IPA thoughts

Well, the IPA went in the keg 2 weeks ago. At first, it was really, really bitter. But that has faded some, and it is now pretty good. I'm going to dry hop it in the keg as some of the aroma I am used to isn't quite where it should be. Unfortunately, since I mashed so high, it ended up sweeter than I prefer, but its ok. Next up is a Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter. Should be interesting. Cheers.

IPA Recipe

This is the IPA I made this past saturday. Pretty basic, yield was about 10.5 gallons.
20 Lbs. Muntons Perle 2-row
3 lbs Weyerman Light Munich
1 lb. Crystal 60L
1.5 oz Nugget (14% AA) at 60 min
1.5 oz. Centennial (8.6% AA) at 40 min
1.5 oz. Centennial (8.6% AA) at 20 min
2 oz. Amarillo (9.8% AA) at 5 min.
2 oz. Amarillo (9.8% AA) at flame out
2 Whirlfloc tabs
3 packs US-05 pitched at 62 deg.
Mashed at 155-156 for an hour. Fly sparged to about 12 gallons in the kettle, 1 hour boil. OG was 1.075 for about 89% efficiency. Aerated wort then pitched at 62 deg, less than 12 hour lag. Going crazy right now in the conical. Smells great too. Cheers!

Saison, etc.

Been a while, thought I'd post a picture of the saison:

Its pretty good, certainly a lot different yeast character than I am used to. Quite estery, spicy. I like it, thats pretty much all that matters.


The wheat ale I made recently was a big hit on the camping trip. It too turned out alright, although I think I killed the yeast when I tried to cool down fermentation temps. But it was good.
This weekend I made 11 gallons (or so) of my house IPA to stock up for winter. Went really well, ended up with an og of 1.075, worked out to about 89% efficiency. Wow! Cheers.

Kegging Session

Kegged both the saison and wheat beer this past sunday. Saison never got down below 1.014, and the wheat also ended up a little sweet at 1.015. I think I shocked the yeast with the wheat when I put the carboy into the swamp cooler on day 2. Should have done that from the start. Lesson learned again. And the saison temps just were not consistent enough, won't do another one without a brew belt.

On the positive side, both beers taste good. The wheat is pretty good considering I just made up the hop schedule with no real idea of what I was doing. Same for the saison, it is definitely spicy. Will be interesting to see what some carbonation/aging does to these 2. Cheers!

Saison slowly getting there.

The saison is still slowing going down. OG was 1.055, at 1 week:1.035, 2 weeks:1.021, 3 weeks now:1.015. Still about 10 points high. I swirled the bucket today and am going to attach a heating pad to try and get the temps up into the 80's for another week. We'll see how it goes.

American Wheat

Brewing an american wheat for a camping trip I'm going on with some friends in a few weeks. Recipe is:
5# Pale 2-row
4# Wheat Malt
1# Carahelles
0.5 oz. Galena (12.4%AA) @ 60 min.
0.5 oz. Galena (12.4% AA) @ 5 min.
WB-06 Dry yeast
Missed my mash temp by about 5 degrees, so I ended up mashing at about 147-149 for an hour, might dry it out some. We'll see about og, should be around 1.055 for 6 gallons. Cheers!

Saison Still Going...

Checked the saison at 1 week and 2 weeks, the sg is still falling and has a little ways to go yet. At one week, sg was 1.035, warmed temp up to about 80 or so, and at 2 weeks sg had dropped to about 1.021. I think it should get down to near 1.005, but just needs more time and high temperature, which is unfortunate because the weather here is starting to cool down. We'll see how it goes!

Saison Brew Session

So I brewed the saison yesterday with my dad helping me out. Brewing went well, hit mash temp of 145 deg right on, mashed for about 70 minutes. Collected 7.5 gallons, boiled down to about 5.5 gallons in 90 minutes. Hit the og of 1.056 for 82% efficiency. Pitched yeast at about 72 degrees, fermenting away in the basement at 74 degrees. Very short lag. We'll see how it goes. Cheers

Belgian Saison

So, Wyeast released some limited edition strains for the summer. I picked up a pack of WY3724, Belgian Saison, since I wanted to make a saison this summer after reading about the style in BYO and trying Smuttynose's Farmhouse Ale last year. Here's the recipe I came up with, no real rhyme or reason to the hop schedule and varieties. We'll see...
7lbs 9 oz. Pilsner Malt
1 lb 5 oz. Light Munich
1 lb Flaked Wheat
2 oz. Saaz (3.0% AA) pellets at 60 min.
1 oz. Liberty (3.2% AA) pellets at 5 min.
Whirlfloc at 15 min.
Slurry from 2 liter starter of WY3724
OG of 1.055 at 80% eff. for 5.5 gallons

Chinook IPA

So the IPA I made using some hops I dug out of the freezer is in the keg. Ended up at about 1.009, really dry, which is what I was shooting for. The problem I have with this beer is it's not as bitter as I thought, which makes some sense since the hops were from the 2005 crop. But, it is really fruity/citrusy, I think as a result of the Cascade and Bramling Cross hops used as flavor/aroma additions.
We had a party this weekend and everyone seemed to enjoy the IPA, so it can;t be all that bad. Guess I can choke down the other keg! Cheers.

