Event Horizon Tasting

So my Double IPA, Event Horizon, has been kegged for two weeks now. It has clarified somewhat, but is still a bit hazy due to all the hops used in the brew. How does it taste? AWESOME. You would not suspect that this beer is 9.6%abv. No hot alcohols and very very drinkable, dangerously so. It is firmly bitter, and you get a floral note followed by a grapefruit citrus in the aroma. The flavor is all bitterness up front then hints of the floral Willamette hops and a distinct citrus flavor in the aftertaste. A very good beer. See the pint picture below:

Brew Day! - Event Horizon

I finally got back to brewing today. I tried another attempt at a Double IPA and I think I got it. I purchased a oxygenation system to pump pure O2 in the wort prior to pitching yeast. This should help the beer attenuate fully.

So, why is this beer called Event Horizon? It is the point of no return because the grain when crushed completely filled up a 6.5 gallon bucket, the mash tun was brimmed full (a thick mash was used - 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain), nearly a pound of hops, and the anticipated alcohol by volume when it is complete is nearly 9 % (that's a big beer).

Recipe below:

Event Horizon - IIPA
14-C Imperial IPA
Date: 3/13/11

Size: 7.5 gal
Efficiency: 70.0%
Attenuation: 80.0%
Calories: 278.1 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.084 (1.070 - 1.090)
Terminal Gravity: 1.017 (1.010 - 1.020)
Color: 7.7 (8.0 - 15.0)
Alcohol: 8.84% (7.5% - 10.0%)
Bitterness: 179.2 (60.0 - 120.0)

Ingredients:
22.0 lb Pale Ale Malt
1.0 lb CBW® Pilsen Light Liquid (Malt Extract)
3.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II
1.0 lb White Table Sugar (Sucrose)
2.0 oz Amarillo (6.9%) - added first wort, boiled 20.0 min
2.0 oz Nugget (11.8%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
2.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
2.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 45.0 min
1.0 oz Cascade (4.6%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 oz Cascade (4.6%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
1.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
1.0 oz Cascade (4.6%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
1.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
1.0 oz Amarillo (6.9%)
1.0 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05
1.0 ea Servo - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Schedule:
Ambient Air: 34.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 1000.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 6.93 gal; Strike: 163.83 °F; Target: 152.0 °F
01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 45.0 min; Final: 151.4 °F
01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 4.25 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.25 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.1 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 10.3

A long time between posts

I have been brewing a lot since my last post. The spare time I have been getting has been spent on brewing, and that leaves little time for blogging. So here is what I have been up to the past couple of months:

I tried brewing a really big double IPA. It wasn't that great. I used a bit to much sugar in comparison with the other fermentables. After some research, I realized that when making these big beers I should plan on a lower mash efficiency. This is because I am a batch sparger and use a 9 gallon cooler for a mash tun. I always sparge just enough liquor to get the correct preboil volume. And herin lies the problem, with the bigger beers, I don't get a full rinse of the mash like I do on normal sized beers. On my next double IPA attempt I will plan on a lower efficiency and use a bit less sugar as well.

I brewed my standard pale ale after the double IPA attempt and that beer isn't that good either. I don't know if I picked up a hint of an infection or what. The beer is palatable, just not my best beer. It isn't bad enough that I will dump it, but I am going to rededicate myself to good cleaning, sanitation, etc. Also, this pale ale was the 9th generation of top cropped Wyeast 1318, so it is possible that the viability and overall yeast health declined to the point that is was time for a new pitch.

My last brewday, two weeks ago, was a double batch of an english style pale ale. I used a new pitch of Wyeast 1318 in one fermenter, and the new Northern Brewer yeast, Neobrittania. The beers were kegged a couple of days ago. The initial tasting results is that the Wyeast 1318 was cleaner tasting and overall a good brew. The neobrittania... well, I tasted a pile of butterscotch...i.e. diacetyl. I knew that my fermentation temps were below Wyeast's recommended range, but I didn't sweat it because my experience the Wyeast 1318 was that it would ferment low and still taste good. NOT so with the Neobrittania. Also, for some reason I am tasting a bit of cardboard with the NB beer, it isn't bad, but I thought I was careful not to introduce oxygen after the fermentation. Oh well, the next beer I brew I'll be more careful. till then, cheers!

