SBDC Brown Ale

I've been looking forward to brewing this beer for awhile. The inspiration for this beer was a cask-conditioned brown ale served by hand pump at one of the Goose Island brewpubs. It had an incredibly creamy mouth feel, nutty flavor, and a really nice fresh-cut tobacco aroma.

I'm hoping to capture some of that tobacco character by using a small amount of black cardamom at the end of the boil. Even at .25 g, I'm worried that it may be overpowering. Though, I'm looking forward to finding out.

SBDC Brown Ale

TGT OG 1.045 TGT FG 1.013 TGT ABV 4.3% TGT AA 71.0% TGT IBU 24.4 TGT SRM 13.5

Total Grain: 10.3 lbs
Wort Volume: 5.96 gal
TGT Pre-boil Volume: 8.00 gal
TGT Pre-boil Gravity: 1.034
Anticipated Efficiency: 70%
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Evaporation: ~17% hourly

75.0% - 7.75 lbs. Maris Otter
10.0% - 1.03 lbs. Victory Malt
05.0% - 0.52 lbs. Carapils
04.0% - 0.41 lbs. Medium Crystal (50-60L)
03.0% - 0.31 lbs. Golden Naked Oats
03.0& - 0.31 lbs. Pale Chocolate Malt

0.7 oz. Northern Brewer (Pellet, 9.4% AA) @ 60 min.

1.00 tablet Whirlfloc @ 15 min.
2.64 g Wyeast Yeast Nutrient @ 10 min.
.25 oz Black Cardamom @ 5 min.

WY1469 – West Yorkshire Ale

Carbon filtered Waco

Rest 60 min @ 154 F

Notes:
25 October 2011 – Made 1.0 l starter of WY1469 (production date 05 October 2011) w/ Wyeast Yeast Nutrient and 2 drops Foam-Control on a stir plate.

26 October 2011 – Moved starter to refrigerator.

27 October 2011 - Brewed by myself. Doughed in with 4 gal (1.5 qt/lb) water at 166 degrees. Adjusted with 1/4 tsp phosphoric acid. Mash pH ~5.2. Rested at 154 for 60 minutes. Batch sparged with 5.25 gal of water at 180 degrees for 30 minutes at 168 degrees.

Yielded 7.8 gal of 1.041 wort (calculated efficiency 83.4%).

Boiled for 90 minutes. Added 6 drops of Foam Control and .2 gal water. Finished with 6.44 gal of 1.050 wort. Too lazy to adjust with distilled water, will leave at higher gravity.

Chilled to 64 degrees. Oxygenated for 30 seconds with O2. Added 4 more drops of Foam Control. Decanted and pitched starter. Shook for 20 seconds, topped with sanitized aluminum foil, and set in freezer with controller set to 65 degrees F.

29 October 2011 - Minor blow-off through airlock. Second time using this yeast and it is very active. next time use blow-off tube or more head space. It also might be time to toss my Foam Control and get a new one, this bottle doesn't seem to be doing its job anymore.

30 October 2011 - Raised temperature to 70 degrees F for diacetyl rest.

01 November 2011 - Gravity 1.016 (AA 67.1%). Still very cloudy with yeast, should finish up in a few days.

09 November 2011 - Moved to freezer to cold condition at 35 degrees for a few days before kegging.

17 November 2011 - Kegged ~4.75 gal. Final gravity 1.014 (71.1% AA, 4.8% ABV). Target carbonation 2.1 vol CO2, 45 degrees F @ 10 psi.

27 November 2011 - Raised pressure to 30 psi to speed carbonation up.

Pumpkin Porter

Though I'm not usually a fan of pumpkin beers, I tried a pumpkin porter while I was in Denver for GABF that really impressed me. I really like the pumpkin spices when set against the roasty back drop. Since Michelle and I are throwing a Halloween party, having a pumpkin beer on tap seemed necessary. I was aiming for a porter with some pumpkin character, rather than a pumpkin beer with a little splash of porter. I may have been a little bit too light on the spices, but I can always adjust that with a spice tea extract in the keg.

Pumpkin Porter

TGT OG 1.060 TGT FG 1.016 TGT ABV 5.9% TGT AA 72.3% TGT IBU 28 TGT SRM 32.5

Total Grain: 13.8 lbs
Wort Volume: 5.95 gal
Pre-boil Volume: 8.00 gal
Pre-boil Gravity: 1.045
Anticipated Efficiency: 70%
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Anticipated Evaporation: 15% hourly

62.0% - 8.51 lbs. Golden Promise
21.0% - 2.88 lbs. Munich Malt
08.0% - 1.10 lbs. Medium Crystal
04.0% - 0.55 lbs. Chocolate Malt
04.0% - 0.55 lbs. Pale Chocolate Malt
01.0% - 0.14 lbs Black Malt

1.4 oz. East Kent Goldings (Pellet, 5.9% AA) @ 60 min.

