Saturday, October 31, 2009

Batch 82, Rumcake

10 gallons of beer, but 2 different kinds. "Rumcake" is a high gravity beer, so it takes 23.5 lbs of grain for 5 gallons. I made a second "small" beer from a second sparge.

Rumcake Ale
---------------
Batch: 5.50 gal
All Grain

Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.119 OG (actual 1.102)
Recipe Bitterness: 27 IBU
Recipe Color: 33° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.030  (actual 1.022)
Alcohol by Volume: 11.5% (calculated from grain and sugar only, does not include the rum)
ABV actual: 10.3% (calculated from OG and FG, does not include the rum)
Alcohol by Weight: 9.0% (actual 8.1%)

Ingredients
-----------
American two-row              17.00 lb, Grain, Mashed
American chocolate malt       1.50 lb, Grain, Mashed
American wheat                1.00 lb, Grain, Mashed
Crystal 60L                   1.00 lb, Grain, Mashed
Flaked oats, toasted          2.00 lb, Adjunct, Mashed
Mash at 156°F for 60 minutes

60 minute boil
Northern Brewer               1.00 oz, Whole, 60 minutes
Willamette                    1.00 oz, Whole, 30 minutes

At flame out, add:
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1 lb. dark brown sugar

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale yeast, 1 pack
Wyeast 1272 American Ale II yeast, 1 quart slurry

Notes
-----
Toast oats in 350F oven on cookie sheet for 10 - 15 minutes.
Add 1 cup dark rum at bottling/kegging.


I missed the OG, I actually got 1.102.

Nov 29, transferred to secondary, took gravity measurements, added rum. The hydrometer sample tasted ... odd.


The small beer:

OG 1.042 (actual)
FG 1.012 (actual)
ABV: 3.9%

1 oz Galena 60 minutes

Wyeast 1272, 1 quart

No spices, no brown sugar. I missed the volume on this, I only got 4 gallons. I was using my HLT as the second boil kettle, so I really didn't have a way to heat up more water to sparge again.

Tasting Score Sheet




















































































































































Date

02/14/10

Batch
#

82

Beer Name

Rumcake

Style

21B.
Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer



Packaging

Bottle
| Draft









APPEARANCE



1 2 3


Head

spare
| small | average | large | huge

rocky
| creamy | frothy | fizzy |

white
| off-white | light brown | dark

lasting
| diminishing

Lacing

excellent
| good | fair | spare

Body

clear
| sparkling | flat | cloudy | hazy | murky | muddy

Particles

None
| lightly cloudy | cloudy | heavily particulate | chunky

Color

light
| dark | yellow | amber | orange | red | brown | ruby | black
| tawny

Comments

Very
opaque, black beer.




AROMA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Malt

light
| average | heavy | harsh | bread | cookie | molasses |
caramel | grain | hay | straw | cereal | chocolate | coffee |
toffee | toasted | roasted | burnt | nutty | meal

Hops

light
| average | heavy | harsh

flowers
| perfume | herbs | celery | grass

pine
| spruce | resin

citrus
| grapefruit | orange | lemon | lime

Yeast/Bacteria

light
| average | heavy | harsh

dough
| sweat | horse blanket | barnyard | leather

soap
| cheese | meat | broth | earth | musty | leaves

Miscellaneous

alcohol:
light | average | heavy

banana
| bubble gum | clove | grape | raisin | plum | prune | date
| apple | pear | peach | pineapple | cherry raspberry | cassis |
wine | port | cask wood | toffee | butter | butterscotch | smoke |
tar | charcoal

soy
sauce | licorice | cola | honey | brown sugar | maple syrup |
vanilla | pepper | allspice | nutmeg
cinnamon | coriander | ginger | tobacco | dust | chalk |
vegetable | cooked cabbage/corn | cardboard paper | medicine |
solvent | bandage | skunk | sour milk | vinegar | rotten eggs

Comments

Spicy
aroma.




MOUTHFEEL

1 2 3 4 5

Body

light
| medium | full


Texture

thin
| oily | creamy | sticky | slick | alcoholic | thick | minerals |
gritty

Carbonation

fizzy
| lively | average | soft | flat

Finish

metallic
| chalky | astringent | bitter

Comments:





FLAVOR

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Duration

short
| average | long

Sweet

light
| moderate | heavy | harsh

acidic

light
| moderate | heavy | harsh

bitter

light
| moderate | heavy | harsh

other

vinegar
| sour milk | salty | minerals

Comments

Spicy
flavor with a strong alcohol backing. Young for the style,
re-evaluate next Christmas.




OVERALL

1 2 3 4 5 6  8 9 10

COMMENTS

My
first attempt at a Christmas style beer. This beer was 3 1/2
months old for this tasting. I think it really needs to age some
more for the spice flavors to blend and mellow. There is a fairly
strong alcohol flavor, probably from the rum.

TOTAL

32




-----

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Batch 81, Panama Red


Second batch today. Mashed in while finishing the boil and racking batch 80.

10 gallon batch

20.25 lbs 2-row
1.5 lbs Crystal 60
.25 lbs (4 oz) Chocolate malt

Mash 60 minutes at 153F

2 oz Mt Hood (whole, HG), FWH
2 oz Nugget (pellet), 60 min
2 oz Cascade (whole, HG), 30 min
2 oz Cascade (whole, HG), 5 min
2 oz Cascade (whole, HG), 5 min

90 minute boil

Wyeast 1272

Batch 80, Porter

I'm behind on brewing and low on reserves, so I brewed two batches today, this Porter and a batch of Panama Red.

10 gallon batch

16.0 lbs 2-row
1.5 lbs wheat
2.25 lbs Chocolate malt
1.25 lbs Crystal 60

Mash 60 minutes at 155F.

1 oz Galena (pellet), 75 min
1 oz Cascade (whole, HG), 30 min
2 oz Willamette (whole, HG), 5 min

90 minute boil

Wyeast 1272