Session weißbeer experiment v2

[EJM3]

OK, trying out another recipe for a sessionable wheat beer. I'm thinking that I would like more body & sweetness compared to this one here: v1 of my Session Weißbier. This is what I have so far for my grain bill:

1.75 Lbs: NW Pale Ale malt
2 Lbs 2 oz: American White Wheat malt
1 Lbs 4 oz: Rye malt
12 oz: Crystal 40°L malt
8 oz: Carapils malt
4 oz Kamut malt (experimental, homemade malt)
1 oz Blackprinz malt


All of these grains have been run through a coffee grinder, of the mill type, not the dual blade ones, so will be perfect for BIAB style. I've been getting about 83% to 85 % efficiency with a 90 then 60 minute mash, I'll be going for a 30 minute mash this time. I'll check with iodine for proper starch conversion on this go round. I may even be able to shorten my mash time to under 30 minutes on the next go round, we'll see.....

 

[TexasWine]

I'll check with iodine for proper starch conversion on this go round. I may even be able to shorten my mash time to under 30 minutes on the next go round, we'll see.....

Interested to hear what you find out on this shorter mash with this style of beer. Could you do us all a favor and check your gravity as the mash progresses?

 

[EJM3]

Interested to hear what you find out on this shorter mash with this style of beer. Could you do us all a favor and check your gravity as the mash progresses?

Great idea there! So then each time I give it a good stir I'm going to do the iodine test for conversion, then I'll just float my hydrometer, temp correct, jot my notes & goose the temp up as needed. I'll go at it in 5 minutes intervals so that I can get some good data on my mash & conversion. Should be fun!

 

[TexasWine]

I'm a big proponent of not buying useless stuff for brewing, but a refractometer has proved to be invaluable on brew day for me. If you don't have one, I would recommend it because it'd make taking readings every 5 minutes very, very simple, and very accurate. You wouldn't need to rely on temp correction factors to get an estimate of gravity.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Also refractometers are dead simple to get an accurate reading and are less likely to shatter.

 

[RM-MN]

Great idea there! So then each time I give it a good stir I'm going to do the iodine test for conversion, then I'll just float my hydrometer, temp correct, jot my notes & goose the temp up as needed. I'll go at it in 5 minutes intervals so that I can get some good data on my mash & conversion. Should be fun!

I'm going to predict that your first iodine test will show no starches left when you do your first stir....unless you stir at less than 5 minutes.:rockin:

Conversion happens pretty quickly with a finely milled grain. Try multiple iodine tests at 1 minute intervals and see how long it really takes.

 

[EJM3]

Here's the short version: I'm broke, get under $200 a month, to pay my bills & expenses for the month, then have $20 to $30 left over for the whole month & due to medical problems I can't work. So I found cheap or free ways to do my brewing, coupons & saving for a few months to buy my fermentables & yeast. I've been saving for 3 months already to place a $65 order on MoreBeer, I still have a little wait as I'm still short until April.



Long version:

They are also rather pricey at $60 for the cheap models, up to several hundred for the fancy ones. I'm on a budget, a very tight budget, with only $197 a month income, bills to be paid from that, then my expenses for the month, then anything left over I can buy stuff with. That ends up at ~$20 to $30 a month if I'm lucky, that's 67¢ to $1.00 a day in spending cash, for the month. I'm not able to work, medical issues, so just getting a job & earning more is not a viable solution for me.

My solution to keeping my hobbies going was to find easy, free to super cheap, low amount of work & stress projects with lots of variations. I get coupons good at my LHBS located in a hardware store that has a lot of basics for me for beer. I generally get great discounts by waiting for a few months, gather my coupons, go shopping & get $40 worth of brewing ingredients for $25. Best I can do at this time in life for me & at least I found a way to keep my hobby alive! It's just the darn yeast that destroy my budget, but I'm gonna start a yeast ranch soon as I can get my order in to MoreBeer. I've been saving for 3 months to get a $65 order from MoreBeer, I'll have it next month.

 

[EJM3]

I'm going to predict that your first iodine test will show no starches left when you do your first stir....unless you stir at less than 5 minutes.:rockin:

Conversion happens pretty quickly with a finely milled grain. Try multiple iodine tests at 1 minute intervals and see how long it really takes.

Not sure I'm up for that much of a workout for me just yet, I've still got my training wheels on as it is. So this only being my third ever AG BIAB & fourth batch of beer ever, I feel pretty adventurous already with my setup.

Once I've gotten a few more batches under my belt & in my belly, then getting the whole set of procedures down, I'll be experimenting with shorter mashes & some homemade malts.

I plan to be as rampant as my imagination & budget allow (mostly budget). Plus I'll also document the crap out of them on paper & online. I love a good experiment, or even a bad one for that matter. But I just need to get my comfort level up with the procedures & artistry involved first. I think by brew #10 I'll understand it all much better, how the whole process works & what variables I can play with for best effect..

 

[EJM3]

I've run into a bit of trouble getting my next batch of yeast, hops, grains, etc:

I ordered from MB on Friday May 1st, on Wednesday May 6th I had to call as my card had fraudulent activity so they were closing that number out. Not a problem as my CC company allowed that transaction to go through. But when I called in on Wednesday MB had not even pick & packed my order 3 working days later, even though they advertise a 1-2 day pick & pack. It was finished later that evening and sent to FedEx.

Next gripe:

Also, they advertise and are supposed to have a 2 day shipping in place to Washington state, today is day 3, still no package. I looked up the tracking number and my delivery is scheduled for Monday May 11th.

So because of this my weekend brewing plans are shot, my weekend plans are shot, & now have to wait another week to brew my batch(s)!

An email has been sent with my complaints, we'll see how that goes...


