What's Brewing & Doing - December Edition

Second stage of my first multi-step yeast starter. Pretty good krausen just 3-4 hours after re-pitching. Not unexpected but just a cool observation for this newb.

 

The real kicker is catching flak for running the laundry machines so often. I don't actually think a winning strategy exists.

 

The winning strategy for the wife was kicking me out into the garage. Now the only thing I do in the house is my starter.

 

We're in a condo building right now so I don't have much choice. Plus Minnesota is a frozen hellscape for 4 straight months

 

Living in Southern California I never think about weather. Brewing in the garage or outside in Minnesota during the winter could be a small problem, just a small one.

 

Brewed 15 gallons of beer the past 3 days. Brewed my Milk Stout aka White Girl Wasted and my imperial blonde on Sunday. Yesterday, I decided to go a little different route and made some "Graf." If you guys haven't tried it, you should, it's pretty amazing.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=117117

That's the link in case anyone is interested.

 

Scored some ECY20 BugCounty. Think I will make a funky red.

 

Another Chouffe clone this past sunday


the nursery is now full

 

Currently working on my keezer build. Last night I built the collar, today I have been staining it and adding insulation... Hoping to get it sealed up on the freezer in the next hour or two with the lid back on it and secondary regulators bolted into position.

 

5 days into the fermentation, I took a gravity read on an APA (down to 1.010). I added dry hops (1 oz each of Citra, Amarillo, and Centennial), and cranked the temp up to 3 degrees to see if I can get a little more attenuation out of WLP 090; apparent attenuation is 81%.

I also checked my Vienna lager (day 19). I did a diacetyl force test about a week ago, decided it still had some, and gave it a shot of fresh starter (using the 090, above) to help it along. Did another test and signs of diacetyl appear to be gone. On another note, I got a lot more color out of the carafa III special than I was expecting, so this beer gets reclassified as a dunkel?

 

Pulled a sample of my cream ale I brewed last weekend... Airlock activity finished on like Tuesday after three days of vigorous fermentation. Pulled a sample today for a hydro reading and it's right where it needs to be, 1.009. Fermented at 64F and let rise to 66-67F once the visible airlock activity stopped.

Used 2-row, 6-row, flaked corn, munich and 20L crystal in the mash. Yeast is WLP080.

Aroma is exactly what I was hoping for, slightly sweet... Nice light malt body. Low bitterness. I am beyond happy with this one! Can't wait to get it transferred into the keg (first one with the new keezer!). This is also my first brew using whirlfloc and from the hydro sample it should have quite a stunning clarity when finished.

 

Christmas day was a remake of last Christmas. Brewing a wild pale ale with my son.

 

Tomorrow TH3 ultra light. Wife's current favorite, Wednesday IPA overdrive. Currently racing burton ale and adding Hawaiian coffee to IRS.

 

Getting some starters going for a brett saison split batch on New Years Day.
Almost ready to crash and bottle my dunkelweizen.


Really need to get into kegging.

 

Added 3 oz of light toasted oak to burton ale

 

Just had my last brew day of the year and it was a total fiasco. I was trying to make the bière de garde from BCS, but the yeast that I got was old and sluggish. Made a two-liter starter and didn't see any signs of life for 24h. The yeast wouldn't flocculate out, so I had to pitch the whole starter. I forgot to update the mash temp in BrewCipher, so I wound up overshooting by a whopping 15 degrees, which I managed to bring down over about 25 minutes by adding some ice and wrapping the kettle with wet towels. Boiloff was less than expected and my efficiency was poor, so I wound up about 10 gravity points below where I wanted to be - and that was before pitching 2L of starter beer. Fermentation is off to a slow start, but at least things are moving in there.

Wonder how the final product is going to taste?

 

Like beer

 

Just pulled the trigger on some used corny kegs and planning a keezer build for next month. Jumping in the deep end.

 

Brewed my first all grain stout. A chocolate oatmeal stout that should clock in around 7.5%.

My garage usually smells like hops but this time it's smells like Starbucks. That dark mash is sexy!



Some cocoa powder for the boil. Gravity sample was chocolate for days.......



For some inspiration I bought a 6 pack of Anderson valley's oatmeal stout and the Mrs. Made some tasty potato soup topped with bacon and cheese. It's 45 degrees outside which is like near freezing in SoCal, so the soup hits the spot!

 

My brew calender has been packed over the holidays...started about 10 days ago by brewing an all Simcoe IPA and kegging an all Nelson IPA (which is drinking incredible right now). Did the Disney World thing with the family for almost a week and since returning a week ago, I've brewed a Coconut Porter, a Rye Brett Saison (got a kit for crowd funding Carolina Baernhous...a ridiculously incredible new brewery in Anderson, SC) and an all Azacca Wild Pale Ale, as well as kegged an all El Dorado Brett Saison, a Kolsch and a Gumballhead clone. I also got the second kegerator for sours and funky brews going and kegging a Berliner Weisse in the morning because that El Dorado Brett Saison is lonely in there by itself

Still planning on brewing up an Imperial Rye Wild Cascadian Dark Ale, a Bourbon Oaked White Stout and an Equinox Pale Ale before I head back to work on the 4th!

Hope everyone finishes up 2015 strong and starts 2016 stronger! Cheers!