Wood-Aged Beer Pirate Strong Ale

This oughta be an interesting beer. I thought I hit high with a 1.090 on the batch I did 2 weeks ago (and what I expect was a too low pitch rate with a 1.6l starter). What type of oak chips/rum combo are you using?

pwortiz said:

This oughta be an interesting beer. I thought I hit high with a 1.090 on the batch I did 2 weeks ago (and what I expect was a too low pitch rate with a 1.6l starter). What type of oak chips/rum combo are you using?

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I used 4 oz. medium toast French oak chips soaked in Bacardi Black for 3 weeks.

I accidentally added 1 extra lb of brown sugar .... Looks like this will clock in around 10.5 % Do you think it will still be good?

I think you'll be fine. I just made a batch that was 9.5% and it tastes awesome.

Just brewed this for the second time. I did the extract version the first time, but still got pretty bad efficiency (still dialing in my eBIAB system). I did the AG version today, only differences being 24 oz pineapple and 2 sticks of cinnamon. I maxed out my 11 gallon pot, even after pulling 1.5 gallons for sparge water. Went very well overall, managed 73% efficiency with a 14.3# grain bill (plus the 2# brown sugar), ending up with 5.5 gallons at 1.085. Should finish up around 1.018 with the 2 pack of rehydrated Notty I pitched, so I'm thinking around 9%.

Camden2300 said:

I accidentally added 1 extra lb of brown sugar .... Looks like this will clock in around 10.5 % Do you think it will still be good?

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Last one I made hit exactly 10.5%. It's the best batch I've made yet, I think. Only caution I have is regarding the yeast pitching rate - make sure you've got enough!

pwortiz said:

Last one I made hit exactly 10.5%. It's the best batch I've made yet, I think. Only caution I have is regarding the yeast pitching rate - make sure you've got enough!

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I did a 2 liter starter which I'm showing for online calculators as not being enough for 1.097 should I pitch in some us05also?

If you used the WLP060, you should be fine. In my experience, it seems to be one of the strongest performers I've ever used. I only did a 1.5l starter for mine and it still powered through everything (I had no intention of hitting the 10.5%, totally an accident on my part). It's a great yeast blend and you'll probably find yourself just fine. I have no fussel or "hot" alcohol issues either.

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Can someone describe what this tastes like? When taking off the blow off tube the hops were very prominent. Just wondered what to expect as I don't believe anyone has commented other than to say it is good
Thanks

Sounds tasty. Great recipe! Sub Cheers!

Wow, the 2 packs of Notty I pitched last weekend have already chewed this thing down from 1.087 to 1.011. That's like 87% attenuation! Little more than I was expecting, hopefully it's not too dry and boozy at 10-10.5%...

Using a brix refractometor I started this at 1.097 and finished at 1044 putting it into the northern Brewer calculator it comes to being fg of 1.01 11% is this correct.... This is my first time trying to use the brix ref and converting instead of hydrometer

Update took hydro sample came out to 1.013 I believe it's finished the sample was certainly delicious

Camden2300 said:

Using a brix refractometor I started this at 1.097 and finished at 1044 putting it into the northern Brewer calculator it comes to being fg of 1.01 11% is this correct.... This is my first time trying to use the brix ref and converting instead of hydrometer

Update took hydro sample came out to 1.013 I believe it's finished the sample was certainly delicious

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Hi Camden,
Looking only at your face value numbers, something is confusing me. If you started at 1.097 you were ~23 brix on your refractometer. If you finished at 1.044 that would have put your brix ~11...But that is way high for this beer for it to be "finished." You should finish ~3.5 to 5 brix technically. You shouldn't have any SG measurements on a totally brix instrument, only numbers from 0-30 depending on the model.

Alternatively, what you can do is use that 23 brix you started with, convert using this table http://www.fermsoft.com/gravbrix.php and use a hydrometer for your final reading and do the math (or simply plug in SG equivalents in your favorite online calculator) from there since brix/refractometers in general are supposed to be a little off (or something) when there is alcohol involved.

Can you please restate the numbers you have? 1.097 to 1.044 only gives you about 7.1% abv

Thanks!

pwortiz said:

Hi Camden,
Looking only at your face value numbers, something is confusing me. If you started at 1.097 you were ~23 brix on your refractometer. If you finished at 1.044 that would have put your brix ~11...But that is way high for this beer for it to be "finished." You should finish ~3.5 to 5 brix technically. You shouldn't have any SG measurements on a totally brix instrument, only numbers from 0-30 depending on the model.

