Organic Ain't Nutt'n free ESB

My first recipe I created (thanks beertools.com)

Ingredients

9.83 lbs Organic 2 Row Pale

1.79 lbs Organic Carmel Malt 15l

0.31 lbs Barley Flaked

0.25 lbs Molasses

Hops

1.5 oz Fuggles @ 90

0.25 oz Brewers Gold @15

0.25 oz Brewers Gold @1

Yeast

1 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 5ish min

Rogue PacMan yeast slurry from the stout I made earlier in the month

5 gallons

OG should be 1.061

FG should be 1.014

41.3 IBU

6.1% Alcohol

2/19/2010: Brewing went good; just Emilie and I. Newly designed mash tun worked wonderfully as did the rain barrel recycler. Great color on the ESB, supper excited about it. I think the molasses is going to give it a nice finish. Took a reading but it wasn't accurate do to too little beer in the wine theif (I spun the hydrometer in and it plopped, not bobbed, at like 1.048). Not stressed, I'm sure I hit the 1.060 range. The pacman yeast started up right away...fermenting nicely. I'm hoping to get 10 or so slurries of the yeast. That should last me the year till Rogue puts it out again.
2/23/10: This pacman stuff ain't playing around. Reading was 1.020 in three days! I'm going to wait another 2 days or so, then keg. Taste great. Nutty and smokey. Can really pick up the molasses.

2/26/10: Kegged. Grabbed two slurries of the Pacman. Not sure if I'll use them again after this. I haven't been taking the trube out, so there could be a lot in the samples. Took another reading and was still in the 1.020 range (close enough). Tasted nutty and smooth.

3/2/10: Almost fully carbbed. Nutty and smooth. This could be my best yet.

3/16/10: Been drinking it for a while... absolutely the best beer I've made. I'm going to enter it into the Slurp 'n Burp beer comp next week at Strange Brew Homebrew Club. I'll let you know how I do...I don't think I'll win, but I'm excited to know what the "experts" think.

4/1/10: Got my results back from the Slurp 'n Burp...average score of 27.5, which is just below "very good." I would have scored better, but I bottled from my keg so the beer didn't have good head or carbonation. I'm happy.

Rain recycler

I've been trying to brew as green as I can and I hate how much water I let run down into the drain when using my wort chiller.

Here's what I came up with. I got a rain barrel, drilled a 3/4 inch hole, stuck a 3/4 inch barb in it, and attached a hose bib to the barb.

I then (after I drilled the hole) asked a science teacher at my school if it would work...he laughed at me and said it wouldn't, not without a pump :) Oh well, I guess that's why I teach English. The only thing I haven't figured out is what to do in the summer, but I've got 4 months to think of something.

Racer 5 Clone

Racer 5 is a great IPA from Bear Republic Brewing down in No Cal. I first had it when visiting my brother-in-law in SF after we watched the Dodgers take down the lowly Giants :) Anyhow, John and Tarah came over to help Emilie and I brew (of course it turned into just John and I).

Brewed again!!!

We had a blast; however, my mash tun failed again:

and I forgot to ad the sugar, something I only realized after I took a hydrometer reading and found out I was 0.02 away from the target. I'm not really sure how it'll affect it, but I'm not worried. Brewing, I've found, isn't an exact science.

Recipe:
11.25 lbs 2-row pale malt
1.66 lbs wheat malt
0.625 lbs crystal 15
0.42 lbs dextrose (added post boil, oh well)
0.21 lbs Carapils malt
0.51 oz chinook at 12%AA (90 mins)
1.74 oz Cascade at 5% AA (60 mins)
0.3 oz Centennial (dry)
0.3 oz Amarillo (dry)
0.2 oz Cascade (dry)
0.2 oz Magnum (dry)
2 White Labs WLP051

5 gallons
OG initial reading without sugar was 1.052. I then added the sugar, so I'm hoping it kicked it up.
FG Supposed to be 1.015...we'll see :)
IBU = 60 (probably will hit that)
ABV = 7.2% (not gonna happen because of the sugar)

2/14/10: Looks like the post boil sugar addition isn't effecting the fermentation. Last night, it started going and it's been going steady. Smells sweet and hoppy (perfect!).

2/18/10: Took a reading...1.022
2/23/10: Reading's at 1.016--good enough. It's really pale, doesn't taste good. The original has a big hop taste, this one fall WAY short. I dry hopped in the fermenter but to pump up the hop taste I dry hopped in the keg as well. I'm gonna let this one carb up all the way before I pass judgment.

2/27/10: Almost totally carbed. The taste is much better, not too close to the original, but not far off. A good beer. I'm happy with it :)

6-15-2011--Brewed it again, better results.

Impoverished Belgian Tripel

Recipe
15 lbs Pilsner 2-row

.5o Cascade @ 90

.25 Magnum @ 90

(should have been 1.oo oz of Goldings, but brewbrothers.biz shuts down early on Saturdays)

1.00 Saaz @ 15

1.00 Corriander Seed crushed

1.00 Saaz @ 5

2 lbs Dand/Light corn syrup

Yeast: Trappist High Gravity WYEAST 3787

2/6/10 (MY BIRTHDAY) Brewed with Mark and Ian of Pint Brothers Brewing. All the equipment worked well; I'm glad I redid the mash tun.

