Yeast is, far and away, the most important part of the brewing process. Yeast is so important that sometimes I will plan my brewing process around making my yeast happy. Just last weekend, I brewed up a Scottish 70/- Ale (a session-strength ale) for the express purpose of building up enough yeast from the slurry to give me a nice cake for brewing up the beer I really want to brew (a Black IPA).
When you know you need to brew a batch to build up a ton of healthy yeast, the best thing you can do is to brew up a low-gravity beer. Since I wanted to build up a propagator of Wyeast 1450 Denny's Favorite 50 yeast (an American-style ale yeast), I made a 2L stir-plate starter, and then pitched that starter into a 1.036 wort of Scottish 70/- wort. Why a Scottish 70 schilling ale? Because I was tired of brewing bitters. Ad I had never brewed this style before. And it's not the worst style to try to win a medal with. Also, a key part of this style is the long boil. So I gave the beer 120 min of boiling and did a pretty classic British base malt and Roasted Barley recipe, with just a pinch of crystal malt. Here's the recipe:
Campbell's Heavy 70/-
Style: 9B-Scottish And Irish Ale-Scottish Heavy 70/-
Recipe Overview
Wort Volume Before Boil: 9.50 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 6.25 US gals
Volume Transferred: 5.75 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.75 US gals
Final Batch Volume: 5.20 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.024 SG
Expected OG: 1.037 SG
Expected FG: 1.010 SG
Expected ABV: 3.5 %
Expected ABW: 2.7 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 19.9
Expected Color: 10.8 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 71.4 %
Mash Efficiency: 84.0 %
Boil Duration: 125.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 60 degF
Fermentables
UK Pale Ale Malt (Maris Otter) 7lb 0oz (94.9 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Medium Crystal (120EBC) 4.00 oz (3.4 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Roasted Barley 2.00 oz (1.7 %) In Mash/Steeped
Hops
US Ultra (9.0 % alpha) 20 g Bagged Whole Hops used 60 Min From End
Other Ingredients
Yeast: Wyeast 1450-Denny's Favorite 50
Mash at 156 degF for 60 mins
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Lightening Strikes Twice (When Lightening is Failure)
So it took me two tries to pass the damn MPRE. It also took me two tries to pass the NY bar exam. And now I know it will take at least two tries to pass the CA bar exam, as I found out recently that I failed it the first time around. When you fail the California bar exam, but your score is really close to passing, they have another grader grade the exam. Then they average your two scores. In my case, the first grader failed me by a hair, then the second grader passed me by a hair, so they averaged the two scores and I failed by a half a hair - or .6%. Yes, out of 2000 points, where you need 1440 to pass, I got 1428.5. If I had just been assigned the second grader the first time around, I would have passed the bar exam. But I didn't. And so I have to pay a ton of money to take the damn test again. And since I scored fairly high (138 raw) on the MBE (the multiple choice portion of the exam that is the same in 48 states and several U.S. territories), I know that I have to focus my studies on the essays this time around - having severe problems with the formatting of legal essays since day one of law school.
But I brew on. I have brewed twice since finding out the bad news, and I plan to keep brewing at least once a month or so. I've neglected this blog lately, but I plan to post more during the next few months while re-acclimating myself to law-study mode. Now, as to those three most recent beers, I made another hoppy "San Diego Style" session ale (which is currently dry-hopping), which was made with WLP029 Wyeast Kölsch Yeast to build up enough yeast for the Düsseldorf Altbier that's fermenting as we speak. Additionally, I brewed a 5 gal batch of Duvel-like Belgian golden strong ale that will be delivered to a fellow Greenbelter, Andy Gray, for barrel aging with a number of souring bugs in a now-neutral American oak barrel.
