A lot of brewing activity has happened since our last post, so this is going to be a long read (make sure you have time because I would hate for you to get halfway through and give up, the best part is the last part!).
About the time we finished bottling up our Peach Chardonnay the weather took a serious turn towards autumn. This is the time of year I always get reignited for beer brewing (and drinking, Oktoberfest yum). The only issue was that I had moved to AR with very limited brewing equipment. I basically had a mash tun and carboys. The rest of the equipment stayed behind with my twin brother in OH. Well I had remedied some of my more basic needs when I bought some equipment to make the Peach Chardonnay. Some of you may remember that the guy I bought the equipment from (buckets, hosing, capper, air-lock, hydrometer, etc.) threw in an old extract kit for a California Common he never brewed. All that I really needed to brew my first batch was a couple of brew pots, a propane burner, and a wort chiller. I am very fortunate to be networked with members of FLOPS (Fayetteville Lovers of Pure Suds), a homebrewing club here in town. Trying not to invest too much capital to churn out some brews, I inquired on the groups FB page for some used equipment. For $20 I was able to chase down two aluminum brewpots (a 30 qt, and a 32 qt) and a used wort chiller. Thanks guys! I also found a regional sporting goods store (The Academy) that sells propane burners for cheap ($30). I was off and running!
BREW THE COMMON (Friday Night)
Soooo, I decided that it couldn't really hurt anything to try to brew this old extract kit, if anything it might show the true effect of time on brewing ingredients (I estimate the kit to be at least 3 years old). I did upgrade the finishing hops and yeast to fresher offerings with the help of the local homebrew store (more on them later!). I also decided at the last minute to add some cane sugar to the boil (about 1/2 cup). I figured the simple sugar would be a good start for the yeast in case it wasn't too fond of the old malts. I brewed this batch on Friday night and it went smoothly. The OG on 5 gallons was right at 1.050. I swapped out the old package of Saflager S-23 for a package of Safale US-05 (first time using dry yeast since my very first batch 3 years ago). The temperature in my house will be better received by the ale yeast strain. As I type this it is happily fermenting away....so we will see what happens with it.
I will apologize in advance for the poor quality, and quantity, of pics. I didn't have my better camera on me.
I boiled the extract in 3 gallons on the stove, cooled it and then blended it with 2 gallons of spring water.
Just a pic of the hops. The top group is the old bag of cascade hops that came in the kit. The bottom group are fresh cascade hops....a little nicer looking, no? The bottom group went into the boil, the top group went into the trash.
The extract kit was fun, and a good way to get my feet wet in AR (first ever beer I brewed down here!). But my true passion is all-grain. Without further a due, on to the main event.....
BREW THE BROWN ALE (Saturday)
That crisp autumn air sure makes a man want to brew. It didn't take long for me to decide what I wanted. A brown ale. Not a traditional malty, sweet, English brown ale. But a hoppy, balanced, American brown ale. It would be the perfect brew for Football Saturdays (and Sundays) as the weather fades to the chill of winter over the next few months. I love looking over recipes and trying formulate my own, but above that I just love the process of brewing and the rushed activity and excellent aromas of a brewday. I decided not to formulate a recipe, rather I would take one from Brewing Classic Styles, an excellent recipe book written by Jamil Zainesheff and John Palmer. Here are the particulars of the brew:
12# American 2-Row
1.25# Carapils Dextrin
1# Wheat Malt
0.75# Crystal 20L
0.5# Crystal 60L
0.5# Chocolate Malt
0.75 oz. of Northern Brewer (8.5% AA) added to mash
1.0 oz. of NB at 60 min
0.75 oz. of NB at 15 min
1.5 oz. of Cascade (5.9% AA) at 10 min
1.5 oz. of Cascade at 0 min
2 oz. of Centennial (8.9% AA) at 0 min
So I grabbed hold of my recipe, gave my rollin GMC a shove and I started, rockin and rollin, over the hills towards The Homebrewery. In all my years of brewing, I think this is the only store I have been to that specializes in beer brewing. They also carry wine-making supplies, but they are more devoted to beer brewing. The guys there are very knowledgeable and helpful. They got my ingredients all together and I grabbed a few extra items (thermometer, mash paddle, bung) and started back to my house. I could already smell that mash!
Pouring the grain into the mash tun. One of the best parts of the day.
This recipe called for a hop addition in the mash. Can you spot those pellets? Unfortunately, the hops curbed the intense sweet aromas you usually get when mashing. No big deal!
Not having a filtration system at the house, I used 20 gallons (total between the common and brown) of local spring water. I paid just over a buck a gallon....not terrible considering it is spring water from right here in NWA. I tasted a little, it drank pretty goooood.
To the 16# of grain I added 6 gallons of 165F water. The mash started at 154F and trickled down around 150F by the end of the hour. Time to sparge!
My sparging system is pretty basic and better suited for a 2 man operation, but I made it work.
Look at that sweet brown wort. I collected 7 gallons and had a pre-boil gravity of about 1.055 (corrected).
About to hit the hot break. With 7 gallons in an 8 gallon brew pot, this is always tricky. But no boil overs were had.
Boiling away. About the only thing cooler than a boiling batch of brew is my Yukon. Sometimes its a headache but for the most part I love it. Okay, back to the brewing.
A typical brewday for me usually includes a brew and sometimes (like today) a cigar.
My cooling system. I know, I know, somewhat janky. But you know what? I got down to 80F in about 30 minutes...so I will take it.
OG clocked in for me at 1.062 (corrected). So I was a little under my recipe target but I did collect more wort than I thought (about an extra quarter gallon) so that might be a factor.
A final picture of my brews (taken just this morning, common on left and brown on right). Both are off like rockets. I also used the Safale US-05 American Ale dry yeast for my brown ale. It was sooooo easy and cheap. Just sprinkle that yeast in there and let it ferment, playa.
My brother (aka brewther) Connor sent me this brewing log binder as part of a b-day gift and honestly, its awesome. I don't know how I brewed without one. It is useful for taking organized notes so in 6 months when I drink the last bottle of brew from this brewday I will be able to look back and remember what I actually did! Thanks Connor!
So that is, sadly, all for right now. Ashley was out of town this weekend and bummed to miss the brewday, but she will be around for bottling (and she is a big help with that). I am going to call this brown ale 'Pig Trail Ale' in honor of the scenic byway that cuts and winds through the ozark mountains of Northwest Arkansas. In the fall the hills change to a myriad of colors, and the pig trail sure is beautiful. I plan to take a few bottles of this brew out for a Saturday picnic in them hills.
On a final note, I dedicate this brew weekend to my brother, Mark. He has been my brewing partner since day one and, on hectic brewdays, been the level head that keeps production moving. It was strange to brew 10 gallons of beer without him in sight. He was missed. The beer is a tribute to our ambiguous taste in beer, hoppy but malty, balanced between the light and the dark side. We never could seem to successfully brew a brown ale together, so I am hoping to redeem our attempts in this latest batch of brown! Cheers to all, and stay tuned for bottling updates on these two brews.
