10 days after starting, I have put Dave's IPA in the keg. The kegs I use are the 19L "corny" kegs, popular with home brewers.
Cleaned them up with keg & line cleaner, then sanitised with iodophor. It's good to do two kegs at once, if you can concoct a fluid-out-to-fluid-out tube, using two black keg connectors, and a short length of tubing. This allows one to easily transfer cleaning and sanitising fluid from one keg to the other, under gentle CO2 pressure. Two kegs cleaned for the price of one.... And I've kept the sanitising fluid in the second keg. Will need this keg in another week or two for a second batch I now have underway. More on that in a minute.
Glass carboys have their advantages for brewers, primarily ease of sanitation, and visibility. However, initial cleaning is often difficult, requiring a bent carboy brush and lots of elbow grease. Worse still is the post-primary transfer of beer from the carboy. The only realistic way is to use a syphon, which demands santised hands, a sanitised transfer hose (inside and out), and some good coordination in getting one end of the syphon hose into the beer, and the other to the bottom of the receiving vessel (in my case the corny keg).
As a precaution, I flush my keg with some CO2 before starting the transfer. CO2 is heavier than normal air, so ideally forms a raft at the bottom of the keg. So once the hose end drops down to the keg bottom, and beer starts gushing out, the hope is that most oxygen is sitting above the splash zone, so little oxidation will occur.
Once the beer is in the keg, the headspace is flushed three or so times also, hopefully banishing any O2 for good.
I snuck a little taste of the beer from the syphon tube once done. A strong toffee note initially, and some papery/flowery hop notes. These need to settle and integrate.
As for the yeast and hop cake at the bottom of the carboy, I decided to take the easy option and reuse it. Bought two tins of Coopers Pale Ale, and 500g of dry malt. Whacked it straight in, and topped up with water. Aiming for a strong Aussie Ale, hopefully taking up any remaining hop characters from the residue and the hop bag (still in the carboy). May toss in some additional pellets at secondary time, if aroma is needed.
What I forgot (from an earlier post) was the difficulty in getting cold liquid malt extract into a glass carboy. A big tip: always, always immerse the malt tins in hot water for at least 30 minutes before opening.
Showing posts with label India Pale Ale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India Pale Ale. Show all posts
Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Dave's IPA - One week on
Well, the krausen has sunk, and the airlock is bubbling at a rate of once every 15 seconds or so. I'll move the beer to a secondary fermentation vessel soon. To save myself some cleaning, this usually means going straight to the keg, and letting it condition for a few days at room temperature, then for a fortnight or so in the fridge, prior to carbonation from CO2 cylinder. The only drawback here is the yeast sediment in the keg. If I use a true secondary vessel, then most yeast will be left behind when the beer is transfered to the keg. In saving on the cleaning, I lose a glass or two of beer to extreme cloudiness.....
I suppose if I get my timing spot on, the secondary fermentation could carbonate the keg directly aka Real Ale. So, I think I'll hold off on the cylinder carbonation and firstly test the pressue of the keg, to see what the secondary ferment generated.
I threw the dry hop bag into the glass carboy yesterday. I should have thought about this beforehand. The weave of the bag is so tight that it floats quite high on the beer. So how's the hop aroma going to get into the liquid, I wonder ? Hmmmm.... I should have punctured a hole in the bag before throwing it in.
So, I did a bit of undignified jabbing of the bag with the (sanitised) handle of my plastic spoon. This seems to have dented it somewhat, and it's sitting lower in the liquid now. There was a little bit of splashing, which is undesirable at this stage of the process, but hopefully the headspace of the carboy is mostly CO2, so I doubt much oxidation damage is likely to occur. Not good, nonetheless.
Another thought.... the bag contains hop pellets, not flowers. The carboy already has pellet residue sitting at the bottom, so I could also have just ripped it open and tossed the pellets in as is. Plus (now I think about it) I have to somehow extricate the used bag from the carboy when done, which will be no simple task considering the thin neck of the carboy (and it's weight).
Live and learn......
I suppose if I get my timing spot on, the secondary fermentation could carbonate the keg directly aka Real Ale. So, I think I'll hold off on the cylinder carbonation and firstly test the pressue of the keg, to see what the secondary ferment generated.
I threw the dry hop bag into the glass carboy yesterday. I should have thought about this beforehand. The weave of the bag is so tight that it floats quite high on the beer. So how's the hop aroma going to get into the liquid, I wonder ? Hmmmm.... I should have punctured a hole in the bag before throwing it in.
