Red IPA Attempt

[nicklepickles]

Will do. I am going to use a full pack of rehydrated US-05 for the 2.5 gallon batch.

FWIW i do 2.5 gal batches with US 05, pitched 8g non rehydrated yeast on my recent 1.075 og ipa, and its fermenting fine, so that may be over pitching.

 

[Chris7687]

Thanks for the tip nicklepickles. I checked the Mrmalty.com calculator and you are correct. I am only going to use half a pack. Ended up making a wheat today on the stove top, saving the IPA and it's bigger grain bill for the second attempt batch. So far so good, except my stove isn;t strong enough to bring 3.8 gallons of water to a boil. Bummer....

 

[Chris7687]

Hey guys, so I secondaried and cold crashed the beer last week. Home sick today and went to bottle it. Pulled it out of the fridge and have this seperation going on. I've had it happen in other beers I've dry hopped with and for some reason it never settles all the way through!! I am not sure what is causing this!! Anyone else ever have this problem?

The beer isn't crystal clear like it was before I dry hopped. Could it be from a particular hop I am using is really oily?

 

[ddrrseio]

give it time... the hops will settle out

 

[Effingbeer]

That's not a problem. It's deliciousness.

 

[Chris7687]

So it is just hop oil from dry hopping? How much time? I already gave it a week in the fridge.

 

[Effingbeer]

So it is just hop oil from dry hopping? How much time? I already gave it a week in the fridge.

Yep. It will eventually clear along with some loss of the hop flavor and aroma. Bottle or keg. Sounds like its time.

 

[oldstyle69]

what temp was your fridge at? i cold crashed in my fridge last week and had to turn it down a bit. was sitting just below 40 which is no good for holding food for any long period of time anyway. 35 is good to crash at.

 

[Chris7687]

Not sure. I just crank it to the lowest it can go. I don't hold any food in there, just a few mason jars of washed yeast.

 

[TampaTony]

Well sh!t!!! How do I get the red without the strong malt presence? I'm trying to make something similar to Tocobaga Red by Cigar City.

Can I up the CaraRed without bringing to much malt taste to the recipe? Maybe mash at a lower temp, 149ish?

Here is my final revised recipe for a Tocobaga clone. I tried it yesterday and it tastes awesome! Not only does it taste pretty close to Tocabaga, I would dare to say it is better than the real thing. Thanks for all of the tips. Enjoy!


Brewing Steps: Tony's Toke -A- Bong Ale
American IPA
Type: All Grain Date: 12/13/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 10.00 gal Brewer: Tony
Boil Size: 12.05 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: Tony's Setup - Keggles and Cooler (10 Gal/37.8 L) - All Grain
Final Bottling Volume: 10.08 gal Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:
Prepare for Brewing

Create a yeast starter with 3.15 l of wort

Clean and Prepare Brewing Equipment
Total Water Needed: 15.56 gal
Water Prep
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
2.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 1 -

Mash or Steep Grains

Mash Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
22 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 75.2 %
3 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.3 %
2 lbs Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.8 %
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 5 6.8 %
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 6 0.9 %

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 36.56 qt of water at 163.7 F 152.0 F 60 min

Batch sparge with 2 steps (0.39gal, 6.03gal) of 168.0 F water

Boil Wort

Add water to achieve boil volume of 12.05 gal
Estimated pre-boil gravity is 1.064 SG
Boil Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.40 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 16.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [13.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 8 21.5 IBUs
2.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 9 -
1.00 oz Cascade [6.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 10 4.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Vanguard [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 11 4.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Willamette [4.70 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 12 3.7 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 13 5.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [13.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 14 7.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 15 2.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Pacifica [5.40 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 16 1.7 IBUs

Steeped Hops
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [6.20 %] - Aroma Steep 20.0 min Hop 17 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.40 %] - Aroma Steep 20.0 min Hop 18 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [13.50 %] - Aroma Steep 20.0 min Hop 19 0.0 IBUs

Estimated Post Boil Vol: 10.92 gal and Est Post Boil Gravity: 1.073 SG
Cool and Prepare Fermentation

Cool wort to fermentation temperature
Transfer wort to fermenter
Add water to achieve final volume of 10.00 gal
Fermentation Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1.0 pkg London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) [124.21 ml] Yeast 20 -

Measure Actual Original Gravity _______ (Target: 1.073 SG)
Measure Actual Batch Volume _______ (Target: 10.00 gal)
Fermentation
12/13/2012 - Primary Fermentation (4.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)
12/17/2012 - Secondary Fermentation (10.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)

Dry Hop and Prepare for Bottling/Kegging
Dry Hop/Bottling Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
4.00 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 21 0.0 IBUs

Measure Final Gravity: _________ (Estimate: 1.020 SG)
Date Bottled/Kegged: 12/27/2012 - Carbonation: Keg with 12.54 PSI
Age beer for 30.00 days at 65.0 F
1/26/2013 - Drink and enjoy!
Notes

Created with BeerSmith

 

[Chris7687]

Hey guys, so this is what my recipe looks like bottled.... Nothing like I pictured in my head.

