Brazilian Beaver (Coffee Porter)

Here's a coffee port recipe I brewed in late fall/early winter 2014.  This beer was tasty all through winter and spring of 2015.  If you're into coffee style, I suggest you give this recipe a try!

Grains:

11.75 lbs US 2-Row
1.50 lbs Munich Malt
1.0 lbs Crystal 40
1.0 lbs Chocolate Malt
0.25 Black Patent

Hops:

1-7/8 oz E.K. Goldings @ 5.7% AA @ 60 min
3/4 oz Fuggles @ 4.7% AA @ 15 min
3/4 oz E.K. Goldings @ 5.7% AA @ 1 min

Additions:

8 oz Brazilian Mediam Roast Coffee in secondary fermenter for 2 weeks using cold extraction method.  You can use any variety of coffee you choose for this extraction method!

1.  Clean and sanitize 32 oz container (I used a Nalgene!)
2.  Add 8 oz of coffee grind to 24 oz water.  Mix well.
3.  Refrigerate for 24 hours.
4.  Strain blend through coffee filter and add to bottom of secondary fermenter.
5.  Transfer wort from primary fermenter on top of coffee extraction into secondary fermenter.

Yeast:

White Labs WLP 001 California Ale (I would also recommend trying WLP 023 Burton Ale Yeast or other English style yeast)

Mash & Sparge:

Mash 5.2 gallons water @ 153 degrees F for 90 minutes.  (Strike temperature = 170 degree F)

Sparge 3.7 gallons water @ 170 degree F for 60 minutes

Efficiency:  70%
Batch Size:  5.5 Gallons
OG:  1.064
FG:  1.015
ABV: 6.4%
IBU: 36
Color: 35 SRM

Smokey Bear (Session Smoked Porter)

A few months back I was introduced to smoked malts during a trip to my local home brew shop.  If you enjoy BBQ then the taste and smell of smoked malts is fantastic.  I recommend two malts from Briess if you want to try a smoked beer, Mesquite Smoked Malt and Cherry Wood Smoked Malt.  This recipe used the Cherry Wood Smoked Malt and I'm pleased with the results.  You could easily substitute the Mesquite Smoked Malt if you prefer that flavor.

A quick note on session beers before we get to the recipe.  When brewing a session style beer (> 5% ABV) it can be difficult to have enough flavor and mouthfeel for the beer to taste and feel like beer.  Nobody likes a watered down ale!  I recommend a a few different approaches to combat the issue.

First for taste, try using additives, fruit, or unique malts to bring additional flavor to your beer.  A little bit of fruit, rye, or smoked malt can go a long ways towards making your beer more palatable.  Pick your additive based on the style of beer your brewing.  If I was brewing a session wheat beer I'd probably choose some kind of fruit to add, or if I was brewing a session IPA I'd probably try substituting about 1 pound of rye malt for some of the base malt.

Secondly, mouth feel is an important consideration for session beers.  You want your session beer to have some body so it doesn't feel like drinking a glass of mildly flavored water.  I've targeted a final gravity in the 1.013 and above range.  To start with, use a mash temperature in the mid to upper 150s.  This will help keep you final gravity higher.  You can also use a yeast strain with a lower attenuation.

Lastly, I'm serving this session smoked porter at the upcoming NorCal Session Fest on May 23, 2015.  Look for this at the Bay Area Mashers tent!

Grains:

7.0 lbs US 2-Row
2.25 lbs Cherry Wood Smoked Malt
12.0 oz Chocolate Malt
8.0 oz Crystal 40
8.0 oz Crystal 75

(If I were to brew this recipe again, I would try to add some roasted barley in search of a little bit of a roast bite.  Maybe try reducing the chocolate malt to 6.0 oz and adding 6.0 oz of roasted barley)

Hops:

2.0 oz East Kent Goldings @ 4.5% AA @ 60 minutes remaining
0.75 oz Styrian Goldings @ 4.5% AA @ 15 minutes remaining
0.75 oz East Kent Goldings @ 4.5% AA @ 1 minute remaining

Yeast:

White Labs WLP023 Burton Ale

Mash & Sparge:

Mash 3.7 gallons of water at 156 degree F for 90 minutes (strike temperature of 173 degrees F). Sparge 4.6 gallons of water at 170 degree F for 60 minutes.  Collect approximately 7 gallons of wort and boil for one hour.  You may need to adjust how much wort is collected based on your system. 

Efficiency = 73%
Batch Size = 5.50 gal
OG = 1.048
FG = 1.015
ABV = 4.3%
IBU = 36
Color = 25.5 SRM

Keiffer Summer Ale

Here's another great recipe from the summer of 2014.  Last year I picked up a six pack of New Belgium Skinny Dip for a camping trip.  It was the perfect beer for drinking at the campsite and relaxing after a long hike.  I decided I needed to find a great clone recipe.  Below is the recipe I used to brew my Skinny Dip clone.  The beer was delicious and its a recipe I plan to brew again soon for some more summer camping.  Enjoy! 

