Cream Ale 1.2

Minerva's Cream Ale 1.2
8/15/2013

I love this beer.

Mashed at 148 for 50 minutes then raised temperature slowly to 168.

Collected 13 gallons of 1.048 wort.

Boiled for 60 minutes, chilled 11.5 gallons to 55F @ 1.056. Pitched a 4L starter of California Lager yeast.

Since I have more precise fermentation temp, I'm going to ferment this right at 60 for a 3-4 days, ramp up to 62, then up to 65-66 for a diacetyl rest once I've hit ~85% of fermentation.

I think contrary to many homebrewers, I've spent a lot of my time and capital on brewing classic styles like Cream Ale, Kolsch, Porter, Hefeweizen, ESB, Dry Stout, etc. rather than brewing "extreme" beers. Early on, I bristled at containing my ABV at 5-6% or less or dialing down my hop additions to stay in guidelines. And don't get me wrong, I've brewed big beers and done experimental brews, but they're probably less than 30% of what I've ended up brewing. I think a lot of this has to do with my audience and the fact that I'm brewing a lot for events, fundraisers, and family, rather than for myself and beer friends. I want to switch this up a bit, and take what I've learned about brewing very technically sound classic beers to some more innovative varieties. Looking at my brewing schedule, I'm tied up the next few brews with "production" brews, as well as a heavy regiment of Kexxxmas Ale. I really love doing these beers and events - I get to talk to people that don't normally choose to drink craft beer and I get to hone my classic recipes - but deep down I want to be more creative.

At the end of the day though, having people that want your beer is a great thing. I'm always happy to brew. But I anticipate any "free" future brewing time to be put towards some seriously interesting brews.

House Hef 1.3 2

Loving marathon brew week.

PB OG:  1.040 @ 12 gallons. I'm undershooting this batch to even out the other one. 5 gallons of this batch will top off the other 10 to make a 1/2 barrel keg for serving.

FG: 1.050 @ 11 gallons. Right where I want to be.

Apartment brew series - Stormy Night English Dark Mild

I brewed an English Dark Mild last week in my apartment. It's something I've wanted to do for awhile, but kept putting off for brewing on my big boy system. I'd like to have a series of 5 gallon batches bottled on hand at the apartment. Basically, I want to relax, brew, bottle, and be able to watch my beer through the whole process, rather than stress about it being 30 minutes away. There was something truly nice about being done with a brew in 3.5 hours and on the couch relaxing.

 I haven't done this in awhile...

 Thanks to Gregg at the Pumphouse for this sample of Mangrove Jack yeast. Rehydrated according to online instructions.

 Added the DME right before the boil.

 I think I'll have to stick with 3-4 gallon boils. My electric range stove was just about perfect for this volume. Boiled for 60 minutes with three additions of Fuggles.

 I like to think Ben would be happy with the brew. He had an affinity for English Ales.

After 5 minutes of manual aeration/workout.

 Collected a little more wort than I wanted, but no big deal. 1.052 @ 6 gallons.

A giant igloo cooler, check. Frozen jugs, check. Kickass consistent ale ferment temperature, check. Fermented at 65 degrees for 3 days, then let it sit in our ambient apartment ~70 degrees.

Update: 8/22/2013 - Two weeks ago I set myself up to bottle until I realized that my fermentation got stuck around 1.020. I pitched a full sachet of Danstar Windsor Ale yeast and gave it another two weeks. I didn't see any fermentation activity in my bubbler, so I assumed it was just stuck and I'd bottle it despite its high FG. Well, last night I realized that the bucket lid wasn't on all the way... It tasted more mature, but I didn't sense oxidation, so I bottled it with Muntons carbonation tabs @ 1.012 FG.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com

Recipe: Stormy Night English Dark Brown

Brewer: Adam Keck

Asst Brewer: 

Style: Northern English Brown Ale

TYPE: Extract

Taste: (30.0) 

Recipe Specifications

--------------------------

Boil Size: 3

Post Boil Volume: 5.73 gal

Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal   

Bottling Volume: 4.78 gal

Estimated OG: 1.053 SG

Estimated Color: 21.5 SRM

Estimated IBU: 27.3 IBUs

Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %

Est Mash Efficiency: 0.0 %

Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:

------------

Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU         

8.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)    Grain         1        7.1 %         

8.0 oz                Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)               Grain         2        7.1 %         

6 lbs                 Amber Dry Extract (12.5 SRM)             Dry Extract   3        85.7 %        

1.00 oz               Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min         Hop           4        16.1 IBUs     

1.00 oz               Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min         Hop           5        8.0 IBUs      

1.00 oz               Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop           6        3.2 IBUs      

1.0 pkg               Newcastle Dark Ale (Mangrove Jack #MO3)  Yeast         7        -             

House Hefeweizen 1.3 1

Suddenly I had to brew twenty gallons of Hefeweizen within a week and a half. I guess I don't need to sleep this week!

With the short time frame, I didn't really have any time to make a proper starter with Wyeast 3068 like I normally do for my house hef. It's served me really well, but alas, I'm not going to spend over $40 on enough liquid yeast packs to pitch raw. That led me to dry yeast options. I read thoroughly over Danstar Munich and Safbrew WB-06 reviews on homebrew forums and was initially really unimpressed. I then read Fermentis's details page for their yeast. The manufacturer says that WB-06 will accentuate banana flavors at over 22C and clove under 22C. Since I assumed the banana flavors are what brewers were disappointed by, I hypothesized that the brewers in question weren't getting their ferments up consistently to 72 degrees or higher. I then checked probrewer.com and found this awesome post from a brewer in Akron with several GABF and WBC awards won by Fermentis yeast. Hmm... He had some great things to say about WB-06 with three caveats: push fermentation temperature to and beyond its limits, underpitch, and don't aerate. WTF?

