#70: I'm Calling it a Kolsch

German Ale WY1007 is up next, and I was puzzled as to what to do.  I considered an alt, but have a lot of darker beers in the pipeline already and was thinking more pale.  I became a fan of kolsch beers via Blackstone and Cool Springs Brewery, so I got to thinking more along that line.  The standard calls for a smooth, crisp beer of a straw yellow color, with low hop character and little to no hop aroma.  I decided on the low bitterness of the Canadian Blonde extract, but with a 20 minute boil of Perle to get up to the bitterness desired.  OG (of course) is lower than Mr. B estimate.  Though this isn't truly a kolsch, this should be a very nice session pale, hitting something like 140 cal per bottle.

#70: I'm Calling it a Kolsch

Kolsch

 

Type: Extract	Date: 12/17/2012
Batch Size: 2.12 gal
Boil Time: 20 min
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 0.83 lb DME Golden Light (Briess) (4.0 SRM) Dry Extract 30.74 % 1.87 lb Canadian Blonde (2.0 SRM) Extract 69.26 % 0.50 oz Pearle [6.30 %] (20 min) Hops 16.1 IBU 1 Pkgs German Ale (Wyeast Labs #1007) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.049 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.044 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG	New Est. Final Gravity: 1.011 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.87 %	New Est. Alcohol by Vol: 4.30 %
Bitterness: 29.1 IBU	Calories: 194 cal/pint
Est Color: 3.4 SRM

#69: Light #2

Eons ago, I made my first cut at a Light beer, using a Munton's Light LME and ale yeast. This was way back on my 20th brewday.  Seeing that this time I had the Budweiser lager yeast at my disposal, I decided to take another swing at this using the American Light HME. Dropped some remaining Mt. Hood at flameout. Hit the OG this time. Go figure. 

Should be tasty...

Light 
Lite American Lager 

Type: Extract
Date: 12/11/2012 
Batch Size: 2.12 gal

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU 
0.81 lb Booster (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 30.22 % 
1.87 lb Classic American Light (2.0 SRM) Extract 69.78 % 
0.60 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 
1 Pkgs Pilsen Lager (Wyeast Labs #2007) Yeast-Lager 

Beer Profile

Original Gravity: 1.048 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG 
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.69 % 
Bitterness: 11.0 IBU 
Est Color: 2.2 SRM

#68: Weizen 2

The weizen yeast is gettin' old, so it's time to get it in a fermenter. The obvious choice is the deluxe Bavarian Weissbier kit with the 3068 yeast instead of the packed dry wheat yeast. Decided to add some coriander and sweet orange peel to a boil with the golden LME just for funzies. Quick, smooth brewday, though I still didn't hit temps very well and had to ice bath for a while. Going to ferment cool to hopefully avoid bubble gum. OG is a fair bit lower than the advertised (not surprisingly)... RDWHAHB. Not a big wheat fan, but thinking this may be good...

#68: Weizen 2 

Type: Extract
Date: 12/10/2012 
Batch Size: 2.12 gal

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU 
1.87 lb Bavarian Weissbier (3.0 SRM) Extract 77.27 % 
0.55 lb BrewMax Golden LME (Wheat) (1.0 SRM) Extract 22.73 % 
0.33 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 
0.75 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 min) Misc 
1 Pkgs Weihenstephan Weizen (Wyeast Labs #3068) Yeast-Wheat 

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.037 SG 
Measured Final Gravity: 1.009 SG 
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.58 % 
Adj Est Alcohol by Vol: 3.64 % 
Bitterness: 17.7 IBU

#66: IPA #11

In honor of Teach a Friend to Brew Day (or whatever it was called), I did a brewday with three friends today.  Missed the OG by quite a bit...  not sure what we did, but no worries...

IPA #11

American IPA

 

Type: Partial Mash	Date: 11/2/2012
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 5.72 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 3.00 lb DME Golden Light (Briess) (4.0 SRM) Dry Extract 28.96 % 2.86 lb Diablo IPA (4.0 SRM) Extract 27.61 % 2.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 19.31 % 1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 9.65 % 0.75 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 7.24 % 0.50 lb Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) Grain 4.83 % 0.25 lb Caramel Malt - 40L (Briess) (40.0 SRM) Grain 2.41 % 0.50 oz Summit [17.00 %] (60 min) Hops 31.6 IBU 1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) Hops 13.5 IBU 0.80 oz Nugget [13.00 %] (10 min) Hops 14.0 IBU 1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 4.1 IBU 0.80 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (0 min) Hops - 0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc 0.50 tsp Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) Misc 3 Pkgs Cooper Ale (Coopers #-) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Orig Est Original Gravity: 1.072 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Orig Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG	New Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Orig Est Alcohol by Vol: 7.14 %	New Est Alcohol by Vol: 5.48 %
Bitterness: 105.9 IBU	Calories: 245 cal/pint
Est Color: 8.7 SRM	Color: Color

