Ridiculous Reiterated RIS - Attempt #2

Gearing up for attempt number two at brewing the RRRIS. The brew date is fast approaching and is less than three weeks away. The equipment is fixed. The recipe is revised and nailed down. The ingredients are in inventory. Over the long upcoming weekend, the yeast build up will begin...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009 MoreBeer Forum Competition - BOS

Happy to come home today and see a newly redesigned conical fermenter from MoreBeer sitting on the front porch. This was the Best of Show prize for winning the 2009 MoreBeer Forum Competition with our Russian Imperial Stout!

American Wheat Update 3

We got it done in time. And it was a big hit this past Saturday. The 5 gal keg I brought was killed in less than 90 minutes and many didn't get to try it. Next time, we'll take 10 gallons. And maybe one of those big scary dark beers too...

American Wheat Update 2

10 gal of American Wheat is now currently bubbling away at 64 degrees. Smooth brew day yesterday and while we planned for 70% efficiency, we were closer to 80%. Since the beer has a higher OG than originally planned, we also increased the bittering hops by half an ounce to help compensate. Looks like the planning efficiency numbers will have to be changed in BeerSmith.

Now, will this beer be ready in 20 days?

American Wheat Update

Here's the situation:

No Hallertauer hops in inventory. Scheduled delivery on Thursday.

25 days (from today) the beer needs to be ready.


Here's the plan:

Brew on Sunday, skip the split batch idea, and hope the beer is ready to drink in 20 days.

Yikes!

American Wheat

Going to whip up a quick easy drinking American Wheat in a week or two for an event early next month. Never brewed one before but am hoping that this one will be what LN likes. We know at this point it's certainly not the traditional hefeweizens she digs.

Currently thinking of using noble (not citrus) hops. Not sure of the hop schedule or yeast strains. I wanted to split the batch and use either a neutral yeast or american hefeweizen yeast as well as a traditional german hefeweizen yeast. Here's what I've got thus far.

Comments? Suggestions?

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: American Wheat (6D.1)
Brewer: Dan
Asst Brewer:
Style: American Wheat or Rye Beer
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (0.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 10.00 gal
Boil Size: 11.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 3.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 18.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.00 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 5.88 %
8.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.06 %
8.00 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 47.06 %
3.00 oz Hallertauer [3.50 %] (60 min) Hops 18.2 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer [3.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
2.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs American Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP320Yeast-Wheat


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 17.00 lb
----------------------------
Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Saccharification Add 29.75 qt of water and heat to 152.0 F
10 min Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F


Fermentation temps:

wlp320 - 65
wlp300 - 67

Overachiever Imperial Mild - We're Back in Business

Darren at MoreBeer in Concord came through in a big way. He repaired, free of charge and in a day, the electrical wiring on the hot liquor tank. We're back in business! Fire good!
We managed to work in a brew session this past weekend. The planned beer was an English mild with an estimated OG of 1.038 and 18ish IBUs. Our typical efficiency ranges from 65% - 70%.

Prior to dough in, two changes were made. One subtle and one not so subtle. The first was to slightly crank down on the grain mill's gap size in order to get a slightly finer crush. The second was to increase the water to grain ratio from 1.25 qt / lb to 1.75 qt / lb. (A comment was made on a message board that based on research and experimentation, a thin mash like this does wonders. Reference to Kai Troester)




The combined effect of these changes on efficiency was stunning. Instead of 65% - 70% efficency, we achieved 88%. Pre-boil gravity of the (almost) 12 gal of runoff was in the low 1.040s. As a result, I added an ounce of hops at 30 minutes to bump up the IBUs. Gravity of the post-boil wort going into the conical was 1.052.

Given the gravity and IBUs, this is certainly no longer a mild and is more like an English brown ale in terms of style. However, it's much more fun (and probably inaccurate) to say that we brewed an Imperial Mild! Can't wait to taste Overachiever in a couple of weeks.

Brewing Equipment Finally Repaired!

Just need to run to Concord to pick it up. I look forward to finally being able to brew with some precision again! Winging it is fine once in a while, but I guess I'm spoiled.

First up, an English mild. Formerly known as Girlie Getaway Mild, I'll have to come up with a different name since this wouldn't be brewed for a Girlie Getaway Weekend for LN. Suggestions? Maybe I can crow bar in a brew session this weekend... Second up, the Ridiculous Russian Imperial Stout that was postponed due to broken equipment?

Very stoked.

2009 MoreBeer Forum Competition

It's been a while since the blog has been updated. The wiring on the brew sculpture needs to be soldered and until that's done, brewing has been minimal.




However, yesterday we received some fantastic news. Our RIS has taken the Best of Show award at the MoreBeer Forum Competition. Further, our sweet potato (spiced pumpkin) barleywine placed first in its category. As the BOS winner, we'll be the first to receive MoreBeer's newly redesigned 12.2 gal stainless steel conical fermenter!

The BOS award is, by far, the best award we've received to date as not only were there 242 other entries from other brewers, but the caliber of brewers was extremely high. Check out the names on that winners list!

Wow. Competition Scoring is Crazy. (Finally Finished!)

There's no old ale left. Or, at least, not enough to enter into any additional competitions. Think there may be 6oz or so in a bottle buried in my chest freezer...

What follows is a complete history of all competitions entered with the old ale. I started keeping track because I couldn't understand the huge scoring swing between competitions 1 and 2. Competition 2 excluded, scores have been pretty consistent.

The old ale was originally brewed in December of 2007 and the beer held up pretty well throughout. I think it peaked in late 2008.

History of competition entries for the Old Ale.

