Morebeer Pliny Extract Recipie Help/Tips

[DavidG13]

Ok, so I have decided to dive right into a bigger beer. I have no fear about sanitation issues since I have a LOT of experience working with carboys/pails/siphons etc. I have the Pliny kit here already and want to get it going.

But despite all of the great reviews about this kit, I have been having a hard time finding a good clean recipie how-to. So I am hoping to get help myself but also get this organized and help others who make this kit later on.

My goal is to get the most out of this kit as possible.

I plan to be doing this as a partial volume boil. I am not setup for a full 5+ gallon boil. I have read about making a hop spider and love the idea. I will be using one of those to make this kit. It seems like it is a necessity with the multiple hop additions during the boil.

I plan on following the hop addition schedule as it is listed on the Morebeer extract recipie. That part is pretty self explanatory.

I will be adding the malt extract/sugars to the boil very late. In the last 5 minutes or so. That is to reduce the Maillard reactions as much as possible. While I have yet to try the real Pliny, I have seen that it is a lot lighter in color than what most people get out of their kits.

The 2oz Centennial and 1oz Simcoe flameout hops I will let sit in the wort for 20 minutes before I chill. From what I have been reading this will allow for more aroma to be extracted.

Once everything is at the right temperature I will transfer my wort to the fermenter and bring it to volume with either Distilled water or some that I preboil and let cool. I do not have an O2 stone yet but I do have a drill and a SS stir stick. A few bursts with this should get enough O2 into the wort to keep the yeast happy.

Speaking of yeast...

I got a single pack of Safale US-05. I will rehydrate it before pitching. I am hoping that one well rehydrated pack of yeast will be enough. I have some extra light DME that I can use to make a starter, but so far have no plans to do that.

This is where I am at so far. I still need to get a bigger brew pot to use. I made the True brew Amber ale extract kit in a small 2 gallon SS pot and do not want to try that with this Pliny kit.

My fermentation room is a root cellar under the house that stays at a constant 63 degrees. (+/- 2 degrees) That should allow a mid ferment temperature rise to around 68.


Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated.

Hopefuly with this process I will be able to hit the target OG. I want to keep the loose solids to a minimum by using the hop spider. That way I will loose less volume to the trub and get more beer into bottles. I also want to keep the color as light as possible so my beer looks more like Pliny the elder.

Thanks

 

[Clarke]

It has been awhile since I read this and I am not re-reading it today but maybe this will be of interest.

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/6351/doubleIPA.pdf

 

[DavidG13]

^^ Yes ^^ That was great!

 

[KepowOb]

One thing... you might not end up with as hoppy a beer as you hope. When you do a partial boil, and then top off with water, you'll be diluting your wort, which means your IBUs as well. If you have 80IBUs in 2.5 gallons of water, that will become 40IBUs when you top up to 5 gallons, for example. So even if you can't do a full boil, do go as big as you can.

 

[Clarke]

One thing... you might not end up with as hoppy a beer as you hope. When you do a partial boil, and then top off with water, you'll be diluting your wort, which means your IBUs as well. If you have 80IBUs in 2.5 gallons of water, that will become 40IBUs when you top up to 5 gallons, for example. So even if you can't do a full boil, do go as big as you can.

If I understand correct, what you are saying is not true, if the OP is taking the ingredients for a 5 gallon batch and uses it in a partial boil of 2.5 gallons then the wart is concentrated, the sugar, IBUs etc.. will be doubled-ish, and then adding water to the partial will dilute it back down to the correct stats.

 

[Yooper]

If I understand correct, what you are saying is not true, if the OP is taking the ingredients for a 5 gallon batch and uses it in a partial boil of 2.5 gallons then the wart is concentrated, the sugar, IBUs etc.. will be doubled-ish, and then adding water to the partial will dilute it back down to the correct stats.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

It generally works great for lower IBU beers, but not for things like DIPA.

The reason is that there is a maximum amount of isomerization of hops oils that can happen before the saturation point, generally under 100 IBUs depending on which scale you use to measure it. Even Pliny the Elder (the real one) measures at something like 85 IBUs, even with all of those hops.

