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"Don't worry about the mule, just load the wagon." Brew Log.

Post #1 made 10 years ago
by Rick
I finally had my first brew day at the new house. 10 gallons (VIF) of 1.063 porter and 11g (VIF) of 1.044 session IPA, nailed both numbers on the dot. Thanks again BIABacus (and Ward Labs).

Here is the detached garage/barn that is now my "brewery".
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I don't have it pictured, but there is a huge exhaust fan on the wall. The previous owner used this particular garage bay as a paint booth for cars. If my camera panned up, it would be right behind the kettles on the wall. It's a serious fan, and creates a ridiculously strong draft throughout the whole barn in seconds. There are 4 air conditioner filters on the dividing wall of the two bays to filter the incoming air. So, I won't die of CO poisoning ... which is nice.

Each kettle has its own 150lb-max ratchet pulley, they are up above the picture. I tried getting all of these features in the picture, but unfortunately I would have had to shown a pile of boxes in the corner as well. :D
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Close up on the porter mash.
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Fermentation chamber. Two 50lb Vittles Vaults that I modified with a rubber grommet to accept an airlock. The bottom has a blow off tube as there is no room for an airlock for obvious reasons. Each fermenter has a 13 gallon capacity, and I'm pushing it a bit with 11G in the bottom one. I hope the fermcap does its job.
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Here is the other bay, which has a wood stove. This will come in handy for winter brew sessions! You can see the blue a/c filters I mentioned previously, in this pic.
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Last edited by Sarah on 01 Dec 2016, 20:37, edited 2 times in total.
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Post #3 made 10 years ago
by goulaigan
Very nice setup. Someday I will build a garage at my place, and when I do there will definitely be space set aside for my brewery.

Love the side by side kettles :)
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Post #5 made 10 years ago
by mally
So what was it again that attracted you to this property? :lol:

I think your "garage" is bigger than my house!
G B
I spent lots of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I squandered
I've stopped drinking, but only when I'm asleep
I ONCE gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life
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Post #6 made 10 years ago
by Rick
Thanks fellas.

The garage is 868 sq ft (you'll probably have to convert that) ... If it had plumbing I would be tempted to live in there. The condo I moved from was just a little over that, heh.

But yeah, seriously ... I was all over this place when we viewed it for the first time during open house. We didn't have the funds together for another month after that, so we had to walk away for a while before making an official offer. Whew, that was a stressful time.

It's a great property, and the house is great as well ... but it comes with a penalty of being far from basically anywhere interesting. This property closer to the city would be WAYYYYY outside of my price range. My commute to work is really long, but I always look forward to coming home each day.
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Post #7 made 10 years ago
by Rick
I just transferred the session IPA to secondary, it finished at 1.014. FINALLY.

This recipe has almost always finished at 1.010, so I've been creeping my mash temps up for each brew. Last time it was 1.012@154F-155F, which was better ... but such a light beer (4.2%-4.6% depending on attenuation) I wanted it a touch higher for added body.

156-157F is what I held it at this time. 5.35pH target ...using Brunwater's pale ale profile and US-05. 7% light crystal malt(caravienne) as well. Now let's see if I can do it again the next time ... *grumble*

I plan to bottle on Sunday, the porter will remain in primary for another week or two. Hoping that finishes around 1.018-ish ... I mashed that at 154 and used S-04. 5.45 target pH Brunwater's Black Dry profile ... 7.3% caramunich II.
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Post #8 made 10 years ago
by Rick
Here were the fruits of that logged brew day, all bottled up. This was a few weeks ago, and about half of it is gone already.

The session IPA is a home run as far as I am concerned. This is my most brewed beer right here, so many tweaks over the past 2 years have brought it to my vision. The only thing left is to throw in some oats, rye, flaked barley ... or some sort of cocktail of mouthfeel boosters. There is only so much that can be done with 1.044 OG in this regard, so I won't over think it. The malt balance I am very happy with, as well as the bitterness levels, aroma, etc ..

Hops combinations I will continue to tinker with for this recipe, but all have been pretty great so far. Usually chinook/centennial in the kettle for late additions. Dry hops have been Amarillo and Citra. Double hop stand, single dry hop for this one.

The porter is pretty mediocre, but also very drinkable. It finished at my target 1.018, but I did get a 1.020-1.021 reading in there as well so who knows. For whatever reason, my hydrometer didn't want to be consistent for this beer ... which is a first for me. I fermented with S04 on the warmer side to pull some esters out, which ended up okay ... but I DEFINITELY prefer what WLP013 has to offer in this dept. I will switch to that next time and leave s04 for lower/cleaner temps. I used my own recipe for this, and I'm really surprised how well the body and malt balance was considering it was my first time brewing this style. It starts out a little sweet, but the roast quickly takes all that away ... very smoothly. Then, the esters, which are forgettable if I'm honest.