Comp 1:

Score 42 (1st in class)


Comp 2 (2008 NHC 1st Round):

Score 27


Comp 3:

Score 36 (2nd in class)


Comp 4:

Score 41 (1st in class)


Comp 5 (CA State Homebrewing Competition):

Score 42 (Best of Show)


Comp 6 (2009 NHC 1st Round):

Score 44

Comp 7 (2009 CA State Fair):

Score 27 & 28 (?) (2nd in class)

Comp 8 (2009 LongShot):

Score 36.5 (2nd in class)

Darkest Night RRIS

I plan on brewing a RRIS (Ridiculous Russian Imperial Stout). Something along the lines of 15-17% ABV with over 125 IBUs. I've never done something like this before and don't even know what the end result will be (or should be). Process wise I don't know if I can ferment a beer that big and have it turn out drinkable. I've scaled up the Dark Day RIS recipe and have been researching a number of different things including "reiterated" mashing. This will be educational to say the least. More to come in the coming weeks...

2009 CA State Fair Homebrew Competition

And we were also lucky enough to win three more awards at the 2009 CA State Fair Homebrew Competition. A 1st and two 2nd place awards for our RIS, Old Ale and Cream Ale (v 2.0) respectively.

2009 Sam Adams LongShot Competiton

Raz's Fine Ales is pleased to announce that our Traditional Bock placed first in the 2009 Sam Adams LongShot Competition (Western Region). Very exciting!

What A Messed Up Brew Day

Thanks to Todd for helping me get through the day.

In order of occurrence:

My inventory schedule had not been updated and I didn’t have enough pilsner malt that the recipe called for.

Substituted in Maris Otter and forgot to set aside additional grain, Munich malt, accounting for 25% of the total grain bill.

Overshot, temperature wise, the water in the mash tun. On the plus side, I had a chance to review my recipe and noticed I forgot the Munich malt.

I had a thick mash, not sure exactly why (other than the obvious use of too little water), and this caused problems circulating the wort.

The digitial controller I use to monitor mash tun temperature was not matching up with the temperature probe in the mash tun. Temperatures were also not increasing when adding water prior to draining into the kettle. Or rather, temperatures were not registering as increasing. Never did achieve a mash out at 168 (as read by both the controller and probe).

Drained mash tun until boil volume reached. Took 40-45 minutes. Preboil gravity missed by 20 points. Just left it alone. (I didn’t add DME but in retrospect probably should have). I did nothing different, compared to what I normally do, and am stumped as to why this happened…

I attempted, for the first time, the use of a whirlpool in conjunction with an immersion chiller. Disconnects running out of the boil kettle and the pump immediately clogged with hop debris when trying to circulate boiling wort. Not sure how I’m going to attempt a fix here. Hop bag?

After boil was complete, went to plug in the submersible pump (used to circulate ice water through the immersion chiller) and water being picked up by the pump immediately blasted out of the side of the pump rather than push it through the chiller. A small plastic piece near a screw was somehow broken off where the pump’s top and bottom halves seal together resulting in a total loss of pressure. After 15 minutes of applying duct tape, managed to get some water circulating and barely achieved a decent yeast pitching temperature.

Because the kettle and pump disconnects were clogged, rather than transferring the wort to the conical fermenter using the pump, I simply dumped everything in. It will all settle out but what a pain in the ass.

Ugh.

Is there any way this will turn out to be a decent brew? We'll wait and see...

2009 Mayfaire Competition Results - Follow Up

Not only will I not be receiving decent feedback, as it turns out, I will not be receiving any feedback. Apparently a number of beers in the IPA category, including mine, were not judged. Essentially I sent a bunch of people I don't know free beer and even got to pay for shipping/handling/packaging materials. I'm not thrilled...

A Little More Clarity. But Just a Little.

2009 National Homebrew Competition 1st round (regional) results have finally been released. This lends a little bit of clarity as to how my beers did in the competition.

My top three scores were:

Old Ale - 44
RIS - 43
Cream Ale - 40.5

In looking at the results, each of these was the highest in the various categories Strong Ale (18 entries), Stout (40 entries) and Light Hybrid Beer (33 entries), respectively. That is something I'm quite proud of.

However, it's a shame that I don't know anything else about where they were in terms of flight position, how they did in a mini Best of Show, or even if they advanced to a mini Best of Show.

Better get to work now trying to figure out a way to get into that elusive second round in next year's competition...

2009 Mayfaire Competition Results

I only entered one beer, an Imperial IPA, in this year's Mayfaire Competition. I had zero expectations of placing in the popular IPA category as typical scores from other competitions were in the low 30s. Hopefully I'll get some decent feedback. Congrats to all the winners!

Wow. Competition Scoring is Crazy.

History of competition entries for the Old Ale.

Comp 1:

Score 42 (1st in class)


Comp 2 (2008 NHC 1st Round):

Score 27


Comp 3:

Score 36 (2nd in class)


Comp 4:

Score 41 (1st in class)


Comp 5 (CA State Homebrewing Competition):

Score 42 (Best of Show)


Comp 6 (2009 NHC 1st Round):

Score 44

Wild.

At the recent World Cup of Beer, the Russian Imperial Stout didn't do well with judges. They indicated that there was a solventy flavor and aroma as well as sweetness due to being underattenuated. They also suggested using a lower fermentation temp. Score was a 26. The same beer scored a 43 in the 2009 NHC 1st Round. A 17 point swing.

Wild.

Prioritizing

Got a lot of brews floating around in my head and I need to prioritize what gets brewed and when.

