Waylon Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Interesting I should do something similar! Ive people wanting some kegs filled so looks like a pretty good house beer... Did yours vary from Kelseys much Grumpy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 XXXXtra Long Weekend Lager Nice one. I made Cluster XXXX last year and enjoyed it. I remember that one mate. I was mucking around with a recipe of my own around the same time but never brewed it. I'll still have 50g of the Cluster left over after this one so if it turns out well, I'll brew it again but maybe use the 2042 on it next time. I'll pick some up when I go down there for grains again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylon Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 I recon an San Francisco lager yeast... And pump up some fruity xxxx esters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 The problem with modern XXXX is that there aren't really any fruity esters. Besides that, I don't particularly like fruity esters anyway. It's the main reason why I don't particularly enjoy Coopers pale ale. There is a fair bit of discussion around brewing these types of beers on AHB, and they almost always use 2042 Danish lager yeast in them. I don't think this one will be quite what I'm aiming for because the LHBS only had English pale malt and I was after the Aussie stuff they normally have; unsure if this lot is Maris Otter or not. Oh well. I can always pick up some from CB when I go down there for my usual grains, as well as the 2042 yeast, and have another crack at it down the track in summer or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylon Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 I guess I havnt had a xxxx bitter in donkeys years... XXXX BITTER is uncommon in Victoria, its about as popular as roast pork in the middle east! The sad news is VB here! If I was making a VB clone ide use a similar recipe as your XXXX but just do a single 60 min boil of pride of Ringwood a bit more cane sugar, do a funky ester ferment with WLP810 lager yeast @16-18 degrees for 4 days then finish it off @22 Hey not knocking your XXXX recipe Kelsey Im sure its better than the commercial stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Yeah someone gave me a VB recently. I don't know where in the process the hops are used though, because it just tasted like sweet fizzy water. Maybe they just waved them around near the boiler. I daresay XXXX used to be better than its current form, maybe not by a lot, but most of those beers have been gradually blanded more and more over the years. It actually isn't too bad out of the wooden kegs though. It would be my megaswill of choice if I was somewhere that that's all I could get. VB is worse, and that Tooheys New is just god awful muck. Should be interesting to see how this home version turns out though, I also have a feeling it'll turn out nicer than the real thing, but I might just be biased because I brewed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Yesterday's brew day for the XXXXtra Long Weekend Lager went quite well, although I had to boil it longer as my pre boil volume was higher. I have no idea what efficiency I got though, because if I have the sugar as an after boil addition it tells me 93% and the mash efficiency 88%, but if I untick the after boil box on it, they both drop to the mid 70s.. weird. In any case, I did go over the predicted OG by a couple of points, but I suspect my batch size will be a bit less. Never seem to be able to fill those 25 litre cubes fully for some reason. Anyway, right now I'm waiting for a batch of my red ale to come up to boil. The first wort Cascade addition is in. I'm enjoying having this beer on tap regularly. Tomorrow I'm brewing a batch of APA but I haven't done a recipe up yet, will get onto that later on after this one. Glad to be able to knock out a few batches on this mini break from work, which is half the reason I took the two days off along with the public holiday yesterday. Will definitely free up more weekends for SWMBO and I to do other stuff. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Another successful brewing of my red ale today. Filled the cube with bugger all hot break, and got a post boil SG of 1.0432, with minimum 21L into the FV that's an overall efficiency of 77.2%, pretty happy with that. Anyway, tomorrow is the third and final batch of this brewing week, which is an APA I've just made up a recipe for. I have the new Beersmith and I did muck about with that new option for estimating whirlpool IBUs but I think I'll just stick with how I've always used it before that was available because they turn out as expected anyway. Wouldn't want to under-bitter one due to software predictions. Chintennial Pale Ale 25 litre batch, based on 75% efficiency. 75 minute boil. Grains 4.000 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett) (5.6 EBC) Grain 1 83.3 % 0.500 kg Munich II (Weyermann) (16.7 EBC) Grain 2 10.4 % 0.250 kg Crystal Malt - Medium (Thomas Fawcett) (150.0 EBC) Grain 3 5.2 % 0.050 kg Acidulated (Weyermann) (4.5 EBC) Grain 4 1.0 % Mashed at 66/67C for 90 minutes, 78C mashout for 10 minutes. Hops 10.00 g Magnum [12.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 12.8 IBUs 15.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 6 5.7 IBUs 15.00 g Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 7.4 IBUs 15.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 20.0 min Hop 8 4.8 IBUs 15.00 g Chinook [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 20.0 min Hop 9 6.2 IBUs Will most likely dry hop with a combination of Centennial and Chinook as well. Yeast Harvested US-05, fermented at 18C, raised to 21 after 4/5 days. The Stats Est Original Gravity: 1.0453 SG Est Final Gravity: 1.0098 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.6 % Bitterness: 37.0 IBUs Est Color: 15.0 EBC This will give me 4 full cubes of wort, at least until next Friday when my Galena pale ale is due to be dumped into the FV. But, in any case it's nice to have a little stockpile to free up some weekends for a while. