Martin's Brewday

[MartinHaworth]

OK, loving the APA just a bit too much! So after 2 pints this evening I decided (at 830pm) to brew some more beer.

I foolishly thought 'Ill be finished by 11.30'....its already looking like it will be nearer 12.30am!!

So, an american wheat beer featuring El Dorado hops that Malt Miller were very generously giving away at BrewCon. Balanced water profile and US05.

Second brew on the Brew Monk, and once again efficiency is very high. Mash efficiency is 88%. preboil gravity 1050 (temp adjusted).

Boil is just finishing, so I'll know the final figures later on.

So its basically 2.1kg MO, 2.1kg wheat malt, a handful of oats. 1 hr at 65C, mash out 75C, 1 hr boil.

35g hops at 60 mins, 35g hopstand, 30g dry hop on day 5.

Did this last year with Citra and loved it, so hoping for something good. Never used El Dorado before.

Cheers

Martin

 

[MartinHaworth]

Brewhouse eff 77%. 21l at 1048..

 

[MartinHaworth]

Trappist Single, based on @David Heath (see below)

Preboil got 94% efficiency, overall 91%. Ended up with 21L at 1050.

Found the bohemian pilsner malt a bit sticky. Forgot the orange until the last couple of minutes of the boil - put it in anyway.

Leaf hops, so used spider and added 10% to listed additions.

I only meant to weigh up tonight and brew tomorrow, and here I am starting cleaning down at midnight......

Martin


Batch Size : 21 L
IBU : 22 (Tinseth)
Colour : 6 EBC
Carbonation : 2.4 CO2-vol
Pre-Boil Gravity : 1.030
Original Gravity : 1.046
Final Gravity : 1.000
Boil Time : 60 min
Mash Efficiency : 80%
65 °C/149°F - 60 min Mash In
75 °C/167°F- 10 min - Mash Out

Fermentables
3.36kg- Pilsner Malt 3.3 EBC (87.%)
500g - Candi Sugar, Clear 1 EBC (13%) - Add with 10 minutes left in the boil

Boil additions
60 min - Hallertauer Mittelfrueh - 8.8 IBU
60 min - Saaz - 9 IBU
15 min - Hallertauer Mittelfrueh - 2.2 IBU
15 min - Saaz - (2.1 IBU)
Miscellaneous 10 min - Candy sugar (see fermentables above)
5 min - Boil - 15g/0.52oz - Orange Peel, Bitter
5 min - Boil - 15g/0.52oz - Orange Peel, Sweet

Yeast 1 pkg - Mangrove Jack's Belgian Ale Yeast M41

Fermentation Profile Ale 18 °C/64.4°F - 7 days - Primary 25 °C/77°F - 7 days - Primary Increase temp by 1C per day.

 

[MartinHaworth]

Oh, I've been a bad boy! Neglecting this brewday thread.

Since I last posted I've brewed a TTL clone, an american wheat, Bitter and Twisted Clone.

Here I am having a go at GW Scottish 80'. This will go into next months Norwich Brewers bottle swap, as an antidote to all those hop-forward beers the lads keep brewing.

The recipe is here

Of note is that this is the first time I have used HCl and H2SO4 as individual acids to both adjust alkalinity and ion balance in one go. Notes of how I did that are at the bottom of the recipe. Thanks to @strange-steve for holding my hand on this one.

The hops are meant to be goldings, but I used some homegrown cobb goldings from a fellow norfolk brewer (thanks Keith). General feeling is that the AA's are on the high side, so I dropped from 27g to 25g.

The yeast is beior from CML - a dried scottish ale yeast. 3 packs for a few quid. It's listed as 15-22C. I'm starting at 20C and will push up on day3 to get a bit of flavour from it. Thanks to @MyQul and Keith for advice on this yeast.

All in all a good brew morning - hit all the numbers - well, almost, needed to liquor back 2L during the boil.

It surprised me how much easier things are without all those pesky hops.
Happy days

Martin

 

[MartinHaworth]

OK, in 4 days the CML beior yeast has taken the wort from 1056 to 1018 - only 3 points above the predicted finish point (based on Wyeast Scottish Ale 71%, as Brewers Friend did not have beior).

@MyQul reckons on 75%, so I've just changed the 'custom attenuation' to 75% on Brewers Friend and got a predicted finish of 1013 - so perhaps 5 points to go!

