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.

Black Butte

There are some great beers available here in South Florida. But recently, every porter I've had has been too full bodied, too acrid, or too boozy. One of my favorite porters is Black Butte from Deschutes. Its infinitely drinkable. There are great hints of roast and coffee but not overly burnt and overwhelming. The light hop flavor is also a great counter point.

Sadly, the only way I've ever gotten to drink this beer is when my brother brought some home from a trip to South Dakota. Fear not, I can make my own. Like most of the brewing Ideas I get, this recipe is from The Brewing Network's - Can You Brew It. Only modifications I made are Briess light roasted barley in place of American chocolate malt, and Wyeast 1469 instead of the Fuller's strain (Wyeast 1968/ WLP 002). The Fuller's strain is notoriously flocculant, and I don't want to have to worry about it dropping out too early. Also, I'm a big fan of the 1469.  It finishes dry but leaves a great fat malt character behind, even in lower gravity beers.

Batch Size: 6 Gallons
Starting SG: 1.055
Ending SG: 1.011
App. Atten: 80%
IBU's : 38
ABV: 5.8%
Color: 25 L


Grist:

10 lbs 2 Row
1.5 lbs Wheat Malt
.7   lbs Crystal 80 L
.42 lbs Crisp Chocolate Malt
.42 lbs Briess Light Roasted Barley ~300L


Hops:

.75 oz Galena @ 60 Minutes - 12% AA
.25 oz Cascade  @ 30 Minutes - 6% AA
.25 oz Mount Hood @ 5 minutes - 5% AA

Yeast:

Wyeast 1469 - West Yorkshire Ale

1600 L Starter. Refrigerated after activity stopped. Plan to decant and add fresh starter wort on Brew Day.

Brew Strong.

Brew Day (upcoming): Norebo

My buddy from Michigan loves Oberon.  It seems like that is the beer of choice for 20 somethings in MI.  I stayed away from wheat beers early on in my beer drinking days.  I didn't like how they were always served with an orange slice. Seemed kind of gimmicky.

I finally tried Oberon last year and was delightfully surprised.  Its pretty much a bohemian pilsner mixed with an american wheat beer. Extremely flavorful and refreshing at the same time.  The signature Saaz flavor really won me over. Its got a great malt character thanks to the yeast. It reminds me a lot of Terrapin's beers, and their house ale strain is the Wyeast 1272 American Ale II. So I'll give that one a spin. The beer is also firmly bittered, but doesn't have any harshness. I'll go with soft water and 35-40 IBU's

I find myself wanting to make more beers for specific people now a days. IPA for dad, porter for my brother, and now Oberon Clone for my buddy.  I sent an email to the good people at Bell's. No response yet, but after reading a few posts from people that got responses and tasting the beer recently, this recipe should get me close.





Norebo - 


6 gallons - 75% Efficiency - 60 Minute Boil - 7 Gallons Pre-Boil

OG: 1.058
FG: 1.014
ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 37
SRM: 5.4

Grist:

5 lbs American 2-Row
6 lbs Wheat Malt
.5lbs CaraVienne
1 lbs Munich 10L

Mash at 152 F

Hops:

1 oz Crystal - First Wort Hop
1 oz Saaz - 45 Minutes
1 oz Saaz  - 20 Minutes
1 oz Hersbrucker - 20 Minutes

Yeast:

Wyeast 1272 American Ale II - at around 65 F


UPDATE:


It seems Bell's has a stock response.  I read this exact same language that someone else had received. I can't blame them.  Its cool that they respond in the first place. As for the hop schedule. A number of people describe a citrusy aroma and flavor. I swear I've tasted it when this beer is fresh and on draft. But the couple I've tried recently scream Saaz and Hersbrucker. Maybe the slightest hint of a suggestion of an american noble type triploid with some citrus in the background. Crystal and Chinook would fit the bill. I kind of have a hunch that there might be a kiss of Cascade in there. Haven't decided what to do with the recipe yet. I'll keep you posted.

Here is the Bell's Oberon Home Brew Recipe stock response:

There are certain things about our recipes that we keep close to the vest, but I can offer some guidance. The malt bill is relatively straightforward: stick with 2-row base malt and a decent portion of wheat, something in the 40-50% range. Wheat can stick a little, so use as much of that range as you can within the limitations of your lauter tun; adding rice hulls can help improve the flow. A touch of caramel malt will be all the color you need usually. Aim for a target original gravity of around 1.056 and moderate fermentability. The ABV should be just below 6%.

Oberon uses several hops, but the signature varietals are Hersbrucker & Saaz. Target roughly 30 IBUs. Don’t be lured into using coriander or orange peel: Oberon is spice-free.

You can culture yeast out of one of our bottles if you're comfortable with that; it's certainly the preferred option for a solid flavor match. Otherwise, the local homebrew supply shops around here have found that most people looking to clone one of our recipes lean towards ale strains with a straightforward ester profile & good attenuation.