I'm suddenly excited about using this dry yeast! 

It makes me realize also how valuable probrewer.com is. There's an extra degree of creativity when the profit motive or scarcity is introduced and brewers are forced to make great beer with equipment and process tweaks in lieu of ideal ingredients every single brew. 

I'm going to ferment just past the recommended upper bound and go for 75 degrees F, 23.9C. 

I also had to sub in 2 lbs of white wheat malt because I made a LHBS pickup mistake. And like last time I'm adding some carapils for head retention - I really want that classic sticky lacing on the side of maßkrug next Saturday!

Mashed in at 130 degrees for protein rest for 35 minutes; did a combination temperature and infusion mash to 156 for 45 minutes; then decocted 3 gallons and boiled for 15 minutes. Collected about 13.25 gallons of wort and started boiling. I've been doing so many whole leaf IPAs lately that it's strange throwing in half an ounce of hops for a bittering addition.

PB OG: 1.039 @ 13.25

OG: 1.045 @ 12 gallons

The boil is throwing off such a distinct sweet wheat aroma. I don't know why I'm picking it up so strongly now. I think this will be a great beer. I'm hoping the white wheat gives it a little more subtle bready flavor.

Pitched about 15g of rehydrated dry yeast into unaerated wort. Set fermentation temperature for 73 degrees knowing that with ambient temperature at 65 degrees, it'll mosey on up to 75 degrees and likely above with the fermentation activity.

I get to brew it again tomorrow.

UPDATE: the fermentation is going crazy and the internal temperature is at 79F. Part of me is wishing that I would have made room in my fermentation chamber to control the temp more and part of me is looking forward to tasting what the enhanced fermentation temperature is going to produce! I'll update with taste results.

Update 2: tested the gravity on 7-31 and was blown away. It's just about fermented out after only two days - 1.015. The banana flavor is very, very prominent. If it's any telling, I won't be disappointed with WB-06 fermenting at ~80F.

Update 3: My mom says this is the best the House Hefeweizen's been, so the WB-06 isn't a bust for sure. It's definitely got more flavor than 3068 fermented at 62 degrees.


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: House Hefeweizen (1.3)
Brewer: Adam Keck
Asst Brewer:
Style: Weizen/Weissbier (Wheat Beer)
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 12.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 11.70 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 3.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 10.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.6 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU      
1 lbs                 Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM)                     Adjunct       1        4.8 %      
9 lbs                 Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)                Grain         2        42.9 %      
8 lbs                 Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         3        38.1 %      
2 lbs                 White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)               Grain         4        9.5 %      
1 lbs                 Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)             Grain         5        4.8 %      
0.50 oz               Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min     Hop           6        4.3 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 30.0 min     Hop           7        6.6 IBUs    
4.00 tsp              Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins)          Other         8        -          
0.50 oz               Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 0.0 min      Hop           9        0.0 IBUs    
2.0 pkg               Safbrew Wheat (DCL/Fermentis #WB-06) [50 Yeast         10       -          


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Single -> Braukeiser
Total Grain Weight: 21 lbs
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time  
Protein Rest      Add 27.20 qt of water at 138.2 F        130.0 F       35 min      
Infuse to Sacchar Add 16.80 qt of water at 198.3 F        154.0 F       45 min      
Decoction to Mash Decoct 12.20 qt of mash and boil it     168.0 F       15 min      

SimConan IPA

I grew a Conan yeast culture from a can of Heady Topper that my lovely friend Alaina brought home from Vermont. When I realized that Simcoe went so well with Conan yeast linguistically, I figured that it follows that it would make great beer in this minimalist recipe.

I decided to doll up the malt bill with a touch of wheat to see how the apricot notes of the Conan yeast played off a little wheatness in the beer. I also added a bit of Munich because, well, why not. A half pound of caramel 40 for color and complexity.

Mashing in light at 148. Held steady at 148-150. Heated to 168 for mash out.

PB OG 1.048.

Boiled strong for 60 minutes. I thought I had an extra ounce of Simcoe, so we'll have to go with 3 oz of knockout hops instead of 4. Chilled to 180 degrees and let sit for a 30 minute hop stand.

There's an incredible pine aroma coming off the wort from the knockout addition. It's filled up the entire garage. Lots of hop oil floating on top of the wort as well.

Forgot whirlfloc....

OG: 1.069

This thing is going to be a monster. Can't wait to see what Conan does to it. Speaking of, I have no idea what temp I'm going to ferment this thing at. Vacillating between a low ale ferment around 64 degrees like I would an English Ale yeast or going higher to make sure I get some apricot/peach notes. I wish I knew what the Alchemist ferments Heady at.

I think I'll follow this:

In Mitch Stelle's IPA book, the El Jeffe (dark IPA) recipe from The Alchemist mentions fermenting at 68F for 3 days then raising to 72F. Using it at 66F (slightly cooler to make up for the lack of pressure provided by a large conical) seems to be the "normal" use of the yeast for the brewery. I doubt he treats the yeast differently for Heady vs. other hoppy beers. That's what I'll be shooting for in my next beer.