#65: Abbey Dubbel

A rush to get some of the older yeasts in the free ingredients leads me to a third brew for this weekend.  Since these brewdays are so fast, I finished all three in less time than a normal AG day, but I'll have quite a bit to bottle on the back end, so gains here are losses later.  The final yeast that was close to expiration was the WY-3944 (Belgian Wit).  I'm not a big wheat fan, and in reading on this yeast, I found it can be used for dubbels and tripels as well.  I had intended to do an Abbey Dubbel recipe on the Mr. B site with the WY-3787 (Trappist Hi-Grav) that came with the free ingredients instead of the T-58 it called for, but I'll just do an AG with that yeast and use the the 3944 here.  OG was pretty much on par with the rest (lower than the unreasonable estimates).  Again, no worries...

#65: Abbey Dubbel

Belgian Dubbel

 

Type: Extract	Date: 10/13/2012
Batch Size: 2.12 gal
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 2.86 lb Bewitched Amber Ale (15.0 SRM) Extract 83.87 % 0.55 lb BrewMax Smooth LME (80.0 SRM) Extract 16.13 % 0.50 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 1 Pkgs Belgian Witbier (Wyeast Labs #3944) Yeast-Wheat
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.066 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.059 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.48 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.74 %
Bitterness: 27.9 IBU	Calories: 212 cal/pint
Est Color: 19.1 SRM

#64: ESB

Next on the free ingredient extravaganza...

The WY-1968 (London ESB) yeast had the oldest manufacturer date.  Not yet expired, but within a month or so, and thus I started with this.  Seeing that it was an ESB yeast, I figured I'd try to make something similar to that.  I decided, since I had a couple cans of the Amber HME, to start with that, with a flame-out addition of Styrian Goldings.  OG was off (as expected) from their anticipated OG (not sure why they overestimate them so), but no worries...

#64: ESB

Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)

 

Type: Extract	Date: 10/13/2012
Batch Size: 2.12 gal
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 2.86 lb Bewitched Amber Ale (15.0 SRM) Extract 100.00 % 0.50 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] (0 min) Hops - 1 Pkgs London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.057 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.048 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.18 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.69 %
Bitterness: 30.1 IBU	Calories: 212 cal/pint
Est Color: 11.7 SRM

EDIT (11/11/12):  Bottled today.  Got 22 bottles out of the deal.  FG 1.011, so nailed that pretty well for a 5% brew.  Very tasty...  The dryhop really does wonders with these kits.  Need to dryhop every one from here on out.

#63: Northwestern Pale Ale

Going to be a lot of Coopers/Mr. B brewing for the foreseeable future after winning $500 worth of ingredients (as well as $200 worth of equipment) in a contest introducing the new Coopers extracts.  A half hour brew session is nice in one respect, but I still long for the picking my own ingredients, choosing my own mash temps, etc. that all-grain gives me.  No matter...  these ingredients will not go to waste, and, again, with a limited brewing schedule due to a ton of kids activities, etc., this is the best way to get some brews in.  Though I'm going to have to stack in some AG or partial mash brew days for my sanity...

Of the ingredients I received, the WY1056 yeast was starting to swell, so I decided to use it first.  Obviously that yeast pairs well with an extract that mimicks (in name, at least) SNPA.  So we'll go with the Northwestern Pale Ale craft series extract straight up...  no additions (except for some yeast food), no grain steeps, no hop boils, no nothin'.  So this one went real quick.  The temps were a bit high after the wort was added to the cold water in the fermenter, so am currently cooling it a bit to try to get to 70 degrees before pitching.  OG is lower than their estimate (of course), but no worries...

#63: Northwestern Pale Ale

American Pale Ale

 

Type: Extract	Date: 10/13/2012
Batch Size: 2.12 gal
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 2.86 lb Northwestern Pale Ale (4.0 SRM) Extract 100.00 % 1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.057 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.050 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.62 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.95 %
Bitterness: 40.1 IBU	Calories: 222 cal/pint
Est Color: 4.7 SRM

EDIT (11/11/12):  Bottled today.  22 bottles plus a 10oz tester.  Taste is a bit apple-y, with a slight bitter.  Could use more upfront hops.  Should have dry hopped.  But many don't taste great at bottling but come out nice in the end...

