tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68709840822396696422023-11-16T00:02:21.597-08:00Andy Slusher's home brew blogExploring Beer, Kombucha & other fermentables...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-70518378075716590652014-05-08T07:41:00.002-07:002014-05-30T10:56:51.844-07:00Batch #20 - Kombucha Tea<span style="font-family: inherit;">This will be a pretty big departure from my normal brewing activity. I've decided to try my hand at brewing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha" target="_blank">Kombucha</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<u>Ingredients</u>:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">3 1/2 quarts filtered water<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVc0h55RHhUNIH9jKrNs8wOXrdEe7kWDma-C9JH-g-32dpnBQglCr_l7rVB-T1z6NU_KnAQ9J9lWeYZgkcqTBQe8J33tz3pty7o2Ehah4LWSEb88Obu6-tDBqmaz3NFD8ScXV8VKYp8dY/s1600/DSC_0111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVc0h55RHhUNIH9jKrNs8wOXrdEe7kWDma-C9JH-g-32dpnBQglCr_l7rVB-T1z6NU_KnAQ9J9lWeYZgkcqTBQe8J33tz3pty7o2Ehah4LWSEb88Obu6-tDBqmaz3NFD8ScXV8VKYp8dY/s1600/DSC_0111.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup white sugar (or organic evaporated sugar)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">8 bags black tea (g</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">reen tea, white tea, oolong tea, or a even mix of these make good kombucha.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">1-2 cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha or store-bought (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored) kombucha</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCOBY" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">SCOBY</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> per fermentation jar</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Optional flavoring bottling</em>: 1 to 2 cups chopped fruit, 2 to 3 cups fruit juice, 1 to 2 tablespoons flavored tea (like hibiscus or Earl Grey), 1/4 cup honey, 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh herbs or spices.</span><br />
<ul>
<li>For this batch I am going to add 2 oz. of juice to each 12 oz. bottle. I am estimating that I will need about 20 oz.</li>
<ul>
<li>1 gallon of Kombucha or 128 oz. divided by 12 oz. (each bottle) = about 10 bottles.</li>
<li>10 bottles at 2 oz. each = 20 oz.</li>
</ul>
<li>Bottles 1, 2 & 3 - Fresh squeezed orange juice & 1/4 teaspoon grated ginger</li>
<ul>
<li><i>Note: Tasted these after various days of carbonation and they were fantastic.</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Bottle 4 - 1/4 teaspoon grated ginger</li>
<ul>
<li><i>Note: This one was fair. Not bad, just not a lot of flavor.</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Bottles 5, 6, 7 & 8 - Black cherry juice (R.W. Knudsen brand)</li>
<ul>
<li><i>Note: Opened bottle #6 on May 28th and the carbonation level was perfect. This makes it 8 days in secondary for future reference.</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Bottle 9 - 2 oz. fresh squeezed orange juice</li>
<li>Bottle 10 - Plain kombucha with 1/2 tsp. white table sugar for carbonation</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Process</u>:</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Make the Tea Base</b>:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled to room temperature. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the pot in an ice bath in the sink.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Add the Starter Tea</b>:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> Once the tea is cool, remove the tea bags. Stir in the starter tea. (The starter tea makes the liquid acidic, which prevents unfriendly bacteria from taking up residence in the first few days of fermentation.)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Transf</b><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">er to Jar and Add the Scoby</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon glass jar and gently slide the scoby into the jar with clean hands. Cover the mouth of the jar with an unbleached coffee filter and secure with a rubber band.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Ferment for 7 to 10 Days</b>: Keep the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and where it won't get jostled. Ferment for 7 to 10 days, checking the kombucha and the scoby periodically. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">It's not unusual for the scoby to float at the top, bottom, or even sideways. A new cream-colored layer of scoby should start forming on the surface of the kombucha within a few days. It usually attaches to the old scoby, but it's ok if they separate. You may also see brown stringy bits floating beneath the scoby, sediment collecting at the bottom, and bubbles collecting around the scoby. This is all normal and signs of healthy fermentation. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">After seven days, begin tasting the kombucha daily by pouring a little out of the jar and into a cup. When it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasant to you, the kombucha is ready to bottle. If using pH strips your 'buch will be ready (on the sweet side) at 3.1 or on the sour side at 2.7.</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Remove the Scoby</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> Before proceeding, prepare and cool another pot of strong tea for your next batch of kombucha, as outlined above. With clean hands, gently lift the scoby out of the kombucha and set it on a clean plate. As you do, check it over and remove the bottom layer if the scoby is getting very t</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">hick.</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Bottle the Finished Kombucha</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> Measure out your starter tea from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for the next batch. Pour the fermented kombucha (straining) into bottles using the small funnel, along with any juice, herbs, or fruit you may want to use as flavoring. Leave about a half inch of head room in each bottle. In this case add 2 oz. of your fresh apple & ginger juice to each bottle.</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Carbonate and Refrigerate the Finished Kombucha</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> Store the bottled kombucha at room-temperature out of direct sunlight and allow 1 to 3 days for the kombucha to carbonate. Until you get a feel for how quickly your kombucha carbonates, it's helpful to keep it in plastic bottles; the kombucha is carbonated when the bottles feel rock solid. Refrigerate to stop fermentation and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">carbonation, and then consume your kombucha within a month.</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Make a Fresh Batch of Kombucha</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> Clean the jar being used for kombucha fermentation. Combine the starter tea from your last batch of kombucha with the fresh batch of sugary tea, and pour it into the fermentation jar. Slide the scoby on top, cover, and ferment for 7 to 10 days.</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><u>Notes</u>:</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Brew day Saturday, May 10, 2014.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">After nearly 3 days I still do not see any signs of fermentation. This may be my first brewing FAIL - Ugh!</span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Possible causes:</span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Dormant or dead SCOBY? I refrigerated the SCOBY as soon as it arrived. This may have killed it or put it in a dormant state. I read refrigeration is not required.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">I used Star San to sanitize my jar. Could this have killed the good bacteria? Probably not as I made a small batch using the smaller SCOBY I received and did not use Star San but still no fermentation.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Filtered water vs. distilled water? Perhaps the chlorine in my filtered water killed the SCOBY? I doubt it but I will try distilled next time to be safe.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Note - At this point all signs seem to lead to a bad SCOBY. On the off chance the SCOBY is just dormant I will let it continue for a week or so longer to see if anything changes.</span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Wait a minute! I may have jumped the gun on calling this batch a failure. It appears a SCOBY is forming on the top of my tea. Stay tuned...</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Things are alive and well. I have a healthy looking SCOBY forming on the top of my tea. I tasted it on 5/19/2014 (9 days of fermentation) and it has a nice acidic taste. I also tested the pH and it is coming in around 3.4 so I'm going to let it go for another day or so to get it in the 2.7 to 3.1 range.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Bottled on 5/20/2014 after 10 days in primary fermentation. Yield was (10) twelve oz. bottles.</span></span></li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-69527712512624192432014-03-30T07:52:00.003-07:002014-05-21T14:55:09.722-07:00Batch #19 - Ryan's Wheat Revenge (All-grain)<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I've made this recipe several times and it has turned out
well. It's a take-off on this <a href="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/boundary-waters-wheat-all-grain-kit.html" target="_blank">recipe</a>
from Midwest Supplies. It is described
as <i>"a crisp American-style Wheat beer perfect for a summer day refreshment. Of
course, it's still refreshing any time of the year while doing almost anything!
Clean and refreshing which finishes crisp with minimal esters - free from
German-style bubble-gum or clove flavors and aromas."</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<u><br /></u>
<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
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5 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt<o:p></o:p></div>
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4 lbs. Wheat Malt<o:p></o:p></div>
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8 oz. Cara-Pils/Dextrine<o:p></o:p></div>
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8 oz. CaraVienne<o:p></o:p></div>
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8 oz. Rice Hulls (to help establish the grain bed since wheat tends to be more sticky that 2-Row, etc.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 oz. Sterling Hops (45 minute boil)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 oz. Palisade Hops (last 2 minutes of boil)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient</div>
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1 tablespoon 5.2 pH mash stabilizer<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 pkg. Safbrew WB-06 Dry Wheat BeerYeast</div>
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9 gallons of drinking water (added .5 gallon to compensate for the added rice hulls)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Process</u>:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collecting first runnings.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ol>
<li>Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in contact with your beer.</li>
<li>Prepare your strike water by heating 13 quarts of water or 3.25 gallons (1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a temperature of 162-170 degrees. I heated the water to 169 degrees and this seemed to hit the target for mashing.</li>
<li>Add about 4 quarts of your strike water to the mash tun to heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains and the remaining strike water. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry pockets (dough balls).</li>
<li>Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot or cold water. Mash temp maintained about 153 degree throughout the hour.</li>
<li>Once your mash is at the proper temperature add pH stabilizer and close the mash tun and let steep for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>Prepare your sparge water by heating 5 gallons of water to a temperature of 170 degrees.</li>
<li>Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an iodine test or simply taste the mixture. If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet.</li>
<li>Perform vorlauf by slowly collecting the first runnings of your wort and adding them back to mash tun. Take care to not let grain bed collapse by draining too quickly or dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too much force. Repeat this step 2-5 times until the runnings are free of debris and running relatively clear.</li>
<li>Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by allowing all of the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out. Take your time and be careful to not let your grain bed collapse.</li>
<li>After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add all of your sparge water to the tun and stir. Do not worry about disturbing the grain be as you are going to create a whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</li>
<li>Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort until you have about 6.5 - 7 gallons of beer or a measured pre-boil specific gravity of 1.048.</li>
<li>Return your brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a vigorous boil.</li>
<li>As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1 oz. of Sterling hops for bittering and boil for 45 minutes.</li>
<li>Add the wort chiller to the boil during the last 15 minutes to sterilize.</li>
<li>During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water.</li>
<li>With 2 minutes left in the boil add 1 oz. of remaining Palisade hops.</li>
<li>Terminate boil and chill to fermentation temperature of approximately 70 degrees.</li>
<li>Take a specific gravity reading and record. Target SG is approximately 1.048 (according to BrewSmith software).</li>
<li>Estimated post-boil volume is 5.98 gallons. Optional - add water to achieve target SG.</li>
<li>Transfer to fermentation carboy. I strained this batch to reduce trub. Make sure you have the volume you are aiming for and if it is off then consider adding top-off water.</li>
<li>Pitch yeast and aerate well using pure oxygen.</li>
<li>Attach blow-off tube and ferment until complete according to hydrometer readings.</li>
<li>Keg.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Notes</u>:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Brew Day - <b>March 30, 2014</b></li>
<li>Kegging Day -<b> April 20, 2014 (3 weeks in primary)</b></li>
<li>OG - <b>1.045</b></li>
<li>FG - <b>1.010</b></li>
<li>ABV - <b>4.6%</b></li>
<li>Notes:</li>
<ul>
<li>Fermentation did not go as crazy as some of the batches in the past but fermentation completed.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Verdict</u>:</div>
<ul>
<li>Turned out as expected although I had to crank up the CO2 on my keg.</li>
</ul>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-77082608657037912562013-11-18T07:29:00.002-08:002014-04-24T11:57:24.821-07:00Batch #18 - Power Pack Porter (All-Grain)With the weather turning colder I am going to try my hand at a porter. I'm using a <a href="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/power-pack-porter-all-grain-kit.html" target="_blank">recipe</a> from<a href="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/" target="_blank"> Midwest Supplies</a>.<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
12 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt<br />
10 oz. Black Patent Malt<br />
12 oz. Chocolate Malt<br />
8 oz. Caramel Malt (120L)<br />
1.5 oz. Tettnang (60 minutes)<br />
1 oz. Willamette (2 minutes)<br />
1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient<br />
1 Whirfloc tablet<br />
1 tbsp 5.2 pH mash
stabilizer<br />
1 pkg. Safale S-04 dry yeast<br />
9.5 gallons of drinking
water<br />
20 lbs. ice (for chilling
wort)<br />
<o:p><br /></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p><u>Process</u>:<br />
<ol>
<li>Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in contact with
your beer.</li>
<li>Prepare your strike water by heating about 17.5 quarts of water
or roughly 4.5 gallons (about 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a temperature
of 162-170 degrees. Aim for 169 degrees.</li>
<li>Add about 4 quarts (1 gallon) of your strike water to the mash tun
to heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains and the remaining strike
water. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry pockets (dough balls).</li>
<li>Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the temperature to
ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot
or cold water.</li>
<li>Once your mash is at the proper temperature add 1 tablespoon of <a href="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/5-2-mash-stabilizer.html"><span style="color: blue;">pH stabilizer</span></a>, stir and close the mash tun and
let steep for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>Prepare your sparge water by heating 5 gallons of water to a
temperature of 170 degrees.</li>
<li>Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an iodine
test by removing a small sample of wort from your mash tun and adding a drop or
two of iodine. If the iodine turns black or purple you starch conversion
has not fully taken place and you need to mash a little longer. If the
iodine color remains unchanged conversion has completed. Alternatively,
you can simply taste the mixture. If conversion has taken place the
mixture will taste sweet.</li>
<li>Perform vorlauf (recirculation) by slowly collecting the first
runnings of your wort and adding them back to mash tun. Take care to not
let grain bed collapse by draining too quickly or dumping first runnings back
in the mash tun with too much force. Repeat this step 5 or more times
until the runnings are free of grain debris and running relatively clear.</li>
<li>Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by allowing all of
the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out. Take your time and be
careful to not let your grain bed collapse.</li>
<li>After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add all of
your sparge water to the tun and stir. Do not worry about disturbing the
grain bed as you are going to create a whole new grain bed for the second
runnings.</li>
<li>Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort until you
have about 6.5 to 7 gallons of beer. The reason for this amount is that
boil-off will account for approximately 1.5 gallons of liquid per hour.</li>
<li>Return your brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a vigorous
boil.</li>
<li>As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1.5 oz. of Tettnang hops for
bittering and boil for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>With 15 minutes left in the boil add: Whirfloc tablet & wort chiller to the boil to sterilize.</li>
<li>During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast nutrient
dissolved in small amount of warm water.</li>
<li>During the last 2 minutes of the boil add 1 oz. of Willamette hops.</li>
<li>Terminate boil and chill to fermentation temperature of
approximately 70 degrees.</li>
<li>Take a specific gravity reading and record. Target SG is
approximately 1.067.</li>
<li>Estimated post-boil volume is 6 gallons.</li>
<li>Transfer to fermentation carboy. Strain if desired.</li>
<li>Optional - add boiled water to achieve desired volume.</li>
<li>Pitch yeast and aerate well using pure oxygen.</li>
<li>Attach blow-off tube and ferment until complete
according to hydrometer readings (at least 3 weeks).</li>
<li>Optional - Cold crash beer for 1 week to further clarify.</li>
<li>Keg or bottle by preparing priming sugar by boiling 2
cups of drinking water and add 4 oz. of priming sugar. Be careful not to
scorch (remove from heat). Boil for 5 minutes and add to bottling
bucket. Add wort, stir gently for 1 minute and bottle.</li>
</ol>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJLpfeoEqKc/UouNm0RikjI/AAAAAAAAEzM/d9k8fNvp_qk/s1600/DSC_0157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJLpfeoEqKc/UouNm0RikjI/AAAAAAAAEzM/d9k8fNvp_qk/s320/DSC_0157.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fermentation going crazy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>
Schedule</u>:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Brew Day - November 18, 2013</li>
<li>Cold Crash Day - Omitted.</li>
<li>Kegging Day - December 25, 2013</li>
<li>Tasting Day - TBD</li>
<li>Original Gravity - 1.071 (1.067 was target)</li>
<li>Final Gravity - 1.020</li>
<li>Alcohol by Volume (ABV)
- 6.9%</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<u>Notes</u>:<br />
<ul>
<li>Had to use a smaller carboy for this since my 6.5 gallon one was in use for batch #17. This surely contributes to overflow during fermentation.</li>
</ul>
<u>The Verdict</u>:<br />
<ul>
<li>I was super pleased with this one. Porters are not normally my favorite style but this one turned out really nice. It had lots of coffee and chocolate notes - a definite repeat when the weather turns cold again.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T4x1g_WLAMI/UwVTuhlrM2I/AAAAAAAAE3E/vhzJDIFmmR4/s1600/Gina+Porter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T4x1g_WLAMI/UwVTuhlrM2I/AAAAAAAAE3E/vhzJDIFmmR4/s1600/Gina+Porter.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It passed the Gina test... :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-16061473207757607742013-10-20T12:18:00.000-07:002014-03-28T07:31:20.901-07:00Batch #17 - Citra SMaSH IPA (All-grain)<div class="MsoNormal">
For this batch I am going to try a technique I've been reading about called <a href="http://beersmith.com/blog/2012/10/24/smash-brewing-single-malt-and-single-hop-beers/" target="_blank">SMaSH</a> (Single Malt and Single Hop). It is the ultimate in simplicity and a good way to learn about the individual ingredients that make up the beer. With only one type of malted barley and a single variety of hop being utilized I should be able to really taste what each adds to the beer. This actually would have been a really good batch to start with when I moved to all-grain. In any case, I think it will be an interesting brew and a good learning experience.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6nvuntyhZo/UnbNoc-360I/AAAAAAAAEyE/7Kb9KmZWnp4/s1600/DSC_0153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6nvuntyhZo/UnbNoc-360I/AAAAAAAAEyE/7Kb9KmZWnp4/s320/DSC_0153.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a><u>Ingredients</u>:</div>
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13 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt</div>
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1 oz. Citra Hops (60 minutes)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 oz. Citra Hops (15 minutes)</div>
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1 oz. Citra Hops (Dry Hopping)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 Whirfloc tablet<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 tbsp 5.2 pH mash stabilizer<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 pkg. American Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1056)<o:p></o:p></div>
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9 gallons of drinking water<o:p></o:p></div>
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20 lbs. ice (for chilling wort)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Process</u>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<ol>
<li>Optional - Prepare a <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-and-why-to-make-yeast-starter.html" target="_blank">yeast starter</a> at least 24 hours in
advance of brew day.</li>
<li>Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in contact
with your beer.</li>
<li>Prepare your strike water by heating about 16.25 quarts of
water or 4 gallons (about 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a
temperature of 162-170 degrees. Aim for
169 degrees.</li>
<li>Add about 4 quarts (1 gallon) of your strike water to the mash tun to
heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains and the remaining strike
water. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry
pockets (dough balls).</li>
<li>Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the
temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot or cold water.</li>
<li>Once your mash is at the proper temperature add 1 tablespoon
of <a href="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/5-2-mash-stabilizer.html" target="_blank">pH stabilizer</a>, stir and close the mash tun and let steep for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>Prepare your sparge water by heating 5 gallons of water to a
temperature of 170 degrees.</li>
<li>Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an
iodine test by removing a small sample of wort from your mash tun and adding a drop or two of iodine. If the iodine turns black or purple you starch conversion has not fully taken place and you need to mash a little longer. If the iodine color remains unchanged conversion has completed. Alternatively, you can simply taste the mixture.
