Biker brew, please confirm recipe

Last EDITED, 08-14-13
Thank you, David. (C temps modified to suit my sea level and controller)


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Biker_brew_Power drinker_Hybrid mix_mash. 08/08/2013
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Ingredients:
PRE-Make: California Ale liquid WLP001 yeast in starter,
½ cup DME,2 cups water, boil 10 minutes, cool, 24 hours in a sterile jar, save Clone for next time

12 gallon at final batch boil level. (Georgia spring water from Varnell springs).
6 gallon at mash level
12lbs cracked 2 row malt barley $16.20 (Homebrewstuff)
1lb. Caramel 10L $ 1.76 (Homebrewstuff)
6lbs Liquid Malt extract light $15.99 (Homebrewstuff)
2lbs DME light $ 7.32 (Homebrewstuff)
6 oz Saaz Hops pellets. (from pound purchase) $ 7.99?? (Adventures in Homebrewing) Added 1oz hops to final
Total $48.26 (plus shipping)
Cost breakdown: 12 gallons x 128oz = 1536oz = 0.0314 cents per oz, $0.38 per 12 oz bottle
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Procedure:
Brew in bag, crack grain, tie bag. Mash 64c/147f 60 minutes, 70c/160f 30 minutes
Iodine test for starch conversion, (test turns black if starch present) if passed go on
Raise setpoint temperature to boil 87c (laughing boil, my controller)
Raise level to 12 gallons.
As heating, Draw off 2 gallons into bucket, add liquid extract, fermentables, stir, dilute, pour in.
When at laughing boil, insert chill coil to sterilize, (60) minute timer, add 2 oz Saaz hops, (45) minute add 2 oz Saaz hops, at (15) minute add 1 oz saaz hops. (0) minutes turn off power, chill coil on to cool down.

When cooled fill into sterile 15 gallon fermenter, pitch yeast starter. (last time I put the yeast in first to aerate-mix it as it trickled into barrel) It was chugging in 12 hours. Near steady 70 degrees in basement here.
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Brew specifics:
SG: 1.054
FG: 1.013
ABV: 5.47%
IBU: 21.48
COLOR is Lt amber.
About 180 calories per 12 oz.
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(to quote the STOOGES, we all put the Yeast in)
This is not the “block and tackle beer”.. where you run two blocks and will tackle anything.. But a great light beer for normal drinking when you are not being a beer-snob.

Couple thoughts. The mash schedule seems odd for this beer, that second step is pretty high. Don't see a reason not to do single infusion, and probably want to mash on the low side. I take it you don't want too much hop character with the fairly low IBU's and with all your additions as bittering except that small 15 min one. Saaz is pretty delicate so probably won't perceive much from 1oz at 15 in a 12 gallon brew.

How did you calculate the color? I think this would be pretty light not amber, unless you're not using light extracts. You really don't need to boil your chiller the whole 60 min, you can put it in with a few min left. Also remember 70 degree ambient could mean beer temp in the mid to high 70's at the peak of fermentation. Might want to consider a swamp cooler.

Thank you for your suggestions, I have been trying to simulate a "previous" heat element and controller. So far.. I have not reached the "smoothness" of a slower ramp up of that other one. (about the same percentages ingredients)

DO you recommend a lower secondary mash temp? OR continuing the first one longer? I was trying to "break the starches" out. This kettle I built will now hit 5 gallon boil in about fifteen to twenty minutes. I think the "heat curve" (temp, time) during mash affects that.. is that so? I see others using a mash tun actually pour in the water at 170, and it drops back to 150-160.. THE flash of the hotter water does "what?"

Color, I think my colors are reflected in "Where" the grain comes from. I'll have more adjustment and fluctuation now I am going to partial grain.

(about that ramp up)

well.. I bought a variable solid state relay off "ebay" to "slow the speed" of the oven element I am using on my "one pot cooker".

I am still trying to make it all happy and come out like the first all grain success. I have reached "drinkable" beer, but not reached the great beer that first one was. As a big "kid" I had it all drank up about the time it was aged right.

Different equipment does different things for sure. IN addition to learning the process as I go. I'd like to see "heat curves" for mash and boil posted with recipes. I THINK.. as a old instrument tech, that is the differences in equipment.

