Finally, an update!

So I’m finally getting around to posting some new info…I have a lot to talk about and some new pics to share.

GBS had their first annual Champion of the Pint competition on April 10th.  We ended up getting 132 entries, and had a lot of great beers.  I ended up judging American Ales in  the morning and the Specialty category in the afternoon.

The competition was a great experience, and for being our first it went off with relatively few hiccups.  The few that we did have were noted and we have added it to lessons learned.

Champion of the Pint Medals

I entered 4 beers: an ESB, a Northern English Brown, a Dortmunder Export, an American Wheat(Gumballhead Clone), and a Weizenbock.  The Gumballhead Clone ended up winning  a gold, with the Weizenbock, Northern English Brown, and Dortmunder Exports all winning bronze medals.  I’ll post recipes for the winners in a followup post. (The Dortmunder is already posted).
My hops are going Crazy this year, they’re already in excess of 15 feet.

I’ve also finally gotten around to adding Quick Disconnects to my mash tun to facilitate pump hookup for recirculation (vorlauf) and pumping to the boil kettle.
That’s it for now, I will be posting recipes for the beers mentioned above soon.

Champion of the Pint Medals

De-leading QDs in a 2:1 solution of White Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide

Collection Manifold outlet QD

Sparge Manifold inlet QD

Hops on April 20th

Hops on April 4th

General Update

No updates in a while, and I have brewed 2 big batches that weren’t documented.  I will be posting them in the next few days, as well as a recipe for an Amarillo Wheat I want to brew (shooting for something like 3 Floyd’s Gumball Head).

More to come…

Iron Brewer On The Air!

This week the president of Garage Brewers Society, Jeff Britton, was interviewed about our Iron Brewer Competition on the Basic Brewing podcast.  It’s a pretty interesting and entertaining interview:

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=radio

It’s the January 14th episode.

Iron Brewer Update

Well, I fell in the second round of the Iron Brewer Tournament.  The Agave Wheat didn’t quite make it against Tim Hayes’s Amber Agave Wheat.  The cool thing is that all 8 beers this time around were excellent, and the voting was close on all 4 brackets.  Good luck to the final 4!

Dortmunder brewday

Got around to brewing a Dortmunder Export on Saturday.  Had a good brewday, and got to use the conical again.

I was shooting for the top end of the style, kind of hoping I’d go over (wanted to make a bigger version of the style).  I got my wish, hitting 85% efficiency.  When checking the pre-boil  gravity, I noted this, and adjusted the BU:GU ratio accordingly.  Having a BU:GU ratio of about .5 in this beer is pretty important, as the style depends on balance.

Below are some pics, and the recipe.  The recipe is scaled to 85%, to show the actual final gravity and new correct BU:GU ratio.  I made a 4.5 liter starter with 2 vials of WLP830 German Lager yeast.  I am fermenting it at 51 F.

Note the beer is about 3 points out of style, I’m interested to see how it turns out.

Dortmunder 2.0

Dortmunder 2.0

Dortmunder Export

Type: All Grain	Date: 11/27/2009
Batch Size: 11.00 gal	Brewer: Dave Blue
Boil Size: 14.28 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: 20 gallon brewpot and Igloo Cooler (12 gal)
	Brewhouse Efficiency: 85.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 15.80 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.70 % 4.60 lb Munich Malt (10.5 SRM) Grain 22.33 % 0.20 lb Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 0.97 % 4.90 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [3.50 %] (60 min) Hops 27.7 IBU 1.00 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [3.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.8 IBU 1.00 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [3.50 %] (2 min) Hops 0.5 IBU 2.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 1 Pkgs German Lager (White Labs #WLP830) Yeast-Lager
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.059 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.059 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG	Measured Final Gravity:
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.98 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol:
Bitterness: 31.0 IBU	Calories:
Est Color: 6.0 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out	Total Grain Weight: 20.60 lb
Sparge Water: 10.31 gal	Grain Temperature: 60.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 25.75 qt of water at 165.4 F 152.0 F

Blue Agave Brewday

So, for round 2 of the Iron Brewer Tournament, I drew 11.75 oz of Blue Agave Nectar.  After doing some reading, I determined that I should probably use more if I want to get some flavor out of it, so I bought another 23.5 oz container, and this was the amber variety (seems to have more flavor).

