Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Batch 126 Pilsner tasting notes

Cold

Pours semi-cloudy yellow, white head that is not very tall.

Aroma nice crisp slightly sweet malt, nice crisp fruity hops, bright

Mouth feel thin, no coating, clears immediately, almost watery, undercarbed

Flavor simple malt, nice balance of hop bitterness, yeast brings nice freshness, very mild sweetness, pleasant.

Finish clean, not bitter, just want more.

Overall, very good beer, simple, maybe need another technique for gelatin, try longer boil?  Also, undercarbed, need to evaluate priming calcs.

Monday, March 28, 2016

Batch 128 Porter tasting notes

Cellar temp

Pours black, very deep red, clear, big tan head that billows, stays.

Aroma roasted fruit, sweet malt, slight tang/earthy hops

Mouthfeel moderate body, big carb, slight coating, hop bitterness at end

Flavor bitter chocolate, hops on top, malt sweetness is lost here, as is yeast fruit

Overall, too many IBUs here, could drop 5-10 IBUs easily, and could raise ferm temp a bit.  Malt bill is too roasty, not as sweet as I expect here.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Batch 134 Saison

4 gallons

6 lbs bm pils
1.5 lbs bm dark munich
12 oz flaked wheat
1/2 tsp gyp

SRM 7

Mash 146 df 55 mins, 156 15 mins

Boil 90 mins

70 mins 12 gr sorachi ace 10.4%aa, 20 ibus
30 mins 11 gr german northern brewer 9.6%aa, 13 ibus
10 mins 1 tsp irish moss
10 mins 12 oz brown sugar
5 mins 1 oz german hallertau mittelfruh 2.7%aa, 2 ibus

OG 1.065 into fermenter, 74% bhe

Boil 12 gr toasted cracked coriander in 1 cup water 5 mins, add to funnel at end.

Pitch at 70 df with OYL500 in 3/4 qt starter, leave at 75df.  Rack to secondary 4/3, move to 77 df.

Bottle 4/17 with 102 gr table sugar, yield 504 oz, 2.5 vols co2.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Batch 127 Saison tasting notes

Cellar temp

Deep gold bright with big tan head that stays for a while, big bubbles

Sweet barnyard malt aroma with light fruitiness

More toothy than it looks, moderate-full body that cleans up rapidly with pleasant carbonation, slight earthy cloy

Flavor strong bitter malt with horse blanket accent (not overwhelming), very slight tart fruitiness mostly hidden.

Finish coats some, hop bitterness at back doesn't quite clean it up.

Overall, solid effort, batch went fast.  Yeast may be getting old(?), could use more bright hops at the end.


Saturday, March 12, 2016

Batch 133 Hop Marzen

5.5 gallons

6 lbs bm dark Munich
3 lbs bm pils
1/2 tsp gypsum

Srm 8

Mash 70 mins 150 df

Boil 90 mins
60 mins 9 gr northern Brewer 9.6%aa, 10 IBUs
10 mins 1 oz falconers flight 9.6%aa, 12 IBUs
10 mins 1 tsp Irish moss
Flameout 1 oz Chinook 11.1%aa, 3 IBUs

25 IBUs

OG into fermenter 1.055, 92% bhe

Pitch with w2633 in 1.5 qt 2 stage starter at 60 df, move to 55 df.  Move to 68 df for diacetyl rest 3/24 pm.  Rack to secondary 3/27, move to 55 df.  Drop 5 df per day until 35 df.

Bottle 4/27 with 116 gr table sugar and splash of w2124 starter in heavy krausen, yield 640 oz, 2.6 vols co2 at 55 df.