But I brew on. I have brewed twice since finding out the bad news, and I plan to keep brewing at least once a month or so. I've neglected this blog lately, but I plan to post more during the next few months while re-acclimating myself to law-study mode. Now, as to those three most recent beers, I made another hoppy "San Diego Style" session ale (which is currently dry-hopping), which was made with WLP029 Wyeast Kölsch Yeast to build up enough yeast for the Düsseldorf Altbier that's fermenting as we speak. Additionally, I brewed a 5 gal batch of Duvel-like Belgian golden strong ale that will be delivered to a fellow Greenbelter, Andy Gray, for barrel aging with a number of souring bugs in a now-neutral American oak barrel.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Brewing with Equipment
I finally got some fancy equipment, a pump, and a fancy chiller. And yesterday was they day that they got their first use. The beer was a variant of the porter I typically brew - this one being slightly different in that I used Belgian Special B malt instead of British Extra Dark Crystal and an American yeast rather than a British yeast. My only real issue was that it took me about half an hour to figure out how to get my pump working right in the beginning, which got the strike water's temerature down enough that, rather than a 154F mash, I mashed at 150F. Now this isn't the end of the world - but combined with the more attenuative American yeast, that low mash temperature may lead to an overly dry and low-bodied porter. I am sure the beer will be tasty either way, but I hope this yeast doesn't eat too much and leaves me enough residual sugars to have that creamy malty goodness I like about this recipe.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Brewing With Homegrown Yeast
After I brewed last Monday, I forgot to clean out my graduated cylinder full of wort and a hydrometer... until today when I noticed active fermentation going on in the cylinder out in the backyard. Naturally, I decided to pour that fermenting wort into a sanitized mason jar, where it has continued to ferment. I am not a major sour beer enthusiast, but this seems too good to pass up, provided there are no major risks (a bad 5 gal of beer is not enough of a risk for me).
My thought has been to brew a 10 gal batch of something and split it after primary fermentation into two carboys - dosing one with orval dregs and the other with some of this... to get an idea of what I am working with. I am assuming there is a combination of lacto and brett, but does anyone have a better idea? And should I build up a starter of the stuff, or just pitch the little 4 oz plug of slurry and wort? The way it is fermenting, it almost reminds me of ordinary sacc, which makes me think maybe I ought to use is as the primary strain...
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Brewing for NCHF
Corrine and I are going to NCHF this year, and I plan on making a big showing. The trouble is, this means I have to brew a lot of beer between now and September. The good news is that I have a reason to brew a ton of beer and no limitations on what I have to brew. I have decided to brew a Kölsch, a Black IPA, and a Rye Red Ale (I will also be brewing a Sticke, but that will not be ready in time for the festival).
So now that it's just in the planning phase, I will say this about these beers:
My Kölsch will be primarily Canadian Pilsner Malt, with a pinch of German Melanoidin Malt, and a small amount of German Saurmalt (Acidulated Malt), to balance pH. I will also be using 100% American hops, but the yeast strain will be authentically from Cologne.
My Black IPA will be brewed in the tradition ofd my first black IPA - with tons of new school domestic hops, balanced by some classic C hops and a substantial dose of Canadian 2-row, a touch of Munich malt, and a nice bit of British Crystal. The difference is that this one will be brewed to about 1.066 and 80 IBUs. This will me more of an, "I'm not fucking around" kind of in-your-face hop assault with that creamy-smooth malty backbone. I will be using a shitload of WLP001 slurry for this guy - leftover from the fresh hop amber ale below.
My Red Rye Ale will basically be a nugget-and-cascade 50 IBU 1.055ish beer that will be 25% rye malt, dry-hopped in the keg with cascade and summit, and very heavily late-hopped. I will bitter with Nugget, which will also be used late in the boil beside some Cascade and Summit. Basically, this one will be a 10 gal batch brewed with close to a pound of hops, but kept down to 50-55 IBU's - a monster of a sessionable beer and exactly what Northern California beer culture is all about.
So now that it's just in the planning phase, I will say this about these beers:
My Kölsch will be primarily Canadian Pilsner Malt, with a pinch of German Melanoidin Malt, and a small amount of German Saurmalt (Acidulated Malt), to balance pH. I will also be using 100% American hops, but the yeast strain will be authentically from Cologne.
My Black IPA will be brewed in the tradition ofd my first black IPA - with tons of new school domestic hops, balanced by some classic C hops and a substantial dose of Canadian 2-row, a touch of Munich malt, and a nice bit of British Crystal. The difference is that this one will be brewed to about 1.066 and 80 IBUs. This will me more of an, "I'm not fucking around" kind of in-your-face hop assault with that creamy-smooth malty backbone. I will be using a shitload of WLP001 slurry for this guy - leftover from the fresh hop amber ale below.