In no particular order:

Old Ale

2009 Holiday Spiced Cherry Dubbel v 2.0

Russian Imperial Stout v 2.0 (for collaborative blend)

Berliner Weiss (for collaborative blend)

Nut Brown Ale

Hopprehension Imperial IPA v 2.0

Raspberry Vanilla Porter or Stout

Todd's Porter

something or somethings for upcoming Graham mini-reunion

Creamsicle Ale v 2.0 (I've had a request)

something high gravity if we're going to attempt the aeration experiment

something high gravity if Brent wants to age something for his bachelor party next year...

Help!

World Cup of Beer 2009 Results

Finally got the results and was pleased to see that Raz's Fine Ales managed to pick up a second place for our Sourwood Honey Mead (dry). Was a bit disappointed to see that the Russian Imperial Stout didn't do very well. The chocolate stout made it to the second round of judging but didn't ultimately place. The Hopprehension Imperial IPA had a higher score than the chocolate stout but didn't make it to the second round. Tough competition!

First Batch Sparge a Success!

There were a lot of guesses as to strike temps, grain absorption, dead space, evaporation rate and what not, but the in the end, the first batch sparge was a success. We wound up with 15 gallons of weizen and a couple of extra gallons of what will be a funky "imperial" berliner weiss. 10 gallons of weizen is currently fermenting at 61* and 5 gallons is currently fermenting with an ambient temperature of 67*. The same yeast strain was used for both. The berliner weiss is sitting in the coolest part of my house where in the late afternoon ambient temps are around 80*. Why is it that on the rare occasions I ferment without temperature control there is ALWAYS a heat wave? And why is it the heat wave only lasts two to three days (during the most crucial part of fermentation)? Hopefully the berliner weiss will be drinkable...

A big thank you goes out to Todd and Brent for all their assistance and input.

Below is the setup. The cooler is connected to the pump to runoff into the kettle. Strike water and water for runoff were both brought up to temperature on the sculpture and transferred into the cooler via pump as well.

Here the wort is flowing into the 26 gallon kettle. We're getting a pretty good rate of transfer. The thermoplastic rubber tubing is 1/2" ID.



Lastly, just a touch above 23 gallons of wort boiling away...

The only significant issue for the day was cooling 17 gallons to pitching temperature (58*). For batches of 5-10 gallons, I've been able to get away with recirculating ice water (cooled with frozen water bottles) through an immersion chiller. This method was only good enough at dropping the wort temperature down to 84* on a relatively warm day. I ultimately had to use 60 pounds of ice to get the wort down to pitching temperature. On the plus side, once adding the ice, it only took ten to fifteen minutes.

Going forward, I'm going to have to look into making a hop hanger of sorts or using hop bags to minimize what winds up in the fermenter.

Oh, and I used Fermcap-S for the first time during the boil. Awesome awesome awesome foam control! I used it in the fermenters as well so hopefully no repeat of the Exerweizen...

Spontaneously Fermenting With Wild Yeast Taking Too Long?

Raz's Fine Ales is proud to announce that we've developed a state of the art and technologically advanced new method for dramatically and drastically speeding up the spontaneous fermenting of your beer with wild yeast. These days, who has time to wait for things to fall in from the rafters or be blown in by the wind or come out of a barrel? Instead, we send children out into the woods to run around and play for a day. When they come back, we pitch the children directly into our oxygenated wort. If the children have been active enough to achieve a healthy layer of funk during their daily adventures, we've seen fermentation start up within mere hours of pitching. No children in your brewery? No problem. Ours are available for a minimal fee. Please email for a quote. Cheers!

Finally!

It's taken a while, but I've finally got my pump reconfigured and mounted properly on the sculpture.

For some inexplicable reason, the pump was originally mounted so low that a ball valve handle was literally resting on the bottom of the sculpture frame (the pump wasn't sitting all the way down in it's mounting plate).

I attempted once before to drill into the 304 stainless sculpture to move the pump mounting plate up, but I couldn't find a drill bit strong enough to get through the steel. My alternative was to reconfigure the pump itself. And while that succeeded in having the pump seated properly in the mount and getting the ball valves moved around, the actual functioning of the pump (while brewing) seemed to be negatively affected. So I lived with it...

Recently I've been hitting up various hardware stores to look for parts for the cooler conversion (batch sparging). While doing this, I also started to scope out drill bits again as well. I found a couple that specifically mentioned they were to be used for drilling stainless. Got home, took out some WD-40, and about a half an hour later, after using three different bits and with a touch of grunting, groaning and sweating, I got through the steel! (There was no excessive swearing as that's reserved for when I build computers.)

Last night I moved the mount, did the pump reconfigure, tightened all the disconnects, setup the sculpture, and ran some sanitizer through the hoses, pump, sparge ring, mash tun, etc. Everything seemed to work quite well. Finally!

Another Lawnmower Beer Up Next - LN's Weizen

I've been considering what kind of beer I should break in the cooler mash tun with (see Denny Conn's Cheap 'n' Easy Batch Sparge Brewing below) and I've finally decided on a weizen. The nut brown ale will have to wait. Spring is here, summer is on the way, and Ellen loves her weizens.

I kept the recipe simple. I plan on fermenting 10 gallons in the conical at 62 and 5 gallons in the fermentation chiller at 67. Hopefully Ellen likes one of the batches. She wasn't terribly fond of the last weizen I made back in April 2008.

Given the boil size of 21 gallons, I have a feeling that I'll be boiling on the sculpture, on my extra propane burner and probably on the stove top for the first 30 minutes.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 15.00 gal
Boil Size: 21.04 gal
Estimated OG: 1.049 SG
Estimated Color: 3.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 15.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
15.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 50.00 %
15.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 50.00 %
3.00 oz Hallertauer [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 15.4 IBU
3.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP300) [StartYeast-Wheat


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 30.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 37.50 qt of water at 167.3 F 152.0 F

Wait...do I need a protein rest for the wheat? Guess it depends on how well modified it is. If the rest is a necessity, I may have to go with the nut brown ale instead and save the weizen for the sculpture where it's easier to step mash. Wonder if rice hulls would be helpful for the runoff as well...

