What's Brewing? (February Edition)

So you'll finish fermentation in the keg, then lager. That would be right. But 48F is not really a lagering temperature, which is why I assumed you were going back into the chamber to finish fermentation. You'll want to lager at a lower temp (~40F or less) for a few weeks (right after reaching your FG). That lagering is the conditioning.

 

Ok cool thank you for the help and advice. Anything else I gotta do?

 

Love the side mini mash/steep techniques for getting two beers out of one base mash. I always think I should do it more often, but every time I try it the extra boiling and chilling take the starch out of me and make vow for simpler brewdays.

 

Not that I can think of. To recap/amplify...
- finish fermentation in the keg at the pressure needed to get your desired CO2 level at the keg's spunding temperature.
- remove spunding valve
- lager at about 40F or lower
- serve
- expect some yeast in the early pours

 

Brewing batch 2 of 3 RIS to refill 15gal bourbon barrel after the first RIS is kegged out. Will resanitize/refresh barrel with some bourbon prior to filling again. Figured I'd try an get two uses out of the barrel. I did 3 batches in a 5 gal with good results before but this is my first 15gal. Anyone else ever try for multiple uses of 15gal barrel and if so how'd it go?

 

@Curmudgeon

Tapped my version today... It's damn right on point, honestly! The hop presence, mouthfeel and overall flavor is incredible. My best NE IPA to date and WLP007 just become my go-to yeast strain for this style... Better than US-04, Conan or London Ale III that I've used, for sure! Compared to the real deal, this is really damn close. Close enough for me to not even worry about any modifications going forward!

Doing a Vic Secret iteration next time I brew another IPA. Mmmmm! (Farnsworth Street! lol)

 

Earlier this week I kegged 2 beers for my wife's department party, which is tomorrow...a NE IPA with mainly Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado hop hash and a very traditional Kolsch. I'm super stoked to have finished up BRU2-D2, a 2 tap keg system in a rolling cooler, for this event too (and future events, camping trips and daily beside the bed). I can fit a 1.75 gallon keg and a 2.5 gallon keg in it and still have enough room for a variety of bottles (or food for a camping trip). It's very basic right now but a friend owns a specialty sticker business, so I'm going to get him to make some stickers to make it look more like R2-D2 before too long. I added a big patch of velcro beside the taps so I can attach a small tablet that will have rotating digital labels/info for each beer on tap and in bottles at the party as well. Here it is...



Yesterday I brewed up a hoppy Kolsch with Citra and Mosaic to reuse the Kolsch yeast and keep the spring Kolsch pipeline going.

Cheers and enjoy your weekend brewers!

 

A double brewday! First is a kettle sour that is currently mashing, then I'll be doing a bigass Rumpkin quad for Halloween and the holidays!

 

I'm also spunding for the first time but started the fermentation in my speidel then transfered. Here's some good info.https://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?t=1933

 

Dry hopped my leftover IPA with Centennial, Citra & Mosaic
and finally canned my Espresso Oak Aged Yeti
tasted yummy

 

Checking the gravity on a batch that's being spunded.Made with 2-Row,Briess Cherry smoked,aromatic,cara 20,munich light,carahell. Cool stuff.

 

@invertalon that's one sweet pic. I bet it's awesome!

I did a couple blind tastings and I can tell the difference between mine and the real thing. A couple of friends guessed wrong.

I have a bunch of mosaic...soooo Melcher St. for me next I guess! Happy brewing!

 

This week, it's sugarin season so ,,,, planing a map sap lager .

 

@Curmudgeon

Wish I had some Congress to be able to do a side-by-side, but I just have four others at the moment. Will at least do a side by side with Farnsworth for color, if nothing more. That's cool you were able to though, which do you prefer having them side by side? Yours or the real deal?

If I had to be very critical having a few more glasses last night, I wish the Galaxy popped a bit more. However, in the past when I have used Galaxy, it seems to take a few weeks to really open up. I think once the beer conditions a bit longer, it's typically a latecomer to the flavor party. So I will make my final assessment over the next week or two when it hits its peak. Really digging it though, it for sure is better than my last attempt which used Conan as the yeast. I will do some minor tweaks on my next "Street" clone with Vic Secret, mainly in the keg hopping (using all the "accent" hop, no CTZ). Debating if I naturally carb again next time or just burst it, as well. It took about a week exactly to carb up in 62-64F ambient temps. The head though is extremely "whip cream" like that never goes away, so it makes for a very pretty beer lol

 

Starting the sparge on a big Imperial Porter for next fall/winter. Almost maxed out the mash tun (18# in 10gal), sparging off a bit more than normal and going for a 2 hour boil. Hoping to get OG above 1.100. 2# brown malt, 1/2# pale chocolate, 1/2# chocolate, 1# assorted British crystal (cleaning out the bin), the rest TFMO.
IBUs calculated at 72, Merkur to bitter, an ounce of Calypso at 10.
Also, trying out Imperial A10 Darkness. They claim it brings a unique ester to the party that works well in darker beers. The starter was giving off an almond extract aroma (sorta a blend between almond and cherry). We'll see.

 

Brewed up a robust porter or maybe an imperial milk stout, or something in between - I am not a big stickler for style guidelines. I've brewed it back in December and fermented on cacao nibs and kegged it with cold brew coffee and then counter pressured filled bottles once it was carbed up to give to friends for the holidays. It came out good, but my efficiency was TERRIBLE for this beer. I BIAB and the homebrew store just had a shit crush I guess. It came out to be 5.4%.

Yesterday, for the first time, i milled my grains using my new Cereal Killer and brewed in my new kettle that has recirculation. I also added some oats and used 6 gallons of water instead of 5 gallons (3.5G batch). Ended up CRUSHING my average efficiency, ending up with over 75% brewhouse efficiency and 3.85 gallons to the fermenter. I am really excited about this, should come out anywhere from 8.5-10% depending on where it finishes. I am using Imperial Organic's "Darkness" for the first time and I am going to add some tahitian vanilla beans, cacao nibs, a touch of maple extract to the fermenter and then just some crushed coffee beans as I cold crash. I may keg with cold brew as well.

 

If they don't need me for some OT at work then I may just fill a fermenter with what I don't know!

 

Last week I brewed a grisette fermented with 3711. Roughly 60% Pils, 20% malted wheat, 20% unmalted wheat. Step mashed, 1.038 OG, hopped heavily with saaz, given the gravity. Pitched at a lager pitch rate (1.5M) at 60F, fermentation peaked at 68-70F. I'm hoping the yeast isn't as expressive, sometimes I think 3711 can be over the top for my preference.

I've been culturing up dregs from a local brewery's mixed culture grisette (Holy Mountain - Misere Au Borinage). I'm going to brew the same wort with a touch less IBU's and pitch this culture along with 3711 next week. Hoping it'll be ready to bottle late spring and drinking in it's prime late summer.

 

Got the first starter going for my Festbier tonight to be brewed this weekend. Will step it up come Wed/Thur from 1.25L to 2.5L.

Making it for a party come late April or early March where I will have it on tap alongside a Hefeweizen (and two other options) for a little Spring kickoff with friends. First time doing a Festbier, actually. Just (darker) Marzen in the past.

 

Brewed an Am Pale Ale yesterday with a small bittering addition and all the rest of the hops at hopstand/whirlpool - Amarillo, Simcoe, Centennial in 2:1:1 ratio. No temp reduction first but will give it a try in the near future as Am Pale Ale is easily my favorite style to brew - at least 20-25% of all output.