Anyway, say you have 2.5 gallons of wort. Even if you manage to get 100 IBUs in that wort (unlikely, more like 80-90 at a max), diluting it with 50% water means halving the IBUs.

It's impossible to get over 50 IBUs in a beer that had a 2.5 gallon boil.

 

[Clarke]

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

It generally works great for lower IBU beers, but not for things like DIPA.

The reason is that there is a maximum amount of isomerization of hops oils that can happen before the saturation point, generally under 100 IBUs depending on which scale you use to measure it. Even Pliny the Elder (the real one) measures at something like 85 IBUs, even with all of those hops.

Anyway, say you have 2.5 gallons of wort. Even if you manage to get 100 IBUs in that wort (unlikely, more like 80-90 at a max), diluting it with 50% water means halving the IBUs.

It's impossible to get over 50 IBUs in a beer that had a 2.5 gallon boil.

Interesting, so it is not the same as just doubling the ingredients as if I was going from a 5 gallon batch to a 10 gallon batch? Or is this a different concept?

I don't understand the saturation concept yet,
thanks Yooper

 

[Yooper]

Interesting, so it is not the same as just doubling the ingredients as if I was going from a 5 gallon batch to a 10 gallon batch? Or is this a different concept?

I don't understand the saturation concept yet,
thanks Yooper

Sure, it's the same concept. Doubling a batch is easy, and to do that you'd double all the ingredients (including water). Doing a partial boil, where only 50% of the water is used, is a great way for brewers to brew a batch without investing in a big burner and bigger pots. However, the limitation in doing that is the limits of the solubility of the hops oils and the isomerization of the hops oils.

Again, it's not a problem at all in a 20-40 IBU beer, and it can work great. But when you want to get into the 50+ IBU area, the limits of the partial boil and IBUs come into play.

 

[Clarke]

Sure, it's the same concept. Doubling a batch is easy, and to do that you'd double all the ingredients (including water). Doing a partial boil, where only 50% of the water is used, is a great way for brewers to brew a batch without investing in a big burner and bigger pots. However, the limitation in doing that is the limits of the solubility of the hops oils and the isomerization of the hops oils.

Again, it's not a problem at all in a 20-40 IBU beer, and it can work great. But when you want to get into the 50+ IBU area, the limits of the partial boil and IBUs come into play.

so hops are more or less soluble depending on water volume?

so when I read a recipe where the brewer dumps a ton of hops into a 5 gallon batch to get more IBUs, they are potentially wasting hops because there is only so much solubility going to happen?

This is interesting stuff..

 

[Yooper]

so hops are more or less soluble depending on water volume?

so when I read a recipe where the brewer dumps a ton of hops into a 5 gallon batch to get more IBUs, they are potentially wasting hops because there is only so much solubility going to happen?

This is interesting stuff..

No, they are not more or less soluble based on volume.

They do reach a limit before saturation of hops oils, and how many hops oils can isomerize.

You will never get more than about 100 IBUs in a wort, but I wouldn't say the hops are "wasted" as there is still flavor there even if the hops oils don't provide more bitterness.

When you see things like "250 IBUs" in a recipe, that's a calculated amount but the reality, if the beer has been tested, is usually 80-90 IBUs.

 

[Clarke]

No, they are not more or less soluble based on volume.

They do reach a limit before saturation of hops oils, and how many hops oils can isomerize.

You will never get more than about 100 IBUs in a wort, but I wouldn't say the hops are "wasted" as there is still flavor there even if the hops oils don't provide more bitterness.

When you see things like "250 IBUs" in a recipe, that's a calculated amount but the reality, if the beer has been tested, is usually 80-90 IBUs.

not to nit pick, but I thought the Alpha acids provided the initial bitterness, while the Beta Acids provided a more stored time elapsed bitterness (which I understand is not to be desired), and the oils where more for flavor and aroma.

I have only started to learn about oils and co-humulone as of the past weekend, so I am very ignorant at this time but eager to learn.

so far you are giving me a wealth of info to look up, study and understand.

