Your Beer Wheat (Sorachi Version), Rye Not, and Some Tasty Advice Run Number Two!

So bare with me, I'm still getting used to this whole blogging thing. That being said, in the words of Nick Roy, "Thumbs up, lets do this!"

It has been quite a while since I've last posted. Three batches exactly.

Let's begin with my first 10 gallon batch.

I took one of my standard American Wheat Beer recipes and adjusted it to play around with some new Sorachi Ace hops.

Your Beer Wheat (Sorachi Hopped)

Profile:

OG - 1.051
IBUS - 19.6
FG - 1.010

Yeast
Wyeast 1010

Malt
Rice Hulls - 4.3%
White Wheat Malt - 47.8%
2 Row Pale Malt - 30.4%
6 Row Brewers Malt - 17.4%

Hops
Northern Brewer - First Wort Hop - 8.9 IBU
Cascade - 60 Minutes - 10.7 IBU
Sorachi Ace - 0 Minutes - 1 Oz (Per 5 Gallon Batch)


This turned into a very crisp, lemony, wheat beer that has served its purpose in this sweltering summer. It was one of the most frustrating brews I have done. I had one of the worst stuck-sparges I have ever had, but the numbers turned out just fine, and it made it into a great first 10 gallon batch of beer!

Rye Not?

That same weekend I attacked my first Rye Pale Ale. I wanted something with a bite, something big, and something "In Yo Face".

Profile:

OG - 1.077
IBUS -77.9
FG - 1.016


Malt
Rice Hulls - 2.5%
2 Row Pale Malt - 39.9%
Rye Malt - 19.9%
6 Row Brewers Malt - 15%
White Wheat Malt - 10%
Carapils - 5%
Crysta; 40 - 2.5%
Vienna Malt - 2.5%
Crystal 60 - 1.6%
Munich Malt - 1.2%

Hops
Chinook - First Wort Hop - 29.5 IBUs
Columbus - First Wort Hop - 33.6 IBUs

Citra - 10 Min - 11.6 IBUs

Citra - 5 Min - 3.2 IBUs

Chinook - 0 Min - 1 Oz (6.5 Gallon Batch)

Citra - 0 Min - 1/2 Oz (6.5 Gallon Batch)

Chinook - Dry Hop - .85 Oz (6 Gallon Fermentor)

Citra - Dry Hop - 1 Oz (6 Gallon Fermentor)

This beer...turned...out...AWESOME. It was crispy dry, spicy, floral, spicy, all of these great flavors melded into a complex finishing taste. For the next time I brew this beer, I'm going to try and make the grain bill less muddled, up the Rye a few percent, and bring the OG up a few more points. For such a big beer, it mellowed out quickly and has been drinkable since about 3 and a half weeks old.

Some Tasty Advice - Round Two

  For this brew, I took a pale ale base that I have found to deliver and I wanted to experiment with Simcoe hops for the first time. What I should talk about first is the hop stopper I created for my brew kettle.

I took some copper tubing, bent it towards the bottom of my brew kettle, and cut a metal colander to just rest along the bottom of the brew kettle. It looked overly simple, to the point where it was almost sloppy? But my thought process was if I recirculate the wort before I dump it into the fermentor it will at like a false bottom. Only the brew day will tell how it works!

 

Profile:

OG - 1.049
IBUS -39.1
FG - 1.010


Malt
2 Row Pale Malt - 71.5%
Carapils - 8.9%
Maris Otter - 8.9%
Wheat Malt - 6.7%
Crystal 40 - 3.9%

Hops
Chinook - 60 Min - 21.7 IBU
Simcoe - 15 Min - 10.8 IBU
Cascade - 10 Min - 6.7 IBU
Simcoe - 0 Min - .5 Oz (6.5 Gallon Batch)


This beer is currently ready to be kegged. I can't decide if I want to take half of it and dry hop it with some more Simcoe so I can get an idea of what Simcoe does to the beer as a dry hop character.

 

All the break and hops at the bottom. Worked great!

What I do know is my hop stopper was a success! The break material that was allowed in was minimal!

All I know is that there have been some great beers brewed in the last 2 months and I wish I had more time to brew more.

More beers, brews, and details to come in the future!

Stay tuned!

Double Brew Day - Easter

Happy Easter! Today we managed to pump out a double brew day and fit in time for an Easter lunch and family all in the span of a day!

On the docket today was a Flanders Red Ale and a traditional Hefeweizen. I chose to go with these two styles for a few reasons. I wanted to get off the kick of pale ales that I've been into for a while, to gear up for summer, and to start something that may take over a year to mature to full flavor.

I started with the Flanders Red, "Salvation Red".

Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 14.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 12.4 IBUs
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM)                         Grain 39.4 %
Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)                                     Grain 39.4 %
White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)                           Grain 3.7 %
Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM)    Grain 7.5 %
Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM)                     Grain 3.3 %
Caramunich I (Weyermann) (51.0 SRM) Grain 3.3 %
Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 3.3 %
Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0           12.4 IBUs
Roselare Belgian Blend - Wyeast Labs #3763

This recipe is in the style of a Rodenbach Grand Cru. A moderate level of sourness should occur after a year of aging. After primary fermentation has slowed to a near halt, upon racking to another vessel, I plan to soak on Medium Toasted French Oak Cubes soaked in a Red Wine to impart more of a complex, aged character. While not for everyone, this beer should offer a complexity which can only occur over time and with such a diverse set of "bugs". 

While in the middle of the first batch, we took time to have an Easter Lunch and have some visitors stop by!

Remi and Jordan just hangin' out.

The newest member of the family, Lucy.

 The numbers busted out just right on this! (I was especially happy they did because this was my first 90 boil, so I had to adjust my pre-boil volume. 

"Salvation Red" going into the fermentor while heating the strike water for the Hefe.

Batch number two started the Hefeweizen. After making a handful of American Wheat style ales, I just was never satisfied enough. While very enjoyable and crisp, nothing quite beats the bubblegum-banana flavor that a true Hefe Yeast imparts on the beer. This was a pretty cut and dry brew, 50/50 grains, lightly single hopped, can't really mess that up can you?

Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 4.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 12.5 IBUs
Boil Time: 90 Minute

Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)                   Grain 2 50.0 %
White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)                     Grain 3 50.0 %
Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min            12.5 IBUs
Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP300)

This was also the first time that I made water adjustments, building a specific water profile from RO water. I am excited to see if this will impart a difference from using a blend of Tap/RO water that I usually use.

Pre-boil numbers turned out perfect, the only issue I had with this was I boiled down too much, so at the end I had to add a little water to get my number back down a little. This didn't effect the brew, as the numbers were spot on after my water addition. 

This is also going to be the first brew that I use my fermentation control chamber on. It's a very high tech unit made of the finest accessories. A freezer and a temp contoller (home-made). Fancy, I know! I'm going to let this ferment at 62 degrees and see if I can get just the right blend of esters to impart on the beer.

Well, after a solid seven hours outside, all-in all, it was quite a successful day! Stay tuned, as notes about the Hefe should be coming in a few weeks, and The Salvation Red in about a year! =)

Up next...a re-brew of a Oatmeal Chocolate Coffee Stout, but 1 gallon will be aged on Bourbon Soaked Oak Cubes!

Cheers!

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