Brewing Activities (2020)

Wheat malt is an unusual choice in a pilsner. Did you include it for foam retention?

 

Nope, added just to have something different in the flavor profile. Never had issue with foam retention with all Pils malt in the past, just wanted to try something new.

Again, not really a typical pilsner... International style pils? IPL? Hoppy Lager?

 

My wife got it in her head that she wanted a coffee-vanilla Belgian Tripel... Considering how much she puts up with my expensive craft beer and homebrewing, I did my best to give it a try.

1-Gallon BIAB
1000g Pale Ale
300g Abbey Malt
200g Flaked Oats

@60m - 2g Cascade
@30m - 2g Cascade
@5m - 100ml Expresso
@5m - 1.5g Coriander
@5m - 7g Orange peel (freshly grated)
@5m - 0.75g Black pepper
@Flameout - 4g Cascade
@yeast Pitch - 1/2 tsp very expensive vanilla extract

SafAle T-58 dry yeast (half pack)

Honestly, I think this will be horrible. But it is my normal Tripel recipe (which she loves...) with Expresso and Vanilla added. At a minimum, I'm intrigued with how it turns out, it's only 1 gallon, and it buys me alot of "brownie points".

 

I'd suggest going with a nice single origin light roast coffee and "dry beaning." That would get you some nice floral aromatics and lighter coffee flavor than doing espresso during the boil, which in my experience leads to harsher "diner coffee" flavor and stronger bitterness (which IMO would clash with the floral/spicy tripel characteristics).

 

^This. Also, @JHDStein if you are going to use vanilla extract, I'd recommend adding it at packaging. You'll retail more of the flavor/aroma that way.

 

Is “Dry Beaning” the same as dry hopping? If so would you add it at the end of fermentation and for how long have you left it?

 

Yep. I'd add it once primary is finished and most of the yeast has dropped out. I got great coffee flavor after 18 hours or so. The longest I've gone is 48 hours. It works pretty fast, especially if you use a bunch. (I've used about 1oz/gal.)

 

Brewed this weekend an idea for a hazy with my favorite hop varietal as well as a segue of including a very western fermentable. Behold thus Amarillo Showdown.
Mini mash
.5 lb Honey Malt
1 lb Flaked Oats

6 lbs Pilsen LME
1 lb Briess Golden Light DME
10 oz Star Thistle Honey
6 oz Wildflower Honey
.5 oz Amarillo 60 minutes (7.7%)
1 oz Columbus 60 minutes (12.8%)
2 oz Amarillo 30 minutes
3 oz Amarillo 15 minutes
3 oz Amarillo 0/Hopstand/Whirlpool for 30 minutes
OG 1.053
WLP067 Coastal Haze Ale
3 oz Amarillo 2 days on Biotrans dry hop

Will add another 3oz charge on backend.
I didn't have enough Star Thistle honey (it is an amazing bright yellow color) for a pound so added 6oz of Costco Wildflower honey. I'm excited for this one.

 

@VikeMan & @deadwolfbones

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I brewed it before posting, so I'll have to see how it turns out with the current recipe.

I never thought of dry-hopping with coffee beans. That sounds like a more elegant solution to the problem. I've added expresso this way to a Stout before, and found it OK (though not ideal). I pretty much assumed the expresso would kill most of the more subtle Tripel qualities, so I backed off on the amount.

As for the vanilla, I'll give that a try next time I work with vanilla. I've had good results with adding it at the yeast pitch, but any improvements are always welcome!

I'll let y'all know how it works out.

 

@JHDStein Some good reading here if you want to go deeper on the coffee beer subject: http://scottjanish.com/guide-to-coffee-beers/

 

Made a quick sour with golden extract. Philly sour. Will put blueberries in eventually.

 

Moved the ESB keg from ambient/fermentation temps into my lager fridge to crash down and condition another two weeks or so before tapping (when a spot opens up!). Don't think I mentioned the details before, but the specs on that one:

Grist:
86.5% Floor Malted Maris Otter
6.5% British Crystal 55L
4.0% British Crystal 75L
2% British Crystal 150L
1% Acidulated

Hops:
Magnum, Golding and Cascade.

Yeast:
WLP005

OG 1.052
FG of 1.011
5.4% ABV
12 SRM
38 IBU

Also just hopped the "NZ Lager" with the 1oz of Nelson. Currently at 1.035 (from 1.047) chugging away at 48F. Will find out the FG with my FFT tomorrow morning which I have going.

As early as it is, it smells and tastes fantastic! I am really digging where this one is going.

I won't be brewing the next two or three weeks, but then likely a Maibock (or similar) utilizing 2206.

 

I brewed a sticke alt yesterday: 35% Mecca Lamonta, 20% Mecca Metolius, 20% Mecca Vanora, 17% pils, 4% caramunich, and 2% each British C150L and pale chocolate. Loral and Hallertau Mittelfruh.

I transferred it onto the Lallemand Voss cake from my pale mild at around 84F and had violent fermentation (blowing sani out the airlock) within 45 minutes. Woke up this morning (~12 hours later) and it's already done. Wild stuff.

 

Tried to get the yeast and hops off the beer before cold crashing and had a hop explosion. They yeast I guess is lighter than hops and never settled in the can.

 

Brewing a double IPA with Amarillo and citra, Saturday

 

How do you like the fermzilla? I was thinking of getting one for Xmas. I usually ferment in the keg, but the ability to ferment larger batches, dry hop, dump yeast, etc while also still being able to cold crash is just what I want.

 

I like it a lot compared to a regular bucket. What I don’t like is taking it apart to clean as there isn’t a good place to hold onto to break it loose. Also as you can see in the pitcher it’s messy to remove the hops/yeast via the collection jar. Need to purchase a extra quick connect to be able to purge the container also. My next purchase will be a the cooling coil and jacket and thermowell. It is nice to be able to pressure ferment and then let it carb in the fermentor. Also being to add hops/adjuncts without introducing O2. You can see what’s going on.

 

Early this week I took inventory of hops in the freezer and specialty malts in the bin, and came up with recipes to use it all up. Went by my preferred LHBS to pick up some yeast and whirlfloc (per previous thread).

Today was Azacca, Centennial, Amarillo Bitter
OG 1.054
88.3% TFGP
4.4 Crisp 45L
2.2 Crisp 77L
2.2 TF Amber
2.9 Lyle's Golden Syrup

Centennial to bitter, split between FWH and 30 for ~15IBU, 2:1:1 Azacca:Centennial:Amarillo mix 1oz @ 10, 2oz whirlpool and DH. wy1469

 

Kegged an American brown ale and mixed up 3 gallons of must and pitched yeast for a pyment..