Dan, Becka, and I bottled the K&B IPA, which we had allowed to ferment for a BBBCo record 4 weeks because there looked to be too much activity at the 2 week mark, and Dan and Jules were out of town during week 3.
The beer was a clone of King & Barnes IPA, which was originally made in the late 1800s in England and sent to troops in India. The IPA was brewed to a high gravity and hop rate to survive the voyage from the motherland. Once it arrived in India, it was diluted, and the degree of dilution depended on the rank of the enlisted soldier.
I don't think dilution will be necessary in our case. Our OG was 1.033, way less than the expected 1.054-1.055. It still dropped to 1.015 (expected 1.012-1.013), but because the OG was so low, we're concerned it's not going to be very alcoholic. ABV should be about 2.4%, well less than the expected 5%+.
We all three tasted it and it tasted ok. It will need to age for a while to get better, I am sure. When we checked out a few forums, most people that had a low OG had it because they forgot to put in enough DME or brewed in a 6 gallon bucket rather than 5G and put in too much water. We could not have had a problem with too much water, and we don't have any malt around the house, so we know that wasn't a problem. The mystery will be unsolved until we gas 10 of them and see how we fell. I will volunteer to be a test subject. Anyone else?
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
No Blowoff on Amber Ale
We've been a bit concerned that there hasn't been any blowoff on the Amber Ale after 4 days now. At this point, the other beers we've brewed have been settling down and the blowoff is about done. But we haven't had any.
Although the verdict is still out, it's probably not a big deal. The blowoff basically allows for some bitter flavors to be expelled from the beer. Here's the synopsis from a hombrewtalk.com forum:
"Aside from my first couple of batches with food grade buckets, all I've ever used to ferment are carboys (usually 5 gal). I almost always have a blowoff but it's never a disaster it just dirties up a 1" hose and a quart container.
Quote:
You waste beer, it's a pain to cleanup and in IMO, it means I did something wrong.
When I started brewing I believed that blowoff was a good thing and I thought that if I DIDN'T get a blowoff that I had done something wrong. Now I've changed my view on that but to be honest I still prefer a quick start and a blowoff (I STILL tend to think I did something wrong if I don't have blowoff within 12 hours or so of pitching). It wastes very little beer and the cleanup is just a hose and a quart container. However, if you put a 5 gal. batch in a 6 gal. carboy there's probably too much headspace and the krausen won't reach the neck of the bottle (my Vienna Lager didn't blowoff because it's in a 6 gal. carboy...nice krausen though).
A blowoff can change the flavor of the beer...probably in more ways than I realize. For one thing it shoots hop material up and out or sticks it to the glass above the beer level and that has to affect the flavor to some degree.
EDIT: One last thing - In my limited experience, the amount of dissolved O2 in the wort has a big effect on blowoff (and quick starts). Once I started aerating the **** outta my cooled worts blowoffs became the norm...before that...not so much."
Although the verdict is still out, it's probably not a big deal. The blowoff basically allows for some bitter flavors to be expelled from the beer. Here's the synopsis from a hombrewtalk.com forum:
"Aside from my first couple of batches with food grade buckets, all I've ever used to ferment are carboys (usually 5 gal). I almost always have a blowoff but it's never a disaster it just dirties up a 1" hose and a quart container.
Quote:
You waste beer, it's a pain to cleanup and in IMO, it means I did something wrong.
When I started brewing I believed that blowoff was a good thing and I thought that if I DIDN'T get a blowoff that I had done something wrong. Now I've changed my view on that but to be honest I still prefer a quick start and a blowoff (I STILL tend to think I did something wrong if I don't have blowoff within 12 hours or so of pitching). It wastes very little beer and the cleanup is just a hose and a quart container. However, if you put a 5 gal. batch in a 6 gal. carboy there's probably too much headspace and the krausen won't reach the neck of the bottle (my Vienna Lager didn't blowoff because it's in a 6 gal. carboy...nice krausen though).
A blowoff can change the flavor of the beer...probably in more ways than I realize. For one thing it shoots hop material up and out or sticks it to the glass above the beer level and that has to affect the flavor to some degree.
EDIT: One last thing - In my limited experience, the amount of dissolved O2 in the wort has a big effect on blowoff (and quick starts). Once I started aerating the **** outta my cooled worts blowoffs became the norm...before that...not so much."
So bottom line: I think we're ok.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Yankee Brew News Hop Tips
an email I received from YBN:
A quick tip we just go for anyone who is registered from NH...
Barley Pub, 328 Central Ave, Dover NH is tapping a keg of Smuttynose IPA today at 5ish.
http://www.barleypub.com/
Let em know YBN sent you...Enjoy!
Is it really necessary to tell us this? Is Smuttynose IPA that rare? Tell me if it is...
A quick tip we just go for anyone who is registered from NH...
Barley Pub, 328 Central Ave, Dover NH is tapping a keg of Smuttynose IPA today at 5ish.
http://www.barleypub.com/
Let em know YBN sent you...Enjoy!
Is it really necessary to tell us this? Is Smuttynose IPA that rare? Tell me if it is...
UPDATE!!!!
got another email today!
I apologize, but we had a slight mix-up with the message I sent out yesterday about the Smuttynose cask at Barley Pub. They are actually tapping the keg today, March 5, at 5:00.
So if you're in the area, check it out:
Barley Pub, 328 Central Ave, Dover NH
http://www.barleypub.com/
Stay tuned for another Hop Tips later on this month!
