Best Bitter

Published: 07/03/2013

Best Bitter
Style: English Pale Ale (8B) Brew Date:
Batch volume: Two Gallon ABV: TBD IBU: 36
Grain Bill
2-Row 3 lbs
Crystal 40L 6 oz
Flaked Corn 6 oz
Red Wheat 4 oz
Total 4 lbs.
Mash

Eight quarts of strike water raised to 159°, then mashed for 60 minutes at a 149° mash temperature.

Time (Minutes)
10 20 30 40 50
Temperature
Sparge

Sparged with 6 quarts of water at 165° for 15 minutes.

Boil

Boiled for 60 minutes with the following hop schedule:

60 minutes remaining Burton Water Salts 1/6 oz
60 minutes remaining Kent Goldings .5 oz
30 minutes remaining Kent Goldings .25 oz
15 minutes remaining Irish Moss 1/2 tsb.
5 minute remaining Kent Goldings .25 oz
Chill

Ice bathed wart to 70°. Filtered trub from wart on the way into the primary fermenter with fine mesh filter.

Original Gravity:
Ferment
Yeast
British Ale White Labs WLP005 1 vial
Date Temperature Gravity Notes
BREWDATE 70°
Final Gravity: TBD
Bottling
Bottle Date: TBD Priming sugar: 2 oz in 2 cups water
Yield: TBD Bottle type: 12 oz. longnecks

Snowbound Chocolate Stout

Published: 12/29/2012

Snowbound

Chocolate, as it chocolate malt, not as in chocolate flavor. Bittered to hell with two full ounces of whole, dried Chinook hops, one for each gallon. 10% black roasted barley and 10% chocolate malt. The remainder of the grain bill is maris otter.

Style: American Stout (13E) Brew Date: 12/29/2012
Batch volume: Two Gallon ABV: 5.27% IBU: 250
Grain Bill
Maris Otter Malt 4 lbs.
Black Roasted Barley 8 oz.
Chocolate Malt 8 oz.
Total 5 lbs.
Mash

Ten quarts of strike water raised to 163°, then mashed for 60 minutes.

Time (Minutes)
10 20 30 40 50
Temperature 156° 156° 153° 154° 150°
Sparge

Sparged with 4½ quarts of water at 165° for 15 minutes.

Boil

Boiled for 60 minutes with the following hop schedule:

60 minutes remaining Chinook 2 oz.
Chill

Ice bathed wart to 70°. Filtered trub from wart on the way into the primary fermenter with fine mesh filter.

Original Gravity: 1.055
Ferment
Yeast
London Ale White Labs WLP013 1 vial
Date Temperature Gravity Notes
12/29/2012 70° 1.055 Tastes like sweetened espresso.
12/31/2102 73° 1.023 Still tasting sweetness. Bitterness beginning to balance.
1/1/2013 73° 1.022
1/3/2013 73° 1.021
1/5/2013 73° 1.020 Racked to secondary fermenter.
1/15/2013 73° 1.016 Bottled into 12 oz longnecks.
Final Gravity: 1.016
Bottling
Bottle Date: 1/15/2013 Priming sugar: 1.5 oz in 2 cups water
Yield: 212 oz / 1.66 gallons Bottle type: 12 oz. longnecks
Notes

Original volume was 5 gallons, but after boil, only about 1.75 gallons remained. Next batch I would go for a 3.5 gallon boil, and adjust grain bill accordingly.