Swamp Cooler

This is the swamp cooler I'm using to keep fermentation temps somewhat under control for the IPA I brewed this weekend. Ambient temp is about 69 - 74 deg., depending on the time of day. Theres about 2 inches of water in the bottom of the tub, and I'm rotating ice packs in there, water temp varies from about 60 - 65. Just checked the very active fermenting wort, temp is about 68 or so. Seems to be working! Pic below:

Trying New Hops

Well, I was rummaging through my hop freezer and found some "old" hops that I had bought on a whim from Northern Brewer in 2006. Hops were 2 oz. of Chinook. I also found some Bramling Cross hops that my lhbs owner recommended. Sounds like an IPA to me. Brewed 10.5 gallons or so today.
20 lbs. Pilsner Malt
2 lbs. Munich
1 lb. Crystal 60L
2 oz Chinook (12.9% AA) @ 60 min.
1 oz Cascade (7.8% AA) @ 30 min.
1 oz Cascade (7.8% AA) @ 15 min.
1 oz Bramling Cross (5% AA) @ 5 min.
1 oz Bramling Cross (5% AA) @ flameout
whirlfloc at 15 min.
2 packs US-05.
Ended up with 10.5 gallons or so at OG 1.062 (76% efficiency, not bad)
Basement is somewhat warm, so I'm trying the swamp cooler method of fermentation to keep temps down. Basement is about 74, got the wort down to 67-68 at this point. We'll see how it goes.

Pint Pictures

It's been a while, so I figured I would post a photo of what I'm drinking now.

On the left is the Pilsner IPA that I made in May, and on the right is the Newborn Stout I made at the wife's request to celebrate the birth of our second daughter, Isabelle. The IPA looks pretty dark, and it is, I think next time I'll cut back the roasted barley a touch. Both are really good, the stout is not as chocolatey as previous batches, so my adjustment worked out well. Cheers!

Hop Growing Update

Been a little while since I've updated the hop growing, so I took a few pics today. The centennial and the cascade bines are each about 4 feet tall, the cascades have caught up the last 2 weeks or so. I actually had 5 cascade bines, but cut back the 3 weaker ones.

The Centennial

The Cascades

Stout Brew Session

Just finished brewing the Newborn Stout. Total time was about 5-1/2 hours, not too bad for 11 gallons or so. I actually overshot the target og by about 8 points, meaning I got about 86% efficiency. Thats the best yet! Beer smells great, and is cooling down the last few degrees. My new modified immersion chiller got it down to about 68 deg in 25 minutes so I was happy with that. I'm going to aerate and pitch the yeast a little later tonight. Cheers!

Newborn Stout

So my wife is having our second child this coming friday, and has requested a stout as the next brew. Nothing like something light for the summer! Anyway, I'm brewing up 10.5 gallons tomorrow using this recipe, which I've been tweeking for the last few years. Hopefully, this one's a winner.
Newborn Stout
10.5 gallons, 80% efficiency
18 lbs. Marris Otter
1 lb. Chocolate Malt
1 lb. Crystal 60L
.5 lb Roasted Barley
.5 lb Black Malt
2.5 oz Challenger (7.5% AA) at 60 min.
1 oz. EKG (5% AA) at 2 min.
2 packets US-05
Mash at 152-153 for an hour. Collect 12 gallons of wort, boil for 60 minutes.
OG - 1.054

Beer Photos

Just wanted to post an update and a nice photo of the beer I'm drinking. I kegged the Pilsner IPA on May 18, and it is sitting in the basement conditioning. I cracked it open for a taste tonight. The IPA is in the small glass in the photo below. It is good, but not as bitter as I thought it would be. The hop flavor is citrusy as it should be with the Amarillo hops, but the aroma isn't what I thought either. I'm going to dry hop this to see if the aroma comes out a little more.

The beer on the right is the amber lager that I made earlier this year. Its the first lager I made, and I think its pretty good at this point. When I first started drinking it a few months ago, I was very skeptical, and the flavor was pretty bready. Not really my thing. But, it has really come around in the last few weeks and I'm going to miss it when it is gone, which will be soon. Cheers!

