So, yesterday I brewed up an IPA designed to finish off the Nugget and East Kent Golding hops I have had open for quite a while. This also means that I used over 3 ounces of Nugget as bittering hops and so achieved a calculated 226 IBUs, which I'm sure nobody will ever actually taste.
The Recipe:
9 lb 2-row pale malt
12 oz Victory malt
8 oz Cara-Pils
42.25 AAU (91g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 60
13 AAU (28g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 20
5 AAU (28g @ 5% AA) East Kent Goldings @ 20
6 AAU (34g @ 5% AA) East Kent Goldings @ 10
6 AAU (34g @ 5% AA) East Kent Goldings @ 5
13 AAU (28g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 0 (flame-out)
Whirlfloc tablet @ 15
Wyeast 1272 - American Ale II
Mashed at 150° for an hour using 13 quarts of water. Batch-sparged using 170-190° water and collected 6.5 gallons for the boil.
O.G.: 1.046
Est. IBU: 226.3
Brewing was mostly uneventful, except for the fact that I achieved a paltry 68% mash efficiency, the same as for the last batch. I'm thinking, once again, that it's got to be down to the crush. I guess the mill at my LHBS needs to be adjusted again.
Yesterday I also kegged batch 30, Thanksgiving Tripel, and it is now carbonating at a preposterous 30psi to be ready by Thursday. It actually tasted darn good; way better than Terrible Tripel. It finished off at 1.004, or about 9.2% ABV. Since I've decided to eschew secondary fermentation, except in the case of dry-hopping or adding fruit or whatnot, I had to buy another Cornelius keg in order to package #30. I'm now up to eight kegs, even though I can only chill 6 at a time; I guess my taps will have to begin rotating, eh?
Monday, November 22, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Mediterranean Baltic
On Sunday I brewed up a Baltic Porter (my first) in order to utilize the yeast cake I harvested from Proposition 29. Brewing was largely uneventful.
The Recipe:
13 lb 2-row pale malt
1.5 lb Carafa II malt
1 lb crystal 60°L
1 lb flaked oats
10 AAU (22g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 60
4 AAU (35g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 15
Wyeast 2112 - California Lager; pitched about 350mL of very thick slurry from batch 29's yeast cake
Mashed at 154° for an hour using 20 quarts of water. Batch-sparged using 170° water and collected 6.5 gallons for the boil.
O.G.: 1.072
Est. IBU: 43.7
The only problem which occurred was during sparging. There was an interruption in draining so I introduced a little too much sparge water, which diluted the wort and caused me to get a lower efficiency (since I basically had to toss perfectly good wort because it wouldn't fit in my kettle). Thus, my efficiency dropped to 68%, quite low for some of my more recent batches. Still, 1.072 is a perfectly acceptable OG for a Baltic porter, so I think I'm in good shape.
I also kegged up Proposition 29 (FG 1.007; ABV 5.6%) and have it carbonating away in the kegerator right now. I decided to leave Thanksgiving Tripel in the primary, with an eye toward getting a new keg and kegging it sans secondary. Actually, I'm thinking of eschewing secondaries altogether when they are not necessary; only beers being dry-hopped or fruited or whatever really need to go into secondaries at all.
The Recipe:
13 lb 2-row pale malt
1.5 lb Carafa II malt
1 lb crystal 60°L
1 lb flaked oats
10 AAU (22g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 60
4 AAU (35g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 15
Wyeast 2112 - California Lager; pitched about 350mL of very thick slurry from batch 29's yeast cake
Mashed at 154° for an hour using 20 quarts of water. Batch-sparged using 170° water and collected 6.5 gallons for the boil.
O.G.: 1.072
Est. IBU: 43.7
The only problem which occurred was during sparging. There was an interruption in draining so I introduced a little too much sparge water, which diluted the wort and caused me to get a lower efficiency (since I basically had to toss perfectly good wort because it wouldn't fit in my kettle). Thus, my efficiency dropped to 68%, quite low for some of my more recent batches. Still, 1.072 is a perfectly acceptable OG for a Baltic porter, so I think I'm in good shape.