Grains:

9.50 lbs US 2 row Pale Malt
12.0 oz Crystal 10 
4.0 oz Victory Malt

Hops:

0.75 oz Cascade @ 5.5% AA @ 45 minutes remaining
1.0 oz Willamette @ 5.5% AA @ 5 minutes remaining

Additions:

1 Whirlfloc Tablet @ 15 minutes remaining
1 oz Keiffer Lime Leaf @ 0 minutes remaining 

Note:  I used fresh Keiffer lime leaf's since my awesome wife bought a young knifer lime tree.  Keiffer lime leaves can usually be found at an Asian specialty market.

Yeast:

White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Mash & Sparge:

Mash 3.5 gallons of water at 150 degree F for 90 minutes (strike temperature of 167 degrees F).
 
Sparge 4.7 gallons of water at 170 degree F for 60 minutes.  Collect approximately 7 gallons of wort and boil for one hour.  You may need to adjust how much wort is collected based on your system. 

Efficiency = 70%
Batch Size = 5.50 gal
OG = 1.044
FG = 1.010
ABV = 4.45%
IBU = 17
Color = 5.1 SRM

Always October IPA

Here's great IPA recipe I brewed late last summer.  This was a favorite of mine during the San Francisco Giants postseason run to a World Series victory last fall.  I can remember my keg running empty during game 5 of the World Series thinking, "well, I hope my empty keg doesn't have any impact on the Giants winning this World Series".  Turns out the Giants got crushed in game 6 and then took care of business in game 7.  Apparently the "fullness" of my keg had nothing to do with the Giants postseason mojo.

Grains:

13.50 lbs US 2 row pale malt
0.60 lbs Crystal 20

Hops:

0.50 oz Citra @ 13.2% AA First Wort Hops
1.50 oz Citra @ 13.2% AA @ 45 minutes remaining
2.0 oz Citra @ 13.2% AA @ 20 minutes remaining
2.0 oz Citra @ 13.2% AA @ 1 minutes remaining
2.0 oz Citra @ 13.2% AA @ dry hop secondary

Additions:

1 Whirlfloc Tablet @ 15 minutes remaining

Yeast:

White Labs WLP 005 British Ale

Mash & Sparge:

Mash 3.9 gallons of water at 150 degree F for 90 minutes (strike temperature of 169 degrees F).  

Sparge 4.8 gallons of water at 170 degree F for 60 minutes.  Collect approximately 7 gallons of wort and boil for one hour.  You may need to adjust how much wort is collected based on your system. 

Efficiency = 70%

Batch Size = 5.50 gal

OG = 1.059

FG = 1.017

ABV = 5.5%

IBU = 127

Color = 5.7 SRM

Razzle Dazzle (Raspberry Wheat 2.0)

Last, but certainly not least, here is the final recipe in the super awesome Wedding Series selection.  This is the second time I've brewed this recipe.  Last summer this was brewed for a friend who had just given birth.  This time it is being brewed for my sisters wedding in Oregon.  You'll notice a pattern here, women seem to enjoy this beer (a lot).  The first time I brewed this recipe I split the batch using an american wheat yeast for half and the other I used champagne yeast.  Naturally, the champagne version was drier.  As requested by the bride, I'm sticking with strictly the american wheat yeast for this batch.

Finally, in the previous batch I used about 10 oz of raspberry puree per gallon of beer.  That resulted in what I called "floaties" in the final product (floaties....a highly technical term).  This time I used slightly less puree per gallon (about 9 oz raspberry puree per gallon).  Additionally, when transferring between fermentations & kegging I made extra efforts to leave the trub in the bottom of the fermenter.  I also reduced the hops based on the smaller batch size.  Other than those minor modifications, the recipe is very similar to the original.

Brew Day: June 15, 2014

Batch Size: 5.5 gallons

Grains:

5.0 lbs US 2 row pale malt
6.0 lbs White wheat malt
1.0 lbs rice hulls
5.0 oz honey malt

Hops:

1.25 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 60 minutes remaining

Yeast:

Wyeast American Wheat Ale

Other Additions:

1.25 tsp coriander seed @ 15 minutes remaining

0.25 oz bitter orange peel @ 15 minutes remaining

1.25 tsp coriander seed @ 1 minute remaining

0.25 oz bitter orange peel @ 1 minutes remaining

3 lbs 1 oz of Vintners Harvest Red Raspberry Puree 

Mash & Sparge:

Mash 3.8 gallons of water at 150 degree F for 90 minutes (strike temperature of 167 degrees F).  I've been using a longer mash lately to ensure full sugar conversion.  See my post on low OG readings for more discussion on this topic.

Sparge 4.6 gallons of water at 170 degree F for 60 minutes.  Collect approximately 7 gallons of wort and boil for one hour.  You may need to adjust how much wort is collected based on your system.

