Brett Table Saison Review

Appearance: Billowing, dense white head with excellent retention. Golden hazy body with lots of little bubbles rising up the side of the glass.

Aroma: Immediate impression of mild bretty funk. Not super fruity, just bretty. Maybe aspiriny smell. Earthy hop character and malt character is minimal. Pleasant. I don't get any notes of cherry, despite the name of the yeast.

Taste: Brett is the star here. Light funk, aspirin like notes, maybe a little bit of acidity. Hop flavor is low. Not much in the way of malt, as whatever malt notes one can get from a 1.030OG beer are surely covered by the brett here.

Mouthfeel: A bit thin and watery, unsurprisingly. Quite dry, but not highly carbonated enough to give it a tingly feeling like champagne. Does leave a bretty aftertaste.

Overall: Light in brett funk, refreshing and at 3.3% very easy drinking. I may brew a beer like this again, though since it's the parti-gyle of a 12% wheatwine, I will have to use a different recipe since I don't plan to brew another huge beer for a while. 

Chocolate-Cherry Stout

Appearance: Very dark body, billowing tan head with good retention. Decent lacing. No hints of reddish color from the cherries.

Aroma: Vaguely reminiscent of cherries and chocolate - so not overwhelming. Light booziness in the nose. Maybe some earthy hops.

Taste: Hard to place, light roasty quality in the body, with the chocolate and cherry coming through a bit in the finish. Alcohol is there, contributes to the dryness. Maybe a slight tannic quality in the finish

Moutfeel: Fairly light in body. Good carbonation.

Overall: Pleasant but not great. I wish the chocolate and cherry were more prominent so that it was very obviously a Black Forest stout. Next time I would use a little more caramel malt to counteract the dryness and bitterness.

Smokey Porter Dec 2016

Brown Porter recipe with 1/3 of the base malt as smoke malt, and Carafa III-Dehusked for the dark malt.


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Smoke Porter Dec 2016
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.25 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal 
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 38.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.4 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU       
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -           
6.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   2        -           
3.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   3        -           
5 lbs                 Maris Otter Malt (Muntons) (3.0 SRM)     Grain         4        44.4 %      
2 lbs                 Brown Malt (65.0 SRM)                    Grain         5        17.8 %      
1 lbs 8.0 oz          Smoked Malt (Briess - Cherry)  (9.0 SRM)  Grain         6        13.3 %      
1 lbs 8.0 oz          Smoked Malt (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM)        Grain         7        13.3 %      
8.0 oz                Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)          Grain         8        4.4 %       
8.0 oz                Carafa Special III (Weyermann) (470.0 SR Grain         9        4.4 %       
4.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)   Grain         10       2.2 %       
1.00 oz               Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min          Hop           11       15.1 IBUs   
1.00 oz               Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min          Hop           12       11.6 IBUs   
1.00 oz               Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min          Hop           13       5.5 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               S-04 [23.66 ml]       Yeast         14       -           


Mash Schedule: 154F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time   
Mash Step               Add 15.06 qt of water at 167.4 F                     154.0 F       60 min      
Mash Step               Add 9.00 qt of water at 195.9 F                      168.0 F       10 min      

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.58gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------

Brewed 12/10/16. Mash temp a bit low - maybe 151F - 152F.

Got 7 gallons of 1.049 wort, and 5.9 gallons of 1.054 wort. 5.5 gallons into the fermenter at 110F, allowed to cool in the 25F ambient air, pitched rehydrated yest when 66F. Active fermentation ~20 hours later.

12/24/16: Kegged with sugar, aiming for 2.25 volumes.

Wheatwine & Brett Table Saison Brew Day

I've been wanting to brew a Wheat Wine Ale for while, ever since seeing the recipe in Modern Homebrew Recipes. Of course, I made some substitutions for the hops and grain that were available to me. And, since 24.5 pounds of grain is a lot, I decided to get a batch of Brett Saison with the partigyle batch.

