Homebrewed Beer

Event Horizon Tasting

2011-04-09T10:54:00.002-04:00

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

2011-03-13T20:07:00.003-04:00

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

2011-02-20T08:16:00.002-05:00

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

2010-12-27T13:59:00.003-05:00

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

2010-12-23T07:21:00.003-05:00

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)

|=================#==============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.000 - 1.100)

|=========#======================|

Color: 13.93 (0.0 - 50.0)

|============#===================|

Alcohol: 6.65% (0.0% - 10.0%)

|==================#=============|

Bitterness: 89.3 (0.0 - 50.0)

|================================|

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

2010-11-28T20:02:00.002-05:00

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)

|==========#=====================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.015 (1.010 - 1.018)

|=================#==============|

Color: 8.96 (6.0 - 15.0)

|=============#==================|

Alcohol: 5.76% (5.5% - 7.5%)

|==========#=====================|

Bitterness: 81.7 (40.0 - 70.0)

|==============================#=|

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

2010-11-26T08:47:00.003-05:00

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!!

2010-11-08T06:05:00.005-05:00

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)

|==============#=================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.015 (1.010 - 1.022)

|==============#=================|

Color: 25.78 (30.0 - 40.0)

|=#==============================|

Alcohol: 5.91% (5.0% - 7.0%)

|===============#================|

Bitterness: 77.1 (35.0 - 75.0)

|========================#=======|

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?

2010-10-31T15:43:00.002-04:00

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

2010-10-24T18:34:00.002-04:00

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

2010-10-24T07:45:00.002-04:00

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

2010-10-16T06:43:00.005-04:00

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

2010-10-10T20:44:00.002-04:00

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)

|==============#=================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.010 - 1.015)

|================#===============|

Color: 6.16 (5.0 - 14.0)

|==========#=====================|

Alcohol: 5.01% (4.5% - 6.2%)

|============#===================|

Bitterness: 60.4 (30.0 - 45.0)

|================================|

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

2010-10-05T22:03:00.004-04:00

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

2010-09-19T17:40:00.004-04:00

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.

Bees Knees

2010-09-13T18:37:00.002-04:00

So, I am drinking the Bees Knees beer (this is the beer I was bitching about with all the whole leaf hops). It is great! At 7.6% abv it gets the job done, but you don't taste any fusel alcohols, hot alcohols, etc. Willamette hops smell so floral and fresh with complimenting flavor. The beer just tastes sort of earthy and fresh, it is a good fall beer in my opinion. The malt backbone is there and supports all the ibus very well. Surprisingly, the beer is balanced even though I used 11.25 oz of hops (including dry hopping) for a calculated 96 IBUs. Pic below:

A late blog entry

2010-09-12T12:23:00.002-04:00

Last weekend I brewed two beers on Labor Day. I mashed almost twice the amount of grain needed for my XPA and also did a small mash in a 2 gallon cooler. The small mash had the 3 pounds of pale ale malt and 8oz of roasted barley, & 8 oz of chocolate malt. I ran off enough mash and sparge from the big mash to combine with runoff/sparge of the small mash in order to make a dry stout. The remainder of my mash/sparge from the large mash I saved for a few hours and made my extra pale ale. There was no mash out and the wort from the pale ale likely got really fermentable. I will dry hop the xpa today. Tasting this one will be interesting. Stay tuned.

I hate leaf hops

2010-08-22T09:17:00.001-04:00

Caution, this is me bitching about homebrewing with leaf hops, the post might be a bit long so if you have anyway better to spend your time don't ready this. I just need to vent.

I have bee brewing for over 4 years now (3 years all grain). Until about 5 months ago, I always used pellet hops. So, when I place my last bulk hops order, I decided what the hell, I should try out leaf hops and see if I note any different flavors, aromas, etc. in my favorite brews. So, I bought 2 pounds of Cascade, 2 pounds of Willamette, 1 pound of Nugget, and 1 pound of Cluster.

First, a disclosure about my brewery..... I was a douche when I bought my 15 gallon stainless kettle a couple of years ago, because, "I want to keep that pot pristine, no ball valves for me, I can use a siphon." That wasn't such a bad idea until 5 months ago when I wanted to use leaf hops. Why, guess what, the siphon stays clogged with the hops and you can't get your damn IPA into the fermenter.

I did all my google research to figure out how to separate the hops from the wort (never had the big of issue for me until I got leaf hops). You name it, I tried it, whirlpooling, building a "hop sack" with pvc coupling, and a plain 'ole hop bag loose in the boil. It all sucked.

First, whirlpooling only works well with pellet hops. With pellet hops you get some resemblance of a cone and can siphon your wort from the side of the kettle. With a hoppy IPA, leaf hops don't "pile up" in the center, or if they do, there are too many damn hops in there for the pile to do you any good. On to the hop sack.

So, when I make IPAs, pale ales, etc., I like to have multiple additions starting from mid boil to flame out. When you put a hop sack, in a boil loose with the opening crimped shut with wire - you have to open the bitch up when you add more hops. Can I just say, that is royal pain in the ass, and when you're in a hurry or drunk, it burns your fingers too. I know I saw pictures online where someone used a pvc coupling to suspend their hop bag from the top of the kettle....

So, I bought a 5 inch diameter pvc coupling, a clamp, and a big paint straining bag. I rigged it all up and things were good for the bittering addition only. I put in my first gob of hops at the 30 min. mark and guess what... Leaf hops hate boiling wort. They don't want to get wet, so I go to poking and pushing the little bastards down in the sack an then what... The friggin, clamp popped off the bottom with all the pokin' and the damn hops are free in the kettle. Shit, another bitchin' day siphoning wort. So the next brew day.....

I use the same set up again, but I really really tighten the clamp around the straining bag and pvc coupling. No way that is going to happen again, right. Bittering addition is fine, 30 min. addition fine. At the 15 min. addition, I am poking the hops again - remember leaf hops don't like to get wet - then bang the clamp came off and loose hops in the boil. After further inspection - I saw the root cause was that my kick ass boil, was throwing wort on the pvc coupling and warped the bitch just enough that the clamp fell off. so... lets try something different on the next brew.

Last night I was making an IPA with pile of Williamette hops. I got a tea infuser (mesh steel ball) and slightly bent the frame so that it would form around my siphon. Good idea I thought because it would keep the hops directly off the racking cane and wort could flow freely. "Wrong dumb ass - try again," there were so many leaf hops in the kettle that they essentially made an impassible filter to where the wort will not siphon. So, "F" it, I went the kitchen, got a large measuring cup and strainer. (I know, I know...) I sanitized them both, opened the fermenter and kettle, and proceeded to pour wort over the strainer into the fermenter catching the leaf hops in the strainer. After two pours, I had to dump the strainer because of so many damn hops. 30 F'ing minutes later I have a fermenter full of wort (probably infected with airborne nasty stuff) pitched my yeast and its fermenting away.

The way I see it, my brewery and/or my skills will not accommodate leaf hops. I have two more pounds of hops left and then it is pellet hops here on out. NOW.... for all this trouble did I notice positive flavor and aroma differences in my favorite homebrews? Shit no. First, I realized two brews into my leaf hops bulk order that I needed to correct the quantity of hops in my brewing software because the leaf hops don't equate oz for oz with pellet hops. Then, even though I try to keep my hops fresh in vacuumed sealed bags in the freezer, they just don't smell as fresh as the pellets when I used them. MY Ipa's have been, blah with flavor and aroma for the past 5 months.

Now, if you're still reading this, I am truly sorry you wasted your time - you're never getting that time back by the way. Secondly, if you have any thoughts, words of wisdom, or just want to crack on my lack of brewing skills with these damn leaf hops - fire away! I need to laugh at this point.

My recipe is below:

Bees Knees

0-A Untitled Style

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 80.32%

Attenuation: 80.0%

Calories: 235.23 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.071 (1.000 - 1.100)

|===================#============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.014 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==========#=====================|

Color: 12.31 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 7.47% (0.0% - 10.0%)

|===================#============|

Bitterness: 96.6 (0.0 - 50.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

16.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

5.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II

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

4.0 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: 6.12 gal; Strike: 161.86 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 151.3 °F

01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 4.15 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 5.25 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 5.25 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.6 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

late blog entry

2010-07-31T12:50:00.004-04:00

I have not blogged in a few weeks. A new baby at home will take the time away from ya. I have brewed my favorite Xpa again (2 weeks ago). It is actually ready to keg. I may have time to brew today, or I may not. We will see.

The "up-to-par" pale ale I made was the same recipe except I used US-05 yeast, not repitched WLP001. Also, my boil off rate was higher than normal which resulted in my original gravity getting higher (potentially resulting in a higher abv beer). I will keg the beer today and update the post to see if the estimated attenuation was achieved. Recipe, adjusted for boil off rate below:

"Up-to-Par" Xtra Pale Ale

10-A American Pale Ale

Author: hopshead

Size: 5.5 gal

Efficiency: 81.98%

Attenuation: 80.0%

Calories: 195.82 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.059 (1.045 - 1.060)

|======================#=========|

Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.010 - 1.015)

|===================#============|

Color: 11.59 (5.0 - 14.0)

|===================#============|

Alcohol: 6.21% (4.5% - 6.2%)

|=====================#==========|

Bitterness: 76.5 (30.0 - 45.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

4.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (5.6%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 oz Willamette (5.6%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.22 gal; Strike: 163.14 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

00:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 30.0 min; Final: 151.5 °F

00:45:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 2.75 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.25 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.25 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.2 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

American Black Ale

2010-07-16T15:20:00.002-04:00

So, I made an american black ale to see what all the rage is about (black ipa) but I actually put chocolate malt in the beer for flavor, not color. I also used the repitched WLP028 yeast. THis time around the scottish ale yeas did not have the big fruit flavors that I tasted in the XPA. But the yeast pooped out early as well. I only received 68% attenuation, so the beer actually sort tastes like a porter, not an american black ale. Good beer, but I am going to stick with the fermentis safale us-05 yeast here on out.

Dry Yeast

2010-07-09T18:12:00.002-04:00

So, for over a year I have been harvesting yeast from a currently fermenting batch by top cropping. It has saved some money, but not much. Mainly, I did this to further enjoy the homebrewing hobby. Now with baby twins in the home and 4 year old, I have less time to spend during the week with my hobby. It looks like I will be fortunate enough to brew every other weekend though. So, the convenience of Dry Yeast will win. Thankfully, there is a good dry clean american strain for sale in the S-05 from fermentis.

Bowie's Brown Ale

2010-07-04T21:17:00.001-04:00

It was a good, but somewhat hot 4th of July brew day. I wanted to make a hoppy American Brown Ale, and for some reason Jim Bowie (the bowie knife) was in my head. So I named this beer, Bowie's Brown Ale. Recipe below:

Bowie's Brown Ale

10-C American Brown Ale

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 89.82%

Attenuation: 79.7%

Calories: 198.54 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.060 (1.045 - 1.060)

|========================#=======|

Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (1.010 - 1.016)

|=============#==================|

Color: 20.13 (18.0 - 35.0)

|==========#=====================|

Alcohol: 6.28% (4.3% - 6.2%)

|========================#=======|

Bitterness: 71.3 (20.0 - 40.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb Amber Malt

8.0 oz Chocolate Malt

1.0 oz Cluster (9.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

1.0 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:05:02 Mash In - Liquor: 4.69 gal; Strike: 161.86 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

01:05:02 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 151.1 °F

01:17:02 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.10 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.4 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.4 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.71 gal

Notes

Ferment at 65F.