Brewed and watched the fights (Randy and Chael won). Good times at the PoorHouse; however, things got a little hairy with all the homebrews being shared!

Couldn't take a reading because I broke my hydrometer. Should have been around 1.085...I'll check it tomorrow.

2/7/10 Fermenting nicely. Strong candy smell. Took a reading, 1.075ish so I probably am right on target. I drank the sample; strong candy and floral aroma. Suuuuuuper sweet, but then again I did put 2 lbs of sugar in it.
2/16/10: Took a reading...1.036. Dropped around 0.05 in 10 days, 0.03 left. The goal is to have it condition for 3 months in a corny keg, but man alive, this stuff tastes good. Most of the sweetness from the sugar is gone. Still has a syrupy sweet taste, but really good. I'm super excited about this one.

2/20/10: Racked to secondary :)
2/23/10: 1.030 nice and steady. Not going to take another reading for another month. Tastes good--bananas and fruit.
3/10/10: Still 1.030...I tossed in some of the Pacman slurry I had left. I'll give it a couple days, then I'm going to keg it regardless.
3/17/10: For the love of Pete...still at 1.030. I'm going ahead and taking this as a sign that 10% beers are not a good idea :). Racked to keg to sit for "3" months (quotes are do to the near impossibility that I let this stuff sit for 3 months).
5/5/10: Boy-o-boy, this stuff is good. Banana taste still there, but less sweet. Strong alcoholic aftertaste with a nice finish. Really nice beer (if I do say so myself).
6/12/10: I've been trying to drink the rest of this stuff so I could keg my Creepy Crawler, but the Impoverished ain't giv'n up :] My goal is to down the rest of it today....we'll see.

Poor Style Rogue Shakespeare Stout Clone

FIRST ALL GRAIN!!!!!

Recipe:
11 lbs Rahr 2-row pale
.5 lbs Briess 120L Crystal
.5 lbs Simpson chocolate 412L
1 lbs flaked oats
6 oz Roast Barley 550L (up from 3oz as recommended by Don Osborne)

2 oz Cascade @ 60
1 oz Cascade @ 30
.5 Cascade @ 2

White Labs yeast nutrient @ 7

Dead Guy Pacman yeast

OG 1.062 PERFECT

2/2/2010: Mash tun worked well enough, although it leaked a little.

I need to fix the seal. I made a big mess during vorlauf....oh well. Mashed for 60 min at 160ish. Initially mash water was at like 145, boiling water fixed that. Stupid yeast smack pack didn't pulge, I'm a little worried...about 3 pints of homebrew fixed that :)
2/3/2010: Fermenting fine. I can't wait to drink it!
2/6/2010: Happy Birthday to me!

Kegged the stout, got the 1.014 I was looking for. mark says, "Awesome brew, Randy Poor." Still flat, but I'm happy with it so far. I can really taste the outmeal.
I'm supper happy with this Pacman yeast; this beer fermented from 1.062 to 1.014 in four days. I grabbed a slurry of it, there was a HUGE cake to take from.

2/7/2010: Force carbed, but not quite done yet. Coffee notes in the beginning, dry alcoholic-mahogany taste at the end. Good beer.

2/12/2010: Been drinking it for a week...really close to the original!

Welfare IPA

Recipe:
7.65 lbs. Amber LME
.75 lbs Crystal 40L
.75 lbs Carapils

.25 oz Cascade @ 60
.25 oz Magnum @ 60
.25 oz Cascade @ 30
.25 oz Magnum @ 30
.25 oz Goldings @ 15
2.00 oz Cascade @ 5
1.25 oz Cascade dry hopped

WLP005 yeast....no starter

1/16/2010
Brewing went well. John and Tara Traut hellped and we had a blast.
1/17/2010
Smell great in my bedroom (even Prego Emilie likes the smell....sort of)
1/21/2010
Took a reading...can't wait to taste it.
1/28/2010
can't wait any longer...kegged
Tastes great!

Pennyless Porter errrrrrrr Brown Ale

Pennyless Porter errrrrrrr Brown Ale

Recipe:
5.40 lbs Light LME
1.00 lbs Crystal 10L
.25 lbs Chocolate
.23 lbs Black Malt

8 oz coffee liquid infused into the boil

.50 oz Goldings @ 60
.50 oz Goldings @ 10
.50 oz Goldings @ 0

WLP011 Yeast starter made two days prior

1/12/2010 Went well enough for my first time :) Pitched the whole yeast starter, which wasn't advised. Oh well. Smelled great. Gravity at 1.052 (slightly higher than should be)
1/15/2010 Fermentation seems to have stopped
1/16/2010 Yeah, def. stopped.
1/17/2010 Kegged. FG 1.00ish (supposed to be 1.012)
1/18/2010 I don't like it much. Really light, doesn't taste like a porter at all....new name...Brown Ale :)
1/20/2010 Much better. Tastes like a good brown ale, strong alcohol smell, and coffee notes. I actually can't taste the coffee, but Tara's pallet can :)