Gemini Series is my fancy/cheesy name for making two batches of beer in the same day. Great time savings. Alpha Project is my fancier/cheesier (downright geeky in every sense of the word) name for my first attempt at making two beers at once (not counting the two partigyles I've done). If you're reading this, you presumably know that fermenting is what we call it when yeast consumes sugar and creates alcohol and CO2.
Finally, after a nearly 24-hour lag time, my two beers are fermenting. They're going pretty good right now. I am almost ready to switch the fridge over to cool mode to keep the temps from raising too much as fermentation creates heat in the becoming-beer.
It is strange, though. The two beers are fermenting differently. One is steady, like a normal beer. But the other one is really burst-y, no activity for a second, then three bubbles all in a row. It was so compelling to me, I filmed it (with my digital camera - the one that I take still photos with) and put it on YouTube. Here it is:
1.26.2008
Brew Day
Today I did the first in my "Gemini Series" - that's twin batches; two batches in one day. Today was fraternal twins - a Pale Ale and a Porter. Actually more like a Double Pale Ale and a Baltic Porter. My new grain mill bumped my efficiency to 90%. I still can't believe it, and I've got to make sure I'm measuring everything correctly.
But the hydrometer read 1.070 for both batches. Maybe today is a "70" day somehow. So much for the session beers at 4.8% and 5.5%. I'll have to deal with two 7% beers. Can you tell I'm disappointed? ;)
I tried to be time-efficient. I mashed Dragon King Pale Ale first. Then, my intention was to time the heating of the mash water for Marynka Porter such that as soon as the mash tun was free from Dragon King, I could take it over with Marynka. I had sparge slowness, so it took a bit longer, but in the end, it all came out OK. I'll skip the play-by-play. Because I am lazy right now.
But the hydrometer read 1.070 for both batches. Maybe today is a "70" day somehow. So much for the session beers at 4.8% and 5.5%. I'll have to deal with two 7% beers. Can you tell I'm disappointed? ;)
I tried to be time-efficient. I mashed Dragon King Pale Ale first. Then, my intention was to time the heating of the mash water for Marynka Porter such that as soon as the mash tun was free from Dragon King, I could take it over with Marynka. I had sparge slowness, so it took a bit longer, but in the end, it all came out OK. I'll skip the play-by-play. Because I am lazy right now.
Marynka Porter
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Marynka Porter
Brewer: Keith Brainard
Asst Brewer:
Style: Brown Porter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.72 gal
Estimated OG: 1.070 SG
Estimated Color: 30.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 31.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 90.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
10.00 lb Pale Malt (Pearl) (3.0 SRM) Grain 90.91 %
0.50 lb Black (Patent) Malt - Light (478.5 SRM) Grain 4.55 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -150L (150.0 SRM) Grain 2.27 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt - Medium (385.0 SRM) Grain 2.27 %
0.50 oz Marynka [6.50 %] (90 min) (First Wort HopHops 12.3 IBU
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.60 %] (60 min) Hops 14.9 IBU
0.25 oz Marynka [6.50 %] (30 min) Hops 4.0 IBU
0.25 oz Marynka [6.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 items Immersion Chiller (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs US-05/US-56 (Safale #1056) Yeast-Ale
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 11.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 13.75 qt of water at 167.1 F 155.0 F
Notes:
------
Gemini Series - Alpha Two.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dragon King Pale Ale
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Dragon King Pale Ale
Brewer: Keith Brainard
Asst Brewer:
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.33 gal
Estimated OG: 1.070 SG
Estimated Color: 6.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 40.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 90.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
11.25 lb Pale Malt (Pearl) (3.0 SRM) Grain 93.75 %
0.25 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine - Dark (12.5 SRM) Grain 2.08 %
0.25 lb Carared (20.0 SRM) Grain 2.08 %
0.25 lb Munich Malt - Light (6.5 SRM) Grain 2.08 %
1.00 oz Brewer's Gold [7.70 %] (60 min) Hops 22.5 IBU
0.75 oz Ahtanum [5.50 %] (30 min) Hops 9.3 IBU
0.50 oz Brewer's Gold [7.70 %] (30 min) Hops 8.6 IBU
0.25 oz Ahtanum [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 items Immersion Chiller (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs US-05/US-56 (Safale #1056) Yeast-Ale
Mash Schedule: My Mash
Total Grain Weight: 12.00 lb
----------------------------
My Mash
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 15.00 qt of water at 162.5 F 151.0 F
Notes:
------
Gemini Series - Alpha One
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.24.2008
Pre Cut "Just Resiny"
So today I went back to Zok's. I could go on and on about how great it is there. It was even better this time than last time.
