Kiwi Express IPA- All Grain Brew.. strange, but strangely good!

I'm a big fan of IPAs with lots of bitter flavor and hop aroma, and this one (again from Northern Brewer) looked both exotic and tasty so I thought I'd give it a try. I've never worked with New Zealand hops, but based on the smell when opening the package, I think I'm already becoming a fan! The wort had a nice light grainy flavor balanced with lots of bitter flavor and aromatics from the hop additions. I think it's going to delicious!

Kiwi Express Recipe from Northern Brewer

The setup is old (West Coast-style) but the punchline is new. A big but uncomplicated malt bill plus Wyeast 1056 set the stage and then stay out of the way of the ensuing lupulin circus. Via a blend of New Zealand
hop varieties, exotic flavors and aromas permeate your sinuses - sticky tropical fruit, lime oil, equatorial flowers, Tellicherry peppercorns - underpinned with an undeniable earthy funk. All senses saturated with
hoppy hues of green and yellow.

O.G: 1.061 READY: 6 WEEKS

Suggested fermentation schedule:
- 1–2 week primary
- 2 weeks secondary
- 2 weeks bottle conditioning

MASH INGREDIENTS
- 11.5 lbs Malteurop American 2-row Pale
- 0.5 lbs. Briess Caramel 20

MASH SCHEDULE: SINGLE INFUSION
Sacch’ Rest: 152° F for 60 minutes (Added campden to all the water. Added 1 tsp of gypsum and 2 tsp of 5.2 pH phosphate buffer from Five Star to the mash tun. Added 4.5 gal strike water at 166.5F to get a mash temp of 150F, let incubate for 35 min then added 2 qt of boiling water to a mash temp of 155F for 25min. Recirculated for 25 min but the wort was still pretty turbid... starch haze?)
Mashout: 168° F for 10 minutes (I skipped the mashout)

BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES
0.5 oz New Zealand Nelson Pacific Jade (In bag, 60 min)
3.5 oz Kiwi Express Blend (In bag, 10 minutes)
               -Kiwi Express Blend: NZ Pacific Jade 3.5 oz, NZ Motueka 2 oz, Green Bullet 2 oz
(The boil had lots of hot break/trub. Chilled with wort chiller for 30 min to 70F. I tried a Bazooka screen with a muslin bag around it to help reduce trub in the carboy but the trub clogged it, so I removed it and just poured, leaving most of the trub behind.  About 1/3 made it into the carboy. Aerated for 45 seconds with an oxygen wand, then pitched the yeast. O.G. 1.062)

DRY HOPS
4 oz Kiwi Express Blend

YEAST
DRY YEAST: Safale US-05.
Optimum temperature: 59–75°F
  -Rehydrated in a cup of warm water for 30 min before pitching


PRIMING SUGAR
- 4 oz Corn Sugar


FERMENTATION
- Started off at 70F and jumped up to 75F overnight, which is the upper limit for the US-05 yeast, and the fermentation was very active. By the end of 24 hours the temp was down to 73F. Overnight on day 2 the temp dropped to 70F and the fermentation slowed a bit but was still very active.). Temp was between 70 and 68F for 9 days. Racked to secondary FG 1.008 and 7% alcohol. The beer had a nice bitter to it and a tad estery from the high fermentation temp. After 24 hrs the 4oz of dry hops were added and steeped at 68F for a week. The beer was still pretty hazy so I tried adding 7g of polyclar 10 and cooled to 38F for 3 days, with only a mild clearing but still a pretty significant haze even after warming back to 60F. I think I might have a case of starch haze.... should have added whirlfloc t the boil. I'll try decanting a bit of beer and adding some amylase to see if that has any effect. If so I could treat the whole batch like this guy Starch haze. At this point I'm struggling weather or not to leave well enough alone but my RyePA was hazy too and tastes off, though the haze is settling on that one and the cleared part tastes good. Instead of adding amylase I just decided to bottle after 2 weeks in secondary. I was going to add more yeast to aid carbonation but forgot. After a week in the bottle I see yeast at the bottom, which is a good sign the polyclar didn't strip out too much yeast,  and have some carbonation... and the beer is actually fairly clear believe it or not. It tasted ok after a week in the bottle but not very hoppy. I'll let it condition another week and see what happens.

Conclusion
After a month in the fridge all the cold haze has cleared and the beer tastes much cleaner. I think next time I'll work on better mash practices, add whirlfloc to the boil, keep the fermentation temp below 70F, and let the brew condition a bit more in the carboy after fermentation to clean up some of the "green" flavors. But overall it's turning out to be a decent brew and I do detect a lot of the flavors mentioned in the intro. A very different brew than I'm used to, having imbibed so many California brews loaded with Cascade and Centennial hops. If you like exotic, then you will enjoy this brew.  Update: You know, after drinking this brew for a few weeks, I'm really stating to like it. Very unique flavor!

