Batch 27 Amber Ale

Batch #27, Dec 10, 2005

Malt extract:
13 pounds pils extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
1 pound crystal malt 40L
1 pount crystal malt 60L


Hops:

2 oz Cascade	60 min
2 oz Mt. Hood	15 min
2 tsp Irish Moss	15 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056, American ale yeast harvested from batch 25.

OG: 1.046
FG: 1.010

Kegged: 2 Jan 2006


Comments:

10 Dec 2005, It's freezing outside, so I had some extra work. Usually I drag the hose from the front yard faucet over to the garage, but the hose was frozen solid. I ended up hauling water from the kitchen. Cleaning up was harder, and I didn't have any water for the wort chiller. I just put the wort into the fermenter hot, as cold as it is, it ought to be cool enough to add the yeast tomorrow.

11 Dec 2005, actually, too cold. It was 47F this morning. Need to get it warmed up enough now to add the yeast...

12 Dec 2005, finally warm enough to pitch the yeast. 10 days at 66F, then 15 days a 55F. Need to transfer to secondary on 22 Dec, then 15 days in secondary.

23 Dec 2005, transfered to secondary, harvested yeast.

2 Jan 2006, crap, I should have read these notes before kegging. I was thinking 10 days in secondary, but the original recipe for Alaskan Amber says 15. I did 11, so guess I'll just have to relax and have a homebrew!

22 Jan 2005, tapped the first keg. Tasty!

Batch 26, Jones Lake Ale

Batch #26, November 6, 2005

Malt extract:
13 pounds pils extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
1 pound crystal malt 40L
1 pount crystal malt 60L


Hops:

1 oz Nugget	60 min
1 oz Cascade	60 min
1 oz Cascade	15 min
1 oz Mt. Hood	15 min
2 tsp Irish Moss	15 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056, American ale yeast, 2.3 and 2.4.

OG: 1.040
FG: 1.010

Kegged: Nov 23, 2005


Comments:
After racking to secondary (2 5 gallon buckets), I added 1 oz Cascade (dry hop) to one of the buckets. I'm thinking I'll get basically a hoppy pale ale out of that bucket and an amber ale out of the other -- but need to see how it comes out. I might have a pale ale and an IPA...!

10 Dec 2005: Yep, I'm going with a pale ale for the one without the extra hops. It it similar to the 'Cascade' batches, but not as hoppy. I haven't tapped the other (I'm calling it Jones Lake Ale "DH")

26 Jan 2006: updating notes -- we polished off the "DH" batch over Christmas, it was the better of the two versions, but then, I like a hoppy beer. Batch 28 is a repeat, with all 10 gallons dry hopped.

Batch 25, Oatmeal Stout

Batch #25, October 18, 2005

The last batch of this was so good, it definitely rated a double batch.

Malt extract:
13.5 lbs pils malt extract

Malted grain:
3 lb crystal 80L
8 oz black patent malt
12 oz chocolate malt

12 oz oatmeal (this is not a malted grain, it's just regular Quaker oats)


Hops:

2 oz Cascade	60 min
2 tsp Irish moss	10 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 from batch 22, 2.1 and batch 24, 2.2

OG: 1.044
FG: 1.010

Steep the grains in boil pot with 3 gallons of water for 30 minutes at 155 F, sparge, remove.
Add malt extract, water to make 10 gallons, bring to boil.
Hop per schedule.


Kegged: November 1, 2005

Comments:
Again, an awesome beer!


10 Dec 2005: the first keg has been gone for a while, the second keg is still waiting to be tapped. I like this double batch process, it means I have several varieties at once.


20 Dec 2005: tapped the second keg, Batch 24 finally ran out so I had an available tap.


27 Jan 2006: finally finished off the second keg. This was such an excellent beer, my next batch will be another one of these.