Today there were three other guys there. Bill Hincks was there, and it was great fun to meet him in person. Now I have a face and a voice to the email correspondence. Then there was a guy named Andy Jackson there, who is from Mystic. He had a beer made with Spruce, and on top of that, Zok was just saying, "there's this other guy that makes a good beer with some Spruce in it..." Then there he is! And there was one more guy, whose name I didn't get. But he was nice, too. It was the five of us hanging out for a while, sampling various beers. Just cool, really. Never had anything like that at any other homebrew shop.
But, what does this have to do with a sour Pre Cut Ale With Fir, you might ask, except for the fact that Andy brought a pine beer, too? I brought a bottle of Pre Cut with me, so Zok could try it and analyze the nature of the sour taste. He detected a sour taste, but decided it wasn't lactic, and was probably not an infection. Further anti-infection evidence is the fact that the bottles aren't absurdly fizzy. Lactic bacteria devour sugar that beer yeast won't touch. The feakin' bottom feeders of the yeast-microbe world, and that's saying something. So if the beer was infected by lactic acid, souring bacteria, it would keep fermenting until the beer was so fizzy it spouted forth from the bottle as soon as you opened it. This is not the case - Pre Cut is just a normal carbonation level, whatever that means...
So the final diagnosis is that Pre Cut was just too Fir-infused. The sour taste could just come from the tree. It was overwhelmingly voted "resiny". The two full boughs of Fraser Fir, stick and all, was too much for those little three gallons to take. It might have been something extracted from the sticks put in the beer. Heck, it might have been something that they sprayed on the tree while it was growing. In fact, I caught a whiff of the same sour smell from another old piece of the tree that the kids were playing with today.
So in the end, I might have replaced all my plastic crap for no reason. But better safe than sorry, and the stuff was dirty. Furthermore, I really drove myself crazy with the "why" and "how" of the infection. I guess I will sleep well tonight, knowing that I didn't really do anything wrong, except just used too much Fir with too many sticks in there. Next time, I'll just use the needles.
Today there were three other guys there. Bill Hincks was there, and it was great fun to meet him in person. Now I have a face and a voice to the email correspondence. Then there was a guy named Andy Jackson there, who is from Mystic. He had a beer made with Spruce, and on top of that, Zok was just saying, "there's this other guy that makes a good beer with some Spruce in it..." Then there he is! And there was one more guy, whose name I didn't get. But he was nice, too. It was the five of us hanging out for a while, sampling various beers. Just cool, really. Never had anything like that at any other homebrew shop.
But, what does this have to do with a sour Pre Cut Ale With Fir, you might ask, except for the fact that Andy brought a pine beer, too? I brought a bottle of Pre Cut with me, so Zok could try it and analyze the nature of the sour taste. He detected a sour taste, but decided it wasn't lactic, and was probably not an infection. Further anti-infection evidence is the fact that the bottles aren't absurdly fizzy. Lactic bacteria devour sugar that beer yeast won't touch. The feakin' bottom feeders of the yeast-microbe world, and that's saying something. So if the beer was infected by lactic acid, souring bacteria, it would keep fermenting until the beer was so fizzy it spouted forth from the bottle as soon as you opened it. This is not the case - Pre Cut is just a normal carbonation level, whatever that means...
So the final diagnosis is that Pre Cut was just too Fir-infused. The sour taste could just come from the tree. It was overwhelmingly voted "resiny". The two full boughs of Fraser Fir, stick and all, was too much for those little three gallons to take. It might have been something extracted from the sticks put in the beer. Heck, it might have been something that they sprayed on the tree while it was growing. In fact, I caught a whiff of the same sour smell from another old piece of the tree that the kids were playing with today.
So in the end, I might have replaced all my plastic crap for no reason. But better safe than sorry, and the stuff was dirty. Furthermore, I really drove myself crazy with the "why" and "how" of the infection. I guess I will sleep well tonight, knowing that I didn't really do anything wrong, except just used too much Fir with too many sticks in there. Next time, I'll just use the needles.
1.17.2008
Big Slick 2 Sampled
Ever since I found Pre-Cut to be infected, I've been nervously anticipating the state of Big Slick 2. The first time around, Big Slick was supposed to be my most awesome thing ever. It ended up poorly attenuated, and I tried to fix it, and in the actual end, it was DMS city, like a bottle of cooked corn. Bummer. Major.
