Newest batch

I intended to brew this batch a week ago last Saturday, but finally got around to it Weds. night. Notice the clock in the first picture..

Heck of a time to start brewing on a weeknight!

This is an extract recipe with grain, so I start by steeping the grain in 155 degree water for 20 minutes

The bag is tied to the pot handle so as to suspend the grains in the warm water.

After the grains are steeped te next step is to bring the water to a boil. It is then removed from the heat and the grain extracts are added and stirred well. The extracts used in this recipe are extra light pale extract, with rice syrup and corn sugar added also to provide more fermentables, but keep the color light and the body thin. When everything is dissolved and well stirred the heat is turned back on and the wort boil starts. It boils for 60 minutes, and the time starts when the boil does. The first hops are added at this time also. These hops provide bittering. I put the hop pellets in a bag and tossed it in the pot. This is the first time I have done this. I hope it will make for a clearer brew.

You can see the bag on the left side of the picture. It did eventually sink and rolled around a lot during the boil.

With 15 minutes to go I added the flavoring and aroma hops, and 2 teaspoons of Irish Moss, which is really seaweed, and helps to settle things in the beer and make it clearer.

Note the time the boil was actually started! One hour of boiling to go and then there’s still cooling the wort and the UGH cleanup. Gotta start this earlier next time!

Here’s the wort, cooled to 77.7 degrees and ready for the yeast. I forgot to take the yeast packet out of the fridge earlier, so while it warmed to room temp I did the cleanup and putting stuff away part of brewing, which is my least favorite part!

The brew now sits in the chest freezer-fermentation chamber, the first time I’ve used it. I can’t wait to see how a constant temperature will affect this batch. But, wait I must! The brew will be in the primary until MOnday of Tuesday night probably, perhaps it will stay there a full week, and then move to the secondary fermentaion. This gets it off the thick yeast cake that develops during the primary and allows it to ferment more for a couple of weeks without the possibility of getting any off flavord from sitiing on the yeast cake too long. After the secondary it will got to the bottles, still in the fermentation chamber, for 2 more weeks whicle it carbonates, and then finally a day or two after that it’s drink up time!