Thursday, May 27, 2021

Still breathing, still brewing

Has it really been 4 whole years since I wrote a brewing post?

And yet, so much has happened. In 2017, I got a new brewing system, "The Eagle"-- a pair of 15-gallon keggles and other gear from a brewer in Ottawa. I settled into a rhythm of brewing, with a few years of starting with an english pale ale, followed by a cream ale or blonde, and then a hoppy "Warbler" series pale ale, all at 10 gallons that the new system allowed.

The Eagle in the morning sun, ca. 2019

Then in 2018, I built Ferdinand the fermentation chamber, which is an old chest freezer driven by a Brewpi. Room enough for 2 fermenters, with temperature probes driving extremely precise temperature control. It has given me the ability to better control my fermentations, and even do lagers-- though practically speaking, my calendar rarely allows me to give a lager 2 months in the chamber when I have other beers to run.

Brewpi controller and relay box
Ferdinand and his contents


And finally, when COVID descended upon our lives, came a surprising move out of Kitchener, up the road to the little town of Fergus. With it, a complete uprooting of the brewery away from the Mount Hope-Breithaupt neighbourhood that gave the brewery its name.

The new place presents a nice new brewing setup. There's an attached double garage, with room for equipment storage and also the fermentation chamber. Because it's insulated and temperature controlled, I can run consistent fermentations despite garage climate swings. The inner entrance to it is the laundry room, which makes for easier brew day cleaning. All in all, a lot less work to set up and tear down.

At the new place, I've now run three brew days so far. The first two batches have followed my now usual pattern, but with a twist: I tried my first Kveik yeast brews.

The first: Kveiking Voyage, a variation of my Voyage of Discovery English Pale Ale. This one was an attempt to minimize grain-to-glass time, with a ludicruous (to me) 75 degrees F fermentation temperature. It turned out OK, but had a definite stamp of character from the yeast. It was ready to drink less than 2 weeks from brew day, but it took some weeks after that to shed some of this overpowering character to mellow out.

The second, Krispy Kreme, was a cream ale using Escarpment Labs "Krispy" Kveik yeast. This time, no ridiculous fermentation temperature. The goal was to get something as clean as possible and see if this yeast lives up to its reputation to be used as a "quick faux lager yeast". This one came out fairly clear, but still didn't finish low and imparted some fruity character with a slightly lemony edge. Still, the second keg of this beer (which got an effective month of finishing time) is excellent.

So, what's my overall take on these Kveik yeasts? They haven't really given me the results others have bragged about, and I'm not sure why. They both left stamps on their beer that time only improved by diminishing, which defeats the original purpose. There seems to be no replacement for good cold conditioning. Still, they aren't bad-- but unless I'm brewing some kind of IPA that would benefit from them I'll probably stay away in the future. My tastes continue to drift towards clean, clear, drinkable beers... and Kveik hasn't given me a quicker path to that.

Here's to many more brews here, a half hour's drive upriver from the old digs!

Recipes below the cut!


Brewing Steps: Kweiking Voyage
Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
Type: All GrainDate: 27 Feb 2021
Batch Size (fermenter): 10.75 galBrewer: Chris Klein
Boil Size: 12.46 galAsst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 minEquipment: The Eagle (10 gal)
Final Bottling Volume: 10.00 galBrewhouse Efficiency: 75.00
Fermentation: Ale, Two StageTaste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:

Prepare for Brewing

 

No yeast starter used

 Clean and Prepare Brewing Equipment
 Total Water Needed: 14.98 gal
 Mash Water Acid Treatment: None
 
Water Prep
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
10.00 galDistilled WaterWater1--
5.00 galKitchener WaterWater2--

Mash or Steep Grains

 
Mash Ingredients
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
9 lbs 8.0 ozPale Malt (2 Row) Canada (2.0 SRM)Grain346.3 %0.74 gal
5 lbsPale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)Grain424.4 %0.39 gal
4 lbsMunich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM)Grain519.5 %0.31 gal
1 lbsMelanoidin (Weyermann) (30.0 SRM)Grain64.9 %0.08 gal
8.0 ozCarafoam (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM)Grain72.4 %0.04 gal
8.0 ozCaramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (Muntons 150) (60.0 SRM)Grain82.4 %0.04 gal
 
Mash Steps
NameDescriptionStep TemperatureStep Time
SaccharificationAdd 36.24 qt of water at 160.2 F152.0 F60 min
Mash OutHeat to 168.0 F over 10 min168.0 F10 min
 Sparge Water Acid Treatment: None
 Fly sparge with 5.92 gal water at 168.0 F

Boil Wort

 Add water to achieve boil volume of 12.46 gal
 Estimated pre-boil gravity is 1.047 SG
 
Boil Ingredients
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
0.80 ozWarrior 14.7% Pellet [14.70 %] - Boil 60.0 minHop920.8 IBUs-
2.00 ozGoldings, East Kent 4.4% Pellet [4.40 %] - Boil 15.0 minHop107.7 IBUs-
2.15 tspIrish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins)Fining11--
2.00 ozGoldings, East Kent 4.4% Pellet [4.40 %] - Boil 5.0 minHop123.1 IBUs-
 