I reckon I'll be raising up to 22C for the next couple of days to help it finish off. And then a diacetyl rest..

Is it worth leaving for a full 2 weeks in primary? Or shall I just go for 3 days after end point so it can clean up (probably 10 days..)

CHeers

MArtin

 

[bobukbrewer]

what is a diacetyl rest and how come my beers have no trace of diacetyl as confirmed by the head brewer of my local microbrewery .............

 

[MartinHaworth]

what is a diacetyl rest and how come my beers have no trace of diacetyl as confirmed by the head brewer of my local microbrewery .............

It's great that it's a fault you have not experienced. Long may that continue.

Diacetyl is not an off flavour that everyone can detect - at Norwich Beer Festival last year I was served a commercial beer with a strong 'buttery/butterscotch' diacetyl flavour. Of those who can detect it - some like it, some hate it.

There are a few beers that benefit from a little, and it can be part of the 'english' character of some yeast.

Often brewers will speak of leaving the beer for a few days after fermentation has finished to let the 'yeast clear up after itself' before cold crashing. This is the diacetyl rest.

If you have never experienced this fault, it may be that you don't brew many lagers! Or it may be that you never rush from fermentation to packaging.

From the interweb:

'A diacetyl rest is used when making lagers and ales. After a beer has fermented to near final gravity the beer is raised from fermenting temperature to a higher temperature (2-3 degrees) and allowed to sit for two-four days. The purpose of this higher temperature rest is to allow the yeast to reabsorb their diacetyl that is naturally produced during fermentation. While yeast will absorb diacetyl at colder temperatures as well, the absorption happens much faster at warmer temperatures when the metabolic activity of the yeast is speed up. This quick absorption of diacetyl may help to lower the overall necessary aging time and help make a cleaner tasting beer. '

(lots more details here)

Whitelabs reckon that your beer, and everyone else's will have diacetyl in it during fermentation, but that the yeast will clear it up at the end of the fermentation. in time.

Best wishes

Martin

 

[bobukbrewer]

thanks, Martin. I ferment at 20 to 24 deg C and bottle after 4 to 6 days. I tasted a bottled beer once that had a lovely butterscotch flavour. Maybe it is like the chemical in brussel sprouts - not everybody can taste it. Right now I am making a 3.8% heavily hopped at flameout with eldorado hops -I mash at 70 to 71 deg C today. Last point -
I always make a starter with safale 04 yeast and add vitamin C and yeast nutrient to that starter so the yeast does not have to make its own nutrient. Favourite commercial beer is Thornbridge Crackendale as I love hop explosions in the mouth.....

Bob

 

[MartinHaworth]

thanks, Martin. I ferment at 20 to 24 deg C and bottle after 4 to 6 days. I tasted a bottled beer once that had a lovely butterscotch flavour. Maybe it is like the chemical in brussel sprouts - not everybody can taste it. Right now I am making a 3.8% heavily hopped at flameout with eldorado hops -I mash at 70 to 71 deg C today. Last point -
I always make a starter with safale 04 yeast and add vitamin C and yeast nutrient to that starter so the yeast does not have to make its own nutrient. Favourite commercial beer is Thornbridge Crackendale as I love hop explosions in the mouth.....

Bob

what is this 'lovely butterscotch flavour' you speak of!!! THis could mean you are one of those who likes the taste of diacetyl!

I've made a couple of single hop american wheats with eldorado. My view is not to add the flameout hops until the wort is down to 75C. With such high AA levels, there will be considerable isomerisation at temps >75. My first attempt ended up over bittered and unbalanced due to this issue.

Best wishes

MArtin

 

[bobukbrewer]

A recent beer had 200 gm summit at flameout you may have seen the post - far too bitter - but I have a boring 3.5% bitter so I shall blend them - are you old enough to remember black and tan, brown and bitter etc...........

 

[MartinHaworth]

A recent beer had 200 gm summit at flameout you may have seen the post - far too bitter - but I have a boring 3.5% bitter so I shall blend them - are you old enough to remember black and tan, brown and bitter etc...........

Just read the thread.

Some brewing software, including brewers friend, makes it tricky to dial in utilisation levels of flame out hops. Good luck with it.

It's been a while since I've drunk half and half.