Wheat Wine ferments

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Wheatwine
Style: Wheatwine
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.121 SG
Estimated Color: 12.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 48.4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.9 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
8.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   2        -            
5.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   3        -            
2 lbs                 Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM)                     Adjunct       4        7.1 %        
10 lbs                Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)                Grain         5        35.7 %       
4 lbs                 Wheat Malt, Dark (9.0 SRM)               Grain         6        14.3 %       
3 lbs                 Munich (BestMälz) (7.6 SRM)              Grain         7        10.7 %       
3 lbs                 Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         8        10.7 %       
1 lbs                 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)    Grain         9        3.6 %        
1 lbs                 Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)                    Grain         10       3.6 %        
1 lbs                 Wheat - Red Malt (Briess) (2.3 SRM)      Grain         11       3.6 %        
1 lbs                 Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)                  Grain         12       3.6 %        
8.0 oz                Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         13       1.8 %        
1 lbs 8.0 oz          Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM)         Sugar         14       5.4 %        
1.00 oz               Equinox (HBC 366) [14.20 %] - Boil 10.0  Hop           15       10.1 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Simcoe [12.90 %] - Boil 10.0 min         Hop           16       9.1 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Equinox (HBC 366) [14.20 %] - Boil 1.0 m Hop           17       1.2 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min          Hop           18       1.1 IBUs     
2.00 oz               Galaxy [14.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  60.0 Hop           19       27.4 IBUs    
2.0 pkg               California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35. Yeast         20       -        

1 oz each of Centennial, Calypso, Simcoe and Azacca, dry, 7 days  


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 28 lbs
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 31.80 qt of water at 108.9 F                     104.0 F       10 min       
Mash Step               Add 0.00 qt of water and heat to 131.0 F over 10 min 131.0 F       15 min       
Mash Step               Heat to 146.0 F over 10 min                          146.0 F       40 min       
Mash Step               Heat to 158.0 F over 10 min                          158.0 F       15 min       
Mash Step               Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min                          168.0 F       15 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 3.82gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:

Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brewed 11/16/16.
Wheat Wine
Not completely sure I got the right temp on the rests. Even stirring the mash constantly there seemed to be variation around 5F-10F in the temperature of the mash.

Ended up with about 5.75 gallons of wort into the fermenter at 1.110 OG, lower than hoped both for gravity and volume. But given this is a very high gravity beer a low efficiency is expected. And, there was a lot of trub that got into the fermenter.

May use DME to brew some top-off beer to get up to the right volume.

Made a starter with 1 pack of dry yeast. Added that and a second pack of dry yeast when beer was 65F. After ~12 hours, good activity. After 36 hours, very rapid fermentation. Ambient temps in the 62F - 65F range. Tomorrow will move been to warmer place.

Color of the wort was beautiful deep amber. It tasted like malt candy. Very sweet and very malty.

Racked to secondary in mid-December.

Added dry hops on 2/25/17, will crash cool, keg and force carbonate in a week.

Hydrometer sample read the FG as 1.030, a bit over the predicted final gravity of 1.027 or so. Taste was a perhaps a bit too sweet. The recipe in Modern Homebrew Recipes had an FG of 1.018, significantly lower than my beer here. Maybe will taste a few samples of the carbed beer then if needed pitch a small starter of US-05 to dry it out a bit more, but would really prefer not to do that.

Brett Table Saison ferments

Brett Table Saison
Same mash as above but with no sugar, partigyled with ~6.5 gallons of 180F water.
Hop schedule was 1oz Tettnanger, 4%, at 60 min, 1oz Tettnanger, 4% at 10 min.

Got 5.1 gallons into fermenter at 1.030 OG. So, around 18% mash efficiency.

Shook to aerate, then pitched left over Tart Cherry Brett left over from a previous beer. No starter.

Wort was light amber color. The taste was fairly bland. Not sweet, and not much malt character. We'll see....

After around 36 hours, active fermentation has begun, with thin white krausen forming on the top of the beer.

Black IPA Review

Appearance: Dark body, deep mahogany when held up to the light, with sticky off-white head. Good head retention.

Aroma: Tropical fruit, similar to the pale ale I brewed with the combination of Azacca and Nelson. Not much pineyness. Would be "juicy" but a moderate background note of chocolate and slight crystal malt sweetness moderates that. As it warms the hop character comes out more, making it more juicy.

