The bewday went well, but there were a few little problems I will have to correct.
First, my Robust Porter experiment finished higher in gravity than I was expecting. I was looking for a final gravity if 1.014, but ended up with 1.020. It looks like i will need a more attenuative yeast for this beer. Maybe I should try a full packet of the US-04 as opposed the just a half. Also, The Wheat experiment I did ended up at a lower gravity, so I had to boil off a significant amount to meet my original gravity reached with the award winning batch,
What I did, was bottle the porter as is, and try different carbonation levels by adding 3, 4, or 5 carb tabs to each bottle (two of each) to give me an idea of the best way to carbonate the experiment. At the very least, I'll have an idea of that aspect of the beer.
Also, I boiled down the wheat to my expected original gravity, and started the boil time from there, adding the tettanger hops at 7 brix (1.028) and then .20 grams of crushed coriander at 10 minutes left in the boil. What I ended up with was 3 quarts of the original,award winning recipe for the spice beer, and a full six pack of 16oz bottles of the base Robust Porter with differring levels of carbonation,
The yeast I pitched was more than was called for in the original beer, so I will have to see how this affects the final result. I have a few weeks to wait to find out. Meanwhile, there's only two weeks before i get to taste the Robust Porter.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
A Second Experiment
Since I have to wait a month to try my porter experiments, I decided to run a separate experiment concurrently. My brewing partner and I placed in a local competition with a spiced wheat beer, and it was suggested by a chef friend of mine that I do what he does with his recipes, and work to perfect that beer.
It was your basic American style wheat, containing 50% 2-row, and 50% malted wheat, Tettnanger hops, and crushed coriander. We used a Hefeweizen yeast to ferment. I am going to make one gallon batches of this, again trying some little changes, until its perfect.
Tomorrow is bottling day for the porter, so what better time to start than that? I'll start with the original recipe as a calibration, and go from there. The only problem I can foresee is that the Hef yeasts only come in liquid form, so it will be tough to get the right pitching rate. I'm furiously searching the internet for suggestions.
It was your basic American style wheat, containing 50% 2-row, and 50% malted wheat, Tettnanger hops, and crushed coriander. We used a Hefeweizen yeast to ferment. I am going to make one gallon batches of this, again trying some little changes, until its perfect.
Tomorrow is bottling day for the porter, so what better time to start than that? I'll start with the original recipe as a calibration, and go from there. The only problem I can foresee is that the Hef yeasts only come in liquid form, so it will be tough to get the right pitching rate. I'm furiously searching the internet for suggestions.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Winner
Of the seven beers I bought to sample yesterday, the bomber of Allagash Black really stands out. I saved this one for tonight, as the first six were enough to have me feeling pretty good.
The beer pours nicely with a strong fluffy head, and leaves an attractive lacing as it creeps down the glass. The taste of Belgian style yeast is prominent, as is the strong malt backbone. It reminds me of the type of flavors I'm looking for in my robust porter.
It looks like I will have to try a Trappist or Abbey yeast in my finished beer once I dial in the base recipe. It also seems as if I would want to add some sweetness to my porter if it's not present. It will be a challenge to add the right malts and stay within the style guidelines since I am already against the ceiling for alcohol content.
The beer pours nicely with a strong fluffy head, and leaves an attractive lacing as it creeps down the glass. The taste of Belgian style yeast is prominent, as is the strong malt backbone. It reminds me of the type of flavors I'm looking for in my robust porter.
It looks like I will have to try a Trappist or Abbey yeast in my finished beer once I dial in the base recipe. It also seems as if I would want to add some sweetness to my porter if it's not present. It will be a challenge to add the right malts and stay within the style guidelines since I am already against the ceiling for alcohol content.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Sampling While I Wait
As I sit here, impatiently waiting for the yeast to finish its job in Robust Porter: Experiment 1, I figured, since SWMBO is out at a sneak preview of The Hunger Games, that I had some time to sample some commercial brews. Some are rather common beers that I have never had for one reason or another, while others are some brand new brews by some of my favorite craft breweries. I got a six pack and a bomber from a local Italian restaurant that has an impressive beer fridge.
I picked up Leffe Blonde, a Belgian Blonde Ale, Pilsner Urquell, a Czech Pilsner, and Anchor Steam, a California Common. Those are the more well known of the 7 examples.
I also have Weyerbacher Heresy, Allagash Black (that's the bomber), Magic Hat Single Chair, and Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale. The Monster may have to wait, since it's a barleywine and I may have to work tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.
Not that its that popular, but I use Pintley.com to track and log all of the beers I try on for size. It's one of the most used apps on my iPhone.
I picked up Leffe Blonde, a Belgian Blonde Ale, Pilsner Urquell, a Czech Pilsner, and Anchor Steam, a California Common. Those are the more well known of the 7 examples.
I also have Weyerbacher Heresy, Allagash Black (that's the bomber), Magic Hat Single Chair, and Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale. The Monster may have to wait, since it's a barleywine and I may have to work tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.
