Columbus sails again!

First of all, no it hasn't been 16 months since I brewed, I just neglected to post those sessions here as I was brewing recipes that had been done before.  Let's see....  Greg and I brewed up a batch of Poker Dogs Pale Ale and Mark and I brewed up a world class Orange Blossom Honey Cream Ale (of which 5 gallons were devoured by the happy party goers at my boss' retirement party), with the only difference being that I added 3 lbs of orange blossom honey to the fermenter after fermentation had almost stopped.  It was fun to watch fermentation kick back up again when all that sugar met with billions of hungry yeasties!  Nom, nom, nom.

Brewing up a couple of firsts (see what I did there?) tomorrow.  The biggest first is that I'll be using my new pump setup so that I won't have to carry around 5 gallons of scalding hot liquids all day.  I'm very stoked about this since it will make brew day faster and easier.  Second, I'm brewing up a new recipe to use a bunch of Columbus hops that I've had vacuum sealed and in the freezer for a few years.  I took the grist recipe for the Mad Pig IPA and changed the hop schedule to use 4 ounces of Magnum hops for bittering and 12 ounces of Columbus hops for flavor and aroma.  The hop schedule may look very, very, very similar to what B3 uses for their Columbus IPA recipe, but just ignore the man behind the curtain and make believe I made this up all by myself.  ;-)

So, here's the part where I show you the recipe and label.  But, be warned, don't have your 14 year old daughter help you design the label or you'll end up with something like this.  ;-)

Columbus IPA

Author: Wade L. Williams

Size 12.0 gal

Efficiency: 64.0%

Attenuation: 75.0%

Original Gravity: 1.060

Terminal Gravity: 1.011

Color: 11.34

Alcohol: 6.45%

Bitterness: 95.5

Ingredients:

28 lb Pale Ale Malt

1 lb White Wheat Malt

1 lb Crystal Malt 40L

1 lb Cara-Pils Malt

4 oz Magnum (9.5% adjusted for storage time) - Boiled 60 min

1 lb Corn Sugar - Boiled 10 min

4 oz Columbus (13.2% adjusted for storage time) - Boiled 10 min

4 oz Columbus (13.2%) - Boiled 1 min

4 oz Columbus (13.2%) - Added dry to primary fermenter

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12

Happy Brewing!

Hoof Hearted Imperial Brown Ale

The taps are running a little low and it's time to brew again.  This time we're going big and brown!  The recipe for this ale is not mine, but that of Mike McDole whom I've mentioned before in this blog.  Mike's late wife, Janet, loved this imperial brown so he named it Janet's Brown Ale.  I've just added a little more whimsy to the name and label.  ;-)  I can't wait to smell the garage on Sunday when this is boiling away!

Here's the recipe and label:

Hoof Hearted
Imperial Brown
Author: Mike McDole

Size: 10.56 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 244.24 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.073 (1.056 - 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.018 (1.010 - 1.018)
Color: 21.8 (6.0 - 15.0)
Alcohol: 7.22% (5.5% - 7.5%)
Bitterness: 61.6 (40.0 - 70.0)

Ingredients:
26.25 lb Pale Ale Malt
2.2 lb White Wheat Malt
2.75 lb Cara-Pils® Malt
2.75 lb Crystal Malt 40°L
1.1 lb Chocolate Malt
2.0 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) - added during mash
2.5 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
2.0 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
3.2 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
3.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0 min
3.0 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05
4.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added dry to secondary fermenter

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12

Life is Good Best Bitter

Almost a year since I brewed?  Yikes!
Since the weather has been warming up (the temps in Central California will hit 100 tomorrow) I've been drinking some English "bitter" style beers and am quite enjoying them.  They are very light with a great malt/hop flavor and not so bitter at all.  So, I'm going into the Wayback machine to brew a recipe from MoreBeer that I last brewed in 2004.  I've got the hops and grain all weighed out and I'll be setting up shop tonight for tomorrow's brew session.  Here is the label and the recipe.

