Rastpeatin (Extract Method) 1st

Note the maple syrup crystals.

For the last 4 or 5 years I have only done all grain brews. Today I'm doing an extract to save mash and boil times to prepare for a new Rye Oak Barrel expected within 2 weeks.

Time	All Grain Method	Time	Extract Method
15 mins	Equipment setup	5 mins	Equipment setup
90 mins	Mash 60 to produce 7 gallons with half the grain bill	90 mins	Mash flavour grains
90 mins	Mash 60 to produce 7 gallons with half the grain bill	45 mins	Boil with hops in kitchen
60 mins	Boil	20 mins	Boil with added hops and extract
60 mins	Boil with hops	20 mins	Cool
20 mins	Cool	30 mins	Equipment cleanup
20 mins	Equipment cleanup
6 hrs	Total	3.5 hrs	Total
12 hrs	Actual duration	4.5 hrs	Actual duration

Back a month ago I did this brew using an all grain method. It took a all day. No messy extracts just pure grains. This beer has attempted to create Old Rasputin with significant short cuts. See the table above for a comparison of times.

Malts 

Malts are the same as previous but the base malts have been replaced with 18 lbs of  liquid extract and 4 lbs of dextrose. This still did not raise the OG to 1.123. In hind sight I would add 2 more lbs of dextrose.

I feel the grains from Brew Brothers are superior to More Beer based on the efficiency of extracting fermentables. Most of the grains I order from Brew Brothers are organic. MoreBeer does not sell Organic grains.

Malts were created with a temperature at 150F for 2 hours.

MoreBeer #  Description            Qty     Price$ Total$
ME10G 9 LB Ultralight Malt Extract Bag     2.00    25.65    51.30
GR600 Malt - Chocolate - Per Lb                1.00    1.89      1.89
GR540 Malt - Crystal 40L - Per Lb              1.00    1.69      1.69
GR610 Malt - Black Patent - Per Lb            0.50    2.09      1.05
GR515 Malt - Crystal 15L - Per Lb              1.00    1.69      1.69
GR562 Malt - Crystal 120L - Per Lb            2.00    1.69      3.38
GR691 Malt - Carafa Special II - Per Lb       1.00    2.29      2.29
GR440 Malt - Peated - Per Lb                    1.00    2.59      2.59
GR455 Malt - Rye - Per Lb                         1.00    2.29      2.29
NA                Dextrose                              4 lbs


Sparge created 7 gallons of wort. It seemed thin. We will see. Total wort was 11 gallons.

The Boil

The boil was shortened to 20 minutes however the the hops were boiled separately in the kitchen. 45 minutes with magnum (2 oz)  making the kitchen smell like weed and 5 minutes with  Willamette. This cooled down to make a paste which was added to the boil. No bags used.

Cooled and poured at 90F.

8 hours after yeast was pitched. Shear madness!

Yeast

The wort was poured directly on top of the yeast left over from the Red Bastard Ale.I had drained this vessel just an hour before  into a keg.  I stirred for about 10 seconds.  This got things off to a huge fermentation start.

OG 1.094

FG  1.025

ABV 9%

Apr 5 - Tastes harsh and bitter. Needs barrel aging. 

May 3 - taste smooth and wonderful.  Aging in primary made a big difference. Placed into a new barrel that had rye and maple syrup. Leaked 2 cup during the first 18 hrs then all seems fine. Expecting secondary fermentation due to maple syrup in barrel.    

May 18, 2014 - Kegged 1st 5 gallon and then transferred last 3 gallons to barrel with other Rastpeatin #1. Then added 3 gallons from other Rastpeatin to this barrel and topped out with about 2 gallons of Villious Stout from the fridge keg. (This freed up a keg for Kilt Lifter)

Red Bastard Ale

March 5, 2014

Thick dark  malt flavours with balanced ABV and hops. Flaked wheat added to create greater head. Lots of dark malts for flavour. Lower base malt for an estimated 5% ABV. 

Wyeast 1024 Irish Ale

Fuggle 2 oz @ 60 mins 

Citra 4 oz @ 20 mins

2 lb  British 50/60

1 lb Flaked  wheat

2 lb 40 Crystal

0.5 lb Black Roast Barley

2 lb British 70/80

15 lb Golden Promise

Mash 

148F 40 mins

157F 40 mins

Sparged to make 12 gallons

60 minute boil, last 20 mins was at a high-pitched rolling boil.

Cooled with cooper coil 

15 gallons in 12 mins down to 98F (1st 5 gals - 150F, 2ed 5 gals 120F)

Pitched at 90F

OG 1.065

FG (March 9) 1.029

FG  TBD

ABV  TBD

March 13th - I have moved this to the honey keg (leaky) in hope that it will not leak and the added honey will allow this to ferment. I tasted this beer and it seemed thin. Thin for a stout. This is more like a tasty red . It created several extra bottles which I'll use to top off this barrel and Old Rasputin. This vessel had yeast which I used for Rasputin Extract + by just leaving it in the vessel.

