Reproducing the same beer over and over

[buckeyebrewer]

Now that I have my RIMS cart tweaked the beers I have been brewing are very consistent. It's nice having most of the variables taken out of the equation. I hit my mash temps exactly every time, my volumes are spot on, gravities are perfect, efficiency is up to about 85%......and it feels good. After all of the blood, sweat, tears and money I finally have a solid system that works great. Sorry if I sound like I'm bragging a little but I have dedicated so many hours reading and re-reading about every process and listening to countless episodes of Basic Brewing Radio. I have made 4 batches of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in the last 2 months and they have all been exactly the same. As a home brewer this is the place I wanted to be in when I was struggling with my old system.

 

[brentt03]

Congrats! I hope to get to that point as well! It has to be a great feeling!

 

[skibumdc]

Getting consistent beers in a home set-up is not easy. So many variables like temp at brew time can affect boil, etc.

It's a great achievement to produce consistent results.

 

[hiberntepaths]

Sounds nice. I just took a tour of Two Brother's Brewery in Warrenville, IL. The tour guy there said how important consitancy is...and I believe it!

Of course there is a charm to craft/homebrewing in that it is slightly different every time (like grandma's spaghetti sauce)...but a set up like this will really let you experiment and dial in JUST how you want those beers to be. Very nice.

 

[wilceaser]

Congratulations! replication is the key.

 

[SkinnyShamrock]

Congrats, you've figured out the single hardest thing to do in the brewing world, homebrewing or otherwise.

Except lautering a roggenbier. If you can do that easily, you're probably a robot, or god.

 

[jmf143]

I have made 4 batches of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in the last 2 months and they have all been exactly the same.

Recipe, please?

 

[buckeyebrewer]

Sierra Nevada Recipe - These are the exact ingredients listed on the Sierra website
Yield - 11gal
OG - 1.054
FG - 1.012
ABV - 5.7%

18 lbs - Pale Malt
1.25 lbs - Crystal 60L
.4 Oz - Magnum Hops 13% (60 min)
1.4 Oz - Perle Hops 8% (60 Min)
2 Oz - Cascasde 5% (15 min)
1.5 Oz - Cascade 5% (0min/flameout)
1.5 Oz - Cascade 5% (dry hop in secondary for 7 days)
2 tsp - Irish Moss (15 Min)
White Labs California Ale - I made a 2 liter starter with 1 vile

Mash at 154 degrees for 60 minutes
Sparge until 14 gallons collected
Boil 90 minutes following hop schedule
Ferment at 68 degrees
Tends to be a little hazy in the glass from the Cali Ale yeast but tastes spot on delicious