Can I brew cask ale at home? (Pt 1) | The Craft Beer Channel
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
- Can I brew cask ale at home? | The Craft Beer Channel
With the pubs shut, Jonny has been really missing hand-pumped real ale, so he sets off on a journey of discovery to see if he can brew it and serve it at home. Teaming up with Five Points Brewery, he gets an epic Best Bitter recipe and finds everything he needs on the internet. Now, he's just got to work how to use it all. So - is brewing cask ale at home possible? Part II is coming next week!
Want to try this at home? We got our handpump from Ebay (RLBS), our Bag in Boxes from gtonlineshop.com, our homebrew supplies from maltmiller.co.uk and our hops from hukinshops.co.uk!
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Remember to drink responsibly(ish) and not be that guy... 
Хобби
Exciting news! Malt Miller (where Jonny got the ingredients) now has a homebrew kit inspired by our journey! So if you want to brew your own version, pick it up here: www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/five-points-best-best-bitter/
Nice to hear that. Did you notice that they made a reduction of the hops from 40 to30 IBU compared to your recipe?
@@christinaschlager7012 Interesting. It is the same amount of hops, so I think it's just that my variety of fuggle from Hukins was 5% alpha acid, so pretty high and bitter. Theirs must be lower.
Had my first cask ale last weekend and it was almost a religious experience. One month ago, I'd never heard of it (USA). Thanks for the videos and cask enthusiasm.
As a homebrewer myself, I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Well structured, nice pace, overall great quality video!
Thanks so much!
I love that even though you tried the best beers in the world, you still talk about less geeky hyped beers/styles like real ale and pilsners !
Thanks! It's both a conscious decision and just a reflection of what we drink the most of! Both Brad and I love traditional British beer and really great lager and probably drink them more than any other style.
Except maybe New England Pale Ales.
Quick video on my home brewed Belgian Tripel: ruclips.net/video/_24NjILommc/видео.html
Awesome! Looking forward to part 2! This is a proven method drawing from the bag in a box! Will work just fine. Cheers
Enjoyed watching this one!
Great video guys, first time home brewing has made sense to me :')
good video... looking forward to seeing the next part..
Love this thank! Looking forward to the next video. I love that you still appreciate British ale despite all the amazing beers you have tried over the years. Keep up the good work, loving this channel. More homebrews and beery projects to come I hope guys 👌🏼
LOTS more coming, we promise.
I’m excited!!
Especially love your homebrew focused videos! I'm gonna look at conditioning some of my next homebrew in a used up 5l mini-keg (I've amassed a few during lockdown)
Great idea. We looked at this but were worried about their pressure (they leak a lot) and connecting up. Let us know how it goes!
This is such a cool project - I’m excited for part 2! I need to go back through your archives to see if there are more homebrew videos - since I found the channel I haven’t seen them. If there aren’t - make more! 😎
We havent done much - but we have done a few! Look for Drifter (our NEIPA recipe) and we have another coming out soon!
Sent this straight to my friend who home brews regularly, those sort of folk always need another project! 😁
Haha god help us we do
Awesome to see the brew day Jonny, hope the beer ferments out nicely.
Cheers, and thanks so much for the ingredients and advice!
Great stuff Jonny. Can't go wrong with Ross and Greg - top people. Next time you can use my pin.
Love the Southampton arms, great pub!
sound like a really delicious recipe. Cheers
Yes, more homebrewing content please :)
We got plans!
Fantastic video! Can't believe you are drinking out of the can though!
Great video mate. I miss cask 😢😢
So good! More of this stuff guys!!!!!!
Cheers Dave, we got plans for more I promise!
The Craft Beer Channel you legends!
Really high quality content guys. Thanks for keeping me going during lockdown. Cheers! Thought about doing a London meetup once this is all over?
We did have one planned til Lockdown came in. We MIGHT be able to still do it (linked to a video coming out in a few weeks) so we'll let everyone know if it happens!
Keep thinking about starting to home brew so great video.
Do it - I retired a few months back and told wife I’m brewing - seriously!! Did my research and ended up going down the grainfather route - a bit of upfront investment being offset against what we’d spend at the offie etc - first brew grain to glass in 21 days and 3 months in I can crank out a brew in 5 days using the Norwegian yeasts - lockdown -made a brewer baker pizza maker and a bit of a distiller too out of me
I've been doing this for two years with my home brewed beer served in my pubshed through 2 hand pull beer engines. I either use beer in box or corney kegs connected to a Pint 365 handpull and a reconditioned beer engine. Works a treat.