If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet.</li>
<li>Perform vorlauf (recirculation) by slowly collecting the first runnings of
your wort and adding them back to mash tun. Take care to not let grain bed collapse by draining too quickly or
dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too much force. Repeat this step 5 or more times until the
runnings are free of grain debris and running relatively clear.</li>
<li>Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by allowing
all of the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out. Take your time and be careful to not let your
grain bed collapse.</li>
<li>After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add all
of your sparge water to the tun and stir.
Do not worry about disturbing the grain bed as you are going to create a
whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</li>
<li>Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort until
you have about 6.5 to 7 gallons of beer. The reason for this amount is that boil-off will account for approximately 1.5 gallons of liquid per hour.</li>
<li>Return your brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a
vigorous boil.</li>
<li>As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1 oz. of Citra hops
for bittering and boil for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>With 15 minutes left in the boil add: Whirfloc tablet, 1 oz.
of Citra hops & wort chiller to the boil to sterilize.</li>
<li>During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast
nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water.</li>
<li>Terminate boil and chill to fermentation temperature of
approximately 70 degrees.</li>
<li>Take a specific gravity reading and record. Target SG is approximately 1.068.</li>
<li>Estimated post-boil volume is 6 gallons.</li>
<li>Transfer to fermentation carboy. Strain if desired.</li>
<li>Optional - add boiled water to achieve desired volume.</li>
<li>Pitch yeast and aerate well using pure oxygen.</li>
<li>Attach blow-off tube (or airlock) and ferment until complete according to
hydrometer readings (at least 3 weeks).</li>
<li>After 2 weeks of fermentation, add 1 oz. of Citra hops for
the dry hopping process. Let these hops
age in the primary fermenter for 7-10 days.</li>
<li>Optional - Cold crash beer for 1 week to further clarify.</li>
<li>Keg.</li>
<li>Optional (for bottling only) - Prepare priming sugar by
boiling 2 cups of drinking water and add 4 oz. of priming sugar. Be careful not to scorch (remove from heat). Boil for 5 minutes and add to bottling bucket. Add wort, stir gently for 1 minute and
bottle.</li>
</ol>
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<u><br /></u>
<u>Schedule</u>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Brew Day - November 1, 2013<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgvgVnaIJ6M/UnbN0frVBNI/AAAAAAAAEyM/SwbKrKpu19U/s1600/DSC_0152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgvgVnaIJ6M/UnbN0frVBNI/AAAAAAAAEyM/SwbKrKpu19U/s320/DSC_0152.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original Gravity - 1.062</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dry Hop Day - November 15, 2013 (18 days)<o:p></o:p><br />
Cold Crash Day - Omitted</div>
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Kegging Day - December 3, 2013 (33 days in Primary)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tasting Day - December 5, 2013 (Planned)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Original Gravity - 1.062<o:p></o:p></div>
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Final Gravity - 1.010<o:p></o:p></div>
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Alcohol by Volume (ABV) - 6.8%<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Notes</u>:<br />
<ul>
<li>Made a yeast starter for this batch.</li>
<li>My timer stopped about half way through so boil times had to be estimated. I think I was within 5 minutes.</li>
<li>I ended up with about 7.5 gallons of wort in the boil so my OG was lower than anticipated. 1.062 actual compared to 1.068 estimated.</li>
<li>Didn't stir mash on second vorlauf. Probably not a big deal.</li>
<li>Ugh! Fermentation ended up going crazy and bubbled out of the top of the airlock. I wish I had taken a picture but I was too concerned with cleaning up the mess and switching over to a blow-off tube. Note to self... just use a blow-off tube every time. I hope this batch didn't get infected. I am guessing with so much fermentation left it will be OK.</li>
<li>Getting a "banana" smell coming from the airlock. Not abnormal but I don't remember it being this strong.</li>
<li>Skipped cold crashing due to being out-of-town and refrigerator not being ready.</li>
<li>Dry hopped for 18 days - about a week longer than I wanted. </li>
</ul>
<div>
<u>The Verdict</u>:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>This one turned out pretty much as expected. The simplicity allowed me to understand what the single malt and single hop contributed to the beer but it was somewhat bland. I think I prefer the complexity of multiple grains and hops.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;">
<a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=710c4bae-8180-44f3-b610-33c079fffba0" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-44753604565237334252013-06-30T08:31:00.000-07:002014-03-18T11:02:25.332-07:00Batch #16 - Andy's American IPA (All-Grain)<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
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10 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt<o:p></o:p></div>
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12 oz. Cara 8/Caramel Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
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8 oz. Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 oz. Chinook Hops (60 minutes)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 oz. Chinook Hops (15 minutes)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 oz. Cascade Hops (2 minutes)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 oz. Citra Hops (Dry Hopping)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 Whirfloc tablet<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 tbsp 5.2 pH mash stabilizer<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 pkg. American Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1056)</div>
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8.5 gallons of drinking water<o:p></o:p></div>
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20 lbs. ice (for chilling wort)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Process</u>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<ol>
<li>Optional - Prepare a <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-and-why-to-make-yeast-starter.html" target="_blank">yeast starter</a> at least 24 hours in
advance of brew day.</li>
<li>Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in contact
with your beer.</li>
<li>Prepare your strike water by heating about 14.5 quarts of water or
3.5 gallons (about 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a temperature of
162-170 degrees. Aim for 169 degrees.</li>
<li>Add about 4 quarts of your strike water to the mash tun to
heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains and the remaining strike
water. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry
pockets (dough balls).</li>
<li>Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the
temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot or cold water.</li>
<li>Once your mash is at the proper temperature add 1 tablespoon
of pH stabilizer, stir and close the mash tun and let steep for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>Prepare your sparge water by heating 5 gallons of water to a
temperature of 170 degrees.</li>
<li>Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an
iodine test or simply taste the mixture.
If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet.</li>
<li>Perform vorlauf by slowly collecting the first runnings of
your wort and adding them back to mash tun.
Take care to not let grain bed collapse by draining too quickly or
dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too much force. Repeat this step 5 or more times until the
runnings are free of grain debris and running relatively clear.</li>
<li>Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by allowing
all of the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out. Take your time and be careful to not let your
grain bed collapse.</li>
<li>After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add all
of your sparge water to the tun and stir.
Do not worry about disturbing the grain bed as you are going to create a
whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</li>
<li>Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort until
you have about 7 gallons of beer.</li>
<li>Return your brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a
vigorous boil.</li>
<li>As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1 oz. of Chinook hops
for bittering and boil for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>With 15 minutes left in the boil add: Whirfloc tablet, 1 oz. of Chinook hops & wort chiller to the boil to sterilize.</li>
<li>During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast
nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water.</li>
<li>With 2 minutes left in the boil add 1 oz. of Cascade hops.</li>
<li>Terminate boil and chill to fermentation temperature of
approximately 70 degrees.</li>
<li>Take a specific gravity reading and record. Target SG is approximately 1.059.</li>
<li>Estimated post-boil volume is 6 gallons.</li>
<li>Transfer to fermentation carboy. Strain if desired.</li>
<li>Optional - add boiled water to achieve desired volume.</li>
<li>Pitch yeast and aerate well using pure oxygen.</li>
<li>Attach blow-off tube and ferment until complete according to
hydrometer readings (at least 3 weeks).</li>
<li>After 2 weeks of fermentation, add 1 oz. of Citra hops for
the dry hopping process. Let these hops
age in the primary fermenter for 7-10 days.</li>
<li>Optional (for bottling only) - Prepare priming sugar by boiling 2 cups of drinking water
and add 4 oz. of priming sugar. Be
careful not to scorch. Boil for 5
minutes and add to bottling bucket. Add
wort, stir gently for 1 minute and bottle.</li>
</ol>
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<u>Schedule:</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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<ul>
<li>Brew Day - Sunday, June 30, 2013</li>
<li>Dry Hop Day - Sunday, July 21, 2013</li>
<li>Kegging Day - Sunday, July 28, 2013</li>
<li>Tasting Day - Monday, August 29, 2013</li>
<li>Original Gravity - 1.058</li>
<li>Final Gravity - 1.010</li>
<li>Alcohol by Volume (ABV) - 6.3%</li>
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<u>Notes</u>:<o:p></o:p><br />
<ul>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xm3CvcFJlHE/UgOq3M_h3cI/AAAAAAAAETo/gzmPOKKjJ1Y/s1600/keg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xm3CvcFJlHE/UgOq3M_h3cI/AAAAAAAAETo/gzmPOKKjJ1Y/s200/keg.jpg" height="200" width="112" /></a>
<li>Omitted the yeast starter since the original gravity was relatively low at 1.058.</li>
<li>Volume of wort transferred into carboy for fermentation was just under 5 gallons.</li>
<li>Had trouble with the screw on that regulator that adjusts the PSI but a little WD40 on a Q-tip around he screw did the trick.</li>
<li>Had trouble with the "Out" poppet and the large O-ring leaking. I tried to re-seat them several times but didn't have any luck so I purchased a set of new o-rings, keg lube and a universal poppet. That seems to have done the trick. I hope my beer wasn't exposed to too much oxygen during this time.</li>
</ul>
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<u>The Verdict:</u></div>
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<ul>
<li>Overall, I would give it a B-. I struggled a little bit with getting it carbonated at first as noted above and believe this may have contributed to a little oxidation but the beer still turned out nice.</li>
<li>Interestingly, it doesn't seem to have the same hop character that the same recipe(batch #10) produced when I bottled the beer.</li>
<li>Still worthy of a repeat performance.</li>
</ul>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-15861137589152098082013-03-10T08:04:00.000-07:002014-03-18T11:02:34.552-07:00Batch #15 - CFNA No-Fail Ale! (All-Grain)This all-grain wheat beer is for my Crossfit North Alpharetta workout buddies. It is a take-off on <i>"Ryan's Wheat Revenge"</i>. It is NOT Paleo, organic, vegan or low-calorie. Enjoy... you deserve it. ;-)<br />
<br />
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<u>Ingredients</u>:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
5 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt<o:p></o:p></div>
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4 lbs. White Wheat Malt<o:p></o:p></div>
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8 oz. Cara-Pils/Dextrine<o:p></o:p></div>
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8 oz. CaraVienne<o:p></o:p></div>
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8 oz. Rice Hulls (to help establish the grain bed since
wheat tends to be more sticky that 2-Row, etc.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 oz. Sterling Hops (45 minute boil)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 oz. Palisade Hops (last 2 minutes of boil)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient</div>
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1 tablespoon 5.2
pH mash stabilizer<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 pkg. American Wheat Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1010)</div>
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5 oz. Corn Sugar or approximately 2/3 cup<o:p></o:p></div>
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9 gallons of drinking water (added .5 gallon to
compensate for the added rice hulls)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Process</u>:</div>
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<li>Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in
contact with your beer.</li>
<li>Prepare your strike water by heating 13 quarts of water
or 3.25 gallons (1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a temperature of
162-170 degrees. I heated the water to
169 degrees and this seemed to hit the target for mashing.</li>
<li>Add about 4 quarts of your strike water to the mash tun
to heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains and the remaining strike
water. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry
pockets (dough balls).</li>
<li>Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the
temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot or cold
water. Mash temp maintained about 153
degree throughout the hour.</li>
<li>Once your mash is at the proper temperature add pH
stabilizer and close the mash tun and let steep for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>Prepare your sparge water by heating 5 gallons of water
to a temperature of 170 degrees.</li>
<li>Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an
iodine test or simply taste the mixture.
If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet.</li>
<li>Perform vorlauf by slowly collecting the first runnings
of your wort and adding them back to mash tun. Take care to not let grain bed collapse by
draining too quickly or dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too
much force. Repeat this step 2-5 times
until the runnings are free of debris and running relatively clear.</li>
<li>Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by
allowing all of the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out. Take your time and be careful to not let your
grain bed collapse.</li>
<li>After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add
all of your sparge water to the tun and stir.
Do not worry about disturbing the grain be as you are going to create a
whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</li>
<li>Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort
until you have about 6.5 - 7 gallons of beer or a measured pre-boil specific
gravity of 1.048.</li>
<li>Return your brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a
vigorous boil.</li>
<li>As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1 oz. of Sterling
hops for bittering and boil for 45 minutes.</li>
<li>Add the wort chiller to the boil during the last 15
minutes to sterilize.</li>
<li>During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast
nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water.</li>
<li>With 2 minutes left in the boil add 1 oz. of remaining Palisade
hops.</li>
<li>Terminate boil and chill to fermentation temperature of
approximately 70 degrees.</li>
<li>Take a specific gravity reading and record. Target SG is approximately 1.048 (according
to BrewSmith software).</li>
<li>Estimated post-boil volume is 5.98 gallons. Optional - add water to achieve target
SG. Ended up with less than 5 gallons in
carboy after boil. Should have been more
but still seemed to hit target OG. Not
sure what, if any, affect this will have on the finished product.</li>
<li>Transfer to fermentation carboy. I strained this batch to reduce trub. Make sure you have the volume you are aiming
for and if it is off then consider adding top-off water.</li>
<li>Pitch yeast and aerate well using pure oxygen.</li>
<li>Attach blow-off tube and ferment until complete according
to hydrometer readings.</li>
<li>Optional - Transfer to secondary fermentation carboy for
clarifying.</li>
<li>Prepare priming sugar by boiling 2 cups of drinking water
and add 5 oz. (approximately 2/3 cup) of priming sugar. Be careful not to scorch. Boil for 5 minutes and add to bottling
bucket. Add wort, stir gently for 1
minute and bottle. My last batch was
over-carbonated so I am reducing the amount of sugar in this step to
approximately 4 oz.</li>
</ol>
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<ul>
<li>Brew Day - <b>March 10, 2013</b></li>
<li>Kegging Day -<b> April 9, 2013</b> (30 days in Primary, no Secondary)</li>
<li>OG - <b>1.050</b></li>
<li>FG - <b>1.012</b></li>
<li>ABV - <b>5%</b></li>
<li>Notes:</li>
<ul>
<li>Fermentation on this batch went CRAZY! It was a good thing I attached a blow-off tube since so much of the krausen overflowed into the water-filled growler. After pitching the yeast I shook the carboy for about 1 minute and then infused pure oxygen for 30 seconds.</li>
<li>I am going to keg this batch. It will be my first kegging attempt.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<u>The Verdict</u>:</div>
<ul>
<li>The keg didn't last long at the party so I'd say it was a success.</li>
</ul>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-51051195163037933212013-02-10T08:07:00.001-08:002014-03-18T11:02:43.824-07:00Batch #14 - Triple C/J IPA (All-grain)This brew is a rewind back to batch #10 which I think is probably the best one I've made so far. My fiancee's son and a friend of his wanted to learn the process so I thought this one would be worth a revisit. They both like hoppy beer so I thought this one was worth of a re-do.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><br /></u></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Ingredients</u>:</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">10 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">12 oz. Cara
8/Caramel Pils<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">8 oz. Caramel/Crystal
Malt - 80L<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 oz. Chinook Hops (60
minutes)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 oz. Chinook Hops (15
minutes)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 oz. Cascade Hops (2
minutes)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 oz. Citra Hops (Dry
Hopping)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 Whirfloc tablet</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbsp <a href="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/5-2-mash-stabilizer-4-oz.html"><span style="color: blue;">5.2 pH mash stabilizer</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 pkg. American Ale
Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1056)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4 oz. Corn Sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">8.5 gallons of drinking
water<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">20 lbs. ice (for chilling wort)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Process</u>:</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>Optional </i>- Prepare
a </span><a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-and-why-to-make-yeast-starter.html" style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: blue;">yeast starter</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"> at least 24 hours in advance
of brew day. This isn't really necessary since the <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-use-hydrometer-in-home-brewing.html" target="_blank">ABV</a> for this batch will be around 6.5%.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Clean and sanitize all
equipment that will come in contact with your beer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Prepare your strike
water by heating 14 quarts of water or 3.5 gallons (1.25 quarts of water per
pound of grain) to a temperature of 162-170 degrees. Aim for 169 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Add about 4 quarts of
your strike water to the mash tun to heat it up and begin adding your crushed
grains and the remaining strike water. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry
pockets (dough balls).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Once the mixture is
thoroughly combined check the temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154
degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot or cold water.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Once your mash is at the
proper temperature add 1 tablespoon of pH stabilizer, stir and close the mash tun and let steep
for 60 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Prepare your sparge
water by heating 5 gallons of water to a temperature of 170 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>Optional </i>- check for
starch conversion by performing an iodine test or simply taste the mixture.
If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Perform vorlauf by
slowly collecting the first runnings of your wort and adding them back to mash
tun. Take care to not let grain bed collapse by draining too
quickly or dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too much force.
Repeat this step 5 or more times until the runnings are free of grain debris and
running relatively clear.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Collect your first
runnings into your brew pot by allowing all of the wort in your mash tun to
slowly drain out. Take your time and be careful to not let your grain bed
collapse.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">After your mash tun has
drained close the valve and add all of your sparge water to the tun and stir.
