Day 1 (wed 26dec):
Specs:
Initial Specific Gravity: 1.041 (target was 1.044)
Day 1:
1 - Signs of fermentation (foam in drum tap) were present after 12 hours. I think the longer lag, despite pitching onto yeast cake, were due to the fact that the temperature upon adding and mixing the wort was ~ 56F. So I overcooled a little bit and it took a few hours for the temp to get back up into the 60s. I wasn't really worried about it because this yeast is supposed to tolerate down to 54F and its optimum range is listed at 57F-70F. Oh well, better to overcool than undercool and potentially kill your yeast. We'll see if things pick up as it remains around 64-65 F.
Day 3:
Continuing to ferment (I can hear it fizzing and churning when I put my ear up to it). With this brew, like my first one, the airlock isn't showing activity, either due to a less powerful ferment than the last one or that the fermentor lid didn't seal tight enough (at this point, i don't really even look to the airlock, I just check to see foam formed in the drum tap and a foamy krausen visible through the airlock hole). I can see a positive pressure in it due to the slight miniscus of the vodka in the down direction and no miniscus in the up/out direction side of the airlock. I have kept the ambient temp of the room around 65F (best I can do without freezing my brother at night, although given the way he hibernates, it probably would have little affect on him), and the fermometer is reading 68F, so a little heat it being generated, still acceptable temperatures. I suspect it will come down back to room ambient temperature when primary fermentation has ceased.
I will probably wait a week or so before taking a hydrometer reading as everything seems to be going just fine.
Day 10 (Sat 06jan):
Took hydrometer reading:
Specific gravity: 1.013, beer tasted pretty good, with some natural carbonation still in solution.
This is about 68% attenuation, maybe it has a little more to go. Regardless, I will probably bottle it up monday night (12 days) out of convenience (i'm off) and because with the large amount of yeast pitched, it probably hit its final gravity some days ago and hopefully the extra yeast population has had plenty of time to clean up after themselves. If not, oh well, they can do it in bottles (bumper sticker).
Additionally, there appears to be a ton of trub/yeast on the bottom as the drum tap is about half full of it, so that probably means like 2-3 layer on the bottom. I'm betting this is due to repitching and the large number of yeast involved, especially if they multiplied even more as expected, horny little bastards (for themselves, which is somewhat kinky).
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Brewing Notes, Brown Ale (wed 26dec)
I brewed up an easy brown ale to pitch right on to about 1/2 to 1/4 of the remaining yeast cake from my previous brew. The recipe for this brown ale kit (from Northern Brewer) was:
6 lbs. Gold Malt Extract
0.25 lbs. Simpson's Chocolate
0.25 lbs. Dingemans Special B
0.25 lbs. Dingemans Biscuit
0.25 lbs. Briess Special Roast
1 oz. Challenger (60 min)
repitched onto Danstar Nottingham cake from previous Pale Ale
This will be my first brew using only pale/gold extract. I will be curious to see any differences in how fast/much it ferments and in taste differences as most people recommend brewing this way to have more control of the end result (you know what is in your malt extract...)
Some Notes about this brew as I tried some new things:
1 - Used 1.5 tsp burton salts prior to steeping. I also steeped in only 1.5 gallons instead of the full 2.5. I then poured the remaining gallon of 170F water through the grains in a collander as a sort of "ghetto sparge." Mainly practicing for when I do a partial mash for the oatmeal stout.
2 - I skimmed the foam off periodically during the boil. These are supposed to be some proteins that it doesn't hurt to remove and might make for a clearer beer.
3 - Strained wort through mesh strainer when pouring to trap hop debris. Didn't really matter as they mostly stay at the bottom of the pot which I don't normally pour out anyway.
4 - Pitched directly onto the ~1/4-1/2 of previous yeast cake (the rest was harvested).
