Brewing Activity March 2016

brewed a blonde ale this past weekend, using lactic acide and tsting my ph with a meter for the first time. I didnt realize the ph was only for the mash and not the sparge as well, so I may have added a bit too much lactic acid. the ph post boil was 5.3 though, so I think I should be good.

 

I used 1 oz at flameout and 2 for dryhop additions in five gallons with some northern brewer at half those amounts. There was no noticeable citrus. It's like cascade light.

 

What was the malt bill like. Maybe I'll do the smash with Pilsner instead

 

I was throwing around a grain bill for a black Kolsch and think I found something I like.

7# Bo Pils, .25# Honey malt, .10# midnight wheat (maybe bump this up to .25#) and .25# white wheat. Sounds like it could be pretty good - especially since the midnight wheat doesn't really impact taste a whole lot. Any thoughts?

 

Here is a re-try. Thanks!

 

Awesome choice for a round number brew. What are you doing for a recipe? Dregs from an Orval bottle?

 

No dregs, I use chimay yeast wyeast 1214, I've tried Wlp 510 Bastone , reported to be Orval yeast and like 1214 better.
For 20 gallons

48 lbs of Franco Belges pilsen
3 lbs Caravienne
.375 lbs special B
2 lbs table sugar
2.5 oz centennial 60 min
2.5 oz Styrian goldings 15 min
2.5 oz styrian goldings 1 min





Og 1.071
fg 1.014
Ibu 34.6
alc 7.5

2 drops of Brett Brux , per 12 oz, just before the cap goes on, via an eye dropper

3 gallon 2 stage starter

 

2 row, munich, touch of c40. I just dont thi k madarina was everything I hoped for. It was touted as being a high aa type of hop, but in my experience it leans more towards nobleish and less towards american.

 

Bottled my first London ale III IPA. Standard IPA grist and the usual hops with 1.5 oz citra dryhopping . Smelled nice.

 

I transferred a barleywine to secondary. Since brewday I suspected something was not quite right with this brew and now I am convinced.

I used 100% Marris Otter allegedly. I am wondering if someone put the lid back on the wrong bin at the lhbs and I just got reggie 2 row instead. The color of the first runnings on brew day were really light which began my questioning of this brew.

I ended up with an OG of 95 (out of 100) but 6 gal. No biggie. Ferment with WY1968 at 65 for 2 days and let it rise to 70 over the next 2 and it was slowing down after that. Day 8 I transfer onto 1/2 oak sprial. I saved the last quart or so that would not fit in the carboy to a pot. FG is 16. 83% attenuation on something this big from 1968 WTF?

Gravity sample was devoid of anything delicious. yea yea big beer conditioning bla bla bla. I am sure I will drink it anyway but a rebrew of a barleywine is in order around here. Maybe I will just call this an old ale.

Pic of the vodka color after a day with the sprial.


A quart eised down to a pint. Still not very dark for a barleywine. Insipid.

 

Looks good to me. Who says that a Barley Wine has to be dark?

 

I guess it does not have to be dark, but it is much lighter than past brews. I did an all Pearle malt barleywine once. My eyes are welling up just thinking about it. Nobody carries Pearle around here. Maybe I can coerce them.

 

I love Pearle and have to buy it by the bag even here in MA.

 

When I lived in CT there was a guy who had an acct with a wholesaler before they stopped dealing with us peons. I got in on a group buy and got a sac of pearle for 42cents a pound. 42 cents a pound for pearle. And soft water. Brewing life was good (sheds another tear). New Haven was a shithole, but brewing life was good.

 

https://youtu.be/KFJU2SBGfRI

Some brewing action from the weekend before last. 10 gallons of my hoppsyturvy IPA. Airlocks are still bubbling something ferocious

 

Ingredients are en route, so hopefully I'll be brewing the BYO Double Sunshine clone on Thursday night. I was gonna try building up my the small pitch of London III that I had saved from December, but I realized last night that I didn't have enough DME on hand. Thankfully, I also ordered a sachet of US-05, which is what the recipe recommends you use anyway. If I like it, I'll rebrew and try the London III to see how they compare.

I'll also be trying out @OldSock's Hoppy French Saison recipe soon, but that'll probably be a project for the April thread.

 

Grabbed some DME to do my second step on the starter for my 11 gallons of IPA this weekend.

 

Out of curiosity, what did you use for the first step?

 

The last of my 5# bag of DME in a 2L starter. Need another 2L to get enough yeast for Saturday. I really miss not having a 5L Erlenmeyer Flask (borrowed my buddies for a few months while he opened his brewery and now he has it back).

 

Watching my hops grow ...all are doing well at this point after removing several from barrels last Fall