Next up, 11 gallons of my Trailbreaker IPA. I plan to use local raw unfiltered/crystallized honey, which I will not temper at all. It will be added at high krausen non-pasteurized. I will simply warm it in a water bath, pour it in. I know this goes against conventional wisdom as there is worry of wild yeasts taking over, but I have done a LOT of reading on the matter. Many have done it with success, so I will see for myself. I typically use honey malt for this recipe, so this will be my first time subbing the real thing in its place. A little carapils and golden promise will be subbed in to keep it from thinning out too much. 50/50 Mosaic and Galaxy hops for this one (late additions and double dry hop), which will never change if I can help it.
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Last edited by Rick on 21 Aug 2015, 22:08, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #9 made 10 years ago
by thughes
Thanks for the update. Regarding the honey addition: are you going for honey flavor? As you are aware, honey malt will give your beer a honey flavor but it has been my experience that raw honey will simply be metabolised completely as a sugar by the yeast, upping the ABV but leaving no discernible flavor what-so-ever. Let us know how it works out for you....

---Todd
WWBBD?
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Post #10 made 10 years ago
by Rick
thughes wrote:Thanks for the update. Regarding the honey addition: are you going for honey flavor? As you are aware, honey malt will give your beer a honey flavor but it has been my experience that raw honey will simply be metabolised completely as a sugar by the yeast, upping the ABV but leaving no discernible flavor what-so-ever. Let us know how it works out for you....

---Todd
Yessir, and I will update. Based on my readings: adding early in the boil, late in the boil, pasteurizing ... most say there is not much to detect in the end product (if anything). I figure this method is my best shot, but it adds some obvious risks. I was given a 5lb jar of this mondjack honey, and I have to use it for something! There will be just 5% of fermentables, which can only give a subtle contribution .. at best.

We shall see. I am happy going back to honey malt, as 2.5% has contributed a nice honey flavor in the past. I have always wondered about real honey, though ... so I need to scratch that itch.

I will also be able to make a greater volume than usual, so if it works out in every other way ... perhaps dextrose can be used for the next version.

Here's the recipe
[center]BIABacus 1.0 RECIPE REPORT[/center]
[center]BIAB Recipe Designer, Calculator and Scaler.[/center]
[center](Please visit http://www.biabrewer.info" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for the latest version.)[/center]
[center]Trailbreaker - Batch 6[/center]

Recipe Overview

Brewer: Conestoga
Style: IPA
Source Recipe Link:
ABV: 7.7% (assumes any priming sugar used is diluted.)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.07
IBU's (Tinseth): 77.7
Bitterness to Gravity Ratio: 1.11
Colour: 13.7 EBC = 7 SRM

Kettle Efficiency (as in EIB and EAW): 73.8 %
Efficiency into Fermentor (EIF): 66.5 %

Note: This is a FVV (Full Volume Variation Mash): Sacharification

Times and Temperatures

Mash: 90 mins at 65 C = 149 F
Boil: 90 min
Ferment: 10 days at 19 C = 66.2 F

Volumes & Gravities
(Note that VAW below is the Volume at Flame-Out (VFO) less shrinkage.)
The, "Clear Brewing Terminology," thread at http://www.biabrewer.info/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Total Water Needed (TWN): 64.38 L = 17.01 G
Volume into Boil (VIB): 58.33 L = 15.41 G @ 1.055
Volume of Ambient Wort (VAW): 46.22 L = 12.21 G @ 1.07
Volume into Fermentor (VIF): 41.64 L = 11 G @ 1.07
Volume into Packaging (VIP): 39.61 L = 10.46 G @ 1.012 assuming apparent attenuation of 83 %

The Grain Bill (Also includes extracts, sugars and adjuncts)

Note: If extracts, sugars or adjuncts are not followed by an exclamation mark, go to http://www.biabrewer.info" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (needs link)

60.6% GW 2-Row (3.3 EBC = 1.7 SRM) 8997 grams = 19.84 pounds
22.6% Faw GoldProm (6.5 EBC = 3.3 SRM) 3355 grams = 7.4 pounds
4.6% Ding Caravienne (57.2 EBC = 29 SRM) 683 grams = 1.51 pounds
3.1% Wey Carapils (3.3 EBC = 1.7 SRM) 460 grams = 1.01 pounds
4.9% Mondjack Honey (12 EBC = 6.1 SRM) 728 grams = 1.6 pounds (Boiled Only)
4.2% Wey Acidulated (3.3 EBC = 1.7 SRM) 624 grams = 1.37 pounds



