Long Time Coming

 It's been a number of years since the last post, which coincides with the time since I last brewed (more or less). The pandemic got me rethinking my system, and I decided I wanted to get away from propane. Coincidentally, I found The Electric Brewery and started in earnest to convert to electric. I started slowly, going with groups of components first, buying what my budget would allow. Slowly I built up all of the components required to convert my existing 10 gallon system, with one exception - I didn't have the electric supply required to power the system. 

 After completing the build, it sat for a while until I got into gear and started talking to electricians. I thought what was needed was to upgrade the service from the house panel to the garage, but I was convinced by the guys at Lighthouse Restoration Group that the better solution - and one that wouldn't cost any more - was to install a stand-alone 240V 100A service to the garage. The more I thought about this, and the more I thought about the possibility of an EV in my future, the more I agreed that this was the route to go.

After about a month dealing with the permitting process in our town, getting ComEd to set up the install, and getting the panel installed, all went well and I finally had the power required for my system. Power was hooked up, install was checked, and all that was left was to plug in the control panel and see if it powered up. And....it didn't. Turns out that the best was to build the panel was to check the components as you build, and since I didn't have the power required, I couldn't. After some sleuthing and re-reading the troubleshooting instructions, along with a number of e-mails with Kal Wallner at The Electric Brewery, I figuredout I had the transformers connected backwards, which fried a number of components, such as the AC/DC converters and the amp and volt meters. Finally, all was rebuilt, and the panel powered up successfully.

Having that out of the way, I immediately jumped to the question: what is the first beer I should brew? I'd been trying unsuccessfully for years to get Goose Island Honkers Ale in 5-gallon kegs, and apparently the only place you can get it any more is at the brewpub, Honkers was the first local beer I really got into, and I spent a LOT of time at the Clybourn brewpub in the 90s and early 2000s when I lived in Bucktown. It was a no-brainer.

Having made that decision, it was now time to look at my brewing software. For years I'd used ProMash, which was really intuitive, and I had everything dialed in for that software. Unfortunately, it's no longer supported and more than a little out of date. I did a bit of searching and came to land on Brewfather, not only because it's web-based (so no software to install) but it's mobile and has a pretty extensive library of publicly-available recipes. I also like that if you go to buy supplies for a brew, you have everything at hand. I also discovered the Tilt hydrometer/thermometer, a bluetooth-connected device that will log both specific gravity and temperature, and also syncs with Brewfather.

Now that I had all of that completed, it was time to brew. I must say that having the ability to have your temps controlled by a PID is a wonderful thing. It took a while to get back into my process, but it all worked out really well. Here's the link to the Honkers Ale session. Can't wait to get back to this on the regular.

Yet Another Update

It would appear that my attempt to restart the yeast was a successful one. After not doing what I should have done originally - step the starter for a week - I quick threw together another starter (see the prior post) and it would appear that it was successful. The starter was repitched a week ago and the gravity has dropped from 1.050 to 1.018. I have also been swirling the conical to remix the existing yeast so that my have helped as well.

Tasting along the way (because beer) has shown a consistent flavor profile with a subtle but obvious Brett note. That's not a bad thing in this style beer, and I knew that this would be the result going in. Otherwise why even use it? The tips from the July/August 2014 issue of Zymurgy have been very helpful with this batch.

I don't know what it is about Belgian beers, but my favorite beer styles are from this region: Wit, Saison/Biere de Garde, Lambics, Trappist/Abbey beers - they all have something that just stands out above the rest. That's not to say I don't love the IPA, Stout/Porter or even English Ale, but given my druthers, I'll always go back to Belgium.

Update

The SMASH It Up Simcoe Ale is now racked into a keg and is carbonating. So far it seems to be a pretty balanced ale, and without the benefit of a higher carbonation level seems a bit more like a British Real Ale. The Simcoe hops, however, prevent that initial thought from lingering too terribly long. The Simcoe is a little fruity and piney at the same time, not quite the grapefruit bomb of some other American hop varieties. Given that this has only 2-row malt and there's no other variety coming from the malt base, the WLP051 (California V) and US05 neutral yeasts allow the hops to shine in this beer.

The Saison de Perle has been a stubborn batch to be sure. I'm to blame for that having not stepped up the yeast starter a week ahead of time and instead opting for only a day or two to get the yeast going. When brewing a beer with an OG of 1.080 your yeast had better be up to the task, and mine wasn't. After stalling at 1.050 after 2 weeks in primary, I started up the yeast I harvested from the Smash It Up Simcoe and, after a day of that getting going, harvested some yeast from the conical, added it to the yeast starter and after allowing it to pick up steam, repitched it into the Saison. That gives me a total of four yeast strains (Dupont 1 and 2, California V and US05) in addition to the Brettanomyces Bruxellenis. This beer should be one to reckon with, and I plan on bottling and storing a considerable amount to age.

