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brewlog_2012-05-27.txt
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== Brew day (2012-05-27) ==
Pär came over and helped out. Started around 13:00, done at
17:30.
This was my first time doing a yeast starter. About 1.5l water with
150g DME + Safale US-05 and some yeast nutrient. Fermented in room
temperature for 36 hours, then 5 hours in the fridge before
pitching.
=== Recipe mods ===
Recipe calls for 2.4 kg DME (0.8*LME), but I did 2.8 kg instead to
bump up the SG a bit. I'm using the prescribed amount of honey this
time though, so I'm hoping to get roughly the same SG as before but
perhaps with more maltiness in the final product.
The specialty malts were the same as in the 2012-02-25 brew.
Added 80g ginger instead of the recipe's 60g.
=== Brew ===
No big problems, but I forgot to add protafloc and yeast
nutrient. Stupid. I'll try to remedy this with gelatine later on.
I boiled and cooled 3 pots of water to make sure I had enough to top
off the fermentor, but I still ended up 2 litres
short. =). Fail. Topped with water from the tap instead.
OG: 1.060
This was my first time using a yeast starter. 1.5 l water with 150 g
DME. Fermentation in room temperature for 36 hours, then 5 hours in
the fridge prior to decanting and pitching.
Primary fermentation was active within 3 hours of pitching.
Main issue now is the weather. The wardrobe I ferment in is at 24 C,
while the previous batch fermented at 19 C. I suspect this will be a
very different beer. I could have set it to ferment in the basement
instead, which should be ~20 C, but it's such a pain in the ass to
carry it around. The 24 C will have to suffice.
Temperature control is tricky...
== Racking (2012-06-02) ==
Murphy's bloody law... The weather was unusually warm during the first
4 days of fermentation and the stick-on-thermometer peaked at 26 C
during this period. Not good...
The initially vigorous bubbling subsided as the temperature dropped,
so I was more than a bit worried about having cold shocked the
yeast. Fortunately, the sample I took when racking disagreed.
SG: 1.012
So it's very close to being fully fermented. I would gladly have
attributed this to the yeast starter, had it not been for the high
fermentation temperature. =(
I racked to a new (but old) glass carboy that I picked up in an
antique shop. This went very smoothly and I can again note that
installing spigots on the fermentation buckets was a very good move.
But then things went awry.
The carboy stopper cap wasn't a snug enough fit and quickly got pushed
up. I tried to secure it with rubber bands but will definitely have to
inspect it periodically to makes sure it stays put.
Fail #2 was realizing that the carboy with airlock on doesn't fit
under the shelf in the closet where I kept the bucket. I carried it
down to the basement storage instead but unfortunately agitated the
beer quite a bit en route. I guess I also have to worry about
oxidization now. =(
Well, RDWHAHB. It'll be fine.
The sample tastes pretty gingery this time around. Still very bitter
and clearly in need of a few weeks of rest. The Sjätte Tunnan mead
flavour is also clearly there. I suspect it'll turn from ginger to
juniper, as the previous batch appears to have done.
It's very cloudy and hazy. I'll add gelatin in a week or so to clear
it up a bit. Letting it settle on secondary should also clear it
further. If only I had a fridge to cold crash in...
Happy to say that I don't detect any obviously bad flavours. Not
overly estery as far as I can tell either. OTOH it'd have to be pretty
darn bad to be noticeable over the ginger I suppose. =)
== Gelatine (2012-06-09) ==
Poured 10 g of prepackaged liquid gelatine into the carboy.
== Bottling (2012-06-13) ==
Racked from carboy to bottling bucket with 65 g of table sugar
dissolved in 2 dl water. With about 18.5 l in total, that's 3.5
g/l.
Hoping to get the carbonation on bottle similar to what I had on the
mini keg last time around. This may be a bit too much for the kegs but
I had to siphon from the carboy in the basement and I really didn't
want to do that to 4 separate vessels.
The gelatine has definitely helped clear the beer. The sample I got
was similar in color to that of the previous batch, but much much less
hazy. Quite clear in fact. Gelatine for the win.
The taste is more ginger than juniper at this point, but I wouldn't be
surprised if that changes over time. The taste is not a "clear" as the
last batch, and I'm pretty sure that's the high fermentation
temperature rearing its ugly head.
FG: 1.010
ABV: 6.7% (est.)