Taste: Hard to place, mix of juiciness and chocolatey quality in the aftertaste. Bitterness is moderate and not harsh. Tastes less juicy that it smells. Fortunately the hop and dark malt characters do not clash.

Mouthfeel: Light body, pretty dry, a little bit of residual sweetness. Carbonation moderate. Drinkable. Maybe a hint of booziness considering it's ~7% ABV.

Overall: Pretty good. The flavors and aromas meld pretty well. I wish I taste it blind and compare to a normal IPA with the same hopping etc. but without the dark malt, so that I could really taste how much difference the dark malt really makes. Not sure how reliably I could distinguish it from a normal IPA. It reminds me of the American Stout I brewed following the recipe from BCS but with less sweetness and less body. Don't think I would change anything.

Chocolate Cherry Stout

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Chocolate Raspberry Stout

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.25 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.065 SG
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
3.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   2        -            
3.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   3        -            
13 lbs                Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM)           Grain         4        83.9 %       
12.0 oz               Carafa Special III (Weyermann) (470.0 SR Grain         5        4.8 %        
10.0 oz               Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)    Grain         6        4.0 %        
10.0 oz               Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)    Grain         7        4.0 %        
8.0 oz                Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM)           Grain         8        3.2 %        
0.75 oz               Sterling [7.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min        Hop           9        15.7 IBUs    
0.50 oz               Magnum [10.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min         Hop           10       15.0 IBUs   

1.0 pkg               SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast         12       -


2.00 oz               Cacao Husks,  vodka flavor extraction
            
6 lbs                   Cherries (Primary 7.0 days)       Flavor        13       -            


Mash Schedule: 152F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 15 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 20.38 qt of water at 165.3 F                     152.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 12.40 qt of water at 199.4 F                     168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 0.92gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------

Brewed 11/13/16. Got 5.5 gallons of wort into the fermenter at 1.070.

Cooled to 66F, oxygenated 20 seconds and pitched re-hydrated S-04.

Active fermentation by 7am on 11/14/16. By that afternoon, pretty good krausen.

11/15/16 - Moved to 70F ambient. Fermentation was ongoing.

 11/19/16 - Got 2 bags of cherries from Costco, heated to 180F to pasteurize, cooled, then dumped into my wide-mouthed fermenter. The next day, more bubbling as fermentation picked up again.

11/23/16 - Dumped chocolate husks and vodka into fermenter. Now there are around 6.25 gallons of beer, trub, cherries and liquid in the ferementer.

11/27/16 - After crash cooling, kegged with sugar aiming for 2.25 volumes of CO2. Sample tasted good - chocolate up front, cherry in the back.

Black IPA #1

As per Modern Homebrew Recipes by Gordon Strong, with hop substitutions, and slight malt substitution (I ran out of bulk 2-row, so substituted 1# of Pils malt.)

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Black IPA #1
Style: Black IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 8.04 gal
Post Boil Volume: 7.29 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.065 SG
Estimated Color: 26.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 49.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.4 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
3.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   2        -            
3.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   3        -            
9 lbs                 Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)   Grain         4        57.4 %       
3 lbs                 Golden Promise (Simpsons) (2.0 SRM)      Grain         5        19.1 %       
1 lbs                 Carafa Special II (Weyermann) (415.0 SRM Grain         6        6.4 %        
1 lbs                 Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         7        6.4 %        
8.0 oz                Munich (BestMälz) (7.6 SRM)              Grain         8        3.2 %        
3.0 oz                Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         9        1.2 %        
1 lbs                 Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM)         Sugar         10       6.4 %        
1.00 oz               Azacca [15.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min         Hop           11       18.9 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Azacca [15.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop           12       15.2 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpoo Hop           13       15.2 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)  Yeast         14       -            
2.00 oz               Azacca [15.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days      Hop           15       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: 152F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 15 lbs 11.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperature Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 19.36 qt of water at 165.3 F                     152.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 11.75 qt of water at 199.5 F                     168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.28gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------

Brewed 10/29/16:

Starter made, with re-used yeast.

8 gallon into kettle, 1.0526, before sugar.

Boiled down to ~7.25 gallons with 1.070 gravity. A little high but should be OK.

After steeping for 15F, cooled to 100F, and let cool overnight. Pitched at 66F, no aeration, on 10/30/16 around 9am.

