2-Row and Fuggles SMaSH

Made a SMaSH with just 12 lbs* 2-row and fuggles.  Used Nottingham yeast.  Boiled about a gallon of the first runnings for about an hour to increase malliard reactions, then boiled the whole thing longer than normal too (total boil was near three hours).

The funny thing was that I had “around” 5 oz or so of Fuggles (leaf), and wanted to use them up (to free up freezer space, I have two freezers that have a bunch of hops in both. LOL).  So I decided I was going to use them all no matter what.   Also, just to make it interesting, I decided NOT to use a scale.  I put a good handful in at first wort hops, then started tossing in a handful here, a handful there, starting at 15 minutes.  Most of it was added at around 8 minutes or less.  The funny thing is…

It will come out tasty. 🙂

I know.  I’m a rebel and I’ll never be any good.

I have various other SMaSH beers planned for the near future, including one I’ve already got the ingredients for, Maris Otter and Simcoe.  And I’ll definitely be brewing that petite saison again (probably identical grains, but this time use cascade hops).  And the Bravo/Munich smash was out of this world!  Gotta try some Vienna, some golden promise, and who knows what else in the future!

*I am using 12 lbs of grain for all my smash beers, just to “standardize.”  In my system this makes an approximately 6.0-6.2% ABV beer. 

Upcoming Beers on the Homebrew Front

Well I’ve got a number of things in the queue that I’m real excited about, including several SMaSH beers:

• Maris Otter / Simcoe SMaSH with WY1968 London ESB Ale Yeast
• 2-row / Fuggles SMaSH with an extra-long boil to increase malliard reactions
• Vienna / Cascade SMaSH (yeast?)
• Another Petite Saison SMaSH fermented at 64-66F (with different base malt/hops this time, TBD)
• Bleach Blonde Ale IV (it still hasn’t been made, lol, even tho I already blogged it)
• Elderberry Wheat III (identical recipe, possibly a slightly different yeast)
• An American Pale Ale with 2-row, munich, vienna, cara-amber, and honey malt, hops schedule TBD, probably an ounce each Cascade/Centennial at 5 minutes with magnum bittering and serebrianka dry hops
• An American / Oatmeal Stout – I haven’t made a stout in a while and my last one came out GREAT!  (I might just make that one again, or something close to it).
• “Election Stout” a rather complex but tasty looking pseudo-session beer, recipe by GreenKrusty101
• Something “session” or “mild,”  Preferably English.
• A Rye beer, fairly hoppy

Note that I’ve done enough American IPAs and hoppy APAs for the moment.  We’re in different territory now.  Not everything has to be super-hopped.  In fact I’ve had trouble finding commercial beers lately that aren’t IPAs or hoppy APAs.

SMaSH weekend!

Well I’m ready to brew again, two batches in fact.  Both Blonde Ale III and Elderberry Wheat II have fermented long enough (by the time this big brew day goes down) and we’re ready to bottle them.

I’ve also been wanting to try some more SMaSH beers.  Why?  Because SMaSH beers are simple, and they help develop your processes.  Also, I’ve been liking these simple pale ales a lot, tending towards slightly on the hoppy side.  So we’re going to brew two SMaSH beers in one big brew day!

The first SMaSH beer will be a Munich malt and Bravo hops special.

• 12 lbs Munich
• 14 grams Bravo at 60
• 2 oz Bravo at 5 minutes
• 2 oz Bravo at flameout
• 2 oz Bravo dry hop

Targets:

• OG 1.064
• IBU 45
• SRM 12.3
• ABV 6.6

The second SMaSH beer will be a pilsner malt and fuggles hops with saison yeast smash, with 3711 yeast.  Thanks to scurvy311 on beer advocate for the idea!

• 12 lbs pilsner malt
• 1 oz fuggles at 60
• 1 oz fuggles at 15
• 1 oz fuggles at 5
• 1 oz fuggles at 0
• 2 oz fuggles dry hop

Targets:

• OG 1.062
• IBU 27.8
• SRM 2.7
• ABV 6.9

It’s really going to be a big day!  We’ve got multiple brews going, a couple beershed projects working, and I gotta fix my brakes too!  We have an entire “crew” to get things done, and plenty of homebrew to boot!  I’ll be “orchestrating” the brewing side of it, my bro the “building” side of it, and the scallywags will be fixin’ my brakes if they want any beer!

Should be a smashing day!

Breckenridge Small Batch 471 IPA

One of my favorites from Breckenridge Brewery, 471 IPA is a nice IIPA/Imperial double.  Coming in at 9.2%, it’s got some kick too!

Light orange in color and almost clear. Head was pretty good at one finger, and lasted. Lacing was good. It’s certainly a pretty color, and not the typically color you’d expect from a DIPA.

Hops and citrus dominate the nose, along with a touch of pine.

Tastes bold and fresh, very darn tasty. Piney hops is the predominate flavor, but citrus (grapefruits, lemon peel) and a light fruitiness come through as well. It’s kind of sweet and has a nice light malty background too. A light spiciness finishes things off.

Feel is quite light and refreshing for a double IPA, yet the body is still medium and amply carbonated. The finish is semi-dry and slightly oily with fruity hops.

