brewlog_2012-08-26.txt

Trying out all grain with the BIAB method this time.

Scaling it all down linearly to half the batch size.

== Starter (2012-08-23) ==

Made a starter wort with 1.5l water and 150g light DME. Pitched 1 pack
of Nottingham ale yeast from Danstar. Let it ferment on the stir plate
for 36 hours. Crashed in fridge (5 C) over night. Big and healthy
looking yeast cake at the bottom of the flask now. FG 1.009.

Boiling directly in the erlenmeyer flask worked well, but I had to
pull it off the heat every now and then to keep it from foaming over.

== Brew day (2012-08-26) ==

=== Mash ===

Added the grains to 11 liters of water at 68 C. Temperature dropped to
67 C, which was less than I expected. Guessing I pulled the kettle
from the stove too late and thereby overshot the 68 C target.

1 hour mash. Temperature dropped 3 degrees to 64 C. Squeezed the bag a
fair bit. Since I'm an idiot, I sparged with some hot water (at 70 C)
and completely forgot to calculate how much water I lost to the
grains. Guesstimating that I sparged with 2 litres, and I ended up
with ~11l in the kettle, so I shouldn't have lost more than 2l to the
grain.

Measured the SG to 1.042 at 48 C, so that should be 1.050 at 20 C
(according to [1]). This in turn puts the efficiency at 77% (according
to [2]). Not too shabby.

[1] http://www.brewersfriend.com/hydrometer-temp/
[2] http://www.brewersfriend.com/brewhouse-efficiency/


=== Boil ===

As per schedule. Managed to get an acceptable roll by putting the
kettle across two burners.

Fail 1: Did not check volume before flame out. Turns out I was 2
liters short. Stupid. Was in a rush and pretty tired at this point so
I decided to top up with tap water. It'll probably be fine.

OG: 1.054

That's a bit too high I think. Brooklyn Brewery's beer has ABV 5%, and
this will probably end up closer to 6%. I blame the 77% efficiency...

NTS: And now I know why pre-boil gravity matters. Dilute next time
     around.

== Dry hopping (2012-09-08) ==

Took a hydrometer reading and added 12 g of Amarillo pellets in a
boiled hop bag.

SG: 1.008

Guessing the pilsner malt and possibly also the low mash temp did it's
thing.

However, the flavour is not what I'd hoped for. It's a bit stale and
it leaves an unpleasant aftertaste that lingers for minutes. It
reminds me a bit of swedish low alcholol beer ("lättöl", <= 1.5% ABV),
or perhaps of a generic lager that's been left open half-full over
night.

I put the remainder of the sample in the fridge to see if a lower
temperature improves the flavour.

== Bottling (2012-09-12) ==

Fail 1: Accidentally dropped the bottling bucket's lid on the floor
(clean side down) when I disconnected the silicon tube from the
primary bucket's spigot. I put it back on upside down and replaced it
as soon as I got back up to the apt (fermented in our cellar storage
room).

Fail 2: Accidentally let the silicon hose slip fully into the bottling
bucket while carrying it up to the apt. The non-sanitized end
(i.e. the end I connected to the primary) mostly floated on top of a
layer of star san foam.

This was the first time I used crown caps and recycled commercial beer
bottles. Very simple procedure. I really don't see much reason to keep
on using the flip cap bottles anymore, except for the 1 litre ones of
course.

Also took time to label all the bottles. The design is based on the
original beer's label, was painted with the Gimp and was printed on
regular sheets of paper with a laser printer. I used milk as adhesive,
which worked great. The bottles look amazing.


== Sampling (2013-01-06) ==

I tried this beer on several occasions, but didn't take
any notes until now.

I didn't particularly liked it at first. It tasted like "homebrew". I
believe the yeast imparted a pretty distinct aroma, which is
definitely similar to what the original beer has, but perhaps not as
pleasant here.

Today, after >2 months on bottle, it is more well balanced. Pours with
a nice head. A hazy and light golden colour.

A wee bit of citrus. A tart breadiness that lingers for a
while. Dry. If it weren't for what I perceive to be a british
esteryness, then I'd say it tastes like a lager.

All in all, not a very exciting beer. Very drinkable, but not very
exciting.