Active bubbling and krausen by 9pm. The next day was very active fermentation.

11/5/16
Added 2oz of Azacca, dry hops. ~67 F ambient.

Rauchbier 2016

Brewed 9/4/16.

Pitched @ 45F, but oxygen regulator broke, so shook carboy. Good thing I made a large starter w/ reused yeast from a previous batch.  Still fermentation seemed to go well.

Fermented at 50F, once complete raised to 65F for diacetyl rest, cooled to 35F. Racked to keg and force carbed. Still lagering as of 10/20/16.



BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Bamberger Rauchbier 2016
Style: Rauchbier
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 13.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 28.4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
3.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   2        -            
2.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   3        -            
4 lbs                 Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         4        32.7 %       
4 lbs                 Smoked Malt (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM)        Grain         5        32.7 %       
1 lbs                 Caramel Malt - 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM)   Grain         6        8.2 %        
1 lbs                 Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM)           Grain         7        8.2 %        
1 lbs                 Munich II (Weyermann) (8.5 SRM)          Grain         8        8.2 %        
8.0 oz                Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)             Grain         9        4.1 %        
8.0 oz                Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)                    Grain         10       4.1 %        
4.0 oz                Carafa II (Weyermann) (415.0 SRM)        Grain         11       2.0 %        
2.00 oz               Tettnang (Tettnang Tettnager) [4.00 %] - Hop           12       26.7 IBUs    
0.50 oz               Tettnang [2.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min        Hop           13       1.1 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Tettnang [2.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min         Hop           14       0.6 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Old Bavarian Lager (White Labs #WLP920)  Yeast         15       -            


Mash Schedule: 150F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 16.31 qt of water at 162.8 F                     150.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 9.80 qt of water at 203.7 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.83gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------


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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Czech Lager 2016

Rebrew of previously brewed Czech Lager.

Result: Very similar to last time, but this time the result is slightly drier, and less rounded maltiness. Didn't do decoction this time. Still a wonderful beer as it is quite tasty but not highly alcoholic. Highly sessionable. Next time, use decoction.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Czech Pale Lager 2016
Style: Czech Pale Lager
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.54 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.89 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.044 SG
Estimated Color: 4.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 36.4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 77.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.25 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
7 lbs 8.0 oz          Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         2        86.9 %       
7.0 oz                Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM)               Grain         3        5.1 %        
6.0 oz                Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)                Grain         4        4.3 %        
5.0 oz                Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         5        3.6 %        
0.50 oz               Magnum [11.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min   Hop           6        23.7 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Tettnang [3.90 %] - Boil 15.0 min        Hop           7        7.6 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Saaz [2.80 %] - Boil 10.0 min            Hop           8        2.0 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Saaz [2.80 %] - Boil 5.0 min             Hop           9        1.1 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Saaz [2.80 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  10.0 mi Hop           10       2.0 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70)  Yeast         11       -            


Mash Schedule: 154F, Batch Sparge, Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 8 lbs 10.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 13.78 qt of water at 168.2 F                     156.0 F       45 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 5.87gal) of 180 F water
Notes:
------
http://byo.com/stories/issue/item/3244-czech-pale-lager-style-profile
5 g calcium chloride (CaCl2) to the mash
3 g CaCl2 to the sparge water.

Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

APA 2016

Been busy, so recipes and reviews will be short and to the point.

Results: Very hazy since skipped Irish moss. Good but delicate hop aroma, fruity juicy. Taste was also a bit juicy, but slightly harsh bitterness. Overall very pleasant New England style APA. Next time should be slightly less bitter.

Recipe: APA October 2016
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.89 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.89 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 6.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 41.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.25 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
6.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   2        -            
3.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   3        -            
8 lbs 8.0 oz          Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         4        81.0 %       
10.0 oz               Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                    Grain         5        6.0 %        
10.0 oz               Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         6        6.0 %        
8.0 oz                White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)               Grain         7        4.8 %        
4.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)    Grain         8        2.4 %        
1.00 oz               Azacca [15.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop           9        10.8 IBUs    
2.00 oz               Azacca [15.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min          Hop           10       4.7 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min   Hop           11       1.9 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Azacca [15.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  15.0 Hop           12       13.4 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpoo Hop           13       10.7 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)  Yeast         14       -            
2.00 oz               Azacca [15.00 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Days      Hop           15       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: 154F, Batch Sparge, Mash Out, 6.8 gal
Total Grain Weight: 10 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 17.12 qt of water at 165.7 F                     154.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 8.40 qt of water at 201.5 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.76gal) of 168.0 F water

Raspberry-Brett Saison

Originally planned as a cherry-brett saison, this one transformed into a raspberry beer since I could not find fresh sour cherries. In any case this beer is now a few months old and ready to drink.