Life is Good - Best Bitter
8-B Special/Best/Premium Bitter
Author: B3

Size: 11.52 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 145.81 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.044 (1.040 - 1.048)
Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.008 - 1.012)
Color: 10.93 (5.0 - 16.0)
Alcohol: 4.31% (3.8% - 4.6%)
Bitterness: 29.3 (25.0 - 40.0)

Ingredients:
19 lb British Pale Ale Malt
2.5 lb American Pale Ale Malt (To make up for a miscalculation in the British Malt)
1 lb Carastan 30/37
.4 lb Crystal Malt 40°L (To make up for a miscalculation in the Carastan)
1.0 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash

2.0 oz East Kent Goldings (6.1%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
4.0 oz East Kent Goldings (6.1%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
4.0 oz East Kent Goldings (6.1%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0 min

2.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1.0 ea Yeast Nutrient (AKA Fermax) - added during boil, boiled 10 min

2.0 ea WYeast 1275 Thames Valley Ale

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT!

You've seen the billboards.  According to some it's the end of the world this Saturday.  But, it can't be!  The CVBG Big Brew is that day and I get to participate!  So, in celebration of the world coming to an end I decided to brew this.  I made this recipe and label some time ago.  Now it has just a little more meaning......

Deliverance Double IPA
14-C Imperial IPA
Author: Wade Williams

Size: 5.5 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 269.07 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.080 (1.070 - 1.090)
Terminal Gravity: 1.020 (1.010 - 1.020)
Color: 9.68 (8.0 - 15.0)
Alcohol: 7.96% (7.5% - 10.0%)
Bitterness: 272.3 (60.0 - 120.0)

Ingredients:
16.68 lb American 2-row
0.55 lb Crystal Malt 40°L
0.55 lb White Wheat Malt
2.0 oz Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 90 min
2.0 oz Warrior (16.0%) - added during boil, boiled 90 min
1.0 oz Simcoe (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 45 min
1.0 oz Columbus (15.0%) - added during boil, boiled 30 min
1.5 lb Corn Sugar
2.25 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
1.0 oz Simcoe (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
3.25 oz Columbus (15.0%) - added dry to primary fermenter
1.75 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added dry to primary fermenter
1.75 oz Simcoe (13.0%) - added dry to primary fermenter
3.0 ea White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Notes
Mash at 150 degrees

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12

Orange Blossom Honey Cream Ale

The last keg of Weed Death Wheat Ale is about to blow and I need something on the lighter end of the flavor spectrum on tap for the summer months.  Now, it seems that every time I brew a "summer" beer I end up not liking it.  I think this comes from the fact that I just can't stand wheat beers.  Heck, I just haven't liked anything that I've brewed that ends up on this tap.  A cream ale seems like it could be more to my liking since I'm a fan of some Kolsch beers and this recipe uses Kolsch yeast and a Kolsch-ish recipe.  This recipe comes to us thanks to MuddyMikes on the MoreBeer Forums.  Here's the recipe and the label:

Orange Blossom Honey Cream Ale
6-A Cream Ale
Author: Wade L. Williams

Size: 11.04 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 151.0 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.046 (1.042 - 1.055)
Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.006 - 1.012)
Color: 6.04 (2.5 - 5.0)
Alcohol: 4.46% (4.2% - 5.6%)
Bitterness: 18.5 (15.0 - 20.0)

Ingredients:
14.06 lb English 2-row Pils
3.52 lb Corn Flaked (Maize)
1.17 lb German CaraHell
0.59 lb Belgian Aromatic
0.59 lb Biscuit Malt (Mout Roost 50)
1 oz Cluster Hops (7.0%) - added during boil, boiled 75 min
.5 oz Mt. Hood Hops (6.5%) - added during boil, boiled 75 min
1 tsp Wyeast Nutrient - added during boil, boiled 10 min
.5 oz Mt. Hood (6.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
2 ea White Labs WLP029 German Ale/Kölsch

Notes
Saccharification Rest Temp : 152 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 165 Time: 15
Sparge Temp : 170 Time: 30

*** Pitch 2 lbs of California Orange Blossom Honey, dissolved in 2 cups of hot water, in primary fermentor 5 days after fermentation starts. ***

*** Pitch zest of  3 naval oranges into pramary fermentor 14 days after fermentation starts. ***

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12

Atomic Punk Strong Ale

A brew day with six friends and then dinner for them and their wives, what could be better?  ;-)  Tomorrow (Saturday) will be one looooooooooong day!

