Pretty In Pink

Quite fitting for Valentine's day is a pretty in pink fermentation chamber the barrel box. The project is approaching final gravity within a week. The starter culture of Lactobacillus Delbrueckii was given 4 days of heated fermentation at 120F. The first sign of pellicle appeared within 24 hours. After the lag phase the gravity dropped 64% by day four. The flavor is tart with light notes of oak. There is very little acid in this Berliner. The fermentation is very clean. I've pulled a sample contemplating if the acid will increase overtime. I like the clean lactic acid as opposed to the sharp acetic acid from acetobacter. Overall I will say our work is paying off.

2-Day SG 1.040   

Heated fermentation chamber   

White Labs WLP677 Lactobacillus Delbrueckii 24-Hour Pellicle   

Wet towels for additional humidity   

5-Day rolling fermentation. Blow off tubing installed.   

Pulling a sample   

4-Day SG 1.013   

Brewday photo by RF. Yeast Pitching Photo (top) by TC.   

NTHBA Brewday

God smiled with a bit of sunshine for the NTHBA brewday. North Texas was covered in snow Thursday by a winter storm. The high today is expected to reach 52F. We are managing to make beer heating both the air and our brewing kettles. The crowd is dwindling as I clean out the mash-tun. We had a great turn out! We who braved the weather managed five+ total beers. The plus is for CH the-bearded-one. He managed to brew two beers on his rig plus helped with the big batch. The star of the crowd however is CH the-lady-brewer. She braved the cold to visit with us knuckle heads. We are brewing a Berliner Weisse using the Big Rig from BargainFittings.com. If all goes well WY will be home by 5 o'clock. I have tendency for extended brewdays. The batch today went without hiccup —50% wheat mashed with no rice hulls. The last challenge will be maintaining fermentation temperature. We have devised a plan to ferment at 120F. Maybe we should have waited for summer.

Blackman Brew's: NTHBA Shares A Berliner Weisse
Brew Eff: 91% | OG: 1.044 | 2 IBUs | Fermented @ 120F WLP677

50% | Great West Two-Row
50% | Great West White Wheat
30-Min Rest | 132F
60-Min Convert | 140-152F
40-Min Sparge | 165F

60-Min Mash | Bravo Hops 16.8% AA
75-Min Boil | for protein break

Oak Barrel Prepwork

It is midnight the temperature is dropping to freezing while I wrestle with an oak barrel. The last time I prepared a barrel for fermentation I pinched a fingernail and worked for months with black thumb. I do this because I am nuts when I can't sleep. Otherwise I be inside listening to music or "chiving". Nonetheless I lifted this barrel and inserted a washing wand with one hand. She is weeping at the moment while I'm tapping around with hammer and chisel. The staves and the rings are loss. The barrel heads may need a rub with paraffin wax & bees wax. If all fails I have a back up. The last one took several rounds to expand. I am pumping a hot wash using citrus acid with potassium metabisulfite to knock down the wild yeast. The complete cycle will take four hours. The barrel will likely seal for water but fermented liquids are less dense. The fear is after the prepwork she may still weep requiring additional attention.

The wort going into the barrel will be a Berliner Weisse fermented solely with WLP0677 Lactobacillus. The project is part of my 2014 NTHBA Past-President series. This local home brew club are ladies and gents who encourage my efforts. I'd like to think we are building a community together. The Berliner will be a competing tap at the annual Bluebonnet Brew-off. Come out and look for CH and I. We will conduct the brewday this weekend at the NTHBA brewday shares will be split by the members.

Molly Bird visits New Belgium. Thanks for the post card!   