I also kegged up Proposition 29 (FG 1.007; ABV 5.6%) and have it carbonating away in the kegerator right now. I decided to leave Thanksgiving Tripel in the primary, with an eye toward getting a new keg and kegging it sans secondary. Actually, I'm thinking of eschewing secondaries altogether when they are not necessary; only beers being dry-hopped or fruited or whatever really need to go into secondaries at all.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Brewing Plans
Last night I kegged up #28, Employment Singel. It has come out pretty biscuity and with almost no Belgian character, which has me a little worried because I used its yeast for Thanksgiving Tripel. I guess we'll just have to see, though.
So, I recently got a big order of hops in, so I have set out a big plan to make a bunch of IPAs in the coming weeks. I also want to use up hops I opened a long time ago (easily identifiable on my new hop inventory chart), so I'm going to start with a Mulligan IPA and then move on to a bunch of single-hop IPAs in the vein of Nugget or EKG IPA. I am suffering from a bit of a dearth of session-type beers right now, so it is just as well.
Next on the list, however, is a Baltic porter, since I have that cake of 2112 California Lager yeast to use. After that, though, it will be IPAs until the end of the year.
So, I recently got a big order of hops in, so I have set out a big plan to make a bunch of IPAs in the coming weeks. I also want to use up hops I opened a long time ago (easily identifiable on my new hop inventory chart), so I'm going to start with a Mulligan IPA and then move on to a bunch of single-hop IPAs in the vein of Nugget or EKG IPA. I am suffering from a bit of a dearth of session-type beers right now, so it is just as well.
Next on the list, however, is a Baltic porter, since I have that cake of 2112 California Lager yeast to use. After that, though, it will be IPAs until the end of the year.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Thanksgiving Tripel
Since I decided to save my yeast cake from batch 28, and since my last attempt at a tripel wasn't terribly successful, I decided to brew up another attempt at the lovely Belgian style again yesterday. The idea is to have it ready by Thanksgiving, hence the name.
The Recipe:
12 lb European Pilsner malt
2 lb granulated white sugar, added with about 20 minutes left in the boil
6 AAU (53g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 60
2 AAU (17g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 20
2 AAU (17g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 5
Whirlfloc tablet @ 15 min
Wyeast 1214 - Belgian Abbey (yeast cake from batch #28); pitched ~200mL of slurry
Mashed at 150° for an hour using 15 quarts of water. Batch-sparged using 170° water and collected 6.5 gallons for the boil.
O.G.: 1.074
Est. IBU: 27.5
Brewing was blissfully uneventful and everything went well. The only disappointment was in the 75% efficiency I got, which, while within the acceptable range, was still a little bit lower than I'd been getting recently. The grind on the grain looked pretty good, so maybe this malt just had lower potential than the estimate I was using for the calculation.
I also racked Proposition 29 to the secondary. I probably could have kegged it, but I don't have any free kegs right now. It got down to 1.007, so about 5.6% ABV, and it has this interesting bright, piney, somewhat citrusy character. It was a pretty clean brew, so I'm thinking that implementing temperature control is going to really pay off for me in my forthcoming brews. I harvested 29's yeast cake as well; I'm thinking of maybe doing a Baltic porter or something.
The Recipe:
12 lb European Pilsner malt
2 lb granulated white sugar, added with about 20 minutes left in the boil
6 AAU (53g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 60
2 AAU (17g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 20
2 AAU (17g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 5
Whirlfloc tablet @ 15 min
Wyeast 1214 - Belgian Abbey (yeast cake from batch #28); pitched ~200mL of slurry
Mashed at 150° for an hour using 15 quarts of water. Batch-sparged using 170° water and collected 6.5 gallons for the boil.
O.G.: 1.074
Est. IBU: 27.5
Brewing was blissfully uneventful and everything went well. The only disappointment was in the 75% efficiency I got, which, while within the acceptable range, was still a little bit lower than I'd been getting recently. The grind on the grain looked pretty good, so maybe this malt just had lower potential than the estimate I was using for the calculation.
I also racked Proposition 29 to the secondary. I probably could have kegged it, but I don't have any free kegs right now. It got down to 1.007, so about 5.6% ABV, and it has this interesting bright, piney, somewhat citrusy character. It was a pretty clean brew, so I'm thinking that implementing temperature control is going to really pay off for me in my forthcoming brews. I harvested 29's yeast cake as well; I'm thinking of maybe doing a Baltic porter or something.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Proposition 29
Yesterday I brewed my 29th batch and first lager-style beer, a California Common which I've dubbed Proposition 29. I won't really count Helmut Kölsch as a lager, since it is kind of a hybrid yeast and it was rather warm-fermented.
