Puna Noni Sour

Time for some Radical Brewing!  When Bryan came to visit us from Oahu I asked him to bring an interesting and wild Hawaiian ingredient. Noni juice is what arrived. The noni fruit is loaded with carbs, dietary fiber, and a host of other micronutrients and phytochemicals. The Puna Noni juice label describes the product as a nutrient supplement with a suggested daily dose of about 1oz (should be about an ounce per serving of beer in the final product). Searching the web, you can find several noni homeopathic applications none of which have been thoroughly investigated.  From urinary tract infections to cancer inhibitors, noni juice seems to have a number of health benefits.  This beer might be the cure you're looking for! Apparently, the juice is already fermented prior to bottling so there might already be some interesting critters in the juice.  This would also explain why I didn't see a jump in OG after adding the juice.  For better or worse, I applied the juice after the boil so as not to disrupt the funkiness already present in this concoction.

Puna Noni Juice

This has got to be radical brewing, right Randy Mosher?  This fruit develops a strong odor as it ripens that give it nicknames like "cheese fruit" and "vomit fruit".  You'd never think that this species is in the coffee family!  According to the noni Wikipedia article, people will only eat this fruit during times of famine.  Well, let's see how it does in a homebrew.  Should be an interesting experiment and I have several glass carboys that are screaming for long-term projects.

Noni Fruit, Morinda citrifolia

Puna Noni Sour

Specialty Beer

BJCP: 23A	Date: 12/20/2011
Type: All Grain	Brewer: Sean
Batch Size: 5.00 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Chillindamos Brewhaus
Est Original Gravity: 1.061 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.059 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.9 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.4 %
IBUs (Tinseth’s): 38.1 IBUs	Est Color: 14.3 SRM
Total Hop Weight: 3.80 oz	Calories: 196.2 kcal/12oz
Description: The noni juice is dark brown and very aromatic. The flavor and aroma are hard to describe since I haven't had anything like this before. Definitely funky! Should put most recipes found in "Radical Brewing" in the tame category. I'll categorize this brew in BJCP Category 23 - Specialty Brew for its unusual and exotic fermented fruit ingredient and no definitive baseline style.
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 8.40 gal SD/RO 50/50 Water 1 - 0.50 tbsp pH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 90.0 mins) Water Agent 2 - 8 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 65.6 % 4 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 32.8 % 3.2 oz Carafa II (412.0 SRM) Grain 5 1.6 % 1.60 oz Tettnang [4.10 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 24.5 IBUs 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 7 - 1.20 oz Saaz [3.80 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 8.4 IBUs 1.00 oz Saaz [3.80 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 9 5.1 IBUs 1.0 pkg Belgian Saison I Ale (White Labs #WLP565) [35.49 ml] Yeast 10 - 3.00 qt Puna Noni Juice (Primary 0.0 mins) Flavor 11 - 2.0 pkg Belgian Sour Mix 1 (White Labs #WLP655) [50.28 ml] [Add to Secondary] Yeast 12 -
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 13.42 qt of water at 173.8 F 152.0 F 90 min
Mash Type: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out	Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 3.2 oz
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Pre-boil Volume: 5.95 gal
Days in Primary: 14.00	Primary Temperature: 65.0 F
Days in Secondary: 365.00	Secondary Temperature: 60.0 F
Days in Tertiary: 7.00	Tertiary Temperature: 65.0 F
Carbonation Type: Keg	Volumes of CO2: 2.3
Pressure/Weight: 12.54 PSI	Carbonation Used: Keg with 12.54 PSI
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 45.0 F	Storage Temperature: 60.0 F
Notes: Added noni juice directly to the primary just before pitching WLP565. Saison I yeast was choosen for its known ability as an underachiever leaving food behind for the sour blend to do its work. 60 seconds of oxygen via diffusion stone also applied prior to pitching. No yeast starter used, single vial only. Started ferment at 65°F and insulated well to allow free-rise.  I will not ramp up the temperature like most saison fermentation profiles. Instead, I will let 565 do what it can before racking to secondary and pitching two vials of WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix I. Then, it will sit for a year.
Created with BeerSmith

Image Source:
Rodríguez, Wilfredo. Noni Fruit (Morinda Citrifolia).jpg. 2008. Photograph. Morinda Citrifolia. Wikipedia.org, 15 Oct. 2008. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. .

