Harvest WHIPA

On Labor Day I harvested my hops and brewed my Harvest Wet Hopped IPA. My crop was not as bountiful as I had hoped; a hot dry spell (accompanied by a lack of attention) burned up all my Williamette and half of my Centennial. The Chinook was very productive and I salvaged a few ounces of Centennial and about an ounce of Cascade. The majority of those hops went into this beer.

I started with what I hope will be a solid backbone for this highly hopped beer.

2 Row 8 lbs (59%)
Rye 3 lbs (22%)
Wheat 1 lb (7%)
Crystal 60 0.5 lbs (4%)

Homemade Candy Sugar 1 lb (7%)
(added with the final hop addition)

I cooked the candy sugar to a caramel brown color; it should add some more flavor as well as dry the beer out some.

All of my measurements for the hops are approximate, assuming that one bowl is 5 oz. If so, it went something like this.

Chinook 1 oz (pellet) 45 min
Chinook 5 oz (wet) 20 min
Chinook 5 oz (wet) 15 min
Chinook 5 oz (wet) 10 min
Centennial 5 oz (wet) 5 min
Cascade 5 oz (wet) 5 min

I filled the boil kettle higher than normal planning for what the hops would absorb, but apparently wet hops do not absorb much wort. My finishing volume was 5.75 gallons (I was shooting for 5.5). It is currently being fermented with 3rd generation washed US - 05.

OG - 1.070
FG - 1.016 (estimate)
IBU - 80?
ABV - 7%

Hop Garden - Summer Update

First, allow me to apologize for my recent absence. Life has been crazy. The Mrs and I have been watching her niece and two nephews for the last month and suddenly becoming a "parent" of three has been time consuming. But, we just returned from vacationing for 10 days and the hops, and other garden plants, have been growing well in our absence.

As you can see the Centennial has quite a few hops and the Chinook has also made it to the top of the trellis in its first year at my house. The first year Cascade is a respectable 6 feet high and the Williamette, which was injured last year, has made a respectable comeback. Everything has signs of hop growth.

Stay tuned. Soon I will try to catch you up on the brews that I managed to get in with 3 kids running around and on some other adventures in home brewing.

Brew Day - Bad Day Kolsch

As is my tradition, when I find a problem on a brew day, I find more than one. Today I used some new equipment for the first time, specifically a floating thermometer in my mash. But the thermometer was reading cooler than the math had told me, which is abnormal from my experience. When compared it to my old thermometer, which I used for the strike water, they differed by about 6*F, the new being cooler than the old. So, like a good little scientist, I ran an experiment. I measured the water I was boiling to raise the mash to the next step. New thermo = 212, old =218... Problem. So I brought in a control, and the digital meat thermometer agreed with the new thermometer. So for the last year or so I've been using an uncalibrated thermometer. Nice.

Problem 2. I just bought grain from a home brew supply store around my mom's house last week and they bagged my grain in paper bags. (Or rather had me bag my grain in paper bags.) My basement was pretty humid when I got home, until I got the dehumidifier going. As I'm sure my intelligent readers know paper bags are not very good at keeping moisture out. So far the only problem that I've noticed is a decrease in my efficiency, hopefully it doesn't taste stale because I bought 4 recipes which were all bagged in this manner... The other 3 have been in an air tight container since I got home. Guess we'll evaluate those when I brew them. But enough of my reasons (I won't bother telling you about my ER visits for work both before and after brewing) for calling this brew Bad Day Kolsch, on to the brew day.

Recipe:

88% Pilsner (7#)
6% Munich (0 5#)
6% Vienna (0.5#)

1 oz Hallertauer (4.3%) 45 min
0.5 oz Hallertauer (4.3%) 30 min

Wyeast 1010 (washed)

I cut down times on both the mash and the boil because I was on call and wanted to shave as much time as I could. So I mashed at 148 for 30 minutes, bumped it to 158 for 15, and then mashed out at 168 for 15. I sparged to 6.5 gallons and vigorously boiled for 75 minute. Note: for my system I should have filled less because my final volume was a quart over my goal, 5.75 gal. After chilling and transferring to the primary I put it in my lager fridge for about 6 hours before pitching the yeast, it was 63 when I pitched. My goal is to ferment at around 60*F throughout primary.

Because my gravity was low I added 0.5# sugar.

Numbers:

1.046 OG (measured)
1.010 FG (hopped for)
4.75 ABV
19 IBUs
3 SRM

6/2/13 - Less than 24 hours after pitching the yeast and fermentation appears full bore. I thought there may be a lag because of the cool temperature I'm fermenting at, but not so my friends. So far I'm a fan of Wyeast 1010.