My Red Rye Ale will basically be a nugget-and-cascade 50 IBU 1.055ish beer that will be 25% rye malt, dry-hopped in the keg with cascade and summit, and very heavily late-hopped. I will bitter with Nugget, which will also be used late in the boil beside some Cascade and Summit. Basically, this one will be a 10 gal batch brewed with close to a pound of hops, but kept down to 50-55 IBU's - a monster of a sessionable beer and exactly what Northern California beer culture is all about.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Brewing with Homegrown Wet Hops
I'm hating myself for forgetting to take a picture of this one! I had about 8.7 ounces of whole wet cascade hops grown out of my hop plants in my mom's backyard. Supposedly wet hops are 4/5 excess water and thus equivalent to one fifth as much dry hops - which left me with the equivalent of 1.75-2 ounces of hops. That's really just enough for a single hop addition in a hoppy beer, so I decided to use them all for aroma, and to do a 5 gal batch so as to get the greatest impact from these hops. Boy oh boy was it fun to brew with them, though. The color was different from regular hops - much more vibrant. And the aroma, while mild, was great.
I decided to go with a hoppy amber ale, so that the beer would be hop-forward, but wouldn't totally rely on the hops for flavor, since I wanted to keep the non-wet additions as neutral as possible, while still producing a hoppy beer. I overshot my efficiency a bit, as I was trying to reduce my efficiency (since I heard lower efficiencies lead to a soother malt profile and want to test this). But it is still within the style guidelines, and since I overhopped it intentionally, I think the increased gravity will likely lead to more balance.
I used Pilsner malt just because I had that available and didn't feel like tearing into an unopened sack of regular 2-row. And I used magnum and glacier hops because they are both smooth bitterers and they have a fairly neutral aroma/flavor. I think the glacier addition will "back up" the cascades, rather than compete - much like Willamette and Goldings tend to do. I also added a small addition of pelletized cascades at 30 min just to pump up the bitterness a bit and give the beer a slight "cascadey" quality in its bittering profile, so as to maximize the percepted impact of the fresh hops.
I used a pint of dense, hoppy, 10-day-old WLP001 yeast slurry I got from Triple Rock, and that's fermenting at a cool 60F right now. Since I am not dry hopping this beer, as soon as it is finished in 2-3 weeks, I will crash cool it, fine it, and keg it. Hopefully that way I will get as much fresh hoppy aroma from it as I can.
Here's the recipe:
Recipe: Wet Hop American Summer
Style: 10B-American Ale-American Amber Ale
Wort Volume Before Boil: 8.50 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 6.00 US gals
Volume Transferred: 5.25 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.25 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.041 SG
Expected OG: 1.059 SG
Expected FG: 1.013 SG
Expected ABV: 6.1 %
Expected ABW: 4.8 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 43.9
Expected Color: 13.0 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 77.7 %
Mash Efficiency: 80.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 60 degF
Fermentables
Canadian Pils Malt 8lb 0oz (66.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
Canadian Munich Malt 10L 3lb 0oz (24.9 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Medium Crystal (120EBC/65L) 1lb 0oz (8.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Carafa Special III 1.00 oz (0.5 %) In Mash/Steeped
Hops
US Magnum (17.0 % alpha) 14 g Loose Whole Hops used 90 Min From End
US Cascade (5.3 % alpha) 20 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 30 Min From End
US Glacier (5.6 % alpha) 30 g Loose Whole Hops used 10 Min From End
US Cascade (5.0 % alpha) 55 g Loose Whole Hops used At turn off
Other Ingredients
Yeast: White Labs WLP001-California Ale
Mash at 150 degF for 60 mins
Recipe Notes
Flameout Cascades in this recipe were an early August harvest from my own hop vines. Alpha acid % is merely a guess. Name courtesy of Corn Dog
I decided to go with a hoppy amber ale, so that the beer would be hop-forward, but wouldn't totally rely on the hops for flavor, since I wanted to keep the non-wet additions as neutral as possible, while still producing a hoppy beer. I overshot my efficiency a bit, as I was trying to reduce my efficiency (since I heard lower efficiencies lead to a soother malt profile and want to test this). But it is still within the style guidelines, and since I overhopped it intentionally, I think the increased gravity will likely lead to more balance.
