matt76's Brewdays

[matt76]

Just like the other cool kids, time to move away from individual posts and collate everything from now on into a single thread.....

AG#15 "Podium" Late Hopped IPA ('cos there are 3 kinds of hops, innit)

This is actually a rebrew of my AG#5, probably still my personal favourite brew to date - but there are a few tweaks, oh, and some stuff to make it way more complicated than it needed to be - why can't I just keep things simple!

• I had my first go at water additions
• I brewed stronger with the aim of liquoring back, letting it settle out and so leaving more of the crud in the kettle - principally to try and prevent chill haze
• I switched the yeast from WY1056 to WY1272 American Ale II - I believe it's similarly clean but supposed to be better flocculating

3300g Maris Otter
325g Flaked Barley

Mash 1h45mins at 64degC using 10L Tesco Ashbeck (+ 4g gypsum + 1g calcium chloride)

Dunk sparge 10mins at 80degC using 6L Tesco Ashbeck

Boil 60mins - but we're late hopping so there are no hop additions until near the end of the boil:
HOPS:
17 g - Simcoe, Type: Pellet, AA: 11.7, Use: Boil for 20 min, IBU: 22.46
17 g - Amarillo, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 8.6, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 8.99
17 g - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 12.9, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 13.48
17 g - Simcoe, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11.7, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 12.23
17 g - Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.6, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 5.44
17 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.9, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 8.15
8 g - Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 9.1, Use: Boil for 0 min
11.5 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 11.8, Use: Boil for 0 min

I also still had some Amarillo and Citra left from last time so they went in at flameout:
8 g - Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 9.1, Use: Boil for 0 min
11.5 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 11.8, Use: Boil for 0 min

I'll let it bubble away for a couple of weeks and then dry hop for 4-7 days, possibly upping these amounts a little, will decide at the time:
40 g - Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.6, Use: Dry Hop for 4-7 days
20 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.9, Use: Dry Hop for 4-7 days

Oh but we're not done yet, we need to make things way more complicated yet!

• At the end of the boil and after cooling I had 12L at 1.078 (measured at 20degC) and 71 IBU's (according to BF).
• Once I removed the hop bags that reduced to 11L.
• Then I liquored back with 5L more Ashbeck in the kettle and stirred to mix everything
• So that brought me to 16L, OG=1.054 @ 20degC, 51 IBU's and BU/GU=0.94.

I left it to stand for ~3hrs so the crud could settle out. Once that was done I syphoned ~11.25L crystal clear wort the FV and pitched 2/3 fresh pack of WY1272.

Another 500ml wort went into the stir jar with the remaining yeast in preparation for the next brew.

I also collected about 3.75L of hop trub gloop in 2 x 2L bottles - this was left to settle out overnight, leaving me with another ~1.5L crystal clear wort which was added to the FV. That brings me up to about 12.75L in the FV with <1L trub sitting on the bottom. All now happily bubbling away with a healthy thick and foamy krausen.

Was it worth the extra shag and hassle of liquoring back, letting it settle etc - well, we'll know for sure in about 6-7 weeks but right now I'd have to say no - I think the next brew will be a more straightforward (i.e. quicker and simpler) brewday where there's no liquoring back and the lot just gets tipped into the FV and magically I still get about 20 x 500ml out!

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Zephyr259]

That's a huge amount of losses for 120g of hops, I used about that in a pale ale recently, all pellets straight into the boil and I lose about 1.5L to the dead volume. I'm using a Grainfather so it is pumping out via a filter but I do a whirlpool and leave it to settle for 15 mins or so, this gives me a nice cone of trub which I imagine a siphon could draw from the side of pretty well, could also attach a filter to the end of your siphon and see if that helps?

 

[matt76]

That's a huge amount of losses for 120g of hops, I used about that in a pale ale recently, all pellets straight into the boil and I lose about 1.5L to the dead volume. I'm using a Grainfather so it is pumping out via a filter but I do a whirlpool and leave it to settle for 15 mins or so, this gives me a nice cone of trub which I imagine a siphon could draw from the side of pretty well, could also attach a filter to the end of your siphon and see if that helps?