66 degrees for 3-4 days then turned up to 70 to finish it out.

Update: tested the gravity on 7-31, about four days after pitching, and it's just about cleaned out at 1.016. The taste was very unique. Almost like fruit juice between the late kettle Simcoe and the peach flavor from the yeast. I might have to rename it as a Pale Ale, because there's not much bitterness detected. I'm also toying with the idea of adding a few ounces of Columbus to give it a little resin/dank flavor. Then again, I might just leave it be at six ounces of Simcoe dry hop. Decisions...

Update: I ended up dry hopping 5 gallons with 4 oz Simcoe and 5 gallons with 2 oz Columbus and 2 oz Simcoe. I wanted to mix it up and bump up the dry hopping volume because, well, the two oz. of Magnum bittering were absolutely overpowered by the Conan yeast. That's all I can figure out! It went into the fermenter tasting like I thought it should for 2 oz of Magnum and came out tasting mild. In fact, I think I'm going to serve it as a pale ale.

That being said, the dry hop flavor is amazing. It's ridiculously fruity. It really needs more bittering, but a fair beer at any rate and a good first try with Conan yeast.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: SimConan IPA
Brewer: Adam Keck
Asst Brewer:
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 15.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 14.00 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 12.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 11.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.066 SG
Estimated Color: 5.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 59.4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.7 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU      
10.00 g               Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   1        -          
23 lbs                Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         2        80.7 %      
2 lbs                 Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)                Grain         3        7.0 %      
1 lbs                 Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                    Grain         4        3.5 %      
8.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)    Grain         5        1.8 %      
2 lbs                 Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM)              Sugar         6        7.0 %      
2.00 oz               Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min         Hop           7        41.9 IBUs  
2.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min         Hop           8        17.5 IBUs  
3.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min          Hop           9        0.0 IBUs    
3.0 pkg               English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [35.49  Yeast         10       -          
6.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days      Hop           11       0.0 IBUs    


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 28 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time  
Saccharification  Add 33.12 qt of water at 159.1 F        148.0 F       75 min      
Mash Out          Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min             168.0 F       10 min      

Sparge: Fly sparge with 10.40 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:
------

English brew weekend

On Saturday I brewed a batch of Welsh Pale Ale (version 1.3) and an English IPA recipe that I cooked up on the spot. I've been itching to brew a traditional English IPA since I read Mitch Steel's excellent book, "IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale." I had a pound of EKG and 50 lbs of Maris Otter malt, so I dove right in.

I followed the same recipe for the Welsh Pale that I did for my last batch, but cut the Victory malt out of it and added a 20 minute hop stand at 180 degrees.

OG: 1.050 @ 11 gallons

1/2 lb of EKG whole leaf...gotta love it

Old Gregg's English IPA:

OG: 1.070 @ 12 gallons

I'm really excited to see how these beers turn out. They'll look very similar - right around 10 SRM, but vary in their hopping schedules, yeast, and grain bills. They'll both feature East Kent Goldings hops prominently and I'm thinking about dry hopping them both with Fuggles. Lots of Fuggles.

Recipe below

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Old Gregg's IPA
Brewer: Adam Keck
Asst Brewer:
Style: English IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 15.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 13.50 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.067 SG
Estimated Color: 9.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 60.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.1 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU      
20 lbs                Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)         Grain         1        85.1 %      
1 lbs                 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)    Grain         2        4.3 %      
8.0 oz                Munton's Dark Crystal Malt (150.0 SRM)   Grain         3        2.1 %      
2 lbs                 Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM)              Sugar         4        8.5 %      
1.50 oz               Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 90.0 min         Hop           5        37.7 IBUs  
2.00 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 30.0 Hop           6        11.7 IBUs  
2.00 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 15.0 Hop           7        7.6 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 5.0  Hop           8        3.0 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 0.0  Hop           9        0.0 IBUs    
2.0 pkg               SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast         10       -          


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 23 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time  
Mash In           Add 26.88 qt of water at 163.7 F        150.0 F       75 min      

Sparge: Fly sparge with 25.86 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:
------


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jamil Zainasheff Saison...round 2

So we have to give away our whole first batch of Saison for a wedding...bummer.

And I wasn't planning on brewing this weekend, but we had a surprise visit from our great friend Maria! Of course, on the top of her list of things to do in the midwest was attend a brew day. So, with about three days notice, I put things in order to make another batch of Saison. The nicest thing about this session is that we can drink the beer that we are brewing while we're brewing it! It's quite nice. Sarah thinks we need to dry hop it with something sweet to give it just a little balance. It's quite dry and the yeast is just about all that you taste in its crisp finish. Peppery. Thinking a Willamette dry hop.

This time I'm using all Czech Saaz hops. I've got to burn through my stash and it's the only noble hop that I have on hand. Same schedule as the last: 4 oz bittering at 60 minutes and 2 oz aroma/flavor at knockout. It's got the same IBU calculated, but these hops from hopsdirect.com are only 3.5%, so it will have just a little less bite then the current batch. I was also able to get my hands on some CaraMunich, so I replaced the Crystal 60 and aromatic malt with that. The wort looks at first glance to be a bit lighter than the first.

PB OG: 1.045

OG: 1.061

Edit: I forgot to add one lb of cane sugar at the end of the boil. I'll have to add that in the fermentor.

