Category: Journal

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(27) Friday, September 2, 2011 Brew Day — Harvest Ale

Thursday Evening (9/1) Gretchen and I just picked the hops we grew at the cabin this year. When we did this last year, I told myself that I would be ready to brew with them this year. This is the result of that preparation. Amat Victoria Curam.

I worried about bugs and thought maybe I should wash the hops, so I asked for advice on the AHA Forum.

I found that if I let them sit overnight outside, most critters voluntarily vacate the premises! — pinnah

So that is what I am doing.

I ended up with the following:

  • 15¾ ounces of Cascade
  • ⅞ ounce of Chinook
  • ¾ ounce of Zeus

I also have 1 ounce of Magnum pellets at 13.5% AA — just in case.

Yakima Chief gives the range for Cascade as 4.5–7.0% AA. If I assume I am at the low end of the range, that would give me 4.5% AA for dried hops. Likewise, the Chinook would be 12% and the Zeus would be 14%.

Then there is the question of how to compensate for the undried state of the hops.

Dave Wills from Freshops recommends 5x and that has worked well for me. — Denny Conn

If we go with the one-fifth of the low end alpha acid for these hops we get:

Variety Alpha Acid %
Fresh Cascade 0.9
Fresh Chinook 2.4
Fresh Zeus 2.8

A hop schedule like this seems reasonable:

HOPS Weight Bitterness
Magnum, 13.6% AA, 60 minutes 1.00 oz 37 IBU
Fresh Zeus, 2.8% AA, 20 minutes 0.25 oz 1.2 IBU
Fresh Chinook, 2.4% AA, 20 minutes 0.96 oz 1.2 IBU
Fresh Cascade, 0.9% AA, 20 minutes 5.25 oz 7.8 IBU
Fresh Zeus, 2.8% AA, 10 minutes 0.25 oz 0.7 IBU
Fresh Chinook, 2.4% AA, 10 minutes 0.96 oz 0.7 IBU
Fresh Cascade, 0.9% AA, 10 minutes 5.25 oz 4.7 IBU
Fresh Zeus, 2.6% AA, 5 minutes 0.25 oz 0.4 IBU
Fresh Chinook, 2.4% AA, 5 minutes 0.96 oz 0.4 IBU
Fresh Cascade, 0.9% AA, 5 minutes 5.25 oz 2.6 IBU

That gives me a total bitterness of 61 IBU using Tinseth, and a BU:GU ratio of about 1.1 given my 1.056 SG original gravity.

The grain is weighed and crushed, the brewery is set up, and the water is measured out.

See you in the morning.

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(26) Sunday, August 14, 2011 Brew Day – BVBHA1.4

Today’s beer is different in a couple of ways. First I am using a different hop schedule. This one is based on a presentation from Daniel Morey in December 2000 called “Hop Schedule Guidelines: Award Winning Homebrew and Classic Beer Style Recipes.” The second thing is a different yeast. This one is Wyeast 1768-PC English Special Bitter Yeast. It is a seasonal yeast that is currently available and is similar to 1968 London ESB Ale but slightly less flocculent. The third thing is… I cannot remember the third thing, but I am sure there was one. I’ll think of it.

I remembered the third thing. I am going to go with a different chilling regimen. Last time, I believe that I had a noticeable amount of Dimethyl sulfide (DMS). I believe that this was from my 20-minute hot steep to extract hop aromatics. This time I am going to start my whirlpool cooling right at flame out which is why I wanted to use a different hop schedule in the first place.

Oh, and there’s a fourth thing. I am not going to do any dry hopping in the fermenter. The two ounces of dry hops are all getting added in the keg!

Last night I weighed out and crushed my grain and weighed out my hops. The rest of the hops went in the freezer. I set up the brewery and measured out my mash and sparge water.

Continue reading “(26) Sunday, August 14, 2011 Brew Day – BVBHA1.4”

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An observation about Hop Utilization Prediction

Any hop utilization formula has to satisfy two criteria.

  1. It has to evaluate to zero for zero time because hops you do not add will make no contribution to bitterness.

  2. It cannot evaluate to more than 100% for infinite time because you cannot extract more than all that the hops have to offer.

Tinseth appears to suggest that utilization peaks out at around 24% after about 2 hours.

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Brush Valley Brewing House Ale v1.4

I formulated this recipe to produce five gallons of beer for packaging. I assume a boil-off rate of 0.9 gallons per hour with a full-volume boil. I use bagged pellet hops for all hop additions. I assume a loss due to trub of a half-gallon in the boil kettle and another half-gallon in the fermenter.

Recipe: Brush Valley Brewing House Ale v1.4

BJCP Style: 14B — American IPA
Brewhouse Efficiency: 77%
Pre-Boil Volume: 7 gallons (26.5 L)
BG: 1.052 SG (12.7 °P)
Original Volume: 6.1 gallons (23.1 L)
OG: 1.059 SG (14.5 °P)
FG: 1.016 SG (4.1 °P)
ADF: 73%
Bitterness (Tinseth): 59 IBU
ABV: 5.9%
Color (Morey): 11 SRM (21 EBC) — Deep amber
Boil Duration: 60 minutes
BU:GU 0.99
Balance value: 1.98
Calories per 12-ounce Serving: 200 — 116 from Alcohol, 85 from Carbs

Grains Quantity Percent
Crisp Maris Otter Malt (3.5 °L) 11.0 lb. (4.990 kg) 88
Crisp Light Crystal Malt (45 °L) 1.5 lb. (0.680 kg) 12
Hops
Chinook, 10.9% AA, 60 min, 1.73 oz (49 g) 48.6 IBU 82
Chinook, 10.9% AA, 10 min, 0.63 oz (18 g) 6.5 IBU 11
Chinook, 10.9% AA, 5 min, 0.63 oz (18 g) 3.6 IBU 6
Chinook, 10.9% AA, dry, 2.0 oz (57 g) 0 IBU 0.33 oz/gal
Other Ingredients
Brewer’s Choice™ Wyeast Nutrient Blend
Irish Moss
Yeast
Wyeast 1768-PC English Special Bitter Yeast 227B Cells
Water Treatment Mash Boil
Gypsum (CaSO₄) 2.0 g 1.5 g
Calcium Chloride (CaCl₂) 2.0 g 1.5 g

Adjusted Mash Water Profile

Calcium (Ca): 107 ppm
Magnesium (Mg): 3 ppm
Sodium (Na): 1 ppm
Bicarbonate (HCO₃): 143.4 ppm
Carbonate (CO₃): 0.3 ppm
Sulfate (SO₄): 71 ppm
Chloride (Cl): 57 ppm
Total Alkalinity (CaCO₃): 119 ppm
Residual alkalinity: 41
pH: 7.6

Step by Step

This is a single step infusion mash at 1.54 quarts/pound with a batch sparge. It will require a total of 8.5 gallons (32.2 L) of water.

Heat 5 gallons (18.9 L) of strike water in the Hot Liquor Tank to 178 °F (81 °C). Drain the strike water into the mash tun. Mix in the crushed grain and the mash salts, making sure to break up any dough balls. Cover the mash tun and let it sit for about 10 minutes. The mash should stabilize at 156 °F (69 °C). Cover the mash tun and let it rest.

After 60 minutes vorlauf and lauter. Sparge with 3.5 gallons (13.2 L) of water to bring the collected volume to approximately 7 gallons (26.5 L) at 1.052 SG (12.7 °P).

Add the boil salts and boil for 60 minutes. While boiling, add the remaining ingredients according to the schedule in the ingredient list.

After the boil, cool the wort to 66 °F (18.9 °C). The volume should be approximately 6.1 gallons (23.1 L) at 1.059 SG (14.5 °P). Transfer approximately 5.5 gallons (20.8 L) to a sanitized fermenter. Aerate the wort and pitch the yeast.

Hold at 66 °F (18.9 °C) until fermentation is complete. The final gravity should be about 1.016 SG (4.1 °P).

When fermentation is complete, let the beer stand at room temperature for 24 hours. After 24 hours, add dry hops for five days. After five days, cold crash the beer to 38 °F. After three days, keg the beer. Store at 48 °F and force carbonate to 2.2 volumes of CO2.

The beer should be at its peak in 12 to 19 days.