Clarity-Ferm

While getting ready for the off time during the holidays, I brewed a double batch of an extra hoppy pale ale. In one fermenter I put in a dose of White Labs Clarity-ferm. I wanted to see if there was a difference in clarity. Clarity-ferm is supposed to remove chill haze by bringing the proteins out of the beer that cause them.

I have often thought my beers suffer from chill haze. Take a look at the picture below and see if you can tell the difference between the two pints:


The clarity-ferm pint is the one on the right. There is a visible difference, but not much. Certainly not worth the cost of the product per batch. My beers are hazy due to the amount of hops I use, I think.... not chill haze.

Holiday Break Brewing

I have not posted in a few weeks but I have been busy brewing. I currently have two kegs full of "Rabbits Run" (my hoppy pale ale) on tap. That was brewed 3 weeks ago. I also rebrewed the "Bees Knees" using some honey malt, recipe below.

I top cropped a very healthy amount of yeast from the Bees Knees batch and I am planning on brewing a double IPA maybe the day after Christmas. I have the week off between Christmas and New Years and I may brew another batch during the week sometime, but I don't yet know what I want other than a double IPA. Later, I will post a picture comparison of the double batch of rabbits run. I used a white labs product to clear up "chill haze" in one fermenter, and the other fermenter didn't get the haze clarify-er. We will see if there is a difference.

Bees Knees

0-A Untitled Style

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 77.16%

Attenuation: 81.7%

Calories: 204.63 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.062 (1.000 - 1.100)

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Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.000 - 1.100)

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Color: 13.93 (0.0 - 50.0)

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Alcohol: 6.65% (0.0% - 10.0%)

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Bitterness: 89.3 (0.0 - 50.0)

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Ingredients:

13.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

2.0 lb Honey Malt

4.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II

2.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added first wort, boiled 20.0 min

1.0 oz Nugget (14.1%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

2.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

2.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

2.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

2.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added dry to primary fermenter

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 5.72 gal; Strike: 161.86 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 151.2 °F

01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.75 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 5.5 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 5.5 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.45 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

An untimely blog post

I brewed 8 days ago and didn't post. I am happy to say that after cleaning my barley crusher per instructions from the barley crusher folks, my mill worked like new. I hit all my numbers and the brew day was nearly perfect.

I am making almost an single hop beer using a pile of Amarillo hops. I like very bitter hoppy beers and have noticed that the english yeast strain I am using lately (top cropped Wyeast 1318) that the hop flavor and aroma are a bit muted. So with this beer, upped the amount of hops to get a 1.40 IBU to gravity point ratio. Recipe is below, the beer gets kegged on Wed.

Amarillo IPA

14-B American IPA

Author: hopshead

Date: 11/21/10

Size: 6.0 gal

Efficiency: 80.0%

Attenuation: 75.0%

Calories: 194.85 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.058 (1.056 - 1.075)

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Terminal Gravity: 1.015 (1.010 - 1.018)

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Color: 8.96 (6.0 - 15.0)

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Alcohol: 5.76% (5.5% - 7.5%)

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Bitterness: 81.7 (40.0 - 70.0)

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Ingredients:

12.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

0.5 lb Pale Crystal Malt

1.0 oz Amarillo (6.9%) - added first wort, boiled 20.0 min

0.5 oz Nugget (11.8%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Amarillo (6.9%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 oz Amarillo (6.9%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

1.0 oz Amarillo (6.9%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Amarillo (6.9%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

2.0 oz Amarillo (6.9%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 oz Amarillo (6.9%)

1.0 ea WYeast 1318 London Ale III

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.69 gal; Strike: 161.85 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 151.1 °F

01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.20 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.25 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.25 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.65 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Thare She Blows - Review

For a brew that was troublesome during fermentation and brew day, this one tastes great! The malt base is evident up front, followed by a strong, but balanced bitterness. Next the roast and some light chocolate notes are present finished with the floral willamette hops lingering. This a great stout and it paired well all day yesterday with a thanksgiving feast.

