Upcoming single-hop NEIPA brew day

[ejf063]

Actually, I don't know if "resting" at or "cooling" adds to bitterness. The longer the hops are in contact with warmer wort, the more extraction of the alpha acids you will have. But they are not being boiled, which will contribute to bitterness. Basically, if you use a brewer's software program, any hops added after a boil merely estimate the IBU contributed as there is no boil time.

 

[RyPA]

Ok, I'm going to chill to get to 170, instead of waiting.

 

[RyPA]

Should I be worried about the krausen using the Verdant yeast? This batch will be 5 gallons fermented in a 6.1 gallon Torpedo. Wondering if I should switch back to US05 to be safe.

I will have a blow off tube connected to my gas disconnect, and then a spunding valve on the disconnect when things settle down.

 

[hopjuice_71]

Nothing home brewing related is worth worrying about A few drops of antifoam in a fermenter keg does wonders. The blowoff will also help, and may spew a bit of yeast, but I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[RyPA]

Not sure if I want to use that as it can affect the head of the beer? As long as the gas out will not clog and cause my keg to explode, I am good.

 

[hopjuice_71]

Not sure if I want to use that as it can affect the head of the beer? As long as the gas out will not clog and cause my keg to explode, I am good.

I have used it many times and it doesn't affect the foam on beer. They are silicone based and settle at the bottom of the fermenter. Lots of people use it. Just a bit of insurance. That being said, most likely your gas out won't clog and all will be good.

 

[RyPA]

Ah you're right, just found this

Also known as FermCap S, Foam Control does not affect the head on your finished beer. In fact, it can actually increase the head by retaining head-forming compounds that would have been blown off during fermentation. ... Add two drops per gallon at start of fermentation.

 

[Bobby_M]

Actually, I don't know if "resting" at or "cooling" adds to bitterness. The longer the hops are in contact with warmer wort, the more extraction of the alpha acids you will have. But they are not being boiled, which will contribute to bitterness. Basically, if you use a brewer's software program, any hops added after a boil merely estimate the IBU contributed as there is no boil time.

Isomerization doesn't require boiling. It just happens slower at lower temps.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Actually, I don't know if "resting" at or "cooling" adds to bitterness.

I hinted at this earlier with BBR's "hop sampler" approach. @Bobby_M provides a chart with some details.

This podcast episode (link) may be of interest

Basic Brewing Radio - November 1, 2018 - IBUs vs Wort Gravity and Hop Stand Temps
Dr. Chris Hamilton of Hillsdale College in Michigan shares results of his experiments testing the effects of increased wort gravity and different hop stand temperatures on IBU measurements. He also updates us on his research with Clarity Ferm on gluten in beer.

There's a PDF associated with the podcast with a lot of additional information.

The "Master Brewers Podcast" (link), episode 123, may also be of interest.

The "Hop Sampler" brew day is intended to be a quick way to make a six pack of beer for sampling: 3 qt water, 1 lb DME, 1 oz hops, dry yeast. When water starts to boil, add DME & hops. Remove from heat. Let it cool naturally for 20-ish minutes. Chill & pitch the yeast. I find that that wort goes from boiling to around 155F in about 20 minutes.

There's a "hop steep" variation that I've done in the past: Heat the water to 180F, add DME & hops, hold wort at 180F, chill. The result is a very different beer.

Finally,

• New England IPA - Blasphemy - No Boil NEIPA
• No-Boil Recipes! New for 2019!

 

[ejf063]

Should I be worried about the krausen using the Verdant yeast? This batch will be 5 gallons fermented in a 6.1 gallon Torpedo. Wondering if I should switch back to US05 to be safe.

Keep the verdant. Use a blow off and you'll be fine.

Isomerization doesn't require boiling. It just happens slower at lower temps.

View attachment 755232

Thanks @Bobby_M . The graph shows that you'll get roughly a quarter of the IBU if you drop your first hop addition in at about 175*. And that's if you leave it in the full 60 mins and held that 175 temp. The temp will cool as time goes on so the imparted bitterness will be less than what is documented.

You will want bitterness in any beer and frankly if you add hops its essentially unavoidable. You want bitterness to complement the sweetness (think "bitter/sweet"). There are so many different techniques about mitigating the harshness of bitterness, like first wort hops and post boil hop, water composition, ph, etc...
We haven't even gotten into oxidation, lol.
We are really getting into the weeds with you initial request here. I find that when I think too much about new stuff I start getting too anxious. You sound like you have a plan. Let us know how you proceed and what the final procedure was.

 

[RyPA]

I built a little spunding station for experimenting with pressurized fermentation. After ordering the BlowTie v2, I realized at some point I may want something that can go higher than 15 psi, and to use a higher quality pressure gauge as I don't know how trustworthy the stock one is. Instead of ordering a second blow tie, I just added on a second pressure gauge to the v2, as well as a blow off container. Fun little project that only cost a few bucks. If krausen does end up reaching the gas in, it now needs to make a few turns and go a longer distance before reaching the pressure gauge and blow tie. Going to keep an eye on it for sure.

In the video below I put a little pressure in my new Torpedo to test it out. Sorry about the background noise, my heating system is loud.

 

[Knightshade]

+1 on blowoff and you should be ok.

