HoppinAle — The Craft of Beer

Journal of Homebrewing and Craft Beer

Review – Bottle Washer

Mar 16

Posted by Jeff in Homebrew Gear, Reviews | 1 Comment

Having just brewed 2 batches in one weekend, I knew that I would have a large number of bottles to clean for bottling weekend. Bottle washing is the task related to brewing that I dislike the most, so I decided to see if I could improve it some.

I already rinse the bottles immediately after use, so there isn’t a bunch of crud in the bottles. I normally let them soak for a bit in a big bin with hot water and oxyclean. Then they need to be rinsed – thoroughly. Unfortunately, the dishwasher isn’t able to sufficiently rinse through the narrow opening of the bottles, so I have to do it by hand. With over 100 bottles to do, I decided to go buy a bottle washer from the homebrew store.

Bottle Washer

Bottle Washer - faucet attachment

This just attaches to a faucet (need an end that a hose could attach to) then when you press the bottle down on it – it sprays inside the bottle – a bit forcefully. This did save me some time and I am happy with the purchase. Still took forever though. Time to start saving for the kegging setup.

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Double Brew Weekend – Day 2

Mar 11

Posted by Jeff in Homebrewing | No Comments

With 3 kids if there is a gap in the schedule and you can brew, then brew. It had been a few months since the last time I brewed, so why not take advantage of the time and get 2 out of the way in one weekend. Also, I was fortunate to have a brew helper.

Day 2: Ed Wort’s Bee Cave Brewery Haus Pale Ale

This recipe came from one of the brewers on the Homebrew Talk forums. I did add a 1/4 oz. of carapils since it was sent by mistake, and won’t have any taste effect, but should help improve head retention a little. I adjusted the grain mill a little to be a little courser crush. Also for this batch, I used bottled water instead of my tap water. I am leery of the high bicarbonate levels in Chicago’s municipal water in this pale of a beer, and I don’t know enough about water chemistry and brewing yet to feel confident in trying to dilute and make adjustments.

For the most part, everything went fine. It was a little bit colder than the previous day, and I did have a 3 degree drop in the temperature of my mash, but I don’t expect it to have a significant effect.

Here are the details:
Batch size 5.5 gallons
Boil size 6.7 gallons
Boil time 60 minutes
Grain weight 10.75 pounds
Efficiency 75%
Original gravity 1.057
Final gravity 1.012 (est.)
Alcohol (by volume) 5.9%
Bitterness (IBU) 28
Color (SRM) 4.3°L
Yeast
23 dry grams (2 packs)
Dry
Fermentis		 Safale US-05
Grains/Extracts/Sugars
10.75 pounds
2 Row Base
37ppg, 1.5°L		 8 pounds
74.4%
Vienna
35ppg, 4°L		 2 pounds
18.6%
Crystal 10L
35ppg, 10°L		 0.5 pounds
4.7%
CaraPils
33ppg, 1.5°L		 0.25 pounds
2.3%
Hops
2 ounces
Cascade hops
6%, Pellet		 2 ounces
Additions
0.25 ounces
Irish moss
Fining		 0.25 ounces
Mash
60 minutes, 8.6 gallons
Strike
Target 152°F		 4.0 gallons
165°F
60 minutes (+0)
Sparge
Target 170°F		 4.5 gallons
178°F
Boil
60 minutes, 6.7 gallons
Cascade hops
6%, Pellet		 1 ounce
60 minutes (+0)
Cascade hops
6%, Pellet		 0.5 ounces
30 minutes (+30)
Cascade hops
6%, Pellet		 0.25 ounces
15 minutes (+45)
Irish moss
Fining		 0.25 ounces
15 minutes (+45)
Wort chiller 15 minutes (+45)
Cascade hops
6%, Pellet		 0.25 ounces
5 minutes (+55)
Ferment
22 days @ 60-72°F

Should be bottling around March 20th.

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Double Brew Weekend – Day 1

Mar 10

Posted by Jeff in Homebrewing | No Comments

I finally received my Barley Crusher, and decided to do a double brew weekend to celebrate the new toy…I mean equipment.

Day 1: Irish Red Ale

This was an all-grain kit I ordered from Midwest Supplies. A fellow brewer, Bob, stopped by to help and see how I do the all-grain process.

The crusher worked great – but took a longer than I thought to hand crank the grain bill through the mill. Need to make sure my cordless drill is charged up next time. I think the grain may have been crushed a little too fine, and I did adjust it for the next time. Will have to wait and see. I also used my tap water for the first time. Chicago municipal water is high in bicarbonates – which should be good for Amber and Red ales. I did set out 10 gallons overnight with half of a campden tablet to remove the chlorine.

Here are the details:
Batch size 5.5 gallons
Boil size 6.7 gallons
Boil time 60 minutes
Grain weight 10.5 pounds
Efficiency 75%
Original gravity 1.059
Final gravity 1.013 (est.)
Alcohol (by volume) 6.0%
Bitterness (IBU) 19
Color (SRM) 17.8°L
Yeast
2 liter starter
Wyeast
1056		 American Ale
Grains/Extracts/Sugars
10.5 pounds
2 Row Base
37ppg, 1.5°L		 9 pounds
85.7%
Crystal 40L
34ppg, 40°L		 0.75 pounds
7.1%
CaraPils
33ppg, 1.5°L		 0.25 pounds
2.4%
Barley (Roasted)
28ppg, 500°L		 0.25 pounds
2.4%
Special B
30ppg, 140°L		 0.25 pounds
2.4%
Hops
2 ounces
Fuggles hops
5%, Pellet		 1 ounce
Cascade hops
6%, Pellet		 1 ounce
Additions
0.25 ounces
Irish moss
Fining		 0.25 ounces
Mash
57 minutes, 8.5 gallons
Strike
Target 152°F		 3.9 gallons
165°F
57 minutes (+0)
Sparge
Target 170°F		 4.6 gallons
177°F
Boil
60 minutes, 6.7 gallons
Cascade hops
6%, Pellet		 1 ounce
60 minutes (+0)
Irish moss
Fining		 0.25 ounces
15 minutes (+45)
Wort chiller 15 minutes (+45)
Fuggles hops
5%, Pellet		 1 ounce
2 minutes (+58)
Ferment
22 days @ 60-72°F

Should be bottling around March 20th. Stay tuned. Next post – Day 2.

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The Step Up to All-Grain Brewing

Mar 8

Posted by Jeff in Homebrewing | No Comments

Imperial Bourbon Vanilla Porter

My first all-grain—Imperial Bourbon Vanilla Porter

After making 6 extract brews, I decided to jump up to all-grain brewing, and I went big. That first recipe was an imperial bourbon vanilla porter (Thanks Denny Conn – recipe can be found here).

I ordered the grains crushed, since I didn’t have a grain mill. My homemade mash-tun did pretty good. It kept my temperature for the entire hour. Not bad for a cooler on clearance for $20.00 and some parts from HD or Lowes.

The beer came out very good – but did come up short on efficiency – about 65% and the recipe was for 75%. I will be brewing this again this fall so it is ready for the holiday season – only this time I will make 10 gallons. I shared at the family events and it disappeared too quickly.

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Time for this new blog

Mar 6

Posted by Jeff in General | No Comments

I thought about using the family blog for my beer adventures, but decided it would be best to separate my homebrewing and craft beer exploration into it’s own blog for those that only want to see the beer/brewing info.

I have been brewing since January 2009, and enjoying craft beer since…hmmm been a while – sounds like a good next post.

Thanks, and I hope everyone enjoys…cheers.

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