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

American Black Ale

2010-06-27T19:10:00.004-04:00

I giving this new style a shot. First, I kegged my "up to par" xpa. I actually kegged that beer two days early. I had it dry hopped with 4 oz of whole leaf hops, and well, the hops were dry!!!! They didn't mix well with the beer, so I pulled them out of the fermenter after kegging the beer and used the dry hops as First Wort Hops for the ABA. I estimate only about 3 oz of the dry hops were actually saved for FWH. There is no alpha acids isomerizing in the fermenter so the dry hops are adding bitterness and flavor (bitterness equal to 20 min. worth of boiling from what I have read). I hit all my numbers and the beer should be ready in 10 days. Recipe below:

American Black Ale

14-C Imperial IPA

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 80.0%

Attenuation: 72.0%

Calories: 256.96 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.076 (1.070 - 1.090)

|=============#==================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.021 (1.010 - 1.020)

|==========================#=====|

Color: 25.55 (8.0 - 15.0)

|================================|

Alcohol: 7.26% (7.5% - 10.0%)

|======#=========================|

Bitterness: 104.3 (60.0 - 120.0)

|===================#============|

Ingredients:

16.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb Pale Chocolate Malt

5.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II

8.0 oz Roasted Barley

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

1.5 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added first wort, boiled 20.0 min

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

2.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (5.6%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 oz Willamette (5.6%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 qt White Labs WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 6.68 gal; Strike: 163.14 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

00:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 45.0 min; Final: 151.7 °F

00:45:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 4.5 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 5.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 5.0 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.7 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Its Brew Day

2010-06-27T08:23:00.001-04:00

First, I will keg my "up to par" xpa then I will try to brew a "Cascadian Dark Ale." Recipe post later.

Top Cropping Update

2010-06-21T13:48:00.004-04:00

So in the previous blog post, I showed a picture of the krausen 14 hours after pitching the Edinburgh Ale yeast. It had proteins and hop particles in it. Today I cropped/harvested yeast and put it in a 2 quart starter. The top crop and skimming of yeast for propagation was approximately 45 hours into fermentation. You can see from the picture below that the krausen was much cleaner than the 14 hour photo.
14 hour photo

45 hour photo

Modified Top Cropping

2010-06-20T07:25:00.004-04:00

I have read more and more about top cropping yeast. Most information I have seen suggests that within the first day of fermentation the "braun hefe" should be removed. Braun-hefe is the krausen that has trub and hop particles in it. 14 hours into my fermentation, I took a picture of the braun-hefe:

I sanitized a measuring cup and skimmed off this layer of foam. The foam/krausen was about 2 inches high for this yeast (Edinburgh Ale). I will probably harvest/top crop yeast from this batch tomorrow afternoon, 48 hours into fermentation.

Brew Day and New Yeast

2010-06-19T21:27:00.002-04:00

In a previous double sized batch of "up to par" xpa, I pitched one fermenter with top cropped "California Ale" yeast and the other fermentor had a fresh pitch of the Cal ale yeast. I noticed distinctly different tasting beers once kegged. The top cropped yeast was harvested for at least 6 batches of beer and the yeast did have a genetic "drift." I thought the beer with the top cropped Cal ale yeast was smoother, not as harsh bitterness, and just slightly fruity. I liked the top cropped batch the best. So, I have researched yeasts and I am going to try a new one, WLP028 Edinburgh Ale Yeast. The brew day was really good. Recipe is below:

"Up-to-Par" Xtra Pale Ale

10-A American Pale Ale

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.05 gal

Efficiency: 80.0%

Attenuation: 72.0%

Calories: 190.68 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.057 (1.045 - 1.060)

|====================#===========|

Terminal Gravity: 1.016 (1.010 - 1.015)

|===========================#====|

Color: 11.37 (5.0 - 14.0)

|===================#============|

Alcohol: 5.38% (4.5% - 6.2%)

|================#===============|

Bitterness: 79.0 (30.0 - 45.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

12.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

4.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (5.6%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 oz Willamette (5.6%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 qt White Labs WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.59 gal; Strike: 163.14 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

00:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 30.0 min; Final: 151.5 °F

00:45:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.15 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.25 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.25 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.6 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Hoppy Beers

2010-06-14T11:39:00.004-04:00

If you have ever had a very hoppy beer with many flavor hop additions in the boil, then you generally will be able to visually tell the beer is hoppy from the pour. Take a look at all this hoppy goodness below:

"Up to Par XPA"

Cluster Hopped Ale Tasting

2010-06-14T11:18:00.002-04:00

I kegged the cluster hopped ale last week. I tasted the hydrometer sample and it was horribly pungent. I did not think I could get the beer past my tongue. A week later it is carbed up and I think the beer is actually good. The pale ale was a single hopped beer with cluster hops and had a lot of late hopping.

Cluster hops are described as citrus and spicy. Really? What is spicy? I hate these general descriptions of hops. You can't make recipes and know what the taste "spicy" is like. Here is my take:

I get a hint of citrus, but not like the grapefruit citrus you get from cascade hops. The aroma of this beer sort of reminds me of pine trees and a hint of citrus. I have never tasted a pine tree, but the taste compliments the aroma. Maybe that is what they mean by "spicy." This hop vaguely reminds me of some German noble hops. All in all, I like the beer. I am curious how this hop would taste combined with cascade?

2010-05-23T20:26:00.002-04:00

It was a good brew day. I took my time and didn't try to finish the brew day quickly. It was very relaxing, caught a few winks during the boil and hit all my numbers. I am excited to try this beer. I have never used cluster hops before and I can't remember a commercial beer that has had cluster hops as the signature flavor. Recipe below:

Cluster hopped XPA

10-A American Pale Ale

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 80.13%

Attenuation: 83.0%

Calories: 174.37 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.053 (1.045 - 1.060)

|================#===============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.009 (1.010 - 1.015)

|====#===========================|

Color: 11.04 (5.0 - 14.0)

|==================#=============|

Alcohol: 5.78% (4.5% - 6.2%)

|====================#===========|

Bitterness: 76.3 (30.0 - 45.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

12.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

4.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II

0.75 oz Cluster (9.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cluster (9.0%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 oz Cluster (9.0%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

1.0 oz Cluster (9.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cluster (9.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

2.0 qt WLP001 Top Cropped & Repitched

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.59 gal; Strike: 163.14 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

00:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 30.0 min; Final: 151.5 °F

00:45:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.0 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.5 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.5 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.71 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Its brew day!

2010-05-23T07:35:00.003-04:00

I am brewing the same recipe as my 'up to par' pale ale but I am experimenting with cluster hops. I've never used them so this will be a single hop xtra pale ale. I am also going to make a hop strainer with a pvc coupling and paint straining bag. Hopefully this will help keep my hops separated from the wort when it is time to siphon into the fermenter. I will post back later today with brew day results.

Frustrating End to a Brew Day

2010-05-02T11:14:00.002-04:00

I brewed a double batch of my "up-to-par" xtra pale ale. I planned to pitch the harvested Wlp001 into one fermenter and a fresh vial (with starter) into the other fermenter. Brew day was good hitting all my #'s. But, I used whole (leaf) hops for the first time in years. This recipe has a lot of hops. I couldn't keep my siphon going at all. I even tried whirlpooling then siphoning from the edge of kettle. No luck. I was so pissed that I ended up sanitizing a colander and measuring cup and ladling the wort into the colander into the fermenter. That was not ideal. Once the colander slipped off the bucket edge into the fermenter. I am worried now that I might have an infected brew. A pile of trub is in the fermenters. I am going to have to research how to seperate the hops from the kettle. Who knows how this batch will turnout. Recipe below:

"Up-to-Par" Xtra Pale Ale

10-A American Pale Ale

Author: hopshead

Size: 11.0 gal

Efficiency: 81.13%

Attenuation: 80.0%

Calories: 174.89 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.053 (1.045 - 1.060)

|================#===============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.010 - 1.015)

|=========#======================|

Color: 11.06 (5.0 - 14.0)

|==================#=============|

Alcohol: 5.56% (4.5% - 6.2%)

|=================#==============|

Bitterness: 76.3 (30.0 - 45.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

20.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

7.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II

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

1.75 oz Cascade Pellets (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

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

1.5 oz Cascade - Leaf(5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

1.5 oz Willamette - Leaf (5.6%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

2.0 oz Cascade - Leaf (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

2.0 oz Cascade - Leaf (5.7%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 oz Willamette - Leaf (5.6%) - added dry to primary fermenter

4.0 qt WLP001 Top Cropped & Repitched

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 7.66 gal; Strike: 163.14 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

00:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 30.0 min; Final: 151.7 °F

00:45:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 5.25 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 8.85 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 8.83 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 14.38 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Some People Invest in Stock - I invest in People

2010-03-21T17:49:00.021-04:00

Yup, that's right. Do what you can to help people and share with people, especially your homebrew. Today was a good brew day. I taught a new friend how to brew all grain beer, and I hit all my numbers without a hitch. I made my favorite pale ale (I still have not come up with a name for it yet). I got my boil evaporation under control, my mash efficiency was spot on, and I will have an excellent extra hoppy pale ale. The beer I brewed today will be the first batch that gets kegged. So, why did I start out preaching about investing in people? I have shared my homebrew on numerous occasions with my downstairs neighbor. I never asked for anything in return, I simply wanted to share my beer. He appreciates good craft beer, and my homebrew. Before my brew session today, I mentioned that I just purchased kegging equipment and briefly explained that my homebrew will be in "soda kegs." He says to me, "at work there have been a few of those soda kegs sitting around for over a year and no one wants them, if you are interested, I'll see if I can get them." When I got home from my brew session, I saw two kegs at the door waiting for me. Awesome, you can never have enough beer in kegs. Now, below is the recipe I brewed. I also documented with pictures my brewing process. Enjoy!

XPA - Xtra Pale Ale

10-A American Pale Ale

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.56 gal

Efficiency: 79.13%

Attenuation: 80.0%

Calories: 171.53 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.052 (1.045 - 1.060)

|===============#================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.010 (1.010 - 1.015)

|=========#======================|

Color: 11.0 (5.0 - 14.0)

|==================#=============|

Alcohol: 5.45% (4.5% - 6.2%)

|================#===============|

Bitterness: 73.3 (30.0 - 45.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

12.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

4.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

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

2.0 qt WLP001 Top Cropped & and; Repitched

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.59 gal; Strike: 163.14 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

00:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 30.0 min; Final: 151.5 °F

00:45:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.0 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.25 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.25 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.45 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Now here are pictures of the process:

First, I heat up my MASH water. Today I wanted my actual mash (cracked malt and water mix) to rest at 152 degrees. So, according Beertools, grain at room temp with 4.5 gallons of water at 163 degrees would stabilize at 152 degrees. But this does not account for a cold cooler, i.e. MASH TUN. So, I heated the water well above 163 degrees and let the cooler "warm up." Periodically, I checked the water temp waiting until it hit 163. Below is a picture of the water temp right after I dumped it in the cooler:

Next, I waited for the water temp to get to 163 degrees and mixed the cracked malt in. After stirring well, lets see how close to 152 degrees I am:

Close enough? I think so.

