The Brew Blog

A New Year

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:46:20 -0500

Ok, so where do I begin? I guess I'll start with the reason I haven't posted anything for a while:

In June, 2009, I had a little brewing accident. Well, a "cleaning" accident actually, not a "brewing" accident. I broke a carboy, slicing a tendon, a nerve, and a couple veins while cleaning up after kegging my last batch of beer. It was about half way filled with luke warm, soapy water. I was turning it upside down to drain after scrubbing with a carboy brush, and when I had it perpindicular to the countertop, the bottom just collapsed. There was broken glass and soapy water in the sink, on the counter, and on the floor.

But then I saw that the soapy water was also red in some areas.

"What the...?"

I looked around, saw that I had it all over me, and realized it was my wrist. I had an eye shaped slash on my wrist, pouring blood. I immediatly grabbed my right wrist with my left hand, and held pressure to stop the bleeding. I stood there for a couple minutes, surveying the scene before diciding on what to do next. There is broken glass all over the place, and the dogs are nearby. But on the other hand, no pun intended, I'm bleading - quite a bit, I might add - and I'm sure I need to get it stitched up.

The dogs decided for me. They heard the crash, saw that I was a little upset, and dicided that it's time to go upsatirs and lay low for a while. With them upstairs, and the cat hiding in the basement, I decided that I need to tend to my wound first. I released pressure, saw more blood, grabbed a paper towel, and reaplied pressure with it. I rinsed my free hand off in the sink, and carefuly, I stepped over the glass to get the phone. I figured that I need to take an ambulance ride.

My free hand - my right hand - was what I was going to use to call 9-1-1. But that idea didn't work out too well. I picked up the handset, and then promply dropped it. When it struck the floor, the battery cover came off, spilling the battery from it's compartment, and the three peices went in three different directions. I'm not having a good day.

I finally manage to dial 9-1-1, speak to an operator, and get drilled with a buch of questions. Maybe I shouldn't have blurted out that I cut my wrist with broken glass, but the questions took me by surprise. "Are you trying to hurt yourself?" And after several pertinant questions, like my age, who's home with me, and confirming my address; "Are you depressed in any way?" Hell yes I'm depressed. I broke one of my carboys, a peice of equipment that I use, and I need help, which isn't getting here any faster with these stupid questions.

I hung up and went outside to wait for the ambulance. As I was stepping off the porch, a police cruiser was pulling into my driveway. I walked up to him, showing my bloody arms, and told him to tell his dispatcher that I appologize for the temper I had on the phone. He laughed and said he knows all about it. He then opened his trunk to get his EMS kit, bandaged me up, and we waited for the ambulance.

The dogs were barking at the "intruders" in their teritory, but they were still upstairs. The paramedic mentioned that he wanted to go inside to see how much blood I lost, but wasn't too sure about the dogs. I told him that it'll be easier to take my word for it. He did, and we left for the hospital.

Fast forward to today, more than six months later. I have no feeling in most of my index finger, the tip and palm side of my middle finger, the palm side of my thumb, and from the base of my thumb to the base of my middle finger across my palm. That area is a lot smaller than it was in June, 2009, but still isn't normal. I also have a fear of large glass bottles. I have four of those little monsters left, but I think I have found a way to reduce their bite. A product called Plasti-Dip. I'll write more on that subject later, but for now, I wanted to come back and revisit my blog, post a few articles that I should have written a long time ago, and finish up the new look.

I'll be working on it over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, happy brewing.

Bismarck Munich Helles '09

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:25:19 -0400

This recipe was my first kit batch. Referring back to the article, Bismarck Munich Helles, I remember liking that batch very much. However, I can see where I've learned a lot since then. First, I should point out that I had a typo in the ingredients; I had 5 oz. of light DME listed. I most likely used 5 lbs. And, since I didn't know much about yeast, or the difference between lagers and ales, I didn't list the yeast that was included with the kit, and I must have fermented it as an ale. It seemed to have come out ok, because I remember liking it. But it could also be that I was so impressed that I made it, that I liked it even though it wasn't as it should be. I've learned a little, so I think this batch will be more true to the style.