Lilikoi Wheat

This is my first writings about working with Hawaiian passion fruit but this is the third brew working with the fruit.  I also made a semi-sweet mead with lilikoi juice on national mead day this past August.  The lilikoi fruit is sourced from a great friend's backyard on Oahu.  Lilikoi is the Hawaiian word for passion fruit.  He crushes and strains the juice.  The juice looks like an intense orange juice.  The aroma is amazing and the flavor is very tart, citrusy, and tropical.  Huge props to Bryan who readily processes and ships this across the pond.

This past summer, I brewed a similar batch to this one as well as a Belgian Wit.  Personally, I think it does very well in an American Wheat but others at my homebrew club liked the wit better.  While the wit was more tart, I feel the fruit flavor and aromas were in better marriage with the malt and yeast profile in the American Wheat I brewed.  Part of me also thinks that beer fans are also more partial to any Belgian style over a style like American Wheat which can have a bad reputation as a "blonde ale".

I'm getting better with BeerSmith 2.  Like with most software, it has had its learning curve.  I still see calculated values that don't match my brew day.  Since the Chillindamos Brewhaus will experience a major upgrade in the future, I will invest the time at a later date to match the software with my brewing process.  I'm wondering if anyone else uses the software with MoreBeer!s SMART system?  Here's a description of the mashing process I'm adopting:

SMART is a method of maintaining or raising the temperature of your Mash. SMART stands for Step Mash Adjusted Recirculation Temperature. While the acronym is a bit of a stretch, it is a smart way of adjusting your Mash temperature without the concerns of scorching that can be associated with applying direct flame or use electric heating elements.

The way it works: By using a pump, you move liquid wort out the bottom of the Mash Tun through a heat exchanger (a copper coil) located in your Hot Liquor Tank and then gently return it to the top of the grain bed. This heat exchange is very gentle and will not have any caramelizing effects on the wort. Another advantage of SMART systems is wort clarity. When you are doing recirculation you are using the grain bed as a filter to remove particulate from the recirculating wort. This allows you to transfer already cleared wort into the Boil Kettle.

Passiflora edulis, the flower of lilikoi.

Lilikoi Wheat

American Wheat or Rye Beer

BJCP: 6D	Date: 12/04/2011
Type: All Grain	Brewer: Sean
Batch Size: 5.00 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Chillindamos Brewhaus
Est Original Gravity: 1.057 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.059 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.006 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.0 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 7.0 %
IBUs (Tinseth’s): 15.4 IBUs	Est Color: 4.5 SRM
Total Hop Weight: 1.00 oz	Calories: 194.3 kcal/12oz
Description: Bryan shipped a gallon of fresh lilikoi from his backyard. He crushed and lightly pasteurized the fruit. This batch is not as intensely aromatic and flavorful as the last two arrivals. Another good friend, ALF, says the acidity is so high that pasteurization is not necessary. I typically do a 70/30% grist ratio with my American Wheat recipes but stepped this up a bit in the pale malt along with a slightly higher mash temp to cut just a bit off the tart. This is the 3rd homebrew using Lilikoi juice and I also have a mead in progress as well. In my opinion, this is an outstanding fruit to work with for its aromatics, flavor, tartness, and hue contribution (a saturated orange juice color).
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 8.03 gal SD Alvarado Water 1 - 7 lbs White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 2 63.6 % 4 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 36.4 % 1.00 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 15.4 IBUs 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 5 - 1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml] Yeast 6 - 1.00 pt Lilikoi Juice (Primary 0.0 mins) Flavor 7 - 0.50 pt Lilikoi Juice (Bottling 0.0 mins) Flavor 8 -
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 12.10 qt of water at 174.5 F 152.0 F 60 min
Mash Type: Single Infusion, Medium-Light Body, No Mash Out	Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Pre-boil Volume: 5.95 gal
Days in Primary: 13.00	Primary Temperature: 65.0 F
Days in Secondary: 10.00	Secondary Temperature: 67.0 F
Days in Tertiary: 7.00	Tertiary Temperature: 65.0 F
Carbonation Type: Keg	Volumes of CO2: 2.5
Pressure/Weight: 12.27 PSI	Carbonation Used: Keg with 12.27 PSI
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 40.0 F	Storage Temperature: 40.0 F
Notes: At kegging, it was determined by Michelle (my senses were ruined by a recent cold) to add more lilikoi juice to increase aromatics, flavor, and tartness. 1/2 pint of juice was added directly to the keg. No secondary fermentation, went straight to keg. White Labs WLP001 used directly from vial, no starter. By the look at the bottom of the primary after racking, the yeast bed looked very frothy white and healthy. Certainly cleaner than most yeast beds after primary though could be due to lower trub amounts in primary. Lilikoi Juice likely added sugar content that contributes to the OG. It also changes the pH at each addition.
Created with BeerSmith

If this beer is remotely the hit it was when served at Andrew's engagement party, should prove to be a solid performer at our Annual New Year's Big Bear Bash.