Good to know, thanks!
Fantastic video, cant wait to see your results. Shame about the Grainfather! Once you try a Hopcat, you wont want to use that anymore.
I like your style Mr Jonny
That Hot break is a Beautiful Thing! I know it's supposed to be an English Best Bitter...but I would have been tempted to add some Mandarina Bavaria for a strong orange note. Awesome thought on the bag in a box...can't wait to see the conclusion. Cheers!
It was trying to take over the WORLD I tell you. Oh and lots of breweries are starting to put American twists on best bitters - some hops work some don't. Not thought.of Mandarina before - could be tasty!
SO! Do we think Jonny's approach is going to work? Has anyone out there tried it?
never tried it but i don't know if the bag in a box will be able to handle the pressure of the secondary fermentation. also do you know how you gonna vent the beer before serving? someone sugested keykeg i think it's a really good idea similar to the bag in box but you're sure that it will handle the pressure and you can actually vent it (i think that's what brewdog did with the cask punk ipa)
Have you already tried? In the homebrew forum I usually hang out, some users had the bags explode when testing them, they don't hold too much CO2 volumes
you could do the secondary fermentation with all the bags facing up (tap on the top). that way you can open them to release some pressure and avoid explosion.
We haven't tried it ourselves (literally carbing up right now). But we've seen it done by professionals...
Yeah we are conscious of that. We've not primed much.
Looks like a cool brew system Jonny, the guy I get almost all of my beer from, specialises in English Ales, and he has at least two nice reconditioned hand pumps set up on his home bar. They were not cheap to get over here in Australia.
Wow fair play to him! Lucky you being able to tap into it
A good video to watch as I sat down after bottling 19L of a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone and kept the yeast cake for a Black IPA brew on Saturday! I’ll have to give that recipe a go as well.
Nice! And great idea to crop the yeast.
I so didn't want the video to end :( Can't wait now for part 2! Crazy amount of fuggles in that brew but it sounds sooo good. I've been looking at hand pulls to add to my setup. Currently got 4 cornies and taps all off CO2. Think a cornie with 2psi and a hand pull might be my solution with a floating dip tube and some natural carbonation..... See you've got me thinking now lol
Haha awesome to know - all we really want to do is get people thinking and drinking!
The Craft Beer Channel oh it’s got me thinking 😂
Great one ! Can't wait for the next episode! Cask ale is definetely one great tradition I miss since I have left the UK. It is unique in the beer culture and you can't find it elsewhere, can you? I guess I can always try to make cask ale in France right?
Haha! You see a little bit of cask culture in the lambic scene, as well as some serving from the barrel in Bavarian lager breweries but otherwise pretty much unique.
Sweet little brew rig there!
I love it!
Gripping viewing!!
Don't be afraid to try a Corny keg for serving. I imported an Angram beer engine almost 10 years ago and it is my favourite thing in my brewery. With the right set up a corny keg works perfectly well for cask ale. I might brew this beer and see how it goes. Cheers.
Just out of curiosity, what was the hops AA% and IBU of the beer? Seemed to grab some hops that's on the higher side of the range. Cheers
I live in New York, but I absolutely love European and German style beers way more than most American born beer. I've been trying to nail this particular style, and this is a big help.
great to know! Five Points make sensational cask beer.
Brilliant video! Wish I had a grainfather. I still brew using malt extracts and basic bucket equipment. I've found that using a few additives e.g. lactose powder and honey/fruit can transform basic homebrewing if used carefully.
I can't sing the praises of my Grainfather enough. Hundreds of brews over 5 years and the only issue I've ever had is a clogged filter...and that was while making the mother of all NEIPAs.
you can get other cheaper options which are similar (Klarstein I have this, Bulldog ) they are all all-in-ones with pump to recirc the mash you can buy a wort chiller cheap or make one from some copper pipe and a heat gun its really not that expensive to have an all grain system, your beer will taste 10 times better and you can get creative with recipes
Damn this is cool and also really motivating - time to do some homebrew learning I think.
Absolutely, nothing like a Saturday spent brewing, cooking, eating and hanging out with friends. Such a great hobby with such a great payoff!
@@TheCraftBeerChannel I'm also really looking forward to you guys debating sparkler/no-sparkler in the next vid...😁
Can we please have the term "Fug life" on a tshirt?
NOTED.
