As usual, I try to take advantage of the weekends when my older girls are at their mom's to get all of my beer tasks done. 2 weeks ago it was the monster 4 brew weekend, this weekend it's only going to be 2 brews and lot of moving beer around.

I never thought that I would say this, but I actually have too much beer right now. It will be months before I get to drink some of it unless I *gulp* bottle! So that's what I'm doing tomorrow night - I'm bottling the EF, Belgian Pale Ale and the Southern English Brown Ale.

The Old Ale gets racked to a keg for long term storage (I need the 5g carboy that it's in) and the Belgian Dark Strong, Roggenbier, Blonde and Biere de Garde get racked to secondary.

I had planned on doing all of that tomorrow night (assuming that my order with dextrose comes in by tomorrow), but when I type it all out it sure seems like a hell of a lot of work!

Then Saturday afternoon I'm going to brew up a Weizenbock and possibly a Belgian Golden Strong (depends if my order comes in) or maybe something a bit more tame for what I'm calling Beerfest '08. It's basically just a bunch of my buddies coming over to the house to drink all my beer, brew beer, watch stupid movies and make fun of each other - after we get done playing golf in the morning, of course.

Here's the Weizenbock recipe that I'll be using:


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Klaiberhaus Weizenbock
Brewer:
Asst Brewer:
Style: Weizenbock
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.33 gal
Estimated OG: 1.085 SG
Estimated Color: 22.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 17.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.53 %
4.00 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 23.77 %
3.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 17.83 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2.97 %
0.50 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 2.97 %
0.50 lb Special Roast (50.0 SRM) Grain 2.97 %
0.33 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.96 %
1.50 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 17.7 IBU
1 Pkgs American Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP32Yeast-Wheat


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Single
Total Grain Weight: 16.83 lb
----------------------------
Decoction Mash, Single
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
35 min Protein Rest Add 8.42 gal of water at 126.6 F 122.0 F
45 min Saccharification Decoct 3.57 gal of mash and boil it 155.0 F

Things went pretty well considering that I did 4 brews. The worst part, by far, was coming to the realization that I may have had a old sack of pils sent to me by a supplier. Both the Belgian Dark Strong Ale (55% pils) and the Biere de Garde (51% pils) were just crazy low on efficiency. The Blonde Ale and the Roggenbier ended up right in the range that I expected them to fall in.

When your processes and equipment are all the same, and 2 out of 4 batches turn out just fine it almost has to come down to pils being the common denominator.

The Belgian Dark Strong came in at a whopping 1.080 so last night I boiled up 1# of DME and 1# of sucrose in about .5 gal. of water and pitched it in once the krausen had started to fall. I'll check the gravity tonight and if it's down in the range of 1.050 I may make up another condense starter wort to feed it. I had intended on this being an 11% abv beer. My only concern is not knowing how to calculate the actual abv after adding these concentrated worts to make up for my poor efficiency thanks to the pils.

The Biere de Gard was insanely low as well. My preboil gravity should have been 1.062 according to beersmith. After getting debacled (thanks, Emmit Smiff) by the Belgian Dark Strong on Saturday I decided that I should check pre-boil, it was 1.038! Thankfully I had enough DME on hand to get it where I needed it and I hit my OG dead on the money.

There's something seriously wrong with that pils. I want to see what kind of extraction I'm actually getting out of it. I'd guess that I could just mash 1# of it in 1 gallon of water for 60 minutes, drain, cool and take a gravity reading but I'm not sure. This sounds like a post for some of the experts around here.

In case you haven't seen the post I made yesterday, I have a silly amount of beer now....



From L to R: Belgian Pale Ale, my EF clone, Roggenbier, Biere de Garde, Blonde Ale, Belgian Dark Strong Ale, Apfelwein, Old Ale, Southern English Brown Ale, American Brown Ale and IPA.

My reward for being a good husband and doing a bunch of landscaping is that I get to brew all weekend. Normally I'd just do 2 batches one day and that would be plenty - but not this weekend.

I have a Biere de Garde and a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that I've been wanting to brew for months now but I keep putting them off. My intention from the beginning has been to brew them, let them age 9-12 months, then submit to NHC '09 if they come out well enough. (I also brewed an Old Ale last weekend that is for long term aging).

Problem is that I haven't brewed them yet!! So I'm brewing two batches both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, which will give me 50 gallons of beer either in primary, secondary, or kegged waiting for an open tap - plus what's on the kegerator now.

AHS came through on the order that I placed Sunday and it will be delivered today. It has the grain for a couple last minute tweaks, WLP320 for a Roggenbier and Wyeast 3725 for the Biere de Garde. I'll make starters for both of those tonight and brew those 2 on Sunday.