Alternatively, what you can do is use that 23 brix you started with, convert using this table http://www.fermsoft.com/gravbrix.php and use a hydrometer for your final reading and do the math (or simply plug in SG equivalents in your favorite online calculator) from there since brix/refractometers in general are supposed to be a little off (or something) when there is alcohol involved.

Can you please restate the numbers you have? 1.097 to 1.044 only gives you about 7.1% abv

Thanks!

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Thanks for your quick reply.

Sorry for not being clear.
My brix refractometor has gravity on the side what I was attempting to do was use the numbers from it from sg to fg put it in an online calculator that compensates for the alcohol and see if It was correct.

I finally did do hydro sample which came back as 1.013
So sg 1.097 fg with refractometor was 1.044 but fg with hydro 1.013.

The online calculator I'm using for correction is showing I'm close to the real reading.
Do most people just use hydro at end? Seems better plus I get a sample of delicious beer.

Me saying "what most people do" never works out lol - I can tell you what I do and share the basic knowledge I have. My understanding is that refractometers really aren't good for finding FG. They're great (if calibrated correctly) for pre and post boil gravities. However, I use it only as a point of reference there and always take the hydro reading. Through experience with my equipment, I generally know what I'm going to end up with as I use the refractometer but I always use a hydro just for confirmation.

And you're right, you get a good taste of the beer prior to bottling/kegging if you take the hydro sample Bonus!

6 days now on the oak.... It's strong oak flavor that should fade in the coming months while aging.. The oak should nicely balance out the pineapple.... I can see that this beer is heading in the direction of a well balanced well blended ale that will make you scream AAAAARRRRRG

I'll keep you on posted how it turns out I'm going to bottle it today

Oak, pineapple, cinnamon, and a slight vanilla finish. Mmmmm great beer.

No carbonation yet in bottles... Hopefully will come soon... Next time I'll keg this. Is it possible i need to pop tops and add in yeast? I hit 11% abv... Been keeping it 70-75 f. How long till I can expect carbonation? I've never bottled such a big beer before.

Hi Camden, I'm betting you'll be fine. But, that high of a % will take the yeast a little while and you may not get the volumes of carbonation you wanted, but let them sit at the temp you've mentioned for a few more weeks. Age will only improve this one. A buddy of mine had the same issue with a Russian Imperial recently and only patience worked...he didn't reopen everything and go through all that which may have worked, too, but patience won out in the end.

This has probably been asked several times but I didn't feel like flipping through 40+ pages, but do you guys toss the rum itself into the secondary with the oak and/or vanilla bean? Also 4oz oak seems like a lot but I'm sure that's been addressed as well.

NickersonC said:

This has probably been asked several times but I didn't feel like flipping through 40+ pages, but do you guys toss the rum itself into the secondary with the oak and/or vanilla bean? Also 4oz oak seems like a lot but I'm sure that's been addressed as well.

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Yep, both been addressed. The general consensus is to NOT throw the rum in with the oak. Also, 4oz is actually perfect for this beer. The rum takes the harsh edge off of it, which is why you don't put it in, too. If you taste the rum after the soak, it's like sucking on a board.

Also, I noticed you said "bean". I added 2 beans to mine, and it's overpowering right now, hopefully it fades a little bit with time. So yeah, stick with the recommended 4 oz rum-soaked oak, and max 1 vanilla bean, and you'll have a winner.

Thanks. I guess since you're soaking the oak for so dang long you don't need the liquor. The original recipe also says only one bean so that's why I said that and it's what I'd probably do, especially with your feedback. Seems like an interesting brew, I don't know if I've heard about adding the fruit to the boil itself, only about adding it to a secondary fermenter, but I'm also extremely new.

I think I need to make this. Thanks to the OP.

All the info is right here. All you have to do is look. We can't do all the work for you.

Besides, 40 pages isn't much. Many of us have read 400+ page threads from the start. It's how one learns.



*EDIT* Nvrmnd.

Regarding the vanilla - yeah, it's really up to your personal tastes. I love vanilla and will throw two beans in, but that makes it less fun for a lot of others. I have a recipe posted in the AG section that was based off this beer called "Tattooed Mango Pirate" where I flipped the fruit - Mango instead of Pineapple. I love both styles and have made both multiple times!

So I made this about 2 weeks ago, and my OG came in mad low, around 1.052. Not sure if it was my mashing process or whether my local HBS was confused by the CaraAroma,but the color was also not nearly as dark as some of the posted photos.

