Dark Mild Reaper's Mild, 1st place 2011 HBT Competition

[rockbasementbeer]

I think this will be next just because it would go so good right now with the premier league match

 

[Ibrewaletx]

I think this will be next just because it would go so good right now with the premier league match

I second that! I really need to get a fermentation chamber- my basement is still 71F and I'm in Portland OR! It's been Saison brewing for a while now but I might do the old wet Tshirt method just to get a batch of this going.
I am not working tomorrow so I may just stay up a little late tonight & knock out a batch of this. Already have all the grain, hops & some S-04.

 

[azscoob]

I second that! I really need to get a fermentation chamber- my basement is still 71F and I'm in Portland OR! It's been Saison brewing for a while now but I might do the old wet Tshirt method just to get a batch of this going.
I am not working tomorrow so I may just stay up a little late tonight & knock out a batch of this. Already have all the grain, hops & some S-04.

Or as a last resort you could brew my cottage house saison recipe in this warmish tail end of summer!

 

[Ibrewaletx]

Or as a last resort you could brew my cottage house saison recipe in this warmish tail end of summer!

Actually I have (on August 4th)! It is pretty much ready to put into the keg as soon as I finish off the Sour Mash Berliner Weiss!

 

[Haputanlas]

I second that! I really need to get a fermentation chamber- my basement is still 71F and I'm in Portland OR! It's been Saison brewing for a while now but I might do the old wet Tshirt method just to get a batch of this going.
I am not working tomorrow so I may just stay up a little late tonight & knock out a batch of this. Already have all the grain, hops & some S-04.

Be careful. Nottingham is known to have a temper in the 70s. I've had a bad experience with Nottingham at 73.

I only ferment Nottingham at 65 or less now.

 

[Ibrewaletx]

Be careful. Nottingham is known to have a temper in the 70s. I've had a bad experience with Nottingham at 73.

I only ferment Nottingham at 65 or less now.

Yeah, I'm not going to do it. I had S-04 but still will pass on that as well until I can get it into the 60's easily. I have nightmares of my earlier brewing days in Houston and some of the fusels...before I figured out about the importance of fermentation temperature control.

 

[barhoc11]

I brewed this and pitched my yeast (Nottingham) on Saturday but I have never gotten any major krausen like I do with every other beer I made. I know the sugar content of this beer is low so is this normal to not have a vigorous fermentation?

I can see the yeast moving about and I have airlock activity but I wanted to ask if this should be expected before I take a hydro sample after only 4 days.

 

[Haputanlas]

I brewed this and pitched my yeast (Nottingham) on Saturday but I have never gotten any major krausen like I do with every other beer I made. I know the sugar content of this beer is low so is this normal to not have a vigorous fermentation?

I can see the yeast moving about and I have airlock activity but I wanted to ask if this should be expected before I take a hydro sample after only 4 days.

My batches have a nice Krausen head usually. However, if you have airlock activity and yeast movement,I wouldn't worry about it.

Go ahead and take a hydrometer sample to make sure.

 

[barhoc11]

My batches have a nice Krausen head usually. However, if you have airlock activity and yeast movement,I wouldn't worry about it.

Go ahead and take a hydrometer sample to make sure.

Took a hydro sample yesterday (after 5 days in primary) and I am at 1.014 so it looks like something took place. I just hope I can get down a few more points in the next couple days.

I sampled some of the beer and I must say it doesn't have the 'full flavor' I was expecting, I assume this thing needs at least a few weeks of conditioning?

 

[br3ds0x]

Just brewed this as my first AG batch. Only wanted to do half a batch and added a couple ounces of honey malt. Had an OG of 1.037 (BeerSmith estimated a 1.043). Being my first AG, I ran into a few issues and see areas for improvement. Nonetheless, looking forward to trying this in a few weeks. Much more satisfying making an AG than an extract.

 

[azscoob]

Just brewed this as my first AG batch. Only wanted to do half a batch and added a couple ounces of honey malt. Had an OG of 1.037 (BeerSmith estimated a 1.043). Being my first AG, I ran into a few issues and see areas for improvement. Nonetheless, looking forward to trying this in a few weeks. Much more satisfying making an AG than an extract.

More work, but it feels like you acheved something....

