Homebrewers Outpost German Alps Pilsner kit:
2.5 gallons water.
12 oz. Carapils.
in a mesh bag, heated to just before boiling. Added:
6 lbs. Briess Light Extract (malt)
stirring, and brought to a rapid boil. Added:
1 oz. German Northern Brewer hop pellets (Alpha Acid 7.0%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 55 minutes. Added:
2 oz. German Hallertau hop pellets (Alpha Acid 3.9%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 5 minutes. Cooled in an ice bath til the pot was warm to the touch, added cold water to 5 gallons @ ~75F. Pitched:
11g Nottingham brewing yeast and put away to ferment on 1/10/08 at ~48F. Initial S.G. 1.060.
Initial yeast pitch didn't seem to take (is it possible for it to be too _low_ temperature?) so I re-pitched with the packet from a Smoky Porter kit (it looks the same.) This time I followed the instructions on the yeast packet for rehydrating the yeast first (4oz. ~90F water + yeast. Cover with sterile cloth for 15 mins. Add 1oz. wort every 5 minutes until its doubled in volume (to avoid temperature shock), then add to wort.)
-----
Went to check SG on 1/18 but it was still visibly bubbling, so I didn't bother. Given the slow start and the low temp in my cellar atm, this doesn't seem too surprising.
anti ob | Homepage | 01.18.09 - 3:12 pm | #
Kegged on Jan 23, SG 1.020
anti ob | Homepage | 01.23.09 - 1:29 pm | #
1.060 - 1.020 = 0.040
* 105 = 4.2% abw
* 1.25 = 5.25% abv
anti ob | Homepage | 02.12.09 - 5:37 pm | #
After a month in the keg this was nice, but a month after that it was nicer...
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Coffee Porter
Started with the Homebrewers Outpost Robust Porter kit:
2.5 gallons water.
6 oz. Chocolate.
4 oz. Crystal 120.
in a mesh bag, heated to 170F and let to steep (occasionally turning the heat back on to push it back up to 170F) for 10 minutes. Added:
7 lbs. Briess Dark Extract (malt)
stirring, and brought to a rapid boil. Added:
1 oz. UK Challenger hop pellets (Alpha Acid 8.0%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 55 minutes. Added:
1 oz. ?? hop pellets (Alpha Acid ??%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 5 minutes. Cooled in an ice bath to ~100F, added cold water to 5 gallons. Added 4 double shots of fresh espresso (I have read various recipes involving people adding coffee at the end of the boil, but coffee tastes like shite if you let it boil - it boils off lots of the tasty volitiles - so I opted to make decent coffee and add it after cooling.) Pitched:
11g Nottingham brewing yeast and put away to ferment.
Didn't save the S.G readings for this one. Carbonated it at a slightly higher pressure (I believe it was about 14 PSI) and keg aged for about 1 month.
This was a nice beer! Good body, nice head, you could taste the coffee but it was subtle.
2.5 gallons water.
6 oz. Chocolate.
4 oz. Crystal 120.
in a mesh bag, heated to 170F and let to steep (occasionally turning the heat back on to push it back up to 170F) for 10 minutes. Added:
7 lbs. Briess Dark Extract (malt)
stirring, and brought to a rapid boil. Added:
1 oz. UK Challenger hop pellets (Alpha Acid 8.0%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 55 minutes. Added:
1 oz. ?? hop pellets (Alpha Acid ??%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 5 minutes. Cooled in an ice bath to ~100F, added cold water to 5 gallons. Added 4 double shots of fresh espresso (I have read various recipes involving people adding coffee at the end of the boil, but coffee tastes like shite if you let it boil - it boils off lots of the tasty volitiles - so I opted to make decent coffee and add it after cooling.) Pitched:
11g Nottingham brewing yeast and put away to ferment.
Didn't save the S.G readings for this one. Carbonated it at a slightly higher pressure (I believe it was about 14 PSI) and keg aged for about 1 month.
This was a nice beer! Good body, nice head, you could taste the coffee but it was subtle.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Secret Special Recipe
Just a quick note: the guys at Homebrewers Outpost rock; if anyone reads this who is near Flag, or shopping by mail from anywhere in the states, check em out.
They've given me the magic ingredients list for the mystery bags in their kits, and have kindly given permission to post them here. (I'll go back and add them to the specific recipe posts.)
They've given me the magic ingredients list for the mystery bags in their kits, and have kindly given permission to post them here. (I'll go back and add them to the specific recipe posts.)