As usual, I'm tweaking the recipe a little. In fact, since I didn't list what type of yeast I used, I may be changing it a lot from what the kit supplied. The only ingredient changes besides the yeast are the substitution of liquid malt extract instead of dried malt extract, and the amount of Irish Moss. The original article said that I used 1 oz. of Irish Moss, I thought that was too much, so I used 1 tbsp. I'm not sure if that was a typo as well, but I usually use a 1/2 tsp, so I decided to use 1 tbsp. I guess I'll find out when it's ready.

8 oz.	Crystal 10 Malt (grain)
6 lbs.	Light LME
3 oz.	Tettnanger Hops
1 tbsp.	Irish Moss
1 packet	Saflager s-23 Yeast

Once again, I don't vary my technique very much, so I'll be brief here. I steeped the grains at 154ºF for 30 minutes and removed. I then added the LME and brought to a boil. Once boiling, I added 1 oz. of Tettnanger and set the timer for 35 minutes. I then added the Irish Moss, and set the timer for 17 minutes. I then added another ounce of Tettnanger, and set the timer for 8 minutes. For the final hop addition, I added the last ounce of Tettnanger and set the timer for 2 minutes. I cooled the wort as usual, poured into the carboy, and brought it down to the basement. I pitched the yeast after taking a gravity reading, which came in at 1.054.

The only technique I'm changing for this batch is the location of the carboy during fermentation. I usually do ales, and one room in the basement stays at a fairly constant 68-70ºF. I usually ferment in that room, but this being a lager, it needs a cooler temperature. The temperature in the other room right now is about 50ºF, so I think that is more in the range for a lager. I started the fermentation in the warmer room, and then moved it to the cooler room about four days later. It seems to like it because it's still steadily bubbling away almost a week after I pitched the yeast. (I brewed on the date above, but writing this on the following Sunday.)

I'll update when I rack to the secondary, most likely next week.

Update - 4.7.09: I checked the gravity today, and plan on racking to the secondary on Thursday. The gravity stands at 1.012. I don't think it'll ferment much more, so I'm going to say that the ABV = 5.54%. If there are any changes when I keg in a few weeks, I'll post the new numbers.

Smokin' Scotch Ale

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:35:46 -0400

Earlier this week, on the date above, I brewed this batch. This is the second of the two batches I bought at The Witches Brew that I mentioned in my last batch, the 90 Minute Imperial IPA. It's now the following Friday, and it's just now starting to ferment. I'm wondering if the yeast was too weak to get started after being in the refrigerator for too long. Last night, I made another trip to The Witches Brew and bought a Safale 05 packet to throw in, as well as ingredients for a couple other batches that I'm planning on brewing in the next two weeks. I'll write about them when the time comes, but for now, I'll stick to this particular brew.

I was thinking that a nice simple brew, one that I'm hoping only takes a month to be ready to drink, will allow me to stock up on some long term, as well as short term brews. I'm currently drinking the Phat Stout from a few months ago, and after that, I'll only have the Russian Imperial Stout, and the 90 Minute Imperial IPA. Both of which I'm planning on saving for quite a while. This batch will hopefully be ready by the middle of April, and I'll have something to drink for the near term. One of, if not both of, the next two batches will be short term. Though one may be a little longer than the other.

Anyway, I'm rambling, so I'll get the the ingredients, and then the process:

1/2 lb.	Peat Smoked Malt
1/2 lb.	Biscuit Malt
1 lb.	Crystal 200
7 lbs.	Amber LME
1 oz.	Fuggles Hops
1 oz.	Kent Goldings Hops
1/2 tsp.	Irish Moss
1 Packet	Wyeast 1098

I'll make this a quick story on the process, since I pretty much do the same thing for every batch now-a-days. I steeped the grains at 150-160º for 30 minutes. Brought to a boil after adding the LME, and added the Fuggles hops for 45 minutes. Added a 1/2 oz. of the Kent Goldings hops and a 1/2 tsp. of Irish Moss for 10 minutes. And then added the other 1/2 oz. of Kent Goldings for five more minutes. I then cooled as usual, and poured into the fermentor.

