Pours crystal clear. Golden straw in color. Thick head. Rich aroma. More citrusy than floral. Caramel malt and robust, citrusy, resiny, hop finish.

Would like to make one like this again.

- 7.5lb American 2-Row
- 2lb Vienna
- 1lb American Crystal (20L)
- 0.5lb Chocolate (English)
- 1lb Flaked Wheat
- 2lb Honey
- 1lb Sugar

~4g strike water @ 175F

one step infusion mash, 60min

~5g sparge water @ 145F

75min:
1.5oz Willamette pellets (4.9%)

5min:
1oz Goldings pellets (6.7%)

OG: 1.090

Pitched White Labs Belgian Saison Yeast Blend (WLP568)

NOTES
Second batch of a two batch day. Stuck mash during sparge, should have squeezed more out. Additionally, cut the recipe in half. First problem occurred at Beer + Wine Supply, figuring it was OK to use 0.5lb Chocolate. Which is double the original recipe, which I halved, so the chocolate malt is quadrupled in this 5gal version. Then, when adding the adjuncts, I was looking at the original recipe and neglected to halve the honey + sugar. So, all that, plus not collecting enough runoff at sparge time makes this one have an OG-worthy OG.

(source)

2011OCT02

Racked to secondary

0.5oz Goldings pellets (6.7%)

SG: 1.021

2011OCT30

FG: 1.011 (ABV 11.0%)
Primed with 1/2 cup brown sugar

17 12oz bottles
10 22oz bottles

2011NOV03

Pours deep brown, clear. Little head, little carbonation. Malty nose. Smooth, creamy mouth-feel. Alcohol on the finish. Dry.

- 13lb American 2-Row
- 1lb American Crystal 20L

~4.5g mash water, strike @ 170F

one step infusion mash 60min

~4.5g sparge water @ 170F

Boil

75min:
1oz Magnum pellets (13.1%)

0min:
1oz Cascade pellets (6%)

OG: 1.074

Pitched White Labs East Coast Ale (WLP008)

NOTES
First batch of a two batch day. Stuck mash towards the end of the sparge. Should have kicked it up to get more wort. OG is wee heavy.

(source)

2011OCT02

Racked to secondary.

2oz Cascade pellets (6%)

SG: 1.022

2011OCT15

FG: 1.014 (8.5% ABV)
Primed with 3/4 cup dark brown sugar

28 12oz bottles
6 22oz bottles

NOTE: Citrusy hop aroma, weak malt flavor. Could use more backbone. Bitter, almost grapefruit finish. The alcohol might be too much, that “hot” flavor gets in the way.

Hauled all the brewing gear to Maine for a memorial day weekend brew. First outdoor brew with a turkey fryer, plus had hot and cold hose bibs right nearby. Great brewing setup, sounds of crashing waves make for better brewing I think. Enjoyed the help from friends, chiefly Kate X.
Left the brew log at home so I’ll have to live blog this one.

6.5 lb German pilsner
1.0 lb light wheat
0.5 lb Dextrine

Initial strike in 10 qts water at 168F for a target mash temp of 152.
Was 153F 30 min into mash. Mashed for a total of 60 minutes.

Sparge with 18 qts at ~174F, collected about 6.25 gal that measured 1.036 at 140F which I think corrects to about 1.048 [2011-05-31 edit] According to C.Lyons (1992), its closer to 1.052, but he’s using values for the density of water, I question whether that’s fully valid for a sugar-water solution.  Going by those numbers, I ended up with 324 points. [/edit]

2.5 oz x 2.6% AA spalt at 60 min
0.5 oz x 2.6% AA spalt at 10 min

Post chill we ended up with about 4.9 gal that measured 1.044 at 71F. [Edit 2011-05-31] This corrects to 1.045 using every table or formula I’ve found.  That means that post-chill I had 222 points.  To recap, pre-boil: 324, post-boil: 222.    Theoretically, these numbers should match, because during the boil, the only thing that leaves the pot is pure water in the form of steam, leaving all the sugars (points) behind.  So basically, my numbers after the sparge are total crap.  Either the corrections are no good, or I can’t get a reliable reading for some reason, or (perhaps most likely) my technique of using “the thief” to sample straight from the runoff bucket after the sparge is sucking up only the more dense wort near the bottom of the bucket.  Next time, I will stir thoroughly, and report back. [/edit]

Pitched Wyeast Kolsch.  Left in the basement shower stall because I’d hate for a wild ferment to make a mess out of that house, and because I bet the temp will be good there.

