Unfortunately, Sunday ended up being one of those kind of brew days where everything fights back. Actually, even the starter was a PITA to get through now that I think about it. I calculated I needed a 5 liter starter to get the proper cell count (plus another 100 Billion cells to harvest a la brulosopher). This is essentially the biggest size I'm capable of making with my flask, and I ended up with 3 boil overs(!!) in the process despite using Fermcap, watching very closely, and only boiling for 10 minutes.
Then came brew-day. The first problem was that on my way home from picking up some RO water, one of the older bottles fell over in the back of my truck and busted - I use(d) two of this style jug and two of this more sturdy style. The one that busted was the former. I don't like those because the lid is easy to misplace and apparently they are brittle. But the other type is solid so my replacement will be that style. In the end I had to use 3.5 gallons of tap water. C'est la vie.
Then came brew-day. The first problem was that on my way home from picking up some RO water, one of the older bottles fell over in the back of my truck and busted - I use(d) two of this style jug and two of this more sturdy style. The one that busted was the former. I don't like those because the lid is easy to misplace and apparently they are brittle. But the other type is solid so my replacement will be that style. In the end I had to use 3.5 gallons of tap water. C'est la vie.
On Sunday I brewed an IPA. I've got a 3 tap kegerator and, in general, my goal is to keep an easy drinker on one tap, something hoppy on a second, and the 3rd is reserved for whatever else I've got going. My beer inventory has gotten really low. Right now I've got a wit on the easy drinker tap and a black lager on the third tap, but I don't have anything good for the hoppy tap. In fact, the only thing I could put on that tap is the other 5 gallons of wit. Time to brew!
I've been wanting to make a beer similar to Lone Pint's Yellow Rose - A SMASH beer with Mosaic and Pilsner (I think they use German, not for sure) - for a while now. My original plan was to try and clone it, but this week I decided I wanted to use the Conan yeast I've got on hand, which I doubt would work well for a clone. I also decided to add 1 pound of candi sugar to see if it really does add the "distinguishable toasted toffee and caramel flavors" promised. The hop schedule is what I imagine would be close for a clone, so I guess I ended with a Yellow Rose Inspired recipe. AND with the addition of a Single Sugar, I ended up with a Single Malt And Single Hop And Single Sugar recipe - a SMASHASS! Heh...
I've been wanting to make a beer similar to Lone Pint's Yellow Rose - A SMASH beer with Mosaic and Pilsner (I think they use German, not for sure) - for a while now. My original plan was to try and clone it, but this week I decided I wanted to use the Conan yeast I've got on hand, which I doubt would work well for a clone. I also decided to add 1 pound of candi sugar to see if it really does add the "distinguishable toasted toffee and caramel flavors" promised. The hop schedule is what I imagine would be close for a clone, so I guess I ended with a Yellow Rose Inspired recipe. AND with the addition of a Single Sugar, I ended up with a Single Malt And Single Hop And Single Sugar recipe - a SMASHASS! Heh...
Then came the mash. My pH was a little low (5.0) to start which left me scrambling to get some baking soda mixed in. One quick 4g addition raised it to 5.4, but by that time 20 minutes had passed. The real obstacle was when it came time to vorlouf. For the first time ever, I had a stuck mash. I fought it for a while, but it was no use - I eventually had to throw in the towel. Luckily, I use two of the same type of cooler / false bottom, so I went ahead and drained the other (usually I don't even vorlauf that one and just run it straight into the "primary" cooler as a sort of fly sparge). With the non-stuck cooler drained, I emptied out the spent grain and added all the wort and most of the grain from the stuck cooler. When I got to the bottom of the stuck cooler I quickly spotted the problem: The elbow on the false bottom had come loose and the tube was completely packed off with grain.
Long story slightly shorter, after getting everything into the other cooler, I ended up having a "real" stuck sparge (twice!) requiring me to stir up the grain an vorlauf again (and again..). In the end, more than 3 hours passed between doughing in and lighting the burner to boil. On top of that, my efficiency was lower than usual (possibly due to the low initial pH?) so I sparged more than normal to make up for it and ended up with 16 gallons in the kettle rather than the planned 14. That meant I had to boil off those extra two gallons, which added another 90 minutes. Ugh..
