My brew schedule...

[jeff]

Ed and I brewed up a Belgian Wit a few weeks ago that is just now ready and it is fantastic. I'll try and save a few for September. Here is my schedule going forward. Any thoughts on these recipes from other homebrewers out there? If I find the time to brew them all, look for a beer party one afternoon in September!

ALTbier

4 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 40.3 %

3 lbs Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (3.0 SRM) Grain 30.2 %

2 lbs Munich (Dingemans) (5.5 SRM) Grain 20.1 %

8.0 oz Wheat Malt, Dark (Weyermann) (7.0 SRM) Grain 5.0 %

4.0 oz Melanoidin (Weyermann) (30.0 SRM) Grain 2.5 %

3.0 oz De-Bittered Black Malt (Dingemans) (550.0 SRM) Grain 1.9 %

1.25 oz Hallertauer [4.80%] (35 min) Hops 16.3 IBU

1.50 oz Spalter [3.50%] (35 min) Hops 14.3 IBU

WLP Dusseldorf

Oatmeal Stout

7 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) Great Britain 1.038 3

.75 lbs. CaraMunich Malt Belgium 1.033 75

.5 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350

.5 lbs. Crystal 105L Great Britain 1.033 105

.5 lbs. Roasted Barley America 1.028 450

.5 lbs. Black Patent Malt America 1.028 525

1 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8

1.5 lbs. Flaked Oats America 1.033 2

.5 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2

1.5 oz. Fuggle Pellet 4.75 25.2 60 min.

1 oz. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 4.75 12.9 30 min.

1 oz. Willamette Whole 5.00 1.4 2 min.

White Labs WLP004 Irish Stout

Centennial IPA

8 lb 2 row

2 lb Vienna

.5 lb Barley, Flaked

.5 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L

Centennial Hops

Yeast cultured from 2-hearted ale

[Rughi]

Any thoughts on these recipes from other homebrewers out there?

Oatmeal Stout

7 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) Great Britain 1.038 3

.75 lbs. CaraMunich Malt Belgium 1.033 75

.5 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350

.5 lbs. Crystal 105L Great Britain 1.033 105

.5 lbs. Roasted Barley America 1.028 450

.5 lbs. Black Patent Malt America 1.028 525

1 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8

1.5 lbs. Flaked Oats America 1.033 2

.5 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2

1.5 oz. Fuggle Pellet 4.75 25.2 60 min.

1 oz. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 4.75 12.9 30 min.

1 oz. Willamette Whole 5.00 1.4 2 min.

White Labs WLP004 Irish Stout

I wonder if you wouldn't be better off doubling the roast barley and halving or deleting the black patent. In my experience, black patent doesn't play nicely with oatmeal stouts.

The other thing I wonder is if 1.5 lbs of oatmeal might not make a viscous mess out of your sparge. Just myself, I'd cut down the oatmeal to 1 lb.

The caveat to this is that since your homebrewering technique and (wait for it...) your water will play a big role in how assertive are the components of your beer, it all depends. My guess is that you have nothing but the purest Kentucky water that has trickled up from deep, ancient limestone springs

Either that or river water...

As an aside, part of my style for pale ales is to soften the water with lactic acid so that I can overhop without getting to a high bitterness or raw hop character in the finishing hops.

Of course, what I really mean to advise is whatever Jeff Renner is about to write, not what I just wrote...

Roger

Hey, it's fun to talk about beer - probably because in addition to drinking it, we can create beer and become knowledgeable about it through actual experience, where we can only talk about whiskey; how much it cost, where to find it, how it used ta be better (did not! - did too!) or whose source trumps the other's.

[jeff]

Good suggestion on the black patent. I don't think I'll eliminate it completely, but I might cut it back to .25lb. I have used that amount of oats before with no problems. I don't claim any technical prowess, but the setup I built has so far proven to be stuck-sparge proof. (I know, I'm just asking for it). Here is a link to pics of my setup:

Jeff's brewery

You're right, beer is something that we have control over. I can't make bourbon, and wine is so dependent on the quality of the fruit you start with, that I wouldn't stand a chance of making good wine here in KY, but I can make better beer than anything I can buy, IMHO.

