Christmas IPA Kegging Day

After four days of dry hopping with Simcoe and Chinook, it was time to keg Christmas Dirktastic. My sample had a nice evergreen aroma, but the flavor was spot on piney.

Satan asked me if it was too Piney.  It's not.  It will mellow nicely as it ages a few weeks.

My OG was 1.051, and FG was 1.007, giving me 5.8% abv.  Should be quite sessionable.

Bloody Bastard Ale

The now exiled Craft Brewer Graham Sanders read this recipe on one of his last shows. I've brewed it before and liked it.  This is on the agenda for Monday.

I am visiting one of my friends from Nagasaki Wesleyan Junior College this weekend. He is in San Antonio for the International Society of Caricature Artists convention. Like me and NHC, he manages to attend all of the conventions.  Although we've been in sporadic email contact over the years, this will be the first time we've been face to face since 1985.

Bloody Bastard Ale

Other Smoked Beer

Type: All Grain	Date: 11/20/2012
Batch Size: 6.00 gal	Brewer: Jeff Holt
Boil Size: 8.38 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Jeff's Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 9.50 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 63.76 % 2.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 13.42 % 2.00 lb Smoked Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 13.42 % 0.90 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 6.04 % 0.50 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3.36 % 1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops 14.4 IBU 1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (30 min) Hops 11.1 IBU 1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (10 min) Hops 5.2 IBU 0.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc 1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [Starter 500 ml] Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.41 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 30.8 IBU	Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 20.8 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge	Total Grain Weight: 14.90 lb
Sparge Water: 5.51 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 18.63 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 4.5 oz	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
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Zymurgy Chainbreaker White IPA Clone

I finally managed to squeeze in a brew day! The recipe called for a step mash, but I couldn't figure out how much water to add in each step, so I did a single infusion mash.

Chainbreaker White IPA

American IPA

Type: All Grain	Date: 9/23/2012
Batch Size: 6.00 gal	Brewer: Jeff Holt
Boil Size: 7.97 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Jeff's Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 9.75 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 62.27 % 3.38 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 21.56 % 2.16 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 13.80 % 0.91 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 36.0 IBU 0.61 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops - 1.20 oz Citra [13.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 1.20 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 0.41 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 6.00 ml Lactic Acid (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 14.40 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 0.37 lb Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 2.38 % 1 Pkgs Trappist Ale (White Labs #WLP500) [Starter 500 ml] Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.059 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.051 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.92 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 36.0 IBU	Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 4.6 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge	Total Grain Weight: 15.29 lb
Sparge Water: 5.03 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 19.11 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Kegged (Forced CO2)	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 21.6 PSI	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
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2011 Belgian Bombshell

I gotta give credit to Drew Beechum.  This is his recipe.  I have never, ever changed it (except for my crappy efficiency).  Every time I brew it, it stays the same.  Damn fine beer!

However, if I ever go pro, I will claim it is my recipe.  It's that good.

I brewed this on May 24. On June 5, before watching the season premier of Ice Road Truckers, I will keg it. It will be the last beer brewed before NHC.

Saison Du Permienne - Kegging Day

After a week of procrastination mostly caused by Thanksgiving preparations, I finally got the latest version of Saison du Permienne into the keg.  This time, I decided to up the OG to 1.074, just for giggles.  Going into the keg I measured 0.997.  This gives it 10% ABW.

The first sip I took was dry, tart, and subtly citrusy from the grapefruit peel I added.  It tasted far sweeter than 0.997 should taste, but I measured with both the refractometer and the hydrometer, I am reasonably sure the reading is accurate.

Now it's off carbonating in a corner.  Hopefully this will be on tap in a couple of weeks.  Details. to come.

Pecan Porter

Inspired by Can You Brew It? on The Brewing Network and (512) Brewery's flagship beer, I decided to make a Pecan Porter. And thereby hangs a tale. . .