Do not worry about disturbing the grain bed as you are going to create a
whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Repeat Step 9 above
(vorlauf) and collect enough wort until you have about 7 gallons of beer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Return your brew kettle
to burner and bring wort to a vigorous boil.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">As soon as the beer
begins to boil add 1 oz. of Chinook hops for bittering and boil for 60 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">With 15 minutes left in
the boil add:</span></li>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Whirfloc tablet.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">1 oz. of Chinook hops.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Wort chiller to
the boil to sterilize.</span></li>
</ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">During last 10 minutes
of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">With 2 minutes left in
the boil add 1 oz. of Cascade hops.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Terminate boil and chill
to fermentation temperature of approximately 70 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Take a specific gravity
reading and record. Target SG is approximately 1.059.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Estimated post-boil
volume is 6 gallons.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Transfer to fermentation
carboy. Strain if desired.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>Optional </i>- add boiled water to
achieve desired volume.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Pitch yeast and </span><a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-and-why-to-aerate-your-wort.html" style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: blue;">aerate</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"> well using pure oxygen.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Attach blow-off tube and
ferment until complete according to hydrometer readings (at least 3 weeks).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">After 2 weeks of fermentation, add 1 oz. of Citra hops for the dry hopping process. Let these hops age in the primary fermenter for 7-10 days.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Prepare priming sugar by
boiling 2 cups of drinking water and add 4 oz. of priming sugar. Be
careful not to scorch. Boil for 5 minutes and add to bottling bucket.
Add wort, stir gently for 1 minute and bottle.</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Notes, Results and
Lessons Learned</u>:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Brew Day - <b>February 10, 2013</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bottling Day - <b>March 9, 2013</b> (27 days total fermentation)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tasting Day - <b>March 17, 2013</b> (8 days in the bottle)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">OG - <b>1.060</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">FG - <b>1.020 </b>(This should have been closer to 1.011. Bottled to early? Stuck fermentation?)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-use-hydrometer-in-home-brewing.html" target="_blank">ABV</a> - <b>5.25%</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Notes:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I didn't dissolve the yeast nutrient in warm water before pitching it into the wort. I doubt this will be an issue but wanted to note it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I increased pre-boil wort volume from 6.5 gallons to 7 gallons. This seemed to produce the right amount of post-boil wort to generate the desired 6 gallons of fermentable wort.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Added 1 oz. of Citra hops for dry hopping on February 24, 2013 (two weeks into fermentation). Dry hopped until March 9, 2013 (13 days).</span></li>
<li>I expected the FG to be closer to 1.010. I hope I don't have any bottle bombs!</li>
<li>Consider a yeast starter next time or letting the fermentation go longer. If so, agitate to keep the yeast going. </li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>The Verdict</u>:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<ul>
<li>I went ahead and popped the top on this one a little earlier than I normally would have (only 8 days in the bottle) and it was plenty carbonated. My thought was that since it most likely didn't finish fermenting as far as it could have there was plenty of sugar left for bottle conditioning. My hunch was right in that it was perfectly carbonated. I decided to refrigerate some to stop them from carbonating further.</li>
<li>So how did it turn out? Very good! Beautiful aroma and smooth taste. One of my best. Plus, Jordan liked it - ;-)</li>
</ul>
</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-45331233127597803222012-09-28T10:03:00.000-07:002014-03-18T11:02:54.962-07:00Batch #13 - ROI-L Honey Ale (All-grain)Batch #13 is a Honey Ale produced with my Uncle Jim's raw South Carolina-harvested honey. This batch should be an easy-drinking and refreshing ale with a mild honey aftertaste. The sweetness of the honey and honey malt should be counterbalanced with classic Cascade hops which tend to impart a citrus and floral aroma but with a "clean" bitterness. The Falconer's Flight hops (in honor of my dad, a falconer & bee keeper too) should lend a distinct floral and citrus bouquet aroma to the finished beer.<br />
<br />
<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkSNj-hKHZHNfW7ksXJFh-RJO3xOM8kp-AbNdVYJuU-okADLOxjURCpTT1vJ4Q7zantxLQU4n0c_RY9fRxZCCaz7DoPnZ2E7SV2jjCz_koEquRX860jekDCPRfcVU-vVnZ6L-bOD-NkU/s1600/Jim+the+bee+keeper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkSNj-hKHZHNfW7ksXJFh-RJO3xOM8kp-AbNdVYJuU-okADLOxjURCpTT1vJ4Q7zantxLQU4n0c_RY9fRxZCCaz7DoPnZ2E7SV2jjCz_koEquRX860jekDCPRfcVU-vVnZ6L-bOD-NkU/s320/Jim+the+bee+keeper.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uncle Jim hard at work!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>5.75 lbs. Domestic 2-row Pale Malt</li>
<li>2 lbs. ROI L Honey (from my Uncle Jim the beekeeper)</li>
<li>8 oz. of Cara-Pils/Dextrine</li>
<li>4 oz. of Honey Malt</li>
<li>1 oz. of Cascade Hops (60 minutes)</li>
<li>1 oz. of Falconer's Flight Hops (2 minutes)</li>
<li>1 tablespoon of PH 5.2 Mash Stabilizer</li>
<li>1/2 teaspoon of Yeast Nutrient</li>
<li>1 pkg. of American Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1056)</li>
<li>1 Whirfloc tablet for clarifying</li>
<li>5 oz. of corn sugar for bottling (adds carbonation)</li>
<li>6.5 gallons of drinking water (double filtered at home)</li>
<li>20 lb. bag of ice (for quick cooling of wort)</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u>Process (for all-grain batch sparging)</u>:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<ol>
<li>Optional - Prepare
a yeast starter at least 24 hours in advance of brew day.</li>
<li>Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in
contact with your beer.</li>
<li>Prepare your strike water by heating approximately 8 quarts of water (8.125 to be exact) or 2 gallons (or approximately 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a
temperature of 162-170 degrees (10-18 degrees above target temperature to
account for temp loss when added to grains).
Aim for 169 degrees.</li>
<li>Add all of of your strike water to the mash tun
to heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry
pockets (dough balls).</li>
<li>Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the
temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot or cold
water. </li>
<li>Once your mash is at the proper temperature add pH
stabilizer, stir and close the mash tun and let steep for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>Prepare your sparge water by heating about 4.5 gallons of water
(typically 1/2 gallon of water per pound of grain but increasing since honey is being utilized and is not added until later) to a temperature of 170 degrees. Be careful not to go over this temperature as
tannins can be leached.</li>
<li>Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an
iodine test or simply taste the mixture.
If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet.</li>
<li>Perform vorlauf by slowly collecting the first runnings
of your wort and adding them back to mash tun. Take care to not let grain bed collapse by
draining too quickly or dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too
much force. Repeat this step 2-5 times
until the runnings are free of debris and running relatively clear.</li>
<li>Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by
allowing all of the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out. Take your time and be careful to not let your
grain bed collapse.</li>
<li>After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add
all of your sparge water to the tun and stir.
Do not worry about disturbing the grain bed as you are going to create a
whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</li>
<li>Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort
until you have about 6 gallons of beer.</li>
<li>Return your brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a vigorous
boil.</li>
<li>As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1 oz. of Cascade hops for bittering and boil for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>With 15 minutes left in the boil add Whirfloc tablet and
wort chiller (to sanitize).</li>
<li>With 2 minutes left in the boil add 1 oz. of Falconer's Flight hops.</li>
<li>During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast
nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water. </li>
<li>Terminate boil and add the 2 lbs. of honey stirring until dissolved.</li>
<li>Chill to fermentation temperature of
approximately 70 degrees.</li>
<li>Take a specific gravity reading and record.</li>
<li>Estimated post-boil volume is 5.2 gallons. Optional - add water to achieve target SG.</li>
<li>Transfer to fermentation carboy by siphon. Strain if desired.</li>
<li>Optional - add water to achieve desired volume of 5 gallons.</li>
<li>Pitch yeast and aerate well using pure oxygen.</li>
<li>Attach blow-off tube or airlock and ferment until complete according
to hydrometer readings (at least 3 weeks).</li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7Ze4mTrlHO11pHd7cr-IEG9dZuVQUDoizIinSRpWL_LFb1dP0m_p5S3GqGeNKS3PydYJuw9p3HTHqzVlizQH-6ScEfWPtbW7feKOBTHXQc_vnyENfuIhRww087s9BSPPZIbWj3f0oYI/s1600/Dad+the+Falconer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7Ze4mTrlHO11pHd7cr-IEG9dZuVQUDoizIinSRpWL_LFb1dP0m_p5S3GqGeNKS3PydYJuw9p3HTHqzVlizQH-6ScEfWPtbW7feKOBTHXQc_vnyENfuIhRww087s9BSPPZIbWj3f0oYI/s320/Dad+the+Falconer.jpg" height="320" width="174" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dad - he's awesome!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li>Prepare priming sugar by boiling 2 cups of drinking water
and add 3.9 oz. of priming sugar. Be
careful not to scorch. Boil for 5
minutes and add to bottling bucket. Add
wort, stir gently for 1 minute and bottle. </li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u>Notes, Results and Lessons Learned:</u><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Brew Day - September 29, 2012</li>
<li>Bottling Day - October 23, 2012 (24 days in Primary, no Secondary fermentation)</li>
<li>Notes:</li>
<ul>
<li>Had to sub Citra hops for Falconer's Flight since my local homebrew supply store was out.</li>
<li>This beer (on bottling day) turned out exceptionally clear.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHMIPNi0i8PGxWFmqp9goVxYvI3iPRyME_v8_IC-t5aQyVGK8866VcMOmMNcwxADf8OYt9sXp9O6ZFV7Dwvagwv4LxacMkHpNDWZwZqGzXYVF7x5F89HWGuA-fLE9i-4O220YJDAbJkU/s1600/IMG_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHMIPNi0i8PGxWFmqp9goVxYvI3iPRyME_v8_IC-t5aQyVGK8866VcMOmMNcwxADf8OYt9sXp9O6ZFV7Dwvagwv4LxacMkHpNDWZwZqGzXYVF7x5F89HWGuA-fLE9i-4O220YJDAbJkU/s200/IMG_0278.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is some clear beer!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>The Verdict</u>:</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Time will tell... Taste test will occur the first part of November 2012. Stay tuned.</li>
<li>So tasting day has come and gone and while I had high hopes for this beer it didn't turn out quite as I hoped. It wasn't bad but just didn't have that honey taste I had hoped. The more I have read about ales utilizing honey the more I have learned how tough it is to keep the honey influence in tact. For the most part, the honey is treated like any other sugar during the process and consumed by the yeast for food. What is left behind is not always what we expect. In any case, it was yet another learning experience. The beer will not go to waste...</li>
</ul>
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-9412075023897477692012-08-04T15:04:00.003-07:002014-03-18T11:01:47.010-07:00Batch #12 - Liberty Cream Ale (All-grain)<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">This batch is a copy of Midwest Supplies' Liberty Cream Ale. Their description is <i style="font-family: inherit;">"</i><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">A perfect Ale for those who enjoy a lighter bodied beer. A refreshing and easy to brew, light Cream Ale. A real crowd pleaser for all tastes..."</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> I wanted to brew something up that I could easily share with my friends so hopefully this will be the ticket. In case you are wondering, "What makes it a </span></span><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><u>cream</u> </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">ale?" This is debatable but most brewers agree that the common </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">denominator is that the grain bill must contain corn.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<u style="background-color: white;">Ingredients:</u><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">7 lbs. of Domestic 2-row Pale Malt</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">2 lbs. of Flaked Corn</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">8 oz. of Carapils</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">1 oz. Cascade Hops (60 minutes)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">1 oz. Cascade Hops (2 minutes)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">1 tbsp. PH 5.2 Mash Stabilizer</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">1 Whirfloc Tablet for clarification</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">1 pkg. American Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1056)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">5 oz. Corn Sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">8.5 Gallons of Water</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">20 lb. Bag of Ice</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: white;"><u style="line-height: 21px;">Process (for all-grain batch sparging)</u><span style="line-height: 21px;">:</span></span><br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 21px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 21px;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in
contact with your beer.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Prepare your strike water by heating 12 quarts of water
or 3 gallons (or approximately 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a
temperature of 162-170 degrees (10-18 degrees above target temperature to
account for temp loss when added to grains).
Aim for 179 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Add about 4 quarts of your strike water to the mash tun
to heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains and the remaining strike
water. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry
pockets (dough balls).</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the
temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot or cold
water. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Once your mash is at the proper temperature add pH
stabilizer, stir and close the mash tun and let steep for 60 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Prepare your sparge water by heating 4.75 gallons of water
(1/2 gallon of water per pound of grain) to a temperature of 170 degrees. Be careful not to go over this temperature as
tannins can be leached.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an
iodine test or simply taste the mixture.
If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Perform vorlauf by slowly collecting the first runnings
of your wort and adding them back to mash tun. Take care to not let grain bed collapse by
draining too quickly or dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too
much force. Repeat this step 2-5 times
until the runnings are free of debris and running relatively clear.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by
allowing all of the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out. Take your time and be careful to not let your
grain bed collapse.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add
all of your sparge water to the tun and stir.