Sources:

MoreBeer! "Analog S.M.A.R.T | MoreBeer." Beer Making Kits and Home Brewing Supplies | MoreBeer. MoreBeer! Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Passiflora Edulis Forma Flavicarpa. Photograph. Passiflora Edulis Forma Flavicarpa. By Agricultural Research Service, USDA. Wikipedia,org, 13 Aug. 2006. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. .

Some Like it Hoppy IPA, April 10 2011

The past three weeks have been amazing.  Our first child arrived and with it, an insane amount of excitement and a number of adjustments.  While my wife, Michelle, has taken the brunt of changes, I have found myself in a state of awe and chillindamos.  Knox will grow up in a homebrewery that I'm sure will also dabble in homemade sodas when the time comes.

Parenting skills harmonizing with chillindamos.

 Homebrewing has slowed down a tad but today I'm back in the game!  I made some subtle modifications to the last IPA batch, Stay Classy IPA.  I eliminated the 20°L crystal malt to add more to the German special malts, Vienna and Munich.  I also upped the whole hop Centennial addition and Amarillo to bring the flavor and aroma just a notch up (eleven).

Grain bags make great swaddles.

Everything else remained identical to the previous IPA.  Stay Classy IPA is still on tap and is great.  I bottled out a few for NHC but am a bit weary of how it will travel considering my inexperience with counter-filling bottling.  I bottled out a few extras to see how it will hold up come judging time.  Though I tried to blow out a pint or so of the trub at the bottom of the keg, some chunks are showing in the other bottles.  I suppose I'll find out in a couple of weeks when I get the judging sheets.

Knox's first homebrewing session!

Some Like it Hoppy IPA
BJCP Category 14-B American IPA
Author: Chillindamos
Date: 4/10/11

Size: 5.0 gal
Efficiency: 72.55%
Attenuation: 78.5%
Calories: 219.23 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.066 (1.056 - 1.075)
|================#===============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.014 (1.010 - 1.018)
|================#===============|

Color: 5.64 (6.0 - 15.0)
|=======#========================|

Alcohol: 6.81% (5.5% - 7.5%)
|==================#=============|

Bitterness: 121.3 (40.0 - 70.0)
|================================|

Ingredients:

9.3 lb 2-Row Brewers Malt
1.4 lb German Vienna
0.8 lb Belgian Munich
3.0 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash
1.0 lb Rice Extract
1.0 oz Chinook (11.0%) - added first wort, boiled 90.0 min
1.0 oz Magnum (10.6%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
1.0 oz Chinook (11.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.6 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 tsp Servomyces - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
0.1 tsp Anti-Foam - added during boil, boiled 1.0 min
0.5 oz Simcoe (12.3%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
0.5 oz Citra (14.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
1.0 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
1.0 ea White Labs WLP001 California Ale (will change later)
0.5 oz Simcoe (12.3%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Citra (14.0%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - added dry to secondary fermenter

Schedule:

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

00:14:30 Mash-In - Liquor: 3.44 gal; Strike: 172.11 °F; Target: 152.0 °F
01:14:30 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 147.5 °F
01:24:30 Vorlauf, bitches! - Rest: 10.0 min; Final: 146.7 °F
02:24:30 Fly Sparge - Sparge Volume: 5.33 gal; Sparge Temperature: 168.0 °F; Runoff: 6.0 gal

Notes

Small changes from last IPA, Stay Classy IPA. 70% dilution rate. 4 grams Gypsum, 1 gram Epsom Salt, and 1 gram of Baking Soda added to the mash. Chinook and Centennial hops are grown at our hop farm (IBUs estimated). Mash dilution ratio: 1.04 Tap, 2.41 Water Lady (3.44 gallons total). HLT dilution ratio: 1.51 tap, 3.59 Water Lady (5.1 gallons total). Oxygen added for 60 seconds. OG 1.066 @ 68°F. 1 vial to 900ml yeast starter. Will likely share this keg for NHC (unless thirsty for more IPA).