The Hop Bill (Based on Tinseth Formula)

33.5 IBU Warrior Pellets (15.6%AA) 47 grams = 1.658 ounces at 60 mins
19.9 IBU Mosaic* Pellets (11.6%AA) 113 grams = 3.986 ounces at 9 mins
24.2 IBU Galaxy* Pellets (14.1%AA) 113 grams = 3.986 ounces at 9 mins

0 IBU Mosaic Pellets (11.6%AA) 70 grams = 2.469 ounces (Dry Hopped after 6 days)
0 IBU Galaxy Pellets (14.1%AA) 70 grams = 2.469 ounces (Dry Hopped after 6 days)
0 IBU Mosaic Pellets (14.6%AA) 147 grams = 5.185 ounces (Dry Hopped after 10 days)
0 IBU Galaxy Pellets (14.1%AA) 147 grams = 5.185 ounces (Dry Hopped after 10 days)

Mash Steps

Mash Type: FVV (Full Volume Variation Mash): Sacharification for 90 mins at 65 C = 149 F
Water Held Back from Mash: 7.56 L = 2 G
Strike Water Needed (SWN): 57.95 L = 15.31 G at 69.5 C = 157.1 F




Mashout for 1 mins at 77 C = 170.6 F
Water Added After Final Lauter: 7.56 L = 2 G



Miscellaneous Ingredients

fermcap, 2 drops per gallon at pitching to reduce krausen.

Chilling & Hop Management Methods

Hopsock Used: Y (Pulled 30 mins after boil end.)

Chilling Method: Cube (Employed 30 mins after boil end.)

Fermentation & Conditioning

Fermentation: US-05 for 10 days at 19 C = 66.2 F
Diacetyl Rest: 4 days at 19 C = 66.2 F
Secondary Used: Y
Crash-Chilled: N
Filtered: N
Req. Volumes of CO2: 2.25
Serving Temp: 4 C = 39.2 F
Condition for 21 days.
Consume within 3 months.

Special Instructions/Notes on this Beer

*= Actual addition is at flame-out. 9 min value is only for whirlpool bittering calculation. 1st dry hop in primary (no squeeze), 2nd in secondary (squeeze hops).



BIAB Variations

Water Held Back from Mash: 7.56 L = 2 G

Water Added After Final Lauter: 7.56 L = 2 G


Last edited by Rick on 21 Aug 2015, 23:01, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #11 made 10 years ago
by Scott
Hey Rick, that is a pretty cool brew hooch / storage shed! Been going through a job / career change (after 26 years) this summer, a little distracted and didn't notice your post until now. Too bad you couldn't find a job position closer to home. A long commute would really suck...especially with big city traffic.

The pet food as a fermenter thing is an innovative idea. I have an extra one up in the attic. And could possibly just not screw the lid on all the way...instead of an air lock. I have a couple nice Speidel plastic fermenters and a new temp controlled fermentation chamber, but it only fits one... Just did a double batch "fresh hop" pale ale (APA) with the Cascades I have growing in the back yard. Used American Ale Yeast on the temp controlled 4.5 gal batch and for the 4.5 gal batch in the fermenter sitting in a garbage can water bath used Pacific Northwest Ale Yeast. The latter is a yeast that can supposedly take up to 75 deg F fermentation temps. Both Wyeast. On the NW Pale Ale yeast, temp initially was 72, but when I came home Wednesday night, hot day here in Oregon (temps outside got to 97 deg F)...the temp in the water for this fermenter was 78 deg F. Ooops! I got some ice and dumped it in the garbage can to cool things down. Yesterday was a cooler day and temp in this fermenter was back at 72. Anyhow, IF I can fit one of these in with my regular fermenter in the temp controlled ferm chamber I will give that a shot next time. Thanks for the idea!
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Post #12 made 10 years ago
by Scott
Well, my extra dog food container will not fit in the fermenter (along with a regular fermenter). But if I used TWO of those 6-gal Winpacks, and use them as fermenters, they would fit. One would not have room for a blow off tube or air lock so I would have to get creative...
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Post #13 made 10 years ago
by Rick
Bah, glad I could give you the idea at least. I can't use my "dorm size" fridge for these fermenters either ... kinda annoying.

