Intended Recipe --------------- (6 gallons, extract with grains) expected stats: OG = 1.058, FG = 1.014, IBUs = 45.7 (probably actually 30), SRM = 20????, 5.8% abv Ingredients 6.6 lb (2 cans) Munton's light malt extract syrup 1.0 lb Extra-light DME 2.0 lb Belgian pale 1.0 lb Flaked barley (only intended to have 8 oz in here) 8.0 oz Roast barley 8.0 oz Chocolate malt 8.0 oz Crystal 60L malt 2.0 oz East Kent Goldings hops for 60 min (5% alpha acid) 1.0 oz East Kent Goldings hops for 20 min (5% alpha acid) 1.0 oz East Kent Goldings hops for 5 min (5% alpha acid) 1 tsp amylase (mash) 1 tsp yeast nutrient (20 mins) 1 tsp Irish moss (20 mins) (pitch this from a starter) Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) (into secondary) 4.0 oz ground Starbucks Christmas Blend 12 oz blackstrap molasses (this became necessary when 12/10/05: prep 1 qt starter. --------------------------- - pop yeast at 8am, not very bulged even at 5pm (9 hours later) - sanitize growler, stopper, airlock, funnel - 3/4 cup DME, 1 quart water - boil for 20 mins - put in freezer for 60 mins (just about room temp after that) - should be about a 1.040 OG starter - NEXT TIME ADD YEAST NUTRIENT HERE - NEXT TIME add calcium carbonate to tone down malt/barley bitterness (in stout) 12/11/05: notes from brewing ---------------------------- - need more roast material due to poor mash efficiency, although coffee will provide some color. Going to add molasses (not in intended recipe) to add more color - maybe need a bigger pot as had a bit of boilover near beginning of 90-minute boil - wort very hoppy smelling; roast character only apparent in aftertaste, which isn't surprising given amount of fermentables in wort - although original recipe called for 8 oz, homebrew.com sent 1 lb or flaked barley. This was TOO MUCH for a "minimash" recipe. May need to investigate doing an adjunct mash (including boiling) if want to use adjunct grains; may need to wait until have proper lautering setup. 12/11/05: brew -------------- - 1.25 gallons water at 168F plus 4.25 lbs grain --> 158F. A bit too high, but okay for a stout, I guess - minimash for 1 hr - TASK: bag grain while mash water warming and other water filtering - TASK: stir in amylase enzyme - mash completely off stove - TASK: while mashing, filled black pot with 2 gallons water, and big pot with 2.75 gallons water (meant to have 3.75, but lost count). Total water, including 1.25 in mash, of 7 gallons after added missing gallon. - TASK: heat black pot to 170F for sparging, and heat big pot as high as possible - TASK: remove Brita and attach brewing hose - TASK: fill carboy and bleach bucket - hydrometer and test jar, wine thief, 5' transfer tube, siphon starter - TASK: ready brewpot additions: bag hops, prepare malt extract, yeast nutrient, irish moss - also soak any canned malt extract - drain mash - run wort through bagged grains in strainer - "sparge" with 1 gallon of water at 170F from black pot and drip for about 5 mins - TASK: add rest of water from black pot - total in pot (including whatever is left in grains) = 7 gallons; top of bottom rivet - temp 160F, 35-40 mins to get to boiling - boil - TASK: add 6.6 lbs LME, 1 lb DME, and stir in - wort level at top of top rivets; this is just a bit too high in this kettle - 5-10 mins to return to boil - boil 30 mins without hops - bittering hops addition - TASK: add 2 oz EKG (60 mins) - TASK: set timer for 40 mins - flavor hops addition - TASK: add 1 oz EKG (20 mins) - TASK: add 1 tsp Irish moss and 1 tsp yeast nutrient - TASK: set timer for 15 mins - TASK: put wort chiller in kettle - aroma hops addition - TASK: add 1.5 oz EKG (5 mins) - TASK: boil water with aeration stone - TASK: bleach bucket: aeration tubes, HEPA filter, funnel, carboy cap, air lock, 30" blowoff tube - chill wort - TASK: turn off stove - TASK: chill wort (minimize splashing) - transfer to carboy - TASK: rinse siphon starter and tube, and transfer to carboy - while transferring, do the following... - TASK: rinse test jar, hydrometer, and wine thief - gravity check and aeration - TASK: take gravity sample in test jar - TASK: rinse aeration equipment and begin aeration - TASK: set timer for 30 mins - TASK: task gravity reading (1.058, exactly as predicted!!!) - TASK: arrange final resting place for beer in kegerator or in back room on table AND CRATE. If using blowoff, fill gallon jug 1/3 full of dilute bleach soln. - pitch yeast and finish - TASK: pitch yeast - TASK: rinse and attach blowoff tube (necessary for ales) or air lock (lagers) 12/16/05: prepare coffee "tea" ---------------------------- - sanitize growler, funnel, stopped and airlock - boil 8 oz water and cool a bit - grind coffee, and add to growler with water and 8 oz vodka (to protect from infection????) - soak in fridge overnight before adding to secondary 12/17/05: rack to secondary, add coffee "tea", and molasses ----------------------------------------------------------- - first racked to secondary - SG reading: 1.020; not quite done fermenting - color actually looked pretty good w/o coffee or molasses (I'd originally thought that the color wasn't dark enough, but I guess any beer will look brown if you use a flashlight to look at it in a dark room). - tasted without coffee or molasses. Initially a balance of roastiness, EKG aroma, and residual sweetness. Hopefully, the later will go away. - boil 1 c blackstrap molasses with 1 qt water, to add color and to jumpstart fermentation - use coffee maker to filter coffee/vodka/water mix, resulting in about 6 ounces of liquid 12/31/05: kegging ----------------- - transferred to keg - SG reading: 1.018; I guess it's just pretty gravitylicious - tasted, and couldn't really taste coffee much - so brewed 2-3 ounces grounds in 6 "cups" water (probably 5oz cups), and dumped into keg - begin force carbonation 1/1/06