After Ellie and I brewed her beer it was around 10pm. She was tired. Frankly, so was I. But, I wanted it over with to I decided to stay up and bottle the trippel. I dry hopped it for about 2 days do get the smelly yeast smell off. Also, this whole time it has been in Ellie's closet.
Anyhow, skip to the punch line and I rack this thing into a bottling bucket. I boil up an ounce of corn sugar and put it into the bucket as it is swirling around. Then I get about 6 bottles out of it. I cap them and put them in with the fermenter.
I has now been a week and I opened one for fun just to see what to expect later. First off it was over carbonated. So I quickly grab to rest of them and put them in the fridge to stop the yeast from doing anything else. Second, it tasted bad. It was beer. But it was bad. It was cloudy. It lacked body. It was almost undrinkable. And it made my stomach turn for a couple of hours (I only had half a bottle). I'm going to let it sit in the fridge for a couple more weeks and try another one. But I think I'm going to have to pour the rest out or get creative and use it for cooking or give it away to a homeless man or something.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Brewing Bday Beer
So, I talked Ellie into brewing her birthday beer with me. We started pretty late. I'd say around 6pm or so. We had "The Other Guys" on DVD and popped that in while we brewed it up.
For the record we brewed a German Hefeweizen from MoreBeer. No steeping grains. The ingredients were:
1. 6lbs Bavarian Wheat extract. Dry.
2. 0.5oz Northern Brewer Hops.
I bought Arrowhead spring water this time instead of Albertson's spring water. I have no idea what the difference in water chemistry is. I think the next time I brew I will put effort into making my water chemistry more ideal. Anyhow, we empty 6 gallons into the brew kettle and then we added the DME (dry malt extract). I heard it was easier to get mixed in when it is cold. This was Ellie's main job this evening. I gave her a stainless spoon and told her that had better not have any lumps. She took to it pretty well. At some point I felt bad for her though and when and got a whisk from the kitchen and joined in. She then told me to try and heat it up a little to see if it was any easier. I didn't think there was difference.
As it was heating up we noticed a lot of protein build up in the kettle. Way more than normal. Must be more proteins in wheat. I told Ellie sometimes people gather up those proteins with the spoon and remove them to help clarification of the beer in the long run. She said to leave it. She likes to idea of proteins. But there got to be so much it was flowing over the kettle. So I got a large plastic bowl and we removed them anyway. So, that's something new we tried.
Once it was boiling we added the hops. I broke off a little of one of the pellets and gave it to her. She spit it out. Then we drank some Tom Kunkel homebrew while we watched the movie. 10 minutes out I added the servomyces and the wort chiller. 5 minutes out we added the whirlfloc.
Then we cooled the wort to 100F with the wort chiller. Same as in the past. I then moved it to the basin. I happened to get a stopper for the basin so there was no longer a need to use a lime. I moved the kettle to the basin and poured 10lbs of ice all around it. I then filled the basin with water to where the wort was in the kettle. We would stir it up every few minutes to help it cool quicker. Once the wort was at 69F we got it off the ice and took a gravity reading. It measured 1.050 which was the estimated gravity so that was good. I then poured the wort into the fermenter and Ellie pitched the yeast.
We made sure to line the chest freezer with a garbage bag in case of a blow off it would be easier to clean. Then we moved the fermenter to the chest freezer and installed the blow off tube. The next day Ellie and I take a look and there was so much pressure in the fermenter that it was pushing the stopper out. I jammed in the fermenter and now I don't think it's going to come out easy but I'll worry about that in a few weeks.
The fermentation the first few days was aggressive to say the least. The amount of CO2 coming out of the thing was scary. I've included some videos to this post that show that off. Thank goodness we installed the blow off tube because the krausen did grow up into the tube. Also, it smelled like bananas. So I guess we will have banana beer.
After three days I pulled out the blow off tube and put in the air lock. That was interesting. The tube was stuck in the stopper and I put my head in the chest freezer to work it out. The entire chest freezer contains a blanket of CO2 and it nearly suffocated me. Kind of scary. I mean if you dropped a small child in there and closed the lid they would die.
