Pacific Way Brewery

A nano brewery in Derbyshire

Brewing

A Grainfather Brewday

Welcome back to the world of brewing - we had a brewday on Saturday and brewed our first ever milk stout. We brewed on the updated Grainfather with bluetooth control box that can communicate with your phone! What is The Grainfather? The Grainfather is a compact all in one 30Litre electric brewing system. It heats water to your desired strike water temperature and has an integrated mash … [Read more...] about A Grainfather Brewday

Christmas Breakfast Imperial Oat Stout

Christmas comes but once a year and that calls for a special brew. Back in early November Martin and I started thinking about our next brew and with Christmas looming we didn't have much time to brew, ferment and bottle condition for the big day. I put together a new recipe based on our original oat stout but put it on overdrive - we were going big or going home on this one. Opting to brew a 25 … [Read more...] about Christmas Breakfast Imperial Oat Stout

Wallop – Making a modern Mild

A good friend of mine mentioned that he'd love to create a beer for the 10th anniversary of the 1984 Symposium - an event that he's been running for ... 10 years. It's a picnic and International gathering held at George Orwell’s grave on his birthday. We started discussions on what style of beer would be appropriate and what beer could Orwell have been drinking in the Thirties. A search led me … [Read more...] about Wallop – Making a modern Mild

Garage Brewery Kit

It's been a long time since I've mentioned brewing so here's an update showing some of the improvements Martin and I have made to our garage brewery (Pacific Way Brewery). After taking our previous brew in a bag setup (BIAB) to the next level by designing and commissioning a gravity fed brew tree we moved from Pacific Way (Martin's house) and into my garage. We've been adjusting and upgrading … [Read more...] about Garage Brewery Kit

A pilgrimage to find the World’s best beer

I have a reoccurring daydream that I elaborate on each time I think of it. I find myself walking around an ancient village with cobbled streets and wooden framed buildings, there is the hustle and bustle of people trading from the fronts of the buildings and a mass of people moving from store to store browsing the wares on offer. I ask one of the shopkeepers if he could direct me to a store where … [Read more...] about A pilgrimage to find the World’s best beer

BrewTree – Gravity Fed Homebrew Stand

When I first started thinking about brewing in the garage I researched homebrew stands and tables - mainly on Pinterest. I was amazed at the weird and wonderful sculptures that I found, a lot of these coming from the US. I found two main types of stands that interested me, one using a step system and one using a tree like frame. The main design feature for both being that you can transfer liquid … [Read more...] about BrewTree – Gravity Fed Homebrew Stand

Testing The Grainfather – All Grain Brewing System

In July I noticed an all-in-one brewing system being tested for the UK market by James Kemp, I was curious as this product resembled the Still Spirits Turbo 500 boiler that Martin and I started all-grain brewing with a year ago. A quick search confirmed that Imake Ltd the parent company for Still Spirits based in New Zealand had launched a new product - taking the Turbo 500 as a base boiler and … [Read more...] about Testing The Grainfather – All Grain Brewing System

Brewing a Black IPA

How time flies in the World of brewing! Mart and I have just finished brewing our 7th all grain batch of beer (see the full list on Untappd) and this time we decided to go all out and begin brewing a Black IPA. If you are new to beer and brewing, a black IPA probably sounds wrong and many posts and articles on the internet will tell you it is wrong! But the idea is that you produce an overly … [Read more...] about Brewing a Black IPA

Tap A Draft conditioning and serving beer

After attending the Twissup in Burton Upon Trent (2010) I was sent a demonstration of the Tap A Draft Coors Home Draft system (see the post by Andy) and at the time we speculated that this would be great for homebrew if the CO2 canister could be replaced. However, this particular Coors system was designed to be recycled and it is manufactured for single use only. Just before Christmas I started … [Read more...] about Tap A Draft conditioning and serving beer

Adventures in HomeBrew

It all started in 2009 when I was discovering the different styles of beer and exploring micro breweries in my area (Derbyshire, UK) I was invited to Nutbrook Brewery to learn about the process of making beer. These guys were making beer from water, grain and hops (as you do) in their garage and I realised that this was something I wanted to do myself. In 2010 I went with Twissup to visit … [Read more...] about Adventures in HomeBrew

Design a Beer – Brewday

Two years ago I went to Nutbrook Brewery in West Hallam, Derbyshire and recorded a series of videos on my iPhone documenting the process of making beer. I was told about a special 'Brewing Experience' where you can design your own beer using the brewery's bespoke software. I was lucky enough to have been given this as a gift for my 40th Birthday and this weekend I spent a day at their one barrel … [Read more...] about Design a Beer – Brewday

His Masters Choice (of beer)

This is what you get when you ask a professional beermonger (It's like a fishmonger, but with beer) to educate your taste buds. I asked Simon Johnson (@reluctantscoop) if he would do the honours and pick out a range of international beers that he felt would be a good selection of tasty beers that I may not of had before. The above picture shows the result in all their glory. This is Simon … [Read more...] about His Masters Choice (of beer)

Thornbridge Hall Garden Party 2010

Yesterday I took the family to the Thornbridge Hall Charity Garden Party in Ashford in the Water, Derbyshire. Now, some reading this (does anyone read this?) may be thinking that this was in fact a selfish act, as we all know Thornbridge also have a superb brewery ... well, I didn’t have a drop of beer .... actually, that’s a massive lie, but the family did have a lot of fun and plenty of money … [Read more...] about Thornbridge Hall Garden Party 2010

ALL BEER EXPERIENCE

This is the All Beer Experience pack that I got for Fathers day. What a great gift for anyone wanting to learn about the different styles and flavours of beer. You get a glass, some malt sachets and a nice thick spiral bound book detailing everything you need to know about beer! It's very cool. It currently costs £19.95 plus £3.95 postage, but you can grab a £4 discount if you use the code … [Read more...] about ALL BEER EXPERIENCE

#Twissup – Brewing in Burton Upon Trent

These are my thoughts on the recent #Twissup in Burton Upon Trent. This was an event arranged through twitter and was organised in the main by three people; Andy Mogg, Mark Dredge and Kristy McCready. #Twissup followed on from #Beerswap, another initiative arrange by the gruesome twosome Andy Mogg and Mark Dredge and as I was involved in the first #beerswap I was interested in attending … [Read more...] about #Twissup – Brewing in Burton Upon Trent

Brewing Beer at Nutbrook Brewery

Once upon a time I bought a selection of local beers and made some Stout Cakes with a stout called 'Midnight' by Nutbrook Brewery. As per the usual, I blogged about it and took a couple of snaps. The guys at Nutbrook Brewery in West Hallam, Derbyshire got in touch to say that they loved the blog post and asked if I would like to come down for the day and watch the brewing process ... well, … [Read more...] about Brewing Beer at Nutbrook Brewery