Monday, September 1, 2008
Daulton Ranch Snowmelt Mead
I guess if I'm going to keep my brewing recipes on this blog, I might a well add a link to the mead we did back in Febuary. We cracked open a test bottle a couple of weeks ago, and it was not good at all. Smelling it was like smelling two different liquids at once - one was floral and nice, the other was like smelling grain alcohol or petrol or something - not nice. The flavour was almost bitter, with chemically overtones.
However, the guys at the brew shop said it didn't immediately sound off or anything, and that meads often "run a little hot" when theyre young, which they described as a very harsh alcohol flavour. So with that advice, and taking into account the Fine Lemming Wine we did (which started off tasting harshly of sulphur, but ended up quite drinkable, if a bit bland) we've decided to leave it in the cellar for another 6 months, then crack it out and try it again.
-----
anti ob
And tried it again just now (Aug 22). Definitely better, and Coz agrees. Still a bit of a spirits flavour about it (which is odd, because it really shouldn't be that strong) but now it tastes a bit like an over-strong cocktail instead of a glass of slightly watered down meths. So that's got to be a plus, right?
I could drink it as it is, but I might wait a bit more still and crack it out for Christmas. Mead is more of a cold-weather drink to me anyways...
08/22/2009, 03:23:26 PM
[This user is an administrator] anti ob
I did try it again, sometime around the beginning of the year. Its hard to compare tastes across 6 months, but it seemed a little better? Put it back down for some more rest...
However, the guys at the brew shop said it didn't immediately sound off or anything, and that meads often "run a little hot" when theyre young, which they described as a very harsh alcohol flavour. So with that advice, and taking into account the Fine Lemming Wine we did (which started off tasting harshly of sulphur, but ended up quite drinkable, if a bit bland) we've decided to leave it in the cellar for another 6 months, then crack it out and try it again.
-----
anti ob
And tried it again just now (Aug 22). Definitely better, and Coz agrees. Still a bit of a spirits flavour about it (which is odd, because it really shouldn't be that strong) but now it tastes a bit like an over-strong cocktail instead of a glass of slightly watered down meths. So that's got to be a plus, right?
I could drink it as it is, but I might wait a bit more still and crack it out for Christmas. Mead is more of a cold-weather drink to me anyways...
08/22/2009, 03:23:26 PM
[This user is an administrator] anti ob
I did try it again, sometime around the beginning of the year. Its hard to compare tastes across 6 months, but it seemed a little better? Put it back down for some more rest...
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Homebrewers Outpost Alpine Amber
2.5 gallons water.
1 packet Specialty Grains. (I can tell keeping these recipes is going to be a bit pointless if I don't find out whats in these bags, but I reckon the guys at the shop will tell me.)
Edit: 8oz Crystal 90 and 4oz Special Roast
in a mesh bag, heated to 170F and let to steep (occasionally turning the heat back on to push it back up to 170F) for 10 minutes. Added:
7 lbs. Briess Amber Extract (malt)
stirring, and brought to a rapid boil. Added:
1 oz. Perle hop pellets (Alpha Acid 8.2%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 55 minutes. Added:
1 oz. Cascade hop pellets (Alpha Acid 6.3%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 5 minutes. Cooled in an ice bath to ~100F, added cold water to 5 gallons @ 82F. Pitched:
11g Nottingham brewing yeast and put away to ferment at ~68F. Initial S.G. 1.052.
-----
1.018
anti ob | 09.05.08 - 6:36 pm | #
1 packet Specialty Grains. (I can tell keeping these recipes is going to be a bit pointless if I don't find out whats in these bags, but I reckon the guys at the shop will tell me.)
Edit: 8oz Crystal 90 and 4oz Special Roast
in a mesh bag, heated to 170F and let to steep (occasionally turning the heat back on to push it back up to 170F) for 10 minutes. Added:
7 lbs. Briess Amber Extract (malt)
stirring, and brought to a rapid boil. Added:
1 oz. Perle hop pellets (Alpha Acid 8.2%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 55 minutes. Added:
1 oz. Cascade hop pellets (Alpha Acid 6.3%)
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 5 minutes. Cooled in an ice bath to ~100F, added cold water to 5 gallons @ 82F. Pitched:
11g Nottingham brewing yeast and put away to ferment at ~68F. Initial S.G. 1.052.
-----
1.018
anti ob | 09.05.08 - 6:36 pm | #
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Brew Two
This is a from a Red Rock Ale kit made by the local brew shop Homebrewers Outpost. Its supposedly a fairly hoppy IPA-like thing, though it looks fairly dark so far.
2.5 gallons water with
1 bag of Specialty Grains (sneaky! They're not telling whats in it...)
