The ESB had a slight bacterial infection. It had lost all of its malt flavours and there were next to no hop aroma, making it monotonous, grassy and slightly dry. It also had an astringent yeast-like character, but I don't think that has got anything to do with the yeast at all. The infection started out as just a hint of altered flavours, but has over the last couple of weeks become much more evident. It is without a doubt an infection. At this rate I pick up an infection every 35 batches. This is the second time it has happened.
I judged a couple of flights at this year's Norwegian Homebrewing Championships and noticed that a couple of the entries had the same defect. At that time I suspected that it was a fermentation issue, most likely caused by autolysis or bad yeast health. I'm now confident that it is indeed a small bacterial infection, or the beginning of one.
There's nothing that one can do about a bacterial infection other that to discard the beer. I'm sure you could drink it, but life's too short. Unlike other defects there's actually no steps you can take to improve the beers drinkablity. So the ESB is going to make do as fertilizer in the garden.
Interestingly the three beers I have brewed after the infected one do not have any signs of infection. This has led me to suspect that it is the fermentation vessel that has caused the infection. It could of course also have been a mistake made by yours truly.
Plastic has the unfortunate characteristic that it easily get scratched over time, and those scratches can harbour bacteria. I have four plastic fermentation vessels and I do think I used all four on those last four beers, so it seems that none of the other beers touched the infected one.
Anyway, my plastic fermentation vessels are five years old. I should have replaced them earlier, but they have now for sure reached their end of duty. They were thrown out yesterday together with the plastic tubing.
New fermenters will have to be bought ASAP as I have more work to do before the summer.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
How to clean a picnic faucet
Did you know that you can take the picnic faucet apart? I didn't. It came as a surprise to me when I saw Richard rip one apart and explain that that would expose all the surface that the beer touches. It consists of two individual pieces. That's great as I had suspected that just running cleaner and sanitizer through wouldn't be enough to clean it.
I am a bit scared of what I'll find when I open one, especially the older ones. I can't say I've had any off-flavours when using them, but I fear the worst. In any case they can all expect thorough cleaning before being used the next time.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Brew #47: Imperial Porter
Too many of my recent brews have been brownish in colour, so it was now time to make something really dark. The intention was to make a normal strength robust porter at around 6.0% abv, but the mash efficiency was pretty good for a dark beer and it came out as an imperial porter. Things could have been worse.
I have had terrible mash efficiencies when making dark beers earlier. Fortunately things went better this time.
An extraordinarily fine crush made by Frode's Crankandstein (or is it Crankenstein monster?) must have contributed somewhat, but not enough to replace the Barley Crusher though. I noticed a lot of dry grain balls in the mash as I doughed in, but a few minutes of stirring made them go way. So it was clear that the crush was much finer than what I have had earlier. There were no hints of any run-off problems, so the crush is fine. I also tried to sparge a little slower than at full speed making it more likely to extract more sugars. Each sparge took about 10 minutes, which is still a reasonably short time. I'll consider reducing the gap my own Barley Crusher for the next brew. It is currently set to the default.
The water in Oslo is extremely soft, very much like the water in Plzen, something that makes it perfect for light beers like pilsener. At the same time this makes it harder to make dark beers. Soft water is really the perfect brew water as it is a lot easier to add minerals than it is to take them out. So to emulate the water of other famous brewing cities one can just add minerals.
I made a porter with 500 grams of chocolate malt and black malt about a year and a half ago, which turned into something very harsh and astringent. I blame the pH of the water. A low pH means a lower mash efficiency and extraction of undesired characteristics like tannins. This time I added 2.5 ts calcium carbonate and 2 ts of 5.2 powder. The recipe also use dehusked dark malts, which should keep the sharp edges out of the beer. I also added the dark malts 45 minutes into the mash, giving the base malt a better chance of converting itself before the pH gets lowered by the dark malts.
The batch was brewed 2007-04-16.
Style:
Imperial Porter
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
80 EBC (Black)
Bitterness:
40 IBU
Malts:
5000g Pale malt
1000g Munich malt
500g Amber malt
400g Crystal malt, 300 EBC
400g Crystal malt, 130 EBC
250g Carafa I, debittered chocolate malt
250g Carafa II, debittered black malt
Mash:
68C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
72% efficiency
Hops:
30g Warrior pellets, 13.8%, 60 min
20g Warrior pellets, 13.8%, 10 min
Yeast:
Nottingham, 2 packs, dry yeast, best before date 2007-01-15 and 2007-12-01.