Here's the updated recipe and label:

Atomic Punk

14-B American IPA

Author: Wade Williams

Size: 10.5 gal

Efficiency: 64.0%

Attenuation: 75.0%

Calories: 230.79 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.069 (1.056 - 1.075)

Terminal Gravity: 1.017 (1.010 - 1.018)

Color: 21.64 (6.0 - 15.0)

Alcohol: 6.82% (5.5% - 7.5%)

Bitterness: 95.7 (40.0 - 70.0)

Ingredients:

29.0 lb Pale Ale Malt

3.25 lb Special B - Caramel malt

1.0 lb Cara-Pils® Malt

1.0 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash

50.0 g Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 85 min

50.0 g Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 45 min

50.0 g Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min

1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10 min

1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient (AKA Fermax) - added during boil, boiled 10 min

50.0 g Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0 min

2.0 ea Fermentis S-04 Safale S-04

Notes

Mash at 148

Pitch @ 66-67 and let it rise naturally to 69 and hold it there until it's within a few points of finishing then ramp it up to 72.

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12

Arrogant Bastard Clone

Props to Mike "Tasty" McDole for cloning this beer!  This beer will be next in my lineup and will be brewed by myself and six friends who purchased the brew session and dinner at the OLM School fundraiser.

Arrogant Bastard
14-B American IPA
Author: Tasty McDole

Size: 10.5 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 224.17 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.067 (1.056 - 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.017 (1.010 - 1.018)
Color: 21.56 (6.0 - 15.0)
Alcohol: 6.62% (5.5% - 7.5%)
Bitterness: 95.7 (40.0 - 70.0)

Ingredients:
29.0 lb Pale Ale Malt
3.22 lb Special B - Caramel malt
1.0 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash
50.0 g Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 85 min
50.0 g Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 45 min
50.0 g Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient (AKA Fermax) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
50.0 g Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0 min
2.0 ea White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Notes
Mash at 148

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12

Willamette IPA

'Tis time to brew an IPA again as the Mad Pig is almost gone.  I was thinking of re brewing the wildly popular Sick Puppy IPA again but I've had this pound of Willamette hops on hand for about a year and I've been searching for a brew to use them in.  After searching the interwebs one night I learned that Jamil Z had tried to clone Lagunitas IPA many moons ago and came up with a recipe that used all Willamette hops.  I'm not shooting for a Lagunitas clone (and most homebrewers know that this recipe doesn't come close) but I did use the Lagunitas malt schedule on this beer and replaced most of the hop additions with Willamette hops.  What I'm shooting for is a somewhat spicy IPA with a nose that will knock your socks off!  Of course, with all experiments, this may fail miserably, but I'm hoping for the best.  I just picked up my supplies today from Barley and Wine and I'll be brewing this Saturday at about 5 am hoping to be done by 10 am.

Here's the label and the recipe:

Willamette IPA
14-B American IPA
Author: Wade L. Williams

Size: 11.0 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 209.43 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.063 (1.056 - 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.016 (1.010 - 1.018)
Color: 12.7 (6.0 - 15.0)
Alcohol: 6.19% (5.5% - 7.5%)
Bitterness: 48.2 (40.0 - 70.0)

Ingredients:
24 lb American 2-row
2.0 lb White Wheat Malt
1.8 lb Munich Malt
1.2 lb Crystal Malt 60°L
2.75 lb Crystal 15
1.75 oz Magnum (10.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
.7 oz Glacier (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min (similar to Willamette and I want to get rid of them)
1.25 oz Willamette (4.7%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min
2 oz Willamette (4.7%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient (AKA Fermax) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
4 oz Willamette (4.7%) - added during boil, boiled 1 min
4 oz Willamette (4.7%) - added dry to primary fermenter
2.0 ea WYeast 1968 London ESB Ale

Notes
Mash temp 158-160

Ferment temp: 66F for three days - slowly raise to 70F over the next 3-4 days

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.3

Poker Dogs Pale Ale

I'm changing up the brewing schedule here a bit.  I went to fill up a growler of 44 Pale Ale this morning for a friend and the keg blew.  The last keg blew.  That means no more pale ale, the most popular beer in the lineup.  Sooooooooo, I'm going to brew the SNPA clone again, but I'm changing it up a bit to make it a little less than medium on the mouth feel.  This should make it more drinkable and with a little less ABV.  Here's the label and the recipe.

