Drinkers with a Running Problem

Home Brewers... (Read 1606 times)


Prince of Fatness

    A while back I bought a pound of Nugget hops and just noticed that I had 4 ounces left.  I had been using them for bittering additions here and there.  Well turns out that they were over 2 years old.  So, I figured that I should use them up.  Also, as much as I like IPA's I brew very few of them.  The hops were sealed in a Food Saver bag so they should be OK.  They smelled fine.  Brewed last night.....

     

    Nugget IPA

     

    Drank my first bottle of this over the weekend.  It's good but I could sort of tell that the hops lost a bit of their zing.  Not as much aroma and flavor as I would expect considering the flame out addition and dry hop.  I think that the grain bill works for an IPA, tho.

    Not at it at all. 


    Prince of Fatness

      Also, my LHBS just got in German Hull Melon hops.  It is a relatively new hop with an interesting flavor profile.  I bought some and will brew a SMaSH with them this fall.

       

      http://www.hopslist.com/hops/aroma-hops/733-hull-melon

      Not at it at all. 


      Prince of Fatness

        Saturday I will be brewing a 5 gallon batch in my garage.

         

        English IPA

         

        13 lbs 2 oz Maris Otter Malt (the 2 oz are because I had a little extra on hand and that is what it came to)

         

        Hops all East Kent Golding (7.2% AA)

         

        1 oz first wort

        1 oz 60 mins

        1 oz 15 mins

        1 oz 10 mins

        1 oz 5 mins

        1 oz flameout

        1 oz 7 day dry hop

         

        A few days beforehand, toast 1 lb 2 oz of the malt at 300 for 25 minutes.

         

        Wyeast 1099 Whitbred yeast, 1 qt starter.

         

        Mash 152 for an hour.  Boil an hour, chill, and pitch yeast.

         

        Been wanting to do an English IPA for some time now, and yes, this is a SMaSH

        Not at it at all. 

        Trent


        Good Bad & The Monkey

          I made this on Tuesday:

           

          http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/king-henry-clone-input.49320/

           

          Recipe -
          Grain bill:
          - 22lbs Maris Otter
          - 1lb 8oz Crystal Wheat -> 1 lb red wheat
          - 1lb Crystal 120 - 2 lbs crystal
          - 4oz Dark Chocolate

           

          Hops Bill:
          - Pilgrim bittered to 42.5IBUs @60minutes (2oz 11.5aa)
          - Styrian bittered to 11.5IBUs @30minutes (1.5oz @5.4aa)
          - Styrian bittered to 6IBUs @10minutes (1.5oz @5.4aa)

           

          Yeast: Wyeast 1968 -> used (started each in 1 gallon apple juice x 1 week, chilled x 24 hours and decanted):
          - WL007, Dry English
          - WL002 English Ale
          - WL090 San Diego Super Yeast


          Mash @149 for 90 minutes

           

          Boil for 120 minutes - separate one gallon of first runnings and boil down into about half of its original volume - add to full boil and begin boil/time.

           

          My math (Strike Water Temperature Tw = (.2/R)(T2 - T1) + T2)
          = (.2/1)(149 - 65) + 149)
          = 165.8 degrees (6.25 gallons for 25 lbs grain)


          Targets:
          - OG: 1.134
          - FG: 1.033
          - ABV: 13.7%
          - IBUs: 59.4
          - SRM: 25.1

           

          Notes -

          -> Brewed 9/23/2014, 5 hours total time
          -> used 7.5 gallons at 166 to get 150 degrees mash, held for 120 minutes
          -> Pulled off 1 gallon from primary, boiled to 1/2 gallon
          -> First runnings at 1.090
          -> Second runnings during sparge at 1.060+

          -> OG: 1.120 x 6 gallons
          -> Iced wort, pitched yeast in the next morning at 85 degrees
          -> vigorous airlock activity at 10 hours

           

          I plan to put this into the barrel that currently has my Imperial Stout in 1-2 weeks


          Prince of Fatness

            I plan to put this into the barrel that currently has my Imperial Stout in 1-2 weeks

             

            I would lean towards the 2 if I could help it.  Also, I would drink that.

            Not at it at all. 


            Prince of Fatness

              Saturday I will be brewing a 5 gallon batch in my garage.

               

              English IPA

               

              This went without a hitch.  A couple of pictures......