[TBoner]

Jeff,

Just curious about the wheat malt in your alt: is that just for head retention? I like the look of the recipe. On the low end of bitterness for a Dusseldorf alt, but it looks like a great session beer for the fall.

As for that IPA, it looks fantastic. I brew something similar at least once a year. Love Centennial hops, love Bell's Two-Hearted. I've never cultured up their yeast, though (sixers of their yeast samples are hard to come by in these parts). I have found Wyeast American Ale II (WLP California Ale V) yields a good, rich mouthfeel and slight nuttiness along the same lines.

I look forward to hearing how these turn out. Homebrewing does yield a good bit of control, but there's also a slight level of unpredictability and lack of repeatability that I generally enjoy. It's along the lines of baking or cooking, in that the same recipe and procedure followed meticulously over and over again can still yield slightly different results.

[jeff]

Thanks, yes the wheat is mainly for head retention. I throw .5lb or so into a lot of my beers. Centennials are my favorite hops. In fact, I've got Centennials and Cascades planted in a container on my deck, and I'll transplant them into the yard when they get a little bigger. :yum:

[jeff]

Here are pics of a couple of new toys I've added to my brewery:

The Barley Crusher will allow me to crush my own grain, and not be dependent on my LHBS for the crush. Also it will allow me to purchase malt in bulk (55lb sacks) at significantly reduced prices.

My new fermentation cooler is made from a 60qt Ice Cube cooler that I got from Wal-Mart for $20. I cut a couple of holes in the lid to allow the carboy mouth and air-lock to stick through. I'll load it with a few freezer-packs and change them out daily. This will allow me to maintain proper fermentation temps all year long. I would prefer a dedicated refrigerator, but Leslie is only so tolerant

To the right of the closed cooler is my little Centennial plant starting to grow!

[TBoner]

Very cool. I've considered growing hops, too, and we have a few bushes that are dying off for no apparent reason (not that I'm an expert), so maybe I can replace them next spring with hops.

Do you think the fermentation cooler will let you get down to altbier/lager fermentation temps? My dedicated fermentation fridge is almost dead. Pretty much only good for ales in the summer.

[jeff]

I have been told by others with a similar setup that with several bottles of ice/freezer pack, you can maintain temps in the lager range. I'm only brewing ales now too, but I'll report back with my findings. I don't think I'd want to be changing out ice daily for months though.

[Pastor Bourbon]

Rughi, "As an aside, part of my style for pale ales is to soften the water with lactic acid so that I can overhop without getting to a high bitterness or raw hop character in the finishing hops."

Just a comment with regard to lactic acid...

I found out I was mildy allergic to lactic acid when a friend brew a Milk Stout. He and i live and hour apart and I consumed one 700 ml bottle and drove home about 45 minutes later. I made it home and got to the bathroom in time. If I ever find myself constipated I know just what to use for quick cure.

Unfortunately, it took another 375ml bottle of the stuff to figure out the cause of my free-flowing bowels. Lovely stout ... but I'll pass in future.

[Pastor Bourbon]

Sorry about the mispellings ... I just washed my hands and I can't do a thing with them...

[Pastor Bourbon]

Here are pics of a couple of new toys I've added to my brewery:

The Barley Crusher will allow me to crush my own grain, and not be dependent on my LHBS for the crush. Also it will allow me to purchase malt in bulk (55lb sacks) at significantly reduced prices.

My new fermentation cooler is made from a 60qt Ice Cube cooler that I got from Wal-Mart for $20. I cut a couple of holes in the lid to allow the carboy mouth and air-lock to stick through. I'll load it with a few freezer-packs and change them out daily. This will allow me to maintain proper fermentation temps all year long. I would prefer a dedicated refrigerator, but Leslie is only so tolerant

To the right of the closed cooler is my little Centennial plant starting to grow!

I'm impressed with your dedication to the art of home brewing. I don't allow myself the time the process takes to build a beer from scratch more than once a year. I content myself with doctored kits; but still produce good results with same. Where do you buy your hops to grow your own? That would be excellent.

