Roggenbier

This is actually a first for me as I haven't yet had the pleasure of using an ingredient that, to me, Denny Conn made famous. Denny, also of the batch sparging fame, has won a few awards for his Rye IPA, if memory serves me, and it was the mention of "spiciness" that the rye added that made this beer interesting to me.

In the years that I spent haunting the Goose Island on Clybourn (who, by the way, have reached an agreement to renew their lease, thereby avoiding the need to find a new locale and resort to the one location in Wrigleyville) I seem to recall them making a few different beers with rye, one of which I believe was a Roggenbier. The number of different beers required to earn my Goose Island MBA was substantial, and I'm certain I've forgotten at least half of them. But I digress....

My recent "studies" of German beers have taken me into some areas I've never delved, but others that just hadn't been visited in quite some time, one of them being Dunkelweizens. This Roggenbier was a 5 gallon batch, using 11.5 pounds of grain, of which almost 44% was made up of Rye Malt. Definitely a difference there. I made a conscious effort to be as careful as possible with my volumes, because of late I'd been lax and just kept running my sparge until I hit around 1.010 on the second runnings. This led to larger than planned for batch sizes and lower gravities. I'd also tried to recirculate as much as possible to put the clearest possible wort in the boil, but with a weizen I guess it isn't as critical. I'm using the WYeast 3638 Bavarian Wheat yeast, which I haven't had any experience with, but so far is running like a champ. A 1000 ml starter had fermentation going within 3 hours of pitching and is already kicking out great banana and clove aromas. I tend to run my weizens in the higher end of the temperature range for these very reasons.

Had some crazy numbers come out of the efficiency calculations, but I use those generally as a ballpark to see if I was somewhere in the right process consistency. This seems to be my biggest weakness, and part of that is because of my setup, which I am constantly tweaking to improve. Who knows, maybe some day I'll hit the jackpot and can afford one of these.

11-29-2008 Roggenbier

A ProMash Brewing Session Report

Brewing Date: Saturday November 29, 2008
Head Brewer: Mike Ring
Recipe: Roggenbier

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
17-B Wheat Beer, Bavarian Dunkelweizen

Min OG: 1.040 Max OG: 1.056
Min IBU: 10 Max IBU: 20
Min Clr: 10 Max Clr: 23 Color in SRM, Lovibond


Recipe Specifics
Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 11.50
Anticipated OG: 1.058 Plato: 14.25
Anticipated SRM: 13.9
Anticipated IBU: 21.1
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Actual OG: 1.062 Plato: 15.21
Estimated Alc by Weight: 5.16 by Volume: 6.60 From Measured Gravities.

Actual Mash System Efficiency: 96 %
Anticipated Points From Mash: 57.90
Actual Points From Mash: 74.38


Pre-Boil Amounts
Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour

Raw Pre-Boil Amounts - only targeted volume/gravity and evaporation
rate taken into account:

Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.47 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.045 SG 11.13 Plato

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
43.5 5.00 lbs. Rye Malt America 1.030 4
34.8 4.00 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8
17.4 2.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
2.2 0.25 lbs. Chocolate Rye Malt Germany 1.029 260
2.2 0.25 lbs. Caramel Wheat Germany 1.035 46

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
1.00 oz. Mt. Hood Pellet 5.20 16.9 60 min

Extras
Amount Name Type Time
0.25 Lbs Rice Hulls Other 60 Min.(mash)
1.00 Tbsp 5.2 Mash Stabilizer Other 60 Min.(mash)
1.00 Tsp WYeast Yeast Nutrient Other 15 Min.(boil)


Yeast
WYeast 3638 Bavarian Wheat


Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Single Step
Heat Type: Direct (HERMS)
Grain Lbs: 11.50
Water Qts: 15.53 Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 3.88 Before Additional Infusions
Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.35 Before Additional Infusions
Tun Thermal Mass: 0.25
Grain Temp: 68 F Before Additional Infusions

Rest Temp Time
Dough In: 170 0 Min
Saccharification Rest: 152 60 Min
Mash-out Rest: 168 5 Min
Sparge: 170 0 Min