Now, after letting the mash rest for 45 min. to let enzymes chop and break the starch down to fermentable sugars, lets see how much the mash temperature cooled off:

1.5 degrees, not bad.

I batch sparge my all grain beers, (i.e. runoff and sparge/rinse in batches), here is the initial mash runoff:

Here is a pic of the mashtun, with nearly all the wort run out into my bucket:

I should have collected 3 gallons of wort from the initial runoff, it looks like I was a quart low, so I will BATCH SPARGE with one extra quart to reach my preboil volume of wort of 9.45 gallons:

Now, after sparging (rinsing) the grain to get the rest of the sugars, I have a preboil volume of 9.45 gallons. Notice the foam from the proteins rising to the top, this will be hot break before long:

That was work, time to pour a beer. I drank my homebrew already, so lets get a good commercial beer, Bear Republic - Rocket Ale:

Now, time to add hops when indicated by the recipe:

Notice, I have already got my WORT CHILLER in the kettle to let the heat from the boil sanitize it.

The boil is over and the chiller is on! The lid was sanitized with a sanitizer solution and steam from the boil just prior to flame out.

I am chilling the wort really fast today - it took 22 min. to go from 212 degrees (boiling) to 71 degrees. Notice the cold break (coagulated proteins)?

My hydrometer is not properly calibrated. Water at 60 degrees should get a hydrometer reading of 1.000. My 60 degree water here is reading 1.005 (I will have to remember to subtract 5 gravity points when I take a reading of my wort). See below:

Ok, if you look carefully the wort line is just between 1.056 and 1.058, about 1.057 less 5 and you get 1.052. That is really good I planned on 1.051:

All that is left to do is pitch my starter containing my top cropped yeast:

Notice the layer of yeast on the bottom. If you want to know how I make starters, look here.

That's all folks, Prost!

Time to Keg the beer

2010-03-18T21:18:00.002-04:00

Damn right! I just bought kegging equipment, should be here in 10 days or so. I'll brew my new favorite pale ale recipe for the inaugural brew. Man, having your own beer on tap is gonna be the shit.

St. Paddy's Stout

2010-03-13T11:17:00.002-05:00

Wow! what a good beer. Perfect for st. paddy's day. The carbonation is lower as planned. It doesn't form a head when poured, but you can feel the carbonation on your tongue. There is a smooth but pronounced roasted malt taste from both the roasted barley and chocolate malt. I really can drink this COPIOUSLY and not get sloshed, or gassy.

Equipment Calibration

2010-03-09T19:14:00.002-05:00

In a previous post I mentioned that I thought I got a higher mash efficiency that what was planned. After bottling the St. Paddy's Day Stout, I thought the finishing gravity was to high, like the yeast didn't ferment enough, but I knew this was shit because that top cropped yeast I have used is really good. So, I decided to check if my hydrometer was properly calibrated. I took a test jar full of 60 degree tap water, floated the hydrometer and it read 1.005 and it should have been 1.000!!! After looking at the previous recipe and adjusting the gravities, it turns out, I wasn't that far off. So, for all new brewers out there reading this blog, be sure to calibrate your equipment, it can screw with your head if you don't.

Late Blog Entry and more Pale Ale

2010-03-09T19:09:00.002-05:00

I brewed another hoppy pale ale sunday. It is basically the same XPA recipe I brewed recently. Not much to report for the brewing session other than I left my hydrometer jar at home and couldn't take an initial gravity reading. Oh well, it will be good beer nonetheless. Recipe below:

XPA - Xtra Pale Ale

10-A American Pale Ale

Author: hopshead

Size: 7.2 gal

Efficiency: 78.21%

Attenuation: 80.0%

Calories: 153.98 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.047 (1.045 - 1.060)

|=========#======================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.009 (1.010 - 1.015)

|=====#==========================|

Color: 10.0 (5.0 - 14.0)

|================#===============|

Alcohol: 4.89% (4.5% - 6.2%)

|===========#====================|

Bitterness: 66.0 (30.0 - 45.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

12.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

4.0 oz Dark Crystal Malt II

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

2.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 qt WLP001 Top Cropped & Repitched

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.59 gal; Strike: 163.14 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

00:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 30.0 min; Final: 151.5 °F

00:45:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.25 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 5.89 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.1 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.55 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Brewing for St. Patrick's Day

2010-02-21T18:32:00.002-05:00

So, I realized this weekend, a brew weekend, that I should make a stout for St. Patrick's day. I then realized that I might not have the ingredients I need because this was the last batch of beer on my last bulk order. Turns out with a "hodge podge" of dark grains I had just enough to pull off a stout. I was shooting for a recipe that is low in alcohol to have a stout easy enough to drink copiously. The brew day was relaxing. I was shooting for an original gravity of 1.043. I boiled off about a half gallon to much so the beer should have had just a slightly higher OG. But when I took the hydrometer reading it was 1.050! After checking my volume twice, I knew that I hit a higher efficiency than I had anticipated (about 75%). Yup, after getting home and pluggin my numbers into Beertools, I hit a mash efficiency of 82%. I have two guesses as to why. First, due to the low planned OG, the mash was small and the resulting runoff was only 2.5 gallons. I shoot for 9.5 gallons preboil, 3 gallons boiled away in 90 min. to leave 6.5 gallons in the kettle. Then ideally I should siphon out 5.5 gallons in the fermenter with 1 gallon of muck left behind. So, with 2.5 gallons of mash runoff, I actually rinsed (sparged) with 7 gallons of water, which is a lot. I think this extra rinsing increased the mash efficiency. But, all the dark malt will acidify the mash and it is possible that the mash ph was just right (5.2ph). I really need to purchase a ph meter and monitor mash ph. In the past I have noticed higher mash efficiency with darker beers. Anyway, should be a good one, recipe below:

St. Paddy's Dry Stout

13-A Dry Stout

Size: 6.075 gal

Efficiency: 82.43%

Attenuation: 78.0%

Calories: 165.36 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.050 (1.036 - 1.050)

|========================#=======|

Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.007 - 1.011)

|=======================#========|

Color: 27.82 (25.0 - 40.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 5.11% (4.0% - 5.0%)

|=========================#======|

Bitterness: 49.8 (30.0 - 45.0)

|=============================#==|

Ingredients:

9.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

6.15 oz Roasted Barley

5.2 oz Chocolate Malt

15.4 oz Pale Chocolate Malt

3.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

0.65 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

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

2.0 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.0 gal; Strike: 159.6 °F; Target: 150.0 °F

00:48:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 45.0 min; Final: 149.2 °F

01:00:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 2.5 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 7.32 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 7.0 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.71 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Old Hag Ale

2010-02-17T19:24:00.002-05:00

So I have almost finished drinking the Old HAG ale, just a few bottles left. Not a bad beer. It wasn't quite like I expected. Close though. It has a load of hop flavor and bitterness, but the sugar addition in lieu of malt thinned the beer out to much. Ideally, if I hit my original gravity it may not have been as much of an issue. I'll make this beer again but I will go with all pale ale malt and no sugar to see how that contrasts.

2010-01-31T20:35:00.002-05:00

So, I had a good brew day again. I am still having boil off volume issues. Today I hit an OG of 1.065 and wanted 1.062, but I am getting closer. This beer is inspired by the IPAs, real IPAs from England. I wanted to add oak chips with the dry hops to give the beer that "shipped around the world in barrels" taste. Recipe is below:

American Red Oak IPA

0-B Untitled Style

Size: 6.14 gal

Efficiency: 79.0%

Attenuation: 77.6%

Calories: 219.55 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.066 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==================#=============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.015 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==========#=====================|

Color: 12.51 (0.0 - 50.0)

|============#===================|

Alcohol: 6.73% (0.0% - 10.0%)

|==================#=============|

Bitterness: 93.8 (0.0 - 50.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

13.5 lb Pale Ale Malt

0.5 lb Dark Munich Malt

0.5 lb Pale Crystal Malt

2.0 oz Pale Chocolate Malt

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

2.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

1.0 oz Oak Wood Chips - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 5.48 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, 3.50 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 5.79 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.0 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.7 gal

Notes

Soak Oak Wood chips in 4 oz of bourbon for a week. Drain the bourbon off the chips and add to the fermenter with the dry hops. Let chips and dry hops rest for one week, then bottle.

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Bottling update

2010-01-30T20:00:00.001-05:00

I just bottled a very bitter (93 IBUs) and very pale ale. It was recommended I name my beers. So, pale very bitter, sounds like an OLD HAG ALE to me. It tasted great, I can't wait till its carbonated. Actual attenuation on this beer was higher than planned, it will be drier (FG 1.010) and more alcoholic, 7.29% abv. It will be great.

XpA

2010-01-24T16:45:00.002-05:00

I intended to post a pic of this xtra pale ale with a review. A few days ago, I tried a "few" bottles and was disappointed because the beer tasted stale, like I may have introduced to much oxygen during bottling. Today, I had a bottle and it seems as if that is gone! Needless to say it is good. Before I finished this post a full pint was "drained" to this:

She is a good 'un.

A Failed Imperial XPA

2010-01-17T21:32:00.002-05:00

I had a fun brew day, but I missed my original gravity on my "imperial xtra pale ale." I started having 'volume' issues once I started brewing in a garage versus outside. Specifically, I have not dialed in how high to adjust the flame and I am either boiling to much or too little. Today I boiled to little. I wanted to flame out with 6.5 gallons in the kettle, but I ended with 7 gallons and missed my Og by 5 points. Either way, I will have a very hoppy and hopefully dry IPA. Recipe, adjusted below:

Imperial XPA

14-C Imperial IPA

Author: hopshead

Size: 7.0 gal

Efficiency: 76.21%

Attenuation: 80.0%

Calories: 216.69 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.065 (1.070 - 1.090)

|====#===========================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.010 - 1.020)

|============#===================|

Color: 7.25 (8.0 - 15.0)

|======#=========================|

Alcohol: 6.88% (7.5% - 10.0%)

|====#===========================|

Bitterness: 93.0 (60.0 - 120.0)

|================#===============|

Ingredients:

14.5 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.5 lb White Table Sugar (Sucrose)

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

2.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.5 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

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: 159.76 °F; Target: 149.0 °F

00:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 30.0 min; Final: 148.6 °F

00:45:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.50 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.0 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.7 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Hops!

2010-01-10T19:05:00.002-05:00

I just dry hopped my Xtra Pale Ale with 1 ounce of Cascade. The hops are suspended from the airlock in two tea infusers. This should keep the hops in contact with beer and not fall to the bottom.

I am preparing to brew a hoppy Imperial Xtra Pale Ale. What is with the "Xtra" anyway. Basically, I love hops but the high alcohol of standard IPAs and Imperial IPAs make for short session drinking. So, I made Xtra pale ales, which are supposed to be pale ale strength and IPA hopping/bittering levels. Now, I want to Imperialize my Xtra Pale Ale. So, I will make an IPA size beer (7.5% abv) and Imperial size hopping rates (100 IBUs - calculated). It should be awesome. I'll brew this next weekend and as usual, I will post the recipe. Till then, Prost!

