I checked the bottles again to see how they were doing. Being the plastic PET bottles, you can tell when the bottle conditioning has progressed enough for drinking by how firm the bottle is. When you first start, the plastic is easily deformable, but as the yeast turns the priming sugars into CO2, the increasing gas pressure makes the bottle much harder to squeeze.
I picked out two bottles and put them in the fridge, with the hope of trying them out today or tomorrow. Today is the lucky day.
Lighting was bad, and I couldn't find the camera anyways, so pictures to follow from bottle #2.
The aroma is nice and coffee/chocolate, with a bit of a hop hint, but not much. See earlier notes about missing the instructions about how to best use the fermentables to allow for correct hop-utilization.
The taste is awesome. A nice dry stout, not too hoppy, not too malty. Very well balanced, with coffee notes, and a nice chocolately richness from all the dark malt extract. Great carbonation, with a thick light tan head that holds for awhile before suddenly falling back, leaving about a 1/2" of lacy bits on the glass.Added to the aroma notes from above, I would say that the overall character might have been improved by correct hop utilization leading to greater hoppy flavors, but with the coffee and chocolate flavors, its not like anything is missing. Just something else that could have been added.
Mouthfeel is a little light for my taste, most likely an artifact of using white table sugar as my priming sugar. Corn sugar or barley malt would have left more unfermentable sugars behind, thickening the mouthfeel, adding a bit more of that "syrupy" stout feel. That would have been awesome, and will be important to keep in mind for the next batch, but it's certainly not going to slow down my enjoyment of *this* batch.
Mmmm.... I LIKE this beer!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Batch #3: Snow Day Coffee Stout - Bottling is DONE
Strained the cold brewed coffee this morning. Had the house mostly to myself this evening, so I filled the sink with bleachy water and sanitized all my bottles/caps/bottling gear (and left that bleachy-water in there to clean the fermenter when I got to it...). Took the coffee, topped it off with water to .5L (2 cups), added the priming sugar (2/3 cup pure cane sugar...very sub-optimal, but all I had, so there), and brought it to a boil. Added that to the wort in the fermenter, gave it a careful stir so as to not aerate it very much, and got to bottling.
A very long time later (26 .75L bottles later, actually) I was done. A bit of clean-up, an extra tight seal on all the bottles, and they are now down in the basement 'bottle conditioning.' The yeast left in the wort will convert the priming sugar into a little more alcohol and a bit of CO2, which being unable to escape the bottle, will dissolve into the beer, carbonating it. Science really does rule. No pics, couldn't find the camera. :(
A very long time later (26 .75L bottles later, actually) I was done. A bit of clean-up, an extra tight seal on all the bottles, and they are now down in the basement 'bottle conditioning.' The yeast left in the wort will convert the priming sugar into a little more alcohol and a bit of CO2, which being unable to escape the bottle, will dissolve into the beer, carbonating it. Science really does rule. No pics, couldn't find the camera. :(
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Batch #3: Snow Day Coffee Stout - Coffee is cold brewing
Took another hydrometer reading tonight (earlier readings are attached to the original brewing page here), and its holding steady at about .021. (In checking the link back there, it seems I forgot to post the first reading where it seemed to creep back up to .021.) I can only assume that I had a bad reading when I thought it was at .018. So, after poking around a bit online, I found what seemed like good directions for cold brewing coffee to add to beer HERE and HERE.
Since the coffee included with the kit was 4oz., I also halved the recommended water from the brewing site, to 14oz. I plan on taking the concentrate and boiling the priming sugar in it, which will simultaneously sterilize the coffee and the primer, making it perfect to add. It only needs to be a short boil, and while that will somewhat affect the flavor of the coffee, its *NOT* the same as just brewing with hot water, despite the protestations at homebrewtalk.com. The problem with hot brewing is that the higher temps also pull some bitter astringent flavors from the beans. Heating the coffee AFTER the beans have been removed will NOT spontaneously cause those flavors to appear. However, it WILL cause the delicate flavors that are created by cold brewing the coffee to change a bit. How much is a question that will most likely never be known, since the coffee is going into beer. Stout, in fact, so the idea that the coffee needs to be of the utmost, apex of perfection is a bit humorous to me. If its that good, I'd rather just drink the coffee! Then enjoy some beer! ;)
Bottling should be complete by this time tomorrow night, hopefully. Hm. Gotta sanitize some bottles! Doh!!!