UPDATE 5-11-15 10:00: I received a message back from MB with an apology, a valid reason as to why my shipment had been delayed, plus a gift certificate towards my next purchase. The valid reason & apology for the SNAFU were adequate for the situation, with the gift cert a gravy item that I fully appreciate because of my failure to brew this weekend. I may have time this week, but I could be getting busy depending on the rest of the world's ideas about my time, else this next weekend if there is time, it's my partners 71st B-Day, so might be busy that weekend as well. We'll see...

UPDATE 5-11-15 17:30: The package arrived this afternoon at ~2:00 PM, I have to say they are damn fine packers, amazing what fits into a small box... The biggest worry I had were the three strains of yeast that I had ordered, but they all looked fine with no bloating, etc. Now I think that I'll just have to step up my efforts to see if I can get some brewing done in the next few days. I'm REALLY wanting to get another batch going as my last one was rather watery...

 

[EJM3]

I'm getting ready to get this project in the fermentor tonight or tomorrow, puls have thought of my own way to deal with the fact that I have a small boil kettle, also going with the BIAB/No chill method: Get the mash done, sparge to 3.5 gallons (I have a 4 gallon kettle), then continue the sparge into another pot (2.5 gallons), boil them both, add them together when done. I will of course be doing some calculations on my IBU dilution etc, but it will probably affect my SG numbers a bit as well, we'll see.

This is mostly a test run/experiment, so there will be some good data collection. I'm even going to test the SRM as a friend has lent me his Vernier lab testing equipment, is includes a colorimeter & other goodies, we just need a new pH probe is all. This is gonna be so much fun!!!

 

[EJM3]

I'm really rather ticked right now...

I had my entire log all typed out, darned computer wiped it out.

So long story short:

Got it all put together & into the fermentor last night to cool off to 70°F by this morning.

20 minute mash.
Expected 1.036 @ 6 gallons
Got 1.034 @ 6 gallons
For an 80% efficiency this batch


_______________________________________________________________________________________________

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Session Weißbier v 2.0
Author: EJM3

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Weizen/Weissbier
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 6 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.072
Efficiency: 80% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.034
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV (standard): 3.15%
IBU (tinseth): 15.41
SRM (morey): 9.51

FERMENTABLES:
2.125 lb - American - White Wheat (30.6%)
1.75 lb - American - Pale Ale (25.2%)
1.25 lb - American - Rye (18%)
1 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 40L (14.4%)
8 oz - American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (7.2%)
1 oz - American - Blackprinz (0.9%)
4 oz - Kamut (3.6%) {homemade experimental malt}

HOPS:
1 oz - Northern Brewer, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.5, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 14.94

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 158 F, Time: 30 min, Amount: 10 qt, Mash BIAB

YEAST:
Wyeast - Weihenstephan Weizen 3068
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 75%
Flocculation: Low
Optimum Temp: 64 - 75 F
Fermentation Temp: 73 F
Pitch Rate: 0.5 (M cells / ml / deg P)

NOTES:
Grind all grains in old coffee grinder.
Heat strike water to 169°F, Grain temp 72°F
Add grains, stir well.
Adjust temp to 158°F.
Wrap with blanket on top of stove.
Stir mash every 5 min for 30 min.
Take SG & iodine test for conversion every 5 min.
Continue mash as needed to complete conversion.
Sparge with 167°F water to 3.5 gallons.
Continue sparge with 2.5 gallons & boil separately.
60 Minute boil.
Add to fermentor with cold filtered water to 6 gallons.
Take SG
When temps are at 70°F pitch yeast.
Ferment at high end of range (~74°F) for high esters low phenols.
Bottle 5 gallons at 2.9 volumes with 200 grams of honey.

 

[EJM3]

And it looks like the fermentation part is done as of this morning, I walked into the room where I kept it, URK! Smells like the after effects of an all you can eat egg buffet in there! I know it said that it throws sulfur an all, but Godverdomme, I hope that smell is gone by day 14! It was really raunchy walking into that room, bottling 5+ gallons of fart flavored beer is not my idea of a good time!!!

Attached are the pics of my iodine tests, they are at 5 minute intervals, the last one looking good enough to call it quits...

 

[EJM3]

OK so the sulfur smell has dissipated to the point of not registering finally, so I pulled a sample to take a FG, then tasted the rest.

FG: 1.008

I must be missing something when mashing, I even tried mashing at higher temps, 158°F to be exact... I used a lot of what I thought were fairly unfermentable malts, then used a yeast with a 73% - 77% attenuation (I got 76.47% apparent, 62.25% actual). I hope that my next batch I can up the FG, as such I am open to suggestions from people on how to accomplish that.

I can also post my grain, yeast, hops, etc, when I get my next batch of brewing ingredients, on Wednesday, with a copy of BeerSmith. I plan on making a batch about every 2 or 3 weeks, mostly wheat or wheat based & a few miscellaneous experiments.

I just made my first colorimeter reading, but I'm thinking that the turbidity interfered with my reading. So I'll just have to wait until it all settles in another 10 days or so for my next reading...

 

[EJM3]

There was an infection and the whole batch was nasty. Only a few small colonies along the rim, but the beer smelled and tasted of mushroom, so down the drain it went.

The next batch will be brewed today; that brew log will be posted later tonight when I have some free time during the mashing.

 

[slym2none]

Damn...

 

[EJM3]

I pulled a sample right before this went into the fermentor & tried to culture something, anything the past couple of weeks. Nothing growing in my slants or on my plates, my friend who is in college for genetics confirmed my results with no growth from that sample as well. So somewhere in the transfer to the fermentor or the fermentor itself there was an infection. I'm decontaminating everything with copious amounts of sulfites then vodka, we'll see how that goes...

 

[jahdub]

If you're on a budget, vodka is probably not a very cost effective method of decontaminating anything.