I used Pilsner malt just because I had that available and didn't feel like tearing into an unopened sack of regular 2-row. And I used magnum and glacier hops because they are both smooth bitterers and they have a fairly neutral aroma/flavor. I think the glacier addition will "back up" the cascades, rather than compete - much like Willamette and Goldings tend to do. I also added a small addition of pelletized cascades at 30 min just to pump up the bitterness a bit and give the beer a slight "cascadey" quality in its bittering profile, so as to maximize the percepted impact of the fresh hops.
I used a pint of dense, hoppy, 10-day-old WLP001 yeast slurry I got from Triple Rock, and that's fermenting at a cool 60F right now. Since I am not dry hopping this beer, as soon as it is finished in 2-3 weeks, I will crash cool it, fine it, and keg it. Hopefully that way I will get as much fresh hoppy aroma from it as I can.
Here's the recipe:
Recipe: Wet Hop American Summer
Style: 10B-American Ale-American Amber Ale
Wort Volume Before Boil: 8.50 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 6.00 US gals
Volume Transferred: 5.25 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.25 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.041 SG
Expected OG: 1.059 SG
Expected FG: 1.013 SG
Expected ABV: 6.1 %
Expected ABW: 4.8 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 43.9
Expected Color: 13.0 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 77.7 %
Mash Efficiency: 80.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 60 degF
Fermentables
Canadian Pils Malt 8lb 0oz (66.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
Canadian Munich Malt 10L 3lb 0oz (24.9 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Medium Crystal (120EBC/65L) 1lb 0oz (8.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Carafa Special III 1.00 oz (0.5 %) In Mash/Steeped
Hops
US Magnum (17.0 % alpha) 14 g Loose Whole Hops used 90 Min From End
US Cascade (5.3 % alpha) 20 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 30 Min From End
US Glacier (5.6 % alpha) 30 g Loose Whole Hops used 10 Min From End
US Cascade (5.0 % alpha) 55 g Loose Whole Hops used At turn off
Other Ingredients
Yeast: White Labs WLP001-California Ale
Mash at 150 degF for 60 mins
Recipe Notes
Flameout Cascades in this recipe were an early August harvest from my own hop vines. Alpha acid % is merely a guess. Name courtesy of Corn Dog
Monday, July 18, 2011
Brewing for Myself - A-Bomb IPA
It has been a long time since I brewed up a batch for no one but myself. Frankly, a style I rarely brew is an American IPA and that's because so many of my beers are for parties, events, my own education, experimentation, or at the request of my girlfriend. But probably my favorite style of beer to drink is the American IPA and so this time around, I brewed up a batch all for me.
I decided to use 100% "new school" hop varieties because I prefer those kinds of hops when I drink an IPA. For the sake of being novel and because it's what I had lying around, all the hops I used had a name that started with the letter "A." Since so many classic American IPA's are powered by the notorious "C" hops of the pacific northwest (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, etc...), I thought that a 100% A-hop IPA would be a fun and interesting way to showcase new school hop varieties. The hops I used in this beer were Apollo, Ahtanum, and Amarillo.
Apollo is a super high alpha hop with a pretty intense aroma. I would describe the aroma as somewhat between Simcoe and Columbus - two excellent and well-known dual-purpose varieties. That being said, this hop is fairly new to me. I recently made an all-apollo pale ale for my club's single-hop pale ale project, but the high alpha nature of Apollo forced me to use no 60 min bittering hops, so I really don't know how the bittering charge from this hop will effect my A-Bomb IPA.
Ahtanum is known in large part for the part it plays in Stone Pale Ale. Ahtanum has been described as a cross between Goldings-type hops and Cascade-type hops, but I would say it is more aligned with Cascade, Amarillo, and other citrusy West Coast US hops in flavor and aroma. Like Cascade, and unlike most other Northwestern Citrusy hop varities, Ahtanum has a relatively low percentage of alpha acids, which means you can use more of it for flavor and aroma without overly bittering a beer - a fine quality in a hop variety when your beer has loads of Apollo in it!