Batch 24, Cascade

Batch #24, Sep 22, 2005

Malt extract:
14 lbs pils extract

Malted grain:
2 lb crystal 20L


Hops:

1 oz Perle	60 min
1 oz Nugget	30 min
1 oz Nugget	15 min
2 oz Cascade	10 min
1 oz Mt. Hood	10 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056

OG: 1.045
FG: 1.008


3 tsp Irish moss at 10 min.

Kegged:

Comments: A double batch, used the new burner and converted keg boil pot. I'm not dry hopping this time, just to see what the difference is by adding the hops in the boil rather than later on. I'm sure the beer will be good, even if it isn't quite as hoppy!

I've been drinking this one for a while now, the first keg is close to gone. I like the dry hopping better. This one is hoppy, but the flavor is not as "fresh" as when dry hopped. Part of the reason for not dry hopping was that I'm using a keg as a fermenter. The top is not cut out, I just pulled out the tap connector. I wasn't sure how to put the hops in, and figured it would be difficult to take them out. Next time, I'll do primary fermenation in the keg, then secondary in 2 buckets, then I can dry hop in the buckets.

29 Oct 2005: I entered a few bottle of this batch into a brewing competition at Larry's. I don't think this is my best batch, but it's all I had on hand. It will be good to get some non-biased feedback, anyway. Too bad the last batch of Amber was gone, that was most excellent! The judging is on Nov 6, 2005.

20 Nov 2005: The judging results are in! I didn't win, but didn't do too bad, either. This beer was judged "very good", and this wasn't my best batch by a long ways. I put together a counter-pressure bottle filler to fill the bottles for this competition, since I have it, I'll be filling a few bottles from future batches just in case another competition comes up.

10 Dec 2005: The second keg is near empty. This one has just gotten better and better as it has aged. The clarity is better too.

Batch 23, Amber Ale

Batch #23, Sep 4, 2005

Malt extract:
6 1/2 pounds pils extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
1/2 pound crystal malt 40L
1/2 pount crystal malt 60L


Hops:

1 oz Cascade	60 min
1 oz Mt. Hood	15 min
1 tsp Irish Moss	15 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056, American ale yeast, extracted from batch #21.

OG: 1.046
FG: 1.008

Kegged: 17 Sep 2005


Comments:

10 Dec 2005, I'm updating comments, and see that I never actually completed this one -- I filled in the FG and kegged date, this beer is long gone and I'm missing it. It was excellent! It is based off of a recipe for Alaskan Amber, which has been one of my favorites for some time.

Batch 22, Slug Snout: an Oatmeal Stout

Batch #22, August 20, 2005

Don't ask about the name, you don't want to know.

I got a new burner for cooking beer. It's Eastman Outdoors, it's a 65,000 BTU propane burner, very sturdy. It'll easily hold a 15 gallon pot. For this batch I used the canning pot that I've used for every other batch so far, but I do have a keg with the top cut off now to use for bigger batches.

I've never even drank an oatmeal stout before, so this should be interesting. I like stouts and porters anyway, and supposedly an oatmeal stout is smooth.


Malt extract:
7 lbs pils malt extract

Malted grain:
1.5 lb crystal 80L
4 oz black patent malt
6 oz chocolate malt

6 oz oatmeal (this is not a malted grain, it's just regular Quaker oats)


Hops:

1 oz Cascade	60 min
1 tsp Irish moss	60 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 from batch 21, 1.3

OG: crap, I forgot to get a sample before pitching the yeast
FG: 1.008

Steep the grains in boil pot with 6 quarts water for 30 minutes at 155 F, sparge, remove.
Add malt extract, bring to boil.
Hop per schedule.


Kegged: Sep 1, 2005

Comments:
I built an ice box for fermenting, seems to work really well for keeping the fermentation temperature constant.

This was an absolutely awesome recipe, definitely one to do again.