I like various Colorado breweries, and this beer racks up another winner for Colorado!   It’s a pretty good price for a four pack too.

ESB All Grain

Well silly me, I brewed a batch and forgot to blog it!  Last week we brewed an all grain ESB (extra special bitter).

Ingredients:

• 8 lbs maris otter
• 1 lb biscuit malt
• 6 oz caramel 60
• 4 oz caramel 130
• 4 oz caraaroma 120
• 2 oz special B
• 0.5 oz Belma hops 60 minutes
• 1 oz Fuggles hops 15 minutes
• 2 oz Fuggles hops 5 minutes
• 1 oz Fuggles hops dry hop
• Windsor Yeast

Targets:

• OG 1.054
• IBU 36.6
• SRM 16
• ABV 5.3%

I know I usually post the entire procedure, but I’m going to skip it on this one because it’s so long gone!  It’s the same basic procedure I always use, adjusted for each new recipe.

Elderberry Wheat Beer II

Well the first batch of Elderberry Wheat beer came out great, so I figured to try it again, this time all grain.  Note that beersmith II doesn’t account for color with elderberries, so I don’t have an expected SRM.  It should be fairly purple again though!  Here’s the ingredients:

• 4 lbs, 8 oz pilsner malt
  4 lbs wheat malt
  1 lb flaked wheat
  0.5 lbs 20L crystal malt
  1 oz Fuggles at 30
  1 oz Fuggles at 10
  8 oz dried elderberries

Yeast: Bavarian Wheat Yeast, with starter

Targets:

• IBUs 19.8
• OG 1.054
• FG 1.015
• SRM ?
• ABV 5.1%

Note: They only had 8 oz packages of elderberries at the LHBS.  Whoa!  Not sure if I’m going to add the whole thing and boil for less, or just add half of them and boil same as last time (20 minutes).  I’m also tempted by all sorts of experimental things I could do with them, so I’ll have to make up my mind before brew day!

1. prepare checklist
2. lay out ingredients and equipment
3. Add grains to mash tun
4. bring 3.3 gallon spring water to 166 F
5. Add 3.5 gallons of 166F spring water to mash tun on top of grains, then stir well
6. add more water to boil pot, bring to near 172F and hold for sparging
7. measure temperature after temperature equalizes in mash
8. adjust mash temperature using either heated mash water or cool spring water as needed to reach 155F, if necessary
9. mash for 75 minutes at 155F
10. during mash, stir about every 15 minutes or so, checking temperature and adjusting if needed
11. at end of mash, begin draining wort into pitcher
12. allow first runnings to drain into a pitcher until clear
13. pour first runnings back on top of mash
14. drain remaining wort into boil pot until mash tun is near empty
15. add 2 gallons 172F water (adjusted as needed)
16. stir well
17. drain first runnings of first batch sparge into pitcher until clear (or close to it)
18. pour first runnings of first batch sparge back on top of mash
19. drain wort into main boil pot until near empty
20. add another 2 gallons 172F water to mash tun (adjusted as needed)
21. stir well
22. drain first runnings of second batch sparge to pitcher until clear (or close to it)
23. add first runnings back into mash tun
24. drain wort into main boil pot
25. bring main boil pot to a boil
26. when boil is reached, boil 60 minutes total
27. at 30 minutes, add 1 oz Fuggles
28. at 25 minutes, add about 1/4 tsp Wyeast nutrient blend to a small amount of spring water and dissolve
29. add wort chiller to boil pot
30. add nutrient blend at 20 minute mark
31. add elderberries at 20 minute mark
32. add 1/8 tsp Irish moss powder at 15 minute mark
33. add 1 oz Fuggles at 10 minutes
34. begin sanitation procedures on spoon, thermometer, bucket, wine thief
35. stir occasionally with sanitized stainless spoon during cooling
36. ensure bucket, wine thief, thermometer, strainer, spoon are sanitized
37. when wort gets to about 70F, add to fermentation bucket, pouring through sanitized strainer to catch any extra solids and to help aerate.  If necessary, clean strainer during process and re-sanitize to remove most of the hop trub and berries before fermentation
    
38. take OG reading with sanitized wine thief
39. thoroughly aerate wort with sanitized stainless steel spoon again
40. ensure wort is 68F or a little less before pitching yeast
41. ensure yeast is a little cooler than wort before pitching
42. pitch yeast
43. gently stir using sanitized stainless steel spoon
44. install sanitized bucket lid and airlock
45. ferment in freezer chest w/Johnson controller for 14+ days at 66F
46. after 14+ days, add dry hops, 1 oz chinook, 0.5 oz willamette
47. ferment a total of 21+ days
48. take FG sample and bottle
49. use 5 oz corn sugar at bottling

Actual OG:

Actual FG:

Notes:

American Amber with Sweet Orange Peel and Fuggles

Well I’ve now moved to TX, and this will be my first batch using my new freezer-chest and Johnson temperature controller, plus outdoor turkey fryer heating setup!   This will be an all-grain batch.  I’m shooting for a pretty tasty but non-bitter, non-threatening 4 gallon batch of American Amber ale, with a touch of sweet orange peel for just a touch of that Grand Marnier flavor.  I think this will make a good Orange Amber, so let’s find out!

