quantumfish.com

Pretty Good Year

// June 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // Food, Music, Photography, Travel

My last vacation back to Missouri was for Thanksgiving last year. Here is a short video composed of snippets of footage I shot while spending time with the family. Everything was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II outfitted with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Lens and then edited together with Final Cut Pro on a MacBook Pro.

Thanksgiving 2009 from Josh Farr on Vimeo.

Also – the Flickr Set from the trip.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter Clone

// April 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Brewing

This is batch #3.

My goal with each new batch of beer is to do something I’ve never done before. I use this experimentation as a way explore and learn about the world of beer and brewing. There are usually several new things that I introduce each time I brew, but overall I try to limit the variables to a small extent in order to help me understand the role that each one plays. In this case, I’m trying out a new style. Also, I’m working with both LME and DME in a single batch. While I’ve worked with each on their own, I’ve never combined them. It shouldn’t really be a big difference, but it’s still a new variable.

This particular recipe comes from the replicator column in the December 2009 issue of Brew Your Own magazine. It’s a clone of Great Lakes Brewing Co’s Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. This is a small regional brewer located in Cleveland, Ohio. I’ve never actually had the original and have never seen it distributed on the west coast or even anywhere west of the Mississippi. I chose this recipe based only on my recent interest in the porter style. I can only judge the results against my experience with other porters and not whether it stacks up as a successful clone.

Original Recipe

• 6.6# Coopers Light Unhopped Extract
• 1.1# Light DME
• 12oz Crystal 60L
• 8oz Chocolate Malt
• 8oz Roasted Barley
• 1oz Northern Brewer 9% AAU
• .5oz Fuggle 4.75% AAU
• .5oz Cascade 5.75% AAU
• WLP013 / Wyeast 1028
• Yeast Nutrient

Profile

• OG 1.060
• FG 1.015
• IBU 37
• ABV 5.8%
• SRM 34

Notes

I’ve quickly found out that my LHBS introduces yet another unforeseen factor into the mix as well. They’re a very small shop with limited space for warehousing the vast array of ingredients that recipes can call for. As a result, ingredient substitutions are sometimes necessary. In this case, I’ve been forced to substitute Safale 04 as the yeast and Styrian Goldings in place of the Fuggle. Additionally – though probably less notable – I used a generic pale LME rather than the Coopers branded light extract. I’m not entirely sure about the exact name or brand sold at my particular shop. They simply measure requested quantities out into 1 gallon buckets from a much larger unmarked 55 gallon barrel.

Stats

• Brew Date: 11-15-09
• Actual O.G. 1.060
• Actual F.G. 1.020
• Actual ABV: 5.3%
• Actual IBU: 31

Schedule

• Steep grains in 1.5 gal water @ 155° 30 minutes
• Northern Brewer @ 60 minutes
• Fuggle @ 30 minutes
• DME @ 15 minutes*
• Yeast Nutrient @ 15 minutes
• Cascade @ 0 minutes
• Primary: 3 days
• Secondary: 11 days

*One final deviation I’ve made to my version is to use late extract addition and with the DME. This leads to a slightly higher IBU due to greater hop utilization. It could also potentially reduce the effects of extract caramelization which include a higher SRM (darker color) and off tastes. In the case of a dark beer such as a porter, these aren’t significant issues anyway.

Brew Day

With two batches now under my belt, I’m beginning to feel a bit of confidence in the basic processes. There are three simple tenets to the mise en place of the brew session – sanitizing, cooking water, and measuring hops. Anything that touches the wort after the boil must be properly sanitized. Since this is a partial boil extract recipe, additional top off water must be first boiled and set aside to cool. More water must be heated both for steeping and rinsing grains. Finally, the hops additions need to be measured out for adding during the boil as well.

Everything seems to be going smoothly. Then, disaster strikes. Knowing the risk of burning undissolved extracts, I’ve made sure to turn off the stove’s burner while the malt extract is poured and mixed into the kettle. Regardless, I’ve still somehow managed to burn it. Either my boil is too vigorous or the extract just isn’t fully dissolved before turning the burners back on. Large black flecks begin to circulate in the boil. I’m not sure exactly what has gone wrong, but what resemble large flakes of peeling paint are threatening to ruin my brew. I try to reduce the damage by lowering the heat while still maintaining a boil and using the brew spoon to attempt to collect and fish out these burnt extract confetti bits throughout the hour long boil. My only hope is that anything I can’t manage to get out of the wort is going to settle out into the trub during fermentation. It’s a gamble, but the only choice I have given my limited experience and resources.

Final Notes

Had this been another style, the problems during the brewing session could have been much more devastating. Luckily, any off or burnt flavors or darker color produced from the scorched extract are able to blend well with the porter style. Additionally, the material has mostly settled into the trub and been removed from the final bottled product. Having prepared a yeast starter instead of simply relying on un-rehydrated dry yeast might have also increased attenuation and helped to get closer to the expected final gravity.

Despite these shortcomings, after priming and bottle conditioning it still ends up being great beer. It might not be anything resembling a proper clone of its namesake, but I don’t much care. Successful recipe cloning and reproduction may certainly be a display of technical brewing expertise. I’ve taken a slightly different path here. Using one interpretation of an existing successful commercial recipe I’m continuing to follow the ethos of the craft and homebrew worlds and created something that is my own.

Valentine’s Edition Brew Day – Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

// February 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // Brewing

So, technically, the brew was on the day after Valentine’s Day (or as it is affectionately known around the house since it coincides with the Chinese New Year, Loony FatChoyintine’s Day). The ingredients were sourced on the most special of holidays, though.