The Recipe:
9 lb 2-row pale malt
8 oz crystal 60°L
6 AAU (13g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 60
8 AAU (28g @ 8% AA) Northern Brewer @ 15
8 AAU (28g @ 8% AA) Northern Brewer @ 5
Whirlfloc tablet @ 15
Wyeast 2112 - California Lager
Mashed at 150° for an hour and a quarter using 12 quarts of water. Batch-sparged using 180° water and collected 6.5 gallons for the boil.
O.G.: 1.050
Est. IBU: 44.9
This beer represents my first real attempt at temperature control during the fermenting stage. I would love to keep it in the 62-64° range at high kräusen; to accomplish this, I bought a $10 clear-plastic storage tub and placed my carboy inside it, then filled the tub with ice water. I will have to periodically re-ice the water to keep the temp down; it should be interesting to see how it works. Yesterday when I first filled it the temperature was about 59-60°; this morning it was up to 64°, so I re-iced again before leaving for work. I imagine this will have to be done every 12 hours or so.
Yesterday I also racked Employment Singel, which fermented very quickly and could probably just have been kegged, as most of the yeast had already flocculated out. Unfortunately, I also kegged Cherry Brevity and had no free kegs left for Employment. I guess this week I will have to drink a lot of homebrew to get my keg situation in order. Good lord ... do I already need another keg fridge?
Employment is tasting interesting; quite biscuity and nutty, and not super Belgiany. I shall have to see if a little conditioning helps it along, but I fear that fermentation was too quick to develop all those good flavors characteristic of the style. Cherry Brevity is also interesting; so long in the secondary cleared it right up, so it doesn't look like a cloudy witbier. It is bright red, however, and the cherry added a very subtle, dry fruit character which I think works well.
The Recipe:
9 lb 2-row pale malt
8 oz crystal 60°L
6 AAU (13g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 60
8 AAU (28g @ 8% AA) Northern Brewer @ 15
8 AAU (28g @ 8% AA) Northern Brewer @ 5
Whirlfloc tablet @ 15
Wyeast 2112 - California Lager
Mashed at 150° for an hour and a quarter using 12 quarts of water. Batch-sparged using 180° water and collected 6.5 gallons for the boil.
O.G.: 1.050
Est. IBU: 44.9
This beer represents my first real attempt at temperature control during the fermenting stage. I would love to keep it in the 62-64° range at high kräusen; to accomplish this, I bought a $10 clear-plastic storage tub and placed my carboy inside it, then filled the tub with ice water. I will have to periodically re-ice the water to keep the temp down; it should be interesting to see how it works. Yesterday when I first filled it the temperature was about 59-60°; this morning it was up to 64°, so I re-iced again before leaving for work. I imagine this will have to be done every 12 hours or so.
Yesterday I also racked Employment Singel, which fermented very quickly and could probably just have been kegged, as most of the yeast had already flocculated out. Unfortunately, I also kegged Cherry Brevity and had no free kegs left for Employment. I guess this week I will have to drink a lot of homebrew to get my keg situation in order. Good lord ... do I already need another keg fridge?
Employment is tasting interesting; quite biscuity and nutty, and not super Belgiany. I shall have to see if a little conditioning helps it along, but I fear that fermentation was too quick to develop all those good flavors characteristic of the style. Cherry Brevity is also interesting; so long in the secondary cleared it right up, so it doesn't look like a cloudy witbier. It is bright red, however, and the cherry added a very subtle, dry fruit character which I think works well.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Is Homebrewing Cost Effective: Redux
Well, it's been a year since my last calculations regarding the cost-effectiveness of homebrewing, so I think I'll re-run the numbers for my experience thus far.
Take Nugget IPA as an example: $26.10 or so in ingredients, which works out to 77¢/pint or about $1.04 for a 22oz bomber (most batches are in the 4.3 gallon neighborhood once all is said and done). This is a bit less than the $1.39 of a year ago, but I've saved money by using tap water and buying hops in bulk for the last year or so. Also, I worked out how much gas and water I use during a brewday -- about 8¢ of water and 25¢ of gas, which adds about a penny a pint to the whole works.