Poker Dogs Pale Ale
10-A American Pale Ale
Author: Wade Williams
Date: 7/2/2010

Size: 11.0 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 183.25 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.055 (1.045 - 1.060)
Terminal Gravity: 1.014 (1.010 - 1.015)
Color: 14.11 (5.0 - 14.0)
Alcohol: 5.42% (4.5% - 6.2%)
Bitterness: 41.5 (30.0 - 45.0)

Ingredients:
25.16 lb Pale Ale Malt
2.19 lb Crystal Malt 60°L

1.1 oz Magnum (14.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.0 oz Perle (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0 min
2.0 oz Cascade (5.6%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
4.0 oz Cascade (5.6%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

2.0 ea White Labs WLP001 California Ale

2 oz Cascade (5.6%) - added dry to primary fermenter

Brew Day - Fuego Del Diablo

Another blustery day outside and another brew session under my belt.  Everything went great except the boil over.  Always, and I mean always, watch that brew pot until you begin your boil!  I was trying to do too many things at one time, took my eye off of it for about five minutes, and noticed sticky wort coming under the garage door. Yikes!  I lost about 1/2 gallon to this mess.  No worries though, everything cleans up nicely with a hose. 

I hit my OG a little high at 1.069 instead of 1.067 but that's close enough for government work!  ;-) 
The hydrometer sample tasted wonderful!  The additional 10 IBUs at 60 minutes really balanced out this beer.  I can't wait to taste it in 3 weeks!

Now, on to the pictures!














This is the new brew house setup.   The burner on the left is new(er) and is used to head the Hot Liquor Tank holding the strike water.  It's more powerful than the old burner on the right and I had to turn it down a tad after it heated the keg on top of it bright red/yellow!  And, yes, I'm still using the dog kennel to hold the Mashtun, it's just the perfect height.  I also kept the water filter close to the HLT in order to refill after pouring the initial strike water into the mashtun.  This helped because I didn't have to move water from the boil pot to the HLT.  The less lifting I have to do the better!














With two burners I'm now able to drain the mashtun directly into the boil pot.  Again, no lifting heavy buckets!














The boil over mess.....  :-(














The end of the boil with the wort chiller sanitizing in the pot.  I'd read on the Morebeer Forums that if you turn down pressure of the water going into the chiller that the wort will cool down faster.  I tried it and it worked great.  The water goes slower through the copper giving it time to allow the heat  transfer to take place.  Cool water in, hot water out, cool wort in the process.

Everything is in the fermentor and cooling down to 67 degrees.  I'll pitch the 2,000 ml yeast starter of Wyeast 1056 American Ale tomorrow morning.

Cheers!

Fuego Del Diablo

My, oh my, how the beer seems to disappear faster when the sun comes out! I just tapped my second keg of Mad Pig IPA and I'm almost completely out of Pale Ale and Amber Ale. I planned my next 3 brew sessions today and they'll happen over the next 9 weeks, the first of which will be this Friday. I'll also be reusing the yeast cake from this beer for the next two.

Fuego Del Diablo means The Devil's Fire and it's a slightly altered version of JZ's Evil Twin. All I'm doing to change it is to actually do a 90 minute boil and add 0.4 oz of Magnum hops at 60 minutes to up the IBUs by 10 points. This will be an evolving recipe where I try different ideas each time I brew it.

