Waikato Drift

Still in a creative mode, but going slightly "off piste" I have decided to brew a beer to drink during the trip down the Waikato. Obviously, when Steve Ovett was preparing for his mile record he wasn't considering a pint down the back straight, but I suspect our world record will be more leisurely, and there will plenty of down time in the evenings when after a day of mutual abuse, a bit of liver abuse will come as a welcome relief.

Anyway, I have been making beer from kits for the last few years, as you dedicated blog readers will already know, but I thought I would go to the next stage and make something unique for the journey.

The recipe is based on a basic dark ale, with some variations based on personal preferences. See below.

The basics

 The tin of malt extract replaces the Mashing process, which requires a bloody big pot (mash tun), about three kilos of a malted grain, lots of water (known as liquor in this context for some reason) and a load of heat. A tin of malt extract is $14, much better value in my eyes. I've gone for a dark malt. The rest of the stuff is a small bag a chocolate and roasted grain blend, this provides some additional colour and flavour to the brew, 300g of NZ hops from Nelson, a stick of dutch licorice, and a little bag of yeast.

Not in the picture is just under a kilo of brown suger and about 20 litres of water, the sugar is still at New World and the water is still in the tap. Although there is a temptation to go and get some from a well in Petone, this will add a bit of local flavour.

Anyway, step one is to seep the grain in water overnight - this converts starches into fermentable sugars apparently. I will keep you posted every step of the way. I intend to bottle half the beer for the trip and keg the rest for a pre-launch drink with blog followers, so keep up.