Brew #14: Kamra v2.0

I haven't brewed a beer in a while, so I decided to take a shot a reworking my Kamra v1.0 recipe.  The main thing I wanted to rework is adding more Challenger to get that spiciness to come through.  I also made some changes to the grain bill to make it more like a Brown Ale, since it will be winter when it's ready to drink.  Adding the 2% of chocolate malt was inspired by my Wufus Wainwight recipe, which turned out awesome.  Another change I made was adding late addition Fuggles, because Fuggle aroma is awesome, and to make the hops profile a little less one-dimensional.  I also plan on doing a bit higher carbonation level.

2.75 gal.

4 lbs. Maris Otter (58%)
1.5 lbs. Victory (22%)
.75 lbs. 60L Crystal (11%)
.5 lbs. Flaked Corn (8%)
2 oz. English Chocolate Malt (2%)

Mash at 155dF for 60min.
Sparge with 3 solo cups of hot tap water

.3 oz. Challenger at (8.9 AA) at 60
.5 oz. Challenger at 20
.25 oz. Fuggles (5.3 AA) at 10
.25 oz. Fuggles at FO

Est. OG: 1.063
Est FG: 1.018
Est. ABV: 5.97% ABV
Est. IBUs: 40 (only 18 coming from bittering addition though)
Est. Color: 22 SRM (Morley)

11/22: Got 3 gal. In fermenter.  Pitched whole pack of rehydrated S-04.  OG is 1.061 (14.8 Brix).  Forgot Irish moss in boil.
11/23: A lot of air lock activity in the morning.  By evening, it had almost stopped completely.
11/26: Left town for Thanksgiving, so turned temp in the apartment down to 62dF.
11/29: Current gravity is 9.2 Brix (1.021).  Checked it just after turning heat back on.
12/3: 9.4 Brix??? Checking again tomorrow.
12/10: Infection.  It's growing hair.  Dumped. :(

Brew #13: Rice Wine

I found this on HBT.  Wicked simple brew that makes a beverage with an ABV of 15-20%.  Technically not sake cuz sake is much more complicated to brew.  Basically, it's cooked jasmine rice and crushed-up yeast balls mixed together in a large jar.  Let it sit for 2-4 weeks and then strain to separate the solids from the liquid.  Funnel liquid into a bottle and refrigerate, and serve as you would white wine.

And there you have it - rice wine (which, incidentally, is more similar to beer than wine, procedure-wise).

9/20: Cooked the rice and combined with crushed yeast balls.
9/24: Very visible amount of liquid in jar.
9/25: Dipped a spoon in it and spoon tasted like really sweet sugar water.  Looks like it is bubbling when I tap the jar.
10/9: Bottled and got about 24 oz. bottled.  Tried it and it was sweet and strong.  The smell it left on my hands from pressing it smelled like beer.
10/31: Drank what was left at a Halloween party.  It had a nice carbonation; the majority of it looked like milk b/c of rice particulates.

Pickles

Been wanting to do this for a bit.  My wife got some Kirby cukes at the farmer's market.  I got everything else from the grocery store.  We used this recipe, and added a little bit of fresh dill heads.  Got 'er goin' on 9/15.

9/17: Going well, a bit salty.
9/22: Quite spicy (cut amount of red pepper flakes in half next time), and has a hint of sweet pickles flavor.  Otherwise, a solid dill pickle flavor.

Brew #12: Special K (Hazelnut Coffee Pale Stout)

I read something about this new style of beer and I thought it was interesting.  Some people think it's a silly fad (and maybe it is), but the justification goes like this: If DIPA is a style, why not have a pale stout?  So I decided to brew it.

The name is in honor of the best example of having a white appearance with a black vibe (the character from "Can't Hardly Wait").

I didn't have my refracto on hand, so I didn't get an OG.  Here is what Brewer's Friend told me though:

Aroma hops were a few different ones I had left over, but all fairly similar.  Used 8 oz. of Bigby whole bean Hazelnut coffee @10 min.

8/16: Pitched S-04.

