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.

English Strong Bitter, April 24 2010

Empty carboys feels like wasted space.  Spending the past two weekends out of town has slowed down the brewing process.  Along with being very busy during the week, the in-house brewery has been slower than usual.  Consumption is up, however, and the supply is dropping fast.  Gotta brew fast before we have to actually buy beer.

English Strong Bitter, April 24 2010

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

10 lbs. Maris Otter Pale
1 lb. Munich
0.5 lb. Red Wheat
0.5 lb. Victory
4 oz. UK Chocolate
Single Infusion Mash 148-152°F

1 lb. Dried Rice Extract

1 oz. Magnum for 60 min.
0.25 oz. Willamette for 20 min.
0.25 oz. East Kent Goldings for 20 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 20 min.
0.25 oz. Willamette for 10 min.
0.25 oz. East Kent Goldings for 10 min.
0.5 oz. Perle for 1 min.

White Labs WLP007 Dry English Ale (vial to starter), thanks Kara!

OG: 1.067
FG: 1.014
ABV: 7.1%

Kegged on 6/1.  The secondary appeared to be active for quite some time.  Even when kegging, CO2 bubbles readily ran up the side of the carboy.

American IPA, April 2 2010

Oh IPA, how I miss you.  While visiting Hollister Brewing Company in Goleta last weekend, I had several of their IPAs.  While others at the table weren't into hops as much as I, Hollister Brewing IPAs got me thinking about conjuring up some liquid hoppy goodness.  Last weekend, we toured tasting rooms in Santa Barbara wine country.  Needless to say, our palates were a wreck after tasting some 30 different wines.  For me, IPA was the cure.  Nothing like some IBUs to rebalance your palate!  More on Hollister to come.  And now for some IPA:

American IPA, April 2 2010
5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

10 lbs. American 2-Row
1 lb. Red Wheat Malt
1 lb. Munich
0.5 lb. Crystal 20
0.5 lb. Victory
 Single Infusion Mash 152-154°F

1.7 oz. Homegrown Centennial hops for 60 min.
1.3 oz. Homegrown Centennial hops for 20 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 20 min.
1 oz. Cascade for 10 min.
0.5 oz. Cascade for 5 min.
0.5 oz. Amarillo for 0 min.

White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast (vial to starter), thanks Kara!

OG: 1.060 @ 67°F
FG: 1.008
ABV: 6.9% (wahoooo, 69)

Kegged on 4/21