The Brew... After settling for a month in the fridge

The Brew, pre-chiling... lots of haze

Who knew an electric turkey fryer would be a great strike/sparge water heater!!!

Milk crates make a great three tier setup.  Don't wrap a muslin bag around your brew kettle bazooka filter screen like I tried, it clogs!! Just pouring off and leaving the trub is still the easiest method I've found so far.

The wort cleared some but not as much as other batches. A little foil around the burner works great and cuts down on both time to boil and propane usage.

A spatula and a binder clip make a great hop bag setup; it's much easier to add in later hop additions, just make sure to use a large bag so the hops get good contact with the wort.

30 minutes after pitching, and the trub has settled. I might remove the trub next time by racking to another carboy to see if it affects the taste of the final beer.

24 hours after pitching the yeast

Krausen on day 2

Dry Hops.. no bag this time.

Oatmeal Stout All Grain Brew... fail!

OATMEAL STOUT (All Grain): Excerpt from Northern Brewer Kit instructions with notes ()

Winter in the bay looks like spring but my heart feels the winter and wants me to have something toasty and warm to sip on in the evenings. I brewed an oatmeal stout years ago and really loved it, so I through why not revisit that old brew.  And once again, Northern Brewer had a great all grain kit and since I still haven't done all my brewing homework an all grain recipes (or am too lazy), I decided to go with that one instead of figuring out my own recipe.  It was also my first try with my new all grain setup (will blog about that later) so I was excited to get in there and give it a whirl. I think I still have some kinks to work out to get the brewing process smooth as butter, but today went pretty well.  And of course, I need to thank my awesome wife for watching the sick baby while I brewed... you are awesome babe!!!

From NB:
NB Oatmeal Stout Recipe

Who doesn’t love oatmeal stout? It’s impossible not to love oatmeal stout. Full-bodied with a silken texture and a gentler roast profile than their Irish and American cousins, this ebony ale is rich and substantial. Almost hidden under strong notes of dark chocolate, figs, and light-roast coffee you’ll find a subtle nutty, grainy flavor from flaked oats. A long-lasting raft of beige foam floats on the jet-colored pint and laces the glass all the way down. This stout is wonderful by itself, but if you’re looking for a dessert beer pair it up against a flourless chocolate cake, truffles, or even a raspberry tart.

O.G: 1.042 READY: 6 WEEKS

Suggested fermentation schedule:
- 1–2 weeks primary; 1–2 weeks secondary; 2 weeks bottle conditioning

MASH INGREDIENTS
- 6.5 lbs English Maris Otter
- 1 lb Flaked Oats
- 0.5 lb English Roasted Barley
- 0.5 lb English Chocolate Malt
- 0.5 lb English Dark Crystal

MASH SCHEDULE: SINGLE INFUSION
-Sacch’ Rest: 153° F for 60 minutes (I added campden tabs to all the water to kill the chlorine. Strike water for 12 quarts 166.5F with a grain temp. of 63F. The mash temp was 153-150F and went for 70 min. My house water is soft so I added 1 tsp gypsum, the pH was 5.8, so I added 3 tsp 5.2 pH stabilizer from Five Star Chemicals.)
-Mashout: 170° F for 10 minutes (Mashout 1gal boiling water to a temp of 158F for 10 min)
*** I used my ice cream motor mash mixer and it worked great!!

BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES
-1 oz. Glacier for 60 min. (Boil 60 min, chill 30min to 70F, O.G. 1.045, temp corrected to 1.046. The wort has a nice roasted, bready flavor with a kick of bitter.)

Total time, including cleaning: 5 hours.

YEAST
-Wyeast 1945 NB NeoBritannia. Flocculation: Moderatehigh. Attenuation: 72–77%. Temperature Range: 66–74 F.

FERMENTATION
Aerated wort with oxygen 45 sec, pitched yeast at 70F. Robust fermentation started after 12 hours and slowed after the second day. At 4 days the krausen was still on top and the fermenter was bubbling very slowly. Temp 70F. On day 5 there was no visible sign of fermentation and the krausen had not fallen so I gave the fermenter a shake and the krausen fell, 68F. Day 5 there was a thin new layer of krausen and some signs of fermentation, 66F. Racked to secondary after a week cooled to 57F. Racked to bottles after 11 days.