So today, sixteen days after brewing, the thing is still bubbling in the airlock and I am nervous as hell. I am fermenting at 62-64°F, but still, shouldn't it be done by now??
I did something I am almost categorically against. I thiefed a sample a few minutes ago. I sanitized the plastic beer thief, and drew three pulls. That was enough to fill a hydrometer sampling cylinder. Gravity is 1.015. OG was 1.085, and BeerSmith predicted 1.020 for a FG. But I have been beating BeerSmith all the time with my one-two punch of temperature control and US-05 dry yeast. Slightly worrisome, but not alarming...yet.
Then the smell. It is still fermenting, and I have never tasted still ferementing beer before, or at least not recently. At first, it smells like...uh...hops I guess. But there's something else in there. I now have labelled the smell "puke", though "pee" was my first disgusting thought. Hopefully that's just the smell of something that's still fermenting, like it's just the yeast dropping down to the bottom of the bucket so I can leave them behind. You know, how the yeast on the walls of the bucket smell so nasty. Maybe it's just that. But I'm pretty worried now.
The taste has set it straight. I can't pick up any sour. Sure, it's warm and flat and not done, but it is pretty promising! It is 9.2% ABV, but not too hot, even this young. The hops are absurd - just like an IIPA ought to be. It is really big, soft, and smooth in the mouth. I can sort of taste a touch of the puke if I really look for it, but the hops are center stage here.
Prognosis: I think this one's going to be just fine. No, it will be awesome! I might need to give it some more time, though... If I can, I'll rack to secondary tomorrow afternoon, and then bottle it in a week or so, with a fresh packet of yeast. But then again, I might just bottle it in a few days when the airlock stops bubbling, as has been my lately routine.
So today, sixteen days after brewing, the thing is still bubbling in the airlock and I am nervous as hell. I am fermenting at 62-64°F, but still, shouldn't it be done by now??
I did something I am almost categorically against. I thiefed a sample a few minutes ago. I sanitized the plastic beer thief, and drew three pulls. That was enough to fill a hydrometer sampling cylinder. Gravity is 1.015. OG was 1.085, and BeerSmith predicted 1.020 for a FG. But I have been beating BeerSmith all the time with my one-two punch of temperature control and US-05 dry yeast. Slightly worrisome, but not alarming...yet.
Then the smell. It is still fermenting, and I have never tasted still ferementing beer before, or at least not recently. At first, it smells like...uh...hops I guess. But there's something else in there. I now have labelled the smell "puke", though "pee" was my first disgusting thought. Hopefully that's just the smell of something that's still fermenting, like it's just the yeast dropping down to the bottom of the bucket so I can leave them behind. You know, how the yeast on the walls of the bucket smell so nasty. Maybe it's just that. But I'm pretty worried now.
The taste has set it straight. I can't pick up any sour. Sure, it's warm and flat and not done, but it is pretty promising! It is 9.2% ABV, but not too hot, even this young. The hops are absurd - just like an IIPA ought to be. It is really big, soft, and smooth in the mouth. I can sort of taste a touch of the puke if I really look for it, but the hops are center stage here.
Prognosis: I think this one's going to be just fine. No, it will be awesome! I might need to give it some more time, though... If I can, I'll rack to secondary tomorrow afternoon, and then bottle it in a week or so, with a fresh packet of yeast. But then again, I might just bottle it in a few days when the airlock stops bubbling, as has been my lately routine.
1.16.2008
Zok is the Coolest
Today, at the recommendation of Bill Hincks, former CT-RI Brewery Correspondant for Ale Street News, I went up to Willimantic (or Windham or whatever) to visit Zok's Homebrew Supply.
Since I found Pre-Cut to be sour, I immediately suspected every single piece of equipment in my brewery to be full of lactic Brett yeast, and in need of replacement. I soon realized that probably only the bottling stuff and fermenting bucket were likely infected, if that much, and headed out to pick up some new stuff.
I got a bottling bucket, auto siphon, blah blah blah - a bunch of bottling and other plastic stuff. But the best part was meeting the famous Zok. For those of you that don't know, Paul Zocco is Zok. He has a homebrew shop in Willimantic CT, and his knowledge and experience are vast. He does annual trips to Belgium to visit Lambic breweries and blenders as well as other great Belgian brewers. Probably does other trips, too. He writes for BYO, has a bit in Sam Calagione's Extreme Brewing book, knows people like Stan Hieronymous, and probably even more things I don't even know.