+1
WANT lol
Reminds me of a local, classic IPA brew in these parts (BC, Canada) - Fat Tug. No Fuggles in it though...more the Cascade, Citra, Centennial, Columbus, and Amarillo. Pretty well known beer around here.
Theres a brewery in Richmond BC Canada called Fuggles and Warlock that uses the term #fuglife.
That protein break!! 😮😮😮
I thought it was gonna take over the world!
Makes me proud. Xxxx
Lovely stuff! Loving your hands-on attitude.
So I guess you're going to try sahti once you're done with this batch? 😏
Haha! Wasn't on the list but hey, maybe one day
Defo agree on the mental/physical exhaustion before even cleaning up after a brewday! looking forward to seeing how this turns out! I guess you could always prime with a bit of sugar if your fermentation finishes before the bags arrive, (or is that cheating? you still get real ale in bottles, right?)
We expect to have to prime either way to get any control over the amount of CO2 in the final beer! It's still real ale.... right?
Bag in box and a hand pull is the way to go, had my set up for a while now (also with the Grainfather) and just converted it to use it off a Corny to save on bags :-) 🍻👍
AWESOME TO KNOW! Got a link to any you have done?
When I saw this Griffo I instantly thought of your setup. Do you always have something on 'cask'?
@@TheCraftBeerChannel Sure, check this out ruclips.net/video/B_zSwhYvd_U/видео.html, I've since upgraded it to have a Corny as an option. Cheers
@@AndrewLynch9 Haha thanks Andrew, No, not always have the cask line on but when I do I tend to neglect the kegs lol
Great stuff Jonny! Any thoughts on if/how you're going to chill the bag-in-a-box down for serving?
Will start it off in the fridge, then got a plan to maintain it chilled (all will be revealed)
Looking forward to the next instalment, and which cheese and/or monster munch it will be paired with
Oh God yes good point will get thinking
I've seen people use those consatina water containers people use for camping. They're thicker plastic and have a large screw port on so easy to reuse.
Well that is a bloody excellent alternative!
@@TheCraftBeerChannel I think you can get John Guest fittings that fit the spouts on them too
I know a couple guys who have hand pumps with corni kegs but I think they have a CO2 bottle attached to replace the volume that the beer left when served, the same way it's done when used as a keg
Yeah we looked at that but technically not real ale, and also a bit too techie for people to repeat at home!
Love the homebrewing videos one quick question for you. When you are mashing with the grainfather do you use the top perforated plate and just let it pump or do you stir it and keep it off until the sparge ?
I am a stirrer, only putting the plate on for the sparge.
very interested in this, I am trialling an Ind Coope Burton Best (one of my faves back in the day) with a view to doing a 30 litre real ale version using one of the oak casks from malt miller so be good to see how yours works out and what you might do differently
Sounds like a great project! Let us know how it goes!
The pies!
I love how craft beer nerds have gone full circle from hating on traditional beer styles to now absolutely loving best Bitter and now making all these “modern” interpretations 😂, some of us old school camra bois have been loving malty brown beer since the beginning 😍
Haha - I like to borrow a fashion phrase and call it NORMCORE beer.
This looks very nice indeed! So.... when can we come over and have a taste?
Haha! When the government says so. By which time hopefully we can all go back to the Pembury Tavern to have the real deal!
We use an “rv water pump” for a small countertop handpump. Check it out.
Yep, fingers crossed. Let's hope everything arrives in time. Will the next project be to build the bar to serve it from ;)
Sadly not a lot of room in my pokey London flat! I like the idea of it just being by the sofa anyway!
Looking good, might try this out later if it works.
What brew device did you use? I've just been using pans but can't reach proper temps as I get hot spots because a lack of circulation. So I'm looking for an affordable upgrade.
I'd love to join to your question - i watched this and next video three times already and can't catch, what exactly is that whole system...
Side note, on Friday I'm picking up a little 3 litre bag in box of USB (universal special bitter) from Craft Brews UK in Frensham, Surrey- great brewery, check 'em out! Amazing little taproom in the middle of nowhere
Just subbed,looking forward to the footage and you can get handpulls traditional ones from pint365,look pretty decent and also run off the bag too
Cheers
Cheers for subbing! Yes we saw the pint365 ones and they look fantastic - we were trying to keep costs down so more people could try it, though
@@TheCraftBeerChannel Ah yeah that's fair enough, look forward to seeing the next part on how it turned out.
Cheers
The suspense is killing me.