This is where I think that the whole batch may be off. I had gotten out the yeast, popped the inner bag, shook it, and let it sit for a number of hours before brewing. The bag never swelled. I'm wondering if it stayed in the fridge for too long. I decided to try adding the yeast to the wort, but as of Thursday, nothing was happening. That's why I bought the Safale 05, I was hoping to jump start the fermentation. As of tonight, it seems to have worked.

The SG was 1.058. Once again, I'll update at each step.

Happy brewing.

Update - 3.24.09: I racked to the secondary this afternoon, and the gravity stands at 1.012.

Update - 4.7.09: I kegged this batch today, and the FG is the same as above: 1.012. The ABV = 6.04%. I also sampled a bit, and it is quite tasty.

Imperial IPA

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:04:57 -0500

Wow, looking back to the last time I brewed, I found that I haven't brewed for well over two months. Part of the reason I haven't brewed for such a long time was a ruptured disk in my back. I'm doing much better, and feel that it's time to get back to brewing. Before going into the hospital though, I had gone down to The Witches Brew to buy ingredients for my next two batches, but I never had a chance to brew either. The two batches are this one - the Imperial IPA - and a Scotch Ale. I chose to do the Imperial IPA first, so here are the ingredients:

1 lb.	Crystal 60
1 lb.	Crystal 120
12 lbs.	Light LME
2 oz.	Millenium Hops (15% AAU)
1 oz.	Chinook Hops (13% AAU)
2 oz.	UK Northern Brewer Hops (7.7 AAU)
1 Packet	WYeast 1056

I added the AAU numbers because I was trying to figure out the bitterness of this brew, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. I came up with 58.4 for my final number, so if anyone reading this comes up with something different, please let me know. I also tried my hand at calculating the SG and came up with 1.096, but when I took the reading, I came up with 1.088. I could be wrong on the math, or the hydrometer isn't correct, but I'm happy with the number either way.

As I normaly do, I placed the grains in a couple of grain bags, placed them in the pot with 2.5 gallons of water, and brought the temperature to around 154ºF. I then let them steep at that temperature for 30 minutes. I then removed them, added the LME, and brought to a boil. The quantity of LME I used is a lot more than I normally use, and I was afraid that I was going to boil over, so I heated it slowly. Once it came to a boil, I added one ounce of the Millenium hops, and set the timer for 30 minutes. I stirred frequently at first to try preventing a boil over, but it seemed to settle into a steady boil for the entire 90 minutes, even after each hop addition. After the timer indicated that it's time for the next addition, I added the ounce of Chinook hops and set the timer for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, I added the other ounce of Millenium hops and set the timer for another 20 minutes. For the final addition, I added two ounces of Northern Brewer hops, and boiled for 20 minutes more.

After the boil, I cooled the wort in my usual way by placing the pot in an ice bath. I then poured through my filter funnel into the carboy, took my hydrometer reading, and brought it down to the basement. I hadn't started the yeast early enough, so I have to wait for it to be ready to pitch. I'm hoping that this is a good, hoppy, and heavy beer that will finish out the winter months, though the high gravity may make it take longer to finish. Either way, I'll update this article at each step.

Until then, happy brewing.

Update - 3.12.09: I racked to the secondary, and the gravity stands at 1.022 for an ABV of 8.66%.

Update - 3.24.09: I kegged this today, and though there isn't much of an aroma, the flavor suggests that this will be a nice beer. I think next time, I'll add another ounce of hops at flame out. The FG is as it was when I racked to the secondary.

Russian Imperial Stout

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:42:28 -0500

Today, I'm brewing a Russian Imperial Stout. I don't believe that I've ever had one, so it will be an interesting experience. Once again, I found this recipe online. Due to the hops called for in the recipe being unavailable, I had to substitute Millennium hops for Yakima Magnum hops. Also, the recipe called for 6.5 lbs. of LME. Since the homebrew shop I go to sells it by the full pound, I decided to use 7 lbs.