 

[Haputanlas]

Took a hydro sample yesterday (after 5 days in primary) and I am at 1.014 so it looks like something took place. I just hope I can get down a few more points in the next couple days.

I sampled some of the beer and I must say it doesn't have the 'full flavor' I was expecting, I assume this thing needs at least a few weeks of conditioning?

What was your OG again? If it's light in body, likely more body won't come out with time. However, you could mess with C02 volume to adjust perceived body.

 

[barhoc11]

What was your OG again? If it's light in body, likely more body won't come out with time. However, you could mess with C02 volume to adjust perceived body.

OG was about 1.037 and I hit the mash temps spot on so I would guess that I should get the desired results. I bet I am just tasting green beer at this point but I was curious as to when this beer seemed to 'turn the corner' and become as great as everyone says.

 

[mabrungard]

Thanks for illustrating how good pale chocolate malt is.

 

[Haputanlas]

OG was about 1.037 and I hit the mash temps spot on so I would guess that I should get the desired results. I bet I am just tasting green beer at this point but I was curious as to when this beer seemed to 'turn the corner' and become as great as everyone says.

English Milds are not for everyone. Don't expect it to have as much body as a porter , Brown, or Amber. It's a session ale barely in the 3% ABV range.

Now with that aside, it's still possible this could get better to your tastes with time. Just know that most sessions should be ready in a very short amount of time.

 

[waverz]

Trying this recipe now and is my first AG brew ever. I've done 3 extract brews recently so this is a whole new experience for me. I just popped the cherry on the mash tun and and anxious to try my new wort chiller soon.

I'm super nervous about it though. I just hope I am doing it correctly. I was originally going to brew something completely different but due to weather my LBHS didn't have all the grains I needed so I did a quick google search and ran across this recipe.

I looked it up on Beersmith but only found a recipe for a 11 gallon batch that uses a single infusion mash rather than the double batch sparge that's listed here.

I've got about 10 gallons of brew water ready to go just so I don't run out.

Just to be clear after the initial 60 minutes at 158F I vorlauf until clear, then let run in kettle till it stops, add 2.3 gallons at 170F to mash tun, vorlauf again till clear, drain into kettle and repeat?

Do I need to stir the grain bed after adding the 170F sparge water?

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

that's the right process, and yes, add the sparge water, stir, vorlauf, run off. Good luck this is a tasty recipe!

 

[azscoob]

Trying this recipe now and is my first AG brew ever. I've done 3 extract brews recently so this is a whole new experience for me. I just popped the cherry on the mash tun and and anxious to try my new wort chiller soon.



I'm super nervous about it though. I just hope I am doing it correctly. I was originally going to brew something completely different but due to weather my LBHS didn't have all the grains I needed so I did a quick google search and ran across this recipe.



I looked it up on Beersmith but only found a recipe for a 11 gallon batch that uses a single infusion mash rather than the double batch sparge that's listed here.



I've got about 10 gallons of brew water ready to go just so I don't run out.



Just to be clear after the initial 60 minutes at 158F I vorlauf until clear, then let run in kettle till it stops, add 2.3 gallons at 170F to mash tun, vorlauf again till clear, drain into kettle and repeat?



Do I need to stir the grain bed after adding the 170F sparge water?

Yes, you have the process correct, I stir after adding the water as I find this helps my efficiency. I've been stirring and splitting my sparge additions where possible into two separate sparges and this along with milling my own grain has stuck me in a consistent 87% efficiency which has allowed me to use less grain to get my target numbers.





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[waverz]

Thanks for the VERY quick reply guys. Not sure why I'm so nervous. I guess usually when I brew I have a step by step list so I can't screw anything up.

My mind is now at ease. I think it's time or a homebrew while I wait.

 

[azscoob]

Thanks for the VERY quick reply guys. Not sure why I'm so nervous. I guess usually when I brew I have a step by step list so I can't screw anything up.



My mind is now at ease. I think it's time or a homebrew while I wait.

Having never brewed an extract batch, I guess I've never experienced the nervous feeling folks get while going all grain from extract.

There really isn't much difference after draining your mash tun into your kettle, and the mashing part is darned near how one makes oatmeal, and who is scared of making oatmeal?

Write down how much water to add at the beginning, figure out how much water the grain is going to absorb (I use this as my mash out addition)

Here is a generic set of numbers as an example...