Yeah, to be honest I've always struggled with trub losses - though it is better now in general than it was.....

I have some small and large very fine weave nylon hop bags which are effective but they just clog up with hop gunk and hold loads of wort in. (that said, in this case I'm not sure my measurements before and after I removed the hop bags are right.)

One thing I'm coming round to the idea of is that it's a lot easier to filter out leaf hops in the boil - they still clog up the bags but are nowhere near as bad as pellet hops

Someone had suggested a while back stirring the wort in the kettle after cooling to create a whirlpool and a cone of trub, maybe I need to give this a go next time.

Looking at the FV now, the trub that was carried over has settled down now to about 0.5L. The level in the FV is about 13.5L (but the marks aren't very accurate so maybe it's more). I added back the clear wort I saved in the plastic bottles once it had settled out, and I also added back the wort I drew off for my starter jar as that had fermented out. So all told my losses are probably around 2.5-3L. It's a minor annoyance, but, meh, I'll get beer out of it eventually.

 

[matt76]

AG#16 El Dorado Ale

There were a few inspirations for this brew:

1. First I recently tried a beer boasting 20% flaked oats for a silky mouthfeel
2. Second, I originally planned it with Amarillo hops but inspired by a recent Basic Brewing Radio hop sampler podcast I thought I'd try El Dorado for something different.
3. Third, I fancied trying lager malt as my base rather than Maris Otter to make it a little lighter.

I used some oats (maybe 10% ish) in my recent Witbier 2.0 and did a stepped mash - but when I did my American Wheat (20% flaked oats) I forgot about the stepped mash and ended up with very gluey sticky grain in the grain bag which gave my efficiency a kicking. So this time it was back to a stepped mash - not really a bother, just takes a tad longer.

Is it a pale ale or an IPA? I dunno, doesn't matter much, but it's that kind of thing.

Yeast was grown in a starter using 1/3 pack WY1272 and wort from AG#15 above - I added the wort back to the AG#15 FV as it had fermented out and it didn't want the colour or flavour to interfere with this brew.

Something weird happened when I measured my pre-boil volume and/or BG as it just didn't tally with the post-boil volume and OG (which I checked 3 times just to make sure!)

As it happened the OG was a little higher than what I wanted (1.054) so I liquored back with 1L bringing it down to 1.050. 12L sat happily in the FV now next to it's AG#15 sibling

So, on with the show.....

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: AG#16 El Dorado Ale

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 12.3 liters (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 15 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.041
Efficiency: 76% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV (standard): 5.02%
IBU (tinseth): 46.86
SRM (morey): 3.01
Mash pH: 5.65

FERMENTABLES:
2100 g - Lager (80%)
525 g - Flaked Oats (20%)

HOPS:
10 g - El Dorado, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13.6, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 27.64
10 g - El Dorado, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13.6, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 13.71
10 g - El Dorado, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13.6, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 5.51
10 g - El Dorado, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13.6, Use: Boil for 0 min
40 g - El Dorado, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13.6, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Temperature, Temp: 50 C, Time: 30 min, Amount: 6 L
2) Temperature, Temp: 65 C, Time: 60 min, Amount: 3 L
3) Sparge, Temp: 80 C, Time: 10 min, Amount: 7 L
Starting Mash Thickness: 3 L/kg

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 g - Calcium Chloride, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
4 g - Gypsum, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Wyeast - American Ale II 1272

TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Profile Name: Light colored and hoppy

NOTES:
Originally ended up with 11.3L @ OG = 1.054
Liquored back in FV with 1.0L Tesco Ashbeck water

 

[matt76]

AG#15 IPA Update: The yeast are escaping!

Checked it last night and the FV lid had blown up like a balloon!

The airlock had become blocked so I removed it to let the krausen breathe and expand - I've just covered it loosely with cling film to prevent dust and flies getting in. Will refit the airlock once the krausen has fallen, probably in the next 24-48 hours (I hope!)