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.068 FG: 1.017 (estimated) abv: 6.7%
I have had terrible mash efficiencies when making dark beers earlier. Fortunately things went better this time.
An extraordinarily fine crush made by Frode's Crankandstein (or is it Crankenstein monster?) must have contributed somewhat, but not enough to replace the Barley Crusher though. I noticed a lot of dry grain balls in the mash as I doughed in, but a few minutes of stirring made them go way. So it was clear that the crush was much finer than what I have had earlier. There were no hints of any run-off problems, so the crush is fine. I also tried to sparge a little slower than at full speed making it more likely to extract more sugars. Each sparge took about 10 minutes, which is still a reasonably short time. I'll consider reducing the gap my own Barley Crusher for the next brew. It is currently set to the default.
The water in Oslo is extremely soft, very much like the water in Plzen, something that makes it perfect for light beers like pilsener. At the same time this makes it harder to make dark beers. Soft water is really the perfect brew water as it is a lot easier to add minerals than it is to take them out. So to emulate the water of other famous brewing cities one can just add minerals.
I made a porter with 500 grams of chocolate malt and black malt about a year and a half ago, which turned into something very harsh and astringent. I blame the pH of the water. A low pH means a lower mash efficiency and extraction of undesired characteristics like tannins. This time I added 2.5 ts calcium carbonate and 2 ts of 5.2 powder. The recipe also use dehusked dark malts, which should keep the sharp edges out of the beer. I also added the dark malts 45 minutes into the mash, giving the base malt a better chance of converting itself before the pH gets lowered by the dark malts.
The batch was brewed 2007-04-16.
Style:
Imperial Porter
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
80 EBC (Black)
Bitterness:
40 IBU
Malts:
5000g Pale malt
1000g Munich malt
500g Amber malt
400g Crystal malt, 300 EBC
400g Crystal malt, 130 EBC
250g Carafa I, debittered chocolate malt
250g Carafa II, debittered black malt
Mash:
68C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
72% efficiency
Hops:
30g Warrior pellets, 13.8%, 60 min
20g Warrior pellets, 13.8%, 10 min
Yeast:
Nottingham, 2 packs, dry yeast, best before date 2007-01-15 and 2007-12-01.
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.068 FG: 1.017 (estimated) abv: 6.7%
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Brew #46: Weissbier
It has been a really long time since I brewed a German weissbier. Too long, in fact two years ago. That's even before I started kegging my beers. Heck, it is one of my favourite beer styles, and perfect for the upcoming warm season.
The recipe is straightforward. I did an acid rest this time as it will improve the clove flavours. I used the Wyeast 3068 yeast, which in my opinion is the best weissbier yeast that there is. It'll generate little banana, but that depends a little on the fermentation temperature.
The wheat malt percentage is quite high at 59%, which is quite high, but still quite common. Wheat malt can be notoriously difficult to sparge as it easily clogs up the mash. I have been impressed by the Bazooka screen in my mash tun as it seems to work really well even with malt bills that are hard to sparge. I tried to batch sparge as quickly as possible and opened the ball valve fully from the start. The mash soon compacted on itself and the grains moved about 3 cm from the walls towards the Bazooka. Alright, a stuck sparge, but it was really easy to get the flow going again. Cutting into the grains with a knife released the vaccuum and the sparge continued at a nice rate. I can very much recommend the Bazooka screen. It's pretty impressive. It is also quite cool that a stuck mash is nothing to be afraid of as one can just cut or stir the mash to start the sparge again.
I decided to add a little melanoidin malt to add some complexity and fill out the body.
The batch was brewed 2007-04-11.
Style:
Weizen/Weissbier
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
9 EBC (Golden)
Bitterness:
14 IBU
Malts:
3500g Wheat malt
2500g Pilsener malt
200g Melanoidin malt
Mash:
44C, 15 min (acid rest)
64C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
73% efficiency
Hops:
50g Tettnanger pellets, 2.7%, 60 min
20g Tettnanger pellets, 2.7%, 10 min
Yeast:
Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen Yeast, production date 2007-01-15, 1 liter starter
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.055 FG: 1.013 (estimated) abv: 5.5%
The recipe is straightforward. I did an acid rest this time as it will improve the clove flavours. I used the Wyeast 3068 yeast, which in my opinion is the best weissbier yeast that there is. It'll generate little banana, but that depends a little on the fermentation temperature.
