ive been trying to do some retrospective stuff on the past few years of brewing and trying to remember hard and check my notes on them to see what worked really well, what was okay and what didnt and consolidate that info for myself.
i should check to see which recipes were kitchen sink or not too.
My rule of thumb has been if I liked it, I transferred my notes from a pad of paper used during the day to a journal style book that my wife gave me that has all the cool stuff to add. LOL. So far I have 3 or 4 that I really liked in it. Most are APA or IPA. I am trying to look for other things to add. My total end game is to have a multiple tap setup with a few different styles on hand, but for now, one at a time.
Thanks Denny, I am still trying to figure out what brings what to the beer to go with what you said. For now, just picking everyone’s brains to see what works.
i hear you, i have kept .txt files of every brew ive done. ive kept a longrunning brewtarget (software) database on them, but it has catastrophically crashed twice so far or i accidentally deleted the archive and backup. but i can restore them from the txt files.
the thing about “liking” a beer from my perspective is that there were some beers i didnt enjoy or think were amazing in their first two months after packaging, but they grew much better over time. and other beers started well or even hit a sweet spot and then fell apart as time went on.
so, i just keep notes on tastings every now and then. it will probably end up information overload, but better than not enough.
I like your newest recipe. I see you upped the Munich a fair amount (6.8% to 13.6%).
If you end up not liking it, don’t dump it - please send it to me. ;D
We will meet half way and you can bring some of your brew for me to taste LOL.
Thanks for the encouragement and to all who had a hand in this. I really do look to you all for help and appreciate the input. RR
So, here is my final recipe. Per Brewfather ABV is around 6.4% and IBU is at about 56. I think I am in the ballpark here.
12 pounds 2 Row
2 pounds Munich malt
4oz 60L
4oz 20L
4oz Honey Malt (game time decision on this one, the package isn’t opened yet. LOL)
Hops:
.5oz Chinook at 60
.5oz Apollo at 60
.5oz Amarillo at 10
1oz Citra at 5
1oz Citra at 1
2oz Citra Dry hop
.5oz Amarillo Dry hop
Bry97 yeast
While I type this, I still cannot help but wonder if I am overloading the Citra, but I bought it so might as well give it a try. Unless somebody has a really strong argument against. LOL. RR
Looks good,although I think I’d use either C20 or honey malt, but not both. Doesn’t look like a Citra overload to me.
Thanks Denny, then the brew begins. LOL
I don’t think I have ever tasted a beer and thought “that’s too much Citra”.
This. Drop one, but don’t double down on the other.
And this!
Brew day is done. On the positive side, I was really happy with my mash temps. I was anywhere between 147 to 155 for the whole 60 mins. I missed my OG though. According to Brewfather I was supposed to hit 1.061 but I ended up about 1.052. A fair bit short, so I am either high on my efficiency number in Brewfather or low on my grain bill. I will work on that. But, I continued on. It is in the bucket bubbling along next to my other batch. I figure, even though I missed the numbers if it tastes good who cares, right? Also, first go around with the Cambden tab. I used about half a tab in the water before I started the mash. Let it dissolve and went on as usual. Would that have any effect on the OG number? Either way, I think I did OK. Still learning but getting my temp control a bit better. Rock On!!!
Nope, no effect
How were you on your pre boil and post boil volumes? These affect your gravity a lot.
My preboil volume was about 6.75 gallons. Post boil was just about 5 gallons. This has been pretty consistent the last few brews. About a gallon and a half to a gallon and 3/4 boil off. I guess I could have topped off to 7 gallons and run the boil for 90 mins? Interesting though, my Brewfather says the batch volume should have been slightly over 6 gallons? Would I be putting 6 gallons in the fermenting bucket to get 5 gallons out of it Now I am a bit more confused. LOL
I target 6 gal batches so that after dumping trub and having a few samples I still get 5 gal in the keg. Sounds like maybe you could reduce your boil.
If I reduce the boil then won’t that make my number even worse? I am guessing the boil time helps to concentrate the wort and make the OG a bit hight? Or am I wrong in that?
Is that your boil-off for a 60 minute boil? Seems rather high to me, but maybe not.
Just curious, how are you measuring these volumes?
I think the point is to boil less vigorously and start with a greater amount going into the fermenter. Your boil off rate is a bit high.