Good Bad & The Monkey
Expected ABV?
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Prince of Fatness
The calculators tell me about 10.5%. No reason to think that I won't get that since I will be doing a very thorough sparge in order to get all of the wort to boil down for a couple of hours. Thinking of splitting the sparge in two. Will see.
Not at it at all.
Got the Rye Wine done. Long brew day, close to seven hours including set up and clean up. An hour and a half mash, two hour boil. OG was a little lower than expected but I came out with a quart of extra wort so probably about right.
Here, I have three pots going. This is before the main kettle boil started. The front left pot has the first runnings boiling down. The back left is extra wort that I am adding into the main kettle as capacity allows. I kept that at a low boil so it didn't knock the main boil down when I added it.
Here are the first runnings boiled down. Two quarts down to a little over a pint.
Gravity reading.
Upgraded: Sort of Broken
Take 2 quarts of the first runnings and boil them separately down to about a pint. It will be the consistency of warm maple syrup. Add this back in with 10 minutes left in the main boil.
did you taste this before it went back in? it sounds a lot like you just produced your own LME. and homemade is always better.
Chill, be mellow, and be in a mood for embracing the sun.
"ooohhh, what is the malted liquor, what gets you drunker quicker, what comes in bottles or in cans?BEER!"
I most certainly did taste it. Just dipped my finger in. It was sweet, and sticky. Very tasty. By the time I added it back in it had cooled to the point where a film was developing on the top. I microwaved it on high for 45 seconds so it would pour easier. It was pyrex, so I dipped that bowl in the boiling wort in order to get it all mixed in. Could have used a spatula I guess but this works.
Vienna / German Hull Melon SMaSH
I have had a couple of bottles of this now, Really like the flavor that these hops provide.
El Dorado Gold IPA
Speaking of a different hop, I bottled this up yesterday. It is quite the tangerine bomb. These El Dorado hops are mighty tasty.
Nobody else brewing? Well, I am. Tonight I bottled my Holiday Ale. I brewed it in early July and the spices have mellowed nicely. 6 weeks or so of bottle conditioning and I'll be set. Here is a shot of the beer being racked to the bottling bucket...
So here we are over 3 years later. Yesterday I shared a bomber of this with family. Still some spicy aroma and flavor but not nearly as much as when fresh. I think that it is better now. I have one more bomber left and plan on sharing it with company tomorrow.
One of the guys that helps me brew in the garage asked me to show him how I do a batch inside on the stove. I had a SMaSH that I had in mind so he came over this past weekend and we brewed.
Munich / Apollo SMaSH
5.5 lbs Munich Malt
Hops all Apollo (17% AA)
.25 oz first wort
.25 oz 60 mins
.25 oz 15 mins
.25 oz 10 mins
.25 oz 5 mins
.75 oz flameout
A few days beforehand, toast 1 lb of the malt at 300 for 25 minutes (I actually did this the morning that we brewed).
Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast, no starter.
Mash 152 for an hour. Boil an hour, chill, and pitch yeast. Bottle after 3 weeks or so.
I have yet to find a hop that would stand up to Munich malt, which has a very strong flavor. These Apollos are supposed to be a super hop. The AA rating is pretty high so we'll see. If nothing else I will have a nice easy drinking malty beer for winter time. OG was 1.056.
After a 31 day fermentation I bottled up the rye wine last night. FG was 1.012 giving me an ABV of 8.8%, a bit low. My OG was lower than expected and thinking on this I think that my issues are with sparging. This has only come up with higher gravity beers, not an ongoing problem. I have some ideas to try for the next big beer that I brew.
Anyway, the sample tasted fantastic, spicy from the rye yet pretty smooth for how young it is. Now the trick is to leave it alone, other than try a bottle every several months to see how it is coming along.
After a 31 day fermentation I bottled up the rye wine last night. FG was 1.012 giving me an ABV of 8.8%, a bit low. My OG was lower than expected and thinking on this I think that my issues are with sparging. This has only come up with higher gravity beers, not an ongoing problem. I have some ideas to try for the next big beer that I brew. Anyway, the sample tasted fantastic, spicy from the rye yet pretty smooth for how young it is. Now the trick is to leave it alone, other than try a bottle every several months to see how it is coming along.
what were the mash and sparge temps?
Mashed 150 for 90 minutes.
Don't know the exact sparge temp but I generally heat the water to between 160 and 170.