My gf keeps piling food into my full size fridge when I'm not using it, but I just toss everything when I need it. :D

She would fill up 10, 20, 30 of them if we had 'em.
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Post #14 made 10 years ago
by Rick
I brewed up the honey IPA (Mosaic/Galaxy and additional Columbus this time for added dankness), all went well for that. Although, I learned a hard lesson ... don't drink 10.2% ABV beer while brewing!

The Old Ale was brewed along side of it, and I forgot to take unhopped mash runnings for lacto souring. Not a huge deal, I can always steal from a later brew, sour it and add during the extended secondary w/ the brett. I might even brew small batch on the stove or something, we'll see.

IPA is fermenting, old ale is still in a cube for now. I'll likely pitch that next week sometime after I get things cleaned up from this round.


I hit 1.092 for the old ale, volume spot on. (1.09 target)

1.068 for the IPA. 1.07 was the target, but I haven't added the honey yet. So it's more like 1.071, but I'll never be able to get the reading. I'm also experimenting with this recipe, as I usually mash very low (148-149) ... and read that my desired attenuation can be achieved in the 152-153 range. It appealed to me to experiment with this batch ... as I have honey in the mix helping to dry it out. I just went with my gut in the end, worst case I get 7.5%ABV @1.015 ... which I'm more okay with than 8.5%@1.005. 8% @ 1.01 is the goal.
Last edited by Rick on 13 Oct 2015, 21:45, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #15 made 10 years ago
by jhough
Rick, I have a dorm size fridge that I kept on my tool box at work,( mechanics have a wrench in 1 hand and sandwich in the other) Plan on building a fermentation chamber and using a temp controller . My box is at home as I now am a mobile tech . Just need a garage as big as yours. HMMMMMMM brew in 1 bay , lift in the other !!
Just need to pull out the old drafting tools and design it.
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Post #16 made 10 years ago
by Rick
jhough wrote:Rick, I have a dorm size fridge that I kept on my tool box at work,( mechanics have a wrench in 1 hand and sandwich in the other) Plan on building a fermentation chamber and using a temp controller . My box is at home as I now am a mobile tech . Just need a garage as big as yours. HMMMMMMM brew in 1 bay , lift in the other !!
Just need to pull out the old drafting tools and design it.

Good stuff, I'm working on a grain mill next .. although it might be a while before I find all the materials.

Update on the IPA, I have a liquid yeast setup now (5L Erlenmeyer w/ stir plate) so I went with WLP001 this time around instead of US05. US05 tends to flocc out in about 4-5 days, but the krausen persists nearly 2 weeks in for the WLP001(63-65F). It was 1.020 after a week, and 1.014 currently. I'll give it another 3-4 days before transferring to secondary for dry hopping. attenuation could stop right now and I'd be very happy with the end result.

I didn't notice any honey flavors in there, but it's probably not optimally mixed into the beer yet.

Gotta say, the recipe tastes pretty amazing this time around. WLP001 seems even cleaner than US05, I did not expect a difference at all ... but it's pretty significant IMO. Although, to be fair ... this is the first time I have used pure o2 to oxygenate this recipe.
Last edited by Rick on 23 Oct 2015, 19:39, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #17 made 10 years ago
by Rick
IPA is down to 1.010 after 2 wks ... \m/

Transferred to secondary w/ 1lb/454g of hops! Aww yeah, I made a last minute edit and cut some Columbus into the mix. So it's basically a bittering charge in the kettle, and 33/33/33 Mosaic/Galaxy/Columbus in the hop stand and dry hops.

No honey flavors detected after mixing/transfer, but it could be masked by the peach flavor I am getting from the WLP001. I find this weird, because people always attribute this to US05 when fermented on the colder end of the range. I know they are both chico strain, so it's possible I suppose. Tastes great, just a bummer that I might not be able to recreate it should people rave about this batch over my others. Minor gripe.

Anyhow, it tastes delicious .. the malt profile seems much cleaner this time around, even with the added peach running a slight interference.

Also, using 9m on the BIABacus for a 30m hop stand seems about right. This is for no-chill, and removing the hops after 30m. I went for 77 IBU this time around, and it seems about right finally.
Last edited by Rick on 27 Oct 2015, 20:18, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #18 made 10 years ago
by Rick
Starter for the Old Ale will be prepped tonight, and will begin that ferment within the next couple of days. Then, prep for a revised porter recipe and a flander's red.

I made friends with a neighbor who has a still, and he wants to brew a batch. He liked my porter, and is funding the next 10 gallons. Which is nice .. because I didn't like what the S04 did for it. I really want to know how it would have been with WY1028.