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.15

Anyone ever seen an ale yeast do this after fallen krausen?

Above shows an interesting phenotype from fermentation of the last batch of IPA.  I was planning on racking the new IPA on the yeast bed of the last batch when I saw this happen and delayed the brew.  No off flavors, nothing suspicious, just likely characteristic of this particular strain.  I'll know for sure if it does it again this batch.

Stay Classy IPA, February 27, 2011

I'm getting a bit excited for this year's AHA Conference here in San Diego.  The conference is hosted by a different city each year and usually it's too far to travel.  This will be my first National Homebrewers' Conference and I'm looking forward to all the fun other members in my homebrew club, QUAFF, talk about each year (yes, some go every year!).

Want to go!?  Better register soon, the conference is selling out fast!

One of the famed events during the conference is club night.  I know I can count on QUAFF to fully represent with a great showcase of homebrews and energy.  I haven't heard an announcement yet but I know that QUAFF will soon be asking us to contribute kegs for club night.  While hoppy is something I've always enjoyed, I haven't brewed hoppy in quite some time (probably since IPA pours out of drinking fountains around here!).  Here's to my renewed adventures in homebrews drenched in IBUs and contributing to the masses of hop heads at NHC.  Not sure if this beer will be around by then but you can count on this brew to be good learning ground.

Vessel Calibration in BeerTools Pro
One of the key draws to using brewing software is the ability to calculate strike and target temperatures during the mash.  It would enable you to better hit your temps when variables such as volume, time, and temperature change.  In BeerTools Pro, it allows you to run basic experiments to establish heating parameters for your brewing equipment.  Basically, calibration involves pouring a selected volume of heated water in each your mash tun, hot liquor tank, and kettle to measure the amount of heat loss over a specific amount of time.  The software also allows you to test your heating element to measure how fast you can heat a selected volume (useful for estimating heating times). 

Kettle calibration in BeerTools Pro to determine heat properties.

Before the software, it has been a bit of art and skill to hit desired mash temperatures.  A homebrewer gets to know his/her equipment with experience and eventually, it gets easier to hit your target temps. The problem was that I can sometimes be a couple of degrees off.  Seems to not be a very big deal but enzyme activity can be very temperature specific.  If you ever want to recreate the conditions that made that great beer, it's imperative to know how to hit your desired temperatures every time.
I would be very happy if I can trust the software to guided me to my mash temperatures every time.  After today's batch, it is apparent that I have a bit of tweaking to do.  I'm not sure if I should go through the calibration process again (for the mash tun only) or simply tweak the time point temperatures to match the observed temperatures during a brew day.  Oh, I should also verify/calibrate my thermometer before doing so (or would it an unknown thermometer provide acceptable relative values?) and for future brews.

Today's Mash Schedule with calculated strike temperatures in the Temp column.

Looking above, I heated my 3.44 (or close to that) gallons to 171.5°F for mash-in.  After 3 minutes of stirring and stabilizing, the mash was moderately consistent at 153°F.  Close enough for me and I was pretty excited.  At the end of the saccharification rest, BeerTools shows that I should have lost enough heat to have a final temp of 147.4°F.  My actual ending temperature was 152°F (only a loss of 1°).  Perhaps if I simply adjust my Mash Tun Calibration parameters for "Temp. After 5 Minutes" to lose 1° less and "Temp. After 65 Minutes" to show a total loss of also just 1°, I might be able to make this work. 
On to the beer,  check out that ingredient list!  Insane.  I used to try and simplify as much as possible (less is more) and now my homebrews are practically including the kitchen sink.  The ingredient list doesn't even include the adjusted water profile and salts.  As for the IBUs, doesn't the calculated 112.3 seem to be just too far out there for this hop schedule!?  I'll save that issue for another time, I need to chillindamos!