Do not worry about disturbing the grain bed as you are going to create a
whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort
until you have about 6.5 gallons of beer.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Return brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a vigorous
boil.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1 oz. of Cascade hops for bittering and boil for 60 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">With 15 minutes left in the boil add Whirfloc tablet and
wort chiller (to sanitize).</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast
nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">With 2 minutes left in the boil add 1 oz. of Cascade hops.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Terminate boil and chill to fermentation temperature of
approximately 70 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Take a specific gravity reading and record. Target is 1.042-1.046</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Estimated post-boil volume is 5.5 to 6 gallons. Optional - add water to achieve target SG.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Transfer to fermentation carboy by siphon. Strain if desired.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Optional - add water to achieve desired volume.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Pitch yeast and aerate well using pure oxygen.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Attach blow-off tube and ferment until complete according
to hydrometer readings (at least 2-3 weeks).</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Prepare priming sugar by boiling 2 cups of drinking water
and add 3.9 oz. of priming sugar. Be
careful not to scorch. Boil for 5
minutes and add to bottling bucket. Add
wort, stir gently for 1 minute and bottle.</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;"><u>Notes, Results and Lessons Learned:</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyGd513OPEpo5FlK7bGb4JoaX0o9Tav9HO-0hlnewelHRcB5iXEgWqStkxr5RdfHfmEqIh5DnxnnrTKG9gJ4aux8VKIqLENH1vLzG3XWZ6PL3RWUrcDZ9vBBNc8gx9mKwL9iC7sJWFCA/s1600/Cream+Ale+batch+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyGd513OPEpo5FlK7bGb4JoaX0o9Tav9HO-0hlnewelHRcB5iXEgWqStkxr5RdfHfmEqIh5DnxnnrTKG9gJ4aux8VKIqLENH1vLzG3XWZ6PL3RWUrcDZ9vBBNc8gx9mKwL9iC7sJWFCA/s320/Cream+Ale+batch+12.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Brew Day - Sunday, August 5, 2012</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Bottling Day - Sunday, September 2, 2012</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">OG - 1.046</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">FG - 1.014</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">ABV - 4.2% (estimated)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Notes - Almost 4 weeks in Primary; no secondary. Very clear at bottling.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u style="background-color: white;">The Verdict:</u></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<ul>
<li>Wow... this one delivered as promised. Not the super hoppy style I'm used to but a lighter, crisp, clean beer that should appeal to a wide variety of beer drinkers. Worth repeating...</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-80951269279627564462012-06-20T12:22:00.000-07:002014-03-18T11:01:29.419-07:00Batch #11 - T-Monkey Brown Ale (All-grain)This brew is an Americanized version of a typical Brown Ale brewed in Northern England. The specialty malts impart a toasty flavor and a mild nutty flavor. This beer, while dark in color, is a low-bitter and easy drinking home brew with a slightly higher alcohol content than is UK counterpart.<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Ingredients:</u><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">10 lbs. of Domestic 2-row Pale Malt</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">12 oz. Caramel/Crystal Malt 80L</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">4 oz. Chocolate Malt</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">4 oz. Special B Malt</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">1 oz. Cascade Hops (60 minutes)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">1 oz. Fuggles Hops (2 minutes)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">1 tbsp. PH 5.2 Mash Stabilizer</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">1 Whirfloc Tablet for clarification</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 pkg. London Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1028)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3.6 oz. Corn Sugar</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8.5 Gallons of Water</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">20 lb. Bag of Ice</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Process (for all-grain batch sparging)</u>:</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Optional</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">- Prepare a
yeast starter at least 24 hours in advance of brew day.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in contact
with your beer.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Prepare your strike water by heating 14 quarts of water or
3.5 gallons ( or approximately 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a
temperature of 162-170 degrees.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Aim for
169 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Add about 4 quarts of your strike water to the mash tun to
heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains and the remaining strike
water.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Stir thoroughly to avoid dry
pockets (dough balls).</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the
temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">If not, adjust by adding hot or cold
water.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Once your mash is at the proper temperature add pH
stabilizer, stir and close the mash tun and let steep for 60 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Prepare your sparge water by heating 5.75 gallons of water (1/2 gallon of water per pound of grain) to a
temperature of 170 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an
iodine test or simply taste the mixture.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Perform vorlauf by slowly collecting the first runnings of
your wort and adding them back to mash tun.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Take care to not let grain bed collapse by draining too quickly or
dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too much force.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Repeat this step 2-5 times until the runnings
are free of debris and running relatively clear.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by allowing
all of the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Take your time and be careful to not let your
grain bed collapse.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add all
of your sparge water to the tun and stir.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Do not worry about disturbing the grain bed as you are going to create a
whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort until
you have about 6.5 gallons of beer or a measured pre-boil specific gravity of
1.054.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Ensure wort is cooled to obtain
an accurate reading.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Return your brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a
vigorous boil.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1 oz. of Cascade hops
for bittering and boil for 60 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With
15 minutes left in the boil add Whirfloc tablet and wort chiller (to sanitize).</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;"> </span>
</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">With 2 minutes left in the boil add 1 oz. of Fuggles hops.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Terminate boil and chill to fermentation temperature of
approximately 70 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Take a specific gravity reading and record.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Estimated post-boil volume is 5.98 gallons.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Optional - add water to achieve target SG.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Transfer to fermentation carboy by siphon.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Strain if desired.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Optional - add water to achieve desired volume.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Pitch yeast and aerate well using pure oxygen.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Attach blow-off tube and ferment until complete according to
hydrometer readings (at least 3 weeks).</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Optional - Transfer to secondary fermentation carboy for
clarifying and/or dry hopping.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Prepare priming sugar by boiling 2 cups of
drinking water and add 3.9 oz. of priming sugar.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Be careful not to scorch.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Boil for 5 minutes and add to bottling
bucket.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Add wort, stir gently for 1
minute and bottle.</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u>Notes, Results and Lessons Learned:</u><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Brew Day - Sunday, June 24, 2012</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Bottling Day - Tuesday, July 17, 2012</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">OG - 1.054</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">FG - 1.010</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">ABV -</span><span style="background-color: white;"> 5.8%</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Notes -</span><span style="background-color: white;"> Did a taste test prior to bottling and it was quite nice. Looking forward to the end result.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u>The Verdict:</u></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Opened a bottle after 13 days of bottle conditioning. Tasted very nice but still needs a little more time to carbonate.</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-91714630162950635162012-05-30T18:40:00.000-07:002014-03-18T11:01:12.781-07:00Batch #10 - Chinook/Cascade/Citra IPA (All-grain)<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
10 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt<br />
12 oz. Cara 8/Caramel Pils<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
8 oz. Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L<br />
1 oz. Chinook Hops (60 minutes)<br />
1 oz. Chinook Hops (15 minutes)
<br />
1 oz. Cascade Hops (2 minutes)
<br />
1 oz. Citra Hops (Dry Hopping)<br />
1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient<br />
1 tbsp <a href="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/5-2-mash-stabilizer-4-oz.html" target="_blank">5.2 pH mash stabilizer</a><br />
1 pkg. American Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1056)<br />
3.9 oz. Corn Sugar<br />
8.5 gallons of drinking water.<br />
<br />
<u>Process</u>:<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<ol>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fYCqWl5BcsUEgwU9Q1PIPZ7geT4DtWCaNSsSV6Mvv7YQ3GJ2RlRSWtZPPboFfatkRKveKsN_XEAFVWX3JuwcU9rT5wknjUA8RT4pGJ_HRXv9PpdATx4DCOtxupEBDibr0KZg0ZNyvPA/s1600/IMG_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fYCqWl5BcsUEgwU9Q1PIPZ7geT4DtWCaNSsSV6Mvv7YQ3GJ2RlRSWtZPPboFfatkRKveKsN_XEAFVWX3JuwcU9rT5wknjUA8RT4pGJ_HRXv9PpdATx4DCOtxupEBDibr0KZg0ZNyvPA/s200/IMG_0175.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>
<li>Prepare a <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-and-why-to-make-yeast-starter.html" target="_blank">yeast starter</a> at least 24 hours in advance of brew day. <span style="color: red;"><i>Decided to omit since OG is supposed to be under 1.060 which is in range of WYEAST recommendations.</i></span></li>
<li>Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in contact with your beer.</li>
<li>Prepare your strike water by heating 14 quarts of water or 3.5 gallons (1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a temperature of 162-170 degrees. Aim for 169 degrees.</li>
<li>Add about 4 quarts of your strike water to the mash tun to heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains and the remaining strike water. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry pockets (dough balls).</li>
<li>Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot or cold water. </li>
<li>Once your mash is at the proper temperature add pH stabilizer, stir and close the mash tun and let steep for 60 minutes. <span style="color: red;"><i>Ughh... Forgot this step. Added AFTER the original 60 minute mash. No idea how/if this will affect the end product.</i></span></li>
<li>Prepare your sparge water by heating 5 gallons of water to a temperature of 170 degrees.</li>
<li>Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an iodine test or simply taste the mixture. If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet. <span style="color: red;"><i>Wort was sweet to the taste.</i></span></li>
<li>Perform vorlauf by slowly collecting the first runnings of your wort and adding them back to mash tun. Take care to not let grain bed collapse by draining too quickly or dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too much force. Repeat this step 2-5 times until the runnings are free of debris and running relatively clear.</li>
<li>Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by allowing all of the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out. Take your time and be careful to not let your grain bed collapse.</li>
<li>After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add all of your sparge water to the tun and stir. Do not worry about disturbing the grain bed as you are going to create a whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</li>
<li>Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort until you have about 6.5 gallons of beer or a measured pre-boil specific gravity of 1.052. Ensure wort is cooled to obtain an accurate reading. <span style="color: red;"><i>Did not take a pre-boil SG reading.</i></span></li>
<li>Return your brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a vigorous boil.</li>
<li>As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1 oz. of Chinook hops for bittering and boil for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>With 15 minutes left in the boil add Whirfloc tablet. <span style="color: red;"><i>Added at 10 minutes. Geez...where's my head today!?</i></span></li>
<li>With 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 oz. of Chinook hops.</li>
<li>Add the wort chiller to the boil during the last 15 minutes to sterilize.</li>
<li>During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water. <span style="color: red;"><i>Added at 8 minutes - 2 minutes late..</i></span></li>
<li>With 2 minutes left in the boil add 1 oz. of Cascade hops.</li>
<li>Terminate boil and chill to fermentation temperature of approximately 70 degrees.</li>
<li>Take a specific gravity reading and record. Target SG is approximately 1.059. <span style="color: red;"><i>Forgot to take reading.</i></span></li>
<li>Estimated post-boil volume is 5.98 gallons. Optional - add water to achieve target SG. <span style="color: red;"><i>Added water to get to 6 gallons.</i></span></li>
<li>Transfer to fermentation carboy. Strain if desired. <i><span style="color: red;">Strained this batch.</span></i></li>
<li>Optional - add water to achieve desired volume.</li>
<li>Pitch yeast and <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-and-why-to-aerate-your-wort.html" target="_blank">aerate</a> well using pure oxygen. <span style="color: red;"><i>Aeration caused carboy to overflow. I hope this didn't expel too much yeast.</i></span></li>
<li>Attach blow-off tube and ferment until complete according to hydrometer readings (at least 3 weeks).</li>
<li>Optional - Transfer to secondary fermentation carboy for clarifying.</li>
<li>Prepare priming sugar by boiling 2 cups of drinking water and add 3.9 oz. of priming sugar. Be careful not to scorch. Boil for 5 minutes and add to bottling bucket. Add wort, stir gently for 1 minute and bottle. </li>
</ol>
<div>
<u>Notes, Results and Lessons Learned</u>:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Brew Day -<span style="color: red;"> June 6, 2012</span></li>
<li>Secondary Fermentation (for dry hopping) - <span style="color: red;">June 19, 2012 (13 days in Primary)</span></li>
<li>Bottling Day -<span style="color: red;"> July 1, 2012 (12 days in Secondary)</span></li>
<li>OG - <span style="color: red;">Forgot to measure. :-(</span></li>
<li>FG - <span style="color: red;">1.010 - Seems to be a complete fermentation at this number.</span></li>
<li>ABV -
<span style="color: red;">N/A</span></li>
<li>Notes - </li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">I spaced out on this batch and either missed some steps or was rushed on others. Sanitation was thorough as always but this batch didn't "flow" as well as others. Time will tell if I made any critical mistakes.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red;">Read an article in BYO that the higher alpha acid hops are best for keeping tannins in check so the Chinook hops should be fine (12-14%) but the Cascade hops (4.5-7%) aren't the best. Since they went in with on 2 minutes left in the boil they should be fine at just adding aroma.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red;">Fermentation seems to be going well after about 12 hours.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red;">Decided to move this batch to Secondary for dry hopping. The main reason was really just to free up my larger carboy for my next batch but I was pleasantly surprised by the hydrometer reading (seems to have fully fermented) and the taste was quite nice. This one may turn out OK after all.</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-Qcl1zeBziI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<u>The Verdict</u>:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
WOW.... Cracked open the first bottle on July 14th and was pleasantly surprised. Very nice hop aroma and flavor. Doesn't linger on the tongue. Very drinkable session style brew. Worth repeating for sure. The only thing I would change is perhaps enclosing the hops in a mesh bag as some of the pellet remnants made their way into the bottle. Huge difference between all-grain and extract.<br />
<br />
Entered this one into the Southern Brewer's Challenge on July 30th, 2012.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-12404261060702625862012-04-29T08:07:00.000-07:002014-03-18T11:00:17.252-07:00Batch #9 - Ryan's Wheat Revenge (All-grain)<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJodkW2y30hfu0otfpMRa-69sdgXQSWC7e_txTwtbwBjnNfMbZ2tIJ_Bj10ljIzNq_3aPC0ds44rhb_Hb0U3KWrEp0iOwH6pNup3GH3CRypqv4of_WD4X0SpjBHE5HTXvrWpavj1Egj4/s1600/IMG_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJodkW2y30hfu0otfpMRa-69sdgXQSWC7e_txTwtbwBjnNfMbZ2tIJ_Bj10ljIzNq_3aPC0ds44rhb_Hb0U3KWrEp0iOwH6pNup3GH3CRypqv4of_WD4X0SpjBHE5HTXvrWpavj1Egj4/s200/IMG_0117.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collecting the sweet wort.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is my first attempt at all-grain after 8 batches of acceptable extract. I'm actually more of a Pale Ale/IPA fan but with Summer looming this seems like a good recipe to start with. That, coupled with the fact that my girlfriend said, "Why don't you ever make something that I like..?" sealed the deal.<br />
<br />
Truth be told, this is actually my second attempt at this recipe. The first one ended during the boil when my oldest son was checking the temperature and accidentally broke the glass thermometer into the wort. Poor little guy was so upset he ruined Daddy's beer. I felt bad for him and said, "Accidents happen little buddy - nobody should ever cry over spilled beer.". Assuming this one comes out good I think I will re-name it in his honor to cheer him up. How about, "<i>Ryan's Wheat Revenge</i>"?<br />
<br />
OK, on to the beer...<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
5 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt<br />
4 lbs. Wheat Malt<br />
8 oz. Cara-Pils/Dextrine<br />
8 oz. CaraVienne<br />
8 oz. Rice Hulls (to help establish the grain bed since wheat tends to be more sticky that 2-Row, etc.)<br />
1 oz. Sterling Hops (45 minutes)<br />
1 oz. Palisade Hops (last 2 minutes of boil)<br />
1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient<br />
1 tblsp <a href="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/5-2-mash-stabilizer-4-oz.html" target="_blank">5.2 pH mash stabilizer</a><br />
5 oz. Corn Sugar or approximately 2/3 cup<br />
9 gallons of drinking water (added .5 gallon to compensate for the added rice hulls) - <span style="color: red;">Used Crystal Springs (Spring Water) with this batch.</span><br />
<br />
<u>Process</u>:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrh9kRKVHyse4b1g259-snOItTdWFVkqD-RoZKc4JtyMB9nvZ104plbquWo9M4ymJoiy1tx7tZ-5Xvi3hjSZlkIxjPlr5-DKrOf-a_Dohm3li65pO8ciYRB7kUHwAVZ6nZMjJkVF96RQ/s1600/IMG_0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrh9kRKVHyse4b1g259-snOItTdWFVkqD-RoZKc4JtyMB9nvZ104plbquWo9M4ymJoiy1tx7tZ-5Xvi3hjSZlkIxjPlr5-DKrOf-a_Dohm3li65pO8ciYRB7kUHwAVZ6nZMjJkVF96RQ/s200/IMG_0122.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fermentation going crazy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ol>
<li>Prepare a <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-and-why-to-make-yeast-starter.html" target="_blank">yeast starter</a> at least 24 hours in advance of brew day. <i><span style="color: red;">Did not make a yeast starter for this batch since the alcohol content is relatively low.</span></i></li>
<li>Clean and sanitize all equipment that will come in contact with your beer.</li>
<li>Prepare your strike water by heating 13 quarts of water or 3.25 gallons (1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain) to a temperature of 162-170 degrees. <span style="color: red;"><i>I heated the water to 169 degrees and this seemed to hit the target for mashing.</i></span></li>
<li>Add about 4 quarts of your strike water to the mash tun to heat it up and begin adding your crushed grains and the remaining strike water. Stir thoroughly to avoid dry pockets (dough balls).</li>
<li>Once the mixture is thoroughly combined check the temperature to ensure it is approximately 152-154 degrees. If not, adjust by adding hot or cold water. <i><span style="color: red;">Mash temp maintained about 153 degree throughout the hour.</span></i></li>
<li>Once your mash is at the proper temperature add pH stabilizer and close the mash tun and let steep for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>Prepare your sparge water by heating 5 gallons of water to a temperature of 170 degrees.</li>
<li>Optional - check for starch conversion by performing an iodine test or simply taste the mixture. If conversion has taken place the mixture will taste sweet.</li>
<li>Perform vorlauf by slowly collecting the first runnings of your wort and adding them back to mash tun. Take care to not let grain bed collapse by draining too quickly or dumping first runnings back in the mash tun with too much force. Repeat this step 2-5 times until the runnings are free of debris and running relatively clear.</li>
<li>Collect your first runnings into your brew pot by allowing all of the wort in your mash tun to slowly drain out. Take your time and be careful to not let your grain bed collapse.</li>
<li>After your mash tun has drained close the valve and add all of your sparge water to the tun and stir. Do not worry about disturbing the grain be as you are going to create a whole new grain bed for the second runnings.</li>
<li>Repeat Step 9 above (vorlauf) and collect enough wort until you have about 6.4 gallons of beer or a measured pre-boil specific gravity of 1.048.</li>
<li>Return your brew kettle to burner and bring wort to a vigorous boil.</li>
<li>As soon as the beer begins to boil add 1 oz. of Sterling hops for bittering and boil for 45 minutes.</li>
<li>Add the wort chiller to the boil during the last 15 minutes to sterilize.</li>
<li>During last 10 minutes of boil add 1/2 tsp. of yeast nutrient dissolved in small amount of warm water.