Here's the recipe:

Fuego Del Diablo
14-B American Amber/IPAish sort of thing
Author: Wade L. Williams

Size: 11 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.8%
Calories: 224.06 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.067
Terminal Gravity: 1.016
Color: 19.84
Alcohol: 6.7%
Bitterness: 52.7

Ingredients:
26.25 lb Pale Ale Malt
2.2 lb Crystal Malt 40°L
2.2 lb Munich Malt
1.1 lb Victory® Malt
1.1 lb Crystal 120
.6 lb Pale Chocolate

.4 oz Magnum (14.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min
1 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min
1 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
2 tsp Yeast Nutrient (AKA Fermax) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
2 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
2 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
2 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
2 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
2 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added dry to primary fermenter
2 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter

2 ea Wyeast 1056 American Ale in a 2,000 ml starter

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.3

Weed Death Brew Day

My 18th brew day is done.  A good day indeed.  All of the usual stuff will come here shortly, but I had to mention three new things I got to use in the brew house today.
First, I got to use my new mash paddle.  It went through the mash effortlessly and really broke up those dough balls!  Easier = better in my opinion.
Second, I was able to use my new high temperature tubing to transfer the 165 degree water from kettle to bucket.  I also used it to transfer the wort to the kettle and I'll use it here shortly to transfer the boiled wort to the fermentor.  Again, very easy to work with since it's so flexible.
Third, I got to use my new stainless steel spoon instead of my plastic spoon to stir the hops into the wort.  Wow, just wow.  No more wimpy spoon twisting in my hands as I stir.

Now, back to our regular programming:



The yeast starter went a little crazy on me and blew its top.  I made two 2,000 ml starters - one for the initial starter and one to step it up and grow more yeasties.  The first starter fermented out in two days so I put it in the fridge, let the yeast settle to the bottom, decanted the nasty starter beer off the top and re-fed it again on Thursday morning.  I took of for my meeting in Monterrey and came back Saturday afternoon to this mess.  Yuck!  The starter is just fine but I have quite the mess to clean up!


 The mash with my new mash paddle!  Take that you little dough ball bastards!  OK, maybe I'm just a little too excited about this.....



Did I mention that I mashed in really early this morning?  Also, I had to lengthen the mash to 1 hour 20 minutes instead of the standard 1 hour.  I missed my mash temp by a few degrees so I wanted to make sure everything converted.


7.5 gallons of wort on my first runnings, 8 gallons from my second runnings.  1.5 gallons of wort (that won't fit into the boil kettle) down the drain.  I've got to work on my mash math so that I come out with zero extra gallons of wort. 


Just a liiiiiiiiiiiiiitle too vigorous on the boil.  I tuned it down and got the perfect boil going.  Not too much, not too little, just right.  Hmmmm.  Thinking about some kind of Goldilocks Ale now.....  ;-)

Just chillin'.  Oh, BTW, the outlet hose for my chiller split in the middle of the hose AND the darn connector started leaking.  Had to put a towel over the connector to keep hose water from getting into the wort.  Hmmmm.  Thinking about some kind of Hose Water Hefeweizen now..... ;-)

And, finally, the little bastards that this ale was named after.  I could here these Weedomites screaming in their death throws today: "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".  Damn that was irritating!  ;-)

Weed Death Wheat Ale

The Summer Sunset Orange Wit is about 4 pints away from blowing the keg so it's time to brew something light to replace it.  To be honest, I don't like Wits (Sorry Stephen!) and American Wheat beers seem to be getting lots of attention so a wheat beer it is.

Now, as much as people like wheat beers, they may not necessarily want to drink one with the word Death in the name so here's the explanation.  Almost everyone reading this is going to have a lawn.  Very low alcohol beers are sometimes called "lawnmower beers" meaning that you can have one when you mow the lawn.  Well, I don't have a lawn, I have weeds and I've been battling them for 4 years.  This year my father in law gave me a mixture of round up and some other chemicals that I'm sure will pollute the ground water for years to come, but I won't have any weeds!  So, instead of "Lounge Lizard Larry's Lawnmower Libations" I opted for "Weed Death Wheat Ale", a name that was partially born out of my buddy Steve's suggestion of "Wade's Weed Death Mixture".