The ingredients list:

7 lbs.	Dark LME
2 lbs.	Dark DME
1/2 lb.	Roasted Barley
1/2 lb.	Black Patent
1 lb.	Crystal 60
1 oz.	Millennium Hops
1 packet	Safale S-04

I started by putting the grains in a couple of grain bags and placing them in the brew pot with 2.5 gal. of water. I heated the water to about 160ºF and shut the flame off. I then let it steep for 20 minutes, then removed the bags. The temperature dropped to 154ºF. I decided that I might be able to save a little time by adding the LME and DME while the water was being heated. I'm not sure that was a good idea, because when it came to boil, it did so with a vengeance. It boiled over so much that I had to shut everything down and clean up. I'm not sure how much I lost, but it seemed like a lot. I guess I won't try adding the extract before it's boiling again.

Once the Haz-Mat cleanup opperation was completed, I continued on. I brought it to a boil - this time without incident - and added the hops. I then boiled for 60 minutes, cooled as usuall, poured into the carboy, pitched the yeast and brought down to the basement. The SG came in at 1.070, which is surprizing since I lost quite a bit in the boilover, but I won't complain. Like I normally do, I'll update this article when I rack to the secondary.

Update - 12.29.08: I waited an extra week to rack to the secondary. In part because I was exhausted from a weekend of snow, and a major part of laziness. The gravity came in at 1.022, about what I expected. I sampled a little, and it seemed a little sweet. Hopefully, some aging will help. I'll leave it in the secondary for two weeks, and then keg. This will probably be tapped next winter.

Update - 1.13.09: I kegged today, and the FG came in at 1.022 for an ABV of 6.3%.

Jinx Clone (Attempt 1)

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:43:23 -0500

I recently tried a beer from Magic Hat Brewing Company called Jinx, and I liked it so much that I decided to try copying it. Magic Hat's website lists the malts and hops used, so it makes it a little easier to figure out what to use, but I don't have any idea about the quantity of the ingredients, or the technique they used. I won't know how close I come until it's ready to drink, so I'm sure I'll be trying it again.

Here's what I used for this batch:

7 lbs.	Light LME
1/2 lb.	Cara-pils
1/2 lb.	Crystal 60
4 oz.	Peat Smoked Whiskey Malt
2 oz.	Columbus Hops
1 Packet	Safale 05 Yeast

As usual, I put the grains in a grain bag and placed it in the pot with 2 1/2 gal. of water. I brought the temperature up to about 154ºF, and let it steep for 30 minutes. During this time, I watched it to make sure I keep a steady temperature, but after about 10 minutes, it dropped to about 150ºF. I turned the heat back on low to bring it back up, but after another 10 minutes, it was almost to 160ºF. I shut the heat off again for the last 10 minutes and the temperature was right around 154ºF again. I then removed the grain bag, turned the heat on high, and brought to a boil.

Once boiling, I added the LME, brought to a boil again, and added the hops. I figured that I'll add one ounce of the hops at the beginning of the boil, and one at 10 minutes before the end of the boil.

Finally, I cooled the wort in an ice bath down to about 65ºF, poured into the carboy, added the yeast, and brought is down to the basement to ferment. The SG is 1.054, so I doubt that the ABV will be close to Magic Hat's - 6.9% ABV - so I'll assume that I'll have to increase the grains or LME next time.

The room where I've been fermenting is getting cold, down to about 58ºF, so I'm using the furnace room. The temperature in there usually stays right around 70ºF during the winter, so I use that to ferment during the colder months. I'll see what the temperature does in the "cold" room, I'm thinking that maybe it'll be a good place to try lagering this winter.

Update - 12.3.08: I racked to the secondary today. I was planning on doing it on Monday, but it still had some pressure in the air lock. Enough for it to bubble up every few minutes. The gravity is 1.011, and it seems that most of my batches don't go much further than that, even after being in the secondary for two weeks. I'll update again when I keg. Also, I changed the title of this batch to reflect on the fact that I'm way off the mark on this. I believe I have way too much hops.

Update - 12.16.08: I kegged this batch this afternoon. The FG remained at 1.011 for an ABV of 5.64%.