 

[Dirty25]

The turkey frier kit at Walmart is $40 it is a aluminum pot and only 7 gallons but is enough to do a foil boil and even extract beers...I would upgrade into that before I waste tons of money on the pliney hop bill

 

[DavidG13]

My plan is to get as close to a full boil as possible. Since I am having to buy a pot I might as well get what will work the best. I am either going to get something off Amazon or try and get a Turkey fryer. The latter is hard to find at the moment since its the middle of the summer. I have seen some on Craigslist that would work. (I am looking for new unused ones) Also I do not mind using an aluminum pot, as long as it has the oxidation layer it is good to go.

Yooper - Thanks for the tip on the IBU's. The less water I have to add the better off my batch of beer will be. I want to get the most out of this extract kit.

 

[CBXBob]

I made this kit last July, turned out great. The only thing I did different from the kit instructions : Used 3 lb extract at 60 min. in 3 gal boil. Did all other additions as per instructions, but mixed the other 6 lb extract with 1 gal spring water in separate pot, brought to 160 for ten minutes to make sure it was pasteurized (probably not necessary) , then added at flame out. Cooled, then added spring water to just over 5 gal mark before pitching yeast (1 pkg US05 rehydrated) at about 84 degrees. Use a blow off tube, air lock won't handle it. There is a lot of sediment, when I racked to secondary I only had a little over 4 1/2 gallons. Final gravity put it at 7.99%. Very good after 2 weeks in bottle, really good after 4 weeks. Great kit! Enjoy

 

[JonAnderson1979]

I bought this kit when it was discounted last week. So if I can only do a partial boil on my stovetop, what would make more sense if I were to try to get higher IBUs:

1.) Try to boil 4 gallons (dicey, I did that last time and boiled over)

2.) Or could I try to use half the ingredients, and only do a 3 gallon boil and pitch one pack of S-05 and just split this kit into two 2.5 gallon batches that I can later blend back together before bottling. Does that sound crazy? I thought I could potentially brew two consecutive days and then they'd pretty much be on the same schedule.

Would splitting it up like that make the beer that much better, or does it sound like a waste of time?

Any opinion welcome

 

[Clarke]

Originally Posted by Yooper View Post
No, they are not more or less soluble based on volume.

They do reach a limit before saturation of hops oils, and how many hops oils can isomerize.

You will never get more than about 100 IBUs in a wort, but I wouldn't say the hops are "wasted" as there is still flavor there even if the hops oils don't provide more bitterness.

When you see things like "250 IBUs" in a recipe, that's a calculated amount but the reality, if the beer has been tested, is usually 80-90 IBUs.

Yooper, I think I confused your point.

Your saying I will never achieve more than 100 IBUs in wort but the oils still contribute aroma and flavor even if they are not contributing more bitterness, is it the oils that also contain the Alpha Acids?

When KepowOB says “go as big as you can” in this 2.5 gallon batch, what is the point? The IBUs will still be at 40 when topped off and only Aroma and Flavor will be added?

I don't understand the saturation, and limits of isomerize. Is there a website or book you would recommend before I test your kind patience?

I just don't understand how a hop bill for 5 gallons put into a 2.5 gallon partial will not equal the correct IBU for a 5 gallon batch once the other 2.5 gallons is added back to bring the wort up to full volume, and the IBUs be diluted by this extra water when you say that solubility is not based on volume. I am missing a key concept.

Thanks for your help.

 

[KepowOb]

I bought this kit when it was discounted last week. So if I can only do a partial boil on my stovetop, what would make more sense if I were to try to get higher IBUs:

1.) Try to boil 4 gallons (dicey, I did that last time and boiled over)

2.) Or could I try to use half the ingredients, and only do a 3 gallon boil and pitch one pack of S-05 and just split this kit into two 2.5 gallon batches that I can later blend back together before bottling. Does that sound crazy? I thought I could potentially brew two consecutive days and then they'd pretty much be on the same schedule.

Would splitting it up like that make the beer that much better, or does it sound like a waste of time?

Any opinion welcome

If you have time to do both batches in back to back days, you could try something I've read about, but never tried (so others might be able to help more)... you brew up a 2.5 gallon batch and pitch your yeast, then the next day, brew up your next batch and add it in to the first one. From what I understand, you just need to add in the second 2.5 gallons before the krausen starts to drop, and you should be fine (and cool it to within the same temperature, more or less), but you might want to look into it a bit more to be sure.

