matt76's Brewdays

[samale]

Lovely. Hopped with 100g of mosaic and 100g el Dorado

 

[foxy]

AG#41 F-Rye-Day 13th IPA
(Do you see what I did with the name there? That's gold that is, pure gold!)

Well that wasn't without it's challenges! 5 mins before the end of the boil the Klarstein decided to throw an error code (E4 = boil dry?) and cut out! I had just thrown in the last of the hops so effectively they had a 5 min long hot hopsteep, rather than a boil. But I'm fairly comfortable that it won't be too dramatic or have a disastrous impact on the bitterness.

More of a concern was that on draining the boiler I discovered a scorch mark over one of the heating elements (that was fun to clean - not!). Hopefully the finished beer will still be OK. I found an old post that suggested this could be directly related to rye malt, which I've never used before - apparently the trick is to stir the wort as you bring it up to the boil:
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/scorched-element.76452/#post-746855

Anyway, as the name implies (it does, right?), this is a Rye IPA, tweaked slightly from a Josh Weikert recipe to yield something around 4.5% ABV:
https://beerandbrewing.com/make-your-best-rye-ipa-beer-recipe/

Boiler problems aside, it's my standard full-volume no-sparge mash followed by a 30min boil.

15L tap water, half a Campden tablet, 2g Gypsum, 15ml CRS.

800g Lager malt
600g Pale Rye malt
625g Vienna malt (I added an extra 25g I had spare)
200g Carapils
100g Dark Crystal malt
100g Light Crystal malt
50g Victory malt
2.475kg TOTAL

Mash 60mins @ 65degC.

Boil 30 mins:
5g Simcoe 13.1% 30mins (11.5 IBU's)
15g Amarillo 8.5% 10mins (10.5 IBU's)
15g Northern Brewer 6.1% 10mins (7.5 IBU's)
1g Irish Moss powder 10mins
15g Amarillo 8.5% 5mins (6 IBU's)
15g Northern Brewer 6.1% 5mins (4 IBU's)

(15g Amarillo to follow as a dry hop)

Chilled to 18degC in 5mins and left for 3 hours while the crud settled out. Collected 8L crystal clear wort in the FV, plus 5L crud.

Normally I let the crud settle out over a day or two and then top up the FV. But tonight I tried something different - I passed the remaining crud through a large sanitised fine-mesh hop bag suspended over the kettle, and just gave it time to drip through. In the end I collected about another 4L crystal clear wort which I used to top up the FV, bringing the level to just over 11L of very nice looking burnt gold wort. I'm pleased with this process tweak - I'm getting a bit more wort in less time with less hassle and can top up the FV before it gets going so less oxidation risk.

Despite all the fun and games I hit my predicted OG of 1.043. I pitched a full pack of Crossmyloof "Five". I believe this is essentially US-05 so should be nice and clean and attenuate well - down to about 1.007, according to Brewer's Friend, which should end up around 4.7% ABV which will suit me perfectly.

What I have found is the sugar/flour settles on the base over the elements during the mash cycle, a lower wattage fixes the problem. When I say fixes, there will still be some residue over the top of the elements but not burnt just a light covering. During a vigorous boil nothing will settle over the elements.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

They recommend using rice hulls with rye malt in the mash, maybe that would help.

 

[matt76]

What I have found is the sugar/flour settles on the base over the elements during the mash cycle, a lower wattage fixes the problem. When I say fixes, there will still be some residue over the top of the elements but not burnt just a light covering. During a vigorous boil nothing will settle over the elements.

Thanks foxy. Did you mean generally or specifically rye malt?

I always get a bit of pale stuff on the element (break matter I think) but it just wipes off with a sponge.

This was something in a different league though

 

[matt76]

They recommend using rice hulls with rye malt in the mash, maybe that would help.

Yes, the original Craft Beer & Brewing recipe linked above mentioned rice hulls. Not sure if they'd help me though since I BIAB and no-sparge???

 

[matt76]

I really enjoy reading your brew log. I always seem to get scorching when using rye. I try to stir but probably not enough. I don't know if it's because I order crush grain. I was told adding the dust could be the reason not sure if I am honest. Saying that rye is great addition to a beer
View attachment 23508
It adds great mouth feel to a beer.
That's my rye IPA with 1kg of rye

Thanks - I enjoy writing it

I think my recipe has similar, possibly slightly more, proportion of rye as yours. It's not really a style I'm that familiar with so a good opportunity to find out for myself what rye brings to the party.

