Redemption was a failure. Tasted just like the rest. Papery. Like wet cardboard. Not as obnoxious as the last batch but still there. I kegged it and I will drink it. It is drinkable. But yucky. I find some are more sensitive to the taste then others. Ellie and Kevin don't mind it. I do.
What I'm going to do now is an experiment. I will brew a batch. Same as always. But I will pour half in one fermenter and half in another. One of the fermenters will have the oxygen stone and one will not. Then we will wait a month and taste and see the difference. If they are both bad then we know it was not the oxygen stone.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Graff
Fall is here and that means Apple Cider time. I'm just betting I can find some at the farmers market. I've made cider in the past and it came out very tart and dry. If only there was a way to improve it. And make it such that it is drinkable in a month or so instead of waiting forever.
Say hello to Graff: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/graff-malty-slightly-hopped-cider-117117/
From the above webpage:
For all non-scientific beerology purposes, this is a cider. (I know, I know....but its got hops in it!)
Jay Huff and his apple bee got me started on some experiments and this is what I have come up with.
I noticed Ed's Apfelwein tasted super hoochy until it was about a year old. When it's about a year old tho it does taste like a good cider, but doesn't have the body a good cider does.
So, how can I make something that will taste good faster and also have body?
1. Get rid of the wine yeast and use a clean fermenting beer yeast
2. Get rid of that cheap sugar and use some light DME
3. Balance the tart flavor of young cider by using specialty grains.
4. Later on, I found hops also helped balance the overall flavor. BUT ONLY A TINY BIT, DO NOT USE MORE THAN CALLED FOR
If you like a clean, malty, not too tart easy drinking cider style beverage then this is your drink.
Materials needed for a 5 Gallon Batch
Clean fermenting yeast I have used Nottinham and Safale-05, both are good
.5 lbs of Crystal 60L If you use cheap store brand juice, I reccomend 120L. Cheap juice tends to turn out a tad tart and this will balance it.
1 oz of torrified wheat ( head retention, I've never used more than 2oz)
4 Gallons of apple juice.
1 gallon of water
2 lbs of DME ( I use 1 lb. amber and 1 lb. light DME)
0.5 oz of you favorite hops ( right around 6% AA, I have used 18.5% AA summit hops before and it took a month after kegging for strong bitterness to blend nicely)
WARNING! IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF HOPS USED, MAKE IT LESS NOT MORE, it's really just too bitter with any more.
Directions for brewing
Steep the 60L and torrified wheat in .75 gallons of water @ 155 degrees for 30 mins.
Sparge with .25 gallons 170 degree water and throw away grains.
Add DME and bring to a boil.
Add hops when boiling starts and boil for 30 mins.
Cool down the wort (if you choose not to cool the wort and just let the AJ do the cooling then your cider won't be as clear). I don't care about clarity so I just let the AJ do the cooling, but if you stick your pot in the freezer and let this get down to 70 degrees or so your cider will clear fairly easy. Pour the wort and apple juice into your carboy and pitch yeast.
Ferment 2 weeks at 64-68 degrees then keg or bottle.
I keg, and this stuff is VERY drinkable as soon as it is carbonated.
SUPERB taste and drinkability after 2-3 weeks of aging.
People bottling, it will have SUPERB taste and drinkability after the standard 3 week bottling period for carbonating.
I'm doing this....
Say hello to Graff: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/graff-malty-slightly-hopped-cider-117117/
From the above webpage:
For all non-scientific beerology purposes, this is a cider. (I know, I know....but its got hops in it!)
Jay Huff and his apple bee got me started on some experiments and this is what I have come up with.
I noticed Ed's Apfelwein tasted super hoochy until it was about a year old. When it's about a year old tho it does taste like a good cider, but doesn't have the body a good cider does.
So, how can I make something that will taste good faster and also have body?
1. Get rid of the wine yeast and use a clean fermenting beer yeast
2. Get rid of that cheap sugar and use some light DME
3. Balance the tart flavor of young cider by using specialty grains.
4. Later on, I found hops also helped balance the overall flavor. BUT ONLY A TINY BIT, DO NOT USE MORE THAN CALLED FOR
If you like a clean, malty, not too tart easy drinking cider style beverage then this is your drink.