Amarillo is just about the most desirable US hop to brew with. With a super-smooth bittering quality and an intense citrusy aroma that is more fruit-forward than Cascade or Centennial (which are more floral), Amarillo is an excellent all-purpose Northwestern hop for American-style beers and particularly well-suited to IPA's. That being said, I have found in the past that Amarillo does best when paired with other hops. While some hops like Columbus/CTZ, Cascade, and Simcoe are excellent on their own, Amarillo really shines when it is paired with another hop varietal. Even if I just use a different hop for the 60 min bittering charge and then Amarillo for everything else, I have noticed a marked improvement over a 100% Amarillo beer. That said, most people I know whose brewing opinions I respect believe Amarillo to be among the ultimate single-hop choices. Regardless, this beer will showcase three hops and I am happy that Amarillo will be one of them.
Everything went pretty smoothly. I used a bunch of slurry from a previous brew (the Apollo single hop pale ale), and it took off immediately. I fermented a bit warmer than usual, for no reason other than I wanted to see how a more typical 66 to 68-degree ferment would alter the beer's profile (I usually go a lot cooler, like 58F). Oh, and I lost my hydrometer, so I had to just guess at the efficiency of this one. I used a slightly looser crush than usual, so I figured about 75% seemed right (though it may well have been higher). So here's the recipe:
Recipe: A-Bomb IPA
Style: 14B-India Pale Ale(IPA)-American IPA
Wort Volume Before Boil: 16.00 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 13.00 US gals
Volume Transferred: 11.00 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 11.00 US gals
Final Batch Volume: 10.50 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.054 SG
Expected OG: 1.067 SG
Expected FG: 1.012 SG
Expected ABV: 7.3 %
Expected ABW: 5.7 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 73.4
Expected Color: 6.5 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 81.1 %
Mash Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Duration: 110.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 66 degF
Fermentables
US Pale Ale Malt 17lb 0oz (53.1 %) In Mash/Steeped
US 2-Row Malt 13lb 0oz (40.6 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Dextrin Malt 1lb 0oz (3.1 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Caramel 10L Malt 8.00 oz (1.6 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Caramel 20L Malt 8.00 oz (1.6 %) In Mash/Steeped
Hops
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 14 g Loose Whole Hops used 60 Min From End
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Whole Hops used 15 Min From End
US Amarillo (9.3 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 15 Min From End
US Ahtanum (6.0 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 15 Min From End
US Ahtanum (6.0 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 5 Min From End
US Amarillo (9.3 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 5 Min From End
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Whole Hops used 5 Min From End
US Ahtanum (6.0 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used At turn off
US Amarillo (9.3 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used At turn off
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Whole Hops used At turn off
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Pellet Hops used Dry-Hopped in Primary
US Amarillo (9.3 % alpha) 57 g Loose Pellet Hops used Dry-Hopped in Secondary
US Ahtanum (6.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Pellet Hops used Dry-Hopped in Secondary
Yeast: DCL US-05 (formerly US-56) SafAle
Mash at 150 degF for 60 mins
Recipe Notes
Pitched full slurry left over from a 5.5 gal batch of pale ale.
Tasting Notes: This one finished a little high and came out a bit maltier than I had hoped. It's still a good beer, but not really "my style." I am not sure why it came out as it did, but I have a second carboy of it that appeared to restart fermentation when I racked it, so perhaps that one will be inaffected by whatever made the first keg so malty. On second thought, based on the 80% efficiency I had with the Wet Hop American Summer, I suspect I got 80% or so with the A-Bomb IPA, too - meaning that I have an Imperial-strength beer with the bitterness of a regular IPA. That would explain the malty lack of balance that has been bugging me.
I decided to use 100% "new school" hop varieties because I prefer those kinds of hops when I drink an IPA. For the sake of being novel and because it's what I had lying around, all the hops I used had a name that started with the letter "A." Since so many classic American IPA's are powered by the notorious "C" hops of the pacific northwest (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, etc...), I thought that a 100% A-hop IPA would be a fun and interesting way to showcase new school hop varieties. The hops I used in this beer were Apollo, Ahtanum, and Amarillo.
Apollo is a super high alpha hop with a pretty intense aroma. I would describe the aroma as somewhat between Simcoe and Columbus - two excellent and well-known dual-purpose varieties. That being said, this hop is fairly new to me. I recently made an all-apollo pale ale for my club's single-hop pale ale project, but the high alpha nature of Apollo forced me to use no 60 min bittering hops, so I really don't know how the bittering charge from this hop will effect my A-Bomb IPA.