</li>
<li>With 2 minutes left in the boil add 1 oz. of remaining Palisade hops.</li>
<li>Terminate boil and chill to fermentation temperature of approximately 70 degrees.</li>
<li>Take a specific gravity reading and record. Target SG is approximately 1.048 (according to BrewSmith software).</li>
<li>Estimated post-boil volume is 5.98 gallons. Optional - add water to achieve target SG. <i><span style="color: red;">Ended up with less than 5 gallons in carboy after boil. Should have been more but still seemed to hit target OG. Not sure what, if any, affect this will have on the finished product.</span></i></li>
<li>Transfer to fermentation carboy. <i><span style="color: red;">I strained this batch to reduce trub. Make sure you have the volume you are aiming for and if it is off then consider adding top-off water.</span></i></li>
<li>Pitch yeast and <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-and-why-to-aerate-your-wort.html" target="_blank">aerate</a> well using pure oxygen.</li>
<li>Attach blow-off tube and ferment until complete according to hydrometer readings.</li>
<li>Optional - Transfer to secondary fermentation carboy for clarifying.</li>
<li>Prepare priming sugar by boiling 2 cups of drinking water and add 5 oz. (approximately 2/3 cup) of priming sugar. Be careful not to scorch. Boil for 5 minutes and add to bottling bucket. Add wort, stir gently for 1 minute and bottle. <i><span style="color: red;">My last batch was over-carbonated so I am reducing the amount of sugar in this step to approximately 4 oz.</span></i></li>
</ol>
<div>
<u>Notes, Results and Lessons Learned</u>:</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMk0veq4fIB4v8bA3rMEa_MUBWIKQ9_9RiCzwlnW4kDdfSOgY0uhG-iE29nrYgf44CSJn0BZUeZPZGRDM3JVEaxqeUjhkpAE-Rlzi98aB-fsei_GoKSV0Uu5rI9GY4eQY3-ZLB-ynPTs/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMk0veq4fIB4v8bA3rMEa_MUBWIKQ9_9RiCzwlnW4kDdfSOgY0uhG-iE29nrYgf44CSJn0BZUeZPZGRDM3JVEaxqeUjhkpAE-Rlzi98aB-fsei_GoKSV0Uu5rI9GY4eQY3-ZLB-ynPTs/s320/photo.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batch #9 patiently bottle conditioning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>Brew Day - <span style="color: red;">May 5, 2012</span></li>
<li>Transfer to Secondary Fermentation - <span style="color: red;">NONE - I've been reading a lot about this topic and there is a fair amount of evidence that keeping the beer in Primary for 3-4 weeks is beneficial and can produce better beer. Secondary is useful for dry hopping and clarifying but can also introduce air which results in off flavors. Experimenting with this Primary-only on this batch.</span></li>
<li>Bottling Day -<span style="color: red;"> May 28, 2012 (23 days in Primary - no Secondary). Yield - 48 bottles.</span></li>
<li>OG - <span style="color: red;">1.051 - right on target!</span></li>
<li>FG - <span style="color: red;">1.010 - on target. :-)</span></li>
<li>ABV - <span style="color: red;">5.4%</span></li>
<li>Notes:</li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">I would increase the volume in step 12 to at least 6.5 gallons.</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<u>The Verdict</u>:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyIO2aae2NSUXX6tf3Mon0ty0JOuEdQs52YQv6h9GgDMxU7GlNI_9gJ66BcJDWZaaO8OYo0TxlEFxB6Lb9aqmLO6ecUPmaTVkc44MDV9nFMGXmV59o9xyZNK8cyN37l5kDDNB1mET4ds/s1600/homebrewchallenge.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyIO2aae2NSUXX6tf3Mon0ty0JOuEdQs52YQv6h9GgDMxU7GlNI_9gJ66BcJDWZaaO8OYo0TxlEFxB6Lb9aqmLO6ecUPmaTVkc44MDV9nFMGXmV59o9xyZNK8cyN37l5kDDNB1mET4ds/s200/homebrewchallenge.png" height="200" width="155" /></a></div>
Opened a few more bottle on June 16, 2012 and it seems to have improved over time. I'm going to go ahead and enter this one in a couple of contests. I don't expect to win but would like to get some feedback on this one.<br />
<br />
Update - dropped off 3 bottles at Twain's on 6/22/2012 for their Light/Dark competition. Hope to at least get some feedback.<br />
<br />
Update - made it to the final round of judging! Winners to be announced 7/26 at 7pm.<br />
<br />
Update - well.... we didn't win but it was truly nice to be recognized. One of the judges said he really liked the flavor of the beer but in the end it was a <a href="http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/Maibock.html">Maibock </a>that took the crown. Here's how the winners stacked up:<br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span>
<div style="line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><u>Lights</u><br />1st - David Little <i><b>My Bock Maibock</b></i><br />2nd - Brandon Red <b><i>Rye Red Rye</i></b><br />3rd - Lee Webster <b><i>Low Country Comfort Amarillo-hopped Pale Ale with Cerrano Peppers</i></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></u></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><u>Darks</u><br />1st - Ben Halter <b><i>Coquito Stout Stout w/rum soaked cinnamon sticks + vanilla beans</i></b><br />2nd - Jonathan Crowe <b><i>PDG Black IPA</i></b><br />3rd - Luke Rabun <b><i>Buddha Belgian Stout Belgian Stout</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Update - Entered this one into the Southern Brewer's Challenge on July 30th, 2012.</span>
</div>
</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hMi06mFAJXE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-49306914425142069482012-02-19T12:34:00.000-08:002014-03-18T10:59:58.003-07:00Batch #8 - American Pale Ale (REVISITED), (Extract, Full-Boil, Non-kit)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcm25WFpnqZg6pRWimVx3W3IdGqh7Anicrcs8NUmwIBqCVy8s-95SUxZFJ4cwqeHltsiFyqDxZSc5BieqB7vfocf3PnBxo_vBs-umjxnj7-pJ0SrwXxwNxDsH7BNqwVpNYLcEMW7LnRH4/s1600/2012-02-25_13-49-05_88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcm25WFpnqZg6pRWimVx3W3IdGqh7Anicrcs8NUmwIBqCVy8s-95SUxZFJ4cwqeHltsiFyqDxZSc5BieqB7vfocf3PnBxo_vBs-umjxnj7-pJ0SrwXxwNxDsH7BNqwVpNYLcEMW7LnRH4/s320/2012-02-25_13-49-05_88.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Custom caps from BottleMark.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For batch #8 I'm going to quit "playing the field" so-to-speak and really try to perfect my extract <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_ale" rel="wikipedia" title="Pale ale">American Pale Ale</a> recipe before moving on. While the original APA batch (#6) was probably the best so far it's still not what I would consider stellar. I've learned a lot from the previous 7 batches but I think the best way to really pinpoint was it working (or not) is to keep the variables to a minimum and really laser focus on one recipe.<br />
<br />
My American Pale Ale should be a pretty easy recipe to pull off as it is fairly basic and the alcohol levels should not overwhelm the yeast before it does its job. Following are some lessons I learned the first time I tried this recipe that I will incorporate into this batch:<br />
<ul>
<li>Start with a pre-boil water level of 5.7 gallons (not 5.5 as before) as prescribed by BeerSmith. Side note: Full-boils make a big difference in taste.</li>
<li>STRAIN this batch! I didn't do this with the last batch and the amount of trub bothered me.</li>
<li>Consider using a blow-off tube so the airlock doesn't go dry.</li>
<li>Use the hydrometer and keep your results for reference.</li>
<li>Aerate well. See HERE for instructions. Going to employ a <a href="http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAMS-OXYGEN-AERATION-SYSTEM-P699C106.aspx" target="_blank">wort aeration system</a> for this batch.</li>
<li>Pay close attention to fermentation temperatures - keep them constant. Shoot for 67-68 degrees.</li>
<li>This style probably does not require a yeast starter as the <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_styledetails.cfm?ID=153">specifications</a> on the Wyeast site indicate it can handle a full batch based on my style stats. Follow <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_productdetail.cfm?ProductID=16">these</a> instructions carefully IF you do not use a yeast starter.</li>
<li>Don't be so anxious to transfer to secondary. Let the yeast do it's job. Use a hydrometer to assess when/if it is time to go to secondary.</li>
</ul>
<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
<ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyoCft19fuoxq2icoG__DYUuYO9gLNOz2zAzwaifjDOzZ_C-WHlUMC0vFjHJGqcM5mF_96LXGmwyUjOTGT3JbDTtOLWpSYgbfnt5LQ5Os6CAeOtjrzdRyk_0MDspn7VKtMqQF3oHPh2E/s1600/2012-03-25_17-37-58_984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyoCft19fuoxq2icoG__DYUuYO9gLNOz2zAzwaifjDOzZ_C-WHlUMC0vFjHJGqcM5mF_96LXGmwyUjOTGT3JbDTtOLWpSYgbfnt5LQ5Os6CAeOtjrzdRyk_0MDspn7VKtMqQF3oHPh2E/s200/2012-03-25_17-37-58_984.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a>
<li>6 lbs. Light Dry Malt Extract (DME) - Munton's Light</li>
<li>.5 lbs. 2-Row</li>
<li>.5 lbs. Munich</li>
<li>.25 lbs. Pale Malt 20L</li>
<li>.25 lbs. Pale Malt 40L</li>
<li>.5 lbs. Carapils</li>
<li>1 oz. Centennial Hops for bittering (60 mins.)</li>
<li>.5 oz. <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_hop" rel="wikipedia" title="Cascade hop">Cascade Hops</a> for bittering (40 mins.)</li>
<li>.5 oz. Cascade Hops for flavor (30 mins.)</li>
<li>.5 oz Cascade Hops for aroma (20 mins.)</li>
<li>1.5 oz. Cascade Hops for aroma (dry hop)</li>
<li>1 Whirlfloc tablet (an Irish Moss product) during last 15 minutes of boil.</li>
<li>Yeast - American Ale from Wyeast #1056</li>
<li>5 oz. Corn Sugar (Dextrose) for priming (bottle conditioning)</li>
<li>6 gallons of drinking water</li>
<li>20 lb. bag of ice for chilling the wort</li>
</ul>
<u>Process</u>:<br />
<ol>
<li>Bring 5.7 gallons of water up to a temperature of approximately 158 degrees.</li>
<li>Pour all of the crushed grain into a grain sock and submerge in water for 20 minutes to steep. Maintain a temperature between 150-165 degrees for steeping. Be careful not to let temperature rise to 170 or above to prevent off flavors from being introduced.</li>
<li>Remove grain sock and allow excess water to drip back into pot. (Do not squeeze.)</li>
<li>Bring wort to a gentle rolling boil, remove from heat and add all of the Light Dry Malt Extract and stir vigorously to dissolve. Return to heat and resume boil.</li>
<li>Add hops according to boil schedule above.</li>
<li>Add 1 Whirlfloc tablet (an Irish Moss product) during last 15 minutes of boil.</li>
<li>Chill wort to 70 degrees or less and transfer to primary fermentation (strain).</li>
<li>Take OG reading with hydrometer - target is 1.056.</li>
<li>Optional - add clean (boiled) water to get OG to target range.</li>
<li>Pitch yeast. Follow these instructions:</li>
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To Activate, locate and move inner packet to a corner. Place this area in palm of one hand and firmly smack the package with the other hand to break the inner nutrient packet. Confirm the inner packet is broken.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shake the package well to release the nutrients.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Allow the package to incubate and swell for 3 hours or more (it is not necessary for this package to fully swell before use) at 70-75°F (21-24°C). </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Use sanitizing solution to sanitize the package before opening.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Shake well, open and pour the Activator™ into 5 gallons of well aerated or oxygenated wort up to 1.060 OG at 65-72°F (18-22°C). Maintain temperature until fermentation is evident by CO</span><sub style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">2</sub><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"> bubble formation, bubbling airlock or foaming on top of wort. For high gravity or low temperature fermentations additional yeast may be required.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adjust to desired fermentation temperature.</span></span></li>
</ol>
<li>Ferment in primary for 4-7 days or LONGER. Use your hydrometer to determine when it is ready to move. Don't rely on airlock activity.</li>
<li>Take second specific gravity reading.</li>
<li>Move to secondary fermentation<i> when ready</i> for an additional 10 days or more.</li>
<li>Take final specific gravity reading to ensure fermentation has ceased.</li>
<li>Prepare priming sugar by boiling 2 cups of water and adding 5 oz. of priming sugar.
Be careful not to scorch. Boil for 3-5 minutes and add to bottling bucket. Stir for 1 minute.</li>
<li>Transfer wort to bottling bucket and bottle.</li>
<li>Bottle condition for approximately 30 days.</li>
</ol>
<div>
<u>Notes, Results and Lessons Learned</u>:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Brew Day - March 25, 2012</li>
<li>Transfer to secondary fermentation - April 15, 2012 (dry hopped) - 3 weeks in Primary.</li>
<li>Bottling Day - April 25, 2012 - 10 days in Secondary.</li>
<li>Fermentation temperature (range) -<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> </span>Remained constant at 66 degrees.</li>
<li>Estimated Original Gravity after boil - 1.057</li>
<ul>
<li>Actual Original Gravity - 1.080</li>
</ul>
<li>Estimated Final Gravity - 1.012</li>
<ul>
<li>Actual Final Gravity - 1.020</li>
</ul>
<li>Estimated ABV - 5.9%</li>
<ul>
<li>Actual ABV - 7.9%</li>
</ul>
<li>What was done differently for this batch compared to the last one of the same style?</li>
<ul>
<li>Employed a <a href="http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAMS-OXYGEN-AERATION-SYSTEM-P699C106.aspx" target="_blank">wort aeration system</a> to try and ensure a full fermentation.</li>
<li>Hops schedule changed.</li>
<li>Deleted amber malt and used a 2 lb. grain bill suggested by my local home brew supply store.</li>
<li>OG was much higher than planned. Forgot to add additional water. I think there was more boil-off than I anticipated.</li>
<li>Tasted the wort when it was transferred to Secondary and it was surprisingly good.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<u>The Verdict</u>:
<br />
I cracked open a bottle on May 9th which meant 14 days in the bottle. Carbonation was fine. As for taste, like many of the previous batches, it was certainly not bad but still not where I want it to be. It has a sweetness to it that I attribute to an incomplete fermentation. The final gravity was much higher that it was supposed to be. I will go through this batch and enjoy it for what it is but I am on a quest to produce that batch of homebrew that makes me say, "Finally, this is IT!".</div>
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<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/11/homebrew-batch-6-notes-american-pale.html">Homebrew Batch #6 Notes - American Pale Ale (Full-boil, non-kit)</a> (andyslusher.blogspot.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-and-why-to-aerate-your-wort.html">How (and why) to Aerate Your Wort</a> (andyslusher.blogspot.com)</li>
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<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-64061117648287539782012-02-11T14:14:00.000-08:002012-06-20T08:06:23.597-07:00How (and why) to Aerate Your WortLet's start out with WHY we should aerate our wort. Aeration is really about helping the yeast. Because yeast plays such a critical role in the overall success of our home brew we want to pay special attention to it and create an ideal environment for it to thrive.<br />
<br />
Yeast needs several things to work well and do its job. First, it needs food. Yeast feeds off of the fermentable sugars in the wort and in the process converts it to CO2 and alcohol. Next, it needs to be able to work within the proper temperatures for its particular style. Many ale yeast strains work best around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Finally, yeast needs OXYGEN which brings us to WHY we need to aerate our wort.<br />
<br />
It is often written that the best things we can do to improve the quality of our home brew is to do full-boils of our wort*, control fermentation temperatures and take special care with sanitation. All very useful and practical suggestions but I submit that aerating your wort ranks just as high in importance.<br />
<br />
<i>*<u>Note</u>: While full-boils of your wort can significantly increase the quality of your beer they also greatly deplete the amount of oxygen naturally contained in the water thus further increasing the need to aerate.</i><br />
<br />
Let's take a look at what happens with under-oxygenated wort:<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Long Lag Times</b>. This will be one of the first problems you may notice if your wort has not been properly aerated. Lag time is that crucial period when yeast cells replicate and fermentation begins. We want shorter lag times to lessen the chance of contamination and reduce the chance of off flavors ending up in our finished beer.</li>
<li><b>Incomplete Fermentation</b>. Here again, it comes down to the yeast. To achieve the desired final gravity of your particular beer style you want your yeast to ferment completely to achieve the desired Final Gravity and ABV percentage. If your yeast does not have enough oxygen it will eventually cease functioning thus resulting in incomplete fermentation. Assuming proper pitch ratios, fermentation temperatures and life-sustaining oxygen, the yeast will continue to be healthy and thrive despite the rising alcohol production which can kill the fermentation cycle in poor environments.</li>
<li><b>Off flavors or "fruity" tastes.</b> When it comes down to it we are really just trying to make the best tasting beer we can. As we previously alluded to, long lag times can lead to off flavors ending up in our finished product. Another by-product of poor yeast cell production (from poor aeration for instance) is excessive ester production. An over abundance of esters can lead to an unwanted fruity character to your beer.</li>
</ol>
So if you are convinced that aerating your wort is a good thing, let's investigate HOW to do so. The good news is that it's easy. Like most tasks in home brewing there are many avenues to getting to where you want to go. Aeration is no different. Below are 3 methods for getting oxygen into your wort. (All methods take place AFTER the wort is cooled and BEFORE the yeast is pitched.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkCFKeq82k04ZCJQZSmX6P2_1NNC4sUxjZM9xZ2NHwXBoy1r_ZAC6ZV871LSXGBoEQ3L01my3R8a-ZH08plmgCJFM3xpeCZ9I39T0MmIm_03NdRusV4bstGBEOq8q4p4umc6MFAes2TA/s1600/williamsoxygen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkCFKeq82k04ZCJQZSmX6P2_1NNC4sUxjZM9xZ2NHwXBoy1r_ZAC6ZV871LSXGBoEQ3L01my3R8a-ZH08plmgCJFM3xpeCZ9I39T0MmIm_03NdRusV4bstGBEOq8q4p4umc6MFAes2TA/s200/williamsoxygen.JPG" width="147" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William's Oxygen Aeration System</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ol>
<li><b>Splashing</b>. This is a simple method of allowing the wort to "splash" into the primary fermentation container either along the side, through a strainer or off the bottom of the vessel itself. This will allow a little additional air to make its way into the wort before the yeast is pitched.</li>
<li><b>Agitating or Shaking</b>. This method simply involves vigorously stirring or whisking the wort after it is in the fermentation container for several minutes or longer. Alternatively, you can cap the fermentation bucket or carboy with a sanitized lid and shake for 1-2 minutes or as long as you can stand it. This isn't as practical since a typical 5 gallon batch of wort is quite heavy! <i>Note - method 1 and 2 can be done in combination with one another to improve the result.</i></li>
<li><b>Injection</b>. There are 2 basic ways of injecting oxygen into your wort. The first involves purchasing a simple aquarium pump along with a filter and diffusion stone. These are readily available from pet stores or home brew stores. Simply sanitize the hose and stone that will come in contact with your wort, submerge and power on for 25-30 minutes. The second, and most preferable, method is to inject pure oxygen into your wort. All of the methods above introduce "air" into your wort. Since air only contains just over 20% oxygen you need to inject way less pure oxygen into your wort for it work. Much like the aquarium set-up, you can purchase a relatively inexpensive oxygen valve, hose and diffusion stone to get the job done. To this, you will add a pure oxygen tank (for around $10 from Lowe's or Home Depot) and you are set (I like this <a href="http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAMS-OXYGEN-AERATION-SYSTEM-P699C106.aspx" target="_blank">one</a> from Williams Brewing). The good news is that instead of injecting air into the wort for 25-30 minutes you only need 45-60 <i>seconds </i>of pure oxygen to give the yeast its much needed boost. A word of caution though - More isn't always better when it comes to injecting oxygen into your wort. Too much oxygen can actually stress the yeast and in extreme cases kill it so stick with the prescribed times.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Well, that's it. I hope you have luck aerating your wort and I'm sure your home brew will be all that much better.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Cheers!</div>
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<a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=3b074586-1317-4283-9a7b-20cca935d138" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-63342084846825039412011-12-19T06:17:00.000-08:002014-03-18T10:59:29.769-07:00Batch #7 - India Pale Ale (Extract, Full-Boil, Non-kit)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXz9iidzaGF_Ds5vJaJ0KCSvOIvIrYeWdY9FzP4KjPmg4n5kFeQXdgH9YYhdL5rmDwhAGSoCBawysGb5IiaKucf9C_XJnGI4iSGWJiUzgNIvBJ58TVRe85s6qnF8bW1BKIbUbNjgvBhY/s1600/IPA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXz9iidzaGF_Ds5vJaJ0KCSvOIvIrYeWdY9FzP4KjPmg4n5kFeQXdgH9YYhdL5rmDwhAGSoCBawysGb5IiaKucf9C_XJnGI4iSGWJiUzgNIvBJ58TVRe85s6qnF8bW1BKIbUbNjgvBhY/s200/IPA.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batch #7 ingredients</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Batch #7 is an extract, full-boil IPA. To develop the recipe I used <a href="http://www.beersmith.com/">BeerSmith 2.0</a>. <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
<ul>
<li>6.5 pounds Light Dry Malt Extract (DME)</li>
<li>1 pound Amber Dry Malt Extract (DME)</li>
<li>1 pound Crystal/Caramel Malt 40L grain for steeping (color + fermentable)</li>
<li>.5 pound of Victory Malt</li>
<li>1 oz. Chinook Hops for bittering (boil for 60 minutes)</li>
<li>1 oz. Falconer's Flight Hops for bittering (boil for 15 minutes)</li>
<li>1 oz.
