I realized the other day that I have both a porter and a stout taking up space in my conditioning cabinets, and an ale that is destined for some family members... But I have no lighter ales for myself. So despite Christmas season being upon us, today's brew is a Boston Stock Ale. To add a little punch, for the first time I plan on dry hopping this beer (adding the aromatic hops to the secondary during racking from the primary to the secondary). This should add some good hop aroma to go along with the already hearty flavor this beer should have.
Today was a brew day the same as most others, though admittedly the outside temperature is much cooler than usual on a brew day. It began with sanitation and then dissolving of DME into 2 gallons of water. Adding the speciality (Crystal 60L) malts and heating the brew to 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes. This heat time is longer than usual for a DME batch but since I am headed towards all grain brewing anyway its probably good practice. After 40 minutes heat was adjusted to achieve a boil. The approach to boil did seem to take longer this time thanks to the cool outside air and swift breeze stealing all of my good heat. When boiling was achieved added the bittering pellet hops in a nylon hop bag and placed the speciality malts into a strainger over the brew pot. I had to adjust heat up a few times more after this to maintain a good boil, again due to the cold weather, but I managed to keep a good low rolling boil going the entire time. I added the whirlfloc tablet to the brew at 35 minutes into the boil and the flavoring hops 10 minutes later.
When the full 60 minute boil was completed I capped the brew and left it outside to cool. My dog had chewed through the end up my wort chiller that attaches to the hose so it looks like some repair work is in order. Once the wort had chilled I added 2 gallons of water to the primary bucket and strained the wort into the primary. I brought the total volume up to 5 gallons and pitched the liquid yeast smack pack (Wyeast again) into the primary. I locked up the primary with my airlock and set about to waiting until I could rack and add my aromatic hops to the secondary. Immediately before pitching the yeast into the primary the γg of the wort was 1.054.
Recipe:
5 lbs Light DME
6 cups Crystal 60L
Hops:
1.25 oz Sterling bittering pellet hops (5.4 α) (60 mintues)
0.5 oz Fuggle whole flavoring hops (4.1 α) (15 minutes)
0.5 oz UK East Kent Golding whole hops (6.3 α) (added to secondary)
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
English Brown Ale Update
The English Brown Ale brewed back the 21st of November as part 2 of the "full moon brewing" experiment turned out very similar to the initial full moon brew. This theory is gaining momentum. See previous post for full info into the full moon phenomenon but suffice it to say that this batch experienced what can only be described as flash fermentation. After taking almost 12 hours to get started this batch bubbles and off-gassed like few others have and was well on its way down by Wednesday the 24th of November when we racked to the secondary.
Bottling was completed on the 2nd of December for a total fermentation time of 11 days. This batch was bulk primed using ¾ cups of dextrose (corn sugar) into very slightly over 44 - 12 ounce bottles. The taste is right on target for this brew and unfortunately I spilled my hydrometer before I took my readings so I don’t actually know the final specific gravity of this batch. The good news is that due to the recent brewing bonanza I have been on this batch will have plenty of time to condition in the bottle.
Bottling was completed on the 2nd of December for a total fermentation time of 11 days. This batch was bulk primed using ¾ cups of dextrose (corn sugar) into very slightly over 44 - 12 ounce bottles. The taste is right on target for this brew and unfortunately I spilled my hydrometer before I took my readings so I don’t actually know the final specific gravity of this batch. The good news is that due to the recent brewing bonanza I have been on this batch will have plenty of time to condition in the bottle.
Main Line Porter Update
The Main Line Porter batch started on the 14th of November and was racked to the secondary on the 21st. The γg of the batch on racking was 1.018. This batch sat in the secondary for an additional 7 days before bottling on the 28th with a γg of 1.010. This batch was a little different too when it came to the bottling. We bulk primed this batch using ¼ cups of molasses and ¾ cups of honey which was heated to a boil in 2 cups of water.
The taste of the sample batch I had at bottling was rich and chocolately. It's supposed to be cold this week so it might be the perfect time to get some into the fridge and see how it goes.
The taste of the sample batch I had at bottling was rich and chocolately. It's supposed to be cold this week so it might be the perfect time to get some into the fridge and see how it goes.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
English Brown Ale
After my recent taste and experience with brewing on a full moon, I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to brew again the next time time a full moon came around. Such a night came around this past Sunday. My last full moon brew session went late into the night and I didn’t want to be up all night before work, so I decided to take a different route with this brew and we will just have to wait and see how it turns out.
This recipe is a pretty basic dry malt extract English Brown Ale that is relatively light on the hops.
Recipe:
Amber DME - 5 lbs
Speciality Malts:
English Chocolate Malt - 1 cup
Crystal 120L - 2 cups
Hops:
Fuggle 4.0 α - 1.75 oz (60 minutes)
Fuggle 4.1 α - 0.5 oz (2 minutes)
The process for this was similar, yet different, so it bears repeating here. I dissolved the DME into 2 gallons of warm water over a 20 minute span. After the DME was fully dissolved, I placed the specialty malts into a muslin bag and lowered into the brew pot. Heated the brew to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and held for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, I increased the heat to boiling and removed the malts. I placed the bittering pellet hops into a nylon bag in the brew pot and placed the grain bag into a strainer over the brew pot to strain out all of that malty flavor. Thirty-five (35) minutes into the boil I added the whirlfloc tablet and continued the boil for a further 25 minutes, adding the whole leaf fuggle hops in a muslin bag for the last 2 minutes of the boil.
When the boil was finished, I cooled the wort using a coiled wort chiller, this time I left the bags of hops in the wort during the cooling process. I cooled the wort down to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and added 2 gallons of cool water into the primary bucket. Placing the strainer over the primary bucket, I poured the wort into the primary slowly allowing the bags of hops to drop into the strainer but not into the primary. I pressed the liquid out of the hop bags and filled the primary up to 5 gallons.
Here is my next big departure from previous procedure: I placed the lid on the primary and sealed the primary with an airlock without pitching the yeast. Since I did this brew in the afternoon and this was my full moon brew, I decided ahead of time that the most important part for making this a full moon batch was to pitch the yeast after dark. With the primary locked, I activated the liquid Wyeast packet and waited until dark. I locked the primary at 3 pm and finally pitched the yeast at 7:20 pm. The initial γg of my brew was 1.042, just slightly higher than the target γg of 1.038 for a basic mild English brown ale.
On a completely unrelated note, I realized for the first time during this batch that Wyeast, my favorite liquid yeast to date, is produced in Hood River, Oregon. So another shout out for my northwestern brethren.
I checked the brew first thing in the morning, it was insanely early so I will spare you with the time, but fermentation had not yet started. When I checked again around 9 am, the bubbles had started to build and a couple of hours later they were moving pretty nicely. If memory serves me correctly, the last brew was already fermenting very actively 9 hours after pitching the yeast but since the γg of that brew was almost 0.02 higher than this batch, that could be a factor playing into how active the fermentation is shortly after pitching. We’ll continue to track the fermentation progress and hopefully will be ready to rack into the secondary early again with this batch.
This recipe is a pretty basic dry malt extract English Brown Ale that is relatively light on the hops.
