IainM's brew day

[IainM]

Kegged the bitter tonight. Got 1.010, so 4.6%, filled a corny and 6 bottles. Trial jar tastes promising. Next up: BIPA5!

 

[IainM]

OK, black IPA version 5 was brewed on Saturday night, and it was a bit of a nightmare. The overflow pipe on the Bulldog Brewer snapped off halfway though doughing in. I thought it had unscrewed, so I lifted up the malt pipe to screw it in again, and dislodged the band on which it sits when sparging, so I had to drain it, take it to the sink, put the band back on, and bring it back, creating a sticky mess all over the kitchen work surfaces and floor. The hole where it snapped off blocked itself, but let a fair bit of grain out. Luckily, not enough to trouble the upgraded pump which, to paraphrase Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, I bet could suck a golf ball through a garden hose. I had to scoop the grain off when it rose to the top during the hot break. After draining I saw that I got most of it out, amazingly, but I didn’t know that at the time though so I reduced the boil to 45 mins and adjusted the bittering accordingly, so as to avoid any potential tannin issues. I also didn't stir the mash in the last half hour, for fear of grain getting out, and so the grain bed was quite compacted and the sparge took half an hour. I think this gave me an efficiency boost though, which made up for the lost wort, and the shorter boil time made up for the lost volume, so I ended up hitting the numbers despite the problems. Trial jar tastes good. Now I need to either find someone who can weld the overflow pipe back on, or just live without it. I also need to plan the next few brews.

Black IPA
Mash at 66C, 60 mins
6.5kg Pale
250g Midnight Wheat
100g Dark crystal
45 minute boil
20g Admiral leaf 16.7%AA 45 mins
10g Simcoe pellet 12.8%AA 15 mins
10g Centennial pellet 9.7%AA 15 mins
10g Amarillo pellet 8.9%AA 15 mins
20g Simcoe 5 mins
20g Centennial 5 mins
20g Amarillo 5 mins
15g Citra pellet 9.5%AA 5 mins
64g Simcoe flameout
20g Centennial flameout
20g Amarillo flameout
15g Citra flameout
50g Amarillo dry hop, day 3
30g Citra dry hop, day 3
25g Centannial dry hop, day 3
20g Nelson Sauvin dry hop, day 3
100g Amarillo dry hop, day 7
40g Citra dry hop, day 7
25g Centennial dry hop, day 7
30g Nelson Sauvin dy hop, day 7
28g Cascade lupulin cryo powder, day 7
US-05 x2
1/2 campden, 1g salt, 5g gypsum for a hop-forward beer. 10ml lactic acid to get the pH into the sweet spot.
19L dough in, 16L sparge.
0.9mm gap size for the barley, 0.7mm for the wheat. Added in a good couple of handfuls of rice husks, and I'm glad I did otherwise the sparge would have stuck.

Got 21.5L at 1.071, Pitched at 20C, fridge set to 19C.

 

[HarryFlatters]

Got 21.5L at 1.071

That'll make a spicy meatball

 

[foxbat]

I think it needs more hops

 

[IainM]

I think it needs more hops

Only 592g!

 

[IainM]

Right, I haven't been on here much recently, what with a new job keeping me busy, but I did manage to squeeze in a two-day brew this week, inspired in part by the delicious Raspberry Smoothie IPA by Omnipollo, recipe in the Euan Fergason book, and in part by an impressive lactose and mixed berry kettle sour a member of the local homebrew club made.

Sour Berry Cheesecake IPA
20L batch
3.5kg Pilsner
1.5kg wheat
500g flaked oats
700g lactose
16L mash and 15L sparge, balanced water profile
5 minute boil
I cooled to 40C and dropped the pH to 4.5 with lactic acid, the pitched a pack of Wildbrew Sour pitch and kept it at 35C for 24 hours, but which point the pH had dropped to 3.4ish
20 minute boil
30g Mosaic, 10 minutes
70g Mosaic, hop stand
2x S-04, pitched and held at 18C
In primary:
1.5kg mixed berries: blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant
3 vanilla beans, split and scraped and chucked in
200g Mosaic dry hop

Should be something a bit different!

 

[Zephyr259]

Sounds great, the combo of lactose and sour could be very interesting, have you tried that before?

 

[Ajhutch]

That’s soooooo craft darling

 

[IainM]

Sounds great, the combo of lactose and sour could be very interesting, have you tried that before?

I've drank it before, and it works really well, but this is my first kettle sour, let alone sour/lactose brew.

 

[Zephyr259]

Very ambitious, will be interesting to hear how it turns out. I'm on more of a back to basics kick with a pale ale ready and waiting for me and a California Common planned for next week.