UPDATE: Brewed 12-2-12.  Made some slight adjustments to the recipe.

4 gallon batch

7.0 lbs. pale malt (2-row)
6 oz carared
6 oz caraamber
2 oz carafa III
3 oz chocolate

Mash temp 154

Hops*

1 oz fuggles at 30
1 oz fuggles at 10
1 oz fuggles at 5
1 oz fuggles at 0

1/8 tsp Irish moss fining agent at 15 min
1/8 tsp yeast nutrient at 15 min

1 oz sweet orange peel at 5 minutes**, removed before fermentation

S-04 yeast, rehydrated

6 gallons bottled spring water***

OG 1.052
IBU 26.2
SRM 15.4
ABV 5.0%

*all hops are leaf, and in nylon paint bags (I have plenty of paint bags)
**orange peel also in nylon paint bags
***note: the water at the brewing location has a funky chemical smell to me. I want to brew and I’m not sure about the water yet, so six bucks worth of spring water will be used on this batch until I learn more
NOTE: This is my first batch with my new turkey-fryer outdoor brewing setup, and with my freezer chest w/Johnson controller for temperature control.  Freezer is set up and working at 66F.  Turkey fryer pot must be seasoned first by boiling water in it first, which will be done!  I am looking for a 10+ gallon brewpot, but for now I’m using what I have and thus will continue brewing four gallon batches for now.

Procedure:

1. prepare checklist
2. lay out ingredients and equipment
3. reconstitute dry yeast using 95F boiled spring water and allow to cool to room temperature
4. Add grains to mash tun
5. bring 3 gallon spring water to 169 F
6. Add 2 3/4 gallons of 168F spring water to mash tun on top of grains, then stir well
7. add more water to boil pot, bring to near 172F and hold for sparging
8. measure temperature after temperature equalizes in mash.  Once again, this has been pretty spot-on the last few batches, so I don’t anticipate having to boil extra water, but I will be ready just in case
9. adjust mash temperature using either heated mash water or cool spring water as needed to reach 154F
10. mash for 60 minutes at 154F
11. during mash, stir about every 15 minutes or so, checking temperature and adjusting if needed
12. at end of mash, begin draining wort into pitcher
13. allow first runnings to drain into a pitcher until clear
14. pour first runnings back on top of mash
15. slowly drain remaining wort into boil pot until mash tun is near empty
16. add 1.6 gallons 172F water (adjusted as needed)
17. stir well, let sit at least 10 minutes
18. drain first runnings of first batch sparge into pitcher until clear (or close to it)
19. pour first runnings of first batch sparge back on top of mash
20. drain wort into main boil pot until near empty
21. add another 1.6 gallons 172F water to mash tun (adjusted as needed)
22. stir well, let sit at least 10 minutes
23. drain first runnings of second batch sparge to pitcher until clear (or close to it)
24. add first runnings back into mash tun
25. drain wort into main boil pot
26. add wort chiller to boil pot, filled with hot water
27. bring main boil pot to a boil
28. when boil is reached, boil 30 minutes
29. at 30 minutes, add 28g Fuggles leaf hops in nylon paint bag
30. during boiling, skim off hot break as needed
31. at 25 minutes, add about 1/8 tsp Wyeast nutrient blend to a small amount of spring water and dissolve
32. add nutrient blend at 20 minute mark
33. add 1/8 tsp Irish moss powder at 20 minute mark
34. add 1 oz Fuggles leaf hops in nylon paint bag at 10 minutes
35. add 1 oz Fuggles leaf hops in nylon paint bag at 5 minutes
36. add 1 oz sweet orange peel in nylon paint bag at 5 minutes
37. add 1 oz Fuggles leaf hops in nylon paint bag at 0 minutes
38. at flameout, turn on water for wort chiller and chill to 170 F
39. let stand about 15 minutes hop rest, then turn wort chiller back on
40. begin sanitation procedures on spoon, thermometer, bucket, wine thief
41. stir occasionally with sanitized stainless spoon during cooling
42. ensure bucket, wine thief, thermometer, strainer, spoon are sanitized
43. when wort gets to about 68F, add to fermentation bucket, pouring through sanitized strainer to catch any extra solids and to help aerate.  If necessary, clean strainer during process and re-sanitize to remove most of the trub before fermentation
    
44. take OG reading with sanitized wine thief
45. thoroughly aerate wort with sanitized stainless steel spoon
46. ensure wort is 68F or a little less before pitching yeast
47. ensure yeast is a little cooler than wort before pitching
48. pitch yeast
49. gently stir using sanitized stainless steel spoon
50. install sanitized bucket lid and airlock
51. ferment in temperature controlled freezer chest for 14+ days at 66F
52. take FG sample and bottle
53. use 3.5 oz corn sugar at bottling

Actual OG: 1.050

Actual FG:

Notes: Actual color was a little darker than I had hoped.  We shall see what it looks like when it’s ready.  Overall brew day went well.