Munich / Apollo SMaSH ... I have yet to find a hop that would stand up to Munich malt, which has a very strong flavor. These Apollos are supposed to be a super hop. The AA rating is pretty high so we'll see. If nothing else I will have a nice easy drinking malty beer for winter time. OG was 1.056.
Flu delayed bottling for a week but I finally got around to this. This is a nice assertive pale ale. Definitely got some flavor from these hops.
Kitchen Sink Russian Imperial Stout 5.5 lbs US 2 Row 1 lb Light Munich .25 lb Roasted Barley .25 lb Chocolate Malt .25 lb Special B .25 lb Crystal 20L 1 scoop 8 o'clock coffee also added to the mash 1 oz Nugget hops (60 minutes) .25 oz US Tettnang hops (15 minutes) SafeAle US-05 dry yeast
5.5 lbs US 2 Row
1 lb Light Munich
.25 lb Roasted Barley
.25 lb Chocolate Malt
.25 lb Special B
.25 lb Crystal 20L
1 scoop 8 o'clock coffee also added to the mash
1 oz Nugget hops (60 minutes)
.25 oz US Tettnang hops (15 minutes)
SafeAle US-05 dry yeast
Was pretty happy with this recipe .... still have a few bottles left. It's time to add some oak and liquor to the mix. So, this past weekend I tweaked the recipe and brewed this up again. Recipe goes from 11 to 12 quarts as I will bulk age this one in a 3 gallon carboy.
Jack in the Kitchen Sink Russian
6 lbs US 2 Row
6 oz Blackstrap Molasses (oz by weight, add with 10 minutes left in the boil.
.5 oz Warrior (15.7% AA) hops (60 minutes)
.5 oz Warrior (15.7% AA) hops (30 minutes)
Mash 151 degrees for 80 minutes. Boil 60 minutes, chill, and pitch yeast. Primary for 3 - 4 weeks then blend with 3 oz heavy roasted oak cubes that have been soaked in Jack Daniels. Age for a couple of months then bottle.
I am going to be heavier handed with the oak this time .... just have not gotten much flavor from it in prior attempts. Also going for heavier roasted cubes this time as I think it will fit with the stout. I wanted to use some bourbon but my buddy talked me into using JD.
Brewing was uneventful. OG was 1.086. This one should come in close to 10% ABV.
Brew day !
Turbid Mash - use for Lambic style or coolship
Grain bill:- 5.25 lbs. German Pilsener - 2.75 lbs. White Wheat
Hops Bill:- 3.00 oz. Hallertauer Select or Saaz @ 45 min
Procedure:
- Mash in 4 gallons spring water at 118°F to get to 113°F (2.0 quarts/lb) x 20 minutes- Pull off 3 gallons and heat to boil- Add back 4 quarts starchy wort to get to 136°F x 5 minutes- Add back 6 quarts starchy wort to get to 150°F x 30 minutes- Add back 5 quarts starchy wort to get to 162°F x 30 minutes- Add 5 quarts boiling water to get to 167°F- Heat sparge water to 185°F- Sparge over 90 minutes to ~9 gallons of 1.024 runnings collected - Boil wort with hops x last 45 minutes to target 6 gallons at SG 1.048
I plan to let this cool outside in an open vessel and sit for a couple days. Nights in the high 30s/low 40s. Spontaneous wild ale, baby! This turbid mash method will leave lots of complex starches for the wild ales that any sacch that hits it won't be able to touch. Ferment/age 1-3 years and then maybe fruit the stuff with a local fruit...
Brew day 2/7/15 notes- 4 gallons of Whole Foods spring water at 118°F to grain, reached 112°F- @ 20 minutes, pulled off 48 cups = 3 gallons to boil, took 30 min to reach boil- At +35 minutes, added 16 cups = 4 quarts to mash, reached 134°F- At +30 minutes, added 24 cups = 6 quarts to mash, reached 148°F- only a few cups of starchy wort remained, added water to get to 5 quarts, set to boil- At +35 minutes, added 20 cups = 5 quarts to mash, reached 150°F (??)- At +30 minutes, added 20 cups = 5 quarts boiling water to mash, reached 155°F - Measured 26 quarts wort into the sparge, first runnings 1.045- Added 14 quarts of sparge water at 185°F with final 9.75 gallons @ 1.035- Boiled to 6 gallons over 3 1/2 hours, with 1 oz cheesy old saaz x 45 minutes- split into 2 x 3 gallon containers and set outside @ 55°F, predicted low 45°F- Total brewing time 10 1/2 hours
- Room temperature OG this morning - 1.058 (6.5% predicted ABV if full attenuation)