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Post by Ken on Aug 10, 2020 17:13:04 GMT -6
I was noodling with a tap label for this today. I made this one for an upcoming batch... and decided to use the same format... I'll get it on a handle sometime this week and probably brew the beer on Wednesday afternoon.
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Post by Seven on Aug 11, 2020 6:36:51 GMT -6
No, went with what I had on hand, which ultimately came to 8# Weyerman Pils, 1# Vienna and 1/2# CaraPils. Looking at 1.047 or thereabouts, although I think I may hit high...double crush, step mash, confirmed full mash conversion. It's been a pretty smooth brew day so far despite still working even though I'm technically on PTO. Looks like I spoke too soon. I hit all my numbers but I was recirculating too much during the mash and compacted the grain bed, overflowing the malt tube (malt pipe?) and getting grains in my boil. I tried to skim off as many as possible but some remained. I also had some scorching on the bottom of the unit that I discovered after racking to the fermenter. I think it must have been my salt additions or possibly the yeast/sugar oxygen scavenging addition. The wort looked a bit dark (forgot to take a pic Ken) given the grain bill so I assumed it was from some splashing during the mash but now I think it was from the scorching. Didn't taste a sample going into the fermenter, which is odd for me. Now just waiting on the yeast to do its thing. Using a cold water bath to get the fermenter down into the upper 50s, low 60s. Not much sign of life at this point.
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Post by Ken on Aug 11, 2020 7:59:09 GMT -6
I seem to remember a Brulosophy experiment where they intentionally threw some spent grain into the boil (because grains in the boil have been a homebrewing boogeyman for years) and they concluded that there were no ill-effects from doing that. The scorching part and the dark wort part do seem slightly worrisome but we'll have to wait and see. Good luck with the beer. I am not making this up... I have had dreams of making and drinking this beer. Sincerely. I don't know why I'm so jacked up to make it but I am. Cheers.
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Post by Seven on Aug 11, 2020 8:05:39 GMT -6
LOL, it's a style that interests me too for some reason! I like well-made pils but don't often get or make them. I'm going to change that!
I guess grains get boiled during a decoction so that shouldn't worry me too much...those Germans seem to know a thing or 2 about brewing! My mash ph was around 5.3 per Bru'n Water and I believe it has to be above 6.0 to extract tannins.
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Post by Ken on Aug 11, 2020 10:38:29 GMT -6
I mentioned this earlier but at some point last year I found myself out for lunch, dinner, out with buds at a bar, etc. and I happened to be on a pilsner kick. All of these were 'craft' beers made either locally or regionally... none were from Germany. All of them had a pretty good kick hop-wise and all of them were absolutely delicious and well-made. Clear, balanced, nice head on the beer, clean-tasting and properly brewed without question. It prompted me to make one with a recipe I just based on what I tasted and I was happy with that one too. I just brewed that same beer (cold, carbed, kegged and lagering now) and now I'll make this Italian Pils tomorrow. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
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Post by zymot on Aug 11, 2020 20:02:41 GMT -6
I seem to remember a Brulosophy experiment where they intentionally threw some spent grain into the boil (because grains in the boil have been a homebrewing boogeyman for years) and they concluded that there were no ill-effects from doing that. The scorching part and the dark wort part do seem slightly worrisome but we'll have to wait and see. Good luck with the beer. I am not making this up... I have had dreams of making and drinking this beer. Sincerely. I don't know why I'm so jacked up to make it but I am. Cheers. As Denny very adroitly points out, if boiling grains added off flavors or other nasties, every decoction mashed beer would suck duck eggs.
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Post by jimdkc on Aug 11, 2020 22:51:48 GMT -6
I seem to remember a Brulosophy experiment where they intentionally threw some spent grain into the boil (because grains in the boil have been a homebrewing boogeyman for years) and they concluded that there were no ill-effects from doing that. The scorching part and the dark wort part do seem slightly worrisome but we'll have to wait and see. Good luck with the beer. I am not making this up... I have had dreams of making and drinking this beer. Sincerely. I don't know why I'm so jacked up to make it but I am. Cheers. As Denny very adroitly points out, if boiling grains added off flavors or other nasties, every decoction mashed beer would suck duck eggs. That's what I always thought!
