Two a Day Baltic Porter

grain:
- 8 pounds 4 3/4 ounces Weyermann Pilsner malt
- 4 pounds Weyermann Vienna malt
- 4 pounds Weyermann Munich malt
- 1 pound Dark Munich malt
- 3/4 pound Caramel 80
- 3/4 pound Caramel 120
- 3/4 pound Black Patent
- 3/4 pound Chocolate malt

hop:
- 2 ounces Perle 60 minutes (whole hops)
- 1/2 ounce Mt. Hood 15 minutes (pellet hops)
- 1/2 ounce Mt. Hood dry (pellet hops)

yeast:
- White Labs San Francisco Lager Yeast (yeast cake from Earthy)

comments:
A continental Porter nearing Imperial Stout strength. Most complex malt bill I have ever used. A recipe from MoreBeer altered slightly.

ambient outdoor temperature: 21 degrees Fahrenheit
ambient basement temperature: 52 degrees Fahrenheit

mash notes:
- (1:20 PM) mash start @ 150 degrees Fahrenheit
- (1:50 PM) @ 152 degrees Fahrenheit
- (2:20 PM) @ 150 degrees Fahrenheit
- (2:50 PM) @ 150 degrees Fahrenheit
- (approx 3:30 PM) first and only sparge @ 15.5 Brix (estimating about an 8% beer)

boil notes:
- (4:05 PM) boil start
- (5:10 PM) boil end

brew date: 1/9/2010
secondary date: 1/31/2010 (22 days in primary)
bottle date: 4/11/2010 (70 days in secondary)
first bottle opened: to be determined

notes:
- minty, roasty, and chocolately flavors mingle at bottling time ... a good brew is anticipated after a few months in the bottle.
- a dark brew enjoyed as the Summer sun sets one July evening

Earthy and Girthy

grain:
- 20 pounds Muntons Maris Otter Pale Ale malt
- 2 pounds 1 1/2 ounces Briess crystal 60
- 2 pounds 1/2 ounces Munich malt

hop:
- 1 1/2 ounces Amarillo (60 minutes)
- 1 1/4 ounce Amarillo (30 minutes)
- 1/2 ounce Fuggle (dry)

yeast:
- White Labs San Francisco Lager Yeast

comments:
Pale, clean lager with a caramel sweetness and earthy, floral hop flavor.

ambient outdoor temperature: 31 degrees Fahrenheit
ambient basement temperature: 56 degrees Fahrenheit

mash notes:
- (1:45 PM) mash start @ 148 degrees Fahrenheit
- (1:57 PM) @ 152 degrees Fahrenheit after hot water infusion
- (2:15 PM) @ 148 degrees Fahrenheit
- (2:50 PM) @ 144 degrees Fahrenheit
- (3:30 PM) first sparge @ 19 degrees Brix
- (4:00 PM) final sparge 13 1/4 Brix ... estimating about 6.5 abv

boil notes:
- (4:30 PM) boil start
- (5:45 PM) boil end

notes:
- vigorous boil
- delicious caramel aroma during the mash
- was planning to brew this batch last weekend but the outdoor spigot was frozen
- on the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ... five brews conditioning. Merry Christmas from the cellar. From left to right: Earthy and Girthy #1 and #2 (primary fermentation), Nugget at Both Ends, Imperial Stout and Porter (all in secondary). Dry hops visible in secondaries. This is quite a rare sight with so many brews conditioning at the same time. The Commons are much lighter than the image indicates.

- half bottled on 2/21/2010
- 5/29/2010 update: as the warmer than usual Spring warmed the basement to 70 degrees, refrigerating these beers became necessary.  Surprisingly this beer tastes great at near freezing temperatures.  Hop flavors are somewhat subdued but the brew is much cleaner than it was in the 60 - 70 degree range.  A winner.

Michigan Real Ale

An experiment: naturally carbonate the Common in the keg. I expect an interesting carbonation. A touch of authenticity. Commons where krausened on packaging which resulted in a naturally carbonated and often highly carbonated "real ale". Though my technique does not involve drawing krausen from fermenting beer, it does provide the necessary sugars to naturally carbonate the beer.

equipment:
- small pot (I use a 3 quart pot)
- stove

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3/4 cups light dry malt extract

Process:
- draw 1 1/2 cups water into pot and place on stove and heat over medium to medium-high heat.
- as water heats, stir the water to wet the inside of the pot. this helps against burning the extract on the side of the pot later on.
- add the 3/4 cups dry malt extract and stir thoroughly. stop stirring when all the clumps of extract dissolve.
- boil for 8 minutes.
- sterilize the lid of the pot by placing it onto the pot and continue boiling for about 2 minutes. be sure it does not boil over. as foam increases, lifting the lid usually reduces it. heat lid enough to sterilize the surfaces.

Then prepare your keg as usual and add the solution to the keg prior to racking the beer into the keg. Purge oxygen as usual after filled and then pressurize to about 3 PSI. Monitor for high pressure for about a 2 week period and purge as necessary. Beware: pressure could reach dangerous levels during this period. Proceed at your own risk. (This is actually untrue ... I would not purge during conditioning ... or any time until enjoying. Conserving the note for nostalgia).

Notes:
In this case, I dry hopped 1/4 ounces of Nugget. Nugget has quite a earthy flavor for an American hop. I am interested to see if I can capture some of that in the aroma.

I estimate between 1 to 2 weeks aging period. Hoping to have it on tap for Christmas celebrations.