Recipe:
Amber DME - 5 lbs
Speciality Malts:
English Chocolate Malt - 1 cup
Crystal 120L - 2 cups
Hops:
Fuggle 4.0 α - 1.75 oz (60 minutes)
Fuggle 4.1 α - 0.5 oz (2 minutes)
The process for this was similar, yet different, so it bears repeating here. I dissolved the DME into 2 gallons of warm water over a 20 minute span. After the DME was fully dissolved, I placed the specialty malts into a muslin bag and lowered into the brew pot. Heated the brew to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and held for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, I increased the heat to boiling and removed the malts. I placed the bittering pellet hops into a nylon bag in the brew pot and placed the grain bag into a strainer over the brew pot to strain out all of that malty flavor. Thirty-five (35) minutes into the boil I added the whirlfloc tablet and continued the boil for a further 25 minutes, adding the whole leaf fuggle hops in a muslin bag for the last 2 minutes of the boil.
When the boil was finished, I cooled the wort using a coiled wort chiller, this time I left the bags of hops in the wort during the cooling process. I cooled the wort down to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and added 2 gallons of cool water into the primary bucket. Placing the strainer over the primary bucket, I poured the wort into the primary slowly allowing the bags of hops to drop into the strainer but not into the primary. I pressed the liquid out of the hop bags and filled the primary up to 5 gallons.
Here is my next big departure from previous procedure: I placed the lid on the primary and sealed the primary with an airlock without pitching the yeast. Since I did this brew in the afternoon and this was my full moon brew, I decided ahead of time that the most important part for making this a full moon batch was to pitch the yeast after dark. With the primary locked, I activated the liquid Wyeast packet and waited until dark. I locked the primary at 3 pm and finally pitched the yeast at 7:20 pm. The initial γg of my brew was 1.042, just slightly higher than the target γg of 1.038 for a basic mild English brown ale.
On a completely unrelated note, I realized for the first time during this batch that Wyeast, my favorite liquid yeast to date, is produced in Hood River, Oregon. So another shout out for my northwestern brethren.
I checked the brew first thing in the morning, it was insanely early so I will spare you with the time, but fermentation had not yet started. When I checked again around 9 am, the bubbles had started to build and a couple of hours later they were moving pretty nicely. If memory serves me correctly, the last brew was already fermenting very actively 9 hours after pitching the yeast but since the γg of that brew was almost 0.02 higher than this batch, that could be a factor playing into how active the fermentation is shortly after pitching. We’ll continue to track the fermentation progress and hopefully will be ready to rack into the secondary early again with this batch.
Georgia Brewing
I have been living in the Southeast now for the better part of six years. In all of those six years, I have done my best to try to embrace the local beer here. With that said, here are some highlights and reviews the local beer I have nearby, or the places that are on the list of places we have to visit.
Sweetwater Brewery - Atlanta, GA
First up in the been-there-done-that category is Sweetwater Brewery in Atlanta, GA. Sweetwater was founded but a couple of displaced west coasters and seemed like a place I should feel right at home. My wife and I went to one of the Saturday afternoon brewery “tours” this past summer and put simply, it wasn’t what we expected. As we arrived, there were a few police officers directing us into an adjacent parking lot which really should have been our first hint. There were easily 200 to 300 people inside already and the feel of the whole thing was much more mid-afternoon frat party than brewery tour. After pushing my way to the bar I had one of the two tastings that came with entry. I tried the Blue and the Georgia Brown during our stay, both were smooth and easy to drink but weren’t exactly explosive. Nothing especially memorable sticks out about any of the brews there and sadly that says something. When it came time for the actual tour portion our group was at least 60 people strong and it felt more like watching a Youtube video of a tour than actually being there. The guide himself was entertaining and appeared knowledgeable but he was also trying to talk beer to a crowd that wasn’t really there to learn or enjoy the process. The folks there were really present to pay their $8 to drink the beer... When you consider that you could get six 5 ounce samples, it's not a half-bad deal for decent beer. Unfortunately, it was too crowded to enjoy. Much too college frat party, as noted earlier...and during the tour, someone passed out. Altogether, not a wonderful experience.
It should be noted that Sweetwater has a small restaurant and bar in the Atlanta International Airport. That experience was more enjoyable. While waiting for a flight, we got some decent hummus and some beer. The one thing that I really have to give props on is their beer naming. They do a pretty good job of that, and they're pretty funny too. Example: the catchphrase for the Georgia Brown is "More smooth than a Bill Clinton apology." WIN!
Old Mecklenburg Brewery - Charlotte, NC
One place that knows how to give a brewery tour is the Old Mecklenburg Brewery. It's been our favorite tour so far. Old Mecklenburg is located in Charlotte, NC, and is a small brewery that services only the Charlotte and neighboring areas. Their big claim here is to follow German beer purity laws, which they do to an exacting degree. Thanks to a unique twist of fate, my wife and I ended up getting a personal tour of the brewery and brew process they use there. First off, the beer is good, which is always an important way to start a brewery tour. Second for me is the ingenuity this place represented. Throughout the tour, the co-owner and brewmaster pointed out a few small components to us - the blow off system for the fermentation tanks and the bottle cleaning system they used were both designed and built in-house with the idea to make things as simple as possible. There was a very pronounced home brewing, do-it-yourself feel to the entire process. No need to get fancy, with the beer or the equipment, keep it simple, keep it pure, and make it good.
Aiken Brewing Company - Aiken, SC
The brewpub is probably up there as one of my favorite inventions - small breweries combining locally brewed beer with fresh food. Starting off closest to home is the Aiken Brewing Company in Aiken, SC. I think this place has a great food/beer balance. The beer is all good, representing a broad spectrum of tastes and styles the best probably being the Thoroughbred Red. Their food is pretty standard pub fare, focusing on burgers and fries as the staples but it always packs a quality punch.
Moon River Brewing Company - Savannah, GA
The next stop on our tour is in one of my favorite cities to visit. Savannah, GA is home to Moon River Brewing and has become a necessary stop on each trip to the city. The brews are always tasty and full of flavor and the food - again traditional bar food - packs some good flavor as well. Plus, since Savannah is an open container city, never forget to get one to-go as you are leaving to go walk the city market or the riverfront. Nothing recharges me for a day of sightseeing more than being able to walk down the street with a refreshing microbrew in my hand. The Skunk-Ape Stout is my brew of choice (though I often have whatever seasonal they have on tap as well.) I have also heard quite a few good things about the Swamp Fox IPA.
Southend Brewery - Charleston, SC
I lived in Charleston for over a year and yet somehow had never been to the Southend Brewery until a recent trip with my wife. When it comes to beer, we preferred the darker brews... but then I almost always do. Their darker beers seemed much more flavorful and aroma-intensive while the lighter brews seemed almost like an effort not to frighten away your average Miller, Coors, or Bud Light drinker. On the food side, this place is part of a mini chain of restaurants in the Charleston area that all manage to produce some pretty good food and this place is no exception.
5 Seasons - Atlanta, GA
5 Seasons in Atlanta GA is a small chain of brewpubs that are riding the trend of organic food all the way to organic beer. First off, it should be noted that most beer brewed is organic. The same goes for wine, as any pesticides would be likely to impart its flavors into the brew. Sometimes pesticides may be used in the growing of the grain but chances are your favorite microbrew is organic and just doesn’t make the claim to be so since its by nature ridiculous. With that said, they make good beer, and good food, too. My wife goes crazy for the fries whenever we go there and the food and beer never seem to disappoint. This is one of those places that I wished I lived closer to, they always seem to be opening a new cask of brew and trying different small batches, I just never happen to be there for it.
