Weekly Update, 10/14/10

I haven't had much time to post my impressions on all the beers I have going right now, so here's an aggregate of what's happening:

Ad-Seg IPA - still stuck at 1.040.  Cold crashed it and the sediment settled out, but no change in SG.  Plan on bottling within the next couple of days.  Taste is dead-on to Dogfish Head 90.

Off Paper Lager - conditioning in the bottle, though first tests show good carbonation and OK head retention.  I'll probably throw in a heading powder next time.  Taste is good, but less fruity than Dos Equis Lager.  The fruity esters seems to have mellowed in the lagering/bottle conditioning.  Still decent, for what it is.

Contraband Chocolate Stout - in the primary and fermenting like crazy.  Still trying to decide how much cocoa to add to the secondary - 1oz, 2oz, 3oz, or more?

Brevis Bock - lagering away at 38 degrees.  Check yesterday still had an odd grainy flavor to it.  Should (hopefully) mellow out in lagering/conditioning.

Over-the-Fence Weissbier - carbed up super fast.  Tasty with good head.  Could be a new favorite.

Rolled Up Irish Red - just tried making this one again today after the last disaster with yeast.  Did a full boil this time.  Went well, OG came in higher than expected.  Should be pretty tasty, if all continues well.

On deck is Bottom Number Blonde, my first attempt at all-grain brewing using the BIAB (brew in a bag) method.  After that, a Guiness inspired Dry Stout, though not a Guiness clone.

Over all, the brewing thing seems to be going well.  I like it, I'm learning a lot, and I'm going to have some great beers to give away for Christmas.  Besides that, I'll have a lot of great beers to enjoy myself throughout the holidays.  Cheers!

Updates on All Brews

Last night I checked all my brews with the following results:

Ad-Seg - fermentation stuck at 1.040 for the last five days.  To be a proper Dogfish Head clone, it needs to get down to at least 1.020 and preferrably 1.010.  I'd like at least 8%ABV or else this can't be called anything like a clone.  So, tonight I'm going to make a 1/2 gallon wort with .5# of DME and pitch 12g Muntons Brewer's Yeast I have on and in it.  Once it begins to ferment, I'm going to pitch the whole thing into the Ad-Seg primary and see what happens.

Brevis - fermenting great!  Down to 1.012.  Shooting for 1.010, but should be there by the end of the week.  Then I rack it to the secondary and lager for 36+ days.  Taste out of the hyrdo test is a little grainier than I expected, but pretty good.  I'm hoping the grainy taste mellows out in the lagering process.

Off-Paper - this stuff is my crown jewel as of now.  It's the first brew I made with my own recipe rather than a kit.  I bottled it on Friday last week at 4.1%ABV.  It tastes almost exactly like I remember Dos Equis tasting.  My neighbors should be happy.  It's also the right color.  Once I finish bottle conditioning it, I will post some pics and final thoughts.

Off Paper Lager: Update 2

Racked OPL to the secondary and am step-down lagering from 52-35 degrees over 7 days.  Then leaving it at 35 for a month.  Color is spot-on to Dos Equis Lager, as is flavor.  Drew a sample when racking for hydrometer/taste readings and my Dos Equis-loving neighbors assure me that the taste is right on the money.  Slightly bitter, but that should mellow out in lagering and bottling.  I think I'll try this recipe again in a few months and if it turns out again, I'll post it on Homebrewtalk.com as a Dos Equis clone.

Off Paper Lager: Update

It is day 5 of the fermenting process and I did a gravity check and taste test.

Gravity = 1.020.  As the FG is estimated at 1.011, I'm hoping that it'll get there by Friday, which is when I'm scheduled to rack to the secondary and start another brew.  If it keeps going at this rate, it should be there without too much trouble.

Taste = like Dos Equis.  Since I'm trying to clone Dos Equis, this is a good thing.  Normally, for my personal tastes, this is a bad thing.  I swirled a couple of swigs around in my mouth to get a good read on it and I could taste a hint of fruitiness, but not too much.  It's a tad bitter, but that'll mellow out in the lagering process.

All in all, it seems as if my first brew with my own recipe is turning out rather well.  Gives me some hope for future brews.

Off Paper Lager: The Name

Since I am the chaplain at a prison, I have decided to name all my beers after something prison related. As I produce beers and name them, I will explain the names here.

Off Paper is a prison slang term for being completely free. This means that an inmate will not be tracked by the state in any way for the crime for which he/she was incarcerated. Off Paper occurs when a prisoner either discharges his/her sentence, completes parole, or completes probation. Being Off Paper is the final goal of most prisoners, as that is when they are truly free and can move about without having to check in with anyone or worry about breaking parole/probation rules.

Off Paper Lager: First Brew

I attempted my first brew with my own ingredient list rather than buy a full ingredient kit. My neighbors love Dos Equis Lager and I told them that I would try and brew a clone. I searched around for some recipes then landed on one and modified with Beersmith to this:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 2.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 5.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 13.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: - %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
2.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 27.40 %
3.30 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 45.21 %
1.00 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 13.70 %
1.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 13.70 %
1.00 oz German Hallertau [3.00 %] (50 min) Hops 6.8 IBU
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (25 min) Hops 6.6 IBU
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs SafLager West European Lager (DCL Yeast #SYeast-Lager

I steeped the corn and malt for 1/2 hour at 160 degrees then mixed in the extracts and started the boil. After it was all over, I cooled it in an ice bath and added a couple of gallons of prepared cold water. I got the wort down to 100 pretty quickly, but then seemed to get stuck there. After 40 minutes cooling I started worrying about the yeast I was rehydrating, so I aerated the wort down to 80 and pitched the yeast. I put the whole fermenter in a Ranco controlled fridge at 59 degrees. Measured OG at 1.040, slightly less than predicted.

I decided to go with the SafLager-23 yeast because I read that it can cause some fruity esters. To me, Dos Equis Lager has a sweet, almost apple-cidery kind of taste, so I wanted to get a little of that going. I figure that pitching the yeast at a little higher initial temp should help to accomplish that, as well. We'll see.