Brewing Activity February 2016

EDIT: I said "mostly hop trub" in the gallon fermenter but I'll still get around 3/4 gal of actual beer from this. I wasn't just pitching yeast into sludge. Just realized though that I had blended with the brett before dividing up, so the gallon fermenter actually has 3711, brett c and Amalgamation (6 strains of brett brux). we'll see how that one goes...

I guess when you have a little extra wort on hand you can really start experimenting!

 

Brewed with London 3 for the first time today. Session IPA(very hoppy pale ale ) with Mosaic, Centennial, Simcoe and a touch of Apollo. Hoping for end up with a 4% ABV beer with the mouthfeel of 6% IPA. Assuming all goes well with this batch of London 3, I will be brewing a IPA and DIPA in consecutive batched with this 5 gallon "starter".

 

Attempted replicating my favorite beer to date. American IPA with summit Columbus cascade centennial simcoe mosaic and wakatu. Hope it comes out as nice as last time. 1056 and San Diego Super yeast comparison should be interesting

 

First brew. Did a half batch of the Cincinnati Pale Ale from Palmer's How to brew. Columbus for bittering, Citra for finishing. Brewed Monday and started bubbling yesterday, so seems on track (fingers crossed). Considering tossing in the other .5 oz of citra for dry hop after it stops bubbling.

 

Brewing a Wakatu / El Dorado beer tomorrow. Bought the wrong yeast by mistake. Rochefort yeast should be ok, I guess.

 

My brew partner dropped the ball and didn't get my London III when I asked.

So with that said, I have two options. I can use WLP008 (East Coast Ale) or WLP644 ("brett" trois). Which do you think would be most comparable to London III? I've done some research but I can't figure out what would be best.

 

Finalized my next recipe and the water additions for it... Found a Fat Head's IPA water profile, so I am going to try that as I absolutely love how their IPA's are. Additions are easy considering I live in the same city so the water is nearly exact after just gypsum is added.

As you guessed it, it will be a double IPA expected at 8.3% and "theoretical" 208 IBU... Mass amounts of Columbus, Centennial, Simcoe and Citra (about 20oz of hops...) - All fresh 2015 harvest from Yakima.

Malt bill comprised of 2-row, red wheat, victory, munich and 40L crystal. Color expected at 7 SRM.

OG 1.075
FG 1.013

Can't wait to brew it!

 

Timing may be your biggest issue. If you are brewing this weekend you don't have enough time to build up that 644. It takes at least a week. I really like that yeast in an IPA though. Never used the 008. You could pitch both. I just did a Conan with a 644 co-pitch and really liked the results.

 

Brewing a single malt pale ale with golden promise tomorrow. Conan and 1056 in the flasks. Hops include topaz Columbus summit summer chinook and wakatu.

 

I love it in IPAs as well, I've brewed a few with the 644 and have had great results. I just wanted to try something different with the London III.

I'll most likely make the starter for the 644 tonight and co-pitch when we brew tomorrow.

 

Racked my second batch of Salty Doge gose split between two carboys - one containing cucumbers, the other containing sour gummy worms. Should be a tasty experiment!

 

Interesting experiment. I've thought about using cucumbers in a Hefeweizen but goes sounds perfect for it

 

I will post updates on how they turn out. Not sure if I will need more cucumber or not - starting at 2lbs for the 2.5 gallons and I will go from there!

 

Brewed and bottled up the BYO Double Sunshine IPA clone -- very dank and high oil impression on the palate -- and the CYBI Nebraska Brewing Cardinal Pale Ale clone. Next up are lagers (German Pils, Bohemian Pils, and Oktoberfest if enough time) given Feb-April are the only times in VA that groundwater temps require no extra work on my part.

 

There is a shit ton of sugar in those gummy worms so a second fermentation is inevitable, and a nice abv bump. Wondering if any flavors will leach from the gummies into the beer; should be interesting to say the least.

I can't imagine using celery would be much different than say, rhubarb, being a fibrous vegetable.

 

Kegged my ESB the other day after 15 days, sample tasted great. A liittle worried that it might have over attenuated due to mashing in at 149 instead of 152? ABV came out a little higher than I wanted it to.

 

Just a heads up, but the amount of yeast in a vial of 644 is way less than a normal vial, you may need multiple steps of your starter to get enough yeast. I would play with a calculator or you could be way under-pitching depending on your gravity.

 

Tonight I'm brewing my first Octoberfest! I've been brewing lagers lately, and they are very rewarding!
OG: 1.059 ABV: 5.8 IBU: 25 SRM: 11

 

Taking advantage of this beautiful day to brew a Bavarian Hefeweizen, which is boiling away as we speak. Had to have a Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier for inspiration while mashing. Cheers!