               

              Here is the inside of the 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler that I use for the mash,

               

               

              That is a stainless braided hose used for dishwasher hookups and such.  I removed the ends with a hacksaw, pushed out the inner rubber piece,  and clamped it on. The inside.It gets beat up after several uses but only takes a few minutes to replace.

               

              So for outside batches I do not use the bag to extract the wort.  The braid is attached to a spigot and I drain from that.  Here's the first runnings coming out....

               

               

              I do two sparges so I just take my desired initial boil volume, subtract amount of first runnings, and divide by two.  That gives me how much water I need for each sparge.

               

              After the sparge the process is basically the same as the inside batches.  I use an outdoor propane burner for the boil and my kettle is 36 quarts.

               

              I chill the wort in a plastic tub.  I put a couple of small blocks of wood down first so that the plastic does not start to melt.  Here is the wort chilling.  I am doing plain water here .... ice goes in after I get the temperature down with just water,

               

               

              For these bigger batches I usually pitch a yeast starter the night before.  I also always use a blow off tube initially since there is not that much head space in the bucket.

              Not at it at all. 

              Trent


              Good Bad & The Monkey

                -> OG: 1.120 x 6 gallons

                 

                Now down to 1.030 at 5 days, which is ~11.8% ABV and 74% attenuation. I'm pleased with that.


                Prince of Fatness

                   I brewed mine yesterday evening.  OG came to 1.053.  I think that I got the desired result from the brewer's choice malts.  Time will tell.  Like Trent I will post the actual recipe at a later time.

                   

                  Bottled the L&O collaboration last night.  FG was 1.000 so this one came to about 7%.  The flavors from the specialty grains (wildcard 10%) came through nicely.  If I had a choice I may opt for a little more.  I am quite pleased with how this one came out.

                  Not at it at all. 

                  WhoDatRunner


                  Will Crew for Beer

                    If either of you need a taste tester you know my address.

                    Rule number one of a gunfight, bring a gun. Rule number two of a gunfight, bring friends with guns.


                    Prince of Fatness

                      Brewed a stove top batch last night....

                       

                      Smoked Porter with Peppercorns - 11 quarts

                       

                      2.5 lb US 2 Row Malt
                      2.25 lb Smoked Malt
                      12 oz Chocolate Malt
                      6 oz Crystal 40L Malt

                      2 oz lb Black Patent Malt

                       

                      UK Target hops, 11% AA

                       

                      .5 oz 60 minutes

                      .5 oz 10 minutes

                       

                      1.5 oz coarsely crushed peppercorns, added with 1 minute left in the boil

                       

                      Wyeast 1098 British Ale, no starter

                       

                      Mash 153 for 60 minutes

                      Boil 60 minutes

                       

                      Chill, pitch, and ferment 3 weeks or so.  Then package.

                       

                      I brewed a saison last year with peppercorns, using .5 oz.  The heat was present but very subtle.  I wanted more heat in this porter so I tripled the amount of peppercorns.  The heat was not subtle when I sampled, but it was not over the top either.  We'll see when it ferments out.  Sample was nice and smoky too.  I really think that I hit this one right.  OG was 1.060.

                      Not at it at all. 

                      Not_Race_Coach


                      '15 Forumite of the Year

                        I hope you imaginary internet people appreciate this:

                        I have been working in a bottle shop with a small, but growing, homebrewing section.  I have met an interesting mix of people.  Earlier this week I had a sort of weird middle aged man come in.  He had made is first batch of beer, everyone said it was fantastic, and was looking to take the next step. I'll bullet point what I believe are the facts.

                         

                        -He believes the next step from using LME is DME

                        -His first batch was made with a can of LME, a kilo of corn sugar.  He threw in "some hops" and yeast. *note, no seeping grains

                        -This batch will be a 3lb bag of DME, 4lb bag of corn sugar, some willamette hops (he still doesn't understand why you add hops at different times), and mutons yeast. *again, no grains

                        -He is hoping for something like Fat Tire, since that is a great beer.

                        -He has already rigged up a grain mill in his garage for the next step, all-grain

                        -He wants to open a homebrew shop

                        -maybe one day his beer will be on our walls.

                         

                         

                        lolz everyday.

                        ...this post has been brought to you by gossip websites and whiskey.