And goddamn that b roll from the Southampton is killing me. I don’t even like pint jugs, but they wouldn’t stand a chance right now.
Haha, yeah it's honestly like a punch in the gut every time I walk past it.
Hi from Argentina! We brew our own Bitter, called Publich House Bitter , in honor of the pubs we visited in London, me and my wife. There we tasted real British beers for the first time and we felt in love . Sorry about that introduction, the question I came to ask is, can I find that recipe in Brewer´s Friend page?
Thank you!! Agustín.
It's not on Brewer's friend unfortunately, but once I know it works (and I have made any necessary tweaks) I will post it here.
I wonder if KeyKeg would work. Thats basically a bac-in-box with a keg connector. And at least here in Sweden they are avalible in most hombrew shops
Sadly I think they need gas to force the liquid out... so it could def condition and store real ale, but some a bit more techie bits to serve
@@TheCraftBeerChannel there are dispensers that you can buy for key kegs that includes a hand pump to get the beer out
That looks excellent, I should make one. What water profile did you use, or rather what profile should I be targeting?
The classic "burton" profile - www.brewersfriend.com/brewing-water-target-profiles/
@@TheCraftBeerChannel did you go full Burton? 720 ppm sulfate seems insane to me used to building profiles for NEPA and lagers
for me cask ale is to beer what brass band music is to music as I have seen the process first hand, you might also want to think about Isinglass as there are multiple finings used in cask ales (another reason I wouldnt touch it) also look into tilts for gravity especially as you need to get it exact when you chill and pulling so many samples will eat into your 20l that you brew
Hey! Finings are used pretty rarely now as people want vegetarian beer. Otherwise we're all covered on everything!
@@TheCraftBeerChannel I was in 5 different breweries in the north east about 6 months ago and they all still use it some use multiple finings. Whether down south peoples tastes have meant its being removed I cant say but in a cask you wont get really clear beer without some agents like that, there are veg options but I have never tried them. Also a lot of breweries get around these things because they are labelled as processing agents which should not end up in the finished product
awesome job! which website did you use to check out the beer recipe?
That would be brewers friend
@@TheCraftBeerChannel Thanks!!
Cliffhanger!
The stakes are low, but still it seems to have got people excited
(6 month's time at the genius bar in an apple store): "Sorry sir, you've got fuggle in your laptop fan."
Hahaha. My laptop has malt dust, hop leaf, all manner of beer. Everything. Could probably brew a beer with the yeast samples.
What brewing equipment you using?
I'm using a Grainfather, have done for 5 or 6 years. It's brilliant!
You can gravity dispense cask ale.
You can! But not through a sparkler.
I surprised you didnt opt for a keyKeg.
Would have been hard and costly to get hold of just one...and I think hard tech wise as I'd need CO2 to force the beer out?
Heh, youtube audio library strikes again - same music as NYC CNC!
Damn we are getting predictable. We just love Otis McDonald's work!
There I am thinking I didn't need a grainfather, now I'm trawling the web trying to find one in stock. This is (almost entirely) your fault.
Oooops sorry! Tell them it's our fault, they'd be a great sponsor ;)
great video but music try SLAYER
God the Southampton Arms is the best place in the world
Been brewing constantly in lockdown. Home bar, 2 angram, barrels everywhere. One thing I hate is the term craft beer. It's beer, if it's good it's good, and it should be because with all the tools and premium ingredients available this isn't rocket science and it never was. Also saving a fortune whilst drinking great beer. Oh, and no nasty autovac on my beer engines. Google that if you don't know what it is. They're nasty!!!
I love cask ale beer, but keeping it at home is missing the point of the experience of drinking it down the pub and a lot of hassle for most people. Support your British pub, which serve it and the government to slash taxes on it to encourage more pubs to remain open after lockdown.
Absolutely agree, but the point of this video is to keep us excited by cask ale while the pubs are shut! Also, we hope content like this reminds people of the joys of cask.
The Craft Beer Channel nice video btw. Personally, I will never lose interest or stop being excited about cask ale. Got me some St Austell’s Proper Job ale in the fridge, which is the closest thing I have until pubs reopen. No takeaway cask ale from pubs near me as far as I know. German wheat beers as well delivered to me from beers of Europe.
And at least 6 pubs within 5 miles of where I live have closed in the last 15 years. That is the real issue for the British pub industry. Peeps like me buying ale from supermarkets or speciality online stores to get it delivered and not drinking it in pubs. Pubs have to change if they are going to survive this year, and that’ll need Government intervention. Otherwise I really fear for the future of proper cask ale from pubs.
