B3 2050 BrewSculpture is Here!

The new system has arrived and homebrewing has elevated to a new level.  The MoreBeer 2050 BrewSculpture was ready ahead of time and it was difficult to wait through the holidays for the opportunity to fire it up.

The first of many homebrews, B3 2050 BrewSculpture.

As with any upgrade or new location, I anticipated a rough start.  I wasn't even sure if the BrewSculpture would fit through the doorway since specs slightly exceeded the width of our garage door.  I decided that I would test and scrub everything on one day before committing to a brew day.  Luckily, it fit through the door and was moderately manageable to move the stand to my existing brewing location.  With the kettles and everything loaded, the weight is insane.  Just the stand, moving around is quite easy.
After a thorough scrub and testing of all systems (pumps, float switches, temp gauges, gas lines, digital burner, probes), it was a GO for Inaugural Pale Ale.  Here's the homebrew recipe:

Inaugural Pale Ale

American Pale Ale

BJCP: 10A	Date: 01/14/2012
Type: All Grain	Brewer: Sean
Batch Size: 10.00 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: B3 2050
Est Original Gravity: 1.057 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.057 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.007 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.0 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.6 %
IBUs (Tinseth’s): 42.9 IBUs	Est Color: 5.9 SRM
Total Hop Weight: 8.00 oz	Calories: 187.8 kcal/12oz
Description:
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 17.30 gal SD/RO 70/30 Water 1 - 1.00 tbsp pH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 - 17 lbs Rahr 2 Row Malt (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 81.0 % 2 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 9.5 % 1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.8 % 1 lbs White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 6 4.8 % 1.00 oz Nugget [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 22.1 IBUs 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 8 - 0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 9 - 2.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 10 12.3 IBUs 1.00 oz Cascade [6.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 11 4.1 IBUs 1.00 Items Servomyces (Boil 10.0 mins) Other 12 - 2.00 oz Cascade [6.60 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 13 4.5 IBUs 2.00 oz Cascade [6.60 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 14 0.0 IBUs 2.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml] Yeast 15 -
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 27.30 qt of water at 165.3 F 152.0 F 60 min Mash Out Heat to 162.0 F over 10 min 162.0 F 0 min
Mash Type: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out	Total Grain Weight: 21 lbs
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Pre-boil Volume: 11.15 gal
Days in Primary: 4.00	Primary Temperature: 66.0 F
Days in Secondary: 10.00	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: 45.0 F
Notes: Pale Ale, such an under appreciated style these days. Especially in San Diego, where I like to tell people that IPA flows out of drinking fountains, pale ale just sounds ordinary. As one of my favorite beers styles, I haven't brewed a pale ale in such a long time. I wanted to brew a great first beer on the new MoreBeer B2050 BrewSculpture and pale ale was very appropriate. Suprisingly, the brew day went very smooth. Over a decade of homebrewing enabled a fairly easy transition. Hops at 0 minutes were used in a Hop Rocket. Nugget and part of the Cascade hops were homegrown by Travis. Centennial from my farm.
Created with BeerSmith

There were a few minor hiccups during the first brew but nothing that hindered the bulk of the process.  I was having way too much fun to really care about the details.  The second batch had to wait a few weeks but by then all the kinks were worked out.

Getting ready to heat up the mash liquor.

California Common was next on the homebrew list.  An observer on this day would have probably noted that it would have appeared that I had been using this system for years.  Everything went extremely well.  I don't even think we spilled any grain during the tippy clean-up.  Clean-up is a bit more involved than before but luckily Kara helped out both brews.  After this batch, I'm ready to ramp up the production if needed for sheer quantity and experimentation.

