Thursday, August 22, 2013

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.


Thursday, August 1, 2013

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.