Total Mash Volume Gal: 4.80 - After Additional Infusions

Runnings Stopped At: 1.010 SG 2.56 Plato

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

Efficiency Specifics
Recipe Efficiency Setting: 75 %

At 100 percent extraction from the maximum mash potential:
Total Points: 77.20
Points From Mash: 77.20
Points From Extract/Sugar: 0.00

With the recipe efficiency setting, you should have achieved:
Total Points: 57.90
Points From Mash: 57.90
Points From Extract/Sugar: 0.00

Actuals achieved were:
Actual Points From Mash: 74.38
Actual Mash System Efficiency: 96 %

Generated with ProMash Brewing Software

Pubs in London

In today's Chicago Tribune there is an article regarding the "best" pubs in London. I'd be interested in getting some feedback from those who actually frequent them (and those like Stonch who run them) as to the validity of the statement "six-pack of the best". They are as follows

1. Angel
2. Paxton's Head
3. Jerusalem Tavern (this one I've read about on various blogs)
4. Old Bell Tavern
5. Ye Olde Mitre
6. Nell Gwynne

I have an old college friend who's decided to be an expat in London, and my wife and I thoroughly intend to visit (some day), and it would be nice to know where to find good beer.

Haand Bryggeriet Norse Porter

I don't usually review beers on this site, but maybe I'll start. I've been coming across some rather interesting beers lately and I think they're worth sharing, or at least recording.

This one is batch no. 78 brewed in May 2007. As with my porter, it pours a bit over carbonated with a three-finger head that's sort of a thick, fluffy chocolate ice cream. The head mostly diminishes in a few minutes, but remains as a small, thin head on the beer.

This beer is dark. So dark, in fact, that even when back lit with a halogen bulb I can't see through the bowl of my Sam Adams glass, and the lower portion of the glass shows blood red around the edges, and still more darkness in the center. Black Hole might have been an appropriate name choice for this beer.

The typical porter aroma is definitely there, with hints of chocolate, licorice, malt, a bit of dark fruit (plums, currants), and no hops to speak of. Roast flavors are at the fore, with some sweetness and chocolate, and a bit of espresso-like bitterness. This beer is not thick or heavy, nor is it thin and lifeless. The body is that perfect combination of full body and smoothness that makes you want another, even at 6.5% ABV.

Overall, I really like this beer. Aside from the beer itself, I really like what the guys there are doing. They brew in their spare time because they like brewing, not because they have to. The history of the building is also pretty interesting. Should I ever get to Norway, I'll definitely add this brewery to my itinerary (wife willing, of course).

Imbibers 100

Instructions:

1) Copy this list into your blog, with instructions.
2) Bold all the drinks you’ve imbibed.
3) Cross out any items that you won’t touch
4) Post a comment here and link to your results.

OR

If you don’t have a blog, just count the ones you’ve tried and post the number in the comments section.

