August 28, 2011

I started off the day by kegging Janelle's Baby Brew.  It is a beer designed to promote lactation while being low in alcohol.  I only used 6 pounds of grain to keep the alcohol content low, 4 pounds of organic 2-row, 1 pound of organic 2-row toasted in the oven for one hour at 275 degrees, 1/2 pound of black roasted malt and 1/2 pound of crystal 120 malt.  I also added 1 pound of oatmeal and 2 ounces of fennel.  This was my first time brewing with fennel.  I hopped the beer with 1 ounce of Simcoe hops for 60 minutes and 1 ounce of Willamette for 15 minutes.  To keg the beer I put the corney keg in our fridge for a couple days under 30 PSI and then shook vigorously for maybe 5 minutes while having the pressure on.  The taste test revealed a mild beer with good hop and licorice flavor.  I typically do not like fennel to eat but it adds good licorice hints and works well in the beer.  The hops and licorice overpower any malt character.  The beer is definitely not a typical oatmeal stout.

I used Safale US-04 in the Baby Brew and had little fermentation after 3-4 days.  This could be attributed to the low malt content but most likely is due to the cold temperatures.  Our house hovers from 62-68 degrees and after the initial week I moved the carboy to the garage which ranged from 58-62 degrees.  Due to the temps and the oncoming winter I purchased Saflager w-34/70.  My ale yeast brewing will most likely be limited to June and July.  The brew sat in the primary for three weeks and then moved to the secondary for three more weeks, this was probably not needed and I could have kegged the beer after two weeks.

Our keg of artisan sparkling water ran out today.  We are heading down to Seward again and will likely fill up the kegs at Lowell Point.

I also brewed a straightforward batch of beer along the lines of a black lager.  I used 11.5 pounds of two row, last 1/2 pound of crystal 120, and 1/2 pound of black roasted malt.  I hoped the beer with 1 ounce of Simcoe for 60 minutes, 1/2 ounce of Willamette at 10 minutes and 1/2 ounce of Simcoe at flame out.  The Saflager yeast was re-hydrated in 80 degree wort for 30+ minutes.  I chilled the brew kettle down to 65 degrees which took little over an hour.  The yeast was stirred into the wort and let set for two minutes then pitched.  The carboy was placed in the garage immediately with a temperature of 59 degrees.  Fermentation was active the next morning and the garage was 52 degrees.