Brew Therapy - Seasonal Breffective Disorder

Perhaps you suffer from this disorder as I do. During certain times of the year you find yourself craving particular styles of beer. I, for example, want light colored beer in the summer and heavier / stronger (abv) beer in the winter. If you live in an area where there is no winter you may be confused right now. Winter is a season when it gets cold and dark and depressing.

At this time I find myself wanting something wheat, or bright, or session-able. And I have nothing that matches that description. I have quite a few that will be available soon, but what does that do for me today? Nothing.

Can you relate? If so, here is my advice. Be proactive! Begin brewing these beers in preparation for the changing seasons, not in reaction to them. Had I begun brewing these beers a month earlier I would have a Kolsch, an American Wheat, and a Helles at my disposal. And significantly less to write about...

Jackpot

So I received a text from a friend today asking if I would be interested in her husband's old brewing equipment. Since I'm never one to turn down a handout I said that I'd be right over. I thought that I would get a new carboy and maybe an extra hydrometer out of the deal.

Little did I know that he was a brewer from way back. Most of what he had (pictured below) is well aged and will require a lot of cleaning, but is still excellent brewing equipment. Probably won't trust the gypsum to be usable and the old racking cane will find its way to the garbage. But the EZ Cap bottles, 2 six gallon carboys, and wort testing kits are a most welcome surprise. Even the old canned Mr. Beer mixes (best if used before 1997) will decorate my man cave.

Perhaps the best surprise were the 15 still full bottles of his home brew; circa the 1990s. Still good? Probably not. Will I give one a try anyway? You know it.

Brew Day - Cit-Wit III

This brew started for as so many others, a request from a friend.  Three years ago I was inspired by a friend, Adam, to brew a wheat beer infused with citrus and thus Cit-Wit was born.  The first year was an extract brew fermented with Fermentis US-05.  Last year I actually used a Belgian Wit yeast from White Labs.  And this year I mixed it all up again.  So even though this beer has its own name it has not even been close to the same beer twice.

This year I simplified.  I wanted to brew a simple, bright, and refreshing beer for the summer.  In the past I have used pretty massive amounts of citrus zest in this beer; including both lemon and lime.  This year I cut the dose of zest in half.  As you can see above, I used 4 Cuties, 1 navel orange, 1 grapefruit, and 1 Tangelo. This is also the first brew that will be fermented in my new Fermentation Chamber (more on that in a future post).  Here's the recipe.

50% Domestic Two-Row 4.5 lbs
50% White Wheat Malt 4.5 lbs

1 oz Saaz 45 min
1 oz Cascade 5 min
Zest at flame out

Wyeast 1010 American Wheat Ale

1.051 OG (measured)
1.012 FG (estimated)
5% ABV
18 IBU

I'll ferment it at 65* for the first few days, then I'll slowly raise the temp up to 70* to finish primary fermentation.  Cit-Wit mark3 will also be kegged.

The Rinsing of Yeast

There are probably as many methods for doing this as there are brewers; this is my method. First of all, I reuse all of my yeasts, even the cheap US - 05. My reasoning for this is a) it makes propagating yeast for my next brew easier because of the number of yeasties produced during the fermentation process. And b) because the following generations of yeast are said to make better beer; at least to the fourth generation.

I start by having sterilized canned water ready as soon as fermentation comes to a stop. I boil and can it in mason jars every few months. As a note, because the water, mason jars, and lids are boiled for at least 15 minutes they are sterilized, not just sanitized.

I dump a half gallon mason jar in my primary, stir it up, and then lay the carboy on its side to allow it to settle for 15 minutes or so (sometimes up to 30 minutes depending on how distracted I get). I keep the sterilized lid on the mason jar during this time to keep any nasties from falling in.

I then decant (meaning to pour off the top portion while leaving the sediment behind) back into the half gallon mason jar. This will be cloudy with the aforementioned yeasties. I let this settle for another half hour, so that more undesirables can fall out of suspension, before decanting again into smaller sterilized mason jars.

I then put the yeast into my fridge where the yeast will all settle over the following week. Sometimes I'll transfer them into a smaller mason jar after they've all settled to save space, but I try to use them as quickly as possible. "The man" says to use it within a few weeks and I personally try not to let it sit for more than a few months. That being said, I have successfully revived Wyeast's Irish Ale after it sat dormant for almost a year.