Been awhile since I posted. About a month ago, I got a pump and used it to build a no-sparge RIMS system which has really simplified (and shortened) my brew day. So far I have completed three brews on the rig, including a no-chill house ale, the Kevin Davis memorial brew, and last weekend, a no-chill Flanders Red ale. For the Flanders Red I did a Rodenbach mash schedule which calls for a 145F rest for 30 minutes followed by a ramp to 162F and a 169F mashout. The ramp rate was decent, but I ran into a couple of problems. At the start my thermometer probe I use in the mash tun started acting up; I had difficulty getting it to give me a reading. After unplugging and plugging in the probe a few times I finally got a reading but it made me a bit nervous. The other issue is I stopped 2F short of my desired sacc rest but there was significantly more carryover than I anticipated which ended up taking the mash up to 164F. I had to add a little bit of water and stir up the grain bed to bring the mash temp back to 162F for the 30 minute rest but it is no big deal.
The Flanders Red isn't my first sour brew. I did a Berliner Weiss back in the spring which is still aging until next summer. I tapped half the batch this summer but found it wasn't very good yet. It really needs a long time to age and mellow out. I am more excited about the Flanders Red because if I had to pick just one style to brew and drink, this would be it. Tart and refreshing, sour but sessionable, malty and complex. Everything I could want in a brew.
Based on the success of Aaron's all brett beer, The Muse, I started thinking of Brett on Red which is a 100% brett fermented house brew I had at the Draught House this summer. I'm now planning to do my own version using Brett L. as the primary strain, and perhaps using a sour mash to give a bit of Flanders type lactic sourness as well. If I do end up going with the sour mash option, it will mean a two hour boil, but since I do no-chill for all of my sours now this won't be a big deal.
Speaking of sour brews, I'm really stoked that we got a Jack Daniels' barrel for the club group brew of a Cuvee de Tomme clone. I also got a couple of small used barrels from Balcones Distilling which currently contain Imperial Stout and Irish Red. I have forced vacation the week of Thanksgiving, and would otherwise be bored to tears so my plan is to brew a pile of beer for the two small barrels as well as brew up 10 gallons of the quad that will go into the group barrel and soured. After the two small barrels get a batch or two more through them I will innoculate one of the barrels with Flanders bugs for more Flanders Red and the other will get Lambic bugs for more of the Cuvee de Tomme clone.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Yeast slanting
I put together a tutorial which is a work-in-progress on yeast slanting so I figured I would put a plug in for it here.
We also got a new toy this week, so look for some all-grain beginner and advanced video tutorials to appear in this space over the next few months. Yes, I know they have been done before (and done well) by others, but you can never have too many resources out there since all of us approach the hobby a bit differently.
We also got a new toy this week, so look for some all-grain beginner and advanced video tutorials to appear in this space over the next few months. Yes, I know they have been done before (and done well) by others, but you can never have too many resources out there since all of us approach the hobby a bit differently.
Monday, March 9, 2009
This weekend I was really excited to find Avery's 2009 Maharaja release out already! I had it at the Flying Saucer Austin on Saturday. Still slightly green on the hop nose, and with a noticeable alcohol bite (it WAS just kegged in February) but OHH so delightful. I also managed to pick up a bomber at Whole Foods on Sunday so I can compare with my clone when it is ready.
My Maharaja clone is entering its second of four weeks on the dry hops. I brewed up 10 gallons with a brew buddy on January 17th; full post. The recipe I brewed is the 2006 brewery recipe, but I subbed Zeus for Magnum in the flavor (30 minute) and whirlpool-equivalent (15 minute) additions. Recipe link
I have really taken a liking to the drier English ale yeast strains. They are slightly (but not overly) fruity fermented around 65*F, attenuate well, and flocc out completely when finished. The Cali ale strain, available in dry form as SafAle US-05, used to be my go-to yeast, but it has a few problems. First and foremost, it doesn't flocc out well when finished, leaving me with an extended conditioning period since I am not setup to crash cool. I aerate well, pitch plenty of yeast, and ferment in the 60's *F, so my balanced beers are ready to drink after only a few weeks, if only the yeast will drop out! Another beef I have with the Cali ale is that it has a tendency to overattenuate my beers, leaving me with a drier beer than I wanted, even if I mash high (155*F). The dry English strains seem to be more responsive to mash temperature, allowing me to control more precisely how malty the finished beer will be. I am a fan of the fruitiness you get from an English yeast -- I find the Cali ale to be too lacking in character. While I may want a completely squeaky clean American Barleywine, if I am making an American Pale Ale I like a little hint of fruitiness in the finish to balance out the hop flavor profile.