And what about capital goods? Well, because of new equipment (keg system, extra kegs, new mash tun, etc.), I'm up to about $1,000 worth of brewhouse stuff. This works out to about $35.71 per batch over my 28 batches, which is about $1.05 per pint or $1.42 per bomber. My average last year was $2.17/bomber, but I was predicting getting as low as 63¢; clearly, that didn't happen.
Still, that means that a glass of decent IPA is costing me $1.83 per pint or about $2.47 per bomber. A good IPA is at least $3.99 for a bomber, sometimes as high as $5.99 before getting into DIPA territory. That means that Nugget saves me a rough average of $2.52 per bomber, or about $63 per batch. Woot! Still savin' money!
Take Nugget IPA as an example: $26.10 or so in ingredients, which works out to 77¢/pint or about $1.04 for a 22oz bomber (most batches are in the 4.3 gallon neighborhood once all is said and done). This is a bit less than the $1.39 of a year ago, but I've saved money by using tap water and buying hops in bulk for the last year or so. Also, I worked out how much gas and water I use during a brewday -- about 8¢ of water and 25¢ of gas, which adds about a penny a pint to the whole works.
And what about capital goods? Well, because of new equipment (keg system, extra kegs, new mash tun, etc.), I'm up to about $1,000 worth of brewhouse stuff. This works out to about $35.71 per batch over my 28 batches, which is about $1.05 per pint or $1.42 per bomber. My average last year was $2.17/bomber, but I was predicting getting as low as 63¢; clearly, that didn't happen.
Still, that means that a glass of decent IPA is costing me $1.83 per pint or about $2.47 per bomber. A good IPA is at least $3.99 for a bomber, sometimes as high as $5.99 before getting into DIPA territory. That means that Nugget saves me a rough average of $2.52 per bomber, or about $63 per batch. Woot! Still savin' money!
Employment Singel
So, yesterday I brewed up my 28th batch: a Belgian pale ale/abbey singel that is based on a recipe out of Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing. I named it in honor of my wife's just having got a new job! Yay!
The Recipe:
6 lb European Pilsner malt
3 lb European pale ale malt
8 oz Belgian aromatic malt
6 AAU (13g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 60
3 AAU (24g @ 3.5% AA) Czech Saaz @ 30
2 AAU (16g @ 3.5% AA) Czech Saaz @ 5
2 AAU (19g @ 3% AA) Hallertauer @ 5
Wyeast 1214 - Belgian Abbey
Mashed at 151° for an hour using 12 quarts of water. Batch-sparged (needed 2 batches since I can't quite heat enough water to do it all in one batch after the mash) using 170° water.
O.G.: 1.050
Est. IBU: 36.7
Once again used the 10-gallon tun, although I discovered I had a broken hose clamp connecting the braid to the internal hose barb so I had to temporarily bridge the gap with a piece of plastic tubing. I really must get new hose clamps before brewing again. Other than that, this was an uneventful brewing session; reached 79% mash efficiency which is well within expected parameters.
Yesterday I also made a first pass at cleaning out the chest freezer I got. The vast majority of the nasty mold-or-whatever-it-is is gone, but I still want to bleach the inside to be sure. If I do that tonight, then I might even be able to get some beer carbonated for poker on Thursday! That would be nice.
The Recipe:
6 lb European Pilsner malt
3 lb European pale ale malt
8 oz Belgian aromatic malt
6 AAU (13g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 60
3 AAU (24g @ 3.5% AA) Czech Saaz @ 30
2 AAU (16g @ 3.5% AA) Czech Saaz @ 5
2 AAU (19g @ 3% AA) Hallertauer @ 5
Wyeast 1214 - Belgian Abbey
Mashed at 151° for an hour using 12 quarts of water. Batch-sparged (needed 2 batches since I can't quite heat enough water to do it all in one batch after the mash) using 170° water.
O.G.: 1.050
Est. IBU: 36.7
Once again used the 10-gallon tun, although I discovered I had a broken hose clamp connecting the braid to the internal hose barb so I had to temporarily bridge the gap with a piece of plastic tubing. I really must get new hose clamps before brewing again. Other than that, this was an uneventful brewing session; reached 79% mash efficiency which is well within expected parameters.
Yesterday I also made a first pass at cleaning out the chest freezer I got. The vast majority of the nasty mold-or-whatever-it-is is gone, but I still want to bleach the inside to be sure. If I do that tonight, then I might even be able to get some beer carbonated for poker on Thursday! That would be nice.
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