Brew #8: Happy Life Cream Ale

I've been wanting to do a summery lawn mower type thing for a little while.  This is what I decided on, based on BierMuncher's Cream of Three Crops recipe (edited for 2.75 gallons into primary):

3 lbs. 2R/Pale
1 lb. flaked corn
.25 lb. minute rice
.7 oz. Tettnanger (3.9% AA) est. IBUs is 21ish?
US-05 dry (most of the whole smack pack)

Mashed for over 60 min.  Basically, what I did was I left it alone for 4 15-min. sessions and checked temp and stirred in between.  Tried my darnedest to keep it under 152dF. During mash.  Then I did a mash out at 170dF for 10 min.  Then I did a 60 min. boil.  Added hops and started timer as soon as it was boiling.

I had some issues hitting my numbers on brewday, but we'll see how it goes.

6/28: Pitched yeast.  OG is 1.043 (10.6 Brix).  I actually remembered to sparge this time.  My gravity was really high and my volume ended up being a lot less than expected after boil, so I added about a half  gallon of heated up water to get the correct volume.  The gravity I was going for was 1.040.  Oh well.

7/8: 5.4 Brix.  Moved fermenter away from vent that's pumping the AC to see if that will allow it to ferment some more.  A couple hours later, the krausen was almost gone.
7/9: 5.4 Brix. Took a thief sample and it was good.  Had a Belgian vibe.
7/10: 5.0 Brix (1.006) Should be about 4.9% ABV
7/13: Took out of fridge.
7/14: Bottled with 2.4 oz of priming sugar (2.4 vol.).  filled 26 12oz. brown bottles, so just short of 2.5 gallons.  Filled bottles right from primary.  Tried some in the process and it tasted a lot like Blue Moon.
7/17: Opened a bottle unchilled.  Carb and clarity was awesome.  Thin mouthfeel.  It has a bit of a wheat (same Blue Moon vibe) flavor initially, but that goes away immediately.  Just as crisp as it should be.  Fantastic.
7/25: Put the rest of the bottles in the fridge.
8/2: Drank the majority of this at a party at my parents' house.  It was completely overshadowed by my cider, but I was happy with it for what it was.  A touch on the skunky side.  Definitely ferment it colder if possible next time.

Brew #7: Kotch Rocket Hopped Vanilla Cider

I wanted to start a new brew 'cuz I don't like having an empty fermenter.  But I didn't feel like spending a whole afternoon brewing.  Solution: cider.

6/13:
- Got 2.5 gal. of unpasteurized cider from Crane's.  Heated up to about 155dF to kill any wild yeast.
- Added priming sugar to bring OG up to 1.050 (12.4 Brix).
- Added in the recommended amount of pectin enzyme and yeast energizer.
- Pitched S-04 at about 105dF (should have been lower but I got impatient).

- About three hours later, it was fermenting like crazy.  I added a little less than 1/4 oz. of Nelson Sauvin hops (11.4% AA) and brought it downstairs to hopefully slow down the fermentation a bit.

6/16: Brixometer says 4.6ish, which means the gravity is at .999?  Prob transfer to secondary this weekend.
6/17: Took upstairs to transfer.  Added 4 tsp. of pure vanilla extract to primary.  Transferred to secondary and cold-crashed in fridge.

6/20: Took out of fridge and transferred to tertiary.  Gravity is at 4.4 Brix (.998).
6/22: 4.3 Brix (.997).
6/25: 4.0 Brix (.995).
6/26: 4.0 Brix
6/28: 4.0 Brix.  Finally completely fermented out.  ABV should be 7.4%.
7/5: Bottling day.
- Back sweetened with 3 tsp. of liquid Sweet N Low which was probably 1 tsp. too much, even in my wife's opinion.  I guess it could just end up being more of an American style cider, rather than an English style.
- Set aside two bottles (one glass with a crown, and one 12 oz. soda bottle) without priming sugar per Johnny IT's suggestion.  Added 1.3 oz of priming sugar to the rest and bottled it in 12 oz. soda bottles and EZ-cap bottles.

