Archive for March, 2010

After much excitement building our own lautur mash tun and taking the plunge into all grain brewing, we measured a disappointing 2.021 FG and saw that our Chocolate Irish Stout only held 3.12% ABV.

Now, this really isn’t that far off the mark for an Irish stout, with Guinness at 4.2% ABV and Murphy’s at 4%, but we were hoping for a little more bite from our first lauter mash tun experiment. We added an extra 6 oz. of chocolate malt and a bit more Kent Goldings hops in the hopes of adding extra “fermantables” that the yeast could feed on.

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THE LOW ABV

We did not maintain a consistent temperature during mashing, which could have affected yeast conversion. The recipe instructions had us partially mashing on the stove and then transferring to the mash tun only for the last few minutes; directions which are contrary to most mashing advice. As a result, the wort might not have converted enough sugar for the yeast to then consume (and thus less conversion to ethyl alcohol and lower ABV).

Still thinking about the mash, another culprit could be that our mash efficiency is low, perhaps caused by not grinding the grains up sufficiently. Using an online Efficiency Calculator tool, our ideal 100% mash efficiency is around 1.048 OG, and we measured 1.045, so not too far off the mark there. Another factor to consider is the yeast. This was our first bath using liquid yeast and we forgot to remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature for the full 1 hour recommended (what can I say, we drink home brew while home brewing and sometimes details are overlooked). Our pals at Listermann’s Supply think this might have been a factor in lower yeast activity. They also asked if we shook up the vial and I honestly cannot remember (again, I blame the home brew refreshment).

ONWARD WE BREW

Really, our first attempt at all-grain mashing didn’t turn out so bad. We have a few possible factors for the low ABV and a few ideas to keep in mind for next time. Some stouts do have a lower gravity and ABV, so we weren’t entirely off the mark there. An expected benefit might be that we can enjoy more of our low ABV home brew without getting a headache the next day …

Growing your own hops is relatively easy, a great stepping stone for intermediate home brewers, and it might even save you some money. The “rhizome” is the stem of the hop plant, which will eventually send out roots and grow above ground. Rhizomes are usually ready to order around mid to late March and there is no shortage of online vendors willing to ship across the country [see below]. These plants are perennials and will return year after year, going dormant during the winter months. The average yield from a plant is around 2 pounds of dried hops, which means you can save anywhere from $12 to $40 on the cost of pellet or leaf hops (depending on the variety) for an investment around $10.

WHERE TO ORDER

A quick search of the beer forums brought a few online vendors to the top of the list. Of course if you are fortunate enough to live out in Oregon or other growing regions, check out your local farmers as well. I have excluded supply shops and online distributors and focused this list on buying direct from the growers themselves.

• Thyme Garden Herb Company – Organic farmers in Oregon who offer a variety of hops around $5.95/rhizome and a low $3.00 shipping rate anywhere in the country. This is the only grower that actively promotes its crop as fully organic. We purchased our rhizomes from this company and they should arrive next week.
• Freshhops.com – Also from Oregon, this site is a favorite among home brewers. They offer an exhaustive list of hop rhizomes (many of which I had never heard of … Wye Viking, Zeus, Hallertau) for around $5 – $7 with standard shipping rates.
• HopsDirect.com – This Washington state family farm has been operating since 1932 and offers the basic hop varieties for $7.00/rhizome and standard UPS Ground shipping rates from WA to your address apply.

WHICH HOPS TO PLANT

While hops are a generally a hearty plant, able to withstand the cold winter months, some are easier for the first time grower (which is the category we fall into). Our research has shown that the best hops for early success (assuming your climate is amenable to growing hops) include Cascade, Magnum and Nugget. These are all high alpha hops that can be used across a variety of beer styles.

When you obtain your rhizomes, they should be kept in a slightly moistened plastic bag and in a refrigerator until planting time. Find a spot with lots of sunshine and a structure on which to grow vertically; for example a fence or trellis. More pictures to come once the rhizomes arrive and we start planting. Cheers to growing your own hops!

We decided the time was right to make the leap into all grain brewing and built a lautur-tun to try a new recipe for Chocolate Irish Stout. We got our hands on a rectangular 48 quart cooler and decided to build a “manifold style” apparatus for separating the liquid from the mash. With ambition high and chance of success low, we spent most of the weekend at Lowe’s trying to implement our DIY plan. To my surprise, when we explained our idea to the Lowe’s guy, expecting confusion, he responded with “oh yea, sure, a lauter tun” as if it was commonplace. Sean at Highland Lowe’s, you rock.

LET’S BUILD A LAUTER-TUN
Our lautur tun had 2 main components to build: (1) the manifold to drain liquid and (2) a nozzle spout that could be turned on/off and attach securely to the cooler AND the manifold. We removed the existing spout and found that creating a tight, secure connection (to avoid leaks) was tricky. We eventually purchased 7 feet of 1/2 inch CPVC piping and a whole bag of washers, nuts and nozzles to create the connection. It is important to use CPVC and not traditional PVC since the high temperatures could interact with chemicals in the PVC and make your beer very unhealthy. By some miracle, everything fit securely and our home brewing egos just ratcheted up a bit higher.

LET’S MASH, BABY!
Now on to our first all grain brewing! We chose a relatively safe recipe for Irish Stout but decided to add a bit of chocolate malt (1/2 lb) to balance our increased 2 ounces of hops. We got to hang with the big boys at the brewing shop and grind up our 4 different types of grains, throwing out manly and knowledgeable comments to other brewers like “So, what do you think of the black 2 row grains?” or “Yea, we had some success with that english malt for our pale ale but you gotta watch that boil”. It was awesome.

Mashing is actually much easier than I thought. Really you just combine the heated water and grains in your cooler … and then wait for the magical sugar-sucrose conversion to happen. I couldn’t see this happening but allegedly it was. After the allotted time, we drained a bit of the liquid (which was speckled with grain) and re-circulated it back into the cooler. These speckles appear at the beginning (hence the re-circulating) but weren’t present after that. As a secondary measure, we held a small strainer between the hose and the pot to catch any other stray grains.

WHO WANTS TO SPARGE?

After the liquid was drained down to the last inch in the cooler, we started “sparging” by pouring hot water on the spent grains, which helped us get every last bit of converted sugar from the grain. We ended up with about 3.5 gallons of extracted liquid and started boiling on the stove, adding hops when appropriate, and pitching the yeast after cooling. We had to cool the pot in a homemade igloo of snow outside but it got the job done.

High hopes for this one. A success on our first all grain brew could really kick our egos up to dangerous levels. The next brew will be something more appropriate for the (hopefully) warm weather on its way soon.