(The chocolate rye malt I've been using recently certainly seems to make a noticeable difference)

 

[foxbat]

Yes, the original Craft Beer & Brewing recipe linked above mentioned rice hulls. Not sure if they'd help me though since I BIAB and no-sparge???

You're right we don't need rice hulls for our BIAB method.

 

[samale]

Thanks foxy. Did you mean generally or specifically rye malt?

I always get a bit of pale stuff on the element (break matter I think) but it just wipes off with a sponge.

This was something in a different league though
View attachment 23509

That's similar to what I experience. It can be very difficult to get of. I also use biab so no need for rise hulls

 

[samale]

It would be interesting to see if others that use a separate mash tun experience the same problem

 

[cushyno]

...
But tonight I tried something different - I passed the remaining crud through a large sanitised fine-mesh hop bag suspended over the kettle, and just gave it time to drip through.

This is the method I use too. I didn't have a mesh filter to put inside my peco so gave an old wine straining bag a good boil and starsan treatment. So long as you let the crud settle first it works well and draining never gets stuck. I imagine it's more hassle to clear a clogged bazooka.

My fine mesh bag clogs eventually when there is mostly crud left, but a bit of gentle bag squeezing gives clear wort and a compact ball of hoppy crud (I use pellets straight in the kettle) in the bag that is easily disposed of.

It's good to know I'm not the only one using this method.

 

[cushyno]

Check out my recent post on scorching. While my problem wasn't specifically rye related it was a very floury mash. This week I tried stirring/recirculation and lower wattage as @foxy says, which made a big difference to the amount of material stuck to the element.

 

[matt76]

Update: AG#40 Friday Club IPA

Gravity check and dry hop - it's down to 1.015. Brewer's Friend reckons 1.013 but the predictions aren't great in my experience when you use high mash temps, plus their database doesn't include the CML "Pia" yeast I used. My gut feeling is it's not gonna go any lower.

Dry hopped with 8g Cascade (all I had left!) + 12g Centennial.

I'll give it a few days before adding finings. Looks quite clear already, nice amber colour. I wonder if it's actually a tad darker than Lagunitas IPA but we'll see...

Tastes nice, not especially bitter but certainly getting the crystal malts - hopefully there's enough bitterness in there to balance the sweetness.

 

[matt76]

Updates:

I've mowed the lawn and washed the cars so I'm enjoying one of my AG#37 German Pilsners as I write this - still a bit of chill haze so I'll leave them in the shed as I'm in no hurry, but otherwise a very refreshing beer:

AG#40 Friday Club IPA
Well the CML "Pia" yeast is taking its time, every time I check it's dropped another point or two. In hindsight I've added the dry hop a bit early but so far it still tastes great. So far it's down to 1.012 which will give me 4.7% ABV.


AG#41 F-Rye-Day 13th IPA
In contrast the CML "Five" yeast has, in seven days, already hit the FG of 1.007 predicted by Brewer's Friend. For now I've added the 15g Amarillo dry hop and I'll check again in a few days. Smells and tastes good, not getting any burnt flavours fortunately. I'll say it's a rye-ey flavour although it's tricky to say as I'm not actually 100% sure what rye tastes like!

 

[foxbat]

Chill haze? Must find out what that is one day. But seriously your lager's looking like a fine pint already. I'm sure it'll be great given a little more time.

 

[matt76]

Chill haze? Must find out what that is one day. But seriously your lager's looking like a fine pint already. I'm sure it'll be great given a little more time.

Thanks

And I know, I know - the truth is given time they do seem to clear eventually, but the time taken seems to vary so much...

My recent Helles (and pseudo Helles) cleared in a few weeks whereas the Märzen and Czech Pils I did last year took literally months. Very odd.

 

[matt76]

AG#42 "Don't Panic" Black IPA

A tweaked version of my previous "Chequered Flag" Black IPA, slightly lower strength (should be about 4.8% and), using chocolate rye malt plus a little Carafa 3, and Columbus hops in place of Citra - I think those deep, dank flavours will work well with dark malts.

Brew #42 already since I started ~18 months ago. Had to get a Hitchhiker's Guide reference in there - I toyed with a Hotblack Desiato reference, but Don't Panic seems more appropriate at the moment!

This got me thinking about my approach to brewing in general. By nature I'm a very analytical person, but with brewing I'm trying to take a much more relaxed approach - Don't Panic! That's not to say I'm slapdash, rigour and attention to detail is important, just avoid getting too hung up on too many of the wrong details.