After notes:
By the way, the California Common or "Steam Beer" is amongst the most fitting beers to brew in Michigan. It has a long season, assuming you ferment in a basement. Basement temperature is between 55 and 65 from late November through March. Brave the cold. Beer some beer. Every Michigan brewer should brew Common.

Here is the first draw from under high pressure. Silky smooth topped with a frothy head. Very nice.

Nugget at Both Ends

grain:
- 18 pounds Muntons Maris Otter Pale Ale malt
- 2 pounds Briess crystal 60
- 2 pounds Munich malt

hop:
- 1 1/2 ounces Nugget (60 minutes)
- 1/2 ounce Amarillo (40 minutes)
- 1/2 ounce Amarillo (30 minutes)
- 1/2 ounce Amarillo (20 minutes)
- 1/2 ounce Nugget(dry)

yeast:
- White Labs San Francisco Lager Yeast

comments:
Sweet, malty, hoppy pale ale / lager hybrid. The temperature and yeast suggests a California Common. The hops, however, a Pale Ale.

The Nugget dry hops is an experiment. I think they smell good.

The long Ale season was fun this year. Brewed the last ale in early November (Imperial Stout). Now the basement is about 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Ideal fermentation temperature for Commons.

ambient outdoor temperature: 39 degrees Fahrenheit
ambient basement temperature: 62 degrees Fahrenheit

mash notes:
- (10:20 AM) mash start @ 146 degrees Fahrenheit
- (10:40 AM) @ 148 degrees Fahrenheit
- (11:00 AM) @ 146 degrees Fahrenheit
- (11:25 AM) sparge water added; mash @ 150 degrees Fahrenheit
- (12:10 PM) first sparge @ 18 degrees Brix
- second sparge @ 12 Brix after water added to increase volume; estimating a 6% beer

boil notes:
- (1:30 PM) boil start
- (2:40 PM) boil end

notes:
- boil not as vigorous as it probably should have been. check for issues in final product.

tasting notes:
Strong bitterness, bright and fruity hop flavor with moderate aroma.

- half bottled on 2/21/2010

Imperial Stout

grain:
- 20 pounds Muntons Maris Otter Pale Ale malt
- 1 pound Briess roast malt
- 1 pound Briess crystal 60
- 9 ounces chocolate malt
- 13 ounces black patent

hop:
- 2 ounces Nugget (60 minutes)
- 1/2 ounce Amarillo (30 minutes)
- 1/2 ounce Amarillo (20 minutes)
- 1/4 ounce Amarillo dry hopped

yeast:
- White Labs California V (wort dumped onto Porter yeast)

comments:
Surprisingly few legitimate Imperial Stout recipes online. This one is based on Palmer's Mill Run Stout plus Imperial Stout recommendations from Ray Daniel's Designing Great Beers. Focus is on the malt with a touch of citrusy Amarillo hops.

Approach is simple. Use as much grain as I do for a 10 gallon batch but only collect the first sparge. That means this is only a 5 - 6 gallon batch. I expect a beer around 9 to 10 percent. Help me shovel snow and through the holidays.

mash notes:
- ( 9:50 AM) mash start @ 152 degrees
- (10:35 AM) @ 148 degrees
- (11:05 AM) @ 146 degrees
- (11:25 AM) sparge water added
- first sparge @ 20 Brix
- second sparge @ 18.5 Brix (estimated abv is 9 - 9.5%)

boil notes:
- (12:37 PM) boil start
- (12:42 PM) hot break
- ( 1:45 PM) flame out

notes:
- added second sparge due to low volume of first sparge. too much grain in the mash tun for a larger first sparge.
- a beautiful Fall day for brewing. Thanks to Uncle Mike for the custom built kettle in the photo.

Porter

grain:
- 20 pounds Muntons Maris Otter Pale Ale malt
- 1 pound chocolate malt
- 1 pound crystal 60 malt
- 1/2 pound black patent malt

hop:
- 1 3/4 ounces whole leaf Nugget (60 minutes)
- 1 1/2 ounces whole leaf Nugget (40 minutes)
- 1 ounce whole leaf Willamette (20 minutes)
- 1 ounce whole leaf Willamette (half in keg and half in secondary for bottling)

yeast:
- White Labs California V

comments:
This is John Palmer's "Port O Palmer" from his excellent book "How to Brew". The book was my first brew book and I still reference it more than any other. I took Palmer's recipe and cranked it up for a 10 gallon batch. I messed up on the second hop addition. It should have been Willamette.

mash notes:
- (12:30 PM) 148 - 150 degrees
- ( 1:00 PM) 148 degrees
- ( 1:45 PM) sparge water added ... added ice to bring the temperature back to about 170
- ( 2:00 PM) first sparge at 17.5 Brix
- ( 2:45 PM) second sparge at 12.5 Brix

boil notes:
- no water added to kettle
- ( 3:30 PM) boil start
- ( 3:36 PM) approximate time of apparent hot break
- ( 4:38 PM) flame out

notes:
- next day with fermenation well under way. Not a particularly strong fermentation but I believe everything is fine. Temperature at about 66 degrees.

- roasty with persistant hop flavor on tap ... quite good.

- update from tap: ease off the flavor hops next time ... can confuse.

Make a Yeast Starter

I always make a yeast starter.  Objective is to increase the amount of healthy yeast that you will pitch into cooled wort after the boil.  This gives you the best chance of a healthy fermentation.  Help your yeast help you.

Boil water and dry malt extract:

Cool the mixture and pour into a sanitized vessel. Add the yeast and put in the same environment where you will ferment your beer a few days later:

Healthy yeast makes good beer. Good beer makes you happy.