Thursday, May 15, 2014

Brew Day: Manchild II

"Can you bring a keg on my birthday?"

Fermenting in chest freezer with Johnson Controller.
Its important to use a bud light koozie to insulate your probe.


Damn right I can.  Since its the end of May in Florida, I initially leaned towards a light 4% pale ale.  But I've had many of these recently that are just too damn bitter.  Its really hard to get enough body and residual sugars into a 4% beer with tons of high alpha hops.   I decided to beef up the old Manchild recipe, and switch up the hops.

I really like simple grain bills these days.  This recipe uses the Firestone Walker approach to pale ale malt bills.  American 2-row + Munich + light-medium crystal = good.  Its a little more interesting and less "flabby" than going with 100% Marris Otter or other UK pale malts.  For hops,  whatever you can get that is from the US and starts with C is good.  Throw in some amarillo, simcoe, or mosaic and I'm happy.









Manchild II

Volume:  6 Gallons
Original Gravity:  1.052
Finishing Gravity: 1.012ish
IBU:  37 using rager formula
SRM: 6.4

Grist


12 lbs American 2 Row
  1 lbs Light Munich
 .5 lbs Carastan

R.O. Water
1 tsp Calcium Chloride
1 tsp Gypsum

Mashed at 151 F

Hops

14 g Willamette   - 5.2 % AA  -  60 minutes
28 g Cascade     -  8.1% AA -    30 minutes
28 g Amarillo      - 8.0% AA -    10 minutes
28 g Centennial   - 10% AA -     10 minutes

28 g Amarillo - Dry Hop 7 days

Yeast

Wyeast 1056 in a 1.5L starter for 24 hours - Fermented at 64 F for 2 days.  66 F for maturation and dry hopping.

NOTES: I forgot the whirlfloc.  Will use isinglass to try to drop the yeast and haze.