Spicy Saison w/ Saaz - Low ABV continued.

Saison is one of my favorite styles to drink, simply because very few are alike. Not that this is a catch all style but it does lend to interpretation. American Breweries have really took this style up a notch in the past few years. Lately I have been really enjoying New Holland's "Golden Cap Saison". It has a great tart finish that makes it extra quaffable. As much as I love that Saison, I decided to take this batch in an all together different direction.


I am going for a spicy, hoppy ale with a dry finish and low ABV. Saaz additions throughout, with a TOUCH of Grains Of Paradise at knock out. The Grains Of Paradise combined with the French Saison yeast should give it a great peppery aroma and flavor. Belgian Pils malt with White Wheat, Dark Wheat and Dark Munich for the grist. I am spiking the mash with 2 oz of black malt for color during sparge. There will be a dry hopping during the last day of fermentation into the short conditioning phase.

PG: 1.042
OG: 1.049
FG: 1.010 (going for 1.005)
ABV: 5%
IBU: 30
SRM: 9.6
EFF: 85%
BOIL: 70 min

Belgian Pils 5lb
White Wheat 2lb
Dark Wheat 1lb
Dark Munich 1lb
Black Malt 2 oz (on grain bed during sparge)


Rest at 125F for 15 min, Rest at 149F for 30 min, Rest at 156F for 15 min

All Saaz

28g First Wort Hops
7g 30 min
7g 10 min
14g Knockout
28 G Dry Hop after high krausen

3g Grains of Paradise Knockout

Ferment at ambient temperature. I am not temp controlling this.

Cream Ale - Low ABV Styles Part 1

It's finally Summer in Chicago, which means everyone is OUT DOORS! Festivals every weekend, the beach, al fresco drinking or just hanging out on the porch. The object is to get as much outdoor activity in before out famous Winter comes through again. Unfortunately my Home Brew situation is all imperial styles at the moment, not exactly easy drinkers in the heat. So I am taking these month's to brew up some low ABV styles which I can get from carboy to keg quickly. This week we are starting with a Cream Ale.

Cream Ale, despite the name, has little to do with Cream. Although in the UK this style is often served with a co2/nitrogen blend, which will give a creamy mouth feel. This style is a hybrid ale akin to American Light Lager except fermented with a top fermenting yeast or a blend of both Lager and Ale Yeasts. The grist is often 6 Row or 2 Row Barley with Rice or Corn Adjuncts to lighten up the body. This ale with have a pale straw to amber color. Hop Profile is balanced with noble hops appropriate. You can find more hop assertive versions but not in the sense of a American IPA. Many Lager at below 40 degrees for a few weeks post fermentation. This is not necessary but will clean up the flavor and increase clarity. Cream Ale is served a higher carbonation level then your standard ale.


This being my first foray in Cream Ale I am relying heavily on Jamil Zainasheff's recipe. Making some small modifications for my system and preferences.

This recipe yields 5.5 Gal and 75% Mash Efficiency. Mashing at 149 F for 90 minutes to insure rice conversion. I might do a step mash, undecided. Fermenting with Wyeast 1056 for a neutrality and attenuation. I am on the fence as far as lagering. This might go right to keg.

Pre Boil Gravity: 1.035
Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity: 1.009
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 19
SRM: 2.6
Boil: 90 Min
Ferment: 64 F

4 lbs 2 Row
4 lbs Pilsner
1 lbs Flaked Rice
12 oz Dextrous Sugar

1 oz Liberty 90 Min
1 oz Liberty 1 Min

Pliny The Elder Part Two

By special request I am attempting the Pliny Clone once more. I have retooled the recipe to reflect my current mash efficiency and the knowledge I have around hop utilization. This one should be drier and have a touch more bitterness than my first attempt.


You can see the first recipe here.. PLINY!!


The following recipe is set at 85% efficiency, my set up is a beast at small amounts of grain. There is also 1lb 10oz of dextrous in this ale. Which is going to dry out the ale and drive up the ABV to 8%. 115 grams of Columbus at 14.2% Alpha Acid bring the bitterness, 30g + 71g of Simcoe bring the flavor & aroma. I allow for a gallon of hop debris and trub to be sure to collect 5.5 gallon of clean ale.

OG 1.070

PG 1.049

FG 1.011

EFF: 85%

ABV: 7.9%

SRM: 5.3

Mash at 151F for 60 Minutes. Boil for 90 Minutes. A healthy starter of Wyeast 1056 or US 55 dry yeast.

11 lb 4 oz 2 Row

8 oz Caramel 40

8 oz Carapils

1lb 10 oz Dextrous (corn sugar)

115 g Columbus 90 min

23 g Columbus 45 min

28 g Simcoe 30 min

71 g Simcoe Flame Out

28 g Centennial Flame Out

Dry Hop 1

28 G each of Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial

Dry Hop 2

7g each of Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial

Recipe: Rye Stout

Brewed this one on Monday as part of the "Bridges Brewery" project. This recipe seems so tasty, i may have to re brew it for my self. Nothing out of the ordinary, just borrowed form a few of my favorite Stout recipe's and replaced a portion of the base grain with Rye malt. I will use a small amount of Rice Hulls next brew as the mash bed drained awfully slow.


OG: 1.061
FG: 1.016
ABV: 6%
IBU: 39
SRM: 38
EFF: 75%
BOIL: 90
(Note: Reduced the first gallon of wort down to .5 gallon. Compensated in water volume. I have not figured out how this impacts my OG/FG)

7.5 lb Marris Otter
3 lb Rye Malt (Note: Mill at the lowest gap setting to get a fine crush)
8 oz UK Chocolate Malt
8 oz UK Roasted Barley
6 oz Caramel 40
6 oz Caramel 80
2 oz Caramel 120

2 oz Fuggles 90 min

Used 2 packs of Safale US-04 as I am fermenting this one cooler than normal, 60 - 62F. Aerated for 30 minutes with aeration stone.

RECIPE: Imperial American Brown Ale w/ Columbus Hops

I am real fond of Brown Ale's. In my opinion Chicago's Goose Island Clybourn location brews really strong Browns, Porters and Stouts (just enjoyed a Triple X Porter there yesterday, mmmm). They do a American Brown Ale called "Naught Goose" and recently did "Imperial Naughty Goose", my recipe is not a clone of this beer but was without a doubt inspired by many pints of it.

The first gallon of runnings were reduced by 50% to create a heavy body and mouth feel. I did not dry hop, the 2 ounce 1 minute addition gave enough hop aroma without it being overwhelming. Being that most Brown Ale's are in the lower ABV I decided to call this one Imperial.

Imperial Brown Ale with Columbus

OG: 1.069
FG: 1.016 (1.020 with Reduction)
EF: 75%
ABV: 7%
IBU: 90
SRM: 25

13 lbs 2-Row
12 oz Crystal 40
8 oz UK Chocolate Malt
8 oz Crystal 10
4 oz US Chocolate Malt

.75 oz Columbus 90 min
.50 oz Columbus 30 min
.50 oz Columbus 15 min
.25 oz Columbus 05 min
2 oz Columbus 01 min

2 packs of US-05

Mashed at 149 for 60 minutes. Spiked mash water with .75 tsp of Baking Soda. Reduced 1 gallon of first runnings by 50% to create a heavier body and mouthfeel.

Doing The Pliney Clone..

Finally! I have been wanting to do this clone for a long long time. In the recent issue of BYO Vinnie Cilurzo did an article on creating Double IPA's and shared a recent version of his famous Pliny The Elder recipe. His recipe had a simple malt bill and much different hop bill than other clone recipes. Notably omitting Chinook addition, Mash Hops and First Wort Hops. He had his mash efficiency at 80%, I average about 75% on my system. Still with the decrease in efficiency I was coming a little under both the SG of 1.070 and FG of 1.011. Increased the grain portions and really stepped up the sugar to keep this bad boy dry. Kettle hops act as a great filter for trub and break from the boil. I increased the amount of water to account for hop absorption so I am not left squeezing wort out. Also doing a Gypsum and Calcium Chloride mash salt addition to make the hops pop and get suitable brewing water for a lower SRM pale ale. Here is my modified recipe.