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale is an IPA brewed by Bell’s out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Unfortunately, it isn’t available on the west coast. My first introduction to it was through a visit to the Patton Alley Pub during my vacation back home in Springfield, Missouri. It’s a straightforward dry-hopped IPA brewed with all Centennial hops. Having enjoyed my sampling and not having any access to it back home, I decided to attempt a clone. After a quick bit of Google research, I had a base extract recipe and shopping list.

Ingredients Shortlist


6# Extra Light DME
12oz. Wheat DME
8oz. Aromatic Malt
8oz. Crystal 10L Malt
3.5oz. Centennial 10% AAU
WLP001 Ale Yeast
Whirlfloc Tablet


Hop Schedule


1.5oz. @ 60 minutes
0.5oz. @ 15 minutes
1.0oz. @ 5 minutes
0.5oz. Dry Hop @ 6 days in secondary for 7 days


The clerk at my LHBS recommended sticking with a cheaper single liquid extract instead of two different more expensive dry malt extracts. Taking his advice, I replaced the six pounds and twelve ounces of dry extract with eight pounds of pale liquid malt extract. According to BeerSmith’s calculations, this seems to produce a slightly darker, lower A.B.V, and more bitter beer. The difference does not seem to be significant, though. There is a bigger difference in stats due to using the late extract addition method. Less extract at the beginning of the boil means increased hops utilization and a higher final IBU.

Vital Stats


Target OG w/ LME : 1.063
Target OG w/ DME: 1.064
Target FG: 1.014
IBU w/ LME: 76.7
IBU w/ LME w/o LEA: 50.9
IBU w/ DME: 72.8
SRM w/ LME: 10.2
SRM w/ DME: 6.4
Expected ABV w/ LME: 6.35%
Expected ABV w/ DME: 6.51%

Actual Measured Session OG: 1.060


Session Recipe Summary


6 quarts water @ 158 degrees
4 quarts water boiled, cooled and set aside in primary
8oz. Aromatic Malt +
8oz. Crystal 10L Malt @ 155 degrees for 30 minutes
12 quarts water @ boil
2# Pale LME @ 60 minutes
1.5oz. Centennial Pellet Hops 9% AAU @ 60 minutes
6# Pale LME @ 15 minutes
1 Whirlfloc tablet @ 15 minutes
0.5oz. Centennial Pellet Hops 9% AAU @ 15 minutes
1.0oz. Centennial Pellet Hops 9% AAU @ 5 minutes
1 WLP001 Ale yeast
0.5oz. Centennial Pellet Hops 9% AAU @ Dry Hop 7 days in Secondary


The brewing session went along fairly smoothly and without any major hiccups. The process started with boiling and then cooling an extra gallon of water that would complete the partial boil when mixed with the wort in the primary fermenter. At the same time another gallon and a half of water was heated up to 158 degrees. Once heated, the pound of milled malt grains, combined in a grain bag was steeped for thirty minutes. This rest period presented a good opportunity to sanitize all of the remaining equipment and get the various ingredients measured out in the appropriate timed addition quantities.

The session picked back up with the main boiling period. I’d decided to continue to use late extract addition with a small amount of extract added at the start and the bulk of the remainder near the end. So there were two extract additions and three hop additions along with the clarifier tablet before flameout. The kettle then went into the ice water bath in the sink to cool down below 80 degrees. Once cool, it was mixed with the remaining water in the primary fermenter and the yeast pitched. The last step was sealing it all up with the lid, stopper, and sanitized airlock.

Fast forward twelve hours later to the next morning and there was still virtually no airlock activity. Was the wort hotter than I thought? Had I not aerated it enough? Would I need to go back to the store for more yeast and repitch? I gave it a bit more time and worrying about and by mid-afternoon, the little brewing droid finally began to show signs of life with it’s dutiful bloops and gargles. Within around 36 hours after pitching, yeast activity had kicked into high gear, pushing foam and solid material up into the airlock. Not wanting to switch my worrying over to a clogged airlock and a huge mess, I swapped it out with a sanitized blow off tube and run off bucket.

There are still a few areas in my process that need improvement. I forgot to take a hydrometer reading until almost an hour after I pitched the yeast. This should have been done right before pitching. Also, I might have been able to aerate the wort a bit more by pouring the first batch of water in the primary fermenter a bit more. I don’t think I’m getting very good conversion of my steeped grains. The slightly lower than expected O.G. reading seems to suggest this. I didn’t cover the kettle during the steep so I probably lost a lot more temperature over the course of the half hour than I should have. I also should have rinsed the grains with hot water at the end in order to extract more wort goodness from them.

One of the things I learned coming from the Porter session was how to better handle adding the malt extract. During that boil, the extract hit the bottom of the kettle and scorched and burned. This time, during each extract addition I turned off the heat and then mixed a bit of the hot liquid into the extract before adding it into the kettle. (You could think of this sort of like tempering an egg mixture when making a custard or some egg based sauce.) When working with liquid extract, this loosens it up and makes it easier to mix in. Plus, you can get all of it in the kettle without leaving a thick layer stuck in your measuring container.

All in all, it was a positive session. I’m continuing to learn new stuff every time and still have fun in the process. I’m looking forward to the dry hopping procedure after I rack to secondary next – and of course to tasting the final product in the end. This will also be the first batch that I keg. That’s the subject of another upcoming post…

Addendum

S.G. at the time of racking to secondary was at 1.015 for an A.B.V. of 5.74%. Everything looked good and I tossed the half ounce of pellet hops directly into carboy right before sealing it up with the airlock assembly. Airlock activity is down to one or two bloop per minute now.