My first brew with new techniques...don't read unless you have time on hand!

Tomorrow is brew day for the first time in 6 months...in a new apartment, with new equipment and using new techniques. Understandably, I'm a little anxious, although just glad to be brewing again. This is also the first time I've tried to completely map out my brew day (which is something I should have been doing all along). Comments and suggestions are welcome. Brew day begins at 6am!

John J. Brackbill
Brew Log

Batch #9
Brew Day: 12/29/05
Recipe: Samuel Adams Cream Stout (clone)
Source: Beer Captured, page 113

Ingredients:
10 oz. 60°L Crystal Malt
8 oz. Chocolate Malt
6 oz. Roasted Barley

4.5 lbs. Munton’s Light DME
1 lb. Munton’s Wheat DME
1 lb. Malto Dextrin
1 oz. Kent Goldings (bittering)
½ oz. Fuggles (bittering)


1/4 oz. Kent Goldings (aroma)
1 teaspoon Irish Moss

WLP011 European Ale Yeast

Ingredients (altered for mini-mash):
10 oz. 60 L Crystal Matl
8 oz. Chocolate Malt
6 oz. Roasted Barley
2 lbs. 2-row Pale Malt

3.5 lbs. Munton's Light DME
1 lb. Munton's Wheat DME
1 lb. Malto Dextrin
1 oz. Kent Goldings hops (bittering)
1/2 oz. Fuggles hops (bittering)

1/4 oz. Kent Golding hops (aroma)
1 Whirlfloc tablet

WLP011 European Ale Yeast


Procedures:
-Yeast starter made on 12/27/05, using approximately 1400ml of distilled water, one cup of Munton’s plain light DME, pitched WLP011 European Ale Yeast.
-WASH and sanitize the following equipment:
-Stockpot
-Stainless Steel Slotted Spoon
-28” Plastic Spoon
-Floating Thermometer
-Large Strainer
-Brew Kettle Thermometer
-Brew Kettle Stainless Steel Ball Valve and requisite attachments
-Brew Kettle
-Large Carboy
-Carboy Bung
-Carboy Cap
-Airlock
-Aeration Stone
-All tubing
-Funnel and filter

-Mini/Partial Mash
-Steep grain bill (minus DME) in 7 quarts of water at 150° for 45-60 minutes, monitor temperature with floating thermometer (Beer Captured recipe calls for a 90 minute steep for the mini-mash) in stockpot on stove. Rinse with 3 quarts of water or diluted grain tea into brew kettle (2.5 gallons total water).
-During grain steep, wash and sanitize brew kettle, spoon, strainer and bring remaining water (3.5 gallons) to steeping temperature in kettle.
-Rinse mash grains over kettle with rinse water or diluted grain tea, bringing water to a volume of 6 gallons.
-Wort Boil
-Add 3.5 pounds Munton’s Light DME, 1 pound Munton’s Wheat DME, 1 pound Malto Dextrin, 1 ounce Kent Goldings hops, ½ ounce Fuggles hops.
-Bring wort to boil and boil for 60 minutes.
-At 45 minutes add ¼ ounce Kent Goldings hops and one Whirlfloc tablet, sanitize aeration stone, sanitize immersion chiller.
-Wort Chilling
-Remove kettle from heat, attach immersion chiller to faucet, chill wort and monitor temperature.
-Siphon wort into carboy, attach carboy cap with aeration setup and aerate.
-Remove aeration setup and cap, pitch yeast, attach carboy bung and airlock.
-Cleanup
-Wash all components used in wort production, transfer, etc.

Odd doubling problem there on your text. I don't see any need to use both whirlfloc and irish moss, they do the same job. The best way to sanitize the chiller is to put it in the kettle 15 minutes before the end of the boil. Make certain it is empty, unless you like hot water spitting all over.

Otherwise, it looks fine.

david_42 said:

Odd doubling problem there on your text.

Click to expand...

I wasn't paying attention when to the tabs I had put in when I copied the text from my brew log...sorry...fixed now. I wanted to give the original recipe and my adjustments for the mini-mash according to calculations by Chris Colby of BYO from the October 2005 issue.