Max Lagers - Atlanta, GA
Finally, and yes I mean finally, is Max Lagers in Atlanta,GA. I hate to write anything about this one, because really I barely remember going there. Not that I was intoxicated at all or even tired. My wife and I went it, had a decent meal, each had one of their beers on tap. With all of that, I left and couldn’t tell you anything about the beer or the food other than it was okay. It wasn’t bad at all, but it was just unmemorable and that is something too.
Coming Soon....
Now we get to my favorite part, my wish list! Here it is, in no particular order, except for what order they popped into my head...
Terrapin in Athens, GA tops the list, if for no other reason than it is the closest and somehow I have never been there. I feel almost like I am letting the reader down by admitting that there is a top notch brewery less than two hours away and I’ve never even been near it. Next is RJ Rockers in Spartanburg, SC. I must admit this one is probably the one I am looking forward to most, simply because every time I have one of their brews I find more and more about it that I like. I started with their Son of a Peach ale which is an unfiltered wheat ale and packs a powerful peach flavor without being overbearing at all. It just tastes exactly like what it sounds, and I kinda dig that. They also have the Bell Ringer which is their high gravity offering. Recently, I tried the Patriot Ale and found that just like the others... this one was full of good hop flavor left me feeling like I wanted another one...the way any good beer should.
The next one is cheating, and I admit that. My wife and I are planning a trip in the near future to Asheville, NC and I was given the simple task of deciding what breweries I wanted to go to. Needless to say, this little project has me stumped... After days of googling, I am only more confused. Should I go for the small local places, or go for more like Highland? I like Highland beer; their oatmeal stout always makes the list as one of the better ones I have had. Even now writing this I can only say that I am more confused than ever. She has suggested a brew city tour which is probably what I will end up picking so I don’t have to limit myself beyond that. And that way I can try several and not limit myself when not required.
Thomas Creek Brewery is another one that is nearby and I have tried, and enjoyed several of their brews, so it would be lacking on my part if I didn’t list them here.
The last one popped into my head and doesn’t even qualify, but a place with over 200 beers cannot be left off any beer lover's list. The Flying Saucer in Columbia, SC will have to be on the agenda again sometime soon because after one visit my wife had a couple samplers and I had 3 of their brews, meaning I still have more than 197 to try, and that is just unacceptable.
With all of that said, my next brew is in the brew pot and shouldn’t be neglected...
Sweetwater Brewery - Atlanta, GA
First up in the been-there-done-that category is Sweetwater Brewery in Atlanta, GA. Sweetwater was founded but a couple of displaced west coasters and seemed like a place I should feel right at home. My wife and I went to one of the Saturday afternoon brewery “tours” this past summer and put simply, it wasn’t what we expected. As we arrived, there were a few police officers directing us into an adjacent parking lot which really should have been our first hint. There were easily 200 to 300 people inside already and the feel of the whole thing was much more mid-afternoon frat party than brewery tour. After pushing my way to the bar I had one of the two tastings that came with entry. I tried the Blue and the Georgia Brown during our stay, both were smooth and easy to drink but weren’t exactly explosive. Nothing especially memorable sticks out about any of the brews there and sadly that says something. When it came time for the actual tour portion our group was at least 60 people strong and it felt more like watching a Youtube video of a tour than actually being there. The guide himself was entertaining and appeared knowledgeable but he was also trying to talk beer to a crowd that wasn’t really there to learn or enjoy the process. The folks there were really present to pay their $8 to drink the beer... When you consider that you could get six 5 ounce samples, it's not a half-bad deal for decent beer. Unfortunately, it was too crowded to enjoy. Much too college frat party, as noted earlier...and during the tour, someone passed out. Altogether, not a wonderful experience.
It should be noted that Sweetwater has a small restaurant and bar in the Atlanta International Airport. That experience was more enjoyable. While waiting for a flight, we got some decent hummus and some beer. The one thing that I really have to give props on is their beer naming. They do a pretty good job of that, and they're pretty funny too. Example: the catchphrase for the Georgia Brown is "More smooth than a Bill Clinton apology." WIN!
Old Mecklenburg Brewery - Charlotte, NC
One place that knows how to give a brewery tour is the Old Mecklenburg Brewery. It's been our favorite tour so far. Old Mecklenburg is located in Charlotte, NC, and is a small brewery that services only the Charlotte and neighboring areas. Their big claim here is to follow German beer purity laws, which they do to an exacting degree. Thanks to a unique twist of fate, my wife and I ended up getting a personal tour of the brewery and brew process they use there. First off, the beer is good, which is always an important way to start a brewery tour. Second for me is the ingenuity this place represented. Throughout the tour, the co-owner and brewmaster pointed out a few small components to us - the blow off system for the fermentation tanks and the bottle cleaning system they used were both designed and built in-house with the idea to make things as simple as possible. There was a very pronounced home brewing, do-it-yourself feel to the entire process. No need to get fancy, with the beer or the equipment, keep it simple, keep it pure, and make it good.
Aiken Brewing Company - Aiken, SC
The brewpub is probably up there as one of my favorite inventions - small breweries combining locally brewed beer with fresh food. Starting off closest to home is the Aiken Brewing Company in Aiken, SC. I think this place has a great food/beer balance. The beer is all good, representing a broad spectrum of tastes and styles the best probably being the Thoroughbred Red. Their food is pretty standard pub fare, focusing on burgers and fries as the staples but it always packs a quality punch.
Moon River Brewing Company - Savannah, GA
The next stop on our tour is in one of my favorite cities to visit. Savannah, GA is home to Moon River Brewing and has become a necessary stop on each trip to the city. The brews are always tasty and full of flavor and the food - again traditional bar food - packs some good flavor as well. Plus, since Savannah is an open container city, never forget to get one to-go as you are leaving to go walk the city market or the riverfront. Nothing recharges me for a day of sightseeing more than being able to walk down the street with a refreshing microbrew in my hand. The Skunk-Ape Stout is my brew of choice (though I often have whatever seasonal they have on tap as well.) I have also heard quite a few good things about the Swamp Fox IPA.
Southend Brewery - Charleston, SC
I lived in Charleston for over a year and yet somehow had never been to the Southend Brewery until a recent trip with my wife. When it comes to beer, we preferred the darker brews... but then I almost always do. Their darker beers seemed much more flavorful and aroma-intensive while the lighter brews seemed almost like an effort not to frighten away your average Miller, Coors, or Bud Light drinker. On the food side, this place is part of a mini chain of restaurants in the Charleston area that all manage to produce some pretty good food and this place is no exception.
5 Seasons - Atlanta, GA
5 Seasons in Atlanta GA is a small chain of brewpubs that are riding the trend of organic food all the way to organic beer. First off, it should be noted that most beer brewed is organic. The same goes for wine, as any pesticides would be likely to impart its flavors into the brew. Sometimes pesticides may be used in the growing of the grain but chances are your favorite microbrew is organic and just doesn’t make the claim to be so since its by nature ridiculous. With that said, they make good beer, and good food, too. My wife goes crazy for the fries whenever we go there and the food and beer never seem to disappoint. This is one of those places that I wished I lived closer to, they always seem to be opening a new cask of brew and trying different small batches, I just never happen to be there for it.
Max Lagers - Atlanta, GA
Finally, and yes I mean finally, is Max Lagers in Atlanta,GA. I hate to write anything about this one, because really I barely remember going there. Not that I was intoxicated at all or even tired. My wife and I went it, had a decent meal, each had one of their beers on tap. With all of that, I left and couldn’t tell you anything about the beer or the food other than it was okay. It wasn’t bad at all, but it was just unmemorable and that is something too.
