Update on Batch 92, Amber

Racked to secondary tonight. Added 4 oz table sugar for priming per keg, 1 cup water with Knox gelatin for clearing per keg.

July 25, 2010, Update on the update -- this was an abysmal failure.  Linda and I were headed out for one of those Alaska cruises, and not thinking about secondary at all, I put both kegs in the fridge.  When I got back from the cruise, I put one of these on tap, thinking it would have naturally carbed while I was gone and the gelatin would have cleared the beer nicely.  What I had was flat, sweet beer.  Ale yeast won't do much at 34F so I didn't get a secondary at all.  I put both kegs back in the basement (66F), let them warm to ambient temp, then pitched a little more yeast and let them sit for a couple more weeks.  Now they are carbed very well.  I've got these back in the fridge now to get the carbonation under control, and am planning to rack to new kegs in the next day or so.

Batch 93, IPA

A variation on St. Brigid's IPA.

10 gallon batch

20 lbs 2-row (Briess)
1 lbs wheat
1/4 lbs chocolate

Mash at 158F for 60 minutes, collect 14 gallons.

90 minute boil:

30 gm Cascade FWH

90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40 minutes:
7 gm each Chinook, Nugget, Cascade

30, 20, 10, 5, 0 minutes:
10 gm each Chinook, Nugget, Cascade

1 T Irish Moss at 20 minutes.

Wyeast 1272.

OG: 1.062 actual


A brew day pic of the hops ready to go. The FWH are already in the kettle.

I couldn't find enough airlocks. Two are being used on the Amber I made last week and I could only find one more. MacGyver stepped in. Click for a larger image.

Batch 92, Amber

Nice day for brewing.  This is a basic Amber, but I took extra care to make it exactly balanced.

10 gallon batch.

20.25 lbs 2-row
2 lbs Crystal 60
Mash at 156F for 1 hour

45 g Cascade
28 g Willamette

90 minute boil.  Added hops at 60 minutes.  Added 2 tsp Irish Moss at 15 minutes.

Wyeast 1272.

OG: 1.060
FG: 1.015
IBU: 30
SRM: 12
ABV: 5.8
Balance value: 1.004 (see my nifty balance calculator.)

Update on Batch 91, Oktoberfest

Finally the gravity got down to about 1.012 on Monday.  I warmed the fermenters up to 58F overnight, and have held the temp steady since Tuesday morning.  Wyeast (and most other places I've checked) recommends a 24 - 48 hour diacetyl rest prior to racking to secondary.  Racking happens tonight, then the fridge gets set to 35F where the beer will sit until September.

Update, June 19:  I unplugged the temp controller and am letting the fridge do it's thing.  I set it on the lowest setting, it seems to stay between 32F and 35F, so I'm happy with that.