Appearance: Medium pink in color with thin white head. Nearly clear but slight haze. Stunning body color, with hings of yellow pils malt color at the bottom of the glass. Lots of bubbles are rising to the surface from the bottom of the glass.
 
Aroma: Pronounced raspberry essence with bretty funk in the nose. A bit of a dry acidic quality. The raspberry aroma is not overpowering of the bretty funk - leaving a pretty balanced aroma. Not clear how much of the aroma is bretty fruit esters or raspberry.

Taste: Again good mix of raspberry taste with some acidic and tannic quality, but mixed with bretty funk. Dry. Bitterness is medium and it is a herbal, floral character. Fortunately the flavors all meld pretty well together. Malt flavors are very low as the fruit, yeast, and hops are the stars here.

Mouthfeel: Dry, a little tannic and fairly light and well carbonated.

Overall: This turned out very well. It's well balanced between the different flavor elements involved. The raspberry blends well with the brett and the bitterness. I may bottle a bit more of this to see how it ages, but otherwise I like it fresh. Will bring bottles to the brew club meetings to see what the club members have to say.

Oktoberfest 2 Brewday

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: BCS Oktoberfest 2
Style: Märzen
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 11.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 22.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.9 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
2.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   2        -            
2.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   3        -            
5 lbs                 Caramel Pils (BestMälz) (2.5 SRM)        Grain         4        38.5 %       
3 lbs                 Vienna Malt (Briess) (3.5 SRM)           Grain         5        23.1 %       
2 lbs                 Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM)           Grain         6        15.4 %       
2 lbs                 Munich II (Weyermann) (8.5 SRM)          Grain         7        15.4 %       
1 lbs                 Caramunich II (Weyermann) (63.0 SRM)     Grain         8        7.7 %        
1.50 oz               Tettnang [2.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min        Hop           9        9.6 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Sterling [7.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min        Hop           10       11.2 IBUs    
0.50 oz               Tettnang [2.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min        Hop           11       1.6 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Old Bavarian Lager (White Labs #WLP920)  Yeast         12       -            


Mash Schedule: 150F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 17.25 qt of water at 162.8 F                     150.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 10.40 qt of water at 203.6 F                     168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.53gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
-----

Brewed 8/14/16. OG was 1.061, a bit too high. Got ~5.5 gallons. Cooled to 45F overnight.

Pitched decanted starter on 8/15/16, 7pm. Aerated by shaking carboy as oxygen regulator was not working. May pitch a packet of S-34/70. The beer will slowly rise to 50F over a 24-hr period.

8/16/16, 7pm, about 24 hours after pitching, no visible signs of fermentation. Beer was close to the 50F fermentation temp.

8/17/16: About 48 hours after pitching, beer had been at 50F for ~24 hours, and despite lack of proper oxygenation there was a decent krausen and airlock activity going. Nevertheless to ensure complete and fast fermentation I pitched 1 packet of S-34/70 yeast after rehydrating it first in boiled water.

Sculpish IPA Review

Well this is now my 2nd beer designed at least partly to blow through some old hops. Granted in this case the hops were still in sealed bags that had been cold-stored, but they were fairly old. As this results of this brew demonstrate, fresh ingredients are very important, especially for hops. And, there are probably some other problems with the recipe.

Appearance: Deep orange body. Hazy, but not unappealing. Slightly tan off-white head with good persistence and decent lacing. Carbonation bubbles stick to side of glass.

Aroma: Low intensity classic American hop mix. Well-balanced between dankness and fruit. But does not jump out of the glass like it should.

