So, it's kegged up, and last night it started to come into the "Carbonated enough" phase. So here's a quick A,S,T,M,D review, for which I'm trying to be objective. I've put IPA in quotes above, because this beer doesn't strictly fit the IPA category, being too light in color and too high in alcohol.
About this beer: NEPAtism (stands for "New England Pale Ale", and is a riff on the latin derived "nepotism" which is favoritism.. and my beers are usually my favorites) is a lightly colored "stout" IPA, sporting a huge alcohol content, fruity notes of citrus and grapefruit, moderate bitterness, and a sweet bready backbone. Clocking in at 9% ABV, the moderate hopping balances well with the lighter malts used to make this beer.
A(ppearance) - Golden. Unfiltered, and somewhat hazy. Expecting that this will settle out over the next few days @ 30*F. Decent head formation, considering it is under-carbonated at the moment.
S(mell) - A hint of the Amarillo hops kisses the nose, and then an almost sugary malt presence fills the nostrils.
T(aste) - Starts with notes of grapefruit and citrus. A warm bitterness fills the palate, and is then swept away by sweet notes of bread and malt.
M(outhfeel) - Light, like a cream ale or a pilsner, which is surprising considering the grist to water ratio. Somewhat like grapefruit or pineapple juice.
D(rinkability) - The high ABV makes this beer not sessionable. Probably at most two pints of it a night, or else the morning will be... you know. Goes does smooth, and crisp, with each sip showcasing different notes. Slightly fruity in some sips, and malty in others. Bitterness is smooth and almost "warming" (NOTE: different from a hot alcohol flavor). Definitely will have no trouble quaffing this beer.
Overall impression - for my first winter-brewed IPA using Lowell water, I'm quite impressed. It's malty, hoppy, citrusy, and will certainly make an impression on ones inhibitions. Even the biggest beer drinkers will have trouble handling the alcohol, and the fact that it's not detectable on the palate means it's easy to put a few away. Quite happy with this beer.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wowoweewow
So, did a final measurement of the beer yesterday afternoon (roughly 4:30 pm). After almost 2 weeks in the fermenter, we hit our target FG (slightly lower, actually) 1.021. This gives a final beer ABV of 9.2%, which makes this monstrosity a bear of a pale ale.
Sampling some lead to no detectable alcohol notes. The malt sweetness did come to the forefront after a citrusy bitterness, characteristic of those beautiful Amarillo hops. The beer has a definite protein haze, that I'm hoping will go away once I rack to the kegs and cold crash @ 30*F. My impressions of S-05 are only that much stronger. It's clean, hard working, and left no yeast in the final beer. The fact that a single packet of it will last forever, and that pitching it is roughly 200bn cells is only gravy. WPL001 or Wy1056 can't compare @ their price points. Indeed, for a good, neutral ale yeast I'm on board the Fermentis Safale-05 train. I'm betting I could even get a subtle, delicate kolsch from it.
On to packaging, and subsequently, tasting. MMM.
On the brewery plans front, I've done some pricing on CIP brewhouses (7bbl) and some fermenting vessels. That stuff isn't cheap, let me tell you. Even used dairy equipment requires quite a bit of sweat equity before it's usable. I've also toyed with the essence of nano and seeing if I can "do it" on my home-brew equipment by adding some more fermentation capacity. With the system the way it is, I know I could probably put out 1-2 bbls a week. In laymans terms, that's 15-30 cases. Just going by the IPA costs for a beer, if I spend $.20 per 12oz beer, and charge the retailer $1 per beer, that means the retailer will have to charge $31 per case. $31 isn't a whole lot, but that breaks down to $8 or so for a 6-pack. Again, not crazy outrageous. But it means $288 per week gross (that's the 1bbl output) and is only roughly $18k. That means, it's not worth it. Even if I could miraculously push to 2bbls a week, that's still only $36k / year. Again, difficult to justify for what will essentially be quadruple brew-days. If, however, I charge the retailer $2/bottle, I gross $576 / week on a batch. That comes out to a nice $29k / year gross, and it's mostly doable with what I have. But that assumes a few things.
