All Day IPA v2.0

My last four brews have been pretty experimental. I made three batches of the same pale ale with only a change to the malt as a bast malt experiment. Then I made a sour ale which will probably be a few more months in the barrel and has a distinct possibility of tasting terrible. Today is a different story. Today I brew for the ole taste buds.

I'm going back to the well of delicious hoppyness for this brew by whipping up another batch of the old 'All Day' recipe. I did want to make a couple of changes though because that's what I do. I upped the flaked oats to 20 percent of the grist because that's how I understand Founders brews it. I also added 1 lb. of Munich because I love a little of the darker German malt in my pale ales. Lastly I decided to try adding all my hops in the last 20 minutes since I've heard good things about late hopping. Lastly I'll be finishing it all off with a 30 minute hop stand of the 0 minute additions at 180F to favor aroma and flavor over bitterness.

Recipe Notes
Style: Pale Ale

Batch Volume: 5 gal.
Color: 7 SRM
Target Bitterness: 45 IBU
Target OG: 1.050

Grist
5 lb. Pale Malt
2 lb. Flaked Oats
1 lb. Crystal 20
1 lb. Munich
8 oz. Rye Malt
8 oz. Wheat Malt

0.5 oz. Amarillo (20 min.)
0.5 oz. Simcoe (20 min.)
1 tsp. Irish Most (15 min.)
0.5 oz. Amarillo (10 min.)
0.5 oz. Simcoe (10 min.)
0.5 oz. Amarillo (5 min.)
0.5 oz. Simcoe (5 min.)
0.5 oz. Amarillo (0 min.)
0.5 oz. Simcoe (0 min.)
1 oz. Amarillo (Dry Hop 5 days)
1 oz. Simcoe (Dry Hop 5 days)

Safale US-05

Brew Notes
Brew Date: 9/27/15
Mash Temp: 150F
Mash Time: 60 min.

Boil Time: 60 min.
Fermenter Volume: 4.8 gal
Measured OG: 1.046

Great day for an outdoor brew. The sky was threatening rain but it held off for the whole brew day. Raised water to 160F. Dropped to 150F after dough in. I'm getting a lot of variation on my temp drops after dough in. I have to dial that in a little better. After flame out I chilled down to 180F in two minutes then pitched the 0 minute addition and covered with a towel. Smelled fantastic. Chilled down to 85 then took a reading. OG was 1.050 but only collected 4.3 gallons of wort. That's pretty poor efficiency and I'm not sure why. Anyway, I wanted more volume so added 1/2 gallon of water to reach OG of 1.044 in 4.8 gallons. Chilled wort in keezer for a few hours to 68F. Pitched US-05 and aerated.

10/4/15 - Racked to secondary. Gravity is 1.008. Smells fantastic. Tastes a little thin. Also, forgot to temperature correct my OG. Corrected is 1.046, so we're sitting at 5.0% ABV right now.

10/6/15 - Dry hopped 2 oz. in a single hop bag and swished it around a bit.

Kegging Notes
Measured FG: 1.007
Attenuation: 85%
ABV: 5.1%
Calories: 149 per 12oz.
Carbonation: 2.5 volumes (After force carbonating)

10/12/15 - Kegged after dry hopping for six days. Gravity is 1.007. Hop aroma and flavor is fantastic. The malt body is a little bit 'meh' though despite the six-malt grist. Maybe simpler is better.

Bam Biere Clone

Today I try my hand at a style I've been thinking about brewing for several months - a Belgian sour ale. Whenever we're in Ann Arbor I try to make a point of stopping at Jolly Pumpkin to taste as much sour ale as possible. I'm especially a fan of their Bam Biere, a light Belgian sour ale with a full body, thick white foam, and enough sourness to keep you thinking about that next sip.

On a recent trip to Michigan my wife brought back a bottle of Bam Biere with a healthy dose of live cultures living at the bottom. After waiting a few agonizing months I finally found some time to brew with the dregs. That also meant we finally got to drink it! It was a good day. So here's my first attempt at a Bam Biere-like sour.

Recipe Notes
Style: Belgian Sour

Batch Volume: 5 gal.
Color: 6 SRM
Target Bitterness: 23 IBU
Target OG: 1.039

Grist
4 lb. Pilsner
2 lb. Pale Malt
1 lb. White Wheat
9 oz. Flaked Barley
4 oz. Crystal 80

0.8 oz. Crystal (60 min.)
0.8 oz. Crystal (30 min.)
1 tsp. Irish Most (15 min.)
0.5 oz. Crystal (0 min.)

WLP 550 Belgian Ale Yeast
Bam Biere Dregs

Brew Notes
Brew Date: 9/6/15
Mash Temp: 153F
Mash Time: 60 min.
Boil Time: 60 min.
Fermenter Volume: 4.5 gal
Measured OG: 1.048

Raised mash water to 156F. After dough in temp dropped to 153F and held steady there for the hour long mash. Pretty uneventful brew day; everything went great. Could only chill the wort to 80F because our ground water was pretty warm so I put the wort in my keezer overnight to chill. Temp was 60F in the morning. Pitched the vial of WLP 550 and the bottom inch or so of a Bam Biere we drank last night. Dregs were saved in the refrigerator.

After one day of fermentation my air lock blew off because, of course, I was brewing with wheat. EVERY brew I do with 1 lb or more of wheat has air lock problems. I could have fermented in my larger bucket but I didn't want to contaminate it with the Bam Biere bugs. I'm sure the beer will be fine but was very inconvenient nonetheless.

9/13/15 - Took a sample after one week and it smelled and tasted like nasty cheese. I wasn't too deterred though, assuming this was just one of several phases a sour ale transitions through on its way to being tasty. Gravity is 1.006.

One week before racking I re-swelled my oak barrel by filling with tap water and then slowly refilling as the water leaked out. After a few hours in the kitchen sink it was holding water pretty well. Topped it off and left it in the basement utility sink for a week to be sure it would hold. Performed like a champ.

9/25/15 - Before racking I drained and refilled the barrel with 180F water and left for 1 hour to kill a lot of the acetobacter that had collected in the unused barrel. The water I drained smelled and tasted a bit like vinegar and I didn't want much of that in the final beer. Drained the water and immediately racked the beer. In hind sight I probably should have let the barrel cool before racking but it'll probably be fine.

There was still some head space in the barrel so I decided to fill with water instead of letting oxygen hang out in the barrel and feed any acetobacter. Had to add over a gallon of water to fill the barrel, diluting to an effective OG of about 1.038. A little lower than I'd like but we'll do better next time. Sample smelled and tasted great. Just like Bam Biere. Excited to see how it ages.