March 15th - Barrel continues to leak. Mopped it up and will top of the barrel in hope that this leak will stop.

March 31st - Bung blew off last night a spewed a few ounces of frothy goodness. The honey continues to ferment in the barrel. 

July 5th - still in barrel. Taste like a flavorful ale not heavy.

Oct 3, 2014 - Full of bourbon falvours but not over bearing. Moved into a 5 and 3 gallon kegs.

Kilt Lifter - Scottish Ale

Kilt Lifter

Scottish Ale - March 1, 2014

Recipe taken from Fred Bonjour (1/2/2005). Changes made on availability of ingredients and equipment. I plan to age this in an Single Malt Scotch Barrel.

I tasted this beer at Long Yard a few months ago and loved the tasty malty full bodied ale. Comparable to Rasputin in ABV and body this beer is packed with flavour.

Golden Promise was added due to a shortage of Pale Malt 2-Row. This grain is grey when compared to 2-Row. I would think Golden Promise adds more flavour than 2-Row so this may add a better outcome to the ale.

I used small amount of Citra hops based on their high AA%. I'm not concerned that this hop has an abundance of fruit punch flavour since there is so many malts adding flavours. 


Amount    Item                                           Type

14.00 lb    Pale Malt, 2-Row, Organic             Grain
2.00 lb     Golden Promise Organic, base malt Grain
6.00 lb     Munich I  (7.1 SRM)                       Grain
1.00 lb     Caramel/Crystal Malt - 15L             Grain
1.00 lb     Caramel/Crystal Malt - 75L             Grain
1.00 lb     Caramunich I  (51.0 SRM)               Grain
1.00 lb     Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM)            Grain
4.00 oz    Smoked Malt (2.0 SRM)                  Grain
1.00 oz    Citra (55 min)                               Pellets  15% AA  
1.00 oz    Citra (20 min)                               Pellets  15% AA
1 Pkgs     Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728)   Liquid

Mash / Decoct


Two stage mash is aiming to do two things. Maximize the fermentables 
with 145F and then bring out lots of the malty flavours at 156F. 

• 40 mins 145F
• 40 mins 156F

Sparging to Pitching of Yeast

• Boiled down to 6 gallons in about 3 hours.
• 170F H2O Produced 9 gallons. Slow sparge run off. 
• Run off ended with SG being 1.025.
• Added O2 vigorously via red tank for 20 seconds. 
• Cooled to 100F with yeast. Fermenting at about 65F.

OG 1.125
FG 1.025 Estimate
ABV 13% Estimate
FG 1.035 going into barrel on Macrh 15th, 2014 (11.8% ABV)

March 6, 2014 - yeast is very consistently

Bubbling away as pictured. Much more than Saf 5 or Saf 4
March 11, 2014 - yeast still consistent (a bubble every 6 second)

March 15, 2014 - Fermentation has slowed and I've kegged this. 
The batch almost filled the 5 gallon Single Malt Scotch Barrel. Taste
was sweet gentle malty yummy and a noticeable alcohol taste, not bad. I feel the fermentable either ran out of O2 or died due to alcohol production. I expect some fermentation to continue in the barrel.

May 18, 2014 - Kegged. Filled this barrel with water (and original Woodinville keg too). Taste is super rich  with tones of toffee and smooth malts. Still has lots of sugars.

June 1, 2014 - still sweat and malty with

toffy. Needs to carbonate and age for two months.

June 18, 2014 - Super sweet and super tasty. Serve is a sherry glass, this is a wonderful dessert beer. Not what I intended but this will be a joy to drink. 

Barrel details - Balcones Oak 5 gallon Barrel that has stored Single Malt Whiskey. 

Thanks Adam for the logistics

Hi All,

I am thinking about arranging another barrel order and wanted to gauge interest. These are 5 gallon barrels that were previously used for whiskey and in a couple cases distilled honey. The barrels available have generally held Blue Corn whiskey, but some may have held Balcones Single Malt, Balcones Oak Smoked whiskey, or Rumble their distilled honey spirit. All barrels I have previously received form them have seen two uses with the second always being the Blue Corn whiskey. Also, previously the vast majority of the barrels received have held Blue Corn whiskey and nothing else. You can read more about their products here: http://www.balconesdistilling.com/products.

In the past the barrels were $45 + shipping and came to about $65, but they informed me that they raised the price to $55 and are considering raising the price further in the near future (hence the desire to order soon). I believe the price will fall in the $70 - $80 range after shipping. I will arrange to have the barrels delivered to a club meeting or they will be available to be picked up at my house in Oakland or work in Mountain View. 