#62: Winter Dark Ale

Haven't had time to do AG brewing much these days, so I decided to get an extract brew or two so that I could get something in the pipeline.  I found a great coupon combined with a good sale, so I picked up the four new Mr. Beer craft extracts to play with.  Of course, right after that I won a contest on their site and have apparently scored something like 14 extracts, 18 yeasts, 13 varieties of hops, 4 (or 6... not sure) fruits, 1 booster, 7 fermenters, and 112 bottles, so I guess I'll be extract brewing for a while now.

Here's what I have planned for this one, using up some ingredients I have lying about...  I"m steeping the grains right now (haven't done a steep in about 2 years...  old school...):

EDIT:  Overfilled by a bit (me thinks the gallon container I used was bigger than a gallon), so the OG is a bit lower than anticipated.  Adjusted below.  RDWHAHB...

Winter Dark Ale

American Brown Ale

 

Type: Extract	Date: 10/7/2012
Batch Size: 2.50 gal
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 0.66 lb Amber Dry Extract (12.5 SRM) Dry Extract 17.51 % 2.86 lb Winter Dark Ale (30.0 SRM) Extract 75.86 % 0.25 lb Carafoam (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.63 % 2.00 oz Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 1 Pkgs Cooper Ale (Coopers #-) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Measured Original Gravity: 1.056 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.48 %
Bitterness: 50.0 IBU
Est Color: 18.0 SRM

#61: New England Stock Ale

I was given some WLP008 (Brewer Patriot), which is widely assumed to be the Sam Adams ale yeast. Thus, I figured I'd rock with a Boston Ale-ish brew. Here's what Sammy tells us:

A smooth, refined version of a classic ale.

Samuel Adams® Boston Ale was first brewed to celebrate the opening of our Boston Brewery. Like Samuel Adams Boston Lager®, it originated as an old family recipe rescued by Jim Koch from his father's attic. Samuel Adams Boston Ale, a stock ale, has distinct earthy and spicy notes from the traditional English ale hops supported by sweet caramel malt notes. The ale yeast imparts a variety of fruit and ester notes while longer, cooler fermentation adds smoothness and complexity.

As a stock ale, Boston Ale has its roots in colonial New England. One of the few styles to originate in the United States, stock ales began over a century ago when the beer was carefully aged in barrels in cool rooms called “stock cellars”. Essentially this process creates an ale that’s been lagered so the taste tends to have characteristics of both. This technique imparted a smoothness and body which became the hallmark of this style.

Keeping with the stock ale style, Samuel Adams Boston Ale is fermented at warmer ale temperatures. The beer is then krausened like Boston Lager and dry hopped at cold temperatures like a lager. The English hops used in Boston Ale give it an earthy, spicy character that complements the sweetness from caramel malt. The resulting beer is smoother than most ales and richer than most lagers with a round, robust taste.

Flavor: Bright, citrus aromas and earthy flavors from the traditional English ale hops and a full bodied caramel malt sweetness.
Color: Red to amber, 14 SRM
Original Gravity: 13.2° Plato
Alcohol by Vol/Wt: 5.4%ABV – 4.2%ABW
Calories/12 oz.: 188
IBUs: 34
Malt Varieties: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend and Caramel 60
Hop Varieties: East Kent Goldings, and Fuggles
Yeast Strain: Samuel Adams ale yeast

I'm not sure yet if I'll try to krausen for the first time, or if I'll prime with DME. I'm not real certain how to work krausening to get the carb that I desire, so I'll likely just go the normal route (for me), but I may change my mind in the next few weeks as I do more research.

So, this seems easy-ish to replicate. I played with Crystal 60 and UK Pale Malt to get the correct color. I ended up around 85/15. Then I took the two hops they provided, decided to use reasonable substitutes due to availability, and worked my IBU and flavor characteristics. Finally, I searched for other clone recipes and adjusted a bit based on their findings and recipes. I seem good on OG, color, IBU, calories, etc., so I'm going with the following...


#61: New England Stock Ale 

Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 2.40 gal
Boil Size: 3.37 gal 
Boil Time: 60 min 
Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) 

Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
5.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 84.62 % 
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 15.38 % 
0.50 oz Styrian Goldings [3.80 %] (60 min) Hops 12.7 IBU 
0.37 oz Glacier [5.60 %] (60 min) Hops 13.8 IBU 
0.68 oz Glacier [5.60 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops - 
0.15 oz Glacier [5.60 %] (20 min) Hops 3.4 IBU 
0.80 oz Glacier [5.60 %] (5 min) Hops 6.0 IBU 
1 Pkgs East Coast Ale (White Labs #WLP008) Yeast-Ale 

Beer Profile
Measured Original Gravity: 1.057 SG 
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG 
Alcohol by Vol: 5.87 % 
Bitterness: 34.6 IBU 
Calories: 254   cal/pint 
Est Color: 14.8 SRM


Still not getting efficiency that I expect on the new equipment. This will be about 0.5% lower than the anticipated 5.5% (adjusted above).  (NOTE:  I actually finished lower than expected, so I ended up above the 5.5%...  adjustments above)

Started a starter on the yeast (which had expired... sigh... I intended to use it three months ago...), and it rocked the primary fermentation of the starter in about a day. Pitched that sucker at 9pm, and by 9:30 had active airlock bubbling. 