We have hops!

I decided I would try and grow some hops this year. I decided to try two varieties, centennial and cascade. I use a lot of centennial, so I thought that would be a good choice, and from what I read, cascades do well pretty much everywhere. I bought one rhizome of each from Midwest Homebrew Supplies, they arrived at the end of March. I put them in the fridge until I was ready to plant, which was on April 5. I got worried after 2 weeks with no sprouts, so I dug them up. There were buds on both, which meant patience on my part. No sweat. They both broke ground about May 7, the centennial with one bine and the cascade now with five. Check out the pics. The centennial is about 3 inches tall, the cascades are about 1 inch tall.

The Centennial

The Cascades

Hopefully I can get a few ounces of each this year. Cheers!

Imperial IPA

This is the recipe for the Imperial IPA I brewed on March 8. It is loosely based on a pale ale I regularly make.
6 gallons, est. og of 1.092 at 80% eff.
16 lbs. Pale 2-row
2 lbs. Crystal 60L
1/2 lb. Carapils
1.5 oz Nugget (12% AA) @ 60 min.
1.5 oz Centennial (8.6% AA) @ 30 min.
1 oz Amarillo (9.8% AA) @ 10 min.
1 oz Amarillo (9.8% AA) @ 2 min.
2 oz Amarillo (9.8% AA) Dry Hop
Nottingham Ale Yeast (1 pack)
Whirlfloc @ 15 min.
Est. SRM 14.7, IBU = 87

I now realize theres too much crystal malt in here. When I do it again, I'll probably add another pound of pale malt, use 1/2 lb. of crystal 60, and add in a few oz. of roasted barley for color. Cheers!

Bottling Sucks

Bottled my first batch in about 8 years today, an Imperial IPA that had been was brewed on March 8. Had about 3 gallons that had been dry hopped with Amarillo for the last 2 weeks. The flavor/aroma from the dry hopping is really great, and the beer tastes good as well. We'll see how it ages. I'll post the recipe here soon.
On another note, the Pilsner IPA I brewed last sunday is still bubbling away after 7 days. I'll probably check the gravity mid-week and maybe will keg next weekend. That one will also need some dry hopping with Amarillo, probably will just do it in the keg.
Cheers!

Pilsner IPA

I stopped by Kettle to Keg here in Pembroke, I had ordered 2 sacks of grain from him. Unfortunately, he was on vacation, and his fill in sold my sacks piecemeal to other folks before I could come pick them up. I stopped by yesterday and he told me the bad news. And, all he had left was pilsner malt. So, he gave me 10 lbs for free for my trouble, and re-ordered the sack of weyermans 2-row and marris otter for me. So, I am trying something completely new, and brewing an all-pilsner (almost) IPA. The recipe is shown below.
For 5.5 gallons, og of 1.064 at 80% efficiency.
10 # pilsner malt
1 # munich malt
0.5 # crystal 60 L
2 oz. roasted barley
0.5 oz Nugget at 60 min.
0.75 oz Centennial at 40 min.
0.75 oz Centennial at 20 min.
1 oz. Amarillo at 5 min.
1 oz. Amarillo at knockout
Fermentis US-56 dry yeast, 1 whirlfloc tablet at 15 min.
Est. SRM is 8.5, IBU=64
I've used this hop schedule before with success, including the Imperial IPA I made about 2 months ago which is aging (and dry hopping) in the basement.

Best Bitter in the Keg

I kegged the best bitter I made a few weeks ago yesterday. Went pretty well, ended up just short of 10 gallons. Also, I'm trying my hand at recycling yeast. I'm planning on making a stout next week, so I saved about 300 ml slurry to reuse. We'll see how that works out. I also added an ounce of amarillo hops to the secondary of an Imperial IPA I made about 2 months ago. I'll let that sit in there for 2 weeks or so, then bottle for aging in the basement. Cheers!

Best Bitter Progress

Just an update to the best bitter I brewed on 4/12. This thing fermented really fast. By 4/15, the krausen had fallen and the gravity had dropped to 1.009. All done and ready to keg right? Not so much. I let the temp drop down a few degrees and took a sample off the conical. Holy butterscotch! Apparently I was having my first experience with diacytel, which is a buttery aroma/flavor associated with some yeast strains, particularly english yeasts. I went on the forum at northern brewer, and was told to warm up the beer a little bit and wait for the yeast to clean itself up, taking the diacytel with it. Problem solved. I tasted a sample tonight again and no buttery aroma/flavor. Probably will keg this weekend.

Active Fermentation!!

