I'm catching up on my brew blog posts, as I've been derelict in my duty for months now. This beer was my attempt to make a Mexican-style Vienna lager. Brewed on 4 January 2012.
The Recipe:
9 lb Vienna malt
5 AAU (44g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 60
3.1 AAU (27g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 15
1 Whirlfloc tablet @ 15 min
Wyeast 2308 - Munich Lager
Dough-in with 13 quarts of water and mashed for an hour at 149°. Batch sparged at 170-180° to get 26 quarts for the boil.
O.G.: 1.048
Est. IBU: 26.3
Monday, April 2, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Lynnwooder Gose
I completely forgot to post about some brewing I did, oh, 11 days ago now. I made a Gose for the first time, which is a Leipzig wheat beer which includes salt and coriander.
The Recipe:
4 lb wheat malt
3 lb 2-row pale malt
8 oz acidulated malt
4 AAU (10g @ 11% AA) Galena @ 60
1 oz freshly ground coriander @ 5
4 level tablespoons kosher salt @ 5
Wyeast 3056 - Bavarian Wheat Blend
Dough-in with 10 quarts of water and mashed for an hour at 150°. Batch sparged at 170-175° to get 26 quarts for the boil.
O.G.: 1.043
Est. IBU: 17.3
Completely uneventful brewing. Hit 82% mash efficiency, so I know my malt mill is still set up properly.
The Recipe:
4 lb wheat malt
3 lb 2-row pale malt
8 oz acidulated malt
4 AAU (10g @ 11% AA) Galena @ 60
1 oz freshly ground coriander @ 5
4 level tablespoons kosher salt @ 5
Wyeast 3056 - Bavarian Wheat Blend
Dough-in with 10 quarts of water and mashed for an hour at 150°. Batch sparged at 170-175° to get 26 quarts for the boil.
O.G.: 1.043
Est. IBU: 17.3
Completely uneventful brewing. Hit 82% mash efficiency, so I know my malt mill is still set up properly.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Kegged Up
I just kegged Blackacre Pilsner, CitrAmarillo IPA and Drain Clog Dubbel. First impressions are that CitrAmarillo is totally awesome, Blackacre Pilsner will be supremely drinkable when it is lagered for a little bit, and that Drain Clog is a pretty successful dubbel -- although, since it is not my favorite style ever, it's not really my favorite batch.
Kegging the Dubbel was a real pain in the ass. I went through 3 keg lids and was still not able to get a sufficient air-tight seal. I eventually ended up having to double-up on the lid gasket to get things to work. This seems to be functioning, but I will not be at all surprised if I wake up to an empty CO2 tank tomorrow.
Kegging the Dubbel was a real pain in the ass. I went through 3 keg lids and was still not able to get a sufficient air-tight seal. I eventually ended up having to double-up on the lid gasket to get things to work. This seems to be functioning, but I will not be at all surprised if I wake up to an empty CO2 tank tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Blackacre Pilsner
So, today I decided to brew up a Pilsner for the first time. I've done Kölsches and California commons before, but this is my first real honest-to-God lager. I've got my temperature control planned out and hope it comes together.
The Recipe:
9 lb 2-row pale malt
4 oz crystal 60
4 oz Cara-Pils
5 AAU (13g @ 11% AA) Galena @ 60
3.2 AAU (28g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 20
3.2 AAU (28g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 5
Whirlfloc tablet @ 15
Wyeast 2278 - Czech Pils
Dough-in with 12 quarts of water and mashed for an hour at 149°. Batch sparged at 180° to get 26 quarts for the boil.
O.G.: 1.054
Est. IBU: 29.4
Since I already had sanitizer out and everything, I also took the opportunity to add a couple ounces of dry hops to CitrAmarillo. I'm feeling pretty good about these last 3 batches.