Tomorrow I'm doing a Blonde Ale and possibly a batch of Apfelwein for my wife and the Belgian Dark Strong Ale.

Brewing that much is almost like work by the time that you're cleaning up, but I have to give these beers ample time to age so they need brewed now.

The Belgian Dark Strong doesn't necessarily need to be aged for such an extended period of time. In fact it would probably be ready to drink in the same amount of time as any other beer, but I want to save it to have on tap when winter rolls around and give it time to mature a bit. With the Old Ale and the Biere de Garde, aging for up to a year is standard.


Recipes follow:

Tomorrow's brews
------------------------------------------------

*********************
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Dirty Monk Dark Strong Ale
Brewer:
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
TYPE: All Grain


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.04 gal
Estimated OG: 1.108 SG
Estimated FG: 1.022 SG
Estimated ABV: 11.31%
Estimated Color: 22.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes


Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
12.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 57.14 %
3.00 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 14.29 %
1.00 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 %
1.00 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 %
1.00 lb Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 4.76 %
0.50 lb Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 2.38 %
0.50 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 2.38 %
2.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 19.0 IBU
1.00 lb Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 4.76 %
1.00 lb Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 4.76 %
1 Pkgs Belgian Golden Ale (White Labs #WLP570) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Double Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 19.00 lb
----------------------------


Double Infusion, Medium Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
45 min Protein Rest Add 4.28 gal of water at 132.1 F 122.0 F
35 min Saccrification Add 3.80 gal of water at 197.3 F 154.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 3.33 gal of water at 205.6 F 168.0 F


****************


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: HopHed Blonde Ale
Brewer: HopHed Brewhaus
Asst Brewer:
Style: Blonde Ale
TYPE: All Grain


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.33 gal
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated FG: 1.009 SG
Estimated ABV: 4.4%
Estimated Color: 3.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 16.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
7.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 80.00 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.71 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 2.86 %
0.33 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 16.1 IBU
0.25 oz Hallertauer [6.00 %] (2 min) Hops 0.4 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
3.00 items Alpha-Galactosidase Enzyle (Beano) (PrimarMisc
1.00 lb Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 11.43 %
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 7.75 lb
----------------------------


Single Infusion, Light Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Mash In Add 2.42 gal of water at 161.4 F 150.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 1.55 gal of water at 200.2 F 168.0 F



Sunday's brews:
---------------------------------------------------


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Dirty Monk Biere de Garde
Brewer: HopHed
Asst Brewer:
Style: 16D Biere de Garde
TYPE: All Grain


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.39 gal
Estimated OG: 1.077 SG
Estimated FG: 1.012 SG
Estimated ABV: 8.5%
Estimated Color: 14.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
7.50 lb Pilsner (Briess) (2.0 SRM) Grain 50.85 %
3.00 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 20.34 %
0.75 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 5.08 %
0.75 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 5.08 %
0.75 lb Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 5.08 %
1.00 oz Hallertauer [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 16.0 IBU
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 5.9 IBU
1.00 lb Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 6.78 %
1.00 lb Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM) Sugar 6.78 %
1 Pkgs Biere de Garde (Wyeast Labs #3725) [StarteYeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 12.75 lb
----------------------------


Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
90 min Mash In Add 3.99 gal of water at 159.1 F 148.0 F

******************


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Klaiberhaus Roggenbier
Brewer: HopHed
Asst Brewer:
Style: Roggenbier (German Rye Beer)
TYPE: All Grain


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.37 gal
Estimated OG: 1.049 SG
Estimated FG: 1.049 SG
Estimated ABV: 4.8%
Estimated Color: 15.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 17.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.50 lb Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) Grain 57.32 %
2.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 17.64 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 8.82 %
0.75 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.61 %
0.50 lb Crystal 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4.41 %
0.38 lb Acid Malt (3.0 SRM) Grain 3.35 %
0.21 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.85 %
0.75 oz Hallertauer [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 15.1 IBU
0.50 oz Hallertauer [6.00 %] (5 min) Hops 2.0 IBU
1 Pkgs American Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP32Yeast-Wheat

Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Single
Total Grain Weight: 11.34 lb
----------------------------


Decoction Mash, Single
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
35 min Protein Rest Add 5.67 gal of water at 126.6 F 122.0 F
45 min Saccharification Decoct 2.19 gal of mash and boil it 152.0 F

I'm in South Carolina on vacation with the family this week with limited time to enjoy some beers, but I was able to fine some Ommegang and Allagash brews at a local World Makret that I was able to find.