 

[KepowOb]

Yooper, I think I confused your point.

Your saying I will never achieve more than 100 IBUs in wort but the oils still contribute aroma and flavor even if they are not contributing more bitterness, is it the oils that also contain the Alpha Acids?

When KepowOB says “go as big as you can” in this 2.5 gallon batch, what is the point? The IBUs will still be at 40 when topped off and only Aroma and Flavor will be added?

I don't understand the saturation, and limits of isomerize. Is there a website or book you would recommend before I test your kind patience?

I just don't understand how a hop bill for 5 gallons put into a 2.5 gallon partial will not equal the correct IBU for a 5 gallon batch once the other 2.5 gallons is added back to bring the wort up to full volume, and the IBUs be diluted by this extra water when you say that solubility is not based on volume. I am missing a key concept.

Thanks for your help.

When I said to go as big as possible, I was under the impression that they were doing a 5 gallon batch with a 2.5 gallon boil, and just saying to get it as bitter as possible, to have a bigger boil if possible. Topping up a batch with 2.5 gallons is going to dilute it more than topping off with one gallon.

What I was saying was based on a few other threads that I'd seen Yooper (and a couple of other people), followed up by some quick research.

Generally speaking, the accepted max solubility for the alpha acids is about 100 or so IBUs, which is limited by a few things, including your waters pH). If you're going for a very hoppy beer, but boil in 2.5 gallons of water, say you're now at 100IBUs (let's say that's the theoretical max for simplicities sake, it could very well be +/- a bit from there I'm sure... I've even read some places that say over 80 isn't very realistic for a homebrewer, but other will surely argue that). If the recipe is a 5 gallon batch that is supposed to result in an 80IBU beer, you can't have that now, because when you add 2.5 gallons of water, it'll drop down to 50.

The reason Yooper said it works fine for lower IBU beers is because if you're aiming for 30IBUs, when you use the same hop schedule in 1/2 the volume, you will be able to double your IBUs, so you'll have 60ish. Then you top off and it cuts it down to 30. You aren't reaching the saturation point.

As for why the oils that are contributing to flavour and aroma can't later on boost the bitterness, is because hops won't contribute any bitterness if they aren't heated. When we talk about isomerization, it's a process where the alpha acids in hops change their structure. The heat causes their atomic structure to be changed, which is why bittering hops are added for a full 60 or 90 minute boil, to get the most isomerization as possible.

 

[Yooper]

I bought this kit when it was discounted last week. So if I can only do a partial boil on my stovetop, what would make more sense if I were to try to get higher IBUs:

1.) Try to boil 4 gallons (dicey, I did that last time and boiled over)

2.) Or could I try to use half the ingredients, and only do a 3 gallon boil and pitch one pack of S-05 and just split this kit into two 2.5 gallon batches that I can later blend back together before bottling. Does that sound crazy? I thought I could potentially brew two consecutive days and then they'd pretty much be on the same schedule.

Would splitting it up like that make the beer that much better, or does it sound like a waste of time?

Any opinion welcome

Either of that would work. Whichever you do, add the majority of the extract at flameout to keep the color lighter and reduce any excess maillard reactions so there is no "cooked extract" flavor. I'd probably go with #1, as I'm lazy and would rather brew once, though! If you go with #2, no need to mix at bottling- mix up the second batch, cool, and add right to the second when it's done. You can do that if you make both batches within a day or two of each other.

Yooper, I think I confused your point.

Your saying I will never achieve more than 100 IBUs in wort but the oils still contribute aroma and flavor even if they are not contributing more bitterness, is it the oils that also contain the Alpha Acids?

When KepowOB says “go as big as you can” in this 2.5 gallon batch, what is the point? The IBUs will still be at 40 when topped off and only Aroma and Flavor will be added?

I don't understand the saturation, and limits of isomerize. Is there a website or book you would recommend before I test your kind patience?