The next afternoon the thing was going crazy. This is among the top two or three in oddest looking fermentations. I have long since learned that odd looking fermentations are par for the course, but this one has a few oddities... Floating just below the krausen are what I assume are yeast islands that look solid... kinda like macaroni or bow-tie pasta. The trub is some of the loosest I've seen (may not use this yeast again if this is indicative... I like the gel-like trubs). 

By the 26 hour mark, it appeared to be done with the active primary fermentation.

#60: IPA (5 gallon - partial mash)

First brew day with friends yesterday.  "Big Brew" a week or so late.  They wanted to do an IPA, and we wanted to shoot for less than four hours, so a partial mash on the new equipment seemed in order.  Cut some corners by hop-bursting the bitter and also by partial mashing and thus adding cold water at the end to get to volume.  Wrapped up in about 2.5 hours.  Super-efficient brew day considering two of the three people had never brewed before.  Did some grilling early and ordered pizza late, and also consumed a lot of beer.  Good times... 

Another side note...  Used some of the Summit I ordered from Willamette Valley Hops.  Funny thing is that every time I order from them, I end up with twice as much as I ordered.  I had spec'd a 55IBU, with a 1.5oz addition of the Summit, but they wanted to go more bitter, so we went 2.0oz for a 100+ IBU.  These hops have been in the freezer for a while, so likely I won't get that much out of them (though they still smelled great)...  Probably gonna get something in the 80ish range, but no real way to judge that.

Missed the OG by a touch.  I found when I was cleaning the equipment that there was some of the LME coating the bottom of the pot.  I guess we didn't stir well enough.  RDWHAHB...  Still should be mighty tasty.

Also, got my lagering fridge working again (at least temporarily).  So I guess I didn't need to trade my lager yeast in after all...

IPA (partial mash)

American IPA

Type: Partial Mash	Date: 1/6/2012
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 3.00 gal
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal)
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 1.50 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 17.14 % 3.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract [Boil for 5 min] Extract 34.29 % 4.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 45.71 % 0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2.86 % 0.60 oz Amarillo (Leaf) [8.70 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops - 2.00 oz Summit [17.00 %] (35 min) Hops 67.1 IBU 1.00 oz Amarillo [6.90 %] (20 min) Hops 9.9 IBU 1.00 oz Amarillo [6.90 %] (5 min) Hops 3.3 IBU 8.00 oz Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 1 Pkgs Safale American (DCL Yeast #US-05) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.055 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.049 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.20 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.82 %
Bitterness: 108.3 IBU	Calories: 217 cal/pint
Est Color: 8.1 SRM EDIT:  Bloop...  bloop...

#59: Chestnut Brown Ale

This is a total ad-lib, as I have ingredient seal-a-mealed for a lager, but I have a broken lager fridge.  I may well be able to manage temps within the lager fridge with enough ice, but I will be out of town most of this week.  So...  why not punt and brew next weekend?  Well, I am planning to brew with other people in a few weeks, and I want to get in at least one pass with my new electric turkey fryer before doing this with someone else.  So, after realizing I had no ale yeast at all, my only option was to pick up a Brooklyn Brew Shop kit at Whole Foods and supplement from there (mainly to get the yeast).  After assessing their selection of refills, I ended up with the Chestnut Brown over the Porter or Stout.  I really wanted either the IPA or Pale, but they only had those in kits, and I really didn't need a one gallon fermenter.  No idea how to estimate the grain bill here, other than it makes 6.0%abv for one gallon, and while I could have used the grains for the lager to bulk it to 2.4 gallon, I am instead making it a partial mash with a stray Mr. B Cowboy Lager that is supposed to be 2.3% for 2 gallon, so at a 2.4 gallon I'm guessing I'll be somewhere in the 5% range. I'm also adding Mt. Hood to bump the hops and keep it close to what is intended, knowing that the HME has some hops (18 IBU).  I'm going to try to figure out some stats later, but this is truly a RDWHAHB brewday.  Currently halfway through the mash, and the new pot is maintaining temps nicely...

