Fresh Hop Brew Day
With the new boil kettle and controller ready and wet tested, it was time to brew. What better time than when I have fresh Chinook hops coming off the vine!
Fresh Chinook Hops!
I didn’t get enough from my two bines, so I had two packs of pellets to supplement the fresh hops.
I doughed in and hit my temp of 154, but too much acid adjustments caused it to fall. I should have let it go, as Brulosophy has shown that pH may not be as important as I think it is.
I ran into a few problems with yeast. I had an old Northwest Ale yeast that I harvested from an old batch and kept in my keezer, but it didn’t do anything in a starter. So I found a London Ale smack pack kept in the same keezer that was six months old. It didn’t inflate nor did it react in a starter. So I dropped by the LHBS and found a pack of Denny’s Favorite that appeared pre-smacked (although I thought I felt the pack in it). I gave it a day to inflate while I left the wort in my keezer to chill from the high-80s to hopefully below 70. No inflation. I pitched both it and some S-04, and of the pack that I thought I felt – it was in it, intact. Fermentation was quick but hot – the sticker on the side showed 79 at one point!
I’m calling this a British “Ordinary Bitter”.
Finished Beer
Appearance: copper colored, light carbonation with a thin white head. Good lacing.
Aroma: Earthy and bready
Flavor: bready, some orange (potentially marmalade), some earthiness or pine, but it is not promintent. Slight bitterness. Not strong at all.
Mouthfeel: smooth, medium dry finish with lasting but light citrus bitterness.
For being lightly carbonated, the lacing is nice.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
I need to buy a pump. The ability to whirlpool while watching the temperature of the wort drop is worth every penny. Right now, I have one shot to send wort through my plate chiller and it doesn’t get it chilled enough.
I need to make progress on the fermentation chamber #2. I have a peltier element and several fans that can make this happen, all I need is some foam insulation and plywood (for structure) and some time to work on it.
Brew Log
2017-09-02: brewed on a rainy day
2017-09-05: fermentation appears finished
2017-09-13: moved to keezer for cold crashing
2017-09-15: kegged, pressurized to 30 PSI to carbonate
2017-09-16: removed gas line, took taste pour, left on normal carb (11 PSI)