I may not get to brew those side by side, so possibly another session IPA to keg for New Year's Eve to fill the void.
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Post #19 made 10 years ago
by Rick
I just cracked open one of the Old Ale's from 2014, so much better than I remembered. The lacto souring is coming through so much more, I can't tell if that is from developing my palate, or simple aging. Don't get me wrong it is still hugely sweet with dark fruits and all that, just noticing the lacto more relative to when it was fresh.

I had a case in my gf's parents root cellar, and we were there visiting last weekend. Grabbed it up, and now enjoying a bottle. Seriously, if you haven't brewed Old Treacle Mine from BCS, do yourself a favor. I'm not one for big sweet beers, but I'm in love with this style.

Also, weirdly enough it has a decent head this year. I read something about folks dropping the pH to a certain level in the lacto portion for this reason, and I didn't have a lasting head or any lacing last year due to ignoring the pH for that. This year it's pretty good, not thick but lasts a few minutes and left a ring on the glass. Also crystal clear against light. I'm r/g colorblind and it even looks like a translucent blood red to me.

I expected sherry flavors from the aging/oxidation, but not so much ... perhaps next in the next year or 4.

Pretty neat that I have a 7G cube of this ready to ferment again. I'll age 5G on brett-L (in secondary) and just ferment the rest in 1G carboys to bottle as is and compare against the aged portion later on. I'm rambling now, but then again this IS a bomber .. and 9%abv .. so ... yeah ...
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Post #20 made 10 years ago
by Scott
Okay Rick... Once again you have inspired me. :drink: I now have my BCS book open in front of me drinking a fresh hop pale ale, and reading the Strong Ale section of the BCS book.
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Post #21 made 10 years ago
by Rick
Scott wrote:Okay Rick... Once again you have inspired me. :drink: I now have my BCS book open in front of me drinking a fresh hop pale ale, and reading the Strong Ale section of the BCS book.

Nice! You will not be sorry.
Last edited by Rick on 30 Oct 2015, 19:57, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #22 made 10 years ago
by Rick
IPA was bottled on Sat. Yield was 32 22oz bombers and 41 12 oz bottles. 11G into fermenter, and about 9.3G made it to packaging. The barn permeated of citrus and wet dog, so my hopes of added dankness from the Columbus hops was more than achieved. Now I just have to pray that adding raw/unheated honey to the fermenter wasn't a horrible mistake. Still nothing detectable on that front, not that I would have tasted it through the hops anyway. The ultimate test will be my gf's sister Sherry, she has a top notch palate.

Even still, I believe I will stick with the honey malt for future brews of this recipe.
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Post #23 made 10 years ago
by Rick
Well ... after all of that tasting. .. 10 days in the bottle I cracked a honey ipa open. The honey is there, even through a still somewhat green hoppiness. Nice ... this seems to be the way to go, it just needed carbonation to carry the aromatics.

Dammit, now this recipe is going to be more expensive to brew! :headhit:

The old ale finished at 1.022,top end of the bjcp range. I was hoping for slightly less attenuation (more for the brett to gnaw on), but this is more than sufficient. I'll rack that to secondary with some brett-l ... and see how low that takes it.

I might steal some from the main batch to age in a 1 gal carboy with a different brett-l as an experiment. It depends on current volume, which I am yet to calculate ... lost a bunch from blow off. Such a violent fermentation.
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Post #24 made 10 years ago
by Rick
Starting to see a pellicle forming on the Old Ale already, nice!

I brewed 11G each of porter and flanders red on Saturday, hit 1.060 on the nose for the porter .. and 1.059 for the FR (1.055 target).

I ditched using acid malt, and now have a 5ml pipette and 88% lactic acid. I gotta say, i was a little nervous straying from my comfort zone ... but everything worked out nicely.

The porter was for a neighbor. I walked him through the process, and he was around the whole brew day. He stuck me with the pitching and cleaning on Sunday though, so I doubt he will be invited back. I would have left it in the kettle to rot, but I'm curious how edits to my previous recipe will turn out.

Next up is an Imperial stout. 1.101. I plan to test a recipe, then fill a 30G used whiskey barrel from a local distillery. I need to prep it for the Flanders with a couple cleaner beers, so RIS is an obvious first choice.
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Post #25 made 10 years ago
by PistolPatch
Hope you don't mind us all just reading and enjoying ourselves Rick. Just wanted to say thanks for the great read and wtf is RIS? :)

In fact, that whole last sentence above you wrote, I am going wtf?

The pics are very good though and I can understand all of them except why your lawn is white. In Australia, they are green???
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