DFH 120 minute clone

[pennisim]

What I'm having trouble with is getting a gravity reading. I tried a wine thief and this led to a huge layer of foam on top that made it impossible to get a true reading. My thoughts are possibly throwing some sanitized aluminum foil on top and throwing it in the fridge to get a reading? This may take a few hours though. Did you have any technique for collecting wort for the readings? I am using the same wort to wisk in the sugar.

 

[scottland]

What I'm having trouble with is getting a gravity reading. I tried a wine thief and this led to a huge layer of foam on top that made it impossible to get a true reading. My thoughts are possibly throwing some sanitized aluminum foil on top and throwing it in the fridge to get a reading? This may take a few hours though. Did you have any technique for collecting wort for the readings? I am using the same wort to wisk in the sugar.

Try sanitizing a turkey baster. It will let you suck wort out from underneath the foam.

 

[Brad1775]

I am also making something like this, wish I had time to cronicle it, and I SHOULD.... but, I found that I can use my theif if I put my hand over the top, it doesn't let any wort into the theif until I'm below that layer.

3 days in, I'm at 1.080 started 1.100. haven't started sugar additions or anything yet.

 

[cwheel]

Scottland: any comment on using the 2-row/Victory/C60 combo instead of the BYO clone of pilsner/amber malt? I just won a vial of WLP099 at a home brew club meeting last night, so I have the itch to make this over the xmas break. Wish I had the resources and time to brew 2 individual batches, with the two different grain recipes!

From some of your old posts, it seems like you went this patch because your 90 minute was so good??

 

[mxracer652]

Why are you guys measuring gravity so early that you have to deal with krausen. Pitch the yeast & let them be for 4-5 days, then go see where you're at. Let that sucker get down to 1.020, then start adding dextrose. Check 2x a day & you'll know when the yeast start petering out.

 

[cwheel]

I think this thing has krausen WELL past 4-5 days.

 

[scottland]

Scottland: any comment on using the 2-row/Victory/C60 combo instead of the BYO clone of pilsner/amber malt? I just won a vial of WLP099 at a home brew club meeting last night, so I have the itch to make this over the xmas break. Wish I had the resources and time to brew 2 individual batches, with the two different grain recipes!

From some of your old posts, it seems like you went this patch because your 90 minute was so good??

Ya, that's exactly why I just used the same grain bill. 2-row/Amber malt is the correct grain bill. That's what DFH uses, and that's what will be the closest. In reality, it won't make much difference. It's just such a small percentage of the finished beer. Use the amber if you can find it. If you can't Victory/C60 works great. I've had success with that in a 90min recipe, but I re-brewed 90min with just amber, and it was a little closer. It was a very subtle difference in 90min, in 120min, I don't think side-by-side you'd pick it out. Definitely use 2-row though , I don't see any need to use Pilsner.

Why are you guys measuring gravity so early that you have to deal with krausen. Pitch the yeast & let them be for 4-5 days, then go see where you're at.

Because you'd be shocked at how fast WLP007 will rip through a high gravity beer, even when fermented in the low 60s. I went from 1.099 to 1.018 in like 40-50 hours, not 4-5 days. And that was at a verified wort temp of 64*

I think this thing has krausen WELL past 4-5 days.

Mine had a small krausen well past 18% ABV. I don't think the karusen fell until I hit like 20.5%

 

[pennisim]

Thank you for the suggestion on putting my hand over the wine thief. I didn't have a turkey baster so this worked very well. 12lbs down, 12 to go. Unfortunately I'm unsure of the exact volume into the fermenter. I'm going to have to estimate this beer for between 10-11 gallons so the abv range could be quite large. That or I'll just count what goes into the secondary and add a gallon or so for trub loss.

 

[pennisim]

Also since I added 3lbs of DME because of low efficiency, I have been thinking of adding amylase enzyme to see that it still dries out even more. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Brad1775]

I have never brewed all grain, but I imagine that only works before you pitch yeast.

 

[seabass07]

It will convert some of the dextrines from the dme to sugars, but if the yeast have stalled it will only make your beer sweeter.