Falconer's Flight Hops for aroma (boil for 5 minutes)</li>
<li>1 Whirlfloc tablet (an Irish Moss product)</li>
<li>Yeast - American Ale from Wyeast #1056</li>
<li>5 oz. Corn Sugar (Dextrose) for priming (bottle conditioning)</li>
<li>6 gallons of drinking water</li>
</ul>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvDnyz0aAfdkxNyXPP6vc8WxxxXVeXeXeIwP2wr-J_BnQZo4QDFUDi_Kv8ZXk5yiJ-fJXt4DrT8w_lV9hirBKy1lSn0YGxGxEqY1Wb1-QuHLHGYpvdIqcC4DorFQWTjodUFQz90Ze-Ls/s1600/krausen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvDnyz0aAfdkxNyXPP6vc8WxxxXVeXeXeIwP2wr-J_BnQZo4QDFUDi_Kv8ZXk5yiJ-fJXt4DrT8w_lV9hirBKy1lSn0YGxGxEqY1Wb1-QuHLHGYpvdIqcC4DorFQWTjodUFQz90Ze-Ls/s200/krausen.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krausen!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>Process</u>:<br />
<ol>
<li>Two days before brewing session make a <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-and-why-to-make-yeast-starter.html">yeast starter</a>.</li>
<li>Bring 6 gallons of water up to a temperature of approximately 158 degrees.</li>
<li>Pour all of the Crystal/Caramel Malt and Victory Malt into a grain sock and submerge in water for 20 minutes to steep. Maintain a temperature between 150-165 degrees for steeping. Be careful not to let temperature rise to 170 or above to prevent off flavors from being introduced.</li>
<li>Remove grain sock and allow excess water to drip back into pot. (Do not squeeze)</li>
<li>Bring wort to a gentle rolling boil, remove from heat and add ALL of the Light Dry Malt Extract and 1 pound Amber Dry Malt Extract (DME) and stir vigorously to dissolve. Return to heat and resume boil.</li>
<li>Add 1 oz. Chinook Hops for bittering.</li>
<li>Boil for 60 minutes.</li>
<li>Add 1 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064OEATI?ie=UTF8&tag=thegreonlexp-20&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B0064OEATI">Whirlfloc tablet</a> (an Irish Moss product) during final 15 minutes of boil.</li>
<li>Add 1 oz. Falconer's Flight Hops during last 15 minutes of boil.</li>
<li>Add
1 oz. Falconer's Flight Hops during last 5 minutes of boil.</li>
<li>Chill wort to 70 degrees or less.</li>
<li>Take OG reading with hydrometer.
</li>
<li><i>Optional </i>- add water to get OG to target range.
</li>
<li>Transfer to primary fermentation (strain).</li>
<li>Pitch yeast.</li>
<li>Ferment in primary for 4-7 days.</li>
<li>Take second specific gravity reading and record.</li>
<li>Move to secondary fermentation for an additional 10 days or more.</li>
<li>Take final specific gravity reading.</li>
<li>Prepare priming sugar and add to bottling bucket.</li>
<li>Transfer wort to bottling bucket and bottle.</li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<li>Bottle condition for approximately 30 days.</li>
</ol>
<u>Stats and brew notes</u>:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Target Original Gravity - 1.070</li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">Actual Original Gravity - Forgot to measure.... :-(</span></li>
</ul>
<li>Estimated Final Gravity - 1.015</li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">Actual Final Gravity - 1.020</span></li>
</ul>
<li>Estimated ABV - 7.2%</li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">Actual ABV - </span></li>
</ul>
<li>Brew Day -<span style="color: red;"> December 29, 2011</span></li>
<li>Transfer to secondary fermentation - <span style="color: red;">January 4, 2012 (6 days)</span></li>
<li>Bottling Day -<span style="color: red;"> January 21, 2012 (17 days)</span></li>
<li>Fermentation temperature (range) -<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> 57 - 64</span></li>
<li>Notes:</li>
<ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxVoM4oMzJLIoDxCGIMLVY0X6SzrZ7I0jaZ-BlCtJSjkqux0OcM4WwAkpF36zalKFl8Z1F6k0EQyfHubvrpAiO1FZjqhIo7y84cUX8DCRKuBQYgpVJhIMAewgVfYGw3cIwAWyPpVO33o/s1600/IPA+Caps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxVoM4oMzJLIoDxCGIMLVY0X6SzrZ7I0jaZ-BlCtJSjkqux0OcM4WwAkpF36zalKFl8Z1F6k0EQyfHubvrpAiO1FZjqhIo7y84cUX8DCRKuBQYgpVJhIMAewgVfYGw3cIwAWyPpVO33o/s200/IPA+Caps.jpg" height="200" width="112" /></a>
<li><span style="color: red;">After a couple of hours I checked on Primary fermentation and the airlock wasn't working. For some reason the water level was too low. I added more water and it was soon bubbling away. Does not appear to be affected.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red;">With this batch, unlike #6, I am going to strain it before it goes to Primary fermentation.</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">Did NOT strain as I did not buy a funnel and strainer in time. Everything I have read so far said it will not affect taste.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">I am going to use an ice bath plus my chiller with this batch to try and cool the wort as quickly as possible.</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">Actual cooling time - about 15 minutes. This method worked GREAT.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">I'm a little worried about fermentation temperatures. I'm fermenting in the basement and the temperature has dropped lower than I wanted. The <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=5">yeast</a> I am using prefers temps between 60-72 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red;">Airlock in secondary fermentation dried up but I think I caught it in time.</span></li>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<u>The Verdict</u>:<br />
Popped the first bottle open on February 4th (2 weeks of bottle conditioning) and there was very little carbonation. I agitated the bottles by turning them upside down and slightly shaking them. After another week they were perfect in terms of carbonation. So this beer ended up much like my last batch. Definitely a better tasting brew minus the homebrew "twang" but a little on the sweet side. My guess is this is due to an incomplete fermentation. I plan to purchase a <a href="http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAMS-OXYGEN-AERATION-SYSTEM-P699C106.aspx">wort aeration system</a> for my next batch. Another issue is bitterness and aroma. For an IPA I would have expected this one to be more hoppy both in aroma and bitterness. Perhaps more time in the bottle will change the character of this one.<br />
<br />
All-in-all I would say this one is a success. Not perfect but steadily getting better.<br />
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<div class="zemanta-related">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-92024870218142502952011-11-10T06:17:00.001-08:002013-10-31T11:49:49.713-07:00How (and why) to Make a Yeast Starter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWNz5Nfvyv8wXtugyioxYcGi_cF08mkaAWvpspxEa0yDNyfuzohzuDgmShrTqt7V88dyXQEnPT2s8DeVkJvAXr2Za4O-L66oLm0YaC4w9JN_dqY9sEDZxYszrMYy_lr1GtBMt_DF4bnc/s1600/APA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWNz5Nfvyv8wXtugyioxYcGi_cF08mkaAWvpspxEa0yDNyfuzohzuDgmShrTqt7V88dyXQEnPT2s8DeVkJvAXr2Za4O-L66oLm0YaC4w9JN_dqY9sEDZxYszrMYy_lr1GtBMt_DF4bnc/s320/APA.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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</script>Making a yeast starter for your homebrew is a fast and easy way to gain more control over your final product and ensure the results you are after.<br />
<br />
Let's start with the "Why" of making a yeast starter for your homebrew. First, it should be acknowledged that making a yeast starter is by no means required. Most beginners, including myself, have pitched the dry yeast packets that come with a basic kit and achieved acceptable results. Some opt for the liquid yeast varieties from either <a href="http://www.whitelabs.com/">White Labs</a> or <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_products.cfm">Wyeast</a> and the results are sometimes even better. So why ever bother with the extra steps of creating a starter? Below are a few reasons that I think make the exercise worthwhile:<br />
<ol>
<li>Build up the cell count. The more active yeast cells you have the more they can get to work and do their job of converting sugar to alcohol.</li>
<li>Full fermentation. With more active yeast cells you have a better chance of achieving your desired finishing gravity. Let's say you start off with an original gravity (OG) of 1.051 and want to end up at 1.012. If you under pitch the yeast and the rising alcohol content overwhelms the active yeast you could stall it out before reaching your final gravity and not reach the desired alcohol content.</li>
<li>Reduce risk of contamination. The faster your yeast is able to do it's job the less time your beer has to be exposed to contaminants. The less lag time you have the less chance of contamination.</li>
<li>Better tasting beer! Yeast does more than just convert sugar to alcohol. It contributes to the overall taste of your beer and when it is pitched in the proper ratios it can help reduce off flavors.</li>
</ol>
Let's move on to the the "How" of making a yeast starter beginning with the equipment and supplies you will need to get started:<br />
<ol>
<li>1 gallon glass<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CDQD1E?ie=UTF8&tag=thegreonlexp-20&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B001CDQD1E"> growler</a> or a 2 liter glass pyrex <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005F6KM34?ie=UTF8&tag=thegreonlexp-20&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B005F6KM34">flask</a></li>
<li>Rubber stopper and airlock</li>
<li>Approximately 1/2 cup light dry malt extract (DME)</li>
<li>1 quart of water</li>
<li>Aluminum foil</li>
<li>Medium-sized sauce pan</li>
<li>Yeast appropriate for your homebrew recipe</li>
</ol>
Making a yeast starter is actually very simple. In fact, if you've made even one batch or beer you have already done most of the basic steps. While there are variations galore on how to do this task, I find the steps below are easy to follow and yield consistently good results. Begin your yeast starter at least 2 days before you intend to brew.<br />
<ol>
<li>Start by removing your liquid yeast pack or vial from the refrigerator. If it is a "smack-pack" go ahead and activate as per instructions. Your yeast should have several hours to warm to room temperature before moving to step 2.</li>
<li>Bring 1 quart of water to a boil.</li>
<li>Add 1/2 cup of light dry malt extract (DME) and stir until dissolved.</li>
<li>Boil for approximately 15 minutes.</li>
<li>Cool the DME and water mixture (wort) by placing the saucepan in sink and surround with ice water and stir gently until liquid is room temperature or below 80 degrees.</li>
<li>Transfer cooled wort to carboy or flask.</li>
<li>Add (pitch) yeast to wort.</li>
<li>Cover with aluminum foil and shake vigorously to aerate. You can also choose to oxygenate the mixture. Instructions can be found <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-and-why-to-aerate-your-wort.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. <i>Note: reduce time to 10-15 seconds.</i></li>
<li>Add rubber stopper with airlock and allow to begin fermentation at room temperature.</li>
<li>You should see fermentation activity within 24 hours if not much sooner.</li>
<li>You now have your yeast starter!</li>
<li>When it comes time to pitch your yeast in you homebrew recipe you can simply pour the entire mixture into the fermentation vessel or use this optional method:</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>Optional - 24 hours prior to brew day you can transfer your wort to the refrigerator. This will cause the yeast to separate or sink to the bottom of the container. Remove from refrigeration and pour off most of the top liquid. Let the remaining yeast warm to room temperature and pitch the resulting yeast slurry into your wort at the appropriate time. Removing the extraneous liquid may reduce off flavors. </li>
</ul>
<ol>
</ol>
Well, that's it. I hope you find this a useful process in your homebrewing adventures. Happy brewing!<br />
<br />
See these links for more information on creating a yeast starter:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMhFerNTwbQ" target="_blank">Making a Yeast Starter</a> by Beer Geek Nation</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAssRh_O6fs&feature=related">Making a Yeast Starter</a> by Brew Your Own Magazine</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=fvwp&v=sSrbukazO_Q">How to Make a Yeast Starter</a> by Joe Polvino</li>
</ul>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-62570187711733455392011-11-07T06:46:00.000-08:002014-03-18T10:58:59.729-07:00Batch #6 - American Pale Ale (Extract, Full-Boil, Non-kit)For batch #6 I'm taking a baby step toward all-grain. For this batch I'm going to do a full-boil extract brew using DME only. I'm going to also move away from the kits I've been using and make up my own simple Pale Ale recipe.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<u>Equipment</u>:<br />
First task at hand is upgrading my <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/thegreonlexp-20/detail/B000FNLTCU">brew kettle</a>. I wish I had sprung for an 8 or 10 gallon pot initially over the 6 gallon model but lesson learned. Next is to get a <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/thegreonlexp-20/detail/B003UCCLG6">chiller</a>. Cooling 2-3 gallons in an ice bath is pretty easy but I don't think there is an efficient way to rapidly cool 5 gallons of wort without a chiller.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
<ul>
<li>5 pounds Light Dry Malt Extract (DME) - Munton's Light</li>
<li>1 pound Amber Dry Malt Extract (DME) - Munton's Amber</li>
<li>1 pound Crystal/Caramel Malt 40L grain for steeping (color + fermentable)</li>
<li>1.5 oz. Cascade Hops for bittering</li>
<li>1.5 oz. Cascade Hops for aroma</li>
<li>1 Whirlfloc tablet (an Irish Moss product)</li>
<li>Yeast - American Ale from Wyeast #1056</li>
<li>5 oz. Corn Sugar (Dextrose) for priming (bottle conditioning)</li>
<li>6 gallons of drinking water</li>
</ul>
<u>Process</u>:<br />
<ol>
<li>Two days before brewing session make a <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-and-why-to-make-yeast-starter.html">yeast starter</a>.</li>
<li>Bring 5.5 gallons of water up to a temperature of approximately 158 degrees.</li>
<li>Pour all of the Crystal/Caramel Malt into a grain sock and submerge in water for 20 minutes to steep. Maintain a temperature between 150-165 degrees for steeping. Be careful not to let temperature rise to 170 or above to prevent off flavors from being introduced.</li>
<li>Remove grain sock and allow excess water to drip back into pot. (Do not squeeze)</li>
<li>Bring wort to a gentle rolling boil, remove from heat and add 3 pounds of the Light Dry Malt Extract and 1 pound Amber Dry Malt Extract (DME) and stir vigorously to dissolve. Return to heat and resume boil.</li>
<li>Add 1.5 oz. Cascade Hops for bittering.</li>
<li>Boil for 40 minutes.</li>
<li>Add remaining 2 pounds Light Dry Malt Extract (DME).</li>
<li>Add 1 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064OEATI?ie=UTF8&tag=thegreonlexp-20&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B0064OEATI">Whirlfloc tablet</a> (an Irish Moss product).</li>
<li>Boil for 15 minutes.</li>
<li>Add 1.5 oz. Cascade Hops for aroma.</li>
<li>Boil for 5 minutes and terminate boil.</li>
<li>Chill wort to 70 degrees or less and transfer to primary fermentation (strain).</li>
<li>Take OG reading with hydrometer - target is 1.056.</li>
<li>Optional - add water to get OG to target range.</li>
<li>Pitch yeast.</li>
<li>Ferment in primary for 4-7 days.</li>
<li>Take second specific gravity reading.</li>
<li>Move to secondary fermentation for an additional 10 days or more.</li>
<li>Take final specific gravity reading.</li>
<li>Prepare priming sugar and add to bottling bucket.</li>
<li>Transfer wort to bottling bucket and bottle.</li>
<li>Bottle condition for 30 days.</li>
</ol>
<u>Notes, Results and Lessons Learned</u>:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFx0Pa63ORgrtqM66p9AvcWTFZ4y7UWzJnNUCbBKWkhQaRX7pLo6UL9GgJlPgYWVgAzEjxhyRVgne4of2YzTKGWSGZjrBmLjBzuVkS7OU2bBHEJ76ZS5wFf8Aiy8AUGkr2dJWjnm51DtE/s1600/APAsecondary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFx0Pa63ORgrtqM66p9AvcWTFZ4y7UWzJnNUCbBKWkhQaRX7pLo6UL9GgJlPgYWVgAzEjxhyRVgne4of2YzTKGWSGZjrBmLjBzuVkS7OU2bBHEJ76ZS5wFf8Aiy8AUGkr2dJWjnm51DtE/s200/APAsecondary.jpg" height="200" width="112" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>Brew Day - December 5, 2011</li>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Stop watch quit working for initial 40 minute boil so had to estimate. Not too concerned.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Yeast starter seemed to work well. Lots of activity within a couple of hours. I was a little concerned that the activity in the yeast starter had ceased before I pitched it but it didn't seem to matter. Pitched the whole starter - did not drain off wort beforehand.</span></li>
</ul>
<li>Transfer to secondary fermentation - December 12, 2011 (7 days in Primary)</li>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Forgot to add the airlock floater for about an hour. Hopefully no contaminants reached the beer.</span></li>
</ul>
<li>Bottling Day - December 24, 2011<span style="color: red;"> (12 days in Secondary, 2 days longer than planned)</span></li>
<li>Fermentation temperature (range) -<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> 61-66 degrees. Would have preferred a constant 68 degrees but since fermentation was done in the basement I could not control it.</span></li>
<li>Estimated Original Gravity - 1.056</li>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Actual Original Gravity 1.068! Did not add water at end of boil to adjust. Consider doing a 6 gallon full boil next time.</span></li>
</ul>
<li>Estimated Final Gravity - 1.012</li>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Actual Final Gravity - 1.020</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Took a specific gravity reading when transferring to secondary fermentation and got a reading of 1.020. The sample contained a fair amount of trub so I don't know how accurate it was. This would translate to an <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_by_volume" rel="wikipedia" title="Alcohol by volume">ABV</a> of 6.3% or .5% higher than expected.</span></li>
</ul>
<li>Estimated ABV - 5.8%</li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">Actual ABV - 6.3</span></li>
</ul>
<li>Priming sugar may have carmelized. I dumped all 5 ounces in the boiling water and it clung to the bottom a bit. It broke up and seemed fine but wonder if it will affect the taste.</li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">Next time I need to remove from heat and slowly stir in to water and then return to heat.</span></li>
</ul>
<li>Remember to aerate the wort well when pitching the yeast. Full boils will lessen the oxygen in the wort which is needed to fuel the yeast.</li>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Pitched yeast, covered carboy with sanitized aluminum foil and shook vigorously. This seemed to have worked fine.</span></li>
</ul>
<li>I'm going to try and perfect this recipe before moving on to a different recipe/style. Main objectives for Batch #8:</li>
<ul>
<li>Start with a pre-boil water level of 5.7 gallons as prescribed by BeerSmith.</li>
<li>STRAIN this batch!</li>
<li>Consider using a blow-off tube.</li>
<li>Use the hydrometer and keep your results for reference.</li>
<li>Aerate well.</li>
<li>Pay close attention to fermentation temperatures - keep them constant. Shoot for 67-68 degrees.</li>
<li>This style probably does not require a yeast starter as the <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_styledetails.cfm?ID=153">specifications</a> on the Wyeast site indicate it can handle a full batch based on my style stats. Follow <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_productdetail.cfm?ProductID=16">these</a> instructions carefully.</li>
<li>Don't be so anxious to transfer to secondary. Let the yeast do it's job. Use a hydrometer to assess when/if it is time to go to secondary.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<u>The Verdict</u>:<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red;">Opened a bottle at 13 days and was disappointed that it was not more carbonated. It also had a sweet taste which probably indicates the yeast did not fully do it's job. It may still come around with more time. Additionally, the area where it was bottles conditioned dipped into the 50's which may have made the yeast go dormant. I brought 4 bottles upstairs where the temperature is more stable and agitated them on a daily basis for several days to try and get the yeast going again. Time will tell...</span>
</li>
</ul>
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-33318454461168540522011-10-23T16:40:00.000-07:002014-03-18T10:58:09.462-07:00Batch #5 - India Pale Ale (Extract)<script type="text/javascript">
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Batch number 5 is an India Pale Pale. It is based on the<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrewersbestkits.com%2Fpdf%2F1037_India_Pale_Ale.pdf"> Brewer's Best IPA</a> kit but with a twist. Because I like my beer hoppy, I'm going to dry hop this batch. If this one turns out OK I plan to try going all-grain next batch after I accumulate all the necessary equipment.<br />
<br />
<u>Ingredient List:</u><br />
<ul>
<li>6.6 lbs. Muntons Light Liquid Malt Extract (LME) - Two 3.3 lb./1.5kg cans</li>