Works Cited:
http://thechive.com/
http://www.bluebonnetbrewoff.com/
http://www.newbelgium.com/community/Blog/14-02-03/Snapshot.aspx

Golden Honey Sour: Barrel Project

Sour Barrel Project: ECY01 & ECY02   

The crowing moment is approaching when the barrel project turns sour. The long term oak aging project has been a collaboration with BargainFittings.com and our pay it forward sponsor JD. Post fermentation share takers are encouraged to experiment further with fruit & botanicals. The grain bill has resulted in a fairly complex base. There are almost no hops in this beer. The acidity will act as the preservative. Over time the beer will become more and more complex. Tonight JD and I are sampling the stater batches. A blend of wild yeast has been selected for fermentation.

ECY01 - Bug Farm
A large blend of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Saccharomyces Fermentati, Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus to emulate sour beers such as lambic style ales. Over time displays a citrus sourness and large barnyard profile.

ECY02 - Flemish Ale
A unique blend of yeast and bacterial cultures (Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus). Produces dry beers with sourness and notes of leather, fruit, and cherry stone

Blackman Brew's: Golden Honey Sour
5 Gallons | OG: 1.060 | 2 IBUs | Fermented with East Coast Yeast | ECY01 Flanders & ECY02 Bug Farm
62% | Weyermann Pilsner
16% | Weyermann Vienna Malt
11% | Gambrinus Honey Malt
 5% | Un-Malted Wheat
 5% | Weyermann Acidulated
 Mash Hops | 0.5 oz | Well Aged - Willamette 4.7% AA
 First Wort Hops | 0.5 oz | Well Aged - Willamette 4.7% AA
90 Min | Boil

JD's Notes:
ECY02 - Flemish Ale
Aroma: slightly sour honey
Appearance: Hazy Golden
Taste: Acidic as hell front, middle & finish. Puckering slight malt initially but completely overtaken almost immediately by the acidity

ECY01 Bug Farm
Aroma: straight up muscadine
Appearance: Gold to slight amber
Taste: Moderate acid from the front to middle + a gentle acidic finish

Notes on East Coast Yeast: Bug Farm and Flemish Ale   

Works Cited:
http://www.love2brew.com/East-Coast-Yeast-Liquid-Yeast-s/217.htm
http://eastcoastyeast.com/products.html
http://winemakermag.com/681-the-strain-game

Barrel Rider

CH the guy riding the barrel has taken charge of the next barrel project. He has prepared a Burbon Porter. The wort was brewed at using the big rig provided by BargainFittings.com two weeks prior. This weekend CH, AW, LW (film director) and I prepped and filled the barrel. CH also managed to brew a large batch of Bochet mead (burnt honey) while AW & I brewed top up wort. In an effort the keep the barrel clean we washed and sanitized with a hot solution of potassium metabisulfite and citrus acid. The idea is to keep the barrel free of wild yeast while we can. The oak character is neutral so we added 1lb of Knob Creek soaked chips. The chamber is treated as a gloried oxidizing vessel. The inlet of O2 is controlled by wood porosity and ambient temperature. I'd like to think all things are measured but I'm really just limiting variables. Oak aging is fun practice. I am waiting to crown the barrel with sour beer.



I'm also waiting for bottles to carbonate. The oaked dark strong has been in bottles for a week. The Belgian Saison yeast has lightly dusted the bottles. The Trappist and 1116 Wine yeast are forming creatures.

week 1 bottle conditioning with 1116 wine yeast   

Crowned and Corked

This weekend a small gang of homebrewers gathered at my place to fill kegs and bottles. After four months of oak aging the barrel project was ready for bottling. As cellarman I had the fortune of sampling along the way. The barrel imparted an interesting fermented berry note that's somewhere between wine and dates. The Belgian Dark Strong has changed immensely. I wanted more specialty crystal malt and cleaner phenols. I liked its warming notes of alcohol, oak, toasted malt, and caramelized sugar. However, the beer is unique.

Tasting Notes:
9/15/2012 Brewday Wort is malty with a hop forward profile. Great gemstone brown color.

9/29/2012 Fermented wort is well balanced with some esters. The flavor is Belgian with some nuttiness and caramels. Has a spicy clove that wants to come forward. Color is medium brown with good clarity.