The first day or two we kept the chest freezer at 70F and after that we have dropped it to 68F. The while labs yeast vile claimed a temp of 68-72F. MoreBeer documentation suggested 62F. Quite a discrepancy there. Anyhow, here some pics and vids.
For the record we brewed a German Hefeweizen from MoreBeer. No steeping grains. The ingredients were:
1. 6lbs Bavarian Wheat extract. Dry.
2. 0.5oz Northern Brewer Hops.
I bought Arrowhead spring water this time instead of Albertson's spring water. I have no idea what the difference in water chemistry is. I think the next time I brew I will put effort into making my water chemistry more ideal. Anyhow, we empty 6 gallons into the brew kettle and then we added the DME (dry malt extract). I heard it was easier to get mixed in when it is cold. This was Ellie's main job this evening. I gave her a stainless spoon and told her that had better not have any lumps. She took to it pretty well. At some point I felt bad for her though and when and got a whisk from the kitchen and joined in. She then told me to try and heat it up a little to see if it was any easier. I didn't think there was difference.
As it was heating up we noticed a lot of protein build up in the kettle. Way more than normal. Must be more proteins in wheat. I told Ellie sometimes people gather up those proteins with the spoon and remove them to help clarification of the beer in the long run. She said to leave it. She likes to idea of proteins. But there got to be so much it was flowing over the kettle. So I got a large plastic bowl and we removed them anyway. So, that's something new we tried.
Once it was boiling we added the hops. I broke off a little of one of the pellets and gave it to her. She spit it out. Then we drank some Tom Kunkel homebrew while we watched the movie. 10 minutes out I added the servomyces and the wort chiller. 5 minutes out we added the whirlfloc.
Then we cooled the wort to 100F with the wort chiller. Same as in the past. I then moved it to the basin. I happened to get a stopper for the basin so there was no longer a need to use a lime. I moved the kettle to the basin and poured 10lbs of ice all around it. I then filled the basin with water to where the wort was in the kettle. We would stir it up every few minutes to help it cool quicker. Once the wort was at 69F we got it off the ice and took a gravity reading. It measured 1.050 which was the estimated gravity so that was good. I then poured the wort into the fermenter and Ellie pitched the yeast.
We made sure to line the chest freezer with a garbage bag in case of a blow off it would be easier to clean. Then we moved the fermenter to the chest freezer and installed the blow off tube. The next day Ellie and I take a look and there was so much pressure in the fermenter that it was pushing the stopper out. I jammed in the fermenter and now I don't think it's going to come out easy but I'll worry about that in a few weeks.
The fermentation the first few days was aggressive to say the least. The amount of CO2 coming out of the thing was scary. I've included some videos to this post that show that off. Thank goodness we installed the blow off tube because the krausen did grow up into the tube. Also, it smelled like bananas. So I guess we will have banana beer.
After three days I pulled out the blow off tube and put in the air lock. That was interesting. The tube was stuck in the stopper and I put my head in the chest freezer to work it out. The entire chest freezer contains a blanket of CO2 and it nearly suffocated me. Kind of scary. I mean if you dropped a small child in there and closed the lid they would die.
The first day or two we kept the chest freezer at 70F and after that we have dropped it to 68F. The while labs yeast vile claimed a temp of 68-72F. MoreBeer documentation suggested 62F. Quite a discrepancy there. Anyhow, here some pics and vids.
Agressive Starter
Well the next morning after we made Ellie's bday beer starter I woke to find this:
That's after less than 12 hours. I knew right then and there I was going to have to install a blow off tube that night after we brewed the beer. Just before I pitched it, the starter looked like this:
Without a doubt the most aggressive starter yet.
That's after less than 12 hours. I knew right then and there I was going to have to install a blow off tube that night after we brewed the beer. Just before I pitched it, the starter looked like this:
Without a doubt the most aggressive starter yet.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Ellie's bday beer
I asked Ellie what she wanted for her birthday and she said she wanted me to make her some beer. I said I think we can oblige you love. I asked what kind of beer and she said a Wheat beer. Done.
This post will cover the yeast starter. I was fishing around on the More Beer site on the interwebs and found that they had a yeast starter kit. Well, I had everything that was in the kit except the Fermaid K. So I got some. This is a yeast nutrient which contains DAP, free amino acids, yeast hulls, unsaturared fatty acids, sterols, and micronutrients such as magnesium sulfate, thiamin, folic acid, biotin, calcium pantothenate, and other vitamins and minerals. I don't know what half that crap is but I guess it's like steroids for yeast. I think it's meant more for wine and mead but I can't wait to try it.
