Jasmine Update

We think Jasmine may be suffering from a stuck fermentation, which means just that: the current alcohol content is at about half of what it should be, and the yeast seems to have stopped fermenting. We're looking into it, and I'll let you know. Our option now is to just give it a good shake/stir and try to rouse the lazy yeasties back to work. If that doesn't make a difference, we'll have to pitch another kind of yeast, likely champagne yeast, which has a tolerance for high alcohol contents, since it's a possibility that our yeast just can't handle the higher alcohol content. That seems unlikely since the yeast we used is made specifically for high gravity beers. If that's the case, we got seriously boned by the yeast company.

I'll keep you all posted.

Sam

Jasmine

Our third batch, Jasmine, successfully brewed last night. Like I've said before, this brew falls under the category of India Pale Ale, though far stronger and (probably, we'll see) more hoppy than is typical of the style.

My only concern about the new batch is her alcohol content. Due to someone's miscalculation, whether mine or more likely something iffy on the online Beer Recipator, or an inconsistancy in grain content or who knows what, the beer, which we aimed to have an original gravity of 1.080, ended up more around 1.098, a very significant difference.

A crash course in gravity: gravity is a method of measurement to determine the sugar content in your unfermented beer (wort). A measurement like 1.098 is another way of saying that the wort is 109.8% the density of water. As the yeast ferments, it turns these sugars into ethanol and CO2, both of which are lighter than water. This reduces the overall gravity/density of the beer. Simple calculations can then be used to determine the alcohol content of the brew once it has fermented, since yeast activity and proportions of CO2 and ethenol production are apparently fairly predictable.

So back to our difference of .018 points. What this means, all in all, is that our IPA is likely going to stop fermentation with an alcohol by volume content of about 10%. This is incredibly high for beer, even for our style. Originally, the content was supposed to be just under 8%. Taste-wise, this difference is very noticable. The other problem here is that typically, especially in high-alcohol beers like IPAs, the quantity of hops added to the boil is proportionate to the expected alcohol content. We put enough hops in to offset an 8% abv level, but possibly not enough to balance another 2%.

So we're taking two measures to save this beer. First, in about a week when we rack Jasmine over to her secondary fermenter (a 5-gallon glass carboy where she'll mellow and mature for about 3 or 4 weeks), we're "dry-hopping," or adding hops unboiled directly to the fermenter. Many great beers are dry-hopped, which always adds a great floral and hop smell to the beer, as well as a small amount of bittering flavor. This, we hope, will help offset some of the extra alcohol, given that Jasmine is already quite heavily hopped (but not in a bad way). Second, when we bottle carbonate this beer, we'll give it a bit of extra priming sugar to make it extra spritzy. The extra carbonation will release more of the hop smell so that it doesn't smell like whiskey, as well as stimulate the tongue as to make the alcohol taste more like the alcohol in wine, and less like it does in spirits. That means we'll be able to savor the alcohol as a positive quality (hopefully), rather than experience what can best be described as "hotness" of many high alcohol drinks.

Jasmine may very well be our first mistake, but we didn't give up on Rachel, so I'll wait this one through until the finish. Rachel is officially finished this weekend, though our curiosity has driven us to already drink about half a case already. Also, Hannah goes into bottles this Sunday (probably), and will be done in another one or two weeks' time after that. We gave her a sip the other day after throwing her in the secondary fermenter, and we were really pleased. It's almost an Oberon clone, with absolutely no aftertaste. I'm guarenteeing good things from that batch.

Suggestions on the next brew are welcome. Something for the holidays, perhaps?

Brewmaster

Hannah & Jasmine

First heads up: Matt brought up the face that naming our wheat beer "Brewfus" didn't follow the name-the-beers-after-females idea, so we've decided to change her name to "Hannah" and make a promise that we'll never stray from that pattern again.

Second heads up: WMU sent all it's upperclassman students a 100 dollar reimbursement check for some reason unbeknownst to me, so it follows that I've made another brewing investment with it. Today we stopped by the Bell's store and bought another 5 gallon glass carboy and other things. The idea is that we up our current production level to 3 batches at a time rather than 2. Two carboys will be dedicated to brewing these typical one-month batches that don't particularly require long fermentations or mellowing/aging periods. This third carboy, though, will be used for bigger beers with higher alcohol contents and more complex flavors. These "bigger" beers take longer to ferment and mellow to turn out truly tasty, but all sources say they're worth the wait.

This is where Jasmine comes in. Jasmine's style distinction is somewhat between an India Pale Ale and a heavy Red Ale...basically an IPA that's slightly darker than the style allows and very heavily hopped. Now granted, Rachel and Hannah are very non-offending beers, and they are somewhat aimed at pleasing the larger bunch of people. IPAs are more of an acquired taste, given that they're so bitter and very 'beery' in that respect, as well as rather high in alcohol (about twice that of Rachel at 8% abv). But that's the philosophy around craft brewing. I'm not here to please the masses.

Jasmine won't be ready for around 3 months, but you'll hear about her then. She goes into the kettle this Sunday. We'll throw some pictures up if we're not to hung over after Benny's birthday slam this Saturday.