2) I brew 1bbl every week (which will be 2 brews on my current setup).
3) I have the fermentation capacity (likely, I'll have 1wk queues, meaning I'll want at least 2 bbls of fermentation)
4) I have the ability to bottle 360 beers / week
5) I can sell all this beer.
$2 / beer isn't an easy sell, I think. That means that the 6-pack is probably gonna be $15 for the consumer, which is a tough sell. Now, I think if I buy everything bulk, my price drops a bit. That same .20 beer, is now .04 / beer. That means that I might be able to get away with dropping the price to something like $1.25 or so / beer.
I dunno - figuring out these numbers over and over again is tough.
Sampling some lead to no detectable alcohol notes. The malt sweetness did come to the forefront after a citrusy bitterness, characteristic of those beautiful Amarillo hops. The beer has a definite protein haze, that I'm hoping will go away once I rack to the kegs and cold crash @ 30*F. My impressions of S-05 are only that much stronger. It's clean, hard working, and left no yeast in the final beer. The fact that a single packet of it will last forever, and that pitching it is roughly 200bn cells is only gravy. WPL001 or Wy1056 can't compare @ their price points. Indeed, for a good, neutral ale yeast I'm on board the Fermentis Safale-05 train. I'm betting I could even get a subtle, delicate kolsch from it.
On to packaging, and subsequently, tasting. MMM.
On the brewery plans front, I've done some pricing on CIP brewhouses (7bbl) and some fermenting vessels. That stuff isn't cheap, let me tell you. Even used dairy equipment requires quite a bit of sweat equity before it's usable. I've also toyed with the essence of nano and seeing if I can "do it" on my home-brew equipment by adding some more fermentation capacity. With the system the way it is, I know I could probably put out 1-2 bbls a week. In laymans terms, that's 15-30 cases. Just going by the IPA costs for a beer, if I spend $.20 per 12oz beer, and charge the retailer $1 per beer, that means the retailer will have to charge $31 per case. $31 isn't a whole lot, but that breaks down to $8 or so for a 6-pack. Again, not crazy outrageous. But it means $288 per week gross (that's the 1bbl output) and is only roughly $18k. That means, it's not worth it. Even if I could miraculously push to 2bbls a week, that's still only $36k / year. Again, difficult to justify for what will essentially be quadruple brew-days. If, however, I charge the retailer $2/bottle, I gross $576 / week on a batch. That comes out to a nice $29k / year gross, and it's mostly doable with what I have. But that assumes a few things.
2) I brew 1bbl every week (which will be 2 brews on my current setup).
3) I have the fermentation capacity (likely, I'll have 1wk queues, meaning I'll want at least 2 bbls of fermentation)
4) I have the ability to bottle 360 beers / week
5) I can sell all this beer.
$2 / beer isn't an easy sell, I think. That means that the 6-pack is probably gonna be $15 for the consumer, which is a tough sell. Now, I think if I buy everything bulk, my price drops a bit. That same .20 beer, is now .04 / beer. That means that I might be able to get away with dropping the price to something like $1.25 or so / beer.
I dunno - figuring out these numbers over and over again is tough.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
OMG 2 POSTS!!
But this second post is a doozy!
Supposedly, Todd Mott, head brewer at Portsmouth Brewery (and all-around awesome guy) decided to cry-havoc and let slip the recipe for one of the most coveted brews in the world: Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout.
Below is the, supposedly, 100% accurate, from the brew-master himself, recipe notes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will give you #s for a full mash and a partial mash, since it is pretty much impossible to brew Kate with an all extract recipe.