After two weeks in the bottle the beer wasn't very carbonated and tasted sour... I'm wondering if I rushed the fermentation by shaking the krausen down or perhaps I didn't pitch enough yeast to fully ferment and condition. After 4 weeks the sour flavor has diminished a bit but the beer still tastes bad. I don't know, something is off with this batch. The beer tasted the same going into the bottles and I noticed the bung was a bit loose on the carboy... oxidation? Or maybe it just needs more conditioning, so I stirred up the yeast off the bottom of the bottles and will let it go another week.  After awhile in the fridge the flavor has improved but it's not my favorite... my wife likes it though.

CONCLUSION
At first, I thought I did something wrong with this brew because it just didn't taste the way I expected it to, i.e. Samuel Smith's oatmeal stout. However, I just cracked open a New Belgium 1554 and it tastes the same! So if you like 1554, you'll like this brew. In my opinion, it's a fail... and so is 1554.

The brew

 Right after pitching the yeast.

Still too much trub for my tastes. Will add a finer screen to the strainer next time.

 Krausen at day 2

Mashing made easy: ice cream maker mash mixer

In order to maximize the efficiency of starch conversion to fermentable sugars during the mash, it is essential to maintain an even temperature distribution by thoroughly mixing the grain and water.  You can do this manually by opening the lid and stirring every 10 or 15 minutes, but automating this process will free you up to do other things and make the brewing process more enjoyable. I have looked around and seem many creative ideas homebrewers have come up with, but none more simple and inexpensive than using an old ice cream maker motor!

Here's a video of one simple design:

This video inspired me to attempt to make my own mash mixer with an unused ice cream maker in my garage that I purchased off amazon for $25.

Nostalgia Electrics ICMP-400BLUE 4-Quart Electric Ice Cream Maker

I have a 10 gallon mash tun from Northern Brewer:

All-grain System Mash Tun - 10 gallons

In addition to the ice cream maker, I bought a 2' x 1/2" copper pipe ($5), male and female fittings for the pipe so that I could easily detach it from the motor ($5; optional), and some zip-ties ($2).

Here's how I made it:

1. Cut the pip into a 5" and 15 1/4" sections. Add the male fitting to the short tube and the female to the long one. Solder them in place.

2. Epoxy the lid of the ice cream to the motor shaft being sure not to glue the motor to the housing (it won't turn if you do!). Then glue the shore pipe into the inside hole of the lid.

3. Cut 2" off the bottom of the outer ice cream bucket.

4. Drill an 1 1/4" hole in the top for you mash tun lid. Do it slowly or the plastic will crack.

5. Place the blue ice cream maker bucket on top of the mash tun lid, centered. Mark 4 spots on the lid on either side of the bucket. Drill two holes on each side of the 4 marks so that you can run zip ties through them. Drill four holes in the side of the bucket to run the zip ties through. Add zip ties. Duct tape the zip ties on the bottom of the lid to prevent moisture from getting inside the lid.

6. To make the mixer blade, draw two 4 x 7 1/2" squares on the ice cream maker aluminum inner bucket, and drill 8 x 1 1/4" holes in them. The cut out and flatten the two pieces.

7. Attach the flattened pieces to the plastic blade that came with the ice cream maker with 4 zip ties each, and curve as you like. Add this blade to the end of the long copper tube, ~ 1" inside the tube (you can heat the copper tube with a blow torch to make this easier... do it in a vented room).  Drill a hole through the copper tube and plastic blade and add a 1/2' metal screw to fasten (the drill bit broke off in mine so no screw necessary).

8. Place the lid over the mixer blade shaft, then screw it into the motor fixing and you are done! You can add a switch or a timer to the plug if you want to make it easier to turn on and off.

Note!  It's important to reduce both shear and oxygenation in the mash, both of which depend on your mixer design and mixing speed. I made this mixer tall by design, but have a feeling I will shorten it once I've tested out in an actual mash, if it A) rises above the grain bed B) vortextes the mash, or C) causes the mash to rotate with the blade.  If I do, I'll likely bring the blade down to 3" tall and turn it  away from the direction of rotation . I'll test this design out, and update this post.

So, after testing it out, there is quite a bit of drag using the "larger blade". Fortunately,  I still have the other half of the aluminum bucket from the ice cream maker so I decided to make an alternate blade that is shorter and has a thinner profile going through the grain bed.  It will have a lower blade that is wide to scoop the grain off the bottom of the tun and a thinner one higher up to help mix the grain on top:

The xxx will be cut out. The blade is 4 x 5", with the bottom blade 2" at the base tapering to 3" at the end and the top blade being 1" at the base tapering to 2". The taper lets me bend the blade back so gain can fold over the top.  Once cut out, I zip tied it to the ice cream mixer blade and bent then to shape by hand.  These have less drag. So now I have a wide blade that can be used in high water to grist ratio mashes and a narrow one for more dense mashes.