Miscellaneous Updates

The Cream Ale, brewed on March 14th, seems to almost be done fermenting. Bubbles in the airlock are very infrequent. Gravity reading showed 1.011. At this stage, it tastes quite different from the batch I was hoping to duplicate. It's slightly sweeter, with a touch of sulfer (will fade) and less hop bite at this point. It will hopefully turn out to be a great lawnmower beer in the next few weeks.

The bock has been lagering now for almost five weeks. Tapped it last night. Not quite at the appropriate carbonation level yet but the taste is pretty good. Really malty and smooth. Ellen enjoyed it so much that for the first time she said about a beer "I could drink this flat no problem." Good enough for me. I hadn't initially planned to, but I will be entering this into the national competition as well as the Longshot. I consider this to be the first successful lager that I've ever brewed.

Being busy at work these days has led me to ponder ideas on procrastination. I've settled on Denny Conn's Cheap 'n' Easy Batch Sparge Brewing to help me avoid what I'm supposed to be doing in the office. I figure that his batch sparge brewing has some nice advantages including being cheap (equipment cost minimal), taking less time than my current all grain brewing method, using less water (mandatory rationing coming this summer), getting better efficiency from the grains, and being much more of a mobile brewing method. I can't really fit a brewing sculpture into my teeny car to attend brew-ins... I'll be looking to pick up all parts in the next week or so and will have to give batch sparging a test run shortly after April 15th.

Cheers.

Now On Tap...

Hopprehension Imperial IPA. Pretty good. Disappointed in the (lack of) aroma, but I think it's to be expected when rushing a beer for competition purposes. I was hoping for much more in your face. LN tells me my nose is off but I'm not so sure...

Also recently on tap, and soon to make a reappearance, a sticke altbier blend. The ratio (for my taste) seems to be about 2/3rds dry to 1/3 sweet. The nice thing about having a keg of the sweet and a keg of the dry on tap at the same time is that it allows each person to customize the blend to their liking. I'm tempted to enter a blend into some upcoming competitions as well for constructive feedback.

American Barleywine

Given that spare time is a luxury I no longer have, I made a quicky extract batch of barleywine on February 15th. Two ounces of Warrior were used for bittering. Four ounces of Cascade were added in the last twenty minutes and two ounces of Amarillo were added at flameout. I've been having good success lately with my pseudo-"hop burst" technique providing strong hop flavor. The boil was 2.5 hours long. OG on the (just shy of) 5 gallon batch was 1.133. 94 IBUs.

On 03/01/09, the yeast I used for primary fermentation (US-05) were absolutely pooped out. Gravity reading at the time was 1.040. So out came the champage yeast. I dissolved half a pound of brown sugar into a cup and a half of water, added yeast nutrient and pitched that and the champagne yeast into the primary fermenter. Last night (03/05/09), now that bubbling has again slowed, I took another gravity reading. 1.035. I'm hoping with more time that another couple of points will drop off. I'll rouse the yeast daily and keep at 68 degrees for another week or two. Probably should have added the champagne yeast earlier but didn't know if it would be necessary...

Right now the barleywine is 13% ABV and wonderfully hoppy. There's no harshness as I kept the ambient temps at 61-63 (fermentation temps 64-65) throughout the majority of primary. The hops will most certainly fade with aging and I expect it to turn out pretty decent in the end. Waiting will be the hardest part.

But at least I'll have time to come up with a clever name. Which as everyone knows is the most important thing...

Oh, and sorry to crowbar this in, but my cream ale received a high score of 43 from one judge in the 2009 QUAFF AFC. It's the highest score any beer I've brewed has ever received. The other judge gave it a 40 for an average score of 41.5 (the highest score any beer received in the category).

Made It Into Print

From the just released March/April 2009 issue of Zymurgy (the journal of the American Homebrewers Association). Pretty cool stuff.

Quaff 2009 America's Finest City Homebrew Competition

Raz's Fine Ales managed to take third place in the Light Hybrid Beer category with its Cream Ale. It's very exciting given the caliber of brewers entering this difficult competition.

I had high hopes for the Russian Imperial Stout entered as well (that didn't place). In looking at the numbers, there were 37 entries into the Stout category with 13 of those in the Imperial Stout subcategory. The average score of the top three was 41! If I'm not mistaken, the highest score Raz's Fine Ales has received on any entry in any competition has been 42 for the Old Ale on a few occassions (including the Best of Show at the CA State Homebrew Competition). Hopefully the RIS still scored well. I'd totally be happy with mid-30s or up. And maybe the RIS will improve with age as it was brewed a short time ago in mid-November...But even if it doesn't, I still love it.

Quaff 2009 America's Finest City Homebrew Competition Results

Good stuff!

*edit 02/28/09* Just received my scoresheets and medal in the mail. According to what was in the package, my cream ale scored 41.5 and the ribbon was blue. In addition, my old ale scored 40.5. According to the online results, the third place for the strong ale category scored a 39. I've emailed the organizer to get some clarification on whether or not I've received the medal and scoresheets belonging to someone else or to verify if I really placed first and third in two different categories. The RIS scored in the low 30s and I'm somewhat disappointed.

