http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:58:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Chocolate Stout Update! http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/08/16/chocolate-stout-update/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/08/16/chocolate-stout-update/#comments Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:16:05 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/?p=30

After taking my first gravity reading (currently at 1.035) from 1.066 original gravity) for the chocolate stout I just had to take a sample and I must pat myself  on the back on this one, it is pure  chocolaty goodness! I was a bit worried about the flavor profile for this  batch as I used  about a 1/4 of a White Labs Irish Ale Yeast (WLP004) due to the vial exploding all over  my hands when I opened  it! (shake gently and open slowly!!) To be sure  of proper yeast cell  count I added the only  yeast I had on hand at the time, the Safale US-05 which is a basic, nutrual ale yeast. Mixing two different yeast should in theory create a funky flavor profile that is not desirable in your beers. Although I may be missing some of the Irish Ale Yeast smokey flavors, the beer tastes great  with a huge chocolate backing. I think I will save  some of these for  the upcoming 2009 Valentine’s Day goodness!

I will update once flocculation is complete and I am ready to bottle, which should be soon. Pics from the brew day have been uploaded here!

Also, just a quick note regarding the self adhesive duct insulation (Frost King) that I wrapped around my 5 gallon mash tun, it worked like a charm! Held the temp steady for an hour with no additional water additions. Highly recommened as a cheap solution to buying a whole new cooler for your mash!

]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/08/16/chocolate-stout-update/feed/ New Brew! Chocolate Stout! http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/08/08/new-brew-chocolate-stout/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/08/08/new-brew-chocolate-stout/#comments Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:49:19 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/?p=29 Chocolate Stout Ingredients

It’s time for me to brew again & this time I will be attempting my first chocolate stout! Should be a perfect recipe just in time for the fall & winter months to come! Here’s the ingredient list:

3 lbs. Dark DME (Dry Malt Extract)

4 lbs. Amber DME

1 lb. Chocolate Malt

1 lb. Roasted Barley

0.5 lb. Black Patent Malt

0.5 lb. Munich Malt

2 oz. Mt. Hood Hops

I will be doing a partial mash for this recipe & I may add more hops to play around with the hopping schedule a bit. Brewing tomorrow 08/09/08 I will post more either during the brewday or shortly afterwards.

]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/08/08/new-brew-chocolate-stout/feed/ Mash Tun… http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/07/18/mash-tun/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/07/18/mash-tun/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:22:13 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/?p=28 Made another overhaul to my mash tun cooler by adding self adhesive duct insulation (Frost King) that I had in storage. Available at any hardware store, picked mine up at Home Depot for around 10 bucks. I will be testing it in the next few days to see how the temperature holds up. Also will be brewing a chocolate stout soon so look forward to that!

Insulated Mash Tun

]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/07/18/mash-tun/feed/ Belgian sampling! http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/06/04/belgian-sampling/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/06/04/belgian-sampling/#comments Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:26:00 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/?p=27

Finally had a chance to sample my Belgian Ale & I must admit it tastes pretty damn good for being such a young beer. What I mean by “young” is that it has only been in the bottle for one month, this beer should be bottle conditioned for at least 2-3 months to mature. I will keep you all updated when I sample once again.

]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/06/04/belgian-sampling/feed/ Belgian Abbey Ale in the bottle! http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/05/08/belgian-abbey-ale-in-the-bottle/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/05/08/belgian-abbey-ale-in-the-bottle/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 03:37:34 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/?p=26 This past Saturday I primed and bottled the Belgian Abbey Ale mentioned below. My effeciency was crap on this one (around 55%) and I will be revisiting this recipe soon. This beer should have turned out much stronger than it did.

With an OG of 1.055 and a finish of 1.010 this should result in just above 5% ABV. I’m not too concerned about the ABV really, it’s just that this style reflects a certian taste and alcohol strength that I wanted to match. I love Belgian Ales and will get this one right! Practice makes perfect!

Although I still think this beer will turn out great, it’s just not what I was shooting for.