<li>1 lb. Brewer's Best Dry Malt Extract (Spray - Dried Malt) DME</li>
<li>1 lb. Brewer's Best Crushed Caramel Malt Specialty Grain</li>
<li>8 oz. Brewer's Best Crushed Victory Malt Specialty Grain</li>
<li>2 oz. Brewer's Best Cascade Bittering Hops, 6.4% <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_acid" rel="wikipedia" title="Alpha acid">Alpha Acid</a></li>
<li>1.5 oz. Brewer's Best Columbus Bittering Hops, 13.9% Alpha Acid</li>
<li>1 oz. Brewer's Best Cascade Aroma Hops</li>
<li>1 oz. <a href="http://hopunion.com/">Hopunion</a> Amarillo Dry Hopping Hops (<i>not included in Brewer's Best kit</i>)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=11">Wyeast 1272 American II</a> Yeast (<i>replaced the Nottingham Ale dry yeast that came in kit</i>)</li>
<li>5 oz. Brewer's Best Priming Sugar for <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle_conditioning" rel="wikipedia" title="Bottle conditioning">bottle conditioning</a></li>
</ul>
<u>Procedures</u>:<br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>Heat approximately 2.5 gallons of drinking water to a steeping temperature of between 150 - 165 degrees.</li>
<li>Pour the Crushed Caramel and Victory Malt Specialty Grains into a steep bag and loosely tie a knot to contain the grains and place in your heated water.</li>
<li>Steep for approximately 20 minutes but ensure the temperature does not exceed 170 degrees.</li>
<li>Remove the grain bag and allow the water to drain back into the brew kettle. Do not squeeze excess water back into kettle.</li>
<li>Bring your newly created wort to a gentle, rolling boil. Remove from heat and add all of the fermentables (both the LME and DMW) and stir vigorously to ensure they to not caramelize on the bottom of the brew kettle.</li>
<li>After the fermentables are added return to heat and gently stir until wort returns to a boil.</li>
<li>Slowly sprinkle both bittering hops into boiling wort and boil for 55 minutes.</li>
<li>Add aroma hops and boil for 5 more minutes and terminate boil.</li>
<li>Place brew kettle in ice bath to chill as quickly as possible to a temperature of 70 degrees.</li>
<li>Strain cooled wort into primary fermentation bucket.</li>
<li>Start adding water to bring the Original Gravity to between 1.061 - 1.065.</li>
<li>Pitch the yeast and stir well to aerate.</li>
<li>Add airtight lid with airlock to begin primary fermentation.</li>
<li>Ferment for 3-4 days in primary container. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> Actual primary fermentation was 8 days.</span></li>
<li>Take a specific gravity reading and record.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> OG reading - 1.061</span></li>
<li>Transfer to secondary fermentation and add dry hops. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Omitted dry hops. SG reading 1.020</span></li>
<li>Allow beer to finish fermenting in secondary fermentation carboy for approximately 2 weeks.</li>
<li>After about 2 weeks in secondary fermentation proceed to bottling.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<u>Notes and/or lessons learned</u>:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>For batch #6 consider upgrading brew kettle to larger model that will allow me to do a "full boil" instead of adding water to the concentrated wort. For this batch I did an initial 3 gallon boil which is about as much as my present brew kettle can handle.</li>
<li>My previous 4 batches have all been drinkable but they have all had that homebrew "twang" to them. In reading some threads on homebrewtalk.com I got the following recommendations:</li>
<ul>
<li>Do full boils whenever possible.</li>
<li>If you can't do all-grain then use all DME in your extract brewing instead of LME.</li>
<li>Stay away from aluminum brew kettles.</li>
<li>Maintain appropriate fermentation temperatures.</li>
<li>One suggestion was to use only distilled water.</li>
<li>Consider making a yeast starter.</li>
</ul>
<li>The directions called for pitching the yeast AFTER adding the additional water to achieve the desired OG hydrometer reading. I reversed the order. Not sure if it matters.</li>
<li>Desired Finishing Gravity was not achieved. Fermentation conditions were acceptable. My guess is that there simply wasn't enough active yeast cells to do the full job. Hopefully a yeast starter will do the job next time.</li>
<li>Popped open a bottle after 7 days of bottle conditioning and there was little carbonation present. I thought the batch was a dud but at 14 days the beer was great. This appears to be a style and/or batch that will do well with increased bottle conditioning.</li>
</ul>
<u>The Verdict:</u><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Damn good - possibly the best batch yet. No homebrew "twang" present. Tasty.</li>
</ul>
</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-71848552483051386432011-10-09T15:06:00.000-07:002014-03-18T10:57:32.281-07:00Batch #4 - Rye Pale Ale (Extract)<script type="text/javascript">
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</script>Homebrew batch #4 is a Rye Pale Ale. We decided to step it up a bit and take on a recipe that is a little more involved plus it is my favorite beer style - I'm hooked on Terrapin's Rye Pale Ale.<br />
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We're still stuck on the Brewer's Best kits since we have had success with them so far. The Rye Pale Ale beer <a href="http://brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1014%20Rye%20Pale%20Ale.pdf">kit</a> is from their "intermediate" line in terms of difficulty. The only real difference with this kit as opposed to an "easy" kit is that you steep your grains differently (a partial mash process). For this kit you employ a "steep-to-convert" process which is a simplified version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashing">mashing</a>. <br />
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Most of the grains in extract brewing are pre-converted meaning the starches inside the malted barley have already been converted into sugars through special heating processes. Base malts (like Pale) are not pre-converted. They contain starches inside the husk that need to be converted. The process adds an additional 45 minutes to the overall brewing time. The hardest part is maintaining a constant temperature of approximately 150 degrees. It seemed impossible to keep our temperature constant so we would let the heat creep up to 155 and then turn the burner off. After it decreased to 148 we would reignite and monitor until it was at 155 again and repeat the actions above.<br />
<br />
After the "steep-to-convert" procedure it is pretty much business as usual (with one exception as noted below) and the directions are similar to the previous 3 kits we have completed. With this recipe we used 5 gallons of bottled spring water. For the past recipes I have used distilled water but read that the minerals in other types of water lend to the overall taste so we are switching things up.<br />
<br />
Things got a little dicey when we went to pitch the yeast. We used a liquid variety from White Labs over the dry yeast packet that comes inside the kit. It was real close the expiration date so I was slightly concerned it about it still being fresh and active. When I opened it it fizzed and spewed like a soft drink that had been shaken. At this point, I didn't have much of an alternative except to pour it in and hope for the best. Well, a quick Google search and my fears were alleviated. This is apparently quite common and most brewers reported no problems. Within 8 hours of pitching the yeast my airlock was bubbling furiously. <br />
<br />
Secondary fermentation was started 7 days after primary. The airlock was still bubbling about every 4 minutes so my goal of moving it to secondary before fermentation completed was achieved.<br />
<br />
Another difference with this kit is the addition of "<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hops" rel="wikipedia" title="Hops">dry hopping</a>". Dry hopping is the process of adding hops to the beer after the boil and usually to secondary fermentation for the purpose of increasing aroma in the finished beer. The directions called for a two week secondary fermentation process but something odd happened. About one week into it the hops had mostly fallen to the bottom of the carboy and fermentation seemed to have ceased. On about the ninth day it appeared fermentation had started again! I didn't know if perhaps the beer was contaminated or what was happening. I was reminded by my brewing partner (and lovely girlfriend) that the AC in her house was off for a period of time and the temperature crept up to 81 degrees. Could that have re-activated the yeast? Even after many weeks the airlock was still bubbling. A quick Google search indicated the only sure way to tell if fermentation had stopped was to test with a hydrometer. I'm getting concerned about this batch but time will tell.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiY_nyx4VxKibMlImHtj7x1oMtyzS3BqPLP1pmNo37LZBCDgn0NTiUS2NPx545WHt5sl5JkOK5w1MFAmF7ekyYfX0AIMzMllVcWbuvi7I3x5pn-gpUA0-TnPLTJhjyVTJ3b3Iw9iZ4fA/s1600/IMG_3402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiY_nyx4VxKibMlImHtj7x1oMtyzS3BqPLP1pmNo37LZBCDgn0NTiUS2NPx545WHt5sl5JkOK5w1MFAmF7ekyYfX0AIMzMllVcWbuvi7I3x5pn-gpUA0-TnPLTJhjyVTJ3b3Iw9iZ4fA/s200/IMG_3402.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a>When it came time to bottle I wasn't sure what to expect. We had left the wort in secondary fermentation for about 6 weeks and still noticed activity. We decided that it was time to move forward and bottle. A hydrometer reading indicated that the beer was, indeed, at its finishing gravity. I question how long it had been there but the lesson learned is that visual activity in the wort (or lack there of) isn't the best indicator of what's truly going on with your beer. Trust your tools, in this case a hydrometer, and use them. My concern now is how the lengthy secondary fermentation will affect taste.<br />
<br />
The moment of truth...<br />
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Despite some uncertainty, it looks like we're going to have a decent batch of Rye Pale Ale to drink. Already thinking about what's next. Dare were try an all grain recipe...?<br />
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<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/07/homebrew-batch-2-and-lesson-learned.html">Homebrew Batch #2 and Lessons Learned</a> (andyslusher.blogspot.com)</li>
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<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-use-hydrometer-in-home-brewing.html">How to use a hydrometer in home brewing</a> (andyslusher.blogspot.com)</li>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-23770048647679417392011-08-11T08:48:00.000-07:002014-03-18T10:56:42.443-07:00Batch #3 - Summer Ale (Extract)For batch #3 we decided to go with a seasonal recipe and brew up a summer ale. As before, we went the extract route and used a kit from <a href="http://brewersbestkits.com/">Brewer's Best</a>. Their Summer Ale <a href="http://brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1054_Summer_Ale.pdf">recipe</a> was easy to follow and turned out quite nice. Batch 1 and 2 taught me a lot and made this one seem easy by comparison.<br />
<br />
To be sure, there were still lessons learned and tips I will remember going forward. One snafu that could have potentially ruined the batch was avoided. Step 13 calls for the addition of priming sugar which ensures your beer carbonates after bottling. We prepared the sugar as directed but in our excitement to get it bottled nearly forgot to add it. <br />
<br />
Just before bottling was to begin I noticed our sauce pan sitting on the stove and luckily had time to add it just before bottling commenced. The instructions call for the sugar to be added to your bottling bucket before transferring the wort so I was unsure if adding post-transfer would matter. As it turned out the beer was fine - just the right amount of fizz and, luckily, stirring in the sugar after it was added to the bottling bucket didn't introduce any contaminates.<br />
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Another change we will employ for batch 4 is switching our sanitizer. We had been using C-brite simply because that is what was included with my original kit. After a trip to my <a href="http://www.beernecessities.com/">local homebrew supply shop</a> I decided to switch to <a href="http://www.fivestarchemicals.com/">Star-San</a> based on a recommendation by the owner. He said C-brite was a good product but he had better results with Star-San and as a no-rinse sanitizer produced no off-flavors. I found this <a href="http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/archive/index.php/t-2386.html">debate</a> online and it seems like there are a lot of Star-San fans out there in the homebrew universe.<br />
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I think one of the best things about brewing your own beer is sharing it with <strike>unsuspecting victims</strike> friends and family. I did a <a href="http://andyslusher.blogspot.com/2011/07/7-sources-for-creating-your-own.html">previous post</a> on how to create your own labels and for batch 3 we decided to label some bottles as we were travelling for the 4th of July holiday and wanted to show off our creation. The label you see here was done by <a href="http://www.myownlabels.com/beer_labels/">My Own Labels</a> and it turned out even better than I expected. They were high quality, applied easily and didn't come off when submerged in the cooler.<br />
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Batch 4 is on deck to brew this weekend. Looking to spreading our wings a bit and move up to a more challenging recipe so stay tuned for the outcome. Happy homebrewing friends and thanks for reading. Comments are always appreciated.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-23485962939158213532011-07-13T08:50:00.001-07:002014-03-18T10:54:21.511-07:00Batch #2 - American Pale Ale (Extract)What a difference a little experience makes. Round two was much less intimidating and the process flowed more smoothly. There were, however, lessons to be learned and questions to be answered.<br />
<br />
For batch #2 we decided to go with an American Pale Ale (one of my favorite styles) from Brewer's Best. To see the recipe and instructions you can go <a href="http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1013_American_Pale_Ale.pdf">HERE</a>. This recipe is labeled "Easy" by Brewer's Best in terms of difficulty and compared to the Wit Bier recipe I initially started my beer making hobby with I would agree. There are simply less ingredients and steps involved in getting to the finished product.<br />
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Like my first batch, I took extreme caution to ensure everything was thoroughly sanitized and contamination would not be a factor. For the most part, the brew session went as planned but I did learn a few things that I will take with me into batch #3 and I would like to share below:<b><b><b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b></b></span></b></span></b></b></b></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SQ14-Single-Outdoor/dp/B0009JXYQ4?ie=UTF8&tag=thegreonlexp-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Bayou Classic SQ14 Single Burner Outdoor Patio Stove" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0009JXYQ4&tag=thegreonlexp-20" /></a><br />
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A watched pot never boils...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> Or so it would seem. In step #4 of the recipe it calls for the wort to be brought to a boil. For whatever reason, our electric stove simply wouldn't get hot enough to bring the <img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thegreonlexp-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0009JXYQ4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />mixture to a rolling boil so it steeped for longer than the recipe called for. Eventually we resigned ourselves to the fact that it simply wasn't going to get hot enough to achieve the desired temperature. Fortunately, we had a propane burner similar to this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SQ14-Single-Outdoor/dp/B0009JXYQ4/ref=as_li_wdgt_js_ex?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=thegreonlexp-20&creative=380737">one </a>from Amazon. We made the transfer and in just a few minutes had the rolling boil we were after.</span></b></b></b></b></b></b></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU657R6kXTYB_6F91a_oMKv0fi5uj20u40GF2p_zRuMuWOOGQFSlf0ws_-zSZXs8fVL9DTPcFSnamnw8xImqMMSvlwleDZ8ggWaX9O8_KbAQ01FLTyKs9uLEt54G87tFK1rZnlptNyrsKJ/s1600/AirlockSeal2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU657R6kXTYB_6F91a_oMKv0fi5uj20u40GF2p_zRuMuWOOGQFSlf0ws_-zSZXs8fVL9DTPcFSnamnw8xImqMMSvlwleDZ8ggWaX9O8_KbAQ01FLTyKs9uLEt54G87tFK1rZnlptNyrsKJ/s200/AirlockSeal2.jpg" height="165" width="200" /></a><b></b></div>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Airlock seals don't float! </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This is one of those seemingly simple lessons but until you have been there a little head scratching takes place. After I had transferred the wort to my primary fermentation bucket I pitched the yeast, firmly pressed the lid on and went to install the airlock in the rubber seal around the top of the lid. Unfortunately, I pressed a little hard and the black rubber seal pushed through and quickly sank to the bottom. I retrieved my mixing spoon to try and fish it out but before doing so I mixed up another gallon of C-Brite to sterilize it before making the plunge. After several attempts and coming up empty I had to move on to a second option. I considered siphoning the liquid into another container until the level was low enough to easily pluck the seal out but was concerned that introducing more air into the wort may contaminate it. It seemed I was left but with one option. I took the C-Brite mixture and thoroughly coated my right arm and went fishing. I located the seal and was in and out in just a few seconds but I couldn't help but wonder if I had contaminated the brew. As time would tell, the beer ended up just fine but not without a little worry. Lesson learned - lubricate the end of the airlock with C-Brite solution and use care to gently push into the seal.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Timing your Hydrometer readings matter</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. If you want to ensure your home brew ends up with the intended ABV measurement you need to take your hydrometer readings at the appropriate times. It is important to take a reading before fermentation begins to establish your original gravity (OG). In following the brewing directions, I missed a step that would have given me greater control over the final gravity (FG) of my beer. Step 8 of the brew process reads as follows... <i>"</i></span></b><i>Add enough clean water (approx. 64º - 72ºF) to the fermenter to bring your wort to approximately 5 gallons. Thoroughly stir the water into the wort." </i>Simple enough. I added the water as instructed but I should have read the ENTIRE set of directions because the next bit of information in the directions was important: <i>"Be careful not to add a volume of water that will cause the wort to fall outside of the OG range." </i>Unfortunately, I added more water than I should have and missed the intended OG which resulted in a FG less than is ideal for this style of beer. I could not tell a difference in the taste of the finished product but I would have been happier if I had hit the desired ABV. Lesson Learned - Add water to the wort slowly and take frequent hydrometer reading until you are at your intended OG reading. You can always add more if your readings aren't where you want them to be.<br />
<br />
<b>Why's my beer cloudy?</b> After we popped our first beer in batch #2 we quickly noticed that it was cloudy. This wasn't entirely unexpected. In fact, some styles are supposed to be cloudy in their finished form such as our wit bier we brewed in batch #1. The wit bier actually cleared up quite a bit over time while aging in the bottle. This may prove to be true for our American Pale Ale as well but I think I will experiment with including Irish Moss in my next brewing session with a similar style. Irish Moss is a clarifying agent commonly used in the home brew process to reduce the cloudiness of the beer and should not affect the taste. It is purely used for aesthetic reasons. I will follow-up on this topic with a future post on my results.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading and here's to successful home brewing!<br />
<br /></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-830853689379859892011-07-11T10:49:00.000-07:002014-03-18T10:54:01.302-07:00Batch #1 - Witbier (Extract)<script type="text/javascript">
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</script>For my inaugural homebrew post I thought what better way than to share my own experiences I encountered brewing my first batch of beer. I can remember how excited I was to get started but also a little apprehensive and full of questions.<br />
<br />
