Hop Watch 2010

About a month ago I planted a Chinook rhizome in a 24 gallon pot. It sprouted two weeks ago, and I'm just now getting around to posting pictures.

Instead of making a new post every time the plant grows a little, I've made a new gadget so the latest picture and link to the slideshow will live off to the right, just below the status of my fermenters and taps. [Hint: it's the part with the picture]

Now that I've taken the two seconds to learn how to set that up, I'll start posting pictures of the beers, any awards they earn, and probably shots from some events, too.

Neil's Party Part 2 of 2

This one is based on Odell's Easy St Wheat. Never had it, but sounded like a good American wheat beer. Cleaned out my RAHR, so there's a bit of pils in there, too. Added the last of the cascade whole hops for fun. Original clone recipe in brackets where changes were made.

Batch #59
American Wheat, 5.75 gallons [5 gal]
--5.375lbs Wheat Malt
--3.25lbs 2-row RAHR [4.375]
--1.25lbs German Pils [--]
--8oz Munich
--2oz Crystal 20L
--0.75oz Cascade 8.7%AA (60min, whole) [3.5 AAU Cascade]
--0.5oz Cascade 8.7%AA (20m, whole) [--]
--1oz Saaz 3.0%AA (2m, whole)
--1oz Vanguard 5.0%AA (2m, pellet) [Tettnanger]
--Whirlfloc (15min)
--1/2 tsp gypsum (infusion water)
--US-05 - 1/2 cup slurry [Kölsch yeast]
OG: 1.045
FG: 1.007
ABV: 5%
IBU: ~30 [16]

Mash in to 149°F in 4.25 gallons water and hold for 60m. Batch sparge with 4.25 gallons at 170°F to collect 7 gallons wort. Boil for 60m. Chill and pitch yeast at 68-70°F. Came in at 66% efficiency and right on target.

Neil's Party Part 1 of 2

Neil's having another party and he said "Hey, can I get two batches of beer for a month from now?" A week later I had some time, and was planning to either make two batches in one day using extract, or enlist the help of a fellow hausbraumeister to make one of them. I did end up hosting a friend to brew, but he made his own thing, which is remarkably similar to the beer I was going to assign him. Oh well. Wheat beers are fast, so I should still have time if I get it done before next weekend.

I thought for a party that a wheat beer would go over well. They usually do. No one complains too much about hoppiness or roastiness. But Neil wanted two beers. So he gets an amber, too. It is the prerogative of the brewer to challenge party guests' palates at will. So looking at my recipes for amber ales in assorted beer magazines and books, I came across BYO's Bike Clones issue. Fat Tire? Too bland. Boulder Beer Single Track Copper Ale? Now wait a minute, it's brewed with toasted rye. Not your typical amber. Of course the shop had no flaked rye, so I ended up with rye malt that isn't toasted in the oven because a) I don't think that would work as well as toasted flaked rye and b) I overlooked that tidbit until reviewing the recipe to see how my numbers hit (well is the answer, check the vitals!). I opted for a big pitch of clean ale yeast, and doubled the bittering hops because I was skeptical of the BYO numbers. I also boosted the volume to account for transfer losses on the way to the keg. I get better efficiency than BYO assumes, and all my math worked out to be about where I wanted it. Original recipe differences indicated in brackets below.

Batch #58
Single Track Fraternal Twin Ale, 5.75 gallons (5 gallons)
--8.75lbs Ger. Pils [2-row, but with kolsch yeast, probably pils]
--0.5lbs CaraPils
--12oz Rye malt [flaked, toasted]
--0.75oz Cascade 7.5%AA (90min, whole) [3.1AAU Nugget, which is, like, 1/4 oz]
--1oz Vanguard 5.0%AA (30m, pellet) [Tettnanger]
--1oz Vanguard 5.0%AA (5m, pellet) [Tettnanger]
--Whirlfloc (15min)
--1 tsp gypsum (infusion water)
--US-05 - 1/2 cup slurry
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.015
ABV: 5.1%
IBU: ~30

Mash in to 156°F in 4 gallons water and hold for 60m. Fly sparge with 4.5 gallons at 170°F to collect 6.5 gallons wort. Add 1 gallon to reach 7.5 gallons total, boil for 90m. Chill and pitch yeast at 68-70°F. Rocked 78% efficiency and came in right on target.

This beer needs a good name.

Ok. It's either my scale, or MoreBeer, or both, but every time I weigh my hop pellets out, the total is less than the 2oz I'm paying for. It's possible that there's some moisture loss between these batches, but I don't think it would account for nearly a third of an ounce, especially considering these things are already dried before being pelletized. Anyway. A couple months back I had the Grimbergen Dubbel and decided I needed to brew something in that style. So tasty...