7/8: Opened one and it still needs time to carb some more, but it doesn't seem as sweet now.
7/10: Opened another one, and carb is getting there.  Put all of the carbed glass bottles in the fridge cuz we're going out of town for the next few days.
7/13: Put the plastic soda bottles in fridge after having the AC off all weekend (it was 82dF when we got home).  The carbonation level is perfect.
7/24: Put one of the un-conditioned ciders in the fridge (drank the other one a while ago).
7/26: Drank the still cider today.  It tasted like a lot like white wine.  It had the tiniest bit of carbonation like some white wines I've had.
8/2: Huge hit at my parents' Coast Guard Festival party.  Some of my cousins said that they would pay whatever I asked if I were selling it.

Sourdough

On Sunday I got Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz for my birthday from my in-laws.  I am really excited to try doing some of the stuff in the book.  But one thing that sounded really easy that I could do with stuff I had on hand was making a sourdough starter.  So that's what I did on Sunday night.

I had a mason jar of washed WL051 yeast in my fridge from my last brew, so I decided to forgo the "wild" part of the title of the book and used that yeast.

6/1: Mixed 2 cups water, 2 cups flour, and washed yeast in a mixing bowl.  Poured into a quart mason jar and covered that with straining bag I was gonna use for dry hopping.
6/2: Saw some activity.
6/4: No activity.  Added a couple Tablespoons of flour.
6/5:  It's a bit runny, so I added about a half cup of flour.  Also put in about a teaspoon of sugar for the heck of it.  Covered it with a loose lid.  Moved it from the counter to the back of the stovetop.
6/6: Lots of bubbles and better consistency today.  Planning on making a basic sourdough bread with this tomorrow using This recipe.
6/7: Made recipe with some modifications per the reviews on th recipe.  Here's a picture of the result:

Brew #6: Kamra Pub Ale v1.0 (UK Style ESB)

I did some research on casking after having a beer on cask at New Holland.  Above is a picture of what I came up with.  It's what is called a "polypin" in the UK, and it's a cheap way to get a similar effect as casking.  Here is a link to the post on HBT where I got the idea from.

The name is a nod to both Wilco ("Kamera"), and to uptight Brits who think all beer should be on cask (CAMRA).  Also, I got a refractometer from my wife for my birthday.  So my gravity readings are in Brix.  Got 3 gallons of wort into my 12L fermenter, so I rigged a blow-off tube, just to be safe (ended up being unnecessary).

The beer that I had at NHBC seemed to have a pronounced corn flavor that was unnoticeable when I tried the same beer kegged.  So that's why I wanted to try corn in an ESB.  I'm pretty sure I went overboard on the wheat, but I'm interested to see what that does.  Also, I wanted to just use one hop for both bittering and aroma.  The only dual purpose British hop I could find was Challenger (described as "spicy"), so I went with that.  I was hoping that would give it a really pronounced almost-IPA-ish vibe, and I think it might.

Tasting notes: It has a strong apple-y banana aftertaste.  The wheat didn't come through in any way that I could notice.  Maybe no gelatin next time since wheat beers are by their nature hazy (maybe?).  I should do either more aroma hops or just do some kind of American late-addition hop next time.

Here was my 3 gal. BIAB recipe:

4.25 lbs Maris Otter (70%)
9 oz Torrified wheat (10%)
9 oz C60L (10%)
9 oz Flaked corn (10%)

1/2 oz Challenger (6.9% AA) at 60
1/2 oz Challenger at FO

Pitched S-04 dry (half smack pack) on 5/31.  Fermenting at room temp.