SMASH American Session Ale and Saison de la Perle

The kids are away so I finally have time to brew, and decided to make up for lost time quickly, running a SMASH Session Ale and Saison on back to back weekends. Having been so long since I last brewed, I knew there would be issues with the first brew of the year, but they were mainly of the efficiency kind.

06-29-2014 SMASH American Session Ale Brewing Date: Sunday June 29, 2014 Head Brewer: Mike Ring Asst Brewer:    Recipe: SMASH American Session Ale BJCP Style and Style Guidelines 10-A American Ales, American Pale Ale Min OG: 1.045 Max OG: 1.060    Min IBU: 30 Max IBU: 45    Min Clr: 5 Max Clr: 14  Color in SRM, Lovibond Recipe Specifics Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 6.00 Total Grain (Lbs): 7.75       Anticipated OG: 1.042 Plato: 10.44 Anticipated SRM: 3.0         Anticipated IBU: 53.7       Brewhouse Efficiency: 75  %    Wort Boil Time: 60  Minutes    Actual OG: 1.052 Plato: 12.39    Actual FG: 1.014 Plato: 3.57    Alc by Weight: 3.70 by Volume: 4.74 From Measured Gravities. ADF: 71.1 RDF: 59.3 Apparent & Real Degree of Fermentation. Actual Mash System Efficiency: 76 % Anticipated Points From Mash: 41.85 Actual Points From Mash: 42.48 Pre-Boil Amounts Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour Pre-Boil Wort Size: 7.06 Gal       Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.030 SG 7.47 Plato Water Needed Pre-Boil Wort Size: 7.93 Gal       Water Needed Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.026 SG 6.66 Plato Formulas Used Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used. Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points. Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg % Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis. Color Formula Used: Morey Hop IBU Formula Used: TinsethTinseth Concentration Factor: 1.30 Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 % Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 % Grain/Extract/Sugar % Amount Name Origin Potential SRM 100.0 7.75 lbs.  Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2 Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon. Hops Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time 0.50 oz.  Simcoe Pellet 12.70 28.3 60 min 0.50 oz.  Simcoe Pellet 12.70 14.1 15 min 1.00 oz.  Simcoe Pellet 12.70 11.3 5 min 1.00 oz.  Simcoe Pellet 12.70 0.0 10 days Yeast White Labs WLP051 California Ale V Fermentis US-05 added after 24-hour lag (added dry to wort) Mash Schedule Mash Type: Single Step    Heat Type: HERMS    Grain Lbs: 7.75    Water Qts: 10.46 Before Additional Infusions Water Gal: 2.62 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: 169 0 Min Saccharification Rest: 149 60 Min Mash-out Rest: 170 10 Min Sparge: 170 0 Min Total Mash Volume Gal: 3.24 - After Additional Infusions Runnings Stopped At: 1.004 SG All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit. Water Needed For Brewing Session Sparge Amount: 7.50 Sparge Deadspace: 0.25 Total Into Mash: 7.25 Total Grain Lbs: 7.75 Qts Per Lbs: 1.35 Total From Mash: 1.68       Mash Gallons: 2.62             Grain Absorption: 0.93       Amount Lost in Lauter Tun Deadspace, Grant and Misc. to Kettle: 1.00       Top Up Water Added to Kettle: 0.00 Amount into Kettle: 7.93       Boil Time (min): 60 Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Amount after Boil: 6.74       Left in Kettle Deadspace: 0.50 Left in Hopback: 0.25 Left in Counterflow Chiller: 0.25 Left in Other Equipment / Other Absorption: 0.30       Amount to Chillers: 5.44 Amount After Cooling (4 perc.): 5.23 Grain absorption rate is: 0.12 (Gallons Per Lbs) Evaporation rate is Percent per Hour This formulation will yield 5.23 gallons of fermentable wort. You will need 10.11 gallons of water for the complete brewing session. Generated with ProMash Brewing Software

My first issue came during the sparge. After taking the first runnings and sparging, I ended up well short of my target volume in the boil kettle. Consequently, I ended up stopping the sparge runnings at 1.004 in order to get close to the volume required. I was still short, and ended up with only 3 gallons in the fermenter after chilling. Checking along the way, it seems to be coming along and I added the dry hops 10 days after brewing. It'll likely sit another week in the carboy before transfer to a keg.

The saison, however, seems to be right on track to be another magnificent beer. 

