Summer Grass Clippings - 'lawnmower' APA recipe and Wort safet

[DeanMcMullen]

[SIZE=10pt]Just wanted to post a question and explain about my last brew that is currently in the fermenter.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The Brew is designed to be a lawnmower APA. Low IBU, minor hoppiness, grainy.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]As I can regularly go off on tangential thoughts, I’ll put a bullet point symbol in front of the Recipe flow so you can just skip to those parts if you wish.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Ingredients are as follows:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]25L Batch[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]3.6kg Pale Malt (Weyermanns)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]1.4kg Vienna Malt (Weyermanns)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]50g BB Medium Crystal (40L, 53 SRM, 105 EBC)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]20g Bravo (60 Min)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Nottingham (1pkt)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]10-15g of Aroma Hops for Dry Hopping (Optional)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]If you are thinking right now, “This doesn’t sound very exciting” you are somewhat right. This beer was not designed to be mind blowing. Something to knock back on a hot day (or cold). Not a thinker, a drinker.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]But more to the point, I was trying to brew something tasty based on whatever specials there were available. We all love having a IIPA or hoppy pale, or stout or porter, but sometimes you want a drink for the sake of relaxation. And when the brew is cheap, it’s easy to relax.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I had the ingredients for this brew sitting around for a little while. Fortunately Steve at Hoppy Days vacuum bags or packages the grain well, so no issues with age. Thanks Steve, going to be buying some more grains when I get back from holidays and funds are fluid.[/SIZE]

• [SIZE=10pt]I’ll be honest, my efficiency isn’t probably as good as it should be. I am looking at about 71% efficiency with this brew, so there is definitely some room for improvement.[/SIZE]

• [SIZE=10pt]Mash was 60 mins, with a target of 63°C. Initial boil for Strike was 12.63L @ 69.4°C.[/SIZE]

• [SIZE=10pt]I had been doing single Sparge for my first 2 brews, and should have done it for this brew, but I had a brain fart and trusted the software and did a dual sparge. 8.78L @ 79.3°C, and then 8.78L @ 77°C.[/SIZE]
  

[SIZE=10pt]This caused a conundrum, as I had to pour my first runnings into pot #1 (I put the hops in the bottom of the pot and poured the liquor over it), boil with a second pot the first sparge, run this over the grains, split the liquor into 2 pots, run the 1st sparge into pot 1 and then boil the 2[/SIZE]nd sparge and pour this into the 2nd pot. 3 pots. I should have figured at this point that something wasn’t working for me.

• [SIZE=10pt]Rolling boil took about 20mins to get started, so I started the 60min timer at about 9PM. Thank goodness for YouTube keeping me entertained.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]10PM and the wort looked great, smelled great, so I dumped it straight into the cube, no chill, put the lid on and went to bed. My intention was to grab my temp controller, plug in the fridge the next day and get the fermentation going. THAT didn’t happen. I got home, tried to plug in the temp controller and fridge, 3, 2, 1, electrical safety trips. After thinking it was my temp controller I rang brother (LRG1) and begged for his temp controller. I plugged this in, same problem. Left it for the night as it was getting too late.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I was supposed to get back to it the following day but was tired and sore (put my back out somehow). So come Wednesday night, I use a different socket, plug the TC and Fridge in and it’s working fine. So get the fridge down to 18°C and pitch my yeast.[/SIZE]

• [SIZE=10pt]Before pitching I took the OG and it was 1.043. lower than the 1.048 I was to aim for (at 75% efficiency). On the plus side this was the cleanest looking liquor I had brewed, and smelled great (like honey) and tasted like tea with honey in it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I’ll update when the fermentation is complete, as I’m intending to probably dry hop about 10-15g of aroma hops. Depends which one I have spares of.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]So effectively from Sunday night (10PM) when I flamed out and the wort was transferred to the cube until Wednesday night when I pitched, it was sitting for 2 days. I didn’t take any precautions when pouring to cube as I thought I would pitch the next day with no issues, but this didn’t happen. I am hoping that nothing bad happens, otherwise a cheap brew became not cheap and not a brew, but it does beg the question:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]From when you flamed out to when you pitched, what’s the longest amount of time you’ve left your Wort to sit and chill? And did you take any precautions with it when cubing?[/SIZE]

 

[Yob]

Months to years.. I push all the air out of the cube though...

 

[DeanMcMullen]

Months to years.. I push all the air out of the cube though...

Thanks Yob. I figured as much, only because they sell FWK's and therefore the storage time exceeds 2 days regularly. My concern is that I ferment straight from my cube. So once boil is completed I pour it into the fermenter, wait until the next day and put the fermenter in the fridge to get it to best fermenting temp and then pitch. It does leave trub down the bottom, but hasn't ever affected my brew (so far). This is the first time I've allowed it to sit so long before pitching.