Taste: Eh. Mix of bitterness, with kind of weird crystal malt character. Not offensive but not great. Maybe a little bit of diacetyl. Dry, but the crystal malt comes through.

Mouthfeel: Good body, carbonation a little high for IPA. Dry. Leaves a fairly clean bitterness in the aftertaste.

Overall: It does not approach the Sculpin' IPA. It's OK. Need more hop oomph. Probably I would not use crystal malt but rather Munich and maybe some Carapils.

Sculpish IPA Clone Attempt

Continuing on my purge of rather old hops, I decided to make something like the great Sclupin IPA. A clone recipe was posted in the latest issue of Zymurgy, but I made some ingredient substitutions. Also the hops are from several years ago. (Sadly my proclivity to buy them was greater than my proclivity to brew with them). In any case they probably have less AA and overall hoppy goodness than would be optimal, even though they have been stored in the freezer the whole time and are in unopened vacuum-sealed bags.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Sculpish IPA
Style: American IPA

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.98 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.074 SG
Estimated Color: 10.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 67.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.7 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
14 lbs                Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)   Grain         1        92.6 %       
10.0 oz               Caramel/Crystal Malt - 75 (Bairds) (75.0 Grain         2        4.1 %        
8.0 oz                RedX (BestMälz)  (15.2 SRM)              Grain         3        3.3 %    
    
0.75 oz               Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [15.50 %] - FWH     4        37.4 IBUs    
0.50 oz               Chinook [9.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min         Hop           5        8.0 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Crystal [2.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min         Hop           6        1.8 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Chinook [9.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min         Hop           7        5.0 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Chinook [9.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop           8        2.6 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Crystal [2.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop           9        0.6 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Amarillo [7.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  15. Hop           10       5.1 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Chinook [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  15. Hop           11       4.7 IBUs     
0.25 oz               Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [14.00 %] - Hop           12       2.5 IBUs      

1.0 pkg               Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois (White  Yeast         13       -    
        
1.00 oz               Amarillo [8.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days     Hop           14       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [15.50 %] - Hop           15       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Crystal [2.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days      Hop           16       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: 150F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 15 lbs 2.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temp Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 4.73 gal of water at 162.9 F                     150.0 F       60 min       
Sparge            Drain tun Add 2 gal of water at 170 F                     168.0 F       10 min       
Sparge            Drain tun Add 2 gal of water at 170 F                     168.0 F       10 min    
 Notes:

AA% are approximate, likely to be lower than stated. 

Boston Water, 1/2 g CaCl and 1g gypsum per 5 gal of brewing water.
--------- 

7/2 - Starter with re-used Sac. Trois. 1L.

7/4 - Brewed. A little high (152F) on the mash temp.
 Split my sparging into 2 equal-sized batches instead of 1 big one. Preboil OG was ~1.057. Post-boil was 1.068.
Got ~5.5 gal into fermenter, leaving about 3/4 gallon of hoppy trub in the kettle. 
Cooled to 60F. Oxygenated 60 seconds, pitched decanted starter. Placed carboy in 66F ambient basement.

7/5 - Good fermentation activity. Lots of krausen. 

7/6 - Moved to 70F ambient area. Still good airlock activity and krausen.

 

Decoction Hefeweizen

Hefeweizen is a wonderful style for the summer but it's not one I've managed to get quite right so far. Besides from controlling the temp of the fermentation well, some people suggest a decoction is essential to the style. This recipe calls for a single 30 minute decoction to raise the temp of the mash to mashout temps. It's slightly lower in ABV than a normal hefe, so as to be sessionable.

Decoction. Looks great.

Recipe: Session Hefeweizen
Style: Weizen/Weissbier


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal 
Bottling Volume: 5.23 gal
Estimated OG: 1.044 SG
Estimated Color: 3.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 8.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 71.9 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU       
5 lbs 8.0 oz          Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)                Grain         1        61.1 %      
3 lbs 8.0 oz          Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         2        38.9 %      
0.25 oz               Sterling [8.20 %] - Boil 75.0 min        Hop           3        8.2 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               Weihenstephan Weizen (Wyeast Labs #3068) Yeast         4        -           


Mash Schedule: Med Body, False Decoction
Total Grain Weight: 9 lbs
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time   
Sach I                  Add 11.25 qt of water at 175.2 F                     154.0 F       30 min      
Mash Step               Decoct 3.73 qt of mash and boil it                   168.0 F       25 min      

Sparge: Batch sparge with 3 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.63gal, 2.63gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
1/2 tsp Gypsum, 1/2 tsp CaSO4 in brewing water. No starter.
------

6/26/16: Brewed.