Barrels come in pallets of 27, so I will reach out to interested parties in a first come, first serve manner. If there is enough interest in more than 1 pallet I can order more. I am using a Google Form, so please fill out if interested. Also, this is not limited to the people on these distribution lists so feel free to pass onto other interested parties.

Thanks,

Adam Holter

Golden Promise Ale

Feb 22, 2014

Aiming for a lighter easy drinking hoppy ale. No dry hop but late 100F hop addition of Chinook should prove a great aroma and some flavour. Liberty hop is mild and a bit spicy. Typical of lagers but I'm using it here to round out the Chinook.

Malts

• 10 lbs Golden Promise (organic)
• 0.5 lb Carapils
• 0.5 oz Black Roasted Barley

Hops

• 0.5 oz Chinook 15%
• 2 oz Liberty 5.3%
• 3 oz Chinook 15%

Yeast

• 1028 WYeast London Ale

Mashed at 150F for 1 hour then sparged creating 9 gallons of wort. First two gallons recirculated to produce clearer wort.

Boil

• Took the first 2 gallons and boiled rapidly down to 1.5 gallons
• Added remainder of wort and boiled for 30 mins
• Added Chinook at 60 mins
• Added Coil, Whirflox, Liberty Hops at 20 mins, 2 lbs of honey

Cooled

• Cooled to 100F
• Added Chinook (3 oz) and left for 45 minutes.
• Poured into fermenter. 
• Created about 6 gallons
• Pitched yeast at about 80F

Fermenting in house at about 66F for 2 weeks. 

Made about 6.5 gallons

OG 1.059
SG  1.040 (2/26/2014) Mild sharp bitterness, mild lite body
FG 1.012 march 5 smooth malty light 

ABV 6.3%

Produced 6 gallons

Cold crashed Sunday March 9. March 11 added dry hops , Citra 3 oz for 2 weeks. 

March 22 -  smooth light easy drinking. No aroma. 

Mach 26 - lots of aroma. Light wasy drinking. Lite body. Mild bitterness. The honey make this more creamy. 

Apr 9 - Distinct chinook aroma. Not too strong. Nippy bitterness that has an edge. Not desirable. Light yet the bitterness detracts. Light mouth feel yet acceptable. This beer it enjoyed by friends but I can do better next time improving of smoother buttering hops, no dark malt and maybe lemon zest to flavour.
Apr 26 - This has aged well and is now a fantastic beer. Excellent hop aroma. What ever I did here, do it again. the beer is not clear but is smooth easy drinking and has a great mouth feel. Aroma is oranges and citrus. Taste is smooth and light. 

May 12 - 2914, this beer is missing Carapils. I'd give this a 6/10 bit with Carapils (1 lb) I would guess it would be a 8/10. 

Tropical Villainous Stout

Brew day: Jan 18th Saturday

Same ingredients as Guinness but this has more base malt and higher mash temperatures making the higher in maltiness and ABV. This is using organic grain which in my experience gives me considerably more fermentables. Note that OG is 1.079. Using similar grain from Morebeer would give me an OG closer to 1.062.

Grain
2 lbs Bairds Malt Roasted Barley (British)
4 lbs Grain Millers Barley, Organic Flaked
20 lbs Great Western Malting 2-Row Pale, Organic (US)

Mash and Sparge

Mash 145 45mins, produced 4 gallons

Mash 157 45 mins, produced 4 gallons

Sparged @ 170F to give total of 12 gallons. This was a nice slow sparge. 

Boil
Fuggle US 2 oz. @ 60 mins

First Gold UK 2 oz. @ 15 mins 

Coil and Irish moss @ 15 mins

Readied for Fermentation
Poured into vessel with aerator spigot (see photo below)
Cooled to 80F

Oxygen for 11 seconds, bubbling strongly

OG 1.079 check photo

FG  1.018

Saf yeast 04 x two

ABV 8%

Jan 20 2014 - (Day 2) huge fermentation head. Off to a great start. Temperature is 62F to 67F

Jan 25 - 2 vessels: poured one into keg with nitro and other into secondary with 1 cup of whiskey, 2 vanilla beans, 1 oz chocolate nibs and 1.5 oz of oak chips. All adjuncts soaked in the whiskey briefly to sanitize and help extract flavour. To be dispensed with CO2. 

Jan 30 - Taste is full of oak and not a lot of mouth-feel. If you closed your eye you could mistake it for a light ale.

Feb 9 - Still needs more carbonation. Definately more malt flavour and aroma. More ABV balances this. Mouthfeel is excelent. Needs a month to settle down. 