Recipe below:



BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Spring Saison (Adjusted JZ Recipe…) 1.1
Brewer: Adam Keck
Asst Brewer:
Style: Saison
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 15.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 13.12 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 5.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 29.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.8 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU      
18 lbs                Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         1        81.8 %      
1 lbs 8.0 oz          Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM)                Grain         2        6.8 %      
1 lbs                 Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                    Grain         3        4.5 %      
8.0 oz                Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM)               Grain         4        2.3 %      
1 lbs                 Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM)              Sugar         5        4.5 %      
4.00 oz               Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min            Hop           6        29.1 IBUs  
2.20 Items            Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)        Fining        7        -          
2.00 oz               Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min             Hop           8        0.0 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               Belgian Saison II Yeast (White Labs #WLP Yeast         9        -          


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 22 lbs
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time  
Saccharification  Add 28.25 qt of water at 158.3 F        148.0 F       75 min      
Mash Out          Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min             168.0 F       10 min      

Sparge: Fly sparge with 10.96 gal water at 168.0 F

Ferment at 67 degrees and raise to 78 over 1 week.


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mid/West Coast IPA 1.2

A few changes to this batch for experimentation's sake...

I'm adding a 135 degree protein rest for 30 minutes before I temperature mash to 148. I read a very interesting forum post on Northern Brewer that piqued my interest about mouthfeel and how a protein rest can improve it. I thought I'd give it a shot, especially since I'm so familiar with how this beer in particular should taste.

I'm also adding two pounds of table sugar at 15 minutes to see if I dry the beer out a bit more. I figure if I can get the hoppiness and mouthfeel to feel like a West Coast ale and the malt complexity to a nice Midwest flavor, I can strike a unique balance. Another idea I'm toying with is raising the mash temperature slightly to 151-152 to get a little bit more malt body out of it. Perhaps next time...

I'm also dialing back the Columbus bittering hops to 2.5oz instead of 3. Once again, I want to strike a balance between the first batch, which had a little more muted bitterness and allowed the flavor and aroma hops to shine and the second batch, which at 3oz's, was a little overpowering for the entry-level IPA drinkers. On the hops end, I'm also toying with the idea of a hop stand, but I want to see how my India Pale Weizen turns out. That's the first beer that I've used a hop stand and I'm interested in tasting the results.

And, as you can see below, decided on a short hop stand.

Collected 13.5 gallons wort @ 1.055 PB OG

Boiled 90 minutes..looks to be about 11.5 gallons final.

Ack! Scratch that 11.5 gallons...my march pump exploded and shot my quick disconnect off while I was recirculating. Holy shit! I reacted quickly though...thinking I only lost about a 1/4 gallon of beer. I have no idea how that happened. I need to take a brew maintenance day and clean that pump up.

I ended up deciding on a 10 minute hop stand at 180 degrees. Check out the hop oils floating on top of the recirculating wort:

Final gravity was way high...1.080, though it will be diluted somewhat by my 3L yeast starter, which I had to pour in full because I didn't have time to decant it.

I don't know why my OG was so high. I have to check if Beersmith calculated the sugar addition correctly. I also may have been a little low on my wort collection. I think I calculated the recipe at at efficiency of 72%, when I've been consistently extracting at 80%. I'll have to finally make that switch.

M/W Coast IPA 1.2 Recipe below:


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Mid/West Coast IPA 1.2
Brewer: Adam Keck
Asst Brewer:
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 15.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 13.75 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal  
Bottling Volume: 10.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.079 SG
Estimated Color: 11.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 58.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.0 %
Boil Time: 0 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
23 lbs                Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        79.3 %      
2 lbs                 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)    Grain         2        6.9 %        
2 lbs                 Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         3        6.9 %        
2 lbs                 Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM)              Sugar         4        6.9 %        
2.50 oz               Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 90. Hop           5        58.0 IBUs    
4.00 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min          Hop           6        0.0 IBUs    
4.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min           Hop           7        0.0 IBUs    
4.00 oz               Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min       Hop           8        0.0 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               Denny's Favorite 50 (Wyeast #1450)       Yeast         9        -            
2.00 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days     Hop           10       0.0 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days      Hop           11       0.0 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Willamette [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days  Hop           12       0.0 IBUs    


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 2 Step, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 29 lbs
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time    
Protein Rest      Add 35.75 qt of water at 143.7 F        135.0 F       30 min      
Saccharification  Heat to 148.0 F over 15 min             148.0 F       60 min      
Mash Out          Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min             168.0 F       10 min      

Sparge: Fly sparge with 9.80 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:
------


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bailey Road Pale Ale 1.4 w/ Calypso dry hop

Ahhh, a series of tastings. I'm reaping the rewards of a heavy brew schedule and investment into expanded serving capacity with my kegs. This recipe is one of my early favorites - Bailey Road Pale Ale - dry hopped with Calypso, kegged, and with two weeks of cold storage.

The Calypso dry hop is doing wonders to elevate the beer. I dry hopped it with Cascade originally. I think the tropical aroma of Calypso really sets it apart though.

Mother's Day in Oma's basement. Perfect for a round of tastings.

For a cheap dual-purpose hop, I'm impressed. The new aroma is totally tropical: pineapple, lemon, and maybe a bit of fresh cut apple. I'm surprised that the hop isn't more sought after. The Calypso dry hop delivers a very strong tropical flavor as advertised.