Pre-boil gravity: 1.041
OG: 1.051 (12.6 Brix)
Est. FG 1.012
Est. ABV: 5.13%
6/3: 1.014 adjusted gravity (7.2 Brix measured)
6/4: I can hear it bubbling as I am typing this, so I'm gonna wait on taking another gravity reading.
6/5: 1.014 (7.2 Brix) I guess this one's gonna come in at right around 4.9% ABV
6/6: Brought a half packet of "Knox Gelatine" and a half cup of water to a simmer to sanitize.  Put in fermenter before going to bed.  This is in place of isinglass which is traditionally used for clearing in this style of beer.
6/7: Primed with 1.4 oz of priming sugar and bottled.  Shooting for 1.7ish vols. of CO2.  Looked pretty clear except for what I assume is tiny granules of flaked corn?  I ended up getting 2.5 gallons out.
6/9: Super clear and a coppery-orange color.  There is what looks like pulp on the bottom.  Assuming that's the fining agent.
Also - today I realized that I didn't sparge this brew, or the last one either.  Gotta remember that for my next brew.
6/12: Opened one tonight after chilling in freezer for about 15 min.  Def. not done carbing, but flavor is interesting.  Whiskey is the first flavor I get.  DMS is the second, and the corn flavor I was going for is the third flavor.
6/17: put the polypin in the fridge.
6/18: Polypin is pretty much flat.  I added a crap-load of fuggles for fun, and that worked well for offsetting the sweet flavor.

6/26: Cellared the ten bottles I had left about a week ago after figuring the wheat was a fail.  Just poured one at cellar temp and had a two finger head very briefly.
7/24: Drank one of the three that were left at cellar temp, and I think the flavors are coming together.  Put the other two in the fridge.

Brew #5: Wufus Wainwight (Schlafly Pale Ale Clone)

I wanted to make this for my brother and sister in law who lived in St. Louis until recently.  You can only get this if you are within 300 miles of STL, and I'm pretty sure I have not had it in at least ten years.  But it is soooooo good.  Malty and sessionable.  From what I recall, it's an American spin on an English Bitter.

Also, I started feeling like a chump paying so much for DME, so I decided to get a bigger kettle and start brewing with all-grain, BIAB style.

Tasting Notes: I love it.  Very clean.  So clean that I could really notice a difference in skunkiness between the clear bottles and the brown ones.  ABV came in at around 4.2%.  It would be a perfect session beer if there was a tiny pinch less of chocolate malt.  A hair darker and more roasty that I was shooting for.  Not bad at all for my first all-grain.

I found the recipe that I based my recipe on at brewboard.com, posted by a guy who had brewed at Schlafly:

88% Domestic 2 Row Pale
10% Domestic 2 Row C 60L
2% English Chocolate Malt

Neutral Bittering hops
Lots of EKGS for Flavor and Aroma

WL051/WY1272

Here's what I did for a 2.5 gal. Batch:

4.5 lbs American 2R/Pale
.5 lbs C 60L
2 oz. chocolate malt

Mash 45 min around 153dF
Mash out 170dF

Boil 60 min
.33 oz German NB 7%AA at 60 min
Three .15 oz  additions Fuggles 5%AA (at 20, 5, and just after boil was over)
(25 IBUs)
Topped up to 2.5 gallons which hit target OG and target volume
Cool ferment with WL051
Est. OG: 1.044
Target FG: 1.011-1.012

Pitched WL051 on 5/3 and took downstairs right away (<60dF)
OG: 1.045
5/4: No airlock activity, so I added some yeast energizer and agitated.
5/10: 1.014; Xferred to secondary
5/13: 1.014

5/17: bottled w/ 2 oz. corn sugar (the right way this time)
5/27: perfect after carbing for 8-9 days and being in fridge for about 2.
7/4: Tried it back to back with the real deal.  Almost perfect.

Brew #4: Sam Jackson (Extract SMaSH Ale)

It's not REALLY a SMaSH cuz extract isn't single malt.  I just wanted to make my first actual beer with the least and easiest ingredients possible.  After doing some googling, I came across this which was the seed of inspiration.

Anywho, I didn't really know what to call it, and it ended up being pretty good but kinda ghetto.  So the name came from Dave Chappelle's parody skit, mainly cuz of the tag line, "It's good ####in' beer!"

3 lbs. Light DME
1 oz. Cascade
.5 oz at 60 min
.5 oz at 10 min
Top up to 2.5 gal. In fermenter

Pitched S-05 dry
OG: 1.051
Target gravity: 1.014

Pitched 4/12/14
4/16 - SG: 1.012
4/17 - SG: 1.012
4/18 - FG: 1.012

Xferred to secondary (2 gal. Bucket w/ no headspace) on 4/22
Bottled 4/26 (dry corn sugar right into bottling bucket, oops)
5/3 tried one and it was great after being in fridge for 2 days

Tasting notes: tastes like a Caramel hefeweizen.