Edit: 4oz Chocolate, 4oz Crystal 60, 4oz Special Roast
in a mesh bag, heated to 170F and let to steep (occasionally turning the heat back on to push it back up to 170F) for 20 minutes. Added:
7 lbs. Briess Golden Light Extract
stirring, and brought to a rapid boil.
The brew-pot was making awesome swirly patterns, which it of course refused to repeat once I got the camera out. Still, I could watch these all day.
Added:
1 oz. UK Phoenix hop pellets
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 55 minutes. Added:
1 oz. Cascade hop pellets
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 5 minutes. Cooled in an ice bath to ~90F, added cold water to 5 gallons @ 80F. Pitched:
11g Nottingham dry brewing yeast. Agitated for 5m and put away to ferment. Initial S.G. 1.050.
Just put it down today, so I'll update this when I find out what it tastes like...
-----
SG steady at 1.014 after 6 days. Kegged with 1 pint of water and 5 oz. dextrose for carbonation. (I'll gas carbonate too, but I'll wait til the other keg runs out.
anti ob | 08.23.08 - 5:34 pm | #
Fridge died on me when I went to gas carbonate, so I cranked it up to 25 PSI to carbonate at approximately 60 F (in the tomb.) According to the charts this should be a bit more than the last one, which was a little flat.
anti ob | 08.30.08 - 6:31 pm | #
2.5 gallons water with
1 bag of Specialty Grains (sneaky! They're not telling whats in it...)
Edit: 4oz Chocolate, 4oz Crystal 60, 4oz Special Roast
in a mesh bag, heated to 170F and let to steep (occasionally turning the heat back on to push it back up to 170F) for 20 minutes. Added:
7 lbs. Briess Golden Light Extract
stirring, and brought to a rapid boil.
The brew-pot was making awesome swirly patterns, which it of course refused to repeat once I got the camera out. Still, I could watch these all day.
Added:
1 oz. UK Phoenix hop pellets
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 55 minutes. Added:
1 oz. Cascade hop pellets
in a mesh bag. Rapid boil for 5 minutes. Cooled in an ice bath to ~90F, added cold water to 5 gallons @ 80F. Pitched:
11g Nottingham dry brewing yeast. Agitated for 5m and put away to ferment. Initial S.G. 1.050.
Just put it down today, so I'll update this when I find out what it tastes like...
-----
SG steady at 1.014 after 6 days. Kegged with 1 pint of water and 5 oz. dextrose for carbonation. (I'll gas carbonate too, but I'll wait til the other keg runs out.
anti ob | 08.23.08 - 5:34 pm | #
Fridge died on me when I went to gas carbonate, so I cranked it up to 25 PSI to carbonate at approximately 60 F (in the tomb.) According to the charts this should be a bit more than the last one, which was a little flat.
anti ob | 08.30.08 - 6:31 pm | #
Homebrew Porter
Yeah, I know. Whats a brewing recipe doing on a site about longbows? Well I could make up something plausible-sounding about years of the SCA inexticably linking beer and archery in my brain, but the truth is I just didn't feel like starting yet another blog, and I wanted to have somewhere to put brewing recipes where they wouldn't get lost. (Like my late lamented Little Black Brewing Book did. *sigh*)
The beer cellar in the new house - room for lots more!
Homebrewing in the US - or at least in Flagstaff AZ - is much less common than it is in Oz, and it seems to work a little differently. Instead of the insert-water-and-wait idiot-proof kits that you can get in any supermarket, they're much more about custom-tailoring the wort as you boil it on the stove. Even the kits seem to come with bags of grain and multiple sets of hops to be added at various pre-set times. (You can get the simpler kits, but even at the brewshop they don't seem to get much mileage.) This is actually kind of handy, because this was the stage of brewing I'd moved on to anyways; I'm not starting from scratch, and I've got a recipe, but I'm still building all the component parts, which lets me tweak things a bit. Also, I've got myself a kegging system here, because I found a used one going cheap, and I hate washing bottles. So without further adieu, allow me to present ny first Mountain View Brew (our new house is on Mtn View Ave):
The keg system - no more bottle washing! Hurrah!
Using a Brewer's Best Robust Porter kit and recipe, but I'll spell it out in case I want to do variations on a theme at some later date.
