NEIPA #1 Brewday

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: NEIPA 1

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.26 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 3.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 42.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 81.8 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
5.50 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   2        -            
1.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   3        -            
6 lbs                 Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM)    Grain         4        55.2 %       
2 lbs                 Wheat (BestMälz) (2.0 SRM)               Grain         5        18.4 %       
1 lbs                 Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM)              Grain         6        9.2 %        
1 lbs                 Vienna (BestMälz) (4.1 SRM)              Grain         7        9.2 %        
8.0 oz                Oats, Flaked (Briess) (1.4 SRM)          Grain         8        4.6 %        
6.0 oz                Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         9        3.4 %        
2.00 oz               Simcoe [11.80 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop           10       15.0 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Huell Melon [5.20 %] - Boil 1.0 min      Hop           11       0.7 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Lemon Drop [5.20 %] - Boil 1.0 min       Hop           12       0.7 IBUs     
2.00 oz               Simcoe [11.80 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  15.0 Hop           13       18.7 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Huell Melon [5.20 %] - Steep/Whirlpool   Hop           14       4.1 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Lemon Drop [4.60 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  1 Hop           15       3.6 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)  Yeast         16       -            
2.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days      Hop           17       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Huell Melon [5.20 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days  Hop           18       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Lemon Drop [5.20 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days   Hop           19       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: 154F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 10 lbs 14.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 14.59 qt of water at 167.4 F                     154.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 8.70 qt of water at 196.0 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.99gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------

Brewed 7/29/17.
Hit my mash temp and volume OK, but got OG of 1.056, a bit high.

After whirlpool, used IC to get wort to 100F, racked, then left to cool.

7/30/17: Pitched one packet of US-05 at ~70F, which is on the high side. Did not oxygenate, but did rehydrate the yeast.

Activity by that evening. High airlock activity and krausen by the following day. By 8/1,  fermentation still going but high krausen appears to have past.

8/3/17: Added dry hops.

8/12/17: Kegged with carbing sugar. Aiming for 2.4 volumes of CO2.

'Murican IPA Review

Appearance: Big white head with OK retention, good lacing. Fairly hazy orange body.

Aroma: Fruity hops - pears or peach maybe. Some resemblance to the classic Cascade-Centennial combination. I do get a bit of a malty, bready note from the Munich malt. Intensity of hop aroma is good.

Taste: Dominated by fruity hop flavors, but with surprising bitterness given that all hops were late additions. I could mistake this for a Cascade-Centennial combo but maybe with a bit more dankess. Juicy but not overly so. I don't get strong malty character - just a hint.

Mouthfeel: Fairly light body, medium carbonation, but doesn't have the super-light body of the classic New England IPAs - probably the bitterness adds a bit of body.

Overall: Pretty good, approaching a New England IPA. Could use slightly less bitterness and less body. Overwise the hop aroma and flavors are great - a good combination of juiciness and dankness. 

'Murican IPA - Jan 2017

Recipe for a 'Murican IPA, brewed for a club-only competition to take place in February. I was aiming for something with a combination of fruity-piney hops, without super-high bitterness, and a reasonably malty profile to support it. Hence, the combo of Simcoe, Calypso and Centennial hops, with a bit of Munich, Victory and Wheat  malt thrown in. All very-late addition hops with extensive whirlpooling. Acid malt for mash pH.


Recipe: Club IPA Feb 2017
Style: American IPA
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: 5.11 gal
Estimated OG: 1.063 SG
Estimated Color: 7.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 50.9 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        -            
7.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   2        -            
5.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   3        -            
10 lbs 8.0 oz         Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         4        80.0 %       
1 lbs                 Munich Dark (BestMälz) (12.7 SRM)        Grain         5        7.6 %        
8.0 oz                Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         6        3.8 %        
8.0 oz                Wheat Dark (BestMälz) (9.1 SRM)          Grain         7        3.8 %        
6.0 oz                Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         8        2.9 %        
4.0 oz                Munich 20 (Briess) (20.00 SRM)     Grain         9        1.9 %        
1.00 oz               Calypso [13.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min         Hop           10       1.9 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min      Hop           11       1.4 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min          Hop           12       1.9 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Calypso [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  30. Hop           13       16.5 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Centennial [10.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool   Hop           14       12.7 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  30.0 Hop           15       16.5 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)  Yeast         16       -            
1.00 oz               Calypso [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days     Hop           17       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days  Hop           18       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days      Hop           19       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs 2.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash In                 Add 20.41 qt of water at 161.4 F                     152.0 F       60 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 4.36gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------
After flame out and addition of Whirlpool hops, recirculate using March pump, allowing to whirlpool for 5 minutes at ~210F. Then cool to 180F and allow to whirlpool at 180F - 160F for 30 minutes. Apply gentle heat if needed to prevent it sinking too fast to 160F.

