A Day of Firsts...

Today was the first time I used a yeast starter- a 2L starter of Wyeast 1332 (Northwest Ale). Also the first time I have used Gypsum in the mash. Add in the first time I have used Irish Moss for clearing and I am excited to see how this beer turns out.

I have been brewing for over 2 years and I am tired of my beers being "alright." I want to make great beer, that's why I started this hobby. My recipe is below:

9 lbs 8 oz Northwestern Pale Ale Malt
2 lbs 8 oz Rye Malt
1 lb Crystal 15
8 oz Carapils

1 oz Chinook @ 60 min
0.5 Summit @ 15 min
1 oz Simcoe @ 5 min
1 oz Simcoe @ 0 min
2 oz Simcoe dryhop

And I will be done around 1:00 in the afternoon thanks to prepping some last night...Gonna be a good day (of firsts)

 

Looks nice a nice grain bill

 

Efficiency took a huge hit due to the rye. Unfortunately my mash tun was maxed out and I didn't account for it. Sample tasted delicious at least.

 

I love rye in beer...hop rod ale etc

 

Thats yeasts clears very well, looks like a tasty recipe.

 

I hope so. I am hoping that the yeast clearing well, plus the Irish Moss will make me not regret skipping secondary on this batch, and going straight to the keg. I always secondary because I like my beer nice and clean. I am hoping that I can get the same effect using Irish Moss and maybe letting it sit for just a couple extra days in primary. I don't really have a way to cold crash my primary unfortunately.

 

grats i like your choice of yeast. i made a red with it last month fermented at around 62, it was a perfect temp for that strain.

 

Looks very good with the Rye and the late hop additions. think ur gonna have a nice tasty brew on ur hands in a few weeks.

 

That's good to hear. My basement is in the low to mid-60's this time of year.

 

A quick update (mostly for my record keeping purposes...)

This beer was kegged 5 days ago. I kept it at 30 psi for 24 hours, then purged and reset pressure to 12 psi. As of today (Friday) it is fully carbed and absolutely delicious. My only complaint is that the rye does not shine through strong enough for my taste, and that may be due to the fact that my mill barely touched the malted rye kernels. They are quite small and my efficiency took a huge hit due to that fact. I am not sure what to do about that since my mill is not adjustable.

 

Buy your rye milled

 

I bought it in bulk. I bought a 1/4 sack of it at a great price and will just have to deal with it for now...

 

Well shoot, it is Thursday. I have Friday off so it feels like Friday night to me! Actually, the keg has only been on gas for 72 hours now that I think about it. I followed your advice on quick carbing by setting it higher for 24 hours and purging.

I will try double grinding but I'm not holding much hope for a huge improvement since I can't adjust my mill.

 

Corona style mills are cheap and can be adjusted quite fine. You could easily justify one if you intend to continue doing beers with rye or wheat (another small, hard kernel).

 

What would Gypsum before?

 

Gypsum can help to bring out the bitterness of the hops if the water profile is lacking. I can't be sure if it worked since the Simcoe dry hopping is very powerful.