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Linux and Beer Brews

I brewed what I call a Winter Brown ale Today. The recipe is as follows.

3.5 lbs Maris Otter Pale Malt
.5 lbs 40L Crystal Malt
.25 lbs Cara-Pils
.125 lbs Black Patent
.625 lbs Flaked Wheat
.125 Raw Oats – cooked
3.3 lbs Briess Golden Light – LME

2 ounces Fuggle (Whole) 60 minutes
1 lb Dark Brown Sugar 15 minutes
1 lb Clover Honey 15 minutes
1 tsp Wyeast yeast nutrient 10 minutes
1 ounce Fuggle (Whole) 10 minutes
1 tsp whole cloves 10 mins
1/2 tsp allspice 10 mins
1/2 tsp coriander 10 mins
1/2 tsp nutmeg 10 mins
5 cinnamon sticks 10 mins

2 – 11g packages of Danstar Nottingham dry yeast

5.125 lb of grain was mashed at a ratio of 1.3 quarts/lb. Initial mash in was 6.5 quarts of water at 175 F. Half distilled water and half tap water with 1/2 tsp gypsum. Mash settled at 158F. Total mash time was 2 hours to extract sugars from the poorly ground malt. The mash was sparged with 8 quarts of water @ 175F (half distilled and half tap w/ 1/4 tsp gypsum added). SG of the wort was 1.033 @ 83.1F (1.036 corrected). 13.5 Quarts was collected. This calculated out to 69% mash efficiency.

The wort was boiled per the schedule above. The brown sugar and honey additions were delayed to keep the SG of the wort low to allow the hops more time to bitter the wort.

The wort was cooled in an ice bath in the sink (10lbs ice). The ice bath can’t get the wort down cold enough to pitch the yeast. The wort was sparged into the carboy with 2 gallons of chilled water (half distilled and half spring water). After wort was sparged, the carboy was topped up with half distilled and half spring water to the 5 gallon mark. Yeast was pitched. Wort was then aerated for 40 mins with air stone and aquarium pump. After, the the carboy was topped up to the 6 gallon mark with half distilled and half spring water. Blow off tube installed and placed into the fermentation freezer.

The SG of the wort after pitching the yeast and topped up to 6 gallons was 1.057 @ 71.1F (1.058 corrected).

The beer is still fermenting away, but has slowed and is starting to clear. Currently one bubble every 20 seconds.

I removed the BOT tonight and installed an Airlock. SG reading was 1.018 @ 69F. I sampled and it tasted really good.

Just checked on this. Fermentation has really exploded, foam from the blow off tube.. etc.

I finished brewing late. The carboy is happily sitting in the freezer. Here is the final recipe

4 lbs. Maris Otter Pale Malt
8 ounce CaraPils
6 ounces flaked wheat
2 ounces cooked oatmeal
6.6 lbs. Briess Pilsen light liquid malt extract
1 lb Hawaiian Turbinado Sugar (sugar in the raw)

1 oz Chinook Hops 60 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 20 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 15 mins
1 tsp irish moss 15 mins
1 tsp Wyeast nutrient 15 mins
1 oz Cascade (whole) 10 mins
Add Turbinado Sugar @ 10 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 5 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 1 min

The final SG was 1.050 @ 76.5F in 6.5 gallons (1.052 corrected)

The oatmeal was prepared by cooking it in 2 cups of water on the stove for 8 minutes then adding another cup of water to thin it out.

The mashing went ok. I had a problem getting the wort to flow. I found that the knot in the hop sock used in my improvised manifold had clogged up the spigot. I ended up dumping the mash into a pot, fixing the manifold, and dumping everything back into the mash tun. I tried to minimize the amount of spashing, but we will see how it goes once fermentation has finished. I collected 13 quarts of wort from the mash. SG was 1.040 @ 87.4 F(1.043 corrected).

The boil was uneventful save a small boilover. I found that wort has a tendency to boil over a min or two after hop additions. I used the airstone for about 40 mins once the wort was in the fermenter to introduce oxygen.

I was going to make an attempt to let the hot and cold break settle once I sparged the wort into the fermenter, but My second carboy that I was going to syphon into had some crud on the inside that I was not able to scrub out. so I left that carboy soaking overnight to see if the crud will come out. I am going to look for something to clean the insides of carboys that is better than a carboy brush. They just don’t seem to be able to get this crud off.

I sparged into the carboy as normal, but this time I only put in 1.5 gallons of water then sparged into the carboy. I rinsed the hops a little to extract the remaining sugars, and topped off with another 1 gallon of spring water and the remainder distilled and RO water.

The only thing to note is that I should have added the yeast starter, then topped up with water to 6 gallon mark, then aerated. This would have worked the best.

The next time I need to remember to chill the water. Also make sure I have a fermenter cleaned so I can let things settle and syphon off the hot and cold break.

I always loved the videos that they make over at rathergood.com. Check this one out.
Beer Beer Beer

4 lbs. Maris Otter Pale Malt
2 cups cara-Pils (will figure weight tomorrow)
6 ounces flaked wheat
6.6 lbs. Briess Pilsen light liquid malt extract
1 lb Hawaiian Turbinado Sugar (sugar in the raw)

1 oz Chinook Hops 60 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 20 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 15 mins
1 tsp irish moss 15 mins
1/2 tsp Wyeast nutrient 15 mins (per nutirent directions)
1 oz Cascade (whole) 10 mins
Add Turbinado Sugar @ 10 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 5 mins
.5 oz Kent Goldings (whole) 1 min

Target SG should be 1.065 assuming 53% mash Efficiency
I am planning to use half distilled water and half spring water

This has got to be one of the best beers that I have ever brewed. It is really good.

This beer picked up a lacto infection. Maybe it was how I cleaned the bottles, or sanitized. The few that I have had are drinkable, but do not taste the best.

Finished the yeast starter. I have almost 2L after the boiling 7.5 ounces malt sugar and a few whole cascade hops flowers for 15 mins. I used half spring water and half distilled water for the starter. I added 1 tsp of Wyeast yeast nutrient, to the boil as well.

I dialed in the air pump with hepa filter and 2 micron airstone to supply oxygen to the yeast. I also boiled the airstone in a small pot of water for 5 mins and sanitized the air hose in idophor solution. All items that touched the starter were sanitized or boiled (Funnel, strainer, etc.)