Now it all showed up in the mail today. I looked on the internet and found the PDF instructions for the yeast starter kit from More Beer. They called for 1 cup DME, 900 mL of water, and a pinch of Fermaid K. A pinch! WTF! Well, I opened to bag and tipped it over and sprinkled in a "pinch". We'll see. Mixed this all together, boiled it up for 10 minutes, pour it into a flask, cool it down, pitch the yeast, and add the air lock.
Now this PDF has some notes on it that I completely ignored and may add into the process next time. When working with yeast it says to use diluted alcohol because Star San can trap airborne bacteria. OK. Then they just start to get paranoid. It says to work away from drafts since dust contains bacteria blah blah blah transfer your yeast close to flame because warm air will cause the dust (and bacteria) to rise. Also, cover the flask will aluminum foil instead of an airlock to allow better oxygen uptake and keep bacterial growth from between the stopper and the flask. Interesting.
Notes on the yeast. White Labs Hefeweizen Ale Yeast. WLP300. Lot Number 1300PBH7103751. It smells a little sour and fruity. It smells exactly like what I picture Lengthwise wheat would use for it's yeast. This is not good. Ellie had a glass of Lengthwise wheat last weekend. She said make me a wheat beer, but not one that tastes like the Lengthwise wheat I had last weekend. Uh-oh.
This post will cover the yeast starter. I was fishing around on the More Beer site on the interwebs and found that they had a yeast starter kit. Well, I had everything that was in the kit except the Fermaid K. So I got some. This is a yeast nutrient which contains DAP, free amino acids, yeast hulls, unsaturared fatty acids, sterols, and micronutrients such as magnesium sulfate, thiamin, folic acid, biotin, calcium pantothenate, and other vitamins and minerals. I don't know what half that crap is but I guess it's like steroids for yeast. I think it's meant more for wine and mead but I can't wait to try it.
Now it all showed up in the mail today. I looked on the internet and found the PDF instructions for the yeast starter kit from More Beer. They called for 1 cup DME, 900 mL of water, and a pinch of Fermaid K. A pinch! WTF! Well, I opened to bag and tipped it over and sprinkled in a "pinch". We'll see. Mixed this all together, boiled it up for 10 minutes, pour it into a flask, cool it down, pitch the yeast, and add the air lock.
Now this PDF has some notes on it that I completely ignored and may add into the process next time. When working with yeast it says to use diluted alcohol because Star San can trap airborne bacteria. OK. Then they just start to get paranoid. It says to work away from drafts since dust contains bacteria blah blah blah transfer your yeast close to flame because warm air will cause the dust (and bacteria) to rise. Also, cover the flask will aluminum foil instead of an airlock to allow better oxygen uptake and keep bacterial growth from between the stopper and the flask. Interesting.
Notes on the yeast. White Labs Hefeweizen Ale Yeast. WLP300. Lot Number 1300PBH7103751. It smells a little sour and fruity. It smells exactly like what I picture Lengthwise wheat would use for it's yeast. This is not good. Ellie had a glass of Lengthwise wheat last weekend. She said make me a wheat beer, but not one that tastes like the Lengthwise wheat I had last weekend. Uh-oh.
Tom Kunkel is our savior
The Trippel has been in Ellie's closet for 6 weeks now. I kept hoping that the longer it was there the better it would smell. Again it doesn't taste bad. It just smells bad.
Tom put his nose in it and said it wasn't bad. It was simply very yeasty. He suggested buying some hops and shoving it in. Dry hop it. Eureka! Great idea.
I bought 2oz of whole Sterling hops (7.0% AA). Why Sterling? Why not! I put about 1/3 of an ounce in and called it good. I intend to bottle it this weekend.
For the record the hops smelled woody. Earthy. Not citrusy. Not strong either.
Tom put his nose in it and said it wasn't bad. It was simply very yeasty. He suggested buying some hops and shoving it in. Dry hop it. Eureka! Great idea.