Ommegang never lets me down. I had Rare Vos for the first time yesterday and it was freaking incredible. I'm going to have to make a stop there on the way out of town to pick up a half dozen or so Belgian 750's to take home with me.

I despise blistering heat, which is working out well for me so far since we have a 15 month old daughter who still needs naps. Thankfully, right when it's getting really hot out it's time for her to take a nap, which means that daddy gets to come back up to the room and drink a few beers, browse HBT and play some poker while the baby takes a nap!

This vacation has been a blast so far. Next week's vacation (NHC) is going to have to be pretty incredible to top it.

Yesterday's 22 gallon brew day wasn't without its challanges, but all ended well and some pics are posted here.

My friend Lowell brought all his stuff up so we could do the batches side by side and all was going great until we tried to drain his MLT. It had only been used once before, but apparently when we used it, one of us beat the hell out of the ss braid with the mash paddle to the point that it actually split the ss braid and the tubing inside. Of course this allowed for grain to get in the tubing completely stopping all flow.

Luckily I had stepped the mashes and my mlt was done and cleaned so we scooped everything out of his MLT in to mine, then drained and proceeded.

The good news is that we his 1.062 on the EF (target 1.060) and 1.072 on the IPA (target 1.072). The bad news is that my golf game blows goats.

A buddy of mine that brews is coming up to the house this weekend for a day of golf and brewing (I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts).

We're starting off with 18 at the local country club (no, I'm not a member - my boss is getting us on) at 9am followed by simultaneous brews of my EF and IPA. If there's time I may even try to sneak 5.5 gallons of my American Brown Ale in there as well, but I'm not expecting that to happen.

The EF is tried and true. This will be the 7th or 8th time that I've brewed it. About 1 out of every 3 times that this guy and I brew together we end up doing the porter.
EF recipe can be found here.

I'm excited about brewing the IPA recipe that I came up with. I learned a lot from Hopacles when I brewed that and I'm hoping that experience will make for a great IPA. Hopacles was a geat beer, but it was a bit too thick, too full-bodied, and it didn't finish dry like I wanted. The hop bitterness in Hopacles was amazing, but I wanted to smooth it out a bit and have more hop flavor and aroma.

So for this IPA I'm going to be mashing at 149 (instead of 154) and mashing for 90 minutes (instead of 75) in hopes that I'll be able to achieve a nice, clean, dry finish in this beer.

To smooth out the bitterness a bit (Hopacles IIPA was intended to be insanely over the top in the hops department, this meant to just be a little bit over the top) I'll be adding 1 oz. of Columbus pellets to the mash, then a 1 oz. first wort addition of Simcoe.

My tentative dryhop schedule is in the beersmith recipe below, but is subject to change based on how I feel the nose is coming along. I'm looking for a huge citrus/floral nose in this.

I really want to get the FG down to 1.014 or a bit lower on this to make it dry and crisp, so I'm going to check the gravity after 5 days or so and if it's not where I want it I'm going to toss in a packet of Nottingham in hopes of getting the FG down where I want it.

IPA recipe:
---------------------------------
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: HopHed IPA (11 gallons)
Brewer: HopHed Brewhaus
Asst Brewer:
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (41.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 11.00 gal
Boil Size: 13.29 gal
Estimated OG: 1.071 SG
Estimated Color: 6.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 103.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
22.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 75.86 %
4.00 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 13.79 %
2.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6.90 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.45 %


1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) (Mash Hops 3.9 IBU
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (60 min) (First Wort HopHops 20.2 IBU
1.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 29.6 IBU
2.00 oz Warrior [16.40 %] (60 min) Hops 46.2 IBU
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (5 min) Hops 3.7 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo (leaf) [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days)


3.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 29.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 9.06 gal of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 3.50 gal of water at 209.5 F 168.0 F

Notes:
------
Pitch a HUGE (2 qt) WLP007 starter, let ferment for 4 days. Pitch dry Nottingham if not below 1.015.
Dry hop with 1 oz. of Simcoe pellets the final 7 days in secondary. Dry hop with .5 oz of Amarillo leaf in the keg.

I'm going to try to take a ton of pics of the day, as well as some video, but once we get back from golfing and start drinking and brewing, who knows if either will happen. Either way it will be a fun day and if I take pics I'll be sure to post them here, as well as chronicle the days progress and events.

Brew on!

It was about 10:00 before I actually doughed in, but I managed to rack my porter to secondary, wash some WLP007 from the porter for use on 6/7, keg my last batch of Hefe (which tastes very good) and get the WLP300 cake moved from bucket to 6.5 gallon carboy for blowoff purposes since I'll be pitching on it today.