Coming Soon....
Now we get to my favorite part, my wish list! Here it is, in no particular order, except for what order they popped into my head...
Terrapin in Athens, GA tops the list, if for no other reason than it is the closest and somehow I have never been there. I feel almost like I am letting the reader down by admitting that there is a top notch brewery less than two hours away and I’ve never even been near it. Next is RJ Rockers in Spartanburg, SC. I must admit this one is probably the one I am looking forward to most, simply because every time I have one of their brews I find more and more about it that I like. I started with their Son of a Peach ale which is an unfiltered wheat ale and packs a powerful peach flavor without being overbearing at all. It just tastes exactly like what it sounds, and I kinda dig that. They also have the Bell Ringer which is their high gravity offering. Recently, I tried the Patriot Ale and found that just like the others... this one was full of good hop flavor left me feeling like I wanted another one...the way any good beer should.
The next one is cheating, and I admit that. My wife and I are planning a trip in the near future to Asheville, NC and I was given the simple task of deciding what breweries I wanted to go to. Needless to say, this little project has me stumped... After days of googling, I am only more confused. Should I go for the small local places, or go for more like Highland? I like Highland beer; their oatmeal stout always makes the list as one of the better ones I have had. Even now writing this I can only say that I am more confused than ever. She has suggested a brew city tour which is probably what I will end up picking so I don’t have to limit myself beyond that. And that way I can try several and not limit myself when not required.
Thomas Creek Brewery is another one that is nearby and I have tried, and enjoyed several of their brews, so it would be lacking on my part if I didn’t list them here.
The last one popped into my head and doesn’t even qualify, but a place with over 200 beers cannot be left off any beer lover's list. The Flying Saucer in Columbia, SC will have to be on the agenda again sometime soon because after one visit my wife had a couple samplers and I had 3 of their brews, meaning I still have more than 197 to try, and that is just unacceptable.
With all of that said, my next brew is in the brew pot and shouldn’t be neglected...
Christmas Stout Update
We bottled the Christmas Stout on October 31st, which was only 8 days after pitching the yeast into the primary and much sooner than usual for me. The readings on bottling day were almost right on target.
γg = 1.020
% Al/V = 2.5%
Balling = 5
After 10 days of bottle conditioning, we finally cracked it open for the first taste. For me the stout flavor comes through as the most pronounced flavor. It has that same classic stout bitterness with a little bit of the spice flavor that we used as part of the boil. My wife thinks it has more of the spicy flavor, despite using nearly the same blend as the pumpkin hefeweizen. The stout bitterness probably brings the flavors out a little more.
γg = 1.020
% Al/V = 2.5%
Balling = 5
After 10 days of bottle conditioning, we finally cracked it open for the first taste. For me the stout flavor comes through as the most pronounced flavor. It has that same classic stout bitterness with a little bit of the spice flavor that we used as part of the boil. My wife thinks it has more of the spicy flavor, despite using nearly the same blend as the pumpkin hefeweizen. The stout bitterness probably brings the flavors out a little more.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Monkey on the Main Line Porter
Another Sunday afternoon, another beautiful day for brewing. Today’s brew is recipe I found from my favorite (mostly because the ship really fast) brewery supply store. They call it Monkey on the Main Line Porter. I am sure it is intended to closely resemble some major micro brew variety but I cannot figure out which one it is. For this brew I am incorporating honey (Florida Orange Blossom Honey) and molasses (backstrap molasses). I elected to treat them the same as the base malts vice the specialty malts.
Recipe:
Amber DME - 2 lbs
Dark DME - 4 lbs
Backstrap molasses - 8 oz
Florida Orange Blossom honey - 8 oz
Specality Malts
English Chocolate Malt - 3 cups
Crystal 120L - 3 cups
Hops
Palisades 6.7 α (bittering) - 1.75 oz (60 minutes)
Cascade 5.8 α (flavoring) - 0.5 oz (15 minutes)
Fuggles 4.1 α (aromatic) - 0.5 oz (2 minutes)
This batch started with 2 gallons of tap water and the 6 lbs of DME in the brew pot. I started heating the brew pot very slightly as I warmed the mixture of molasses and honey allowing it to pour easier (30 seconds in the microwave). I’d still recommend a spatula of some kind for scooping the remaining mixture into the brew pot. I say this only because half way through watching me struggle with my spoon, my wife brought one out to me so I could get the rest of it out without hurting myself. After the DME fully dissolved I made sure to rub my spoon against the bottom of the brew pot to ensure there wasn’t a heavy amount of honey/molasses caked onto the bottom of the brew pot. I added the bag (I use a combination of nylon and muslin bags based on whichever is easiest at the time) of specialty malts and heated to about 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Following that was another slow approach to boiling (approximately 20 minutes) and then I pulled the malts and added the bittering pellet hops. Even though they were in pellet form I went with a nylon bag this time to hopefully reduce the amount of filtering I need to do once the process is completed. When I pulled the malts from the wort I again placed them into a strainer directly over the brew pot, this not only keeps more heat in (increased efficiency is always good stuff) but it allows the malts to drain over the remainder of the boil and make sure I get all the good stuff into my beer and not in the garbage.
About 35 minutes into the boil I added a whirfloc tablet to help with clearing of the brew. Ten minutes later was the Cascade whole hops followed by the Fuggles whole hops with 2 minutes left in the boil. For this brew I took the brew pot off the heat, discarded the malts (they had been draining and I had been pressing them for the whole hour of boiling until almost no liquid pooled at all) and placed the hops one by one into the strainer. Still holding the strainer over the brew pot, I slid the cooling coil into the wort, attaching one end to a garden hose I ran it for about 10 minutes cooling the brew rapidly. I filled my primary up to approximately 2 gallons from the outlet of the cooling coil. I waited a couple of minutes before starting to fill the primary to both reduce the outlet temperature of the cooling coil hose but also ensure any impurities were flushed out completely. I find it helpful to move the coil around every minute or so while the beer is cooling, since the beer isn’t moving at this point there is a tendency for the coil to reach equilibrium with the liquid in contact with the coil surface. Without cooling the bulk liquid and moving the coil slightly, you can feel the drastic changes in outlet temperature and thereby do a better job of monitoring the heat transfer. Once the wort had reached a good consistent temperature I dumped the bags of hops out after more pressing to drain all the liquid. I placed the empty strainer on top of the primary bucket and poured the wort through the strainer into the primary, which had been filled up to 2 gallons already. I brought the total volume up to 5 gallons and placed the lid onto the primary.
I carefully brought the primary and took a sample. The target γg was 1.068 but I added less honey than the recipe called for (the recipe called for 1 lb and I used 8 oz). The actual measured γg was 1.080, slightly greater than anticipated but I also thing with the extensive straining of the malts that I end up with a slightly higher mash efficiency than their formulas predict. This batch used liquid yeast again that had sat out to activate for about 3 hours. I pitched the yeast into the primary, gave it a good stir to mix everything up and place the lid and fermentation lock onto the primary just after 4 pm.
At 8 pm that night fermentation was not yet active via bubbles but I could tell that pressure was building inside the primary. By 4 am the next morning fermentation had started and was on its way up giving me bursts of CO2 escaping from the lock.
