WARNING - LONG POST
I have learned a lot from this thread so I thought that I would "give back". In addition to the general recipe posts, there are a lot of process related questions. I have version #24 & 25 of this beer fermenting right now. With the help of the HBT community and tips from this thread I have gotten the process down to a science on my equipment. Here is my process beginning to end, I figure it may be useful to some of the folks just starting out to shorten their learning curve or others that have similar equipment. I have won gold & silver medals in homebrew competitions with variations of this recipe.
Equipment: Grainfather w/ hop spider, Speidel fermenter with thermowell and spigot on top & bottom, temp controlled mini-fridge
Distille Water Gypsum Epsom Calcium Chloride Lactic Acid
Mash (6 gal) 0.5tsp 0.5 tsp 1.75tsp 1.5mL
Sparge (3 gal) 0.25tsp 0.25tsp 0.75
Resulting OVERALL water = Ca:105; Mg:6; Na:0; Cl: 151; SO4:70
I. Make 1.5L starter 24hr prior
A. 6oz DME & 1/4tsp yeast nutrient – 24hrs pre-pitch
B. Decant yeast slurry from mason jar to ~150mL before pitching
C. Wash & sanitize mason jar
D. Prior to pitch fill sterilized / sanitized pint mason jar w/ ~400mL of starter (~60billion yeast) – store for next batch, remaining 1L of starter pitched into wort
II. Recipe – Assume 79% efficiency; 1.064SG – 1.013FG --- 6.7%ABV
• 10lbs – Golden Promise (double milled) or 2-Row or split combo
• 2lbs – Flaked Wheat
• 1lbs – Flaked Oats
• 1/2lbs – Honey Malt
NOTE: Using all GP & 8ozs of honey malt will result in a burnt orange color rather than bright orange hue from all 2-row & less Honey Malt - also all GP will be have a little more residual sweetness in final product
III. Mash at 154 degrees for 90mins
A. Check pH after 10mins – target 5.3-5.4. Add 0.5mL acid if necessary (If requires more than 2mL total – recalibrate meter)
B. Check for conversion with Iodine
C. Refractometer ~15.5 Brix (1.060SG)
D. Mashout at 168 degrees for 10min
IV. Sparge @168 – should take 30-45min
A. Set switch to BOIL
B. Allow to fully drain to a trickle before sparging, press top plate to grain bed
C. Pour ½ gal pitcher of sparge water at a time, allow to drain until no longer visible above top plate
D. Leave grain pipe until no more drippings OR less than 3 Brix in refractometer
E. Final Volume ~28L - ~14.5Brix or 1.056SG
V. Boil
A. Add 1/2oz bittering hops
B. Should be at 25L around an hour, next is sterilization which takes 10-15min
i. Add hop basket
ii. Add ½ tsp yeast nutrient
iii. Add lid and start circulating wort chiller – allow first dripping to drain off before draining into kettle. Check periodically to make sure flowing. If not, stop the boil, allow temp to drop to 200 then restart pump.
VI. Whirlpool - Set switch to MASH and set temp to 140
A. Drape sanitizer soaked paper towel over lid hole
B. WP #1 –180degrees – 3oz hops – continuously chill to 140, stir occasionally. (Using Grainfather counterflow chiller it takes about 15min to go from 180-140)
C. WP #2 – 140degrees – 4oz hops, stop chilling and hold for 15min – stir occasionally, then chill while transferring to fermenter
D. MAKE SURE FERMENTOR SPIGOTS ARE OFF BEFORE TRANSFER (I assume this needs no explanation....
)
E. Accounting for trub, hop absorption, & evaporation – transfer ~22L to fermenter. After pitching starter volume in fermenter should be 5.75-6gal
VII. Fermentation: Starting ferm temp – Conan: 63degrees; WY1318: 65degrees
A. Day 1-5 pitch temp: Dryhop #1 – 4oz, 48 hours after pitching starter
B. Day 6-7 add 2degrees: Dryhop #2 – 3oz on Day 7 - Turn on CO2 hose and hold over opening while adding dryhop
C. Day 8-9 add 2degrees
D. Day 10-11 add 2degrees: Remove blowoff tube & close top spigot. Pressurize fermenter by attaching CO2 hose to bottom spigot and bubble some CO2 into fermenter (prevents suck back & O2 exposure while cold crashing)
E. Day 12 – Cold crash: 40degrees for two days
VIII. Kegging
A. Fill CLEAN keg w/ sanitizer water, soak 15min – invert halfway through, soak 15min
B. Hook up keg to draft & CO2, Push out sanitizer through draft line.
C. Once it “blows” – place upside down for 5-10 to let settle, then pull PRV until no more sanitizer sprays
D. Remove poppet from keg OUT post
E. Attach transfer hose to bottom spigot of fermenter, other end to keg OUT
F. Attach CO2 hose to top spigot of fermenter, set pressure to ~5lbs then transfer
G. Unscrew PRV just enough where relieve pressure
H. Transfer until beer sprays out of PRV
I. Close PRV, replace poppet then proceed with carbing
I have the Clear Beer Draught system in my IPA kegs. I used to keg dryhop but I don't any longer because I was losing about 1/2 gallon on beer to hop absorption and I saw no benefit of keg hopping. I did a side by side versions of dryhop #2 in fermenter vs keg. Out of ten of my beer snob friends - no one could reliably tell the difference - testing across entire age of keg (newborn to four weeks). In both situations two weeks post keg - 28 days from grain - is the absolutely peak in flavor / aroma. Nevertheless I still use the CBD system and love it because I never have to worry about the oft talked about "cloudy first couple of pints".