Smells lovely and hoppy though!

Will keep a close eye on AG#16 on the left next to it as it's the same yeast (WY1272) although that FV isn't quite as full.

 

[matt76]

All good on the yeast-escaping front. It has settled down now and I've just refitted a spare clean lead and airlock.

But just so the experience wasn't totally wasted, I scraped up 50ml of thick pure yeast - i reckon it's clean enough to reuse. And there was even enough left after this to make a loaf of bread

 

[matt76]

Several things I wanted to try with this brew inspired by recent forum mutterings:

1. 30 minute boil - how would this affect things? (I'd have happily done a 30min mash too but circumstances meant I did a longer one)

2. Can lager be brewed closer to 20degC (nature is my temperature controller!), either with a neutral ale yeast or a lager yeast that is OK at higher temps?

3. What happens if I brew using only 12L Tesco Ashbeck, i.e. a single 6 pack of 2L bottles?

4. I recently tried a San Miguel "Selecta", a kind of maltier/toastier lager and wondered if I could brew something similar - discussions suggested a Märzen or Munich Dunkel might be close (thanks to @IainM for the story about the San Miguel guy being a fan of Oktoberfest! :hat:)​

So.....

AG#17 San Mättzen "Selecta"
800g Vienna (Grain bill copied from here)
600g Munich
400g Pilsner
200g Caramunich
150g Flaked Barley

1g gypsum

10mins @ 50degC (4.0L)
65mins @ 62degC (1.5L)
10mins @ 80degC (6.5L)

11.0L @ BG = 1.047

30g H. Mittelfruh 30mins (~23IBU's) (N.B. Only a 30 min boil!)
10g H. Mittelfruh 5mins (~2IBU's)

Cooled to 18degC rather than usual 20degC
8.9 L @ 1.054
Liquored back with 0.7L Tesco Ashbeck
=> 9.6L @ OG = 1.050

Smacked pack of Wyeast 2124 Bohemian lager (7th March 2019) before mash, well inflated, pitched whole packet. This yeast is said to work up to 20degC which suits my carbon neutral temperature control.

Colour of the wort looks about right from memory of the San Miguel "Selecta" I had - Brewer's Friend says about 9 SRM

To be honest I didn't see any significant time saving. It's a slightly smaller batch than my normal but I learned a few things along the way so it's all useful data points for me. Nonetheless I reckon I'll still get ~15 x 500ml at the end which will do for me - if it's good I can always brew a bigger batch.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Zephyr259]

Sounds like it will be very tasty. The grain bill is right up my street.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Ahh thats interesting Matt, i've been thinking about brewing a Bock (love it) but like you don't have temp control, so thought it was beyond me for the moment.

 

[matt76]

Ahh thats interesting Matt, i've been thinking about brewing a Bock (love it) but like you don't have temp control, so thought it was beyond me for the moment.

Nah - see the lager thread I linked to above. There's at least a couple of genuine lager yeasts that work up to 20degC, plus some folks have had success making a pseudo lager using a clean and neutral ale yeast.

That said, I've put my FV in the garage where it should be 1-2degC cooler, so hopefully more like 18degC then 20.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

 

[matt76]

Update:
Took gravity readings and dry hopped both AG#15 & 16 last night - a little later then planned as I've been away on holiday over half term;

Both are down to 1.010 and both looking crystal clear; AG#15 is a lightish amber and 16 is a much paler golden colour.

25g citra + 45g Amarillo pellets for AG#15.

40g El Dorado leaf hops for AG#16 - didn't get a huge fruity flavour from this one but will review in a few days and maybe even add more dry hops.

In the past I've just chucked loose pellets into the FV. But for a change I tried sanitised small hop bags weighed down with spoons.

The pellets added to AG#15 sank without trace but the leaf hops in AG#16 seemed to float - hopefully they'll sink once they've soaked up more liquid???

