Batch 71, Panama Red

Another batch of Panama Red, a 10 gallon batch.

Grain, mash at 153F for 60 min:
20.25 lbs 2-row
1.5 lbs Crystal 60
4 oz Chocolate Malt

Hops, 90 min boil:
2 oz Mt Hood, FWH
1.5 oz Galena, 60 min
2 oz Cascade, 30 min
2 oz Cascade, 5 min
2 oz Mt Hood, 5 min

Wyeast 1272, new package, 3 qt starter

OG: recipe says 1.061, actual was 1.072.

I usually make this with Nugget as the bittering hop, but the only Nugget I have is from the 2007 harvest. The Galena is from the 2008 harvest, and looks much better than the Nugget. The Nugget were 16.1% AA, the Galena 13.2% AA, so this will be a little less bitter than previous batches.

This is the second batch in a row that I missed my OG. I probably missed my ending volume, either by boiling off too much or not collecting enough run off to account the wort retained by the hops. The last batch also had a lot of hops. I'm actually thinking to bump up the grain bill in future batches of this recipe to get a higher OG on purpose. This is very close in style to an Imperial IPA, so with just a little more grain it would be there. Minimum is 1.075 for IIPA, and the rest of this recipe is right on for color and IBU's.

I resurrected my counter-flow chiller today. The outlet hose fitting broke off when we moved 2 years ago, and I haven't used it since. I hooked it up to my pump and a bucket of home-made PBW, and let it recirculate for about an hour, then switched out the PBW for a bucket of Starsan and let it run for another half-hour. It should be clean and sanitized after that! It sure does help cut some time off of the brew day, I'd guess I saved about 30 minutes. Rather than using the IC, which takes about half an hour, then pumping the wort to the fermenter, I just pump through the CFC directly into the fermenter. The output temp of the wort from the CFC is right at 66F, which is where I like it to be for pitching. I'd forgotten how easy it is to get the output temp just right, simply adjusting the flow of the water hose dials in exactly the temperature I want. I need to get the water outlet fixed, though. Today, I just let the water run out on the ground, which is a waste. If I get the outlet fixed so I can attach a hose, I can use that water for cleaning up.