Cheers!

Sam

Batch #2 Progress

Our second batch was successfully brewed today (actually yesterday). OG=1.050. It should be ready to drink around October 15th or 16th, as long as nothing goes wrong.

Rachel bottled today. First time bottling was less the endeavor we expected it to be as long as there are always extra hands. Special thanks to Markus and Timmy for their help.

So now we have 10 gallons of beer in the freezer, Rachel carbonating in the bottle and Brewfus, who should start fermenting by tomorrow night or Tuesday.

Brewfus Label

Dierksenkougan Brewfus

Aptly named after Timmy's drunk pronunciation of "Brewtus," the monster glasses of beer served at Applebee's. I'm happy to report that this Sunday will be the biggest brew day in Dk's short history, because not only will Rachel be getting bottled, but our second beer will be getting brewed.

Brewfus will bear close resemblance to Bell's Oberon as a summery wheat beer, but with importantly different characteristics. My recipe is my best effort to make an Oberon-type beer that is even lighter in all respects. Oberon is fairly high in alcohol for a wheat beer, so Brewtus will not be so strong, allowing us more versitility with its flavor. The color, too, will be lighter, more of a pale yellow than a medium orange. What all this means is that the adjunct flavors you should slightly taste in Bell's, including citrus, honey, and coriander spice, will be magnified in Brewtus. Expect this beer to be incredibly non-offending, yet very flavorful and complex. I've chosen (partly out of necessity) to use a Bavarian yeast compound rather than a similar American style because the European yeasts introduce more subtle flavors than American yeasts do. While American yeast (like American brewers) has been developed to leave beer with clean, simple flavors, yeasts of Belgium and Germany are embraced for imparting complexity and uniqueness to the taste and smell of the beer.

Bottling Rachel will happen at about noon on Sunday, which will be immediately followed by more brewing. While brewing turned out last time to be more of a two or three person job, bottling will likely be a bigger ordeal. If anyone is willing to lend a hand, let me know.

Thanks,
Sam

Rachel Lives!

I took a test sample of the beer just yesterday, really teetering on the decision to throw it out or keep it, so that if the damage was irrecoverable, we could brew again this Sunday. Turns out my best guesses were completely wrong. The beer not only fermented, but was nearly finished in terms of alcohol production. I can't detect anything negative in the aroma, which just smells exactly like fresh beer. Once the yeast in the sample fell out of suspension, the color and clarity of the brew were better than I had ever expected. So I took the plunge and tasted it, and besides being uncarbonated and a little warm, my best judgment says that it is good, unspoiled beer.

Tomorrow, Nate and I are going to siphon the fermented beer away from the foam and yeast dregs into a 5 gallon glass carboy, where we'll let it sit and mature for a week before bottling time. If all continues to go according to plan (or better than according to plan), we will have ready to drink brew by October 1st. As of right now, plan on there being a "social gathering" that Saturday to open the first bottles of Dierksenkougan and start the brewing season off right.

Cross your fingers!

Sam

Brewing Progress Update

As would have been expected, our first batch has given us a few problems, one of which may render it undrinkable. Currently, Rachel is sitting in the freezer set to between 65 and 70 degrees, and has been there for the last three days. Typically, healthy fermentation should start in 24 hours, but the water in our airlock has only visibly bubbled (meaning escaping carbon dioxide, a good thing) a few times. I opened the lid today to check out the progress, and was surprised and pleased to find a pretty thick coating of foam on the top of the beer. This means the yeast is doing what it needs to be doing, yet there is still no air escaping from the airlock. Either we have a broken seal and air is escaping elsewhere, or the foam is less yeast related and more infection related. Both are bad, but obviously the latter is worse.

Every gut instinct of mine says to toss out the batch and start anew, but maybe by the grace of God this batch will turn out. The root of the slow fermentation, we believe, is that we used a vial of liquid yeast that was advertised to be ready to pitch. Other sources say that, when using liquid yeast, the brewer should start several days in advance and propagate the yeast in some sort of priming vessel, so that, come brew day, the yeast is already active and fermenting and is more likely to survive and prosper through its change of environment. We failed to do this...

Well, you live and you learn. I'll keep you all updated on how this batch turns out. In another 4 or 5 days, we will transfer it to a secondary fermenter (glass), as long as complete fermentation has taken place. In the result of a stopped fermentation, we may toss the contents and brew again the following weekend, making sure to prime our liquid yeast and have a packet of dry yeast on hand to jump start the process before three days of stagnant contamination.

Sam

Rachel

Rachel is sitting in her fermentation bucket as we speak after being brewed today. We had our share of surprises, but things were pretty much painless. The only thing I'm crossing my fingers about now is that the wort didn't take too long to cool and get contaminated in the process. Everything else, though, seemed right on track. The beer's color and hop fragrances were right on the mark. The original gravity (1.045) was a little low, so we can expect a beer with a slightly lower alcohol content, but still within the range of the Amber Ale style.

For pictures, click here!

Special thanks to Nate, Michelle, Kitten, and Markus for being my helping hands.

Cheers,
Sam