Batch #57
Dubbel
--14lbs Ger. Pils
--1lbs Munich
--8oz Belg. Aromatic
--8oz Special B
--8oz CaraMunich
--1lb Belg. Candi Syrup "D" (80 SRM, 1.032ppg)
--1/3 tsp table salt (~2.5g, infusion water)
--1oz Perle 7.5%AA (60min)
--Whirlfloc (15min)
--WLP530 - Abbey Ale Yeast (sufficient starter)
OG: 1.085
FG: 1.015
ABV: 8.8%
IBU: ~18

Single infusion mash 154F in 21qts water + salt addition, fly sparge with 14qts at 170F. I ended up just shy of 7 gallons wort at 1.062, making for a whopping 82% efficiency (I even widened the gap on my mill today...just goes to show how much more efficient fly sparging is when you've got the time). Ninety minute boil, add hops at 60m mark. I initially planned to add a little near knockout for some aroma, but once again, I've been shortchanged. The salt is to add a little sodium to the beer to boost the perceived malt flavor. The amount I threw in is around 50ppm in 5 gallons of beer, so it should be enough to make a difference, but not so much that the beer is at all salty.

Sandeep's Commission

Update 4/5 - Wheaty, but the orange and coriander show well. Tastes awful with toothpaste. SG 1.008
--
Sandeep asked for a Blue Moon Clone. So, I don't know, I guess this might work. I don't drink Blue Moon very often, so this might be a bit more citrus than the real deal, but as I recall there's honey and people who claim to have good clone recipes use marmalade. Also, I thought I'd use an inconspicuous high flocculating yeast to help keep the beer American and clear.

Batch #56
Cold Pressed Ham
--5lbs Ger. Pils
--3lbs White Wheat Malt
--2lbs Flaked Wheat
--4oz Munich
--1/2 tsp gypsum (infusion water)
--0.67oz Perle 7.5%AA (60min)
--Whirlfloc (15min)
--8oz Orange Blossom Honey (5min)
--fresh zest from 2 tangerines and 1 grapefruit (5min)
--2T orange marmalade (5min)
--crushed coriander (5min)
--Safale US-05
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.008
ABV: 5.75%
IBU: 15

Single infusion at 154F in 16 qts. Sparge with 17 qts at 170 to collect 7 gallons for a 90 min boil. Spices and such just a few minutes before flameout.

Yeast Wars!

Update 3/30 - Belgian FG 1.018, bottled.
Update 3/28 - American FG 1.011, bottled. Belgian SG 1.018, check back tomorrow.
Update 3/21 - Dry hopped late last night.
--
I'm hop bursting the crap out of this. Expect an update with dry hops in a week or two. I also bought smaller carboys so I can split my brews into two batches for yeast and dry addition experiments. Today's lesson: Fermentis Safale US-05 vs Safbrew T-58.

Batch #55
Honey DIPA
--15lbs 2-row RAHR
--4oz Honey Malt
--6oz Melanoidin
--6oz Carafoam
--2.25lbs Mesquite Honey
--1/2 tsp gypsum (infusion water)
--1oz Cascade 6.7%AA (60min)
--1oz Cascade 6.7%AA (30m)
--11oz Cascade 6.7%AA (every 2m until knockout starting at 20m)
--3oz Cascade (dry hop, split evenly between carboys)
--Whirlfloc (15min)
--Split batch: Safale US-05 and Safbrew T-58, 11.5g dry (each)
OG: 1.089
FG: 1.011 | 1.018
ABV: 10.2% | 9.3%
IBU: ~85?

Mash in with 5gal at 152F (slightly higher than normal for my DIPAs to account for the honey), hold for 60m. I batch sparged with 4gal to collect 6.75gal total. I also immediately began heating the first batch while collecting the second. Hopefully this will add a slight caramel, but I don't expect much. Bring to a boil, and make sure to use a big hop sock or lots of bags to avoid cramping your pellets. Chill and pitch yeast. I plan to free ferment in 64F ambient for a couple days then limit at 68F in my chiller if needed.

Stupid February

Yeah, no brewing in all of February. I guess it was something of a busy month between lots to do in lab, friends getting ready to leave the country, and, oh yeah, some sort of beer event.

That said, the red ale's kegged and needs some gas, the ryewine's coming along nicely, and my imperial mild developed a mild twang that seems to be a real crowd pleaser.

More beer is on the way as soon as I can get a weekend to myself!