EDIT:  Here's my current best guess, but I will adjust further when the hydro reading is taken...

EDIT:  Pretty close...  adjusted below...  I've been playing with my efficiency on my old setup, so I adjusted back to 75% on this one, which may have been a touch optimistic, but really not far off.  This will be a nice session nut amber (is that a style?)...

EDIT (6/3/12):  Finally bottled...  Was sick last weekend (when I intended to bottle), so this one was delayed a week.  23 bottles in this small batch (plus a small tester).  Smooth bottling day outside of one bottle that, while not paying attention, I bottled on top of the sanitizer (forgetting to dump it before filling).  I just ditched that bottle.  Likely would have had an even 24 had I not done that, but no worries.

One of these things is not like the other...

EDIT (6/28):  This one is mighty nice now...  

Chestnut Brown Ale

American Brown Ale

Type: Partial Mash	Date: 4/29/2012
Batch Size: 2.40 gal
Boil Size: 3.00 gal
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 1.20 lb Classic American Blonde Ale (3.0 SRM) Extract 34.78 % 2.00 lb Brooklyn Brew Shop Chesnut Brown Ale grain blend (20.0 SRM) Grain 57.97 % 0.30 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.70 %] (60 min) Hops 10.8 IBU 0.10 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 4.6 IBU 0.10 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (20 min) Hops 2.8 IBU 0.10 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.70 %] (20 min) Hops 2.2 IBU 0.25 lb Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM) Sugar 7.25 %
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.044 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.043 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.011 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.27 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.16 %
Bitterness: 33.9 IBU	Calories: 189 cal/pint
Est Color: 10.9 SRM

The setup and ingredients...

The accompanying homebrew IPA and grilled chicken... 

#58: Sorghum Pale Ale

Decided I needed to brew today, but didn't have time to invest in a full AG.  A friend had wanted to do a sorghum brew but has never gotten back with a time, so I decided to use the sorghum extract I had bought for that purpose to do a straight up sorghum pale ale similar in nature to the Briess recipe they offer on their website.  I had Columbus on hand, so I subbed for their Cascades, and I'm using S-33 instead of their Nottingham.  I also threw in a bag of Booster that I had laying about.  I originally intended to steep some gluten-free items (oatmeal and the like), but decided to do this one straight up and save the experimenting for the next go.  So, a simple SMASH-ish go-round and the first brew day since January.  Really need to get back into the swing this spring/summer...

EDIT:  Well, that was an interesting brew day for everything that didn't involve brewing.  First, I had been missing my volumes on the low side, and while trying to adjust, I ended up coming in a bit high this time.  No worries, though it may lead to a mess in a day or two when we krausen up.   Recipe adjusted above.

But now for the non-brewing...  while I was transferring the wort to the fermenter, our backyard gate apparently broke and our dog got loose.  She was easily recovered (the boys saw it happen and called her back almost immediately), but in the melee, I am certain that I did not aerate well enough.  I did, however, pitch an entire pack of S-33 instead of the half pack I intended, so hopefully that will make up for it.  I also gave it a late stir after pitching, so I'll likely be good.

The other non-brewing catastrophe is that my free lagering fridge that has been so handy (it sat right at 50 at its lowest setting, so it was perfect for lagers) looks like it gave up the ghost.  The good news for today is that I did an ale and the fridge is sitting pretty at 62 or so.  The bad news is that I just picked up some lager yeast for a new lager I intended to do today (until time got away) and had postponed until next weekend.  I guess that gives me a week to find a new solution or to get some ale yeast.

So...  Dog recovered, fence repaired, beer in (non-working) fermenting fridge.  I guess it all turned out OK...

EDIT:  Hit 1.021 in four days.  Primary seems to have settled down.  Gonna let this sit for another couple of weeks before I can bottle, but hydro pull tasted quite promising...

Sorghum Pale Ale

American Pale Ale

Type: Extract	Date: 4/22/2012
Batch Size: 2.75 gal
Boil Size: 3.02 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 3.30 lb BriesSweet White Sorghum Syrup 45DE (3.0 SRM) Extract 80.29 % 0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (20 min) Hops 29.0 IBU 0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (5 min) Hops 9.5 IBU 0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 0.81 lb Booster (0.0 SRM) Sugar 19.71 % 1 Pkgs SafBrew Ale (DCL Yeast #S-33) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.055 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.30 %
Bitterness: 37.4 IBU	Est Calories: 246 cal/pint
Est Color: 3.6 SRM                      First pour pic...

#57: Cascadian Dark Ale

First brew of 2012. This is a "clean out the pantry" batch if I ever saw one. I totally cleared out every bit of grain I had in seal-a-meal bags and added 5lb of pilsner malt. I also cleared out two opened hop bags. Somehow these always seem to turn out the best. Normal mash temps (155ish) with a 170 sparge.