Christmas Ale 08

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:34:53 -0500

I'm brewing the Christmas Ale from last year, and once again, I'm tweaking the recipe a little. Last year, I used Dried Malt Extract (DME), this year, I'm using Liquid Malt Extract (LME). I also increased he cinnamon sticks to three, instead of two, hoping that a little more of the flavor stands out. Also, last year, I used a whole vanilla bean. I couldn't find one this year, so I opted for vanilla extract. I didn't look too hard for a recipe that used vanilla extract, so without knowing how much to use, I decided to add as much that a cake recipe called for. Maybe it'll be too much, maybe not, I'll just have to wait and see. And finally, 1 tsp. of whole cloves substituted for 1/2 tsp. of ground cloves, since I couldn't find that either.

So, here's the ingredient list:

1/2 lb.	Crystal 60
1/2 lb.	Chocolate Malt
7 lbs.	Amber LME
2 lbs.	Honey
2 oz.	Hallertauer Hops
1 oz.	Cascade
3	Cinnamon Sticks
1/2 oz.	Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp.	Whole Cloves
1 tbsp.	Vanilla Extract
1 tsp.	Ground Ginger
1 tsp.	Irish Moss
1 packet	Safale 05 Yeast

I started by putting the grain in a grain bag, placed it into the brew pot with 2 1/2 gallons of water, and brought the temperature to 156ºF. I let it steep for 30 minutes. I then removed the grains, added the LME and honey and brought to a boil. Once boiling, I added one ounce of the Hallertauer hops, one of the cinnamon sticks, and the cloves, and set the timer for 30 minutes. I decided to try adding the cinnamon stick for the full boil to see if I can tell the difference. In afterthought, however, I may not be able to differentiate between the full-boil stick and the two added later.

At the end of the first 30 minutes, I added the other ounce of Hallertauer hops and set the timer for 15 minutes. At that time, I added the Irish Moss, and set the timer again for 10 minutes. Then, for the remaining 5 minutes of the boil, I added the other two cinnamon sticks, the nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla extract.

I then cooled the wort in an ice bath, bringing it down to around 70ºF. The stick-on strip thermometers that I have on the carboy read at 68ºF, but the room where I ferment is around 62º-64ºF. I'll have to check on the temperature in a few days.

The SG was lower than last years at 1.066. I'll update this article with the readings at each step.

Update - 11.7.08: I checked the carboy today, it's been going for about four days now. The strip thermometer says 65º degrees. I'm not exactly sure how to read them, but the 64º mark is green, and the 66º mark is brown, so I'm saying it's 65º. And I have to apologize for forgetting that I left the draft flag on, and it didn't publish till today.

Update - 11.18.08: I racked to the secondary, and the gravity stands at 1.012.

Update - 12.1.08: I racked to the keg. The FG is 1.011 for an an ABV of 7.22%.

Phat Stout 08

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:57:00 -0400

Once again, I'm repeating a previous brew. This time it's the Phat Stout from last year. I really enjoyed last years batch, so it makes sense to do it again. I kept a few bottles from the first batch, so I can compare both this years and last. But that's not why I kept them, I wanted to see how they age. If I remember correctly, the last few bottles that I drank were much better than the first, and I figured that after a year in the basement, they'll be even better. This year's brew will have to wait for a few months before being tapped, most likely late January or early February, and that should give it the time it needs to age properly. But then again, I'll have to wait and see.

So, here's what I used this year:

1/4 lb.	Black Patent Malt
1/4 lb.	Chocolate Malt
1 1/2 lbs.	Roasted Barley
7 1/2 lbs.	Dark LME
1 cup	Brown Sugar
2 oz.	Millennium Hops
1 oz.	Cascade Hops
1/2 tsp.	Irish Moss
1 packet	Safale S-04 Yeast

The only changes are the Millennium hops, which were substituted for Chinook hops; the addition of brown sugar to try to increase the SG; and the yeast. Apparently, Chinook hops are hard to find. And I added the brown sugar because I'm using liquid malt extract instead of the dry malt extract, so I'll loose a little of the fermentable sugar. The yeast is different this year because the brew shop where I bought the ingredients doesn't carry the Muntons dry brewers yeast. That may not make any difference with this batch, or at least I hope it doesn't.