I bought 2oz of whole Sterling hops (7.0% AA). Why Sterling? Why not! I put about 1/3 of an ounce in and called it good. I intend to bottle it this weekend.
For the record the hops smelled woody. Earthy. Not citrusy. Not strong either.
Bodacious No More
The Bodacious Brown is finished. My first kegged beer. Final thoughts: Bitter. It was too bitter. Other than that it was good.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Long Beer Day
What a long beer day. It began with me cleaning bottles for the bottling of the Altbier. I got together what appeared to be a little over 5 gallons worth of bottles. 8 of these bottles were the plastic PET bottles from the Mr. Beer kit. I should drink from these first. Long term storage in plastic is not as good as glass. I filled the bathtub with warm water and added three scoops of the oxygen based cleaner and submerged all the bottles in it. I also dunked in a soaked equipment I was going to need for the day (thief, tubing, siphon, etc.). Also, I filled the bottling bucket with warm water and dumped a couple of scoops of oxygen based cleaner in it and moved over near the dog food and let it soak.
After a few hours I emptied the bucket and gave it a light sponge cleaning. I then moved over to the tub and removed the bottles first. I made sure to empty the bottles until they were about 1/3 full and then I covered the opening with my hand and shook the crap out of it before emptying the remainder of the water. My thinking here is that any yuckies that have been soaking but not dislodged would become dislodged by the vigorous shaking. I moved all the bottles to the kitchen. Then I emptied the water out of the equipment that was in the tub and emptied the tub water.
I decided to move the fermenter out of Ellie's closet to the kitchen. As I was doing this my dad knocked on the door. We were going to do the rest together. I expected my sister to come but he said she wasn't going to make it. Half an hour later she arrived at the door. So that was nice. Ellie even joined in. So, it was a happy family event.
I mixed up 2.5 gallons of santization solution (starsan) and poured about a gallon of it in the pitcher I used to water the dogs with. I then used this pitcher to put some of the solution into each bottle. This was messy. Thankfully I had a towel to clean up but I need to get a smaller funnel. After they all had some solution in it we covered the end with our hands and shook it up to get the solution everywhere in the bottle.
Then we moved to preparing the priming solution. I got 2 cups of water and heated it up to a boil. We then added 4oz of corn sugar to it and let it boil for 10 minutes. While this was going on I sanitized the equipment (tubing, siphon, bottle wand, etc.). After that we got the thief out and took a gravity reading.
The beer measured 1.012 which surprised me. I last checked it two weeks ago and it measured 1.017. Two weeks ago, the beer was two weeks old. So that means from the two weeks mark to the four week mark the yeast continued to work away. I figured it would be done after two weeks. Interesting that different yeast ferment quite differently. This yeast was very aggressive for the first few days (we blew off the air lock) and then appeared to mellow and continue steadily along for weeks and weeks. Anyhow, this left us with a ABV of about 5.7%. We then passed around the sample and tasted it. It was wonderfully mellow and smooth. No characteristic was overbearing. I think it will be the best beer yet.
So then we got the siphon into the carboy and the bottling bucket in position and we are ready to do this. I put my mouth to the siphon and blow (not suck as before). Lo and behold! The beer begins to flow into the bucket. After about half a gallon we hear leaking like someone taking a piss. I had opened the valve on the bottling bucket to sanitize it and had forgotten to close it. Thankfully, I was thinking ahead and had put a towel on the kitchen floor so there was no mess to clean up later. Yeah team!
So after 1-2 gallons had been transferred I had dad pour in the priming solution. We got about 4.5 gallons of beer out of the fermenter and into the bucket. Then we moved the bucket up to the island in the kitchen (which is where the fermenter was) and started hooking up tubing and the filling wand.
Dad really started to get involved here by getting the PET bottles emptied of the sanitization solution, dunking the tops of them in the sanitization solution, and handing them to me to fill. Once I filled them I handed it back to him and he would screw on the cap which had been soaking in the sanitization solution that was in the pitcher. This went on until we were done with the PET bottles. Then we moved to glass bottles and Ellie got in the fun. She would empty the solution out of the bottles, dunk the top in sanitization solution that was in the pitcher, and hand it to me. I would fill it and hand it to dad. Dad would then cap the bottles. We made sure to dunk the bottle capper in sanitization solution and got the caps from the pitcher holding sanitization solution (I had put them there an hours or so earlier).