I just don't understand how a hop bill for 5 gallons put into a 2.5 gallon partial will not equal the correct IBU for a 5 gallon batch once the other 2.5 gallons is added back to bring the wort up to full volume, and the IBUs be diluted by this extra water when you say that solubility is not based on volume. I am missing a key concept.

Thanks for your help.

I must not be explaining it very well.

Say you have 10 ounces of hops. You boil that in 1 gallon, 2.5 gallons, and 5+ gallon sized batches, and then top up to 5 gallons for the batch.

In the first example, you'd have 100 IBUs (probably not, probably less, but we'll assume best case, plus it makes the math easier) in 1 gallon. You add 4 gallons of water to top up (0 IBUs). That means that you have 1 gallon of 100 IBU wort, plus 4 gallons of 0 IBU wort. That means that the total IBUs are 20.

If you do to the next example, you have 2.5 gallons of 100 IBU wort, and 2.5 gallons of 0 IBU wort (water). That means a total of 5 gallons of 50 IBU wort.

In the last example, you would have 5 gallons of 100 IBU wort, and 0 gallons of 0 IBU wort (water), so you'd have 5 gallons of 100 IBU wort.

Diluting the wort is generally fine for most batches, but in a beer that has a strong bitterness as part of the profile, you can see where the IBUs would necessarily be decreased by the amount of water added at the end, once the maximum solubility of the hops oils is reached. Only so much hops oils will isomerize before reaching the saturation point, so the bittering will not take place once that happens. You can have 100 ounces of hops in 2 gallons, but you will never get more than the limit of approx 100 IBUs into it.

 

[Clarke]

Thanks, I believe I understand now.

Let me ask this one more way just for my own clarity.

If I have a 5 gallon batch and I want a 100 IBUs this will equal 10oz of hops (for simplicity)

If I am doing a 2.5 gallon batch and add the same 10oz, I will still only max out at a 100IBUs but the aroma and flavor will be more than the 5 gallon?

If I make a 1 gallon batch, and add the same 10oz, still I only max out at a 100IBUs but again the flavor and aroma will be more than the 2.5 gallon?

So the big hop beers with 50oz of hops in a 5 gallon batch will still max out at 100IBUs but the aroma and flavor will be thru the roof, for the lack of a better term.

and of course it still depends on hop placement for the aroma and flavor, I am generalizing for simplicity.


Crossing fingers I am on the right track...

 

[rmyurick]

In "Brewing Classic Styles", they recommend holding some extract out until the end of boil, so that you are boiling, say a 1.050 wort, and getting pretty good hops utilization. So if you are boiling 2.5 gallons, you would add about 3 lb of DME for the boil & add the rest at flameout, before dilution.

 

[DavidG13]

If I have a 5 gallon batch and I want a 100 IBUs this will equal 10oz of hops (for simplicity)

If I am doing a 2.5 gallon batch and add the same 10oz, I will still only max out at a 100IBUs but the aroma and flavor will be more than the 5 gallon?

If I make a 1 gallon batch, and add the same 10oz, still I only max out at a 100IBUs but again the flavor and aroma will be more than the 2.5 gallon?

So the big hop beers with 50oz of hops in a 5 gallon batch will still max out at 100IBUs but the aroma and flavor will be thru the roof, for the lack of a better term.

I want to say No to this. Because of the difference between using hops during the boil to extract the alpha acids and late hop additions to add flavor. The essential oils that make up that part of the hop character are easily boiled off.

So in each of those three examples you would reach the limit of the IBU's that each volume of water can hold and the aroma/flavor that is in each would also be limited by how much of it survives the boil. (Yes keeping the generalization of your example, ie no late hop additions. Simply speaking of a single early 10oz hop addition into 1, 2.5 and 5 gallons)

In "Brewing Classic Styles", they recommend holding some extract out until the end of boil, so that you are boiling, say a 1.050 wort, and getting pretty good hops utilization. So if you are boiling 2.5 gallons, you would add about 3 lb of DME for the boil & add the rest at flameout, before dilution.

My research so far contradicts this. The higher the gravity of the wort the lower the hop utilization will be. Se here http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-5.html

Plus I am trying to keep the color of this batch as light as possible so I dont want to have any malt extract in during the boil. This is to limit the Maillard reactions that would darken the color of the beer.