Now, the least favorite part- the waiting. I will be closely monitoring the progress of fermentation with this batch (as with the last couple) and eventually will get around to analyzing all of my data that I will present here. With this being a busy week I am hoping to get to rack into the secondary by Wednesday or Thursday but I know better than to try and rush the process.
Recipe:
Amber DME - 2 lbs
Dark DME - 4 lbs
Backstrap molasses - 8 oz
Florida Orange Blossom honey - 8 oz
Specality Malts
English Chocolate Malt - 3 cups
Crystal 120L - 3 cups
Hops
Palisades 6.7 α (bittering) - 1.75 oz (60 minutes)
Cascade 5.8 α (flavoring) - 0.5 oz (15 minutes)
Fuggles 4.1 α (aromatic) - 0.5 oz (2 minutes)
This batch started with 2 gallons of tap water and the 6 lbs of DME in the brew pot. I started heating the brew pot very slightly as I warmed the mixture of molasses and honey allowing it to pour easier (30 seconds in the microwave). I’d still recommend a spatula of some kind for scooping the remaining mixture into the brew pot. I say this only because half way through watching me struggle with my spoon, my wife brought one out to me so I could get the rest of it out without hurting myself. After the DME fully dissolved I made sure to rub my spoon against the bottom of the brew pot to ensure there wasn’t a heavy amount of honey/molasses caked onto the bottom of the brew pot. I added the bag (I use a combination of nylon and muslin bags based on whichever is easiest at the time) of specialty malts and heated to about 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Following that was another slow approach to boiling (approximately 20 minutes) and then I pulled the malts and added the bittering pellet hops. Even though they were in pellet form I went with a nylon bag this time to hopefully reduce the amount of filtering I need to do once the process is completed. When I pulled the malts from the wort I again placed them into a strainer directly over the brew pot, this not only keeps more heat in (increased efficiency is always good stuff) but it allows the malts to drain over the remainder of the boil and make sure I get all the good stuff into my beer and not in the garbage.
About 35 minutes into the boil I added a whirfloc tablet to help with clearing of the brew. Ten minutes later was the Cascade whole hops followed by the Fuggles whole hops with 2 minutes left in the boil. For this brew I took the brew pot off the heat, discarded the malts (they had been draining and I had been pressing them for the whole hour of boiling until almost no liquid pooled at all) and placed the hops one by one into the strainer. Still holding the strainer over the brew pot, I slid the cooling coil into the wort, attaching one end to a garden hose I ran it for about 10 minutes cooling the brew rapidly. I filled my primary up to approximately 2 gallons from the outlet of the cooling coil. I waited a couple of minutes before starting to fill the primary to both reduce the outlet temperature of the cooling coil hose but also ensure any impurities were flushed out completely. I find it helpful to move the coil around every minute or so while the beer is cooling, since the beer isn’t moving at this point there is a tendency for the coil to reach equilibrium with the liquid in contact with the coil surface. Without cooling the bulk liquid and moving the coil slightly, you can feel the drastic changes in outlet temperature and thereby do a better job of monitoring the heat transfer. Once the wort had reached a good consistent temperature I dumped the bags of hops out after more pressing to drain all the liquid. I placed the empty strainer on top of the primary bucket and poured the wort through the strainer into the primary, which had been filled up to 2 gallons already. I brought the total volume up to 5 gallons and placed the lid onto the primary.
I carefully brought the primary and took a sample. The target γg was 1.068 but I added less honey than the recipe called for (the recipe called for 1 lb and I used 8 oz). The actual measured γg was 1.080, slightly greater than anticipated but I also thing with the extensive straining of the malts that I end up with a slightly higher mash efficiency than their formulas predict. This batch used liquid yeast again that had sat out to activate for about 3 hours. I pitched the yeast into the primary, gave it a good stir to mix everything up and place the lid and fermentation lock onto the primary just after 4 pm.
At 8 pm that night fermentation was not yet active via bubbles but I could tell that pressure was building inside the primary. By 4 am the next morning fermentation had started and was on its way up giving me bursts of CO2 escaping from the lock.
Now, the least favorite part- the waiting. I will be closely monitoring the progress of fermentation with this batch (as with the last couple) and eventually will get around to analyzing all of my data that I will present here. With this being a busy week I am hoping to get to rack into the secondary by Wednesday or Thursday but I know better than to try and rush the process.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Oregon Beer Tour Review - From November 2009
You’ll have to forgive me here- what follows is a recap and highlight reel of a trip my wife and I took to Oregon to visit my parents over a year ago and the brewery highlights along the way. This means that this is all pulled from my memory, given my lack of memory of anything deeper into the past than this morning, my wife has happily agreed to help out here and beef up my own memory and remind me what I liked and if there was anything I did not like.
The Great Northwest (yes, I do insist on adding "great" in front of it as a descriptor) is where I am from, where I first learned to love good beer, and from where my taste in beer is really inspired. When I lived there, however, my knowledge of the brewing process and the actual participation in it was much less mature, so I had never done more than actually just drink the beer for the sake of drinking beer. This time, after some minimal brewing experience behind me, I got the opportunity to enjoy it more and really take in all of the exciting things they are still doing with beer. Our trip was not for beer. My wife had never been to that area and I wanted to see my family and take her to see where I was really from. Having said that she is always encouraging me to try more and more beer in any city we go to (rough life I know). The first stop on our tour was Portland, Oregon.
Portland itself presents a difficult first stop: where to go first. Widmer is based directly out of Portland but there are literally a half dozen other small breweries within the city or nearby that just beg to be sampled. The one thing I was sure of is that Rock Bottom was off the list (someday I will devote an entire post to my distaste of these large chain niche breweries but for now I’ll just say it wasn’t on my list of choices). We decided to enjoy the flavor and offerings of the Deschutes Brewery, Portland, OR. To be clear we did not make it to the actual brew house in Portland. The restaurant was a few blocks away from where we were staying, and we were hungry... so it was dinner and beer.
The Black Butte Porter is my all time favorite beer, it has been for years. I find it nearly impossible to find on the east coast but suffice it to say if I found a place that had it on tap I would probably jump around and squeal like a little girl. My wife had the Obsidian Stout. Both beers are obviously delicious. From the porter I get more of a roasted malty flavor from and the stout is smooth to the palate.
The other popular brew is their Mirror Pond Pale Ale. It always strikes me as odd- for a region that brews such amazing dark brews, the most popular still remain the pale ales. The Full Sail brewery in Hood River, Oregon still has their Extra Pale Ale as the most popular brew. Recently a friend of mine from work was making a trip out to the northwest and asked me for recommendations in Portland. Deschutes was where I told him to go. It was the first one in my head and out of my mouth, and for me that has to be the most ringing endorsement I can make. From what I hear, he tried the Black Butte and I have probably ruined him from "generic" beer for the rest of his life. Mission accomplished! The next time my wife and I go, I will do my best to expand our horizons and try some other local brews...but I can’t say I’m completely willing to part without a taste of Black Butte Porter while I am there.