The yeast starter was created last night and is spinning dizzily on the stir plate.  Brewday is Sunday while I smoke 16 pounds of pork butt (Yes Steve, I said pork butt).  Here's the label and the recipe.

Weed Death Wheat Ale
6-D American Wheat or Rye Beer
Author: Wade L. Williams

Size: 10.56 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 166.16 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.050 (1.040 - 1.055)
Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (1.008 - 1.013)
Color: 6.63 (3.0 - 6.0)
Alcohol: 4.91% (4.0% - 5.5%)
Bitterness: 22.3 (15.0 - 30.0)

Ingredients:
10.5 lb Pale Ale Malt
10.5 lb White Wheat Malt
2 lb Vienna Malt
1.5 oz Sterling (7%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient (AKA Fermax) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
1 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1.5 oz Sterling (7%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
2.0 ea White Labs WLP320 American Hefeweizen Ale

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.3

Containing the Mad Pig

I was able to clean a couple of kegs and then transfer the Mad Pig from the KegMentor to kegs. 

1.070 SG, 1.014 FG = 7.36% ABV.

The hydro sample had some hop haze to it but it smelled/tasted great!  Should be ready in time for the CVBG March meeting!

Mad Pig Brew Day

The Surly Sow has mutated.  It's become bigger, more bitter, hoppier, more aromatic, and about 1% more alcohol.  The color looked great in the sparge, the kettle smelled fantastic with 8 ounces of hops going into the boil, and the gravity sample tasted out of this world!  I cannot wait for this beer to finish fermenting so it can go on draft!

I did change one thing in the recipe and added 1 lb of corn sugar to the boil at 10 minutes to dry the beer out a little.  Here's how the brew day went.

I finally found a picture of a "mad" pig that didn't involve foaming at the mouth.  ;-)  I didn't think I'd be happy with a white background on the image, but in the end I was quite surprised at how well it made the pig stand out in the label.  He's one P.O.'d pig!

I was getting everything ready Saturday night and decided to bring things inside to sanitize them so I could spend some time with Carlen while I did it. The fermentor (keg on the left) was easy to sanitize on the stove.  I just put a little water in it and boiled it for 10 minutes.  I had a new thermometer and spigot for the brew kettle and wanted to put it through it's paces for brew day so I put it on another burner.  No leaks!

Santa brought a ping-pong table for the kids this year.  It sure is a nice place to spread out the brew stuff!

31.77 pounds of grain + 9.5 gallons of 175 degree water = 154 degree mash!  Hit it dead on!

Sparging one hour later.  The wort was a beautiful golden/amber color.

The hot break forming on top of one full boil kettle.  I've learned that my boil off rate is very high in the kettle (3 gallons per hour) so I have to collect 14 gallons of wort to to boil down to 11.  10.5 of which goes into the fermentor and 1/2 gallon which is left behind because it looks like pea soup from the pellet hops.

209-210 degrees is the perfect boil temp!  Keeps the wort at a nice, stead boil without going crazy.

14 gallons of wort at a boil with the first addition of hops floating around.  When the 3 ounces of Chinook hops hit the kettle the whole garage smelled like heaven.  Or, what I hope heaven will smell like!

The one hour boil is done and we're cooling everything down to 80 degrees with the immersion chiller.  Also cleaning up the boil over that happens when I put the wort chiller in the pot.  Don't know why it happens, but it does.  I'm thinking of switching over to a different kind of chiller, but haven't figured out which one I want yet.

All those hops left over on the screen after the wort has been drained off.  The wort is in the fermentor and 1800 ML of WLP001 yeast starter is in there chugging away.

2 weeks until this one is done fermenting.
1 week dry hopping.
2 weeks carbonating.
2 weeks conditioning.
----------------
7 weeks until it's ready to drink.

Mad Pig IPA

Finally! After 3 months I'm brewing again this Sunday. The yeast starter is done and will be on the stir plate tonight. This recipe is loosely based off of Blind Pig IPA that I got from Brandon over at The BN.