14C-India Pale Ale(IPA)-Imperial IPA


Recipe Overview
Wort Volume Before Boil: 7.50 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 6.40 US gals
Volume Transferred: 5.50 US gals
Water Added To Fermenter:0.00 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.50 US gals
Volume Of Finished Beer: 5.25 US gals

Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.052 SG
Expected OG: 1.070 SG
Expected FG: 1.013 SG
Apparent Attenuation: 81.2 %
Expected ABV: 7.7 %
Expected ABW: 6.1 %
Expected IBU (using Rager): 246.4 IBU
Expected Color (using Morey): 6.0 SRM
BU:GU ratio: 3.50
Mash Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 67 degF


Fermentables

US 2-Row Malt 13lb 0oz 83.9 %

US Caramel 40L Malt 10.00 oz 4.0 %

US Carapils Malt 10.00 oz 4.0 %

Sugar - Corn Sugar/Dextrose (Dry) 1lb 4oz 8.1 %


Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Columbus(Tomahawk) 13.9 % 3.50 oz 190.4 90 Min
US Columbus(Tomahawk) 13.9 % 0.75 oz 31.3 45 Min
US Simcoe 13.0 % 1.00 oz 24.8 30 Min
US Simcoe 13.0 % 2.50 oz 0.0 0 Min
US Centennial 8.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 0 Min
US Columbus(Tomahawk) 15.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Dry Hop
US Centennial 8.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Dry Hop
US Simcoe 13.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Dry Hop
US Columbus(Tomahawk) 15.5 % 0.25 oz 0.0 2nd Dry Hop
US Centennial 8.5 % 0.25 oz 0.0 2nd Dry Hop
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.25 oz 0.0 2nd Dry Hop

Mashing at 151F for 60 minutes.

American Wheat Redux

It's been awhile since I last updated, took a much needed vacation to Mexico AKA land of the Mexican Light Lager. It's good to be back in a country who's climate support a wide variety of beer styles. Came home to find Maibock, American Wheat(American Heffer) and a IIPA ready for consumption. So it is definitely great to be home.

American Wheat has been one of my favorite styles as long as I can remember. Boulevard Wheat being the standard "Micro Brew" where I grew up, then moving out to Chicago where Gumball Head takes the style to new heights. I have a standard German Hef recipe that I am quite fond of. Last month I tried to convert it over to an American Wheat with some success. Aiming for the hoppiness and body of Three Floyd's Gumball Head, I was right where I needed to be for Bitterness and Aroma. Fell flat in the flavor additions. Body was nice and light but I felt it could use a slight lift in the sweetness. Two recipe's below have a slightly beefed up grain bill, the first recipe has a shifted hop bill, second has an all together new hop bill.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Heffer 2.0

VOL: 5.5 Gal

OG: 1.052
PG: 1.042
FG: 1.013

ABV: 5.2 %
IBU: 40
COLOR: 5.9 SRM

Mash at 154F 60 minutes. Boil 90 minutes.

German Wheat Malt 5lb 0oz 43.5 % 1.4
US 2-Row Malt 4lb 0oz 34.8 % 1.3
US Carapils Malt 1lb 0oz 8.7 % 0.2
US Rice Hulls 8.00 oz 4.3 % 0.0
US Caramel 40L Malt 8.00 oz 4.3 % 3.6
US Caramel 10L Malt 8.00 oz 4.3 % 0.9

US Magnum 14.4 % 0.25 oz 17.2 Loose Pellet Hops 90 Min From End
US Simcoe 12.7 % 0.50 oz 10.0 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 0.50 oz 4.7 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End
US Simcoe 12.7 % 0.50 oz 5.4 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 0.50 oz 2.6 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops In Hop-Back
US Simcoe 12.7 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
US Cascade 6.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

American Heffer 2.1

VOL: 5.5 Gal

OG: 1.052
PG: 1.042
FG: 1.013

ABV: 5.2 %
IBU: 74
COLOR: 5.9 SRM

Mash at 154F 60 minutes. Boil 90 minutes.

