Belgian Saison, June 6 2010

Batch 2 for the weekend.  This batch is slated to be consumed at my neighbor's birthday party in July.  This will be the first time I've ever brewed a saison.  I don't even have that much experience with the style!  After some research in my brewing library, Kara and I discussed the possible yeast strains to work with.  While WLP565 Belgian Saison I is most readily available to homebrewers at the moment, we decided WLP566 Belgian Saison II would be a better choice for its greater ability to attenuate.  After experiencing a stuck fermentation with the Belgian Golden Strong a few weeks ago, it was decided that 566 would certainly be up to the challenge.  Thanks to Kara, we had a good slurry of 566 ready to go.  Last, another thanks to Dylan for coming over to help with the brewing.

Belgian Saison, June 6 2010
5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

9.8 lbs. Belgian Pilsner
1.2 lb. Red Wheat
1 lb. Munich
Single Infusion Mash 147°F

1 lb. Cane Sugar (Trader Joe's Organic)

1.5 oz. Hallertauer 60 min.
0.25 oz. Hallertauer 15 min.
0.25 oz. Hallertauer 5 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 20 min.

White Labs WLP566 Belgian Saison II (Kara brought a 50ml slurry), thanks Kara!

OG: 1.062
FG: *1.0045
ABV: 7.7%

*Got a new bottling hydrometer with better precision at final gravity readings.  Markers on the bottling hydrometer are each 0.0005.  Nice and very easy to read!

Kegged on June 30th. Go WLP566!!!  Insane attenuation, very dry indeed!  I'm worried that the attenuation is a bit too much.  Going into the keg, it also tasted a bit hot (alcoholic).  About 2 weeks in the keg should determine the outcome.  Dylan's birthday party is on July 10th so hopefully all three beers (golden, tripel, and saison) will be ready to go.  Considering that the Golden Strong's gravity finished too high and this Saison was on the low side, I'm wondering if this would be a good opportunity to blend!?  I'll keep the beers for dispensing separate but will certainly mix them together in the glass to taste what happens.  After all, I know many breweries that blend beers when stuff like this happens.

Belgian Tripel, June 5 2010

After a long trip last week, a brew weekend is here.  This batch is slated to be consumed at my neighbor's birthday party in July.  Thanks, Dylan, for your help!

Belgian Tripel, June 5 2010
5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

8 lbs. Belgian Pilsner
1.5 lbs. Vienna
1 lb. Red Wheat
1 lb. Munich
0.5 lb. Caravienne
Single Infusion Mash 148°F

1 lb. Belgian Soft Candi Sugar (brown, SRM 40)

2 oz. Tettnanger for 60 min.
0.5 oz. Saaz for 10 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 20 min.

White Labs WLP530 Abbey Ale (vial to starter), thanks Kara!

OG: 1.070
FG: 1.012
ABV: 7.7%

Kegged on June 30th. Very promising going into the keg.  Can't wait to find out how this turns out.

Belgian Golden Strong, May 15 2010

My neighbor, Dylan, is really into Belgian Ales and with a birthday coming up, it was decided that we will fill the taps and roll over the kegerator to his backyard for the event.  This past Wednesday, we met up at Toronado with some friends for some "research".  We focused on Belgian Golden Strong and Tripel as our topics of study.  Among other beers, I recall having a Westmalle Tripel which I feel is an outstanding Tripel/Golden Strong, Urthel Tripel, and a La Chouffe.  We also had a Dupont Saison for a sample of our next focused "research" session.  Here's the recipe for the first brew with another Tripel in the near future. 

Belgian Golden Strong, May 15 2010
5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

11 lbs. Belgian Pilsner
1 lb. Red Wheat 
Single Infusion Mash 148°F

1 lb. Belgian Soft Candi Sugar (blonde)
1 lb. Dextrose

1 oz. Tettnanger for 60 min.
1 oz. Saaz for 20 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 20 min.

White Labs WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale (vial to starter), thanks Kara!

OG: 1.080
FG: 1.026 (see below)
ABV: 7.2%

Kegged on June 30th.

Its been a while since I've experienced a stuck fermentation.  When racking to secondary after the krausen during primary had fallen, I took a gravity reading.  At 1.030, it was obvious that it wouldn't attenuate.  First, I wasn't expecting this high of an original gravity (was thinking it would hit around 1.070) and second, the weather cooled around here and I knew that a warmer temperature wasn't going to help WLP570 attenuate.  After racking to secondary, I attempted to rescue this brew with a vial of WLP001.  From 1.030 to 1.026, at least I was able to shave off 0.004 which in this range, helped a lot.  Stuck fermentations simply suck!  There's not a whole lot you can do about it after the fact.  Next time, I'll be sure to ramp up the starter earlier, possibly use a nutrient addition, and aerate longer with oxygen.

Amber Ale, May 9 2010

During our November brewing party, we made an Amber Ale using extract.  It wasn't exactly what I was looking for so here's an all grain approach.  The hydrometer sample tasted awesome so I have a good feeling this will be in the ballpark of what I was shooting for.

Amber Ale, May 9 2010

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

4 lbs. American 2-Row
3 lbs. Maris Otter Pale
3 lbs. Vienna
1 lb. Munich
0.75 lb. Crystal 20
0.5 lb. Victory
0.5 lb. Caravienne
Single Infusion Mash 150-152°F

1 oz. Homegrown Centennial for 60 min.
1 oz. Amarillo for 20 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 20 min.
0.75 oz. Cascade for 5 min.
0.2 oz. Willamette for 1 min.

White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast (vial to starter), thanks Kara!
Ambient ferment temperatures have been at a constant 66°F thanks to hardwood floors and old plaster walls.

OG: 1.062 @ 70°F
FG: 1.010
ABV: 6.9%

Update 5/19: The krausen finally fell.  Its been totally active for over two weeks now.  Insanely long primary ferment for WLP001.

Kegged on 6/1.

Smoked Porter, May 2 2010

Alas, another Smoked Porter.  The last of the Agave Smoked Porter was gone long ago but recently I found a few bottles of that gem.  We bottled out some of that batch for QUAFF and our local Cantina.  I found the stash and had one.  It developed so nicely in the bottle.  I've made a number of changes to this batch to try a new approach.  There's no agave for one, and it'll ferment with WLP007 rather than WLP001.

Smoked Porter, May 2 2010

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

9 lbs. Maris Otter Pale
2 lbs. German Rauch Malt
1.6 lbs. Munich
1 lb. UK Chocolate
0.9 lb. Red Wheat
0.75 lb. Caravienne
0.125 lb. Black Roasted Barley

Single Infusion Mash 148°F

1.25 oz. Homegrown Centennial for 60 min.
0.5 oz. Willamette for 15 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 15 min.
0.5 oz. Willamette for 1 min.

Racked on the ESB yeast bed of: White Labs WLP007 Dry English Ale

OG: 1.075 @ 70 °F
FG: 1.014
ABV: 8.1%

Kegged on 6/1.