Bottling then wheaty goodness

[Cactus Jack]

Will be bottling an attempt at an AG APA tomorrow :thumb: , only my third brew but think I now have the bottling process sussed.

Bottled an ale, I guess closer to Old S H but hoppier, last week. I can see particles clinging to the sides of all the bottles. From searching here and other net sources, seems it is probably yeast that has a certain static charge so is attracted to the bottle. For this brew I boiled all the water prior to mashing and sparging, which removes calcium form the water and this apparently can impact the static charge of the yeast particles. Any thoughts would be welcome. (P.S. this clinging did not occur with my first brew.)

Brew day will be Monday and I am looking to do the following:

Batch Size (L): 9.0
Total Grain (kg): 1.933
Total Hops (g): 11.99
Original Gravity (OG): 1.046 (°P): 11.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.52 %
Colour (SRM): 3.3 (EBC): 6.5
Bitterness (IBU): 13.9 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 90


0.978 kg Belgium Pilsner (50.59%)
0.488 kg Flaked Wheat (25.24%)
0.271 kg Flaked Oats (14.02%)
0.196 kg Wheat Malt (10.15%)

6.0 g Cascade Leaf (6.9% Alpha) @ 45 Minutes (Boil) (0.7 g/L)
6.0 g Cascade Leaf (6.9% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (0.7 g/L)

4.2 g Coriander Seed @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
2.0 g Orange Peel @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
2.0 g Orange Peel @ 15 Minutes (Boil)

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Protein Rest Add 4.52 litres of water at 131.1 F 122.0 F 30 min
Saccrification Add 3.3 litres of water at 208.0 F 154.0 F 30 min
Mash Out Direct Heat to 168.0 F over 2 min 168.0 F 10 min (76c)

Using Belgian Saison Yeast.

Taken from http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/austin-homebrews-blue-moon-clone-ag-30190/

Looking forward to this one.

 

[bobsbeer]

Sounds like a nice brew. You are probably right about the static. A lot depends on the water you are using.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Hi All,

Finally brewed this last night (didn't manage Sunday and Monday). My first wheat beer, I also doubled my final brew size to 9l. (small for here I know :sulk: ).

All went well. No real issues doubling the size. However I believe I am fly sparging, so filtering the mash through a strainer bag, then pouring water (78c) through the grain and circulating the wort through the grain one more time. However, this seems to take an age. Think I may try a BIAB next time.

My gravity to FV was 1045, first use of my refractometer and the brew was clos to the desired 1046.

Barring any issues I'll update again at bottling in a few weeks.

A few pics. No shiney stuff I'm afraid.


Grain.


Mash. Step mash, protein rest for 30 mins then sacchrification... (probably got that wrong).


Spent grains.


On da boil. Hmm.... very murky.


Next day fermenting nicely.

:

 

[pittsy]

Hi , looking good mate . If fly sparging a pain for you why not try batch sparging , it's quicker and all you do is drain mash tun fill back up stir it and wait 10 mins and drain again , continue until done . After the mash rest is done i drain (5 mins ) fill and stir (2 mins) wait (10 mins ) and the drain (5 mins) 25 mins ish .
If you want to do step mashes i would advise doing a 63c then 71c rest either as well as a protein rest or instead of . 63c is 15 mins for a bit dry or 40 mins to really dry (max) then the rest at 71c (45 mins will do ) to give it better head and body .
Even though a wheat beer tastes sweet (this is due to low hop usage) it is infact (often) a dry beer .

 

[Cactus Jack]

Hi Pittsy,

Cheers for the tips. I don't actually use a Mash Tun as in drain from the bottom type. I do my mash in a 10l pot and separate the wort into a 20l via a straining bag and on this occasion sparged 8.4 litres of water through it. If or when we move to a larger house I may well move to producing larger brews.

Thanks for the step mashing tips and info. I've only recently started brewing and this is the 4th in a month and a half. I plan on doing one more (probably a first gold single hop brew) before I start brewing the same beers again looking to improve and refine the recipes and process :pray: .

Therefore if ok Pittsy, I would appreciate it if when I brew this one again I can contact you on here for further advice regarding the step mash and the effect on the beer :thumb: . Would that be ok?

Again, thanks for the tips.

 

[pittsy]

Sure Jack glad to help . :thumb:

 

[Cactus Jack]

Hi All,

My beer has been in FV for 2 weeks. OG was 1045 and according to Brewmate and the recipe the FG should be at 1012. However it currently reads 1005 :wha: and from the look of it I don't believe it has finished. I used Belle Saison yeast and wonder if this is the culprit. Tried a tiny bit from the FV and it tastes great. Looking to test gravity again on Thursday if it hasn't changed I'll bottle it, so it looks like I could have a very dry thin beer :hmm: . Any idea on the cause?

Could it be the "Protein Rest Add 4.52 litres of water at 131.1 F 122.0 F 30 min" stage?

 

[pittsy]

Hi , you mentioned wheaty goodness , is it a hefe or heavy on wheat recipe ? Where did you get your wheat malt from ? Highly modified malt (English and some American ) will not benefit a rest at 50c , it will harm it if anything . For step mashing use German or Belgian wheat and try a rest for 20 mins at 55c instead :thumb:

 

[Cactus Jack]

Hi Pittsy,

An american wheat beer meant to be a bit like Blue Moon. The Wheat Malt is from Brupaks and the flaked wheat is from Neales, not sure if this is enough info.

...use German or Belgian wheat and try a rest for 20 mins at 55c instead

Ok will do, if this is a modified wheat malt and I use it again, should I just keep the mash at 67c 'ish? :thumb:

 

[pittsy]

English wheat malt should only really be mashed at 61c to 72c many just doing a single step of 66/7c , personally i want a dry beer with good body and so i mash at 63c for a time then move to 71c when doing a wheat beer (german type) .

 

[Cactus Jack]

Cheers Pittsy : ,

I'll remember that for next time. But hey, you never know I may like the low grav version. But when I brew again I will increase the initial mash temp. Once I've re-brewed my first 5 brews (looking to see if I can improve each one), think I'll give one of yours ago, seem to have a good rep on hear.