]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/05/08/belgian-abbey-ale-in-the-bottle/feed/ Belgian Ingredients bought and plugged into BeerTools! http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/04/04/belgian-ingredients-bought-and-plugged-into-beertools/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/04/04/belgian-ingredients-bought-and-plugged-into-beertools/#comments Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:12:54 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/?p=24

Belgian Abbey Ale

Size: 5.16 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation:75.0%
Calories: 424.78 per 22 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.069 (1.026 - 1.120)

Terminal Gravity: 1.017 (0.995 - 1.035)

Color: 12.1 (1.0 - 50.0)

Alcohol:6.85% (2.5% - 14.5%)
Bitterness: 40.38 (0.0 - 100.0)
Ingredients:
1.0 lbs American Munich
4 lbs American 2-row
1 oz American Black Patent (490L)
6.6 lbs Liquid Light Extract
1 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
0.5 oz Chinook (12.2%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.15 min

1 ea White Labs WLP500 Trappist Ale

After buying the ingredients it shows that my ingredients are slightly different than what I wrote in the post below. I am using a Trappist Yeast (WLP500) and added a half ounce  of  Chinook only because it was leftovers from my previous batch. This did not affect the recipe hardly at all and needed to be used so I figured what the hell! Also replaced the 1oz of Chocolate Malt with leftover Black Patent.

 

]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/04/04/belgian-ingredients-bought-and-plugged-into-beertools/feed/ Belgian Abbey Ale http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/04/02/belgian-abbey-ale/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/04/02/belgian-abbey-ale/#comments Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:40:13 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/?p=23 I’ve been wanting to try a new recipe lately and thought a Belgian style would be fun. Here is the recipe and ingredients list:

Yeast: Wyeast 1214 or White Labs WLP500

Original Target Gravity: 1.062

Final Target Gravity: 1.008

IBU:24

Boiling Time: 70 minutes

Grain (partial mash):

6.6 lbs. light LME

4 lbs. American 2 Row

1 lbs. Munich Malt

1 oz. Chocolate Malt

Mash for 1 hour at 154 degrees

Hops:

1 oz. Mt. Hood at 60 minutes

1 oz. Mt. Hood at 15 minutes

Picking up the ingredients this week and will update when ready to brew!

 

 

]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/04/02/belgian-abbey-ale/feed/ New Beer Label for my Arrogant Bastard clone “Arrogant Attempt” http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/03/18/new-beer-label-for-my-arrogant-bastard-clone-arrogant-attempt/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/03/18/new-beer-label-for-my-arrogant-bastard-clone-arrogant-attempt/#comments Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:53:41 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/03/18/new-beer-label-for-my-arrogant-bastard-clone-arrogant-attempt/ Arrogant Bastard Clone ]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/03/18/new-beer-label-for-my-arrogant-bastard-clone-arrogant-attempt/feed/ New Beer Label for my bastardized Kolsch http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/02/23/new-beer-label-for-my-bastardized-kolsch/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/02/23/new-beer-label-for-my-bastardized-kolsch/#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:27:04 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/02/23/new-beer-label-for-my-bastardized-kolsch/ My new beer label for my bastardized Kolsch recipe courtesy of Greg Barnett over at http://www.rocknmotion.com and http://www.thestudiobar.net/index2.php

Thanks again dude! Cheers to you!

]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/02/23/new-beer-label-for-my-bastardized-kolsch/feed/ Brew #4 - Kolsch in Da Hood Bottled and waiting for consumption, Bock not so good! http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/02/13/brew-4-kolsch-in-da-hood-bottled-and-waiting-for-consumption-bock-not-so-good/ http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/02/13/brew-4-kolsch-in-da-hood-bottled-and-waiting-for-consumption-bock-not-so-good/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:58:02 +0000 brad http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/?p=18 Bottled my bastardized Kolsh on February 10th and will post an update after the first sampling in a week or two. As far as my American Style Bock is concerned (see below), it may be a bust. I used the Munton’s yeast that came with the kit and should have known better. I believe the off flavor, sour bitterness comes from that yeast strain. Next extract kit that I make, I will be sure to replace the cheap dry yeast with a good strain or simply go with a White Labs liquid yeast strain. I am holding on to hope wit the Bock and will sit on the bottles for another month or two to see if the sour bitterness settles out. Time will tell!

]]> http://shouldibrewthat.com/beer/2008/02/13/brew-4-kolsch-in-da-hood-bottled-and-waiting-for-consumption-bock-not-so-good/feed/