Brewday went OK. I didn't really measure the volume of wort quite right and ended up under volume. Hit my mash temps and boil OG ok, but not sure where I ended up after adding the decoction back.

The decoction may have not been quite wet enough for some of the time. It also had this kind of gross looking brown color. We'll see.

Cooled to 61F, oxygenated ~25 seconds, and pitched yeast packet, which was fully swolen.

6/27/16: Fairly active fermentation, with temp controller set at 61F (the temp inside the vessel will be higher because fermentation generates some heat.) Oddly, there was little krausen even though the surface of the beer was kind of bubbling and high airlock activity. Weird.

7/4/15: Crash cooled to 35F.

7/6/15: Kegged with 2.5 oz sugar, for ~3 volumes. Moved keg to 74F ambient air.

Hop Smosh Review

Can a beer with a mish-mash of old hops from opened bags be any good? Probably not. Such is the case with the beer I brewed a few weeks ago to finally get rid of some old hops.

Appearance: Dense, fluffy and persistent white head. Light orange body, with significant haze. Carbonation bubbles visibly moving up through the beer.

Aroma: Not intense. Piney, minerally, lacks fruity quality or intensity.

Taste: Eh. Plain malt, spicey bitterness, minerally quality. I do get a little bit of fruity taste, but not much.

Mouthfeel: Light, moderately carbed, a little thin. Could use some crystal malt or a more flavorful base like MO or Munich.

Overall: Eh. I was going for quantity and not quality on this one. But it's not terrible - it's just not good. I wouldn't pay for this beer but I would drink it.

Hop Stew Pale Ale

I had a bunch of opened hop baggies in the freezer and I wanted to use them. They're old, probably not great, but eh... I could at least see what happens. I don't have high hopes for this one but we'll see how it goes. This is a pale ale style beer with fruity Sacc-Trois yeast.

Hop AA% and amounts are approximate. This whole brew day was improvisational in nature.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Hop Stew
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.88 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.048 SG
Estimated Color: 5.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 35.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
8 lbs                 Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM)    Grain         1        82.1 %       
10.0 oz               Munich Light                                            Grain         2        6.4 %        
10.0 oz               Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         3        6.4 %        
8.0 oz                Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)                Grain         4        5.1 %        
1.00 oz               Sterling [8.00 %] - Boil 25.0 min        Hop           5        20.5 IBUs    
0.50 oz               Tettnang (Tettnang Tettnager) [4.00 %] - Hop           6        1.5 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Amarillo [7.50 %] - Boil 1.0 min         Hop           7        1.2 IBUs     
0.75 oz               Centennial [8.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min       Hop           8        1.0 IBUs     
0.25 oz               Chinook [11.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min         Hop           9        0.4 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Lemon Drop [4.60 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  2 Hop           10       5.1 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Simcoe [11.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  20.0 Hop           11       6.1 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois (White  Yeast         12       -            


Mash Schedule: 154F, Batch Sparge, Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 9 lbs 12.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 16.19 qt of water at 165.5 F                     154.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 7.80 qt of water at 202.0 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 3.05gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes: Water adjustments - Boston, balanced.
------

5/12/16: Starter with leftover WLP644 from my previous batch.

5/15/16: Brewed. Starter had fermented out.

Brewday went OK. Slightly below desired mash temp.

Whirlpooled ~ 25 minnutes, 210F for a few minutes, coooled to 180F, held for 10 mins, then 10 mins @ 160F-140F. Smell was OK - hoppy but not super intense.

Got only 5 gallons of wort into fermenter. Cooled to about 67F then pitched decanted starter. Shook carboy a little to aerate slightly.

OG was 1.049, so not bad, but below desired volume. 

5/16/16, 5pm: Fermentation going well. Nice krausen. Ramped temps to 69F to get tropical esters from yeast.