Super Efficiency

Well, I can't figure it out.

I used a calculator over at Tasty Brew that based on the ingredients and O.G. of my last batch suggests I'm getting somewhere between 120%-140% efficiency in my brew.

That's impossible so something else is afoot.

I suppose I'll see how it comes out.

Another point of view.

I've extended an invitation to my friend to see if he wants to participate here by adding some things about the beer that he brews. He recently got a keg system and has done all grain brewing in addition to extract so it'll be an interesting additional perspective I think.

Hopefully we'll hear from him before too long.

In the meantime, I'm concerned that I may have a stuck fermentation of my most recent beer. The O.G. being as high as it was, I'm a little worried that I may have drowned the yeast in booze.

I'm still running alternate calculations to see what I may have done that led to such a disparate outcome than my original intention. I'll update with further info if I can figure anything out.

Not quite as planned.

So...I managed to get another beer in the fermenter this weekend.
I have to admit though, it is waaaaay off from what the calculations suggested it would be.

I mean really way off.

Much darker and a super high OG.

I don't know what I did wrong...or right I guess.

I did use smoked malt but no liquid smoke. The liquid smoke I have at the house has vinegar and molasses among other ingredients so it probably wouldn't have worked too well.

Weekend plans.

Today I move the Stout from primary to secondary.
It's early enough for me to be considering brewing an additional batch of beer since I have to do the whole wash and sanitize business anyway. I have some ingredients kicking around that I should probably use before they go bad. So the possible recipe would be some sort of golden smoked ale.

I have a pound of German smoked malt that I want to use. This is usually for brewing a Rauchbier. A Bavarian traditional brew, Schlenkerla, is one of my favorite beers, hands down. It's flavor is not for everyone. The beechwood smoked malt is nothing like a certain American beer's beechwood aging. It's like barbecue in a glass. Traditional styles are really all lagers and since I don't have the fridge to ferment and age a lager, I have to do an ale. There are a few good smoked ales around. They generally have less smoke flavor than I like. Maybe I'll enhance mine with some liquid smoke. A risky prospect since if I do too much it will be undrinkable.

We'll see if I do it.
Time to get ready to rack.

An aside...

I'm aware it's out there.

I don't get it honestly.

I mean I remember being younger and drinking whatever just to drink.
Was it a good idea? No.
Did it do what I intended? Yes.
My choices were limited back then really.
I drank a lot of Pabst before there were hipsters.
I drank a fair amount of Haffenreffer Private Stock when I was poor (oddly enough a Pabst product until recently.)
And then there was the Budweiser...

Eventually I smartened up with Blithering Idiots, Hop Wallops and Aecht Schlenkerlas.
(Which reminds me of a story for another time...)

But now there's this stuff...
















Admittedly I've never even tasted it.
I don't think I will either.
I got this can as a gift.

Those of you who know me know that my nickname going on 15 years now is "Joose."
It's been spelled that way the whole time too.
Kind of too bad for me that there's something marketed with that name.
Especially something that is generally antithetical to what I think about beer.
A funny coincidence none the less.

Funny

Every time I get a new batch of beer in the fermenter and the CO2 from the process starts pumping into the room (neatly or otherwise..ha ha) I find that I really enjoy the smell.

I also remember someone commenting (a parent maybe?) ages ago after some nights of sloppy beer drinking that the place "smelled like a brewery."

The thing is, stale beer stuck to the floor and the fresh aroma of brewing beer don't really smell the same to me. I guess it could be the fact that in the past, the kind of beer that was likely to induce a spill-riffic party type atmosphere was much less malty and rich than the beer that I am brewing these days. If that's the only difference, I'm glad I don't brew light lagers because that smell was not as enjoyable as the one I get now. Not that I could get my beer as clear or delicate as one of the super-big boys anyway.

Either way, my place smells like a brewery and it's awesome.

RATS!

Some time ago when a friend of mine began brewing, I suggested to him that if he was going to leave so little head space in his carboy that there was a likelihood of his primary blowing over. In such a situation, he would be well advised to have a blow off tube of considerable diameter to keep from getting foam everywhere...blah, blah, blah...I was very sure of my opinion being right.

After arriving at Karp's very near closing on Saturday I was rushed in getting the things I needed and decided to eschew hunting down the appropriate tubing for myself. So on this batch of stout, I have opted to go for an airlock alone.

Poor choice.
I knew I was wrong but did it anyway and now...well, there's foam everywhere.
OK, not everywhere. I did have the foresight as I always do to put my primary in a heavy duty contractor style garbage bag (visible in the picture.) This does two things for me. First it keeps the light out and second, contains any spills caused by my foolish decisions.

