January 2009
Sunday February 8, 2009. Today a Double Brown Ale was brewed. The brew was an all grain 5 gallon batch. The grain bill consisted of a mixture of 7.5 pounds of Halycon Pale Malt, 1.25 pounds of Amber Malt, .33 pounds of Extra Dark Crystal Malt, .33 pounds of Medium Crystal Malt, .33 pounds of Pale Chocolate Malt and 1 pound of priming sugar to boost the alcohol level . The target original gravity was 1.058, which makes this a higher alcohol brown ale. We achieved 1.056 which was close and an adjustment to the grain mill for a finer crush will be made if possible before the next brew day. The boil additions were the 1 pound of priming sugar @ 60 minutes and 1 oz. of Fuggle hops @ 60 minutes. The yeast we used is British Cask Ale yeast # 1026 from Wyeast. Active fermentation began within twenty four hours.
Sunday February 22, 2009. The Double Brown Ale was transferred to a secondary fermenter today after two weeks in the primary fermenter at 67 Deg F.
Saturday March 21, 2009. A Classic American Pilsener was brewed this Saturday. The weather is finally starting to break and it was a nice 53 degrees today. The brew was an all grain 5 gallon batch. The grain bill consisted of a mixture of 9 pounds of pale malt, and 2 pounds of flaked maize. The target original gravity was 1.057, which makes this a little higher in the range for an American Pilsener. We achieved 1.058 which was good after an adjustment to the grain mill for a finer crush, since the last brew day where we were short on our OG. The hop additions for today are as follows: 1 ounce of Saaz hops which were first wort hops. This means that instead of adding them at the start of the boil, the hops are put into the boil kettle as the first runnings are being drained from the mash tun. This is an old practice and is appropriate for a Classic American Pilsener who's origins go back to the mid 19th century. The boil additions of the hops were 1 ounce of Cluster @ 60 minutes, .5 ounce of Tettnang @ 10 minutes and .5 ounce of Tettnang at flame out. The yeast we used is Bavarian Lager yeast # 2206 from Wyeast which was built up during the week prior to brewing in a yeast starter. The primary fermentation is taking place at 50 - 52 deg f. Active fermentation began within seventy two hours.
Sunday February 22, 2009. The Double Brown Ale was transferred to a secondary fermenter today after two weeks in the primary fermenter at 67 Deg F.
Saturday March 21, 2009. A Classic American Pilsener was brewed this Saturday. The weather is finally starting to break and it was a nice 53 degrees today. The brew was an all grain 5 gallon batch. The grain bill consisted of a mixture of 9 pounds of pale malt, and 2 pounds of flaked maize. The target original gravity was 1.057, which makes this a little higher in the range for an American Pilsener. We achieved 1.058 which was good after an adjustment to the grain mill for a finer crush, since the last brew day where we were short on our OG. The hop additions for today are as follows: 1 ounce of Saaz hops which were first wort hops. This means that instead of adding them at the start of the boil, the hops are put into the boil kettle as the first runnings are being drained from the mash tun. This is an old practice and is appropriate for a Classic American Pilsener who's origins go back to the mid 19th century. The boil additions of the hops were 1 ounce of Cluster @ 60 minutes, .5 ounce of Tettnang @ 10 minutes and .5 ounce of Tettnang at flame out. The yeast we used is Bavarian Lager yeast # 2206 from Wyeast which was built up during the week prior to brewing in a yeast starter. The primary fermentation is taking place at 50 - 52 deg f. Active fermentation began within seventy two hours.
No activity this month due to a lot of overtime and weekends at work. Brewing will resume in February with a Double Brown Ale.
February 2009
March 2009