 

[Clarke]

I want to say No to this. Because of the difference between using hops during the boil to extract the alpha acids and late hop additions to add flavor. The essential oils that make up that part of the hop character are easily boiled off.

So in each of those three examples you would reach the limit of the IBU's that each volume of water can hold and the aroma/flavor that is in each would also be limited by how much of it survives the boil. (Yes keeping the generalization of your example, ie no late hop additions. Simply speaking of a single early 10oz hop addition into 1, 2.5 and 5 gallons)
My research so far contradicts this. The higher the gravity of the wort the lower the hop utilization will be. Se here http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-5.html

Plus I am trying to keep the color of this batch as light as possible so I dont want to have any malt extract in during the boil. This is to limit the Maillard reactions that would darken the color of the beer.

When you quoted me you left out the last part of my post:

and of course it still depends on hop placement for the aroma and flavor, I am generalizing for simplicity.

 

[DavidG13]

^^ Yes, I didn't quite copy all of it. ^^

But I was taking that into account with my reply. The "experiment" being that 10oz of hops are added into three different volmes of water, boiled for the same amout of time and then the volume of each being brought back up to a full 5 gallons. So if the 5 gallon boil gave you 100 IBUs, the 2.5 gallon would end up around 50 IBU after dilution and the 1 gallon batch would be around 20 IBU. (Assuming the IBU dilution is linear with the volume of water being added.)

However since I am new to this myself I am not 100% sure this is correct. Just basing it on what I have learned so far.

 

[Clarke]

^^ Yes, I didn't quite copy all of it. ^^

But I was taking that into account with my reply. The "experiment" being that 10oz of hops are added into three different volmes of water, boiled for the same amout of time and then the volume of each being brought back up to a full 5 gallons. So if the 5 gallon boil gave you 100 IBUs, the 2.5 gallon would end up around 50 IBU after dilution and the 1 gallon batch would be around 20 IBU. (Assuming the IBU dilution is linear with the volume of water being added.)

However since I am new to this myself I am not 100% sure this is correct. Just basing it on what I have learned so far.

No, The 5 gal is 5 gal, the 2.5 gal is 2.5, the 1 gal is 1 gal, I am not diluting any of it. They all equal 100 IBUs from 10oz of hops being added to each.

Forget about the boil boiling off flavor and aroma, this is just generalized, I think Yooper is saying the hops can still add flavor and aroma but not more bitterness even at a late addition, hops still add bitterness but since the saturation is met the hops are only adding flavor and aroma at this point, this is from Yooper saying she does not think the hops are wasted from a previous post they are still adding flavor and aroma.

 

[DavidG13]

Gotcha - I misread it a little in your other post

Yes, in that case I would expect the 1 gallon batch to be the one with the most flavor/aroma.

 

[Yooper]

My research so far contradicts this. The higher the gravity of the wort the lower the hop utilization will be. Se here http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-5.html

That's a very old thought on hops utilization.

Since about 2008, Palmer has said he "got it wrong" in How to Brew. In fact, hops utilization is independent of wort gravity.

When I asked him about that again a few years ago, he said something like "while hops utilization is indeed independent of wort gravity, break material may impact it, though, so in a wort with a lot of break materal, when the break material falls out, the utilization may be reduced". It's been a few years since we talked about it, and we were both drinking more than a couple of beers at the time so I'm sure I"m paraphrasing, but that's what he told me.

I know he's down some podcasts and other things in the last few years that would give more information on this- I think one is from maybe 2010? called "what is an IBU really" on Basic Brewing Radio. I remember listening to that a while back.

While hops utilization is not dependent on wort gravity, all of the IBU calculators we use do take it into consideration (Rager, Tinseth, etc) and while it's not perfect, nor even that accurate, it's the best we have. What I would suggest in homebrewing is to pick one scale and use it. Even if your IBUs would be tested in a lab to be far different, once you brew for a while and you know what "40 IBUs" in YOUR system tastes like, you can make sure your beers are balanced even if the calculated vs real IBUs are different.