8/18: Krausen has fallen.
8/24: Transferred 2 gal. to secondary so I could free up my bottling bucket (which is also my primary fermenter).
9/4: 7.9 Brix
9/5: 7.8 or 7.9 Brix?
9/6: Bottled with a little less than 1/4 cup of priming sugar to get 2.1 vols. (dumped in bucket).  Somehow I got 20 12oz. Bottles and two 16oz. Bottles and still had a little left in the bucket.
9/15: Chilled one in the freezer and drank it.  Pretty thin and lighter body than I had hoped.  Prob cuz I let the mash temp go WAY down.

Brew #11: Ginger Beer

About 4 tablespoons of juice from fresh grated ginger root
1 cup table sugar
1/4 tsp Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast
Filled the rest of a 2L bottle with tap water (sanitized bottle)

8/9: Pitched yeast and gave it a good shaking
8/10: Opened it a bit to release some pressure, then put in fridge
8/12: Drank it.  Good, but will add lime next time.

Brew #10: Root Beer

I did two 2L bottles, a day apart from each other:

7/24: Batch 1 -

1/2 tablespoon of Rainbow root beer extract
1 cup priming sugar (had table sugar but didn't see it until later)
1/4 tsp Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast
Filled the rest of a 2L bottle with tap water (sanitized bottle)
Gave it good shaking
OG 6.8 Brix
7/27: Put in fridge
7/29: Drank it.  Not enough sweetness, but carbonation is awesome.

7/25: Batch 2 -
1/2 tablespoon of Rainbow root beer extract
1 cup table sugar
1/4 tsp Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast
Filled the rest of a 2L bottle with tap water (sanitized bottle)
Gave it good shaking
Didn't check gravity
7/28: Fridge
7/30: Brought to family gathering and it was perfect.

Brew #9: Bier de Noel (Belgian Golden Strong Ale)

I wanted to make a big beer for the first time, so I decided to make a Belgian for Christmas.  My dad sat in as assistant brewer on this one too.  Based on a recipe from HBT called Pink Elephant:

Pilsener (Belgian) 6.50 lb

10 min @ 125F mash-in, 45 min @ 144F, 30 min @ 158F, 172F mashout.

Styrian Golding 0.75 oz,60 min

Saaz 0.50 oz,15 min

Beet Sugar 1.00 lb, 10 min

Coriander Seed 7.20 grams, 10 min

Ginger 2.40 grams, Spice, 10 min

Paradise 2.40 grams, Spice, 10 min

WLP570 (1L starter)

S-04 (dry)

I did a couple things different than the original recipe: fresh ground pepper instead of grains of paradise, and half as much by weight; used corn (priming) sugar instead of beet sugar; mashed at 151dF for 90 min. with a 10 min mashout at 170dF.  Original recipe didn't give AAUs for the hops, but I calculated 21 IBUs with what I used.

7/17: Made a starter.  Gravity was around 1.043.  Size is about a liter.  Pitched WLP570 into that.

7/19: Brew day.  Started with just over 5 gals. of strike water.  Used wort to sparge instead of water.  Got just over 3 gals. out, and hit the target gravity perfectly.  Final gravity is supposed to be 1.006.  

Fermenting progress:

7/19:1.072 (17.5 Brix) Left the fermenter with my dad and told him to put it in the warmest, out of the way spot in their house for a week.

7/26: 1.003 (7.4 Brix measured).  Assuming this is FG as it is 3 pts. lower than expected.  Told Dad to move carboy to a mini fridge to cold crash.  ABV should come out to 9%.

7/29: Cold crashed in fridge.

8/19: Took out of fridge and put in garage.

8/26: Bottled what turned out to be just shy of 2.5 gal. in bottling bucket with about 2.5 oz of priming sugar for about 2.7 vol. of carb.  Got 26 12 oz bottles out.

10/4: Drank one and it was good.  Maybe a bit drier than expected though.

12/1: Brought beer from parents' garage to my basement in Holland.  Drank one and it was amazing.

12/30 - 12/31: Finished the last two sixers with my fam for our Christmas party, and our New Years party.  The booziness is gone.  The yeastiness might be a bit much.  Everyone thought it was amazeballs.