A nice hop and a great experiment to compare the difference between two hops in the dry hop.

Mid/West Coast IPA Tasting

This is the second time I brewed this. The first one disappeared. I'm already down to my second keg of this batch. I also took it to a tasting party last night and it seemed to have really broad appeal. Even those who don't like IPAs because they're "too hoppy," enjoyed it and said they would drink it. A dedicated Guiness drinker decided to give it a shot after enjoying my 3-week dry stout so much, took a sip, and said that it tasted like a grapefruit and he'd like another taste!

For the second batch, I added one extra ounce of bittering hops to attempt to address what the judges mentioned as a lack of hop flavor in the Cincinnati Malt Infusers home brew competition. I would say it came out a success, though drinkers that enjoyed it mostly for the tropical and floral notes preferred the first. I also replaced basic 2-row with Maris Otter to try to get a bit more malt body. I honestly can't tell the difference between the 2-row and MO. I'm still working on striking a balance between a distinct malt body and a complex hop quartet of Citra, Columbus, Willamette, and Cascade, which I can definitely distinguish in the beer.

Appearance - Hazy orange-red. Has a two inch head on it that dissipates in a few minutes and lacing that follows it down the glass. After conditioning for three weeks, the first keg cleared significantly, but not to "see through" clarity. I didn't use any finings in the boil because I forgot, so I anticipate that to be the clearest this will get.

Smell - Intense bouquet of grapefruit, citrus fruits, a slight hint of barley. Probably the most aromatic beer I've made.

Taste - An initial fruitiness gives way to a slightly harsh bitterness and then goes back to a clean, citrusy finish. The bitterness stays on the back of your tongue. I'd be interested in trying a slightly less harsh bittering hop like Bravo or Chinook. You can definitely pick out the Columbus "onion" flavor, but it is not unpleasant.

Mouthfeel - Dry. Very, very dry. Good carbonation. I wonder if a bit more caramel malt is in order to  give it a little more body, more in line with the "Midwest" side of the beer.

Drinkability - High. I had to fend off the hop heads from this last night because I only had one growler to spare. That being said, it is also fairly accessible to those lower on the lupulin scale.

Minerva's Cream Ale Tasting

I am drinking the last bottle of the gold medal winning Minerva's Cream Ale, while I am brewing up another batch. I thought it would be a good time to do a tasting of it.

Appearance - Macro commercial beer quality clarity and color. Perhaps a little bit more golden than a pale BMC lager. Though it didn't have a nice pop when the bottle was cracked open, the carbonation is spot on and there are plenty of bubbles rising from the bottom. The head pours two fingers thick and dissipates in about a minute. It is paper white. A tight layer of foam clings to the top throughout.

Smell - Not much. A hint of sulphur from the Cal Lager yeast. A faint smell of sugary corn flakes. Slight earthy aroma from the Saaz hops.

Taste - The best way that I can describe it is it tastes like my first beer. It has the characteristics of a macro beer, but more pronounced. It's very clean. It's got just the right amount of bitterness to it to balance the simple malt body. I taste a slight hint of corn flakes and then a rush of crisp malt, slight nutty flavor and finally just hint of breadiness.

Mouthfeel - A bit watery, but appropriate for the style. Has a nice crispness to it. It definitely leans more to the lager side on mouthfeel. It leaves your mouth feeling bubbly. I think carbonation is essential to keeping it from tasting like a watery commercial lager. The corn definitely does something distinct as well.

Drinkability - High. I could drink a lot of these. They're light and refreshing, but still full of flavor. It's got just enough complexity to keep it interesting AND you could definitely put down a couple of them easily. A great casual beer. It's going to join my Kölsch as a staple summer beer and will probably rival it at the tap.

I'd like to experiment with dry hopping it with a citrusy hop variety. I've got some Calypso that I think I'll try on this one.

I'm also really impressed with how the Cal Lager yeast performed. It gives it an incredibly distinctive lager taste, but did not create any noticeable DMS or sulphury compounds, like I was afraid of. This is especially impressive considering the turnaround time: roughly 4 weeks from grain to glass and about a month and a half from brewing to competition. It definitely has gotten better with a few extra weeks of conditioning.

Gold Medal for Minerva's Cream Ale!

I took home the gold in the Hybrid Ale category out of 13 entrants in the Cincinnati Malt Infuser's annual home brew competition! Here she is in all of her glory!

It didn't win best in show, but I'm pretty happy with it for my first competition. Unfortunately, I didn't win anything for my House Hefeweizen, Kexxxmas Ale, or Mid/West Coast IPA. Looking forward to getting some tasting notes back.

Recipe below:


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Minerva's Cream Ale
Brewer: Adam Keck
Asst Brewer:
Style: Cream Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 13.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 12.00 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.049 SG
Estimated Color: 4.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 17.4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.6 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU      
16 lbs                Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        78.0 %      
4 lbs                 Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)                   Grain         2        19.5 %      
8.0 oz                Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         3        2.4 %      
1.25 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min         Hop           4        12.4 IBUs  
1.00 oz               Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min            Hop           5        3.6 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min             Hop           6        1.4 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               California Lager (Wyeast Labs #2112) [12 Yeast         7        -          


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 20 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time  
Saccharification  Add 25.62 qt of water at 159.1 F        148.0 F       75 min      
Mash Out          Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min             168.0 F       10 min      

Sparge: Fly sparge with 9.55 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:
------

Fermented for two weeks at 62 degrees ambient and then kegged it and conditioned at 32 degrees for about a month before it was sent to the competition. The beer was great even after about two weeks in the keg and dropped out this clean after just a week in the keg.