So, I did a bit of undignified jabbing of the bag with the (sanitised) handle of my plastic spoon. This seems to have dented it somewhat, and it's sitting lower in the liquid now. There was a little bit of splashing, which is undesirable at this stage of the process, but hopefully the headspace of the carboy is mostly CO2, so I doubt much oxidation damage is likely to occur. Not good, nonetheless.
Another thought.... the bag contains hop pellets, not flowers. The carboy already has pellet residue sitting at the bottom, so I could also have just ripped it open and tossed the pellets in as is. Plus (now I think about it) I have to somehow extricate the used bag from the carboy when done, which will be no simple task considering the thin neck of the carboy (and it's weight).
Live and learn......
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Beer review: BrewDog Punk IPA
After watching Oz and James, I dug out a review from earlier this year. I was happy to find this beer, and its sister beer Trashy Blonde, at 1st Choice liquor in Forestville, NSW.
American IPA 6.0 %
B+ / 3.9 look: 3.5 smell: 4 taste: 4 feel: 4 drink: 4
Batch 319, BB 14/12/2919, 330mL
Rocky white foam head, slight hazy golden yellow.
Aromas herbaceous at first, some strawberry/rosewater floral notes, big citrus hop, ripe honeydew melon, some toffee pushing through.
Flavours of toffee maltiness upfront, then tropical fruit mix..grapefruit/tangelo brings it home at the back. Firm bitterness.
Fairly light, with a hint of creaminess. Good length to support the bitterness.
A good IPA. Plenty of lingering aftertaste to remind one of that, and inviting the next one. Strong for a session ale, but still could put a few away quite easily.
Serving type: bottle
Guide to review scoring is on the post Beeradvocate Ratings Systems
Unless otherwise specified, these reviews are my own.
Punk IPAAmerican IPA 6.0 %
B+ / 3.9 look: 3.5 smell: 4 taste: 4 feel: 4 drink: 4
Batch 319, BB 14/12/2919, 330mL
Rocky white foam head, slight hazy golden yellow.
Aromas herbaceous at first, some strawberry/rosewater floral notes, big citrus hop, ripe honeydew melon, some toffee pushing through.
Flavours of toffee maltiness upfront, then tropical fruit mix..grapefruit/tangelo brings it home at the back. Firm bitterness.
Fairly light, with a hint of creaminess. Good length to support the bitterness.
A good IPA. Plenty of lingering aftertaste to remind one of that, and inviting the next one. Strong for a session ale, but still could put a few away quite easily.
Serving type: bottle
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Dave's IPA - brew progress
The beer has been "in utero" now for two days. Yesterday, a thin, white slick appeared on the surface, indicating the yeast was waking up and getting into the growth phase.
Today, I have a beer with three extra inches of grungy, rocky krausen, and the airlock is bubbling at a rate of every 2 seconds. The temperature in my cellar is about 15C, so it's not what you'd call vigorous; it is, however, steady.
I should point out that I failed to record an original gravity, which of course means that tha ABV will remain a mystery. And as I topped the fermenter up with water, I judged by sight when I stop. So, two uncontrolled variables that will prevent an accurate OG and ABV measurement.
Today, I have a beer with three extra inches of grungy, rocky krausen, and the airlock is bubbling at a rate of every 2 seconds. The temperature in my cellar is about 15C, so it's not what you'd call vigorous; it is, however, steady.
I should point out that I failed to record an original gravity, which of course means that tha ABV will remain a mystery. And as I topped the fermenter up with water, I judged by sight when I stop. So, two uncontrolled variables that will prevent an accurate OG and ABV measurement.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Brew Day - continued....
13:04. 45 minutes of boil is done. Just threw in the Goldings flavouring hops, which will boil for another 14 minutes. The fermenter is ready; I just bleach the bugger and scrub it if there're any spots, but that's the joy of glass... easy to clean.
13:20 Late hops into the boil, then flameout. Time to get the ice blocks into the brew; not made easier by the fact that I'm supposed to be cooking lunch on the same stovetop as well.
13:56 All done. Funny thing about beer brewing - there are great swathes of inactivity, followed by intense moments of focus & energy. Getting the ice bricks into the boiler was no simple task; I needed to enlist my wife's assistance to prevent the majority of the wort splashing out all over the stove.
But the ice-in-wort approach has merits. I still got the boiler into the sink and ran cold water up the side, but a couple of stirs of the iceblocks was all it took to drop the wort temperature quickly. A quick lunch, and then into the fermenter. Topped up with tap-water, and I pitched the yeast immediately.
