Monday, December 24, 2012

Pliny the Younger

 I received an email from Russian River last week that they would be brewing Pliny the Younger Thursday, December 27th with a planned release at the brew pub the first week of February.  I also received two pounds of my 2012 Amarillo hops that had been back-ordered for a year.  Inspired, I decided to finally make a go at the Younger recipe that I pieced together a few years back but never brewed.  Time presented itself on Christmas Eve, so I went to work.  It was by far the biggest hop schedule I have ever brewed so I decided to use my new hop spider to keep all of the hops contained.  It was also the biggest grain bill I have ever brewed and I was glad to see that my mash tun and herms system could keep up without any problems.  This was a really big beer.  I sampled Younger in 2009 and 2011 and should I not get some this year, at least I will have my own to keep me satisfied, hopefully.

Grains                              Hops                          Results
20# Rahr 2-row               3oz CTZ at 60           1.092 at 7 gallons
1# Carapils                      1oz CTZ at 45           1.104 at 5.9 gallons
2# corn sugar                  1oz Simcoe at 30       70.9 efficiency
                                        3oz Amarillo at 0
                                        2oz Simcoe at 0
Dry Hop Schedule
1.5-2oz total each addition
DH 1-Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial for one week, remove
DH 2-Amarillo, Centennial for one week, remove
DH 3-Simcoe for one week, remove
DH 4-Simcoe, Amarillo dry hop in keg

US-05, two packets                                       
OG-1.100 target 

Vista, CA Water Profile
Water Adjustments (tsp)
Ca=57
.854 Epsom Salt
SO4=136
.825 Baking Soda
Mg=22
.155 Canning Salt
Na=71
1.254 Gypsum
Cl=88
Carb=147
Hard=233

Alk=122


Friday, November 30, 2012

Chocolate Stout

I am typically not a big fan of adjuncts in beer, but I do love chocolate and I do love a good stout.  So I decided to combine the two and brew a chocolate stout for my winter beer.  I made a really great dry stout last winter.  I hit 83% efficiency again with a fly sparge but got a little too aggressive with a 7 gallon runoff and had to boil down an extra 15 minutes.  The 5 minute chocolate addition made the brewery smell wonderful.  I can't wait to sample this beer.


Grains                         Additions                                       Results
9# Marris Otter           1 oz Galena at 60 mins                 7 at 1046
12 oz choc malt          8 oz cocoa powder at 5 mins       5.5 at 1058
8 oz malto dextrin
4 oz C-40
2 oz roasted barley
2 oz black patent
 
mash at 150 for 1 hr
wyeast 1098-British Ale at 65 raised to 68

OG 1056, 5.6% ABV


Mosher's Ideal Stout

.172 Epsom Salt
Ca=57
.608 Baking Soda
SO4=44
.113 Canning Salt
Mg=13
.596 Calcium Chloride
Na=69
.025 Gypsum
Cl=128
RA=69
Carb=143
Cl/Sulfate 2.91
Hard=194
Very Malty
Alky=118

Sunday, November 11, 2012

HOPS

I like Dale's Pale Ale.  It has just the right amount of hops to let you know you are drinking a hoppy beer but not too much to make you shudder.  It has a decent amount of ABV but not too much to make your throat burn.  It may just be the SNPA of the 2010's.  I made a Dale inspired beer for the first time and am excited to sample the results.  I hit 83% efficiency again with a fly sparge.  Loving my new counter-flow wort chiller as well.  It cut down my chill time significantly.  






Grain              Additions                                 Results
9# MO            1 NB at 60                               6.5 at 1062
3# Munich      1 cascade at 30                        5.4 at 1075
.75 c-40           Yeast fuel at 15                      
                        1 Columbus at 10                                  
                        .5 centennial at 0                                  
                                     
mash at 150    .5 centennial dry hop
2 vials WL Cali V at 66-68   og 1071      

Update 11/30-dry hopped and finished at 1020, a little high, but expected for Cali V.  Crash cooled it for 5 days and kegged.  It is pretty tasty and should round into form nicely in a few weeks.                            