Targets:

• OG: 1.060
• FG: 1.016
• SRM: 39
• IBU: 58

Ingredients:

• 7.5 lb 2-Row Pale
• 1 lb Roast Barley (525L)
• 1 lb Crystal 90
• 0.5 lb Flaked Barley
• 0.25 lb Cherry Smoked Malt (Briess)
• 2 lb Briess Pilsen Light DME (actually only used 1 lb)
• 11.6 AAU Brewer’s Gold pellets @60 min
• 6 AAU Perle pellets @60 min
• 1 tsp Irish Moss @10 min
• Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale

Single infusion mash, target temp 154*F.  10.25 lb of grain in 16 qt water at a strike temp of 165*F, initial temp readings at mash in around 155-156*F.  60 min mash, temp at end was ~148*F, pH ~5.

Sparge with 16 qt at 167*F. Collected ~6.5 gal, measured a corrected 1.044, for 286 pts. This was more than I was expecting, based on my calculated efficiency from my last batch (67%).  I did some math and estimated that if I boiled off a gallon and added only 1 lb of the extract instead of the planned 2, I would hit my target volume and target gravity right on.

In the end, I only boiled off maybe a half gallon in the 1 hour boil, and I added only the 1 lb of extract.  After chilling, I measured only 1.051 instead of the planned 1.060.  Maybe I can’t trust my high-temp gravity readings of my runoff.

Primary is going to be in a 5 gal glass carboy, and I don’t have a blowoff setup, so I may have a mess on my hands here.

[2011-06-02] Tasting Notes

From the tap at ~40F and 11psi. Color is deep brown to black.  Nice brown head fades rather quickly.  Roasty aroma with the barest hint of smoke, no real hop aroma to speak of.  Almost smells a little like soy sauce.  Initial flavor is strongly marked by the tang of the carbonation.  Mouthfeel is balanced, tending more towards dry than big and malty.  Finishes with a bit of the bitter burnt bite of the roast barley, and just a hint of smoke.  Overall pretty good, I think I would like it better if it had been naturally carbonated bottles or if it was served on nitrogen.  The tang of the carbonation is a bit much for the style I think.

• 9 lb Munich Malt
• 1 lb Crystal 90
• 1/3 lb Chocolate Malt
• 2 lb Briess Pilsen Light DME
• 2.1 oz (3%) Hallertau pellets @60 min
• .6 oz Hallertau pellets @20 min
• .6 oz Halleratu pellets @1o min
• Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager

Targets:

• OG: 1.066
• FG: 1.016
• SRM: 23
• IBU: 23
• ABV: 6.7%

Single infusion mash (no more fancy crap) of 10.3 lb grist in 16 qt water for a ratio of 1.55 qt/lb.  Calculated strike water temp at 167*F for a target mash temp of 155*F.  I think i came close to my target, the mash temp was pretty stratified, so it was hard to trust the temp readings.

Sparge with 16 qt at 168*F, collected 6 gal at a corrected 1.042, for 252 total gravity points.  I had done my recipe assuming 75% efficiency, which would have given me 275 pts. My actual efficiency was more like 67%.

Adding 2 lb of extract brings in another 88 pts, so to get my target OG of 1.066, I should have 5.15 gal at the end of the boil.

Got distracted and left the hop bag in for probably another 30 min after flameout.  Used the new stainless steel racking cane to siphon the hot wort through the counterflow chiller, but had serious problems maintaining the siphon.  Chilling ended up being a disaster, with all kinds of potential contamination sources, and aeration of hot wort.  If ever I was going to make a beer with homebrew funk, this would be that beer.  In all the chaos, I didn’t even take an OG reading.  Put the fermenter out by the back storage closet where its pretty cool.

I’ve officially sworn off the counterflow chiller.  Way more trouble than it’s worth.  I’m just going to go to the hardware store to get a 50 ft length of 3/8″ copper to make a bigger immersion chiller.  Its more sanitary, and it keeps me more sane.

