Munich Helles Brewday

Having bought a bulk sack of German Pilz malt,  and now (finally) a kegging system, my plans for the summer are to brew a series of light, refreshing beers, in 5 gallon batches (again, finally), many of which use the Pilz as the base malt. My most recent Hefeweissen was the first in the series, and now, the German Helles is the second.


Munich Helles - 5 Gallons

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.53 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.17 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 4.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 20.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt                   Name                                           
5.25 gal              Boston, MA         
                  
10 lbs                Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)          
12.0 oz               Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                      
4.0 oz                Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM)             

2.00 oz               Hallertauer [2.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min    

1.0 pkg               German Lager (White Labs #WLP830)
   
Mash Schedule: Light Body, 150F, 168F, 7.5 Gallon into Kettle

Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs
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Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 17.75 qt of water at 161.2 F                     150.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 8.80 qt of water at 210.6 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 3.21gal) of 168.0 F water

Notes:
Mash Mineral Additions: 6g Gypsum, 6g CaCl2 into 17.75 qt / 4.44 gal Mash water.


5/27/15
Made a starter with stored WY380, German Lager. By 5/30/15 it appeared that the starter had fully fermented. I am a little concerned that the yeast is not fully healthy.

Immediately after oxygen and pitching.

5/31/15
Brewed on my own. Used the EZ_Water_Calculator_3.02 spreadsheet to calculate my mas water additions. No additions to mash-out or sparge water.

Finally used my cheap Chinese pH meter, after calibrating and adjusting in 7.0 pH solution. Pulled a small sample of the mash, let cool to room temps, and measured pH at 5.2. Right on target! Yay! At mash temps the meter was reading 5.0, but apparently that's meaningless since the meter is not designed for high temps, and the high temps can damage the electrode. I also got some pH meter storage solution to keep the electrode in good shape.

Pre-boil OG was 1.043. Not completely sure of the volume.

Cooled to 110F, then racked to fermentor and placed in fermentation fridge set at 45F to complete cooling.

Post-boil OG was 1.053, and I got about 5.2 gallons into the fermenter, before addition of starter. Slightly high OG, I guess either to being slightly higher efficiency, slightly lower volume, or both.

Gave 60 seconds of pure 02, decanted chilled starter beer, and pitch the starter. The beer was a little too warm, like 50F, but the fermentation schedule will bring it to 45F for 12 hours before ramping to 50F. So probably not a problem.

Took a gravity of the starter - it was about 1.010. So it had fermented properly, and quickly.

6/3/15
A thin lager krausen has formed. It's mostly white with darker chunks of yeast floating on top. Yum! Airlock activity was low. This fermentation style is more typical of lagers. 

Hefeweissen #3 Review

This is my third Hefeweissen, but the first to use my temp-controlled fridge to ensure the "right" temperature of 62F during fermentation.

I was a bit afraid since I stupidly set the wrong program running on my HTC-1000+, which started ramping up from 62F a day too early. But, this yeast was a very vigorous fermenter and my guess is that most of the fermentation occurred within the first two days, when the beer was indeed held at 62F. Also I did wonder with such a vigorous fermentation and the temperature probe taped to the side of the carboy, whether the temp in the middle of the carboy would be significantly higher. I suppose though that the taste of the beer will ultimately be the best indicator of whether the process was correct.

Appearance: Light, hazy orange with fluffy, white and persistent foam. Good lacing. Appropriately cloudy. (The first few pours from the keg were too yeasty giving the beer a nasty white-gray appearance and overly yeasty taste, but at this point the level of yeast in the beer is correct.)
 
Aroma: Yeasty, a little phenolic, slightly bready. What I would expect from a Hefeweisen. Doesn't have a strong banana or bubblegum aroma. Overall pretty restrained but to-style.

Taste: Again yeasty, but with a nice maltiness and some bready notes. Some cloves and phenolic notes, but again fairly restrained, as it should be. I might get a hint of sourness.