Mashed in around 152 degrees. Question, do you guys pour all the grain in your tun, then add the water? That's what I do/did, and noticed that the temperature in the tun was considerably lower as I stuck the thermometer deeper into the grain, even after stirring and turning up the grain from the bottom pretty thoroughly. I use a cooler style mash tun with a false bottom.

Next question, would it be crazy to mash say a half pound or something of crystal malt in the higher range of the acceptable mash temps in say a gallon of water, then add it to secondary or last part of primary in an attempt to make the beer darker, maltier, and hopefully closer to the 8-9% abv range that the beer is meant to be in, or just accept it as a more sessionable pirate ale?

NickersonC said:

So I made this about 2 weeks ago, and my OG came in mad low, around 1.052. Not sure if it was my mashing process or whether my local HBS was confused by the CaraAroma,but the color was also not nearly as dark as some of the posted photos.

Mashed in around 152 degrees. Question, do you guys pour all the grain in your tun, then add the water? That's what I do/did, and noticed that the temperature in the tun was considerably lower as I stuck the thermometer deeper into the grain, even after stirring and turning up the grain from the bottom pretty thoroughly. I use a cooler style mash tun with a false bottom.

Next question, would it be crazy to mash say a half pound or something of crystal malt in the higher range of the acceptable mash temps in say a gallon of water, then add it to secondary or last part of primary in an attempt to make the beer darker, maltier, and hopefully closer to the 8-9% abv range that the beer is meant to be in, or just accept it as a more sessionable pirate ale?

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Are you new to all grain?

By your comment I'm not sure if your dough in water was 152F.

I typically do this.

Boil water several gallons at least two or more. Dump this "strike" water into the mash tun. Then let it sit as I prepare dough-in water. At a ratio of 1qrt per pound. I typically heat this volume of water to 11F over the desired mash temp.

Grain should be room temp.

Remove your strike water to use as part of your sparge water, topping up two about 2 qrts per pound at 175F. A tenth of gallon is lost per pound with grain absorption, compensate for this....

Dump the grain into your empty preheated mash tun. Add your dough-in water (11F over temp) and stir well. At least until it stops bubbling out air. Put a lid on it and wait 15 minutes and stir, repeat until the mash cycle is complete. Temperature is right on the money.

Do a starch test to check full conversion.

When complete I drain and recycle until the run off is completely clear. Then let it drain to my brew pot. At this time I also I have colendar on the top of my mash tun. I fly sparge until the sparge water is all gone and the mash tun is completely drained.

FYI - http://howtobrew.com/book/section-3

I'd leave it be, drink it as a session and do rum shots...

....squit one eye and grit your teeth and say,

"Argh, she'd be a wee bit light matey!"

Then knock back a shot of Captain Morgan.



Try again.

Schlenkerla, quick question on your post here, "Boil water several gallons at least two or more. Dump this "strike" water into the fermentor" <-- by fermentor did you mean mash tun?

@ NickersonC - what temp did you get your water to before dumping it on your cracked grains? Also, did your LHBS try to sell you C120 instead of CaraAroma? I only made that mistake once with this recipe. How long did you mash? Also, can you provide your grain bill, please? I think it will make a difference.

Thanks!

pwortiz said:

Schlenkerla, quick question on your post here, "Boil water several gallons at least two or more. Dump this "strike" water into the fermentor" <-- by fermentor did you mean mash tun?

@ NickersonC - what temp did you get your water to before dumping it on your cracked grains? Also, did your LHBS try to sell you C120 instead of CaraAroma? I only made that mistake once with this recipe. How long did you mash? Also, can you provide your grain bill, please? I think it will make a difference.

Thanks!

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Yeah, I meant mash tun. Fixed it. Thanks for pointing that out for me.

Yes, still pretty new.
Thought I posted earlier so sry if this is a repeat.

I did, however, do most of the things you mentioned, between priming my tun with strike water and adding water to the grain that was at least 12 degrees hotter than my desired mash temp. The top of the grain bed read around 155 but as I stuck the thermometer in deeper it went much lower, as aforementioned.

I didn't use freshly boiled water to prime the tun, though, and I wouldn't say I used 'one or 2 gallons', maybe a half gallon tops, and it was about 175 degrees.

I would say my tun is much deeper and narrower than it is wide, which could have attributed to the disparity in temps across the grain.

My grain bill followed one of the all grain bills that was posted: 14lbs 2-row, half pound of CaraAroma (or potentially not, which could be my problem), 1lb of torrified wheat and 1 lb of brown suga.