Thare She Blows!!

So, I taught a friend to homebrew this past saturday. Actually, I think that I taught making beer is easy and full of comedic errors. Man, I screwed up so many parts of the process, it was horrible. First, my barley crusher stopped grinding grain. After a little internet research I think I can fix it but still, that isn't a good demonstration for the new learner. I was suppossed to have about half pound more roasted malt in the grist, but I threw it out because the damn mill wouldn't grind it.

Then, I missed my strike temperature and mashed in LOW. I added boiling water to the mash tun and got the temp up somewhat, but overally it was still to low (about 145 degrees). The beer will be thin, oh well. Then when brew day was over, my troubles are over right, wrong.

I mistakenly filled the fermenter up to the 6 gallon mark instead of the 5.5 gallon mark I was shooting for, no problems, just a little more beer. But, when you pitch a pile of healthy top cropped yeast, the airlock gets clogged by krausen. I put a blow off tube in, but it wasn't working and got clogged. I popped the top on the bucket and just let the lid rest on. Hence the name of the brew, thare she blows! I have had krausen overflowing from the bucket for 24 hours now. Thankfully, I let my fermenter sit in a big round tub.

Tonight, I will top crop from the fermenter and hopefully the fermentation would have subsided just enough that I can seal the bucket and add the airlock back.

Hopshead, signing out.

thare she blows

13-E American Stout

Date: 11/6/10

Size: 6.25 gal

Efficiency: 75.27%

Attenuation: 75.0%

Calories: 200.06 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.060 (1.050 - 1.075)

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Terminal Gravity: 1.015 (1.010 - 1.022)

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Color: 25.78 (30.0 - 40.0)

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Alcohol: 5.91% (5.0% - 7.0%)

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Bitterness: 77.1 (35.0 - 75.0)

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Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 60L

1.0 lb Amber

0.5 lb Black Malt

0.5 lb Chocolate Malt

1.0 lb Oat Flakes

1.0 oz Nugget (11.8%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (5.0%)

1.0 ea WYeast 1318 London Ale III

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 5.44 gal; Strike: 161.86 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 151.2 °F

01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 4.0 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 5.33 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 5.5 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.7 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Snow = stout?

In Ithaca I saw the snow fly for the first time this season. Nothing stuck, but, as soon as I saw the white stuff, I started craving a heavy, dark, roasty, hoppy, stout. What is it about this time of year that makes me want a stout?

Next Saturday is teach a friend to homebrew day, or I think they changed it to Learn to homebrew day. So, I think I am going to "learn my friend to homebrew" and we will make a robust oatmeal stout. Mmmm, can't wait.

Hop Zombie - Tasting and Picture

The "Hop Zombie" tastes excellent. The first couple of days I was worried though, I abused the beer when putting in the dry hops and I know that picked up some oxidation (which can ruin a beer). On kegging day, I tasted some cardboard (typical oxidation). But, I also keg hopped and after a few days in the fridge, that cardboard flavor seems to be gone, or covered up with all the dry hop flavor. In short, this is probably my best pale ale ever. That is why I brewed it again this weekend. The London Ale Yeast III, finished with a low gravity, 1.010. I am surprised, it is advertised to have an attenuation of 75%, but it actually attenuated at 80%. I credit that to a 100% pale ale malt grist mashed at a low temp, 148 degrees. Interestingly enough, the beer has just a slight grainy sweetness in the aftertaste. The description of the yeast is that it finishes sweet. The beer is all citrus and floral hops from the aroma, to first taste and through the middle. It is a real hop zombie! (Happy Halloween brewers!)

Brew Day

I brewed the hop zombie again using the top cropped yeast, London Ale 3. I made a quart starter the night before the brew day to get the yeast back into fermentation mode. I pitched the yeast at about 7pm yesterday and had airlock activity about 3 hours later. The recipe is good, later I will post a picture of the pint.