[Rughi]

...I found out I was mildy allergic to lactic acid...

Oh great! One more thing I can be allergic to...

Roger "getting fitted for a bubble soon" Hodges

[jeff]

I'm impressed with your dedication to the art of home brewing. I don't allow myself the time the process takes to build a beer from scratch more than once a year. I content myself with doctored kits; but still produce good results with same. Where do you buy your hops to grow your own? That would be excellent.

Thanks,

I got my rhizomes from http://www.northernbrewer.com

They only offer them during the spring. I bought a cascade and a centennial plant. Both started out well, but we're going through a terrible hot/dry spell and they're not looking too good right now.

Update on the brews:

The Belgian Wit is tasting really good in this hot weather. Sulfur notes have faded considerably.

The oatmeal stout is bottle conditioning as we speak, but I popped one open last night and it was very nice. Hints of cocoa and coffee with a silky mouthfeel.

I decided to ditch plans for the centennial IPA and brewed up a Belgian Saison. It is two days into primary fermentation and is chugging away like a locomotive.

Next up is the Altbier. I'll probably brew that one in a couple of weeks. I'm still tweaking the recipe, but I think I'm happy with it.

I plan on bringing all of these beers to the Festival in September. I think it would be fun to have a beer party one afternoon. Any other homebrewers out there want to bring something to share?

[MGades]

Rughi, "As an aside, part of my style for pale ales is to soften the water with lactic acid so that I can overhop without getting to a high bitterness or raw hop character in the finishing hops."

Just a comment with regard to lactic acid...

I found out I was mildy allergic to lactic acid when a friend brew a Milk Stout....

Guys, don't worry, Lactose (C12H22O11) and Lactic acid (C3H6O3)

are distinctly different.

Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk (and unfermentable by brewers yeast).

-Similar to sucrose in that it is a sugar that takes one more step to digest than does glucose.

Lactose intolerance in adulthood is common in most of the world and it is the result of lacking the enzyme in your digestive tract to break down lactose. The result can be explosive. But this isn't an allergy either, just a source of bowel distress.

Lactic acid is a tart/sour organic acid that, for example gives Yogurt its tartness. (there, the yogurt bacteria break down the Lactose from the milk, converting it into lactic acid).

-similar to citric or malic acid, each of which, though sour, has a distinct quality to the sourness. (citric having citrus notes and malic having green-apple notes)

It is unlikely to have adverse reactions to lactic acid.

So don't worry about adding lactic acid to adjust pH.

[Phischy]

I'm going to have to get one of those igloo coolers to use as a fermenter chiller. In the Summertime it's a little too warm and the t-shirt over in a bucket of water doesn't evap quickly enough.

You need a kegerator!

I'll be adding the 3rd tap in Sept hooked to a 3gal keg.

[jeff]

Yeah I know. Bottling is a pain. My next project is building a magnetic stir plate for my yeast starters, then it's on to kegging for sure. I'm looking for a full-sized refrigerator that I can use to lager and double as a kegerator. Did you build that one yourself?

As an update, I bottled the Altbier tonight. The Saison has been bottled for a week. I know it's early, but Ed and I popped one open on Sunday and it's on it's way, but slower than my typical beers...could be the 9% ABV slowing down the yeast. The wit and the oatmeal stout went over well at the BOCK meeting (Brewers of Central KY). I should have some of those available for tasting at the Festival.

[Phischy]

Yup, I built it. I'm on the forum over at Northern Brewer, the tower came from ACU, but if you're using a full sized fridge then there's no point in a tower. High quality work though, my dad built the top for me. 1" Brazilian Cherry leftover from when they put their flooring in.

I wish I had a lagerator to control my temps, but I don't have the space and I think I'll go w/ a chest freezer when it's time. This Kenmore Unit is nice enough and small enough w/ 3 taps to keep inside and all my fermenting can be done outside in garage or whatever.

[Phischy]

Oh, and once you start kegging, you'll wonder why you didn't start years ago. So much less work!

