The first batch of beer for 2009 was a quick and easy Hefeweisen. My wife is a big fan of many German style wheat beers. She was very fond of Paulaner Natural Wheat, but has recently been turned on to Hacker Pschorr. She now prefers the HP because it has less of the banana notes than from the Paulaner yeast. So I was on a mission to make an extract beer with some specialty grains that fit the description.
While at the brew shop buying a new boiling pot (Note from Mrs. Brew Meister: he decided the larger pot would eliminate boil-over and that the basement brewery will require time and budgeting), I thumbed through a copy of Brew Your Own that had 150 top clone recipes. I patched together an ingredient list that I thought would do the trick, and I changed my yeast from the normal White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale yeast to WLP351 Bavarian Weizen yeast. I think it will create a spicier less banana/bubble gum flavor.
- Start the 4 gallons of water boiling in the main boil pot
- In a separate pot, bring ¾ gallon of water to 160F. Add 1.5# of pils malt
- Steep at 150F for 50 minutes
- Pour water and grains through a strainer into the larger pot
- Ladle hot water through the grains in the strainer for a few minutes.
- Bring everything to a boil for a total boil of 60 minutes.
- Add 4# Muntons wheat dry malt extract 60 minutes
- Add 1oz Spalt hops 2.4AA 60 minutes
- Add ½oz Tradition hops 5.2AA 60 minutes
- Add 3# liquid wheat malt extract 15 minutes
- Add 1/2 oz Tradition hops 5.2AA 15 minutes
With an immersion chiller, I cooled the wort down to 74F in 15 minutes.
I pitched the White Labs Weizen WLP351 and stored it on a first floor room until fermentation started about 10 hours later.
It is now in the basement bubbling away at 64F. So far, so good.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Beer Hackers For Sure (clone recipe)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Agony of Indecision
You know when you have a used car that starts needing progressively more expensive repairs? And you are in for a pound, with another pound to go...and you wonder about the tipping point: time for a new car, or throw in for the extra repairs (that may never end)?
That's exactly that agony I, Mrs. Brew Meister, feel for watching my dear Parrothead's indecision about what to do in the next step of brewing. Do we go big, invest big, or just buy interim parts here and there while we waver? "Big" would be hiring a contractor to run gas lines and venting, plumbing and drainage, and then buying huge equipment upgrades. "Moderate" would be going for a utility sink and drainage with an electric cooker in the basement. "Small" would be getting a larger pot for the stove so that Parrothead doesn't have another incident (as described here and here).
On the one hand, this is a hobby Parrothead enjoys. Heck, it could become a future business (even if only in retirement). And on that same hand, I can't watch a new kitchen stove get ruined. On the other hand, it is still a hobby, and while having a basement brewery sounds terrific, we really would need to budget, at the very least, for a utility sink and floor drain--with a plumber and some legal permits. And on a third hand, is it worth investing in a piece-meal manner if we do ultimately intend to "go big"?
So, while Parrothead indecides, I would like my agony of watching this process lessened by the action of another batch of beer. I hope he take that part of my advice.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
So, you thought we were gone
And during Election Fever, we were. But now we have Electricity Fever.
We are ready to brew again, and we have come across the idea of using electricity to do so, instead of gas. This could help with the basement brewing setup. Ventilation issues have us concerned about using natural gas/propane; sanitization issues have us looking away from the garage.
Please let me, Mrs. Brew Meister, know what you think about electrical setups for boiling wort. Before Parrothead invests :) We'll be back with recipes and reports.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Hefty Hefe
Although there are many reasons I would like to forget about the last batch of beer I brewed, something fun may have come from it all (besides an "ah-ha" moment).
My original idea was to make my super simple and tasty Paulaner clone even better. I had been kicking around the idea on an Imperial Hefeweizen for a few weeks, as that would satisfy Mrs. Brew Meister's love of summer beer and my love of strong, unusual beers...
I remember the first description of an Imperial beer by some local brewery that said, "We doubled everything but the water." That sounded like the type of reasoning I could use. So I tried the following:
8oz Munich Malt 30 minutes at 152F
8.8lbs DME 55% Wheat 45# Barley
1 oz Hersbrucker for 45 minutes
1 oz Cascade for 15 minutes
As stated previously...it boiled all over the place and caused the world's largest mess. After that, I transferred 3 gallons to the primary fermenting bucket. Then I went off the reservation...