 

[Bierliebhaber]

I am taking a stab at a similar project. I brewed it on Sunday. My recipe is different:

7gal batch
27 lbs NW Pale
5 lbs Munich
2 lbs Belgian Aromatic
2 lbs Flaked Rye

2 oz Columbus 90, 60, 30 min
1 oz Centennial 10 and 5 min
1 oz Nelson Sauvin 10 and 5 min

I started with 1.133 OG and the aroma was/is amazing. I combined 1728 and wlp099 yeast cakes together from a split 15 gal batch. I also made a 2 liter wlp099 starter and pitched it. I only put 4 gal. of the 7 in the fermenter; the other three I put in a corny. 30 hrs later I aerated the corny for 30min with an aquarium pump. Then, over a two hour period the corny drained into the fermenter--all the while the aquarium pump was running with the stone right at the dip tube pick up. I kept the temp at 60-62F to allow the 1728 to do the majority of work up front. 48 hrs later I have begun to warm and agitate the fermenter to 65F to get the 099 to really kick in. I still have 2 lbs of belgian candy syrup and 6-8 lbs of brown sugar to add once the initial fermentation begins to slow. I hope to reach 1.202 OG with 1.028 FG and 22.4% abv. If my attenuation is more than I anticipate, I will back off the brown sugar some.

Great thread!
Cheers

 

[Brad1775]

nice. that sounds great!

 

[beerman0001]

Been bubbling away since Wednesday almost time to start the sugar. So far so good.

 

[beerman0001]

Just to make sure 1# of dextrose=.008 gravity point?

 

[scottland]

Just to make sure 1# of dextrose=.008 gravity point?

My calculator puts it at .007.

 

[beerman0001]

My calculator puts it at .007.

kool I was only .001 off. Thanks

 

[pennisim]

I have been doing (.046x# lbs)/volume
Is that wrong? Also which of the 2 abv formulas have u used?

 

[Brad1775]

I just got to my 5th addition, 4 oz at a time, alternating between dextrose and demarrara sugar, one addition every 12 hours. so far... it's hovering at 1.055-1.047, I started additions at 1.055, also added some various hops, will add WAY more in secondary

 

[scottland]

I have been doing (.046x# lbs)/volume
Is that wrong? Also which of the 2 abv formulas have u used?

Alcohol By Volume ABV Calculator | Brewer's Friend

The standard formula is what I use. The alternate formula seems way too high to me.

 

[pennisim]

And for sugar additions am I using the correct formula?

 

[beerman0001]

And for sugar additions am I using the correct formula?

For every # of corn sugar I add my og is going up by .007 points.

 

[beerman0001]

My yeast is very hungry had to add 1lb this morning it was down to 1.020 see what it is at tonight and adjust accordingly

 

[pennisim]

Based on what calculation? Show math please so I see what I'm doing wrong

 

[Brad1775]

I have been adding corn sugan in the morning, demerara at night, 4 ounces each, and it's staying at at 1.050. I'm up to 1 pound each of corn sugar and demerara over the 4 days since it hit 1.055. I seem to have guessed appropriately. My krausen has re-formed, I had stirred air into the mix once the krausen had dissapeared after the american II 1272 was done , then added trappist high gravity yeast in a 2 liter starter.

I have been rousing the yeast from the bottom, becuase I didn't want to let the sugar bunch up down there, but this is a top cropping yeast, so it should not matter.

 

[beerman0001]

Based on what calculation? Show math please so I see what I'm doing wrong

TastyBrew.com | Recipe Calculation
This is what I use. Attenuation at 100% 5 gal batch and put in 1# of corn sugar it will show the .007 or 6.9 gravity points.

 

[smuth10]

I haven't taken the time to brew in a while and decided to brew a 90 min clone today. While I was brewing I came across this thread. Good to see others are enjoying this beer.

Believe it or not I still have some on tap. It seems to get better with age every time I have some. I love being able to pour 3 or 4 oz at a time. I made the mistake of drinking 20oz or so in a night along with a few other beers and it took me two days to get back to normal.

Scottland: I find it interesting that you used almost 3x the hops in your boil and in the taste test you found them pretty close anyway. Any thoughts? Just wondering if it is worth all that extra $ in hops.

I am going to brew this again in the next week or so and I planned on using a little more hops. Except for it being a little too sweet, I am pretty happy with how mine tastes. I will try to get this one down to 1.020 and keep the alcohol around 16% or so. I keep mine at 10psi because I like it fully carbed, I think it helps bring out all of the flavors.

I really like the wax tops on the bottles. I may have to steal this idea.

Cheers!

 

[scottland]

I would load up the boil at 90 or 120min with Warrior, and then i think you could continuously hop with however much you want. The bitterness is the key, it helps cut the sweet.

 

[beerman0001]

just got 9# of corn sugar in this is one hungry beer.

 

[Brad1775]

I am targeting 18.3% alcohol by finish at 1.038 with American II, and Trappist high gravity yeasts (trappist added after 1.100 wort got down to 1.055, sugar started the next day, I brewed this 12/9/11, and I've been adding sugar for something around 10 days) I like this recipe, but after realizing how little bitters this beer may have, I may have to make a hops extraction using Butane, then heat it to make the serious bitter flavor I need to get where I want it to be. don't worry about me, I am a mad scientist, I do this every day.