Cascadian Dark Ale
American IPA


Type: All Grain
Date: 12/23/2011
Batch Size: 2.40 gal

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) UK (1.0 SRM) Grain 81.63 %
0.63 lb Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 10.20 %
0.25 lb Carafa II (412.0 SRM) Grain 4.08 %
0.25 lb Cherrywood Smoked Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4.08 %
0.50 oz Chinook [11.40 %] (60 min) Hops 38.6 IBU
0.50 oz Chinook [11.40 %] (30 min) Hops 29.7 IBU
0.30 oz Warrior [15.80 %] (15 min) Hops 15.9 IBU
0.50 oz Pacific Jade [13.30 %] (5 min) Hops 9.0 IBU
0.60 oz Amarillo (Leaf) [8.70 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.25 tsp Calcium Chloride (Boil 60.0 min) Misc
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
3.00 packs ale yeast (2 oz)



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.068 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.050 SG
Adjusted Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Adjusted Est Alcohol by Vol: 4.95 %
Bitterness: 93.3 IBU
Calories: 222 cal/pint
Est Color: 20.7 SRM


EDIT: Missed by volume again. Bummer. Thought I had the math right this time. That would be three in a row with that issue, so I'll have to see what I can do to get it right. The OG was spot on again, but the volume was way low, so of course the OG is different after I topped off. As with the last three... RDWHAHB. Numbers adjusted above...

#55: Two Hearted IPA clone

Wow...  it's been a while since I brewed.  It's been even longer since I brewed an IPA.  One of my favorite IPAs is Two Hearted from Bell's Brewery.  I've wanted to brew one of the countless recipes related to this brew for some time, and I have 2oz of Centennial staring at me in the freezer every time I open it, so here goes.  This is pretty much the BYO recipe, though I am using Notty because it is what I have on hand...


Midway through the hop boil at this point.  Minor catastrophe with a split grain bag (I was experimenting with  a new tool to keep my bag off of the bottom of the pot, and it apparently caught on the bag...  back to the drawing board), but another grain bag as a filter clipped to the top of another brew pot strained things real nice.  Didn't get my usual sparge and lost some wort to the accident, but RDWHAHB...


EDIT:  Well...  with the volume lost with the bag split and the subsequent lack of sparge, my volume was way off.  I figured I could either a) make only a gallon or so of beer that hit my hydro reading pretty well, or b) add water to the wort to reach my volume and make this a light IPA.  I went for option B.  Thus, I am looking at a 4% abv beer.  I also lost a metal binder clip I use to hold the hops bag into the wort and had to fish it out after realizing several minutes later.  Assuming no ill effects from that either.  I tasted the last hydro pull just to make sure there were no off-flavors, but didn't detect any.


Alas, I have a session IPA.  I hope the bitter is not off the chart for this OG...


Again...  RDWHAHB...


EDIT x2:  I have had a day and a half of no activity, which in theory isn't the end of the world, but since this beer has already had issues, I decided to experiment a touch to see if I could get things going, and also to give the ABV a bump. So, I followed normal yeast starter procedures with 1 cup DME and some boiling water, and I also added a pack of booster. Once boiled and cooled, I added an additional pack of Notty, aerated the snot out of it, then added to the fermenter. I ended up mid-Q, so my level is in the 2.4 to 2.5 gallon level. I took a new hydro reading, knowing it wouldn't be 100% accurate with the yeast already added, but it should be close enough. Success on my estimates, as I got it to 6.5%, which was my target. Recipe below adjusted. I see activity already.

Two Hearted

American IPA

Type: All Grain	Date: 12/27/2011
Batch Size: 2.40 gal
Ingredients
Amount       Item          Type             % or IBU

0.50 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 7.08 % 4.50 lb Malteurop 2-Row (2.0 SRM) Grain 63.74 % 0.75 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 10.62 % 0.25 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.54 % 0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3.54 % 0.66 oz Centennial [8.80 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops - 0.41 oz Centennial [8.80 %] (60 min) Hops 22.3 IBU 0.20 oz Centennial [8.80 %] (45 min) Hops 10.2 IBU 0.20 oz Centennial [8.80 %] (30 min) Hops 8.6 IBU 0.20 oz Centennial [8.80 %] (15 min) Hops 5.5 IBU 0.20 oz Centennial [8.80 %] (0 min) Hops - 0.81 lb Booster (0.0 SRM) Sugar 11.47 % 1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.089 SG	Revised Est Original Gravity: 1.066 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.021 SG	Revised Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.91 %	Revised Est Alcohol by Vol: 6.53 %
Bitterness: 46.6 IBU	Calories: 298 cal/pint
Est Color: 5.5 SRM

EDIT:

Wow... two weeks in the bottle, and this is great!