                        Prince of Fatness

                          I hope you imaginary internet people appreciate this:

                           

                          I do.  We were all noobs once I suppose. Funny thing is I would have to research brewing an extract batch if asked to do it. Only ever did one.

                           

                          Anyhow I bottled up 5 gallons of English IPA this evening. Sample tasted pretty good. I like those earthy EKG hops. I really don't need 54 bottles of it but that's what I have on my hands.

                          Not at it at all. 

                          Not_Race_Coach


                          '15 Forumite of the Year

                             

                            I do.  We were all noobs once I suppose. Funny thing is I would have to research brewing an extract batch if asked to do it. Only ever did one.

                             

                            Anyhow I bottled up 5 gallons of English IPA this evening. Sample tasted pretty good. I like those earthy EKG hops. I really don't need 54 bottles of it but that's what I have on my hands.

                             

                            I had to look up the weight conversion for LME to DME to help him out.

                            I guess the part that you can't see is this 5' tall, middle aged man in safety glasses being all excited about his new hobby and his bored out of her mind wife standing behind him rolling her eyes.

                            He had told me on his first visit that she has said he doesn't pick up new hobbies, he BECOMES new hobbies.  Then he gets bored and sells all the hobby related items and moves on to something else.  But he is sure this time it is different.

                             

                            Anyway, homebrewing updates:

                            Tim's collaBEERation is bottled

                            My collaBEERation is in secondary

                            My wild yeast/bugs starters are starting to bubble

                            Next up is a oud bruin.  It is an AG kit from NB, but if I am going to wait 18 months to drink something I want some guarantee it is going to taste good.

                            ...this post has been brought to you by gossip websites and whiskey.


                            Prince of Fatness

                               

                              I had to look up the weight conversion for LME to DME to help him out.

                              I guess the part that you can't see is this 5' tall, middle aged man in safety glasses being all excited about his new hobby and his bored out of her mind wife standing behind him rolling her eyes.

                              He had told me on his first visit that she has said he doesn't pick up new hobbies, he BECOMES new hobbies.  Then he gets bored and sells all the hobby related items and moves on to something else.  But he is sure this time it is different.

                               

                              Anyway, homebrewing updates:

                              Tim's collaBEERation is bottled

                              My collaBEERation is in secondary

                              My wild yeast/bugs starters are starting to bubble

                              Next up is a oud bruin.  It is an AG kit from NB, but if I am going to wait 18 months to drink something I want some guarantee it is going to taste good.

                               

                              I can't see it but I live it.

                               

                              As for what's upcoming for me, I think I will be able to fit in three more brews between now and the end of the year.

                               

                              1. SMaSH using German Hull Melon hops.  Real curious as to how much melon taste these hops provide.
                              2. Golden brown IPA using all El Dorado hops.  This is inspired by Stone's latest anniversary beer, which uses these hops.  They had a tangerine type flavor to them.  That Stone beer was quite tasty.
                              3. Rye Wine.  This will be an all day event.  Grain bill will be about a third rye.  Long mash.  Long boil with some of the first runnings boiled down extra.  I'll need to be patient with this one as the last barley wine that I brewed did not come into its own until well after a year in the bottle.

                              Not at it at all. 

                              Not_Race_Coach


                              '15 Forumite of the Year

                                 

                                I can't see it but I live it.

                                 

                                As for what's upcoming for me, I think I will be able to fit in three more brews between now and the end of the year.

                                 

                                1. SMaSH using German Hull Melon hops.  Real curious as to how much melon taste these hops provide.
                                2. Golden brown IPA using all El Dorado hops.  This is inspired by Stone's latest anniversary beer, which uses these hops.  They had a tangerine type flavor to them.  That Stone beer was quite tasty.
                                3. Rye Wine.  This will be an all day event.  Grain bill will be about a third rye.  Long mash.  Long boil with some of the first runnings boiled down extra.  I'll need to be patient with this one as the last barley wine that I brewed did not come into its own until well after a year in the bottle.

                                 

                                Funny story, the entire state of Alabama is not getting bottles of this (we have kegs).  The shipment from CA to AL somehow didn't make it on the truck... and then all the AL bottles were sold in CA.  Apparently Stone feels bad about this and we may get fun stuff to make up for it.

                                ...this post has been brought to you by gossip websites and whiskey.