Mouthfeel: A little too "chewy" for the style. It should be a bit more carbonated, which may also help to give it a more billowing head. Medium fizziness. Low sweetness, so fairly crisp. Yeasty and clove like aftertaste. (I recently got a kegging system but I am still fiddling with it to fix leaks. Will now carb this up a bit to 16PSI for ~3 volumes of CO2.). In my stomach, it's filling.

Overall:  Much better than my previous two attempts. Fairly restrained in character, but none of the great German wheat beers are over-the-top in character, and JZ in Brewing Classic Styles that restraint is important in this style. Refreshing for a summer day, and with a moderate ABV, can be consumed in quantity. Could be a bit more bready - maybe try a decoction mash? F
or next time, run the right program in the STC-1000+.

Lemon Drop Review

This beer is all about the chosen variety of hops - Lemon Drop. It's designed to showcase that hop's character. Also it was the first beer to grace my new kegging setup. Yay! Now let's see how it tastes.

Appearance: After about 2 weeks in the keg it is nearly crystal clear, with a light golden / orange hue. Billowing and long lasting white head that sticks to the side of the glass.

Aroma: Mixed fruity and piney. Gets fruitier as it warms. Moderate intensity of hops. I get a pretty Cascade like character and surprisingly for the name and reputation of Lemon Drop hops I don't get a huge lemony character. Instead it's subtle. I was expecting it to be like a burst of citric acid, but it's like lemon without the overpowering sour / citric acid smell. There's a malt background but dominated by the hops.

Taste: Fruity and well-balanced bitterness. I somehow get more lemon in the taste than in the aroma, but not like sucking on a lemon. Again subdued malty quality, grainy and fairly dry. Bitterness is not overpowering but present.

Moutfeel: Moderate body and carbonation. Aftertaste is bitter and lemony but not strongly so.

Overall: Very pleasant IPA. Appropriate for the summer.
Well balanced and moderately aromatic. Not the most complex or hop-bomb IPA but I do like it. It seems to me that the Lemon Drop hops will go well with summery, low ABV beers that need some hoppy quality. I'll consider using them in the future and maybe mixing them up with some other hops.

 

Hefeweissen Brewday

My previous two attempts at Bavarian Hefeweissen sucked. They just didn't have anything close to the right clovely, banana-y, and bready taste of this elegant and refreshing style. However, that was before I had a temperature controlled fridge with which to hit the optimal temperature of 68F. For this attempt, my focus will be on handling the yeast and fermentation properly try to get the right flavor.

Bavarian Weissbier
5 Gallons

6# German White Wheat Malt
4# German Pilz  Malt
1# Munich

1oz Lemondrop, 4.4%, 60 mins

WY3068 - Weinstephaner Wheat

Mash at 152F, boil 90 min

Expected OG/FG/IBU/ABV: 1.053, 1.014, 12, 5.35%

 Made starter on 5/7/15, it fermented well at 65F, and was dormant by brew day.

Brewed 5/10/15
My mash temp was a little low, more like 150F.

Pre-boil OG was 1.039

Boiled for 90 min.

Post-boil OG was 1.052, so almost exactly on target.

Note: choice of hops was not to-style, but I really wonder if the taste of these particular hops will come through given the low IBUs. In any case the kind of lemony, fruity note of Lemondrop hops will not be inappropriate for this style.

Chilled to 95F with whirlpooling wort, then racked to carboy, and place in temp-controlled fridge set to hold at 62F.

Once pitched, started this fermentation program (Prog 5) on my modded STC-1000+:

•  62F for 3 days
• Then ramp over 1 day to 68F.
• Hold 68F for 4 days.
• Crash to 35F.

There was only 5 gallons of wort in my fermentor after pitching the starter. Crap! I was aiming for 5.25. Well, maybe I will make some top-off beer using extract, but that's not quite optimal. 

5/11/15
By 5:30pm the beer was fermenting VERY actively despite the restrained fermentation temperature. A huge billowing krausen was on top of the beer. Fridge programmed to hold 62F but given the activity of the fermentation it must be warmer in the center of the carboy. Next time and depending on how the beer turns out I may program it for 60F - 61F instead.