The Safale S-04 has a fermentation range of 15-24C; our bar area is probably around the 16-17C mark at the moment, which means a slower fermentation, but a cleaner fermentation. With IPAs, you want to focus on the interplay of extra hops, extra bitterness, extra malt and extra body. Yeast esters would just make a mess of this. So a cooler ferment the better.
I now wait three days, and throw a bag of Goldings flowers into the fermenter as a dry-hop. I think Dave has the right idea here..... dry-hopping is great to add the fresh hop characteristics to the beer, but the fermentation activity can drive the aromas out the air-lock. Waiting three days (or once the krausen has started to settle) is a good idea, I reckon.
Now for the clean-up......
13:20 Late hops into the boil, then flameout. Time to get the ice blocks into the brew; not made easier by the fact that I'm supposed to be cooking lunch on the same stovetop as well.
13:56 All done. Funny thing about beer brewing - there are great swathes of inactivity, followed by intense moments of focus & energy. Getting the ice bricks into the boiler was no simple task; I needed to enlist my wife's assistance to prevent the majority of the wort splashing out all over the stove.
But the ice-in-wort approach has merits. I still got the boiler into the sink and ran cold water up the side, but a couple of stirs of the iceblocks was all it took to drop the wort temperature quickly. A quick lunch, and then into the fermenter. Topped up with tap-water, and I pitched the yeast immediately.
The Safale S-04 has a fermentation range of 15-24C; our bar area is probably around the 16-17C mark at the moment, which means a slower fermentation, but a cleaner fermentation. With IPAs, you want to focus on the interplay of extra hops, extra bitterness, extra malt and extra body. Yeast esters would just make a mess of this. So a cooler ferment the better.
I now wait three days, and throw a bag of Goldings flowers into the fermenter as a dry-hop. I think Dave has the right idea here..... dry-hopping is great to add the fresh hop characteristics to the beer, but the fermentation activity can drive the aromas out the air-lock. Waiting three days (or once the krausen has started to settle) is a good idea, I reckon.
Now for the clean-up......
Beer review: Ekim Viking IPA
Guide to review scoring is on the post Beeradvocate Ratings Systems
Unless otherwise specified, these reviews are my own.
Ekim Viking IPAIndia Pale Ale 6.0%
A- / 4.25 look: 4 smell: 4 taste: 4.5 feel: 4 drink: 4.5
Bottled 3 May 2010. Poured into James Squire half pint tumbler.
1" beige rocky pillowy head. Chestnut/copper/amber colour, slightly hazy. Olive tinges at the edges. Very attractive.
Aromas are an interwoven blend of malt & hop. Floral, soap perfume mixed with bread crust and caramel. Fruit notes of pineapple, maybe a touch of marmalade.Lightly syrupy mouthfeel, sliding smoothly along, finishing a bit sticky & cloying. But this is OK when there is a good bitterness to cut through it at the end. Overall impression of richness and lusciousness.
A top-class IPA, and a top-class beer. Along with the 4 Pines Pale Ale, this beer has been a great find, and a delight to use as inspiration for my own IPA, currently brewing away...
Better stir the pot now.....
Brew Day - Dave's IPA
Saturday 19th June, 2010
11:00 am. I planned to have an outdoor boil. I have a three-ring burner and, so I thought, a full gas cylinder. Set up the brick pile, the burner, the ingredients..... no cylinder. It seems that my full cylinder, plus my regulator and adaptor hoses, have all disappeared.... Not happy, so it's up to the kitchen...
11:15 am. Anyway.... got the boiler pot into the kitchen and onto the stove. Heated three litres of water to 70 C, and dropped in the kilo of mixed grain (in a pantihose leg, tied off..... makes removal and rinsing so much easier.....). Just waiting 'til 11:40 for the rinse (aka "sparge"). Contemplating getting some inspiration for the style being brewed..... Ekim Viking IPA perhaps ?
12:07 pm. Grains are rinsed, the dry malt & bittering hops are in the brew pot, and I have also put the two Morgans tins of liquid malt extract in also. I know I said I wasn't going to, but it seems a lot easier to empty the tins now into the pot, rather than via a funnel into the glass fermenter. Now waiting for the lot to boil, then another 45 minutes before adding the flavouring hops.
Time for a beer review.....
11:00 am. I planned to have an outdoor boil. I have a three-ring burner and, so I thought, a full gas cylinder. Set up the brick pile, the burner, the ingredients..... no cylinder. It seems that my full cylinder, plus my regulator and adaptor hoses, have all disappeared.... Not happy, so it's up to the kitchen...