 

[DavidG13]

^^ Yes, I agree. I decided that going too extreme was not a good idea. ie: adding all of the malt extract after flameout. Basically then all I am doing is brewing a hop tea into 6 gallons of water, and well that is just not what beer is!

First, let me say - Hop spider for the win! That thing is a lifesaver for time and keeping too much heavy gunk out of the wort. I used a small piece of SS to help add weight and keep the mesh bag from floating. I made sure to keep things moving around as much as possible to accout for the hops being trapped in a much smaller space. I also let it drain longer in my small pot, those runnings went back into the wort.

Here is the ingredient list and the timing that I used

9 lb LME - flameout
0.5 lb light DME - 60 min
8oz Maltodextrin - flameout
1lb corn sugar - 90min (corn sugar caramelizes at 338 deg F, so I figured it was safe to add early on. Plus this is when Vinnie says to add it in an old Pliny recipie, which contradicts the MB recipie which says to add it at the last 10 min)

6oz Crystal 40L - steeped until water reached 170F

2 oz Cascade whole - mashed with steeping grains
2 oz Magnum - 90 min
1 oz Simcoe 45 min
1 oz Columbus 30 min
2 oz Centennial - added after LME, steeped for 20 min before chilling
1 oz Simcoe - added after LME, steeped for 20 min before chilling

Dry hops
3 oz Columbus
1 oz Centennial
1 oz Simcoe

I used a 32 Quart aluminum pot. Boiled 6 gallons of water to start with. I put my wort chiller into the boil at 15 min. I also added in a whirlfloc tablet just after that.

I ended up with just inder 5 gallons in my primary pail. I rehydrated my US-05 yeast before pitching. My starting OG read 1.086. That seemed a little high but there was a lot of solids in my sample when I took the readting. I should have waited for it to settle to get a better reading but I started late in the day and it was close to 2am. I got the wort down to 62F. My wort chiller took it down to 82F in about 20 min. From there I took a bunch of ice and dumped that into a keg bucket. I set my pot on top of that and let it drop the rest of the way, stirring occasionally.

My one 'oops' for the day was I forgot to aerate the wort before pitching my yeast. I ended up jumping out of bed 3 hours later and since the fermentation hadn't started I got the stir rod going. I gave it a good spin with the drill, trying to get some O2 into my beer and not shoot it out the sides at the same time. Hopefully that helped more than hurt things but time will tell.

The sample that I tasted was awesome. I can only imagine where this batch will end up in a few weeks.

One last note - After all of my concern about color change from boiling the malt entracts for too long. When I started to pour the LME in at flameout and saw the color that it is, I realized why all of the MB pliny beers that I have seen pics of are so dark. If I brew this beer again I might find a way to change up that LME to something else. Granted the color might get a bit lighter once some solids drop out.

 

[Yooper]

Don't worry, with dry yeast you don't even need to aerate. You should rehydrate and pitch two packs for an high OG but otherwise don't worry!

 

[DavidG13]

I read up about using two packs after I had placed my order. Next time I will be using two for a high OG beer. I should get away with one though, I just get to worry a bit in the meantime. LOL

I will post my results in this thread.

 

[DavidG13]

Here is my Pliny the elder mid boil. Even across two burners my stove was barely keeping it going. But it was enough thankfully. I cant use the bigger burner on this stove because it is set right up against the wall

Yes, I did preboil the pot to get it seasoned for brewing. It just didnt turn very dark up near the top.

 

[DavidG13]

Update - I took a gravity reading today. It has been in the primary for 12 days now. Fermentation was active within about 12 hours after I pitched the yeast. The activity in my airlock started to slow down a few days ago. Current reading is at 1.018 with some activity still visible. It is at the paiont where it is either late stage fermentation or just CO2 degassing.

My two mistakes of not aerating the wort and under pitching the yeast are not helping. So far though they are not hurting my beer that much either.

I am going to let it keep going another 5 days and see where it is at, Odds are the FG will not get much lower. The beer tastes good, tho it was still very cloudy. The nose is very close to the real Pliny!

 

[DavidG13]

My FG settled in at 1.016. I added the dry hops directly into the primary. I let them sit in there for 7 days total. When I checked at day 5 there was still too much CO2 degassing and making the beer very cloudy.