Also, I built the water profile from scratch, opting to just use distilled water and adding brewing salts to give it a pretty basic low mineral profile with right around 50 Ca.


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mid/West Coast IPA 1.1 Brew Day

2/17/2013

I brewed up this IPA over a month ago and it didn't last long enough to even get tasting notes down for it. It turned out exceptionally tasty (though not tasty enough to place at the Cincinnati Malt Infusers home brew competition this past weekend) and accomplished what I intended it to: an IPA that has a nice body to it, but has an aggressive, hop forward flavor that oozes citrusy and floral character. I'm only making minor adjustments. This time I'm using Maris Otter 2-row barley as opposed to standard American 2-row in the hopes that I can squeeze out a little more body complexity without using more specialty malts, got rid of all of the mid-boil hops and pushed them back to flame out, started with more water in the boil to end up with a full 10 gallons after hop loss, and I'm playing around with the idea of adding 1lb of beet sugar 3-4 days into the fermentation to accentuate dryness, though I have not decided. I want to do it, but I also want to keep the amount of variables up for adjustment to a minimum so that I can taste the difference between batches.

Mashed in at 149 and held for 75 minutes. Added 5g of chalk and 10g of gypsum for the following water profile: Ca 110, Mg 3, Alkalinity as CaCO3 129, Na 13, Cl 21, SO3 160.

I didn't adjust for the additional 2 gallons of water, so the water profile is slightly different than for the first batch.

Transferred as close to 15 gallons as I felt comfortable doing. With a vicious hot break and an unfortunate spray bottle malfunction, I ended up losing a bit of wort and hops to a very short boilover. I was lucky to have Joe co-brewing and he was quick to cut the heat while I blew on the boiling wort. 

Boiled for 90 minutes, added 12 oz knockout hops and cooled to 70 degrees F in about 20 minutes, and then let settle for about 30 minutes while I had dinner with the family. This is the first time that I really allowed a whirlpool to settle and the transfer was much smoother and sediment free for it. I think I might make it a requirement for seriously hopped beers. I ended up with close to 12 gallons of 1.075 OG wort, for an efficiency of 83%. Transferred to a keg for fermentation, hit the beer with 60 seconds of pure O2, pitched 3L of Wyeast 1450 and put it in the cool corner of the basement at 62 degrees ambient.

Transferring hop soup is never fun...

Update 2/21: bubbling slowed to 1 per 1-2 minutes; added 2oz Citra, 2oz Cascade, 2oz Willamette to fermenter

Recipe below:

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com

Recipe: Mid/West Coast IPA 1.1

Brewer: Adam Keck

Asst Brewer: 

Style: American IPA

TYPE: All Grain

Taste: (30.0) 

Recipe Specifications

--------------------------

Boil Size: 15.00 gal

Post Boil Volume: 13.50 gal

Batch Size (fermenter): 12.00 gal   

Bottling Volume: 11.75 gal

Estimated OG: 1.067 SG

Estimated Color: 11.6 SRM

Estimated IBU: 68.4 IBUs

Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %

Est Mash Efficiency: 71.5 %

Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:

------------

Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU         

25 lbs                Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)         Grain         1        83.3 %        

2 lbs                 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)    Grain         2        6.7 %         

2 lbs                 Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         3        6.7 %         

3.00 oz               Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 90. Hop           4        68.4 IBUs     

4.00 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min          Hop           5        0.0 IBUs      

4.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min           Hop           6        0.0 IBUs      

4.00 oz               Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min       Hop           7        0.0 IBUs      

1.0 pkg               Denny's Favorite 50 (Wyeast #1450)       Yeast         8        -             

2.00 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days     Hop           10       0.0 IBUs      

2.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days      Hop           11       0.0 IBUs      

2.00 oz               Willamette [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days  Hop           12       0.0 IBUs      

Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body

Total Grain Weight: 30 lbs

----------------------------

Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time     

Saccharification  Add 36.25 qt of water at 159.1 F        148.0 F       75 min        

Mash Out          Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min             168.0 F       10 min        

Sparge: Fly sparge with 9.92 gal water at 168.0 F

Notes:

------

Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welsh Pale Ale tasting

OK. I have to admit. I wasn't terribly excited about this beer. It's a weird idea to me: get rid of the bitterness, back end the hops for aroma and flavor, and use a generic malt profile, save for special UK malt (I used Tipple). What could be so special?

Holy shit.

I brewed this with a higher ABV the first time (1.060) and it was decent. I lowered my OG to 1.045 and added some knockout and dry hops and the result is amazing. Much more complexity. I intend to increase both next time to accentuate the unique grassy, lemony end notes and take this from a killer beer to an irresistible beer.

Enjoyed from a growler straight from the tap.

Oh, also had a wonderful meal with my family and girlfriend.

House Hefeweizen tasting notes

This beer went quickly in the keg. Too quickly... It lasted about 2 weeks. Between a brew day, casual pulls and family growler fills, it didn't stand a chance. Which is why I bottled 50 of them.

I also feel that a Hefeweizen should be enjoyed out of a bottle, so I decided to do the tasting notes with a bottled one.