Batch 21, Cascade

Batch #21, Aug 7, 2005

I had a lot of beer left over from the wedding, so it's been a while. Too long, in fact, I'm out of homebrew :(


Malt extract:
6 3/4 lbs pils malt extract

Malted grain:
1 lb crystal 20L


Hops:

1/2 oz Perle	60 min
1/2 oz Nugget	30 min
1/2 oz Nugget	10 min
1 oz Cascade	7 days
1 oz Mt. Hood	7 days

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 from batch 16, 4.4

OG: 1.048
FG: 1.008

Steep the grains in boil pot with 6 quarts water for 30 minutes at 155 F, sparge, remove.
Add malt extract, bring to boil.
Hop per schedule.
1 tsp Irish moss at 10 min.

Kegged: August 19, 2005

Comments:
Added more hops at the dry hop phase than last time.

Batch 20, Cascade

Batch #20, June 5, 2005

Malt extract:
6 3/4 lbs amber extract in cans, Larry's was out of bulk

Malted grain:
1 lb crystal 20L


Hops:

1/2 oz Perle	60 min
1/2 oz Nugget	30 min
1/2 oz Cascade	10 min
1/2 oz Cascade	7 days
1/2 oz Mt. Hood	7 days

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 from batch 16, 4.4

OG: 1.040
FG: 1.010

Steep the grains in boil pot with 6 quarts water for 30 minutes at 155 F, sparge, remove.
Add malt extract, bring to boil.
Hop per schedule.
1 tsp Irish moss at 10 min.

Kegged: June 21, 2005

Comments:
Much better than the wedding batch, but not enough hops. I'm still figuring out how much to put in with the new hops.

Batch 19, Red Ale

Batch #19, May 16, 2005


Malt extract:
7 1/2 pounds amber malt extract

Grain:
1 1/2 lbs crystal 120L

Hops:

1/2 oz Perle	30 min
1/2 oz Cascade	10 min

Yeast:
Wyeast #1056 American Ale Yeast from batch 15

OG: 1.054
FG: 1.012

Kegged: May 29, 2005

Comments: Like batch 17, some off flavors, probably due to unstable fermentation temperatures. Drinkable, but not great.

Batch 18, Moose

Batch #18, May 15, 2005


Malt extract:
7 1/2 pounds amber gold malt extract

Grain:
1/2 pound crystal malt 80L
2 oz Breiss chocolate malt
1 oz black patent malt

Hops:

1 oz Kent Golding	60 min
1/2 oz Mt. Hood	30 min
1/2 oz Cascade	10 min

Yeast:
Wyeast #1056 American Ale Yeast from batch 15

OG: 1.030 - low again...?
FG: 1.010

Kegged: May 29, 2005

Comments: Like batch 17, some off flavors, probably due to unstable fermentation temperatures. Drinkable, but not as good as previous batches.

Batch 17, Cascade, one of the wedding beers

Batch #17, May 15, 2005

My daughter is getting married, so this batch and the next two are intended to be ready by the wedding day.

Malt extract:
6 3/4 lbs pils extract (bulk, Larry's was out of gold)

Malted grain:
1 lb crystal 20L


Hops:

1/2 oz Perle	60 min
1/2 oz Nugget	30 min
1/2 oz Cascade	10 min
1/2 oz Cascade	7 days
1/2 oz Mt. Hood	7 days

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 from batch 15

OG: 1.040
FG: 1.010

Steep the grains in boil pot with 6 quarts water for 30 minutes at 155 F, sparge, remove.
Add malt extract, bring to boil.
Hop per schedule.
1 tsp Irish moss at 10 min.

Kegged: June 2, 2005

Comments:
All 3 of the wedding beers had some off flavors. I think it's because the weather is warming and the fermentation temperature did not stay very stable.

Batch 16, Black Diamond Porter

Batch #16, May 1, 2005

Malt extract:
7 1/4 pounds gold extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
6 oz chocolate malt
6 oz black patent malt
8 oz honey malt
8 oz crystal malt 10L
4 oz Victory malt

Other:
8 oz malto-dextrin, for body

Hops:

1 1/2 oz Galena	60 min
1 oz Nugget	60 min
1 oz Cascade	30 min
1/2 oz Mt. Hood	15 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 from batch 14

OG: 1.057
FG: 1.012

Steep the grains in boil pot with 6 quarts water for 30 minutes at 158 F, sparge, remove.
Add malt extract and malto-dextrin.
Hop per schedule.
1 tsp Irish moss at 10 min.