I hope this information helps. Good luck with the brewing!

Sincerely,

Josh Smith

Marketing Coordinator

Bell's Brewery, Inc.

Brownstar

"Yup, yup, yup, yup, yup, yup."

This beer was inspired by the legend that is Mike McDole's Janet's Brown. A big, bad, hoppy, american brown ale. When I got the first inclination to brew this beer, the thought of a touch of roast and chocolate paired with some resinous and floral american hops sounded delicious.

I've been trying to simplify all the recipes I brew lately. I hate using partial pounds of grain ordered from home brew stores. The two local shops only have domestic crystal, and a couple other random specialty malts. I've been blending base malts, but for this one went all Maris Otter.

Brownstar

American Brown Ale

6 Gallons

OG: 1.065

FG: 1.014

IBU: 36

SRM: 22.5

Mash Temp: 152 F

11 lbs Maris Otter

1 lb Simpsons Dark Crystal 70-80L

1 lb Belgian Aromatic

.5 lb Fawcet Chocolate 375-450L

Water:

Reverse osmosis water from machine at grocery store.

Cant find my notes but I think I added .5 tsp CaCl, .5 tsp gypsum, and 1/4 tsp baking soda to mash. Added 1 tsp gypsum to boil.

Boil Time: 60 mins

.6 oz - 60 mins German Magnum 13.5%

1 oz - 10 mins Centennial 8.1%

1 oz - 10 mins Cascade 6.4%

2 oz - Dry Hop Simcoe 13%

White Labs WLP001 - California Ale Yeast - 1.6 L starter for 24 hours, refrigerated, decanted 1 pint, pitched the rest @64. When making the starter,

I had to shake the vial vigorously to get the yeast loose. I took the foil off of my flask, and started opening the vial. Bad idea. I should have opened up the yeast slowly first. I lost some yeast due opening too quick. But White Labs sent me a coupon for a free vial. Awesome customer service, and I just like the flavor from WLP001 better than 1056.

Pitched at 64 F

Fermented at 66 F for 4 days

Rested at 69 F for 7 days with dry hops

Chilled to 32 for 3 days

I've been drinking alot of this beer. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I sent a bottle with two other entries into the National Homebrew Competion, but this one broke in transit. I was able to send another which should arrive today. Hopefully they haven't judged category 10 yet.

I'll post some tasting notes when I get a chance to pour another glass.

UPDATE: Scored a 43 in first round of the NHC.  Advanced to mini best of show, but didn't place.  

Brew Day: Anniversary Ale

I started homebrewing a couple years ago. My first batch was a Big Ben Pale Ale kit from midwestsupplies.com. But for my second batch I came up with my own Pale Ale recipe. I managed to squeeze in 6 different grains into a mini-mash. The crazy thing is that the beer came out pretty darn good. It had the body and malt character of a Sierra Nevada Pale ale with a floral, piney, resinous hop character. Maybe its an inflated memory, or I was just so happy about creating my own beer. Either way, I saw my hand scribbled recipe acting as a bookmark in my copy of Charlie P's, The Hombrewer's Companion, I just had to make this again. This time All-Grain with a long hop stand after the boil.

Anniversary Pale Ale

Batch size: 6.0 gallons
Boil size: 7.0 gallons
Boil time: 60 minutes
Grain weight: 10.5 pounds
Efficiency: 75%

Original gravity: 1.049
Bitterness (IBU): 36
Color (SRM): 5.2°L

Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Malt Bill
10.5 pounds

4 lbs Maris Otter 4°L - 38.1%
4 lbs American 2 Row 1.5°L - 38.1%
1 lb Munich (Light) 8°L - 9.5%
1 lbs Wheat Malt 2°L - 9.5%
.5 lbs Carahell 11°L - 4.8%

Mash
Strike Target 155°F
5.0 gallons165°F 90 minutes (+0)


Boil
60 minutes, 7.0 gallons

0.35 ounces Chinook hops 11.8%, Pellet 60 minutes
0.50 ounces Goldings (Kent) hops 5%, Pellet 30 minutes

Whirlpool / Hop Stand Hops

40 Minute hot whirlpool/rest(wort chiller gets in the way of the whirlpool) after the boil. Estimated hop utilization the same as a 10 minute hop addition in the boil. Maintaned over 180 F for whole rest.

0.5 ounces Goldings (Kent) hops 5%, Pellet 5 IBU
1.0 ounces Crystal hops 3.1%, Pellet 3 IBU
1.0 ounces Chinook hops 11.8%, Pellet 10 IBU


The goal for this recipe was a nice bready, biscuity, crackery malt flavor. The original recipe used Optic, Halcyon, and Marris Otter malts. But I kept it simple. I also used bolander munich from Briess in the original. But the new homebrew shop I went to only had weyerman light. Thats an upgrade anyways IMO.