In August 2009, Can You Brew It? came up with a clone recipe for Obsidian Black Butte Porter.  I have had it floating around just in case I ever wanted to brew it.  Here's the recipe, converted to my efficiency.

6 gallons | 58% Efficiency | OG 1.058 | FG 1.012 | 37 IBUs | 76 SRM | 90 minute boil
13 lbs 2 Row
1.5 lbs wheat malt
.70 lb Crystal 80L
.5 lb US Chocolate malt
.5 lb UK Chocolate malt
.5 lb CaraPils
17g Galena or Nugget/90 minutes
7g Cascade/30 minutes
7g Mount Hood or Tettnanger/5
WLP002 English Ale yeast

Mash at 150F 10 minutes. Raise to 156F for 60 minutes. Mash Out at 168F 10 minutes. Ferment at 64F.

Then in September, "Can You Brew It?"  did a clone recipe for Australia's Holgate brewery's Nut Brown Ale.  It was a great interview.  Kudos to my friend Peter Symons, who filled in for Jamil in the interview segment.  In that segment, they described how they toasted the nuts they use for their beer.  Thinking about (512) Pecan Porter.

Wheels began to turn in my head.

Why not make Pecan Porter?

On Thanksgiving day I did just that (our family would have our Thanksgiving on Saturday, so I had a free day), and here's what happened.

I screwed up the brew day pretty early.  In fact, I screwed it up when I ordered my ingredients.  My Local Home Brew Shop doesn't carry English chocolate malt, so I ordered one pound of American chocolate malt. On unpacking, I discovered that I had, instead, ordered 1 pound of chocolate wheat malt.  So this recipe now has 2.5 pounds of wheat in it.

Since Ninkasi protects fools and brewers, and the LHBS was closed, I forged ahead.   The day before brewing, I took 2.25 ounces of chopped pecans, purchased at the local supermarket (it's Thanksgiving time and there was a nice big display or fresher pecans than are on the rack), spread them on a cookie sheet and toasted them at 350°F oven for 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes.  I let them cool a bit, put them in a bowl and covered with cling wrap.  (As an aside, did you know that cling wrap only clings to itself?)

Then next morning, I got up before the sun.  A cold front was scheduled to blow through Paradise, so I wanted to get as much accomplished before the temperature dropped too much.  I fired up the HLT, hit my strike temperature, and doughed in.  The folks at Holgate stressed that the pecans were added to the top of the mash, so I poured the pecans into water, and let it sit for an hour and sparged.  I hit my pre-boil gravity and boiled 90 minutes.

In May, I bought a Blichman burner, and I am still trying to figure that thing out.  I had a very vigorous boil.  Too vigarous, in fact.  Instead of collecting six gallons, I collected five.  And I would have gotten all five gallons into the fermenter, but somehow, I pulled the out hose off the chiller.  It was like a three stooges routine as I struggled to get it back on.  I figure I lost at least a quart, maybe more.  I checked the gravity, and instead of 1.058, I got 1.069.

Check back in three weeks and see how I did.

Brewing Dirktastic

With a high pressure system sitting squarely above Ohio, the weather here in Paradise has been just below the Blast Furnace level. So I though I would have an early brew day, starting at 6 am, and brew when it was cool. Unfortunately, it was 79°F with 85% humidity.

So I loaded up the mash tun to brew Dirktastic again. My last couple of batches, the OG has been predicted to be 1.049, instead of the recipe's 1.056. But Macht's Nicht, right?And when I got 1.046 instead, that sweat on my upper lip wasn't from nerves, it was bumping 95°. When I got everything put up, I was covered in sweat, and smelled as bad as my neighbor's sheep pen.

Mirror Pond Clone Sorta - Brew Day

Ninkasi smiled again. No major problems. Hit my numbers in the mash and pre-boil gravity. Collected about 6 gallons, and got an OG of 1.050. I was shooting for 1.046. Close enough for Gubmint work, I suppose.

Four days in the fermenter and then I add the dry hops. Age another week and a half and into the keg!