EDIT:  Fast-forward to 4.5 months in the bottle.  Still very, very tasty.  Acquired a Two Hearted this weekend, so I did a little side-by-side...  Mine is a bit more pale than theirs and clearer.  Aroma is spot on.  Flavor is pretty darn close as well, though their carries a bit more malt character, which isn't surprising considering the challenges on brew day.  Really, really happy with this attempt.  I hope to have a cleaner brew day next time, but I will definitely roll with this recipe again.

#53: Saison

#53: Saison

Type: Partial Mash
Date: 8/21/2011
Batch Size: 2.40 gal

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.85 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 48.36 %
0.25 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.52 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6.52 %
0.19 oz Pearle [7.70 %] (60 min) Hops 9.0 IBU
0.29 oz Nugget [13.00 %] (20 min) Hops 13.8 IBU
0.24 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.70 %] (5 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
0.48 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (5 min) Hops 2.3 IBU
1.48 lb Booster (0.0 SRM) Sugar 38.60 %
1 Pkgs Saison Ale Yeast Blend (White Labs #WLP568) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.067 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.066 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.019 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.28 %
Bitterness: 26.5 IBU
Calories: 300 cal/pint
Est Color: 4.3 SRM

#52: Weisen

Continuing my revisiting of Mr. B recipes and extracts... 

I'm not a huge wheat fan (though I loves me a Gumballhead or Oberon), but I'm trying to gain a taste for it. This is the second time I've had the WW extract on hand. Last time (nearly two years ago, and near the beginning of my brewing adventure) I added it to the OVL from the variety pack and made something resembling the Prince Ludwig Lager, though I used Centennial instead of Saaz and also added some honey. It was so-so though drinkable.

This time, instead of trying to add it to something else, I went instead full bore into it, getting a wheat yeast and supplementing with wheat DME. Also threw in a touch of EKG I had left from another brew day just for fun.

I did the easy-peasy brew day on Monday night. Overfilled to the top of the Q as an experiment (figuring it's about 2.5 gallons). Odd that the OG was way over the estimate. I didn't weigh the DME. I wonder if they mismeasured at Rebel, as I get the same OG if I change the stats to 1.5 lb. Interesting...

I tested gravity tonight (something like 69 hours later)... 1.011! Below estimate! I guess I need to get some bottles ready... Wow... Munich tore it up...

Hydrometer taste is very encouraging. Banana and clove just as expected, but not overpowering. 
Wheat 
Weizen/Weissbier

Type: Extract
Ferment 7/11; bottled 7/24
Batch Size: 2.50 gal
Brewer: Swenocha

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.00 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 45.25 %
1.21 lb Whispering Wheat (6.0 SRM) Extract 54.75 %
0.10 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.70 %] (30 min) Hops 1.6 IBU
1 Pkgs Munich (Lallemand #- ) Yeast-Wheat

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.035 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.044 SG
Adj Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.011 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.17 %
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.30 %
Bitterness: 9.7 IBU
Calories: 194 cal/pint
Est Color: 5.2 SRM

#51: Two Dogs Mexican Brown (take 2)

Back to my AG confort zone...

I did the Yazoo Dos Perros recipe a while back... It tasted all right, but it was my first AG and I had some temp control issues.

This time I had better control of the temps, but I had to figure out a good way to do 5 gallons on the stovetop (since I still haven't gotten the turkey fryer and bigger pot as I intended when I bought this grain). Thus, I split the recipe between my bigger pot and my water cooler for the mash (staggering the times so that I wouldn't have them finish at the same time), and continued to run them parallel in my big and small brew pots the rest of the way out. Worked pretty well, but I don't think I'll run a 5 gallon AG again until I upgrade my equipment.

Regardless of process challenges, I hit my OG perfectly. RDWHAHB...


Here's take #2:

Two Dogs - All Grain - 5 gallon

Type: All Grain
Date: 6/12/2011
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Brewer: Swenocha
Boil Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Time: 60 min


Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 58.99 %
2.25 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 33.17 %
0.33 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 4.82 %
0.20 lb Carafa II (412.0 SRM) Grain 3.02 %
0.85 oz Pearle [5.40 %] (60 min) Hops 18.6 IBU
0.40 oz Saaz [4.90 %] (5 min) Hops 1.6 IBU
S-04 yeast


Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.037 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.037 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 3.52 %
Bitterness: 20.1 IBU
Calories: 162 cal/pint
Est Color: 13.0 SRM

#50: Irish Red

Ahhh, number 50. Haven't brewed a lot lately, so just getting back in the swing of things this week.

