Another Brewday

[jeff]

Saturday morning I brewed another all-grain beer. Actually, there have been about six batches in between this and my last thread. This time I'm brewing a robust porter. I really enjoy dark beers and I have yet to perfect one. This recipe is loosely modeled after the Sierra Nevada Porter. The Recipe is as follows:

**Start at the bottom of this thread to view the pictures in order if you're using threaded mode**

05-19-2005 SN Porter

A ProMash Brewing Session Report

--------------------------------

Brewing Date: Thursday May 19, 2005

Head Brewer: Jeff Yeast

Asst Brewer:

Recipe: SN Porter

Recipe Specifics

----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00

Total Grain (Lbs): 12.25

Anticipated OG: 1.056 Plato: 13.75

Anticipated SRM: 38.0

Anticipated IBU: 43.6

Brewhouse Efficiency: 65 %

Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Actual OG: 1.055 Plato: 13.52

Actual FG: 1.012 Plato: 3.07

Alc by Weight: 4.41 by Volume: 5.64 From Measured Gravities.

ADF: 77.3 RDF 64.3 Apparent & Real Degree of Fermentation.

Actual Mash System Efficiency: 66 %

Anticipated Points From Mash: 55.77

Actual Points From Mash: 57.00

Pre-Boil Amounts

----------------

Evaporation Rate: 17.00 Percent Per Hour

Raw Pre-Boil Amounts - only targeted volume/gravity and evaporation

rate taken into account:

Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.02 Gal

Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.046 SG 11.50 Plato

With sparge water, mash water, additional infusions, vessel losses, top-up

water and evaporation rate recorded in the Water Needed Calculator:

Water Needed Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.03 Gal

Water Needed Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.046 SG 11.49 Plato

Formulas Used

-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.

Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.

Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg

% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey

Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %

Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

81.6 10.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2

8.2 1.00 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350

4.1 0.50 lbs. Crystal 120L America 1.033 120

2.0 0.25 lbs. Black Patent Malt America 1.028 525

4.1 0.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

0.75 oz. Nugget Pellet 11.20 40.2 60 min.

1.00 oz. Willamette Pellet 4.20 3.4 2 min.

Yeast

-----

WYeast 1098 British Ale

Mash Schedule

-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Heat Type: Infusion

Grain Lbs: 12.25

Water Qts: 15.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Water Gal: 3.75 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.22

Tun Thermal Mass: 0.00

Grain Temp: 72 F

Dough In Temp: 171 Time: 60

Saccharification Rest Temp: 0 Time: 0

Mash-out Rest Temp: 0 Time: 0

Sparge Temp: 0 Time: 0

Runnings Stopped At: 1.010 SG 2.56 Plato

Total Mash Volume Gal: 4.73 - After Additional Infusions

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

Water Needed For Brewing Session

--------------------------------

Sparge Amount: 3.75 Sparge Deadspace: 0.00 Total Into Mash: 3.75

Total Grain Lbs: 12.25 Qts Per Lbs: 1.22 Total From Mash: 2.28

Mash Gallons: 3.75

Grain Absorption: 1.47

Amount Lost in Lauter Tun Deadspace,

Grant and Misc. to Kettle: 0.00

Top Up Water Added to Kettle: 0.00

Amount into Kettle: 6.03

Boil Time (min): 60.00 Evaporation Rate: 17.00

Amount after Boil: 5.00

Left in Kettle Deadspace: 0.00

Left in Hopback: 0.00

Left in Counterflow Chiller: 0.00

Left in Other Equipment / Other Absorption: 0.00

Amount to Chillers: 5.00

Amount After Cooling (4 perc.): 4.80

Grain absorption rate is: 0.12 (Gallons Per Lbs)

Evaporation rate is Percent per Hour

This formulation will yield 4.80 gallons of fermentable wort.

You will need 7.50 gallons of water for the complete brewing session.

