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Today was kegging day for my Phoney Peroni lager. The total time in the fermenter has been 3 weeks. I started the Imperial L28 yeast off at 12C for a week until it started slowing down then I raised the temperature to 18C over the course of a few days and held it there until today. My impressions of the L28 performance were good. It took off quickly, maintained rapid activity for a few days then started to drop off and had ceased all visible activity by the middle of week 2 so it had a good long rest during the last week.
My efforts to reduce the FG through a low mash temperature and the addition of brewing sugar seemed to pay off. The FG was 1.003 which will give an ABV of 5.3%, close enough to the 5.1% of the original but with a lower FG (actual Peroni FG is said to be 1.007). If anything mine should be crisper on the palette.
Colour is, no surprise, extra pale and the yeast flocculated well leaving a lovely clear beer on top of my usual 4 litres of wastage below the outlet valve of the fermenter. The keg was fined with Kwik Clear, purged with CO2 and is now on at 20psi to carbonate over the coming weeks. I filled 4 bottles as well as the keg before the fermenter started to run dry.
And underneath the residual beer there's the yeast and trub cake:
It's been a year since I built my keezer so I took the opportunity to give it an annual service. All 3/8 and 3/16 beer line were binned and replaced with new and I took the tap off, disassembled it and gave it a deep clean.
I also binned the silicone hose that I'd been using for fermenter-keg transfer and replaced it with a length of proper Valpar beverage line - larger bore stuff than the 3/8 than we use for kegs. Why? Well, you know how hard it is to dry the inside of a hose after cleaning, it can keep droplets in there for weeks. I rigged up a computer blower fan to push air through the silicone hose to dry it quickly. This worked, but the smell of the air coming out of the other end of the hose, even when dry, was unpleasant and 'chemical'. I wasn't comfortable with my beer flowing through that so it's been replaced.
My efforts to reduce the FG through a low mash temperature and the addition of brewing sugar seemed to pay off. The FG was 1.003 which will give an ABV of 5.3%, close enough to the 5.1% of the original but with a lower FG (actual Peroni FG is said to be 1.007). If anything mine should be crisper on the palette.
Colour is, no surprise, extra pale and the yeast flocculated well leaving a lovely clear beer on top of my usual 4 litres of wastage below the outlet valve of the fermenter. The keg was fined with Kwik Clear, purged with CO2 and is now on at 20psi to carbonate over the coming weeks. I filled 4 bottles as well as the keg before the fermenter started to run dry.
And underneath the residual beer there's the yeast and trub cake:
It's been a year since I built my keezer so I took the opportunity to give it an annual service. All 3/8 and 3/16 beer line were binned and replaced with new and I took the tap off, disassembled it and gave it a deep clean.
I also binned the silicone hose that I'd been using for fermenter-keg transfer and replaced it with a length of proper Valpar beverage line - larger bore stuff than the 3/8 than we use for kegs. Why? Well, you know how hard it is to dry the inside of a hose after cleaning, it can keep droplets in there for weeks. I rigged up a computer blower fan to push air through the silicone hose to dry it quickly. This worked, but the smell of the air coming out of the other end of the hose, even when dry, was unpleasant and 'chemical'. I wasn't comfortable with my beer flowing through that so it's been replaced.
Out if interest, had that hydrometer sample been fined and/or cold crashed?
None of the above. It came from the fermenter at 18C during the transfer across to the keg. I fine the keg while it's being filled by tipping the finings in from a shot glass.
I'm doing a brew day this weekend so that makes Tuesday yeast starter day. It's going to be another pilsner, not sure on the full recipe just yet but it'll be simple and it'll involve lots of bohemian pilsner malt and hersbrucker hops. The yeast will be this Imperial L28 Urkel, built up from an overbuilt starter that I did for my Phoney Peroni.
I didn't bother with the starter calculator this time and just decided, based on experience, that a 2 litre starter on a 500ml overbuild that's only 5 weeks old is going to be plenty for a 1.045-ish lager.
The decanted starter wort tasted rather nice, very neutral with a noticeable malt background. I was quite tempted to down the lot but didn't. The yeast was pitched at 20C and it's now on the stir plate.