1.00 tablet Whirlfloc @ 15 min.
2.64 g Wyeast Yeast Nutrient @ 10 min.
2.0 g Ground Cinnamon @ 5 min.
2.0 g Ground Nutmeg @ 5 min.
2.0 g Ground Allspice @ 5 min.

WLP005 – British Ale

Carbon filtered Waco

Rest 60 min @ 154 F

Notes:
05 October 2011 – Made 1.1 l starter of WLP005 (Production Date 07 September 2011) w/ Wyeast Yeast Nutrient on a stir plate.

07 October 2011 – Brewed by myself. Doughed in base and crystal malts with 5.15 gal (1.5 qt/lb) at 164 degrees. Added ½ tsp phosphoric acid. Mash pH ~5.2. Rested at 154 for 60 minutes. Added roasted grains and batch sparged with 5.35 gal at 175 degrees for 10 minutes at 168 degrees.

Yielded 8.75 gal of 1.045 wort (calculated efficiency 77.3%)

Removed .625 gal (10 cups) of wort to adjust volume. Boiled for 90 minutes. Added 6 drops of Foam Control. Yielded 6.07 gal 1.060 wort (evaporation rate 17% or 1.35 gal/hr)

Chilled to 66 degrees. Racked 5.0 gal to Better Bottle. Aerated for 30 with O2.

Pitched starter and covered with sanitized aluminum foil. Temperature controller set to 68 degrees.

10 October 2011 – Replaced foil with sanitized airlock.

11 October 2011 – Gravity 1.024 (58.8% AA)

15 October 2011 – Gravity 1.020 (65.5% AA). Moved to fireplace. Shook to rouse yeast.

19 October 2011 – Moved to freezer to cold condition at 40 degrees.

26 October 2011 – Kegged ~4.6 gal. Didn't take final gravity, may have dropped a few more points, but nothing significant. Controller set to 45 degrees. Regulator set to 30 psi. Need to carb quickly for Halloween party.

7 November 2011 - First tasting.

The Dark One.2

TGT OG 1.066 TGT FG 1.020 TGT ABV 6.0% TGT AA 68.0% TGT IBU 26 TGT SRM 32.5

Total Grain: 15.41 lbs
Wort Volume: 5.96 gal
TGT Pre-boil Volume: 8.00 gal
TGT Pre-boil Gravity: 1.049
Anticipated Efficiency: 70%
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Evaporation: ~17% hourly

60.0% - 9.21 lbs. Maris Otter
15.0% - 2.30 lbs. Naked Golden Oats
10.0% - 1.54 lbs. Light Munich Malt
05.0% - 0.77 lbs. Roasted Barley
05.0% - 0.77 lbs. Chocolate Malt
02.5% - 0.38 lbs. Crystal 60
02.5% - 0.38 lbs. Dark Crystal

1.6 oz. East Kent Goldings (Pellet, 5.0% AA) @ 60 min.

1.00 tablet Whirlfloc @ 15 min.
2.64 g Wyeast Yeast Nutrient @ 10 min.

WY1469 – West Yorkshire Ale

Carbon filtered Waco
2 g Calcium Chloride (Boil)

Rest 60 min @ 154 F

Notes:
15 October 2011 – Made 1.07 l starter of WY1469 (production date 05 October 2011) w/ Wyeast Yeast Nutrient and 2 drops Foam-Control on a stir plate.

16 October 2011 - Brewed by myself (and Michelle helped, too). Doughed in with 5.75 gal (1.5 qt/lb) at 166 degrees. Came in 1-2 degrees low. Adjusted temperature with .25 gal of boiling water. Rested at 154 for 60 minutes. Adjusted with ¾ tsp phosphoric acid. Mash pH ~5.2. Batch sparged with 3.75 gal at 175 degrees for 10 minutes at 165 degrees.

Yielded 7.75 gal of 1.048 wort (calculated efficiency 66.3%). Added .25 gal water and .5 lb DME. Low efficiency due to slightly acidic sparge?

Boiled for 90 minutes yielding 5.96 gal of 1.066 wort (evaporation rate 17% or 1.35 gal/hr). Added 6 drops Foam-Control and 2 grams Calcium Chloride.

Chilled to 66 degrees F in 20 minutes. Racked 5.0 gal to Better Bottle.

Pitched entire starter and oxygenated with O2 for 60 seconds. Temperature controller set to 66 degrees.

17 October 2011 - Blow off like crazy. Should have taken a picture. Lost about .25 gal. Added 4 drops Foam-Control. Replaced aluminum foil and cleaned up carboy.

19 October 2011 - Moved near fireplace for diacetyl rest. Ambient temperature 70 degrees F.

23 October 2011 - Gravity 1.020 (68.5% AA). Flavors are developing nicely. A little on the fruity side, hopefully during maturation that gets rounded out a little bit.

25 October 2011 - Moved to freezer with controller set to 40 degrees to cold condition prior to kegging.

26 October 2011 – Kegged ~4.6 gal. Didn't take final gravity, may have dropped a point or two, but nothing too significant. Temperature controller set to 40 degrees. Regulator set to 30 psi. Need to carbonate quickly before Halloween party.