Robot Bitter

ordered supplies Nov 26 for late 2021 brew session

yeast starter: 1600 ml tap water, 5 oz. pale malt, 2 tsp. yeast nutrient, a few hop pellets - boiled for ten minutes
pitch temp: 71° F
[brew delayed to replace broken needle valve on the burner; yeast starter covered tightly and stored in refrigerator. on 12/17 I let the starter breathe and rise to room temperature, then added 2 oz. of light malt boiled for 10 minutes in 300 ml of tap water]

pre-boil volume: 7 gallons
post-boil volume: 5-1/2 gallons

brewed: December 18, 2021

basement air temp: 65° F
grain temp: 63° F
mash temp: 152.5° F
pitch temp: 67° F
ferment temp on Sunday: 72° F (max)

racked: December 25
wort temp: 66° F

bottled: December 29
Prime with 2/3 cup (4.41 oz.) corn sugar boiled in 2 cups water
Crown seal color: purple
Yield: 52 bottles
OG = 1.058, FG = 1.016, 5.5% ABV
Color: pale brown, about 13 SRM
Taste: more bitter than malty, so unbalanced, but with a nice spicy note on the tongue. this bottle is undercarbed; I'm leaving the rest under towels in the office, where it is usually about 68° F daytimes, and a few degrees lower at night.

Ha, the beer robot predicted 5.1% ABV, and I just measured 5.5%. I guess that is due to some happy yeast and a little brewing luck, earned after years of learning on the job. I'm pleased I was able to keep the wort from going over 72° F during fermentation. It dropped to 65°, so I brought the Speidel fermenter up to my office, which is a few degrees warmer. There was not much yeast sediment in the fermenter, so I think it pretty much fermented out.