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!