Kegged: May 15, 2005

Batch 15, A Basic Amber Ale

Batch #15, April 25, 2005, a new recipe for an amber ale, based on a recipe for Alaska Amber.

Malt extract:
6 1/2 pounds gold extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
1 pound 2-row pale malt
1/2 pound crystal malt 40L
1/2 pount crystal malt 60L


Hops:

1 oz Cascade	60 min
1 oz Mt. Hood	15 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056, American ale yeast, extracted from batch #14.

OG: 1.046
FG: 1.008

Kegged: May 10, 2005

Batch 14, Cascade Pale Ale

Batch #14, April 6, 2005, same as batch #13 (almost).

Malt extract:
6 3/4 pounds amber gold extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
1 pound crystal malt 20L

Hops:

1 oz Perle	60 min
1/2 oz Nugget	30 min
1/2 oz Nugget	10 min
1 oz Cascade	7 days

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056, American ale yeast, extracted from batch #13.

OG: 1.044
FG: 1.008

Kegged: April 21, 2005

Comments: See Yeast 101 and Yeast 102 about recovering yeast from a previous batch for reuse in later batches. The yeast starter came out looking very nice, I'll have to see how this actually works, but my initial impressions are that recovering yeast is worth doing.

Update, Apr 10, the yeast is definitely doing the job. With the mail-order hops and the recycled yeast, my cost for this batch is about $16, which is a savings of about $8. Cost per glass is down to 31 cents!

I had a sample of batch 13, and thought the hops seemed a bit strong, so I left out the Mt. Hood from the dry hop this time. I gathered yeast again, it's in the refrigerator waiting for the next batch.

Batch 13, Cascade Pale Ale

Batch #13, March 28, 2005, same as batch #7, with a slight change on the hops.

Malt extract:
6 3/4 pounds amber gold extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
1 pound crystal malt 20L

Hops:

1 oz Perle	60 min
1/2 oz Nugget	30 min
1/2 oz Nugget	10 min
1 oz Cascade	7 days
1 oz Mt. Hood (previous recipe had 1/2 oz)	7 days

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056, American ale yeast

OG: 1.045
FG: 1.007

Kegged: April 11, 2005

Comments: I ordered some bulk hops from the internet and am using them for the first time in this batch. I'm a bit concerned that this batch will come out a lot different tasting that previously -- I'd been buying hops from Larry's in 1 oz bags, but my 1oz bag is about twice as large as Larry's. I'm using my kitchen scale, which is pretty accurate, so previous batches may not have actually had the amount of hops that I thought it did. This may turn out to be really hoppy!

Yep, definitely hoppy. I should have NOT increased the Mt. Hood hops. This is more of an IPA than an American pale ale. Good, though. The hops seem a bit overpowering at first, but after 2 or 3 glasses, it is tasty, and the longer it sits in the keg, the better it gets.

Batch 12, Moose

Batch #12, March 13, 2005.

Malt extract:
7 1/2 pounds amber gold malt extract

Grain:
1/2 pound crystal malt 80L
2 oz Breiss chocolate malt
1 oz black patent malt

Hops:

1 oz Kent Golding	60 min
1/2 oz Mt. Hood	30 min
1/2 oz Willamette	10 min
1/2 oz Willamette	0 min

Yeast:
Wyeast #1056 American Ale Yeast

OG: 1.032
FG: 1.014

Kegged: Mar 28, 2005

Comments: The OG is low, it should be in the 1.045 - 1.050 range. Not sure what caused this... FG was a bit higher than previous batches also.

Drinking it now (April 2) and it's as good as ever. I was concerned that the alcohol content would be low because of the OG being off, but it still has a decent buzz. Nothing to worry about, I guess.