Start Your Steam Engines

California Common Beer

BJCP: 7B	Date: 02/02/2012
Type: All Grain	Brewer: Sean
Batch Size: 10.00 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: B3 2050
Est Original Gravity: 1.066 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.065 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.021 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.0 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.7 %
IBUs (Tinseth’s): 32.6 IBUs	Est Color: 12.0 SRM
Total Hop Weight: 6.00 oz	Calories: 219.2 kcal/12oz
Description:
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 23.50 gal SD/RO 70/30 Water 1 - 0.50 tbsp pH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 - 17 lbs 16.0 oz Rahr Malting 2-Row (1.8 SRM) Grain 3 71.6 % 4 lbs Belgian Munich (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 15.9 % 1 lbs British Crystal Malt (70.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.0 % 1 lbs Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6 4.0 % 1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 7 4.0 % 2.1 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 8 0.5 % 1.50 oz Northern Brewer [7.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 9 18.0 IBUs 1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 10 - 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 11 - 2.25 oz Northern Brewer [7.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 12 13.4 IBUs 1.00 Items Servomyces (Boil 10.0 mins) Other 13 - 2.25 oz Northern Brewer [7.50 %] - Boil 1.0 min Hop 14 1.2 IBUs 1.0 pkg San Francisco Lager (White Labs #WLP810) [35.49 ml] Yeast 15 -
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Infusion Add 43.47 qt of water at 167.7 F 154.0 F 60 min Mash Step Heat to 168.0 F over 20 min 168.0 F 5 min
Mash Type: SMART 154 and Mash Out	Total Grain Weight: 25 lbs 2.1 oz
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Pre-boil Volume: 12.56 gal
Days in Primary: 14.00	Primary Temperature: 60.0 F
Days in Secondary: 10.00	Secondary Temperature: 65.0 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: This time of year, from a combination of old plaster walls and wood floors, the house fermentation area maintains a consistent 58-60°F. Too cold for ales and too warm for lagers but close enough for a hybrid yeast strain such as White Labs WLP810 San Francisco Lager to thrive. Recipe formulation started with Jamil's recipe shared during his Brewing Network podcast on brewing California Common.
Created with BeerSmith

American Pale Ale, February 20 2010

Its been a while since I've brewed this style and I miss it!  When I started brewing a number of years ago, everyone brewed pale ales and IPAs.  In fact, a friend and I called hombrewer festivals "IPA Fests" since the dominant homebrew served was IPA.  For years, pale ale seemed to be the only micro brew on tap and the flagship of every small brewery.  Today, its more difficult to find craft pale ale that's good.  In observation, the mainstream perception of "good beer" today is light styles such as wheat ales (though everyone likes to incorrectly call them hefeweizens) topped with a lemon, blondes, goldens, browns, and light lager.  Along with those standards you'll see the less frequently poured beers such as amber and IPA.  The logical step missing in many craft brew pubs is Pale Ale.  In my opinion, Pale Ale is a gateway beer to bigger and more interesting styles.  Another trend I've seen with pale ale is that its often beyond style.  I've had some pale ales clearly more on the amber side or even more like an IPA.  Mislabeling is always intentional for marketing to the masses.  That's why many call their wheat ales, "Hefeweizen" and in one example here in San Diego, a kolsch is called a Pale Ale.
We have an upcoming Club Only Competition for Pale Ale giving a great excuse for me to return to this great beer style.  My brother-in-law, Ed, came over with his brew equipment and some homebrew buddies and they cranked out two beers, an amber and a pale ale, all in the same time it took for me to brew my all-grain pale ale.  I'm hoping that Ed also submits his pale ale to the COC and maybe to the next one as well since the focus will be brewing with extract.
As for the local homebrew, the California Common is in lagering and will remain there for about 3 more weeks.  I will be sharing the milds with QUAFF during this Tuesday's club meeting.  I tapped out the Agave Smoked Porter yesterday and luckily still have the two agave milds on tap.  Last weekend we were in Utah and I was able to sample a number of good brews (more on that later).