*edit 03/02/09* The short version, according to the organizer, is that medals don't follow scoring. They'll have a group (or groups) of judges initially go through and score entries. Then they'll take the top scorers (don't know how many) and give them to another set of judges and essentially ask them to pick the beer that "they like best" without any regard to scores. So I had the highest scoring beer in the light hybrid category but finished third and I had the third highest score in the strong ale category and didn't place. Bummer. And they apparently made all ribbons blue...Ah well. Hope to do better next year!

Hopprehension Imperial IPA - Update

Todd and I brewed this beer 10 days ago and I just wanted to post an update as to where it's at in the process. I'm pleased to say that it's finished fermenting. OG 1.103 FG 1.008. 12.5% ABV with 141 IBUs. The sample I tasted today was fantastic. I'm really excited about giving it a bit of time (2 - 3 weeks more in total) and a couple ounces of Centennial for dry hopping. If it turns out as I'm expecting, this will definitely be entered into the Samuel Adams Long Shot.

Stirring Up A Heap Of Trouble

While discussing the matter of aeration, a challenge was issued. Brew two identical beers, but prior to pitching the yeast, aerate one using a mix-stir and the other using pure O2 and a diffusion stone, and then ferment the beers at the same temperature. Once kegged and carbonated, try to discern any differences between the two beers.

This idea is probably very unoriginal and I'm sure this has been done hundreds of times. I could probably do an Internet search right now and find out that the beers probably don't taste different to the vast majority of people (if not everyone). But where's the fun in that?

I'm thinking that the beer brewed would have to be one in which a lot of oxygen needs to be used. A lager or a big ale for example. I'm leaning towards brewing a big ale and splitting the batch. I'll have to ponder...suggestions?

I'm hoping that the Sudzers would be willing to sample both in a blind test at an upcoming meeting to find out a) which they prefer and b) which beer is which.

First Award of 2009

2009 Doug King Memorial Competition sponsored by the Maltose Falcons Homebrewing Club.

A third place in the specialty category for the beer I brewed with Todd, the From Russia With Love Russian Imperial Stout (with coffee). Great job Todd!

I'm really looking forward to entering their 2009 Mayfaire Competition in early April.

Entering Competitions - Often An Expensive Proposition

I recently entered the 2009 America's Finest City Homebrew Competition hosted by the QUAFF homebrew club. Competition entries were to be mailed to San Diego, CA. I sent a total of three entries, six 12 oz bottles (two per entry), and the costs of entry included:

Corrugated box w/ pulp tray, bubble wrap and ziploc bags are approximately $10.00 ($5.00 each).
Entry fees are $18.00 ($6.00 each).
Shipping two six pound boxes to Southern California is $19.00.
Bottles, caps and beer approximately what, $6.00 ($1.00 a bottle)?

If my math is correct, that's a total cost of approximately $53.00 to enter this competition. A sizable $17.67 per entry. Could I knock a couple of bucks off per entry if I used cheaper boxes? Sure.* But is $14 or $15 an entry really that much better of a deal than $17.67? Could I choose to only enter cheaper or free competitions? Sure. But generally the ones that matter are going to cost $6 per entry and up. Could I choose to only enter local competitions with local drop off locations? Sure. But again, the ones that matter are not in the South Bay Area.**

The reality is that competitions are often an expensive proposition. To the point of being cost prohibitive for a number of people (including myself). Especially given the current economic landscape. My third entry was the 350th overall into the competition, but I would bet that the vast majority of entrants are local to the greater San Diego area.



*For illustrative purposes only. I would rather not take a chance of beers that I send to the East Coast breaking in mid-shipment. I perceive there to be a value in using these boxes. Excellent quality and sturdy.

**The closest drop off location to me (for just a few competitions) is in Los Altos. That's 22 miles away and a minimum of a 30 minute drive (each way). Remember when gas was over $4 gallons? 2-3 gallons of gas plus my time is considerably more than the cost of shipping for a typical competition. However, if we're talking 5 or 6 entries, then it makes sense to take the time and make the drive.

*update* Just discovered that the rules for the 2009 Sam Adams Longshot Competition have been posted. The Los Altos MoreBeer location is a drop off point. I plan on entering at least three beers so it's possible I'll be dropping these off.

*update* Only one bottle is needed initially for each entry into the Longshot. There's little chance that I'm going to spend the time and gas to drive 44 miles for 3 - 6 entries (3 - 6 bottles).

Fermentation. Of a Different Kind.

Tonight's pizza pie. Prosciutto. Dough made with a 24 hour cold ferment + 2 hour room temp warm up. Turned out excellent. Crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. One of my better efforts thus far. Heck, even the kids liked it. They liked the bubbles (in the crust) the best.

To keep it beer related, I started my vacation early tonight. Along with the pizza, I had two beers. Pliny The Elder and the new Torpedo IPA from Sierra Nevada. The mistake I made was having Pliny first. Torpedo wasn't bad. In fact, it's probably pretty good. But next to Pliny, not so much.

Hopprehension Imperial IPA Recipe - Updated + Miscellaneous Updates

Changed up the hop schedule a bit and included first wort hopping. Too much? Is there such a thing? 140 IBUs...

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Hopprehension Imperial IPA All Grain (14C.2)
Brewer: Daniel L. Rosbrugh
Asst Brewer:
Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (0.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.05 gal
Estimated OG: 1.105 SG
Estimated Color: 8.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 140.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
15.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.92 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (15.0 SRM) Grain 5.13 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 5.13 %
0.60 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (60 min) (First WortHops 16.0 IBU
2.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
3.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [11.90 %] (60 min) Hops 86.5 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (20 min) Hops 14.7 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 10.2 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) Hops 8.8 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (5 min) Hops 4.1 IBU
1.40 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.25 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
2.00 lb Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM) Sugar 10.26 %
0.50 lb Turbinado (10.0 SRM) Sugar 2.56 %
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [StartYeast-Ale


The shower bock has finished (primary) fermenting and I'm doing a diacetyl rest at 58 degrees. FG is 1.016-ish and puts it at a smidge over 6% ABV. Doesn't taste bad. I'm curious to see how it will clean up after the rest and four to six weeks of lagering. I've never had much success with lagers and this is the first one that has shown promise.

I received some nice compliments from people who have sampled my cream ale and RIS. Including a "you need to enter [the RIS] into the Longshot Competition" which I take as high praise given who said it. I still haven't had a chance to bottle (for competition purposes) but am hoping to do so tonight. It depends on if my capping wench is available to help. All of the remaining RIS is going to be bottled (3+ gallons) along with 8-12 bottles of the cream ale. It's too easy to go over to the tap and pull a pint of RIS. Bottling the rest of the batch will make it harder to drink on a whim. Plus it's almost 500 calories a pint. I shouldn't be drinking it like...at all.

Too bad my bottling wench doesn't help with the cleaning of carboys, conicals or kegs. I get to be the lone cleaning wench and I haven't had the time recently to keep up. Ugh.

I'm So Bitter

Sticke #1:

OG 1.095 FG 1.022 Bitterness approx 63 IBUs Kolsch Ale yeast used WLP029

Sticke #2:

Additional pound of munich malt and added a pound of turbinado to Sticke #1 recipe.

OG 1.088 (efficiency issue - too much sparge water) FG 1.018 Bitterness approx 73 IBUs Kolsch Ale yeast used WLP029 & Champagne yeast used #4021


Sticke #1 is malty sweet (love the complexity just too sweet) and Sticke #2 is much drier and tastes similar to what you would get if you can imagine a double IPA without the hop aroma and flavor. B3...bitter, bitter and more bitter! Not terribly thrilled with #2 and I definitely hope this one benefits from a couple of months of cold conditioning. Though I'm not optimistic. Now, in terms of recipe formulation, I have to contemplate where to go from here for #3...

The traditional (shower) bock is still doing well. It's currently sitting at just over 50 degrees in the fermentation chiller. The fermentation has subsided subtantially since pitching almost two weeks ago. I was changing ice at a minimum of every 8 hours for the first week (ambient temperatures 50-52). Now I can change ice once every 48 hours and maintain a solid 50-51 degrees. I wonder if having to change ice every 8 hours was the result of me not cooling the wort to below fermenting temp (50) prior to pitching. We'll test the idea the next time I use the fermentation chiller. I'm hoping another week or so before I can get this bad boy lagering.

I have a Sudzer club meeting tonight and am looking forward to getting constructive feedback on my Russian Imperial Stout and "European" Cream Ale. In addition, I'm planning on bringing a Port Brewing High Tide (Fresh Hop) IPA. Should be fun!

No major beery things planned for this weekend other than bottling a dozen or so of the cream ale and RIS for competition purposes.

Hope everyone enjoys the Super Bowl and parties this weekend.

Cheers.

Beer Tasting

Was fortunate to be able to have a beer tasting over the weekend. Good folks and good beer, always a great combination.

The Fantome flight included:

Saison - sour and undercarbonated, people liked this one
Hiver - funky and a touch of horse blanket, apparently I'm the only one liking this beer
La Dalmatienne - everyone loved

The Russian Imperial Stout flight included:

Stone RIS (2007) (thanks Todd!)
Stone RIS (2008)
Lagunitas RIS - I think it's off...fine upfront but something wrong in the aftertaste. Not sure entirely of what.
Ballast Point Sea Monster RIS - big winner of the flight, awesome.
Firehouse Brewing RIS - one of my favorites, excellent
Drake's RIS - solid
Dark Day RIS (my homebrew) - I know I'm partial and I like it!
From Russia With Love RIS (coffee RIS - Todd and I homebrew) - coffee has mellowed. Nice.

Others:

New Belgium La Folie - sour, very similar to a Rodenbach Grand Cru, everyone loved (thanks Brent!)
Russian River Beatification (batch 003) - very sour, people liked this one (thanks Adam!)
Cream ale (my homebrew) - comments included "very clean" and hopefully this isn't polite code for "not that great"

Miscellaneous Updates & Hopprehension IPA (All Grain Version)

Miscellaneous Updates:

The shower bock is fermenting strong at 50 degrees. May have started a little high at 54 but by the second day, right at 50.

Apple cherry cider has been transferred to secondary. It appears the FG will be at or near 0.994. ABV will be a shade over 10% (not counting the additional sugar added by the fruit). The 4.5 pounds of sour cherries have added a nice red hue to the cider as well as a subtle nose and flavor. I'll be adding some Ceylon cinnamon at kegging. Really looking forward to see how this tastes after extended aging.

Lastly, I think I'm pretty happy with the IPA recipe. Now...if only I could find the time to brew it.

Maybe I should do a 4L yeast starter or step up a smaller one to 4L? Planning on fermenting at 66.

Or here's a thought...maybe I could do a 20 minute continuously hopped beer with the Centennial and Amarillo?

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Hopprehension Imperial IPA All Grain (14C.2)
Brewer: Daniel L. Rosbrugh
Asst Brewer:
Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (0.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.05 gal
Estimated OG: 1.105 SG
Estimated Color: 8.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 126.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
15.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.92 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (15.0 SRM) Grain 5.13 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 5.13 %
2.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
3.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [11.90 %] (60 min) Hops 86.5 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (20 min) Hops 14.7 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 10.2 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) Hops 8.8 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (5 min) Hops 4.1 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (2 min) Hops 2.0 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.25 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2.00 lb Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM) Sugar 10.26 %
0.50 lb Turbinado (10.0 SRM) Sugar 2.56 %
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [StartYeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 17.00 lb
----------------------------
Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Light Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Saccharification Add 21.25 qt of water and heat to 149.0 F
10 min Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F


Notes:
------
Dry hop for two weeks.