For the base beer, I decided to do an American Wheat, with WLP320 as the yeast.  I also decided that some citrus might complement the Agave, so I threw in some sweet orange peel and lime zest toward the end of the boil.

I was estimating a 1.053 OG…only hit 1.047.  I’m thinking I overestimated the potential SG of the Agave Nectar.  Still, 1.047 is within the range, and I don’t think it’ll be too light.

One other thing that could have contributed to the low OG is that with only 2 gallons of water in the tun and 7 lbs of grain, the grain bed did not hold temperature as well as it ususally does.  I normally don’t even lose 1 degree over an hour, and in this case lost around 8 degrees.  There’s a chance this may affect the body of the beer too, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Below are pics and the recipe.



Blue Agave Wheat

American Wheat or Rye Beer

Type: All Grain	Date: 3/1/2008
Batch Size: 5.50 gal	Brewer: Dave Blue
Boil Size: 7.47 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (9 gal) and Igloo Cooler (12 Gal)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 4.40 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.93 % 2.25 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (3.8 SRM) Grain 24.51 % 0.33 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.59 % 0.60 oz Tettnang [3.80 %] (60 min) Hops 8.6 IBU 0.50 oz Tettnang [3.80 %] (15 min) Hops 3.5 IBU 0.50 oz Tettnang [3.80 %] (3 min) Hops 0.9 IBU 0.15 oz Lime Zest (Boil 3.0 min) Misc 0.40 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 3.0 min) Misc 2.20 lb Blue Agave Nectar (3.0 SRM) Sugar 23.97 %
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.053 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.047 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG	Measured Final Gravity:
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.07 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol:
Bitterness: 13.0 IBU	Calories:
Est Color: 4.2 SRM	Color:   Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out	Total Grain Weight: 6.98 lb
Sparge Water: 6.39 gal	Grain Temperature: 67.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 7.68 qt of water at 169.6 F 155.0 F

Tangerine Addition

On Tuesday I added the tangerine addition to my Tangerine Brown Ale, the recipe I posted last week.  This is for the GBS Iron Brewer Tournament.

I decided to use the juice and the zest.  First, I took the 6 tangerines and zested them. Next, I used a borrowed juicer to juice the tangerines.  I got a lot less juice than I was expecting out of 6 tangerines, but that could actually be a good thing.

I added the zest into the juice, and heated it up to 170 degrees F, then covered it and let it cool to room temp.  Then I dumped it into the primary and will let it sit for about 5-7 days before kegging.  Below are some pics.

Iron Brewer Brewday

On Friday I got around to brewing my entry for the Iron Brewer Tournament.  As mentioned previously, my the ‘mystery ingredient’ that my bracket drew was 6 tangerines.

As I thought about what to make, I remembered that I’ve had some dark chocolate flavored with orange and tangerize zest, so decided to do something along these lines.  I settled on something like an American Brown Ale, with some citrusy hops to compliment the tangerines and some roasted malts to give some chocolate character.  I decided to use Amarillo hops because of their prominent citrusy character, and also used cascade from my backyard plants.  I will zest and juice all 6 tangerines and add the juice and zest to the fermenter as fermentation starts to slow.

I used my smaller 9 gallon pot  to do a 5 gallon batch, and on my new burner boiled off around 3 gallons in an hour!  This obviously raised my OG, so I added back .5 gallons of water to get where I needed to be volume and gravity wise.

Below is the recipe and a few pics.