OG = 1.050

FG = 1.012

Of the three wedding series beers (Courtney Chaos Saison, Simcoe Session IPA, Razzle Dazzle), the Razzle Dazzle was the first to disappear at the event.  I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure the bridal party played a significant role in that happening.  All three beers were a huge success at the wedding.  The Saison was both fruity/spicy and the piney, hoppy-ness of the IPA really stood out.  My personal favorite was the IPA, but everyone had their own favorite.  My only regret is that there wasn't enough to go around.  Maybe I need to start brewing 10 gallon batches.....

Simcoe Session IPA

Here is recipe #2 in the super official Wedding Series.  I created this recipe on my own with the inspiration of a summer wedding in Oregon.  I wanted something lighter for the summer months, but strong in hops.  The piney aromas and flavors of the Simcoe seemed to be perfect match.  If I were to do this batch again, I would "spice" up the grain bill a bit (literally).  The beer is nicely done, but needs a little something.  I'm think replacing some of the base malt (about 1 or 2 lbs) with either a rye or vienna malt would bring out a little more character.

BJCP Style Category: 14B American IPA

Batch Size: 5.50 gallons
ABV: 4.5%
IBU's: 73

Grains:
10.00 lbs US 2-Row Pale Malt 
0.60 lbs Crystal 40L

Hops:
0.50 oz Simcoe - First Wort Hops (FWH, see below for instructions)
0.50 oz Simcoe - 45 minutes remaining in the boil
1.00 oz Simcoe - 20 minutes remaining in the boil
1.00 oz Simcoe - 1 minutes remaining in the boil
2.00 oz Simcoe - Dry hop for 14 days in the secondary

Yeast:
California Ale Yeast - White Labs WLP001 (also consider using WLP005, a british ale yeast.  I've used this with success for IPA's in the past)

Mash the grains at 151 deg F (strike temp 170 deg F) for 60 minutes using 2.9 gallons of water.

Prior to sparging you'll need to prepare your first wort hops.  I use my hop sock and tie it off to my kettle like I would during the boil.  During the sparge I like to filter my wort run off directly through the hop sock, so I put my tubing directly through the top of the sock.  

Sparge at 170 deg F using 5.3 gallons of water.  Boil for 1 hour and add the hops per the recipe.  

Pretty simple recipe, but there is some room for improvement.  Looking forward to trying to batch again soon in the next few months.  Still planning to tap this batch at the wedding.

Look for the final recipe in the wedding series later this week!

Low OG Reading and Evaporation During the Boil

I recently posted a short article on how to install a thermometer on the side of your mash tun.  I mentioned in that article that I had been struggling to hit my original gravity (OG) for my last three batches.  At first I considered it an aberration, however, after another two batches I started to become concerned.  My OG readings were consistently low by about 10 points (or 0.01).  This was concerning to me because I had a pretty successful track record of being within a few points (plus or minus) of my target OG.

Before the first batch with the low OG reading I had added a Chugger brew pump and a counterflow wort chiller.  These two items replaced my old immersion style wort chiller and racking cane for both cooling and transferring wort after the boil.  Both items worked fantastic and my brew chilled to groundwater temp quickly and efficiently.  Only problem was that my OG reading was low.

My gut told me that the pump and counterflow chiller addition was somehow related to the low OG reading.  At the time this made no sense since I couldn't figure out how the chiller could impact the OG.

I went about two more batches with the same results.  The beer was turning out fine all along so I wasn't hugely concerned, but I did want to know why I couldn't reach the expected OG readings with any consistency.

I turned to the internet and posted a thread on Homebrew Talk on the topic.  I got back some great, technical responses (thanks RM-MN and IslandLizard).  Their theory was that I wasn't getting a quality milling on the grain.  I always mill my grain at the homebrew shop and that hadn't changed in the last few batches so I doubted this could be the problem.

Finally, I was preparing to brew another batch and consulted the folks at MoreBeer!.  After discussing the problem and my brew process we concluded that I was collecting too much wort during the sparge.

When I had my immersion chiller I would let the sparge run dry and I would always end up with 7.5-8 gallons of wort to boil.  With the immersion chiller it used to take 30-45 minutes for my wort to cool to the point where it was no longer steaming, but with the new counterflow chiller that entire process happened in 5 minutes or less.  With the new chiller I wasn't allowing the wort to continue to evaporate during the cooling process.  In other words the same volume of wort cooled through the counterflow chiller would results in a lower OG!

I realized I needed to monitor my sparge more closely and only collect as much wort as I needed.  After doing some research online and reviewing beer apps like BeerSmith and iBrewMaster, I concluded that for a 5.50 gallon batch, 7 gallons of wort would be appropriate.  I've brewed two batches now with the idea of collecting 7 gallons of wort and my OG readings have been corrected.

These figures work well for my system, but may not work well for others.  I would suggest testing your system to figure out what will work well for you.  You can perform this testing using the following process:

1.  Place 7 gallons of water into your brew pot and bring to a boil.

2.  Boil for 1 hour.

3.  Cool water as you would normally cool your wort after boiling.

4.  Measure the amount of water remaining to determine how much boiled off.

5.  Adjust the initial volume of water (or wort, more importantly) you start with to reached your desired final volume.

Pretty simple process.  Good luck!