Stay Classy IPA

14-B American IPA
Author: Chillindamos
Date: 2/27/11

Size: 5.0 gal
Efficiency: 74.78%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 217.06 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.065 (1.056 - 1.075)
|===============#================|

Terminal Gravity: 1.016 (1.010 - 1.018)
|====================#===========|

Color: 6.85 (6.0 - 15.0)
|=========#======================|

Alcohol: 6.41% (5.5% - 7.5%)
|===============#================|

Bitterness: 112.3 (40.0 - 70.0)
|================================|

Ingredients:

9.0 lb 2-Row Brewers Malt
1.0 lb German Vienna
0.5 lb Belgian Munich
0.5 lb Crystal Malt 20°L
3.0 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash
1.0 lb Dried Rice Extract
1.0 oz Homegrown Chinook (11.0%) - added first wort, boiled 90.0 min
1.0 oz Magnum (10.6%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
1.0 oz Homegrown Chinook (11.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 oz Homegrown Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 tsp Servomyces - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
0.1 tsp Anti-Foam - added during boil, boiled 1.0 min
0.5 oz Simcoe (12.3%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
0.5 oz Citra (14.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
0.5 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
1.0 ea White Labs WLP001 California Ale (update later)
0.5 oz Simcoe (12.3%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Citra (14.0%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
0.5 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - added dry to secondary fermenter

Schedule:

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

00:14:26 Mash-In - Liquor: 3.44 gal; Strike: 171.48 °F; Target: 152.0 °F
01:14:26 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 147.4 °F
01:24:26 Vorlauf, bitches! - Rest: 10.0 min; Final: 146.7 °F
02:24:26 Fly Sparge - Sparge Volume: 5.1 gal; Sparge Temperature: 168.0 °F; Runoff: 5.74 gal

Notes

70% dilution rate. 4 grams Gypsum, 1 gram Epsom Salt, and 1 gram of Baking Soda added to the mash. Chinook and Centennial hops are grown at our hop farm (IBUs estimated). Mash dilution ratio: 1.04 Tap, 2.41 Water Lady (3.44 gallons total). HLT dilution ratio: 1.51 tap, 3.59 Water Lady (5.1 gallons total). Oxygen added for 60 seconds. OG 1.065 @ 66°F. 1 vial to 800ml yeast starter (used dark malt extract which should have a small impact on resulting SRM). Recently finished calibrating all vessels and mostly was able to use BeerTools software to predict target temperatures. Mash-in was over my 1°F which is close enough that I simply continued to stir the mash for a few more minutes. The calculated final temperature for the saccharification rest was the most off, about 5°F lower.

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12


Turned out to be an awesome IPA. Kara tested for IBUs: 84.5. This value is actually higher than what I expected and certainly more than what is perceived. If I were to guess, I would say that it's around 65 IBUs.  The next IPA brewed has some minor changes and more hops.  Will be nice to also have that tested to see if the value is a tad higher than 84.5 IBUs.

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)
|===================#============|

Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.010 - 1.016)
|==============#=================|

Color: 24.25 (17.0 - 30.0)
|====================#===========|

Alcohol: 4.95% (4.4% - 5.4%)
|================#===============|

Bitterness: 34.8 (22.0 - 32.0)
|============================#===|

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.

Belgian Lager, February 6, 2011

White Labs has a new platinum yeast strain available right now (January-February) that I want to try out: White Labs WLP815 Belgian Lager Yeast.  I thought I'd try busting the BJCP guidelines for a generously hopped lager using this strain.  Hoppy lagers are rare and it this brew should be a great testament to using water adjustments to match the lighter malts while accentuating the bitterness.  Here's White Lab's description of WLP815:

WLP815 Belgian Lager Yeast
Clean, crisp European lager yeast with low sulfur  production. The strain originates from a very old brewery in West Belgium. Great for European style pilsners, dark lagers, Vienna lager, and American style lagers.
Attenuation: 72-78%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 50-55°F (10-12°C)
Alcohol Tolerance: 5-10%

Water Chemistry Planning:
With water chemistry for this batch, playing with the numbers landed me with blending 20/80% of my tap water with purified drinking water from The Water Lady.  I also added to the mash 2 grams of gypsum to give a gentle boost to the calcium and sulfate concentrations.  (Note to self - 1 teaspoon of Gypsum is 4 grams.) 

Adjusted mash chemistry after blending water sources and gypsum.

Above and below are snapshots of my Step 7 from Palmer's water calculator (Version 2).  Maybe someone out there can help me understand this, why do I often see negative values for residual alkalinity? Even with this mystery, looks like I'm in the ballpark.    According to Jamil and John in Brew Strong's Waterganza podcast series on The Brewing Network, getting in the the desired range is good enough.  The calculator shows that my target residual alkalinity range for an 8 SRM beer should be in the range from -25 to 34.  Again, what do negative values mean!?