As with anything new, there is no replacement for experience. The proprietor at my local home brew supply store said one of the best ways to learn the art of home brewing is to take copious amounts of notes as you progress through your brewing tasks. This allows you to easily recall the questions that arose and what was learned so you repeat your successes and minimize your failures. This is also a fun way to look back over time and see just how much you have learned throughout your brewing experiences.<br />
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Like most home brew virgins, I started with one of the ubiquitous kits that can be found at your local home brew supply store. For purposes of this post, I am going list the equipment purchased, ingredients and recreate the steps below and add my "<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">L</span></b>essons <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">L</span></b>earned" intermingled in <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">RED</span></b>.<br />
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<b><a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrewing" rel="wikipedia" title="Homebrewing">Home Brew</a> Kit:</b> True Brew by <a href="http://crosby-baker.com/index.php/home/internal/">Crosby and Baker, LTD</a><br />
Contents:<br />
<ol>
<li>True Brew <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Home-beermaking-complete-beginners-guidebook/dp/0960531815/ref=as_li_wdgt_js_ex?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=thegreonlexp-20&creative=380737">Handbook</a></li>
<li>Fermenting Bucket</li>
<li>Bottling Bucket with hole for Spigot</li>
<li>Spigot for bottom of Bottling Bucket</li>
<li>Brush for cleaning inside of bottles</li>
<li>Adhesive Thermometer for outside of Fermenting Bucket</li>
<li>Glass Hydrometer</li>
<li>3-piece Airlock for top of Fermenting Bucket</li>
<li>Bottle Capping Tool</li>
<li>Siphon Equipment and Hose</li>
<li>8 Packets of C-Brite Sanitizing Cleanser</li>
</ol>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">L.L</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>. </b></span>While I couldn't be more happy with my starter kit, it does lack a few things that are either required to get your first batch made of will at least make the process go a little smoother.<br />
<div>
<ol>
<li>Brew Kettle (Required) - You gotta cook the stuff! Picking a pot to brew your beer in is actually an important decision. First of all, DON'T use aluminium. Off-tasting flavors can leech into the brew and that just isn't acceptable. Go with a stainless steel kettle and opt for the largest one your budget/kitchen will accommodate (preferably 20 quarts or larger).</li>
<li>Bottles (Required) - You gotta keep it somewhere! Unless you are kegging it, which is usually beyond the comfort zone for a first time brewer, you have to bottle it after fermentation. The bottling process also allows the beer to carbonate.</li>
<li>Thermometer (Required) - I'm not sure why my kit didn't contain a kitchen-grade food thermometer because you will need to be relatively precise when you are brewing your beer. I can only assume that it is expected that most households would already have this kitchen staple. I'm proud to claim I have a can opener and one reasonable sharp knife in my kitchen drawer.</li>
<li>Carboy (Optional) - A Carboy is a fancy name for a big glass bottle. It serves the same purpose as the Fermenting Bucket (and can be used in place of if desired) but allows for a secondary fermentation if you choose to employ this option step in your beer making process. If you decide to add the glass Carboy to your arsenal you will need to make sure you have a stopper with a hole drilled in the top to insert your Airlock. Any home brew supply store will have these ready available.</li>
<li>Funnel (Optional) - If you decide to do a secondary fermentation step a decent funnel will allow you to easily transfer the beer from the the Fermentation Bucket to the Carboy. Alternatively (and preferred), you can simply siphon the beer from the Fermentation Bucket to Carboy. This method will decrease the amount of air that is introduced and cut down on the chances of bacteria entering the brew and possibly spoiling it.</li>
<li>Long Handle Brush (Optional) - Only needed if you use the glass Carboy. Because the opening at the top is only about two inches or less you will need something to get down inside of the bottle after you are through using it to give it a good scrubbing and thorough cleaning.</li>
</ol>
<b>Ingredients:</b> Brewer's Best "<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_beer" rel="wikipedia" title="Wheat beer">Witbier</a>" Kit</div>
<div>
Contents:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Fermentables - 3.3 lbs Wheat Liquid Malt Extract (LME), 2 lbs Wheat Dry Malt Extract (DME)</li>
<li>Specialty Grains - 1 lb Pale Malt, .5 lb Wheat, .5 lb Oats</li>
<li>Hops - 1 oz Bittering, 1 oz. Flavoring</li>
<li>Spice Pack - contains dried orange peel and corriander</li>
<li>Yeast - Sachet of dried yeast powder</li>
</ol>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">L.L</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>. </b></span>For starters, I would not suggest using this kit for your maiden voyage into home brewing. Not that it didn't turn out well, in fact, it was surprisingly tasty but this is more of an intermediate kit requiring more steps than an "easy" or beginner's kit. One of the great things about the Brewer's Best kits is that the degree of difficulty is listed on the outside of the box so you know what you are getting into. The second thing I learned here is that occasionally the dry yeast packets can fail to activate. Fortunately, I was warned of this at my home brew supply store and sprung for the additional $6 and purchased the liquid variety from <a href="http://www.whitelabs.com/">White Labs</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Brewing Instructions: </b> An exact copy of the Brewer's Best Recommended Procedures can be found <a href="http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1051_Witbier%20w%20steep%20to%20convert.pdf">HERE</a>. Below I have recreated the steps in what I feel is a more linear process and added my own notes as Lessons Learned.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li>Sterilize ALL items that will come in contact with your beer using C-brite. Use one packet per 5 gallons of water. This equates to 1/2 packet to 1/2 full fermenting container.</li>
<li>Pour 1 gallon of drinking water into your 20 quart (5 gallon) boiling kettle. You should maintain a 2-1 grain to water ratio. So for 2 pounds of grain you will use 1 gallon of water.</li>
<li>Bring water to 150 degrees.</li>
<li>Steep-to-convert (this is the extra step I mentioned above that is beyond beginning basics) by pouring your 2 pounds of specialty grains (1 lb. Pale Malt, .5 lb. Wheat, .5 lb. Oats) into the grain bag and tying a knot at the top. Raise the temperature to 155 degrees and place the grain bag into the pot. This will cause the water temperature to drop so carefully raise the heat to maintain a constant temperature between 148 - 152 degrees. Do not exceed 155 degrees. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> L.L.</span></b> - This task was very hard to regulate using an electric stove top. Use a gas stove if you can or perhaps your gas grill if it has a gas eye.</li>
<li>Steep the grains for 45 minutes. Remove the bag and allow the excess water to drain back into the pot. DO NOT SQUEEZE.</li>
<li>Add enough water to bring to total volume to 2.5 gallons. You now have your "wort" liquid.</li>
<li>Bring the wort up to 180 degrees.</li>
<li>SLOWLY dissolve in the liquid malt extract. Each 5 gallon batch of beer should have 5-6 pounds of malt extract. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> L.L.</span></b> - Dissolving in slowly will prevent black flaking from occurring which means you have scorched the wort. Try removing from heat as your stir in to prevent burning. Yes, mine was slightly scorched but didn't seem to affect the taste.</li>
<li>Bring to a boil and add bittering hops (1 oz. Willamette Bittering Hops)</li>
<li>Boil for 1 full hour. (After 30 minutes add Dry Malt Extract - DME & Spice Pack. During the last 15 minutes of the hour add 1/2 of the flavoring/aroma hops - .5 oz Sterling Flavoring Hops. You can also add the Irish Moss at this time as well for clarity but is optional and not really needed for a wheat beer. Add remaining 1/2 flavoring/aroma hops - .5 oz Sterling Flavoring Hops in the last 7-10 minutes of the hour.)</li>
<li>Turn off heat and cool wort by putting the boiling kettle in an ice bath. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">L.L.</span></b> - Try adding rock salt to the ice for faster cooling.</li>
<li>Transfer wort to fermenting bucket and add cold water (enough to bring it to the 5 gallon mark on your container) to bring it to 78 degrees or below and stir thoroughly. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> L.L.</span></b> - Don't add all of the water before taking a hydrometer reading. Add water to about 4 gallons and then slowly add the water while taking hydrometer readings until the desired original is reached. Too much or too little water will affect the final gravity of your beer meaning the alcohol by volume (ABV) will be off.</li>
<li>Take a hydrometer reading and record the original gravity (OG) and record it for future reference.</li>
<li>Add (pitch) yeast to the wort but make sure it is 78 degrees or below – ideally 70 degrees and stir well.</li>
<li>Ferment for 5 – 7 days. Fermentation is complete when CO2 bubbling has ceased for 48 hours. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> L.L. </span></b>- I fermented for two weeks because CO2 was still being released in the airlock.</li>
<li>If an OPTIONAL secondary fermentation is desired, transfer to secondary fermentation container (glass carboy) for a minimum of 7 -14 days. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">L.L.</span></b> - Make sure the transfer is completed BEFORE the initial fermentation is complete.</li>
</ol>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bottling Process:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li>Sterilize ALL items that will come in contact with your beer using C-brite. Use one packet per 5 gallons of water. This equates to 1/2 packet to 1/2 full fermenting container.</li>
<li>In a small saucepan dissolve priming sugar (3/4 cup suggested) into 1 - 2cups of water. Boil for 3-5 minutes. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> L.L.</span></b> - I simply used the entire packet that came in the Brewer's Best kit and dissolved into 2 cups of water. Finished product was carbonated perfectly.</li>
<li>Pour dissolved mixture into bottling bucket.</li>
<li>Siphon beer from primary container (or secondary if employed) into bottling bucket. Fill bottles to approximately 1” from top.</li>
<li>Cap with sterilized caps using quality capping tool. Transfer bottles to a dark temperature stable area (approximately 64 – 72 degrees).</li>
<li>Allow beer to naturally carbonate for at least 2 weeks. Carbonation may take up to 4 weeks. L.L. - if you refrigerate then the natural carbonization process will cease so make sure your beer is finished carbonating before chilling.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Well, thats it. My first home brew experience documented. I sincerely hope you picked up a tip or two that will help ensure your home brew adventures are successful. I'd like nothing more than to hear your feedback, questions or tips you would like to share. Thanks for reading and HAPPY HOME BREWING!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-22891760081843721872011-07-11T06:58:00.000-07:002011-09-05T08:17:09.239-07:00How to use a hydrometer in home brewing<span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hydrometer6455.png" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A hydrometer showing the hydrometry principle...." height="322" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Hydrometer6455.png" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="130" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 130px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hydrometer6455.png">Wikipedia</a></span></span>So just what is a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Brew-Home-Brewing-Supplies/dp/B003X4DRRI?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=thegreonlexp-20&creative=380737">hydrometer </a>anyway and how is it used in the home brewing process? Simply put, it is a device that measures the weight of a liquid in relation to water. Home brewers use hydrometers to determine the "gravity" or amount of alcohol in their beer.<br />
<br />
During the home brewing process a hydrometer is used to monitor the change in original gravity (OG) and final gravity (FG). This measurement, applied to a simple formula, will give you the amount of alcohol by volume (ABV) in your finished beer.<br />
<br />
At the beginning of the fermentation process (before the sugar starts to convert to alcohol) you will place your thoroughly sanitized hydrometer into your fermentation bucket and take a reading. To do this you simply place the hydrometer into the liquid and allow it to float. You may want to gently spin it to dislodge the bubble around it to see the numbers. After it stops bobbing you log where the liquid measure on the scale. Water has a specific gravity of 1.000. Since your unfermented beer contains levels of fermentable solids it will have a gravity higher than 1.000. For example, an American Pale Ale I recently made had an OG of 1.051 and a FG of 1.012.<br />
<br />
So here comes the part that might seem just a little tricky but if you simply follow the formula it's a snap. Alcohol by Volume % (ABV) is calculated by taking the Original Gravity and subtracting the Final Gravity and multiplying by 131.25. For the American Pale Ale example above it would look like this:<br />
<ul>
<li>(1.051 - 1.012) x 131.25 = 5.19% ABV</li>
</ul>
There are a couple other factors that come into play such as the temperature at which you measure the liquid. For example, the most accurate readings are obtained when the liquid is a 60 degrees Fahrenheit. For must of us home brewers the temperature may hover around 70 degrees so adding .001 to the calculations will compensate for the difference.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I hope this post was informative and helped take some of the mystery out of this piece of the home brewing puzzle.</div>
<div>
<br />
To make the process even easier, you can use this ABV <a href="http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv.php">calculator</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Related Articles:</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.homebrewing.org/How-to-Read-a-Hydrometer_ep_46-1.html">How to read a hydrometer by Adventures in Homebrewing.</a></li>
</ul>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870984082239669642.post-25288185564119373192011-07-10T13:31:00.000-07:002013-10-07T11:27:24.810-07:0011 Sources for Creating Your Own Homebrew Bottle Labels (and caps too!)<script type="text/javascript">
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</script>We home brewers take a lot of pride in concocting our basement libations and one of the best parts of home brewing is sharing the fruits of our labor with friends and family. While we know the care and extreme sanitary conditions under which our beer was brewed it can be a little intimidating for the uninitiated to blindly pop open an anonymous brown bottle and hope for the best.<br />
<br />
Why not go that extra mile and slap a classy (or completely ridiculous) label on your home brew bottles? Your friends just may feel like they are drinking the next great craft brew or, at the very least, may get a kick out of your creativity.<br />
<br />
Below are some affordable and easy-to-use labeling systems worth consideration. I welcome your comments and additions to the list.<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.myownlabels.com/beer_labels/" target="_blank">My Own Labels</a></li>
<ul>
<li>My Own Labels does much more than just beer labels. Their site is aimed at anyone that wants to create custom labels for just about anything from homemade preserves to wedding favors but the section exclusively dedicated to beer labels is easy to use and the selection is adequate for most needs plus you can also upload your own images. I've used their products and am happy with the results. Fast shipping and great customer service.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.onlinelabels.com/beer-bottle-labels.htm?gclid=CLCkosCV_qgCFYg32goduyB-Sw" target="_blank">Online Labels</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Online labels is more similar to <a href="http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/">Avery </a>in terms of business purpose - sell more sheets of labels! But where I think they separate themselves is in the choice of labels specifically for bottles. Unlike My Own Labels where you simply choose a style, tweak the colors and add your own text, Online Labels is more about providing you the labels and you taking it from there. They do, however, provide templates for PDF, EPS and others plus their own exclusive offering - Maestro Label Designer with limited overlay templates. If you know your way around design software then you will probably prefer Online Labels for the advanced creativity options.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.beerlabelizer.com/" target="_blank">Beer Labelizer</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Beer Labelizer has by far the coolest interface among all the labeling options I've listed. It's designs are somewhat limited in number but they are progressive and the best part of all is they are free! You design the label and print at home.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.bottleyourbrand.com/custom-beer-labels" target="_blank">Bottle Your Brand</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Bottle Your Brand offers products for a variety of topics from bottled water to bumper stickers. Their selection for beer labels is fairly extensive and each label is fully customizable. </li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.labelsonthefly.com/beer-labels.html" target="_blank">Labels on the Fly</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Labels on the Fly offers some very nice looking professionally designed labels for beer bottles. Unfortunately the site lacks the option to simply click on a label and start customizing it and you have to call or e-mail for a price quote. Nonetheless, the labels are attractive and are worthy of consideration.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.beeronthewall.com/cgi-bin/sc/productsearch.cgi?storeid=*1edbab64a80950e17c6034b6799f55b5ff&search_field=labels" target="_blank">Beer on the Wall</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Beer on the Wall is a beer lovers novelty shop. They offer all things beer from beer-of-the-month clubs to t-shirts to gift baskets. Their spin on the customized labels is different than all of the others in this list in that you design the labels but it ships on their bottled private pilsner. So if you are looking just for labels for your own home brew then this isn't the site for you but would make a nice gift. A few mouse clicks and you can send a six pack to a friend that is personalized and unique. </li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.beerlabelbuilder.com/" target="_blank">Beer Label Builder</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Beer Label Builder does one thing and that is provide templates for you to customize and order labels. They have a selection of 30 labels to choose from so the selection is not as broad as other sites. The company is located in Australia so be prepared for an additional $10 in shipping costs for all orders outside of the country.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://labeley.com/" target="_blank">Labeley</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Labeley is the latest entry into the beer label creation market. This is a slick tool that is easy to use and gives you tons of flexibility and creativity. There doesn't seem to be support for standard label formats yet so you are left to print your labels on your own paper. All that aside, Labeley is a fun tool for creating home brew labels.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.zumula.com/online-products?category=46" target="_blank">Zumula</a></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Zumula <span style="font-size: 11pt;">has both pre-created templates and create from
scratch templates to fit your design needs. Best of all, most of their templates
allow a user to drop in a photo to personalize the design experience.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.bottlemark.com/" target="_blank">BottleMark</a> (Custom bottle caps!)</li>
<ul>
<li>BottleMark is the first company to bring home brewers affordable ($.12/ea.), customized bottle caps.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.beerclings.com/" target="_blank">BeerClings</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Why didn't I think of this idea? For the home brewer, one of the most tedious tasks we take on is removing the labels from spent bottles. With BeerClings that is a thing of the past. Professional, re-usable, no mess!</li>
</ul>
</ol>
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