RYEPA All Grain Brew

RYEPA All-grain recipe

I absolutely love rye whiskey, so I thought I'd give a rye infused brew a try. This recipe  from NB seemed to call to my name, although I decided to tinker with it and back-load a bit more dry hops into the secondary. I went with a blend of hops, Falconer's Flight 7C's. Fingers crossed for a smooth takeoff!

I got this all grain kit from Northern Brewer:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/

Taken form an official NORTHERN BREWER Instructional Document (The blue text is my notes).

With a reddish-golden hue and a good balance of firm body and lingering bitterness, this brew is a showcase of both hops and grain. The fruity/floral notes of Palisade hops are a perfect complement to the spicy flavor of rye malt. 

O.G: 1065 READY: 6 WEEKS 

Suggested fermentation schedule: 

-- 1–2 weeks primary; 2 weeks secondary; 

2 weeks bottle conditioning 

MASH INGREDIENTS 

-- 9.25 lbs. Rahr 2-row Pale 

-- 3 lbs. Briess Rye Malt 

-- 1 lbs. Briess Caramel 40L 

-- 0.25 lbs. Briess Caramel 80L 

MASH SCHEDULE: SINGLE INFUSION 

• Sacch’ Rest: 152° F for 60 minutes. (Note: Strike water 170F, Grain 61F, 13q SW added, temp eq at 149F let sit for first 30min then added 2q boiling water to get 152F for the last 30 min. Total 16q added to mash). 
• Mashout: 168° F for 10 minutes. (Note: Added 6q boiling water but only hit 157F...  would need too much volume with this high grain bill so will just leave it at 157F for 10 min.) 

LAUTER

• Recirculated for 10 min before collecting wort. 
• Sparged 22q of 170F water, and collected 6.5 gal of wort in 30 min. 

BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES 

(Note: 30 min to boil). 

1. 0.75 oz. Warrior (60 min) 
2. 1 oz. Palisade (15 min) 
3.  0.5 oz. Palisade (5 min) 
4. 0.5 oz. Palisade (dry hop) (Modification: Skipped the 5 min Palisade addition and was going to  moved it to 1oz dry hop, but decided to go big on hops and added 2 oz of Falconer's Flight 7C's from Hop Tech. ) 
5.  Boil time 65min. Used wort chiller for work min until the temp read 69F. 

YEAST 

LIQUID YEAST OPTION: 

Wyeast 1056 American Ale. 

Temperature Range: 60–72° F. 

FERMENTATION 

• Just shy of 5 gallons made it into the fermenter. 
• Refractometer says wort is 12.1 Brix or 1.045 O.G.. lower than the recipe estimates (1.065). 
• Aerated for 30 sec with forced oxygen. 
• Pitched yeast at 72F (packet activated for 1.5 hrs... a little short) 

• Temp D1 70F, D2 70 to 68F, D3 68F-fermentation slowed, D4 66F-fermentation over.
• Racked to secondary after 8 days. Dry hopped in a bag one week into the two weeks in the secondary (boil the bag for 10 min to sterilize, makes bottling easier.). Three days before bottling  I placed the fermenter in a cold room and dropped the temp to 56F.
• Bottled after two weeks in the secondary and let the beer carbonate for 11 days at 68F. FG 1.008 5% alcohol if you go by the refrac or 7 by the recipe. I think my refrac is giving low readings compared to my new hydrometer, which is spot on with the recipe, so I'm ditching the refrac.
• The beer had a nice hoppiness balanced by a dry nutty body, delish. The body is a bit light, so would add more to the grain bill or mash at a higher temp next time. Also, the dry hop wasn't as robust, so I think I'll stop using the hop bag.  Lots of haze as well, so I'll try some whirlfloc in the boil  or polyclar 10 in the secondary on my next brew and see how that affects the clarity. After a week or so in the fridge the haze is starting to settle and the cleared part tastes much better (less bitter more hoppy) so with patience I think this beer will turn out good. The brew was hazy from the mash, which was low temp, so maybe this is a case of starch haze. Will treat a bottle with amylase and see what happens.... and nothing did so maybe grain husks?  A few more weeks with more settling and the beer flavor is improving. 

Update: After 2 months in the fridge some of the haze has settled out and the beer tastes quite good now! It's a very creamy ale with a nice hoppiness to it.

PRIMING SUGAR 

-- 5 oz Priming Sugar (save for Bottling Day) 

Delicious!

Day 1: Right after pitching the yeast

Day 2: active fermentation!

Jacket to keep my brew warm at night:)

Dry hop in a bag, 2 oz Falconer's Flight 7C's

I use a bag so I can recover more beer for bottling.

The bag sinks into the wort after a few days and a bit of agitation.