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrie Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Nice APA recipe Kelsey. Are you using the 50g of Acidulated to lower mash PH? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Nice APA recipe Kelsey. Are you using the 50g of Acidulated to lower mash PH?Thanks mate. Yeah sort of, I've just found my efficiency jumps a little bit when I use acid malt in pale beer grists, so I just chuck in a handful. If I manage to get the full 25L batch size the efficiency will probably be a little over 75%, it's sort of just used as a minimum figure as I rarely go below it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrie Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I've decided to start measuring my mash PH. My last 2 batches I got 5.4 and 5.3, so I'm fairly happy with that. My water additions for RO water have been: 6 grams of Calcium Chloride 10 grams of Calcium Sulphate Pinch ( 2 g) of Magnesium Sulphate 0.5 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickc1525229722 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I've got renovations happening and need a bit of beer to keep tradies happy. 60l 2 can apa 1 can real ale 1 Blackrock malt 1.7 1kg be2 2.5kg ldm 500gms dex 50gms of galaxy for 20 min I kegged this and it's been sitting for a week or so, tapped it yesterday and it has gone down a treat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Sounds like you're right in the right zone there Morrie. Nice work. I haven't bothered to measure mine, for the simple reason that I haven't noticed any problems with my beers that could be attributed to pH issues. I haven't noticed any problems at all for that matter but yeah. Interesting that the use of acid malt in pale beer grists bumps up the efficiency a bit though. Speaking of which, the strike water is currently heating up for the recipe posted last night. I will go down and start weighing out and milling the grains shortly. Threw in a pinch of gypsum as well just to accentuate the hops a little more too. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Third brew day is done. Still waiting for the post boil sample to cool down enough to take a reading, but my mash efficiency was a couple of % higher than predicted, so the OG is probably a bit up too. Anyway, this is the result of 3 brew days in 3 days, 90 odd litres of wort ready to be fermented over the next couple of months. The bottom cube was already full and in order from that one up they are Galena pale ale (next), my XXXX Bitter rip off, another batch of red ale, and on the trolley is today's Chintennial pale ale. Should keep the supplies going! Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrie Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Good stuff mate... I have a brew weekend about once a month and I do one on Sat and another on Sun. I can fit 2 FVs in my brew fridge. Is there any detectable taste influence with 50g of acid malt? I'm not sure if a low PH contributes to a better mash efficiency but I suspect so. I read Palmer's book but can't remember everything. I'm fairly certain that 5.2 to 5.6 is desirable. Any higher and the tannins can become leached out of the grist and return astringency. It is recommended to PH adjust sparge water for that reason but like many other things you can most likely get away with it without too much noticeable effect. I don't sparge for the reason I couldn't be bothered PH adjusting sparge water and heating it up, so I just take a hit on efficiency for the greater good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Can't say there's been a noticeable difference in taste with the acid malt, it's just nice to be able to construct a recipe in Beersmith and know that those numbers will be hit, if not exceeded a little. I don't sparge either. That's one of the things I enjoy about BIAB; even though it can be done, it isn't necessary. That's my plan now with the brew days I think, a double brew weekend every month or so, rather than doing one every week for 4 weeks in a row or whatever. I can't get an accurate OG reading on today's brew yet, my usual jug of dregs just has too much crap in it to get enough clear wort into the test jar, so I'll just wait until I chuck it in the FV. However, from previous batches I can estimate it reasonably well anyway from the pre-boil volume and SG. When I measure the pre-boil SG at the actual pre-boil volume, the post boil SG (OG) is usually about 8 points higher. Today I measured the pre-boil SG from a volume 1 litre over what it normally is, so I expect the OG to be possibly around 9 points higher than the pre-boil SG, which would make it 1.046. Will wait and see what the FV sample says. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Hi Kelsey. ...I don't sparge either. That's one of the things I enjoy about BIAB; even though it can be done' date=' it isn't necessary.[/quote'] I'm just curious about this area after the main mash is complete. Given I only do partials, I've never really understood "mashing out" (that I know you do Kelsey), vs sparging/rinsing the grains. What is so important about killing the enzyme activity at this temperature just before going into the boil that will kill it anyway? The reason I ask is because I'm wondering if this is something I SHOULD be doing or not. I admit I really don't know as I don't understand the benefits. I suppose my main question is, is it better to create a larger volume of wort purely from the mash without sparging/rinsing grains, or a lower volume from the mash & then sparge/rinse at a higher temp? I'd be interested in those in the know's thoughts. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Given I only do partials' date=' I've never really understood "mashing out" (that I know you do Kelsey), vs sparging/rinsing the grains.[/quote'] From what I understand the mash out frees up the grain bed so it all flows better. I don't think the two are exclusive. I have also been informed that with big breweries it adds consistency as the mash can be finished when required. I have stopped mashing out as it caused shit to coat the element cover in my urn especially with the rye I use. I sparge with about three litres with the bag in a bucket in bucket with holes/ tap set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Given I only do partials' date=' I've never really understood "mashing out" (that I know you do Kelsey), vs sparging/rinsing the grains.