I know I need to have 7 gallons pre boil and I added 3.5 gal at the mash in, then I add back my half gallon I lost to the grain absorption that means I have 3.5 gallons to sparge with, if I split it into two seperate sparges I need to add 1.75 gallons each time to hit my target in the kettle.

So that means my water additions are 3.5 gal initial amount, then .5 gal to make up for what was absorbed), then 1.75 gal first sparge, and 1.75 gal second sparge..... With it all written down ahead of time it's no more difficult than remembering your hop additions.


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[azscoob]

I tip my mash tun too so I lose very little at the bottom of my mash tun.

 

[azscoob]

When done brewing, I pull some of the grain, squoosh out as much liquid as possible and fill up a few ziplock sandwich bags with about 2 cups of grain each and freeze to use later to make spent grain bread, it's fantastic with this grain bill!

 

[waverz]

Just got done. That wasn't so bad at all. I was nervous about using the correct amount of water as I didn't know how much the grain was going to absorb nor did I know how much I was going to lose during boil. I must of done something right, my pre-boil SG was 1.036 and post boil was 1.042. Hopefully, my FG will fall into place as well.

I was also very happy with my wort chillers performance. I was able to go from boil to 64F in less than 20 minutes.

Looking forward to getting this kegged and in the glass.

Thanks for the help along the way. Much appreciated.

 

[azscoob]

Just got done. That wasn't so bad at all. I was nervous about using the correct amount of water as I didn't know how much the grain was going to absorb nor did I know how much I was going to lose during boil. I must of done something right, my pre-boil SG was 1.036 and post boil was 1.042. Hopefully, my FG will fall into place as well.

I was also very happy with my wort chillers performance. I was able to go from boil to 64F in less than 20 minutes.

Looking forward to getting this kegged and in the glass.

Thanks for the help along the way. Much appreciated.

I use .10 gallon/pound of grain for my absorption volume calculating purposes, so this recipe uses 7 lb 6 oz of grain, so that would be 7.375 pounds of grain so you would need .7375 gallons, I just round it up to .75 gallon for simplicity sake.

And if you are using a keggle or similar sized pot a fair bet is 1.5 gallons boil off in an hour. Try this test, I marked my long plastic spoon with notches for each gallon of water I added to my pot, this made it easy to calculate how much I boiled off during the test hour this got me baseline numbers for when I actually brewed up beer.



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[Clonefan94]

I'm brewing this up tomorrow. Can't wait to give it a taste. I've been getting in the habbit of boosting the ABV a little each time I brew my regulars lately and everything I have on tap is over 5.5% ABV. Been looking for a good session brew and this one looks to fit that nicely.

 

[azscoob]

I'm brewing this up tomorrow. Can't wait to give it a taste. I've been getting in the habbit of boosting the ABV a little each time I brew my regulars lately and everything I have on tap is over 5.5% ABV. Been looking for a good session brew and this one looks to fit that nicely.

Schaumburg! I work in Schaumburg! Nice to have close fellow brewers to compare notes with!

 

[Clonefan94]

Schaumburg! I work in Schaumburg! Nice to have close fellow brewers to compare notes with!

Weather finally broke enough to brew this on Sunday. Had a great day. I had been having issues with my mash tun and my stainless steel hose clogging. I changed it during the few weeks off I had had from brewing and this was my first time using it. Well, it worked like a charm, but it increased my efficiency quite a bit compared to the old hose (not having to add more water to get it to flow, messing with stuck sparges, etc. Anyways, came out a little higher than I wanted. 1.042, Oh well, she's nicely fermenting away as I type this.

I'll let you know how the final product turns out.

 

[waverz]

It's been nearly a month since I brewed this batch. It's been kegged for 2 weeks and still seems pretty cloudy. Will it clear or is it supposed to be cloudy? I've been waiting patiently but I'm about to just start drinking it.

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[bob1852]

Won another gold medal with this recipe.

It was actually aged in the kegerator for ~6 months. So, while it is a great beer young, it also holds up well over time.

 

[azscoob]

Won another gold medal with this recipe.

It was actually aged in the kegerator for ~6 months. So, while it is a great beer young, it also holds up well over time.

Awesome news! When next I'm back in AZ we are going to have to get together for a beer, gotta get up in your area anyway!