Category: Uncategorized

Update: Wet Hop

stoutmakerLeave a comment

Just an update on the 2015 Mt Hood wet hop IPA (?) 

It’s been kegged and carbonating for a week now. So of course we need to be tasting it. 
If you have an IPA in your glass, you know it. This is not an IPA. (But then again, in today’s beer world it might very well be.) 
Everything was right on track the way I had intended it. Bitterness, taste, look, numbers,, but aroma failed. 
Very little aroma at all. But the beer it’s self is good.
But with the new Guidelines I think it fits squarely in British Strong Ale. 
Decent beer, just not how I expected the hops to react. But I do think the base beer is perfect. Work on the hopping. 

Dark stouty Graff

stoutmakerLeave a comment

Bryan asked if anyone wanted a yeast cake from a Brit beer he just kegged. Of course I won’t be home and have zero time to brew. 

But screw that, we can still use it. 
I have been meaning to get a cider going anyways and already have the ingredients sitting here. 
But I also wanted to make another Graff. The last one was so good. But wanted a different one. I have in my head that a darker roaster taste with maybe a bit more hop would go with cider. So I had this idea. Why not make a dry stout, but use apple juice instead of the water. (Pretty much what a Graff is anyway)
Two things. I don’t have any time. And I don’t wanna boil the juice. No problem. I went and got a prehopped stout extract kit. 
I just opened the can mixed it in about 3/4 gallon of water and dumped in the fermenter.  There was of course a layer of extract at the bottom of bowl, so kept pourin some of the juice in and kept stirring and dumping until it was all mixed in. 
Poured in the rest of the 4 gallons of juice along with the very active yeast cake
The Graff/stout stats:
5 gallons 
OG- 1.065
IBU- can says 37-51
Not sure what the estimated final would be but like most English ale yeast in this range I’m guessing we will be in the 1.012 range. That puts us in the 7%. 
(On a side note. This extract stout kit smells and tastes like hopped molasses. And I usually put molasses in my ciders any way)

The Storm Hammer Stout Mystery

stoutmakerLeave a comment

After a slight break in the action, I was able to get a batch brewed yesterday. 

Storm Hammer Stout
11 lbs 2 row
1 lb roast barley
1/2 lb black patent
3/4 lb 40L
1 oz magnum 60
1 oz chinook 15
1 oz centennial 0
Notty yeast mashed at 153
Petty much maxed out the 5 gallon tun. But everything must have been working as I some how managed to get a preboil of 1.070. (Yes I checked that about 10 times)
As I was skeptical of the reading I was really watching the boil off. Everything seemed to be exactly where they needed to be. 
I ended up just slightly over the predicted OG, and right on the nuts volume. So I cannot figure where the +.020 preboil came from. 
Tried a few changes in procedure to get the chaos of brewing outside back under control. Definately need to tighten up the process out here. It’s utter confusion out here. 
I need to get back to the basement where everything is where I need it