Just wanted to post a pic of the fermentation of the Best Bitter I brewed on 4/12/08. Heres a pic of my 15 gallon conical and the krausen at the top of the brew. Open fermentation, no airlock needed.

Seems like this is fermenting along nicely, smells great.

Best Bitter Brew Session

Well, I brewed about 10.5 gallons of best bitter yesterday. Everything went pretty well. I ended up hitting my target og of 1.050 right on the nose, and the yeast is already working, not even 12 hours later. I also took a few more pictures of my system and equipment. Here is a picture of the jsp maltmill that a coworker of mine lets me borrow and the resulting grist:



As you can see (I think), I hit my mash temp right on, although the mash was a little thin for some reason. I think I added a little more water than usual, but it didn't effect anything.

Anyway, I ran off about 12 gallons, boiled down to about 10.75, and chilled using a new immersion chiller. My old one froze this winter, bursting the copper in 3 places. No problem to fix right? I'll get a few 3/8" compression unions and be back in business. No dice, the copper swelled to about 7/16" so the compression unions didnt fit. Long story short, the local Ace was selling 25 feet of 3/8" tubing for $22, so I bought some and made a new chiller. Took about 35 minutes to cool the wort to 65 degrees, so I might need to speed that up somehow.

I aerated the wort last night with the aquarium pump and stone setup from Northern Brewer, pitched 2 packs of Safale S-04, and we have about an inch of krausen this morning already. I'm open fermenting this one in my 15 gallon mini-brew conical, so I'm not sure about bubbling. I'll post back in a few days as fermentation progresses.

Best Bitter

This is the recipe for the best bitter I am going to brew this weekend.
For 10.5 gallons, 80% efficiency.
15 lbs. Marris Otter
1 lbs. Munich Malt
1.5 lbs. Crystal 60 L
1.5 oz Challenger (7.5% AA) at 60 min.
1 oz. Challenger (7.5% AA) at 30 min.
1 oz. Challenger (7.5% AA) at 5 min.
2 Whirlfloc tabs at 15 min.
2 packets Safale S-04
og 1.050
Going to try and mash at 149-150 for an hour.
I'll post more after the session.

Kegerator and other Equipment

Just wanted to post a picture of the kegerator and bar area.

Barleywine Recipe

Heres a recipe for english barleywine that I came up with, with a little help from Jamil, the homebrewing supergenius (apparently).
19 lb. Muntons Pale 2-row
10 oz. Caramunich III
10 oz. Crystal 135 L
2 oz. Challenger (7.5% AA) at 60 min.
1.5 oz. Challenger (7.5% AA) at 30 min.
1.25 oz. Challenger (7.5% AA) at 5 min.
300 ml of 1056 slurry from Elm City Brewing
Mash at 150 deg. for 60 minutes
OG of 1.108 for 80% efficiency

English Barleywine Brew Session

I brewed an English Barleywine with my friends Chris and Nate over Easter weekend. We brewed it at Chris' house, at Valley Farm.

Had a few issues. First, I managed to knock the manifold off the ball valve of the mash tun during mash in. Didn't turn out to be too big a problem, the runoff cleared quickly, and we ran off abouut 7.5 gallons, and had an og of 1.088, or about 72% efficiency. Not bad considering nothing in the bottom inch or so made it out.
The second issue was post-fermentation. Chris fermented the beer at his house, and we had a vigorous ferment and blow-off. Chris attached the blow-off tube, no problem. He moved the beer to his cellar when fermentation was complete to crash out the yeast. Unfortunately, he left the blow-off tube on and the lower temp caused iodophor to be sucked into the carboy. We talked about it, he ended up racking the beer out from under the iodophor, and I am waiting to hear about the fg. Fingers crossed on this one, and lesson learned for sure.

Check these guys out

A few months ago I opened my new BYO magazine and noticed a picture of a friend of a friend named Mike. Turns out, he and a buddy of his started a homebrewing blog called Brew-dudes. Check it out, theres some good stuff on there.

Ghetto All-Grain Setup

So, here's a picture of my all-grain set up. I just acquired the 15.5 gallon HLT, had to build a little stand to add to the tool bench. Mash tun is a 48 quart igloo cube cooler, there is no insulation in the cover, so I made a "mash hat" out of insulation. Works well, holds temps within 1 degree over an hour. I also use a CPVC manifold. I'll post more pics of the whole process after my next brew session.

Welcome!

Hey everyone, welcome to the official blog of Classic Roadster Brewing. My name is Marc, and my initials are MG, a classic roadster, hence the name. I've been brewing for about the last 8 years or so, starting with extract with grains and moving to all-grain about a year ago. I'll be posting some pics of my setup and other random stuff soon.