Batch 7 - III Tripel

OK so at Meredith's suggestion made a Tripel today - Took this recipe as a start and made a few substitutions/changes.

4 oz Belgian Aromatic Malt
4 oz Carafoam
10.666 lb Pale Malt Extract Liquid
4 oz Malto Dextrin
1 lb Belgian Candi Sugar (brown, not clear)
1.5 oz Styrian Goldings hops (60 min)
0.5 oz Styrian Goldings hops (15 min)
1 tsp Irish Moss (15 min)

Wyeast 3787 Trappist Slap Pack

Wow, that's a lot of LME - I put a bit too much water in to start, and as a result had a whole MESS of boilovers. Oh well, after about 45 minutes it finally settled down - I need to remember that LME adds liquid. Well I am an idiot, but it seemed to turn out OK.

OG: 1.080 (10.5% potential abv)
Brew Day: 6/22/2008

Bottled: 7/21/2008
Bottled at FG 1.020
ABV - 7.875%

Wort tastes good - caramel deliciousness. A little lower alcohol than I'd have thought...

ONWARD!!!

Batch 6 - Witless Belgian White

OK so this is somewhat a clone recipe - but here's what I used:

8 oz Flaked Wheat
8 oz Belgium Aromatic Malt
4 oz Flaked Oats
4 oz Rice Hulls ( you wouldn't imagine how many rice hulls are in 1/4 lb)
6.7 lb Wheat Malt Extract
1 oz East Kent Goldings - bittering hops (60 minutes)

then at 45 minute mark:
1/2 oz Kent Goldings hops
1/4 oz Belgian Bitter Orange Peel
3/4 tsp Coriander seeds lightly crushed
pinch cumin powder

Then at 58 minute mark:
1/2 oz. Czech Saaz hops (aroma)
1/2 oz Belgian Bitter Orange Peel
1/2 tsp Coriander seeds lightly crushed
another SMALL SMALL pinch of cumin powder

Used a Wyeast Belgian Witbier slappack.

Initial Gravity: 1.054
7.08% potential abv
Brew Day: 6/13/2008

Transferred from 6.8 carboy to 5 gal carboy on 6/21/2008.

Bottled: 7/6/2008
So the Belgian White has been bottled - the unconditioned beer tastes delicious.

Final Gravity: 1.014
Alcohol Content by Volume: 5.25%

10 days to greatness

Batch 5 - Summer Blast Kolsch

Brewed today - Kolsch - recipe somewhat from one from the HBH.

Recipe:

5 lb Extra Light Malt Extract Syrup

1 1/2 Lb German Light Malt
1/2 Lb Light Crystal Malt (CaraFoam)

1 1/2 Oz. GR Select Hops (4.7%) - boiling only - no flavoring/aromatic

Specific Gravity: 1.050 - starting alcohol potential - 6.5% I believe by volume

Pitched with K-97 German Ale Yeast

Lots of firsts on this one - first time using my wort chiller instead of ice immersion - 30-45 minutes and ready to go in the carboy. First time with a grain bag - used the specialty grains on the heat-up - had to kill the flame at 160 degrees for an extra 20 minutes. Then used a hop sock for the hops.

Delicious summertime goodness ready for June...

The Kolsch is delicious :).

Bottled it May 25.

Ending Specific Gravity: 1.014 - 4.7% abv... decent and a nice refreshing brew :)

Straw color, not too overwhelming.

Batch 4 - Birthday Brew

Brewed using Cooper's Lager kit and 2 lb Munton's Extra Light DME. Brewed Sunday 4/6/2008.

Potential Alcohol 5.5%

Batch 3 - April Fool's Amber

Brewed March 22 - April Fool's Amber is another extract (getting my pattern down before expanding to partial/full grain) brew. Used Brewmart Mexican Lager kit with 2 lb of Munton's Amber DME.

Valuable lesson learned - if my carboy and my wort are at similar temperatures there are better results.

Broken Racking Cane - Need to replace it unfortunately before we get to next batch to bottle.

Bottled Sunday, April 6 - Should be ready by Cinco De Mayo for some limes. 47 1/2 bottles.

Batch 2 - Not doing anything for a while Porter

OK, so I used John Bull's Porter extract and then popped 3 lb (too much) Munton's Dark DME in there and also I boiled it a little too long. Result? 6.9% alcohol - you can taste it a little in there.

Not too awesome, but a valuable learning lesson. This was done in February (not sure the date), and is now gone :).

Batch 1 - Irish Stout from Extract - Brew Day 1/13/2007

First batch - Irish Stout from extract.

Thomas Cooper's Brewmaster Select Irish Stout 3.75 Liquid Malt Extract
2 lbs Dark DME
5 gallons water

Had brew day with some friends - determined that by pouring via funnel instead of racking I need to wait until the beer is colder - wort chiller would be nice. 6.5 carboy-expensive lesson. 160 degrees bad.

Pitched yeast at about 10 PM - by next evening had a large foamy head on it. Here we are day 2 - looking to probably bottle on 1/21.

Fun times.

Stuff I need before the next batch:
case of 22 oz bottles
rubber drilled stopper
6.5 g carboy
racking rubber cap for 6.5 g carboy
Large Wooden or Stainless spoon
metal racking cane
Wort chiller or better chilling mechanism would be nice - ice bucket?

Bottled: 1/21/2008
So we bottled the salvageable Stout with just under 1/3 cup of corn sugar for light carbonation. Will see how that goes - managed 26 bottles out of the remainder. Plan for Serving Day Feb 3.

Going to go ahead and start up next batch (Porter) without procuring another large carboy. Just going to pick up extra gear (spoon, stopper, 22 oz bottles, caps, carboy handle) and worry about replacing large carboy next time.

Cheers!