Materials needed for a 5 Gallon Batch
Clean fermenting yeast I have used Nottinham and Safale-05, both are good
.5 lbs of Crystal 60L If you use cheap store brand juice, I reccomend 120L. Cheap juice tends to turn out a tad tart and this will balance it.
1 oz of torrified wheat ( head retention, I've never used more than 2oz)
4 Gallons of apple juice.
1 gallon of water
2 lbs of DME ( I use 1 lb. amber and 1 lb. light DME)
0.5 oz of you favorite hops ( right around 6% AA, I have used 18.5% AA summit hops before and it took a month after kegging for strong bitterness to blend nicely)
WARNING! IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF HOPS USED, MAKE IT LESS NOT MORE, it's really just too bitter with any more.
Directions for brewing
Steep the 60L and torrified wheat in .75 gallons of water @ 155 degrees for 30 mins.
Sparge with .25 gallons 170 degree water and throw away grains.
Add DME and bring to a boil.
Add hops when boiling starts and boil for 30 mins.
Cool down the wort (if you choose not to cool the wort and just let the AJ do the cooling then your cider won't be as clear). I don't care about clarity so I just let the AJ do the cooling, but if you stick your pot in the freezer and let this get down to 70 degrees or so your cider will clear fairly easy. Pour the wort and apple juice into your carboy and pitch yeast.
Ferment 2 weeks at 64-68 degrees then keg or bottle.
I keg, and this stuff is VERY drinkable as soon as it is carbonated.
SUPERB taste and drinkability after 2-3 weeks of aging.
People bottling, it will have SUPERB taste and drinkability after the standard 3 week bottling period for carbonating.
I'm doing this....
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Redemption
Oktoberfest Ale was a disaster. First beer I've thrown out. It tasted so stale and gross. The most tolerant beer drinkers are Kevin and Ellie and they each agreed it was bad. It tasted like wet cardboard. I was sad.
Now comes the time where I try to figure out what has gone wrong. The last batch had a this same problem but it was drinkable. My analysis had lead to the following process improvements.
First the air lock doesn't hold any fluid. I don't know exactly why. I've got some theories, but it really doesn't matter does it. The bottom line is that there is a pressure issue and the fermenter sucks the fluid from the air lock into it and thus exposes it to air. I will use a blow off tube from now on.
The other big thing was that the steel thermometer was off. By about 10-15 degrees. This means that the mash was WAY hotter than it should be. I will now order a glass thermometer and calibrate every time I brew.
So I ordered the exact same grains as last time and decided I would try again. This beer will be the first one that I will name. It will be call Redemption.
Once I ordered the grains the packaging guy screwed up. Instead of Munich malt they packed me Vienna. At first I was mad but when I placed the order I gave special instructions that a ninja be drawn on the shipping box and the shipping guy actually drew me one. I enjoyed it so much I thought I give him a pass on the screw up and just roll with it. So there is a change in recipe. We will be using 4.75lbs of Vienna malt and no Munich. Here is the recipe.
0.5 biscuit
0.5 lbs. White Wheat Malt
0.5 lbs. Victory Malt
0.5 lbs. Special Roast
4.75 lbs. Vienna Malt
5.0 lbs. Pilsner 2 row (German)
0.5 oz 3.4% AA Liberty (60 mins)
0.5 oz 3.9% AA Tettnang (60 mins)
0.5 oz 3.4% AA Liberty (15 mins)
1 oz 3.3% AA Saaz (15 mins)
WLP036 - Dusseldorf Alt Yeast Lot number 1036TPP3142761
It was mashed at 152F on the thermometer. Which was a different steel thermometer then the usual one but was still wrong. But not as wrong. So the temp was actually slightly higher.
I made a mistake in the mashing. I meant to add 4.5 gallons to the grain and rest for an hour. I ended up adding 3.5 gallons. So, I didn't get very much in the first runnings. I had to sparge the bejesus out of the grains.
OG was 1.050. After a few weeks the gravity is 1.008. It tasted ok. Still a little stale and cardboardy but drinkable. I wonder if I have cardboard on the brain and so I taste it even if it isn't there.
I've saved one bottle of Sam Adams Oktoberfest and will do a side by side comparison and will report back.