I didn't bother with the starter calculator this time and just decided, based on experience, that a 2 litre starter on a 500ml overbuild that's only 5 weeks old is going to be plenty for a 1.045-ish lager.
The decanted starter wort tasted rather nice, very neutral with a noticeable malt background. I was quite tempted to down the lot but didn't. The yeast was pitched at 20C and it's now on the stir plate.
The L28 starter was done in 48 hours so I took it off the stir plate and plugged the brew fridge in so the starter will stay cold until I need it on brew day, tomorrow. The fridge will be nice and cold as well, ready to ferment this one at 12C.
I've decided on the recipe. It's going to be a German Pils with a malt bill very much like my other lagers and I'll use Hersbrucker hops. I've done Tettnang and Saaz lagers recently so I thought I'd give Hersbrucker a go this time. The water profile and Ashbech base water are all identical to my previous lagers.
Here's the recipe:
I've called it Frühlingbrau which is spring brew in German because it's spring and it's a brew. Yes, very German. It is exactly what it says on thetin keg!
I've decided on the recipe. It's going to be a German Pils with a malt bill very much like my other lagers and I'll use Hersbrucker hops. I've done Tettnang and Saaz lagers recently so I thought I'd give Hersbrucker a go this time. The water profile and Ashbech base water are all identical to my previous lagers.
Here's the recipe:
Code:
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Recipe: Frühlingbrau
Style: German Pils
Batch Size (fermenter): 24.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.044 SG
Estimated Color: 8.4 EBC
Estimated IBU: 25.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.6 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Finished water profile: Ca:28, Mg:3, Na:9, SO4:10, Cl:44
Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type %/IBU
29.57 L Tesco Ashbeck Water -
3.30 ml Lactic Acid (Mash) Water Agent -
1.20 g Calcium Chloride (Mash) Water Agent -
4.30 kg Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner (4.0 EBC) Grain 97.0 %
0.13 kg Melanoidin (Weyermann) (70.0 EBC) Grain 3.0 %
0.30 g Calcium Chloride (Sparge) Water Agent -
0.20 ml Lactic Acid (Sparge) Water Agent -
15.00 g Magnum [11.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 23.0 IBUs
12.00 g Hallertauer Hersbrucker [3.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 2.2 IBUs
16.00 g Hallertauer Hersbrucker [3.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 2.2 IBUs
22.00 g Hallertauer Hersbrucker [3.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 1.6 IBUs
1.0 pkg Urkel (Imperial Yeast #L28) Yeast -
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 4.43 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 24.57 L of water at 69.2 C 66.0 C 60 min
Sparge: Dunk sparge with 5 L of water at 75 CI've called it Frühlingbrau which is spring brew in German because it's spring and it's a brew. Yes, very German. It is exactly what it says on the
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Todays brewday went well, albeit with a bit of dodging the hail and rain while trying to wash up my kit outside. The recipe was as above. I fell a little short on pre-boil gravity at 1.039 and, knowing that I'll get +3 from the boil I added 140g of dextrose to the boil to add another 2 points.
Our ground water is still cold and as such I managed to get it down to 21.0C with 65 litres of cold water through the immersion chiller. After that I collected nearly 24 litres into the fermenter.
The dextrose addition did the trick and the OG was 1.044, just as the recipe called for. I've fallen short by a couple of points a few times now with the Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner malt compared to the now unobtainable Ireks pilsner that I used before. I think I'll have to fiddle with beersmith the next time I use the bohemian pils to compensate.
The sample is nice and pale, just as planned. The fermenter is now in the brew fridge coming down to 11 or 12C when I'll add the L28 starter.
Our ground water is still cold and as such I managed to get it down to 21.0C with 65 litres of cold water through the immersion chiller. After that I collected nearly 24 litres into the fermenter.
The dextrose addition did the trick and the OG was 1.044, just as the recipe called for. I've fallen short by a couple of points a few times now with the Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner malt compared to the now unobtainable Ireks pilsner that I used before. I think I'll have to fiddle with beersmith the next time I use the bohemian pils to compensate.
The sample is nice and pale, just as planned. The fermenter is now in the brew fridge coming down to 11 or 12C when I'll add the L28 starter.