Second of the Mr. Beer extract series. This one is one of the three (or so) with add-ons. Going for a nice Irish Red, and EKG and Mt. Hood sound like a good boil addition to me.


Irish Red Ale

Type: Extract
Date: 6/6/2011
Batch Size: 2.40 gal
Brewer: Swenocha
Boil Size: 2.75 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min
Equipment: Brew Pot (4 Gallon)


Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.00 lb Amber Dry Extract (12.5 SRM) Dry Extract 33.11 %
1.21 lb Bewitched Red Ale (13.2 SRM) Extract 40.07 %
0.20 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 9.0 IBU
0.20 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.70 %] (60 min) Hops 7.0 IBU
0.81 lb Booster (0.0 SRM) Sugar 26.82 %
1.00 pkg Nottingham yeast

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Actual Original Gravity: 1.050 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.82 %
Bitterness: 25.0 IBU
Est Color: 8.1 SRM

#49: Czech "Pilsner" Ale

After buying the international and American sampler boxes on a whim when I saw them on a super cheap clearance, I decided to do two or three of them straight up (well... either straight up or using a recipe from the Mr. Beer recipe book), while modifying the other three or four. I hadn't done a Mr. B straight-up standard extract brew since the first month I started brewing (I quickly moved to non-HME brewing out of preference).

First up in my venture into basic Mr. Beer brewing: the Czech "Pilsner" recipe (pilsner in quotes, as a true pilsner is a lager and this is an ale, but I digress). I did the HCCD once before early in my brew experience with booster and 1 lb of DME, as well as some Argentine Cascade for dryhop, and had a banana flavor that never conditioned out. I'm hoping that that isn't the case with this one. I will monitor my temps closely, as I believe that to be my problem from the last go.

I did do a slight modification, as I used .4oz Saaz and a .1oz smidge of Glacier for the dryhop instead of the Sterling listed in the recipe. Saaz and Sterling are good subs for each other in general, and as Saaz is the traditional aroma hop for a Czech Pilsner, all is good there. The smidge of Glacier was added simply to clear some excess inventory and to round things out at .5oz. I also used three Fromundas instead of one.

Super quick brew day. A boil with the Booster, and then add the HME and into the sanitized fermenter. I had kinda forgotten how easy these are, but I also remember this simplicity being why I quickly moved out of "soup mix" brewing (no offense to anyone who normally HME brews... I have no problem with it, and I've tasted some fine brews made from HME. I simply prefer the control I have over AG brewing).

The only issue I had was a loss of wort as I moved to the fermenter. Generally I use a bigger brewing pot, and then use my auto-siphon to transfer. This time, I went back to using the smaller pot that I used when I started, and did the pour into the fermenter. Unfortunately I poured a bit down the side beginning my pour. I suppose I should stick with the auto-siphon. Hydrometer reading tells the tale... 1.034. A bit lower than anticipated, but no worries...

Czech "Pilsner"
---------------
Brewer: Swenocha
Style: German Pilsner (Pils)
Batch: 2.12 galExtract

Characteristics
---------------
Estimated Gravity: 1.038 OG
Measured Gravity: 1.034
Recipe Bitterness: 20 IBU
Recipe Color: 3° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.008
Est Alcohol by Volume: 3.4%

Ingredients
-----------
MrB. High Country Canadian Draft1.21 lb, Extract, Extract
MrB. Booster 0.81 lb, Sugar, Other

MrB. High Country Canadian Draft1.00 oz, Pellet, 5 minutes
Saaz (Czech) 0.40 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Glacier 0.10 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes

Mr. Beer Dry Ale Yeast 3.00 unit, Yeast

#48: Burton upon Trent Original Pale Ale

Brew day today in the midst of Easter dinner preparation...  Surprisingly things went really smoothly.

Went for a clone of the "original pale ale"...  Followed the BYO Bass recipe.  Looked and smelled great.  I left the hydrometer at home by accident, so I don't have an OG....  RDWHAHB...

Here's the recipe...

Bass Pale Ale

American Pale Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 4/24/2011
Batch Size: 2.40 gal	Brewer: Swenocha
Boil Size: 3.25 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (4 Gallon)
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 3.25 lb Malteurop 2-Row (2.0 SRM) Grain 69.89 % 0.90 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 19.35 % 0.31 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 % 0.19 lb Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 4.09 % 0.40 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 27.1 IBU 0.10 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 3.5 IBU 1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.10 %
Bitterness: 30.6 IBU
Est Color: 17.0 SRM