Since the coffee included with the kit was 4oz., I also halved the recommended water from the brewing site, to 14oz. I plan on taking the concentrate and boiling the priming sugar in it, which will simultaneously sterilize the coffee and the primer, making it perfect to add. It only needs to be a short boil, and while that will somewhat affect the flavor of the coffee, its *NOT* the same as just brewing with hot water, despite the protestations at homebrewtalk.com. The problem with hot brewing is that the higher temps also pull some bitter astringent flavors from the beans. Heating the coffee AFTER the beans have been removed will NOT spontaneously cause those flavors to appear. However, it WILL cause the delicate flavors that are created by cold brewing the coffee to change a bit. How much is a question that will most likely never be known, since the coffee is going into beer. Stout, in fact, so the idea that the coffee needs to be of the utmost, apex of perfection is a bit humorous to me. If its that good, I'd rather just drink the coffee! Then enjoy some beer! ;)
Bottling should be complete by this time tomorrow night, hopefully. Hm. Gotta sanitize some bottles! Doh!!!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Batch #3: Snow Day Coffee Stout - Airlock issues?
I was hearing the lovely "bloop bloop" sound of gas escaping the airlock and decided to check it out for myself. I should point out that my first and only somewhat successful home-brew was with a kit that was over a year old, so I don't really remember the yeast being all that active. Therefor, I pretty much had nothing to compare to.
My assumption was that the airlock's water would always remain even in both barrels, with the gas essentially dissolving INTO the water, and bubbling out on the other side. Apparently, I'm an idiot. Instead, the water in the fermenter side of the airlock had been completely forced into the other side, lots of the water had actually been kicked OUT of the airlock... all sorts of NOT great.
After consulting with both home-brew and pro-brewers on the facebook, I was reassured that this is normal and nothing to really worry about. I've since refilled and equalized the airlock, and it seems to be holding steady now that the first really active burst of fermentation is over. Updates as they occur!
My assumption was that the airlock's water would always remain even in both barrels, with the gas essentially dissolving INTO the water, and bubbling out on the other side. Apparently, I'm an idiot. Instead, the water in the fermenter side of the airlock had been completely forced into the other side, lots of the water had actually been kicked OUT of the airlock... all sorts of NOT great.
After consulting with both home-brew and pro-brewers on the facebook, I was reassured that this is normal and nothing to really worry about. I've since refilled and equalized the airlock, and it seems to be holding steady now that the first really active burst of fermentation is over. Updates as they occur!
Batch #3: Scoutship Brewing: Snow Day Coffee Stout!
Snow Day Coffee Stout
Brewpot = 2.5 gals of water
Preboiled another 2.5 gallons of water for fermenter.
Bag of mixed crushed grains
1.5 oz fuggle hops 60 minute boil
1 oz Tettnanger hops 10 minute boil
Safale S-04 Dry Yeast
4oz. dark roast coffee beans
Having had yet another snow day, I decided now was as good a time as any to get my next "real" homebrew (ie, not with expired ingredients and dead yeast... see any posts pertaining to Batch #2...), I got all my gear together and set to work. First up was an intense re-reading of all the pertinent sections of the works of Charlie Papazian, which set me in good stead to continue. I also visited several online forums to see about how to add the coffee to the stout, since the instructions that came with my Rite Brew kit merely say "Brew and add before." Before WHAT? Brew HOW? Well done, you informative bastages.
Not having a huge brew pot (yet), I had to split the batch between pre-boiled water that would go straight into the fermenter, and the remainder, which would be used to create a concentrated wort. Only in hindsight did I recognize the warning on the instructions ("Recipe designed for a full (5 gallon) boil: If doing a partial boil, only boil approximately half of the malt extract/fermentables for the full 60 minutes. Add the rest with 10 minutes remaining. This will ensure proper hop utilization.") I did NOT do this, adding all of the LME for the full 60 minute boil. It turns out that the sheer concentration of sugars and crap in the water makes it harder for the hops to integrate with the water, limiting how much hop essence is actually extracted. Not needing a super hoppy stout, I'm not too concerned about this... but if this were an IPA with monster hops in it, I would be *pissed* at my own oversight.