When we brew a batch of Kate we use 77% Pale malt, 2% Crystal 45, 1% Caramel 120, 1% Chocolate malt,1% Black malt, 3% Carafa DH# 3 (Weyerman),3.5% Wheat malt 3.5% Flaked Barley, 2% Roasted malt,3.5% Special B, 2.5% Aromatic. We dough in at 166 to stabilize the mash at 149 degrees F. Saccrification rest for 45 min. or until conversion occurs. Vorlauff (recirculate) 'til clarified and run off. Collect about 1/3rd of your wort and sparge to collect 6.5 gals (for a 5 gal. yield) at 26 degrees Plato or 1.104 degrees Specific Gravity. Yea it's big.... but we like it like that!! (So you are going to need to use your mash tun efficiency to figure out how many pounds of malt you are going to need in total. But to tell you the truth when you get to this thick of a mash your efficiency is going to drop 3-4%).
Boil the wort for 5 mins. for the hot break and then add your bittering hops for 75 mins. We bitter at 38 IBUs with Magnum, 10 IBUs with Styrian Golding and 15 IBUs with Perle. This is the bittering addition. We add a flavor addition for 15 mins with Centennial for 2 IBUS. Our final addition of Palisade, Styrian Golding and Willamette account for about 3 more IBUs at whirlpool. Cool wort and pitch a good amount of White labs WLP 001 or Wyeast 1056 and ferment til it is done. Put into conditioning for about 5 or 6 months and you'll have an amazing imperial stout.
Now, if you brew a partial mash, use 9#s Pale malt extract and 2# amber malt extract. Add to your brewing liquor and bring to 150 degrees. Add your specialty grains that have been lightly crushed. Add the crushed grains into a muslin sack consisting of 1# 45 Crystal malt,1/2# 120 caramel malt,1/4# chocolate malt,1/4# black malt,1/2# carafa malt,1.25#s wheat malt,1.5#s flaked barley, 1/2# roasted barley,1/2# special B and 1/2# aromatic. Steep the specialties in the 150 degree liquor for 45 mins. Remove the sack from your kettle and let the gains drip dry over the kettle as you bring the brewing liquor to a boil. Then add your Malt Extract (off the flame of course so not to scorch it), 18-20#'s of it should give you enough fermentables. Once you hit a boil add the hops as above and cool and ferment as above.
Good luck. Hope this helps Cheers! Tod Mott
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So far, I haven't had any luck verifying the authenticity of this information - but if it proves to be true, yours truly will have 10 GALLONS of the stuff this year. I'm not quite sure how long the conditioning period will actually take (they estimate 5-6 months), but check it out - 1.104 OG. That's a HUGE beer.
One more in the pipeline.
Supposedly, Todd Mott, head brewer at Portsmouth Brewery (and all-around awesome guy) decided to cry-havoc and let slip the recipe for one of the most coveted brews in the world: Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout.
Below is the, supposedly, 100% accurate, from the brew-master himself, recipe notes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will give you #s for a full mash and a partial mash, since it is pretty much impossible to brew Kate with an all extract recipe.
When we brew a batch of Kate we use 77% Pale malt, 2% Crystal 45, 1% Caramel 120, 1% Chocolate malt,1% Black malt, 3% Carafa DH# 3 (Weyerman),3.5% Wheat malt 3.5% Flaked Barley, 2% Roasted malt,3.5% Special B, 2.5% Aromatic. We dough in at 166 to stabilize the mash at 149 degrees F. Saccrification rest for 45 min. or until conversion occurs. Vorlauff (recirculate) 'til clarified and run off. Collect about 1/3rd of your wort and sparge to collect 6.5 gals (for a 5 gal. yield) at 26 degrees Plato or 1.104 degrees Specific Gravity. Yea it's big.... but we like it like that!! (So you are going to need to use your mash tun efficiency to figure out how many pounds of malt you are going to need in total. But to tell you the truth when you get to this thick of a mash your efficiency is going to drop 3-4%).
Boil the wort for 5 mins. for the hot break and then add your bittering hops for 75 mins. We bitter at 38 IBUs with Magnum, 10 IBUs with Styrian Golding and 15 IBUs with Perle. This is the bittering addition. We add a flavor addition for 15 mins with Centennial for 2 IBUS. Our final addition of Palisade, Styrian Golding and Willamette account for about 3 more IBUs at whirlpool. Cool wort and pitch a good amount of White labs WLP 001 or Wyeast 1056 and ferment til it is done. Put into conditioning for about 5 or 6 months and you'll have an amazing imperial stout.