2 gallons water in the pot with
8oz. Crushed Crystal Malt 60L
4oz. Crushed Chocolate Malt
4oz. Crushed Black Patent Malt
in a mesh bag. Heated to 170 F and steeped 20 minutes. Drained without squeezing. Brought to boil. Added:
6.6 lbs. Plain Amber Malt Extract
Returned to boil stirring. Added:
1oz. Cluster Hops
kept at a rapid boil for 55 minutes. Added:
1/2oz. Willamette Hops
kept at a rapid boil for 5 minutes. Rapidly cooled (in an ice bath) to 70 F while stirring to collect trub. Siphoned into 6.5 gallon fermenter. Added room temp water to 5 gallons. Pitched 1 packet of Beer Yeast (forgot to note the type.) Initial temperature 70 F, specific gravity 1.050. Yeast activity largely stopped after 5 days, SG steady at 1.020. Siphoned into a sterile 5g keg after 7 days. Attempted to prime for 1 week with 5oz. Priming Sugar, but got very little carbonation. Gassed with CO2 for an additional week at ~ 36-38F (in the beer fridge) and 12 psi.
-----
"Robust Porter" - July 2008 (the first glass, so its a little sedimenty)
The resulting beer isn't quite what I'd call a porter, but it is nice. Its hoppier than a porter - but I like hops, so I'm not really complaining - and doesn't have quite as much body as I'd expect. A dark opaque amber colour, with a fair bit of bitterness. Its also very lightly carbonated - sort of English style. You have to pour it from 6in above the glass to get any kind of a head at all (but it is a proper head - not just bubbles - and it does hold onto it reasonably well.) I'm wondering if the low carbonation has anything to do with the altitude, but then I got the carbonation table from the brew shop here in town, so you'd think they'd have mentioned if it doesn't work here. Whatever. Not a big fan of fizzy beers, but I think I will turn it up a notch for the next batch
The beer cellar in the new house - room for lots more!
Homebrewing in the US - or at least in Flagstaff AZ - is much less common than it is in Oz, and it seems to work a little differently. Instead of the insert-water-and-wait idiot-proof kits that you can get in any supermarket, they're much more about custom-tailoring the wort as you boil it on the stove. Even the kits seem to come with bags of grain and multiple sets of hops to be added at various pre-set times. (You can get the simpler kits, but even at the brewshop they don't seem to get much mileage.) This is actually kind of handy, because this was the stage of brewing I'd moved on to anyways; I'm not starting from scratch, and I've got a recipe, but I'm still building all the component parts, which lets me tweak things a bit. Also, I've got myself a kegging system here, because I found a used one going cheap, and I hate washing bottles. So without further adieu, allow me to present ny first Mountain View Brew (our new house is on Mtn View Ave):
The keg system - no more bottle washing! Hurrah!
Using a Brewer's Best Robust Porter kit and recipe, but I'll spell it out in case I want to do variations on a theme at some later date.
2 gallons water in the pot with
8oz. Crushed Crystal Malt 60L
4oz. Crushed Chocolate Malt
4oz. Crushed Black Patent Malt
in a mesh bag. Heated to 170 F and steeped 20 minutes. Drained without squeezing. Brought to boil. Added:
6.6 lbs. Plain Amber Malt Extract
Returned to boil stirring. Added:
1oz. Cluster Hops
kept at a rapid boil for 55 minutes. Added:
1/2oz. Willamette Hops
kept at a rapid boil for 5 minutes. Rapidly cooled (in an ice bath) to 70 F while stirring to collect trub. Siphoned into 6.5 gallon fermenter. Added room temp water to 5 gallons. Pitched 1 packet of Beer Yeast (forgot to note the type.) Initial temperature 70 F, specific gravity 1.050. Yeast activity largely stopped after 5 days, SG steady at 1.020. Siphoned into a sterile 5g keg after 7 days. Attempted to prime for 1 week with 5oz. Priming Sugar, but got very little carbonation. Gassed with CO2 for an additional week at ~ 36-38F (in the beer fridge) and 12 psi.
-----
"Robust Porter" - July 2008 (the first glass, so its a little sedimenty)
The resulting beer isn't quite what I'd call a porter, but it is nice. Its hoppier than a porter - but I like hops, so I'm not really complaining - and doesn't have quite as much body as I'd expect. A dark opaque amber colour, with a fair bit of bitterness. Its also very lightly carbonated - sort of English style. You have to pour it from 6in above the glass to get any kind of a head at all (but it is a proper head - not just bubbles - and it does hold onto it reasonably well.) I'm wondering if the low carbonation has anything to do with the altitude, but then I got the carbonation table from the brew shop here in town, so you'd think they'd have mentioned if it doesn't work here. Whatever. Not a big fan of fizzy beers, but I think I will turn it up a notch for the next batch
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