American Pale Ale

grain:
- 18 pounds Briess Pale Ale malt
- 1/2 pound Crystal 10 malt
- 1 pound Vienna malt

hop:
- 2 ounces whole leaf Willamete (first wort hop)
- 3/4 ounce whole leaf Nugget (60 minutes)
- 1 ounce whole leaf Amarillo (30 minutes)
- 2 ounces whole left Amarillo dry (1 ounce in keg, 1 ounce in secondary)

yeast:
- White Labs California Ale

comments:
Low gravity, hoppy Pale Ale.

mash notes:
- (1:00 PM) approximately 33 quarts water @ 168 resulting in mash temp at 148
- (1:30 PM) hot water added (5 quarts?) resulting in mash temp at 152
- (2:30 PM) first sparge @ 13.5 Brix
- (3:00 PM) second sparge @ 10 3/4 Brix
- (3:00 PM) water added to increase volume dropped gravity to 9 3/4 Brix ... estimating about 5% abv factoring in evaporation loss

boil notes:
- (4:00 PM) boil start
- (4:10 PM) approximate time of apparent hot break

notes:
- first wort hopping:


- just before boil with a full kettle:

- yeast pitched, wort aerated ... foam is from vigorous shaking

- about 24 hours later ... foam is krausen ... fermentation is strong

- secondary with dry hops

West India Pale Ale

grain:
- 19 pounds British Pale Ale malt
- 1 1/8 ounces Crystal 20

hop:
- 1 1/2 ounces Magnum - 60 minutes
- 1/2 ounces Tettnang - 20 minutes
- 1/2 ounces Fuggle - 10 minutes
- 1 ounces Cascade dry hopped (1/2 in keg and 1/2 in secondary)

yeast:
- White Labs California Ale

comments:
A recipe from Terry Foster's "Pale Ale". Excellent book. Get it. His recipe modified for a 10 gallon batch ... and I think he had different bitter hops and English yeast too.

Delicious. Keg lasted less than a month. Foamed due to hops clogging the liquid out line. I think I have learned my lesson finally ... put the hops in a mesh bag. Bottled the other 5 gallons for enjoyment later this Fall.

gravity:
- first sparge @ 15 Brix
- final reading ... not recorded?! I think it clocked in around a 6% brew ... an estimate, of course.

notes:
Put your dry hops in a mesh bag if kegging, stupid.

Dampfbier

grain:
- 15 pounds Pilsner malt
- 6 pounds Munich malt

hop:
- 2 ounces Hallertauer 45 minutes
- 1 ounces Hallertauer flame out

yeast:
- White Labs Hefeweizen IV

comments:
A Brew Your Own recipe cranked up for 10 gallons. Brewed for Summer sipping. Completely out of character for me ... low hops, low gravity ... but surprisingly decent. Serve cold ... like 32 degrees. There is no hop character so feature the malt.

gravity:
- first sparge @ 19 Brix
- final reading @ 13.5 Brix ... water added to drop to 12 Brix

notes:
Strong fermentation ended in about 3 days ... just like BYO said it would. I would add more hops next time ... aber sagen das nicht nah eine Deutche!

Spring Amber Ale

grain:
- 20 pounds British Pale Ale
- 1 3/4 pounds crystal 40
- 1 1/4 pounds Munich
- 3/4 pound crystal 120

hop:
- 1/2 ounces Cascade - First Wort Hop (FWH)
- 1/2 ounces Centennial - FWH
- 3/4 ounces Magnum - 60 minutes
- 1/2 ounces Cascade - 10 minutes
- 1/2 ounces Centennial - 10 minutes

yeast:
- White Labs British Ale Yeast

comments:
English base malt and English yeast paired with American hops.

gravity:
- first sparge @ 19 Brix
- final reading @ 13 Brix

notes:
Fermentation started within 24 hours features fragrant hop aroma. Temperature around 62 degrees.

Brewhouse Equipment

The first image shows the sparging process. The 54 quart rectangular cooler mash tun is drained into the 15 3/4 gallon converted keggle. Usually this involves filling the mash tun twice with hot water and draining it until the gravity in the kettle hits my target. Sometimes I add dried malt extract to the keggle to bring the gravity up. I like strong brews.



The second image shows the wort nearing boiling temperature. This is a 10 gallon batch so I try to boil as much as possible to offset volume loss to due evaporation and absorption by the hops. Got to keep your eye on it at all times because it can boil over when you least expect it.



After cooling the wort after the boil to at least 80 degrees, it is siphoned into two 6 1/2 gallon carboys. Yeast is pitched when wort is in appropriate range (usually between 65 - 70 degrees) and fermentation ensues in a dark basement closet:

A Common Armadillo

grain:
- 19 pounds 2-row
- 1 pound crystal 40

hop:
- 1 ounce Magnum for 60 min
- .5 ounce Armarillo for 50 min

- .5 ounce Armarillo for 40 min

- 1 ounce Armarillo for 30 min
- 2 ounce Armarillo for 20 min
- 2 ounce Armarillo for 10 min
- 2 ounce Armarillo at flame out

yeast:
White Labs San Francisco Lager Yeast

comments:
Malty and extremely hoppy.

gravity:

- first sparge @ 16 Brix

- second sparge @ 12 Brix

- final measurement after dried extract additions roughly @ 15 Brix ... about a 6%

notes:
First signs of fermentation at about 11 hours after pitching.  Very active on the second day.

This brew was supposed to be a ten gallon batch.  Only harvested about 8 - 9 gallons.  One full 6.5 carboy and one third full 6.5 carboy.  Unsure what will become of the two gallons yet.  May bottle.

Ooo Oo That Smell

Pungent smell from Willy the Common's Primary. Unsure of its origins nor its composition. Could be nothing but could be something.

Using this yeast to pitch another batch this weekend is on advisory. Will inspect the beer closer during transfer from Primary to Secondary. That will be Friday or Saturday.

Update - the smell is attributed to the yeast. Prior to this I had limited experience with lager yeast which tends to produce sulfur. Ale yeast does not produce nearly as much sulfur but instead smells fruity. This beer turns out pretty good.