Short & Heavy "Special" APA

WLP090 - Pitch +87hrs

Brewed 40 liters of APA yesterday.  I've been trying to use up stock and therefore I'm running light on malt; however, the freezer is well stocked with hops.  To borrow a term from British brewers, with respect to gravity or strength of ale, this is going to be a "Special" strength American Pale Ale.

Base was a mix of Domestic 2-row and Pils combined with a decent portion of Vienna.  Weyermann CaraFoam and some CaraMunich for colour and body.  The **CaraMunich was added late in the mash, during the mash-out, one of a few changes I made to my brew process.  The idea here is to introduce less variables to the mash and thus stabilize the pH resulting in a more predictable wort.

Rather than treating the mash with salts, I simply treated the entire volume of brewing liquor with Lactic Acid to a pH of ~ 5.50 as calculated with the sparge water acidification tool in Bru'n Water.  I then added Calcium Chloride and Calcium Sulfate to the boil for a desired flavour profile and calcium content.

Since I was brewing 40 liters, a decent water to grain ratio can quickly fill my 36qt MLT.  This meant that I was not able to add all my sparge water at once as I normally would with smaller batches. What I decided was to begin draining the second running, then when the water level had dropped slightly, add the remaining sparge water.  A cross between batch and fly sparging.  Didn't seem to impact my mash efficiency at all.

Beyond the tight working conditions of my MLT, the only other issues encountered were a slightly low temperature on the sparge water (got caught making dinner).  The mash and mash-out were a perfect though, 152/168F.  I had two minor boil overs, once before the first hop addition, the second just after the 20 minute addition.  These stops and starts reduced my anticipated boil off and dropped the *OG a point or two.  Finally, during the last 15 minutes of the boil, while recirculating boiling wort through my pump and lines to sanitize everything, I guess some thermo protection switch kicked in and the pump stopped working.  Once the wort had chilled considerably, the pump resumed function.  I feel the risk of infection is minimal since it did get about 10 minutes of contact time with boiling wort.

I've started using Yeastex, a nutrient.  Not sure if it does anything but I figured it's cheap insurance since I tend to re-pitch yeast often.  For this particular beer, I did a split batch, one half receiving 250ml of 3rd gen, BRY-97 - American West Coast Ale Yeast.  This was harvested from a Blonde Ale the previous day.  The other half received a fresh 1L starter of WLP090 -San Diego Super Yeast.   As of pitch +7.5hrs, the BRY-97 had a light krausen covering the surface.  No action on the WLP090.

Here's the recipe...

Short & Heavy Special APA

OG 1.047*/ IBU 40/ SRM 5/ 40L
BRY-97 West Coast Ale Yeast/WLP090 San Diego Super Yeast

42% Domestic 2-Row
33% Pilsner Malt
16% Vienna
5% CaraFoam
4% **CaraMunich I (38L)

15g (13 IBU) Columbus @ 60m
40/20g Centennial/Simcoe @ 20m
40/20g Simcoe/Amarillo, 1/2 @ 5m, 1/2 @ 1m

Dryhop (Keg)
***40/15/5g Centennial/Simcoe/Amarillo

***Amount specified is per keg/19L

Update - Pitch +20hrs

BRY-97 was quick out the gates, the krausen continues to slowly build.  WLP090 was slower off the get go but has exploded filling the entire 4L headspace with krausen.

Update - Pitch +32hrs

BRY-97 krausen now stands at ~2".  From what I've seen in the past, this is pretty much high krausen.  The San Diego Super WLP090 krausen has started to fall slightly.  Very quick!  Wort temperatures holding steady @ 20c

Update - Pitch +63hrs

Both krausens have fallen to a light layer covering the surface of each fermenter.

Update - Pitch +72hrs

Krausen on WLP090 has completely fallen, STC controller set to 22c.

Update - Pitch +87hrs

Sample pulled from each fermenter, BRY-97 @ 1.012, WLP090 @ 1.011.  WLP090 sample very clear already!

Update - Pitch +13 days

Move BRY-97 to ambient and WLP090 to the keg.  Added Dry hops to the WLP090.  Will DH @ ambient for 3 days before moving keg to serving fridge.

Update - Pitch +16 days

Moved WLP090 to the serving fridge.  Set pressure to 30psi.

Garbage Porter

Not going into too much detail about this brew.  Basically it was thrown together last moment as a brewing opportunity presented itself.  I used up some bits of malt here and there, a closet cleaner of sorts.

Base malt was mainly Domestic 2-Row (2kg) with some Light Munich (1.5kg) and Maris Otter (1kg) thrown in.  Special grains were Flaked Barley (1kg), Crystal 60 (600g), Chocolate (500g) and Roast Barley (100g).  I had planed for the gravity to be in the 1.060 range but over sparged and ended with 1.050 after the boil.

Hops were Challenger @ 60m (40g) and Target at flame-out (40g).  Supposedly ~45 IBU.

A thin 500ml slurry of BRY-97 pitched @ 17c, fermenting at 18c now.

Update Sept. 14th

Recipe Brewed

Update Sept. 15th

Yeast Pitched @ 9am

Update Sept. 17th

High Krausen last evening, 36hrs from pitch.  Temperatures hitting 18c.
As of 4pm this evening, the Krausen has started to fall (55hrs from pitch), increased the controller temperature to 20c.

Update Sept. 22nd

FG measuring 1.020 @ 68F, primary moved to ambient.

Update Oct. 10th

Kegged and sampled my first pint.  Very nice!  Can use more conditioning time to mellow out the Chocolate malt a touch.

