Bailey's Poodle Pale Ale

I tried. I really tried. I'm not sure if I succeeded but I tried to make a lighter beer. I'm not sure why but at the last second something forces me to crush some roasted malt and throw it into the mash only to watch the SRM's climb ever so high.

This is my first attempt at reusing yeast. I borrowed this excellent resource (PDF warning):

http://home.comcast.net/~wnevits/wizards/yeast_washing_rev_5.pdf

I used the 3 quart jars as he recommends and I "cleaned" the yeast up pretty good. It was definitely easier than I thought.

I used some DME to make the yeast starter and although I didn't get much activity in the starter - the fermentation took off much faster in the fermenter with the wort. It's still going strong now with a really nice krausen. I used a 2 liter pop bottle with a paper towel over the top as a yeast starting vessel. I shouldn't have gone so high-tech with that sophisticated equipment.

Ok - here is my recipe:

7lbs pale malt
.5 lbs Victory
.5 lbs Cara hell
.25 lbs wheat
.125 lbs chocolate
1lb brown sugar
.25oz Summit - 60
.5oz Cluster - 30
.25oz Columbus - 20
.25oz columbus - 10
.25oz Summit - 0
Irish moss - 15

On my front porch porter I omitted the Irish moss and the beer turned out looking like mud. So I think I will have to ignore the German purity act for now until I improve at brewing.

The brown sugar was added after the boil due to missing my original gravity by a whopping 8 points. It bumped my projected ABV up to a nice 5.24.

This batch was the first to utilize my cooler mash tun (pictures coming soon). It worked way, way, way, way, way (infinity way), better than the bucket in a bucket method - which they could also just name "stuck sparge method" - as that accurately describes the process better. Inside the cooler I have a PVC manifold (which comes apart so easily to clean) with a toilet supply line braided stainless steel tube in between the manifold and faucet. Having this braided tube in between the manifold and the spigot allows me to reach the wort stuck under the manifold and increase some efficiency. You just have to tilt the cooler up to drain the last of it at the end of the runnings.

The hops are mostly of the high alpha variety - so I used them sparingly. I guess I'm just not a huge fan of beers that are so hoppy that I can feel the enamel starting to wear away and I feel like I just vomitted. I had a 240 IBU beer last night that some guy made from a kit (well a kit and a lot of hops). The back of my throat had a bile like flavor for a while - although it didn't taste as bad as I thought it would.

The cluster hops were a last minute decision to balance out the citrusy flavors and add something spicy. Cluster's aren't really used much - but I have a few ounces laying around so I figured I'd throw in a bit in the middle.

The summit's kind of smelled rough prior to adding them - but hopefully they will taste good without overbittering. This is my first time using Summits and Columbus hops - both pretty powerful.

This is my second batch with the corona style grinder. I got it for $18 off of Amazon with free shipping. It takes some adjustment but works really well and isn't really difficult to use. I actually tried with a rolling pin. Do not try this. It would have taken me hours but I got impatient and used a coffee grinder and got a lot of stuck sparges. Definitely invest the twenty bucks in one of these things.

The hopper and grain chute are extremely high-tech and made of plastic gallon milk jugs and duct tape.

And here it is in the fermenter. I reused my scottish ale yeast and so I can ferment it in low temperatures (down to 55 degrees). Should be a nice clean ale.

Day 7.5 update:

I just took another gravity reading. It was 1.010 two days ago and now it is 1.008 and still showing signs of fermentation. The original gravity was 1.056 - so it clocks in at a whopping 6.29% ABV.

I'm drinking my sample right now - and while it is dry, it has an excellent citrus/tropical fruit flavor. It's surprisingly bitter - even though I used my bittering hops sparingly. It has a great aftertaste - but also very crisp. The late additions of summit and cascade really add a nice flavor/aroma. I can't wait until this batch is carbonated and aged a bit.

The color is a nice orange/straw color. Perfect for a pale ale.

Instead of kegging this batch - I'm thinking of bottling it all and letting it age until Spring/Summertime. It would make a great beer for summertime drinking.

Sierra's Oatmeal Stout

So I guess I'm not sure if I made a stout or porter. I'll just have to wait until it is done and see which it tastes closer to.

UPDATE: It's a stout.

Historically, stouts and porters were very similar; stouts in fact were only "very strong" porters.

5 lbs Maris Otter
2 lbs Pale 2 row
1 lb Chocolate malt
1.5 lb Wheat DME
.5 lb Oatmeal
1 lb Crystal
.5 oz Nugget - 60 min
.5 oz Nugget - 30 min
.25 oz Mt hood - 15 min
.25 oz Mt hood - 5 min
.5 oz Mt hood - 0 min
Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast
Sweet buffalo tap water

I used my new corona-style grain mill and it worked way, way, way, way, better than a rolling pin or food processor. I used a bucket in a bucket as a lauter tun and had similar problems with too thick of a grain bed. I'm going to make a better one out of a rectangular cooler.

I also decided to try tap water for a change. I've heard mixed reviews on Buffalo tap water for brewing but wanted to give it a shot.

Also the yeast was a first for me. The liquid slap pack was fun and it also works as low as 55 degrees. This allowed me to utilize my new setup brew room in my basement.

Up next: a "lighter" beer.

Well I think it turned out alright. It tastes oddly similar to Guinness - I think the hop combination I used must be similar. Also the head on it is nice and light colored like a Guinness.

It's got a nice bitter bite - but not too much. The color looks great now that it has cleared up a bit in the keg. It is super dark but not totally opaque. You get a nice ruby color when light shines through it.

I served a few pitchers of this batch at my neighbor's party last night and I got a lot of compliments - including from a few homebrewers! I'm gonna have to keep at this brewing thing.

Anyone have any thoughts as to what I should brew next?

Yeast Lords Wheat

Just started a partial mash batch the other day. Here is the recipe:

5lbs Pale Malt
2lbs Wheat
2.5lbs Wheat DME
.5lbs rolled oats
1lb honey
1oz Helga pellet hops
zest of one navel orange
3 oz of dried cranberries
1 oz coriander
2tsp Irish moss

OG: 1.060

I used my 21qt pot to heat the grains and held them at 155 degrees for an hour. Then I "mashed out" at 170 for 15 minutes. I used the bucket in a bucket method to strain the grains - but got stuck quite a few times (don't use a food processor to crush barley). After running the wort through the grains a painful amount of times I sparged with a gallon of 160 degree water.

Then onto the boil.

At 65 minutes I added 2lbs of DME.

At 60 minutes the whole ounce of Helga hops went in. They are from New Zealand and I read that they are similar to Hallertau. Figured I'd give 'em a shot.

I added nothing until 15 when the Irish moss went in.

I made a "teabag" out of a coffee filter for the coriander, which was freshly ground from seed in a coffee grinder. At 10 minutes or so I let it float around in the wort.

At 7 minutes I dumped the cranberries in.

At 5 minutes in went the zest. The wort really started smelling nice at this point.

After flameout I poured in the honey.

When I took the original gravity I only got 1.045 - which was lower than I wanted so I heated up some DME and added the .5lbs. It then read 1.060.

It's in the primary now. I used Danstar's Munich Wheat and that stuff is crazy powerful. It was aggressively fermenting for the first 10-24 hours and now it has calmed down a bit. I estimate that it will be done fermenting in a few days and I'll be able to put it in the secondary. I have quite a bit of sediment - as it is my first step away from extract brewing. If I get impatient I will just let it secondary in the keg - and hopefully this time my future brother in law won't get a large cup of yeast when he pours a beer!