First Brew for '10

2010-01-02T18:33:00.003-05:00

I made a hoppy IPA. Several family friends came by to observe the process and sample some of my homebrew. All in all it was good day. I noted my boil off rate was higher than expected due to brewing in the garage (not outside). The gravity of my beer went up 6 points and that will result in a stronger abv beer. Recipe below:

XPA - Xtra Pale Ale

14-B American IPA

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.07 gal

Efficiency: 79.04%

Attenuation: 76.0%

Calories: 199.74 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.060 (1.056 - 1.075)

|===========#====================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.014 (1.010 - 1.018)

|================#===============|

Color: 8.65 (6.0 - 15.0)

|============#===================|

Alcohol: 5.99% (5.5% - 7.5%)

|===========#====================|

Bitterness: 75.8 (40.0 - 70.0)

|===========================#====|

Ingredients:

12.5 lb Standard 2-Row

0.25 lb 2-Row Caramel Malt 120L

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

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

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.78 gal; Strike: 163.14 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

00:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 30.0 min; Final: 151.5 °F

00:45:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.25 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.13 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.1 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.55 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.5

Rogue Chocolate Stout clone

2009-12-13T17:46:00.001-05:00

I love the Rogue chocolate stout. A recent issue of Zymurgy had a clone recipe in it. I basically made that recipe adjusted to my brewery efficiency and I substituted chocolate extract (liquid) for baker's chocolate. I think it will be great.

Chocolate Stout

0-B Untitled Style

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 78.62%

Attenuation: 76.0%

Calories: 196.35 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.059 (1.000 - 1.100)

|=================#==============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.014 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==========#=====================|

Color: 24.15 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===============#================|

Alcohol: 5.89% (0.0% - 10.0%)

|=================#==============|

Bitterness: 69.7 (0.0 - 50.0)

|==============================#=|

Ingredients:

12.0 lb Standard 2-Row

0.5 lb 2-Row Caramel Malt 120L

0.5 lb Chocolate

0.5 lb Oat Flakes

2.5 oz Roasted Barley

6.0 oz Chocolate (semisweet baking) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.5 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

1.5 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.25 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.25 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

2.0 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 5.12 gal; Strike: 161.86 °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, 3.25 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.57 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.1 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.55 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

My Favorite Pale Ale

2009-11-28T18:10:00.002-05:00

Yup, thats right, I think I have had my new favorite pale ale. The Xtra pale ale I brewed a few weeks is ready and its awesome. That recipe was eye opening for me. A pale ale malt base does not have to be complicated. I brewed mostly all pale ale malt (3 Lovibond) and only 4 oz of crystal 120L. The beer tasted great. You smelled fruity citrus malt malt, a signature smell of cascade hops that invites you in the glass. Upfront you taste fruity, citrus hops along with some floral hops from the Willamette hops. As the beer rolls of your tongue when you swallow you notice the very awesome "grainy" malt supporting all those hops. Purely awesome. Here is a pic.

West Coast American Red

2009-11-24T21:08:00.002-05:00

I brewed last Sunday and made a variation of the hoppy red ale I made earlier this year. The pics and tasting note from that beer reminds me how good it was. I hit all my numbers on brew day, but, I screwed up and didn't count out enough hops for the recipe and ended up 1 ounce short on the flame out hops. I already harvested yeast from the top of the fermenting beer. Recipe is below:

West Coast Style American Red Ale

0-B Untitled Style

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 79.0%

Attenuation: 76.0%

Calories: 222.89 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.067 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==================#=============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.016 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==========#=====================|

Color: 16.13 (0.0 - 50.0)

|=============#==================|

Alcohol: 6.68% (0.0% - 10.0%)

|==================#=============|

Bitterness: 80.8 (0.0 - 50.0)

|================================|

Ingredients:

12.5 lb Halcyon Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb 2-Row Caramel Malt 40L

1.0 lb Munich Malt 1

0.5 lb Dark Munich Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 120L

2.5 oz Pale Chocolate Malt

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 45.0 min

2.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 5.87 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, 3.50 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.2 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.0 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.7 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Hoppy Brown Ale

2009-11-18T20:19:00.003-05:00

This is a good session brown ale. I don't know why I have never made a brown ale that "looks" brown in the glass. This beer is dark like a porter. When you hold it up to the light you see brown hue, but mostly dark black. The beer is light, not heavy. There is a hint of roast and a lot of Cascade hop flavor. The dry hops in this beer really pack flavor in. I would make it again for sure.

This weekend I have to bottle the Xtra hoppy pale ale and brew up another batch. It will be a very hoppy red ale.

Time for another Xtra Hoppy Pale Ale

2009-11-08T16:22:00.003-05:00

I made two darker colored beers in a row and I was itching for another light colored bitter hop bomb. An XPA it is. I also tried a bit different procedure to get the mashtun up to temp (i.e. not losing heat to help me dial in the right mash temperature). Previously, I heated 2 extra gallons of water and pulled that extra off to put in the cooler to warm it up, then drain off that water. This time, I didn't heat any extra water but instead I just heated the correct volume of strike water up 5 degrees more than needed. I put the strike water into the cooler and waited a couple of minutes for the temperature to come down to where I needed it, mixed the grains and it worked like a charm. It was a more simple process also. Recipe is below:

XPA - Xtra Pale Ale

14-B American IPA

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 76.21%

Attenuation: 76.0%

Calories: 179.42 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.054 (1.056 - 1.075)

|======#=========================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.010 - 1.018)

|=============#==================|

Color: 8.08 (6.0 - 15.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 5.38% (5.5% - 7.5%)

|=======#========================|

Bitterness: 71.7 (40.0 - 70.0)

|========================#=======|

Ingredients:

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

H Ale O Ween beer pic and tasting

2009-11-03T19:19:00.002-05:00

So, I tried the Hale o ween beer. Wow, talk about wanting something and getting something else. I wanted this to be a very hop forward beer from flavor hopping (hop bursting) and getting a beer that was red in color to go along with the haloween theme. As you can see below, the beer is dark as a porter. Initially, I smell floral hops when it goes into the glass. The mouthfeel is heavy and creamy like a porter. The taste upfront is a smooth floral hoppy note followed by some roast then by almost a nutty malt character. It is a very interesting combination of flavors. There is a balance smooth bitterness, much less than I expected. I would say that it is actually balanced. Overall a good beer. If I wanted to make a porter this would probably fit bill perfectly. I wouldn't say this is a session beer due the "weight" of the beer, but it is definitely tasty. Next weekend I will bottle the hoppy brown ale and brew something else. Stay tuned friends.

Birthday Homebrew

2009-10-25T16:36:00.003-04:00

That's right, I brewed on my birthday. And damn, it was a good day. I hit all my numbers and the beer should be an interesting, but good one. I made an American brown ale, with the roast, toasty grains (roasted barley and pale chocolate malt) but hopped the beer very aggressively. I would not consider the beer "ipa" strength, but it is going to be hoppy, dark, and roasty. I am excited. I'll have to post a pic and review of the pint when I am done. Recipe below:

Hoppy Brown Ale

0-D Untitled Style

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 81.32%

Attenuation: 79.0%

Calories: 168.85 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.051 (1.000 - 1.100)

|================#===============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.000 - 1.100)

|=========#======================|

Color: 19.56 (0.0 - 50.0)

|==============#=================|

Alcohol: 5.29% (0.0% - 10.0%)

|================#===============|

Bitterness: 58.5 (0.0 - 50.0)

|==========================#=====|

Ingredients:

10.0 lb Standard 2-Row

6.0 oz Crystal Malt 60°L

1.0 oz Crystal Malt 80°L

8.0 oz Carared®

0.25 lb Pale Chocolate

0.25 lb Roast Barley

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (4.80%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (4.80%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.29 gal; Strike: 161.86 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 151.0 °F

01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 3.25 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 5.5 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.1 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.55 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Ahh, a good commercial beer in a can

2009-10-19T17:35:00.003-04:00

So, I saw this beer today and decided I would give a try. Amazing. Initially, I smell malt, then hops. The beer is well balanced and drinkable. I taste a hint of nutty malt up front but balanced by hops in the finish. Not knowing anything about the beer I guessed the hops were very similar to cascade hops. I got a similar floral hop taste, but not as much citrus flavor. After looking the beer up, I see the brewer flavored the beer with Crystal hops, which have a floral character and shares lineage with Cascade hops. I bought this sampler pack from the Ithaca Coffee Company on Triphammer road. The brewer is Butternuts Beer and Ale. Give it a try, its a good beer.

Yeast Harvest

2009-10-12T19:35:00.002-04:00

So, I am still harvesting ale yeast by skimming the top cropping yeast. I was a bit nervous this time though. The yeast had a load of crap on top from the break material and hops that made it into the fermenter. The picture below is blurry, but you get the idea. I made a 2 quart starter to put the yeast into. I just "moved" some of the brown foam aside on top to get some more white looking yeasty foam and then a just about a half a cup of fermenting beer also. I am sure I got enough healthy yeast to grow a 2 quart starter though. NO worries.

H Ale O Ween Beer

2009-10-12T19:02:00.002-04:00

I wanted to brew a hoppy as hell red devilish beer in time Halloween. My idea was to hop burst (late hopping) all hop additions. I managed to get a 1.37 ratio of International bittering units (IBUs) to original gravity. That means very hoppy! I wanted to the beer to be about 6.66% alcohol by volume (notice the devilish number). But, I had issues hitting my numbers. I ran out of propane and had to exchange tanks in the middle of the boil. This affected my volume and basically I didn't evaporate enough water so the beer is somewhat diluted compared to how I wanted it. Its ok though, it will still be a totally hoppy tongue twister when its ready. Recipe below:

H' Ale O Ween

23-A Specialty Beer

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 72.12%

Attenuation: 79.0%

Calories: 192.02 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.058 (1.026 - 1.120)

|=============#==================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (0.995 - 1.035)

|==============#=================|

Color: 18.42 (1.0 - 50.0)

|=============#==================|

Alcohol: 6.01% (2.5% - 14.5%)

|============#===================|

Bitterness: 79.5 (0.0 - 100.0)

|====================#===========|

Ingredients:

12.0 lb Standard 2-Row

1.0 lb American Caramel 120°L

0.5 lb Dark Munich Malt

1.0 lb Munich Malt

3.0 oz 2-Row Chocolate Malt

3.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min

1.0 oz Centennial (8.7%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min

3.0 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min

1.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.25 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 5.51 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: 6.06 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 5.75 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.7 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Cascade Hops

2009-10-08T19:24:00.001-04:00

Thankfully, my cascade hopped beer is ready to drink. I dry hopped with Cascades as well. Why oh why did I ever want a different hop. I love them. Here is to hoppy ales made with all Cascade hops.