I did, once I came home on Monday night and initially tested my temp controller and fridge, tighten the lid on the fermenter. Thermal expansion/pressure build up wasn't an issue at that point. Hopefully that kept out the nasties.

 

[DeanMcMullen]

Alright, I just wanted to provide you with an update.

After testing my temp controller and fridge again, everything seemed to be going well, no power cuts. So on Wednesday (8th June) night I dropped the fridge to 18°C and pitched the yeast (Nottingham) into the fermenter. Starting gravity of 1.043. Inoculation seemed to go well, Krausen developed nicely.

I left it for 4 days until yesterday afternoon (Sunday 12th June), as this I have found is usually my sweet spot for Nottingham yeast to attenuate completely. I drew some of the beer out of the fermenter and sipped it. Tastes good so far. More grain flavour than I have noticed before, probably due to the reduced Hops content. Gravity is 1.004, so pretty much done. I grabbed 20g of Cascade and put it in my hop sock (sterilized) and threw that in to Dry Hop.

I'll check it on Wednesday again, but that's pretty much when I plan to bottle as well. Just need to clean up some bottles and get them sterile and ready.

I might have to go home and brew my Chocolate Stout (10L) tonight, so it has enough time to cool down, as I may need to dump it straight onto my yeast cake. Otherwise I need to go to my LHBS anyhow to grab some dextrose for Batch Priming. I'll let you know how it goes, but so far so good.

 

[DeanMcMullen]

Alright, another update, and another brew. :beerbang:

Due to the Wife and Son being sick on Tuesday, I stayed home to take care of them, and thought to myself "Hey, why not brew my Choc Stout now, so it's ready to go into the fermenter when the Grass Clippings come out?" h34r:

[SIZE=10pt]Choc Stout Recipe is as follows:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]1.4kg Pale Ale Malt (I used Weyermanns Vienna Malt as that was what I had left over)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]300g Toffee Malt[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]100g Dark Crystal[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]100g Chocolate Malt (BB)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]100g Flaked Oats[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]100g Dark Wheat Malt[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]50g Caramunich 3[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]20g Black Malt[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]10g Bravo (60 mins)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]200g Brown Sugar (10 min boil)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]25ml Chocolate Extract (10 min boil) + 15ml Cubed – Aldi has Extracts.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]10-15ml Vanilla Extract[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Windsor Yeast[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The Chocolate Extract and Vanilla Extract are the biggest variables here. I was initially only going to put 20ml in the boil and 5ml in the cube, but when I measured out 15ml into the boil it seemed tiny compared to the wort. And as this is a Super Choc Stout, and experimental, I almost doubled the total amount. Plus as I was readying the yeast for inoculation I had vanilla extract and thought what the hell. So put a slug of that in as well. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Mashed everything for 60 mins, sparged, and then boiled for 60, with the chocolate extract and brown sugar being thrown in for last 10 mins. OG ended up being 1.052, instead of 1.060, so I’ll have to figure out how to improve my efficiency. It’s still too low around 65-67%.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]As I needed to let it sit to cool down (no chill) I had plenty of time, or so I thought. Come 7pm last night and I had to push myself to sort everything out. I still hadn’t cleaned out my grain bag and esky from the CS brewing, so that took an extra 20 mins in the dark.

So first I needed to sterilize my 2[/SIZE]nd fermenter for racking to (thanks again TIM!) and after measuring out dextrose and dumping that into my rack I transferred the GC into the secondary and then had to clean my primary of everything, and then sterilize it ready for the CS. I rehydrated the Windsor yeast as per instructions, as I didn’t want it to stall during fermentation. Whilst that was going for 15 mins I sterilized my bottles and then started the long process of bottling everything. Thanks again to Tim for the bench capper, and my wonderful wife who helped me cap everything.

[SIZE=10pt]CS is in the fridge at 18°C to ferment (it says the Windsor is best at 17-21°C, and it was already at 18°C for the GC, so I just left it where it was), the GC is primed and bottled. And as I’m off on holidays next Thursday for a week, and I need to save money, nothing else is planned until then.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Question: What’s the most others have used in Extracts or Adjuncts to achieve different flavours, and how did the outcome go? :huh:[/SIZE]

 

[DeanMcMullen]

Alright, a quick update.

I've named the Chocolate Stout. It will be referred to as "Bubbles Cotton Club Chocolate Stout".

I was keeping check on the CS for FG. Rehydration of the yeast seemed to go well and fermentation took off nicely. Good krausen after 1 day. I checked on Saturday midday and the Gravity was at 1.012, which seemed correct for attenuation.