Top Cropping Yeast

In my last brew I used Wyeast 1318. The description of this yeast is that it is a "true top cropper." Well yes sir it is. I had my daughter/brewing assistant help take pictures of the process. I cropped the yeast from the top about 48 hours after the initial pitch.

Here, I was preparing to measure the amount of slurry/yeast collected


Picture of the yeast in full "top cropping" mode


And the collection


Now here is an interesting thing.... Last night I measured out 2 ounces of hop pellets to dry hop with. I opened the fermenter and noticed that the yeast looked even more dense than when I top cropped. Not thinking much about it, I poured in the pellets. The yeast was so dense that it held all the pellets up above the beer! I don't know if the krausen will fall, or if eventually the pellets will saturate and sink into the beer. But, that is amazing. I have top cropped WLP001 (california ale yeast) before and it behaved totally different.

The cal ale yeast was sort of loose and foamy when I top cropped. The Wyeast 1318 was much more concentrated, more dense, and slurry like. Very interesting contrast. I'll post pictures of the pint and a review when it is ready, next week.

A Fun Brew Day

It has been about 3 weeks since I brewed, but today, I brewed again and it was fun! I completely changed my pale ale recipe. I actually should be PALE now, before it was really a red color. I also pitched my starter of Wyeast 1318. I grew a lot of yeast in that starter. I have made a spreadsheet and started trying to track the "wet weight" of the yeast I am pitching. I'll post more on that later when I have some more data. On this beer I am also planning on dry hopping twice, once in the primary for a week after the fermenation is complete, and a dry hop in the keg. Here is the recipe:

Hop Zombie

10-A American Pale Ale

Author: hopshead

Date: 10/9/10

Size: 6.25 gal

Efficiency: 82.2%

Attenuation: 75.0%

Calories: 169.5 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.051 (1.045 - 1.060)

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Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.010 - 1.015)

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Color: 6.16 (5.0 - 14.0)

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Alcohol: 5.01% (4.5% - 6.2%)

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Bitterness: 60.4 (30.0 - 45.0)

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Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

0.5 oz Nugget (11.8%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (4.6%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (4.6%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (4.6%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (4.6%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 oz Cascade (4.6%) - added dry to keg

1.0 ea WYeast 1318 London Ale III

Schedule:

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.12 gal; Strike: 157.35 °F; Target: 148.0 °F

01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 147.0 °F

01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 2.8 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.8 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.8 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.81 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

A New Homebrew Flavor Experiment

This is my Red IPA:


In the pic you see an activator pack of Wyeast 1318 London Ale III. I made a starter and it will be ready to go for the beer I am making this weekend.

My flavor experiment:
I am completely changing my extra pale ale (ipa?) recipe to use an English Ale yeast instead of the normal American Ale strain (Chico strain). The wyeast 1318 is a top cropping yeast of which I plan to harvest the yeast from the top of the fermentor for several batches. It is also a good flocculating yeast and I hope that it will clump together well at the end of fermentation and leave my beer clear. I am also, getting rid of all caramel malt in my grain bill, this english yeast supposedly finishes "sweet." I don't want any caramel adding to that sweetness. I am going for a very bitter hop bomb, about 5% abv, with American hops and English ale yeast. I'll post the recipe this weekend after brew day.

Until then, can anyone help me come up with a name for this brew?

10 gallon batches

So, Due to a lot of things going on now, the last time I brewed I made 10 gallons in one brew day because, my next brew day would be delayed. Here is the thing that sucks about 10 gallon batches:

Since I started brewing over 4 years ago, I have consistently brewed 5-6 gallon batches twice a month with few instance where I have missed a brew weekend. Now that I have 10 gallons of beer kegged, my next "brew weekend" is two weeks away. The problem is, I want to BREW! I miss it. If my schedule permits or is more forgiving, I am going back to the 5-6 gallon batches. I like that 5-6 hours making beer.

Now I am going to cry in my dry stout. prost.