Slamable Saison - brew day

The Brew

I decided after the last brew's low ABV that perhaps this was a good trend. So I am formally kicking off my Summer of Sessions. So every brew I make to drink this summer will be less than 5% ABV. (One exception will be a mid summer Russian Imperial Stout brew, but that one doesn't really count because we won't drink that until Christmas time). So if the Berliner style was the first, then beer number two in this Summer of Sessions is a take on an old favorite from last Spring, a saison made with the fermentation monster Wyeast 3711 French Saison strain.

The Recipe

Grain/Sugars:

4.5 lbs. Pilsner

1.0 lbs. Wheat

0.75 lbs. Vienna

0.25 lbs. Acidulated Malt

0.25 lbs. Flaked Oats

0.25 lbs. Flaked Corn

Hops:

1.0 oz. Willamette @60. (A: 5.1%, B: 3.8%) 20 ibu

1.0 oz. Czech Saaz @10. (A: 3.6%, B: 4.2%) 5 ibu

Yeast:

Wyeast 3711 French Saison

Extras:

0.5 tsp Wyeast nutrient

1 tablet Whirlfloc

Brewday

Brewday was a cloudy Saturday afternoon made available by rained out baseball and soccer. Lemons to lemonade! Setup solo to start it off in the garage. I decided with such a small grain bill to use the BIAB setup today, so i heated up 8.75 gallons of water to about 152F and mashed in for 60 minutes. During the mash got all the boil additions measured and even started on this very write-up.

At 60 minutes fired up burned and started mash-out. Pulled the bag, light squeeze and fired up burner to full. Measured 8 gallons of 1.030 preboil wort. With the high percentage of pilsner malt, the recipe called for a 90 minute boil. Added hops per schedule, chilled, pitched yeast and set to ferment.

WILBiER Weisse - Berliner style ale - brew day

The Brew

All the rage right now in the homebrewing world is a concept called "sour worting". The general idea is to quick sour a beer by pitching a Lactobacillis bacteria into unboiled wort to pre acidify it. One of the more creative approaches to this is to use an alternative source (those other then the standard homebrew yeast producers) of this souring bacteria. The Facebook group "Milk the Funk" (MTF) is a treasure trove of information on this topic and was the inspiration for this brew.

The Berliner Weisse style of beer is a historical style from Germany, more specifically as the name implies, the city of Berlin. It is typically a very sour, sessionable wheat beer. Traditional serving includes adding a sweet syrup at serving time to cut the acidity, however, many now are just drinking it as a straight sour.

Recipe base is from the MTF wiki recipe page for this style.

The Recipe

Grain/Sugars:
 4.75 lbs. Pilsner (DE) [66%]
 2.50 lbs. Wheat (CA) [34%]

Hops:
 0.50 oz. East Kent Goldings

Yeast:
 Lactobacillus Plantarum - Goodbelly JuiceDrink Mango - 1 carton
WLP644 Saccharomyces "Bruxellensis" Trois - 2nd generation repitch

Extras:
 1.0 oz 88% Lactic Acid

Brewday

4/15/2016 Step 1: Wort production and souring phase
The initial wort production was completely standard. With such a small amount of grains and some

time limits I went BIAB. Heated up 6.1 gallons of tap water to 151 F. Doughed in the grains and watched it settle right in at 148 F mash temp. Put the cover on, wrapped the pot in blankets and let it do it's converting. After about 50 minutes pulled and drained the bag, collecting about 5.75 gallons of 1.036 wort. Chilled that down to 100 F as per the MTF recipe (this still seems really hot to me). Added some lactic acid to pre-acidify the wort prior to pitching the lacto bacteria. Rack the wort onto the entire carton of the Goodbelly JuiceDrink. Moved the carboy down to the warmest part of the basement and left it for 3 days. *Unfortunately my PH meter is not working so i don't have measurements.



4/18/2016 Step 2: Pasteurization and saccharomyces fermentation
After the 3 days allowing the lacto to chew on the wort, it had a hint of sour, but not over the top as I was expecting. Schedules being what they are, I had no other opportunity to finish this later, so it was what it was. Transferred the wort back to the kettle. Added in half an ounce of old EKG hops and brought lit the fire. Held temp around 180 for 5 minutes and killed the flame.
Chilled it down and pitched the second generation WLP644 yeast.


