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1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> |
2 | <!DOCTYPE recipe> |
3 | <recipe application="qbrew" version="0.4.1"> |
4 | <title>Pale Ale #1 (Batch C)</title> |
5 | <brewer>Clinton Ebadi</brewer> |
6 | <style>American Pale Ale</style> |
7 | <batch quantity="5.00 gal"/> |
8 | <notes class="recipe">First batch of beer in *five* years (I'm getting old, jesus), and the first with a full rather than a partial boil. Bittering hops have been downadjusted by 25% to compensate revealing that with a partial boil this pale ale actually was not in IPA bitterness range. |
9 | |
10 | Previous batches used White Labs WLP0008 (East Coast Ale Yeast) and a very cool fermentation, but fermentation conditions at my current dwelling are suboptimal and warm so we'll see how this supposedly fruity Wyeast strain works out. |
11 | |
12 | All DME has been eliminated as it appears there is actually no real difference when brewing, and a 33 pound bucket of LME was far more economical than purchasing smaller amounts. The lack of amber extract has been compensated for with the addition of a bit of 60⁰L Crystal Malt and a slight reduction in the amount of 20⁰L Crystal malt.</notes> |
13 | <notes class="batch">Recipe was for 13.2% Fuggles and 6% Cascade. Actual were 13.7% Fuggles and 5% Cascade. I left the quantities the same since they were close enough. Theoretical original IBU of 44, adjusted IBU 45. |
14 | |
15 | Idealized brewing schedule: |
16 | |
17 | Fill bucket with 6 gallons of water and remove chloramine with 1/4 campden tablet |
18 | |
19 | Steep grains in 1/2 gallon unmodified water (strike temp 165F, goal 160F) for 30 minutes |
20 | Sparge with 1 pint 170F water |
21 | Measure gravity |
22 | |
23 | Bring 5.25 gallons water to boil, kill heat, add LME, specialty grain water, and 2g of water crystals |
24 | Return to boil |
25 | Hop additions &c |
26 | |
27 | Crash cool with wort chiller |
28 | Rack from kettle into carboy once temperature hits ~70-72F |
29 | Take gravity reading |
30 | Pitch yeast |
31 | |
32 | Ferment! |
33 | |
34 | Brew day (2010-11-09): |
35 | |
36 | 15:42 Treated water with 1/2 campden tablet and then ran various errands for missing bits and pieces |
37 | |
38 | 16:49 Steeped specialty grains (1qt water) in metal pot within a 170⁰F pot. Strike temp = 168⁰F, Initial temp = 164⁰F. Removed 30 minutes later (temp = 158⁰F), and allowed grain bag to fully drain. Rinsed with one pint of distilled water @ 165⁰F. SG of specialty grain wort = 1.032 |
39 | |
40 | 17:42 Began heating 5.25 gallons of water on my fancy new propane burner. Treated with 2g of 'Water Crystals' (8:1 CaSO_4:MgSO_4) (see http://wiki.calefaction.org/HomeBrewing for water modification charts for Raleigh water) owing to obscenely low (read: basically no) sulfate levels leading to concerns about hop bitterness not working out too well. |
41 | |
42 | 18:07 It turns out I forgot to take the yeast out of the fridge. Removed, smacked, and placed into a pot of 85⁰F water! |
43 | |
44 | 18:15 Water begins to boil. Still taking care of miscellaneous tasks. |
45 | 18:30 Start wort boiling. Wort boil goes as well as can be expected, but should have been more vigorous (wort scorched!) |
46 | |
47 | 19:00 Added wort chiller, but this killed the boil. Turned the burner up and things were back on track within three minutes. Boil definitely was not strong enough--the next brew we boiled more vigorously and the addition of the wort chiller caused no disruption to the boil. |
48 | |
49 | 19:33 Killed boil and started chilling |
50 | |
51 | 20:17 Back yard is now a bog, wort chilled to 81⁰F. Giving up. Preparing fermenter &c |
52 | 20:40 Racked into carboy, still at 81⁰F. Final volume is a hair over five gallons. OG = 1.056. Perfect! Moved carboy up to fermentation closet. Sealed with a plastic cap (sanitized, naturally), and placed into a tray of water with a tshirt over it and a fan blowing away from it. |
53 | |
54 | 2010-11-10: |
55 | |
56 | 04:18 Returned from post-brewing "well the wort is too hot to pitch the yeast who wants to get drunk instead of waiting" gathering. Pitched yeast. Carboy internally @ 72⁰F. Turned fan off for now. |
57 | |
58 | 13:25 Spotty krausen forming, airlock bubbling every 10-15 seconds. Fermentor @ 68⁰F. Leaving fan off. Bubbling increases to once every five seconds by 13:40. |
59 | |
60 | 14:22 Activity level similar, starting to cool (fan at middle setting whatever that implies). |
61 | |