A while back I designed my own brew day sheets but now I don't even bother collecting half the data - you can change things on the fly as a result of what you measure but frankly it's very stressful and not how I get my enjoyment from brewing. Volume in the kettle and the FV, efficiency, hitting BG & OG, dialling in exact IBU's - these things will be what they will be.....

16L tap water, half a Campden tablet, 2g Gypsum, 10ml CRS.
2150g Golden Promise
250g Munich Malt
250g Carared malt
300g Chocolate rye malt
50g Carafa 3
3.0kg TOTAL

Full-volume, no-sparge mash 100mins @ 65degC

Boil 30 mins:
15g Simcoe 13.1% 30mins (30.8 IBU's)
15g Columbus 13.4% 15 mins (20.4 IBU's)
1g Irish Moss powder 7mins
12g Amarillo 8.5% 0mins

(15g each Simcoe & Columbus to follow as a dry hop)

12.5L in the FV, OG = 1.047

Pitched half a pack (5g) MJ M36 "Liberty Bell"

 

[pilgrimhudd]

What??? I'm doing a black ipa today!!

 

[matt76]

Updates:

AG#42 "Don't Panic!" Black IPA
Gravity down to 1.013 after a week in the FV, will give it at least another week before I dry hop. It tastes good, but quite roasty - maybe I was a little heavy handed with the Chocolate Rye? Really weird, but looking back at my two previous Black IPAs I used 7 & 7.6% chocolate malt, whereas for some reason I've used 10% chocolate rye in this one! Not sure why I did this or what I was thinking - maybe it was to get the colour? It's certainly not a disaster, just a lesson learned. And it might condition out or be less stark once the dry hop is added - considering increasing the dry hop to compensate.

Lager, lager lager!
Three of them to be precise..... I've mostly left my Czech and German Pilsners lagering in the isolation chamber - but sneaked the odd one too of course. Both are crisp and refreshing but despite the same grist they have very different characters. I'm curious if this is more down to the yeast rather than the hops..... The other day I suddenly realised my Czech Amber Lager was also in the shed next to them and had been in the bottle for just over a month so I figured time for a first tasting - Wow! The chocolate rye malt really adds something extra - best way I can describe it is like cocoa - yet it's dry and refreshing, not at all heavy like some dark beers can be. Seriously pleased with this one!

 

[matt76]

First tasting: AG#38 & AG#39 Porters

AG#38 Berkshire Porter
ABV = 3.5%
SRM = 24
IBU = 25
Colour = Almost black, but bright and clear when held up to the light.
Aroma = Faint coffee-chocolate aroma.
Taste = Light pilsner-like body and mouthfeel, a world away from the viscous engine oil texture of Baltic porter! Very easy drinking and actually quite refreshing. There's an easy going roasty bitterness there and definite coffee-chocolate flavour you'd expect from chocolate malt. It's some way short of Fuller's London Porter but an enjoyable beer nonetheless.

AG#39 Pliers Porter
ABV = 3.9%
SRM = 26
IBU = 26
Colour = Same as AG#38, almost black, but bright and clear when held up to the light.
Aroma = Faint, maybe slightly smokey
Taste = Surprisingly different from AG#38 - this one started with 2 gravity points more and ended the same, yet has quite a bit more body and mouthfeel. Much less roasty flavour, I could be convinced there's a hint of smoke and pepper in there which I'll put down to the chocolate rye malt. It's a tad sweeter and finishes with a burnt toffee or black treacle flavour, surely down to the dark crystal malt.

These are two perfectly pleasing beers. Yet it's surprising just what different characters they have considering its the same hopping, same yeast and fermentation profile, and only really quite subtle differences in the grist.

Of the two, for me, AG#39 is my favourite but I like both and most importantly I'm really happy with the beers I've made. AG#38 you could almost change the hopping and the yeast and rebrew it as a dark lager. Whereas I already have plans to rebrew AG#39 to a higher strength, north of 5% ABV for more substantial body.

 

[matt76]

First Tasting - AG#41 F-Rye-Day 13th IPA

Colour = Amber-Red. Was expecting it to be a tiny bit hazy but it actually looks really clear held up to the light.

Aroma = Sweet, subtle hint of orange

Taste = Really nice balance between bitterness from the hops and sweetness from the malts. It is hoppy, but it's not an over the top in your face citrus-fest, it's much more restrained and considered than that. Pretty decent body and mouthfeel for a fairly modest strength 4.65% ABV beer. I don't get anything rye-ey (not that I know what I'm looking for!) but what I really do get is the malts and amarillo hops combining to make me think marmalade sandwich. Overall, really pleased with this one.