Edit: mashed for at least 60 min, prob close to 70. Vorlauffed for a bit then sparged with water about 175 degrees, but was hard to keep it at exactly that for that long of a time (I use the hybrid method mentioned in one of biermuncher's posts, letting the water slowly drain while I tediously ladle for 45-60 mins)

Next time, any all grain use at least half if not 3/4 the volume of the mash tun to preheat.

If your dough in is still too low temp wise, you can boil water, at a specific volume to hit your temp. You just need to use a rest calculator to help you figure out the volume to get the temp brought up to target. It's also called step infusion calculator.

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/infusion.html

I also have phone app called Brewzor Calculator that's handy too.

What I do typically works. If you don't hit your temp, don't panic. If the temp is too low you just have to add water. The loss is only time. That said too low is better than too hot. If you way over shoot the temp you stand the risk of killing the enzymes you need for conversion. You can go the other direction too by adding cold water.

Better luck next time.

Thanks to the OP for this recipe. Made this about a month and a half or so ago and just pulled the first glasses off the keg. Very tasty. Even just one vanilla bean gives a very strong vanilla flavor. Definitely will be a repeat brew. SWMBO digs it as well.

Been a while since I brewed this View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1468368304.834064.jpg

dang man, i wasn't sure if you were still hanging around on here! welcome back

Brewed all grain version today. Panicked with my original preboil grav was only 1053 @ 6.5g. Completely forgot about the pound of sugar that I hadn't added yet, and added 3 lbs lite dme in a fit of overcompensating madness. (It was 94 and humid as hell. I am a lobster now.) In the end I finished with 6gal of 1098.

Was planning to serve at a Pirate murder mystery party, but I think I'll keep this one and serve the extract version. Way too much sweat and sunburn fever went into this to just give it away.

Cinnamon and fresh cut pineapple smelled amazing together. I skimmed them out just before flameout.

Doing the extract version later this week. Really looking forward to trying them side by side.

Cheers

I brewed this Saturday morning
Recipe Type: All Grain BIAB
Yeast: SafAle US-05
Yeast Starter: NO
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: 1 tbsp yeast nutrient
Batch Size (Gallons): 6
Starting Vol 8gal
Original Gravity: 1.094
Final Gravity: Unknown
IBU:
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: Unknown
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 3 weeks
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 1 week
Tasting Notes: Unknown but sure smelled great!


Ingredients
18.5 lbs Malteurop Pale 2-row
0.6 lb Simpsons Dbl Roasted Crystal 100-120L
1.4 lbs Torrified Wheat
1 lbs Light Brown Sugar
1 oz Galena (Pellets, 14.1 %AA) boiled 60 min.
1.5 oz Citra&#8482; (Pellets, 14.0 %AA) boiled 5 min.
1.5 ea. Cinnamon (stick) (15 min boil) (not included in calculations)
1/2 a large Pineapple (fresh) (15 min boil) (not included in calculations)
1 tbsp. Yeast Nutrient (AKA Fermax) (15 min boil) (not included in calculations)
4 oz. Oak Wood Chips soaked in Myers Dark Rum (French Oak secondary) (not included in calculations)
1 ea. Vanilla (whole bean) (Secondary) (not included in calculations)
Yeast : SafAle US-05

First soak french oak chips in Myers Dark Rum for 3 weeks

Brew day
Mash grains @ 154-156 for 60 mins. Strike Temp 160
Mash out @170 10 min, I squeeze the bag and let hang over kettle to collect all running's.

At start of boil start add Galena hops 60 min
15 min added pineapple, cinnamon, and nutrient additions at the appropriate times.
5 min add Citra hops

End of boil remove pineapple pieces and cinnamon stick.

Cool wort to 70 degrees,Aerate, and pitch.

Ferment @ ~68 degrees for 3 weeks.

Secondary Add french oak chips that have been soaked in Myers Dark Rum. Add 1 vanilla bean that has been cut open lengthwise exposing the inner seeds.

Bottle after 7-10 of secondary transfer to bottles.

Still one of my favorite beers! How many packs of US05 did you use?

Just one, it was working pretty good this morning before I left to work.

Holy cow! I wish you the best, sir. My normal practice is to pitch 2 packs for anything over 1.060 or there abouts but that's just me.

I'm new to higher gravity beers!, but this is the activity that is happening tonight after I got home from work, Pirate is up front, the carboy in back is a cream ale sitting on tart pie cherries.