1 lb Crystal 40L
4 oz chocolate
8lbs ultralight malt extract
4 oz maltodextrin
.5 oz Northern Brewer hops (60 min)
1 oz Northern Brewer hops (15 min)
1 oz Cascade (10 min)
1 oz Cascade (10-14 days dry-hopped in secondary)
This is the first time that I have tried "dry hopping", which is the process of putting hops into the secondary fermentation stage. I think that, normally, a fine mesh bag is used to contain the hops while they soak, but I didn't have one so I just dumped the pellets right into the beer. Almost all of the hops settled to the bottom after 12 days, but I racked the beer through a crude filter, which very effectively removed the remaining floating bits of hops.
Overall, I think the dry hopping process preserves more hop aroma than would be possible with even just 5 minutes of boiling. 12 days should be the maximum length of time for dry hopping. This recipe is supposed to be an amber, but it tastes much more like a pale ale. It's quite good, and I have very few complaints about it. I would have liked a little more malt flavor and a little less hop, but it's still very tasty, and will be especially good on hot days.
I would make this recipe again and probably shorten the secondary time to 7 days.
Do You making a mash in You're fermenter (with/without taking out the... "rest" from the mesh)? If yes, how?
ReplyDeleteKonrad, I now use a homebuilt stainless steel conical brew vessel. Search my other blog for "fermenter":
ReplyDeletehttp://benkrasnow.blogspot.com/2009/10/stainless-steel-conical-beer-fermentor_22.html
I steep the grains, perform the boil, chill the wort, and carry out primary and secondary fermentations without ever transferring the beer. I dump the trub soon after primary fermentation stops and continue dumping the yeast daily as it settles.
I've checked You're fermenter and I must say... (I'm looking for correct word...) WOW, I'm impressed. Can I copy that project?
ReplyDeleteSo if I understand correct, the rest of the mash You're releasing AFTER the whole process trough this butterfly valve on the bottom, is that right?
Konrad, thanks for the comment. Sure, you can copy every part of my project. Let me know if you have any questions.
ReplyDeleteI brew malt extract recipes, so typically, I use a grain bag to steep the "specialty" grains, then remove them before starting the boil. After boiling and fermenting, there is a lot of trub, which includes grain dust, hops and dead yeast, and I dump it out the butterfly valve at the bottom.