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









-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brewed 1/16/17.

Slightly lower than hoped for mash temp, around 150F. Got ~7.25 gallons of 1.055 OG wort into the boil kettle. Rolling boil, added hops as specified and whirlpooled. Applied some gentle heat to avoid dipping down to 160F too fast. Then cooled rapidly to 100F.

Transferred wort, with quite some hop gunk and trub, into fermenter. Got ~6 gallons of 1.066 wort. Cooled to 62F, then pitched 1 packet of rehydrated S-05 yeast. Did not aerate. Wort sample smelled nice and hoppy, with a pieny character, and tasted fairly bitter.

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.

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.

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.

 

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.

Trois IPA Review

My previous "Brett IPAs" were probably the best IPAs I have ever produced. Can I duplicate that success? If not it would suggest a problem with the quality of my ingredients or process, since I know the recipe is good (although this one only differs by use of Lemon Drop rather than Cascade Hops). Variation in the quality of the product likely is therefore a result of ingredient quality and / or process variation.

Appearance: Fairly hazy with non-flocculent Trois yeast. Golden / light orange color with persistent white head and good lacing. Even after the first few pours from the keg, a small bit of hop material gets into the galls.

Aroma: Fruity hops, grapefruit, pine, slight dank / piney. Nelson comes through nicely but not as intensely as I would like.

Taste: Dry and bitter, with fruity hop quality mixed with piney / grassy notes. The hop flavors are juicy but bitterness counteracts that character. Bitterness is a little harsh. Doesn't have much in the way of malt flavors.

Mouthfeel: Light, dry body with moderate-high carbonation level. Maybe a little minerally-ness.

Overall: Well I'm disappointed. It's definitely not like my previous versions of this brew. The results here surely point to the need to 1) use the freshest possible ingredients especially hops for this style and 2) control my process sufficiently so that I can clone my own recipes with minimum variation in the final product. To match by previous brews of this style, this beer needs to be intensely aromatic, less bitter, and have a juicier hop character in the taste. Overall this beer is pleasant but not as remarkably good as my previous brews with this recipe.

Trois IPA

So this is the 3rd iteration of the Brett IPA I first brewed in August of 2014 using WLP 644. Since then, those rascally microbiologists have discovered that WLP 644 is not in fact a type of brettanomyces but rather "Saccharomyces 'bruxellensis' Trois". Regardless, the last two brews of this beer were some of my best IPAs, so I've decided to brew it again, this time with a full 5-gallon batch, and, continuing the slight tweaks, using Lemondrop Hops instead of Cascade.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Trois IPA

Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.88 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.11 gal
Estimated OG: 1.062 SG
Estimated Color: 6.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 49.6 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        -            
7.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   2        -            
5.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   3        -            
11 lbs                Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         4        86.3 %       
12.0 oz               Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                    Grain         5        5.9 %        
8.0 oz                Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         6        3.9 %        
8.0 oz                White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)               Grain         7        3.9 %        
0.50 oz               Magnum [12.20 %] - First Wort 60.0 min   Hop           8        22.3 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min     Hop           9        12.1 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Lemon Drop [4.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min      Hop           10       5.5 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min      Hop           11       6.6 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Lemon Drop [4.60 %] - Boil 5.0 min       Hop           12       3.1 IBUs     
2.00 oz               Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpoo Hop           13       0.0 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               WLP 644                                                  Yeast         14       -            
1.00 oz               Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days  Hop           15       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Lemon Drop [4.60 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days   Hop           16       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 1.0 Da Hop           17       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 12.0 oz
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Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash In                 Add 19.94 qt of water at 161.3 F                     152.0 F       60 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 4.42gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:

After flame out and addition of Whirlpool hops, recirculate using March pump, allowing to whirlpool for 5 minutes at ~210F. Then cool to 180F and allow to whirlpool at 180F - 160F for 30 minutes. Apply gentle heat if needed to prevent it sinking too fast to 160F.
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2/10/16 - Made starter with 60g of DME, 1100 ml water, yeast nutrients and a little bit of leftover Citra hops.

