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

Gina's English Cider

Since I don't get to hang with my sister as much as I used to, I decided to pack as much into one brew day as possible.  We made another batch of her favorite recipe, an English cider, while Blind Pig was mashing.  She introduced me to English cider a few years ago and it was nothing like the stuff we used to call Woodchuck-only nights back in college.  This recipe is from another homebrewer on homebrewtalk and I take no credit for it, but it is near perfection.  The recipe is a dead ringer for Aspall's dry English cider.  This is batch #3, and I only make it once a year.  The cider finishes dry to off-dry, around 1.002, 6.4% abv.

Gina's English Cider
5 gallons store bought apple juice (I prefer the kosher apple juice)
5 black teabags (English or Irish Breakfast)
3 key limes (or one regular lime)
1 pack s-04 yeast
(yeast nutrients as needed)

Directions
Add juice of lime(s) to 4 cups of water, bring to a boil then turn off heat. Steep teabags for 7-10 mins, cool for a few mins then add to carboy. Add nutrients and juice into carboy with an aggressive pour to help aerate the juice. Add yeast, put an airlock on then place in a cool (60F-70F) environment.

Primary for one month, then rack to secondary, topping off with juice. Leave in secondary until crystal clear (usually 2-3 months or so from pitching) then bottle with 4oz priming sugar.

Takes about a month to carbonate, tastes good after 3 months, but just gets better with age. I usually start opening bottles about 5 months after pitching.

I made this recipe with really expensive fresh pressed cider a few years ago and it was terrible.  A word to the wise, stick with the store bought cheap stuff.   

Blind Pig - Experimental Partigyle

Almost a NYE brew, the Femme Fermental and I set aside the afternoon to brew up a batch of Blind Pig.  We are both raving fans of pretty much anything Russian River so I was very excited to brew the Pig.  I sourced the recipe from several different forums and decided to brew the current version, not the oak aged version that Vinnie originally brewed back in the day.  It was a really fun brew day because we also made a batch of English cider during the mash and an experimental partigyle batch from the second mash runnings.  The Femme Fermental handled the partigyle and she decided to go with a single hop all Centennial brew.  She continuously hopped it during the last 30 mins of the boil.  To keep with the experimental theme I used some S-33 yeast.  For some reason my mash efficiency was way down on the Blind Pig but spot on for the partigyle mash.  Maybe some dough balls, who knows.  I used my single kettle e-BIAB setup.  The beer will come in at 6.2% instead of 7.5%, so we will see.  I am sure it will be very tasty regardless.

1/27/12 - This beer is fantastic and I think it is my best tasting IPA yet.  Blind Pig is making its rounds at local bars right now and I happily sit at home drinking mine.  I am going to enter this in a competition to see how it scores.  It may be a bit young still, but it is darn tasty.

Grain              Additions                                 Results

13 2-row         1.5 chinook at 60                    6.8 at 1050

.5 wheat          .5 cascade at 30                      5.8 at 1058

.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   og 1066                                    

add dry hops to primary on day 7 (60 degrees), 32 degrees on day 12 and rack off on day 14
FG 1.012

All Centennial 2 gallon partigyle
.5 oz Centennial at 60
.5 oz continuously hopped from 30 to 0
1040 OG
S-33 yeast
fg 1.012

2/1-Sampled the partigyle and it certainly showcases the Centennial hop.  It is much more bitter than I thought it would be, but after the first few sips, that mellows.  Obviously, it lacks the hop complexity of its big brother, but makes for a nice session beer with some hop bite.