 

[dbsmith]

Hey guys, so this is what my recipe looks like bottled.... Nothing like I pictured in my head.

Hahaha. I think it is going to need some conditioning time...

 

[Chris7687]

Hahaha. I think it is going to need some conditioning time...

Dbsmith - thank you for the kind note of encouragement. Glad you are utilizing the full purpose of these threads by trouble shooting and providing helpful guidance on the awesome hobby of Homebrewing.

As I last noted I cold crashed the beer for a week and it still wasn't clearing. Assumed that in the bottle it would clear a lot faster, as there is less volume to clear down. Since being in the bottle for 3 weeks and cooler temps that it would have cleared by now, clearly it hasn't. I was showing that the beer, even if clear, wasn't the hue I had anticipated. Still back to my most recent concern, how long do most notice clarity from the oils in dry hopped beers?

 

[dbsmith]

Dbsmith - thank you for the kind note of encouragement. Glad you are utilizing the full purpose of these threads by trouble shooting and providing helpful guidance on the awesome hobby of Homebrewing.

Thank you, I try every day.

I don't usually dry hop, so I don't remember how long it takes my beers.

 

[bobbrews]

Some easy tips on how to achieve better clarity for most Ales (not all are mandatory):

-Perform a complete mash at the appropriate temp. to convert all starches to sugars. This may occur in as little as 40 minutes, all the way to 2 hours, depending on your grist.
-Use either whirlfloc or irish moss at 15 minutes left in the boil.
-Rack carefully at every step... even kettle to primary.
-Wrap a 5 gallon nylon mesh paint strainer bag (available at the hardware store) around your auto-siphon when racking.
-Pitch enough cells of high flocculating yeast, like WLP007.
-Ferment at 62-64 F for the first 3-4 days, then bump it up to 65-68 F for the remainder. Actual wort/beer temp. - Not air temp.
-Give the beer 3-4 weeks from kettle to bottle. Time and gravity work wonders.
-Cold crash during the last 7-10 days in the 32-38 (F).
-Rack to secondary after a 10-14 day primary. Avoid oxygenation at all costs.
-Learn how to use gelatin finings to help clear your beer.
-Avoid agitating and moving the primary/secondary as to not stir up the trub.

 

[Chris7687]

Thank you for the recommendations bob. As of recently, I have been practicing a lot of what you just listed. Just started using whirlfloc again and going to use geltain on a Pale Ale here soon, hoping it doesn't strip away a lot of the dry hop aromas. In regards to the starch conversion, can you provide a further explanation? I have read before that you just take a sample of the mash and do an iodine test, am I correct in saying this? How will this help with clarity? I asssumed it was more for helping your efficiency

 

[tennesseean_87]

I have never seen a beer look like that before. It's not dark, but super opaque. How long did you bottle condition (temp?) and how long did you chill before pouring?

 

[Chris7687]

Sadly, a decent amount of my beers have this opaque look to them. Of the majority of these beers I'd say 90% have been dry hopped and have not cleared by the time I have finished the keg. The beer was only in the bottle for 3 weeks, which most likely 2 weeks were spent fermenting the bottling sugar. The beer was put in the freezer to chill the night before. I have had the same problem though in beers that I have let cold crash for a month, kegged and let condition for another month, to pour and it still have this opaqueness or even cloudier.

I have done a thorough cleaning of all my fermentation equipment, so I know it isn't some type of bacteria. I always do cold crashes before I bottle or keg. I honestly think it is just the oils from the hops (pellets). It could be my fermentation temps, after researching further into it, as I do not have temp control but I would assume the cold crash for 4-7 days would cause the haze protiens from stressed yeast to drop out. I just made a Belgian IPA which I used whirfloc, gave a quick cool down, made a strong starter, and am fermenting in a swamp cooler at 65*. I am going to dry hop with whole leaf pellets to see if this may resolve the problem. A Belgian Dubbel I made, I let sit for 3 months in secondary is crystal clear, wasn't dry hopped and no late additions.