Best wishes Martin

 

[MyQul]

OK, in 4 days the CML beior yeast has taken the wort from 1056 to 1018 - only 3 points above the predicted finish point (based on Wyeast Scottish Ale 71%, as Brewers Friend did not have beior).

@MyQul reckons on 75%, so I've just changed the 'custom attenuation' to 75% on Brewers Friend and got a predicted finish of 1013 - so perhaps 5 points to go!

I reckon I'll be raising up to 22C for the next couple of days to help it finish off. And then a diacetyl rest..

Is it worth leaving for a full 2 weeks in primary? Or shall I just go for 3 days after end point so it can clean up (probably 10 days..)

CHeers

MArtin

Yes, I got 75%/76% attenuation when I've used it

 

[MartinHaworth]

3 more days..the wort has only shifted about another point...it's sat at 1017. So I've upped the temp and roused it gently.

But..... the trial jar was clear, so it looks like the yeast has already dropped. And....the beer tasted 'clean'. I'll give it until the weekend before I cold crash and package. I suspect it has stopped.

I think the culprit is power management on the Brew Monk during mash. It is a fairly obvious point that using a too high power setting will lead to the mash temperature overshooting. The power range goes from 900W - 2500W.

I have been having consistent problems with beers finishing too high (8 points for my Wakatu Wheat - mash power setting 1500W), and I think mash temp overshoot due to poor power management is the issue.

This mash (Scottish 80')my power setting was 1200W (and I'm looking at maybe 4 point short finish). During the mash for my Scottish 80', I watched the overshoot happening (c3C).

My next mash I will use the minimum of 900W of power. We will see.

Is anyone else experiencing this sort of thing?

Thanks

Martin

 

[bobukbrewer]

Martin - you could control the mains input voltage also - this woud give you fine tuning - but surely thermostats switch off once the set is reached, maybe turn down the thermostat 2 deg C

 

[MartinHaworth]

Martin - you could control the mains input voltage also - this woud give you fine tuning - but surely thermostats switch off once the set is reached, maybe turn down the thermostat 2 deg C

Thanks, yes the thermostat does switch off as soon as it detects the right temperature.

But look for a minute at my calculations. Rough and ready as they are. Just consider for a moment just the water.

The specific heat capacity of water is 4.2kj/kg. That is, it takes 4.2kj to raise 1kg by 1C. So, let's imagine that the mash (20l) has dropped from 65C to 64C and the heater has kicked back in. It will take (20 x 4.2) 84kJ of energy to raise back up that 1C.

If I have 2.4KW of element heating on, then it will take 34 seconds (Power = energy x time). This speed of heating will not easily allow even heating as the mash recirculates. Now consider that when the element clicks off, there is still a huge amount of heat in the elements running at 2.4kw that can cause a temperature overun.

If I have 900W running, then it will take 93 seconds to deliver the same energy. THis speed of heating will allow more even heating as the mash recirculates. Further, when the element switches off, there is far less 'extra' heat stored in elements running at 900W, and hence lower overrun.

Does that make sense?

Cheers

MArtin

 

[bobukbrewer]

Yes perfect sense. But once you have got to 65C maybe 30 watts would hold it at that just balancing your heat losses. I mash at target 69C but do not worry if it drops to 67C and then when I power on it overshoots to 71C. I hated physics but that was in 1962...

 

[MartinHaworth]

Yes perfect sense. But once you have got to 65C maybe 30 watts would hold it at that just balancing your heat losses. I mash at target 69C but do not worry if it drops to 67C and then when I power on it overshoots to 71C. I hated physics but that was in 1962...

Yeah, it's an effort digging out my physics (from the 80s in my case!).

69C is on the high side...

Cheers

Martin

 

[bobukbrewer]

I sometimes go 70 to 72 I like more body less alcohol with a target abv of 3.8

Commercial bottled beers are often so disappointing - no head or body / mouth feel

 

[MartinHaworth]

I sometimes go 70 to 72 I like more body less alcohol with a target abv of 3.8

Commercial bottled beers are often so disappointing - no head or body / mouth feel

I kinda share your view. I love a beer less than 4 with real body.

However, an aged 10% imperial stout, sipped slowly from a wine glass is a thing of wonder...

 

[MartinHaworth]

Correction. P=E/t the numbers were correct.