I intend to keg the beer sometime this week.
Now comes the time where I try to figure out what has gone wrong. The last batch had a this same problem but it was drinkable. My analysis had lead to the following process improvements.
First the air lock doesn't hold any fluid. I don't know exactly why. I've got some theories, but it really doesn't matter does it. The bottom line is that there is a pressure issue and the fermenter sucks the fluid from the air lock into it and thus exposes it to air. I will use a blow off tube from now on.
The other big thing was that the steel thermometer was off. By about 10-15 degrees. This means that the mash was WAY hotter than it should be. I will now order a glass thermometer and calibrate every time I brew.
So I ordered the exact same grains as last time and decided I would try again. This beer will be the first one that I will name. It will be call Redemption.
Once I ordered the grains the packaging guy screwed up. Instead of Munich malt they packed me Vienna. At first I was mad but when I placed the order I gave special instructions that a ninja be drawn on the shipping box and the shipping guy actually drew me one. I enjoyed it so much I thought I give him a pass on the screw up and just roll with it. So there is a change in recipe. We will be using 4.75lbs of Vienna malt and no Munich. Here is the recipe.
0.5 biscuit
0.5 lbs. White Wheat Malt
0.5 lbs. Victory Malt
0.5 lbs. Special Roast
4.75 lbs. Vienna Malt
5.0 lbs. Pilsner 2 row (German)
0.5 oz 3.4% AA Liberty (60 mins)
0.5 oz 3.9% AA Tettnang (60 mins)
0.5 oz 3.4% AA Liberty (15 mins)
1 oz 3.3% AA Saaz (15 mins)
WLP036 - Dusseldorf Alt Yeast Lot number 1036TPP3142761
It was mashed at 152F on the thermometer. Which was a different steel thermometer then the usual one but was still wrong. But not as wrong. So the temp was actually slightly higher.
I made a mistake in the mashing. I meant to add 4.5 gallons to the grain and rest for an hour. I ended up adding 3.5 gallons. So, I didn't get very much in the first runnings. I had to sparge the bejesus out of the grains.
OG was 1.050. After a few weeks the gravity is 1.008. It tasted ok. Still a little stale and cardboardy but drinkable. I wonder if I have cardboard on the brain and so I taste it even if it isn't there.
I've saved one bottle of Sam Adams Oktoberfest and will do a side by side comparison and will report back.
I intend to keg the beer sometime this week.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Phat Quail Ale Thoughts
Took some Phat Quail Ale to David's for his birthday. People seemed to enjoy it. I took a larger bottle of it. The large glass bottles were the first to be bottled and they seem to tasted the least oxidized for some reason. So maybe the bottles had something to do with it. Maybe the oxygen cleaner I used to clean the bottles contributed. I remember a crapload of starsan in each of the bottles too but everything a read says that won't matter. One thing I didn't do was move my hot wort to the boiling pot via tubing. I let it splash in which would defiantly cause hot side aeration. Then later I hear hot side aeration is a myth. I don't know.
I think this batch of beer has taught me two things even if they are not true they can't hurt. Hot wort will be moved to the boil kettle via tubing. Secondary fermenters should be 5 gallons (not 6.5) to minimize air in the head space.
I think this batch of beer has taught me two things even if they are not true they can't hurt. Hot wort will be moved to the boil kettle via tubing. Secondary fermenters should be 5 gallons (not 6.5) to minimize air in the head space.
Mead
Made some mead. Can't remember the date. I remember it was the day that Amanda came over and told us she was getting married. I think it was six weeks ago or so. The ingredients as best I can remember for the 1 gallon batch are:
3lbs of honey (Ellie bought this fresh for me from a farm while on travel one day).
Water (don't remember how much)
Orange - cut into slices
20 raisins
WLP720 - White Labs Sweet Mead
I remember heating up the honey and the water but not all the way to a boil as it would adversely affect the honey. I cooled it, poured into the 1 gallon fermenter, shook it up, and then pitched the yeast.
Before I poured it into the fermenter I added some Go-Ferm. I tried to figure out how much but the units were all messed up. If I remember the instructions were all to measured out by mass. I'm trying to figure out how many table spoons it is and say screw it. I just sprinkle some in.