9/29/2012 Top-up Wort is sweet with little to no hops. Malt presence is low resembles caramelized sugar.

10/3/2012 Phenolic with moderate esters: note higher fermentation temp has attributed more Belgian phenol character (1.015 FG1 | 1.017 FG2)

10/6/2012 Blended batch into the barrel is well balanced with some muted fusels and warming. Great profile needs time to mellow. The color is lower than target.

10/25/2012 Beer is developing nicely. Alcohol warming is slightly lower. Fusels are annoyingly forward. Fresh oak nose with low oak flavor. Barrel temp holding 62F.

12/13/2012 Light fusel nose. No hop aroma with some toasted oak, vanilla and berry wine notes. Profile is more specialty ale than Belgian Dark Strong. Medium-light body. Fully fermented finish. Lacking caramel character. Color is burnished brown. Clarity is brilliant.

12/17/2012 Top-Up Wort sweet with no hop heavy caramel malt for more body.

2/2/2013 Aroma toasted malt with light oak and fermented berry. Warming phenolic with toasted crystal malt light oak and fermented grape notes. Dark brown color with great clarity.

Barrel Racking:
In preparation for racking I had constructed a "racking bulldog" using PVC plumbing. The idea is to push CO2 gas in the barrel to pressurize the head space forcing the liquid out. The design worked well when filling bottling buckets from the hose. Later we switched to keg connections and had some fun. Soda kegs were filled from the beer line out with the pressure release open allowing filling from the bottom up. Kegs with "universal poppets" provided beer showers for all. These poppets restrict flow at the disconnect causing back pressure up-stream. Imagine a rocket torpedoing from the bung spraying everyone with beer. Now repeat twice before identifying the problem. Not fun! We solved the problem with a brace then returned to bottling.

Bottle Conditioning:
In keeping with the practice of re-fermenting in Belgian bottles I prepared fresh yeast for bottling. The yeast was to reach high krausen and be pitched with priming sugar. Using a pint of thin yeast slurry and 130 grams of sugar I am shooting for 2.5 volumes of CO2 in 5 gallons of solution. I have been forewarned this could result in bottles without carbonation so I prepared three for testing (Belgian Saison III, Trappist High Gravity, Dry Wine Yeast 1116). The corks go in straight but expand like mushrooms over time. I am expecting the bottles will carbonate within a month.

FG 1.015 | Final Color   

Before the geyser   

Soda Keg Poppets | Universal - Challenger - Cornelius   

Empty barrel yeast lees & oak additives   

Bottling yeast   

JB & TC Bottling Line   

Beer Run: Barrel Filling Day

Imagine four kegs rolled down the highway at 70MPH. The kegs contained a homebrewed Belgian Dark Strong beer for the barrel project. There are 11 home brewers working together on this project.


Last week six of us gathered to build the Pink Panther insulated barrel aging chamber. CH was able to finish construction despite the rain. We also inverted and caramelized 20 pounds of sugar and brewed 15 gallons of wort to top up the barrel. JB did much of the sugar dilution. While I supervised in general. It was amazing conducting brewing in my one car garage crowed with fermentation freezers and power tools. I had to move the two lawnmowers outside and place a dead fridge on the curb. We racked one from the fermentor saving the yeast to ferment the high gravity secondary wort.

I spent the following week preparing a chest freezer to function as an air handler. The design would exchange cold air for warm air allowing us to age the beer at a set temperature. I finished late Friday night. The next morning I arrived at OG's to pick up the fermented beer. We racked the beer before transporting to cut down on the lees post aging.

Once home four of us filled the barrel and added 3lbs fresh oak. The surface area of the oak added is equivalent to the barrel heads. I am expecting this will take four mouths of aging.