Oh, and while I was at it I took a gravity sample for my AG#17 Märzen - down to 1.014 but only been in the FV 12 days so will give it another week. This one is a darker amber colour and had some nice malty toasty flavours going on as hoped - no weird flavours despite being fermented at 18-20degC

 

[BeerCat]

If you want to brew lagers at 20c try mangrove jacks cali common yeast or watch David Heaths videos on making lagers with kveik.

 

[matt76]

If you want to brew lagers at 20c try mangrove jacks cali common yeast or watch David Heaths videos on making lagers with kveik.

Yeah this was discussed here before I started - WY2112, (which is same/similar to MJ M54), and WY2124 (which I used here) all say they're good up to 20degC.

Or, as also discussed in that thread, cheat and just use a clean ale yeast

 

[matt76]

Bottled AG#15 "Podium" late hopped IPA this evening:

FG = 1.010

12.1L in bottling bucket
2.4vols CO2
75g table sugar boiled in 250ml water for 2mins

Yield = 24 x 500ml bottles

Colour = Golden to amber
Aroma = Tangerine
Taste = bitter, fruity, hoppy

ABV = 5.8%
SRM = 5.3
IBU = 51.2

And now the long 4 week wait.....

 

[matt76]

Bottled AG#16 El Dorado ale this evening:

FG = 1.010

12L in bottling bucket inc. ~1L trub.
2.2vols CO2
60g table sugar boiled in 250ml water for 2mins

Not convinced dry hopping with leaf hops worked so instead used these hops to make a hop tea for the first time - removed hop bag from FV, poured on 500ml water @90degC => 65degC and covered bowl. Steeped for 20 mins then squeezed hop bag, yielding 400ml liquor which was added to bottling bucket.

Yield = 22 x 500ml bottles
Waste = 200ml

Colour = Like a glass of orange squash (colour and cloudiness!) But I'm confident it'll clear as it carbs and conditions.
Aroma = Not much
Taste = Fruity, though not overtly pineapple as expected

ABV = 5.2%
SRM = 3.0
IBU = 47

 

[matt76]

AG#18 Chocks Away ESB

Since my AG#12 User Upper Bitter went a bit pear shaped and it's all been hoppy IPA's lately I decided I needed to brew another bitter. This is a rebrew of my AG#4 Chocks Away Bitter with a few changes: the grain bill, the mash temp, the hops used and err... the yeast. So, err... yeah... actually it's all changed hasn't it!

1650g Maris Otter
250g each Munich, CaraRed and Flaked Barley
235g Brown malt (all that was left in packet!)
2.635kg total

Mash 8L @ 64degC for 60mins
Dunk sparge 8L @ 74degC for 10 mins

60 min boil, volume reduced from 14.6 to 11.6L

BG 1.044 @ 20 degC
OG 1.052 @ 20degC

11g Simcoe 60mins (30.34 IBU's)
10g each EKG + Fuggles 10 mins (4.96 + 3.67 IBU's)
10g each EKG + Fuggles 0 mins

(Plan to dry hop with 15g each EKG & Fuggles)

38.97 IBU's total, 11.85 SRM, BU/GU Ratio 0.74

Pitched a full pack of Wyeast 1318 London Ale III - I've used 1275 and 1028 for my bitters in the past but these are a bit neutral and I'm hoping 1318 will have a little more yeast character

 

[Oneflewover]

I'm considering 1318 to be one of my house yeasts, I love it and it certainly has character. Flocculates well and leaves a residual sweetness that I reckon will work well in your recipe

 

[matt76]

Yeah, I chose it in the basis of this thread - it was either LA III or West Yorkshire, the former got the nod this time

 

[matt76]

Update on my AG#17 San Miguel "Selecta"/Märzen inspired brew:

Bottled it the other evening:

FG = 1.014

8.3L in bottling bucket
2.5vols CO2
55g table sugar boiled in 250ml water for 4mins

Yield = 25 x 330ml bottles
Waste = <100ml

Colour = Clear Brown/Amber
Aroma = Malty
Taste = Malty

ABV = 4.81%
SRM = 8.87
IBU = 24.82

Looking forward to trying this in a few weeks time