reply to post by shadow watcher
I have a homemade lauter tun for mashing in. Yes, false bottom. Before you think I have fancy equipment, let me say that my buddy and I go with the
least sophisticated method possible. Our rigs are all homemade, to serve a purpose, and we've seen the wooden rigs and tiered racks with all sorts
of stations, and that's WHY we started our own brewing group. We don't believe in fancy rigs to make good brew. We lean to the chemistry aspect,
and like to calculate heat drop in a fresh mash. Yes, we use thermometers, but I would love to be at the level of expertise where I could dip my
finger in a bowl of sanitizer, then wort, and know the mash temp.
But yeah, pics are welcomed, if you like. Please share your own. I may run through the procedure, from start to finish, just so you can get a hoot.
I'll have a nice OG, and a target to meet.
I have to bottle by the 5th of May. Tick-tock.
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I piddled a bit with the recipe, and showed it to my brewing buddy. He said it's good, but never had that variety...
I'm trying to work in a Honigweizenbock. (Honey wheat bock.)
I'll just offer the specs, and let you guys provide comments.
Name: Honigweizenbock.
Style: Weizenbock.
The style states:
OG: 1.064-1.080
IBU: 15-30
Color: 12-25
FG: 1.015-1.022
My recipe:
OG: 1.071
IBU: 20.1
Color: 18.6
Est. FG: 1.018
ABV: 7.0%
The recipe:
5 lb. Honey
5 lb. Wheat (US)
2 lb. Crystal 90L
2 oz, Saaz for boil
Wyeast # 1068.
Apps are great for calculations, but this needs put into realistic terms.
The honey is set to the side, and gets added in right before the hops, before the boil.
There are only 7 pounds of fermentables left, but they are grain. Non-crushed, nothing. Just grain. How do you make beer out of grain?
That's the beauty of all grain brewing. Freedom. My brew buddy, BTW, makes random brews, and is past the retirement age. He used to be a chemistry
teacher, in his younger years. He's nearly a guru.
He got me to quit worrying about equipment, and focus on sanitation and the enzymatic process going on with each type of grain.
So I have freedom.
My buddy has a hand crank mill, to crush the grains. In the first step, the kernel needs cracked to release the sugars. I used to argue about
automation, and he refuses. I conceded. On HBD, I crush my grain my hand. It's the tradition. (Besides, my electric unit didn't win, as I had no
better conversion rate.) IT takes a while to grind 15 pounds of grain, but, in the process, I realize the reason. IF tshtf.
Once a year, I'll grind grains by hand, smile, and have fun.
So I have 7 pounds of cracked grain, what do I do? (A normal all-grain recipe is 15 pounds of grain or so, cracked.]
In my recipe, I am doing a partial boil, meaning the volume of my brew kettle will never exceed 3 gallons. I am making a concentrate. (Kinda odd,
when you consider everyone tells you a 5 gallon mash. It's all in how you calculate.) When my three gallon boil is done, I will add ice cold water
to bring it up to volume. That's two gallons on icy water, and it drops the temp from 212 degrees to 170 really quick. It cuts down on chiller
time.
Once volume and temp are met, and an OG reading is taken, I pitch yeast and add a fermentation lock.
I skipped the cracked grain to boil segment. That is the essence of converting grain to sugar, and the miracle of homebrew. No more DME for you. I
want to designate a single post for that transition. I may even persuade my brew buddy to post about it. He is a member, and has posted in this
thread, but not lately. He may post, I'll have to ask, but no guarantees.