Project Timeline:
Week 1: Brew Base Wort & Ferment
Week 3: Brew Secondary with sugar addition & Ferment
Week 4: Barrel Preparation, Rack and Fill
Week 8: Sample, Check Gravity, Change Blowoff
Months: Bottle with Belgian Corks and Cages

http://www.nadalie.com/_research/nadalie_add-ins_alchemy.pdf  

http://www.nadalie.com/oak-alternatives-guidelines.php  

Beer & CO2 into the barrel O2 out the foil is a dustcover.  

The gravity should fall to 1.012 over time. While not as dark as I intended, this beer is great!  

Works Cited:
http://www.nadalie.com/_research/nadalie_add-ins_alchemy.pdf
http://www.nadalie.com/oak-alternatives-guidelines.php
http://www.nadalie.com/oak-alternatives-sensory.php

Belgian Dark Strong: Barrel Project

I lifted an oak barrel and inserted a washing wand in the bung hole. Lets discuss it's history and refill.

The barrel was cooperaged in 2005 by Nadalie using oak from the Nevers Forest in France. The wood was toasted with a variation of medium to heavy and placed into service in 2007 by Raymond Vineyards. Filled with a 2007 Petite Sirah then a 2009 Sonoma Cabernet before being taken out of service. The barrel is currently being treated with SO2 water.

I've gathered a team of confident home brewers for the project. We brewed a Belgian Dark Strong to fill the barrel. Wayne Yandell of bargianfittings.com supplied the brewing rig. I worked the recipe and OG is fermenting. This is Team GBU. However our greatest members are those who helped brew 45 gallons of beer. Together we will split shares and learn collectively as inspired brewers.

Post fermentation the beer will be transferred to the barrel for aging. We will wait as long as it takes to extract flavor. The beer recipe is quite simple give it a try I'd like to know how it turns out.

Blackman Brew's: Belgian Dark Strong
5.5 Gallons | OG: 1.080 | Fermented with platinum series yeast | Abbey IV WLP540
41% | 6 lbs | Belgian Pilsen
34% | 5 lbs | Maris Otter
12% | 1.75 lbs | D2 Belgian Dark Candy Syrup
 5% | 0.75 lbs | CaraMunich II
 5% | 11 oz | White Wheat
 2% | 5 oz | Special B
 1% | 2 oz | Belgian Light Munich
SRM | 1 oz | Carafa II

60 Min Hops | 1 oz Northern Brewer 9.5%AA | 23 IBUs
30 Min Hops | 1 oz German Select 4.7%AA | 9 IBUs

SRM color before and after the Belgian candy sugar addition.  

Fermenting With Oak

Decided to revisit Double Deuce Brewing with some oak in the fermentation. The ale produced is a Strong Scotch Ale inspired by Traquair House Ale. What I liked about Traquair was it's clean well balanced finish. The beer has a rich malt presence with an acute alcohol warming finish. The sweetness reminds you of Scottish ales without the palate coating malt. Traquair is exceptional in this regard. Wanting to brew with this intention my brewing techniques would be challenged to produce a smooth finishing beer. While formulating the recipe I thought Deuce Brewing would offer great kettle caramelization. I changed the boiling schedule running a smaller boil inside and the remaining on the brew rig. I wanted to control the caramelizing process at the stove-top while maintaining a brewer's boil outside. The first boil commenced for three hours and the second for two allowing me to cool as one batch. The resulting wort is the clearest I've produced with less trub in the transfer. For fermentation I thought oak would accent the malt with hints of wood. I toasted some the sticks in the oven and pitched them into the carboy.

Traquair House Ale—33/52 by nagzi, on Flickr

Works Cited:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nagzi/4963640540/

Oak Shavings Stout

Oak being the universal wood for aging alcohol I've split a stout brew into two beers. One to be aged the other served as-is. The everyday drinker has a rather dry profile with sweet finish. The hopping was moderate so I've decided against dry hopping. The aged beer will sit on oak shavings which have been oven-toasted and boiled with original wort. After the oak chips the beer shall return mid-fall with hints of coconut and vanilla.