Once I had the volume down to 14 gallons, things smoothed out for a bit. The hop additions went well, as did the chill. However, I way underestimated the amount of break material. The first 5 gallons were fine of course, but I was only able to get 2.5 clean gallons into the second fermenter before the break material got out of hand. After thinking about it for a bit, wavering between simply accepting the volume loss or making the second fermenter a "Session SMASHASS" by topping off with filtered water, I went with neither and just filled the fermenter up the rest of the way with the sludge. I've got my fingers crossed it settles out into a tight pack during fermentation.
Once I had the volume down to 14 gallons, things smoothed out for a bit. The hop additions went well, as did the chill. However, I way underestimated the amount of break material. The first 5 gallons were fine of course, but I was only able to get 2.5 clean gallons into the second fermenter before the break material got out of hand. After thinking about it for a bit, wavering between simply accepting the volume loss or making the second fermenter a "Session SMASHASS" by topping off with filtered water, I went with neither and just filled the fermenter up the rest of the way with the sludge. I've got my fingers crossed it settles out into a tight pack during fermentation.
After moving the fermenters into my temp controlled chamber to cool the last few degrees (almost 8 hours after doughing in), I pitched the starter of Conan. It's now happily fermenting away so hopefully all the heart-ache will be worth it!
Update: It was!
Recipe:
Batch Size: 12 Gallons (Actual 11.8)
Planned OG: 1.065 (Actual 1.065)
Planned IBU: 62
Planned Efficiency: 80% (Actual 78%)
Grain
26# Belgian Pilsner Malt
Hops
2.25oz Mosaic @ 60 (All hops were 10.8% AA)
1.75oz Mosaic @ 15
1.0oz Mosaic @ 10
1.0oz Mosaic @ 5
2.0oz mosaic @ Flame Out
4oz Mosaic Dry Hop
Extras
1# 22SRM Brun Leger Candi Sugar @ 15
2tbs Irish Moss @ 15
Yeast
The Yeast Bay Vermont Yeast (Gen 2)
Brewed 31-May-2015
Fermented at 67* before raising to 72 after 60 hours.
Fermentation appeared complete after 6 days, however gravity sample showed 1.027. Gently stirred sediment back into suspension and allowed rise to room temperature (~76). Signs of fermentation returned within 24 hours. Repeated this again 3 days later with gravity sitting at 1.019. Eventually, the FG reached 1.016
Kegged and cold crashed. Added gelatin and transferred off junk into clean kegs just in time to force carb prior to 4th of July festivities.
Tasting Notes Here
Update: It was!
Recipe:
Batch Size: 12 Gallons (Actual 11.8)
Planned OG: 1.065 (Actual 1.065)
Planned IBU: 62
Planned Efficiency: 80% (Actual 78%)
Grain
26# Belgian Pilsner Malt
Hops
2.25oz Mosaic @ 60 (All hops were 10.8% AA)
1.75oz Mosaic @ 15
1.0oz Mosaic @ 10
1.0oz Mosaic @ 5
2.0oz mosaic @ Flame Out
4oz Mosaic Dry Hop
Extras
1# 22SRM Brun Leger Candi Sugar @ 15
2tbs Irish Moss @ 15
Yeast
The Yeast Bay Vermont Yeast (Gen 2)
Brewed 31-May-2015
Fermented at 67* before raising to 72 after 60 hours.
Fermentation appeared complete after 6 days, however gravity sample showed 1.027. Gently stirred sediment back into suspension and allowed rise to room temperature (~76). Signs of fermentation returned within 24 hours. Repeated this again 3 days later with gravity sitting at 1.019. Eventually, the FG reached 1.016
Kegged and cold crashed. Added gelatin and transferred off junk into clean kegs just in time to force carb prior to 4th of July festivities.
Tasting Notes Here