LowTech Honey Ale v1

My wife rarely requests I brew, let alone brew her a certain recipe.  When she does, I listen.  After some R&R on the East Coast this past August, she took a liking to a certain Quebec brewery's Honey Ale.  She asked me to make one so even though it's not my favorite style, how could I say no?

Plan of attack:

• Lower OG (1.046) with Honey addition during Secondary fermentation boosting ABV to 5%
• Add a healthy amount of Crystal and Wheat malts to the mash for body and head retention.  The Crystal malt (CaraMunich I) will hopefully help retain some dextrins and prevent it from going too dry and thin.  Standard mash temperature of 62c/152.6F for 60 minutes.
• As noted, Honey added during secondary.  I top crop yeast from the primary and want to keep the strain as original as possible.  Don't want the yeast to be comfortable with anything other than maltose sugars
• I decided on WLP023 - Burton Ale which has been described as having a slight honey, clover character.  I plan to pitch @ 17c and hold @18c for 72hrs before allowing the beer to free rise and fully attenuate.
• I plan to brew on Saturday

LowTech Honey Ale v1

OG 1.046/ IBU ~20/ SRM ~ 8/ ~23L

80.0% OiO Domestic 2-Row
10.0% OiO Wheat Malt
10.0% Weyermann CaraMunich I

10g of Willamette @ 60 minutes
50g of Willamette @ whirlpool (IBU's calculated as a 15m addition)
500g Wild Blossom Honey during secondary

WLP023 - Burton Ale

Update Sept. 12th

YeastCalc.com

Since the yeast culture was getting long in the tooth (harvested June 24th, 2013), I've pitched the 75ml of compacted slurry to a stater.  At an estimated 10% viability, the original ~ 300B cells is likely down below 30B.  1.2L's should build this back to 190B or so.  Enough for 23L @ 1.046.

Update Sept. 14th

Brewed

Update Sept. 15th

Pitched BRY-97 @ 9am

Update Sept. 16th

Well, that didn't quite work out as planned!  So first off, the WLP023 failed to start.  LowTech IPA v4 had fully attenuated so I move it to secondary with dry hops and re-pitched the BRY-97 yeast to the Blonde Ale.

I missed my gravity (again, Grrr) and this one came out too strong @ 1.050'sih.  Probably a good thing about the WLP023 because I don't think I would have had enough yeast anyways.  I pitched 500ml of very thin slurry which accordingly to Mr. Malty might have even been too much.  I cooled the batch to 17c before pitching the yeast.  Temperature controller set for 18c.  In a couple more days I'll let it free rise and finish off before moving to secondary and adding the honey.

Finally, I had some extra time and decided to brew a batch of Porter.


Update Sept. 17th

High Krausen last evening, 36hrs from pitch.  Temperatures hitting 18c.
As of 4pm this evening, the Krausen has started to fall (55hrs from pitch), increased the controller temperature to 20c.

Update Sept 22nd

FG measuring 1.012 @ 68F, moved to ambient.

Update Sept 24th

FG measured 1.010 @ 68F, primary moved to freezer set for 4c (9 days since pitch)

Update Oct. 10th

This one has been sitting in the keg for a couple of weeks, still seems to have a permanent haze.  There's a flavour I am detecting that I don't quite care for, sorta belgian?  Not sure, needs more time.

LowTech IPA v4 - Whirlpool Hopping

1st Year Centennial Hops

A run of the mill American IPA with hop additions at 60 minutes and flame-out/whirlpool only.  Inspired by the Avery recipes for Homebrewers, I really wanted to find out what kind of bittering, flavour and aroma I could get out of my whirlpool setup.

Brewday wasn't smooth at all.  I missed my target mash temperature (or so I thought) of 65c/149F.  Turns out the calibration on my thermometer is off once again and my attempts to correct, what I thought to be a low mash temperature, were unneeded.

During the correction attempts, I depleted the water reserved for sparging.  Since I don't use a sight glass, I rely on accurate strike and sparge water measurements to correctly predict final volumes into the primary (x-in, y-out).  I didn't want to mess up my pre-measured water and opted to not replace the sparge water (used for mash temp correction as noted above).  Since I didn't rinse the grains as well as I would have liked, the resulting pre-boil SG was lower than anticipated.  I increase the boil time and strength slightly but still fell short of the desired OG (1.055 vs 1.059) and volume (22L vs 23L).

A cam-lock fitting and adapter was added to my MLT.  The intent was to recirculate the wort through a pump and back over top of the grain bed to improve run-off clarity.  Well, the electric leads on the pump must be poorly connected because the power would cut in and out intermittently.  A frustrating experience.  Troubleshooting lead to loss of temperature and wort.  Given these issues, I thought it prudent to conduct a starch conversion test which proved successful.  Apparently, it's really hard to mess up a mash although I gave it my best shot!  To cap it off, I forgot to treat the strike water with Campden.  If I have band-aid beer, I'll know why...

So, what does the recipe look like?

LowTech IPA v4

OG 1.059/ IBU ~75/ SRM ~ 5/ ~23L

84.0% OiO Domestic 2-Row
16.0% Gambrinus Vienna

30g of Columbus @ 60 minutes
120g of Cascade @ whirlpool (IBU's calculated as a 15m addition)
I plan to dry hop with a mix of Centennial, Columbus and Chinook.