 

[IainM]

Right, Sour Berry Cheescake IPA was good, but not very cheesecakey. If I do it again, I'll definitely up the lactose and the vanilla. The kettle sour worked really well with the fruit though, and the mosaic complemented it nicely. I've done two brews since then, one a boring(ish) dark mild which is pretty decent but not as good as Clibit's centennial mild in the recipes bit of the forum. The other is a bit of a mad one, a Mexican Mole Imperial Stout for the local hombrew club competition with the theme "out of your comfort zone", and I really was, with a range of ingredients I've never used before. I got my first ever stuck mash, and the sparge was glacial. Otherwise, I did pretty much hit my numbers though, getting 18L with an OG of 1.102 in the fv, and I haven't added the jaggery yet.

Dark Mild
19L, 1.036 to 1.006, 3.9%
1 hour mash, 68C
1.35 kg Pale
700g carapils/dextrine
350g Caramel / Crystal 120L
250g Flaked Oats
350g Chocolate
350g Munich - Dark 20L
45 minute boil
24g challenger 6.1%, 45 mins
Wyeast 1272 American Ale II, 2.5L starter, to create a decent yeast cake for the behemouth below

1g gypsum, 1g salt, 2g calcium chloride, for: Ca 145 mg 4 na 25.5 cl 81 so4 53. Also 5ml 80% lactic acid for mash pH ~5.23
I got 20L at 1.036, so pretty much on the money. This beer drinks well, it's a decent mild, but I've a fair few now and it isn't the best.


Mexican Mole imperial stout
19L, OG 1.100, FG 1.024, 10% abv
Mash @ 63C, 90 mins
5kg pale
500g smoked malt (of the high diastatic type than can be added up to 100%)
500g pilsner
1kg flaked oats
500g wheat
150g black
480g chocolate
312g amber
200g crystal rye
200g special w, but 20g was special B (it's amazing how different these are considering that they are recommended as substitutes for each other)
150g dark crystal
50g toasted pumpkin seeds
200g jaggery
200g rice hulls (I forgot these, and didn't have room for them in the mash tun anyway, hence the stuck sparge)
90 minute boil
35g admiral leaf (13.97%AA), 60 mins
pitched onto the Wyeast 1272 American Ale II yeast cake from the mild

In primary as the fermentation comes to an end:
5g coriander seed, dry roasted and crushed
1 cinnamon sticks, dry roasted
2g cumin seed, dry roasted and ground
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
60 g cacao nibs, roasted, lightly crushed and steeped in vodka
2 dried ancho peppers, reconstituted, chopped and heated to sterilises
1 dried guajillo pepper, as above
2 dried chipotle peppers, as above
1 dried pasilla pepper, as above
1 dried anaheim pepper, as above
1 dried cascabel pepper, as above

2g calcium sulphate (gypsum) and 5.5g table salt, to give a malty profile: Ca 130 Mg 4 Na 73 Cl 120 SO4 64, plus 5ml lactic acid, for pH 5.5
23L mash dough in
15L sparge

 

[Oneflewover]

Right, Sour Berry Cheescake IPA was good, but not very cheesecakey. If I do it again, I'll definitely up the lactose and the vanilla. The kettle sour worked really well with the fruit though, and the mosaic complemented it nicely. I've done two brews since then, one a boring(ish) dark mild which is pretty decent but not as good as Clibit's centennial mild in the recipes bit of the forum. The other is a bit of a mad one, a Mexican Mole Imperial Stout for the local hombrew club competition with the theme "out of your comfort zone", and I really was, with a range of ingredients I've never used before. I got my first ever stuck mash, and the sparge was glacial. Otherwise, I did pretty much hit my numbers though, getting 18L with an OG of 1.102 in the fv, and I haven't added the jaggery yet.

Dark Mild
19L, 1.036 to 1.006, 3.9%
1 hour mash, 68C
1.35 kg Pale
700g carapils/dextrine
350g Caramel / Crystal 120L
250g Flaked Oats
350g Chocolate
350g Munich - Dark 20L
45 minute boil
24g challenger 6.1%, 45 mins
Wyeast 1272 American Ale II, 2.5L starter, to create a decent yeast cake for the behemouth below

1g gypsum, 1g salt, 2g calcium chloride, for: Ca 145 mg 4 na 25.5 cl 81 so4 53. Also 5ml 80% lactic acid for mash pH ~5.23
I got 20L at 1.036, so pretty much on the money. This beer drinks well, it's a decent mild, but I've a fair few now and it isn't the best.