It was around this time that Tom showed up. He was on his way to Vegas because his dog was entering an agility competition. We decided to do a beer exchange. He brought over a couple and I sent him off with two bottles of Light Ale and one large bottle of our newly bottle Altbier. I tried to bottle some of the Bodacious Brown from the keg but that just made a huge mess. Tom said I should just pour it in a glass and give to him. I did. He seemed to like it. So, Tom hangs with my family and I while we drink some beer. They all left at about the same time and I cleaned everything up and got it back in the garage. Cleaning the fermenter was interesting. The slurry was not as solid and sludgy as before. This yeast slurry was loose and liquidy. It allowed me to just turn it over and empty it out. I then filled the fermenter up with water and added a couple of scoops of oxygen cleaner and let it sit all night.
Just as soon as I finished with all that, my buddies came over for a beer party. A good time was had by all. We ate tri-tip, beans, chips, etc. and watched Jackass 3. Ellie talked to Wendy for a bit. We drank all of the Light Ale that was in the chest freezer. Only two bottles of that batch remain in the cupboard. I would say we drank about 1/3 of the keg.
I tried to pay attention to the comments about the beer throughout the night. The Light Ale got another "it smells good" comment from Zack. Yes it does Zack. Yes it does. That must be it's fifth or so person to say that. I find that fascinating. That that many different people would have such a similar thing to say about a beer. Anyhow, I heard some folks say they would be willing to pay money for the beer. I heard Zack say that the Light Ale was still a little flat. I wouldn't disagree.
My critiques are that the Bodacious Brown is too hoppy in the aftertaste. Not horribly so but enough to matter. It made the beer slightly bitter. Again, this is in the aftertaste and not something you detect the instant the beer hits your mouth. Also, the hops smell was pleasant but not overbearing. The color was dark and it didn't end up as clear as I thought it would be. It kind of had a haze to it. The body was perfect.
The Light Ale was, well, light. I felt that it needed more body. Also, I think I need to add more priming sugar to my beer. This was bottled weeks ago. It should be fully carbonated at this point. As previously stated it smelled awesome. It had a pleasantly perfect balanced taste in terms of malt/bitter. It had a lovely light golden color that was optimally clear. I don't like perfectly clear beer. The world is not perfect. I don't think my beer should be either. It should have a little character. Having said all that, it was pretty damn clear. People must have liked it though. It's all gone.
Jackass 3 was a lot of fun. I recommend it if you liked any of the other Jackass movies. It was their best yet.
After a few hours I emptied the bucket and gave it a light sponge cleaning. I then moved over to the tub and removed the bottles first. I made sure to empty the bottles until they were about 1/3 full and then I covered the opening with my hand and shook the crap out of it before emptying the remainder of the water. My thinking here is that any yuckies that have been soaking but not dislodged would become dislodged by the vigorous shaking. I moved all the bottles to the kitchen. Then I emptied the water out of the equipment that was in the tub and emptied the tub water.
I decided to move the fermenter out of Ellie's closet to the kitchen. As I was doing this my dad knocked on the door. We were going to do the rest together. I expected my sister to come but he said she wasn't going to make it. Half an hour later she arrived at the door. So that was nice. Ellie even joined in. So, it was a happy family event.
I mixed up 2.5 gallons of santization solution (starsan) and poured about a gallon of it in the pitcher I used to water the dogs with. I then used this pitcher to put some of the solution into each bottle. This was messy. Thankfully I had a towel to clean up but I need to get a smaller funnel. After they all had some solution in it we covered the end with our hands and shook it up to get the solution everywhere in the bottle.
Then we moved to preparing the priming solution. I got 2 cups of water and heated it up to a boil. We then added 4oz of corn sugar to it and let it boil for 10 minutes. While this was going on I sanitized the equipment (tubing, siphon, bottle wand, etc.). After that we got the thief out and took a gravity reading.