Any prayers to Ninkasi on my behalf are gratefully accepted.

Black Orchard Wit

So brew day for the Black Jasmine With came, and I wimped out. I decided to brew the recipe in Zymurgy, instead. So I replaced the jasmine tea with chamomile tea and started to brew.

Now that I brew on the back porch and can watch TV, and the temps have fallen a bit, I can brew in the afternoon. Brewing and drinking! Yeah, baby!

Well THAT was a clusterfuck! I may have hit my mash target, but Ninkasi shat all over this brew session. Somehow, ProMash has stopped calculating how much water grain absorbs, and a lower flame caused a much bigger boil off than normal. ANNDD, despite collecting a gallon less of wort, my gravity was .015 low! Oh! And I forgot to add the orange peel until I started chilling. No more afternoon brewdays for me! Going to start at 7 am, next time, when I can think clearly!

Rebrewed Dirktastic

After the horrible Abbey Wiezen brew day, I was hoping for smooth sailing. Despite a chilly start, it was very smooth. I rebrewed Dirktastic, because I drank it really fast. This may be a regular beer.

The day went well. I started at about 8:30 am, and had wrapped everything up by 1 pm, and had everything put away by 3 pm. I was shooting for 1.057 and got 1.050. I didn't get as much evaporation as I was hoping I would get. But Macht's Nicht, baby!

The Return of Abbey Wiezen

Last year, for my company Christmas Party, I brewed Randy Mosher's Abbey Wiezen (recipe here). It was a good beer, but seemed a bit. . .small.

So I tweaked the recipe. I bumped the OG up to around 1.070, and, since I haven't tasted the latest barley wine to see how it worked, I added a pound and a half of flaked rice to add fermentables but not too much flavor. This may be an experiment that is doomed to never be repeated, but macht's nicht™, baby!