[jeff]

Oatmeal Stout

7 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) Great Britain 1.038 3

.75 lbs. CaraMunich Malt Belgium 1.033 75

.5 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350

.5 lbs. Crystal 105L Great Britain 1.033 105

.5 lbs. Roasted Barley America 1.028 450

.5 lbs. Black Patent Malt America 1.028 525

1 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8

1.5 lbs. Flaked Oats America 1.033 2

.5 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2

1.5 oz. Fuggle Pellet 4.75 25.2 60 min.

1 oz. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 4.75 12.9 30 min.

1 oz. Willamette Whole 5.00 1.4 2 min.

White Labs WLP004 Irish Stout

Just an update: I just found out the oatmeal stout took first place in the KY State Fair hombrew competition. This one turned out really nice :yum:

[Gillman]

I told everyone (quite a while ago) Jeff really knows how to brew.

Well done my friend.

Gary

[Phischy]

12.75lbs?!?! Was this an extract or an AG batch? OG/FG?

I've got a list of brews to make and I just added 5 more stouts to the list. I'm also contemplating doing a mini-mash as I only do extract brewing now. But my craptastic stove has two settings "Artic & Flaming Pits of Hell". Not sure if I can maintian 150F for 45mins in there.

Have you ever done a cider? I'm very tempted to start one but everything I read on the NB website states it takes 6 months to condition...guess I better start now.

[jeff]

12.75lbs?!?! Was this an extract or an AG batch? OG/FG?

I've got a list of brews to make and I just added 5 more stouts to the list. I'm also contemplating doing a mini-mash as I only do extract brewing now. But my craptastic stove has two settings "Artic & Flaming Pits of Hell". Not sure if I can maintian 150F for 45mins in there.

Have you ever done a cider? I'm very tempted to start one but everything I read on the NB website states it takes 6 months to condition...guess I better start now.

This was an all-grain batch. I'll have to check but I believe the OG was 1.062 and the FG was 1.020, which may seem a little high, but I wanted a lot of non-fermentables in there for body, so I mashed rather high at 156df and added the carapils.

Search through this forum and you'll find pics of my cooler setup for mashing and sparging. It holds temps spot-on for at least 90 minutes. That and a cheapo turkey fryer and you'll be set for all grain. I have toyed with the idea of doing a brew during the bourbon festival. If anyone is interested we can start early in the morning and be done by noon.

To answer your other question, no I have never brewed a cider. I would like to one day, but I have too many beers to perfect first. That and I want to try my hand at winemaking soon too.

[jeff]

I told everyone (quite a while ago) Jeff really knows how to brew.

Well done my friend.

Gary

Thanks Gary! Most of the enjoyment of this hobby comes from sharing with friends. I just bottled a centennial pale ale that Ed and I brewed in early July, so that'll be another one to share in September! :yum:

[TBoner]

I have a very similar (in fact, pretty much identical) setup to yours, Jeff, and I love it. Its simplicity is a beautiful thing. Even if I had the money or room for something bigger and "better," I'm not sure I'd buy or build it.

I have made ciders, Phischy. I make one or two a year, and 6 months is on the low end of ideal for maturation. But, they're very simple. I buy the nastiest, dirtiest cider I can find (not much selection here, unfortunately: make sure whatever you buy doesn't have any potassium sorbate), use either the White Labs or Wyeast cider yeast (they're different, but both very good), and wait. I normally bottle after only about a month in secondary. You're looking at about a month in the bottle before it's even worth drinking. But as time goes on, it will only get better. My best cider-drinking experiences ever have been two-year-old bottles. At three years old, the stuff is still great, but its flavors become more muted as time goes on.

[Phischy]

I had planned on kegging. Do you back sweeten at all? I was thinking of using 2.5 gallon kegs, one 'origional' which should be very dry and wine-like, and the other I'd back sweeten to get more of a hornsby's taste. Just expierimenting.

Although if I do bottle I may go do it in champaign bottles.

Come fall I'll go into the moutnains of Julian and get some fresh pressed cider. i went last year but they only had it in 1/2 gallon jugs and the price was more than I was willing to pay.

what is your recipie? Do you use cinammon or rasiens etc...?

1 year is a LONG time to wait!