Wood-Aged Beer Pirate Strong Ale

[Beerswimmer]

In the fridge cold crashing now. Since the wood was only on the wood chips a little over a week I'm thinking of adding a cup of the rum(Myer's dark) to the bottling bucket.

I always use one clear plastic Coke bottle when bottling so that I can easily check to see if the beer is carbing up. My test bottle is pretty rock solid today, so everything seems to be going well. I'll wait until mid August to take a taste

 

[ar15rifle]

A friend and I have decided we want to try this recipe. Our question is how much strike water should we use? Typically I brew all grain so using DME is a bit foreign to me. I know this prob isn't a full 6ish gallon boil as normal.


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[j1laskey]

When I brew this AG (BIAB) I typically add 6 gallons of H20 to my brew pot. And sparge with another 2 gallon. Collect ~ 5.5 gallons.

 

[Beerswimmer]

I always use one clear plastic Coke bottle when bottling so that I can easily check to see if the beer is carbing up. My test bottle is pretty rock solid today, so everything seems to be going well. I'll wait until mid August to take a taste

Still not carbed..... Just a few bubbles that dissipated quickly.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

I will probably brew the normal version first, but I think upping the caramel notes on this could be interesting. Kind of like a Caribbean scotch ale fusion. The Plaid Pirate perhaps :rockin:

I would probably do this with a 2hr boil and topping it back up, or boiling down a gallon of wort on the stove.

What do you guys think of the mouthfeel of this as is? Could this be too much?

Either way I'm definitely brewing the original first (if I can get Citra )

 

[pwortiz]

I will probably brew the normal version first, but I think upping the caramel notes on this could be interesting. Kind of like a Caribbean scotch ale fusion. The Plaid Pirate perhaps :rockin:

I would probably do this with a 2hr boil and topping it back up, or boiling down a gallon of wort on the stove.

What do you guys think of the mouthfeel of this as is? Could this be too much?

Either way I'm definitely brewing the original first (if I can get Citra )

What you said BUT!!! I would go the extra step: use Scotch instead of rum for the oak soaking!! The 2 hour would be pretty intense from my perspective (never done one longer than 90 mins) but based on my sad experiences with Scotch ales, I'd probably do the 2 hr instead of the 1 gallon boil.

Just my $.02

Whatever you do, PLEASE let me know. This sounds really interesting!

 

[ThatVideoKid]

It might be a while as I have 2 beers on deck, plus the original, but I will get to it eventually.

I just love the intense flavors from the split boil down, but I'm also on induction for small stuff so it always boils down perfectly, we'll see though. Scotch definitely could be great, maybe I'll split the batch between rum and scotch, either a highland or an islay.

I can imagine a nice thick sip of caramel rummy pineapple-y and spicy goodness

 

[pwortiz]

You do that and I would love a chance for a trade!

 

[ThatVideoKid]

Hopefully I don't mess it up haha this will be my 4th BIAB and my 10th batch overall haha

 

[mmlipps]

So I changed things up a bit and thought I'd let you know what happens. I did the pineapple and cinnamon 60 min and did 1 oz galena vice 0.5 oz. also 1 lb caraaroma. I ended up with 1.14 OG. I will let you know how it turns out

 

[pwortiz]

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?

 

[ffaoe]

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?

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

 

[Camden2300]

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?

 

[Lurch69]

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

 

[seven9st_surfer]

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%.

 

[pwortiz]

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?

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!

 

[Camden2300]

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!

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?

 

[pwortiz]

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.

 

[Shenanigans]

subscribed

 

[Camden2300]

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

 

[BioHopology]

Sounds tasty. Great recipe! Sub Cheers!

 

[seven9st_surfer]

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%...

 

[Camden2300]

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

 

[pwortiz]

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

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!

 

[Camden2300]

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!

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.

 

[pwortiz]

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!

 

[Camden2300]

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

 

[Camden2300]

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.

 

[pwortiz]

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.

 

[NickersonC]

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.