Sunday Brew - Goldings IPA

My Sunday brew session went well.  I hit my target mash temp no problem and was only one gravity point low on my pre-boil, all despite a stuck sparge.  I think what really did it for me this time was the mash-out step, which isn't something I normally do.  It loosened up the mash enough to make it nice and fluid so the bed could settle while I recirculated, giving me a relatively fast second running.  I think this is something I';l be doing from now on.  

Another step I took a little different than usual was to use equal parts strike and sparge water, both 4 gallons.  I read a wiki article about batch sparging efficiency, and the gist of it was that each sparge addition should be equal in volume to to the strike volume for greatest efficiency, and while you get better efficiency with each runnings, its balanced out by the fact that you'd have to boil 20+ gallons down to 5.5 to make it really matter.  So, basically, the easiest way is to strike with 1.5 quarts per pound of grain, mash at whatever temp you want, laurter, then bring it up to 168 with an addition 1.5 quarts per pound of grain, and lauter again.  BOOM 79% efficiency.  

I also did a 2-liter starter with Rogue's Pacman yeast, which sounds like it shouldn't be too much different than the US-05 I used for the APA version of this beer.  Neutral, low ester and diacetyl, and a clean finish.  Can't wait for it to be done.

Recipe: Goldings IPA
Style: 14B-India Pale Ale(IPA)-American IPA


Recipe Overview

Wort Volume Before Boil: 6.50 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 5.50 US gals
Volume Transferred: 5.00 US gals
Water Added: 0.00 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.00 US gals
Final Batch Volume: 5.00 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.049 SG
Expected OG: 1.058 SG
Expected FG: 1.014 SG
Expected ABV: 5.9 %
Expected ABW: 4.6 %
Expected IBU (using Rager): 60.4
Expected Color: 6.8 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 75.0 %
Mash Efficiency: 80.0 %
Boil Duration: 60.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 64 degF


Fermentables
UK Maris Otter 10.00 lb (95.2 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Caramel 40L Malt 0.50 lb (4.8 %) In Mash/Steeped


Hops
US Goldings (4.5 % alpha) 2.00 oz Loose Pellet Hops used 60 Min From End
US Goldings (4.5 % alpha) 2.00 oz Loose Pellet Hops used 15 Min From End
US Goldings (4.5 % alpha) 2.00 oz Loose Pellet Hops used 5 Min From End
US Goldings (4.5 % alpha) 2.00 oz Loose Pellet Hops used Dry-Hopped


Other Ingredients


Yeast: Wyeast 1764-Pacman from Rogue


Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Full Mash
Schedule Name:Single Step Infusion (67C/152F)
Step: Rest at 153 degF for 60 mins

Not So Thai Wit

So Sunday was the big day, the day I was planning on brewing my Thai Witbier with kaffir lime leaves and zest, ginger, lemongrass, and coriander.  Alas, the asian grocery store in Allston was out of Kaffir lime, lemongrass, and ginger, so there went that idea.  Instead, I stopped by the co-op and picked up blood oranges, ruby-red grapefruit, conventional limes, and some chamomile, and I went the more traditional route, albeit with different citrus.  The boil smelled awesome when I dumped all the spices and zest in at 5 minutes, and the 1L starter of WLP400 Wit that went in started munching right away.  Hopefully this one is different enough to qualify for a category 23 in the Sam Adams Longshot!


Calculated in BeerAlchemy

OG: 1.048
ABV: 4.6%
IBU: 18.9
Color: 3.3 SRM

Grain Bill
4.25 lbs. Belgian Pils
4 lbs. Flaked wheat
0.75 lbs. Flaked oats
1 lb. Rice hulls

Hop Schedule
Hallertauer Hersbrucker 3% - 1.3oz @ 60 mins
Citrus Zest (5 blood oranges, 1 ruby-red grapefruit, 3 limes) - 5 minutes
Coriander (pulsed in coffee grinder briefly) - 0.6oz @ 5 minutes
Chamomile (2 teabags) - 2.6g @ 5 minutes

Yeast
1L starter of WLP400 Belgian Wit

Mash
Single-step infusion @ 152°F, 60 mins, batch sparge
75% efficiency

'Tis the Saison

With the Goldings Pale Ale still in the fermenter with a couple ounces of dry hops, I felt the need to brew again, just so I can fall asleep to the burping of the airlock.  I got a shipment of yeast this week, with a couple packs each of Wyeast 3711 French Saison, 3638 Bavarian Wheat, and the limited release Pacman (Yay Rogue!).  Since saisons are one of my favorite beers, I thought I'd give it another whack - last time I made a saison, I accidentally made it imperial by not knowing my new all-grain system, resulting in a thicker, denser brew, almost a belgian golden ale instead.  Still tasty, and great to make mussels with, but definitely not the spicy, refreshing beer I was looking for.  I've really gotten to know my system since, so I formulated up a recipe based on Jamil Zainasheff's Raison D'Saison from Brewing Classic Styles.  The malt bill is pretty much the same, but I substituted the 3711 French Saison for the 3724 Belgian Saison called for in the recipe to really drive the FG down and give it a nice clean pepper note.  This time, I hit all my numbers within a gravity point or two, and this morning, I woke to the sweet bloop blip blip of fermenting beer.  

Calculated in BeerAlchemy

OG: 1.054
FG: 1.007
ABV: 6.3%
IBU: 29
Color: 6.1 SRM

Grain Bill
7 lbs. German Pilsener
0.5 lbs. Wheat

0.5 lbs. Munich I

0.5 lbs. CaraMunich III

1 lb. sucrose

Hop Schedule
Hallertauer Hersbrucker 3% - 2oz @ 60 mins
Hallertauer Hersbrucker 3% - 1oz @ knockout

Yeast
1 packet Wyeast 3711 French Saison

Mash
Single-step infusion @ 147°F 60 mins, batch sparge

Goldings Single Hop Pale Ale

I just received a pound of US Goldings pellets, and I've been wanting something a little hoppier than the milds I've been making lately, so a pale ale it is.  


EDIT: Added 2oz. US Goldings dry hops after fermentation was complete.  CHange reflected in recipe below.

Calculated in BeerAlchemy

OG: 1.048
FG: 1.012
ABV: 4.8%
IBU: 41.4
Color: 5.3 SRM

Grain Bill
10.0 lbs. US 2-Row
0.5 lbs Caramel 40L

Hop Schedule
US Goldings - 2oz @ 60 mins
US Goldings - 1oz @ 30 mins
US Goldings - 1oz @ flameout
US Goldings - 2oz @ end of fermentation

Yeast
1 packet SafAle US-05

Water
1/2 tsp gypsum

Mash
Single-step infusion @ 152°F, 60 mins