Altbier

I'm in bad mood. I'll explain more later in this post. For now, if this seems short or incomplete, that's why. Also, I tired. And in a bad mood.

I ordered this batch from MoreBeer. I figured I got a replacement carboy. It's empty. Let's fix that. How I landed on Altbier I have no idea. Further, I have no idea what the hell Altbier even is. The internet says that it is German for "old beer". Whatever.

Dad came over to help. Amanda showed up too. Ellie showed up towards the end.

Ingredients:
1. 8lbs German Pilsner Extract
2. Steeping grain - 1lb Crystal 40, 4oz Chocolate
3. Hops - 1oz Northern Brewer 8.0% AA, 1oz Liberty 3.4%AA, 1oz Liberty 3.4%AA
4. Whirlfloc clarifier
5. 4oz corn sugar
6. White Labs European Ale Yeast (liquid) WLP011 strain - 1011TCH7087701
7. Servomyces (yeast nutrient)

According to MoreBeer we expect
1. OG = 1.051-1.054
2. SRM = 16
3. IBU's = 29-31
4. ABV = 5%

MoreBeer recommends a fermentation temp of 62F.

Results (thus far):
Gallons brewed = 5
OG = 1.056
Temp of wort at pitching yeast = 68F
Lag time = <12 hours (we made a starter with DME as per the John Palmer book)

The brew date was 3-5-2011 and the brewers were Dad and myself.

Also, we used Spring water from Albertsons.

We cleaned everything and made a sterile solution in the bucket as normal. We added 6 gallons to the pot and added our steeping grains. At 170F we removed the grains (took about 30 mins) and got the pot to a boil. We killed the heat and stirred in the LME (liquid malt extract). I poured, dad stirred. We then got back up to a boil and waited for the hot break.

Then we added Northern Brewer hops in a hop bag and the 60 minute count down started. 10 minuted until then end I added the servomyces and the wort chiller. 5 minutes until the end we added the Whirlfloc and 1oz of Liberty Hops. 1 minutes left and we added another 1oz of Liberty Hops.

We then moved the pot to the edge of the garage and started running water through the wort chiller. After a while the water was cool. I slowed the flow down and that really seemed to make a difference. I noticed the outflow was much warmer. When that felt cool to the touch the wort was at about 100F. Dad and I then moved it the wash tub next to the washer and gave it an ice bath. We used a lime as a stopper. We added two 5 lb bags of ice. And some salt. As some point I felt the need to stir it to cool a little faster. Boy, it really seems to cool quick so that was good. Then I took the gravity reading. Real close to what we wanted.

Then dad and poured the wort into the carboy. It was a good foamy pour. Made me feel good. Nice and aerated. Then we pitched the yeast and added the air lock. We then moved the carboy into the house in the guest bathroom in the tub. In case there was a blow out.

Speaking of which, this leads me to my bad mood. It is now Monday and I get home from work and guess what I found. Yep, the air lock blew off and it didn't just happen either. The krausen around the lid was completely dry. This must have happened during the night I never went in the morning to check. :(

I replaced the air lock and am now hoping for the best. We'll see.