Batch 11, Black Diamond Porter

Batch #11, February 12, 2005, sort of a Black Butte Porter clone.

Malt extract:
7 1/2 pounds amber gold extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
6 oz chocolate malt
6 oz black patent malt
8 oz honey malt
8 oz crystal malt 10L
4 oz toasted barley (I got something similar, should have wrote it down...)

Other:
8 oz malto-dextrin, for body

Hops:

1 1/2 oz Galena	60 min
1 oz Cascade	30 min
1 oz Tettnanger	5 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1338, European Ale yeast

OG: 1.060 (Black Butte Porter is 1.058 on the Deschutes web page, so I'm pretty close.)
FG: 1.022 (the recipe says 1.020, so again, pretty close.)

Steep the grains in boil pot for 30 minutes at 156 F, sparge, remove.
Add malt extract and malto-dextrin.
Hop per schedule.
1 tsp Irish moss at 10 min.

Kegged: February 27, 2005

Comments: The beer appears to be very clear. I stirred in some plain gelatin (dissolved in a cup of boiled water) on the 25th, then let it set for 2 days before kegging. This seems to have done a good job in getting out the particulates. The FG seemed high, until I remembered to check the actual recipe, and found I'm quite close. The recipe actually says OG 1.060, FG 1.020.

The sample that I took for the hydrometer was quite tasty, so this is one I'm looking forward to drinking. Batch 9 is close to gone, Batch 10 has been conditioning for a week, so it's about ready to drink, so this one can have a few weeks of conditioning.

Tapped: March 13, 2005
I stopped by Larry's on Mar 12 and picked up a second picnic tap so I can pour from two kegs at once. This batch is quite good, very clear, and pretty close to the flavor of Black Butte Porter.

Batch 10, Cascade Pale Ale

Batch #10, February 6, 2005, same as batch #7.

Malt extract:
6 3/4 pounds amber gold extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
1 pound crystal malt 20L

Hops:

1 oz Perle	60 min
1/2 oz Nugget	30 min
1/2 oz Nugget	10 min
1 oz Cascade	7 days
1/2 oz Mt. Hood	7 days

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056, American ale yeast

OG: 1.046
FG: 1.004

Kegged: February 20, 2005

Comments: Really good recipe, it gets better the longer it sits. It really needs to condition in the keg for at least 2 weeks to reach optimum flavor. I think the hops are just right, and since the Moose recipe always leaves 1/2 oz of the Mt. Hood hops left over, this fits well to eliminate any waste.

Attempting better clarity: Two days prior to kegging (Friday night, I kegged on Sunday night), I boiled a cup of water, let it cool, then stirred in 1 packet of plain Knox gelatin. I siphoned the beer out of the fermenter to my bottling bucket, passing the beer through a strainer to catch any loose hops, cleaned out the fermenter, then siphoned the beer back, again, through the strainer. Then stirred in the gelatin mixture. The gelatin is supposed to help any suspended particulates gather and sink to the bottom, the gelatin should also help the sediment stay on the bottom. When I siphoned from the fermenter to the keg, the beer did look very clear. This variety should be clear, the last batches have been somewhat cloudy.

Tapped: March 5, 2005 Clarity is pretty good, but I'm thinking it could still be clearer. The dry hopping is probably the culprit in why it is not as clear as it could be. Batch 11 came out very clear, although it is less obvious with a Porter.

Batch 9, Moose again

Batch #9, January 30, 2005.

Malt extract:
7 1/2 pounds amber gold malt extract

Grain:
1/2 pound crystal malt 80L
2 oz Breiss chocolate malt
1 oz black patent malt

Hops:

1 oz Kent Golding	60 min
1/2 oz Mt. Hood	30 min
1/2 oz Willamette	10 min
1/2 oz Willamette	0 min

Yeast:
Wyeast #1056 American Ale Yeast

OG: 1.046
FG: 1.010

Kegged: February 12, 2005

Comments: Like last time, really good!
-- As I get toward the bottom of the barrel, this is still a really good beer, definitely a keeper.