Mexican Mole imperial stout
19L, OG 1.100, FG 1.024, 10% abv
Mash @ 63C, 90 mins
5kg pale
500g smoked malt (of the high diastatic type than can be added up to 100%)
500g pilsner
1kg flaked oats
500g wheat
150g black
480g chocolate
312g amber
200g crystal rye
200g special w, but 20g was special B (it's amazing how different these are considering that they are recommended as substitutes for each other)
150g dark crystal
50g toasted pumpkin seeds
200g jaggery
200g rice hulls (I forgot these, and didn't have room for them in the mash tun anyway, hence the stuck sparge)
90 minute boil
35g admiral leaf (13.97%AA), 60 mins
pitched onto the Wyeast 1272 American Ale II yeast cake from the mild

In primary as the fermentation comes to an end:
5g coriander seed, dry roasted and crushed
1 cinnamon sticks, dry roasted
2g cumin seed, dry roasted and ground
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
60 g cacao nibs, roasted, lightly crushed and steeped in vodka
2 dried ancho peppers, reconstituted, chopped and heated to sterilises
1 dried guajillo pepper, as above
2 dried chipotle peppers, as above
1 dried pasilla pepper, as above
1 dried anaheim pepper, as above
1 dried cascabel pepper, as above

2g calcium sulphate (gypsum) and 5.5g table salt, to give a malty profile: Ca 130 Mg 4 Na 73 Cl 120 SO4 64, plus 5ml lactic acid, for pH 5.5
23L mash dough in
15L sparge

Wow, that second beer does sound mad! Did you design the recipe from scratch or did you use / adapt someone else's? Amongst other things wondering what the pumpkin seeds will contribute.....

 

[IainM]

Wow, that second beer does sound mad! Did you design the recipe from scratch or did you use / adapt someone else's? Amongst other things wondering what the pumpkin seeds will contribute.....

It is my recipe, but I did look at a few others, as well as some molè recipes. In the end, I settled on the ingredients then looked around for what sort of quantities people were using and how pronounced the character they were reporting was, and based it on that, so hopefully it won't be too far out from what I want. That said, with so many parts, getting the balance right is always going to be tricky so I'm not holding my breath for perfection. I've tried a couple of commercial examples and loved them, so if I get anywhere close to them I'd be happy.

 

[strange-steve]

That Mexican stout looks amazing, that's a **** load of peppers

 

[Oneflewover]

Well :hat:to you, that's one heck of a recipe. Looks like a lot of peppers, but nothing too hot, should add layers of flavour and complexity - much like a good mole. Be very interested to hear how this turns out.

 

[IainM]

That Mexican stout looks amazing, that's a **** load of peppers

Well :hat:to you, that's one heck of a recipe. Looks like a lot of peppers, but nothing too hot, should add layers of flavour and complexity - much like a good mole. Be very interested to hear how this turns out.

It is, but none are particularly hot. You've got me worried now! Maybe just 1 chipotle then.

 

[strange-steve]

It is, but none are particularly hot. You've got me worried now! Maybe just 1 chipotle then.

Hey don't listen to me, I've never brewed anything like that before and wouldn't know where to start. Plus I had to Google Mexican mole, apparently it's not an animal.

 

[Oneflewover]

It is, but none are particularly hot. You've got me worried now! Maybe just 1 chipotle then.

Go for it! Go big or go home! Like you say none of those peppers are at all challenging heat wise. Should all bring something to the finished beer though. The only thing I can't fathom out is why the pumpkin seeds....

 

[IainM]

I bottled the Mexican Mole Imperial Stout tonight and it is a crazy beer alright. It dropped to 1.017, giving about 11.5%! The trub was massive, 5L of sludge, so I only got 12.5L bottled. The flavour is immense already. The vanilla and chocolate up front, then the spices and slight smokiness come in, followed by complex layers of flavour from the chillies, intense berry from the ancho grande, zingy cherry from the anaheim, nutty richness from the cascabel, the tannic spiciness of the guajillo, liquorice notes from mulato, raisin from the pasilla and smokiness from the chipotle, followed by heat that doesn't overpower but comes through slowly. I'm stoked that the balance ended up where it is and can't wait for this to condition a couple of months. This will be my Christmas day beer.

 

[IainM]

I did a re-brew of Brew By Numbers 01:01 Citra Saison on Saturday. Ended up having to do other stuff, so did a 2.5h mash and a 90m boil. Efficiency was up a bit and the boil off higher than planned. So, I didn't add the dextrose and instead of topping up, just went with it a bit shorter and stronger. This was for brew club, where we all brew the same recipe then taste each others beer and compare notes. I won't be able to make it, but I'll drop off a couple of bottles in advance.

Citra Saison
22L, 1.044 (I got 19.5, 1.051)
60 mins mash @ 65 C (I did 150 mins)
1.7kg extra pale MO
1.4kg pilsner
1.0kg wheat
0.35kg flaked wheat
0.2kg dextrose (not used)
60 min boil (I did 90)
4g warrior 17.4% 60 mins
11g citra 12.7% 10 mins
0.5 protofloc 10 mins
11g crushed coriander seeds 5 mins
11g citra 12.7% 5 mins
55g citra 12.7% flameout
Ferment at 24C, rising to 27 after two days
Wyeast 3711 French Saison, 2L starter built up from slant in 4 stages
10ml lactic acid. 2g gypsum (calcium sulphate), 2g table salt, 0.5 campden