Now, if you brew a partial mash, use 9#s Pale malt extract and 2# amber malt extract. Add to your brewing liquor and bring to 150 degrees. Add your specialty grains that have been lightly crushed. Add the crushed grains into a muslin sack consisting of 1# 45 Crystal malt,1/2# 120 caramel malt,1/4# chocolate malt,1/4# black malt,1/2# carafa malt,1.25#s wheat malt,1.5#s flaked barley, 1/2# roasted barley,1/2# special B and 1/2# aromatic. Steep the specialties in the 150 degree liquor for 45 mins. Remove the sack from your kettle and let the gains drip dry over the kettle as you bring the brewing liquor to a boil. Then add your Malt Extract (off the flame of course so not to scorch it), 18-20#'s of it should give you enough fermentables. Once you hit a boil add the hops as above and cool and ferment as above.
Good luck. Hope this helps Cheers! Tod Mott
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So far, I haven't had any luck verifying the authenticity of this information - but if it proves to be true, yours truly will have 10 GALLONS of the stuff this year. I'm not quite sure how long the conditioning period will actually take (they estimate 5-6 months), but check it out - 1.104 OG. That's a HUGE beer.
One more in the pipeline.
Resending an inquiry to Mass.
I'm (not)surprised that I haven't received a response from the ABC, yet. Not only must they be busy (as I understand it, there are some 23 farm-brewery licenses in MA), but the recent snow is probably keeping the inspectors unable to come in and answer emails. Regardless, I'm going to resend my inquiry about what a farm-brewery means, in terms of zoning.
On the IPA front, the vigorous fermentation that had been going is subsiding. It hasn't finished out completely, my sunday night measurement showing only 1.026 gravity. If I hit my FG target, I'll jump for joy. If I don't.. meh.
As far as flavor and aroma go, well... it's definitely pleasant. The aroma is faint and subtle (I didn't dryhop), so you'll have to dig to get anything other than a mild blend of hops and bready-grain. However, the flavor is a nice warming bitter. Like something that was hopped just enough to give interesting tongue tickles, but not enough that you feel drowned in a sea of citrus and bitter. I'll be cleaning out the kegs sometime this week, and kegging it up. My brother has a stake on a few of them, so I'm expecting that one keg might be kicked the next day.
I've volunteered ingredients and equipment to a local homebrew club's first barrel brewed behemoth. I'm hoping that the whole thing works out and we get some good use out of the barrel. It's 55 gallons, so both my fermenters won't be nearly sufficient to ferment this monstrosity of an Imperial Stout. But, I have triple 20g Blichmanns, plus some random coolers that could be used. We'll work it out.
Additionally, I'm going to pick up more Vittles Vaults, the stackable kind, and get in on a huge group buy. I'm hoping to pay $30 to $40 USD for a 55# sack of T.F. Maris Otter, and maybe $25 for one of Munich light. Add another $30 or so for a sack of Crystal 60L. I'm gonna look into some of those metal wire racks that use the snap-in wedges for support and store all my grain and chemistry in an easy to access manner.
On the IPA front, the vigorous fermentation that had been going is subsiding. It hasn't finished out completely, my sunday night measurement showing only 1.026 gravity. If I hit my FG target, I'll jump for joy. If I don't.. meh.
As far as flavor and aroma go, well... it's definitely pleasant. The aroma is faint and subtle (I didn't dryhop), so you'll have to dig to get anything other than a mild blend of hops and bready-grain. However, the flavor is a nice warming bitter. Like something that was hopped just enough to give interesting tongue tickles, but not enough that you feel drowned in a sea of citrus and bitter. I'll be cleaning out the kegs sometime this week, and kegging it up. My brother has a stake on a few of them, so I'm expecting that one keg might be kicked the next day.
I've volunteered ingredients and equipment to a local homebrew club's first barrel brewed behemoth. I'm hoping that the whole thing works out and we get some good use out of the barrel. It's 55 gallons, so both my fermenters won't be nearly sufficient to ferment this monstrosity of an Imperial Stout. But, I have triple 20g Blichmanns, plus some random coolers that could be used. We'll work it out.