I am open to any other suggestions, this problem has been haunting me! I do BIAB batches, but many other BIABers do not have this same problem I have!

 

[bobbrews]

In regards to the starch conversion, can you provide a further explanation? I have read before that you just take a sample of the mash and do an iodine test, am I correct in saying this? How will this help with clarity?

Because if you're not converting the starches to sugars when you mash, you will be left with some starch still contained within your wort. Starch is cloudy and residual amounts will definitely cloud up your beer. An iodine test tells you if there is an residual starch after the mash. But I would begin much more simple than this. That is, knowing the different diastatic power %'s of the grain you're using and how that plays a role in starch conversion. And why some grists require a longer mash than others. It's also important to stay within the beta/alpha amylase range when mashing. If you mash too high too early on, then you just ended enzymatic activity and there is no more starch to sugar conversion going on. There's a guy on youtube, a fellow HBT'er, who explains it rather well. I believe his handle on here is Bobby_M

 

[Chris7687]

Thanks Bob - I will have to look into this. Currently I only do a single mash temp for an hour and ramp it up to boil. With the new electric brewery I am in the process of building, I should be able to mash at different temps for different intervals a lot easier.

 

[GrogNerd]

what's in that mug looks strangely like the wort I am boiling now.

what did it look like going into the ferment vessel and what did it look like at bottling? would give a good indication where it went wrong, if it were red at either of these points

 

[eric19312]

Did you rack to secondary after only 4 days in primary? That seems fast to me, especially given big OG.

 

[Chris7687]

GrogNerd - it does almost look like wort. It looks pretty rough, but drinks like a great IPA. When the beer was done with fermentation, it looked pretty clear which would have been finished up with a cold crash. After it was dry hopped it just wouldn't clear, much like a lot of dry hopped beers I make. I put this picture up in an earlier post, but see below what the beer looked like after a week of cold crashing which was right before I bottled it. You can see a seperation, which appeared after the first day of the weeklong cold crash, but it never dropped any further.

eric - I am not sure where I mentioned I only fermented for 4 days, but if I did please assume that was done in error.

 

[eric19312]

eric - I am not sure where I mentioned I only fermented for 4 days, but if I did please assume that was done in error.

My bad
Was looking at TampaTony's recipe

 

[Chris7687]

I liked my red coloring in the cleared beer of the secondary, cold crashed picture. I moved most of the bottles into the kegerator to cool down and hopefully clear. I will repost a picture of the beer in a week.

 

[tennesseean_87]

I get lots of haze from dry-hopping since I squeeze the mesh bag to get all the hoppy goodness I can, but I've never had a beer be that opaque. Mine are mostly clear with a slight haze, not milky-looking. I'm really curious why yours turn out that way. Maybe a water issue?

 

[Chris7687]

I get RO water from the Glacier water machines, which is kind of a pain in the ass. I add 1 tsp of Calcium Chlorida and 1 tsp of Gypsum.

I am thinking maybe underpitching, as this still looks like wort as mentioned. I can't remember what I pitched for this beer.

Wanted to add this picture to show that even a beer that has been bottled for 2 months, of which 1 month has been spent in my fridge to condition, still is left hazy...

This is supposed to be a crystal clear beer, followed BierMuncher's recipe for Kone Pale Ale. Just didn't turn out like it!

 

[Chris7687]

This is a side note from this beer recipe and the problems I am facing with it....


So I think I am cursed; cloudy beers to nasty infections! The first infected beer I ever had, I kept for experimental purposes. I pulled a sample from it today. Read about it here if you want to see something nasty....

 

[eric19312]

The cloudy beer...


What does it taste like?

 

[Chris7687]

Taste great. Very citrusy, from all the late Cascade additions and dry hopping with Centennial. No off flavors that I am aware of that are present. I have served my beer like this at my home brew club events and have had nothing but praise for the taste. The visual is something I am embarassed of, but don't know how to fix it. Trying to trouble shoot here. I have 10 gallons that will be served here for the Tampa Bay Beer Week coming up in three weeks. I am going to transfer them to kegs once dry hopping is done come Sunday, add some geltain, and keep them nice and cold until the event. Hopefully that will fix some of my clarity issue, but not strip out to much of the hop aroma and flavors.