The next stop on our trip was the Oregon Coast. If you haven’t been there, imagine the California or Florida coasts, but only really, really cold. Nestled in the heart of the Oregon coast is the Rogue Brewery. These are the people who were microbrewing before microbrewing was cool. One of the mostly widely available micros (it may count as a craft brewery but I didn’t feel like checking) is the Rouge Dead Guy Ale. It's a German style ale with good and hearty malt flavor. We had the beer tasting sampler here (always a good way to go when you are looking to try a lot of good beer) and I don’t believe they have a brew I did not like. While Dead Guy is their most famous beer and one you can find almost anywhere these days, I also really enjoy their Shakespeare Stout which is fairly available. My wife reminded me of their Chipotle Ale. You have to respect any place that is willing to take chances with their brew and I have to contend that this absolutely qualifies. The food was good, too...especially if you're a fan of brew house food. Thankfully, my wife and I both are.
A little bit closer to home were two much smaller breweries. The Steelhead Brewery in Eugene, Oregon is part of a small chain of breweries with a few locations on the West Coast. The beer isn’t bad, but to be honest there is nothing that really blew me away. When we talked about it recently we both decided that the best thing we remembered about the brewery was the hummus appetizer we had, which was pretty good. But I think in some ways, it’s telling that the most distinct memory from a brewery was the food.
The last stop on our brewery tour was found completely by accident and is right off I-5 in Springfield, Oregon. Looking for a quick lunch one day, we took advantage of the joys of mobile internet access and found the Hop Valley Brewery nearby. Food at this place was good but the highlight by far for us was the Vanilla Porter. Its flavor was smooth and rich, and given that this was November in Oregon it absolutely hit the spot. Although we didn't try it, they make a Vanilla Porter cheesecake at this place. If we hadn't stuffed ourselves full of their great food and beer, we probably would have had room for dessert.
We aren’t sure when we will make it back, but whenever we do, I know there will be more beer on the agenda. For all the hype recently about local food and ingredients, why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of the place that grows Cascade and Willamette hops right in their own backyard?
The Great Northwest (yes, I do insist on adding "great" in front of it as a descriptor) is where I am from, where I first learned to love good beer, and from where my taste in beer is really inspired. When I lived there, however, my knowledge of the brewing process and the actual participation in it was much less mature, so I had never done more than actually just drink the beer for the sake of drinking beer. This time, after some minimal brewing experience behind me, I got the opportunity to enjoy it more and really take in all of the exciting things they are still doing with beer. Our trip was not for beer. My wife had never been to that area and I wanted to see my family and take her to see where I was really from. Having said that she is always encouraging me to try more and more beer in any city we go to (rough life I know). The first stop on our tour was Portland, Oregon.
Portland itself presents a difficult first stop: where to go first. Widmer is based directly out of Portland but there are literally a half dozen other small breweries within the city or nearby that just beg to be sampled. The one thing I was sure of is that Rock Bottom was off the list (someday I will devote an entire post to my distaste of these large chain niche breweries but for now I’ll just say it wasn’t on my list of choices). We decided to enjoy the flavor and offerings of the Deschutes Brewery, Portland, OR. To be clear we did not make it to the actual brew house in Portland. The restaurant was a few blocks away from where we were staying, and we were hungry... so it was dinner and beer.
The Black Butte Porter is my all time favorite beer, it has been for years. I find it nearly impossible to find on the east coast but suffice it to say if I found a place that had it on tap I would probably jump around and squeal like a little girl. My wife had the Obsidian Stout. Both beers are obviously delicious. From the porter I get more of a roasted malty flavor from and the stout is smooth to the palate.
The other popular brew is their Mirror Pond Pale Ale. It always strikes me as odd- for a region that brews such amazing dark brews, the most popular still remain the pale ales. The Full Sail brewery in Hood River, Oregon still has their Extra Pale Ale as the most popular brew. Recently a friend of mine from work was making a trip out to the northwest and asked me for recommendations in Portland. Deschutes was where I told him to go. It was the first one in my head and out of my mouth, and for me that has to be the most ringing endorsement I can make. From what I hear, he tried the Black Butte and I have probably ruined him from "generic" beer for the rest of his life. Mission accomplished! The next time my wife and I go, I will do my best to expand our horizons and try some other local brews...but I can’t say I’m completely willing to part without a taste of Black Butte Porter while I am there.
The next stop on our trip was the Oregon Coast. If you haven’t been there, imagine the California or Florida coasts, but only really, really cold. Nestled in the heart of the Oregon coast is the Rogue Brewery. These are the people who were microbrewing before microbrewing was cool. One of the mostly widely available micros (it may count as a craft brewery but I didn’t feel like checking) is the Rouge Dead Guy Ale. It's a German style ale with good and hearty malt flavor. We had the beer tasting sampler here (always a good way to go when you are looking to try a lot of good beer) and I don’t believe they have a brew I did not like. While Dead Guy is their most famous beer and one you can find almost anywhere these days, I also really enjoy their Shakespeare Stout which is fairly available. My wife reminded me of their Chipotle Ale. You have to respect any place that is willing to take chances with their brew and I have to contend that this absolutely qualifies. The food was good, too...especially if you're a fan of brew house food. Thankfully, my wife and I both are.
A little bit closer to home were two much smaller breweries. The Steelhead Brewery in Eugene, Oregon is part of a small chain of breweries with a few locations on the West Coast. The beer isn’t bad, but to be honest there is nothing that really blew me away. When we talked about it recently we both decided that the best thing we remembered about the brewery was the hummus appetizer we had, which was pretty good. But I think in some ways, it’s telling that the most distinct memory from a brewery was the food.
The last stop on our brewery tour was found completely by accident and is right off I-5 in Springfield, Oregon. Looking for a quick lunch one day, we took advantage of the joys of mobile internet access and found the Hop Valley Brewery nearby. Food at this place was good but the highlight by far for us was the Vanilla Porter. Its flavor was smooth and rich, and given that this was November in Oregon it absolutely hit the spot. Although we didn't try it, they make a Vanilla Porter cheesecake at this place. If we hadn't stuffed ourselves full of their great food and beer, we probably would have had room for dessert.
We aren’t sure when we will make it back, but whenever we do, I know there will be more beer on the agenda. For all the hype recently about local food and ingredients, why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of the place that grows Cascade and Willamette hops right in their own backyard?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Honey American Ale - A High Gravity Accident?
It may not be the right season for a light golden ale, but one of the things I love about brewing my own beer is the ability to decide what I feel like brewing no matter what season. For this batch I am taking a recipe for a classic American ale with some quality northwestern hops, and also including some fresh local honey. This brew is actually a gift for my father and brother-in-law so I used some local honey from their area (Brevard County, Florida) to add in some of those nice local flavors.
Recipe:
6 pounds Extra Light DME
2 cups Crystal 10L malt
4 cups unpasteurized wildflower blossom honey
1.75 ounces Willamette bittering pellet hops (50 minutes)
0.5 ounces Cascade flavoring whole hops (10 minutes)
0.5 ounces Cascade aromatic whole hops (2 minutes)
First we dissolved the DME into 2 gallons of warm water. After the DME was completely dissolved we added the malts and the honey (I warmed the honey for about 30 seconds ahead of time in the microwave to make it easier to pour) into the brew pot. Warmed the mix for about 20 minutes and then adjusted the heat up to achieve a nice low boil. Again, we approached boiling slowly, not only to avoid boil over but also to maximize the amount of time the malts sat in the brew pot. When a good low rolling boil was achieved I pulled the bag of malts out and dropped in the bittering hops. To ensure all of the flavor of the malts stays with the wort I strain the malts over the brew pot throughout the boil pressing the malts a few times to drain all the remaining liquid into the wort. After 40 minutes added the whirlfloc tablet and the flavoring whole hops and continued the boil for a final 10 minutes. Two minutes before the boil completed we dropped in the last aromatic hops.