German Wheat Malt 5lb 0oz 43.5 % 1.4
US 2-Row Malt 4lb 0oz 34.8 % 1.3
US Carapils Malt 1lb 0oz 8.7 % 0.2
US Rice Hulls 8.00 oz 4.3 % 0.0
US Caramel 40L Malt 8.00 oz 4.3 % 3.6
US Caramel 10L Malt 8.00 oz 4.3 % 0.9

US Summit 18.0 % 0.33 oz 25.8 Bagged Pellet Hops FWH
US Cascade 4.5 % 0.33 oz 6.5 Bagged Pellet Hops FWH
US Summit 18.0 % 0.25 oz 21.5 Loose Pellet Hops 90 Min From End
US Summit 18.0 % 0.34 oz 9.6 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 0.34 oz 3.2 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End
US Summit 18.0 % 0.34 oz 5.2 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 0.34 oz 1.7 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops In Hop-Back
US Summit 18.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
US Cascade 4.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bridges Russian Imperial Stout

What follows is the prototype for this year's Bridges Holiday Beer. Making a BIG 10% Imperial Stout which will get 5 months of age on it before it ends up in the clients hands. Hopefully they will age it some more but this should give them a head start. I have never brewed this style but have brewed high ABV beers with success. I am dropping my mash efficiency to 60% to accommodate for the huge amount of grain in my tun. Going to Ferment this one at 65F in the lager fridge. Beer Tools puts my FG at 1.026 but I am thinking of racking to secondary between 1.30 to 1.035 to keep it a little sweet and thick. Any constructive criticism will be taken seriously.

Bridges Russian Imperial Stout

5 Gallon
60% Efficiency
1.082 Pre Boil Gravity
1.105 Original Gravity
1.026 Final Gravity
10.6% ABV
100 IBU
0.98 BU:GU

20 lbs UK Pale Malt
2.5 lbs UK Roasted Barley
2 lbs Wheat Malt
1 lb Special B
1 lb UK Chocolate Malt

1.5 Oz. Magnum 90 Min
2 Oz. Liberty 10 Min
2 Oz. Liberty 10 Min

Single Infusion Mash at 154F for 90 minutes. Ferment at 65F with 20 grams of Safale S-04 English Yeast.

Double Brew Day part 2 - Rye PA 2.0 and American Heffer Recipes

Looks like Friday's weather is going to be perfect for a double brew. Starting the day off with Rye Pale Ale 2.0 and following that with a Hoppy American Wheat with the same grain bill as my German Hefeweizen. With my new burner this should go much faster than before as I can get liquid to boil much much faster. Recipes follow and as always any constructive criticism or advice will be considered.


Rye Pale Ale


Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.048 SG
Expected OG: 1.060 SG
Expected FG: 1.014 SG
Apparent Attenuation: 75.0 %
Expected ABV: 6.1 %
Expected ABW: 4.7 %
Expected IBU (using Rager): 34.9 IBU
Expected Color (using Morey): 5.5 SRM
BU:GU ratio: 0.58
Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 68 degF


Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU When
US 2-Row Malt 9lb 0oz 66.7 % 2.9 In Mash/Steeped
US Rye Malt 2lb 0oz 14.8 % 1.3 In Mash/Steeped
US Munich 10L Malt 1lb 0oz 7.4 % 1.8 In Mash/Steeped
US Flaked Rye 1lb 0oz 7.4 % 0.5 In Mash/Steeped
US Rice Hulls 8.00 oz 3.7 % 0.0 In Mash/Steeped


Single infusion Mash at 152F.

Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Magnum 14.0 % 0.50 oz 29.4 Loose Pellet Hops 90 Min From End
US Willamette 4.5 % 1.00 oz 5.5 Loose Pellet Hops 15 Min From End
US Willamette 4.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops At turn off

Ferment with Safale US-05

American Heffer - American Wheat Ale

Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.035 SG
Expected OG: 1.043 SG
Expected FG: 1.011 SG
Apparent Attenuation: 74.9 %
Expected ABV: 4.3 %
Expected ABW: 3.4 %
Expected IBU (using Rager): 23.6 IBU
Expected Color (using Morey): 5.5 SRM
BU:GU ratio: 0.54
Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 68 degF


Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU When
German Wheat Malt 5lb 0oz 51.8 % 1.4 In Mash/Steeped
US 2-Row Malt 3lb 0oz 31.1 % 1.0 In Mash/Steeped
US Carapils Malt 1lb 0oz 10.4 % 0.2 In Mash/Steeped
US Rice Hulls 8.00 oz 5.2 % 0.0 In Mash/Steeped
Belgian Special B 2.50 oz 1.6 % 4.2 In Mash/Steeped

Single Infusion Mash at 154F for 60 minutes

Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Magnum 16.0 % 0.25 oz 16.8 Loose Whole Hops 90 Min From End
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.50 oz 5.1 Loose Whole Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 4.5 % 0.50 oz 1.8 Loose Whole Hops 5 Min From End
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.50 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops At turn off
US Cascade 4.5 % 0.50 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops At turn off

Ferment at 68F with Safale US-05

#Gents Pale Ale

I take part in a weekly Beer and Cigar appreciation night known as "Fellowship Of Gentlemanly Gentleman". Although week to week we set a loose theme on what Beers we bring to the table, we in general enjoy the hoppy pale ales and double IPA's. I was kicking around an idea for a hop focused but low gravity pale ale after having Flossmoor's "Special Bitter" and Rogue's "Yellow Snow". Both these beers are low gravity with a heavy heavy dose of American hop variety's. Instead of doing a few large charges, i decided to do many small "layering" charges. Using a balance of three different hops in smaller amounts to create hop complexity. I would say the Gents would claim Amarillo as a favorite hop, but they are hard to obtain right now. So I am subbing Ahtanum in its place. Along with Summit and Cascade, this beer should be a dank citrus piney hop bomb. Mashing at 156 and using Faked Barley to keep the body from being to thin. Also using CaraMunich for a little toasty sweet malt. This will be my first time using Wyeast 1272 American Ale II, which will add a small tart fruity character. I normally use 1056 in my pale ales, which ferments clean. As usual, any constructive criticism or advice will be appreciated.

Rye Pale Ale Recipe

Style: American Pale Ale
Batch Size: 5.5
Boil: 60 min
Efficiency: 70% (first time with the rye)
OG: 1.056
FG: 1.014
IBU: 53 (but I am First Wort Hopping, so maybe 45)
SRM: 12
ABV: 5.6%

8 lbs 2-Row 63.4%
2 lbs 8 oz Rye 19.8%
1 lb Carapils 7.9%
8 oz Crystal 40L 4%
8 oz Rice Hulls 4%
2 oz Black Malt 1%

.75 oz Cascade FWH
.50 oz Magnum 60 min
.50 oz Cascade 15 min
.50 oz Cascade 5 min
1 oz Cascade Flame Out
1 oz Cascade Dry 5 days before bottling

Mash at 152F for 60 minutes 1.25qt to lb of grain
Spike Mash according to your water chemistry to control PH

I wanted to keep this recipe as straight forward as possible. The 2 oz of 540SRM black malt is strictly for color. It should not impart much flavor. Originally I wanted to have spicy Saaz and spicy/citrusy Cascade fight it out in the aroma department. I could not get Saaz in time, so it looks like it will be a single hop in aroma/flavor realm. Which I am OK with, I am interested to see how the rye flavor goes with Cascade blast. I know I am heavy handed with the hops, thats how I get down, you can lower the IBU to your tastes. I also figured that the rye would absorb .30 gal of water per lb and figured that into my water volumes. Finally, I did not want to make this one too boozey, keep it drinkable.

As always, any experienced criticism will be taken seriously. Thanks!