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Simple Yeast Starter

As long-time readers know, this blog also serves as my recipe collection.  This recipe is a simple yeast starter to help ensure that I have enough yeast when I brew beer.  The starter is approximately of gravity 1.040.

1. 2 cups water
2. 1/2 cup dry malt extract (DME).  The type of DME matches the type of beer style you are going to brew.  If you are planning on brewing a stout, use dark DME.  If you are planning on brewing a brown ale, use amber DME, and so on.

I mix the DME with the water in an ordinary sauce pan and thoroughly dissolve the DME.  Then I bring the wort mixture to a rolling boil for 10".  TAfter the 10 minutes are up, I remove the wort from the burner, cover, and let it sit for two minutes.  Next I cool the wort to about 65 degrees using an ice bath (i.e. I put the sauce pan into a large frying pan and completely and thoroughly surround the perimeter with ice cubes).  It takes about 10 minutes to cool to the desired temperature. 

After the wort has cooled, I pour the wort into a sanitized beaker, shake it vigorously to aerate, and pour in the yeast.  I install a rubber plug and put an airlock in place.  Lastly, I shake the beaker one more time to mix the yeast with the wort and then put the beaker in a dark room (usually my closet).

In a couple of days, there should be sufficient activity to allow me to brew my desired batch of  beer.

All Grain Stout Recipe

This is a recipe for a traditional stout using all grains.  It would make a nice base for a coffee stout, a milk/cream stout, a licorice stout, etc.  I haven't brewed this yet, so I cannot comment on the quality of this particular recipe.  But it is based upon a partial-mash recipe that I brewed that came out well.  This all-grain recipe is going to be one of the next ones that I brew.

Ingredients

• 7.5# American 2-row malt
• 4 oz chocolate malt
• 4 oz roasted barley
• 4 oz black patent
• 4 oz caramel 60L
• 1 oz Northern Brewer hops (60")
• Irish Ale Yeast (I prefer White Labs #WL004)
• 3/4 c corn sugar for priming if you are bottling)

In the short time that I have been using all grain methods, I have begun to prefer batch sparging over fly sparging, simply for its convenience.  When I use fly sparging, I have to monitor the water flow from the hot liquor tank to the sparge arm and, frequently, I have to give the arm a spin to get it to move around.  Ideally, fly sparging should take about 90 minutes, do I have to stand around the wort for 90" to make sure nothing goes wrong.  There's also the hassle of cleaning more equipment.

So, to make a long story short, it's just a big hassle for me to use the fly method.  With batch, you just pour 170 degree water into your mash tun after the mash, stir it up gently with the grains, and then slowly siphon off the wort through the screen at the bottom of your mash tun.  You're done with the sparge in 15" or so.

The trade-off, according to many brewers whose books I've read or whom I've seen on YouTube is that, given a certain amount of dry grains, you don't get as much converted sugar out of the mash process when you use the batch method.  In other words, the batch method isn't as efficient as fly sparging.  To compensate, I use 0.5# more American 2-row malt in my base grains.  So I spend a little more money on malt and save a bunch of time (and blood pressure! :-)) during the brewing process.

Traditional Stout Recipe - Partial Mash

This is the recipe for a partial mash traditional stout.  It's from a kit I bought at Midwest Homebrewing Supplies.

• 3.3# Dark DME
• 4# American 2-row malt
• 4 oz chocolate malt
• 4 oz roasted barley
• 2 oz black patent
• 1 oz Northern Brewer Hops - bittering hops (60")
• 1t Irish moss (added with 15" left in the boil)
• 3/4 c Corn sugar (priming)
• White Labs Irish ale yeast #004

I had the grains cracked at the store.  I mashed the grains at 152 degrees F for 60" and sparged them with 170 degree F water.  I used a batch sparge method for this recipe.

I boiled the wort for 60" and cooled it after the boil to approximately 75 degrees with a copper wort chiller (this takes me about 10-15").  I poured the wort into my primary fermenter (a 7-gallon glass carboy), shook the fermenter vigorously to aerate, and pitched the yeast.

After 1 week I transfered the beer to a secondary fermenter.  1 week after that I bottled the beer.

I do not have a record of my original gravity reading, but Midwest's spec sheet calls for an original gravity in the 1.042 - 1.046 range.