American Pale Ale, February 20 2010
5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Step Recirculation Mash, 90 Minute Boil

4 lbs. Maris Otter Pale
4 lbs. Domestic 2-Row
1 lb. Vienna
1/2 lb. Munich
1/2 lb. Red Wheat Malt
1/2 lb. Victory (*slightly more than 1/2 lb.)
1/4 lb. Biscuit (*slightly less)
*I could use a digital scale!

1 oz. Homegrown Centennial hops for 60 min.
0.6 oz. Homegrown Centennial hops for 17 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 15 min.
1/4 oz. Amarillo  for 10 min.
1/4 oz. Cascade for 1 min.
1/4 oz. Perle for 1 min.

White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast (vial to starter)

OG: 1.062 @ 66°F
FG: 1.015 @ 42°F
Kegged on March 8th, ABV 6.4%
Bottled some on March 17th for sharing and the Club Only Competition

Our house is still fairly cold so fermentation temps will be very low (60-64°F) but I know that I can count on WLP001 to pull through.

UPDATE 2/28: WLP001 is still chugging along though the krausen has been falling slowly over the past couple of days.  I should have put a thick blanket around the carboy during the initial ferment.  I just checked the ambient temp of the carboy's location, 58°F.

UPDATE 3/20: Been sampling for a few days now, good brew but is a bit malty sweet.  Next time, I'll wrap a blanket when the house is really cold.  For me, the sweetness hides the complexity of the malt but the hop profile is what I was hoping for.  On the other hand, this is a uniquely clean flavor profile for California Ale Yeast.  I wonder if I could have just increased the pitch rate and still fermented at this temperature to achieve a lower final gravity and less residual sweetness.  If so, this may be a golden ticket to chillindamos (happens to be better than heaven).

UPDATE 3/25: I usually force carbonate at my standard pressure for about a week before tapping.  Another week is often better.  The CO2 volumes have increased.  Also, maybe another week allowed some of the green qualities to dissipate.  Either way, I can't have enough of this beer! Delishioso!

One Weekend, 8 Batches - 40 Gallons of Homebrew

Epic Brewing Weekend! A number of buddies came over to help brew the beer for this year's Big Bear Bash party over New Year's. It was a tad chaotic at times but it was fun to include everyone in the process.
My friend Andrew (of imakecheese.com fame) picked up on the process quickly and with Kara's help, was autonomously a brewer by the end of the weekend. Kara works with White Labs and was finally able to experience the process (she brought the yeast, of course). Others learned the difference between extract and grain brewing while some really learned how to clean kegs:

Other tasks were completed over the weekend such as dusting all lagers on tap (no one complained about this task) as well as washing dishes and doing some keg maintenance (gotta lube up those poppet valves every once in a while). Our friend Nick seemed to have an exceptionally great time with the kegs!

We were able to brew 4 5-gallon batches in the 48 hour period. My brother-in-law, Ed, came over with a crew and his extract equipment to brew up 3 5-gallon batches on Saturday. We finished up 1 more extract batch on Sunday. Its been about 8 years since I brewed an extract batch!

Here's the recipe lineup:

Grain Batches:

The Infamous Blueberry Wheat - All Grain, 5 Gallons, Single Infusion, 70min.
7lbs. White Wheat
4lbs. Dom. 2-Row
1oz. Hallertauer 60min.
White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
(blueberry added at kegging)
OG: 1.058
Update 12/12: Racked to secondary. Current gravity is 1.010 at 66°F.
FG: 1.008
ABV: 6.8%

Front End Hopped Ale - Grain, 5 Gallons, Single Infusion, 90min.
10lbs. Dom. 2-Row
1lb. Victory
8oz. Crystal 60
2oz. Crystal 80
1oz. Homegrown Centennial 20min.
Whirlfloc 15min.
1oz. Homegrown Centennial 10min.
0.25oz. Cascade 1min.
0.25oz. Perle KO
White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
OG: 1.059
Update 12/12: Racked to secondary. Current gravity is 1.012 at 66°F.
FG: 1.013 at 60°F
ABV: 6.3%