11:15 am. Anyway.... got the boiler pot into the kitchen and onto the stove. Heated three litres of water to 70 C, and dropped in the kilo of mixed grain (in a pantihose leg, tied off..... makes removal and rinsing so much easier.....). Just waiting 'til 11:40 for the rinse (aka "sparge"). Contemplating getting some inspiration for the style being brewed..... Ekim Viking IPA perhaps ?
12:07 pm. Grains are rinsed, the dry malt & bittering hops are in the brew pot, and I have also put the two Morgans tins of liquid malt extract in also. I know I said I wasn't going to, but it seems a lot easier to empty the tins now into the pot, rather than via a funnel into the glass fermenter. Now waiting for the lot to boil, then another 45 minutes before adding the flavouring hops.
Time for a beer review.....
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Dave's IPA homebrew kit
A while back I dropped into Dave's Homebrew to see what was new. Dave has been very helpful in the past, particularly when I started doing all-grain batches. But these days I don't seem to have the time to commit to the 6+ hours or so I seem to need to do a full mash. So, customised extract kits are the go.
Having a good look around the shop, I noticed these sealed boxes simply with the name of a beer style on a Dave's Homebrew label. He told me he put them together by demand, as lots of punters wanted to do the steeped grain and DIY hopping routine, but not want to get caught up in recipe formulation. I think it's a great initiative, although quite labour-intensive for Dave.
Anyway, I bought an IPA kit. It will be for an English IPA style (East Kent Goldings are the hops). It's got two tins of Morgan's unhopped lager extract, a bag of mixed grain (which looks like some crystal and a touch of wheat), a bag of dried malt extract with hops, two bags of hop pellets, a satchel of finising hops, and a packet of Safale ale yeast.
There is a comprehensive instruction sheet, including the wise words of not putting a lid on the boil pot.
So, I'll give this a go soon. I'll probably fiddle with the procedure a bit.... for one I don't think I need to boil the Morgan's LME as the syrup is already "kettled for excess protein removal"; I'll warm the tins up and pour straight into the fermenter. So I'll only boil the DME, the hops, and the extract from the steeped grains. This gives me more room in the boiler for the following adjusted step.......
I'm also going to give his recommended 15 minute ice-bath step a miss, and use several litres of frozen pre-boiled water instead as the wort-cooling technique. I don't think ice baths cool quick enough (and, being a bit tight at the moment, I don't want to have to buy several bags of ice at $6 a throw). So, throw the ice straight into the boiler at the end, and hopefully have enough to bring the wort temperature down into the 30's asap.
I reckon, judging by the amount of fermentable being used, we're looking at an OG of around 1.060. I plan to ferment in my glass carboy..... a pain to syphon from, but so much easier to clean, and to observe whilst fermenting. I'll then keg it (hate bottle washing), cold-condition it, carbonate it, and drink it.
Having a good look around the shop, I noticed these sealed boxes simply with the name of a beer style on a Dave's Homebrew label. He told me he put them together by demand, as lots of punters wanted to do the steeped grain and DIY hopping routine, but not want to get caught up in recipe formulation. I think it's a great initiative, although quite labour-intensive for Dave.
Anyway, I bought an IPA kit. It will be for an English IPA style (East Kent Goldings are the hops). It's got two tins of Morgan's unhopped lager extract, a bag of mixed grain (which looks like some crystal and a touch of wheat), a bag of dried malt extract with hops, two bags of hop pellets, a satchel of finising hops, and a packet of Safale ale yeast.
There is a comprehensive instruction sheet, including the wise words of not putting a lid on the boil pot.
So, I'll give this a go soon. I'll probably fiddle with the procedure a bit.... for one I don't think I need to boil the Morgan's LME as the syrup is already "kettled for excess protein removal"; I'll warm the tins up and pour straight into the fermenter. So I'll only boil the DME, the hops, and the extract from the steeped grains. This gives me more room in the boiler for the following adjusted step.......
I'm also going to give his recommended 15 minute ice-bath step a miss, and use several litres of frozen pre-boiled water instead as the wort-cooling technique. I don't think ice baths cool quick enough (and, being a bit tight at the moment, I don't want to have to buy several bags of ice at $6 a throw). So, throw the ice straight into the boiler at the end, and hopefully have enough to bring the wort temperature down into the 30's asap.
I reckon, judging by the amount of fermentable being used, we're looking at an OG of around 1.060. I plan to ferment in my glass carboy..... a pain to syphon from, but so much easier to clean, and to observe whilst fermenting. I'll then keg it (hate bottle washing), cold-condition it, carbonate it, and drink it.
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