BRY-97 America West Coast Ale Yeast (used 1x, making this the 2nd pitch)

I treated my mash water with 3ml of 88% Lactic Acid, 4g of Gypsum, 3.4g of Calcium Chloride and 4.5g of Epsom Salt.  EZWater projected a room temp mash pH of 5.41.  Sparge water was treated with Campden to remove Chloramine from the municipal water.  8g's of additional Gypsum added to the boil. Whirlfloc @ 5m to help precipitate cold break proteins.  Final water numbers: Ca 100, Cl 50, S04 250

At flame-out, the pump/whirlpool was started and 120g of Cascade dumped into the near boiling wort.  The intent was to whirlpool (hot) for 20m but in going with the theme of the brewday... I was distracted when a neighbour popped by for a visit, misread my timer and started the chill water @ 10m (10 minutes too early).  As a result, the flame-out hops had half the hot wort contact time than I would have liked.  After an additional 10m, the whirlpool was shut down and the chiller continued to drop the temperature to around 25c.  At this point the BK was drained to my fermenter.

The primary was placed into the fermentation chamber, STC-1000 set for 17c.  Once at 17c, the wort was well aerated with a Fizz-x for 2-3 minutes before pitching 250ml of cold, compacted BRY-97 slurry.  Based on the age of the yeast (claimed Aug 1, 33% viability), Mr Malty recommends 200ml of slurry.  I didn't use a starter.   STC-1000 controller raised to 18c/~65F where I plan to ferment for 1 day at full krausen before ramping to 20c/68F through completion.

If this beer turns out, I am not to blame.  Ha!

Update Sept. 9th

Light krausen @ 24hrs, full krausen inside 36hrs.  Wort temperature peaking at 18.2c before the freezer drops it back to 17.5c.

Update Sept. 10th

The IPA has been at full krausen for 24hrs, fermentation controller set to allow IPA to free rise to 20c.  Attempted to top crop the krausen/yeast

Update Sept. 11th

Temperatures rose rather quickly.  At 11pm last evening the controller was reading 19.5c.  Today it continues to hover around 20c.  I top cropped the yeast a final time, collecting a total of 200ml of slurry.  I placed my sanitized hydrometer into the pail and it sits at 1.030, would have thought it would have been further along?  Perhaps something to do with the lag time after pitch and the fact the yeast had been sitting in the fridge for a month.

Update Sept 15th

Moved to secondary @ ambient, added dry hops

Update Sept 22nd

Moved back to freezer to crash cool to 1c,  FG measures 1.010.

Update Sept 24th

Racked to keg, added an additional 30g of homegrown whole leaf nugget hops.

Tasting - Vienna/Citra SMaSH (BRY-97)

Vienna/Citra SMaSH (BRY-97)

By far the best SMaSH beer I've made to date. Pours clear with a beautiful reddish-orange colour.  White head dissipates quickly.  Body light-medium.  Nicely balanced bitterness (37 IBU calculated).  Aroma is wonderfully tropical.  I am not getting much malt aroma.  Flavour outstanding, again tropical fruit.  Easy to hit the kegerator for 3 pints (at least haha).  BRY-97 yeast from Danstar really lets the hops shine through.  Quite clean.

Definitely a make again, highly recommended SMaSH combo!  My first experience with Citra Hops and I can see why they are loved.  Will add to my regular shopping list (when available).

Hop Harvest 2013

Centennial exploded and broke down the Nugget bines which was more or less ready for harvest anyways.  The Centennial still need a few more days on the bine but their time is near.  Some pictures of the carnage.

Nugget drying on a window screen

Tomato harvest as well!

What was left after the Nugget harvest.  Lost about 1/4 of the Nugget do due breakage

Adhoc Centennial stringing.  Required after they pulled down the Nugget

Close up on the Centennial cones.  I'd say 1 week more till harvest

What was left of the Nugget bine after the Centennial's reeked havoc!

Update Sept 1

Nugget ended up being 1/2 pound dry.  Not bad for first harvest!

Update Sept 18

Centennial harvest complete, added with just over 1lb dry!

Tasting - IPA (LowTech v3)

LowTech IPA v3

Beautifully clear
Wonderful deep orange colour
Intense tangerine orange flavour
Bitter but verging on balance
Olfactory overload. 
Finish dry and crisp
A near perfect IPA

Tasting - Mild (LowTech v2)

This ones coming togeather very nicely...  Initially, there was a strong nuttiness from the Brown Malt as well as an intense fruitiness from the yeast. After a few weeks in the keg, the taste has mellowed somewhat and the crystal malt has moved forward.  The Mild is well balanced finishing with a touch of dryness from the Brown and Chocolate malts, not cloying at all.  I was successful in obtaining body in such a low gravity ale thanks in part to a high percentage of crystal malt.  Mouth feel very nice, I'd say medium body.  The WLP023 fruitiness has mellowed considerably.  All in all, it's aging quickly but nicely.  I believe the beer is at, or at least very near it's peak.

The continuous no sparging certainly has one big benefit, both beers brewed with this method are freak'n crystal clear...  Carbonation is nice but low,  I pulled it off the C02 and pulled a few pints, only hooking up the gas when the tap slows.  Head retention low, light tan in colour.

Aroma is dominated by fruit and caramel, perhaps a touch of raisin.  No hops to speak of.  I am interested in doing a Bramling X SMaSH as I am not really getting a sense for the hop in this beer.

Overall, a very enjoyable quaffer!  I really do enjoy a solid Mild Ale.
 

SMaSH Series

Chinook/OiO SMaSH

After the 120L brew weekend, I've noted some discrepancies in my efficiency numbers, both to the kettle as well as the fermenter. To better dial in my system, a series of Single Malt and Single hop beers would be suitable.  The series will feature English hops and Maris Otter.  I have a fresh, unopened sack of MO and the following English hops at my disposal:

• Bramling Cross
• Challenger
• East Kent Goldings
• Stryian Goldings
• Target
• Northern Brewer

The idea will be to use the same amount of malt (4kg) to produce the same volume for consecutive brews.  Ensuring I measure out my water volumes accurately as well as follow the same mashing/sparging/boiling routine, the resulting gravity should be within a point from beer to beer.  I am mainly interested in the sum of all part, aka the "Brewhouse Efficiency"

120 Liter Weekend?

Yeast starters are fermenting, recipes have been planned and barring any major interruptions, I hope to put 120L into the fermenters this weekend...