So far everything had been pretty much the same as the other brew procedures. Usually I cool the wort prior to adding the additional water using a standard wort chiller (copper tube heat exchanger) but this time I elected to let the wort cool more slowly. I placed the brew pot into the cool sink and let it sit for about an hour. I placed the lid over the brew pot which clearly reduced the rate at which heat escaped from the brew pot but I felt that decreasing the risk of contamination was worth the added layer and the reduced heat transfer.
After the hour had passed, the pot itself was still plenty warm but the temperature of the wort itself was down to around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I filtered the wort into the primary and added water through the filtered hops to bring the total volume up to 5 gallons. I then took a sample from the primary prior to adding the yeast.
This is where this batch gets a little funky.
The γg of the of this sample was planned for around 1.056, my reading was in excess of 1.1. Now, first of all, the γg of the liquid is clearly dependent heavily on the temperature so my inclination is to write this off as a bad reading since the liquid still feels warm to the touch and is probably up in the 100 + range. Using my spoon I mix the wort well and add the previously activated liquid yeast and sit back and wait.
This batch started fermenting early, we noticed active fermentation within the first 5 hours after sealing of the primary. The other change for this batch of activation of the liquid yeast prior pitching. These were the directions on the packaging for the yeast, and I decided to follow them- shocking, I know. Obviously pleased with the quick start to fermentation, I tracked the progress over the next few days. I expected the off gassing of CO2 to die out almost completely within 3-5 days, if not sooner due to the rapid on-set, which has been the case in previous batches. In this batch though, that was far from the case. At 7 days out from brew day fermentation was only finally starting to taper out (≈ 10 bubbles per minute).
Our most recent brewing experience had undergone what can only be described as flash fermentation, and as a result this extended fermentation cycle was causing me to be quite antsy. On day 7 I sampled for the γg and got 1.012 which was actually a hair under the 1.015 I was aiming for. Given where the γg was I decided to rack into the secondary and of course take the all important taste test. The flavor was good but there did seem to be more alcohol taste than I am used to out of my home brewed batches.
The question now is, what happened? Based on my admittedly limited knowledge (no chemistry major here) I came up with two competing thoughts. First, the γg of the original sample was way off, off by around 0.05. That to me seems like a rather wild variation based on temperature alone. The other thought was that the honey contributed heavily (more so than anticipated) to the fermentable sugars and that quite by accident we have ended up with a high gravity brew. It could be a combination of the two, as well, and that is most likely the case but I felt it was important to identify the two processes at work here. Only the final taste test will tell, so its time to sit back and wait again and see what bottling turns up.
Recipe:
6 pounds Extra Light DME
2 cups Crystal 10L malt
4 cups unpasteurized wildflower blossom honey
1.75 ounces Willamette bittering pellet hops (50 minutes)
0.5 ounces Cascade flavoring whole hops (10 minutes)
0.5 ounces Cascade aromatic whole hops (2 minutes)
First we dissolved the DME into 2 gallons of warm water. After the DME was completely dissolved we added the malts and the honey (I warmed the honey for about 30 seconds ahead of time in the microwave to make it easier to pour) into the brew pot. Warmed the mix for about 20 minutes and then adjusted the heat up to achieve a nice low boil. Again, we approached boiling slowly, not only to avoid boil over but also to maximize the amount of time the malts sat in the brew pot. When a good low rolling boil was achieved I pulled the bag of malts out and dropped in the bittering hops. To ensure all of the flavor of the malts stays with the wort I strain the malts over the brew pot throughout the boil pressing the malts a few times to drain all the remaining liquid into the wort. After 40 minutes added the whirlfloc tablet and the flavoring whole hops and continued the boil for a final 10 minutes. Two minutes before the boil completed we dropped in the last aromatic hops.
So far everything had been pretty much the same as the other brew procedures. Usually I cool the wort prior to adding the additional water using a standard wort chiller (copper tube heat exchanger) but this time I elected to let the wort cool more slowly. I placed the brew pot into the cool sink and let it sit for about an hour. I placed the lid over the brew pot which clearly reduced the rate at which heat escaped from the brew pot but I felt that decreasing the risk of contamination was worth the added layer and the reduced heat transfer.
After the hour had passed, the pot itself was still plenty warm but the temperature of the wort itself was down to around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I filtered the wort into the primary and added water through the filtered hops to bring the total volume up to 5 gallons. I then took a sample from the primary prior to adding the yeast.
This is where this batch gets a little funky.
The γg of the of this sample was planned for around 1.056, my reading was in excess of 1.1. Now, first of all, the γg of the liquid is clearly dependent heavily on the temperature so my inclination is to write this off as a bad reading since the liquid still feels warm to the touch and is probably up in the 100 + range. Using my spoon I mix the wort well and add the previously activated liquid yeast and sit back and wait.
This batch started fermenting early, we noticed active fermentation within the first 5 hours after sealing of the primary. The other change for this batch of activation of the liquid yeast prior pitching. These were the directions on the packaging for the yeast, and I decided to follow them- shocking, I know. Obviously pleased with the quick start to fermentation, I tracked the progress over the next few days. I expected the off gassing of CO2 to die out almost completely within 3-5 days, if not sooner due to the rapid on-set, which has been the case in previous batches. In this batch though, that was far from the case. At 7 days out from brew day fermentation was only finally starting to taper out (≈ 10 bubbles per minute).
Our most recent brewing experience had undergone what can only be described as flash fermentation, and as a result this extended fermentation cycle was causing me to be quite antsy. On day 7 I sampled for the γg and got 1.012 which was actually a hair under the 1.015 I was aiming for. Given where the γg was I decided to rack into the secondary and of course take the all important taste test. The flavor was good but there did seem to be more alcohol taste than I am used to out of my home brewed batches.
The question now is, what happened? Based on my admittedly limited knowledge (no chemistry major here) I came up with two competing thoughts. First, the γg of the original sample was way off, off by around 0.05. That to me seems like a rather wild variation based on temperature alone. The other thought was that the honey contributed heavily (more so than anticipated) to the fermentable sugars and that quite by accident we have ended up with a high gravity brew. It could be a combination of the two, as well, and that is most likely the case but I felt it was important to identify the two processes at work here. Only the final taste test will tell, so its time to sit back and wait again and see what bottling turns up.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Brewing for Christmas - Christmas Stout
One of the biggest draws to most people to the art/science that is home brewing is the ability to experiment and create your own personal brews with your own personal flavors. In the spirit of that, the most recent batch will hopefully be like Christmas itself stood up and slapped you in the face. It is based off a basic Irish Dry Stout recipe that we infused with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
Additionally, this brew was a bit of an experiment. Several weeks ago my wife ran across an article online discussing a Belgian brewery that touted the effects and advantages of brewing on a full moon (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLNE69D0CI20101014). Their claim was that, somehow, the full moon impacted fermentation reducing the necessary fermentation time from 7 to 5 days. Reading up on several blogs about this provided what one can normally expect, a lot of people saying it sounded like junk science and that any gravitational effects from the moon would be minimal. From a scientific perspective I have to quickly agree, while tides are very clearly affected by the phase of the moon believing it would have a dramatic effect on the brewing process of a little 5 gallon container in my hall closet seemed a big of a stretch - they ARE claiming an approximate 28% reduction in fermentation time here.