07-05-2014 Saison de la Perle Brewing Date: Saturday July 05, 2014 Head Brewer: Mike Ring Asst Brewer:    Recipe: Saison de la Perle BJCP Style and Style Guidelines 16-C Belgian & French Ale, Saison Min OG: 1.048 Max OG: 1.065    Min IBU: 20 Max IBU: 35    Min Clr: 5 Max Clr: 14  Color in SRM, Lovibond Recipe Specifics Batch Size (Gal): 6.50 Wort Size (Gal): 9.10 Total Grain (Lbs): 18.52       Anticipated OG: 1.079 Plato: 19.17 Anticipated SRM: 5.3         Anticipated IBU: 49.2       Brewhouse Efficiency: 75  %    Wort Boil Time: 90  Minutes    Actual OG: 1.080 Plato: 19.33    Actual FG: 1.054 Plato: 13.33    Alc by Weight: 2.60 by Volume: 3.47 From Measured Gravities. ADF: 31.0 RDF: 27.1 Apparent & Real Degree of Fermentation. Actual Mash System Efficiency: 96 % Anticipated Points From Mash: 79.31 Actual Points From Mash: 101.51 Pre-Boil Amounts Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour Pre-Boil Wort Size: 11.74 Gal       Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.044 SG 10.93 Plato Water Needed Pre-Boil Wort Size: 11.39 Gal       Water Needed Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.045 SG 11.26 Plato Formulas Used Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used. Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points. Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg % Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis. Color Formula Used: Morey Hop IBU Formula Used: TinsethTinseth Concentration Factor: 1.30 Grain/Extract/Sugar % Amount Name Origin Potential SRM 87.7 16.25 lbs.  Pilsener Belgium 1.037 2 5.3 0.98 lbs.  Wheat Malt Germany 1.039 2 7.0 1.30 lbs.  Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8 Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon. Hops Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time 4.00 oz.  Fuggle Whole 4.50 45.3 75 min 3.00 oz.  Tettnanger Whole 2.70 3.9 5 min Yeast WYeast 3724 Belgian Saison WLP 565 Belgian Saison (harvested from last year's saison) Wyeast 5112 Brettanomyces Bruxellenis Mash Schedule Mash Type: Single Step    Heat Type: HERMS    Grain Lbs: 18.52    Water Qts: 29.45 Before Additional Infusions Water Gal: 7.36 Before Additional Infusions Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.59 Before Additional Infusions Tun Thermal Mass: 0.25    Grain Temp: 68 F Before Additional Infusions Rest Temp Time Dough In: 161 0 Min Saccharification Rest: 145 90 Min Mash-out Rest: 170 10 Min Sparge: 0 0 Min Total Mash Volume Gal: 8.84 - After Additional Infusions Runnings Stopped At: 1.010 SG 2.56 Plato All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit. Water Needed For Brewing Session Sparge Amount: 7.50 Sparge Deadspace: 0.25 Total Into Mash: 7.25 Total Grain Lbs: 18.52 Qts Per Lbs: 1.59 Total From Mash: 5.14       Mash Gallons: 7.36             Grain Absorption: 2.22       Amount Lost in Lauter Tun Deadspace, Grant and Misc. to Kettle: 1.00       Top Up Water Added to Kettle: 0.00 Amount into Kettle: 11.39       Boil Time (min): 90 Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Amount after Boil: 8.83       Left in Kettle Deadspace: 0.50 Left in Hopback: 0.25 Left in Counterflow Chiller: 0.25 Left in Other Equipment / Other Absorption: 0.30       Amount to Chillers: 7.53 Amount After Cooling (4 perc.): 7.23 Grain absorption rate is: 0.12 (Gallons Per Lbs) Evaporation rate is Percent per Hour This formulation will yield 7.23 gallons of fermentable wort. You will need 14.86 gallons of water for the complete brewing session. Generated with ProMash Brewing Software

You can see from the grain bill on the saison this is ONE BIG BEER. ProMash is reporting a current ABV of 3.5%, but if this ferments out to 1.010 it'll be a little above 9%. Coincidentally, Zymurgy had an article on saisons in the July/August 2014 issue, which offered some insightful bits:

• Saisons should by dry, so they need to ferment out. The standard saison yeasts can't do this by themselves, and attenuation is usually only around 70%. One of the recommendations was to add a "helper yeast" in the way of another saison strain.
• Use Brett to finish it out. This will also help when aging the beer and developing the saison in the bottle. For this beer I added an entire pack of Wyeast 5112, Brettanomyces Bruxellenis. In the tasting I've done at a week in, there's a slight note of the Brett, and the beer has gone from 1.080 to 1.054.

The efficiency on this brew was far superior to the SMASH, coming in at 96% efficiency vs. 76% on the SMASH. 

I've seen sneak previews of the new Blichmann electric heating elements, and they've got me intrigued. I'm hoping to convert my system from propane burners to full electric soon in order to keep brewing suring the winter months. This past winter was significantly brutal here, and it would have been nice to be able to brew during some of that down time.