1. 40L APA - 2-Row, Vienna, C60 & Wheat malt with Columbus, Simcoe & Amarillo hops
2. 40L SMaSH - Vienna malt & Citra hops
3. 40L Mild - MO, C60 & Pale Chocolate malt with Styrian Goldings hops

For the APA, I plan to use White Labs English Dry Yeast - WLP007.  To suppress ester production, this batch will be closely controlled in the fermentation freezer .  The plan is to complete the bulk of fermentation at the strains lowest optimal temperature, 18c/65F.  The yeast was harvested from LowTech Blonde v4 (June 26th) making this the 5th pitch.  Last evening, approximately 250ml of solid slurry was pitched to 1.4L of 1.037 starter.  After a day on the stir plate this should result in an anticipated cell count of 400B, enough for 40L of 1.056 Ale.

For the SMaSH, I plan to pitch Safale S-04 in one fermenter and Danstar BRY-97 in the other.  This batch will not be temperature controlled.  I will be at the mercy of my cold room's ambient temperature.  As of last night, this was 18c/65F.  So depending on how much heat each strain will generate, I may be pushing low 70's at the height of fermentation.  I plan to hydrate each dry yeast using 110ml of 38c/100F bottled spring water.  The dry yeast will be sprinkled evenly over top of the water and left to rest for 15 minutes after which the yeast will be re-suspended and left for 5 minutes.  At this point you attemperate with wort to within 10c of the pitch temperature.  From the reviews I've read on BRY-97, it does benefit from re-hydration.

For the Mild, the plan is to pitch Burton Ale Yeast - WLP023 to one fermenter and British Ale Yeast - WLP005 to another.  Again, no temperature control beyond the ambient of my cold room.  Approximately 150ml of WLP023 was harvested on June 24th will be added (2nd pitch) directly without a starter.  Yeast calc indicates a viability of 80% which results in a cell count of 120B.  The recommendation is 140B for 20L of 1.038 Ale.  Close enough I say.  The WLP005 was certainly getting long in the tooth.  190ml was harvested on March 27th.  Yeast calc pegs the viability at  39%.  After 1.2L of 1.037 starter, the resulting cell count should be in the neighborhood of 120B.  Again, slightly low of the 140B target but close enough I say.  This will be the yeast's 5th pitch.

Update July 19th

Both starters WLP007 & WLP005 appear to have fermented out.  When I woke this morning I found that both were starting to clear.  Both starters were placed into the fridge to crash remaining yeast, perhaps I can decant some of the starter liquid.

First up this evening is the Citra SMaSH.  Paired with 9kg of Vienna Malt for 40 Liters @ 1.050 & 37 IBU.  I treated my water with 1 tsp Gypsum, 2 tsp Calcium Chloride and 1 tsp Epsom for a room temp mash pH of 5.49.  An additional 1 tsp of Gypsum added to the boil.  Whirlfloc with 5 min remaining.  Hops at 60 (9g), 30 (15g), 5 (120g), and will dry hop each keg with an additional 60g.  As noted, will pitch BRY-97 and S-04 to this batch.  Water numbers: Ca 71, Mg 9, Na 18, Cl 61, S04 132.

100% Vienna Malt

Ended with ~19L in each fermenter.  Gravity measured 13.2% Brix = 1.051.  I left behind about 4.5L in the kettle, trying to filter it for a future starter.  Was only able to chill to 24c, so I will leave in the basement cold room until tomorrow morning and then pitch my yeast. 

Update July 20th

Hydrated both yeasts as described and pitched to SMaSH this morning @ 10am. 

Mashed in on the APA/WLP007.  Hit mash temp of 67c/152F.  7kg OiO 2-Row, 2kg Vienna, 500g CaraMunich 1, 500g Wheat Malt for 40L @ 1.056 and 41 IBU.  Treated water with 1 tsp Gypsum, 2 tsp Calcium Chloride, 1 tsp Epsom for a room temp mash pH of 5.6 (forgot Acid Malt).  Additional 1 tsp Gypsum to the boil as well as 1 tab Whirlfloc @ 5min.  Hops @ 60 (18g Columbus), 30 (15g Simcoe, 15g Amarillo), 5 (60g Simcoe, 60g Amarillo).  Each keg with receive a dry hop addition of 30g Simcoe, 30g Amarillo.  As noted, will pitch WLP007 to each fermenter and this batch will be controlled in the freezer @ 18c/65F.  Water numbers: Ca 70, Mg 9, Na 18, Cl 60, S04 129.  Finished with 2x20L @ 1.059 OG.



As of 2:20pm this afternoon, both SMaSH fermenters are showing air-lock activity. That's about 4hrs from pitching!  Cold room sits @ 19c/66F. 

Pitched the WLP007 @ 9pm.  Wort temp was down to 15c.  Controller set to  18c.

APA heading to the Primary

After struggling for the better part of an hour to try and fit both fermenters into the freezer, gave up and moved both to the cold room.  Need to figure a better solution in the future, perhaps 1 carboy and 1 pail?  Also, I noticed there was over a 1c difference in temperature between the two.  Not great.  Anyways, WLP007 now at the mercy of my 18-19c/64-66F cold room. 

Update July 21st

I don't have another 40L brewday in me.  I decided to mash only 20L of the Mild which is obviously much quicker.  When running off to the fermenter,  I intend to reserve 500ml of the wort and pitch to the WLP005 which has been waiting in the fridge, this should wake it up and build the cell count a little more. Will pitch tonight.

