Ready to Rack

Last night the Clambake was down to 20 PPM. This morning it was at 10. Now down to 2. It's been steady at 66 degrees F. Ready to rack!

46 PPM

Still at 66 degrees F.

Clambake IPA - Popping Slowing

Our brew was popping at 96 PPM this morning at about 9:00. Right now it's at 72 PPM. Temperature is still at 66 degrees F.

Clambake IPA - 130 PPM

!

Clambake IPA - Popping

58 ppm.

Clambake IPA

Recipe from Bob at Bob's Homebrew Supply
6.6 lb. Coopers Light
2 lb. light dry malt extract
1/2 lb. 40 L. crystal malt
2 oz. Columbus hops (boil)
1 oz. UK Kent Goldings (last 20 minutes of boil)
1 oz. UK Kent Goldings (steep)
Wyeast 1056 American yeast

Steeped grains at about 170° for about 20 minutes
Brought 3 gallons of water and steeped grains to boil
Added malt extracts, returned to boil
After hot break, added Columbus hops

Added remaining hops at appropriate intervals

Boil for one hour
Cooled wort in boiling vessel for about 25 minutes
Added wort to primary fermenter with additional boiled, cooled filtered water
Added about 1/2 gallon unboiled spring and filtered water
Pitched yeast and aerated
Hydrometer reading: 1.054 at 71°; temperature corrected OSG: 1.055

Next time:
○ Boil more water in advance (this time for sure…)




Notes about this yeast from Wyeast:

1056 American Ale Yeast.
Probable origin: Balentine India Pale Ale, USA
Beer Styles: American Pale, Brown Ales, Porters, Stouts, IPA's
Commercial examples may include: Sierra Nevada Ales, Belentine IPA, and St. Louis Pale Ale, Flatlanders
Unique properties: Very clean crisp flavor characteristics. Low fruitiness and mild ester production. Slightly citrus like with cool 60-66º F, (15-19º C) fermentation temperatures. Versatile yeast, which produces many beer styles allowing malt and hop character to dominate the beer profile. Flocculation is moderate. Flocculation improves with dark malts in grain bill. Normally requires filtration for bright beers. DE or Pad filtration recommended. Flocculation - low to medium; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (60-72° F, 15-22° C)

Check out the delicious lunch prepared for us by Robert:



Oysters, clams, mussels, crab, potatoes and kielbasa. Yumm!

Dark Star ESB - Ready

Tried to hold off tasting this batch until Ken and Robert came over today to share the first taste with them, but Megan's dad (also named Ken) dropped the kids off last night and said he'd heard good things about my home brew and wanted to try some. So he, his father David, Thorly and I all sampled the brew last night. Very tasty, fresh (of course), hoppy and bitter. Very dark for an ESB. It has been pressurized at 20 lbs until a day or two ago and is perhaps a bit over-carbonated. But overall, a very fine brew.

Avid Brewer

Met a fellow at the Kuli Loach show down at the Dubliner last night who is quite an avid brewer. He said he has brewed 43 batches in the last year. I asked him if he kegs his beer, and he said no, he bottles it. He likes to have several varieties cold and ready to drink at any given time and doesn't have the refrigeration space for multiple kegs. His spare bedroom has been taken over by bottled beer.

Dark Star ESB - Kegged

Kegged. There was a nice, fine 1/4" or so thick layer of yeast at the bottom of the carboy.

Siphoning: Rinsed the racking cane with boiled water, then inserted empty into the carboy with a clothespin used as a stop to let it go only about 3/4 the way down. Extended the racking cane closer to the bottom as transfer progressed. I think this could be a good method, but a little fumbling at the end stirred up more yeast than necessary. Still, all in all, a good transfer.

Dark Star ESB - Racked

Racked to carboy. The brew is pretty dark. Little rust-colored islands of yeast were floating on the top, but much of the surface of the brew was clear. After racking, a thick (~ 1/3") layer of yeast was at the bottom of the primary fermenter. The carboy was not quite filled, only up to about half way up the taper from the full width part to the neck. Looks very clear, with a thin ring of bubbles around the top. Popping once every two minutes. The beta brew is very tasty. SG: 1.013 at 67°.

Dark Star ESB - Popping Slows

Pops down to a couple per minute.