62 | 18:25 Carboy @ 66⁰F. Increasing fan speed a bit to get down to 62-64. |
63 | |
64 | 21:27 Last time peeking tonight... temperature between 64 and 66. Bubbling more active (1/second). Returning fan to middle setting to see if things will stabilize around 64. |
65 | |
66 | 2010-11-11 |
67 | |
68 | 11:30 Temperature down to 62⁰F. Setting fan to lowest setting to prevent cooling it too much. |
69 | |
70 | 2010-11-12 |
71 | |
72 | 17:12 Turned fan off last night. Temperature is holding steady at 62⁰F. Fermentation is less active, but steady (airlock bubbling once every two seconds). Removing water from tray and swapping wet for a dry tshirt. |
73 | |
74 | 2010-11-17 |
75 | |
76 | 14:22 Fermenter has been at around 64-65⁰F, Now at 67⁰F. Bubbling not so often, but krausen has yet to be reabsorbed. |
77 | |
78 | 2010-11-20 |
79 | |
80 | 21:41 Fermenter has risen over the last 48 from 66⁰F to 68⁰F. Krausen began dissipating today. |
81 | |
82 | 2010-11-28 |
83 | |
84 | 19:34 Fermenter was left in the house between 11-21 and 11-26 at 66⁰F and has stabilized at this temperature. Will be bottled shortly assuming gravity is on target. |
85 | |
86 | Will be aiming for 2.5 volumes of CO₂. Calculating corn sugar addition given a five gallon volume and fermentation having taken place at an average of 65⁰F. Priming with 4.28 oz. (121g) of corn sugar. |
87 | |
88 | 2010-11-29 |
89 | |
90 | 14:55 Took gravity reading, 1.010@68⁰F (Attenuation = 82%!) Beyond typical attenuation for this yeast (72-76%). ABV = 5.9% |
91 | |
92 | Pours a mostly clear copper with a strong initial fresh hop aroma with a bit of a grain note. Somewhat sweet, resiny flavor that gives way to a brisk but pleasant bitterness. Slight bitterness lingers afterward. The body is thin, but has a slight grain thickness already present so I think it will carbonate rather well. |
93 | |
94 | 19:00 Bottled. Primed with 121.6g of corn sugar dissolved in two cups of distilled water boiled from ten minutes (probably overmuch, but eh). Got 44 12oz bottles--drank first 12oz (probably oxidized to Hell), lost 12oz during capping (justin was clumsy), and got a final half bottle but didn't cap it. |
95 | |
96 | 2010-12-14 |
97 | Taste test #1 |
98 | |
99 | Cracked one open for a taste test. I tried one a few days earlier, but it was still oversweet and appley tasting. |
100 | |
101 | Served in a tulip. |
102 | |
103 | Pours a slightly hazy copper with a fingertip white head. Fades at a reasonable pace and remains as a thin cap (but this is true of almost every beer with this glass). Initial aroma is slightly grainy and citrusy with perhaps a hint of green apple and sweetness remaining (not quite three weeks of conditioning). Carbonation levels are adequate. The body is about right--maybe a quarter pound more crystal malt could be used. The flavor is initially rather malty (fresh bread, caramel), giving way in the end to a brisk bitterness. There is a slight hop resin flavor/feeling that builds over a few sips. |
104 | |
105 | Initial impression: The taste is actually pretty well balanced--the malt is strong enough to force the bitterness into the background until after swallowing. The body so far is pleasant; the carbonation and 60⁰L Crystal Malt seem to contribute to a rather good mouthfeel that is not thin, but also not sickly sweet and syrupy (something I dislike strongly). The weak aroma and indistinctness of the hop flavor are its most noticeable defects. |
106 | |
107 | Quaffable, if not amazing. We'll see what the masses say. |
108 | |
109 | More end of boil (with a fast cooling time) hops, and perhaps dry hopping for a week seem like good ideas for next time.</notes> |
110 | <grains> |
111 | <grain quantity="0.50 lb" extract="1.035" color="20" type="Grain" use="Steeped">Crystal 20L</grain> |
112 | <grain quantity="0.75 lb" extract="1.034" color="60" type="Grain" use="Steeped">Crystal 60L</grain> |
113 | <grain quantity="7.00 lb" extract="1.037" color="5" type="Extract" use="Extract">Light malt extract</grain> |
114 | </grains> |
115 | <hops> |
116 | <hop quantity="0.50 oz" alpha="5" time="0" type="Pellet">Cascade</hop> |
117 | <hop quantity="0.75 oz" alpha="5" time="10" type="Pellet">Cascade</hop> |
118 | <hop quantity="0.75 oz" alpha="13.7" time="60" type="Pellet">Nugget</hop> |
119 | </hops> |
120 | <miscingredients> |
121 | <miscingredient quantity="1.00 unit" type="Yeast" notes="Activator Pack <http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=11>">Wyeast 1272 - American Ale II</miscingredient> |
122 | </miscingredients> |
123 | </recipe> |