Mashed at 67c for 50m before beginning mash-out.   2.7kg of MO, 600g of Muntons 150 (57L), 200g of Wheat malt and 120g of Pale Chocolate malt from TF&S for 1.036 @ 14 IBU.  Styrian Goldings (30g) added @ 30m.  1tsp Calcium Chloride added to the mash for a pH of 5.56.  Additional 1 tsp of Calc Chlor and 1 tsp of Epsom added to the boil, Final water: Ca 66, Mg 15, Na 18, Cl 106, S04 81.

The setup for this weekend

Ended with 23L of Mild @ 10.6% Brix = 1.040.  Not sure why I overshot the gravity by 4 pts?  Volumes were as expected.  This one may end up being a touch under hopped. 

Pitched WLP005 @ 8pm.  WLP007 batch has beginning stages of Krausen in both fermenters.  BRY-97 still pushing the airlock but nothing in the way of Krausen.  S-04 looks like it may be half way done LOL! 

Update July 22nd

5 fermenters rocking this morning.  Krausen on the S-04 Citra SMaSH has fallen.  The BRY-97 is nearing peak.  Both WLP007 APA's are showing full krausen.  The WLP005 I pitched last evening (after a couple more hours on the stir plate with batch fresh wort) is popping the airlock at a steady pace.  It's ALIVE!   

Update July 26th

As of this morning, only the BRY-97 still has krausen.  All other fermenters have fallen.  I only have a single available keg so I for foresee some decent conditioning time for most of the beers.

Update August 3rd

Kegged 1 fermenter of APA @ 1.014 (7.8% brix = 3.55°P), ~5.8% ABV 

Update August 6th

Kegged both Vienna SMaSH and the Mild.  Bone head move on the Mild, started racking the beer to keg before dumping the 1/2 gallon of Starsan, DOH!  Dumped at least 2 gallons of Mild before continuing to rack the remaining beer.  The Vienna SMaSH fermented with S04 was near crystal clear heading into the keg.  The BRY-97 looks quite cloudy, hopefully the cold conditioning will help.  Same with the WLP005 Mild, very cloudy and somewhat yeasty smelling while heading to the keg.  I neglected to take FG on any of these beers.

The remaining 1 fermenter of APA was racked to a secondary to further condition and clear.  I didn't have any additional kegs.

Update Sept 22nd

Final carboy of the APA racked to keg, FG 1.010, no dry-hops.  Didn't like how this one turned out so I didn't want to waste the hops.  This second carboy sampled much nicer than the first.

LowTech IPA v3

I loved the IPA brewed for BSB2013.   Couldn't wait to get another in the pipeline.  Not to mention I have an incredible inventory of hops at the moment.  First order of business... Amarillo/Simcoe IPA.  WLP023 should be an interesting twist to the standard American IPA.  Hoping a lower mash temperature and sugar addition will aid to fully attenuate the beer.  If this could finish lower than 1.013, I'd be happy.

LowTech IPA v3

LowTech IPA v1

OG 1.060/ IBU ~77/ SRM ~ 6/ ~21L

65.0% OiO Domestic 2-Row
32.0% Gambrinus Vienna
03.0% Corn Sugar (added to the boil)

2 tsp of Gypsum
25g of Columbus @ 60 minutes
25g of Cascade @ 30 minutes
30g of Simcoe @ 10 minutes
70g of Amarillo @ 10 minutes

Dry Hop (keg):
60g Citra

WLP023 (2nd gen, cropped from Mild v2)

Brewed July 2nd

I decided to revert back to my standard batch sparging method, this time using the newly converted turkey fryer pot and manifold as my MLT (rather than the old coleman cooler).

Preheated MLT and striked at 71.2c.  After a good stir with the paint mixer, this settled to 66c which is 1c hotter than brew software projected.  Would have liked 65c for better attenuation.  Held temp at 66c for the entire 1hr mash. I didn't need to adjust temp or anything, held rock steady.  Sparged with 88c water which only raised the temp to 71c.

After collecting 30L pre-boil, a quick gravity reading with the refractometer showed a pre-boil gravity of 1.047-48 which equates to a mash efficiency around 80%.  1/2tsp Gypsum, 1tsp Epsom, 2tsp Calcium Chloride and 40g of Acid malt added to mash for a pH of 5.50.  2 tsp of Gypsum added to the boil for final water numbers:

Ca 119, Mg 14, Na 18, Cl 93, S04 221

Proceeded with boil for 70 minutes adding hops and sugar as scheduled above.  After chilling to 25c, wort was transferred to primary and aerated with a Fizz-x wine degasser for a couple minutes.  The pail was then placed into the fermentation freezer and chilled to 17c.  

I had intended to collect 21L but due to a low boil-off rate (10%/hr), 23L made it into the pail.  This meant my OG was slightly lower than anticipated, 14.6 brix (actual reading) = 1.057 (14.04°P)

Update July 3rd

After chilling for the night, I woke this morning @ 6:30am and pitched 100ml of 2nd gen WLP023 slurry to 17c wort.  The temperature controller was then set to 20c.  The wort will free rise to this temperature.

@3pm - Light Krausen 
@7pm - Krausen has completely covered the surface and starting to rise 
@11pm - First (dirty) skim 

Update July 4th

Temperature controller raised to 21c

Update July 5th

I wasn't able to tend to the skim yesterday and today I find the yeast krausen has breached the pail.  After cleanup, I skimmed again. 

Update July 6th

Skimmed again 

Update July 7th

Skimmed again, likely a final time 

Update July 8th

Skimmed yet again.  FG reading 1.0132 (3.38°P)

Update July 9th

...and again

Update July 10th

... again

Update July 14th

Returned home from vacation, light krausen has once again covered the surface of the beer.  At this point I will rack from under the Krausen to either secondary or keg for dry hopping and further conditioning.