With that said, there is no penalty for testing this theory myself. And my Christmas brew is not going to make itself. So the date was set for the next full moon (October 22, 2010 9:36). I have tested with some of the same spices before and know that the cloves give off by far the most flavor and aroma.
Recipe
5 lbs Dark DME (Dried Malt Extract)
2 cups chocolate malt
2 cups crystal 120L
2 cups barley
1 cup roasted barley
1.5 tbsp ground nutmeg
1.5 tbsp whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks + 2 tsp ground cinnamon (mixed into water slurry)
2 oz Kent 7.2 α hops (pellet)
Dissolved the DME in 2 gallons of water over very low heat. Once fully dissolved added the malts and the spices into the liquid and adjust heat to to med-low (approximately 120ºF). After 20 minutes adjusted the heat up to achieve boiling.
Additionally, this brew was a bit of an experiment. Several weeks ago my wife ran across an article online discussing a Belgian brewery that touted the effects and advantages of brewing on a full moon (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLNE69D0CI20101014). Their claim was that, somehow, the full moon impacted fermentation reducing the necessary fermentation time from 7 to 5 days. Reading up on several blogs about this provided what one can normally expect, a lot of people saying it sounded like junk science and that any gravitational effects from the moon would be minimal. From a scientific perspective I have to quickly agree, while tides are very clearly affected by the phase of the moon believing it would have a dramatic effect on the brewing process of a little 5 gallon container in my hall closet seemed a big of a stretch - they ARE claiming an approximate 28% reduction in fermentation time here.
With that said, there is no penalty for testing this theory myself. And my Christmas brew is not going to make itself. So the date was set for the next full moon (October 22, 2010 9:36). I have tested with some of the same spices before and know that the cloves give off by far the most flavor and aroma.
Recipe
5 lbs Dark DME (Dried Malt Extract)
2 cups chocolate malt
2 cups crystal 120L
2 cups barley
1 cup roasted barley
1.5 tbsp ground nutmeg
1.5 tbsp whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks + 2 tsp ground cinnamon (mixed into water slurry)
2 oz Kent 7.2 α hops (pellet)
Dissolved the DME in 2 gallons of water over very low heat. Once fully dissolved added the malts and the spices into the liquid and adjust heat to to med-low (approximately 120ºF). After 20 minutes adjusted the heat up to achieve boiling.
I try to slowly approach boiling giving my malts and spice more time to soak in. Once boiling remove the malts only and place in a strainer over the boil pot too allow excess liquid to drain back into wort and add the hops (used bittering hops only). Boiled for 35 minutes, added a whirlfloc tablet and continued the boil for an additional 25 minutes.
After the boil, I cooled using a cooling coil (more efficient that letting it sit or soak in ice water I think). Put about 2 gallons of cool water into the primary bucket then strained the wort into the primary. I have never read anywhere that discusses the straining of the wort into the primary but I’ve had good success with it, it probably reduces the overall hop flavor in the beer since they are removed and don’t sit in the primary or the secondary but I have managed to produce some very clear brews while still maintained good aroma and hop flavor. I bring the total volume of the bucket up to 5 gallons but running the last bit of water through the strainer with the remnants of the wort still in side to get that last bit of flavor I can before disposal. For this brew I used a simple Windsor dry yeast. I pitched the yeast at 10:20 so I missed the full moon mark by about an hour but still had almost a full night of full-moon activity ahead of me.
Initial Readings:
γ = 1.060 (this is a little higher than planned for the basic Irish stout)
First thing the next morning when I checked the batch I already had good fermentation underway, bursts of bubbles at first and by 10:00 AM the primary was bubbling out of the airlock continuously (I counted 160 bubbles/minute but at that rate the accuracy of my count is somewhat suspect.)
As with all brewing the chemistry experiment is commenced and its out of my hands now, I have done what I can, sanitized thoroughly and now all I need to do is wait and track my fermentation progress to see if there is any truth to the myth.
Update:
After nearly 36 hours in the primary almost all fermentation had ceased, over a 3 minute span there was not a single bubble released from the airlock. This isn’t just hours but entire days ahead of normal. I racked to the secondary and Beck tells me it already tastes good.
Initial Readings:
γ = 1.060 (this is a little higher than planned for the basic Irish stout)
First thing the next morning when I checked the batch I already had good fermentation underway, bursts of bubbles at first and by 10:00 AM the primary was bubbling out of the airlock continuously (I counted 160 bubbles/minute but at that rate the accuracy of my count is somewhat suspect.)
As with all brewing the chemistry experiment is commenced and its out of my hands now, I have done what I can, sanitized thoroughly and now all I need to do is wait and track my fermentation progress to see if there is any truth to the myth.
Update:
After nearly 36 hours in the primary almost all fermentation had ceased, over a 3 minute span there was not a single bubble released from the airlock. This isn’t just hours but entire days ahead of normal. I racked to the secondary and Beck tells me it already tastes good.
Intro
I thought about starting with something poetic, but that really isn’t my style. I have been what many call a beer snob since my first taste of draft Guinness. That was quite a few years ago, and I have moved far beyond Guinness in my choice of beer selection. From the northwest originally, I lived in a beer culture, Deschutes, Rogue, Full Sail, Widmer, these were all local brews to me. But after living in the southeast for several years now the ability to try new and interesting brews was waning, or so I thought.
For my birthday I received a gift, a Mr. Beer home brewing kit. It was a basic starter kit, nothing elaborate, though a few of the premium beer mixes were included. It made brewing not only accessible but very easy, the whole process took less than 30 minutes start to finish, and in 7-10 days I had 2 gallons of beer ready for bottling. It was all well and good, beer wasn’t bad either, but I knew there was more. Lying just beneath the surface was a nerd’s paradise.
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, by Charlie Papazian, this is not an idiots guide to homebrewing, this was a guide written by a beer lover for other beer lovers. Much has been written about him, but the first thing I noticed was his background - no degrees in fermentation studies here - an engineer, even better, a nuclear engineer. This wasn’t just hope, it was inspiration.
I brewed my first batch of real beer (admittedly from a pre-packaged kit) on April 11th, 2010 and haven’t looked back since. I have made a lot of mistakes along the way but to date haven’t ruined a batch yet. I’ve learned to be more and more obsessive about the sanitation, and gotten more and more adventurous with the spices. As of today I still have not made the leap to all-grain brewing but the day is coming.
For my birthday I received a gift, a Mr. Beer home brewing kit. It was a basic starter kit, nothing elaborate, though a few of the premium beer mixes were included. It made brewing not only accessible but very easy, the whole process took less than 30 minutes start to finish, and in 7-10 days I had 2 gallons of beer ready for bottling. It was all well and good, beer wasn’t bad either, but I knew there was more. Lying just beneath the surface was a nerd’s paradise.
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, by Charlie Papazian, this is not an idiots guide to homebrewing, this was a guide written by a beer lover for other beer lovers. Much has been written about him, but the first thing I noticed was his background - no degrees in fermentation studies here - an engineer, even better, a nuclear engineer. This wasn’t just hope, it was inspiration.
I brewed my first batch of real beer (admittedly from a pre-packaged kit) on April 11th, 2010 and haven’t looked back since. I have made a lot of mistakes along the way but to date haven’t ruined a batch yet. I’ve learned to be more and more obsessive about the sanitation, and gotten more and more adventurous with the spices. As of today I still have not made the leap to all-grain brewing but the day is coming.
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