Back in Black Schwarzbier, February 21, 2011

In November I brewed a Schwarzbier that I really liked.  It was on tap at our annual New Year's Big Bear Bash.  As a dark colored beer, some of our drinking crowd steered clear while others wanted to  compare it to a stout or porter.  I feel this style is a hidden gem.  Possibly with educating drinkers and the right breweries making it, Schwarzbier could easily become another great addition to a craft beer pub's tap lineup.
After some more research and thinking about the last batch, I wanted to give this style another try.  I ordered Sinamar from William's Brewing as a suggested means to darken the beer without adding too much roasted character to the beer.  The goal was to darken just enough to get in the truly dark range while adding very little roasted flavor.

Sinamar Beer Coloring. Each ounce adds 5 SRM.

My mash was calculated to be 14 SRM and 2 ounces of Sinamar picked up another 10 SRM to fall right in the BJCP Category 4C color range for Schwarzbier.  Sinamar is derived from a process using Carafa yielding a lower bitter flavor than you'd otherwise expect from mashing with roasted grains (Black Patent, Roasted Barley, Chocolate, etc).  I finally spotted it at my local homebrew store yesterday so I'd imagine that Sinamar is becoming readily available.

Sinamar pours thick!  Consistency of a thick syrup.  Tastes lightly roasted.

Outside of using Sinamar, I will be slightly breaking the category boundaries of hop bitterness, flavor, and aroma.  I'm thinking that a month of lagering will likely bring the hop profile down to an acceptable level.  This is also the first time using Charlie Papazian's yeast strain, Cry Havoc.  This is a very versatile yeast strain (ales and lagers) and Charlie has used this for a breadth of styles. As always, I will update this post with finishing details at a later time.  Cheers!

Back in Black Schwarzbier

4-C Schwarzbier (Black Beer)
Author: Chillindamos
Date: 2/21/11

Size: 5.0 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 167.46 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.050 (1.046 - 1.052)
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Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.010 - 1.016)
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Color: 24.25 (17.0 - 30.0)
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Alcohol: 4.95% (4.4% - 5.4%)
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Bitterness: 34.8 (22.0 - 32.0)
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Ingredients:

5.0 lb Belgian Munich
3.0 lb Pilsner Malt
1.5 lb Vienna Malt
2 oz German Carafa II
3.0 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash
2 oz Sinamar - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
0.25 oz Magnum (14.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
0.5 oz Czech Saaz (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
1.0 oz Czech Saaz (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 oz Spalt Spalter (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 3.0 min
1.0 oz Czech Saaz (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 3.0 min
2.0 ea White Labs WLP862 Cry Havoc

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 0.0 m

00:08:24 Mash-In - Liquor: 2.17 gal; Strike: 140.41 °F; Target: 124.0 °F
00:13:24 Protein Rest - Rest: 5.0 min; Final: 123.7 °F
00:15:24 Second Infusion - Water: 1.2 gal; Temperature: 211.8 °F; Target: 150 °F
01:15:24 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 146.0 °F
01:25:24 Vorlauf, bitches! - Rest: 10.0 min; Final: 145.3 °F
02:25:24 Fly Sparge - Sparge Volume: 5.1 gal; Sparge Temperature: 170.0 °F; Runoff: 5.66 gal

Notes

Sinamar adds 10 SRM (5 SRM per ounce in a 5 gallon batch). 70% dilution rate of San Diego Alvarado Water. 1 gram of Calcium Carbonate and 2 grams of Gypsum added to the mash. OG 1.052 65°F. Oxygen added for 1 minute via aeration stone. Lager cave temperature at 55°F.

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12

Using Sinamar with BeerTools Pro

I needed to modify the SRM from the BeerTools Pro exporter above.  The Sinamar was a custom ingredient entered into the database under special ingredients.  There's no details to input other than the name, origin, description, and cost.  I also changed the jpg displayed to the correct SRM image.  Not a big deal but another item on my list to suggest as a feature, coloring ingredients.