Why do I keep seeing negative values for residual alkalinity?

Creating a Mashing Schedule Using BeerTools Pro:
Along with my new experiences with water adjustments, I'm also trying to tailor BeerTools Pro to my brewing process.   My latest challenge using this brewing software is with calculating mash volumes and resulting temperatures.  With this beer, I wanted to do a multi-step infusion involving a short protein rest.  My experience with my equipment led me to my target temperatures for the protein and saccharification rests but I really want the software to do work for me!

Mashing Schedule snapshot from BeerTools Pro.

For my next batch, I need to pay attention more to volumes since I'm certain that I collect more than 5.51 gallons in my kettle after the sparge.  To get the above values, I had to do lots of tweaking with numbers.  Maybe since I was working backwards (actual values of water infusions and temperatures) rather than forward planning?  I'll document temps and volumes a bit more closely next time and see if can better calibrate the software to my process.

Quick Protein Rest:
With lagers, especially when using pilsner malt, I have been doing a quick protein rest (between 122-124°F) at the start of my mash.  Previously, I was doing the rest for about 20 minutes but a discussion with an esteemed QUAFF colleague, Harold Gulbransen, convinced me to to  shorten the rest as much as possible.  Here's my refined protein rest procedure that gets me in and out of a protein rest within about 7 minutes:
Using 0.9 quarts per pound of grain, raise water to 135°F and pour into mash tun.  Add any salts and grain.  Stir to break up and clumps and distribute temperature.  Simultaneously heat additional water to boil at a rate of 0.5 quarts per pound of grain.  After about 2 minutes of stirring, I check the mash temperature (usually hits 122°F).  In less than 5 minutes, my second infusion water is at a boil.  When boiling, I add this infusion to the mash tun and stir for about 2-3 minutes to distribute the heat evenly.  After stirring, check temperature (usually 148-152°F). 

Hey BeerTools Pro, as for the HTML export below, I find myself editing the code to clean up the "look" quite a bit.  I would really like the ability to create an export template to customize the elements and appearance.  Could you please consider this feature for future updates!?

Will update actual Final Gravity and finishing details later!

Belgian Lager

BJCP Category 23-A Specialty Beer
Author: Chillindamos
Date: 2/6/11

Size: 5.0 gal
Efficiency: 70.04%
Attenuation: 77.8%
Calories: 178.9 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.054 (1.026 - 1.120)
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Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (0.995 - 1.035)
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Color: 7.9 (1.0 - 50.0)
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Alcohol: 5.51% (2.5% - 14.5%)
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Bitterness: 82.0 (0.0 - 100.0)
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Ingredients:

7.0 lb Belgian Pils
3.0 lb Belgian Munich
1.0 lb Vienna Malt
1.0 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash
1.0 tsp Anti-foam - added during boil, boiled 90.0 min
1.0 oz Magnum (14.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.5 oz Czech Saaz (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
1.5 oz Spalt (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
1.0 oz Czech Saaz (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0 min
1.0 oz Spalt (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0 min
1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
2.0 ea White Labs WLP815 Belgian Lager Yeast

Schedule:

Ambient Air: 70.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F

00:07:57 Mash-In - Liquor: 2.47 gal; Strike: 138.5 °F; Target: 123 °F
00:12:57 Protein Rest - Rest: 5.0 min; Final: 122.7 °F
00:14:57 Second Infusion - Water: 1.35 gal; Temperature: 212.0 °F; Target: 149.2 °F
01:12:57 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 58.0 min; Final: 145.8 °F
01:15:57 Mash-Out Infusion - Water: 1.28 gal; Temperature: 170 °F; Target: 151.1 °F
01:25:57 Vorlauf, bitches! - Rest: 10.0 min; Final: 150.6 °F
02:55:57 Fly Sparge - Sparge Volume: 5.1 gal; Sparge Temperature: 170.0 °F; Runoff: 5.82 gal

Notes

OG 1.054 @ 68°F. Uses 77% premium drinking water from The Water Lady and 33% filtered San Diego Alvarado water. 2 grams of Gypsum added to the mash. Primary ferment in the lager cave at 52°F fin a 6 gallon better bottle for 2 weeks. Rack to secondary for 4 weeks at primary temps before stepping down 2°F per day to lagering temps at 38°F. Update 2/20, racked over to a secondary but didn't have my hydrometer at the lager cave to take a gravity reading. Will ramp up to 60's next week.

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.12