It's been a busy morning up until now, but I managed to get some time in with SWMBO and the baby in there as well.

I ended up using 6# pils and 5#wheat on this as I didn't see much of a point in leaving 1# of pils sitting around. I was worried that it would end up too high for the style, but if my preboil gravity reading is any indication it looks like the extra pound of pils was warranted because I'm not expecting to break 70% efficiency on this batch.

I sampled the EF that I'm taking to NHC and I'm not real happy with it at this point. I overshot my OG (ended up at 1.068 vs. 1.060) and it has the slightest hint of an alcoholic bite and thusly is missing some of the chocolate/coffee/roasted aspects that I normally have in this beer. Maybe carbonating it will help tone down the alcohol presence a bit but I'm a bit disappointed that the version of this that I'm taking to NHC may not be on par with all off the other batches of it that I've brewed.

Last night I hooked my RedHop Ale back up to 25 psi to up the carbonation a bit. It was very good, just tasted a bit flat. It was on pressure for about 8 hours and while it has improved it could use a bit more so I'll probably pump it up again after I'm done brewing and before SWMBO and I head out for an evening of clothes shopping (the price one has to pay for brewing sometimes) and dinner at The Olive Garden. The RedHop is a very well balanced beer considering that it's approaching 70 IBU. I may bottle up a 6'er or so to bring with me to NHC along with some Hefe.

Since I'm drinking a RedHop now and I'm killing time until my next Hefe hop addition, here's a quick review of this beer.

Appearance: Deep amber in color with a slight haze, but still fairly clear. Creamy off-white head that pours thick from the tap and remains throughout with nice lacing.

Aroma: Malty nose with a nice caramel base. Mild hops are present. Slight bread/biscuit notes are present as well. The faintest hint of alcohol is present as it warms.

Flavor: The malt and caramel continue in the front with a mild hop presence. Has a slightly dry finish with a smooth bitterness and a slight alcohol warmth.

Mouthfeel: Still a bit undercarbonated, but not much. Nice medium bodied beer that while not quaffable is certainly light enough to enjoy a few pints without feeling 'weighed down'

Overall Impression: I've had better commercial versions, but overall this is a very good beer. Next time I may either drop the gainbill a bit or use a less attenuative yeast to give a mit more maltiness and less alcohol.



Halfway through the boil my propane tank dies. Luckliy I had a spare on the grill and no time was lost!

Ended up with 5.5 gallons in the carboy at 1.056 for 73% efficiency.

I decided to go ahead and brew another batch of Hefe tomorrow. The black treacle and other items that I ordered from AHS won't be here until next week (ordered during the sale weekend), so the Old Ale will be put off for a month or so since a buddy and I are doing 11 gallons of porter and 11 gallons of IPA on my next (scheduled) brewday of 6/7.

I haven't tried this Hefe recipe yet, but it's very simple and straightforward so I feel pretty good about what the end result will be barring some type of catastrophe. I brewd this a couple of weeks ago but used Hallertau and 4# of pils.

I need to play musical primaries while this thing is mashing. I only have one 6.5 gallon carboy with a big blowoff tube and this hefe will need to go in that for sure.

The EF that I brewed to take to NHC is still in primary and has been for a bit over 2 weeks now so I'll need to rack that to secondary, wash the WLP007 yeast from that for use on 6/7, get the carboy good and clean, rack the previous hefe to keg, then get the WLP300 cake from bucket to carboy so that I can pitch this Hefe on it. Hopefully I can get all that done in the 80 minutes of mash rest time that I have.

-------------------------------------------
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Klaiberhaus Hefeweizen
Brewer: HopHed Brewhaus
Asst Brewer:
Style: Weizen/Weissbier
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (41.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.39 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 3.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 14.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.62 %
5.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.62 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 %
0.75 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 10.7 IBU
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 3.5 IBU
1 Pkgs Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP300) Yeast-Wheat

Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Single
Total Grain Weight: 10.50 lb
----------------------------
Decoction Mash, Single
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
35 min Protein Rest Add 21.00 qt of water at 128.9 F 122.0 F
45 min Saccharification Decoct 9.28 qt of mash and boil it 155.0 F

I won't be brewing the IPA from yesterday's entry until 6/7. A buddy of mine is bringing up his gear and we're going to brew 11 gallons of IPA and 11 gallons of my EF clone side by side. 18 holes of golf in the morning, 22 gallons of beer in the afternoon, steak, beer, and Wii in the evening. It will be quite a manly day. So much so that SWMBO already decided that she wants no part in it and will be shopping with her sister!