Also, I never took a gravity reading. Did I mention I was drinking this whole time???
After a couple of weeks I added some Fermaid-K to help the yeast along. Can't remember how much.
After a few weeks I gave it a sample. It tasted great. Still very sweet. The alcohol was strong as was the oranges. I can't wait for it to mellow. It think it will be great. In another week or so I think I will bottle it and store it somewhere in the house. I think I'll drink it in the spring when it starts to get warm in the house.
3lbs of honey (Ellie bought this fresh for me from a farm while on travel one day).
Water (don't remember how much)
Orange - cut into slices
20 raisins
WLP720 - White Labs Sweet Mead
I remember heating up the honey and the water but not all the way to a boil as it would adversely affect the honey. I cooled it, poured into the 1 gallon fermenter, shook it up, and then pitched the yeast.
Before I poured it into the fermenter I added some Go-Ferm. I tried to figure out how much but the units were all messed up. If I remember the instructions were all to measured out by mass. I'm trying to figure out how many table spoons it is and say screw it. I just sprinkle some in.
Also, I never took a gravity reading. Did I mention I was drinking this whole time???
After a couple of weeks I added some Fermaid-K to help the yeast along. Can't remember how much.
After a few weeks I gave it a sample. It tasted great. Still very sweet. The alcohol was strong as was the oranges. I can't wait for it to mellow. It think it will be great. In another week or so I think I will bottle it and store it somewhere in the house. I think I'll drink it in the spring when it starts to get warm in the house.
Oktoberfest Ale
Took a sample of Oktoberfest Ale. The gravity reading is 1.017. So we have beer.
When I opened the fermenter to take a sample I noted a slight sulfur smell. So now I scour the internets looking for what causes that. I guess all yeast kick off a little sulfur but it is usually not detectable. This seems more common for lager yeast though. Internet searches show that some folks detect some sulfur with WLP036. I've also read that stressing the yeast can kick off some sulfur. It's been temperature controlled at 70F the whole time. And I mean the fermenter itself has been at that temp (not the chest freezer). I read a little more and found that sometimes Pilsner can produce some sulfur but the only people to have issue were extract brewers. Of course there is the serious concern that this is from a bacteria infection in which case things will only get worse. Finally, it seems if the yeast are left too long in the fermenter they will eat each other and give off sulfur type smells. This is not really a concern for homebrewers. If it is simply from the yeast then we are in luck. Sulfur is one of those beer flaws that will go away with age. The beer is currently 2 weeks old. We'll try it again next weekend.
Other than that I tried some of the sample. It tasted...different. Not bad but it's flatness was bothersome. Of course it's not carbonated at this point but I never tasted a beer from the fermenter at 2 weeks and thought this needs carbonation bad. Ellie felt the same way. Not sure what that is about. The beer has a medium to light body and a light color. And finally, finally, finally the beer is not bitter. That's one thing that I can say that went as planned.
When I opened the fermenter to take a sample I noted a slight sulfur smell. So now I scour the internets looking for what causes that. I guess all yeast kick off a little sulfur but it is usually not detectable. This seems more common for lager yeast though. Internet searches show that some folks detect some sulfur with WLP036. I've also read that stressing the yeast can kick off some sulfur. It's been temperature controlled at 70F the whole time. And I mean the fermenter itself has been at that temp (not the chest freezer). I read a little more and found that sometimes Pilsner can produce some sulfur but the only people to have issue were extract brewers. Of course there is the serious concern that this is from a bacteria infection in which case things will only get worse. Finally, it seems if the yeast are left too long in the fermenter they will eat each other and give off sulfur type smells. This is not really a concern for homebrewers. If it is simply from the yeast then we are in luck. Sulfur is one of those beer flaws that will go away with age. The beer is currently 2 weeks old. We'll try it again next weekend.
Other than that I tried some of the sample. It tasted...different. Not bad but it's flatness was bothersome. Of course it's not carbonated at this point but I never tasted a beer from the fermenter at 2 weeks and thought this needs carbonation bad. Ellie felt the same way. Not sure what that is about. The beer has a medium to light body and a light color. And finally, finally, finally the beer is not bitter. That's one thing that I can say that went as planned.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)