David Fischer dot Name » homebrew

Brewing Update 08-14-09

David — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:41:26 +0000

I forgot to post about Tuesday’s brewing

Malt:
8.5 lbs standard liquid malt extract
1 lb 40L Crystal
0.5 lb Chocolate
0.5 lb Biscuit

Hops:
1 oz Challenger boiled for 60 minutes
1 oz Challenger at the last minute

Water:
1.5 gallons San Diego tap
3.5 gallons Ramona purified

Yeast:
11.5g Safale US-05 (hydrated)

I forgot to measure the gravity so this is going to be a mystery brew of sorts.

Brewing Update 08-08-09

David — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:32:13 +0000

The pale ale turned out very good. I just bottled the IPA this morning. With a final gravity of 1.020 @ 76F, we are looking at 6.1% alcohol by volume. The IPA tasted very hoppy albeit uncarbonated. In 2 weeks, I’ll know for sure.

My biggest problem is that I’m bottling faster than I’m drinking — even with help.

Brewing Update 07-22-09

David — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:16:52 +0000

I just finished cleaning up after another brewing night.

Malt:
1.5 lbs Mashed
6 lbs Coopers Plain Light
2 lbs Liquid Extract

Hops:
1.5 oz Centennial
0.5 oz Amarillo @ 12 min
0.5 oz Amarillo @ 24 min
0.5 oz Centennial @ 36 min
0.5 oz Amarillo @ 48 min
0.5 oz Amarillo @ last min
2 oz Cascade dry hopped

Water:
1 gallon San Diego tap
4 gallons of Arrowhead Mountain Spring

Yeast:
11.5g Safale US-05 (hydrated)

Gravity:
1.066 @ 84F => 1.069

This should make for a very hoppy IPA provided everything goes well. The alcohol content should be pretty strong considering there’s a lot more malt in this one than there is in the pale ale. The fermentor is sitting in my bathtub where I’m trying to keep it cool. It’s currently 84F in my apartment and the water in the bathtub is at 75 even after I added 7 lbs of ice. Hopefully it can survive tomorrow while I’m at work and happy hour for 14 hours.

Brewing Update 07-19-09

David — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:25:55 +0000

I bottled the beer yesterday and it tasted like an uncarbonated pale ale. I’m very happy with it so far. With a final gravity of 1.017, the finished beer should be about 5.5% alcohol. Two weeks and it should be drinkable.

Brewing update 07-08-09

David — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:00:48 +0000

Although I am into the wee hours of morning, I just finished cleaning up after my second (and first with real ingredients and equipment) attempt at brewing beer.

Malt (unhopped extract):
3 lbs Coopers Plain Light
3 lbs Muntons Amber

Hops:
1.5 oz Amarillo Pellets
0.5 oz Amarillo Pellets added at last minute

Water:
3.5 gallons San Diego Tap (boiled)
1.5 gallons Ramona Purified Reverse Osmosis

Yeast:
11.5g Safale US-05

Gravity: 1.060

This is my first attempt at a pale ale (5 gallons!) and my first attempt using my new equipment. I’ll know some of the story in 2 weeks when I bottle.