So now I'm left to decide what to brew next weekend. I could do another Hefe, since I'll be kegging the batch that's in primary that day anyway and I could use that cake - but it's in a bucket and there's no way a repitch of WLP300 will be contained by a bucket. I'd almost need to use a 6.5 gallon carboy for that. So I'll probably wash the WLP300 and save the Hefe for a later brew.

I think that I'll go ahead and do the Old Ale that I came up with. I've got plenty of beer in the pipeline and I really need to brew this one and get it aged. I plan on letting this one sit in primary for a minimum of 2 weeks, then in secondary for a minimum of 6 months, possibly longer. I will most likely bottle this batch for long term cellaring, but that depends on how the samples taste.

I'm using what I have on hand for this, thus the warrior and tett instead of a more traditional combination of fuggles/ekg, but this style calls for a subtle bitterness so I think that it will end up just fine. This will get pitched on top of the WLP007 cake from the EF that I brewed to take to NHC that's currently in primary.

The base for this beer is MO of course. With .5# of Crystal 60 to lend a bit of caramel sweetness, .25# of chocolate for color and some toasted notes and .25# of special b to contribute to color as well as impart some dark fruit. I had originally planned on using black treacle, but the source I got my last order from did not have it so I'm using Amber Candi Sugar to contribute to the sweetness of this beer as well.

I may still modify this recipe before next weekend by making the OG considerably higher, ordering some black treacle and/or substituting EKG/Fuggles, but that all depends if I win at poker this weekend.


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Hophed Old Ale
Brewer: HopHed Brewhaus
Asst Brewer:
Style: Old Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.30 gal
Estimated OG: 1.073 SG
Estimated Color: 21.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 47.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
12.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 85.71 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.57 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.79 %
0.25 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 1.79 %
1.00 oz Warrior [16.40 %] (60 min) Hops 45.4 IBU
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (5 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
1.00 lb Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 7.14 %
1 Pkgs Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 13.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
45 min Mash In Add 9.29 qt of water at 179.9 F 158.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 3.71 qt of water at 199.4 F 168.0 F


Update - My buddy was placing an grain order with AHS for the double brewday next month so I piggy-backed some items on his order for this Old Ale. AHS doesn't have EKG, so I'm leaving the hops alone.

I'm going to use Lyle's Black Treacle, increase the MO from 12# to 16# and sub out WLP002 for WLP007 on this one. I've had great success with WLP007, but WLP002 is more flocculant and less attenuative which should leave a lingering sweetness that this style needs and WLP007 just can't deliver on.

This weekend is AHS' annual sale, so I don't expect to have everything before next weekend. If not, I'll push this brew back to later date and maybe throw together an APA for summer.

Updated recipe:

Brewer: HopHed Brewhaus
Asst Brewer:
Style: Old Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.30 gal
Estimated OG: 1.094 SG
Estimated Color: 23.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 43.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.00 lb Treacle (100.0 SRM) Extract 5.56 %
16.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 88.89 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2.78 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.39 %
0.25 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 1.39 %
1.00 oz Warrior [16.40 %] (60 min) Hops 38.6 IBU
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 5.3 IBU
0.33 oz Burton Water Salts (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 17.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
45 min Mash In Add 12.14 qt of water at 179.9 F 158.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 4.86 qt of water at 199.4 F 168.0 F

Here's the recipe for the IPA that I plan on brewing next weekend. I'll be pitching on top of an existing WLP007 cake.

I was looking for something between my APA and Hopacles. Something with much more aroma. So I'm incorporating some Columbus and Simcoe into the boil, and I'll be keg hopping this with Amarillo.

I have previously used Nottingham almost exclusively in my APA's and IIPA's and while I'm happy with the overall flavor of them, I don't get the dry finish that I'm looking for. It seems odd, I know, that such an attenuative yeast could leave a sweet finish. So I thought I'd try this with a cake and see how it ends up. WLP007 is fairly neutral so it should have a minimal impact on the flavor profile.

As always, once the beer has aged accordingly and I have had a chance to review it I will put this recipe in the database if it's a respectable beer. (just what we need, more IPA's in the recipe db, right?)

Thoughts? Ideas?


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: HopHed IPA
Brewer: HopHed Brewhaus
Asst Brewer:
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (41.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.39 gal
Estimated OG: 1.070 SG
Estimated Color: 7.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 106.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
13.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 78.79 %
2.00 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 12.12 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6.06 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.03 %
1.50 oz Warrior [16.40 %] (60 min) Hops 69.2 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
0.75 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 29.5 IBU
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (5 min) Hops 7.3 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 16.50 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 20.63 qt of water at 167.2 F 154.0 F