Additionally, I'm going to pick up more Vittles Vaults, the stackable kind, and get in on a huge group buy. I'm hoping to pay $30 to $40 USD for a 55# sack of T.F. Maris Otter, and maybe $25 for one of Munich light. Add another $30 or so for a sack of Crystal 60L. I'm gonna look into some of those metal wire racks that use the snap-in wedges for support and store all my grain and chemistry in an easy to access manner.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Quick Fermentation Update
So, with no yeast nutrients, and barely having fermentation control (the fermenter is sitting in a room that stays at ~55 deg), we've hit 1.030 gravity. The beast isn't finished fermenting yet, as the blowoff tube was makin' noises like crazy.
Had a sample, too. It's good. Definitely an IPA, with an assertive hop flavor following a nice sweet bready initial taste. Probably this saturday I'll check again, and pitch some czech saaz (I'm thinking 2 oz) for a nice earthy hop bouquet. I'm quite happy with the color, too. Pale as can be - which is somewhat deceptive for the style.
1090 to 1030 in 4 days. Hopefully, the next 3 or 4 days will have it all the way down, and I can keg, cold-crash, carbonate, and consume.
Success!
Had a sample, too. It's good. Definitely an IPA, with an assertive hop flavor following a nice sweet bready initial taste. Probably this saturday I'll check again, and pitch some czech saaz (I'm thinking 2 oz) for a nice earthy hop bouquet. I'm quite happy with the color, too. Pale as can be - which is somewhat deceptive for the style.
1090 to 1030 in 4 days. Hopefully, the next 3 or 4 days will have it all the way down, and I can keg, cold-crash, carbonate, and consume.
Success!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Fermenters
Someone recently asked me for pictures and a description of the fermenting vessels I'm using; since I like showing off my bling, here are a few pics.
This is an overview shot of my keg-fermenter. It's exactly what it sounds like: A keg that has been modified to be a fermenter. Since the keg doesn't have a conical bottom, a racking arm is essential for leaving the trub, dry-hops, and lees behind. The whole thing is sanitary welded thanks to Mike Carty of Derry, NH. The kegs are also legally acquired, as I understand it. Big props to the man.
Next up:
Here's a shot of the racking arm. The rod indicates position, and can be used to manipulate the arm while draining to ensure I take everything BUT the aforementioned un-wanted cruft at the bottom. The large, bulging piece at the center is where the arm clamps to the fermenter, and the drain valve clamps to the arm.
And now:
Here you see the arm clamped into the fermenter, and the drain valve clamped to the arm. The valve is a 3piece 304 stainless ball valve with a threaded TC male connector. Nothing too fancy.
As far as co2 considerations:
Here, you see a platform TC opening, useful for cleaning the fermenter, followed by a 3/4" barbed blowoff tube attachment. Again, all tri-clamped, and all done with beautiful sanitary welds.
This is an overview shot of my keg-fermenter. It's exactly what it sounds like: A keg that has been modified to be a fermenter. Since the keg doesn't have a conical bottom, a racking arm is essential for leaving the trub, dry-hops, and lees behind. The whole thing is sanitary welded thanks to Mike Carty of Derry, NH. The kegs are also legally acquired, as I understand it. Big props to the man.
Next up:
Here's a shot of the racking arm. The rod indicates position, and can be used to manipulate the arm while draining to ensure I take everything BUT the aforementioned un-wanted cruft at the bottom. The large, bulging piece at the center is where the arm clamps to the fermenter, and the drain valve clamps to the arm.
And now:
Here you see the arm clamped into the fermenter, and the drain valve clamped to the arm. The valve is a 3piece 304 stainless ball valve with a threaded TC male connector. Nothing too fancy.