The Recipe:
9 lb 2-row pale malt
4 oz crystal 60
4 oz Cara-Pils
5 AAU (13g @ 11% AA) Galena @ 60
3.2 AAU (28g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 20
3.2 AAU (28g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 5
Whirlfloc tablet @ 15
Wyeast 2278 - Czech Pils
Dough-in with 12 quarts of water and mashed for an hour at 149°. Batch sparged at 180° to get 26 quarts for the boil.
O.G.: 1.054
Est. IBU: 29.4
Since I already had sanitizer out and everything, I also took the opportunity to add a couple ounces of dry hops to CitrAmarillo. I'm feeling pretty good about these last 3 batches.
Friday, November 25, 2011
CitrAmarillo IPA
Today I decided to keep up my brewing schedule now that I have a working sink. In an effort to finish up my Amarillos and use up some of my copious Citra, I'm making an IPA with those two.
The Recipe:
10 lb 2-row pale malt
8 oz Victory malt
3 oz Cara-Pils
20 AAU (39g @ 14.2% AA) Citra @ 60
10 AAU (26g @ 10.7% AA) Amarillo @ 20
10 AAU (20g @ 14.2% AA) Citra @ 20
10 AAU (26g @ 10.7% AA) Amarillo @ 5
10 AAU (20g @ 14.2% AA) Citra @ 5
Added the following hops on 30 November 2011:
10.7 AAU (28g @ 10.7% AA) Amarillo
14.2 AAU (28g @ 14.2% AA) Citra
1 Whirlfloc tablet @ 15 min
Wyeast 1332 - Northwest Ale
Dough-in with 14 quarts of water and mashed for an hour at 148°. Batch sparged at 170° to get 26 quarts for the boil.
O.G.: 1.056
Est. IBU: 109.7
I adjusted my malt mill today so I got my efficiency up to 76%. I think my batch sparging is affecting my efficiency negatively, so I will be sure to make sure my rollers are adjusted each time I mill grain.
The Recipe:
10 lb 2-row pale malt
8 oz Victory malt
3 oz Cara-Pils
20 AAU (39g @ 14.2% AA) Citra @ 60
10 AAU (26g @ 10.7% AA) Amarillo @ 20
10 AAU (20g @ 14.2% AA) Citra @ 20
10 AAU (26g @ 10.7% AA) Amarillo @ 5
10 AAU (20g @ 14.2% AA) Citra @ 5
Added the following hops on 30 November 2011:
10.7 AAU (28g @ 10.7% AA) Amarillo
14.2 AAU (28g @ 14.2% AA) Citra
1 Whirlfloc tablet @ 15 min
Wyeast 1332 - Northwest Ale
Dough-in with 14 quarts of water and mashed for an hour at 148°. Batch sparged at 170° to get 26 quarts for the boil.
O.G.: 1.056
Est. IBU: 109.7
I adjusted my malt mill today so I got my efficiency up to 76%. I think my batch sparging is affecting my efficiency negatively, so I will be sure to make sure my rollers are adjusted each time I mill grain.
Drain Clog Dubbel
Last Friday (one week ago), I brewed up my first batch in almost 3 months. The reason? I finally fixed my sink/garbage disposal after accidentally putting the remnants of Chernobyl Stout (oak chips and all) down the drain. That being fixed, I chose to brew again.
The Recipe:
12.5 lb 2-row pale malt
8 oz crystal 60°
4 oz chocolate malt
4 oz roasted barley
3 oz cara-pils
5 AAU (26g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 60 min
5 AAU (26g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 20 min
6.6 AAU (34g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 5 min
14.2 AAU (28g @ 14.2% AA) Citra @ 5 min
3.2 AAU (28g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 5 min
Wyeast 1214 - Belgian Abbey
Dough-in with 17 quarts of water and mashed for an hour at 151°. Did a pretty basic batch sparge at 170° to get 26 quarts for the boil.
O.G.: 1.058
Est. IBU: 46.1
The smack pack of 1214 that I pitched was way past its due date, which was evinced by the fact that after 72 hours no fermentation had begun. At that point, I pitched a brand-new smack pack of 1214 and fermentation began quickly and continued apace for the next 3.5 days. Lesson: use fresh yeast.