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Post by Ken on Aug 12, 2020 7:52:13 GMT -6
I seem to remember a Brulosophy experiment where they intentionally threw some spent grain into the boil (because grains in the boil have been a homebrewing boogeyman for years) and they concluded that there were no ill-effects from doing that. The scorching part and the dark wort part do seem slightly worrisome but we'll have to wait and see. Good luck with the beer. I am not making this up... I have had dreams of making and drinking this beer. Sincerely. I don't know why I'm so jacked up to make it but I am. Cheers. As Denny very adroitly points out, if boiling grains added off flavors or other nasties, every decoction mashed beer would suck duck eggs. As a new brewer you hear to recirc your wort long enough so that you don't see any solid material, particulate, etc. in the wort at all and then run it off into the kettle. I did try a decoction a few times and I agree that when the grains neared a boil and started steaming... I wondered what on Earth I was doing. Even with a Hochkurz mash, you pour boiling water into the MT (if you don't have a direct-fired MT) and that made me wince as well. All of that said, I know there are steps (secrets?) that German brewers use to create the most delicious beer on the planet. Decoction? Step mashes with less-modified malt? Low-oxygen? Only the best ingredients used at the peak of their freshness? Not sure.
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Post by Ken on Aug 12, 2020 9:58:12 GMT -6
Filtering water and weighing out grains now for a late-afternoon-early-evening brewday with this Italian Pils. I will post a pic of the wort I have at the end of the session.
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Post by Ken on Aug 12, 2020 14:17:00 GMT -6
The directions for this beer say to wait until fermentation is complete, crash, add dry hops and lager for 4 weeks. I can do one of two things... add the dry hops to the fermenter before the beer goes to the keg but then I would need to know how long to leave the dry hops in there. Or... send the beer to the keg and add the hop bag and then lager the beer for a month and maybe tie a string on it so that once a few beers are tapped, the bag is just hanging above the beer. I am leaning towards option 1 because it will be [slightly] better LO-wise and I would also like this beer to be clear and having hops in the keg seems like a surefire way to get cloudy beer. Seven, how are you going to do the DH? I may just throw them in the fermenter for 2-3 days and call it good. Then transfer, chill, gel and carb.
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Post by Ken on Aug 12, 2020 17:17:58 GMT -6
Sometimes I feel like a real Homer in this hobby. So the recipe says to mash in at room temp and slowly raise the temp, stop at 151 (I think) for 10 minutes, then 162 and then 170 for a mashout. I have never really heard of mashing in at room temp and of course that would not be possible for anyone who doesn't have a direct-fired MT. But then I start thinking about all of the things that are happening along the way. I also think the instructions are kind of vague because it could take one brewer an hour to get there while it takes another person 20 minutes. Then I start thinking about less-modified grain and how step mashes are better for them and the fully-modified grains could actually have a problem and not do well with the step mash. Am I putting too much thought into this? About 5 minutes left in the boil and then Tipopils will be chilled.
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Post by gusso on Aug 12, 2020 17:38:36 GMT -6
I like the KISS method of homebrew. That's why I just do ales, single infusion. Works for me.
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Post by Ken on Aug 12, 2020 17:51:31 GMT -6
I like the KISS method of homebrew. That's why I just do ales, single infusion. Works for me. I have some simple ales coming up soon and I'm looking forward to that. But one of my goals is to make the perfect lager whether it's something German, Czech, etc. Seven, are you also using the Anvil Foundry? Did you do the mash the way the recipe states?
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Post by Ken on Aug 12, 2020 19:25:16 GMT -6
Well, here's a shot of the Tipopils wort. It was getting a little dark outside but you get the idea. I used 9.5 lbs of Best Malz Pils, 1.4 ounces of CaraMunich 1 (as the recipe calls for) and then couldn't help but add one (ONE!) ounce of the copper malt. Wort seems very pale. I'm going to let the beer ferment in the fridge and when I take it out I will add the dry hops and let it sit at room temp for 3 days or so and then transfer it to the keg, chill, gel, carb, lager.
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Post by Ken on Aug 12, 2020 20:56:50 GMT -6
I have this framed picture hanging in my bar area. I never really thought too hard about it... it's just beer. But I wonder what Birra Italia Pilsen really is or was. It's clearly old.
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