So I batch primed for the second time. I used 7g of dextrose per litre as a guideline. I know that Stouts aren't generally super effervescent as a style. But I like carbonation, so I thought, seeing as it was experimental, why the hell not. Thus where the "Bubbles" in the name came from. Also there was someone called John Bubbles, an African American tap dancer who performed at the Cotton Club during it's heyday. There are other reasons I called it Cotton Club, but so as not to cause contention, suffice to say it harks back to Prohibition Era in the USA. A nod to the bootlegging days and how I feel sitting in the garage by myself brewing away.

It's all bottled as of Saturday 19/06/16, so I'll give it 2 months for maturation. I'll probably test it before then, but would prefer to let it age a little as I'm not having to worry about Hops being scrubbed.

After holidays I will continue with my brewing as per my planned beers below. Thanks!

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Alright, a quick update.

I've named the Chocolate Stout. It will be referred to as "Bubbles Cotton Club Chocolate Stout".

I was keeping check on the CS for FG. Rehydration of the yeast seemed to go well and fermentation took off nicely. Good krausen after 1 day. I checked on Saturday midday and the Gravity was at 1.012, which seemed correct for attenuation.

So I batch primed for the second time. I used 7g of dextrose per litre as a guideline. I know that Stouts aren't generally super effervescent as a style. But I like carbonation, so I thought, seeing as it was experimental, why the hell not. Thus where the "Bubbles" in the name came from. Also there was someone called John Bubbles, an African American tap dancer who performed at the Cotton Club during it's heyday. There are other reasons I called it Cotton Club, but so as not to cause contention, suffice to say it harks back to Prohibition Era in the USA. A nod to the bootlegging days and how I feel sitting in the garage by myself brewing away.

It's all bottled as of Saturday 19/06/16, so I'll give it 2 months for maturation. I'll probably test it before then, but would prefer to let it age a little as I'm not having to worry about Hops being scrubbed.

After holidays I will continue with my brewing as per my planned beers below. Thanks!

Where are your planned beers below? Are you at work this week?

No bottle bombs yet?

 

[Coodgee]

on the topic of lawnmower beers, I've tried a couple in the past that were mostly/all pilsner malt or golden promise and a late 10 minute hop addition to about 15-20IBU and a 50gram dry hop of brooklyn/citra. Both times I really didn't like the flavour too much. It made me wonder whether there was an infection. I don't think there was an infection in hindsight. I was expecting a nice fruity aroma and flavour and it was there but just not what I was expecting. I now make my summer ales to about 35 IBU with some earlier hop additions and haven't really had the problem since.

 

[shacked]

There is a recipe in the DB for a Simple Saaz Blonde ale. I've brewed it 4 times and it's a cracking lawnmower beer. Pilsner with a bit of wheat, caramalt and biscuit. Definitely recommend it!

 

[DeanMcMullen]

Where are your planned beers below? Are you at work this week?

No bottle bombs yet?

Sorry, they are in my signature I meant. Still at work, until today and then HOLIDAY! I haven't been game to open the box, but maybe I should... just in case.

on the topic of lawnmower beers, I've tried a couple in the past that were mostly/all pilsner malt or golden promise and a late 10 minute hop addition to about 15-20IBU and a 50gram dry hop of brooklyn/citra. Both times I really didn't like the flavour too much. It made me wonder whether there was an infection. I don't think there was an infection in hindsight. I was expecting a nice fruity aroma and flavour and it was there but just not what I was expecting. I now make my summer ales to about 35 IBU with some earlier hop additions and haven't really had the problem since.

Good to know, thanks Coodgee. This is a cheap experiment at the very least ($15 for 22L of beer) so if I don't like it then I can re-work the recipe for next time. You probably aren't wrong with the late hop for flavour and dry hopping. I love the hops, but my wife doesn't like the bitterness as much for a regular easy drinker, so I will be developing the Burleigh Heads 28 replica I've made previously (she loves the 28) and figure out lower IBU's with high hops infusion. Thanks for the feedback.

There is a recipe in the DB for a Simple Saaz Blonde ale. I've brewed it 4 times and it's a cracking lawnmower beer. Pilsner with a bit of wheat, caramalt and biscuit. Definitely recommend it!

Thanks Shacked. I am going to slowly expand my attempts to different brews, so thanks for the suggestion/direction. I'm still working on a base recipe, but thinking I will take the advice of LRG1 (bro) and his suggestion to do like you've written and start with Pilsner, bit of Caramalt or medium crystal and then hop it. Never used Saaz before, so that will be a new experience. Thank You!