First, a bit about the pre-pour appearance: it is incredibly clear in the bottle. This is significant if only for how cloudy it was coming out of the fermenter after only two weeks. It seemed to referment quickly and clear out within a week and a half. The beer that I'm testing has been conditioning for about three and a half weeks. It's kind of fun because you can pretty much choose if you want to have a Kristallweizen or a Hefeweizen when you're drinking it.

Poured the first 9 oz or so. Very clear. Kristallweizen!

I poured 3/4 of the bottle and then agitated the yeast cake at the bottom and poured the rest. It poured with a beautiful 1.5" head and a pleasant straw colored body.

The aroma is dominated by sweetness, almost like a lemon drop with a hint of breadiness from the yeast.

Its taste is distinctly Hefeweizen. I can't describe it differently. I'm happy to not detect any off-flavors. More specifically, it has a very strong banana note as well as a slightly less powerful citrus flavor. The Hallertuaer hop is hardly present, but balances the banana and citrus notes well with an initial crispness and a faint bitterness at the end. The beer finishes dry. No surprise with a 1.010 FG. The malt profile is extremely light and allows the yeast phenols to shine. Mouthfeel is light, borderline watery. I'm wondering what another week in the bottle will do to the carbonation and mouthfeel.

Two concerns: head retention and mouthfeel. I think they're related. The head disippated in about a minute and, as I noted above, the mouthfeel is just slightly watery. I will judge the beer next week to see what some additional bottle conditioning will do for it. I'm thinking the carbonation is dialed in though, because there is nice bubble flow throughout the glass and the pour was picture perfect. I may adjust the recipe with a small amount of Carapils or Carafoam in the mash, depending on how it turns out a week from now. I will also do some research into what I may be able to gain in terms of head retention and mouthfeel complexity with an extended decoction mash. For a lighter beer, the decoction boil is supposed to be shorter - I used ~15 minutes - but I wouldn't mind a bit of extra color in the beer and if I can attain the desired result with just an extended process, I would prefer that.

This beer is a rockin' first attempt at a House Hefeweizen.

Welsh Pale Ale

1/27/2013

My family is part Welsh, so I was overjoyed to find an experienced Welsh home brewer on the /r/homebrewing subreddit. He gave me detailed instructions on how to brew a basic Welsh Pale Ale. As I mentioned before, the beer was delicious and prompted my family to insist that I brew more. So I did, with a few changes: adjusted the water to accomodate some misreading of my municipal water report(!), added 1.5 oz of EK Goldings at knockout (after an amazing experience with flavor and aroma with knockout hops in my Mid/West IPA), switched to liquid yeast instead of Danstar Nottingham, dry hopped with a bit of Willamette hops, and added a bit of Maris Otter to the grist for some malt complexity.

Mashed for 90 minutes at 148-150 degrees. Used 50% Warren, Ohio water and 50% distilled. Added 5 grams of gypsum and 5 grams of Calcium Chloride to create a profile of:

Ca 58
Mg 2
Na 9
Cl 59
SO 67
Alkalinity as CaCO3 31
RA -12

Pre boil OG: 1.036 @ 13 gallons

Boiled hard for 90 minutes.

Ended with 10.5 gallons of 1.045 wort. Aerated with pure O2 and pitched a 3L starter of Wyeast 1098 British Ale yeast. Placed in 62 degree basement. Vigorous fermentation observed 24 hours later.

Update 1/31/2013
Added 2oz of Willamette into primary for dry hop.

Update 2/10/2013
Transferred 10 gallons to two kegs. The dry hopping didn't give me as much aroma as I wanted, but we'll see if some carbonation helps accentuate it. The beer is kind of plain compared to the flavorful beers I've been pumping out recently, so it left me underwhelmed. I'm sure it will be good once it's carbed up and chilled.

Recipe below.



BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Welsh Pale Ale (1.1)
Brewer: Adam Keck
Asst Brewer:
Style: English Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 13.50 gal
Post Boil Volume: 12.00 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.045 SG
Estimated Color: 7.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 33.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 85.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 86.9 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU      
7.50 gal              Distilled Water                          Water         1        -          
7.50 gal              Warren, OH                               Water         2        -          
5.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 90.0 mins)        Water Agent   3        -          
5.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 90.0 mins Water Agent   4        -          
12 lbs                Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM)           Grain         5        75.0 %      
3 lbs                 Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)         Grain         6        18.8 %      
1 lbs                 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)    Grain         7        6.2 %      
1.50 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 90.0 Hop           8        15.1 IBUs  
1.00 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 Hop           9        9.4 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 15.0 Hop           10       9.4 IBUs    
1.50 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 0.0  Hop           11       0.0 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               British Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1098) [1 Yeast         12       -          
2.00 oz               Willamette [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days  Hop           13       0.0 IBUs    


Mash Schedule: Welsh Pale Ale Temperature Mash
Total Grain Weight: 16 lbs
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time  
Saccharification  Add 20.00 qt of water at 162.3 F        150.8 F       90 min      
Mash Out          Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min             168.0 F       10 min      

Sparge: Fly sparge with 10.92 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:
------


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mid/West Coast IPA

I wanted to make a hoppy IPA that blended the best of Midwest IPAs (malty body and balanced hop character) with West Coast IPAs (exceptionally dry finish, bright, citrusy hop character). Here's what I came up with. I'm looking forward to this beer.