I've heard Jamil Z uses no hops in the boil when making Heretic Evil Twin. So obviously you are getting isomerization during hot whirlpools. Figured this was the perfect beer to try it with. I want a big hop character without overwhelming the malt with a bitting bitterness. The crystal and chinook are the perfect floral and piney pairing. If you want a single hopped example of crystal try Rogue's Brutal IPA FKA Brutal Bitter.

Can't wait to taste this bugger.

Brewers Note: I love the new hop union packaging. Easy to open, and the aroma of the chinook was insane. Makes me think all the hops I've used in the past were stale.

Brew Day: 1934 Kidd XXX

Kidd XXX

---

Batch size	6 gallons
Boil size	7.5 gallons
Boil time	90 minutes
Grain weight	12.37 pounds
Efficiency	70%

Original gravity	1.060
Final gravity	????
Alcohol (by volume)	~6%
Bitterness (IBU)	42
Color (SRM)	8.5°L

Yeast
1200 mL Starter - Intermittent Shaking
Wyeast 1028	London Ale

Grains/Extracts/Sugars
12.37 pounds
Maris Otter 38ppg, 4°L	8 pounds 64.7%
6 Row Base 35ppg, 1.5°L	2 pounds 16.2%
No. 2 Brewer's Invert 32ppg, 25°L	1.62 pounds 13.1%
Corn (Flaked) 39ppg, 0.5°L	0.75 pounds 6.1%

Mash
100 minutes, 9.8 gallons
Strike Target 152°F	3.4 gallons 164°F 100 minutes (+0)
Sparge Target 170°F	6.4 gallons 177°F

Boil
90 minutes, 7.5 gallons
Brambling Cross hops 6.3%, Pellet	1.2 ounces 85 minutes (+5)
Goldings (Kent) hops 5.8%, Pellet	1 ounce 30 minutes (+60)
Brambling Cross hops 6.3%, Pellet	0.25 ounces 15 minutes (+75)

Ferment

Pitched at 64F. Free rise to 68F for 4 days. Free rise to 72+ for 3-4 days.

Notes
4 grams gypsum and CaCl

A couple weeks ago I brewed a recipe from Ron Pattinson's Shut Up About Barclay Perkins. It is a strong mild or old burton type ale. Kristen England's tasting notes were so convincing I had to brew this up. You can read their post here.

The ingredients for this recipe were pretty easy to come by, except for the brewer's invert no. 2. I had to make that myself. Turned out to be more like a no. 1.5. Oh well.

I adjusted the recipe a bit so I wouldn't have to use partial pounds of grains that I ordered from Northern Brewer. Other than that, its pretty true to the original. I ended up getting a little bit more efficiency than expected. This could be do to using Candi Sugar in place of the no. 2 invert in my brewing software. I'm kind of happy for it to be a little bit stronger. It'll be perfect for thanksgiving and Christmas.

Another slight change is the color. The original recipe called for some caramel colorant to adjust the SRM to about 39. I don't care about the color and the caramel shouldn't have added too much flavor. I should still get the dark fruit flavors from the invert and the color will be pretty pale. I've never had a beer like that. Sweeeeet.

Brew day went really smooth. The only slight problem was loosing heat in the mash tun too fast. After 20 mins the outer edge of the mash was down to 144 or so. I think next time I will either put the mash tun in a sleeping bag or make a Charlie Papazian style insulated box. My $250 stainless steel pot isn't cutting it, damn. The wort running into the kettle was nice and clear. Maybe it was the 90 minute boil or the 20 min post chilling rest. These will definitely become the standard for me.

I decanted a pint (that tasted great, I like the esters from 1028) and pitched my starter of Wyeast 1028 at about 64 F. After a day or so the top half of the fermenter was active and fermenting. But the second half was much darker and had no yeast in suspension. I was afraid the invert had dropped out of suspension and settled on the bottom of my carboy. Even shaking the thing up wouldn't combine the two distinct layers. I could even see the flocculating yeast on the bottom of the top layer. I've never had this happen before. I think I may have let my yeast starter get too warm before pitching it into such a cold wort. I'll try to keep an eye on that next time better.

After another day or so and letting the ferment climb up to 68, the whole fermenter was going strong and there was no more stratification. There was a decent amount of blowoff. After 10 days or so I added a half pack of Knox gelatin in about a cup of water and chilled down to 32. I haven't read much about specific methods of fining with gelatin. I need to do some more research, because now it seems like I'm just totally guessing at amounts. This yeast is definitely a stubborn flocculator. It took a good while for it to drop out.

I'm going to bottle this up over the weekend. I can't wait to see how it is tasting. Yes, I still bottle. I just haven't had the time or space to get another fridge to hold corny kegs. But I have to do this soon, because I hate dealing with bottles.

Sorry for the scattered brain post. I'll post some tasting notes at bottling and through this beer's short life..