter and discuss it's recipe, before delving into these other examples of the style:

Morland - Old Crafty Hen https://www.oldspeckledhen.co.uk/

Theakston - Old Peculiar https://www.theakstons.co.uk/

Robinsons - Old Tom https://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/

And you can find out more about West Berkshire Brewery's beers at https://www.wbbrew.com/