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- Jan 19, 2016
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I've been wanting to get my system back up and running but my entire garage space has been a crapped-out mess. Since we decided to have a big party this year for the first time in a while (used to be an annual winter event), I knew that I needed to clean and organize so I could use the space for food prep and access to the tap-fridge. I had been figuring on just buying a few kegs to serve guests but once I had the garage cleared and a little organized, I couldn't help wanting to see if I could gear up and run a batch. Even though it's really short timing, I figured I'd either have a beer or two (or three or four) to serve or just resort to buying kegs so nothing to lose but the time and effort. The beers would be done eventually, one way or another. 
It was earlier this week when I got things moving in the right direction. I finally got around to plumbing hot and cold water lines to a utility sink (still have to drain it with a flexible hose) and by Tuesday I was able to dig out everything I needed to start brewing. I had been figuring that if I brewed by Wednesday, I'd have a pretty good chance to finish out some small beers by Saturday of the following week. That's a full 10 days. I spent most of the day on Wednesday cleaning the system and giving carboys a good hot soaking with PBW. I got as far as prepping and heating mash liquor but it was getting on toward evening and I realized that if I started, I wouldn't find a stopping point for many hours. I decided to set up and get started early on Thursday. Sure, it cut my timing even closer but it was the only real choice. I spent the evening finalizing the recipe(s) I'd be using and making sure I could pull off what I was planning - 4-way split of a base wort for partial mash batches of an APA, Wit, Cream Ale and Stout, all in the 1.039 to 1.044 range. I used a base of Maris Otter and Flaked Oats and supplemented with extracts, Dextrose and steeped grains, as appropriate. My plan was to boil the main wort for a full hour with some Magnum for basic bittering and then do short boils with the extracts and some flavoring hops to push things in the right direction for each style. A single12-13 gallon batch of mid-gravity wort allowed me to split out, top up and get four 5-gallon-plus batches.
On Thursday morning, I was weighing grain and heating the system reasonably early and doughing in by maybe 10:30. The mash went well enough but the oats made for a slow start as I had to unstick the tun a few times before things got flowing well. I was sparging by around noon or so and after a little break for a bite to eat was getting to a boil by early afternoon. The fates did not conspire toward my success at this point. About 10 minutes into the boil, my controller crapped out and wouldn't run my heating element - the 220 relay had given up the ghost. Fortunately the pump control and temp sensors all still worked and I had my big burner at the ready to take over.
After all the delays, it was getting on into late afternoon by the time I got stated with the individual batches. Fortunately those were 15 or 20 minute boils and went smoothly. I had to bypass my normal chilling procedure and just go with groundwater through my chiller plate but the small batches went quickly. For the Wit, I had a bag of Bavarian Wheat DME and a little addition of Opal hops. For the Pale some Golden Light DME and a shot of Citra Cryo and Azacca hops gave me what I needed. The Stout required a container of Dark LME and a pound of Roasted Barley, steeped for a hour or so plus some Phoenix hops. The Cream Ale used up whatever wort was left plus a little Dextrose to get the volume and gravity right and a little blast of Cluster hops to bring it all home.
I had everything in carboys and cooled to a reasonable pitch temp by mid-evening and was able to pitch yeast by 9 o'clock or so. Long, 12-hour brew day but 4 kegs of beer in 4 styles is a pretty good reward. All carboys were krausened nicely and bubbling away by noon today (Friday). With a bit of luck, I can keep the temps riding in the 68-70 range and my yeasties of choice - LeLamand Wit, Notty, US-05 and S-04 - will do their business within 4-5 days and allow me to keg, crash, fine and serve by a week from tomorrow.
It was earlier this week when I got things moving in the right direction. I finally got around to plumbing hot and cold water lines to a utility sink (still have to drain it with a flexible hose) and by Tuesday I was able to dig out everything I needed to start brewing. I had been figuring that if I brewed by Wednesday, I'd have a pretty good chance to finish out some small beers by Saturday of the following week. That's a full 10 days. I spent most of the day on Wednesday cleaning the system and giving carboys a good hot soaking with PBW. I got as far as prepping and heating mash liquor but it was getting on toward evening and I realized that if I started, I wouldn't find a stopping point for many hours. I decided to set up and get started early on Thursday. Sure, it cut my timing even closer but it was the only real choice. I spent the evening finalizing the recipe(s) I'd be using and making sure I could pull off what I was planning - 4-way split of a base wort for partial mash batches of an APA, Wit, Cream Ale and Stout, all in the 1.039 to 1.044 range. I used a base of Maris Otter and Flaked Oats and supplemented with extracts, Dextrose and steeped grains, as appropriate. My plan was to boil the main wort for a full hour with some Magnum for basic bittering and then do short boils with the extracts and some flavoring hops to push things in the right direction for each style. A single12-13 gallon batch of mid-gravity wort allowed me to split out, top up and get four 5-gallon-plus batches.
On Thursday morning, I was weighing grain and heating the system reasonably early and doughing in by maybe 10:30. The mash went well enough but the oats made for a slow start as I had to unstick the tun a few times before things got flowing well. I was sparging by around noon or so and after a little break for a bite to eat was getting to a boil by early afternoon. The fates did not conspire toward my success at this point. About 10 minutes into the boil, my controller crapped out and wouldn't run my heating element - the 220 relay had given up the ghost. Fortunately the pump control and temp sensors all still worked and I had my big burner at the ready to take over.
After all the delays, it was getting on into late afternoon by the time I got stated with the individual batches. Fortunately those were 15 or 20 minute boils and went smoothly. I had to bypass my normal chilling procedure and just go with groundwater through my chiller plate but the small batches went quickly. For the Wit, I had a bag of Bavarian Wheat DME and a little addition of Opal hops. For the Pale some Golden Light DME and a shot of Citra Cryo and Azacca hops gave me what I needed. The Stout required a container of Dark LME and a pound of Roasted Barley, steeped for a hour or so plus some Phoenix hops. The Cream Ale used up whatever wort was left plus a little Dextrose to get the volume and gravity right and a little blast of Cluster hops to bring it all home.
I had everything in carboys and cooled to a reasonable pitch temp by mid-evening and was able to pitch yeast by 9 o'clock or so. Long, 12-hour brew day but 4 kegs of beer in 4 styles is a pretty good reward. All carboys were krausened nicely and bubbling away by noon today (Friday). With a bit of luck, I can keep the temps riding in the 68-70 range and my yeasties of choice - LeLamand Wit, Notty, US-05 and S-04 - will do their business within 4-5 days and allow me to keg, crash, fine and serve by a week from tomorrow.
