Posted on 02/06/2016 7:00:21 PM PST by markomalley
It's been a full day. The laughable debate going on this evening preceded by a brew day.
Today's beer is an American Pale Ale SMASH (single malt and single hop).
The recipe:
I built a 1 liter starter (using ½ pound of Pilsen DME to feed the yeast) yesterday in order to get things moving a bit.
Mashed at 156° for 90 minutes. Got 3-½ gallons from my first runnings @ 17.9 Brix. Batch sparged at 168° to get a pre-boil volume of 7.5 gallons @ 13.2 Brix (1.052 SG)
Brought to a boil, got beyond the hot break, and then added hops per the schedule above.
At 15 minutes before the end of the boil, I added a teaspoon of Irish Moss and inserted by chiller in order to disinfect it.
At flameout, I added the last hop addition and then began to chill the wort.
One really nice thing about brewing this time of year is that the tap water is actually COLD. So it takes (relatively) no time to cool the wort down to 75°. I usually let the wort settle for a couple of minutes after chilling so that the trub can settle some. Then it's time to rack it to the bucket for primary fermentation (some day I'll get a conical...but not today)
By the way, that 12 inch strainer was a great investment. If you don't have one, you can get it Amazon for 16.98 (with Prime shipping).
The wort was 15.8 Brix when all was said and done (OG=1.063 SG).
If it ferments down as far as I anticipate, it should be a 7% beer (a little stronger than what I was planning for, but, hey, who is going to complain about stronger beer LOL)
Anyway, the beer should be 46 IBUs, so the hops will definitely be noticeable, but not a hop bomb.
I will be doing primary fermentation at 70 degrees. It should be done in about 4 days, at which point I will raise it to 76 degrees for a diacetyl rest. Then I will transfer to secondary where I'll dry hop. Let it sit for a week or so and then put it in a keg, cold crash, fine with gelatin, and carbonate.
Hopefully this will be ready to drink in a month. Woo-hoo!
ping
my landlord/friend used to make home made wine. His pop made it in Italy. It was pretty good.
could depend on him being drunk for week after.
though that was a pretty dependable guess ANY time.
Wow...I marvel at the complexity of the recipe. I think I understood absolutely NONE of the steps and language save two: “drink” and “ale.”
Waiting, waiting, waiting for the hefeweizen to be done..,
So many batches to brew, so few bottles. Gad I hate to have to buy any.
Uf da! That’s a big beer. The 156 degree mash should make that nice and malty. Let us know how it turns out.
I have an American Brown on tap and patiently waiting to keg a Belgian Golden. A Thomas Hardy’s Ale clone is in the primary. That won’t be ready to drink until next New Years Eve. That one will be bottled for the cellar.
I’ve made witbier a couple of times but have yet to make a German wheat. I’d like to make both a Berliner weisse and hefeweizen. There’s nothing better for summer.
Time to get a grain bill together!
Hefe is da bomb. Plus it’s one of the few beers DW will drink. Midwest has a really good kit: their Hank’s Hefe is great although I would NOT use their recommmended yeasts. Better to get a really good commercial hefe and culture the yeast from that.
Buying yeast at 6 or 7 a pop just doesn’t make sense to me anyway.
I typically make up my own recipes by using Designing Great Beers by Daniels along with checking the BJCP Style Guide. I will check similar recipes online just to see what others are doing. We have a Great Fermentations close by so don’t have to pay for shipping.
I’ll spring for the liquid yeast (hey, the kids are moved out!). I usually ramp it up by making a 700mL starter a couple of days before brew day.
I’ll be doing a Bavarian lager in a month or so, but may double up and do the wheat too.
Prost!
If you’re already doing a starter, why not buy 2 beers and drink them instead? Just pour in the yeast at the bottom of the bottle. Obviously drink from a glass and sanitize the rim of the bottle. But I’d rather buy beer than yeast.
I’ve never tried that, but I’m willing. Another small batch brew in the offing is a spontaneously fermented Belgian. That will likely be a few gallons at most just to see what the local flora us like. Love the Belgians!
There is some stuff on line that shows how to do it. You really just need DME and water like you would do with a starter. Just use the sludge at the bottom of the bottle as the starter yeast instead of buying it. It might take an extra day to get going, but it’s no big deal.
I use a sanitized growler for the starter container.
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