An India Pale Ale, A German Pilsener, and An Amercian Brown Ale all walk into a bar....

LONG POST ALERT!  SETTLE IN!


So as per my latest post I have some big brewing updates to share.  As I type this my hoppy brown 'Pig Trail Ale' is in the mash tun.  By the end of this post the brew will be happily in a fermentor. 

PINNAC-ALE #2
I brewed the IPA two weeks ago but never shared much detail.  It is yet another brew from my Columbus days that I had to retry (Mark and I screwed up the last batch and I felt the need to redeem).  Here is the recipe:

10# American 2 Row
2# Vienna
0.5# Carapils Dextrin
0.5# Crystal 20L

Mash at 150F for 60 minutes

1.2 oz of Centennial (8.7%AA) at 60 minutes
1.2 oz of Centennial (8.7%AA) at 15 minutes
1.2 oz of Centennial (8.7%AA) at 5 minutes
1.2 oz of Centennial (8.7%AA) at 0 minutes
1.2 oz of Centennial (8.7%AA) dry (added in secondary)

I used the standard White Labs California Ale yeast from a simple starter.  The water from this brew is an interesting story but I will keep it short and sweet.  A co-worker owns about 300 acres of farm-land east of town and he has several springs of delicious water.  I decided to use this water but I guessed it would be highly alkaline (due to abundance of limestone on property).  So to the 11 gallons of water I added approximately 3 tsp. of gypsum.  The gypsum would lower the mash pH into the appropriate range while adding sulfate for hop bitterness.

This beer is currently in secondary and I have yet to have a taste....it is very cloudy so that does not give me complete confidence....but it should be okay.  Will get a taste in about a week when I go to bottle it (this is where Mark and I screwed it up last time).

MUHLEISEN PILS
Yesterday I had plans to have a double brew day.  But after waking up late and getting started late, I only had time to brew my pilsener (first lager of the season!).  This brew went pretty flawless and as I type this it is filling up my fridge with the horrid aroma of sulfer (good from a lager fermentation perspective).  This aroma will give way to cleaner fermenation aromas in once primary winds down.  Here are the details of the brew:

11# of German Pilsener Malt

Mash at 147F for 90 minutes

1.1 oz Perle (7.5%AA) for 60 minutes
0.35 oz Hallertau (5.7%AA) for 15 minutes
0.35 oz Hallertau (5.7%AA) for 1 minute
(90 minute boil)

I used a healthy dose of White Labs German Lager yeast to get this party started.  My water situation was the most interesting aspect of brewday.  I used Mountain Valley Spring Water at a 2 to 3 ratio with distilled water.  The distilled water cut the high alkalinity for this super pale brew.  I also added a teaspoon of Gypsum and teaspoon of Calcium Chloride per 5 gallons of water.  This further balanced the alkalinity and added sulfate to accentuate hops and chloride to accentuate malt.  I am excited to see how this brew progresses.

My last Muhleisen Vienna Lager.  This was the first lager my twink and I brewed together.  A year after brewday, it was a delicious way to start another lager brewday!

My Pils recipe is supposed to be a good clone of Bitburger, so I bought a six pack to do my research.  I will be pleased if mine turns out similar.

I have been noticing that my copper manifold has been brighter than usual after the mash...may pH must be improving (hopefully).

Totally random photo but I thought the setting night sky was rather lovely.

Pale Beer.

AMERICAN BROWN ALE (Pig Trail Ale #2)
So my first batch of this dark elixir turned out a little too tart and fruity form its hot fermentation (~75F).  I also think I way underpitched the yeast and the brew never recovered from distracting off flavors.  It still turned out quaffable, but not what I was looking for.  I won't bore you with the ingredients and activity again, you can reference my first post to this brew for the details.  But a few things did change:

I am repitching a healthy and high-population yeast slurry from the aforementioned IPA.  This should handle the underpitching woes from batch #1.  I also got a better handle on my water chemistry.  The water in this area is highly alkaline without high counts of the more important brewing salts.  This water probably makes killer english browns, porters, and stouts.  But for American brews I don't think it cuts it.  Using straight Mountain Valley Spring Water I also added approximately 2 grams of Gypsum, 1 gram of CaCO3 (chalk), and 1.5 grams of Calcium Chloride to every 6 gallons (6 gallon mash, 6 gallon sparge).  This will add sulfate and chloride for a good malt and hop punch while balancing the alkalinity to yield a good mash pH.  The final thing that will make this PTA an improvement over last is the lower fermentation temps.  My house is rockin at 63F which will yield a nice steady 67F inside the carboy at peak fermentation.  Once peak primary is over, I will slowly raise the temp in the house to keep a consistent 67F for the brew.  This will also be dry hopped in secondary and should be ready to taste as early as a month from now!

Hit my pitching gravity.  And then I hit that coca-cola!

Ready to blow-off some krausen.

 

AND THEY ALL ORDERED A WEE HEAVY SCOTTISH ALE

This is an update to the Scot I brewed in October.  It has been in the bottle for a little over a month now and it gets better every day.  My brewthers and brewisters are hankering for a taste but I am procrastinating cuz I don't think its ready.  This was a high gravity brew that had a cool fermentation.  It tastes about how I thought it would, but I can tell it still has a lot of improvement ahead.  All bottles are aging in the fridge and a month from now it will be better.  I actually think it will be at its prime around May or June, just when it is getting too hot outside to enjoy the caramel maltiness.  That's alright, I am going to keep some for Christmas 2012 and it is sure to be a real pleaser then!

Alright, that was a long post, but I was making up for lost time.  I hope all of you who have read this far were entertained. I also hope you are all well and happy in this crazy little thing called life!  Stay tuned for more lagers!  I'll give you a hint for what's next.  I learned it from brewther Willie..........................'Helles Yeah!'