After a week in primary on the clean yeast, initial tastings have been very reminiscent of lemonade, not super sour, but a good tart flavor. Regardless, it should be a really easy drinking session-able ale for summer.

2016 Nebraska Brewing Company Wort Transformation Challenge "Brew" Day

Today was wort pick up day for the NBC Wort Transformation Challenge. So, i guess technically, yesterday was brew day for these beers. As stated in previous posts, I have 2 entries for the challenge. I took 2 cleaned and sanitized carboys to the NBC Tap Room/Brew house to get the wort. Checked in, had a quick beer and then lugged the glass jugs back to get filled. They brewed up a 30 bbl batch (bbl is a beer barrel measure. One bbl is about 26 US gallons. So this was about a 774 gallon batch.) It was very cool to be back in a professional brewery, i cannot imagine brewing on that scale.


Loaded my 10 gallons back into the car and headed home. I was solo for this transport and I liken it to the day I drove my wife and first born home from the hospital. Slow, precise and way to over cautious around turns and bumps.

Brew 1: Belgian-American Tart Apricot Ale

The first beer, I didn't alter much. I added in 1 pound of D-45 Belgian Candi syrup, pitched the yeast, aerated as put in temperature control. The addition of the candi syrup did darken the wort a bit. It will be interesting to see the final color.

Original Gravity: 1.065
Target Final Gravity: 1.010
Estimated ABV: 7.0%
IBU: 30

Brew 2: Midwest Tropics IPA

The second beer, was a bit more ambitious. For this one i took 2 gallons of wort, added in 3/4 of a gallon of water and brought it to a boil. Once boiling, I added DME and an ounce of Nugget hops sourced from Midwest Hop Producers. Boiled that for 30 minutes, cooled it down and added it back to the carboy. I pitched my 1.5 liter WLP644 starter. Aerated and put next to it's sibling in the ghetto temp control.

Original Gravity: 1.063
Target Final Gravity: 1.008
Estimated ABV: 7.0%
IBU: 60

Transformation Challenge - The plan

As I mentioned in the last post, this year I will have 2 entries in the Nebraska Brewing Company's 5th annual "Wort Transformation Challenge". There are 180 total entries (limit 2 per brewer) and 4 judging categories:

• Traditional Pale Ale
• Fruit & Spice
• Experimental
• 100% Midwest Hop Producers hops

My plan right now is to use one entry for the Nebraska Grown Hops category and one for the Fruit & Spice. 

Base Recipe: Pale Ale

Malts
• 85% Pale Ale
• 15% Caramel 10 L
Hops
• Warrior @ 60 minutes for 14 IBU (~.25 oz/5 gallons)
• Centennial @ 20 minutes for 16 IBU (~.75 oz/5 gallons)
Specs
• 13.6 Plato or 1.055 OG
• 30 IBU (calculated with Tinseth formula)
• 6.6 SRM
• Mashed at 150 degrees

Entry 1

As we waited to sign-up last month, in talking with a former winner, I picked up a pretty good tip.  One way to make your entry stand out is to reboil (all or a portion of the wort) and make changes to the base. So for the first entry I am going to take a swing at that. The plan is to make a Tropical IPA highlighting the yeast character provided by White Labs WLP644 along with some Nebraska grown Nugget hops.

I will start by bringing 1/2 gallon of water to a boil and then add in 2 gallons of the wort. Bring that up to a boil and add 0.5 oz Duffin Knudsen Nugget hops. Boil for 30 minutes. Chill that back down and combine with the original 3 gallons of wort. My super accurate and not at all hacked together math, says this should push the IBUs up in the 45-55 range. The SRM will be a shade darker. And with boil-off, total volume will drop a bit and concentrate, raising the OG a tad.

After that is all chilled and happy in the carboy, pitch and ferment warm, to really push the tropical fruitiness of 644 for about 3 weeks. Then with a couple days left in the fermentor, dry hop with another shot of Nugget. Really wanting to push the tropical fruit from the yeast and melon from the hops.