Not that its that popular, but I use Pintley.com to track and log all of the beers I try on for size. It's one of the most used apps on my iPhone.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Some Scramblin', But Still OK
I finished the brewday a few hours ago, and I'm pretty satisfied with the results. There was a little hiccup at the end, but it ended up being a blessing.
I forgot that I had intended to use brown sugar in the beer, so when I came up a quart and a half short, I was able to boil up the water and 1.6 oz of dark brown sugar, and add it to the gallon jug. That way, I ended up with a gallon of beer at an original gravity of 1.061.
The recipe was:
-2 pounds Maris Otter
-.15 pounds Chocolate Malt
-.05 pounds Black Patent
-.1 pounds Flaked Barley
-.1 pounds Dark Brown Sugar
-5.5g Safale US-04
In two weeks, I'll bottle, and two weeks after that, I'll try it.
In the meantime, I'll be drinking...you know, to get ideas for more experiments.
I forgot that I had intended to use brown sugar in the beer, so when I came up a quart and a half short, I was able to boil up the water and 1.6 oz of dark brown sugar, and add it to the gallon jug. That way, I ended up with a gallon of beer at an original gravity of 1.061.
The recipe was:
-2 pounds Maris Otter
-.15 pounds Chocolate Malt
-.05 pounds Black Patent
-.1 pounds Flaked Barley
-.1 pounds Dark Brown Sugar
-5.5g Safale US-04
In two weeks, I'll bottle, and two weeks after that, I'll try it.
In the meantime, I'll be drinking...you know, to get ideas for more experiments.
Brewday Underway!
Went and got my grains today, and I started the boil. The mashing technique seems to have worked very well.
I threw the grains loose into 77C water, and stirred it down to 68C. I only lost 1 or 2 degrees C the whole time. I kept the heat in by wrapping the pot in towels. After 60 minutes, I poured the whole thing into another pot through a fine mesh colander, and rinsed it with 80C water.
I got 11.2 Brix (1.045 specific gravity) out of it, which means I am getting a little over 70% efficiency. We'll see how the gravity holds up though the boil.
I threw the grains loose into 77C water, and stirred it down to 68C. I only lost 1 or 2 degrees C the whole time. I kept the heat in by wrapping the pot in towels. After 60 minutes, I poured the whole thing into another pot through a fine mesh colander, and rinsed it with 80C water.
I got 11.2 Brix (1.045 specific gravity) out of it, which means I am getting a little over 70% efficiency. We'll see how the gravity holds up though the boil.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Another Experiment
Um, yeah...I am just going to completely ignore the fact that I haven't posted in months, and pretend it never happened.
After successfully completing an American IPA with which I am very happy, I figure it will be just as much fun to try the same process with another beer style. As I mentioned last time, Porters, more specifically Robust Porters, are a close second to American Style IPA's on my favorite beer list. Some of the best out there (in my humble opinion of course) are Anchor, Bells, Great Lakes, and Williamsburg. All of them are deep, dark, malty, flavorful beers with varying degrees of chocolate, toffee, and coffee flavors. This is what I'll be going for. If it takes as long as the last experiment, I'll have a perfect Porter in time for the bitter cold of Winter.
I'm starting with a recipe based on the descriptions I found on the Beer Judge Certification Program website combined with a modified version of the my IPA. I'm switching the American 2-row to Crisp Maris Otter, an English base malt which will add a good malty base to the beer. I will then replace the Crystal 40 with a combination of Black Patent and Chocolate malts, and the CaraPils with Flaked Barley. Fuggle hops are some of my favorite, so I'll start with those. I'm also going with a dry yeast for this one. I have a feeling I'll have to go through a few of these as I find the right yeast profile. I'm starting with Safale US-04.
Brewday is tomorrow, and I'm trying a new technique without the bag.
After successfully completing an American IPA with which I am very happy, I figure it will be just as much fun to try the same process with another beer style. As I mentioned last time, Porters, more specifically Robust Porters, are a close second to American Style IPA's on my favorite beer list. Some of the best out there (in my humble opinion of course) are Anchor, Bells, Great Lakes, and Williamsburg. All of them are deep, dark, malty, flavorful beers with varying degrees of chocolate, toffee, and coffee flavors. This is what I'll be going for. If it takes as long as the last experiment, I'll have a perfect Porter in time for the bitter cold of Winter.
I'm starting with a recipe based on the descriptions I found on the Beer Judge Certification Program website combined with a modified version of the my IPA. I'm switching the American 2-row to Crisp Maris Otter, an English base malt which will add a good malty base to the beer. I will then replace the Crystal 40 with a combination of Black Patent and Chocolate malts, and the CaraPils with Flaked Barley. Fuggle hops are some of my favorite, so I'll start with those. I'm also going with a dry yeast for this one. I have a feeling I'll have to go through a few of these as I find the right yeast profile. I'm starting with Safale US-04.
Brewday is tomorrow, and I'm trying a new technique without the bag.
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