For discussion on "hop bursting" or late hop additions, see http://www.mrmalty.com/late_hopping.htm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hopprehension Imperial IPA recipe

Thoughts? Comments?

Looking to do extract as free time is in short supply. Attempting a pseudo-hop burst type of hopping schedule for big flavor and aroma. Fermenting at 66. Dry hopping for two weeks. Will the additions of sugars be enough to get the FG at or below 1.020? Too much sugar?



BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Hopprehension Imperial IPA (14C.2)
Brewer: Daniel L. Rosbrugh
Asst Brewer:
Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: Extract
Taste: (0.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.05 gal
Estimated OG: 1.102 SG
Estimated Color: 8.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 127.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: - %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
11.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 70.97 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (15.0 SRM) Grain 6.45 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 6.45 %
2.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
3.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [11.90 %] (60 min) Hops 88.4 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (20 min) Hops 15.0 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 10.4 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) Hops 9.0 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (5 min) Hops 4.2 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.25 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2.00 lb Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM) Sugar 12.90 %
0.50 lb Turbinado (10.0 SRM) Sugar 3.23 %
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [StartYeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: None
Total Grain Weight: 2.00 lb
----------------------------
Steep grains as desired (30-60 minutes)


Notes:
------
Steep the 2 crushed grains in 3 gallons of water at 149 'F for 30 minutes. Remove grains from wort, add DME and sugars, 4.25 gallons of water and bring to a boil.

Cool the wort, aerate the beer and pitch yeast.

Dry hop for two weeks.

For discussion on "hop bursting" or late hop additions, see http://www.mrmalty.com/late_hopping.htm

Steeping grains are those used in the Ruination clone recipe (Zymurgy).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good Head

The "European" cream ale has been kegged, tapped and (almost) carbonated. I think it's pretty good. Though my opinion probably doesn't mean all that much since I've never had any cream ales other than mine...

I'm currently zeroing in on the proper carbonation level and it should be there in the next day or so. In the meantime, check out the lace on this bad boy.

Hankering For Some Hops

Recently, on our way up to Tahoe for our annual family trip to the snow, I forced everyone to stop off in Concord so that I could visit Monument Wines & Spirits. The spoils of such a visit were vast. And let me put it this way, for the three nights we were in Tahoe, I had Pliny The Elder every night.

Today I've received news that Russian River beers (Blind Pig IPA and Pliny The Elder are the two I care about) are now available at Cosentino's in my neck of the woods. Finally!

It got me thinking about the last truly hoppy beer I made. In looking at my records, the last one brewed, a standard American IPA, was in August of 2008. This is far too long...

So I'm thinking I need a big beer with a tremendous amount of IBUs. Is 1.100 OG and 120 IBUs too nuts? Can such a big beer be attenuated enough? As far as aroma/flavor hop selection, I'm a huge fan of Centennial. And it's got to be dry hopped with a couple of ounces of Centennial as well. I'm thinking Columbus will be a good bet for bittering. Maybe Cascade or Amarillo in there for fun too. Any thoughts or ideas please let me know.

"My mind is aglow with whirling transient nods of thought, careening through a cosmic vapor of invention."

Traditional Bock

The traditional bock I got wrangled into brewing yesterday (thanks LN!) is currently sitting in the shower of our main bathroom fermenting away. Not only do I have a carboy full of beer in the shower, but I've got the entire fermentation chiller in there as well. Garage temps have recently been too far below the 50 degree fermentation temperature I'm shooting for and the upcoming weather appears to be cooling off. Thus, into the shower (the only place on the ground floor with space and "hidden") it goes!

Now, the big money question. If I want the beer to be at 50 degrees during the height of fermentation activity, do I need to get the ambient temperature down to say 47 degrees? Cooler? Warmer? It's probably one of those things that "it depends" and I'll just have to wing it a couple of times before I figure it out...

0-2 & Champagne Yeast

Heard through the grapevine that neither of my two entries into the 2009 Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival Homebrew Competition in Vail, CO placed in their respective categories. I entered the Old Ale that has been showing recent success at a number of competitions as well as the first sticke altbier that I brewed. I had a bit of hope for the Old Ale doing well and was not surprised whatsoever about the sticke. In fact, I really just entered the sticke because I was looking for unbiased constructive feedback. Ah well. Perhaps the third time, next year's competition, will be the charm?

Speaking of the sticke, my second version of the beer (brewed 9 days ago) is still bubbling away happily at 65 degrees. Before I go on, a quick back story.

I received a bit of inspiration on trying to dry out the sticke a touch while reading Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione. (I felt the first version was too sweet...we'll see if competition comments reflect this sentiment. FG 1.022) Well, I guess technically, reading Sam's directions for making an extreme barleywine made me recall the instructions provided with the first barleywine I ever brewed.

An online supply store, Homebrew Heaven, offered an extract beer kit called Death By Barleywine. As I recall, a decent enough barleywine. But what was unusual to me (as a newbie brewer) about the kit was that after active primary fermentation was over with whatever strain of typical beer yeast came with the kit, champagne yeast was supposed to be added to the beer. The general thought is that beer yeast sputter out when dealing with such big beers and can't totally complete the fermentation process. This leaves a sweet beer or off flavors behind. Champagne yeast has a significantly higher alcohol tolerance and can munch through quite a bit more than your typical beer yeasts.

