So, initially, we were planning on doing a Vanilla Bourbon Porter for our first all grain. We actually got the yeast early and made a starter the Tuesday before brewing and everything. Doing a darker beer, supposedly, is one way to off-set the potential off flavors that occur from bad processes and bad water. Then, we got ambitious. I really wanted to do a summer beer, and we were getting low on our stored beer so we decided to do a Saison instead. I found this recipe on Home Brew Talk and it had so many good reviews, I couldn't pass it up. We decided to do the Saison first because we wanted the yeast for the porter to start for an extra day and the Saison yeast is apparently super-freakin-awesome.
Grains
8.5lb 2-Row
1.5lb White Wheat
0.5lb CaraMunich II
0.5lb Flaked Oats
1.0lb Honey (added at 5 min)
Hops
0.5oz Sorachi Ace (12.1% AA) at First Wort Hop
0.5oz Fuggles (4.2% AA) at First Wort Hop
0.5oz Fuggles (4.2% AA) at 30 min
1.0oz Fuggles (4.2% AA) at 15 min
Yeast
Wyeast 3711 French Saison
Brewing
Mashed at 147° for 60 minutes. (supposed to be 148°, but whatevs)
Fly Sparge to collect 6.5 Gallons.
60 minute Boil.
So, because I am a scientist by training, we collected a decent amount of data throughout the process. I figured out how to calculated all of our expected gravities throughout the process and did some temperature calculations too. I think that doing this type of thing is by no means necessary for brewing (because, really, you're going to end up with beer no matter what) but if you want to get a better sense of what's going on then looking at the numbers really helps.
The Numbers
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.061 (1.046 @ 75%)
Actual Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.037*
Efficiency: 60.6%
Expected Post-Boil Gravity: 1.088 (1.066 @ 75%)
Actual Post-Boil Gravity: 1.060
Expected Final Gravity: 1.013
Acual Final Gravity: 1.004
% ABV: 7.336 %
Attenuation: 95%!!!!!
*I'm about 90% sure this isn't the actual measurement. I think this is the one I took right after we finished sparging but before the sample came to room temperature. I think the numbers were more like 1.41 and 70% efficiency.
One of the processes we used that I think really helped was adding the mash water in two parts to a pre-heated cooler. First, we added about a gallon of water at something like 170°, then poured it out. Then, we added about 3/4 of the water at the temperature appropriate for that volume (calculated using brewer's friend). For this recipe that was 3 gallons at 163°. Then, we stirred in the grains and checked the temperature. It was 149°. So we added a gallon at 142° then another quart at 163°. The final temperature stabilized at 147° and fell to 145° during the mash.
Our sparge water was 174°. I think this was a little bit low and we'll use warmer water next time. We did not mash out either, and I think we'll try that too.
We kegged this beer on August 2 with 30lb of CO2 and will be drinking it when we get back from the beach this weekend!!
**This beer is DELICIOUS! You can only drink like 2 though. It's so sweet, it's bad about causing headaches.
 |
| Our Setup |
 |
| All-Grain takes a lot of water. |
 |
| And a lot of grain. |
 |
| A little malt, a little milk, and a little honey. Mmm. |
 |
| Starting the Mash. |
 |
| Brewer's Assistant #1 |
 |
| Brewer's Assistant #2 |
 |
| The Voularf |
 |
| The whole setup |
 |
| First Wort Hops. |
No comments:
Post a Comment