Update July 16th 

First taste test.  Nice bitterness.  Colour is awesome.  Aroma and hop flavour lacking.  FG measured
1.0126 (3.23°P).  Racked to keg and made an split decision, added 60g of Citra

LowTech Mild v2

Having recently brewed a couple of strongly bittered APA's followed by a light Blonde ale, it's time to brew a milder, darker alternative for the pipeline.  Brewed relatively soon, I project it to be ready for August, just in time for our family's annual camping trip.  Great timing!

My low gravity Dark Mild recipe relies on a heavy helping of crystal malt for body and WLP023 (Burton Ale Yeast) for character.  Maris Otter provides a solid base, blends of both English crystal and higher kilned malts round out the grist.

For hops, Bramling Cross.  I am intrigued by descriptions of Berries, Lemons, Pears and Black Currants.  I hope they go well in the Mild.  WLP023 is said to have a honey, pear flavour as well... they should match up well.

LowTech Mild v2

OG 1.035/ IBU ~15/ SRM ~ 15/ ~23L

80.0% Muntons MO
13.0% Muntons Medium Crystal 150 (60L)
02.0% Dingemans Special-B (155L)
03.0% TF&S Brown Malt
02.0% Muntons Chocolate Malt

25g of Bramling Cross @ 30 minutes
15g of Bramling Cross @ 5 minutes

WLP023 (Fresh Pitch)

Update June 19th 

Prepared 2L starter from saved (frozen) wort.  After thaw, wort measured 15+ brix, diluted to 9.0 brix (1.035) and boiled for 15 minutes.  Final gravity of starter, 9.8 Brix (1.037).  Chilled in ice bath to room temperature and pitched one vial of Whitelabs WLP023, expiry June 20th, 2013.  Erlenmeyer flask placed on stir plate @ 12 midnight.

Update June 20th

Starter shows light krausen @ 1:40pm, almost blowing off @ 4pm, blow off @ 6pm.  Decanted 1/3 of the starter to a separate mason jar, starter continued to blow off throughout the evening.

Update June 21st

Stir plate shut down this morning.  Starter moved to fridge to await brewday.

Brewed June 22nd

Some weird efficiency numbers.  I had expected around 70% based on my experience with the Blonde Ale.  I ended with 23-24L in the fermenter at a higher than expected gravity  (1.038) and still manage to leave behind 2L in the BK.  By my estimates this would mean the mash efficiency was closer to 80% which is considered quite high for this type of brew system.  Perhaps the increase in efficiency can be attributed to the lower starting gravity target?  Or perhaps it might have something to do with the short, 30m mash "stand" before I started the recirculation?  Mash details below...

Water treated with Campden, 2tsp of Calcium Chloride, 1tsp of Epsom and 1/2tsp of Gypsum for a mash pH of 5.44.

Strike temperature 73c, dough in, mash settled out at 67c.  Added some cold water from the  sparge colume, settled at 66c.  Left at ~2.9L/kg water to grain ratio for 30 minutes before beginning to vorlauf and starting the recirculation.  During the recirc, fired the propane burner, very low heat, to maintain mash temp of 66c.  Began a mash-out at the 45 min mark.  Over 10 minutes I increased the mash temperature until I hit 76c.  Recirculation was stopped and the MLT was allowed to fully drain.  Preboil gravity was higher than I expected so I diluted with 1L of straight water.  Boil for a total of 50m adding hops as above + whirlfloc @ 5 min.  

Chilled to 23c before draining to fermenter.  Fermenter placed in ferm freezer and dropped temps to 16c before pitching my starter.  Decanted about 1L of starter before shaking up into slurry.  Ferm temp controller set to 20c.

Update June 23rd

15hrs since pitch, Mild showing signs of light krausen.  Dirty skim @ 24h from pitch.

Update June 24th

Cropped krausen into pint size mason jar (x2).

Update June 25th

Cropped krausen a 4th time in the last 24hrs.  Krausen has not returned with the same vigor.  Some light patches on the surface and that is all.

Update June 26th

FG measures 1.0122 (3.11°P) 

Update July 3rd 

Kegged.  Pressure set to 12psi.  FG 1.0115 (2.94°P).  Samples from the fermenter are very promising!

LowTech Blonde Ale v4 - Inaugural Two Vessel Brew

Inaugural Run 

My first brew on the two vessel recirculating system.  Wasn't perfectly smooth, requires tuning but otherwise I'd deem it a success.  You can find more information on my trials and tribulations in the Brewery Update post.

LowTech Blonde Ale v4

OG 1.040/ IBU ~25/ SRM ~3/ ~23L

85.0% OiO Domestic 2-Row
10.0% Gambrinus Vienna
05.0% OiO Wheat Malt

10g of Centennial @ 60 minutes
10g of Centennial @ 30 minutes
10g of Cascade @ 10 minutes
10g of Cascade @ 0 minutes

WLP007 Slurry (Used 3x - 4th re-pitch)

Brewed June 9th

Mash @ 66c for 45 min before firing the HLT  raising temperatures to a 76c  mash-out.  Collected 30L pre-boil volume.  

Boiled for 70 minutes adding hops as scheduled above.  Whirlfoc at 1 min remaining in boil (lost track of time messing with my pump).  Gravity measured 1.040.  Chilled to ~20c.  Collected ~23L into the fermenter.  

Pitched 100ml of  WLP007 (from LowTech Pale Ale v4), this will be the yeast's 3rd re-pitch.