Doppelbock, November 14 2010

Contemplating the frustration of having limitations with my mash tun, it occurred to me that I really don't need to make 5 gallons every time I brew (what I really want is 10).  I decided to give a try making a 4 gallon batch with a reasonable capacity of about 13.5 pounds.  A grain bill that size is easy enough to manage (stirring without spilling all over the place) but is about a pound or so too big for a multi-infusion mash. I'll opt for a single-infusion to see what's possible with a lower final yield.  Turns out that I'm just within the Doppelbock range of starting gravities (1.072-1.112) with this brew.  I figured that if I missed the mark, I would still have a Traditional Bock.

13.5 lbs. of grain in a 5-gallon Rubbermaid cooler is easy to work with.

After adding today's batch, looks like plenty of room for 2 more primaries.

Doppelbock
BJCP Category 5C. Doppelbock
4 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

5.2 lbs. Vienna
5 lbs. Belgian Pilsner
1.2 lbs. Munich
1 lb. Caramunich
1 lb. Caravienne
1 oz. Dark British Crystal
1 oz. Melanoidan
1 oz. Carafa II

Single Infusion Mash
(1 qt./lb. raised to 168°F)
Saccharification Rest at 152°F for 70 minutes
Fly-sparged 4.5 gallons at 170°F

1 oz. Tettnanger 60 min.
0.5 oz. Spalt 20 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 15 min.

White Labs WLP830 German Lager Yeast   200ml of leftover slurry from previous week's brewing
Currently in ferment at 52°Fin the Lager Cave

OG: 1.076 @ 68°F
FG: 1.022 @ 39°F
ABV: 7.3%

German Bock, November 11, 2010

I've avoided this style considering that its on the secondary brewing list planned for lagers to be ready for Oktoberfest (priorities are typically Oktoberfest, Pilsner, Helles, and a Vienna or amber-like lager) and two, bock requires a large grain bill, beyond my mash tun's capacity.  The Lager Cave has eliminated the first barricade and with a 15 lb. limit tested during the Barley Wine brew, it was worth the shot to try to hit the target original gravity of Traditional Bock.  I settled for a grain bill of 14.5 lbs. which eliminated any possibility of doing a multi-step infusion mash.  Just 1/2 pound more and my 5-gallon Rubbermaid mash tun is busting out its plastic seams.

14.5 lbs. has its toll but at least its manageable.

After the brew day, we drove the bock over to the Lager Cave at Ed's and as you can see below, there's still room to spare (hmm, what to brew next!?).

The Lager Cave has insane space!

German Bock
BJCP Category 5B. Traditional Bock
5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

9 lbs. Munich
4 lbs. Belgian Pilsner
12 oz. Caramunich
4 oz. Dark British Crystal
4 oz. Caravienne
4 oz. Melanoidan

Single Infusion Mash
(0.95 qts/lb. raised to 166°F)
Saccharification Rest at 148°F for 60 minutes
Fly-sparged 5.75 gallons at 170°F

0.45 oz. Magnum 60 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 15 min.

Combination of 135ml of White Labs WLP833 German Bock Lager Yeast and 50 ml
White Labs WLP830 German Lager Yeast   (Fresh slurry thanks to Kara!)
Currently in ferment at 52°F

OG: 1.062 @ 70°F
FG: 1.015 @ 38°F
ABV: 6.5%

Schwarzbier, November 6, 2010

BLACK BEER

"Smell the Beer" in honor of Spinal Tap.

I've wanted to make a Schwarzbier for quite some time.  With the Lager Cave in full effect, how can I not brew everything and anything requiring lower fermentation temperatures?  While I've had a few Black Beers in the past, I was not quite sure where to start in recipe formulation.  My intuition told me I should make a dry stout and simply use a lager yeast instead of ale yeast.  As with several other planning sessions, I used Jamil Zainasheff's recipe as a general guideline from his book, Brewing Classic Styles.  I've found this book and Jamil's style-based podcasts a great starting point when formulating many brewing recipes and would recommend other brewers to do the same. 