The beer measured 1.012 which surprised me. I last checked it two weeks ago and it measured 1.017. Two weeks ago, the beer was two weeks old. So that means from the two weeks mark to the four week mark the yeast continued to work away. I figured it would be done after two weeks. Interesting that different yeast ferment quite differently. This yeast was very aggressive for the first few days (we blew off the air lock) and then appeared to mellow and continue steadily along for weeks and weeks. Anyhow, this left us with a ABV of about 5.7%. We then passed around the sample and tasted it. It was wonderfully mellow and smooth. No characteristic was overbearing. I think it will be the best beer yet.
So then we got the siphon into the carboy and the bottling bucket in position and we are ready to do this. I put my mouth to the siphon and blow (not suck as before). Lo and behold! The beer begins to flow into the bucket. After about half a gallon we hear leaking like someone taking a piss. I had opened the valve on the bottling bucket to sanitize it and had forgotten to close it. Thankfully, I was thinking ahead and had put a towel on the kitchen floor so there was no mess to clean up later. Yeah team!
So after 1-2 gallons had been transferred I had dad pour in the priming solution. We got about 4.5 gallons of beer out of the fermenter and into the bucket. Then we moved the bucket up to the island in the kitchen (which is where the fermenter was) and started hooking up tubing and the filling wand.
Dad really started to get involved here by getting the PET bottles emptied of the sanitization solution, dunking the tops of them in the sanitization solution, and handing them to me to fill. Once I filled them I handed it back to him and he would screw on the cap which had been soaking in the sanitization solution that was in the pitcher. This went on until we were done with the PET bottles. Then we moved to glass bottles and Ellie got in the fun. She would empty the solution out of the bottles, dunk the top in sanitization solution that was in the pitcher, and hand it to me. I would fill it and hand it to dad. Dad would then cap the bottles. We made sure to dunk the bottle capper in sanitization solution and got the caps from the pitcher holding sanitization solution (I had put them there an hours or so earlier).
It was around this time that Tom showed up. He was on his way to Vegas because his dog was entering an agility competition. We decided to do a beer exchange. He brought over a couple and I sent him off with two bottles of Light Ale and one large bottle of our newly bottle Altbier. I tried to bottle some of the Bodacious Brown from the keg but that just made a huge mess. Tom said I should just pour it in a glass and give to him. I did. He seemed to like it. So, Tom hangs with my family and I while we drink some beer. They all left at about the same time and I cleaned everything up and got it back in the garage. Cleaning the fermenter was interesting. The slurry was not as solid and sludgy as before. This yeast slurry was loose and liquidy. It allowed me to just turn it over and empty it out. I then filled the fermenter up with water and added a couple of scoops of oxygen cleaner and let it sit all night.
Just as soon as I finished with all that, my buddies came over for a beer party. A good time was had by all. We ate tri-tip, beans, chips, etc. and watched Jackass 3. Ellie talked to Wendy for a bit. We drank all of the Light Ale that was in the chest freezer. Only two bottles of that batch remain in the cupboard. I would say we drank about 1/3 of the keg.
I tried to pay attention to the comments about the beer throughout the night. The Light Ale got another "it smells good" comment from Zack. Yes it does Zack. Yes it does. That must be it's fifth or so person to say that. I find that fascinating. That that many different people would have such a similar thing to say about a beer. Anyhow, I heard some folks say they would be willing to pay money for the beer. I heard Zack say that the Light Ale was still a little flat. I wouldn't disagree.
My critiques are that the Bodacious Brown is too hoppy in the aftertaste. Not horribly so but enough to matter. It made the beer slightly bitter. Again, this is in the aftertaste and not something you detect the instant the beer hits your mouth. Also, the hops smell was pleasant but not overbearing. The color was dark and it didn't end up as clear as I thought it would be. It kind of had a haze to it. The body was perfect.
The Light Ale was, well, light. I felt that it needed more body. Also, I think I need to add more priming sugar to my beer. This was bottled weeks ago. It should be fully carbonated at this point. As previously stated it smelled awesome. It had a pleasantly perfect balanced taste in terms of malt/bitter. It had a lovely light golden color that was optimally clear. I don't like perfectly clear beer. The world is not perfect. I don't think my beer should be either. It should have a little character. Having said all that, it was pretty damn clear. People must have liked it though. It's all gone.
Jackass 3 was a lot of fun. I recommend it if you liked any of the other Jackass movies. It was their best yet.
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