I don't have beer pooling on my floor so I've got that going for me. It'll just take a little extra effort to make sure I don't make a mess when I rack to the secondary. It also makes me think about how I'd like a bigger sink. It's going to be a pain to clean in the bath tub.

I'm not worried though. The small foam over today will likely be over later tonight. I'll end up with a slightly higher final gravity than I was aiming for but oh well. Next time I'll buy the stupid tube.

Nothing to do but have a beer and not worry.

Brewing...

First things first...Time for a homebrew.
This is my last beer, a big, American style IPA.

Likely in the 8.5% area, it's loaded with alcohol to combat the preposterously high estimated 165 I.B.U.s.

This one (or two) should see me through brewing nicely.

This beer has matured quite a bit since I had the first one. The hop forwardness has mellowed as the malt has rounded out and come forward. Honestly, I preferred the piquant hop bitterness that initially accompanied this beer. My guess is that the calculations of 165 IBUs is not accurate. The aroma of the hops used in the dry hop has come forward as well. The overall profile is considerably more floral and earthy than it was initially. There seems to be an almost tannic profile to the beer even though I used no oak.

Anyway, on to the new batch...

This picture shows my pre-boil "tea." For this particular brew, I steeped a mix of grains, including some I oven toasted, at 150 degrees for 15 minutes before I get my boil going.

I think that it adds some complexity to the final flavor which I can't get from the extracts I use as my primary malt. A little extra sugar and flavor are not a bad thing in this case.

The contraption holding my grain bags keeps them off the bottom of the pot to reduce the chance of the scorching that could occur if they were in contact with direct heat.
When I pull the bags, I like to squeeze them out, getting the "juice" from them. Sometimes if the grain milling isn't great, there is a considerable amount of hull debris that can become incorporated in the wort. Some folks might find this objectionable but it doesn't bother me. With at least two separate rackings to go before it's in bottles, a lot of the debris ends up in the bottom of the fermenters.

After a while, in goes the extract. I like to use dried extract. It's only a personal preference, I feel that it is easier to dissolve than the heavy syrups. Maybe it's just me. No matter. I add my extract, again, off heat to reduce the chance of scorching. Once it dissolves and I've stirred the pot a bit, it's back to boiling. And then...my favorite...

Hops!
This is an ounce of Amarillo, one of three hop additions to my stout.

These provide the base of the bitterness in the brew that I'm working on. I'll add Simcoe and Cascade as I progress. I like the fresh hops though I'm considering moving to plugs.

The leaves provide a pretty good filter in the end when moving the wort from primary to fermenter. Plus, how cool is it to have whole fresh hops around? Well, for me anyway, I think it's cool. Unfortunately, now the waiting begins. An occasional stir and a steely eye on the pot to ensure no boil-overs and the hour passes slowly.

Over the course of the hour I've added the other hops. The Simcoes have a pretty high AA content. (No that's not Alcoholics Anonymous, it's Alpha Acid) I suspect the short time they were in the pot will be more than enough. In the meantime, I've been re-hydrating my dry yeast. I'm not up to fancy pants yeasts yet. I'm still playing with the balance of malt and hops. I suspect in the future I'll get into the nuances of yeast. Anyway...near the end, I add the Cascade hops for aroma and toss in my new chiller to sanitize it in the boil.

I'm loving the new chiller. Makes the final stage so much less time intensive. Everything comes together faster. No more ice bath in the sink or waiting around forever for the wort to be a yeast friendly temperature.

Quick and easy...at least in comparison to my old approach.

So, after cooling it's into the primary. Pitch the yeast and wait. A week from now I'll move it to the secondary. I measured the original gravity and it's higher than I anticipated which is a bit disappointing because it will likely keep this brew from becoming the session beer that I intended. I'm still trying to decide of I should dry hop in the secondary, a tasting at racking time should help with that decision.


I have to admit that the slightly higher O.G. and less than adequate headroom in my primary make me a little less than comfortable but I guess we'll see how it goes. Fingers crossed that I don't get any blow over and the air-lock stays intact.

All in all, a good day. The lower gravity of this beer made things go faster. I'm sure that practice helps. As does the new gear. I'll probably update things once fermentation gets rolling and a week from now, we'll see where we are.

Until then... drink 'em if you got 'em.

Brew Day

It's been a while but after procuring some new equipment I'm preparing a fresh batch of homebrew today.

Today's project, a low ABV dry Irish Stout.

If it all works out, I should end up with a roasty, hoppy dark stout with a little less than 5% ABV.
That's the goal at least. Pictures and updates to follow as I move through the new batch.

Also, I will be enjoying one of my last efforts as I do so...after all, as Charlie P. says, "Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew."