August 23, 2007

Almost Gone

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 6:07 pm

This brew was really delicious. I only have a few left of this batch. Of All the bitters I have brewed so far, this is my favorite.

June 20, 2007

FG update

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 7:13 pm

FG is 1.007 @ 69F. 1.008 Corrected. The beer has a slight taste of honey. ABV 4.8.

Starting to bottle

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 6:15 pm

I just started getting things together to start bottling. I realized that I do not have any corn sugar that I normally use for priming, so I am using 5.5 ounces of cane sugar. To be technically correct, I am using brown sugar. It will work just the same, or close to it.

byo.com priming chart

June 14, 2007

Still going

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 6:16 am

There is still some fermentation activity. One bubble about every 20-30 seconds. I should be good to bottle this brew on the 18th or 19th.

June 9, 2007

SG update

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 10:21 pm

I installed the airlock and took a SG measurement. The sulfur smell has faded quite a bit. It should be completely gone once I bottle. The SG is 1.009 @ 74F. The Corrected SG is 1.010

June 8, 2007

Fermentation very slow

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 9:35 pm

Well the fermentation on this batch has slowed down quite a bit and the foam has all fallen. There is no foam left on the top of the beer. I need to install an airlock on top of the carboy. I will try to remember to do it tomorrow. I still smell a strong sulfur odor.

June 6, 2007

Fermentation update

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 10:09 pm

The freezer temp is hovering between 63F and 66F Which seems correct with the thermostat controller that I have.

Fermentation seems to have slowed down a bit. I did get some some foam through the blow off tube, but it seems less than usual (Lower Temp maybe?) I definately smell sulfur which I noticed on previous batches of bitter. This yeast (Wyeast 1028) did not produce this odor on Bitter 3, but did produce this scent on Bitter 2. I think it is a result of using Maris Otter malt. I am not worried though. The sulfur odor should fade in 2 weeks and will be gone once I bottle. Fermentation was rolling all day yesterday, but has slowed down enough now that I think I can put the airlock on the carboy tomorrow.

June 5, 2007

Fermentation update

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 10:53 pm

I turned the thermostat on my converted freezer to 64 F. The beer temp is reading 66F according to the stick on aquarium thermometer stuck on the side of the carboy. BTW… Yeast is going nuts, and fermentation is really rolling.

Recipe update

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 9:40 pm

I finished brewing and pitched the yeast last night on my latest variation of bitter (Bitter 4).

3 lbs. Maris Otter Pale Malt
.5 lbs. 10°L Crystal Malt
.5 lbs Munich Malt
.25 lbs Cara-Pils
3.3 lbs. Briess Pilsen light liquid malt extract
1 lbs Corn Sugar
.5 lbs honey

1 oz Northern Brewer 60 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 30 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 15 mins
1 tsp irish moss 15 mins
1/2 tsp Wyeast nutrient 15 mins (Dissolved in 1 cup warm water)
1 oz Cascade (whole) 10 mins
Added Honey and Corn Sugar @ 10 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 5 mins
.5 oz Ken Goldings (whole) 1 min

Initial mashin with 1 gallon of 168F water, but the mash settled at 144F. I ended up adding almost 2 quarts of 200F water in stages to get it up to 155F. I lost power when I was getting ready to sparge, so my sparge water was not up to temp. I opted to wait until the power came back on. The grains ended up mashing for 2 hours until I had a chance to sparge. The grain temp before I sparged was 138F I started at 155 F 2 hours earlier. I collected 11 quarts of wort from the mash, FG was 1.042 @ 82F (1.044 Corrected).

After the boil I let the wort cool in an ice bath, sparged, added 2.5 gallon of water, piched yeast and aerated the wort. Then I topped up the carboy with another gallon of water. I used WD brand spring water for everything, but ended up using a little tap water because I did not want to use up the water I had chilled in the fridge which I was saving for the carboy. I used .5 tsp of gypsum in the mash water and .5 tsp in the sparge water. The OG of the wort after pitching the yeast was 1.045@ 68F.

Brewing completed

Category: Bitter 4 — Josh @ 12:36 am

Beer is fermenting in the converted freezer. I’m too tired to note the recipe… I currently have it on post it notes. I will post it tomorrow. I included most of the ingredients that I mentioned previously. SG was 1.045@ 68F. Total 6 gallons.