Tangerine Brown

Tangerine Brown

American Brown Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 10/26/2009
Batch Size: 5.50 gal	Brewer: Dave Blue
Boil Size: 7.71 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (9 gal) and Igloo Cooler (12 Gal)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 8.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 80.95 % 1.00 lb Carafoam (2.0 SRM) Grain 9.52 % 0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt – 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 % 0.37 lb Chocolate Malt (220.0 SRM) Grain 3.52 % 0.13 lb Black (Patent) Malt (550.0 SRM) Grain 1.24 % 0.60 oz Amarillo Gold [9.30 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 20.1 IBU 1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [9.30 %] (10 min) Hops 11.0 IBU 1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 6.5 IBU 0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [9.30 %] (0 min) Hops - 0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops - 1 Pkgs Safale American Ale (DCL Yeast #S-05) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.008 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.05 %
Bitterness: 37.7 IBU
Est Color: 17.1 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out	Total Grain Weight: 10.50 lb
Sparge Water: 5.69 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 13.13 qt of water at 163.7 F 152.0 F

Tangerine Brown

Tangerine Brown

American Pale Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 10/26/2009
Batch Size: 5.50 gal	Brewer: Dave Blue
Boil Size: 7.71 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (9 gal) and Igloo Cooler (12 Gal)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 8.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 80.95 % 1.00 lb Carafoam (2.0 SRM) Grain 9.52 % 0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt – 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 % 0.37 lb Chocolate Malt (220.0 SRM) Grain 3.52 % 0.13 lb Black (Patent) Malt (550.0 SRM) Grain 1.24 % 0.60 oz Amarillo Gold [9.30 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 20.1 IBU 1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [9.30 %] (10 min) Hops 11.0 IBU 1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 6.5 IBU 0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [9.30 %] (0 min) Hops - 0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops - 1 Pkgs Safale American Ale (DCL Yeast #S-05) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.008 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.05 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 37.7 IBU	Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 17.1 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out	Total Grain Weight: 10.50 lb
Sparge Water: 5.69 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 13.13 qt of water at 163.7 F 152.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 4.2 oz	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
Good efficiency, boiled off almost 3 gallons…need to really run the boil at the absolute bottom of this burner’s capabilities with this small pot! Added 1/2 gallon back to get closer to estimated OG and volume.

GBS Iron Brewer Tournament

So our local homebrew club  GBS is holding an Iron Brewer Tournament.  Basically a bracketed tourney, starting with 16 brewers.  My bracket drew tangerines as the mystery ingredient.

I took Friday off, and will be brewing then, posting pics, and the recipe.  Stay tuned.

General Update

OK, so long time no post.  I’m just going to post some general news and other tidbits along with some random photos.

First, had a GREAT time at the Augusta Bottoms Beer Festival on Saturday.  Our local homebrew club, Garage Brewers Society had a booth there along with several professional breweries.  Lots of great beers there, and once again we were a hit, winning Favorite Brewery this year!  Very exciting.

Best 'Brewery' Winners! Go GBS!

Next, I have used the Conical  Fermenator twice so far, with good results.  It is very nice for getting a nice clear product straight into the kegs, for harvesting yeast, and kegging is very fast since you can pressurize the fermentor.  Only drawback so far is it does take some time to sanitize.   I’ve made a point to get it filled with sanitizer the night before brewdays now.

In early August, a few friends an I went up north on a brewery tour.  We hit Piece in Chicago, Three Floyds, Two Brothers, Bell’s,  and Founders.  Had a great time, and it was very cool to taste so many of those beers fresh from the tap. Puts a new perspective on quite a few of the great beers those breweries make.

Lastly, I did a harvest of my hop plants.  Ended up with 1.6 lbs wet which turned into about 6 oz dry.  I dried them on a screen and vacuum packed them with a Foodsaver.  I hope to use them (Cascade) in an APA or hoppy wheat beer soon.

Pics of all described above and more below.

Spent Mash

Brewin’

Grindin’

Fillin’

Fermenator 2

Fermenator

Vacuum packed

Drying Hops

MMMM

My Oktoberfest

Cascade

Devil Dancer

Bar at Founders

Founders

Bell’s

Cliff at FFF

Three Floyds

Bierz

Augusta Sky

Best ‘Brewery’ Winners! Go GBS!