List of Drinks You Must Try Before You Expire

1. Manhattan Cocktail
2. Kopi Luwak (Weasel Coffee)
3. French / Swiss Absinthe
4. Root beer
5. Gin Martini
6. Sauternes
7. Whole Milk
8. Tequila (100% Agave)
9. XO Cognac
10. Espresso
11. Spring Water (directly from the spring)
12. Gin & Tonic
13. Mead
14. Westvleteren 12 (Yellow Cap) Trappist Ale
15. Chateau d’Yquem
16. Budweiser
17. Maraschino Liqueur
18. Mojito
19. Orgeat
20. Grand Marnier
21. Mai Tai (original)
22. Ice Wine (Canadian)
23. Red Bull
24. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
25. Bubble Tea
26. Tokaji
27. Chicory
28. Islay Scotch
29. Pusser’s Navy Rum
30. Fernet Branca
31. Fresh Pressed Apple Cider
32. Bourbon
33. Australian Shiraz
34. Buckley’s Cough Syrup
35. Orange Bitters
36. Margarita (classic recipe)
37. Molasses & Milk
38. Chimay Blue
39. Wine of Pines (Tepache)
40. Green Tea
41. Daiginjo Sake
42. Chai Tea
43. Vodka (chilled, straight)
44. Coca-Cola
45. Zombie (Beachcomber recipe)
46. Barley Wine
47. Brewed Choclate (Xocolatl)
48. Pisco Sour
49. Lemonade
50. Speyside Single Malt
51. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
52. Champagne (Vintage)
53. Rosé (French)
54. Bellini
55. Caipirinha
56. White Zinfandel (Blush)
57. Coconut Water
58. Cerveza
59. Cafe au Lait
60. Ice Tea
61. Pedro Ximenez Sherry
62. Vintage Port
63. Hot Chocolate
64. German Riesling
65. Pina Colada
66. El Dorado 15 Year Rum
67. Chartreuse
68. Greek Wine
69. Negroni
70. Jägermeister
71. Chicha
72. Guinness
73. Rhum Agricole
74. Palm Wine
75. Soju
76. Ceylon Tea (High Grown)
77. Belgian Lambic
78. Mongolian Airag
79. Doogh, Lassi or Ayran
80. Sugarcane Juice
81. Ramos Gin Fizz
82. Singapore Sling
83. Mint Julep
84. Old Fashioned
85. Perique
86. Jenever (Holland Gin)
87. Chocolate Milkshake
88. Traditional Italian Barolo
89. Pulque
90. Natural Sparkling Water
91. Cuban Rum
92. Asti Spumante
93. Irish Whiskey
94. Château Margaux
95. Two Buck Chuck
96. Screech
97. Akvavit
98. Rye Whisky
99. German Weissbier
100. Daiquiri (classic)

What does it say about me that there are very few on this list that I haven't tried?

Winter Warmer and Grain Mill Update

The winter warmer was cooking along nicely, what with a nice healthy fast-starting fermentation, when all of a sudden it just kind of crapped out. Just stopped at 1022. This is my first go-around using Wyeast 1028 Scottish Ale yeast, and I think for the most part I was right in the wheelhouse as far as optimal temperature, but it just kind of pooped out on me. Brewed on Saturday, by Tuesday it was done. I tried warming it, I tried rousing the yeast again, but nothing. What I decided to do today was take the 6+ gallons and split it into 2 glass carboys, then pitch about a half sachet of S-04 in each to try to bring it down. 1022 would be fine if I was making a barleywine or some other high-gravity beer starting above 1080, but not for a beer that starts at 1052 with 85% efficiency.

As for the grain mill, I decided I needed a motor with a little more oomph, so I've ordered a 1/3 hp motor for a band saw. That should have the torque and power to run a grain mill and crush even the hardest of grains. We shall see once it arrives and I get it put back together.

As for Adeptus, fear not, everything is boxed and should be heading to the post in the next few days. I've included one of my Survey Porters and a good sized bottle of my Belgian black ale, my take on the New Belgium 1554 black ale.

Winter Warmer and Grain Mills

I've been using an electric drill to power my grain mill (a JSP maltmill) for quite some time now, so I decided to motorize the mill. Using the instructions I found from someone else who'd motorized the same mill, I acquired a 1/40 HP electric motor,  a few sheaves and a belt. After wiring things together, I was ready for the maiden crush, as it were, with the winter warmer, an 8% ABV Old Ale. 

I finished the assembly this morning and had everything going, the mill was running perfectly, and as my buddy Dana started pouring in the almost 12 pounds of Maris Otter, it stopped. Nothing. No noise, no slowing, just stopped. I'd run into issues like this with other grains before that were a bit draker (and presumably harder grains) while using the drill, but I was just confounded. 

Okay, not really. I had actually half expected this to happen, and I imagine that it's from the undersized motor. Since the motor itself only cost me $3.50, it's no big deal, it's just more deflating than anything.

Grain mill aside, things went well and I ended up with 7 gallons of 1.050 OG beer fermenting with a 1500 ml starter. Should do just fine and be ready for Christmas as this one requires an extended aging period.

If anyone else out there (all two of you) have run across this grain mill issue before, I'd love to hear your solutions. And Adeptus, don't worry, I'm getting things packed up this weekend.