The wheat malt percentage is quite high at 59%, which is quite high, but still quite common. Wheat malt can be notoriously difficult to sparge as it easily clogs up the mash. I have been impressed by the Bazooka screen in my mash tun as it seems to work really well even with malt bills that are hard to sparge. I tried to batch sparge as quickly as possible and opened the ball valve fully from the start. The mash soon compacted on itself and the grains moved about 3 cm from the walls towards the Bazooka. Alright, a stuck sparge, but it was really easy to get the flow going again. Cutting into the grains with a knife released the vaccuum and the sparge continued at a nice rate. I can very much recommend the Bazooka screen. It's pretty impressive. It is also quite cool that a stuck mash is nothing to be afraid of as one can just cut or stir the mash to start the sparge again.
I decided to add a little melanoidin malt to add some complexity and fill out the body.
The batch was brewed 2007-04-11.
Style:
Weizen/Weissbier
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
9 EBC (Golden)
Bitterness:
14 IBU
Malts:
3500g Wheat malt
2500g Pilsener malt
200g Melanoidin malt
Mash:
44C, 15 min (acid rest)
64C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
73% efficiency
Hops:
50g Tettnanger pellets, 2.7%, 60 min
20g Tettnanger pellets, 2.7%, 10 min
Yeast:
Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen Yeast, production date 2007-01-15, 1 liter starter
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.055 FG: 1.013 (estimated) abv: 5.5%
Monday, March 26, 2007
Brew #45: Düsseldorf Altbier
Altbier is a beer that I have drunk on several occasions while visiting Germany, and I have enjoyed all of the variants I have tried. I have not been to Düsseldorf yet, but it sure is on my short list of beer cities to visit. Commerical examples seem to range from malty sweet to intensely bitter.
This recipe is for an Altbier that is on the upper end of the OG and bitterness ranges. I have tried to make it a bit sweet and with some complexity, and balanced by 35 IBUs. That should make it a nice spring beer I hope. It will have to be lagered in the fridge for a few weeks before drinking though.
The brew day lasted 5 hours and 50 minutes, of which 40 minutes was spent trying to get the wort into the fermenter. I will never ever again use whole hop cones with my current brew setup. The easy-siphon clogged and it was almost impossible to get a siphon from the brew kettle. I have used whole hops before, and do remember that I have had similar problems, but never this serious. The Spalt hops were quite small, so that might have something to do with it. I literally had to pump the wort, and that didn't always work either until I had cleared the opening. Anyway, lesson learned.
The batch was brewed 2007-03-26.
Style:
Düsseldorf Altbier
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
34 EBC (Light brown)
Bitterness:
35 IBU
Malts:
2500g Pilsener malt
1500g Vienna malt
1300g Münchener malt
700g Cara-münich malt
50g Debittered chocolate malt
50g Debittered black malt
Mash:
67C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
73% efficiency
Hops:
60g Spalter Select whole, 5.2%, 60 min
40g Spalter Select whole, 5.2%, 10 min
Yeast:
Wyeast 1007 German Ale Yeast, production date 2006-11-17, 1 liter starter
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.054 FG: 1.013 (estimated)
This recipe is for an Altbier that is on the upper end of the OG and bitterness ranges. I have tried to make it a bit sweet and with some complexity, and balanced by 35 IBUs. That should make it a nice spring beer I hope. It will have to be lagered in the fridge for a few weeks before drinking though.
The brew day lasted 5 hours and 50 minutes, of which 40 minutes was spent trying to get the wort into the fermenter. I will never ever again use whole hop cones with my current brew setup. The easy-siphon clogged and it was almost impossible to get a siphon from the brew kettle. I have used whole hops before, and do remember that I have had similar problems, but never this serious. The Spalt hops were quite small, so that might have something to do with it. I literally had to pump the wort, and that didn't always work either until I had cleared the opening. Anyway, lesson learned.
The batch was brewed 2007-03-26.
Style:
Düsseldorf Altbier
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
34 EBC (Light brown)
Bitterness:
35 IBU
Malts:
2500g Pilsener malt
1500g Vienna malt
1300g Münchener malt
700g Cara-münich malt
50g Debittered chocolate malt
50g Debittered black malt
Mash:
67C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
73% efficiency
Hops:
60g Spalter Select whole, 5.2%, 60 min
40g Spalter Select whole, 5.2%, 10 min
Yeast:
Wyeast 1007 German Ale Yeast, production date 2006-11-17, 1 liter starter
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.054 FG: 1.013 (estimated)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Brew #44: India Pale Ale
The previous IPA was a success. We ran out of it last Saturday, so my wife asked me to make another preferrably using the exact same recipe. That was easier said than done as I had no more Crystal (135 EBC) and no more Safale US-56 dry yeast. I adjusted the recipe to use some Cara-münich malt and the Rogue Pacman yeast. I also took out the Chinook hops and added Columbus. The Amarillo also got upped a bit. In the end I think it is going to taste much the same.