1/2 tsp Gypsum, 2  tsp Calcium Chloride, 1 tsp Epsom Salts, 80g Acid malt, added to mash for a pH of 5.50.  Final water numbers: 
Ca 74, Mg 14, Na 18, Cl 98, SO4  108

Update June 12th

Fermenter moved from cold room (~18c) to warmer room (21c).   Strong airlock activity.   Liquid crystal thermometer on the side of the pail reads 18c

Update June 18th

Tested 1.0137 (3.5°P) ~ 67% attenuation (likely due to the cold fermentation). 

Update June 26th

FG Measures 1.0131 (3.34°P), racked to keg.

Christmas in June... Hops!

Just received my semi-annual supply of hops!

 

• 1lb Simcoe
• 1lb Citra
• 1lb Amarillo
• 1lb Centennial
• 1lb Columbus
• 1lb Challenger
• 1lb EKG
• 1lb Bramling Cross
• 2lb Styrian Goldings
• 2lb Target
• 3lb Cascade

...  I've got some brewing to do!  Yeah HOPS!

Tasting - LowTech Pale Ale v4

LowTech Pale Ale v4

For a beer that I considered more or less a failure... it's sure nice!  In case you didn't read, I had big problems with a new hop filter design, it quickly clogged.  I managed to finally transfer the wort into the fermenters via auto-siphon although I lost substantial wort in the process.

Appearance

Pours burnt orange.  The Muntons Crystal 240 is darker than I expected.  It holds up nicely to the high gravity to bitterness ratio.  There is a very faint roastiness although I get more caramel notes than roast. The dense head only sticks around briefly before settling back into a fine lace.  Considerable lacing throughout the pint.  Considering the age of the beer and the lack of cold conditioning, the clarity is superb.  No finings post boil were used, this is all WLP007.  Overall, its certainly at the darker end of the pale ale spectrum.  You might even call it an American Amber Ale.

Aroma

Malty with a definite hop presence.  Not sure I can pick out any one hop, but the combination works.

Taste

For a pale ale, I'd consider the bitterness assertive.  Hop are front and center, surprising when you consider there were only 5oz's in the 40L batch.  Malt sweetness with some toast on the back end.  The body and mouthfeel are adequate, I might increase the crystal slightly.  Carbonated well, finishes dry.

Drinkability

Bitter and hoppy.  Inviting to the eye.  Lower AVB works. Anxious to try the dry-hopped version. 7/10.

Update June 11th

Had some carbonation issues early on, they seem to have been corrected.  Pints are pouring nicely, the ale is developing nicely.  Not sure if it's at it's peak yet but close.

Update June 13th

Wow!  Drinking really nice.  Bitterness has mellowed, malt profile starting to come forward.  Still a hoppy beer but now with a nice balance.

Brewery Update - Coming Soon!

I've been brewing with a cooler MLT for a number of years.  I am on my third cooler, it's worse for wear and is in need of another replacement.  After BSB 2013, I was very intrigued by a 2 vessel setup which, by my calculations, I could put in play with very little capital costs.  Basically, I already have the 2nd vessel and would simply need to build a new mash manifold.

The technique is continuously recirculating, no sparge brewing.

Two vessels, one upper, one lower.

The upper is your MLT, the lower is you HLT and Boil Kettle.

• To brew, you would fill the lower HLT/BK with the entire amount of brewing water (liquor).
• I would fire a propane burner on this lower vessel to bring the water to strike temperature.
• While heating to strike temperature, I would recirculate the water via pump up to my MLT and then gravity feed the hot water back to the HLT.  This would serve to pre-heat the MLT.
• Once the water reaches strike temperature, the MLT gravity feed to shut off, a portion the hot water is pumped to the MLT to achieve the desired grist to water ratio.  Pump is shut off.
• Mash is full, water remains in the HLT.
• Mash is stirred.
• MLT and HLT valves are opened once more, pump goes on and we recirculate, drawing the entire volume of water through the mash over the course of the hour.
• Propane burner is fired on the HLT through-out the mash to maintain desired mash temperatures.
• At the end of the mash the HLT valve and pump is shut off and the MLT is allowed to drain completely.  We now have our pre-boil volume in the HTL (now BK).

Possible complications

1. Equalizing flow between the MLT and the HLT.  You want to maintain a level of water on top of the grist throughout the entire duration of the mash.
2. Regulating the propane burner flame to maintain mash temperatures throughout the entire mash.
3. Possibility of lower mash extraction efficiency

Possible benefits

1. Smaller brewery footprint
2. Eliminating cooler from the brewery
3. No sparge means a shorter brewday
4. No sparge is said to improve the quality of malt flavours
5. No chance of tannin extraction from over sparging
6. Mash pH stability

Update June 4th

I built my new manifold from CPVC and ported my 2nd vessel (MLT) which is the 36qt Turkey Fryer aluminum pot.  I also ported the lid to fit the return feed from my HLT (50L Keggle).

Update June 5th

New MLT and manifold tests completed successfully.  I'd like to give the new system a go this weekend.

Update June 9th


Before brewing, I adjusted my grain mill loosening the crush.  I'd estimate the mill gap is now .040 (previously 0.036).  It looks perfect to me.  New crush tested with malted barley, malted wheat and even malted rye, all seem to crack well.  Minimal husk shedding on the malted barley.

Began the brew by heating the HLT to 60c then started recirculating the hot water through the MLT to pre-heat.  Once temperatures hit 66c, I doughed in.   Almost immediately began recirculating the mash and remaining HLT water (forgetting to vorlauf) and continued to heat the HLT until the mashed temperatures stabilized @ 66c at which point the heat was shut off.   The mash recirculated for 45 minutes.  Three times I fired the HLT briefly (1-2 min), over low heat, to retain a mash temperature of 66c.   The MLT itself might benefit from some type of insulation  in the future.  After 45 min, the HLT was fired over medium heat (still recirculating) raising temperatures to 76c  for mash-out.  Collected 30L pre-boil volume.

