Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Batch 173, Rumcake

There is only one bottle of the 2009 Rumcake still stored away, I'm saving it for Christmas. It must be time for a new batch. This recipe is slightly different than last time, a little more grain and different hops.

Like last time, I did this as a partigyle batch, so I made 10 gallons of beer, 5 of Rumcake and 5 of a smaller beer yet to be named (Son of Rum?)

Rumcake:

26 lb 2-row
2 lb oats, toasted 15 min at 350F on a cookie sheet
1.5 lb chocolate malt
1 lb crystal 120
2 lb white wheat
1 lb dark brown sugar, added at flameout

The math:
This grain bill gives a base OG of 1.080 for 10 gallons. The first runnings should be 1.109, the second runnings should be 1.055.

33.5 lb x 0.125 gal/lb = 4.2 gal lost to absorption

Mash in with

4.2 + 7 gal = 11.2 gal

This gets 7 gallons into the boil kettle for the first runnings.

Mash at 158F for 60 minutes. I got 160F, adjusted mash pH to 5.2 with phosphoric acid.

Hops are 3 oz Magnum 12.0%AA at 60 minutes. I did a 60 minute boil.

Yeast is Wyeast London Ale III.

OG:1.109 (1.100 actual, not bad)

Add 1 cup dark rum at kegging.


Small beer:

Same grain bill as Rumcake, just add 7 gallons for the second running. No brown sugar in this part.

2 oz Galena at 60 minutes. I did about a 75 minute boil just to make sure there was time to get the Rumcake chilled and in the fermenter before this one was done boiling.

Yeast is also Wyeast London Ale III.

OG: 1.046 actual, lower than I expected, but I actually ended up with almost 6 gallons into the fermenter. I probably should have done a full 90 minute boil.

It was a hot day in the beer shed.

Update 5 Oct 2015: Looks like my notes suck. I transferred the small part to a serving keg today, and I can't really tell if there are any spices. I'm certain there were spices in both halves. I distinctly remember putting in vanilla beans, and I can smell those. I don't think I added any rum to the small part, so I went ahead and added a cup. A cup bumps up the ABV by about 1%, so even if I added it before, it won't be that much different. The spices in the strong part should be:

1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice

I think I did that, adding them at flameout, but I'll have to taste the strong part to confirm. I should get around to bottling it in a couple of weeks.

Actually, thinking about it a little more, I think I added a cup of Captain Morgan's spiced rum when I kegged the small part. I'm certain I added a cup of Bacardi special dark rum to the strong part at the same time. So 2 cups of rum in the small part should put the ABV somewhere around 6% or so.

November 14, 2015: primed, bottled, and labeled a case of the Rumcake. The other half will go on the nitro tap as soon as it's available. That small beer is all gone, and it was excellent. It would be worth figuring out how to make just that one.

A case of Rumcake to set aside for drinking in the next few years.


Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Batch 172, Panama Red at the Edge

I brewed a batch of Panama Red at the Edge Brewery today. It took a while to figure out how to get the main boil kettle burner lit, but after that, it was a smooth brew day.

20 gallon batch

The Edge has one of those Morebeer Tippy-Dump brewing "sculptures", it's a pretty nice system and gets about 85% efficiency, so it's not just a matter of doubling my regular Panama Red recipe.

35 lb 2-row
2.5 lb Crystal 60
2 lb wheat
9 oz Chocolate malt

I missed the mash temp and hit 150F instead of the 154F I was aiming for. I couldn't find the recirculating heater part (found it later, too late to help), so I left it as is. Not a big deal, I think.

Hops are exactly double:

4 oz Mt. Hood, FWH
4 oz Centennial, 60 min
4 oz Cascade, 30 min
4 oz Mt. Hood, 5 min
4 oz Cascade, 5 min

Added a whirlfloc tablet. Kerry didn't have any of her usual San Diego Super Yeast ready, so I got 4 packs of Safeale US-05. Again, that should be okay.