As far as co2 considerations:
Here, you see a platform TC opening, useful for cleaning the fermenter, followed by a 3/4" barbed blowoff tube attachment. Again, all tri-clamped, and all done with beautiful sanitary welds.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Woah for efficiency
So, I finished a brew-day on the new system today. The day was much longer than anticipated due to a few issues that cropped up:
1) My march-pump stopped working. This meant I had to revert to manual labor for shifting liquid around. Gravity feed is fast, it's true. But it can get heavy.
2) It was 30 degrees, ambient temperature - with a pretty good wind. This meant my heating took WAAYY long.
3) I measured out the recipe in 2lbs increments.
So, on to the good news. I hit 85% efficiency. Yeah, you're reading that correctly. 85%. I can probably get in the 90s if I tweak the system a bit more, but 85% is AWESOME. NOTE: that's 85% mash+sparge efficiency. I don't know what the boil-off efficiency is. The cooling tonight was provided by my trusty IC, since without both pumps I couldn't use my sweet new heat exchanger. That will have to wait for another brew-day.
10 gallons of American Pale Ale fermenting strong, though. That's all that counts. I used all Amarillo. Only 4.5 ounces for 10 gallons, and it's 8.2% Alpha Acids, so, by my estimate, we're looking at 44 IBUs. Roughly, it's a Harpoon level bitter. The really crazy part? 1.090 on-the-dot OG. Safale-05 gives 75% fermentation efficiency, giving an estimated FG of (I think) 1.023, and final alcohol content of 8.9% ABV. Not too shabby!
We'll see in a week how it goes. In the meantime, I've left the brewery a mess. I have 28lbs of grain to cleanup, and 3 large pots to scrub, which I'll need to do asap. Off to bed though - gotta make sure I get my beauty sleep.
1) My march-pump stopped working. This meant I had to revert to manual labor for shifting liquid around. Gravity feed is fast, it's true. But it can get heavy.
2) It was 30 degrees, ambient temperature - with a pretty good wind. This meant my heating took WAAYY long.
3) I measured out the recipe in 2lbs increments.
So, on to the good news. I hit 85% efficiency. Yeah, you're reading that correctly. 85%. I can probably get in the 90s if I tweak the system a bit more, but 85% is AWESOME. NOTE: that's 85% mash+sparge efficiency. I don't know what the boil-off efficiency is. The cooling tonight was provided by my trusty IC, since without both pumps I couldn't use my sweet new heat exchanger. That will have to wait for another brew-day.
10 gallons of American Pale Ale fermenting strong, though. That's all that counts. I used all Amarillo. Only 4.5 ounces for 10 gallons, and it's 8.2% Alpha Acids, so, by my estimate, we're looking at 44 IBUs. Roughly, it's a Harpoon level bitter. The really crazy part? 1.090 on-the-dot OG. Safale-05 gives 75% fermentation efficiency, giving an estimated FG of (I think) 1.023, and final alcohol content of 8.9% ABV. Not too shabby!
We'll see in a week how it goes. In the meantime, I've left the brewery a mess. I have 28lbs of grain to cleanup, and 3 large pots to scrub, which I'll need to do asap. Off to bed though - gotta make sure I get my beauty sleep.
Friday, January 7, 2011
ABC - it's easy as...
So, I sent an email to the ABC regarding Massachusetts' legalese surrounding a farm brewery. Could a farm brewery be operated on, say, a farm? A residential zone? If it were doing off-premises wholesale transactions? Under, say, 250 bbls a year? Any answers? Anyone?
The first person I tried redirected me to the ABC inspectors office. I haven't heard back from that office, but it's only been a week and I'm sure the inspector is on vacation, or dealing with lots of licensing stuff, atm. My wife works with the inspectors for the city of Lowell, so I understand how much time the job takes.
Hopefully I hear back from them soon, though. If not, I'll be sending an email complaining for more information.
The first person I tried redirected me to the ABC inspectors office. I haven't heard back from that office, but it's only been a week and I'm sure the inspector is on vacation, or dealing with lots of licensing stuff, atm. My wife works with the inspectors for the city of Lowell, so I understand how much time the job takes.
Hopefully I hear back from them soon, though. If not, I'll be sending an email complaining for more information.
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