Maris Otter Small Ale

From the first authoritative internet source I found:
"C. botulinum spores can be killed by heating to extreme temperature (120 degrees Celsius) under pressure using an autoclave or a pressure cooker at for at least 30 minutes. The toxin itself can be killed by boiling for 10 minutes."
I'll stick to boiling just in case. :)
 
I guess bittering is one of the down sides with no boil. For me, I took a long shot from the hip and added hops at mash plus a sort of hopstand when doing my "pasteurization rest", and hoping it will provide enough bitterness. I know there is a theory about how and when bittering hops produces bitterness but I will wait and see how this turns out. I've been reading about people doing hop tea on the side for the bitterness though.
interesting stuff this raw ale stuff super interested in how the finished product goes. hop tea shoud fix you on bitterness i recon.
 
I bet Botox beer would sell.
 
Whoops. The ABV is way higher than I wanted.

The default efficiency (35%) is not for all-grain/BIAB. Duh.

Hahaha. Oh well, I guess I'll make shandies. And buy a hydrometer.

Now that I've learned a little bit and had a taste of some fairly boozy pale ale, I've readjusted the recipe for next time, still shooting for ~2% or less.

Live and learn. It's fun though.
 
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I would think that could actually work, but it seems like a deviation to process I'm not ready to take on yet.
 
Whoops. The ABV is way higher than I wanted.

The default efficiency (35%) is not for all-grain/BIAB. Duh.

Hahaha. Oh well, I guess I'll make shandies. And buy a hydrometer.

Now that I've learned a little bit and had a taste of some fairly boozy pale ale, I've readjusted the recipe for next time, still shooting for ~2% or less.

Live and learn. It's fun though.

That's awesome. Hope it tastes good even so.
 
I was bottling a low ABV English bitter yesterday, done the no-boil way. The taste of that beer was very promising ... best pre-taste I've had so far! I don't know if it was because of the no-boil, but the body and flavour of it was great. Just hoping the character will last until I'm opening the first bottle in some weeks. I will definitely try make another low ABV beer that way soon.
Here it is, my no-boil bitter...

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I tried one after 2 weeks bottled but it wasn't ready. This one tastes better. It's very clear and have a rather pleasant aroma and flavour. It tastes a bit different though, but I can't put into words. Maybe it needs more time to mature or maybe it's because it's not boiled. It's certainly is drinkable but not as great as I was hoping on bottling day. I haven't decided yet if I should give no-boil one more go or not...probably, but not yet for some time anyway.
 
Here it is, my no-boil bitter...

View attachment 3256

I tried one after 2 weeks bottled but it wasn't ready. This one tastes better. It's very clear and have a rather pleasant aroma and flavour. It tastes a bit different though, but I can't put into words. Maybe it needs more time to mature or maybe it's because it's not boiled. It's certainly is drinkable but not as great as I was hoping on bottling day. I haven't decided yet if I should give no-boil one more go or not...probably, but not yet for some time anyway.

Looks good. Have you had another since this post?
 
Thanks for all the feedback.

I read about using second/third runnings for small beer, but that's not as much fun....and I want to make enough simple farmhouse ale to have a liter a day, particularly in the summer when I work the fields.

I'm brewing another tester tomorrow with (mostly) Maris Otter, with additions of (probably too much) melanoidin (for malt flavor and color) and some carapils, with Fuggles and Safale -04 English Ale.

The magic machine says ~2.5% ABV.

If I had to guess, I'd figure I've overshot the grain bill changes, and will settle somewhere in-between.

We'll see.

I picked up a case of EZ-Cap one liter bottles, they seem about right for my uses.
Did you try this? Especially since figuring out the calculations?
 
Short boils risk DMS, creamed corn or cabbage like flavors in your beer. Not recommended except for extract brews.
 
I don't know where the lower limit of boil time is, I've done a couple of 30 minutes boils with no problems. The no-boil mentioned above just has a "pasteurization rest", temperature low enough not to produce DMS.
 
Looks good. Have you had another since this post?
Yes I've had a couple of more bottles, I'm still surprised how clear the beer is, but also not overly happy with the beer itself. It's drinkable but not great.
 
I don't know where the lower limit of boil time is, I've done a couple of 30 minutes boils with no problems. The no-boil mentioned above just has a "pasteurization rest", temperature low enough not to produce DMS.
Agreed, you're not directly producing DMS. It isn't DMS that gets boiled off, it's the precursor - SMM is flavorless - to DMS. Short boils of all-grain worts risks leaving enough of the precursor, s-methyl methionine, to oxidize into DMS. No creamed corn early on but later, once the beer has sat a while.... Now my question: Why? What is the point of not boiling the wort? Interesting procedure but 10,000 years of brewing experience pretty much say boiling is a good thing. The "drinkable but not great" assessment does not surprise me. Boiling precipitates proteins, drives off SMM, creates "kettle caramelization", sanitizes.... I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding a reason not to boil. Please help me understand the premise behind it.
 
Agreed, you're not directly producing DMS. It isn't DMS that gets boiled off, it's the precursor - SMM is flavorless - to DMS. Short boils of all-grain worts risks leaving enough of the precursor, s-methyl methionine, to oxidize into DMS. No creamed corn early on but later, once the beer has sat a while.... Now my question: Why? What is the point of not boiling the wort? Interesting procedure but 10,000 years of brewing experience pretty much say boiling is a good thing. The "drinkable but not great" assessment does not surprise me. Boiling precipitates proteins, drives off SMM, creates "kettle caramelization", sanitizes.... I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding a reason not to boil. Please help me understand the premise behind it.
I've never done it but read through some forums a couple yeasy ago and it seemed most people who have done it were looking to shorten their brew day. Some were just experimenting out of curiousity. I can see people being curious, but trying to cut corners takes away from the fun if brewing IMHO.
 
Yes I've had a couple of more bottles, I'm still surprised how clear the beer is, but also not overly happy with the beer itself. It's drinkable but not great.
Surprisingly clear. Honestly looks gorgeous. Have you done the same recipe with a boil?
 
Curiosity itself is a valid reason. Thanks! Sometimes I'm too much the engineer for my own good....
 
Blackmuse beat me to it, but my reasons for trying was three:

...trying to find a method that allow me to shorten my brew day
...wanted to see if it was a good method for brewing a session beer
...and a general desire for experimentation
 
Surprisingly clear. Honestly looks gorgeous. Have you done the same recipe with a boil?
Not the same recipe no... great idea though. But it wouldn't be a fair competition if I did it now...since that brew I've got better control of my fermentation, and I think the major problem with it wasn't the no-boil but too high fermentation temperature.
 

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