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

Current Brewery

I thought I would post my current brewing setup for posterity's sake given the fact that it has gone through several iterations and revisions.  I am sure I will continue to tweak it as the years go on.  I have learned a lot about brewing in the design and implementation of the system.  I am a wanna-be engineer for sure.  3 years ago I was fly sparging with a 3-tier system, and not doing it very well to be honest.  I discovered Homebrewtalk and made friends with a fellow poster Jkarp who posted his Countertop Brutus 20 system, aka CB20.  I dove head-first into the deep end of electric brewing, very much with the kind help of Jkarp. Many experiments later, I finally integrated my original 3-tier system into a multi-functional brewing system that can be used for big or small batches, with or without HERMS, BIAB or traditional batch sparge, closed system wort cooling, a pre-chiller option for the summer, and can do partigyle mashes on big beers.  I experimented with a Shirron plate chiller in my original CB20 system and have gone back to an immersion chiller with whirlpool and like it very much.  Everything is 120v and I brew in my kitchen.  I can brew 3 gallon BIAB batches after work in 3 hours, or full 5 gallon batches in 5 hours.

Option #1-The Big Rig

HERMS with Batch Sparge, Closed System Cooling, Pre-Chiller, or Partigyle Options

BK and MLT are 10 gallon SS Megapots insulated with reflectix. BK has two 1500w ULWD elements run on separate circuits. MLT has one 1500w HD element to heat strike water only and has a false bottom. HLT/HERMS is an 8 gallon SS Megapot with two 1500w ULWD elements (only one needed during HERMS).  Pumps and PID are built into a Stanley rolling toolbox with switches.  The AC-1 pump recirculates the HLT water during HERMS to prevent stratification and can then be used to move water to the MLT for a batch sparge or a partigyle mash.  BK and HERMS-out have thermocouples.  HLT/HERMS vessel can be used for closed system cooling with ice or as a pre-chiller to my IC in the summer.  All connections, except the AC-1 pump connections, are Mcmaster quick-connects.

 

Option #2 - Big Batch BIAB


This is by far my favorite setup.  It is so easy to set up and take down.  I use three to four 5-gallon paint strainer bags for my grains and put them directly in the BK for the mash.  I recirculate during the mash with PID control to keep temps even.  I protect the element from the bags with a stainless flat strainer used for steaming broccoli.  I can go as high as 1065 with this setup.  I often do a "dunk sparge" in a second 5 gallon pot rotating the bags as they drain over the BK.  Cleanup is a breeze with the bags and no MLT to clean.

Option #3-Small Batch BIAB with integrated chiller

After I built my original CB20 system with my two 10 gallon megapots, my original 8 gallon megapot was sitting around collecting dust so I decided to play around with it.  I wanted to see if I could integrate a chiller into the pot that would also function as a HERMS coil if I ever wanted to go that direction.  I used a 20' copper coil from HD and it did a really nice job of chilling a smaller 3-4 gallon batch.  I built a thermocouple into the outlet so that it also functions as a HERMS coil.  I recirculate during the mash with PID control to keep temps even and protect the element from the bag with wire mesh from a bazooka screen that I ripped open.  This is my 3-gallon test batch system.  It is great for quick brews after work.

Old CB20 system no longer in use:

Huma Lupa Licious - Ordinary Bitter Partigyle

The last time we were in northern Michigan we made the trek to Bellaire and visited Short's Brewing Company.  The sandwiches in the brewpub were amazing, as was the beer.  This beer is inspired by their flagship IPA, Huma Lupa Licious, which is an absolutely amazing beer.  A self proclaimed "hop theme park".  With 7 ounces in the boil, and 4 ounces in the dry hop, this will be a hop bomb for sure.  I used my single kettle e-BIAB setup with a 2 gallon "dunk sparge" and missed my OG by 4 points, coming in at 1065 instead of 1069.  I think I have reached the limits of my single kettle setup with this 15 lb mash.  Anything bigger and I would use my 3 kettle system.  I decided to see what was left out of the mash and took a 3 gallon "third" runnings and it was only 1016.  I boiled it down and finally ended up with about 1.5 gallons at 1035 to make an English mild.  We will see if it was worth my trouble.  I still love the ease of my single kettle system though, and the bags make cleanup a snap.  I am excited to try a different dry hopping technique that I read about from an article by Vinnie from Russian River.