5 - Used 3 gallons of "purified drinking water" (still has minerals for flavor, but is not spring water) to top up as it comes in convenient 3x1 package at the grocery store, and I figured I was already adding plenty of minerals with the Burton salts.
6 lbs. Gold Malt Extract
0.25 lbs. Simpson's Chocolate
0.25 lbs. Dingemans Special B
0.25 lbs. Dingemans Biscuit
0.25 lbs. Briess Special Roast
1 oz. Challenger (60 min)
repitched onto Danstar Nottingham cake from previous Pale Ale
This will be my first brew using only pale/gold extract. I will be curious to see any differences in how fast/much it ferments and in taste differences as most people recommend brewing this way to have more control of the end result (you know what is in your malt extract...)
Some Notes about this brew as I tried some new things:
1 - Used 1.5 tsp burton salts prior to steeping. I also steeped in only 1.5 gallons instead of the full 2.5. I then poured the remaining gallon of 170F water through the grains in a collander as a sort of "ghetto sparge." Mainly practicing for when I do a partial mash for the oatmeal stout.
2 - I skimmed the foam off periodically during the boil. These are supposed to be some proteins that it doesn't hurt to remove and might make for a clearer beer.
3 - Strained wort through mesh strainer when pouring to trap hop debris. Didn't really matter as they mostly stay at the bottom of the pot which I don't normally pour out anyway.
4 - Pitched directly onto the ~1/4-1/2 of previous yeast cake (the rest was harvested).
5 - Used 3 gallons of "purified drinking water" (still has minerals for flavor, but is not spring water) to top up as it comes in convenient 3x1 package at the grocery store, and I figured I was already adding plenty of minerals with the Burton salts.
Bottling Notes, Pale Ale (wed 26dec)
Bottling notes:
Final Gravity: 1.013
Percent Attenuation: ~ 75%
1 - Ended up with 5 x 24 oz bombers and 32 x 12 oz bottles. Lost a few to some spillage, and accidentally setting the bottling wand down and leaving it open in a cup. I think this batch was also a little more condensed also because I only added 2.5 gallons of cold water instead of the usual 3.
2 - Used a little less than 3/4 cup corn sugar because I want a little less carbonation for this brew. However, because of the reduced volume of this batch, it will probably be just about the same as using 3/4 for 5 gallons.
3 - I also used star-san for the first time which made things much easier to do because I could just run the solution through everything and be confident that it did the job due to the short contact time needed.
4 - I also harvested about a pint of yeast/trub from the bottom of the primary to use later if I want to. Its stored in the fridge.
5 - Moved the bottles up to my room where its a little warmer.
Final Gravity: 1.013
Percent Attenuation: ~ 75%
1 - Ended up with 5 x 24 oz bombers and 32 x 12 oz bottles. Lost a few to some spillage, and accidentally setting the bottling wand down and leaving it open in a cup. I think this batch was also a little more condensed also because I only added 2.5 gallons of cold water instead of the usual 3.
2 - Used a little less than 3/4 cup corn sugar because I want a little less carbonation for this brew. However, because of the reduced volume of this batch, it will probably be just about the same as using 3/4 for 5 gallons.
3 - I also used star-san for the first time which made things much easier to do because I could just run the solution through everything and be confident that it did the job due to the short contact time needed.
4 - I also harvested about a pint of yeast/trub from the bottom of the primary to use later if I want to. Its stored in the fridge.
5 - Moved the bottles up to my room where its a little warmer.