Quinoa Pilsner - Partial Mash

This recipe uses a basic partial mash Pilsner recipe with quinoa grains added in.  I bought the quinoa in bulk from a local grocery store.  If quinoa isn't fully rinsed, it can taste soapy because of a chemical called saponin.  The resulting beer was very good and had no indication of a soapy taste, indicating that the quinoa had been rinsed of its saponin.

Ingredients:

• 3# Extra Light DME
• 3.5# Weyerrmann Pilsner malt
• 8 oz Carapils malt
• 8 oz Munich malt 10L
• 1# quinoa grains
• 1oz Saaz bittering hops (5.8% alpha) - 60"
• 1 oz Saaz flavoring hops (5.8% alpha) - 15"
• 1 oz Saaz aroma hops (5.8% alpha) - 2"
• 1t Irish moss
• White Labs Pilsner lager yeast #WL800

Notes:

I can't find my record for my starting gravity.  The recipe from Midwest Brewing on which this recipe is based calls for an original gravity of 1.042-1.046

After pitching the yeast, I began fermentation at room temperature.  1 day later, after vigorous fermentation had begun, I moved the brew to my lagering refrigerator (48 degrees).  1 week after brew day, I racked the brew to a secondary fermentation vessel and kept it lagering for just under 3 weeks (19 days).

The specific gravity at the time of transfer to the secondary was 1.016.

The specific gravity at the time of kegging was 1.016 as before.  Since the gravity had been unchanged in the two weeks since I racked to the secondary, I felt it was time to keg.

I kegged the brew to a sanitized Cornelius (Corny) keg and I started carbonating at 12 psi.

9 days later I tasted the brew.  It tasted like a typical Pilsner should, but had not fully carbonated.  Another week of carbonation at 12 psi should do the trick.

Update:  The additional week of carbonating at 12 psi resulted in more carbonation, but did not result in sufficient carbonation.  So I upped the CO2 to 30 psi for three more days.  That did the trick.  This is an excellent pilsner.

Oktoberfest Maerzen - Partial Mash Recipe

Ingredients

• 3.3# Amber LME
• 1.4# Alexander's Pale Kicker
• 4# Weyermann Pilsner malt
• 8 oz Caramel malt 60L
• 8 oz Victory malt
• 3 oz Chocolate malt
• 2 oz Hallertau hops 3.8% alpha - bittering - 60"
• 1 oz US Tettnang hops 4.8% alpha - aroma - 2"
• 1t Irish moss
• White Labs German lager yeast #WL830

Notes:
I made a yeast starter using 1C of amber DME and 1 Qt of water.

OG = 1.056
SpGr at the time I racked the brew to the secondary:  1.019

I started the fermentation at room temperature and moved to the lagering temperature (48 degrees F) after noticing vigorous fermentation (after approximately 19 hours after pitching the yeast).

I racked to the secondary one week after brew day.

Cascade Pale Ale - All Grain Recipe

Ingredients

• 10 pounds 2-row American malt
• 8 oz Carapils malt
• 8 oz Caramel 10L malt
• 1 oz Cascade hops (7.1% alpha acid) - bittering (60")
• 1oz Cascade hops (7.1% alpha acid) - flavor (15")
• 1oz Cascade hops (7.1% alpha acid) - aroma (2")
• 1t Irish moss
• White Labs California ale yeast (WL001)

OG - 1.051

Notes:  I mashed the grains at 152-151 F for 60 minutes.  I used 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain.  My mash tun lost 1 degree of temperature during the mash.  I started out at 152 and ended at 151.

This was my first all-grain batch.  I heated the mash water to about 170 degrees, but adding the grains did not bring the temperature down to 152F.  I added enough ice to bring the temperature down to 152F.  I think heating the mash water to 165F will suffice.

At the end of the mash, I drew off 2 gallons of wort (a quart at a time) and poured back into the grains to rinse out grain specks.  My goal was to get clear wort running out of the mash tun.   I think drawing off 1.5 gallons would have sufficed.

I sparged the grains with 170 F sparge water using 0.5 gallons per pound of grain.  I collected a total of 7 gallons of wort into my brew pot.

I brought the wort to a boil and boiled for a total of 60". 

I cooled the wort to below 70 degrees, transferred to my plastic fermenter, pitched the yeast, and sealed with a lid and an airlock.  I wrapped the fermenter with towels (swaddling clothes) and placed on my dining room table.  The temperature in that room is kept at about 70-72 degrees in the summer.

I had vigorous fermentation within 24-36 hours.