So if you're in the area, check it out:
Barley Pub, 328 Central Ave, Dover NH
http://www.barleypub.com/
Stay tuned for another Hop Tips later on this month!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Chipotle Corn Amber Ale: Brewing Notes
Becka and I brewed yet another modified clone recipe yesterday: a chipotle and roasted corn infused modified Fat Tire Amber Ale. We've obviously made modifications in the past with the ginger in the Hefe, the vanilla and almond extract in the porter. This really wasn't any different.
We went to Trader Joe's and bought a 16oz bag of roasted corn for $2.50 (previously frozen) and allowed it to thaw overnight. Becka thought it would be good to drain it to get some of the excess water out, so we did that. We took 1oz (about 3) of the Chipotle peppers that were soaked in Adobo sauce from our Super Bowl party (we used them in a cheese dip) and rinsed off the Adobo sauce. Becka sliced them and left the seeds intact.
We added the corn along with the grains into the mash. It definitely made an impact on the aroma of the mash, making it smokey and a little nuttier, but we're not sure how much fermentable sugars it contributed. If you actually brew with corn, you want to use flaked corn, as it is much easier for the enzymes from the barley and the yeast to convert into nearly tasteless, body-lightening alcohol. Brewing with whole kernels, however, should have relatively less of an impact on the beer as a whole.
After adding the corn, we followed the Fat Tire recipe as is until we got to the last 15 minutes of the boil, when we added our Irish Moss and flavoring hops. Then we threw in the Chipotle peppers and crossed our fingers. You could tell they had an impact from the smokey spicy aroma that the wort let off, but it wasn't overwhelmingly spicy. Hopefully the beer will be the same way.
When it came time to measure the specific gravity, we both took a taste of the cooled wort. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't that bad. I happen to like Amber Ales quite a bit and Fat Tire specifically, so it wasn't a huge surprise that I liked it. What was a bit of a surprise is that you could taste a little of the Chipotle, and it definitely contributed positively. We'll see what happens after fermenting and aging, but I'm pretty psyched about this beer.
And so is Tess Szamatulski of Maltose. She asked us to bring in a bottle for her to taste. Becka was pretty pumped about the stamp of approval from the author of several books on brewing. We'll see how it turns out.
Brew Date: 3/1/2009, 12pm-3:30pm
OG: 1.048 (recipe called for 1.048-1.050)
Total Brewing Time: 3.5 hours
Present for brewing: Becka and Morgan
Yeast Activity Report: by 8:30am next day, very thin layer of bubbles at top. By 8:30am day 3, thick foamy layer with some dark sediment, rising 2-3 inches above the surface. Expect to see blowoff by later today.
Recipe credit: Beer Captured for the Fat Tire base recipe; Radical Brewing for the idea to add Chipotle and roasted corn. Becka and Morgan for the portion guesses
We went to Trader Joe's and bought a 16oz bag of roasted corn for $2.50 (previously frozen) and allowed it to thaw overnight. Becka thought it would be good to drain it to get some of the excess water out, so we did that. We took 1oz (about 3) of the Chipotle peppers that were soaked in Adobo sauce from our Super Bowl party (we used them in a cheese dip) and rinsed off the Adobo sauce. Becka sliced them and left the seeds intact.
We added the corn along with the grains into the mash. It definitely made an impact on the aroma of the mash, making it smokey and a little nuttier, but we're not sure how much fermentable sugars it contributed. If you actually brew with corn, you want to use flaked corn, as it is much easier for the enzymes from the barley and the yeast to convert into nearly tasteless, body-lightening alcohol. Brewing with whole kernels, however, should have relatively less of an impact on the beer as a whole.
After adding the corn, we followed the Fat Tire recipe as is until we got to the last 15 minutes of the boil, when we added our Irish Moss and flavoring hops. Then we threw in the Chipotle peppers and crossed our fingers. You could tell they had an impact from the smokey spicy aroma that the wort let off, but it wasn't overwhelmingly spicy. Hopefully the beer will be the same way.
When it came time to measure the specific gravity, we both took a taste of the cooled wort. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't that bad. I happen to like Amber Ales quite a bit and Fat Tire specifically, so it wasn't a huge surprise that I liked it. What was a bit of a surprise is that you could taste a little of the Chipotle, and it definitely contributed positively. We'll see what happens after fermenting and aging, but I'm pretty psyched about this beer.
And so is Tess Szamatulski of Maltose. She asked us to bring in a bottle for her to taste. Becka was pretty pumped about the stamp of approval from the author of several books on brewing. We'll see how it turns out.
Brew Date: 3/1/2009, 12pm-3:30pm
OG: 1.048 (recipe called for 1.048-1.050)
Total Brewing Time: 3.5 hours
Present for brewing: Becka and Morgan
Yeast Activity Report: by 8:30am next day, very thin layer of bubbles at top. By 8:30am day 3, thick foamy layer with some dark sediment, rising 2-3 inches above the surface. Expect to see blowoff by later today.
Recipe credit: Beer Captured for the Fat Tire base recipe; Radical Brewing for the idea to add Chipotle and roasted corn. Becka and Morgan for the portion guesses
Getting Started
I thought it could be fun and useful for us to talk about what we're going through and experiencing as we get started in the world of brewing. This blog is probably initially just meant for the four of us, but could eventually coalesce into something more if we feel interested enough in making it such.
And hey, if we hit it big, maybe this will be the foundation of our first book!
And hey, if we hit it big, maybe this will be the foundation of our first book!
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