[/quote'] From what I understand the mash out frees up the grain bed so it all flows better. I don't think the two are exclusive. I have also been informed that with big breweries it adds consistency as the mash can be finished when required. I have stopped mashing out as it caused shit to coat the element cover in my urn especially with the rye I use. I sparge with about three litres with the bag in a bucket in bucket with holes/ tap set up. Thanks Ben. Given I'm boiling about 7-8 litres of grain based wort with my partials, it'd be nice to know the best approach. All I know is I can sparge/rinse quite a fair bit before I lose significant colour in the wort drawn off from that. In most cases, I'm still drawing off fairly decent coloured wort through the sparge/rinse even at the point I cut-off for the usable amount for the boil. So given I use top-up water for my brews, one would think it would be better to continue rinsing these grains until the run-off runs clear to minimize the amount of top-up water yes? I started doing this a little further with my pots & pans method & boiling extra wort from increased sparging, but appeared to run into some astringency problems in the final beers by doing this so I was like WTF should I be doing? I've begun using Campden tablets on Hairy's recommendation in my top-up water on a regular basis & this seems to have helped some in this area. All that said, I admit I'd love it if someone could help me sort out some of the madness. I've been contemplating water treatment on top of all this, & that is really making my head hurt. All thoughts welcomed. Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I've been contemplating water treatment on top of all this' date=' & that is really making my head hurt. [img']pinched[/img] All thoughts welcomed. Lusty.[/size] Ouch, that stuff seriously hurt my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrie Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Can't say there's been a noticeable difference in taste with the acid malt' date=' it's just nice to be able to construct a recipe in Beersmith and know that those numbers will be hit, if not exceeded a little. I don't sparge either. That's one of the things I enjoy about BIAB; even though it can be done, it isn't necessary. That's my plan now with the brew days I think, a double brew weekend every month or so, rather than doing one every week for 4 weeks in a row or whatever. I can't get an accurate OG reading on today's brew yet, my usual jug of dregs just has too much crap in it to get enough clear wort into the test jar, so I'll just wait until I chuck it in the FV. However, from previous batches I can estimate it reasonably well anyway from the pre-boil volume and SG. When I measure the pre-boil SG at the actual pre-boil volume, the post boil SG (OG) is usually about 8 points higher. Today I measured the pre-boil SG from a volume 1 litre over what it normally is, so I expect the OG to be possibly around 9 points higher than the pre-boil SG, which would make it 1.046. Will wait and see what the FV sample says. Cheers Kelsey[/quote'] Kelsey I find a refractometer is one very handy piece of kit when brewing for SG checks. It is not suitable once yeast hits the wort as alcohol throws it out of whack. Its so easy to check the SG any time during the mash or boil as a drop cools down instantly when placed on the meter. Also the one I have is automatic temperature compensated and can be calibrated. I checked it against my hygrometer and they both read the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Lusty, the main thing with a full volume mash is that you will get lower efficiency over a sparged mash. I found this analysis interesting: Batch Sparging Analysis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joolbag Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Not sure if my evening falls into "brew day" thread territory, but it's the best fit I can find. Just bottled my Munich Helles. Great little session, everything felt right, no mix ups or forgotten steps. One thing I find is I don't like to drink beer when bottling. Perhaps it's the smell of the uncarbonated beer, but I prefer to have a few glasses of wine whilst I steadily sanitise, fill then cap my bottles. All done, all cleaned up and sitting down to finish the night on a pint of my Boston Lager clone and a bit of forum browsing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Going to bottle two lagers and need some quicker turn around ales. So here we go with my all time favourite. Recipe: Benny's Big Red VIII Brewer: Grumpy Style: Rye IPA TYPE: All Grain, BIAB, No Chill Taste: (30.0) Recipe Specifications -------------------------- Boil Size: 30.00 l Post Boil Volume: 26.69 l Batch Size (fermenter): 23.00 l Bottling Volume: 21.60 l Estimated OG: 1.067 SG Estimated Color: 29.7 EBC Estimated IBU: 66.6 IBUs Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 % Est Mash Efficiency: 85.4 % Boil Time: 60 Minutes Ingredients: ------------ Amt Name Type # %/IBU 3.50 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent 1 - 1.50 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 - 4.50 kg Pale Malt (Barrett Burston) (3.9 EBC) Grain 3 66.3 % 1.00 kg Munich II (Weyermann) (16.7 EBC) Grain 4 14.7 % 1.00 kg Rye Malt (Weyermann) (5.9 EBC) Grain 5 14.7 % 0.25 kg Caraaroma (Weyermann) (350.7 EBC) Grain 6 3.7 % 0.04 kg Gladfield Dark Chocolate Malt (1300.0 EB Grain 7 0.6 % 50.00 g Sticklebract [13.50 %] - First Wort 60.0 Hop 8 66.6 IBUs 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 9 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrie Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Ben I see no late hop additions for your Big Red IPA. What sort of flavour are you getting with just a FWH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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