I initially used a turkey fryer to try heating the wort to a boil, but the fryer was not powerful enough to do this.  So I put the pot on my stove (covering two burners) and was able to heat my wort to a boil.  I did not get the rolling boil I had grown accustomed to in my extract brews, but the resulting gravity measurements and fermentation activity seem just fine.

Update:  Sp Gr on 7/25/2009 - 1.006 (very low by my experience).  But it tasted comparable to Point Brewery's Cascade Pale Ale although the Point Ale was poured from a chilled bottle.  So that's a good sign!

Belgian IPA

This is another recipe devised by the good folks at Midwest Brewing Supplies in St. Louis Park, Mn.

Ingredients

• 6# pilsen LME
• 1# wheat DME
• 1# candi sugar
• 8 oz Carapils malt 20
• 8 oz Acidulated malt
• 1.5 oz Sterling bittering hops 6% alpha - 60"
• 0.5 oz Sterling flavor hops 6% alpha - 20"
• 1 oz Ahtanum flavor hops 4.5% alpha - 15"
• 1 oz Ahtanum flavor hops 4.5% alpha - 10"
• 1 oz Ahtanum aroma hops 4./5% alpha - 5"
• 1t Irish moss
• Wyeast Belgian Saison yeast #3724 (White Labs Belgian Saison #WL565 can also be used)
• 5 oz corn sugar for priming

Notes:  The LME and DME are added to the water and dissolved completely before putting the pot on the burner.  The wort is then heated to a boil and the hops are added as listed above.  The candi sugar is added to the wort with 15" left in the boil.  I stirred the candi sugar to make sure it would get fully dissolved.

OG 1.074

Light American Ale, Cascade Pale, and a Stout

I've been a bad boy when it comes to posting my brewing recipes.  Since I last posted on this fine hobby, I've brewed 3 more batches and polished off the Oktoberfest.  The Oktoberfest tasted pretty good, but I didn't get it fully fermented (those wily pilsners!) and it came out a bit sweet for me.

The last three batches I brewed, all partial mash recipes from Midwest, turned out smashing.  I kegged the light American ale and began force carbonation tonight.  My mother, who is no fan of beer, said that she thought it was very good.  I agree, and once it gets done carbonating in the next couple of days, it will be even better.

The other two I brewed (a Cascade Pale Ale and a Traditional Stout) have both been bottled, and both turned out well, especially the stout.  I now think I'm set for awhile.

PowerHouse Pale Ale - Third Batch

July 8th, 2008:  This recipe is based upon a recipe used in an earlier batch.  I altered that recipe by adding an extra pound of plain light DME, an extra half ounce of flavor hops, and an extra ounce of dry hops. All these extras were "in inventory", so to speak, and I thought they would be better in beer than in inventory.

Ingredients:

1. 5 pounds dry malt extract (DME)
2. 0.5 pounds 40L crystal malt
3. 1.5 ounces Kent Goldings hops (boiling) - alpha acid = 4.2%
4. 1 ounce Cascade hops (flavor) - alpha acid = 6.9%
5. 0.5 ounces Kent Goldings hops (aroma) - alpha acid = 4.2%
6. 1 ounce Kent Goldings hops (dry hop) - alpha acid = 6.9%
7. 1 tsp Irish Moss
8. White Labs British Ale yeast (liquid)
9. 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming)

OG = 1.062 - This should ferment out at 6.9% ABV.

I heated 2 gallons of Culligan pure water to 160 degrees and added enough room-temperature water to lower the temperature to between 154-156.  I steeped the specialty grains, in a mesh muslin bag, for 30" at this temperature with my smooth-top range set on 2.5.  In the meantime, I brought 1.5 gallons of water to 170 degrees in a separate pot, water to be used for sparging the specialty grains.  After steeping the grains, I sparged the specialty grains and then discarded them.

I took the pot of the stove and added the DME, dissolving it completely before returning the pot to the burner so as not to scorch the bottom of the pot.  I then brought the wort to a boil and added the boiling hops in a fine mesh nylon muslin bag and boiled the wort for 30".

I then added the flavor hops to the muslin bag and boiled the wort for another 15".

I then added the Irish moss to the wort and placed my wort chiller in the wort to sanitize the chiller.  I boiled the wort for another 10".

I then added the aroma hops to the muslin bag and boiled the wort for another 5".  Total boil time is 60".