My one other big mistake was to not put the pre-boiled pots of water outside to cool off faster. I just added them to the fermenter and hoped the water would cool down in time. By the time I had finished the 60 minute boil, including the addition of the Tettnanger hops for the final 10 minutes, the water was still fairly warm, so it didn't really cool the wort all that much when I added that to the fermenter. However, I did put the whole thing (covered, of course) outside to cool down, which took several hours, but in the winter outside, that really shouldn't prove to be too bad an option. Once the temperature hit 22C, I pitched the yeast, and moved the fermenter to its official spot, tucked in between the steam furnace and hot water heater in the unfinished part of the basement. The whole thing is wrapped up in an old insulated sweatjacket, to try to even out temperature swings (we don't have the heat on much at night, but its probably warmer down there than up in the heated part of the house) as well as to protect against what sunlight comes into the basement via the small casement windows.
Updates as they occur!
Brewpot = 2.5 gals of water
Preboiled another 2.5 gallons of water for fermenter.
Bag of mixed crushed grains
- .5# Caramel Malt 40L
- .5# Chocolate Malt
- .25# Roasted Barley
1.5 oz fuggle hops 60 minute boil
1 oz Tettnanger hops 10 minute boil
Safale S-04 Dry Yeast
4oz. dark roast coffee beans
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| Wearing the lucky Avery Brewing Company hat... |
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| Pots coming to a boil. Two right-hand pots were just to pre-boil water going into the fermenter. Pot on the right was for the 2.5 gallon wort boil. |
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| Grain bag 'a-steepin'. |
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| While the initial boiling was going on, I set about sanitizing everything else. As usual, having done all the reading AFTER the fact, I've since realized I WAAAY overdid it on the bleach. Ah well, better sanitized than sorry! |
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| Spent grain bag. No, the fish oil was NOT an ingredient for this beer. |
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| Northwestern Dark Liquid Malt Extract (LME). Two boxes with a bag each. |
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| Adding the motor oil, I mean, LME! |
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| Everything pretty much set to go. Wort temp has slowly come down to yeast-pitching temps, so all should be right with the world. |
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| A quick original gravity reading. |
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| Close-up of the wrong scale. OG = 1.050ish, right on track for this recipe. |
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| Yeast! |
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| Yeasty yeast!! |
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| Airlock is good to go! |
Having had yet another snow day, I decided now was as good a time as any to get my next "real" homebrew (ie, not with expired ingredients and dead yeast... see any posts pertaining to Batch #2...), I got all my gear together and set to work. First up was an intense re-reading of all the pertinent sections of the works of Charlie Papazian, which set me in good stead to continue. I also visited several online forums to see about how to add the coffee to the stout, since the instructions that came with my Rite Brew kit merely say "Brew and add before." Before WHAT? Brew HOW? Well done, you informative bastages.
Not having a huge brew pot (yet), I had to split the batch between pre-boiled water that would go straight into the fermenter, and the remainder, which would be used to create a concentrated wort. Only in hindsight did I recognize the warning on the instructions ("Recipe designed for a full (5 gallon) boil: If doing a partial boil, only boil approximately half of the malt extract/fermentables for the full 60 minutes. Add the rest with 10 minutes remaining. This will ensure proper hop utilization.") I did NOT do this, adding all of the LME for the full 60 minute boil. It turns out that the sheer concentration of sugars and crap in the water makes it harder for the hops to integrate with the water, limiting how much hop essence is actually extracted. Not needing a super hoppy stout, I'm not too concerned about this... but if this were an IPA with monster hops in it, I would be *pissed* at my own oversight.
My one other big mistake was to not put the pre-boiled pots of water outside to cool off faster. I just added them to the fermenter and hoped the water would cool down in time. By the time I had finished the 60 minute boil, including the addition of the Tettnanger hops for the final 10 minutes, the water was still fairly warm, so it didn't really cool the wort all that much when I added that to the fermenter. However, I did put the whole thing (covered, of course) outside to cool down, which took several hours, but in the winter outside, that really shouldn't prove to be too bad an option. Once the temperature hit 22C, I pitched the yeast, and moved the fermenter to its official spot, tucked in between the steam furnace and hot water heater in the unfinished part of the basement. The whole thing is wrapped up in an old insulated sweatjacket, to try to even out temperature swings (we don't have the heat on much at night, but its probably warmer down there than up in the heated part of the house) as well as to protect against what sunlight comes into the basement via the small casement windows.
Updates as they occur!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Batch #2 Non-update.