Mashed in at 149 with 9 gallons of water and held for 75 minutes. I use my March pump to recirculate hot wort from the bottom to the top to maintain temperature.

First runnings gravity 1.080.

PB OG: 1.058

The hot break was really intense for some reason. I trusted the fight to one of my brewing assistants.

Final hop addition: 6 ounces total, two of each of Citra, Cascade, and Willamette at knockout.

OG: 1.070. Recipe below:



BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Mid/West Coast IPA
Brewer: Adam Keck
Asst Brewer:
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 15.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 13.50 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.065 SG
Estimated Color: 11.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 70.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.6 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU      
18 lbs                Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        65.5 %      
5 lbs                 Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)         Grain         2        18.2 %      
2 lbs 8.0 oz          Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         3        9.1 %      
2 lbs                 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)    Grain         4        7.3 %      
2.00 oz               Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 90. Hop           5        50.9 IBUs  
1.00 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min         Hop           6        4.6 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min          Hop           7        10.1 IBUs  
1.00 oz               Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min      Hop           8        4.6 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min          Hop           9        0.0 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min           Hop           10       0.0 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min       Hop           11       0.0 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               Denny's Favorite 50 (Wyeast #1450)       Yeast         12       -          
2.00 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days     Hop           13       0.0 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days      Hop           14       0.0 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Willamette [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days  Hop           15       0.0 IBUs    


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 27 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time  
Saccharification  Add 34.38 qt of water at 159.1 F        148.0 F       75 min      
Mash Out          Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min             168.0 F       10 min      

Sparge: Fly sparge with 10.21 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:
------


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hefeweizen Brew Day

I decided to do a single decoction mash for the inaugural House Hefeweizen.

Heated strike water to 128 and infused 40 quarts of water. Rested mash for 30 minutes at 122 degrees.

Raised temperature to 155 for 45 minutes. Mash ph around 5.3. Pulled 12 quarts of mash and boiled for 15 minutes.

At this point my dad put on some German music, since we're making a hefeweizen in traditional Bavarian style.

Poured the decoction back into the mash tun and began sparging. My potentially uncalibrated refractometer indicates the first runnings are 1.050 or so. I didn't use any rice hulls. I intended to, but the wort was running so smoothly through. Wort collection took about 20 minutes, no big deal.

Ended up with 13 gallons of 1.040 PB OG beer.

I did a really hard boil to get rid of any DMS.

After 90 minutes, I started cooling wort with well water. Hit 120 after ~7 minutes. Cracked open a single hopped, Belgian Columbus Hop IPA to drink during cooling and transfer. Columbus is a surprisingly versatile hop!

Stirred about every 3 minutes and recirculated wort through constantly with my march pump and silicone tubing. At 100 degrees, switched over to recirculating pump with icewater through the wort chiller.

Started transferring to a sanke fermenter at 65 degrees. Aerated with pure oxygen and pitched a 3 L yeast starter of Wyeast Weihenstephaner #3068

OG: 1.050

Recipe below:



BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: House Hefeweizen
Brewer: Adam Keck
Asst Brewer:
Style: Weizen/Weissbier (Wheat Beer)
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 13.20 gal
Post Boil Volume: 11.70 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.045 SG
Estimated Color: 3.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 11.4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.6 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU      
1 lbs                 Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM)                     Adjunct       1        5.3 %      
10 lbs                Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)                Grain         2        52.6 %      
8 lbs                 Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         3        42.1 %      
0.50 oz               Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min     Hop           4        4.5 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 30.0 min     Hop           5        6.9 IBUs    
4.00 tsp              Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins)          Other         6        -          
0.50 oz               Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 0.0 min      Hop           7        0.0 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               Weihenstephan Weizen (Wyeast Labs #3068) Yeast         8        -          


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Single -> Braukeiser
Total Grain Weight: 19 lbs
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time  
Protein Rest      Add 24.80 qt of water at 138.1 F        130.0 F       35 min      
Infuse to Sacchar Add 15.20 qt of water at 198.6 F        154.0 F       45 min      
Decoction to Mash Decoct 11.09 qt of mash and boil it     168.0 F       15 min      

Sparge: Fly sparge with 5.98 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:
------


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1/1/2013 Brews

Upcoming brews:

House Hefeweizen
After spending three days in Munich, Germany, I have been convinced that a house hefeweizen is in order. The Bavarians enjoy their weißbiers with just about every meal and I'd like to have some on hand at all times. My first weißbier, brewed in summer of 2012, was pretty good, so I plan to brew another with the same recipe on my 10 gallon rig. I may be convinced to change the process a bit to add a decoction mash, rather than use a light crystal malt to achieve color and complexity. My instinct right now is to keep it simple and get a baseline beer that I can adjust.

The first Hefeweizen, on the right.

Maibock

I've got some Pilsener malt and I want to make a bock beer. No real ideas as of yet. Looking forward to researching the style and building a recipe.

DIPA

I've made good IPAs, but I've never brewed an imperial IPA for myself. I also want to use some hops that I've yet to use, especially the newer ones notorious for tropical and citrus notes like Galaxy, Citra, Galena, and Simcoe. 

Welsh Pale Ale

My family devoured this beer. It's a really interesting style that differs greatly from English Bitters. It emphasizes hop aroma and flavor, rather than bitterness. The end result is a really crisp, drinkable, grassy pint. Looking to adjust the recipe slightly to make it less ABV and bump up the aroma hops even more.