The procedure is basically the same as I usually do: I put the Black Patent Malt, Chocolate Malt, and Roasted Barley in a couple of grain bags, put them in the brew pot with 2.5 gallons of water, and heated it up to about 156ºF, then let it steep for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, I removed the bags and added the LME and brown sugar, and brought to a boil. Once boiling was achieved, I added one ounce of Millennium hops, and set the timer for 45 minutes. At the 45 minute mark, I added the Cascade hops and reset the timer for 10 minutes. I then added the remaining Millennium hops and boiled for another five minutes.

I cooled the wort as usual, using bagged ice from the grocery store. Once the temperature was down to around 70ºF, I poured into the carboy using a straining funnel, topped it off to five gallons, pitched the yeast, and put it in the basement to ferment.

The SG came in at 1.062, which is lower than last years batch. Next time I make this, I'll use more LME, or maybe go back to the DME. I'll see how it turns out with the brown sugar, I may use it in the next batch as well.

In the meantime, happy brewing.

Update - 11.3.08: I racked to the secondary, the gravity reading was 1.020. I'll update again when I keg.

Update - 11.18.08: Before kegging this batch, the FG was 1.018 for an ABV of 5.78%. Much lower than I hoped. I'll make sure I use the brown sugar next time.

Pumpkin Ale 08

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:59:16 -0400

I'm repeating the seasonal brews from last year, and for this batch, I'm making the Pumpkin Ale. There are some differences from last year's brew, but for the most part, it's the same. The main differences are that I used a real pumpkin instead of canned, and I omitted the brown sugar. The brown sugar didn't make it in because I just read the ingredients list from last years batch, which wasn't listed. But if I had read the whole article, I would have seen that I used a 1/2 cup. As for the Pumpkin, last year, I brewed in August, which is too early for pumpkins, at least here in New England. Brewing in October allowed me to easily find pumpkins near my home.

So, here's the ingredients list:

6.5 lb.	Pumpkin
6 lbs.	Light LME
1 lb.	Crystal 20L
1 oz.	Willamette Hops
1/2 tsp.	Irish Moss
3 tsp.	McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Packet	Safale 04 Yeast

I started yesterday by cleaning and halving the pumpkin, baking for one hour, and then dicing it. While cleaning out the seeds, my wife decided to see if we could roast them. She found quite a few recipes, and she's now talking about buying more pumpkins to try all of them. I guess we'll also be having a lot of pumpkin pie this year too. Or maybe another batch of Pumpkin Ale...

I followed my normal procedures when brewing this batch; I steeped the grains at 154ºF for 20 minutes, then added the LME and pumpkin, and then brought to a boil. I recommend adding the LME first, since adding the cubes of pumpkin to the water makes it difficult to stir in the LME, I know from experience. All the little dice sized pieces floated at the top, while the LME wanted to sink.

After it started to boil, I added the Willamette hops and set the timer for 45 minutes. I then added the Irish Moss, and set the timer for another 10 minutes. My final addition, with five more minutes to boil, was the Pumpkin Pie Spice.

I then cooled as usuall in an ice bath, strained out the pumpkin pieces, and poured into the carboy. Last years batch had a lot of sediment on the bottom of each bottle, which is probably due to the fact that I used canned pumpkin. This year's batch should be much better. The SG of 1.042 was much lower than last year's because I didn't add any brown sugar. I'll be sure to do that next time.

It's getting late, so watch for the updates on the gravity as it progresses along.

Enjoy

Update - 10.20.08: Gravity stands at 1.010 after racking to secondary, which gives it a respectable 4.2% ABV so far.

Update - 11.3.08: I kegged this batch tonight, and the FG is 1.010.

Octoberfest 08.2

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:37:41 -0400

This batch is basically a repeat of Octoberfest 08. The only thing I did differently was accidentally let the temperature get up to 160ºF while steeping the grains. I was reading a magazine waiting for it to come up to temperature, and I didn't check it soon enough, so I shut the flame off and set the timer for 20 minutes. It was 152ºF when the timer went off. I followed the rest of the procedure from the last batch, and even got the same OG reading: 1.056.

Please refer to the previous article for the recipe.

(Oops, I forgot that I had this article set as "Draft" so it didn't publish when it was supposed to. My apologies.)

Update - 10.6.08: Gravity stands at 1.014 after racking to the secondary.

Update - 10.20.08: FG was 1.012 after racking to the keg for a ABV of 5.8%.