Entry 2

This one I don't have quite as much thought through yet. Initial thoughts are to leave the base as is, pitch the same Wyeast 3522 Belgian Andennes I used for the Pre-transformation test batch. And then once fermentation is complete, secondary this on some fruit. Most likely sour cherry or apricot puree.

One week to finalize these plans, but really enjoying the blank canvas! 

Transformation Prep Belgian Pale Ale - brew day

The Brew

This year I am quite excited to participate in the Nebraska Brewing Company's 5th annual "Wort Transformation Challenge". This is a spin on the traditional homebrew competition. In this challenge, homebrewers get 5 gallons of NBC prepared wort, take it home and craft there own beer. Then after fermentation, adulteration and packaging, they bring it back for competition. Last year we heard about the event too late and missed the sign-up. Not so this year! I made the trek down to the brewpub and waited in line to sign up for 2 entries. I am scheduled to pick up my 10 gallons of wort on March 6th.

Each year, NBC changes up the base wort. This year, it's a pretty standard pale ale recipe. 85% pale ale malt, 15% Crystal 10 lovibond. 30 IBUs coming from Warrior bittering and some Centennial additions late.

In preparation for the challenge, I wanted to do a trial run on this base. So I decided to brew up the recipe myself. Original plan was to treat it as an opportunity to grow up a new pitch of WLP644 yeast I used on the Punch Bowl IPA a few months back. But lack of prior planning to get a starter going lead me instead to my LHBS to find something to use. I walked out with a smack pack of Wyeast Belgian Andennes and a Belgian-ish Pale Ale to brew.

The Recipe

Grain/Sugars:
10.2 lbs. 2-Row (US) [85%]
1.8 lbs. Crystal 10L [15%]

Hops:
0.25 oz. Warrior @60.
0.75 oz. Centennial @20.  

Yeast:
Wyeast 3522 - Belgian Andennes

Extras:
1.0 tablet Whirlfoc @15m
0.5 tsp Wyeast nutrient @15m

Brewday

2/14/2016- Brewday
Solo Sunday brewday for this one. Actually the rare combo Valentines Day - Presidents Day Eve brewday actually, because that's a thing. Standard equipment and process. Not much to cover. I did overshoot my pre-boil volume because of an overly aggressive batch sparge. Collected over 8 gallons instead of planned 7 gallons. The cost of that mistake was a OG of 1.050 instead of the planned 1.055, but hey, I'll have more beer to enjoy.

Mashed. Vorlof. Collect. Sparge. Collect. Boil. Chill. Pitch. And done.

2/21/2016 - Fermentation check. 1.008 (5.5% ABV). Tastes pretty plain, with a little Belgian character.

2/26/2016 - Fermentation check. 1.008 (5.5% ABV). Kegged.

Full brew details here.

By the way.... did you know spring is on it's way? My partner in the home brewery was working on her mechanics. :-)

Navidad Crema de Jalapeño - brew day

The Brew

The beer I get the most inquiries about and requests for is the Jalapeño Cream Ale I made this last August. The inspiration for that brew was the Jalapeño Ale from Thunderhead Brewing Company out of Kearney, NE. I choose a cream ale because I wanted my beer to be all about the heat and the peppers. I succeeded in that for certain and I loved the result. A little too much so as the keg quickly emptied.

I don't plan on changing much for this rebrew. One difference is that this will likely end up in bottles as I don't think I will have an open keg for a while. This will also be the first time I am trying out some local hops. Picked up a couple ounces from Duffin Knudsen Hop Growers from right here in Eastern Nebraska.

The other great thing about this brew was having the O.G. brewmaster back in the homebrewery. Love getting the opportunity to brew with my brother!

The Recipe

Grain/Sugars:
8 lbs. 2-Row (US) [76%]
1 lbs. Vienna (DE) [10%]
1 lbs. Flaked Corn (US) [10%]
8 oz Carapils (US) [4%]

Hops:
0.5 oz. Nugget @60. (A: 13.04%, B: 6.54%)
0.5 oz. Nugget @10.  (A: 13.04%, B: 6.54%)

Yeast:
US-05 packet  (re-hydrated)

Extras:
1.0 tablet Whirlfoc @15m
0.5 tsp Wyeast nutrient @15m
4 Jalapeños @15 (roasted, sliced and steeped in vodka)
3-4 Jalapeños (roasted, sliced and steeped in vodka) for 10 days prior to package

Brewday

12/22/2015 - Prep work

Halved and lightly roasted 9 fresh Jalapenos. 