Vista, CA Water Profile

Water Adjustments (tsp)
Ca=57
.854 Epsom Salt
SO4=136
.825 Baking Soda
Mg=22
.155 Canning Salt
Na=71
1.254 Gypsum
Cl=88

Carb=147

Hard=233

Alk=122
   

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Watermelon Wheat - Summerfall Beer


I can't believe I missed brewing all of my favorite summer beers because of the move to the new house, so I have decided that I will just brew them for the fall.  It should work out well, since I don't really care for any of those pumpkin or spiced beers out there.  Give me an Oktoberfest any fall day but keep that pumpkin stuff in your pies.  Anyway, I decided to try an after work brew on my newly tweaked brewery.  It was a solid 5 hour session and I didn't turn in until after 1 am, but the automation of the system is really shining.  I probably only had to attend to the brewery for about 2 of the 5 hours, including cleanup.  I have never brewed on a dedicated system before and can't believe how much time I save not having to set up and break down the system each brew session.  I am loving it.   I hit 83.3% efficiency with a fly sparge.  I guess it takes a while to really understand the different sparging techniques and why some get higher numbers than others.  I think I am hooked on fly sparging for now.  It makes the water calculations so easy.

Grains                  Results
5.5# pils               6.8g at 1051
5.5# wheat           5.8g at 1061
.25# c-10
.25# c-20
mash at 154

Additions


60 min boil
1 oz Amarillo at 45 min                                                 
1oz Amarillo at flame out
1 dram watermelon Lorann candy oil at pitching
Notty at 66 for 30 days, keg and serve
OG-1056
fg-1010

Water Adjustments (tsp)
.6 Epsom Salt
.102 Chalk

Ca=36
SO4=61
Mg=17
Na=27
Cl=70
Carb=67
Hard=162
Alk=59

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Brewery 2.0 - Blind Pig - Woot!

I can't believe it has been 6 months since my last brew.  We recently moved so I had to pack up my brewing gear until the new house was ready.  I had to run new electric and water lines and add a venting system to the basement before I could get back up and running.  I also added a new brew stand.  And then I had to find the time to brew.  That time came during a week off from work, thankfully.  I brewed Blind Pig again, I just can't get enough Russian River around here.  The new system worked flawlessly and I decided to fly sparge this one.  I hit 82.5% efficiency.  The venting is so aggressive that I got a little light-headed during the boil.  Still gotta add that make-up air system.  But all in all, it was a great brew day.  I can't wait to brew again.

Grain              Additions                                 Results
13 2-row         1.5 chinook at 60                    6.8 at 1064
.5 wheat          .5 cascade at 30                      5.8 at 1076
.5 c-40            1 cascade at 15                      
.5 carapils       Irish moss at 10                                  
                        .5 amarillo at 2                                  
                        .5 simcoe at 2             
mash at 151    .25 amarillo, .25 simcoe, .5 cascade, 1 centennial dry
s-05 at 66-68   target og 1066                                    
add dry hops to primary on day 7 (60 degrees), 32 degrees on day 12 and rack off on day 14

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Vienna Lager

Since I had room in my fermentation chamber I decided to brew another lager so that I could lager them both as the same time.  I brewed this beer two years ago and it was really tasty, very clean, with a nice malt character.  Last time fermentation took 3 days to start so I made a 1.5 L starter and things were kicking off by the next morning.  This was another after work brew and went flawlessly, hitting all of my numbers and getting 81% efficiency.  I used my single kettle e-BIAB setup.  I love brewing with a single vessel system, it is just so easy.  I stepped the mash from 120>137>152.


Grains Additions Results
7.7 Vienna .175 Saaz FWH
2.25 Munich 2.1 Hallertau at 60 7 gal at 1.044
.45 Caravienne .7 Saaz at 20 6 gal at 1.052
.07 choc malt .525 Saaz at 0 81.49%  Efficiency
mash at 152 Munich Lager 2308 at 55 14 days, lager 6 weeks at 35
60 min boil og 1050

Philly tap water, no adjustments

Fermenting away



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

CAP

I really enjoy after work brewing.  It is a race against the clock to see if I can improve my process.  When I first began brewing I would stress every step of the way and try to write it all down.  Now, after many batches under my belt, my process is much more about feel and I adjust things on the fly.  This brew session was very fluid and fun, hopefully the beer will turn out that way as well.  I chose to brew a Classic American Pilsner with some New Zealand hops that I have never used before.  I am very excited to taste the results.  I used my single kettle e-BIAB setup and blew away my efficiency numbers hitting 92%.  I did a 90 min mash with 15 mins at 125, 15 mins at 144 and 60 mins at 152.  I made a 1.5L starter for 2 days and decanted.



Grains                       Additions                                   Results

 
9 pils 1 NZ Hallertau at 60
3 flaked maize 1 NZ Motueka at 30 8 gal at 1.050
1 rice hulls 1 NZ Motueka at 0 6.3 gal at 1.064
1 Saaz at 0 92.40%  Efficiency
mash at 152 American Lager at 55 14 days, lager 6 weeks at 35
90 boil og 1060
fg 1014

Poland Spring Water







  
Fermentation took off like a rocket