The Recipe:
12.5 lb 2-row pale malt
8 oz crystal 60°
4 oz chocolate malt
4 oz roasted barley
3 oz cara-pils
5 AAU (26g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 60 min
5 AAU (26g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 20 min
6.6 AAU (34g @ 5.4% AA) Cascade @ 5 min
14.2 AAU (28g @ 14.2% AA) Citra @ 5 min
3.2 AAU (28g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 5 min
Wyeast 1214 - Belgian Abbey
Dough-in with 17 quarts of water and mashed for an hour at 151°. Did a pretty basic batch sparge at 170° to get 26 quarts for the boil.
O.G.: 1.058
Est. IBU: 46.1
The smack pack of 1214 that I pitched was way past its due date, which was evinced by the fact that after 72 hours no fermentation had begun. At that point, I pitched a brand-new smack pack of 1214 and fermentation began quickly and continued apace for the next 3.5 days. Lesson: use fresh yeast.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
September Updates
Today I did some spring keg cleaning. I had four empties, a record for me! I then kegged up Chernobyl Stout and Big Nose Blonde. Here are my thoughts:
Chernobyl: this beer finished at 1.040, locking in a good 11.3% ABV. Lower than the 12% for which I was shooting, but not surprising considering the below-average attenuation my big beers tend to achieve. The oak is a nice touch and I think 16 days was a pretty good amount of time. I think 3 weeks might have been the max, based on what I'm tasting now. I am told the oak fades over time, though, so I'll reevaluate in a few months.
Big Nose: the nose is, as expected, big. Dry hopping lasted only about 6 days, but I needed to get this guy into the keg for tailgating on Saturday. My hop bag also had a tendency to float in the secondary, so my dry-hopping usage efficiency was probably low, but the 3 ounces I added probably makes up for this. The nose is awesome, though the flavor leaves a little to be desired. There was no traditional flavor addition in this brew; only a bittering addition and lots of aroma hops at 5 plus dry hops. Should be an interesting experiment.
Both of these beers used re-pitched yeast from batch #47, the Irish Red. All three of these beers lack any kind of distinct yeast character (although they also lack off-flavors). I think I am done with 1084 Irish Ale for now, unless I really want to brew something with little to no yeast character and just a smooth texture to serve as a palate for some kind of flavorant, be it hops or fruit or whatever.
On a last note, I've switched from Iodophor to Star-San. It's more expensive, but it also seems a little less toxic (and, my LHBS was out of Iodophor in the Io-Star squeeze-measure bottles). Foam is an issue. Don't fear the foam.
Chernobyl: this beer finished at 1.040, locking in a good 11.3% ABV. Lower than the 12% for which I was shooting, but not surprising considering the below-average attenuation my big beers tend to achieve. The oak is a nice touch and I think 16 days was a pretty good amount of time. I think 3 weeks might have been the max, based on what I'm tasting now. I am told the oak fades over time, though, so I'll reevaluate in a few months.
Big Nose: the nose is, as expected, big. Dry hopping lasted only about 6 days, but I needed to get this guy into the keg for tailgating on Saturday. My hop bag also had a tendency to float in the secondary, so my dry-hopping usage efficiency was probably low, but the 3 ounces I added probably makes up for this. The nose is awesome, though the flavor leaves a little to be desired. There was no traditional flavor addition in this brew; only a bittering addition and lots of aroma hops at 5 plus dry hops. Should be an interesting experiment.
Both of these beers used re-pitched yeast from batch #47, the Irish Red. All three of these beers lack any kind of distinct yeast character (although they also lack off-flavors). I think I am done with 1084 Irish Ale for now, unless I really want to brew something with little to no yeast character and just a smooth texture to serve as a palate for some kind of flavorant, be it hops or fruit or whatever.
On a last note, I've switched from Iodophor to Star-San. It's more expensive, but it also seems a little less toxic (and, my LHBS was out of Iodophor in the Io-Star squeeze-measure bottles). Foam is an issue. Don't fear the foam.
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