Brew #3: Brandon O's Graff

Here is where I got the idea:
Brandon O's Graff

Fermentation notes (recipe copied, and edited for 2.5 gal., below):
Pitched yeast (Muntons's Ale) on 3/3 (no OG taken)
3/8: 1.010
3/9: 1.009
3/12: 1.009

Tasting notes: sour.  Tasted like a young cider.  I steeped specialty grains at way too high of temp, so prob didn't get any conversion, thus no fermentables, from grain.  Used cheap apple juice, and original recipe said to use C120L if you use cheap stuff.  I transferred to secondary, but I don't know when or for how long.

.25 lbs of Crystal 60L.
1 oz of torrified wheat
2 Gallons of apple juice
5. gallon of water
1 lb. Amber DME

Steep the 60L and torrified wheat in 3 pints of water @ 155 degrees for 30 mins.
Sparge with 1 pint of 170 degree water and throw away grains.
Add DME and bring to a boil for 30 minutes.

Cool down the wort and pour wort and apple juice into your carboy and pitch yeast.

Ferment 2 weeks at 64-68 degrees.  Bottle prime with 1.8 oz of corn sugar (I used 1.4 oz of table sugar); 3 week bottling period for carbonating.

Brew #2: Sweet Cheeks Weak Mead

I actually took a lot of notes for my second brew.  I had no idea what mead tasted like, really.  Around the time I bottled, a friend summed it up when I told her I was making mead - "Um, isn't mead like really aweful?"  Pretty much.

Tasting notes: originally, I just wanted to see what honey tasted like with the sugar fermented out.  Never got the chance cuz I added a whole bunch of stuff in secondary.  A LOT of cinnamon, a little bit of tea.  I was aiming for still mead, which I got, but it just didn't work out.  Other than the added flavors, it seemed ethanolly.

Started it with 2 lbs. of honey and 2 gal. of water.

1/10: OG - 1.048
Yeast - safale s-04

1/11 added yeast nutrient (about 16 hrs. after pitching); smells like vinegar
1/12 Gravity at 1.040 and tastes delicious; slightly carbed.  Airlock went crazy when I agitated the must (cuz of carbonation.)
1/13 Added a Clementine, sanitized and quartered, for yeast energizing (citric acid).
- gravity about 9 hours later is 1.036
- can def notice the orange flavor
1/16 been agitating 2-3 times a day up until now.  Noticed that it has started bubbling a lot more just recently.  Leaving it alone (no agitation) for a couple days.
1/18 Gravity at 1.006.
-Steeped a Black Chai Spice Tea in sample for 5 minutes and it was a weird taste.  Added Splenda and it helped a little.
- Added Pectin Enzyme and agitated to mix.  Air lock freaked out like I've never seen before.
- Removed orange slices with sanitized spoon.
1/21 FG 1.000
- Racked to secondary
- added K Meta and K Sorbate.
1/29 added 3 cinnamon sticks and1 Rooibos tea bag.
- it's clear and somewhat bitter.  No sweetness.
2/3 took tea and sticks out. (5 days - prob way too long)
2/5 added can of Welches 100% white grape juice concentrate and about 10 oz of water.
2/7 bottled

Brew #1: Blueberry Cider

Brewed in November sometime.  I used http://www.howtomakehardcider.com as my main source of info.  OG was around 1.050; no idea what my FG was.  Used Munton's ale yeast.  Started with about 1.75 gal. of the fresh cider recommended in that website.  Turned out bright yellow.  Transferred to secondary that had over 2 gal. of headspace.  Tried to bottle carb with table sugar in a freezing basement with no results (duh).  Ended up backsweetening/bottle-carbing with blueberry concentrate (a whole lot, and def. didn't measure at all), and put in fridge when a soda bottle of it was hard (2 days maybe?).  Ended up with a quart of final product.

Flavor was not bad with all of that concentrate added.  But it was still a bit skunky from what I recall.

Far too many obvious things I will do different next time.

Post #0

I decided to start this to keep track of how I brew, and to be able to look back on what I did during the process to make better beer in the future.  I'm first gonna try to remember what I can about what I have already brewed.