Being somewhat feverish at the time I also forgot to add the mash hops, so I decided to make up for some of it by first wort hopping the 60 minutes addition of Amarillo.
The mash efficiency improved a bit this time as I tried to crush the grist a little finer. Still no sparge problems through, so there is more to go on I think.
The batch was brewed 2007-03-25. The brew day lasted 5 hours and 10 minutes.
Style:
American IPA
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
33 EBC (Light brown)
Bitterness:
61 IBU
Malts:
6000g Maris Otter pale malt
1000g Amber malt
450g Crystal malt
400g Wheat malt
300g Cara-münich malt
200g Melanoidin malt
Mash:
66C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
69% efficiency
Hops:
50g Amarillo pellets, 8.4%, first wort hops and boiled 60 min
30g Columbus pellets 12.2%, 30 min
30g Warrior pellets 13.8% 10 min
80g Amarillo pellets 8.4%, 1 min
Yeast:
Wyeast Rogue Pacman Ale Yeast, production date 2006-11-17, 1 liter starter
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.072 FG: 1.018 (estimated)
Being somewhat feverish at the time I also forgot to add the mash hops, so I decided to make up for some of it by first wort hopping the 60 minutes addition of Amarillo.
The mash efficiency improved a bit this time as I tried to crush the grist a little finer. Still no sparge problems through, so there is more to go on I think.
The batch was brewed 2007-03-25. The brew day lasted 5 hours and 10 minutes.
Style:
American IPA
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
33 EBC (Light brown)
Bitterness:
61 IBU
Malts:
6000g Maris Otter pale malt
1000g Amber malt
450g Crystal malt
400g Wheat malt
300g Cara-münich malt
200g Melanoidin malt
Mash:
66C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
69% efficiency
Hops:
50g Amarillo pellets, 8.4%, first wort hops and boiled 60 min
30g Columbus pellets 12.2%, 30 min
30g Warrior pellets 13.8% 10 min
80g Amarillo pellets 8.4%, 1 min
Yeast:
Wyeast Rogue Pacman Ale Yeast, production date 2006-11-17, 1 liter starter
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.072 FG: 1.018 (estimated)
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Building your own Randall
If you want to build your own Randall then you may find this shopping list useful. I bought all the parts from Morebeer, except the 1/2" OD stainless pipe that I drilled 20 small 1.5mm holes in. I'm sure you'll find the parts elsewhere also.
MoreBeer:
Using the Enamel Animal
The Randall has now been tested and used twice. It worked surprisingly well on both occations. The first time with 50 grams Centennial and the Scottish Export 80/-. The second time with 40 grams Amarillo and 10 grams Sorachi Ace and the India Pale Ale. Thanks to Frode for bringing the Sorachi Ace, a Japanese hop with an intense citrus aroma.
There were no leaks and the dual-serving system was well balanced. I had expected a little more resistance in the filter housing and the hop bed, but there was nothing wrong with the flow.
50 grams seems to be just the right amount of hops to use in this filter housing. It seemed a bit too little at first, but the hops soon swelled and filled the entire volume. The pressure in the keg started the flow of beer as soon as the line was connected to the keg. The Randall got filled about half full before the flow stopped as the air could not escape. Pressing the release valve replaced the air with beer. Note that it makes sense to let the hops soak a little while first.
The resulting beer is pretty amazing. There is an extremely intense hop aroma and flavour. You really need to enjoy hops to appreciate it. I felt that the aroma and the flavour of the two were somewhat different. The Centennial appeared much more oily and pungent than the Amarillo and Sorachi Ace did. This may have something to do with the kind of beer it was served through. My impression is that it is better to serve beers that have a higher alcohol content and more bitterness as this will help balance the end result. Otherwise the result is way over the top with regards to hop aroma.
So, what other things can one put inside the Randall other than hops?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Brew #43: Extra Special Bitter
This beer is a fairly bold ESB, both in original gravity and hops. It also has quite a bit of specialty malts, much more than I've had in any of my earlier attempts. I used mash hops with this brew, and it is the first time I try this in a British beer. The few times I've done this, with good results, have all been with hoppy American beer styles.