In Sam's barleywine recipe, he too mentioned using champagne yeast after 4- 5 days of primary fermentation. Presumably to achieve the same goal of helping to fully ferment the beer. He never addresses specifically why he uses it. I had forgotten that I once used this method and it never occurred to me, until reading through Extreme Brewing, that it may be worth a shot doing it with the sticke.

So to continue with the story, unfortunately, due to a scheduled trip to Tahoe on Thursday, I couldn't really wait to pitch my champagne yeast a full five days after pitching my beer yeast. I had to pitch Thursday morning before heading out, whether the sticke was ready for it or not.

Lake Tahoe at sunrise 01.11.09:


When I got home Sunday afternoon, substantial fermentation activity was noted in the airlock. The temperature of the beer was 65 degrees and everything appeared fine. Hopefully the slightly early pitching of the champagne yeast doesn't adversely affect anything. Even better would be if it accomplishes what I hope it will!

Oh, and I should point out that brewers seem to disagree about whether or not champagne yeast really makes much of a difference when used in this manner. With the quality of today's beer yeasts, especially the highly alcohol tolerant strains, champagne yeast can be viewed as unnecessary provided you aerate your wort sufficiently ahead of time and pitch the proper amount of beer yeast.

I guess we'll see.

Cheers.

Miscellaneous Updates

Wort Cooling:

Over the weekend I was finally able to brew the sticke altbier. It was the first time I had the opportunity to try a new wort cooling method using a submersible pump. To briefly restate the process:

Faucet water is run through an immersion chiller (IC) placed in a tub of ice water. The water flows through the IC to another IC in the boil kettle and then out into the lawn/garden. Then, once the wort is cooled to 85-90 degrees, a submersible pump is substituted in for the IC in the tub of ice water and hooked up to the IC in the boil kettle. Ice water is then pumped through the IC in the boil kettle and then recirculated back into the tub until pitching temperatures are reached. In this case, I was shooting for 60-65.

I'm pleased to say that getting down from boiling to 85-90 took approximately 10 minutes and then getting down to 60-65 using the submersible pump took less than 10 mintes. After pitching, temp of the (now) beer was 63. Active bubbling is currently going on at 65. Perfect! I'm very pleased with the results.

For the next time I brew and then ferment in the concial, I think I'll hook the submersible pump up to the counterflow chiller from the start (bypass all ICs) and see how low I can get the wort temperature. Using faucet water in the summer time, and controlling the flow rate of the wort being transferred, I can generally get the wort into the high 70s.

Apple Cherry Cider:

8 days after making, still actively fermenting on the countertop. I'm very curious to see how this one turns out given the honey, sour cherries, ceylon cinnamon and turbinado sugar. Prior to pitching sweet mead yeast, I mixed the turbinado with enough water to dissolve and simmered until half of it evaporated...essentially creating a turbinado syrup. The unfermented cider tasted really good. Though I'm anticipating having to backsweeten with apple juice concentrate prior to kegging. Can't wait!

Traditional Bock:

Ellen and I sampled a hombrewed bock at a beer tasting over the weekend that was quite good. Ellen really liked it and as such, a traditional bock (not a fine ale!) is apparently now on my list of beers to brew. I have most of the necessary ingredients already. I ordered the yeast and some specialty grain, melanoidin malt, in order to get this bock going. Current brew date is scheduled as the 18th.

Lightning Brewing:

My brother-in-law, Todd, was nice enough to bring by a beer (I believe it was a porter) from this new brewing company located down south in Poway. I'm not entirely sure of what this was supposed to taste like, but near as we could tell, it was infected something awful. Dumped.

Bottling From a Keg:

Todd and I bottled up a dozen 12 oz bottles (primarily for competition purposes) and four 22 oz bottles of our Coffee Russian Imperial Stout over the weekend. This beer has really started to shine after almost 7 months of aging. The bottling went extremely smooth and it's hard to imagine that I used to bottle from a keg any other way. No mess or waste, fast, and easy setup/cleanup. We entered this beer into the 2009 Doug King Competition sponsored by the Maltose Falcons Homebrew Club. Judging takes place at the end of the month. Hopefully we place in the specialty category. Though we did blend the coffee to out tastes and not the judges...

Monument Wines & Spirits:

I plan on hitting up this phenomenal store in Concord on Thursday. Looking to pick up beers from Port Brewing, Russian River, Lost Abbey and Fantome primarily. This is where I get to be a kid in a candy store.

Dark Day Russian Imperial Stout:

I recently tapped my RIS brewed in mid-November. A bit early I know, I just couldn't wait. As it turns out, I am really liking this (young) beer. Wonderful chocolate nose, no hop aroma or significant flavor, lots of roastiness, clean bitterness with a tremendously creamy mouthfeel. I can only hope this beer continues to improve with age. At this point, I plan on entering this into a couple of competitions including the national competition.

Wicked Sensitive Red Ale:

I also recently tapped the red ale I brewed as an homage to a great band, the Dropkick Murphys. It seems to taste like a fairly standard red ale with a touch of roastiness. Colorwise it's pretty dark and I'm not sure what happened there. Much too dark for the style guidelines. Too much roasted barley apparently. Hold a glass up to the light and you'll see a touch of red...All in all, it's a decent ale and unoffensive.

Brewing Efficiency:

Still having a slight efficiency problem. I think I'm in the final stretch of figuring out and nailing down all my numbers. At this point I believe my issue is that I'm using too much sparge water. Ballpark a gallon too much. We'll see if I'm right on the 18th.

Cheers.