Winter Warmer - Grain, 5 Gallons, Single Infusion, 90min.
12lbs. Dom. 2-Row
1lb. Victory
1lb. Crystal 60
4oz. Crystal 80
2oz. Chocolate Malt
1oz. Homegrown Chinook 60min.
Whirlfloc 15min.
0.5oz. Santium 10min.
0.25oz. Santium 5min.
0.25oz. Santium 1min.
White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
OG: 1.069
Update 12/5: Racked to secondary. Current gravity is 1.017 at 64°F.
FG: 1.013 at 60°F
ABV: 7.6%

Amber Pale - Grain, 5 Gallons, Single Infusion, 90min.
10lbs. Dom. 2-Row
4oz. Crystal 80
2oz. Black Roasted Barley
0.5oz. Homegrown Chinook 60min.
Whirlfloc 15min.
0.5oz. UK East Kent Goldings 5 min.
0.25oz. UK East Kent Goldings KO
White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
OG: 1.060
Update 12/12: Racked to secondary. Current gravity is 1.012 at 66°F.
FG: 1.011 at 60°F
ABV: 6.7%

Extract Batches:

Blueberry Wheat - Extract, 5 Gallons, 70min.
5lbs. Liquid Malt Extract
4lbs. Bavarian Wheat Dried Malt Extract
1oz. Hallertauer 60min.
White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
OG: 1.060
Update 12/12: Racked to secondary. Current gravity is 1.013 at 66°F.
FG: 1.015 at 60°F
ABV: 6.1%

Front End Hopped IPA - Extract, 5 Gallons, 90min.
9lbs. Liquid Malt Extract
1lb. Crystal 80
4oz. Crystal 60
1oz. Homegrown Chinook 30min.
1oz. Homegrown Centennial 20min.
Whirlfloc 15min.
1oz. Cascade 10min.
1oz. Cascade 5min.
1/2oz. Perle KO
White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
OG: 1.077
Update 12/5: Racked to secondary. Current gravity is 1.022 at 64°F.
FG: 1.017 at 60°F
ABV: 8.1%

Big Gay ALe - Extract, 5 Gallons, 90min.
8lbs. Liquid Malt Extract
8oz. Victory
8oz. Crystal 80
4oz. Crystal 60
2oz. Black Roasted Barley
1oz. Homegrown Centennial 60min.
Whirlfloc 15min.
0.5oz. UK East Kent Goldings 10min.
0.5oz. UK East Kent Goldings 5min.
White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
OG: 1.060
Update 12/5: Racked to secondary. Current gravity is 1.016 at 64°F.
FG: 1.017 at 60°F
ABV: 5.9%

ALe Pacino - Extract, 5 Gallons, 90min.
8lbs. Liquid Malt Extract
1lb. Chocolate Malt
4oz. Crystal 60
1oz. Homegrown Chinook 60min.
Whirlfloc 15min.
0.5oz. Cascade 10min.
0.5oz. Cascade KO
White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
OG: 1.060
Update 12/12: Racked to secondary. Current gravity is 1.015 at 66°F.
FG: 1.016 at 60°F
ABV: 6%

I should have just put some anti-foam in every batch since the day after the above picture was taken, 5 blew through the airlock. Luckily, I was home to catch it before big messes ensued.

I have one more batch to brew next weekend that will feature agave nectar provided to me by my favorite tequileria, Cantina Mayahuel.

Pale Ale, June 8 2008

You gotta brew what you like! I've been craving ales lately. I go through lots of brewing phases. Right now, I'm thirsty for quality ales.

Pale Ale
5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

10lbs. Domestic Two-Row
1lb. Wiener Malz Vienna
1lb. Franco-Belges Munich
1/2lb. Carastan
1/4lb. Victory

1.5oz. Homegrown Chinook 60min.
1/4oz. Amarillo 20min.
1 Whirlfloc Tab 20min.
1/4oz. Amarillo 5min.

White Labs, California Ale Yeast