[2011-05-31] Tasting notes:

Kept on the gas at about 11psi and 43F, moderate tan head that fades within a couple minutes. Brown in color. Aroma of caramel/toffee and a hint of coffee. Little to no hop aroma. The tang of the carbonation plays against a malty sweetness, and it finishes with a kick of coffee flavor. The feel is neither cleanly dry nor chewy sweet. This beer has more character than I think I expected. The lady of the house seems to prefer it to the smoky stout (the other current draft offering).

Now that I’ve bought the counterpressure bottle-filling rig, I need to bottle a few of these to pass around for judgement.

New counterflow chiller (thanks Fred)! New faucet-mounted Brita filter (best brewing investment yet)!

• 7.5 lb American 2-Row Pale Malt
• 2 lb Crystal 60
• 1 oz (5%AA) Cascade pellets @60 min
• .75 oz (5%AA) Cascade @10min
• .75 oz (4.8%AA) Willamette pellets @10min
• Wyeast 1332 Northwest Ale

Targets:

• OG: 1.051
• FG: 1.016
• SRM 14
• IBU 29

Single infusion mash of 9.5 lb grist in 12 qts water = 1.26 qts/lb.  Strike temp 167*F to hit target mash temp of 154*F.  Measured temp of mash after strike, read 158*F, so I added 1 qt from the tap, the temp now measured 144*F. No good.  To the spreadsheet!  If i draw off 2 qts and bring it to a boil, then add it back, i should get to 154*F.  I did, added it back at about 25 min into the mash, and the temp I read was 160*F.  Screw this. When the mash was all over, the temp read between 151 and 153, depending on where I stick the thermometer.

Sparge with 4 gal at 168*F.  Collected ~6 gal at a corrected 1.036.  My target is 1.051, so I’d have to boil down to 4.5 gal.  Not likely.

Boil, Chill.  Collected 4.7 gal out of the chiller at a corrected 1.039.  OK. It’s going to be a session beer.

Rack to secondary on Oct 10.  SG 1.010

Keg on Oct 24. FG 1.008.

Ended up being a nice mild beer. Tasted more like a brown ale than an amber or a red.  Keg went fast, thats got to be a good sign.

• Grain:  I’ve pretty much completely stopped buying recipe kits.  I still do a lot of clones and use pre-existing recipes, but I buy the ingredients in bulk and break off what I need for each recipe.  For my base grains I buy 55 lb sacks from my local homebrew shop, The Homebrew Emporium, in Cambridge .  i just picked a sack of US 2-row for $60 last night.  I know I could get it cheaper online, but I don’t have a grain mill so I still need to use one in a store.  Besides that the guys at the Emporium absolutely rock.  They are a great resource for any brewing questions I have, are always really helpful and very nice.  They absolutely deserve to stay in business.  I buy my specialty grains from them as well.  I don’t need to mill the entire sack at once.  As I need base grain for each recipe I bring what I need from home to the store to mill.  Since I bought the sack from them they are totally cool with me doing this.
• Hops: Hops I do buy online.  The two main sites I use are www.freshops.com and www.hopsdirect.com.  Freshops sell only whole leaf hops and are a bit more expensive, but you can get whatever quanity you want.  I am in love with hopsdirect.  The prices are insanely low.  A pound of Cascade hops is current going for $9.65.  The only issue is the smallest size you can get is a pound.  Typically I buy pellets (a pound of whole leaf hops takes up way too much space) and freeze them in airtight bags.
• Yeast: Typically I buy yeast from my local homebrew shop, but I typically reuse a package of yeast 3 or 4 times to get maximum value.
• Water: I use tap water that I run thru a Brita Filter.  I used to buy bottled water, but with all-grain brewing the amount of water required is too much to go bottled.
• Problems with bulk ingredients:  Buying bulk ingredients can save you a good chunk of money, but there are issues.  The biggest issue is maintaining freshness.  By airlocking my hops and freezing them I can greatly increase their usable life.  It is not uncommon for me to use hops from the previous season.  I don’t carry grain over from season to season, but you can keep your grain fresh by storing it in a cool, dark place.  Also, cracked grain should be used within 2 weeks, but can last out to about a month.  Another issue with buying in bulk is you may very well be tying yourself into a certain type of beer for a while.  With something like US 2-row grain it’s not a big deal because you can make a ton of different types of beers with it, but a 55 lb sack of Belgian Pilsner is not nearly as versatile.  I bought a 1 lb bag of Columbus hops last season.  At 14% alpha acid it is a slow grind getting thru the whole bag.