Peeled away charred skins, sliced and put in vodka overnight. 

12/23/2015- Brewday

I wasn't quite as prepared as the last brew but still had everything pre-measured and ready to rock with the brew partner arrived. 

Fired up the burner on to get the water up to strike temperature. Once that was done, mashed in the cooler, stirred and hit pretty much head on at target mash temp of153°F. While the 60 minute mash was underway I heated the sparge water to 180°F. At 60 minutes, pulled a quart to vorlauf and then captured first runnings. Much like the last brew, I was well short of my first runnings target volume. I think I have more dead space in the mash tun then used in calculations. Despite this we continued on as planned batch sparging in the 5.5 gallons of 180°F water and hitting a sparge temp around 168°F. Let that sit for about 10 minutes, vorlauf and drained off. Ended up with with an extra half gallon collected in kettle (8 gallons). 

Boiled per schedule above, chilled and transferred into sanitized carboy. Ended up with about 6 gallons of 1.048 OG wort. Pitched hydrated yeast and let it to do it's thing. This one was a little slow to start, but by 24 hours, it's was bubbling like crazy.

Full details here.

Vanilla Bean Blonde - brewday

The Brew

Inspiration: c.o. Infusion Brewing

This will be the 4th time brewing an American Blonde with vanilla. The first attempt was actually my first brew. The inspiration for all four was attempting to clone my wife's favorite beer brewed in Benson, NE by Infusion Brewing Company. Each attempt has been different and progressively getting closer to a true clone of this great beer.

The Recipe

Grain/Sugars:
9.25 lbs. 2-Row (US) [92.5%]
8 oz Crystal 10L (US) [5%]
4 oz Crystal 20L (US) [2.5%]

Hops:
1.40 oz. German Tettang @60. (A: 2.4%, B: 4.1%)
0.50 oz. Czech Saaz @15. (A: 3.6%, B: 4.8%)
0.50 oz. Czech Saaz @0.  (A: 3.6%, B: 4.8%)

Yeast:
Danstar Nottingham Ale packet  (re-hydrated)

Extras:
1.0 tablet Whirlfoc @15m
0.5 tsp Wyeast nutrient @15m
3.0 Vanilla beans. soaked in vodka, sliced and scraped. @2 day prior to packaging 

Brewday

12/12/2015 - Brewday
Made a party of sorts out of this brewday. I was joined by 3 good friends to enjoy some beverages, food and brewing.

The four of us shared a variety of beers; New Belgium's La Folie, Oskar Blue's Hotbox Coffee Porter, Upright Brewing's Seven, Deschutes Jubel, Brickway's Chocolate Coffee Stout and my Punch Bowl IPA. This list resulted in less than perfect note taking, no pictures and perhaps some subpar attention to detail on the brew. Time will tell.

I took advantage of some extra time on Saturday to prep for the brew. I pre-measured and captured strike and sparge water. I weighed out and labeled each boil addition and even heated the garage.

Fired up the burner on to get the water up to strike temperature and overshot a bit. Once that was down, mashed in the cooler, stirred and hit pretty much head on at target mash temp of 153°F. While the 60 minute mash was underway I heated the sparge water to 180°F. At 60 minutes, pulled a half gallon to vorlauf and then captured first runnings. I was expecting to pull more volume off the first runnings then I did. Only got about 2.8 gallons from the first run. Despite this we continued on as planned batch sparging in the 5.5 gallons of 180°F water and hitting a sparge temp around 168°F. Let that sit for about 10 minutes and then drained off. Ended up with almost exactly 7.5 gallons collected, which was right on target. I didn't take an accurate pre-boil gravity (see beer list above).

Boiled as per schedule. Chilled while a rare December thunderstorm rolled through. Pitched the yeast into the cleaned and sanitized carboy. Then transfered nearly 6 gallons of 1.045 OG wort onto the yeast. Eight hours later, very active fermentation was underway. Activity noticeably increased at the 24 hour mark.  One thing to note, the color in the carboy is quite a bit darker then expected for this grist. 


Complete brew details here.