2/13/16 - Brewed. Hit my mash temps well. For some reason I got lower gravity than expected. Pre-boil was ~1.044, Post-boil ~1.054. Probably a bit over volume. Need to adjust my equipment profile in Beersmith for about 0.5 gallon of dead-space in my big MLT. Otherwise brew-day went fine. Also it was VERY cold (~10F) so maybe that messed up my refractometer.

After whirlpool and cooling, racked to 6 gallon fermenter, leaving most of the hop gunk. Wort at ~90F. Set in 65F ambient to cool. Pitched most of the starter a few hours later after oxygenating for 20 seconds. With starter, 5.5 gallons in fermenter.

2/14/16, 2pm. Good krausen going. 

2/15/16, 5pm. Very active fermentation. Constant airlock bubbling.

2/20/16, added dry hops directly into primary vessel. Fermentation appeared complete. Moved vessel to 70F ambient.

2/27/16, crash cooled. Will keg tomorrow.

West Coast Amber

I've never brewed the American Amber style before but I thought it would be nice for the Fall weather. This one is the "West Coast Blaster" from Brewing Classic Styles and is supposed to be a fairly bold, hoppy, and very flavorful example of the style.

Recipe Specifications
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Boil Size: 6.88 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.072 SG
Estimated Color: 17.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 64.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.2 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
11 lbs 4.0 oz         Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        72.9 %       
2 lbs                 Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                    Grain         2        13.0 %       
1 lbs                 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)    Grain         3        6.5 %        
8.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)   Grain         4        3.2 %        
8.0 oz                Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         5        3.2 %        
3.0 oz                Chocolate Rye Malt (250.0 SRM)           Grain         6        1.2 %        
0.50 oz               Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.50 %] - First Wo Hop           7        29.7 IBUs    
0.15 oz               Warrior [15.70 %] - First Wort 60.0 min  Hop           8        8.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Cascade [4.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min         Hop           9        5.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Centennial [11.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min     Hop           10       13.0 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Cascade [4.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  10.0 Hop           11       2.5 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Centennial [11.60 %] - Steep/Whirlpool   Hop           12       6.5 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)  Yeast         13       -            


Mash Schedule: 154F, Batch Sparge, Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 15 lbs 7.0 oz
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Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 21.70 qt of water at 167.3 F                     154.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 12.35 qt of water at 197.1 F                     168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 0.82gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
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Brewed 10/11
Preboil OG 14.4B, 1.059
Postboil OG: 18.8B, 1.077

Got ~5.5 gallons into the fermenter. Placed at ~68F to ferment.

Kegged on 10/22 with priming sugar, going for ~2.2 volumes.

Home Grown Hop Pale Ale

7.5 oz of wet Homegrown Centennial hops

My hops plants produced ~7.5 oz of Centennial and 4oz of Cascade, wet, which really isn't much for a beer - when dry that will be 2oz of Centennial and 1 of Cascade, or thereabouts. So, to use them I scaled a recipe to ~2.5 gallons in order for the hops:wort ratio to be such that I can expect a good hoppy aroma and taste (assuming the homegrown hops are tasty and were picked at the right time).

Home Grown Hop Ale
2.5 Gallon Target volume

6# US 2-Row

.5oz Warrior, 15%, 30 min

~4oz Homegrown Cascade, wet, 1min and steep
~7.5oz Homegrown Centennial, we, 1min and stepp

Mash at 151F

US-05

~4 oz homegrown Cascade

Brewed 8/29/15

Brew went OK. The wet hops seemed to absorb a huge volume of wort. Plus, I could not use the re-circulating feature of my cooler, since it would have been clogged with the whole hop cones.

Cooled with ice-bath, stirring the hops the whole time. Got to ~120F, then put in basement to fully cool.

The smell of the beer after adding the hops was definitely hoppy but not quite in the normal way. I am not really sure what to expect here. 

Right after dumping the aroma hops.

Poured the wort into a Big-Mouth Bubbler, and wearing sanitized kitchen gloves, squeezed the liquid out of most of the whole cone hops. Got slightly over 2 gallons into the fermenter, which includes trub.

Will likely only get ~1.75 gallons of wort into the keg. Meep.

Fermented at ambient temp of ~68F, after pitching 1/2 pack of rehydrated US-05 on the morning of 8/30.

8/31/15 - Fermentation is fairly active.

9/8/15 - Kegged with priming sugar for ~2.5 volumes of CO2. Purged headspace.

9/15/15 - Crash cooled.