Apr 2 - Batch 1 - Nitro - - not a bad stout but Bairds dark roast is very different than black roast barley used for making Guiness. The nitro tames this and it's nice but still a bit rough. 

Batch 2- -  CO2 - better than nitro due to the flavour build with adjuncts. Still a bit rough. Whiskey is nicely pronounced. Vanilla is hard to detect like the nibs. Oak is pronounced and balances with the beer.  

Mash in

The pour from the mash

Part 2: Gravity reading @ 82F of 1.048 (during pour)

Part 1: Gravity reading @128F of  1.059 (same as above but hotter)

The boil is about to begin

The boil

Sweet wort into the vessel with aerator

OG 1.079

Red Hop Rocket

10 Gallon Batch

20 lbs    2-Row organic

3   lbs    Carared (Morebeer)

2   lbs    Crystal 40 organic

1   lbs    Carapils organic

60 mins 2 viles of hop jizz

20 mins Chinook 5 oz, coil, tablet

10 mins Citra 5 oz 

5   mins Citra 2 oz, Chinook 3 oz

Yeast: Yeast from Blind Pig batch reused.

150 F Mash for 90 mins

170 F Sparge to make 12 gallons. Slow mash out. 

Produce 12 gallons

Boiled down to 10.5 gallons

Dry hop

7 days - 4 oz Chinook, 6 oz Citra

Cold crash then keg 

Lager for 4 weeks at fridge temperature. 

OG  1.072
Gravity after 9 days 1.046, tastes sweet with fruit bowl and lesser piney flavours. Needs more fermentation. Head of foam has resided. Leave for a total of three weeks.

FG   est 1.01

ABV 8%

Jan 18 - Poured into 2 bucket. One with Chinook hops (2 oz) and the other 4 gallon vessel has Citra hops (1 oz)
Jan 25 - Poured into keg with CO2. I will let this rest until March 1st to get a clean hop aroma.
Feb 1 - Coming along nicely. Huge hop flavour and strong hop aroma.
Feb 6 - Perfect! Hop-delicious. Aging help give this the light body, nice mouth feel with crisp hoppy flavours and aromas. One of my best. The red malt is a favorite of mine. This is a lot like a IPA with heavy hops. The ABV is high but it tastes like a 4% beer.
March 6, 2014 - Aged to perfection. Amazing hoppy malty fresh full bodied Red Ale. Do this again with other great IPA hops.
March 15, 2014 - Rich wonderful hoppy. Winner!

March 23 - Ok. This was a solid good. Hoppy red ale but I have to refine my process if I'm doing this again. This beer was too bitter and too heavy. Hop aroma was very nice but this is not an easy drinking beer. 

Areas to improve:

1. Mash at 149F to lower heaviness 

2. Lower red and 40 malt to about 1/2

3.  Focus on dry hopping a series if hops each for 4 days

There are no surprises with this beer. Considering the ingredients this is what I would expect with the beer. 

Apfelwein, Hard Cyder

First time brewing hard cider. 

Ingredients 

5 gallons of apple juice (Pastured pure juice, no ascorbic acid etc)

2 lbs of dextrose (To give punch)

WLP 775 Yeast (Considered to give a clean cidery finish)

1 teaspoon Fermaid K (To assist in fermentation)

Mixed in and stirred let stand at 63F - 68F for 10 days. Kegged and pressurized to 20 PSI for 10 days. 

It took about 2 days for active fermentation to begin. Then a slow steady fermentation happened for about 8 days. 

Dec 22nd - Added 32 oz (5% of total batch) of apple juice to sweeten batch. Added 1 crushed Camden Tablet to the apple juice to stop fermentation. Kegged to 40psi. 

OG of Apple Juice  1.035

FG 1.005

Calculated ABV 3.1%

Dextrose of 2 lbs adds 2.4% ABV

Plus 2 lbs of dextrose

Total ABV 5.5%

April 21 2014 - What I've learned is that the final product plays heavily on the quality and flavour of your apple juice. The results of this cider are fine. It tastes like a dry apple juice with a kick. With the sweetness gone the apple flavours are simple and not impressive. I stopped fermentation with Camden tablets and then added some original apple juice to sweeten this up a bit. Next time I would skip the Costco juice and head out to an orchard and get some freshly squeezed apple juice and add the yeast to it at the orchard. I would be looking for a darker juice that I liked the flavour to begin with. This is hogging a valuable keg. I hope it gets hot here soon so I can start serving this more.

May 24 2014 - Ok. Poured some from the keg the other night and I'd have to say the aging has improved this to what I would call a nice clean crisp cider. Nothing to write home about but still very good. A good friend gave me about 40 Martinelli's Sparking Apple Cider bottles. I will be bottling the keg today. 

Note: Interesting the bottle capper has reversible metal clampers which allow you to cap the larger Martinelli's bottles.