I was unable to cool the wort, as my wort chiller plumbing would not fit the sink of the new house. I decided to throw in a couple of trays of ice, a gallon of lukewarm distilled water, and put the whole mess in the basement. It was still 100F at 6PM. I decided to set the lid on the bucket, but not fill the airlock. With the cooling wort, I knew the vacuum in the bucket would pull the water from the airlock into the bucket.
In the morning, around 5AM, the wort was around 77F in my 67F basement. I pitched White Labs Liquid Hefeweizen Ale Yeast (WLP380) and a pack of Dry Ale Yeast. I figured one would kick in, and the sooner the better. Fermentation started within a few hours and chugged along for 5 days at 65-67F.
After ten days, we kegged the results. Initially, it smelled a bit bitter. The Cascade hops were very present, but blended well with the malt and some caramel aroma. We decided to pull some of the liquid from the bottom of the fermenter. It tasted REALLY GOOD! It is a good sign when Mrs. Brew Meister is filtering the dregs with a cheese cloth into a pint glass. It was also really strong. I had two cups and felt the warm contentment set in.
I am force carbonating the beer now and will drink it over the next 2 weeks. I would let it age a little longer but:
a. It already tastes really good.
b. I think the beer may begin to taste oxidized if I wait too long. It spent too many hours in the relative open before fermentation started.
I will post a full review next week.
Cheers
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
How the mess may justify the cost
Dear Mrs. Brew Meister,
I now realize that the watched pot never boils, but the pot you ignore for 5 minutes while attending to a different batch can boil over and throw wort all over the house. I am not saying that the laws of physics were also at play here...but how did the beer in question cover every inch of the floor in the ENTIRE HOUSE???
Your quick action and endless work to clean up my mess is very appreciated. I would still be cleaning three-and-a-half days later if I was left to clean by myself. I am sorry you spent the day cleaning rather than drinking.
On the note of a new brewing stove and location: maybe you are right. I can see the need to create a home brewery that does not tie up the home kitchen for days on end. Perhaps it is time for Beer 2.0. I see many other home brewers have decided to relocate their hobby to other parts of the house. It makes perfect sense, and it brings up another opportunity, a dedicated three tier brewing system. I am not saying I made the world's largest beer mess to justify Beer 2.0, I am saying we should take advantage of a lesson hard learned.
Let's talk later about the future of Beer 2.0.
Sincerely,
Parrothead
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Your cups runneth over
Dear Parrothead,
It is time for you to get your own stove. Nothing personal. Just make a rig in the basement, or get some propane dealie for the garage or backyard. Or, I have a few other suggestions...
...concerning boilover.
(For those homebrewing newbies out there, boilover can happen to anyone. Usually only once. But for the truly "gifted", this can happen more than once. Even on a nice, new stove purchased for the wife. Even when the husband said--jokingly--that the brand-spanking-new appliance should be black *in case* he happens to experience boilover when brewing.)
Now, there are lovely websites that can help you prevent boilover. Such as this one<--skim off the foam, this one<--reduce heat, and this one<--continue to stir.
Regardless of the source, the ideas all have one thing in common: single tasking. That means: not multitasking. In other words, don't move things into your secondary carboy while you are trying to boil a new batch of beer. Just as an example.
Multitasking when homebrewing is not a time saver. Should become a mantra for all homebrewers who are working alone. Because it just doesn't save time to have your wife taking apart the beautiful new stove, scrubbing the floor, and otherwise cleaning and scuffing things in the kitchen for 3 1/2 hours so that the sugars don't set and bake on for all eternity.
*SIGH* I wish it was only the first time that this happened. But, I will settle for it being the last.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Brew Meister
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Yoink!
Yeah, we know we said our next batch would be Imperial Stout.
But I, Mrs. Brew Meister, have had to make a change and declare a nice, summery white be brewed next. Another trip to Indianapolis and a pass through the Brugge Brasserie and the Broad Ripple Brew Pub have inspired the orange peel and coriander craving.