A Dry Hop "Infuser"

2009-09-27T18:55:00.003-04:00

I love dry hopped beers but I can't stand dealing with clogged beer lines and bottle fillers due to hop pellets that have settled out in the fermenting vessel. I also don't think you get the bang for your buck when dry hopping because the hops fall to the bottom of my bucket and have less surface contact with the beer. So, I am trying an experiment. I thought of trying to use a tea infuser to hold the hops and then, let it dangle from the airlock at the top of the fermenter. My wife actually helped me figure out how to "dangle" it. She thought of letting a piece of siphon tubing fit over the airlock bottom and cut a small hole in the bottom of the tubing to hang the infuser. Pretty good idea. I was only able to 0.70oz of pellet hops in the infuser, so I may need to purchase one more to get any more in there. A picture of the contraption is below. I should have good Cascade hop flavor and aroma in the brew I have going now.

Well's Banana Bread Beer

2009-09-21T19:22:00.002-04:00

My wife picked up an out of the ordinary beer for me to try today when she was grocery shopping. In the produce section she found a "banana bread beer" made by Wells and Youngs. It was very pleasant. I usually approach fruit beer with caution, this beer was good though. It had a dark straw brown color in the glass. The aroma up front was bananas. The taste didn't disappoint, there was the flavor of bananas and malt. The head diminished quickly. For an english brew, I thought it tasted very clean with not a lot of the typical "fruity" english yeast character. Overall, this beer was good enough that I might try to make a clone. Picture of the empty bottle below:

I finally brewed

2009-09-21T19:18:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since I brewed. I finally brewed the last batch of my Hoppy Summer beers. I finished it off with my favorite hop, Cascade. I also tried letting the mash sit longer than I have recently, 45 min. instead of 30. I was also more careful when recirculating the runoff from the mash tun so as not to stir up the grain bed. Hopefully this will help me get a clearer beer. I noticed that my mash efficiency went up a little, almost 5% more. I will have to see if the longer mash times contribute to the extra efficiency on future brews. Here is the recipe:

Hoppy Summer - Cascade

10-D Strong Pale Ale

Author: Hopshead

Date: 9/15/08

Size: 6.22 gal

Efficiency: 86.53%

Attenuation: 79.6%

Calories: 201.96 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.061 (1.050 - 1.060)

|=========================#======|

Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (1.000 - 1.100)

|=========#======================|

Color: 11.21 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 6.38% (5.5% - 6.3%)

|=========================#======|

Bitterness: 66.8 (0.0 - 50.0)

|=============================#==|

Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb Vienna Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 60L

1.0 ea Ferm-Cap S - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

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

2.17 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

1.75 oz Cascade (7.1%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (7.1%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (7.1%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

0.25 oz Cascade (7.1%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:45:00 Mash - Liquor: 4.69 gal; Strike: 159.12 °F; Target: 149.0 °F

01:15:00 Batch sparge - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Sparge #2: 6.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Total Runoff: 9.41 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Warrior Hopped Beer

2009-08-16T17:17:00.003-04:00

So I brewed a Warrior hopped beer in my Summer series of hoppy beers (recipe below). The brew day was hot as hell. I am actually struggling to keep the fermentation temps down on this beer. The water out of my tap is 60 degrees, so twice today I have changed the water bath the fermenter is sitting in to keep the temps down. The room temperature is about 80, my guess is the beer is fermenting at 70. The warrior hops are very high potency, I can't wait till its ready to drink.

Hoppy Summer - Warrior

10-D Strong Pale Ale

Author: Hopshead

Date: 9/15/08

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 81.54%

Attenuation: 79.6%

Calories: 181.74 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.055 (1.050 - 1.060)

|================#===============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.000 - 1.100)

|=========#======================|

Color: 11.01 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 5.74% (5.5% - 6.3%)

|============#===================|

Bitterness: 66.5 (0.0 - 50.0)

|=============================#==|

Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb Vienna Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 60L

1.0 ea Ferm-Cap S - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

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

2.17 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

0.4 oz Warrior (16.1%) - added during boil, boiled 35.0 min

1.0 oz Warrior (16.1%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

1.0 oz Warrior (16.1%) - added during boil, boiled 9.0 min

0.6 oz Warrior (16.1%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:28:00 Mash - Liquor: 4.69 gal; Strike: 159.12 °F; Target: 149.0 °F

00:58:00 Batch sparge - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Sparge #2: 6.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Total Runoff: 9.41 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Simcoe hops

2009-08-16T17:11:00.003-04:00

I am drinking the simcoe hopped beer that I bottled last weekend. Overall, this is a good hop, but it is fruity. It tastes sweet and fruity. My palate is not that trained so I couldn't tell you what kind of fruit it reminds me of, but it isn't like cascades/centennials that have a distinctive grapefruit taste. A friend and family member tried this beer and said the fruit taste was almost lemony. The classic description of simcoe states that this hop is fruity with a woody/pine like taste. I have never eaten pine, so I don't know what that means. I like hops with character, I would brew with this hop again, but in combination with others. So far of the hops I have tried in my hoppy summer, I like the clean but slight citrus taste of nugget the best.

Simcoe Hoppy Pale Ale

2009-07-26T20:43:00.003-04:00

I brewed another version of the hoppy pale ale. This is using simcoe hops. Also, I bottled the perle version of the pale ale. I am curious about that one - my taste buds were playing tricks with this beer so I will wait till its carbonated and cold before I delcare whether I like the hops or not. For now, here is the recipe for the simcoe hoppy pale ale

Hoppy Summer - Simcoe

10-D Strong Pale Ale

Author: Hopshead

Date: 9/15/08

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 80.06%

Attenuation: 79.6%

Calories: 178.38 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.054 (1.050 - 1.060)

|==============#=================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.000 - 1.100)

|=========#======================|

Color: 11.01 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 5.63% (5.5% - 6.3%)

|==========#=====================|

Bitterness: 66.4 (0.0 - 50.0)

|=============================#==|

Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb Vienna Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 60L

1.0 ea Ferm-Cap S - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

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

2.17 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

0.7 oz Simcoe (11.9%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Simcoe (11.9%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

1.0 oz Simcoe (11.9%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

0.3 oz Simcoe (11.9%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:28:00 Mash - Liquor: 4.69 gal; Strike: 159.12 °F; Target: 149.0 °F

00:58:00 Batch sparge - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Sparge #2: 6.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Total Runoff: 9.41 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Summit Hops tasting

2009-07-19T18:17:00.001-04:00

Onion! Smell like onion, tastes like onion. Not good. This last batch of brew will only be around long enough until the perle hops beer is ready.

Buzz Beer

2009-07-12T18:20:00.002-04:00

I brewed another round of the hoppy summer beers. This one I am going to name "buzz brew." I also bottled the summit hops beer. I had a major mistake on that bottling session. I was half way through bottling when I realized I didn't prime with sugar. So, I went old school and put a table spoon of sugar in each bottle. It may be ok, may not, we will see. Here is the recipe for the buzz brew (perle hops).

Hoppy Summer - Perle

10-D Strong Pale Ale

Author: Hopshead

Date: 9/15/08

Size: 7.09 gal

Efficiency: 82.47%

Attenuation: 79.6%

Calories: 168.29 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.051 (1.050 - 1.060)

|=========#======================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.010 (1.000 - 1.100)

|=========#======================|

Color: 10.61 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 5.32% (5.5% - 6.3%)

|====#===========================|

Bitterness: 59.8 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========================#====|

Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.00 lb Vienna Malt

0.50 lb Caramel Malt 60L

1.0 ea Ferm-Cap S - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

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

2.33 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

1.5 oz Perle (7.8%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.00 oz Perle (7.8%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

1.00 oz Perle (7.8%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

0.50 oz Perle (7.8%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:28:00 Mash - Liquor: 4.69 gal; Strike: 159.12 °F; Target: 149.0 °F

00:58:00 Batch sparge - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Sparge #2: 6.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Total Runoff: 9.41 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Top cropped yeast

2009-06-29T18:44:00.002-04:00

The yeast I harvested a few posts ago actually sat in a completely fermented 2 quart starter in the fridge for a week an half because my better bottle fermenter cracked. I pitched the yeast on brewday and I noticed a raised airlock after about 30 minutes. About 2.5 hours later I noticed a little bit of bubbling in the airlock. I went to a bbq the following day and got plowed. So, my first chance to harvest the yeast again was today. I got home cracked open the lid and no krausen! The airlock is barely bubbling but I think I missed my opportunity to harvest the yeast. Now, I did have to use fermcap-s on brewday to seal the lid because I shook the hell of the wort for aeration and I needed the foam control just to knock back the foam in order to seal the lid. If I had harvested yesterday, I think there would be enough yeast on top to harvest even with the foam control. What do you all think?

I have not tasted the beer obviously but, the top cropped yeast PLOWED through the ferment so quickly that I missed my window to harvest a second time.

A good brew day

2009-06-27T17:24:00.003-04:00

I moved all my homebrew equipment from my sister in laws to some relatives much closer to my apartment - a 5 minute commute. It was nice to finish brewing and be home in a few minutes. I brewed the second beer in my hoppy summer using Summit hops. These hops have the highest alpha acids of any I am aware of. They are so potent that my "bittering" addition was 0.2 oz at 30 minutes to flame out. I also put the beer in my new fermenter - a True Brew bucket. I forgot how easy it is to use a bucket for a fermenter. I also pitched the yeast that I have grown/stored for 3 weeks: this yeast was top cropped from the last batch. I will see how long the lag time is. I am out for now, recipe below:

Hoppy Summer - Summit

10-D Strong Pale Ale

Author: Hopshead

Date: 9/15/08

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 77.1%

Attenuation: 79.6%

Calories: 171.65 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.052 (1.050 - 1.060)

|===========#====================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.000 - 1.100)

|=========#======================|

Color: 11.01 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 5.42% (5.5% - 6.3%)

|======#=========================|

Bitterness: 68.0 (0.0 - 50.0)

|=============================#==|

Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb Vienna Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 60L

1.0 ea Ferm-Cap S - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

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

2.17 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

0.2 oz Summit (18.5%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 oz Summit (18.5%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

1.0 oz Summit (18.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

0.8 oz Summit (18.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:28:00 Mash - Liquor: 4.69 gal; Strike: 159.12 °F; Target: 149.0 °F

00:58:00 Batch sparge - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Sparge #2: 6.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Total Runoff: 9.41 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

A homebrewing setback

2009-06-25T19:06:00.003-04:00

So, I planned to brew last weekend after bottling the first beer in my hoppy summer experiment. But, my better bottle fermenter broke (both of them). I think the combination of evaporated PBW water left in the bottles and tilting the fermenters on their side to run water in them from the spigot in the bath tub (for a rinse) weakened the plastic enough to crease and eventually break them. No brew day if you don't have fermenters. So I ordered two plastic buckets - thats right, I am going old school. I have read all the information about plastic buckets scratching easily and harboring bacteria. Well, what if you treat the inside of the buckets just like a better bottle - i.e. no abrasive scrub brushes. As a matter of fact how about no scrubbing with anything just use the PBW cleaner in a solution and let the active oxygen clean for you, you'll get no scratches. The buckets will also make my top cropping to harvest yeast easier - just scoop it with a sanitized spoon. Fedex says my fermenters will be here tomorrow. I am brewing saturday. Now the first beer (before the hoppy summer experiment) that I promised a picture of, well I consumed it, all of it. But, I did pop the top on my first hoppy summer beer made with Nugget hops. And I got a pic below:

This beer is good. I don't think it is nearly as good as the beer I never got a picture of though. The nugget hops smelled like centennial hops on brew day, but I am not getting as much aroma now. Provided this beer needs a few more days carbonating, (which will kick up more aroma), but I don't think it is nearly as aromatic as centennial and cascade hops. The flavor is clean - not like my favorite hops. There is a hint of citrus in there but mostly clean. All in all I would say nugget hops are good - for bittering additions. Flavor and aroma additions should be something else, like cascade. I think the nugget hops would compliment cascade because the flavor I do taste is similar, though faint. Saturday I will brew another hoppy beer with a new hop. Stay tuned for that hop variety.

