{"id":29601,"date":"2025-01-15T21:26:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T21:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/recipes\/category-a-b\/beer\/2024-homebrew-highlights\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T21:26:58","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T21:26:58","slug":"2024-homebrew-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=29601","title":{"rendered":"2024 Homebrew Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

It’s been a while since I’ve written a highlight of the year blog post. Over the past few years, my brewing has bean a bit on and off due to moving house and some disruptions, but I’m glad to say that I was back and brewing again in 2024.<\/p>\n

Favourite Batch<\/h2>\n

The first batch I brewed this year was also my favourite one, and it felt so good to be brewing again after a long hiatus. My favourite batch was my Elderflower Saison.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

I’ve brewed this recipe before, but there is something really cool about using local ingredients (as much as possible). For this batch, I picked Elderflowers with my daughter and used them in this batch. There is also a local beekeeper<\/a> here in Devon that produces some amazing honey, and I used that in this beer too. Apart from the yeast, almost everything I used in this beer was produced here in England!<\/p>\n

If you are interested in brewing this yourself, please follow this link for my Elderflower Saison recipe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Least Favourite Batch<\/h2>\n

I’m super pleased with how most of my brews turned out in 2024, but if there is one that stands out in my mind, it it a Red Ale that I brewed most recently. <\/p>\n

I was heavy-handed on the bittering hops and the chocolate \/ roasted notes just didn’t work together with the hoppiness of the beer. The best thing about this hobby is that it’s all a learning curve, and we can do better next time!<\/p>\n

Most Fun New Style\/Recipe to Try<\/h2>\n

In 2024, I finally got to brew cider with proper cider apples. A local friend of mine has two apple trees in his garden that have really good apples for making cider.<\/p>\n

\"Cider
Cider apples!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a long morning of picking, crushing, and pressing the apples, but in the end, we were rewarded with 60 liters of juice. The kids even got involved!<\/p>\n

\"Pressing
Pressing apples for cider<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’m happy to say that it turned out really well. We had to back-sweeten the cider as it was a bit dry, but once that was done, it was tasting perfect!<\/p>\n

Best Technique Added to Repertoire<\/h2>\n

Cold Crashing<\/a>! I know this is quite a basic technique, but I’ve never had the ability to properly cold crash due to equipment constraints. This year I invested in a Grainfather Conical fermenter<\/a> and a Glycol chiller. It was an expensive purchase, but definitely worth the money. <\/p>\n

\"Grainfather<\/figure>\n

The Grainfather Conical also has a very useful port that allows you to collect yeast and remove hops after dry hop. <\/p>\n

Best Ingredients Added to Repertoire<\/h2>\n

I have been enjoying using a small amount of Chit Malt<\/a> in almost all of my brews this past year. Its known to enhance foam stability, improve mouthfeel and can be used in many different styles of beers.<\/p>\n

Favourite Book(s)<\/h2>\n

My favourite book this year would definitely have to have been Modern Lager<\/a> by Jack Hendler & Joe Conolly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

I really enjoyed reading this book and found that it provided practical insights and detailed discussions on fermentation, decoction mashing, and carbonation, making it a valuable resource for home brewers.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in this book, check out this link<\/a> for more details.<\/p>\n

While it doesn’t necessarily fall into the book category, I have also been listening to the Craft Beer & Brewing podcasts<\/a> which are very interesting. It involves pro brewers and dives into different topics on every episode. I have found it invaluable as a learning resource!<\/p>\n

Lessons Learnt<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Water chemistry<\/strong> – The water at my new house is a lot softer than I was used to in London. This has meant that its a little easier to brew with, but sometimes too many salts can affect the final taste negatively.<\/li>\n
  • Canning <\/strong>– In 2024, I invested in a canning machine. I have loved it so far, there is something quite special about opening a can of your own beer. I have also been experimenting with can conditioning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Overall Stats<\/h2>\n

    This year I managed to brew 13 times. While its definitely not the most I’ve brewed compared to previous years, I would say that the quality of what I have produced has been higher. I’ll cheers to that!<\/p>\n

    Cheers to brewing in 2025 \ud83c\udf7b<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    It’s been a while since I’ve written a highlight of the year blog post. Over the past few years, my brewing has bean a bit on and off due to moving house and some disruptions, but I’m glad to say that I was back and brewing again in 2024. Favourite Batch The first batch I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[20067,13448],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-29601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beer","tag-highlights","tag-homebrew"],"yoast_head":"\n2024 Homebrew Highlights - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=29601\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2024 Homebrew Highlights - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s been a while since I’ve written a highlight of the year blog post. 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