Brewing Activities (2022)

Brewed a hazy IPA yesterday. Hopped with Citra, El Dorado, and CTZ. Trying out Cosmic Punch for the first time. Experimenting with mash hopping to see if there is anything to it.

 

Brewing up a gluten free Witbier this weekend. Wheat seems to be the toughest grain to substitute in gf brewing, but I think ivory teff is the best option. We'll see how this turns out...

4L Rice
Pale Rice
Ivory Teff
Oats

Saaz
Coriander, sweet orange peel & bitter orange peel (restrained)

MJ Belgian Wit M21

 

Tomorrow a Schwarzbier and Rye DIPA.

 

Brewed up a raspberry lager yesterday as spring weather is finally happening! Got to get some beers ready to go. Bottled up the extra of the imperial stout that didn’t go into the barrel. The one put on cinnamon, cacao nibs, and vanilla was tasting amazing!

 

Last year’s cream ale was so good that I’m going to be brewing another one this year. 11 gal, one batch will be with us-05, and I’m leaning towards a Belgian style with Imperial Gnome for the other half.

 

Kegged up the Morebeer Chux ipa kit beer today. Smelled good and was super clear. The FG sample looked better than any lager I’ve made. It will be beer either wayz

 

Today brewing a Saison for the summer months
2 row
spelt
wheat
Hallertau M
Saaz
Blaugies yeast
Cheers all

 

Just doughed in a Mexican Lager. Vienna, corn, aromatic, carafoam, Triskel, Tettnang, Omega Yeast Mexican Lager. Aiming for 4.8% @ 20 IBUs.

 

Just prepped everything for tomorrow's GF Blonde Ale. Everyone warned me about milling malted corn, but my MM2 Pro chewed through it with no problem. I'm excited to see the impact on the final beer.

4L Rice
Pale Rice
Malted Corn
5L Caramel Millet
Dextrose

Mandarina Bavaria
Pacifica

Lutra Kveik

 

Stupid question from someone who brewed 4 low quality ipas in one gallon batches, ...

How hard is it to brew a high abv imperial stout?

 

It's not very hard. Some general things to help ensure success with a big stout...
- estimate the difference (decrease) in mash efficiency expected with the larger grain bill, and increase the bill accordingly
- take extra care with fermentation temperature control, to avoid runaway fermantation temps and excess fusels/esters.
- pitch a lot of healthy yeast
- choose a yeast strain that can handle the higher alcohol level (e.g. the chico strains are generally safe bets for big beers)

 

We had a homebrew club brew day at a local brewery called Crafty Bastard. Brewed a Blonde ale base around 15 IBU. Each member received 10 gallons. We keep 5 gallons to do as we wish and 5 gallons we do as wish and bring back to the brewery on May 15th and brewery patrons vote for the best beer on tap. I am fermenting with 2 packs of Philly sour yeast and plan to pitch 4 8oz cans of Oregon strawberry rhubarb fruit purée close to the end of fermentation. My share to keep got a pack of London ale yeast from White labs and that’s it. I’ll post pic soon.

 

Use DME to get your FG up. Easy way to get that high ABV without just throwing table sugar at it.

 

Sorry O.G. Up that is. I’ve been drinking

 

i would also have to add, prepare for a vigorous fermentation. Even when kept in the mid 60 degree range I’ve had krausen spewing through the top of the fermenter in no time. Blow off tube during first 24 hours is always a safe bet!

But, yea they’re not too tough to make, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how good it turns out if you stick with a tried and true recipe on the first go round.

 

If you can, try to ferment in an oversized vessel to help with loss during fermentation. I’ve brewed 2.5-3 gallon batches and fermented in a 6 gallon bucket. Less to worry about.

 

Lots going on:

1) Testing out a newly available character malt, caramel buckwheat, in a gluten free IPA. Buckwheat tends to be very earthy, but the claim is that this particular roasting process mitigates the earthiness. I'm gonna cover my bases just in case by using all Chinook & Simcoe to play with any earthiness that comes through.

2) Dry hopping a gf Blonde Ale. I used Mandarina Bavaria & Pacifica for this brew, but there is virtually no apparent flavor/aroma. I'm gonna add some citra lupomax to the mix to wake this beer up.

3) Finally, I'm gonna add some passionfruit puree to a lackluster Witbier. The M21 yeast just did not produce the desired esters, even with pushing the temps throughout fermentation. I'm a huge fan of Avery's Lilikoi Kepolo, so some passionfruit will make this a nice spring crusher.

 

Got a starter or WY3522 going today that will go in a ‘session’ Tripel. 1.052 OG, 35IBU with Triumph hops- Barke Pils, wheat malt, and cane sugar.

 

So... a Belgian Blonde Ale...

 

Yeah, I suppose it would be close to one. Except a little lower gravity. You could probably get away with calling it a Trappist single too. For some reason I like the idea of calling it a session tripel though.