@@badabing8884 Sadly cask (and of course pubs) are in pretty sharp decline and the COVID-19 crisis will have only made it worse. Jonny is a big campaigner for pubs, and writes a lot of stories about it for different magazines (particularly Good Beer Hunting) so we're doing our best to reverse it! The level of corruption within the industry is staggering.
At least men...
Youre channel is nothing comparing with the real ale guide
Thanks for stopping by with your positive vibes
I made it. Used 2023 harvest Tasmanian Fuggles. Bottle conditioned. Very distinctive beer, I like it. Used WLP002 (Fullers) because that’s what I had. Result was about as turbid as yours. I don’t know what that’s about, perhaps the big dose of whirlpool hops along with the wheat; maybe I needed to fine it or cold crash.
A cold crash wouldn't hurt! But also the use of wheat, and bag in box for a second ferment doesn't help the process
Wanted you to know your video inspired this Texas American to order my very own British hand pull pump. I've yearned to come to jolly ol England for the Great British Beer Festival ever since I first started homebrewing back in 1981 and reading Michael Jackson's book "World Guide to Beer". I've only had hand pulled beer a few times and realized this is only what "nitro" beer taps can only hope to emulate, but it's dependant on how fresh the beer is. I did quite a bit of research and decided on Harry Mason's Shakespeare hand pull pump because I thought it would work best with my corny kegs. Ordered it direct from Harry's today after a week of research and talking with James at Harry's; can't wait to get it. Looks like I may be able to fulfill my dream of coming to Britain for the GBBF and do a pub tour in the next year or two! Thx so much for your inspiration!
Very cool, I can't wait to give something like this a try here in the states.
Absolutely amazing bruv. Thank you so much for doing this. Have always been interested in real ale since visiting the UK.
when are you going to make another one? 😊
Good question. Hopefully this year!
can i ask, why did you go leap hop for the brew not pellet
Because leaf hops can impart different flavours to pellets - and more of the hedgerow character we want from this style of beer.
@@TheCraftBeerChannel ah i get you. Cheers.working on cask here in ireland so your video has been very helpful
whenever I'm in the UK I am so busy with whisky that I don't drink much else, BUT I think I definitely need to get some cask ale next time
I want your T-shirt, but the link is 404 Not Found, so its my bad 'cause im from EU?
Due to COVID, my wife hasn't had to travel to Portland for over 2 years to see her specialist at OHSU, Dr. Brian Druker. Of all the sites and sounds in Portland and the beautiful surrounding area, I miss Hair of the Dog the most. Best beer ever. Hello Alan and Wendy!
Y'all have inspired me to focus on cask ale in my homebrewing. Thanks so much for the content. I cant wait to tap some pins and firkins. I've already acquired the engine. Cheers. Hollering at you from Fayetteville, Arkansas :)
Amazing news! Let us know how it goes!
This video and its sequel inspired me to brew my own clone of Five Points Best bitter (my first attempt at a cask ale). My brother got a video of my first hand pulled pint.
ruclips.net/video/bKbhbgx3nsk/видео.html
Cheers!
Just brewed this beer, hit all the numbers. Gonna call it FuggleFest!
Genuine question: do you think cask ale should be restricted to traditional styles or do you think there’s any merit to having a NEIPA on cask?
Absolutely not - brewers should put whatever they think works on cask! A great example of a NE-style beer that is fantastic on cask is Track Sonoma.
I cringed in frustration as i saw beer spilled at 10:06! That poor was also very turbulent which is what caused that foam to rise
It was an excellent pour and proper use of a handpull sparkler to achieve that effect - getting half an inch of head on these beers is vital to both the texture and protection from oxidation.
@@TheCraftBeerChannel i have never liked the foamy head but that makes sense
I encourage all into Craft ale to visit The real ale classroom in Lutterworth and Leicester. Now disclosure I am an employee in my hometown of Lutterworth but for some time before this the classroom was and will always be my local and pride of joy.
Keep real ale going, love the channel and keep drinking proper British Beer.
New fb ale group ;
It's for homebrewers that make there own traditional British beers. We chat about Cask conditioning, beer engine serving, bags all all things "real ale".
Hope you can join us.
facebook.com/groups/379371923296232/?ref=share
Great video! One question, what do you use in your airlock?
Some of our food grade sanitised water
Is the recipe posted on your website?
