Rating System

1 - don't waste valuable beer calories on me
2 - tasty, walter approves
3 - so good you should have it for breakfast

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Hops 2016

The summer was hot and dry so we decided  to harvest early, August 15.  The cones were plentiful but small, total for this year (wet) 1 lb 4.8 oz, which dried to 5.6 oz  Bird Brook Farm had a banner year and donated 7.6 oz.  Mathias took about that much for his brewing.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Basically Great Porter (Brewers Cup 2016)

10 gallon, all grain entry for the Brewers Cup 2016, with a nod to and hopefully some votes from our guest Irish judges

Grain:
     Blue Ox pale malt                          20 lbs
     Belgian Special B                             2 lbs
     English Brown malt                            12 oz
     Briess Chocolate malt                         12 oz
     Biscuit malt                                         12 oz
     Belgian Munich malt                          12 oz
     Wyermann Melanoidin malt                 4 oz

Hops:
     Cascade 4.8%                           4 oz 60 min
     Cascade                                    1 oz 15 min

Yeast:
     Safale us 05                                 2

Brewed 8/2/2016  OG 1.034
Secondary 8/10/2016  1.014


Sunday, May 8, 2016

Kama Galaxy Session IPA

5 gallons extract (adapted from Northern Brewer Kama Citra Session IPA)

0.75 lbs Crystal 40

6 lbs Golden DME

0.5 oz Centennial @ 8.5% AA (60 min.)
1 oz Cascade @ 6.8% AA (20 min.)
1 oz Cascade @ 6.8% AA (10 min.)
1 oz Galaxy @ 15.2% (flameout, resting for 10 min.)

1 oz Galaxy @ 15.2% (Dry hop at secondary transfer)
1 oz Cascade @ 6.8% AA (Dry hop at secondary transfer)

Safale US-05 Ale Yeast

Pitched: 5/8/16  OG 1.060
Secondary: 5/31/16 SG 1.012
Kegged: 6/12/16 SG 1.012

Notes: There was nothing whatsoever wrong with the original Kama Citra, but the hops available locally at the time of brewing necessitated some adaptation and renaming...

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

McLaughlin Ale

Recipe from ale of 5/19/15. If this test batch is as good as I expect, and I am invited back as brewer for Garden Illuminated, then this is it.
10 gallon all grain

Grains:
     Blue Ox Pale Malt               20 lbs
     Carapils                                  0.5 lbs
     Caramil pils (crystal 10*)      0.5
     Munich                                  0.5

Hops:
     Summit  15.0%                     2.5 oz     60 min
     Saaz  3.7%                             3              5 min
     Pearle 5.8%                           1              5 min
     Simcoe 11.6%                       2              secondary

Yeast:      Safale S04
                Safale S05

Brewed 4/26/2016  OG  1046
Secondary 6/15/2016  1010
Kegged  6/27/16   1008  (S05 slightly darker and more bitter)

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Dark Rye IPA

Taken from 6/15/15 but brewed with Blue Ox Malt
10 gallon all grain

Grains
     Blue Ox Pale Malt        20
     Rye Malt                         6
     Special B                        2
     Carapils                             24 oz
     Wheat                              2

Hops
     Columbus 5.2%              1 oz 60 min
     Summit 14.2%                1 oz 30 min
     Summit                            1 oz 1 min
     Simcoe 12.3%                 2 oz 1 min
     Simcoe                            2 oz secondary

Yeast Safale s05

Estimated IBU 36.22
Estimated Efficiency 75.52%    (100% = 1.066)

Brewed 3/15/2016  OG 1050
Transfer to secondary 3/29/2016  1020  hops added

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Ben's Lager

This recipe is from Ben the brewer at Gritty's.  I have tried variations of it before, but this time it is as written.  Well almost as written. I bought an extra ounce of Saaz * from the Hop Shop and decided to add it to the secondary.   As I was getting myself primed for a fun day of brewing Judy reminded me, "Do you actually like any of Gritty's bear?"  Oh well it was going to rain all day anyway, one might as well be brewing.

It was no small feat getting supplies.  During the first trip to the Hop Shop Ed did not have any Saaz hops, I needed 9 ounces.  He said he would order some.  Yesterday we set out for a road trip including Brunswick, Freeport and then Gray.  I called Ed to see if he did get the Saaz and he said he only had 6.  I decided to go anyway because today was brew day for me, with or without the Saaz.  Well there is no easy way to get from Freeport to Gray especially with no map or GPS.  We made a 30 min trip into an hour trip, which seemed like 2 hours.  When we finally arrived at The Hop Shop Ed had remembered he had ordered Saaz for me, or someone, and all was well.  Actually he had ordered 10 ounces, the extra ounce *.

10 gallons, all grain

Grains
     Pilsner malt      18
     Munich malt       1
     Light crystal       1  *     Substitution from caramel pils malt which Ed didn't have
     Carapils malt      1.5

Hops
     Saaz          2     60 min    3.7%
     Saaz          2     20 min
     Saaz          2      5
     Summit     1     5 min     14.2%
     Saaz          2     1
     Summit     1     1

     Saaz          2 in secondary
     Summit     1 in secondary

Yeast
     Saflager     w-34/70  2 dry lager yeast

Brewed 1/10/2016  1050
Secondary. 1/18/2016  1014
Kegged 2/4/2016. 1010


Thursday, December 24, 2015

Rye Stout

5 gallons extract (Northern Brewer)

0.5 lbs Chocolate Rye
0.5 lbs English Black Malt
0.5 lbs English Dark Crystal

6.3 lbs Rye LME

1 oz US Warrior (60 min.)

1 oz Citra @ 14.0% AA (Dry hop at secondary transfer)
1 oz Cascade @ 6.8% AA (Dry hop at secondary transfer)

Nottingham Ale Yeast

Pitched: 12/24/15  OG 1.054
Secondary: 1/11/16 SG 1.020
Kegged: 1/31/16 FG 1.018

Notes: