Brewing Activities (2021)

Awesome, thanks for the info and the offer!

 

Actually did this today, things went well. This is the first time I adjusted my water profile... turns out my water is similar to Pilsen... very soft and very low in Ca. Treated with phosphoric acid, CaCl and gypsum. And it looks like I picked up a couple of points in efficiency with the treatment.
Hit my OG target and it's in the fermenter. Now only time will tell...

In the end... it will be beer!

 

Yikes! I'm glad I didn't fill my fermenter! 3.5 gal in a 5.5 gal fermenter, and it's close to blowing out of the top. WLP530 is by far the most vigorous fermentation I have seen to date.

 

Ya I’ve been keeping an eye out for ECY Kolsch yeast. Hope they drop some soon.

 

I think it's the best beer I brew. I brewed a batch last year and loved it. This year's batch is on point as well. It has a huge malt aroma that jumps out of the glass. Big, rich caramel with dark fruits supporting. Just enough hop presence to balance and dry it out. Mouthfeel is luscious. I'm gonna have to brew more of this for sure and keep it year round.

 

I am as well, I am expecting early spring but what do I know?

 

Made a White Ipa today with pils, torrified wheat, oats. Hopped with chinook and cascade. Coriander, lemongrass and orange peel added at 5 minutes. Fermenting with westmalle slurry.

 

@Jasonja1474 like I said, what do I know? Back in stock today.
https://www.fermentednj.com/shopfermented/ECY21-Kolschbier-p131035427

@deadwolfbones

 

Bought it lol

 

Thanks again for the tips. Have you tried ECY28 Kellerbier?

 

New post on the site about my fresh hop amber ale. Not a winner, but not bad, and a fun experiment. (I just don't like amber ales, I think.)

 

My Wit brewday went off super easy, but I came in 10+ points low. I was out of lactic acid so I'm assuming the pH was too high for proper conversion. Oh well, still beer. Nectarine Blossom yeast was ripping in just over an hour, down to 1.012 from 1.041 in 48 hours, temp is dropping on me, but the sample tastes really good. Let it finish off over the next few days.

 

Oh yeah, also brewed V2 of my Italian pils on Sunday:

95% Bestmalz Heidelberg Pils
5% Weyermann Munich I

25 IBU Hallertau Magnum @ 90
9 IBU Saphir @ 10
DDH with 10g Saphir toward the end of primary and 20g after crashing

It's already down to 1.017 from 1.048 after a day and a half, so I already added the first DH charge. I love pitching beers on an active cake.

 

I jumped in and grabbed one as well

 

Also got the ECY Kolsch (and the Kellerbier).

Gonna brew @wasatchback's recipe along with a version made with Bestmalz/Weyermann malts and the Omega Kolsch II strain and then compare/contrast.

 

I would recommend doing the same exact grist with 2 different yeasts, or 1 yeast and 2 different grists. Switching both introduces too many variables to tell what is from the grist and what is from the yeast.

 

Yeah, I'm familiar with basic scientific principles.

I suppose I could build a big enough starter to do two with the same yeast and different grists, but I didn't buy enough of the Ireks to do two with the same grist.

I'm not sure I care that much about isolating one variable, anyway. I just want to see the difference between what I would have made without @wasatchback's post and what his recipe is like.

 

You could always mash and boil for 5 gallons, but split ferment to 2 @ 2.5. Package after fermentation. Do the second 5 gallon grist and split onto yeast from first batches. Just a thought. Still only 10 gallons of Kolsch, but 4 variants. Only added labor is cleaning an extra carboy.

 

Good thought! I ferment and serve in corny kegs though, and I'm not sure I have enough kegs to pull that off.

Brewing a Bells Two-Hearted-ish all-Centennial IPA today. A homebrew club buddy brewed his take yesterday so we're going to do a side-by-side tasting when they're finished.