You can get it right here, pre packed if you want: www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/five-points-best-best-bitter/
Just use the malt ratios in the video (88% maris otter, 4% the rest)
great video! I am delving deeper into home brewing "Real Ale" as I am tired of all the hazy craft beer. Do you think i could just build a sparkler attachment for a keg tap and just have a low pressure in the keg?
Jay I gotta be honest... I have NO IDEA! I'd love to hear if you tried it. All I would say it naturally carb it so it happens slow and you build that cask mouthfeel and then pour slow... might not even need a sparkler.
@@TheCraftBeerChannel Naturally carbonating a "Golden Bitter" right now. I plan to do some experimenting and I will let you know how it goes. Thanks for the reply, love the content!
I live in the US and it looks like they I'm well outside the shipping area for the recipe kit. Can you tell us the ratio of the different malts so that I can have a crack at making it here in Wisconsin?.
Hey Brian! The recipe is right there is in the video - 88% pale, 4% amber, wheat and crystal then adapt the hop/per gram to the size of batch!
Great video. I am deffinatly going to give the recipe a try. It sound delicious. Quick question, what is the name of the song and the artist? I really enjoyed the background track. I hadn't herd it before.
Everything we use is by a great producer called Otis McDonald from the West Coast of the US.
You could have used the FermZilla - 30L - All Rounder - Pressure Rated Keg/Fermenter
I could have! But the bag/box cost less than £5. Link is in the description box and came ready to connect to my cask handpull
The beer is real ale only because CAMRA said it is. The beer is called distillers beer, the slang term is moonshiners beer. Ale can't be produced using a single temperature infusion which is the method used by grain whiskey distillers. The malt used to make the beer is high modified which is distillers malt. The higher the modification the poorer the malt is in enzyme richness. To make home made ale, under modified, low protein, malt is needed, which is more expensive than distillers malt. A spec sheet comes with every bag of malt which is used before buying the malt to determine quality. Modification (Kolbach, SNR) and percentage of protein are two very important items listed on the sheet. The higher the protein percentage the less sugar. Marris Otter is well known distillers malt. There's a malthouse that produces low protein Marris at eight to 10 percent protein, that would be the best malt to use for making distillers beer, however, diastatic power is low in the malt.
Secondary fermentation wasn't required when the beer was made because Beta rapidly denatured at the high rest temperature. The malt being high modified, Beta is weak. Beta is responsible for conversion (60C). When conversion takes place secondary fermentation is needed due to complex sugars, maltose and maltotriose which Beta turns simple sugar, glucose, into. Beer doesn't need to be primed with sugar or injected with CO2 for carbonating when conversion occurs. Beer naturally carbonates during conditioning due to maltotriose.
An important starch was unused when the beer was made and it ended up in the compost heap. The starch is amylo-pectin. Amylo-pectin is hard, heat resistant, complex starch. The starch contains A and B limit dextrin which are tasteless, nonfermenting types of sugar responsible for body and mouthfeel in beer. Dextrinization and gelatinization occur when Alpha releases the sugars from the starch. To take advantage of the starch mash is boiled. The temperatures used in making distillers beer aren't high enough to cause the starch to burst but the temperatures are high enough to denature enzymes that are needed to make ale with. A distiller purposely uses very high temperatures because the enzymes that make ale increase the length of his process by one to two weeks, so he wipes out the enzymes. Limit dextrin gets in the way during distillation because it's nonfermentable. The starch is sold and a baking ingredient, malto-dextrin, is made from the starch.
Strike and target temperature are meaningless in making home made ale, lager and pils. To make home made ale a different brewing method and different malt are needed.
Skim off hot break as it forms instead of stirring it in. When hot break reduces, add hops. Less hops will be needed because the extract is cleaner. Purchase hops that have an Alpha/Beta number within a tenth of each other. The closer the numbers the more balanced and finer the hop. If the Beta number isn't on the bag, don't buy the hops. Beer casks/barrels are lined with brewers paraffin, beer never touches oak during conditioning or storage.
Since, time is time, why spend time making distillers beer when the time can be spent on making home made ale which is much higher quality than home made distillers beer? Maybe, the electronic urn can be used for step mashing, then, pseudo home made ale can be made with under modified malt.
Stay Safe, Stay Thirsty.
Hi Michael thanks so much for the history lesson...though I think you'll find advances in malt production and brewing techniques means a lot of this is much less relevant than it was say, 50 or 60 years ago. Gotta know, what's your background?