Managing the flows of both the MLT and HLT proved to be challenging.  Once during the mash the fluid  dropped below the grain.  I corrected by shutting off the flow from the MLT and continued pumping from the HLT.  Next time I will run the pump wide open and manage flow exiting the MLT.   The good news is the new manifold and crush seem to be lautering very well!

In my brewing software I guessed the new system's brewhouse efficiency @ 70%, I wasn't far off @ 68% with a mash efficiency @ 70% (~26ppg).

I really like the temperature control over the mash.  In the future I may experiment with conducting a more traditional mash and waiting for starch conversion before beginning the re-circulation this may help to improve efficiency a touch.  I suspect the flow rates at which the mash and HLT exchange might also play a role in the systems efficiency. 

BSB 2013 - IPA

Our gracious sponsors for BSB 2013 provided most of the malt in this recipe.  We used whole leaf flowers for all the late hops.

BSB 2013 - IPA

OG 1.060/ IBU ~83/ SRM ~6/ ~41L

53.0% OiO Domestic 2-Row
42.0% Muntons Maris Otter
03.0% OiO Wheat Malt
02.0% Weyermann Carabohemian

2oz of Warrior @ 60 minutes
1oz of Warrior @ 30 minutes
2oz ea Centennial/Cascade @ 5 minutes
1oz ea Centennial/Cascade @ 0 minutes

WLP007

Brewed June 1st

Mashed in at 150F.  Mashed for 60 minutes before collecting 46L pre-boil volume.  Boiled for 70 minutes adding hops as scheduled above.  Whirlfoc at 5 min remaining in boil.  Gravity measured 1.060.  Chilled to ~80F.  Collected ~32-34L into two fermenters.  Had a bit of an issue with chill water on site, BK sat for 20 min (hot) while waiting for water.

2 tsp Gypsum, 2  tsp Calcium Chloride, 1 tsp Epsom Salts, 150g Acid malt, added to mash for a pH of 5.48.  1tsp Gypsum added to the boil. Final water numbers: 
Ca 89, Mg 10, Na 18, Cl 63, SO4  174

Update June 2nd 

Gave the fermenter a quick shake but most of the aeration was done yesterday while racking the beer to the pail.  Re-pitched WLP007 from one of the LowTech APA v4 carboys.   This is the yeast's 3rd pitch (3rd gen).  Full Krausen within 5hrs.

Update June 3rd

Fermenting strong.  Used my cold room to keep temps down, ambient 18c.

Update June 6th

Ambient in the cold room down to 16c.  I checked on the IPA this morning and it appears to have completely fermented out.  Fermenter has been moved to a warmer room, will give it a few days to clean up before dry hopping.

Update June 8th

Added a whack load of whole leaf dry hops to the primary

Update June 16th

Racked off hops and to secondary for further conditioning .  Gravity measured 1.015.

Update June 18th

Racked to keg, pressure set to 12psi

BSB 2013 - Bohemian Pilsner

Our gracious sponsors for BSB 2013 provided an absurd amount of Saaz as well as a solid amount of Weyermann Pils Malt.

BSB 2013 - Bohemian Pilsner

OG 1.050/ IBU ~42/ SRM ~3/ ~41L

99.0% Weyermann Pils Malt
01.0% Weyermann Melanoidin Malt

1.5oz of Saaz @ 60 minutes
2oz of Saaz @ 30 minutes
2oz of Saaz @ 15 minutes
2oz of Saaz @ 0 minutes

Fermentis SafLager S-23

Brewed June 1st

Mashed in at 152F.  Mashed for 60 minutes before collecting 46L pre-boil volume.  Boiled for 70 minutes adding hops as scheduled above.  Forgot to add Whirlfoc at 5 min remaining in boil.  Gravity measured 1.050.  Chilled to ~80F.  Collected ~36-38L into two fermenters.

2  tsp Calcium Chloride, 1 tsp Epsom Salts, 120g Acid malt, added to mash for a pH of 5.55.  Final water numbers: 
Ca 44, Mg 9, Na 18, Cl 66, SO4  56

Update June 2nd 

Gave the fermenter a quick shake but most of the aeration was done yesterday while racking the beer to the pail.  Pitched two packets of S-23 @ 18c,  Fermentation freezer set to 16c (60F).

Update June 3rd 

Temperature set to 16c, freezer doing a decent job keeping thing cool.  Cool cycle does tend to over-cool a touch so the wort is bouncing between 15c and 16c.  Pils showing Krausen.

Update June 6th

Temperature steady @ 15-16c.  Pils is full steam ahead.  Will keep my eye on fermentation of the next few days, don't want to miss my chance at a diacetyl  rest.

Update June 9th

It would appear the fermentation is beginning to whine down.  I turned off the temperature controller to allow the wort to free-rise for a Diacetyl rest.

Update June 11th

Temperature has risen to 20c.  I sampled the wort and I like where this is heading.  Bitter and quite dry.  I am not getting any of the dreaded S-23 "Passion Fruit" nor Diacetyl.   FG reading 7% brix which corrects to 1.0137 (3.49°P), 74% attenuation. 

Update June 12th

Temperature down to 3.5c. 

Update June 13th

Temp probe removed from fermenter and placed in a jar of water which had been also sitting in the freezer, this allowed me to snap down the lid of the fermenter.  Not sure if this was necessary or not?  Going to be racking beer to carboy or keg for more lagering. 

Update June 18th

Racked to keg for further lagering.