Schwarzbier
BJCP Category 4C. Schwarzbier (Black Beer)
5 Gallons, All Grain, Step Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

8 lbs. Beligan Pilsner
2 lbs. Munich
8 oz. Carafa II
4 oz. Caramunich
4 oz. Chocolate
2 oz. Black Roasted

Protein Rest at 122°F for 10 minutes
(0.9 qts/lb. raised to 135°F)
Saccharification Rest at 149°F for 60 minutes
(0.5 qts/lb. raised to 212°F)
Fly-sparged at 170°F

1.5 oz. Hallertauer 60 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 22 min.
0.5 oz. Spalt 22 min.
0.7 oz. Hallertauer KO

White Labs WLP830 German Lager Yeast   (100ml Fresh slurry thanks to Kara!)
Currently in ferment at 52°F

OG: 1.052 @ 74°F
FG: 1.013 @ 40°F
ABV: 5.5%

New Year's Pilsener, October 9 2010

SAAZ!!!

A field of dreams.

A pilsener with Magnum bittering and a flavor profile of Saaz IS where its at.  With the new Lager Cave, I can be in lager production year round.  I just pulled out 5 batches from the cave sitting at around 40°F and can now return to Saccharomyces pastorianus fermentation temperatures around 52°F.  This is simply great!  My kegerator is now full but I can still make lagers for our annual New Year's bash up at Big Bear.   Usually I brew a variety of ales to satisfy the masses but I have to admit, this one's for me!  I might just hide this in the corner for me, Kara, and other hoppy lager fiends.  SAAZ!!!

Bohemian Pilsner

BJCP Category 2B. Bohemian Pilsener
5 Gallons, All Grain, Step Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

9.5 lbs. Beligan Pilsner
0.5 lbs. Vienna

Protein Rest at 124°F for 20 minutes
(0.9 qts/lb. raised to 135°F)
Saccharification Rest at 148°F for 60 minutes
(0.5 qts/lb. raised to 212°F)
Fly-sparged at 170°F

1 oz. Homegrown Magnum 60 min.
0.5 oz. Saaz 20 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 15 min.
0.5 oz. Saaz 10 min.
0.5 oz. Saaz 5 min.
0.5 oz. Saaz 1 min.

White Labs WLP830 German Lager Yeast   (Fresh slurry thanks to Kara!)
Currently in ferment at 52°F

OG: 1.052 @ 79°F
FG: 1.008 @ 38°F
ABV: 6.3%

Image Source: 
Marti. Hopfengarten. Digital image. Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hops. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, 14 Jan. 2007. Web. 9 Oct. 2010.

Coming Soon: The Lager Cave

Utilizing space in my kegerator for lager fermentation and lagering has long been detrimental to the necessary activity of dispensing and consuming homebrew.  The kegerator simply does not have room for both activities.  Even if you combine both fermentation/lagering and dispensing of kegs, the kegerator spends a large portion of time at about 52°F.  That's not ideal dispensing temperature, very unchillindamos.
My brother-in-law, Ed, recently purchased a condo in the neighborhood.  He's a few blocks from Toronado to boot!  As a fellow homebrewer, he shares the like desires for making lagers.  We went halfzies on a new 24.9 cu. ft. chest freezer that will thrive in his garage.  I purchased this Kenmore Elite Chest Freezer online with Sears through a partner link; timing a sale for a great deal.  We should be picking this up within a week and will Christen it, The Lager Cave. Very chillindamos!

Coming Soon: The Lager Cave

Update 7/21/10: We picked up The Lager Cave and delivered to its new home yesterday evening. We need to wire a new electrical box and better seal Ed's garage, planned for this weekend. A Temperature Controller II is on its way.  The Honey Kolsch is nearly ready and I have a fury of lagers planned.