My darling husband allowed for the change of venue for our next batch, and he's working on it immediately. We also enjoyed a little Blanche de Namur, but got a tad giddy over the flavor of La Fin Du Monde, and that probably helped solidify the inspiration for this brew session.
Never fear, though, because the new house and temperature control, plus a couple of extra kegs from the LBS, will allow that Imperial Stout to follow...eventually.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Ready, Get Set, Have a Homebrew...
We are contemplating the next brew after moving our home late last month. I see a house with a lot of potential on the homebrewing front, but I need to get back into the homebrewing rhythm. I did get one new part for the home brewery, a used 6.5 gallon glass carboy from my dad on our last visit to their house. It was given to him from a neighbor who used to make wine. From the looks of it, it hasn’t seen much use in the last few years.
I have my checklist to get ready for the first batch in the new digs.
1 Check plumbing to make sure I have the right fittings for my wort chiller.
2 Do a quick average temperature reading in the basement to see if I need to stabilize fermenting temps.
3 Take an inventory of my ingredients and cleaning supplies before my next trip to the LBS.
4 Finish off the last of the Dubbel Trubbel (not necessary, just fun)
5 Get cracking.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Moving right along
There is a wrench in the plans for our next brewing batch. We are in the process of trying to move. But there is an upside!
The next house, should this move happen, has an extra-deep garage. It also has an unfinished, but dry basement. That means, tons of beer storage and an opportunity to make a basement or garage brewing center.
But, should we run natural gas lines, try to work with an electric stove, or go for the propane? Can we vent the basement enough to cook? Would the whole operation be best in a ventilated garage or in a more climate-controlled basement?
There are tons of decisions, both in terms of practicality and cost. While my husband dreams up the ideas, I (Mrs. Brew Meister) am at a bit of a loss. I think we'll have to join a local brew club and see what other are doing, or talk with the LBS about it. And check local codes, set a budget, think of a realistic time frame...well, let's just say that there is a gap between dreaming and reality.
As always, we are open to suggestions
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Camp-brewing?
With hopeless hophead hubby traveling at times, brewing has been far more sparse than I, Mrs. Brew Meister, would prefer. I mean, having a stocked kegerator is a nice thing, no? But his recent camping trip made me wonder...
Can you camp and brew? I hear that college kids can do amazing things with homebrewing in dorm conditions. And not everyone (at least not us either) has the super semi-pro dedicated brew stove, racking, kegging system extravaganza that some of Parrothead's work friends have. But, given that brewing is a science, requiring cleanliness, temperature control, and light/air damage prevention...can one brew outside at a camp site?
Where is the most "rustic" and/or least equipped place that you have brewed?
Saturday, February 9, 2008
It's all about the equipment (part 2)
Psst....Hey buddy….Can I interest you in a used Cornelius Keg?
That is how the transaction seemed to go. I was getting ready to go out of town for a bit and needed to bottle a batch before I left. I really wanted to keg the batch, but had not yet purchased a keg. I ran to my local brew shop with hopes of getting a 5 gallon keg, new or used. Truth be told, I was ready to spend $100+ for a new keg, knowing that I did not plan the purchase out, and there may not be any used kegs in stock. When I arrived, there were no kegs to be found at all.
I was given a story about one of the guys traveling to Michigan to meet a guy about a thing and probably come back with a truckload of used kegs, but at the moment they didn’t have a reliable source. To their credit (and one of the reasons I continue to go to this shop) they offered to drain one of the kegs at the shop and let me borrow it until they did get some in stock.
After a several ideas, I left without my keg and went home to bottle my batch of Dubbel Trubbel. I did use the Tap-a-Draft, so that saved me a bit of time. We’ll see how well beer ages in there; I also filled about 10 bottles as well.
While I was out of town, Mrs. Brew Meister followed up with the LBS to see if the Michigan connection was able to come home with some used kegs. She visited the shop, and while they did not have any in stock, one of the guys decided to sell two of his personal kegs to the LBS so they could sell them to us! 40 bucks, and 2 pin and lock kegs at last.
The CO2 cans are really expensive. I bought I setup from an online retailer that sold a 5 lb can, a 3 foot gas line, a 2 foot beer line with a picnic tap, and a single double gauge regulator.
There is a bit of learning curve in kegging beer. The first lesson learned was replace all seals in any keg that is new to you. Even though the keg had been washed (and was holding pressure when I bought them) the seals would not hold after I transferred the first batch, and I lost all the gas in the CO2 can of the course of a few days.
(Note from Mrs. Brew Meister: While the LBS guys said the seals wouldn’t need attention just yet, the guy who sold the used kegs to the shop urged and insisted that the seals really should be replaced. He repeated this advice to me several times. It should go down in history like all great lines: “Replace the Seals!”)
CO2 containers can be filled at several places, but the best place may be a paintball shop. I have several options in the yellow pages for industrial gas, but most places do the swap program. I was not about to trade in my nice new clean can for a potentially dirty or greasy can. Also, the industrial guys wanted $17 for a 5lb can. Mrs. Brew Meister did a quick search and found the paintball shop in town will fill our can while we wait for $10.
Teflon tape and keg lube are essential. The Teflon tape works on any threaded connection to help seal and make the connection easier to tighten. The keg lube helps extend the life of the o-rings, and allows for an easier connection of pin connectors.
Let the CO2 carbonate the beer. I know it is possible to have a “bottle conditioned” keg, but why bother? All the yeast settles on the bottom of the keg, and is at the front of the line when you dispense the beer. It all works out best when you learn to pressurize the beer so that there is a nice equilibrium between the carbonation level and the dispensing pressure.
Here is a great introduction to kegging beer with Cornelius kegs. It was one of the best investments I have made in homebrewing.
Cheers!
(To be continued, with ISSUE 2: Plumbing...)
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
It's all about the equipment (part 1)
As I ramped up my beer-making efforts this year, I realized that I had to update some of my equipment. I love the DIY and problem-solving aspects of brewing. Finding a way to easily sparge the specialty grains with common household tools, creating climate-controlled areas for fermentation, and creating a new beer from the inconsistent supply of hops at the LBS, are all part of the fun. However, I don’t like when some of the work is tedious or plain difficult.
I have come across two areas that I needed to improve if I am going to brew to the limit this year.
Issue 1: Kegs
I have been complaining for as long as I have been brewing about bottling entire batches of beer. It is usually a messy, time-consuming process that requires a small warehouse to store the bottles that may need to be pulled into rotation. I don’t have a problem supplying the needed empties, as Mrs. Brew Meister and I fill that channel well enough. We have a stack of bottles ready in a back room of the house, but I just can’t fill those darn things without spilling beer on every bottle.
There is also a little more room for error in natural carbonation versus forced. Picture this: I am in the basement with a few friends, drinking some beers from the previous batch and bottling the new batch. Twenty or so bottles into the process, I noticed the priming sugar still sitting in its sealed package on the counter. Oops. Forgot to add the sugar to the bottling bucket. I then went into mathematician mode of dividing the amount of sugar to the balance of beer in the bucket, and the rest into premeasured scoops for each bottle.
Somehow the math may have been made a bit fuzzy from the session prior to bottling. Regardless, the results were a six-pack that exploded a few days later, leaving two quarts of beer on my bar, and there was a bottlecap-sized hole in the ceiling from the main troublemaking bottle. The rest of the beer turned out to be the best batch I ever made; it was a shame to leave so much of it in the mop bucket.
I have been swearing ever since to go to kegs. I tried the half-arsed approach and bought the Tap a Draft system. This was due to the cost of a 5 gallon corni system and my commitment to brewing at the time.
The advantages to the Tap a Draft:
- I only need to fill a few large PET bottles, greatly simplifying the process
- The pressure level creates a nice, albeit slow, pour
- Easy to take places
- Inexpensive to add more bottles
The disadvantages to the Tap a Draft:
- The bottles can only be stored vertically, as they leak when stored horizontally; however, the bottle bottoms are ROUND so keeping them vertical takes a bit of rigging
- The CO2 cartridges are only for dispensing; they cannot carbonate the beer
- The cartridges can only be used for one bottle, as once you pierce them, you can’t close them off when you take the tap off the bottle (so any remaining CO2 escapes when you remove the tap from an empty bottle)
This was a good answer for the price, but if I really wanted to lift my game, I was going to have to go for the five gallon kegs...(to be continued)