7/22/14 - I racked my Pliny clone into a carboy to let it clear up some more. I was already coming up on 4 weeks in the primary and wanted to get it off the trub. Which ended up being about just over an inch thick down there. The beer smells great and I will be bottling it soon enough!

 

[DanzigsMISFITS]

I just ran across this thread after messing up slightly. Figured id add my 2c instead of starting a new thread.

So the directions messed with me a bit.
After steeping hops/grains and bring it up to 170 I pulled the grain bag and as it was coming to boil I added the magnum instead of boiling it for 30 min.
(I remember reading if all grain is 90 the extract should be 60. ) So it took another 5-10 minutes to bring to boil and I started at 60 min and followed the rest of the scedule spot on. Hope it doesnt effect flavor/bittering too much.

My OG was right on target at 1.072. Added most of my extracts in the last 15 min. Added to carboy and pitched my starter. Ferm started within 10 hours and needed blow off tube it is now sitting in temp contolled environment at 64F. Im going to dryhop in keg after primary fermentation is finished.. guessing no sooner than 14 days then push it into a fresh keg and put in cellar untill I have room in my kegerator (which shouldn't be long).

 

[Yooper]

I just ran across this thread after messing up slightly. Figured id add my 2c instead of starting a new thread.

So the directions messed with me a bit.
After steeping hops/grains and bring it up to 170 I pulled the grain bag and as it was coming to boil I added the magnum instead of boiling it for 30 min.
(I remember reading if all grain is 90 the extract should be 60. ) So it took another 5-10 minutes to bring to boil and I started at 60 min and followed the rest of the scedule spot on. Hope it doesnt effect flavor/bittering too much.

My OG was right on target at 1.072. Added most of my extracts in the last 15 min. Added to carboy and pitched my starter. Ferm started within 10 hours and needed blow off tube it is now sitting in temp contolled environment at 64F. Im going to dryhop in keg after primary fermentation is finished.. guessing no sooner than 14 days then push it into a fresh keg and put in cellar untill I have room in my kegerator (which shouldn't be long).

It sounds fine- it doesn't matter that you added the magnum before boiling. That's not a big deal at all. It doesn't matter.

 

[DanzigsMISFITS]

It sounds fine- it doesn't matter that you added the magnum before boiling. That's not a big deal at all. It doesn't matter.

Nice. Ok good. My issue was I didnt really do a 90 min boil more of a 60 min boil with the magnum in between 170-212 then starting the 60min timer at when it hit 212. Thanks for response

 

[DavidG13]

I took a sample after only a week in the secondary. I would say things are looking pretty damned good! The taste is still great. Just needs to be bottle conditioned and it will be good to go. I may end up bottling this later today!

 

[DanzigsMISFITS]

Man i did the extract as above. I dryhop in keg purged left at 5 psi at 65 degrees. I controlled ferm temps at 64 deg. I controlled dry hop temps and did it in keg. I removed hops at 5 days. Its been a week in keg now fully carbed and has a buttery/oily finish...also has tge same "taste" as my other ipa extract brews... frustrating. Not sure if its the initial hop "burn" that needs to mellow or what. 14 days in primary at 64 deg. 5 days in keg dryhopping at 65 deg. In kegerator for a week carbing...

 

[DavidG13]

I still have one more week before I open my first bottle. The last taste I had the day it was bottled was promising. I will post a pic of it when I open one. The hop character was not as strong as I was expecting it to be. Which is good IMO. With the beer uncarbed it had a nice citrus/pine finish which was right on par with the one bottle of RR Pliny that I have gotten to try. Not sure what would give a buttery/oily finish to your brew.

 

[DanzigsMISFITS]

I still have one more week before I open my first bottle. The last taste I had the day it was bottled was promising. I will post a pic of it when I open one. The hop character was not as strong as I was expecting it to be. Which is good IMO. With the beer uncarbed it had a nice citrus/pine finish which was right on par with the one bottle of RR Pliny that I have gotten to try. Not sure what would give a buttery/oily finish to your brew.

How long you going to bottle condition