I then took the pot off the burner and let the wort drip, through a strainer, out of the hop muslin bag.  I then immediately began chilling the wort to about 75-78 degrees.  I poured the wort through a funnel (with a strainer) into my 7 gallon carboy and added enough water to make 5 gallons of wort.

After taking a specific gravity measure, I added the yeast and capped my carboy with a carboy cap and added my airlock.  I wrapped my carboy in swaddling clothes and began fermentation in an upstairs room at approximately 72 degrees.  The wort was 75 degrees at pitching. 

Update 8/4/2008:  I bottled the brew today.  I added 3/4 cup corn sugar to 1 cup Culligan drinking water, mixed, and brought the mixture to a boil.  I boiled it for 5 minutes and cooled the it to about 76 F with an ice bath in a large fry pan in about 6-7 minutes.  I added the mixture to  the bottling bucket and siphoned the beer to the bucket.

Sp Gr = 1.010.

Yield: 44 12 oz bottles.

Oktoberfest Lager

July 4th, 2008:  This recipe comes another kit from Midwest Brewing Supplies in St. Louis Park, Mn.  I altered the recipe by adding 1/2 oz of Mt. Hood pellet hops for flavor.  Why am I starting a German beer on America's Independence Day holiday?  It's because this beer takes about 3+ months to fully ferment and condition, so it should be ready by the end of September or early October.  I know that's a little late for a "true" Oktoberfest, but it'll have to do.

Ingredients:

1. 9.3 Amber LME
2. 8 oz Carapils malt
3. 8 oz Caramel 40L
4. 1.5 oz Mt Hood hops, alpha = 4.0% (bittering - 60")
5. 0.5 oz Mt. Hood hops, alpha = 4.0% (flavoring - 20")
6. 1 oz Hallertau hops (aroma - 5")
7. 1 t Irish Moss
8. 3/4 c priming sugar
9. White Labs Octoberfest Lager Yeast WP 820

OG =1.070 - This should ferment out at a shade under 9% ABV.

I heated 1.5 gallons of Culligan pure water to 156-158 degrees and added the specialty grains in a mesh muslin bag.  I steeped the specialty grains for 30" at approximately 154 degrees with my smooth-top range set on 2.5.  I brought 1.5 gallons of water to 170 degrees in a separate pot, water to be used for sparging the specialty grains.  After steeping the grains, I sparged the specialty grains and then discarded them.

I took the pot of the stove and added the LME, dissolving it completely before returning the pot to the burner so as not to scorch the bottom of the pot.  I then brought the wort to a boil and added 1.5 oz Mt. Hood hops in a muslin bag and boiled the wort for 40".

I then added 0.5 oz of Mt. Hood hops to the muslin bag and boiled the wort for another 5".

I then added the Irish moss to the wort and placed my wort chiller in the wort to sanitize the chiller.  I boiled the wort for another 10".

I then added the Hallertau hops to the muslin bag and boiled the wort for another 5".  Total boil time is 60".

I then took the pot off the burner and let the wort drip, through a strainer, out of the hop muslin bag.  I then immediately began chilling the wort to about 75-78 degrees.  I poured the worth through a funnel (with a strainer) into my 6.5 gallon carboy and added enough water to make 5 gallons of beer.

After taking a specific gravity measure, I capped my carboy with a #7 rubber stopper and added my airlock.  I wrapped my carboy in swaddling clothes and began fermentation in an upstairs room at approximately 72 degrees.  The wort was 75 degrees at pitching.

Update 7/5/2008:  There was bubble activity in the airlock at 3:30 AM (insomnia had hit!), but no noticeable krauesen had formed.  I chose not to place the carboy in my refrigerator at that time.  But at 10:00 AM, the krauesen had formed and I put the carboy into the refrigerator.  The temperature in my fridge was 36 degrees, so I left the door open for a couple of minutes and I turned the setting down from 6 to 4.5.  My goal is to lager this brew at 45 degrees F.

Update 7/14/2008: I took my carboy out of the fridge and placed it at room temperature for a "diacetyl rest" that is to last for 24 hours.

Update 9/14/2008:  The specific gravity is at 1.040 or so, high for two months of fermentation activity, and the brew has begun to carbonate.  I'll check it again in a few weeks to see if more fermentation has occurred.

Update 9/21/2008:  No change in SpGr.  Fermentation is done, although the FGr seems high.

Update 9/27/2008:  I kegged the beer this evening, my first-ever attempt at kegging.   It went swimmingly and by the next evening, I had a good brew (although carbonation had not fully set in).