Back to the Maharaja clone, for which I used the Wyeast 1028 London Ale. I made a 2L starter which I split at high krausen into two 1L starters and stepped to 3L with additional O2. After the starters fermented out I decanted and pitched at 64*F. Keeping the fermenters from 64-66*F, fermentation was complete in just six days, dropping from 1.102 to 1.014 for 86% apparent attenuation. A month later the beer was crystal clear when transferring to secondary for dry hops. If I didn't intend to let it sit on the hops for a full month I would not have bothered to secondary this beer at all; London Ale floccs like a champ! The profile of the beer has the hint of fruitiness you find in the original from Avery's house yeast; it compliments the hop flavors quite well. And, the beer is just malty enough to balance out the insane IBUs that such an extreme double IPA can dish out. As far as double IPAs go, this one is going to be dangerously drinkable.
My Maharaja clone is entering its second of four weeks on the dry hops. I brewed up 10 gallons with a brew buddy on January 17th; full post. The recipe I brewed is the 2006 brewery recipe, but I subbed Zeus for Magnum in the flavor (30 minute) and whirlpool-equivalent (15 minute) additions. Recipe link
I have really taken a liking to the drier English ale yeast strains. They are slightly (but not overly) fruity fermented around 65*F, attenuate well, and flocc out completely when finished. The Cali ale strain, available in dry form as SafAle US-05, used to be my go-to yeast, but it has a few problems. First and foremost, it doesn't flocc out well when finished, leaving me with an extended conditioning period since I am not setup to crash cool. I aerate well, pitch plenty of yeast, and ferment in the 60's *F, so my balanced beers are ready to drink after only a few weeks, if only the yeast will drop out! Another beef I have with the Cali ale is that it has a tendency to overattenuate my beers, leaving me with a drier beer than I wanted, even if I mash high (155*F). The dry English strains seem to be more responsive to mash temperature, allowing me to control more precisely how malty the finished beer will be. I am a fan of the fruitiness you get from an English yeast -- I find the Cali ale to be too lacking in character. While I may want a completely squeaky clean American Barleywine, if I am making an American Pale Ale I like a little hint of fruitiness in the finish to balance out the hop flavor profile.
Back to the Maharaja clone, for which I used the Wyeast 1028 London Ale. I made a 2L starter which I split at high krausen into two 1L starters and stepped to 3L with additional O2. After the starters fermented out I decanted and pitched at 64*F. Keeping the fermenters from 64-66*F, fermentation was complete in just six days, dropping from 1.102 to 1.014 for 86% apparent attenuation. A month later the beer was crystal clear when transferring to secondary for dry hops. If I didn't intend to let it sit on the hops for a full month I would not have bothered to secondary this beer at all; London Ale floccs like a champ! The profile of the beer has the hint of fruitiness you find in the original from Avery's house yeast; it compliments the hop flavors quite well. And, the beer is just malty enough to balance out the insane IBUs that such an extreme double IPA can dish out. As far as double IPAs go, this one is going to be dangerously drinkable.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Inaugural post
After following Jason's blog I have decided to jump into the fray myself.
Many of you will find my blog because I'm Saccharomyces on the HomeBrewTalk forums. Everyone else will know me as Eric.
I have been home brewing since March of 2008. Like many others, I was introduced to home brewing as a hobby through Mr. Beer. The beer I made from their kits was undrinkable, but it got my curiosity up enough to find a homebrew shop. I bought a beginner kit in early March, and read through this E-book before brewing my first batch (I also own the hard copy now). By the summer of 2008, I was active on the HBT forum, brewing all grain on equipment I built myself, and planning the transition to kegging. As 2008 draws to a close I have brewed 21 batches of beer, and have almost all of the equipment together to brew my first 10 gallon batch in early January!
Home brewing has been the best hobby for me, not only because I enjoy it, but because homebrewers are a social bunch. I have made many friends through the local homebrew club, the Austin Zealots; through HomeBrewTalk; and even at Austin Homebrew, my local homebrew supply store.
Watch my blog for posts about big brew days, equipment, new recipes, and hopefully soon, awards from competitions!
Many of you will find my blog because I'm Saccharomyces on the HomeBrewTalk forums. Everyone else will know me as Eric.
I have been home brewing since March of 2008. Like many others, I was introduced to home brewing as a hobby through Mr. Beer. The beer I made from their kits was undrinkable, but it got my curiosity up enough to find a homebrew shop. I bought a beginner kit in early March, and read through this E-book before brewing my first batch (I also own the hard copy now). By the summer of 2008, I was active on the HBT forum, brewing all grain on equipment I built myself, and planning the transition to kegging. As 2008 draws to a close I have brewed 21 batches of beer, and have almost all of the equipment together to brew my first 10 gallon batch in early January!
Home brewing has been the best hobby for me, not only because I enjoy it, but because homebrewers are a social bunch. I have made many friends through the local homebrew club, the Austin Zealots; through HomeBrewTalk; and even at Austin Homebrew, my local homebrew supply store.
Watch my blog for posts about big brew days, equipment, new recipes, and hopefully soon, awards from competitions!
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