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A little update on the German Pils. I pitched the decanted L28 starter the following morning at 11C and 28 hours later bubbling through the blow-off tube has started. So now it's on with my usual lager schedule which will be about 5 days of 11C until bubbling shows signs of slowing then a gradual rise to around 16-18C for a total of 3 weeks in the fermenter.
Tonight's beer is my Phoney Peroni, and very tasty it is too. It's perfectly clear, extra-pale as Peroni should be, very well carbonated at 20psi and so, so drinkable it's dangerous.
It's very close to the original, extremely well balanced with light and smooth corn background flavour notes (though as an ale fan I could personally stand a lot more Saaz) and is a dead-ringer for keg Peroni (not the green bottle stuff). It must be the corn lightening the body that makes this so very quaffable even at 5.1%. Even my wife (a wine drinker) ran off with a half over my protests.
It's very close to the original, extremely well balanced with light and smooth corn background flavour notes (though as an ale fan I could personally stand a lot more Saaz) and is a dead-ringer for keg Peroni (not the green bottle stuff). It must be the corn lightening the body that makes this so very quaffable even at 5.1%. Even my wife (a wine drinker) ran off with a half over my protests.
Tonight's beer is my Phoney Peroni, and very tasty it is too. It's perfectly clear, extra-pale as Peroni should be, very well carbonated at 20psi and so, so drinkable it's dangerous.
It's very close to the original, extremely well balanced with light and smooth corn background flavour notes (though as an ale fan I could personally stand a lot more Saaz) and is a dead-ringer for keg Peroni (not the green bottle stuff). It must be the corn lightening the body that makes this so very quaffable even at 5.1%. Even my wife (a wine drinker) ran off with a half over my protests.
Looks beautiful
Woohoo! The malt miller have just got more of the Imperial A04 Barbarian yeast in stock. That's the Vermont strain with the unique peachy, full mouthfeel that I'm a huge fan of. I've ordered a pack and some random other stuff that'll make DPD delivery worthwhile. Right now I'm not taking a chance on RM/Parcelforce where liquid yeast is concerned. I'll keep the A04 yeast on the go through overbuilding starters for at least the next four brews.
Today was kegging day for my Frühlingbrau German Pilsner. Fermentation was a week at around 11C and then two further weeks resting at 16C. As usual I fined the corny keg with Kwik Clear and after filling it there was enough left in the fermenter for 3 bottles.
The Imperial L28 Urkel yeast ran a coach and horses through the fermentable sugars, attenuating 88% to give an FG of 1.005 and an ABV of 5.1%. The keg was purged with CO2 and I've set the regulator at 16psi for the set-and-forget carbonation method.
The Imperial L28 Urkel yeast ran a coach and horses through the fermentable sugars, attenuating 88% to give an FG of 1.005 and an ABV of 5.1%. The keg was purged with CO2 and I've set the regulator at 16psi for the set-and-forget carbonation method.
I'm planning to brew this weekend so tonight is yeast starter night. The run of pilsners that I've brewed has come to a temporary end because I fancy doing some ales and as such I've bought in my favourite ale yeast strain:
I've brewed plenty of times with the Conan strain before from The Yeast Bay and Omega but never the Imperial offering. I've made up a 1.5 litre starter and will save back 500ml in the fridge for future brews as I plan to keep this packet on the go for a run of at least four ales before I switch back to pilsners again.
1.5 litres is too much to risk in a 2 litre flask with a strain that I know can be a bit lively so I've selected the 3 litre and put it on the stir plate in the brew fridge at 20C.
I've brewed plenty of times with the Conan strain before from The Yeast Bay and Omega but never the Imperial offering. I've made up a 1.5 litre starter and will save back 500ml in the fridge for future brews as I plan to keep this packet on the go for a run of at least four ales before I switch back to pilsners again.
1.5 litres is too much to risk in a 2 litre flask with a strain that I know can be a bit lively so I've selected the 3 litre and put it on the stir plate in the brew fridge at 20C.
So what kind of ales do you have in mind? Bitter, AIPA???
This weekend will be an English IPA much the same as my Flagstaff IPA that I did last year. After that it'll be an APA with Galaxy, Simcoe and Cashmere and after that I'll do a simple summer ale. Then I don't know, possibly an APA involving Galaxy, Nelson and Cascade.