 Estimated Post Boil Vol: 11.46 gal and Est Post Boil Gravity: 1.053 SG

Cool and Prepare Fermentation

 Cool wort to fermentation temperature
 Transfer wort to fermenter
 Add water to achieve final volume of 10.75 gal
 
Fermentation Ingredients
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
1.0 pkgHornindal Kveik Blend (Escarpment Labs #)Yeast13--
 Measure Actual Original Gravity _______     (Target: 1.053 SG)
 Measure Actual Batch Volume _______     (Target: 10.75 gal)
Fermentation
 27 Feb 2021 - Primary Fermentation (4.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)
Primary Ingredients
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
2.15 tspYeast Nutrient (Primary 3.0 days)Other14--
 03 Mar 2021 - Secondary Fermentation (10.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)
 
 
 Dry Hop and Prepare for Bottling/Kegging
 Measure Final Gravity: _________  (Estimate: 1.012 SG)
 Date Bottled/Kegged: 13 Mar 2021 - Carbonation: Keg with 3.12 PSI
 Age beer for 30.00 days at 65.0 F
 12 Apr 2021 - Drink and enjoy!
Notes
100% fergus water
Forgot irish moss :(
Put in more yeast nutrient.
Fair bit more 5.2 (About 3tbsp) because the Fergus water is so hard... pH readings seemed to help. Maybe this is why efficiency shot up??

Created with BeerSmith


Brewing Steps: Krispy Kreme
Cream Ale
Type: All GrainDate: 04 Apr 2021
Batch Size (fermenter): 10.75 galBrewer: Chris Klein
Boil Size: 12.46 galAsst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 minEquipment: The Eagle (10 gal)
Final Bottling Volume: 10.00 galBrewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Fermentation: Ale, Two StageTaste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:

Prepare for Brewing

 

No yeast starter used

 Clean and Prepare Brewing Equipment
 Total Water Needed: 14.62 gal
 Mash Water Acid Treatment: None
 
Water Prep
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
10.00 galDistilled WaterWater1--
5.00 galKitchener WaterWater2--

Mash or Steep Grains

 
Mash Ingredients
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
8.0 ozRice Hulls (0.0 SRM)Adjunct32.7 %0.06 gal
14 lbsPale Malt (2 Row) Canada (2.0 SRM)Grain475.7 %1.09 gal
3 lbsCorn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)Grain516.2 %0.23 gal
 
Mash Steps
NameDescriptionStep TemperatureStep Time
SaccharificationAdd 31.44 qt of water at 160.7 F150.0 F60 min
Mash OutHeat to 168.0 F over 10 min168.0 F10 min
 Sparge Water Acid Treatment: None
 Fly sparge with 6.76 gal water at 168.0 F

Boil Wort

 Add water to achieve boil volume of 12.46 gal
 Estimated pre-boil gravity is 1.044 SG
 
Boil Ingredients
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
1 lbsSugar, Table (Sucrose) [Boil] (1.0 SRM)Sugar65.4 %0.08 gal
0.50 ozWarrior 14.7% Pellet [14.70 %] - Boil 60.0 minHop713.3 IBUs-
1.50 ozStyrian Goldings 2.6% Pellet [2.60 %] - Boil 15.0 minHop83.5 IBUs-
2.10 tspIrish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins)Fining9--
1.50 ozStyrian Goldings 2.6% Pellet [2.60 %] - Boil 5.0 minHop101.4 IBUs-
 
 Estimated Post Boil Vol: 11.46 gal and Est Post Boil Gravity: 1.050 SG

Cool and Prepare Fermentation

 Cool wort to fermentation temperature
 Transfer wort to fermenter
 Add water to achieve final volume of 10.75 gal
 
Fermentation Ingredients
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
1.0 pkgKrispy Kveik Blend (Escarpment Labs #)Yeast11--
 Measure Actual Original Gravity _______     (Target: 1.050 SG)
 Measure Actual Batch Volume _______     (Target: 10.75 gal)
Fermentation
 04 Apr 2021 - Primary Fermentation (4.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)
 08 Apr 2021 - Secondary Fermentation (10.00 days at 67.0 F ending at 67.0 F)
 
 
 Dry Hop and Prepare for Bottling/Kegging
Dry Hop/Bottling Ingredients
AmtNameType#%/IBUVolume
2.00 ozStyrian Goldings 2.6% Pellet [2.60 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 DaysHop120.0 IBUs-
 Measure Final Gravity: _________  (Estimate: 1.008 SG)
 Date Bottled/Kegged: 18 Apr 2021 - Carbonation: Keg with 17.22 PSI
 Age beer for 30.00 days at 65.0 F
 18 May 2021 - Drink and enjoy!
Notes
Big starter! 11.2oz at 3.3L to hit a 1.0 pitch rate (39% viability on the yeast!?)

Another use of 5.2 to make for a predictable mash

Ferment at 18.5C to try and get a clean ferment.

Created with BeerSmith




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