I’ve got a 6G torpedo that has a stout fermenting in it right now on day 4. Used a single package of S-04 around 3 in the afternoon and there was an inkling of bubbles forming via the blow off around 11 that night. Like a dummy, I only put in 4 drops of fermcap thinking that would be enough.

Bubbling in earnest the next morning and by that early afternoon the blowoff tube was a mess with muck having made its way to the mason jar of Star San as well. I just let it ride as the flow was fine until late that evening..at which point the star San was more than a little brown. I then switched everything over to purge star San filled kegs and is well.

 

[RyPA]

+1 on blowoff and you should be ok.

I’ve got a 6G torpedo that has a stout fermenting in it right now on day 4. Used a single package of S-04 around 3 in the afternoon and there was an inkling of bubbles forming via the blow off around 11 that night. Like a dummy, I only put in 4 drops of fermcap thinking that would be enough.

Bubbling in earnest the next morning and by that early afternoon the blowoff tube was a mess with muck having made its way to the mason jar of Star San as well. I just let it ride as the flow was fine until late that evening..at which point the star San was more than a little brown. I then switched everything over to purge star San filled kegs and is well.

I'm going to have a blow off tube for the first few days. Once things settle down, I am going to attach the spunding valve. I have some FermCap-S, thinking of dropping 6-7 drops.

 

[RyPA]

I brewed this batch yesterday, it was fun, and had only a few minor hiccups/frustrations.

Issues/frustrations
Water salts - When I did my water calculations I didn't realize that my pack of brewing salts did not have magnesium chloride, and I realized this after adding gypsum, calcium chloride, and epsom salt. I considered dumping the 8 gallons of partially salted distilled and going with tap + campden, but I instead tried to recalculate my salts without using magnesium chloride, taking what I already added to the water into consideration. I came out a little high in calcium and a bit low in magnesium, but I was able to line up sodium, sulfate, and chloride additions. Take away, get magnesium chloride.

Magnet dry-hopping - The muslin bag I used for dry hopping was a nightmare once added 6 oz of hops. It was very baggy and was hanging way too low, into beer territory. I ended up increasing the amount of cloth used for the knot and this helped. I was able to successfully get the hops staged for the dry hop. The process was annoying and I need to figure out a better way. Take away, find a new type of bag for dry hopping with magnets.

Temperature control - Last night I was trying to figure out how to get the keg down to 68F, as it was sitting in the mid 70's. I ended up getting it down to 68F using a bucket of water and then I put the keg in my closet which sits at 64F. I woke up to no activity in the keg which surprised me, and it was sitting at 64F. I quickly got the keg back up to 68F and was thinking if something was wrong and if I should re-pitch. The odd part was, when I was standing near the keg, I could smell that good hoppy fermentation CO2 but I was getting no bubbles in the blow-off. Out of curiosity, I popped the keg lid to check on it, and to take the temp of the actual liquid (which turned out to match outside keg temp), I saw a nice krausen head on it, which was good to see. I then noticed that the flare fitting on the ball-lock QD was loose, I tightened it up, and I had bubbles in the blow-off sanitizer! This was the result of deciding to put off making my blow-off tube until I was done with brew day, and after securing the tube, I forgot to tighten it down. Take aways, get as much as you can get done beforehand and figure out a temperature control setup for the next batch.

Taking my OG - Not sure how much this will impact the reading, but I took the OG using a refractometer after adding FermCap-S and yeast. Take away, write down step by step instructions so nothing gets missed, at least until I get more experience.

Brew day was depending on this coming in the mail, and it did, and Farmhouse surprised me with an extra packet.

Start of brew day

Sped up the boil using 2 kettles, combining them once the small one was boiling.

The grain juice

Into the fermenter

OG, after adding Fermcap-S and yeast. Need to figure out an adjustment factor.

This morning, getting the keg up to temp.

After tightening the flare fitting

 

[CascadesBrewer]

The process was annoying and I need to figure out a better way. Take away, find a new type of bag for dry hopping with magnets.

Same here. I have done this twice and both times were a bit awkward. I think I might need to go with a smaller bag that I can just tie up (vs one with a drawstring).

 

[RyPA]

Same here. I have done this twice and both times were a bit awkward. I think I might need to go with a smaller bag that I can just tie up (vs one with a drawstring).

Yeah, that'll give you a bit more flexibility. I want to find something that has more of a static size. A muslin bag has way too much stretch.

 

[Elric]

Yeah, that'll give you a bit more flexibility. I want to find something that has more of a static size. A muslin bag has way too much stretch.

I use nut milk bags. They are a much stiffer material with zero stretch.

 

[RyPA]

I use nut milk bags. They are a much stiffer material with zero stretch.

Good idea, and it looks like they have a fine mesh to keep the hop material enclosed.

 

[RyPA]

Dry hopped, put it under pressure, and took a reading today at 72 hours from pitching.

It was a bit hard to get the magnets passed what I assume was the krausen, right around where the Torpedo logo is. I kept gently nudging away and finally got it down, without losing the magnet connection.

Keeping temps at 72. I have the black thermometer monitoring the wall of the keg and the gray one in the water. I have a fish tank heater keeping it at temp.

Fermentation slowed down a lot so I put the spunding setup on set at 12 psi.

Took a sample today to begin monitoring for change

 

[RyPA]

This batch came out great, I updated the first post with details