Batch 91 Wit tasting notes

Sample cold

Pours light gold, light haze, big white head billows, stays, laces

Aroma bitter orange with vanilla malt behind, slight stone fruit as it warms.

Mouth feel very light, cleansing.

Flavor deep orange spice up front with nice malt backbone right behind, pleasant hop bitterness at the tail.

Finishes bitter with touch of coriander.  Nice balance.

Overall, very good satisfying beverage, don't change a thing.  Should compare with Hoegaarden.  Could scale up.

Batch 87 Pilsner tasting notes

Cold

Pours deep gold, clear with slight haze, generous white head that stays, laces

Aroma light pleasant hops, a little corn?

Mouth feel moderate to light, some tooth cleaned up with hops and carb

Flavor pleasant hops over simple malt flavor.  Well balanced.

Finish, some malt bitterness, but hop bitterness lingers, cleans up.

Overall, simple basic beer, could try a diacetyl rest next time.  Maybe try gelatin.

Batch 98 IPA

3 gallons

3.5 lbs muntons Maris otter
3 lbs TFS golden promise
1/4 lb MFB cara120
1/4 lb MFB kiln amber
1/2 tsp gypsum

SRM 11

Mash 130 df 5 mins, 148 df 20 mins pH 4.9, 154 df 40 mins

Boil 75 mins

60 mins 1/2 oz magnum 12.6% aa 40 IBUs
15 mins 1/2 tsp Irish moss
15 mins 1/4 oz Amarillo 8.2% aa 6 IBUs
5 mins 1 oz Simcoe 12.7% aa 16 IBUs

62 IBUs

OG into fermenter 1.066, 76% bhe, 3 gallons

abv est 6.2%

Pitch at 68 df with s-04 in 3/4 qt starter, dry hop 1/2 oz Amarillo and 1/2 oz Simcoe, leave at 66 df.  Run primary at 68 df.

Rack to secondary 1/3/15, dry hop 1/4 oz Amarillo and 1/2 oz Simcoe.  Leave at 66 df.

Bottle 1/9/15 with 60 gr table sugar, yield 312 oz, 2.5 vols co2.

Batch 97 Dubbel

4.5 gallons

7 lbs dinge pils
1.5 lbs bm dark Munich
0.5 lbs bm Vienna
0.5 lbs MFB cara120
0.5 lbs MFB kiln amber
2 oz choc wheat

SRM 17

Mash 5 mins 130 df, 30 mins 148 df pH 5.0, 45 mins 154 df

Boil 90 mins
65 mins 7 gr galena 13.9%aa, 15 IBUs
50 mins 6 oz brown sugar
15 mins 3/4 tsp Irish moss
15 mins 1/2 oz mt hood 5.5%aa, 5 IBUs

20 IBUs

OG into fermenter 1.072, 4.5 gals, 84% bhe

Abv est 7%

Pitch with w1214 in 1 qt starter @ 66 df, move to 65 df, then after 1 day to 68df.  Ramps itself up to 78 df over 3 days, then ramps back down to 70 df, left at 70 df.

Bottle 1/9/15 with 90 gr table sugar, yield 552 oz, 2.25 vols co2.

Batch 90 Pious Quad tasting notes

Cellar temp

Uneven bottling, some gushers and some very low.  This one gushed.

Massive white head, clear very deep amber red, nice looking.

Aroma sweet stone fruit banana tropical fruit, some dirt behind

Mouth feel very rich, somewhat cloying, thick on tongue, roasty cleanse.

Flavor nice complex tropical/stone fruit, roast edge, pleasant hop spice.

Finish cleans up nicely, undercarbed samples not so well, balance of roast and hops covers esters up nicely.

Overall, yeast has had it and needs to be pitched, dirt is from yeast not hops, go back to chimay, go back to bottling bucket, hop and malt bill here is ideal.

Batch 96 Oak Barrel Russian Imperial Stout

6 gallons

Brewed as part of oak barrel project with Roger and Pete in Todd's barrel.

8 lbs TFS golden promise
6 lbs dinge pils
2 lbs muntons Maris otter
27 oz briess roast barley
24 oz weyermanns choc wheat
12 oz flaked wheat
3/4 tsp soda

SRM 60

Mash 150 df 60 mins, pH 5.8 at 15 mins, add 1/2 tsp cacl, pH 5.4

OG into kettle 1.072 @ 7 gals (not including final runnings)

Boil 60 mins
60 mins 75 gr galena 13.9%aa, 81 IBUs
15 mins 1 tsp Irish moss
10 mins 2.75 lbs table sugar

Og 1.102 into fermenter, 7 gallons, 82% bhe

Pitch at 68 df with w1084 in 1/2 qt starter from Roger.  Put in 64 df chamber.  Nominal activity at 18 hours, at 28 hours more activity in one fermenter, raise temp to 67 df.  Krausen at 42 hours, raise temp to 70 df.  At 50 hours foamover, put blowoff tube on larger fermenter, massive activity, continues overnight.  Primary running at 73 df, big banana aroma.  Still going strong 12/17 pm.

Rack to secondary 12/20, add 1 pckg danstar dry Nottingham dissolved in 1/2 cup water, return to 70 df.

Rack to Oak Barrel 1/3/15, in combination with 10 gallons each from Roger and Pete.  Same barrel used for saison earlier in 2014, previously used for pinot noir by Todd (36 months).

At some point in February, Roger added a bunch of centennial hops into the barrel.

Bottle 3/7 with table sugar and Trappist yeast, 2.0 vols co2.  Brought home 2 cases.

Batch 95 Homegrown Centennial Stout

3 gallons

4 lbs TFS golden promise
2 lbs dinge pils
1 lb bm Vienna
6 oz carafa I
4 oz ding choc
4 oz TFS brown
1/4 tsp soda

Steep at room temp 4 oz ding choc and 6 oz carafa I, add at lauter

SRM 40+

Mash 10 mins 135 df, 70 mins 152 df, pH 5.4

Boil 75 minutes

60 mins 1 oz homegrown centennial, 40 IBUs
50 mins 60 gr lactose
20 mins 1 oz homegrown centennial, 25 IBUs
10 mins 1/2 tsp Irish moss
5 mins 1 oz homegrown centennial, 10 IBUs
3/4 oz homegrown centennial at flameout

75 IBUs

Og 1.066 into fermenter, <70% bhe

Pitch with w1469 at 73 df, leave at 70 df.

Rack to secondary 12/13, leave at 68 df.

Bottle 12/26 with 62 gr table sugar, 2.4 vols co2, yield 336 oz.  Sample tastes very good.

FG 1.020, abv 6%.

Batch 89 Stout tasting notes

Pours very dark brown, almost no head, light tan lacing, not opaque like stout, more of a deep porter.

Aroma nice chocolate/coffee roast, spice hop more like generic hop smell.

Mouth feel, thick and sweet, clingy coating, cleanses at the end a bit.  Could use more carb.

Flavor, bitter roast malt, coffee, sweetness, some astringency, overarching hop bitterness that stays and cleanses. 

Finish cleans up nicely, doesn't taste strong, not quenching or warming, but ready for more.  Hop bitterness counters roast in finish nicely.

Overall, this is a robust porter, not a stout. It is a very good robust porter, the only change would be more carb.  Hard to say where to go with stout.