It's brew bank holiday! Well, it's not like I'm going anywhere special so I might as well get cracking in the brewery. Today's brew is a small variation on my Flagstaff IPA that I enjoyed last year designed around the English hops that I've got in the freezer. Here's the modified recipe:
The last 5 minute hop additions were meant to be Endeavour & EKG but upon opening the freezer I realised I didn't have enough Endeavour left so I used Challenger instead. On the plus side I found 50g of Fuggles that I'd forgotten about while rooting around in the freezer so that'll feature in a later recipe.
Brew day itself went fine. I mashed in at 67.5C and left it for an hour. Upon taking a gravity reading before the boil I noticed that I got a couple more points out of the Crisp Maris Otter than I've been getting from the Weyermann Bohemian Pils of late.
After boiling for an hour I chilled down to 24C before getting bored and then transferred the lot into the fermenter to collect a total of 24 litres.
The higher than expected mash efficiency carried through to the FG and I ended up with an OG 1.045. If this finishes at 1.007 then I can expect an ABV of 5.0% for this IPA.
The wort is now chilling down to 19C in the brew fridge before I pitch the Imperial A04 starter. 500ml of that 1.5 litres starter has already been transferred to a Kilner jar in the fridge for the next brew.
Code:
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Recipe: Flagstaff IPA No.2
Batch Size (fermenter): 24.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 11.0 EBC
Estimated IBU: 31.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.6 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Finished water profile: Ca:52, Mg:8, Na:9, SO4:72, Cl:57
Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type %/IBU
29.54 L Tesco Ashbeck Water -
1.70 g Calcium Chloride (Mash) Water Agent -
1.70 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) Water Agent -
1.50 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash) Water Agent -
3.71 kg Maris Otter (Crisp) (7.9 EBC) Grain 85.0 %
0.44 kg IREKS Munich Malt (20.0 EBC) Grain 10.0 %
0.22 kg Barley, Flaked (Thomas Fawcett) (3.9 EBC) Grain 5.0 %
0.40 g Calcium Chloride (Sparge) Water Agent -
0.40 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Sparge) Water Agent -
0.30 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Sparge) Water Agent -
14.00 g Challenger [6.30 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 10.3 IBUs
11.00 g Challenger [6.30 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 4.0 IBUs
11.00 g East Kent Goldings (EKG) [4.10 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 2.6 IBUs
16.00 g East Kent Goldings (EKG) [4.10 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 2.8 IBUs
16.00 g Endeavour [8.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5.8 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 7.0 mins) Fining -
23.00 g Challenger [6.30 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 3.4 IBUs
23.00 g East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 2.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg Barbarian (Imperial Yeast #A04) Yeast -
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 4.37 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 24.54 L of water at 70.5 C 67.0 C 60 min
Sparge: Dunk sparge with 5 L of water at 75 CThe last 5 minute hop additions were meant to be Endeavour & EKG but upon opening the freezer I realised I didn't have enough Endeavour left so I used Challenger instead. On the plus side I found 50g of Fuggles that I'd forgotten about while rooting around in the freezer so that'll feature in a later recipe.
Brew day itself went fine. I mashed in at 67.5C and left it for an hour. Upon taking a gravity reading before the boil I noticed that I got a couple more points out of the Crisp Maris Otter than I've been getting from the Weyermann Bohemian Pils of late.
After boiling for an hour I chilled down to 24C before getting bored and then transferred the lot into the fermenter to collect a total of 24 litres.
The higher than expected mash efficiency carried through to the FG and I ended up with an OG 1.045. If this finishes at 1.007 then I can expect an ABV of 5.0% for this IPA.
The wort is now chilling down to 19C in the brew fridge before I pitch the Imperial A04 starter. 500ml of that 1.5 litres starter has already been transferred to a Kilner jar in the fridge for the next brew.
SamBrewster
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How do you get it that clear from the kettle? I can't get that clarity from the fermenter! Have to condition for a month to get close! (Jealousy really 
)
)
Plus 1 for learning Foxbats secret. My FV OG sample always looks like a badly dissolved cupasoup.How do you get it that clear from the kettle? I can't get that clarity from the fermenter! Have to condition for a month to get close! (Jealousy really