Yet with all this awesomeness, he's the easiest guy in the world to talk to. Honestly, I was pretty nervous heading up there. Fortunately, I had 51 minutes (according to MapQuest) to get over the nerves, and by the time I got there, I was excited to see the place and meet the man. I ended up spending upwards of an hour chatting about everything brewing and picking out all the stuff I needed.
Turns out Zok's passion really is with brewing. He seems particularly involved in Lambic brewing, and even has two (soon to be three) wood casks of Lambic in progress in his store. The store's sort of scattered, but there are so many cool things there. You can buy 1/4-bbl brewhouses and 1/2-bbl brewhouses from him, as well as plastic conical fermenters. He had on display a bottle of Utopias (vintage not noted), as well as empty bottles of all sorts - the ones I noticed were Newport Storm annuals from 2000-present.
Another cool thing about Zok is that he has some firm opinions, but at the same time, he's willing to let you do your own thing. A perfect example is fermenting. I used to do secondary fermentation, but stopped when I had all those flat batches. I now bottle every beer - big or small - a day or two after it's done bubbling the airlock. Zok is traditional and always does secondary, often for months. I just don't have the patience, but he respectfully stated his opinion and reasons, listened to mine, and agreed to disagree - no judgement, no arguing, not even a sigh and head shake. A perfect gentleman.
It was a real pleasure to talk with someone so well-versed in brewing, and loving it, doing it day in and day out for his work. Just an inspiration, really. I am glowing inside just thinking about it now. Even though I only ended up with just over $60 of odds and ends, I was given the royal treatment. I am hooked. I want to go back tomorrow to get my copy of Extreme Brewing signed, share some of his Lambic, and get his opinion on my Pre-Cut sour taste. I'll even bring my Mean Giant Double Stout to see what he thinks about it.
So besides a tribute to Zok, I guess the message is: try something new. You might find something awesome.
Since I found Pre-Cut to be sour, I immediately suspected every single piece of equipment in my brewery to be full of lactic Brett yeast, and in need of replacement. I soon realized that probably only the bottling stuff and fermenting bucket were likely infected, if that much, and headed out to pick up some new stuff.
I got a bottling bucket, auto siphon, blah blah blah - a bunch of bottling and other plastic stuff. But the best part was meeting the famous Zok. For those of you that don't know, Paul Zocco is Zok. He has a homebrew shop in Willimantic CT, and his knowledge and experience are vast. He does annual trips to Belgium to visit Lambic breweries and blenders as well as other great Belgian brewers. Probably does other trips, too. He writes for BYO, has a bit in Sam Calagione's Extreme Brewing book, knows people like Stan Hieronymous, and probably even more things I don't even know.
Yet with all this awesomeness, he's the easiest guy in the world to talk to. Honestly, I was pretty nervous heading up there. Fortunately, I had 51 minutes (according to MapQuest) to get over the nerves, and by the time I got there, I was excited to see the place and meet the man. I ended up spending upwards of an hour chatting about everything brewing and picking out all the stuff I needed.
Turns out Zok's passion really is with brewing. He seems particularly involved in Lambic brewing, and even has two (soon to be three) wood casks of Lambic in progress in his store. The store's sort of scattered, but there are so many cool things there. You can buy 1/4-bbl brewhouses and 1/2-bbl brewhouses from him, as well as plastic conical fermenters. He had on display a bottle of Utopias (vintage not noted), as well as empty bottles of all sorts - the ones I noticed were Newport Storm annuals from 2000-present.
Another cool thing about Zok is that he has some firm opinions, but at the same time, he's willing to let you do your own thing. A perfect example is fermenting. I used to do secondary fermentation, but stopped when I had all those flat batches. I now bottle every beer - big or small - a day or two after it's done bubbling the airlock. Zok is traditional and always does secondary, often for months. I just don't have the patience, but he respectfully stated his opinion and reasons, listened to mine, and agreed to disagree - no judgement, no arguing, not even a sigh and head shake. A perfect gentleman.
It was a real pleasure to talk with someone so well-versed in brewing, and loving it, doing it day in and day out for his work. Just an inspiration, really. I am glowing inside just thinking about it now. Even though I only ended up with just over $60 of odds and ends, I was given the royal treatment. I am hooked. I want to go back tomorrow to get my copy of Extreme Brewing signed, share some of his Lambic, and get his opinion on my Pre-Cut sour taste. I'll even bring my Mean Giant Double Stout to see what he thinks about it.
So besides a tribute to Zok, I guess the message is: try something new. You might find something awesome.
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