tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67131487823210459442024-02-18T18:47:14.258-08:00Birmingham Brew JournalBhamBrewerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16376442563895529353noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713148782321045944.post-85130116151067975942009-05-12T10:15:00.000-07:002009-05-12T10:38:12.518-07:00Big Brew WeekendI took off work Friday May 8th for a long weekend and brewed every day. Friday I brewed two beers a <a href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/swmbo-slayer-belgian-blonde-26599/">Belgian Blonde</a> and an Apricot Blonde. The Apricot Blonde was just a standard recipe that I will either add some apricot puree in secondary or add some extract when I keg. I made one change to the Belgian recipe, instead of pale 2-row I used maris otter. These two beers are the first time I've made all grain blonde beers. I also mashed in at a lower temperature and my efficiency suffered. I normally get about 75% but the apricot was at 65% and the belgian was at 70%. I normally do a 30 min mash and for the belgian I went to 45 min and it helped.<br />Saturday I slacked off and only brewed one beer a <a href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/se-la-saison-44931/">Saison</a>. This beer I extended my mash to 1 hour and I was back to my 75% efficiency. <br />Sunday I made an <a href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f74/imperial-honey-porter-78185/">Imperial Honey Porter</a>. The OG on this was 1.094 and I hope to get it down close to 1.015-1.020. I also made a lower gravity porter off the second runnings of the grains and that beer ended up with an OG of 1.024. <br /><br />Here is a picture of my closet after I got all the beer fermenting.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQl1yKSJAPLFtklzXSSfaFAxhbPMeLqwJydUm8oG6PlYbAva20F7-rK0SNTpDdu-WiEcG6srZeV4JO4_2_yW0kCiQjh8gWMP-zwAQmHdCQRmA6M1V6zFKUf5BJsSf75viGdKXAX0S2b4/s1600-h/fermenters20090510.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQl1yKSJAPLFtklzXSSfaFAxhbPMeLqwJydUm8oG6PlYbAva20F7-rK0SNTpDdu-WiEcG6srZeV4JO4_2_yW0kCiQjh8gWMP-zwAQmHdCQRmA6M1V6zFKUf5BJsSf75viGdKXAX0S2b4/s320/fermenters20090510.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334992715155319570" /></a>BhamBrewerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16376442563895529353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713148782321045944.post-7285636289390194382009-05-03T11:20:00.000-07:002009-05-03T16:09:32.520-07:00National Homebrew DaySaturday May 2nd was National Homebrew Day. I was not able to brew yesterday but I was able to get in a brew today. I brewed <a href=http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/lake-walk-pale-ale-32939/>Dude's Lake Walk Pale Ale</a>. I did not have the hops or yeast that he calls for so here is what the recipe turned out to be.<br /><br />Lake Walk Pale Ale<br />8.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row)<br />2.00 lb Toasted Malt<br />0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L<br />0.50 lb Wheat, Flaked<br />1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) <br />1.00 oz Pearle [8.00 %] (20 min) <br />1.00 oz Pearle [8.00 %] (5 min)<br />1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min)<br />1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 5.0 min) <br />1 Pkgs Nottingham<br />1.00 oz Pearle [8.00 %] (Dry Hop 14 days)<br />1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) <br /><br />Efficiency 77%<br />OG 1.060BhamBrewerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16376442563895529353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713148782321045944.post-34480512190852565102009-03-02T17:13:00.000-08:002009-03-02T17:52:36.599-08:00Birthday BrewMy brew day started at 7:00am today. I brewed an Abbey Pale Ale, kegged my Regal Amber and transferred a Barley Wine to secondary. The Barley Wine was a group brew from <a href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f38/09-09-09-barleywine-swap-guidelines-recipe-64150/">Homebrewtalk</a>, it started with an OG 1.112 and is now down to FG 1.011. It still has a strong alcohol taste but it should mellow over the next six months. The Regal Amber was brewed on 2-2-09 I still have six kegged beers ahead of this one.<br />The Abbey Pale Ale I brewed for my one year brew anniversary (6-7-08). If this one turns out well I plan on brewing it again on 6-7-09. Recently I have been experimenting with my mash times. Most everything I've read says to mash for one hour. But more recently I have seen that 30min or 15min is all the grain needs to convert the sugars. My last five beers I went with 45min mash times and have been getting 72% efficiency. This beer I went with 30min and still hit about the same efficiency (76%). Well here is the recipe if anyone is interested.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Abbey Pale Ale</span><br />6.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US <br />1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L <br />1.00 lb Munich Malt <br />1.00 lb Vienna Malt <br />1.00 oz Hallertauer <br />1.00 oz Hallertauer <br />1 Pkgs Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530) Yeast-Ale<br />Mash 11.25qt of water for 30min.BhamBrewerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16376442563895529353noreply@blogger.com0