Re-Harvesting Yeast

2009-06-08T05:55:00.004-04:00

It worked. When the beer was about to blow off the airlock due to a good krausen (below):

I hooked up the racking cane and siphon tubing to catch the foam blowing off into a gallon jug that had a quart of starter beer. See it in action:

I think I collected enough yeast to reuse. Last night I noticed the airlock stopped bubbling after I collected my yeast, it got clogged. I took the airlock off, added some foam control and covered the opening from carboy hood with aluminum foil. The Wlp001 yeast is extremely active.

What a brew day

2009-06-07T09:34:00.003-04:00

So, all of my homebrewing equipment is at my sister-in-laws house. My family planned to spend the day over there while I brewed. We got everything loaded up, coolers w/beer & ice, my daughter's play toys, all my ingredients and many other things. I got set up and mashed the grains. As I was sparging the mash I realized I didn't bring my racking canes or siphon hose. Crap, I would need them when the boil is over because my 15 gallon stainless boil kettle doesn't have a ball valve. I convinced my sister in laws boyfriend to take me back to my apartment. A little verbal bashing from ladies and we were off. Round trip was one hour. So the wort sit in the pot ready for boiling that whole time. I am quite sure the enzymes from the mash worked "overtime." This might make the beer more fermentable than normal. I pitched the yeast starter and before bedtime last night I noticed Co2 coming out of the airlock (about 5 hours after pitching).

This is the first brew for my hoppy summer experiment. I chose Nugget hops for the first brew. I have never used Nugget before. The aroma of these hops wasn't that different from the Centennials I have used in the past. I also somehow had a more vigorous boil than normal, not sure why though. Result, I boiled off more than normal and the beer had a higher starting gravity than planned. I was shooting for a 1.055 beer and got 1.062. Thats ok, instead of an extra pale ale I'll have an IPA. I can' t wait to taste the beer.

Also, I plan on top cropping the yeast from this batch. I am trying to figure out when I should do that. I have read that you want the whitest fluffy yeast. Now, about 15 hours after pitching the yeast starter, I have a nice looking krausen. I am thinking I will collect the yeast today. Pictures to follow. Recipe below, cheers.

Hoppy Summer - Nugget

10-D Strong Pale Ale

Author: Hopshead

Date: 9/15/08

Size: 5.85 gal

Efficiency: 82.72%

Attenuation: 79.6%

Calories: 205.33 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.062 (1.050 - 1.060)

|===========================#====|

Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==========#=====================|

Color: 11.5 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 6.48% (5.5% - 6.3%)

|===========================#====|

Bitterness: 73.2 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===============================#|

Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb Vienna Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 60L

1.0 ea Ferm-Cap S - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

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

2.17 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

1.0 oz Nugget (11.2%) - added during boil, boiled 32.0 min

1.0 oz Nugget (11.2%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

1.0 oz Nugget (11.2%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Nugget (11.2%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:28:00 Mash - Liquor: 4.69 gal; Strike: 159.12 °F; Target: 149.0 °F

01:58:00 Batch sparge - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Sparge #2: 6.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Total Runoff: 9.41 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Bottling update

2009-06-05T23:04:00.001-04:00

I bottled the extra pale ale. Holy shit its awesome. Its very hoppy. I think when I dry hop again I will try whole hops because there is so much aroma left in the carboy after racking the beer off. I'll post a pic and taste test in a little over a week when its ready to drink.

A Starter

2009-06-03T21:55:00.007-04:00

I needed to make a starter for the first batch of my "hoppy summer" beers. I decided I should blog the occasion. According to Mr. Malty yeast pitching calculator I should make a 2 quart starter beer to grow/propagate enough yeast to make a 5.5 gallon batch of beer with an original gravity of 1.055. (If you want to know why you should make a starter, read this article, courtesy of Zymurgy from the American Homebrewers Association). I used my beer software to make help me determine the amount of dried malt extract to make a 2 quart starter with an original gravity of 1.037:

starter

0-C Untitled Style

Size: 2.0 qt

Original Gravity: 1.037

Terminal Gravity: 1.008

Alcohol: 3.88% (0.0% - 10.0%)

Ingredients:

6.95 oz CBW® Golden Light Powder (Dry Malt Extract)

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

And, here is me mixing the malt into the water:

Now, You should boil it for 15 minutes to kill any bacteria:

Finally, cover loosely with sanitized foil, and shake often to circulate air and help those yeast grow:

A Lesson for the Newbs, and a mistatke

2009-05-25T18:17:00.003-04:00

So, I have read about making homebrew for over 3 years now. That includes a combination of reading books and forums on the internet. I can't remember how many times I have read forums over the last 3 years with guys asking questions similar to the following, "I pitched my yeast 24 hours ago, and I don't see any bubbling in the airlock, is something wrong with my beer?" I know the answer, "Just because you don't see bubbling, doesn't mean your beer is not fermenting, or ruined." Now, my mistake (although I don't see this as beer ruining.)

I brewed my hoppy pale ale Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. I pitched my yeast about 2:30pm. I noticed yeast colonies floating on my beer by bedtime Sunday. Monday morning when I woke up, I expected a bubbling airlock - but, nothing. It "looked" like the beer was fermenting but no bubbles, Hmm. I was going to be busy the first half of Monday and to be cautious, I pitched another dry pack of US-05, just in case - (that was my mistake - a dumb mistake). I check on my beer about supper time Monday and I see yeast rolling through the beer (fermenting at about 68 degrees). No bubbles. Guess what, the carboy hood on my better bottle did not have a "tight seal." The little orange carboy hood had seen its better days. I sanitized a new one and put the airlock on. The beer is fine, but I added too much yeast. I don't think I am in the category of "overpitched" yeast, but I bet I am close. A picture of the ferment is below. It is hard to tell from that pic, but the fermometer reads 68.

Celtic Ale Tasting

2009-05-24T15:12:00.002-04:00

I served this beer to a beer loving family member and his comment was, "Mm, This is like eating a ham sandwich." Right on. It is a malty beer, kind of heavy, not much hops. It is deep red. The ferment was clean, but the irish ale yeast has a distinctive taste. There is a hint of earthy floral hops, but not much, the malt dominates. All in all it is a good beer, but not my favorite style.

A Hoppy Pale Ale (Extra Pale Ale)

2009-05-24T14:42:00.002-04:00

This brew day was fun and took about 5 hours start to finish. I had a small error though. I wanted to mash my grain at 152 degrees. I knew I heated my strike water too hot, so I pulled off a half gallon and replaced that with a cold half gallon. My end result was a mash at 149 degrees. Oh, well, a little less body and dryer finish won't hurt. Also, my propane tank ran out the last two minutes of the boil, almost perfect! The grain bill below is what I will use for my "hoppy summer" of brewing, the only thing that will change is hop variety.

Extra Pale Ale

10-D Strong Pale Ale

Author: Hopshead

Date: 5/24/09

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 81.54%

Attenuation: 79.6%

Calories: 181.74 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.055 (1.050 - 1.060)

|================#===============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.000 - 1.100)

|=========#======================|

Color: 11.01 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 5.74% (5.5% - 6.3%)

|============#===================|

Bitterness: 59.8 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========================#====|

Ingredients:

11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb Vienna Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 60L

1.0 ea Ferm-Cap S - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

1.0 oz Centennial (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Willamette (4.4%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

1.5 oz Cascade (7.1%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

0.5 oz Willamette (4.4%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

0.5 oz Cascade (7.3%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

0.5 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (7.3%) - added dry to primary fermenter

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

2.17 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:28:00 Mash - Liquor: 4.69 gal; Strike: 159.12 °F; Target: 149.0 °F

00:58:00 Batch sparge - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Sparge #2: 6.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Total Runoff: 9.41 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

A Hoppy Summer

2009-05-19T20:19:00.003-04:00

Prepost disclaimer, the Celtic Ale is ready, review and a pic post of the pint is due.

A Hoppy Summer (my plan for the next 3 to 4 months)

After getting drunk twice on the Celtic Ale, I realize that I really am a hophead and I miss my hoppy beers. I could have steady diet of purely hoppy beers. My taste buds have shifted the last year and half. I used to only prefer american pale ales and Ipas were just too much. Now pale ales are like light american lager and ipas are what I crave. But, the Ipas I have been drinking lately are kicking my but with alcohol.

So, here is the solution, brew an american pale ale strength beer with ipa hopping levels. This is what I tried to do with my last two pale ales. When I was ordering ingredients for the next hoppy batch (this weekend) I realized that I only really know the flavor and taste of just a few hops (Cascade, Centennial, and Amarillo). (Disclaimer, there is one other hop I know the taste of and don't like, Columbus - it made my beer taste like mouth puckering apples).

So, in my quest to create the "perfect hoppy pale ale" I need to know the flavor of other hops. There is only so much information I can get from the internet. Here is my plan for 6 to 8 batches of beer in a row: Use the same grain bill and use only one hop variety for bittering, flavor, and aroma. And to target a REALLY hoppy beer, I am going to up the IBU to gravity ratio. Typically I target a 1 to 1 ratio (IBUs to Gravity points). For the uniformed out there, this means IBUs (a measure of bitterness) to starting gravity points. (example, 60 IBUs and starting gravity for a 1 to 1 ratio would be a hydrometer reading of 1.060 - scratch out the 1.0 and you get 60).

I am going to up my IBU to gravity ration to over 1 to 1 (maybe 1.25 to 1). And, I want to keep the alcohol down to a point where I can drink more than two without wanting to go to sleep (i.e. under 6.0 to 6.5% abv).

Also, to keep things constant for a "hop tasting" I will keep the grain bill and yeast the same throughout. I think this will be fun opportunity to "re-harvest" yeast. My plan is to use the same yeast by repitching yeast from batch to batch. I would like to harvest the ale yeast by "top cropping" from the carboy. I plan on doing this by collecting the "blow off" from a healthy fermenting beer. (Again for the uniformed, at the height of fermentation, the beer is kicking up a lot of CO2, so, I plan to insert a sanitized racking cane into the yeast foam on top of the beer and let the pressure of the ferment blow the yeast out of the carboy down a sanitized tube into a collection vessel). This will be fun.

On another note, there are readers of this blog that frequently taste my homebrew. Unfortunately for them, this experiment (3 to 4 months long) will likely get boring. I am making hoppy beer for me and the "tasters" may get tired of seemingly similar but very bitter beer.

For now that is all, cheers.

Celtic Ale update

2009-05-10T19:36:00.002-04:00

I bottled the Celtic Ale (irish red) today. It finished with a little more alcohol than planned, Finishing gravity 1.015, 5.65%abv. I drank the hydrometer sample and thought it was excellent! It should be carbonated by next weekend. I'll post a pic of the pint and review when ready.