Abbey Wiezen 2

Belgian Specialty Ale

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 4/4/2009
Batch Size: 4.00 gal	Brewer: Jeff Holt
Boil Size: 7.00 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (15 Gal) and Igloo/Gott Cooler (10 Gal)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 1.00 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 4.88 % 9.00 lb Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 43.90 % 8.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 39.02 % 1.50 lb Rice, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 7.32 % 1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 4.88 % 2.50 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [2.40 %] (60 min) Hops 20.4 IBU 0.50 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [2.40 %] (15 min) Hops 2.0 IBU 1 Pkgs Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.106 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.068 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.024 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 10.81 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 8.23 %
Bitterness: 22.5 IBU	Calories: 301 cal/pint
Est Color: 9.1 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge	Total Grain Weight: 20.50 lb
Sparge Water: 3.85 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp 75 min Mash In Add 25.63 qt of water at 161.4 F 150.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Kegged (Forced CO2)	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 21.6 PSI	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
Last week, I emptied my last keg, except for an aging barleywine. Ever run out of beer when you know you are too drunk to drive? I am surprised you didn't hear the heart-rending scream where you live. The next day I ordered ingredients for Randy Mosher's Abbey Wiezen (from Radical Brewing), and ingredients for a second batch of Tasty APA. The ingredients arrived on Friday, and I looked forward to a rare double header brew weekend. Being a firm believer in the Six P's (Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance - I may call my next Tasty clone "P to the Sixth Pale Ale"), I sorted the ingredients and made a yeast starter for the Abbey Wiezen, ground the coriander, and gathered an ounce of Tropical Green Tea (the last two are my contributions to the recipe), put them in little clear bowls with lids, and put a slip of paper inside with the addition times (60, 15, and 0). I filled my kettle from the tap so the chlorine the city adds could waft away into the atmosphere, and I brought my Denny Conn-style mash tun inside to fill with grains so I wouldn't have to do those complicated strike water calculations in the morning. Then I planned for after the brew day: clean some kegs, keg a kolsch and sort the Tasty Hops for the Sunday brew day. I went to bed and slept the sleep of the well prepared. I woke up at seven this morning, made Jittery Joe's Wake and Bake coffee, made sure the iPod was charged and took the Denny Conn-like mash tun out and set it on a knee-high plastic table that I have been using for about a year. Then I tried to start the fire. Ninkasi began to shit upon me. The stick lighter I bought last month started to go out, with a full resevoir of fluid. As propane spewed into the atmosphere I clicked and clicked and clicked and clicked to no avail. So I shut off the propane, went inside to grab some kitchen matches ran back outside to start again. The first few matches wouldn't strike, and the one that did burned my fingers. I must pause here to say that I have worked in retail sales most of my life, and I can deal with an irate customer without swearing. But I do frustrate easily and can become furious over the littlest thing that doesn't go the way I expect. As I hurled the box of matches across the back yard with George Carlin's famous Seven Words flying from my lips, with an additional "rat fuck bastard," I thought about giving up brewing and taking up knitting. I got the fire going, and doughed in. I got within two degrees of my mash temperature, and I was happy. Fifteen minutes before the end of the mash, I fired up burner again to heat my sparge water to 168 F. As I began transferring the sparge water into a bucket to free up the kettle for the wort, I noticed that the birds were singing, and a cool breeze was blowing. Life was good. In my head, I was running through the next steps: "Drain the mash tun, add four more gallons of sparge water and let it sit ten minutes. . ." That was when Ninkasi unleashed her full fury on me. I heard a crash. I turned around. My mash tun lay on the patio, with an ankle high pile of grains before it, and a pool of precious wort puddling around both items. One of the legs of the plastic table had buckled. I didn't swear. I couldn't. There was no word that could describe the way I was feeling. I began to wonder what time the yarn store closed. I grabbed a shovel and scooped up the grains and flung them over my shoulder onto the lawn. Then I hosed off the patio. At that point I could have asked myself, "Just how hard is it to make a Jayne hat?" But I remembered the starter perking away on the fridge, and knew that I had to brew. So I filled up the kettle for the chlorine thing, and jumped in the car and headed for Austin Homebrew Supply--83 miles away. It was 11 am. The traffic in Austin was horrible, even for a Saturday. I get to the shop and there are no parking spaces out front, but there is one at the back of the building. The place is packed. I have never seen that many people in the store buying ingredients. Nice to know the economy isn't hurting my soon-to-be former hobby. I get to the front of the line eventually, and my order is filled. I race back home, and by 3 pm, I am heating my strike water. At 6 I have sparged and have the kettle on the burner to start the boil. Ninkasi wasn't done with me. It took almost an hour before I could get a boil. By the time I cool and pitch the yeast it's 8:30 pm, and I am beat. I clean my tubing, and the counterflow chiller, and fill the kettle with water. I decide that brewing the Tasty clone can wait til Monday. On Sunday I will clean the kegs I emptied, the kettle and keg the Kolsch. Then, and only then, will I prep for the Monday brew day. Ninkasi willing.
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Aud's So Scufflin' Barley Wine 2

Normally, I would never use rice in a beer I make. But I heard an interview with Patrick Rue of the Bruery and he mentioned that he uses flaked rice instead of sugar in his saison.

Well, I was intrigued!

Aud's No Scufflin' Ale 2
7.5# LME (boiled 15 minutes)
6.5# 2-row malt
1# Crystal 10L
1# Crystal 80L
1# flaked rice
4oz pale chocolate
4oz flaked wheat
2 0z Sorachi Ace 14%/60 minutes*
3/4 oz Warrior 16%/10 minutes
3/4 oz Chinook 12%/0
.8 oz Saaz 6%/0
WLP001
OG - 1.096 - 114 IBUs

*Yes, I know I said I would never use these again, but I have 4 ounces I need to use. The bitterness should help cut the malt sweetness of the beer. The remainder of the hops are leftover from Dirktastic.

Actual OG was 1.086. And I used the yeast from Dirktastic to pitch.