Ahtanum is known in large part for the part it plays in Stone Pale Ale. Ahtanum has been described as a cross between Goldings-type hops and Cascade-type hops, but I would say it is more aligned with Cascade, Amarillo, and other citrusy West Coast US hops in flavor and aroma. Like Cascade, and unlike most other Northwestern Citrusy hop varities, Ahtanum has a relatively low percentage of alpha acids, which means you can use more of it for flavor and aroma without overly bittering a beer - a fine quality in a hop variety when your beer has loads of Apollo in it!
Amarillo is just about the most desirable US hop to brew with. With a super-smooth bittering quality and an intense citrusy aroma that is more fruit-forward than Cascade or Centennial (which are more floral), Amarillo is an excellent all-purpose Northwestern hop for American-style beers and particularly well-suited to IPA's. That being said, I have found in the past that Amarillo does best when paired with other hops. While some hops like Columbus/CTZ, Cascade, and Simcoe are excellent on their own, Amarillo really shines when it is paired with another hop varietal. Even if I just use a different hop for the 60 min bittering charge and then Amarillo for everything else, I have noticed a marked improvement over a 100% Amarillo beer. That said, most people I know whose brewing opinions I respect believe Amarillo to be among the ultimate single-hop choices. Regardless, this beer will showcase three hops and I am happy that Amarillo will be one of them.
Everything went pretty smoothly. I used a bunch of slurry from a previous brew (the Apollo single hop pale ale), and it took off immediately. I fermented a bit warmer than usual, for no reason other than I wanted to see how a more typical 66 to 68-degree ferment would alter the beer's profile (I usually go a lot cooler, like 58F). Oh, and I lost my hydrometer, so I had to just guess at the efficiency of this one. I used a slightly looser crush than usual, so I figured about 75% seemed right (though it may well have been higher). So here's the recipe:
Recipe: A-Bomb IPA
Style: 14B-India Pale Ale(IPA)-American IPA
Wort Volume Before Boil: 16.00 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 13.00 US gals
Volume Transferred: 11.00 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 11.00 US gals
Final Batch Volume: 10.50 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.054 SG
Expected OG: 1.067 SG
Expected FG: 1.012 SG
Expected ABV: 7.3 %
Expected ABW: 5.7 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 73.4
Expected Color: 6.5 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 81.1 %
Mash Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Duration: 110.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 66 degF
Fermentables
US Pale Ale Malt 17lb 0oz (53.1 %) In Mash/Steeped
US 2-Row Malt 13lb 0oz (40.6 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Dextrin Malt 1lb 0oz (3.1 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Caramel 10L Malt 8.00 oz (1.6 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Caramel 20L Malt 8.00 oz (1.6 %) In Mash/Steeped
Hops
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 14 g Loose Whole Hops used 60 Min From End
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Whole Hops used 15 Min From End
US Amarillo (9.3 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 15 Min From End
US Ahtanum (6.0 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 15 Min From End
US Ahtanum (6.0 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 5 Min From End
US Amarillo (9.3 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 5 Min From End
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Whole Hops used 5 Min From End
US Ahtanum (6.0 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used At turn off
US Amarillo (9.3 % alpha) 57 g Bagged Pellet Hops used At turn off
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Whole Hops used At turn off
US Apollo (19.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Pellet Hops used Dry-Hopped in Primary
US Amarillo (9.3 % alpha) 57 g Loose Pellet Hops used Dry-Hopped in Secondary
US Ahtanum (6.0 % alpha) 57 g Loose Pellet Hops used Dry-Hopped in Secondary
Yeast: DCL US-05 (formerly US-56) SafAle
Mash at 150 degF for 60 mins
Recipe Notes
Pitched full slurry left over from a 5.5 gal batch of pale ale.
Tasting Notes: This one finished a little high and came out a bit maltier than I had hoped. It's still a good beer, but not really "my style." I am not sure why it came out as it did, but I have a second carboy of it that appeared to restart fermentation when I racked it, so perhaps that one will be inaffected by whatever made the first keg so malty. On second thought, based on the 80% efficiency I had with the Wet Hop American Summer, I suspect I got 80% or so with the A-Bomb IPA, too - meaning that I have an Imperial-strength beer with the bitterness of a regular IPA. That would explain the malty lack of balance that has been bugging me.
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