Fermentation Issues

2009-04-27T19:13:00.003-04:00

Naturally. I want to use a yeast that is not as tolerant of high fermentation temps just as soon as it gets hot in Ithaca. Our 2 bedroom apt is cooled with open windows and fans. Today it got up to 93 outside and the room temperature inside was about 81. When I got home the fermometer on carboy was reading 74. That yeast should not ferment above 68. The water temp around the bottom half was reading about 71. I drained all the water and put in another 6 gallons from the tap. Our tap water comes out at about 50 degrees. 30 min. in the cooler tap water brought the fermentation temp down to about 66. That is great, I just hope the yeast don't go into shock and go dormant on me. Here is a pic after I cooled it off.

Ahh, a homebrewing news piece

2009-04-26T18:11:00.001-04:00

Here is a link to a Time video on homebrewing:
A nice video

2009-04-26T17:56:00.003-04:00

It was a pretty day for brewing. I have an Irish Red Ale in the fermenter. This is the first time I have made this style of beer. The yeast, Irish ale yeast, was propagated in a gallon jug in a 3 quart starter. It is supposed to ferment between 65 and 68 degrees. I collected the wort and went to a family member's farm to look at some 15 year old hop plants. We are going to try and get a usable product out of them this year. By the time I got back to the beer it was about 3 hours later and the wort had warmed up to about 78 degrees. I got home pitched the yeast and put the fermenter in a big rubbermaid tub and poured cold water around it to try and cool that think off. The cold water was about 50 degrees so it will take a couple of hours to come down, but that should work fine. I'll post pictures later. Till then, here is the recipe below:

Celtic Ale

9-D Irish Red Ale

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 81.51%

Attenuation: 70.0%

Calories: 194.84 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.058 (1.044 - 1.060)

|=====================#==========|

Terminal Gravity: 1.017 (1.010 - 1.014)

|================================|

Color: 19.54 (9.0 - 18.0)

|==========================#=====|

Alcohol: 5.33% (4.0% - 6.0%)

|==================#=============|

Bitterness: 26.0 (17.0 - 28.0)

|=====================#==========|

Ingredients:

9.0 lb Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt

3.0 lb Munich Malt 1

8.67 oz Carared®

6.5 oz Crystal Malt 120°L

4.33 oz Roasted Barley

1.62 oz Fuggle (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 45.0 min

1.0 oz East Kent Goldings (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

0.28 oz Fuggle (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

2.17 qt White Labs WLP004 Irish Stout

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

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.96 gal; Strike: 161.86 °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, 3.25 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 6.36 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 6.1 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.55 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Good BBQ and homebrew

2009-04-20T19:09:00.003-04:00

So, our family had a bbq this weekend. My Ipa had been bottled for a week, perfect! A few of those hoppy Ipa's and bbq was a perfect end to a long week. I went to SC to pack up the remainder of the belongings in my house, soon to be sold, and moved it all to storage here in NY. We had a good time, beer helped. In the pic below you will see the little kitty had too much to early. Thats a good lookin' beer.

Oooh, its fermenting

2009-03-29T09:07:00.002-04:00

After, looking at my recipe and noticing I overshot my original gravity, this is actually going to be an IPA. It will be good. And now, here is a shot of it fermenting:

Here is a good Krausen after about 16 hours after pitching the yeast:

Another Pale Ale in the books

2009-03-28T17:21:00.002-04:00

It was a good brew day today. Very comfortable outside. I hit a higher mash efficiency than normal (read, bigger beer, more alcohol) than planned. Recipe is below. A few guys showed up to watch the process. I may have convinced one of them to start brewing. This should be a good beer. I will post pics of the pint when ready.

Strong Pale Ale

10-D Strong Pale Ale

Author: Hopshead

Date: 3/29/09

Size: 6.0 gal

Efficiency: 79.85%

Attenuation: 79.6%

Calories: 205.33 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.062 (1.050 - 1.060)

|===========================#====|

Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==========#=====================|

Color: 10.0 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========#====================|

Alcohol: 6.48% (5.5% - 6.3%)

|===========================#====|

Bitterness: 61.6 (0.0 - 50.0)

|===========================#====|

Ingredients:

12.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb Vienna Malt

0.25 lb Caramel Malt 60L

1.0 ea Ferm-Cap S - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

1.0 oz Magnum (14.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

0.5 oz Cascade (7.3%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

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

0.5 oz Cascade (7.3%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (6.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 qt White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:30:30 Mash - Liquor: 4.97 gal; Strike: 162.5 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

01:00:30 Batch sparge - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Sparge #2: 6.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 15.0 min; Total Runoff: 9.61 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Taste Test Results

2009-03-22T17:12:00.005-04:00

So, the kolsch beer was a double batch (4 cases = 10 gallons). I pitched a clean dry yeast (Fermentis US-05) in one fermenter and a liquid yeast (white labs WLP001) in the other. In order to try and make the beers the "same" with only one variable different, I used Mr. Malty's yeast pitching calculator ( http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html ) to ensure the amount of yeast cells pitched in each fermenter was the same. Sidebar = the amount of yeast cells pitched will affect the flavor of the beer. The more the yeast have to "grow" into daughter cells to actively ferment the beer, the more "esters" the yeast will produce. Many ales have an "ester" character to them. The yeast strain I used (above) are both purportedly the chico strain of yeast. This yeast strain is used by the Sierra Nevada Brewing company. The flavor of this yeast is very neutral and will make a beer taste "dry" when you have handled the yeast correctly. The dry yeast from Fermentis is relatively new and in my opinion, taken the homebrewing world by storm recently. My internet research on many different homebrew message boards/forums noted that there is "division among the ranks" of homebrewers as far as these two yeast are concerned. Some say they can't tell a difference between them and others have a preference of one over the other. My experiment was to see if I and my family and friends could tell a difference in a blind tasting. With that prologue, the results.

The blind taste test was prepared with two beers in different glasses from the same bottle (the dry yeast batch). A third beer was poured from a bottle from the liquid yeast batch. None of the glasses were labeled. I told the tasters to tell me which of the three beers are the same, there should be two, and which of the three beers did they like the most, descriptions welcomed.

I personally could not taste a difference. The blind tasting conducted with some family was surprising to me. Out of 4 tasters, everyone but one picked the two dry yeast beers as the same. And, everyone but one picked the dry yeast beer as the better tasting beer. Overall, both beers were very good they said. The liquid yeast beer got "docked" if you will because there was "something" about it that was a bit different. Now for the full disclosure, I am a homebrewer and my process is not perfect. The liquid yeast beer was the last of the 10 gallon batch siphoned into a fermenter. It pulled all the trub and kettle hops into the fermenter. The dry yeast batch (first 5 gallons siphoned) was clear as a bell. So, it stands to reason to me the extra stuff in the fermenter in the liquid yeast batch might contribute to its flavor. Another sidebar = the dry yeast I pitched in the first fermenter was a dud. The fermentation had not started after 24 hours meanwhile the liquid yeast was plowing through its ferment. I was lucky in that I always have an "extra" pack of this dry yeast in the fridge. I pitched that pack in the fermenter and finally that beer started fermenting correctly. So, surely there was a "different" pitching rate here. It was strange to me, I have used that dry yeast for over a year without a problem. Naturally, when I try to do an experiment something fowls up.

Overall, despite the differences in the test, I think that these yeast cultures are the same. IF there is a difference it is very very slight. Who knows maybe I should do the experiment again with better control?

Picture of the Kolsch

2009-03-21T11:54:00.002-04:00

This is a good looking beer

Update

2009-03-21T08:29:00.003-04:00

I have not blogged in a while. A few updates are in order. The vanilla bourbon porter was a really good beer. I am not sure I have any left. If I do, I will get a picture of the pint. When poured, the smell of bourbon was very apparent. The color was pitch black with a slightly tan head. The taste was malt and vanilla up front. Very smooth mouthfeel. In the aftertaste you knew bourbon was present. I would make this again. These beers at 7.5% abv doesn't take long to feel the effects. Picture below:

The kolsch style ale is also great. I have conducted one taste taste with family so far, another is planned today. I will post pics of the pint and results soon. Till then, prost.

Bottled the Kolsch style ale

2009-03-08T21:05:00.002-04:00

Yup, I bottled all 4 cases. Both fermenters finished at a final gravity of 1.011. With an OG of 1.052 that is an abv % of about 5.4. I tasted the hydrometer sample and this beer is really good. It is extremely light, about the color of a standard american lager. It is very drinkable with a hint of german hops. The beers should be carbonated next weekend and I will go to family and friends for a blind taste test.

Fermentation Update

2009-02-24T05:07:00.002-05:00

Adding the extra pack of Safale US-05 to the fermenter worked. Both beers are fermenting as normal. I don't know why the first pack of dry yeast (US-05) didn't take off, that is weird. I am glad both fermenters are acting normal now though. I will let these beers sit ferment and sit on the yeast cake for a total of two weeks then bottle.

At the end of this week there is a possibility the vanilla bourbon porter will be carbonated. Will post back when its done.

A Long Brew Day

2009-02-22T07:31:00.002-05:00

So, I wanted to do an alcohol experiment with a double batch of Kolsch beer. The idea is to make 10 gallons of a balanced beer with not a lot of flavor contributed by malt or hops and use two different yeasts for each 5 gallon fermenter. Sounds fun. I got all my equipment out at about 11:30am Saturday, but I didn't start brewing right away. I drank a few beers and was shootin' the breeze with some family. About 1pm I decided to get started. But, there was no running water to the outside spigot. Crap, I had running water issues again. I loaded up my homebrewery and headed over to my sister-in-law's garage. It is now about 3pm when I get everything set back up. I conduct the mash and sparge. The boil is started about 4:15pm. I had some more beers. Boil was done at 5:45pm and I chilled it down. The beer was ready to go in the fermenters about 6:30pm. Now, here is one variable that I did not consider when wanting to compare the beers side by side. The first 5 gallons siphoned out of the kettle was some of the cleanest beer you can get. The last 5 gallons, however, had all the darn trub in it. Surely that will make a difference with the taste of the two beers side by side. Who know maybe it won't.

So, I put one yeast brand, White Labs WLP001 - California Ale, in the fermenter. But first, I grew the WLP001 yeast up with a 2 quart starter. In the other fermenter I put a package of rehydrated Safale US-05 - American Ale. Both of those yeasts are argued to be the same strain. Ideally, if they are the same there should be no noticeable taste difference when the beers are ready for a side by side comparison. However, there are some readers of this blog that will be tasting the final product, so I will not disclose what beer yeast is fermenting the 5 gallons with the trub (I don't want to create bias).