Efficiency Specifics

--------------------

Recipe Efficiency Setting: 65 %

With sparge water, mash water, additional infusions, vessel losses, top-up

water and evaporation rate recorded in the Water Needed Calculator:

Target Volume (Gal): 6.03

Estimated OG: 1.046 Plato: 11.49

Raw Pre-Boil Targets - only targeted volume/gravity and evaporation

rate taken into account:

Target Volume (Gal): 6.02

Estimated OG: 1.046 Plato: 11.50

Post-Boil Targets:

Target Volume (Gal): 5.00

Estimated OG: 1.056 Plato: 13.75

Recorded Actuals - Measurement Taken In Kettle:

Recorded Volume (Gal): 5.00

Recorded OG: 1.057 Plato: 14.04

At 100 percent extraction from the maximum mash potential:

Total Points: 85.80

Points From Mash: 85.80

Points From Extract/Sugar: 0.00

With the recipe efficiency setting, you should have achieved:

Total Points: 55.77

Points From Mash: 55.77

Points From Extract/Sugar: 0.00

Actuals achieved were:

Actual Points From Mash: 57.00

Actual Mash System Efficiency: 66

Fermentation Specifics

----------------------

Pitched From: Pitchable Flask

Amount Pitched: 0 mL

Lag Time: 0.00 hours

Primary Fermenter: Glass

Primary Type: Closed

Days In Primary: 7

Primary Temperature: 68 degrees F

Secondary Fermenter: Glass

Secondary Type: Closed

Days In Secondary: 7

Secondary Temperature: 0 degrees F

Original Gravity: 1.055 SG 13.52 Plato

Finishing Gravity: 1.012 SG 3.07 Plato

[jeff]

Here are the grains: 10lbs American two-row pale malt, .5lb Carapils (for body), .5lb crystal 120L malt, 1lb chocolate malt and .25lb black patent malt.

[jeff]

I add approx 171* water which, when mixed with my 72* grain give me a mashing temp of 154*. I am mashing slightly warmer than usual to extract more non-fermentable sugars which add additional body to my beer.

[jeff]

After the mash I add additional hot water to "rinse" the sugars from the spent grains. I collect about 6 gallons of wort prior to the boil.

[jeff]

I'll boil for about 60 minutes, adding hops along the way.

[jeff]

For this beer I am bittering with Nugget hops and using Willamette for aroma.

[jeff]

[jeff]

After the boil I take a specific gravity reading to verify the amount of sugar in the finished wort prior to pitching the yeast. My original gravity was 1.057, right on target.

[jeff]

Here is the wort into the fermenter just after pitching the yeast. I'll primary for 1 week, secondary for 2 and bottle condition for 3. In about 6 weeks we'll have beer

[kitzg]

Great job of documenting, Jeff. I will likely get back into brewing sometime but have been talking to Belgian brewers to better understand their style. I have a friend who comes closest to their style now. Nice pics you provided!

[Rughi]

Oh,

That sweet smell of the wort boiling, and the sticky fingers of barley sugar you get from handling your equipment post-mash on brewday. And oh, those floral hop petals that beg to be held to your nose and sniffed deeply. The senses' enjoyment of brewday may exceed the end product - perish the thought.

Wow, that's an admirable amount of documentation on your brewing method, Jeff. After the 6th, 7th or 9th time I made my Phinney Flats Pale recipe (so named after the neighborhood I lived in in Seattle - extra points for guessing my former home's location) I started to record fewer and fewer criteria, as the variables were more and more unique to that day of brewing than the calculations of estimated extraction and efficiency, hops utilization, etc could predict . Things like unexpectedly cool weather (if you're foolish enough to assume Seattle won't be cool), a sluggish yeast, or a mash that annoyingly pendulum'ed from 146deg to 154deg as I tried to stabilize the mash temperature would become the major variables and would ensure a taste specific to that batch. Eventually, I closely monitored mash-in temps, timing of late hop additions before the end of the boil (aromas are so delicate compared to bittering), and wort temp at pitching. Pretty much all else became part of my secret method, which is to say seat of the pants decision making. I think I've always discovered a batch of beer as much as designed it.

Thanks, your post makes me want to go mill some grains now!

-Roger