Friday, December 14, 2007
future brewing notes so I don't forget
Brown ale:
1- ad water salts
Oatmeal stout:
1 - extra 1/2 lb "quick" oats to steep
2 - water salts to harden
3 - prime with maple syrup (suggested to make a creamy head)
4 - Add 1/4 lb chocolate malt, 1/2 lb roasted barley, 1/2 lb dark crystal malt to grains (2.5 lbs total, wow, i want it thick and tasty)
1- ad water salts
Oatmeal stout:
1 - extra 1/2 lb "quick" oats to steep
2 - water salts to harden
3 - prime with maple syrup (suggested to make a creamy head)
4 - Add 1/4 lb chocolate malt, 1/2 lb roasted barley, 1/2 lb dark crystal malt to grains (2.5 lbs total, wow, i want it thick and tasty)
Bottling/Brewing plan
Here's how I plan to bottle my current brew as well as pitch my next on the same day:
1 - Sanitize a big cooking spoon and two clear pint jars with screw on lids in dishwasher with same load of bottles to be used.
2 - Assemble bottling bucket and fill with star-san (no rinse, 2 minute sanitizer).
3 - Attach hose/filler and run santizer through hose into a plastic bucket (also fill transfer hose for fermentor) . Let hoses/filler sit filled with sanitizer for 2 minutes. Then finish draining into bucket.
4 - Transfer to bottling bucket using drum tap and transfer hose, cover bottling bucket with aluminum foil.
5 - Open fermentor and scoop out 2 pints of yeast/trub into santized jars, seal, and refrigerate. Leave remaining yeast/trub to pitch onto (will still be way more than enough).
6 - Wipe off crud ring in fermentor and on lid with star san paper towel. Seal back up.
7 - Bottle and cap.
8 - Brew as normal except pitch directly onto remaining yeast/trub in fermentor. Stand back as it hopefully with explode into a wild nasty fermentation!
1 - Sanitize a big cooking spoon and two clear pint jars with screw on lids in dishwasher with same load of bottles to be used.
2 - Assemble bottling bucket and fill with star-san (no rinse, 2 minute sanitizer).
3 - Attach hose/filler and run santizer through hose into a plastic bucket (also fill transfer hose for fermentor) . Let hoses/filler sit filled with sanitizer for 2 minutes. Then finish draining into bucket.
4 - Transfer to bottling bucket using drum tap and transfer hose, cover bottling bucket with aluminum foil.
5 - Open fermentor and scoop out 2 pints of yeast/trub into santized jars, seal, and refrigerate. Leave remaining yeast/trub to pitch onto (will still be way more than enough).
6 - Wipe off crud ring in fermentor and on lid with star san paper towel. Seal back up.
7 - Bottle and cap.
8 - Brew as normal except pitch directly onto remaining yeast/trub in fermentor. Stand back as it hopefully with explode into a wild nasty fermentation!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Change of plans for next brew..
Out of curiousity and also as a learning experiment. I've decided to immediately pitch another batch onto the yeast currently in my primary fermentor on the same day that I bottled that batch. I decided to do this for a couple reasons:
1 - It would be an easier way to get another batch going without having to go through all the sanitation business again.
2 - I'm just plain curious about how it will turn out resuing the yeast. It could be an interesting way to save some cash on future brews, especially for ones that really need a specific liquid yeast and that I really like and want alot of.
3 - I want to get alot of beer stocked up so I don't have to buy any beer for a while and can always have plenty to dish out to anyone who wants one (or many) without running out.
I decided to just find a cheap kit brew to make and went with the another basic brown ale similar to my first brew because it doesn't rely on a specific yeast to taste good, can cover up any real flaws that could come from my experimenting with reusing yeast, and my girlfriend and I both like to drink brown ale alot, simple and tasty.
Thats it for now.
1 - It would be an easier way to get another batch going without having to go through all the sanitation business again.
2 - I'm just plain curious about how it will turn out resuing the yeast. It could be an interesting way to save some cash on future brews, especially for ones that really need a specific liquid yeast and that I really like and want alot of.
3 - I want to get alot of beer stocked up so I don't have to buy any beer for a while and can always have plenty to dish out to anyone who wants one (or many) without running out.
I decided to just find a cheap kit brew to make and went with the another basic brown ale similar to my first brew because it doesn't rely on a specific yeast to taste good, can cover up any real flaws that could come from my experimenting with reusing yeast, and my girlfriend and I both like to drink brown ale alot, simple and tasty.
Thats it for now.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Fermentation Notes (pale ale)
Initial Spec Gravity: 1.052
Fermentation temp: ~ 64F ambient room temp
Day 1:
Things of note: This fermentation really took off faster than the last one. I'm chalking it up both using dry yeast, using yeast that I know were very viable (unlike last time where I was using a barely inflated activator smack pack of liquid), and using alot of them (11 grams). Fermentation was evident in 4 hours (maybe earlier, that is just when I checked).
Also of note: This time the air lock is bubbling away, unlike my previous brew. This is either due to a more vigorous fermentation that creates enough pressure in the air lock even with a leaky lid or for some reason, my lid just sealed better this time, less vodka in the airlock (or a combination of these). Who knows.... and while I really don't care because I ended up with happy fermented beer last time, it is fun to watch that little bastard bubble.
I'm thinking this fermentation will complete very quickly. Regardless, I still plan to leave it in the fermentor at least 2 weeks to let it condition as I am not doing (and don't have a carboy yet anyway) a seperate secondary. I will probably upgrade and try my hand at a secondary in a 5 gallon carboy with my next brew, a ghetto oatmeal stout (not mashing the oatmeal, just steeping).
Day 2:
Most vigorous fermentation going on. Bubbles every second or two. Amount of vodka in airlock makes a big difference if bubbles are seen or not.
Day 3:
Primary seems to be winding down based up glancing at the airlock. This seems to be a much faster primary fermentation than last time. I will let it sit for 2-3 weeks and then bottle. I think I will put my next brew into a carboy for secondary.
Day 4:
Primary fermentation seems near complete. Hydrometer readings:
spec gravity: 1.014
That indicates about 73% attenuation. It tasted like beer. Hooray. I will let it set another 1.5 to 2 weeks to condition and ferment down any further if it wants too.
Fermentation temp: ~ 64F ambient room temp
Day 1:
Things of note: This fermentation really took off faster than the last one. I'm chalking it up both using dry yeast, using yeast that I know were very viable (unlike last time where I was using a barely inflated activator smack pack of liquid), and using alot of them (11 grams). Fermentation was evident in 4 hours (maybe earlier, that is just when I checked).
Also of note: This time the air lock is bubbling away, unlike my previous brew. This is either due to a more vigorous fermentation that creates enough pressure in the air lock even with a leaky lid or for some reason, my lid just sealed better this time, less vodka in the airlock (or a combination of these). Who knows.... and while I really don't care because I ended up with happy fermented beer last time, it is fun to watch that little bastard bubble.
I'm thinking this fermentation will complete very quickly. Regardless, I still plan to leave it in the fermentor at least 2 weeks to let it condition as I am not doing (and don't have a carboy yet anyway) a seperate secondary. I will probably upgrade and try my hand at a secondary in a 5 gallon carboy with my next brew, a ghetto oatmeal stout (not mashing the oatmeal, just steeping).
Day 2:
Most vigorous fermentation going on. Bubbles every second or two. Amount of vodka in airlock makes a big difference if bubbles are seen or not.
Day 3:
Primary seems to be winding down based up glancing at the airlock. This seems to be a much faster primary fermentation than last time. I will let it sit for 2-3 weeks and then bottle. I think I will put my next brew into a carboy for secondary.
Day 4:
Primary fermentation seems near complete. Hydrometer readings:
spec gravity: 1.014
That indicates about 73% attenuation. It tasted like beer. Hooray. I will let it set another 1.5 to 2 weeks to condition and ferment down any further if it wants too.
Brewing Notes, Pale Ale (Sat 09dec2007)
Brewed up the pale ale yesterday. Everything went smoothly.
Changes of note:
1 - Used thermometer to steep grains from 150-170F
2 - Brought to boil on 8 heat, kept rolling boil at 7 heat (just right, higher than last time)
3 - bittering hops for 60 min, aroma for 4
4 - Used all spring water (no "purified drinking water" to ensure plenty of minerals)
5 - Used dry yeast. Note: takes a while to cool, had to dip the jar of 4oz. boiled water in ice bath where the wort was cooling to get it down to ~ 90F. Let the yeast sit for 15 minutes, stirred, then added a shot of wort twice to get it down to about the same temp.
6 - Attempted to strain the wort a little when pouring (still alot of small pieces of hot/cold break got through, but all the hops mess didn't)
As far as I know, everything went smoothly. Maybe it was the homebrew I was drinking while doing it :)
Changes of note:
1 - Used thermometer to steep grains from 150-170F
2 - Brought to boil on 8 heat, kept rolling boil at 7 heat (just right, higher than last time)
3 - bittering hops for 60 min, aroma for 4
4 - Used all spring water (no "purified drinking water" to ensure plenty of minerals)
5 - Used dry yeast. Note: takes a while to cool, had to dip the jar of 4oz. boiled water in ice bath where the wort was cooling to get it down to ~ 90F. Let the yeast sit for 15 minutes, stirred, then added a shot of wort twice to get it down to about the same temp.
6 - Attempted to strain the wort a little when pouring (still alot of small pieces of hot/cold break got through, but all the hops mess didn't)
As far as I know, everything went smoothly. Maybe it was the homebrew I was drinking while doing it :)
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Brown ale (previous brew)
The brown ale is tasting pretty good now. It has actually melded quite a bit in just a weeks time (~ 2 weeks in bottles) and tastes pretty damn good (probably tastes twice as good due to satisfaction of it being home-made)
Going to brew a Pale Ale tomorrow
Ingredients list:
3.3 lbs. Gold malt extract
3.3 lbs. Amber malt extract
1/2 lb. Crystal 10°L malt
1/2 lb. Carapils grain blend
1 oz. Willamette bittering hops (60 min)
1 oz. Fuggles aroma hops (5 min)
1 x 11g packet of Nottingham dry yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar for priming
I decided to try the dry yeast out, they are cheaper and I'd like to get experience with both types of yeast available. This is a pretty basic type of ale also so I'm not really relying on the yeast for flavor.
I plan to brew the same as my previous batch except for some minor changes that I detailed in the notes as well as the use of dry yeast.
3.3 lbs. Gold malt extract
3.3 lbs. Amber malt extract
1/2 lb. Crystal 10°L malt
1/2 lb. Carapils grain blend
1 oz. Willamette bittering hops (60 min)
1 oz. Fuggles aroma hops (5 min)
1 x 11g packet of Nottingham dry yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar for priming
I decided to try the dry yeast out, they are cheaper and I'd like to get experience with both types of yeast available. This is a pretty basic type of ale also so I'm not really relying on the yeast for flavor.
I plan to brew the same as my previous batch except for some minor changes that I detailed in the notes as well as the use of dry yeast.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Tasting the product
after a week in bottles:
Carbonation is good, color and clarity are pretty good considering that was only conditioned in the fermentor. It has a good, nutty kind of taste and good thick feel. The flavor is a little harsh around the edges with the hops and some fruit/raisin taste. I'm thinking that given another week, its going to really mesh together and be delicious (I'm hopin').
Pretty stoked about it all to be honest.
I'm already planning to make a batch of pale ale this thursday (This could be the start of a new addiction...)
Carbonation is good, color and clarity are pretty good considering that was only conditioned in the fermentor. It has a good, nutty kind of taste and good thick feel. The flavor is a little harsh around the edges with the hops and some fruit/raisin taste. I'm thinking that given another week, its going to really mesh together and be delicious (I'm hopin').
Pretty stoked about it all to be honest.
I'm already planning to make a batch of pale ale this thursday (This could be the start of a new addiction...)
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