Now this morning I got up to check on the fermenters and the WLP001 beer was fermenting away. The fermenter with the Safale US-05, nothing. That is very un-characterstic of this yeast. It has always been a fast starting yeast. So I assumed the worst and went ahead and added another pack of the Safale US-05 to that fermenter. Naturally, as soon as I want to do a side by side comparison the 'ole hearty dry yeast that I have made many batches of beer with decided to be a little bitch and not do its job. Hopefully, it will be fermenting happily in a few hours. Recipe for the beer is below:

Kolsch (split batch)

6-C Kölsch

Size: 10.08 gal

Efficiency: 75%

Attenuation: 76.0%

Calories: 172.66 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.052 (1.044 - 1.050)

|=============================#==|

Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (1.007 - 1.011)

|=============================#==|

Color: 4.32 (3.5 - 5.0)

|================#===============|

Alcohol: 5.18% (4.4% - 5.2%)

|=======================#========|

Bitterness: 27.1 (20.0 - 30.0)

|===================#============|

Ingredients:

17.6 lb Pilsner Malt

1.1 lb Munich Malt 1

1.1 lb White Wheat

2.5 oz Hallertau Hersbruck (3.9%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Hallertau Hersbruck (3.9%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

1.0 tsp Ferm-Cap S - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min

2.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

1.0 ea White Labs WLP001 California Ale

1.0 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 7.42 gal; Strike: 161.86 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 151.4 °F

01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 4.5 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 9.9 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 8.9 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 13.69 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

I bottled the Imperial Vanilla Bourbon Porter

2009-02-21T00:19:00.003-05:00

I am going to figure out how to get more adjectives on a homebrewed beer yet. Anyway... the base beer was 6.6% alcohol by volume and it tasted smooth. The beer was balanced but on the malty side. So, how much alcohol did the bourbon add? Well there was 53 beers in total after bottling. 12 oz per beer, multiplied by 53, makes 636 oz of beer. I added a pint (16oz) of 40 % abv. bourbon to the bottling bucket and siphoned the beer on top of it. So, 636 (total beers bottled) less 16oz (bourbon added) leaves 620 oz of 6.6% abv beer. 16 divided by 636 equals approximately 0.025. Multiply 0.025 by 12oz and you'll get an approximated volume of bourbon per bottle. That is 0.3 oz per bottle. That leaves 11.7 oz of beer per bottle. So, 0.3 oz times 40% abv leaves 0.12 oz of alcohol. 11.7 oz times 6.6% leaves about 0.77 oz of alcohol. 0.77oz plus 0.12oz equals 0.89oz of alcohol per bottle. Finally, 0.89oz divided into 12oz gets you about a 7.4% abv beer.

But, how does it frickin' taste. I tasted the hydrometer sample (hot and flat). The bourbon smell was kickin and potent. But the taste was a pleasant vanilla and smooth porter with a hint of bourbon taste. Get that baby carbonated and cold and I think she'll get the job done. I'll post a pint and review when its ready.

Ahh, One of my favorite beers

2009-02-14T15:57:00.003-05:00

There it is, the West Coast Style American Red Ale = Red Ipa. This recipe is essentially the same as Jamil's (Brew Your Own Style Profile writer) Hoppy American Amber Ale. I think this is one of my most favorite beers. It is very aggressively bitter, but the malt comes through. The cascade and centennial hops have the classic grapefruit flavor. Out of 1 to 5, this is a 6! An excellent beer, for a hop head. Delicate sensitive palates need not apply.

Vanilla Bourbon Porter

2009-02-08T20:24:00.002-05:00

I brewed the base porter today for the vanilla bourbon porter. The vanilla beans have been soaking in the pint of bourbon for a little over a week. After the beer ferments I will add the bourbon and bottle. Here is the recipe:

Imperial Vanilla Bourbon Porter

0-B Untitled Style

Author: hopshead

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 72.11%

Attenuation: 70.0%

Calories: 235.96 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.070 (1.000 - 1.100)

|===================#============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.021 (1.000 - 1.100)

|===========#====================|

Color: 29.28 (0.0 - 50.0)

|=================#==============|

Alcohol: 6.46% (0.0% - 10.0%)

|==================#=============|

Bitterness: 44.4 (0.0 - 50.0)

|======================#=========|

Ingredients:

15.0 lb Standard 2-Row

0.5 lb 2-Row Caramel Malt 80L

0.5 lb 2-Row Caramel Malt 60L

0.5 lb Crystal Malt 120°L

5.0 oz Chocolate Malt

0.5 lb Roasted Barley

0.5 lb Pale Chocolate

1.0 oz Chinook (11.1%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

0.5 oz East Kent Goldings (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min

0.5 oz East Kent Goldings (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

2.0 ea Vanilla (whole bean) - added dry to primary fermenter

16.0 oz bourbon - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 ea Fermentis S-04 Safale S-04

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 6.68 gal; Strike: 159.6 °F; Target: 150.0 °F

01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 149.4 °F

01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 4.55 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 5.0 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 5.0 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.75 gal

Notes

Added vanilla beans to pint of bourbon.
Add bourbon to bottling bucket, then bottle.

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Hophead's Dream

2009-02-01T13:11:00.002-05:00

I bottled the West Coast Style American Red Ale today. Holy shit! That is a good beer. I smelled and tasted the hydrometer sample and the aroma was awesome - full of hops. The taste didn't disappoint. It will take about 7 to 10 days to carbonate in the bottles - it will be hard not to sneak a sample before then. I'll post a picture of the pint when its ready.

I did not brew this weekend - I was a bit under the weather. But, next weekend I am brewing the Vanilla Bourbon Porter.

Bourbon, Beer, & Vanilla Beans

2009-01-25T18:01:00.002-05:00

It is winter and COLD. I want to make a beer that will warm you up a bit. Next weekend I will brew an Imperial Vanilla Bourbon Porter. The first part of this recipe involves soaking vanilla beans in some good bourbon for 3 weeks. The vanilla beans were split open and the vanilla powder was removed and dropped in the bourbon along with the bean itself. I'll brew a big porter and after it ferments, I will add the "vanilla" bourbon to the bottling bucket just before the beer is added. A pint of bourbon in a 5 gallon batch will result in about 10ml of bourbon per 12 oz bottle. My guess is that it will also raise the abv% by about 1% total. Here is a picture of the pint of bourbon with vanilla beans. Mmm, it looks good.

The Oatmeal Stout is in the Glass!

2009-01-25T16:31:00.002-05:00

This is a good beer. It did not attenuate (ferment) as much as I had planned. This brew should have been about 6.5 % abv but is only about 5.75%. The final gravity is (hydrometer reading) is high, 1.021, and originally was planned to go down to about 1.016. Essentially, the beer is "heavier" than planned. That said, I would make this beer again. The malted oats make this beer feel "smooth" and sort of "silky" on the tongue. There is a slight roast flavor in the beer but I think the oats balance out the beer to keep the roast "tame" and not like a burnt piece of toast. When my wife gets over her cold I will have her give this beer a taste - I would be willing to bet it is one she would drink. Here is a picture of specimen:

Now doesn't that pint look tasty! Who wants a pour?

A happy fermenter

2009-01-19T19:26:00.002-05:00

Look at that yeast churn through the beer:

Here is the recipe for the West Coast Style American Red Ale

2009-01-18T22:10:00.003-05:00

Be sure to see the pics of the brew day below:

West Coast Style American Red Ale

0- Untitled Style

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 75.32%

Attenuation: 76.0%

Calories: 218.59 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.066 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==================#=============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.016 (1.000 - 1.100)

|==========#=====================|

Color: 16.48 (0.0 - 50.0)

|=============#==================|

Alcohol: 6.56% (0.0% - 10.0%)

|==================#=============|

Bitterness: 65.7 (0.0 - 50.0)

|=============================#==|

Ingredients:

13.0 lb Halcyon Pale Ale Malt

1.0 lb 2-Row Caramel Malt 40L

1.0 lb Munich Malt 1

0.5 lb Victory® Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 120L

2.5 oz Pale Chocolate Malt

1.0 oz Horizon (11.1%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

3.0 oz Cascade (7.1%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Centennial (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2.0 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 6.02 gal; Strike: 161.93 °F; Target: 152.0 °F

01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 151.3 °F

01:15:00 Sparge - First runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 4.0 gal collected, 5 min; Second Runings: 5.5 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 5.4 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.6 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

Helluva Good Brew Day

2009-01-18T21:18:00.019-05:00

I made a batch of West Coast Style American Red Ale. The brew day started off lookin' like a disaster. My sister-in-law's house had frozen pipes near the hose bib. Uh oh, now what. A buddy wanted to observe an all grain batch of beer being made and he knew he had running water and a warm garage. We loaded up the brewing equipment and down the road we went. We had a helluva good brew day. Only one problem, I only brought a 6 pack of my homebrew, what was I thinkin'! Several 6 packs would have better. My buddy's wife took some great pictures of this brew day. See below (recipe above):

The all grain mash is done and boiling, lets make some sanitizer:

Boil is over - Lets chill that thing down

Re-hydrating the yeast here:

Mmm, 72 degrees - that is cold enough to put the beer in a carboy:

According to the recipe the original gravity of this beer should be 1.066 - looks like I "hit it"

Aerating the beer here:

2009-01-11T11:44:00.002-05:00

As promised, here is a picture of my first homebrewed beer in NY. It is a very hoppy pale ale. According the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) guidelines, this beer is more bitter than than a normal american pale ale. But, the original gravity (potential alcohol %) is less than an IPA. That means this should be one bitter hoppy brew. But, I used a bit higher kilned base malt and I think that does balance this beer somewhat. It is very drinkable and definitely made for a hophead. The dry hopping I did in this batch makes the beer have an extremely nice aroma when first poured. The Amarillo hops (a similiar hop to Cascades) has the very familiar "grapefruit" citrus flavor. This batch (2 cases) will go fast.

Oatmeal Stout Fermentation

2009-01-04T19:50:00.003-05:00

I am craving this oatmeal stout. Seeing a dark beer fermenting with a top fermenting ale yeast, well a picture is worth a thousand words:
There it is, brew belt and all. I expect fermentation will be complete next weekend, but I will let it sit on the yeast cake for another week for post fermentation cleanup.

Oatmeal Stout, Mmm!!!

2009-01-02T16:26:00.002-05:00

I brewed the Oatmeal stout today. I think it is going to be great. My mash efficiency was planned at 75% but I got a higher rate, 80%. The last brew was also higher than 75% but only by 2%. Hmm, I really need to learn water chemistry and Ph. Recipe is below. I also dry hopped the pale ale. I was thinking about calling this a small or mini IPA. It is hopped more aggressively than a pale ale but the alcohol % is not as strong as an IPA. I hope it tastes good. I will post pictures when it is ready.

oatmeal stout

13-C Oatmeal Stout

Size: 6.5 gal

Efficiency: 79.63%

Attenuation: 76.0%

Calories: 216.71 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.065 (1.048 - 1.065)

|=======================#========|

Terminal Gravity: 1.016 (1.010 - 1.018)

|===================#============|

Color: 30.74 (22.0 - 40.0)

|===============#================|

Alcohol: 6.5% (4.2% - 5.9%)

|=============================#==|

Bitterness: 37.6 (25.0 - 40.0)

|=====================#==========|

Ingredients:

10.0 lb Maris Otter Pale

3.0 lb Oat Malt

0.75 lb Chocolate

0.75 lb Victory® Malt

0.5 lb Caramel Malt 80L

0.5 lb Roasted Malt (Black Malt)

1.0 oz Target (7.3%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Liberty (3.2%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

1.0 oz Liberty (3.2%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min

1.5 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F

Source Water: 68.0 °F

Elevation: 500.0 ft

00:03:00 Mash In - Liquor: 5.81 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: 5.6 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 5.5 gal collected, 7 min; Total Runoff: 9.7 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2