Hm. Batch #2 has been "fermenting" for about a month now. I betcha it's no good. I just betcha. Someday I'll remember to check the fermenter. If it did go, I assume that filling it with gas and lighting it on fire is a suitable way to prep it for the next zymurgical murder, right?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Batch #2 is begun!! Ginger's Castaway Ale
Having "inherited" my father's Mr. Beer Homebrew Kit, I decided to spice things up a bit. With ginger. It wasn't enough for me that merely trying to brew the remaining recipe included in the kit (Dad already did the Stout, leaving me with the 'West Coast Pale Ale), I wanted to try something cool. Adding extra ingredients, increasing the complexity a bit. With the kits, it tends to be a bit 'Add water, add heat, put in fermenter, cool, add yeast, wait patiently, bottle, wait patiently again, drink.' Which, for the most part, is AWESOME.
My problem is that I *started out* reading Charlie Papazian's books, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing and The Homebrewer's Companion. So I started out with all-malt brewing, and using extra crazy ingredients, and extreme recipes that use the kit beers as at best a distant jumping-off point, and more usually, an almost unrelated discipline altogether.
What I like about the Mr. Beer kit is that the recipe book is very simple, but it includes recommended variations. Including one that adds ginger and brown sugar to an otherwise simple, safe Pale Ale. (To be honest, I have no real idea what a West Coast Pale Ale implies. I assume its tamer than the typical craft-brew Imperial IPA or Double IPA, or any of the other hop-tastical variations, but I don't really know that for sure.) So when you see something that adds such "non-stereotypically beery" ingredients to the mix, cool! (That said, there seem to be plenty of recipes calling for ginger, and many calling for far odder things, so clearly I'm still in the kiddy pool over here!)
I was supposed to use only 1/2 of the included Booster Pack, which is the main adjunct sugars, since the brown sugar is supposed to replace some of it. However, in the years since the kit's box was first opened, the air-tight seal on the Booster pack appears to have failed, leaving me with a solid chunk of dextrose sugar, plus whatever other fermentable and non-fermentable ingredients might be mixed in there. So, I added the whole thing. Worst case scenario, I should just have a somewhat stronger beer (a la, batch #1, Kreidler's New Peculiar - see the earlier posts).
What does concern me is the yeast. While it didn't have an expiration date, it was just as old as the malt/hop can, which DID have a date of something like September 2008. Yup. 18 months. Looked and smelled fine, though, so I decided to go ahead with the experiment. I just have no idea if the yeast is gonna do its eating/peeing/farting thing (ie, converting sugar to alcohol and carbonation). Worst case scenario, I can always dose the fermenter with live yeast without too much worry. We shall see...
My problem is that I *started out* reading Charlie Papazian's books, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing and The Homebrewer's Companion. So I started out with all-malt brewing, and using extra crazy ingredients, and extreme recipes that use the kit beers as at best a distant jumping-off point, and more usually, an almost unrelated discipline altogether.
What I like about the Mr. Beer kit is that the recipe book is very simple, but it includes recommended variations. Including one that adds ginger and brown sugar to an otherwise simple, safe Pale Ale. (To be honest, I have no real idea what a West Coast Pale Ale implies. I assume its tamer than the typical craft-brew Imperial IPA or Double IPA, or any of the other hop-tastical variations, but I don't really know that for sure.) So when you see something that adds such "non-stereotypically beery" ingredients to the mix, cool! (That said, there seem to be plenty of recipes calling for ginger, and many calling for far odder things, so clearly I'm still in the kiddy pool over here!)
I was supposed to use only 1/2 of the included Booster Pack, which is the main adjunct sugars, since the brown sugar is supposed to replace some of it. However, in the years since the kit's box was first opened, the air-tight seal on the Booster pack appears to have failed, leaving me with a solid chunk of dextrose sugar, plus whatever other fermentable and non-fermentable ingredients might be mixed in there. So, I added the whole thing. Worst case scenario, I should just have a somewhat stronger beer (a la, batch #1, Kreidler's New Peculiar - see the earlier posts).
What does concern me is the yeast. While it didn't have an expiration date, it was just as old as the malt/hop can, which DID have a date of something like September 2008. Yup. 18 months. Looked and smelled fine, though, so I decided to go ahead with the experiment. I just have no idea if the yeast is gonna do its eating/peeing/farting thing (ie, converting sugar to alcohol and carbonation). Worst case scenario, I can always dose the fermenter with live yeast without too much worry. We shall see...
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