Again, I'm trying to get rid of my stock of old, but still usable yeast. I have a couple of vials of liquid yeast that I just have to throw away, but with this brew I should be left with a pretty decent set of fresh yeast packs, especially if I manage to squeeze in a double brew on Sunday. I used both the 11 grams packs I had just to be on the safe side. Even though it was past its best before date I'm sure it is more than enough of vital yeast for a beer like this. I store all my yeast, both dry and liquid, in the kitchen fridge.
The incredibly useful Mr. Malty's Pitching Rate Calculator™ says that the yeast in this particular beer must have a viability of minimum 67% for the two packs to be optimal. Go check it out. I'm sure you'll soon realize that you're underpitching. I sure did when I first tried to calculate the amount of yeast to pitch in my own beers. Since then I've tried my best to improve my pitching rates. Also make sure that you read Jamil Zainasheff's (Mr. Malty) Proper Yeast Pitching Rates article. It's almost scary how much vital yeast you need. Anyway, it is very helpful and makes you realize that yeast is extremely important to the quality of your beers.
The batch was brewed 2007-03-14.
Style:
Extra Special Bitter
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
30 EBC (Copper)
Bitterness:
40 IBU
Malts:
5200g Maris Otter pale malt
750g Ambermalt
400g Wheat malt
450g Crystal 60L
200g Crystal 40L
250g Melanoidin malt
Mash:
66C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
73% efficiency
Hops:
50g First Gold pellets 7.3%, mash hops
50g Fuggles pellets 5.1%, 60 min
50g First Gold pellets 7.3%, 10 min
50g Fuggles pellets 5.1%, 1 min
Yeast:
Safale S-04, 2 packs, best before 2007-01
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.066 FG: 1.016 (estimated)
Again, I'm trying to get rid of my stock of old, but still usable yeast. I have a couple of vials of liquid yeast that I just have to throw away, but with this brew I should be left with a pretty decent set of fresh yeast packs, especially if I manage to squeeze in a double brew on Sunday. I used both the 11 grams packs I had just to be on the safe side. Even though it was past its best before date I'm sure it is more than enough of vital yeast for a beer like this. I store all my yeast, both dry and liquid, in the kitchen fridge.
The incredibly useful Mr. Malty's Pitching Rate Calculator™ says that the yeast in this particular beer must have a viability of minimum 67% for the two packs to be optimal. Go check it out. I'm sure you'll soon realize that you're underpitching. I sure did when I first tried to calculate the amount of yeast to pitch in my own beers. Since then I've tried my best to improve my pitching rates. Also make sure that you read Jamil Zainasheff's (Mr. Malty) Proper Yeast Pitching Rates article. It's almost scary how much vital yeast you need. Anyway, it is very helpful and makes you realize that yeast is extremely important to the quality of your beers.
The batch was brewed 2007-03-14.
Style:
Extra Special Bitter
Type:
All grain, batch sparge
Colour:
30 EBC (Copper)
Bitterness:
40 IBU
Malts:
5200g Maris Otter pale malt
750g Ambermalt
400g Wheat malt
450g Crystal 60L
200g Crystal 40L
250g Melanoidin malt
Mash:
66C, 60 min
76C, 10 min (mashout)
73% efficiency
Hops:
50g First Gold pellets 7.3%, mash hops
50g Fuggles pellets 5.1%, 60 min
50g First Gold pellets 7.3%, 10 min
50g Fuggles pellets 5.1%, 1 min
Yeast:
Safale S-04, 2 packs, best before 2007-01
Boil:
90 min
OG: 1.066 FG: 1.016 (estimated)
Monday, March 12, 2007
You know you're a brewing nerd...
...if you can spot the two logical errors in the photo below:
The mistakes I've made won't necessarily prevent the device from working, but they are clearly incorrect. Can you find them? (Click on the photo to see more details.)
I'm taking the device for a trial run on Thursday evening btw...
Update: The two logical errors were: 1. The red release valve button on top of the filter housing is placed next to the IN-connection, so having the tap mounted on this side is wrong. 2. The gray ball-lock quick connect is to be used for the IN-connection on the cornelius keg, since I want beer to flow through it I should have used a black ball-lock quick connection instead.
The mistakes I've made won't necessarily prevent the device from working, but they are clearly incorrect. Can you find them? (Click on the photo to see more details.)
I'm taking the device for a trial run on Thursday evening btw...
Update: The two logical errors were: 1. The red release valve button on top of the filter housing is placed next to the IN-connection, so having the tap mounted on this side is wrong. 2. The gray ball-lock quick connect is to be used for the IN-connection on the cornelius keg, since I want beer to flow through it I should have used a black ball-lock quick connection instead.
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