The fact that it is St George’s Day today doesn’t have much bearing on the fact that I’ve finally got another homebrew beer fermenting but I’ll take that as an excuse to christen it Golden George. The beer is a golden ale based on Graham Wheeler’s recipe for Exmoor Gold and I’ve brewed it several times before, most recently in late 2019 (my last batch in Oxford, called Autumn Tinge).

This one has come out a bit weaker than the recipe, only hitting an original gravity of 1.035 compared to the target of 1.045. I did rush through the hours I’d allowed for the mash and the boil quite quickly, slightly undercutting them but it was probably ‘sparging’ (rinsing the grains after steeping) with a litre of boiling water that contributed most to that dilution. I don’t mind though, as it should result in a lighter result ideal for hot lunchtimes when it is ready in early summer.

This is also the first outing for my speidel fermenter. It turns out to be a little narrow round the waist for my brew belt so I’ve pressed in a couple of bits of wood to assist there although, sitting on the kitchen counter, the belt rarely gets called on much to heat things up. No signs of any leaks so far and, hopefully, it will make the bottling experience a bit easier. First though, a bit of patience and giving the yeast time to do it’s work.