Batch 162, Panama Red

New brewing rule: No brewing when the outside temperature is below 32F. Both outside faucets froze solid, so other than the initial fill of the kettles, I didn't have any water to clean with or to chill with. Rather than using my plate chiller, I just drained the boil kettle into 2 fermenter buckets and put them in the freezer to cool. They were good by the next morning.

10 gallon batch

22.25 lb 2 row
1.5 lb Crystal 60
1.5 lb wheat
0.25 lb chocolate malt

Mashed at 155F for 60 minutes. Adjusted pH to 5.2. Needed to do a small decoction to get the temp right, things were cold in the brew shed today.

2 oz Mt Hood, FWH
2 oz Centennial, 60 min
2 oz Cascade, 30 min
2 oz Mt Hood, 5 min
2 oz Cascade, 5 min

90 minute boil. Added 2 tsp Irish Moss at 15 min.

Wyeast 1272, American Ale II, pitched the next morning.

Some brew day pics:

Put the wort into 2 buckets in the chest freezer. This is also my chiller today.

It looks like 155F already, should have taken a picture a little earlier, it was above 160F.

I've never had the temp controller read this high before.

There I am, trying to figure out how to turn the camera around on my phone. Not a bad selfie.