Dawai said:

DO you recommend a lower secondary mash temp? OR continuing the first one longer? I was trying to "break the starches" out. This kettle I built will now hit 5 gallon boil in about fifteen to twenty minutes. I think the "heat curve" (temp, time) during mash affects that.. is that so? I see others using a mash tun actually pour in the water at 170, and it drops back to 150-160.. THE flash of the hotter water does "what?"

Click to expand...

For a simple recipe like this where I think you just want a moderately fermentable wort I don't think you need that that second step. I'd just do a longer rest at the lower temp (combined rest).

Those who don't have a direct heat source on their tun need to strike with hotter water to reach thier rest temp, as the room temp grain brings the temp down.

Dawai said:

Different equipment does different things for sure. IN addition to learning the process as I go. I'd like to see "heat curves" for mash and boil posted with recipes. I THINK.. as a old instrument tech, that is the differences in equipment.

Click to expand...

Does the heat curve have to do with electric brewing? Recipes generally would list the mash schedule, but there are multiple ways to achieve the different rest steps - infusions, direct heat, decoction - that may or may not be spelled out. The great majority of recipes you're going to see though are just a single sacc. rest step, maybe plus or minus a protein rest. Some of the traditional German styles, for example, might call for a more complicated schedule.

HOW do you suggest to modify the mash temps-time?

(photo) The previous mix.. very tasty. I just ran the 13lbs of grain through the mill. ready for a 6am brew.

It was suggested locally 60 min at lower temp, 30 at upper.. then iodine check. They too called it a simple brew. (it sure was great with lunch)

Does look yummy. I'd just do single 60 min step at around 150.

Several problems this morning, my bag leaked some grain, stopped up my drain. Had to siphon wort out of pot. ROD out drain, it was less than a teaspoon giving me grief and most that was still in the pot. THE king-hose nipple had perhaps two or three grains in it. (sideways).

Laughing boil, (slight boil is 87c on my Japanese controller) Reduced recipe to reflect my calibration on my unit. Candy thermometer said 195F, 87c.. So I guess that is real close?

question? Passed iodine test at 45 minutes. Remainder of mash time is really un-needed?

changed initial post to reflect new mash time and my temperature. I also upped the last add of Hops to 2 oz.

WORT SG was 1.045, lower than called for, but I had added too much water during LME/DME adds. Going to calibrate my mash spoon to gallon marks. It also dropped my temps way back.

It is slightly lighter in color than last time, light amber, dark yellow. It always clears a bit thou. THE mylar LME bag, I could not wash it out with hot wort to get all the goodie out. Was not real happy with that. I did wring it like a toothpaste tube.

I have been using the rings on my keg cooker, lower ring 5 gallons, upper ring 10.. midpoint upper and top is 12.5

Things are all washed, cleaned, yeast starter added. Some barley grain dried in oven for cooking.

We'll know in a few weeks.

Thank you for help.

3/1/2014

Just ordered the ingredients to make this again. Including shipping it has went up to $70 for 12 gallons.. I think, quick in my head that works out to 22 cents a ounce. It was 0.08... inflation sucks.

Reduced the final hops add to 1 oz.. using a (maybe I've made two batches since the post??) and it is cleaner, smoother. Still does not make me feel flushed, or my wife as "store bought" beer does. Alcohol is not super high, but well over 5%..

Wife had a gall bladder surgery, it costs us 6k out of pocket on top of our insurance, a day surgery where she did not stay overnight, her beer drinking was reduced for a while after that. So I've consumed a lot of the last two batches.

We are down to a case of quart flip top bottles, time to brew. Last time my brew kettle was used, it was to cook 80-100lbs of deer meat in a 14 gallon batch. We canned that in mason jars for the family pet. It makes him fart as bad as my homebrew does me.

Fermented in a 15 gallon blue barrel, airlock "epoxy welded in the 3/4 bung.. It made 11.96 gallons today, I just bottled it all, from 8:30 to 12:30..

Just got done cleaning up everything, washing it out.

I added some extra DME this time, it smells really strong in alcohol. I didn't take a final Specific gravity.

last batch was really good.. THIS IS TOO MUCH WORK AT ONCE bottling this much at a time, I think I may kick back to the 5 gallon carboy fermenter and do it more often.

I forecast a lever capper, bottle drying tree, a bottle washer, and some racks to be made here. LOVE THE GROSHE style quart bottles.. Boy are they pricy thou.

I am hooked. My wife now refuses to drink store bought when we can get homebrew.