Mad Pig IPA
14-B American IPA
Author: Wade L. Williams

Size: 10.56 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 223.09 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.067 (1.056 - 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.017 (1.010 - 1.018)
Color: 12.16 (6.0 - 15.0)
Alcohol: 6.59% (5.5% - 7.5%)
Bitterness: 96.8 (40.0 - 70.0)

Ingredients:
28.5 lb Pale Ale Malt
1.09 lb White Wheat Malt
1.09 lb Cara-Pils® Malt
1.09 lb Crystal Malt 40°L
3.0 oz Chinook (12.4%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1.0 oz Cascade (7.8%) - added during boil, boiled 30 min
2.0 oz Cascade (7.8%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min

1.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
2.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient (AKA Fermax) - added during boil, boiled 10 min

1.0 oz Amarillo (8.6%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
1.0 oz Simcoe (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min

2.0 ea White Labs WLP001 California Ale

1.0 oz Amarillo (8.6%) - added dry to primary fermenter
1.0 oz Simcoe (13.0%) - added dry to primary fermenter
1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter
2.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added dry to primary fermenter


Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.3

44 Pale Ale

Wow, what a BLUSTERY birthday brew!  Here are the action shots:

The updated label to indicate the windy day.

The scene outside the garage.

Mashing in and heating sparge water in the garage behind one closed garage door and two others open.  This kept out the wind some and the flame didn't blow out.


Mashing out with the rain in the background.

One full boil kettle!

5.5 ounces of hops!

The boil kettle after all the wort was drained off.

The new fermenter!

Birthday Brew Planned

My 44th birthday is next Tuesday, so I decided to take the day off to brew. The Evil Twin Red Ale is just about to blow, so I figured I'd brew a Pale Ale to sit on that tap when the time comes and my Evil Twin kicks the bucket.

Here's the recipe:
44 Pale Ale
10-A American Pale Ale
Author: Wade

Size: 11.0 gal
Efficiency: 64.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 191.23 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.057 (1.045 - 1.060)
Terminal Gravity: 1.014 (1.010 - 1.015)
Color: 9.21 (5.0 - 14.0)
Alcohol: 5.65% (4.5% - 6.2%)
Bitterness: 42.3 (30.0 - 45.0)

Ingredients:
24.72 lb American 2-row
1.64 lb Munich Malt
1.09 lb White Wheat Malt
1.64 lb Victory® Malt
2 tbsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash

1.5 oz Magnum (14.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient (AKA Fermax) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
1 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
1.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0 min
1.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0 min

2 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

Notes
Mash at 152

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.3

It'll be my first time using dry yeast. I hear it doesn't bring much complexity into the beer, but it sure is easy!

Sick Puppy IPA Kegged!

Wow, what a fun brew this has been. I let it sit on the dry hops for 10 days instead of my usual 7 before crash cooling to 32 degrees on Monday. I finally got around to kegging it today (Friday) where it will sit on the CO2 for 7 days before it goes in the keezer.

I took the liberty to ramp up the fermentation temp to 75 degrees for one day just to make sure the yeast attenuated all the way. well, it did and then some. Instead of 1.016 for the FG I ended up at 1.014. 78.125% attenuation out of that yeast that's supposed to attenuate at 67-71%. I guess I don't have to ramp up to 75 degrees next time! The hydro sample taste great!

Here are a couple of pics of the carboy after draining off 5 gallons of beer to the keg:
































Up next: A pale ale. I'm almost out of Evil Twin.

Sick Puppy Brew Fun

Yesterday was a nice brew day! It wasn't too hot (90's), no interruptions, and the outcome couldn't have been more perfect. Here are the pics!

Boiling the starter in the house Thursday night. Sharon was gone so I didn't have to worry about the beer smell that seems to permeate everywhere in the house. Smells good to me!














Some folks ask "Why go to all the trouble to make a starter?" These pics should clear that up.

The starter Thursday night. If you look really, really closely you can see little white flecks of yeast in there.


















The yeast Friday morning. Looks like those yeasties procreated just a little! ;-)


















Cleaning a few kegs while the grain is mashing. It sure is nice having a hot water spigot outside.














My OG was supposed to be 1.064. Nailed it!