1/27/12 - This beer is a big, big hop bomb, however it does have a nice balance to it.  I was thinking of calling it Hop Slick because it reminds me of Moylan's Hopsickle, but I might have to call it Palate Wrecker.  If you drink this beer first, it completely changes your palate for the rest of the evening.  I might play with this recipe in the future.  I am going to enter this one in a competition to see how it scores.  

Grains            Additions                   Results

11.5 2-row      2 columbus at 60       6.5 collected at 1056

1.5 c-60          2 cascade at 30           5.5 at 1065

1 munich        2 centennial at 10     fg 1014

.5 c-20            1 cascade at 0             

.5 wheat          2 columbus dry                      

                       2 cascade dry 

mash at 151    60 min boil                 

s-05 at 66-68   og 1069                       

add dry hops to primary on day 7 (60 degrees), 32 degrees on day 12 and rack off on day 14

3 gallon English bitter partigyle at 1016

Boiled down to 1025, then 60 min boil

.5 oz fuggle at 60

.25 fuggle at 30

.25 fuggle.cascade at 1

Windsor yeast

1035 OG

2/2/12-I don't know why I am amazed by partigyle brewing, but I am.  The ordinary bitters that I have been making out of my IPAs have been just great.  This one did not disappoint.  Windsor may be my new favorite English yeast.  This beer has a lot of Bass type flavor, but is much more smooth.  If I was told it was Bass, I might even believe it.  This is a winner. 

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

Spiced Winter Ale

I brewed a spiced winter ale at my wife's request Friday evening.  Hopefully it will turn out well.  I thought about making a winter warmer, but not being a fan of them, I thought this lower gravity recipe was a better choice.  The spice additions made the house smell wonderful.  I used my single kettle e-BIAB setup with a 2 gallon "dunk sparge" and it was perhaps my easiest brew day ever.  I hit all my numbers on the dot and could not have been more pleased.  S-04 took off like a rocket by the next morning.

Grains Additions Results 11# 2-row 1.2 oz EKG 5% at 60 7 g pre at 1050 .5# aromatic 1/2 tsp cinn at 1 min 5.9 g post at 1060 .5# c-40 1/4 tsp ginger at 1 min 77.8% efficiency .5# c-120 1/8 tsp allspice at 1 min 60 m boil  .25# special roast 1/8 tsp nutmeg at 1 min fg 1014 mash at 154 s-04 at 68 og 1056
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

Taddy Porter

With nothing in the pipeline, I needed to get something in a fermenter asap.  That meant some late night brewing.  I am a big fan of Taddy Porter and have really wanted to brew this recipe for some time.  I used my single kettle e-BIAB setup with a 2 gallon "dunk sparge" and overshot my intended pre-boil volume by almost a half gallon.  That meant for a longer boil off before my first addition and a fairly late night.  I pitched my Notty and unfortunately 48 hours later, nada.  I pitched another package and got some mild activity.  Notty is turning out to be rather spotty for me, either it takes off like a madman, or piddles along.

Update (11-20)-Did a side by side with the real thing and this beer is extremely close.  With a few more weeks, I think it will be perfect.  Very nice roasted coffee character, needs a little more head and mouthfeel right now though.

Update (12-12)-This beer just got amazing, a really, really good beer.  The strong roasted flavor has mellowed a bit from 11-20 and is now perfect.  The mouthfeel and head retention has developed and the lacing is spot on.  This is a great beer and I am going to submit it to a homebrew competition and see how it scores.

Grains		Additions			Results
9.5 2-row		1.25 oz fuggle 60 min			7.4 collected at 1040
1 brown malt		.5 oz fuggle 10 min			7.0 g pre at 1044
1 c-40					5.5 g post at 1055
10 oz choc malt		notty at 67			Efficiency 76.6%
mash 152		OG 1056			60 m boil

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