RokDok

They look absolutely perfect ! Really juicy too!

I'm in new territory with these strong celebratory beers. I've just bottled my share of the Bronze Triple - it fermented to a Specific Gravity of 1003 and - friends' batches are down to 1000. It's going to be 9.2 %. There was about 75 litres in this fermentor and it took the best part of a day to clean the bottles, bottle and clean up. When brewing and bottling the only time I use a chemical sanitiser is to squirt a bit into the nozzle of the fermentor before connecting the hose. Everything else is done with heat. Mrs RD is very patient - there are hundreds of bottles that go into the oven to sterilise them. ( The day before I bottled my apple and pear cider ). As it's one of two beers to celebrate the arrival of my KK ( It was due to leave Surabaya for Singapore a few weeks ago but I think it may still be in Indonesia), I used champagne bottles for some of the batch. Not worried about any delay - it gives more time for the beer to condition. The Big Bad Matt Black Stout is still fermenting.....

We are pretty lucky here and can get meat that's born and bred within a few miles from where we live. One of the butchers we use frequently and also does nationwide delivery is : https://www.braceofbutchers.co.uk A lot of their beef comes from a farm just a mile or two away, various breeds of cattle, although we avoid Charolais etc. No doubt they'd provide you with a well hung full packer if you asked.

What a fantastic day for you. Congratulations !!

Wow !! Fantastic pics. So exciting. Looking forward to tomorrow - what a beaut.

You are being very measured @sovsroc I don't think I'd be able to resist having a peek

We expect live updates - as it happens !

We are only 100 miles away - I reckon we'll see the plume of smoke.

Congratulations How exciting ! Xmas is coming early - sleep tight Thursday night !!

I keep looking to see where your ship is ......... Thanks for sharing the excitement !

Just one day to go before your KK arrives in Blighty @sovsroc, - keep us posted !

Well, you paid a deposit for a car and then after 5 or 6 years you came near the top of the waiting list and you could then choose the exact spec. We made a few trips to the factory to see it in various stages of production - there was a little brown parcel label tied onto it with our name on and the car would just be pushed around the factory to the various craftsmen. I'll never forget the spec- Connaught Green, Tan Connolly Hide Seats, Chrome Wires, Walnut Dash, Bonnet Strap ..... and door handles were extra. It was a 4/4 ...Perhaps I should start calling her Fi-Fi

Two Years ?? That's almost like getting the car before the ink on the order form is dry. I ordered my Morgan from F.H. Douglass in South Ealing in 1982 and went to pick it up from the factory in Malvern in March 1989. Had to sell it in 1992 just before the first RokDoklette was born. She was very nearly called Morgan.

Three days to go Sovsroc before ti arrives in Southampton !

Absolutely stunning

Wow !! Congratulations

I'm pretty sure he doesn't. There are a few of us awaiting build or delivery Sovsroc's - 42" is currently in the Med on board the MOL TRADITION having come through Suez in the last day or so. I think it's going to Rotterdam and then here to Southampton. So, I think this side of the pond we order directly and then when it's ready Dennis puts in on a ship heading in this direction.

@Boom Boom, not sure if I'm going to be of much help here !! I ordered my 32 a month ago and paid half of the amount three weeks ago. I presume it's still being made - it will then take a month or so to ship here to England ! I'm, hoping to hear that it is ready to ship in about three weeks or so. I guess if your is on the other side of the state you could hire a van with a tail lift and pick it up ??

@sovsroc Your KK's in the Eastern Mediterranean now !

That is very exciting indeed

Ahh thanks @tony b ! It's been great fun today - we overran a little but it's been a very productive day and the beers seem to have hit quantity and strength - 240 l in total shared amongst friends who will take their fermentors home . We did have a little sampling of " here's one we did earlier". The weather has been wet and windy today so , sitting by the fire with the family - having a beer as well. Cheers RD

A wandering minstrel smelt the beer being made and popped in to serenade us with a bit of Led Zeppelin.

Grains look and smell lovely. They get tipped into the mash tuns - (the two vessels that are lowest in the picture), with hot water, this activates the enzymes in the malt turning the starch into fermentable sugars. Takes about an hour and a half. Once it's finished mashing the sweet liquid is pumped up and circulated into the kettles (the vessels immediately above the mash tuns). Lastly the grains are washed with fresh to water to get the last of the sugars out, and this too is pumped up into the kettles- I run two brews simultaneously. It is then brought to the boils and the first hops (for bittering are added). We then wash out the mash tuns and put the grain in for the next batch of beer. So having a bit of lunch right now and the first batch ( Bronze Trippel ) is boiling in the two kettles - for about an hour and a half. Simultaneously the grain for the Big Bad Matt Black is mashing in the mash tuns.

Recipes drawn up last night too.

Saturday early afternoon here in UK. Pumped 230l water up from the stream last night to preheat for a head start in the morning.