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Linux and Beer Brews

I bottled carboy #1 this afternoon/evening. Beer temperature during bottling was @ 67F. I targeted 2.6 Volumes of CO2 for carbonation. This calculated out to 5.0 ounces of corn sugar for the 5.5 gallons of beer in carboy #1. The priming solution was made with 2 cups of water plus the corn sugar, boiled for 6 minutes in a small pot with a lid, then set aside and let cool in an ice bath with the lid on. FG was 1.014 @ 71.2 F (1.015 corrected) before adding the priming solution. ABV is calculated at 5.1%. Yield was 44 12oz Bottles and 6 22oz bottles (5.16gal). This tastes really good. It has a nice roasted, almost smoky flavor which fades into a sweet, hoppy, nutty, malty finish. The FG of this was spot on.

I bottled Carboy #2 last night. Beer temperature during bottling was @ 69F. I targeted 2.6 Volumes of CO2 for carbonation. This calculated out to 4.09 ounces of corn sugar for the 4.5 gallon of beer in carboy #1. The priming solution was made with 2 cups of water plus the corn sugar, boiled for 6 minutes in a small pot with a lid, then set aside and let cool for several hours with the lid on. FG was 1.015 @ 74.6 F (1.017 corrected) before adding the priming solution. ABV is calculated at 4.8%. Yield was 47 Bottles. It tastes pretty good, has a good initial bitterness and roasted flavor which fades into a sweet,nutty, malty finish. I was slightly disappointed with the FG. I was hoping that it would finish a few points lower.

I racked carboy #1 to secondary. SG was [email protected](1.018 corrected). It tastes more like a porter than carboy #2. Carboy #2 tastes more sweet.

I racked carboy #2 to secondary. SG was [email protected](1.018 corrected). It tasted very much like a brown ale. Not like a porter at all. I plan on racking Carboy #2 either today or tomorrow.

12.00 lb Maris Otter(UK)
3.00 lb Pale Malt, Muntons
2.00 lb Pale Ale Malt 2-Row
1.00 lb Caramel Malt – 20L
1.00 lb Caramel Malt – 80L
0.60 lb Black (Patent) Malt
0.53 lb Chocolate Malt
0.25 lb Caramel Malt – 120L
0.25 lb Caramel Malt – 40L

1.00 oz Northern Brewer [7.00%] (60 min)
1.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [3.70%] (60 min)
1.00 oz Fuggles [3.00%] (15 min)
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [3.70%] (15 min)
2.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 min)
2.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min)
0.25 lb Treacle (100.0 SRM) (Boil 15.0 min)
1.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [3.70%] (3 min)

Water used was half tap water and half distilled water. Initial Mashin was with 23 quarts of water at 170F. Mash settled at 155 F. Total mash time was 60 minutes. Ending mash temp was 153 F. A 10 gallon Igloo cooler was used for a mash tun. Water absorbed by the grain was about 8 quarts with first runnings around 14 quarts. First sparge was with 18.5 quarts of water @ 179 F and second sparge is with 18.5 quarts of water @ 179 F. Total volume collected for boil was 12.5 gallons SG [email protected] (corrected SG 1.048).

A 60 Boil was performed in a single kettle was performed using the schedule above. I used an immersible wort chiller to cool the wort down to 78F and drained into 2 – 6.5 gallon carboys. One filled to the 6 gallon mark and one filled to the 5 gallon mark. I has no issues with draining the keg this time as I constructed a hop stopper from two stainless steel mesh colanders. It worked very well. I did not let the trub settle much, after looking at the amount that was settling, I decided to go ahead and pitch the yeast.

Carboy #1 (6 gallons). Pitched 1 vial WLP0002(past exp date), 1 vial WLP004(past exp date) and 4 grams Salfale 04 dry yeast. Carboy #2 (5 gallons). Pitched 1 vial WLP002(past exp date) and 7 grams Salfale 04 dry yeast.

SG of the wort going ionto the carboys was [email protected] (corrected SG 1.054).

This tastes really good. I am happy with this recipe. If I were to change anything I would mash the grain at 152-3 for 45 Minutes, then mashout at 168 for 20 minutes. I would also use Cascade Hops for every addition. I used some Chinook and Liberty hops in this one because I wanted to use some of my home grown hops.

Well the hops growing season seems to have wound down here in Florida. I picked …

4 ounces(wet) from my Chinook plants on 06/27/2008
3/4 ounce(wet) from the Liberty plants on 07/15/2008
4 ounces(wet) from Chinook plants on 08/07/2008
1.5 ounces(wet) from Nugget plants on 08/14/2008
6 ounces (wet) from liberty plants on 08/07/2008
8 ounces(wet) from Chinook plants on 09/03/2008
6 ounces(wet) from Nugget plants on 09/04/2008

The Chinook plants were definately the most productive this year, followed by Nugget, then Liberty.

Total this year yielded 8 ounces of hops once they dried.

The plants were starting to send out new bines in the 1st and 2nd week of August, but the growth was stunted by tropical storm Faye that hit us from 08/18-08/24. We received 20+ inches of rain that week which caused the bines to yellow. By the 1st week in September, the bines had started to die back, and some cones started to brown. I picked all the hops I could at this point. Surprisingly, the Chinook in mid September pushed out a few side arms and I now have some cones to pick. I plan on cutting the bines down in late november, and adding a top dressing of cow manure in December.

I bottled the APA today. I targeted 2.7 Vols of CO2 for carbonation. With a beer temperature during bottling of 69F, I calculated that I would need to 5.5 ounces of corn sugar for 5 gallons of beer. The priming solution was made with 2 cups of water plus the corn sugar. The sugar and water was boiled for 10 minutes, then cooled in an ice bath down to 60F. FG of the beer was 1.005@78F (1.007 corrected) before the priming solution was added. ABV is calculated at 6.1%. Yield was was 54 Bottles.

Fermentation on this batch has slowed considerably. What is interesting is that the krausen seems to have fallen, but there is still a layer of foam on the top of the beer in the carboy. The foam looks yeasty. It may be because this batch is all grain, or it could be the Safale US-05 yeast. Either way it looks different than my previous batches of beer. I will try to remove the blow off tube and attach the airlock to the carboy today if I find the time.

The beer is currently bubbling away. The fermentation is not violent (pushing foam from the airlock), but it looks healthy.