Autumn in Bay View, (WI)PA

For our first all grain brew we have chosen to do an American IPA inspired by the season of fall in Wisconsin.  It started with the parameters of a typical american IPA and then upped ABV and color to a target 7.2% and 16.6 SRM (dark caramel color).  The higher alcohol content is for the weather getting colder and the color for the changing leaves that fall all over Bay View this time of year.

I am writing this post after the beer has already been brewed so unfortunately there will be a lack of pictures and a quite small description.  But none the less, lets start off with the recipe.

Grain Bill

2 Row Brewers Malt 9 lb

Munich Malt 10L 4 lb

Cara-Pils 1 lb

2 Row Caramel Malt 40L 1 lb

2 Row Caramel Malt 80L 1 lb

Hops (pellet)

Citra 1 oz (60 min)

Cascade 1 oz (60 min)

Cascade 1 oz (30 min)

Centennial 0.5 oz (15.000 min)

Centennial  0.5 oz (0 min)

Yeast (Smack Pack)

Wyeast - American Ale II  Ale Liquid - 2 packets

Mash

Conversion Infusion 5 gal at 151F for 60.000 min

Final Batch Sparge Infusion 3.2 gal at 165F for 15.000 min

After dough in the mash temp was only about 149F.  Which is two degrees lower than what I was aiming for but that means there will be more fermentable sugars in beer, which means a boozer taste and more alcohol.  I guess I'm ok with that...  The pre-boil came out to 6 1/3 gallons at 1.058 SG, which is a bit lower than I was shooting for but definitely in an ok range.

There was a lot of trub at the bottom of the brew kettle and a lot of hop pellet residue that made it into the fermenter.  There was also an issue with the high temp hoses I was using for my heat exchanger.  The hoses were not super tight and therefore some air was getting into the hose and causing the flow rate to be extremely poor.  Nothing a few hose clamps couldn't fix.

I would say all in all this was a good brew considering it was the first all grain batch I have made in almost two years with all new equipment.  A lot of clean up and a lot of organizational issues that still need to happen for brews in the future to run smoother next time.  But with all that in mind, the beer was going crazy for a solid 3 days, the yeasts are definitely healthy and churning out a lot of alcohol.  I am very excited to see what will happen with the finished product.

Reva is excited we are making, and bottling, different types of beer because she can give away a Bay View Brewing variety pack to people for Christmas, along with her canning experiments from this harvest season.  Here is a preview of what we hope this beer's profile will look like when it is complete.

FG: 1.018

ABV: 6.2%

Bitterness: 72 IBUs (Tinseth)

Color: 16,6 SRM (Morey)

January 13

We bottled exactly Eight 6-packs today.  The beer tastes and smells delicious.  The aroma is fantastic.  The fermentation went well, the FG was 1.013, making this beer 6,9%.  Final tasting reviews will be done in an additional two weeks when carbonation is complete.

Extraction Test Point Wheat

I just got back from India on Wednesday and all the brew equipment I ordered was sitting in the music room, like an early Christmas.  I put most of it together but I couldn't get the mash tun seal water tight.  So, I decided to run down to Northern Brewer and do a cheap extract kit so I could test out the brew kettle and the new plate chiller I got.  I decided to go with Northern Brewers' American Wheat Beer Extract Kit.

The OG came in at 1.040.  It's lower than expected because I'm fairly positive that I added way more cold water into the fermenter than what was needed to get to 5 gallons.  There was no markings on the carboy like I thought there would be, so there is no good way to see how much beer I will have until I buy another carboy and measure out 5 gallons.

December 8th

The fermentation was going pretty crazy 24 hours after the yeast was pitched and a blow off tube was needed.  But it's been about two weeks now and since I need another 6 gallon carboy this weekend for another brew, its time to bottle the wheat beer.  I bottled got 47 beers out of this batch, at a FG at 1.012.  Meaning the beer came in around 3.7%.  It should be a flavorful easy drinking beer, carbonated and ready to drink in two weeks.