Sunday, June 6, 2010

Me So Corny (American Cream Ale) - Recipe & Brew Day

So I concocted my first all-grain batch o' liquid bread this past Wednesday, 06/02/10, since being back in the States. I wanted a simple recipe to get myself reacquainted with my Sabco "Brew Magic" System and something to get those brewing muscles pumping. I mean its been almost nine and a half months since my last brew, I'm a little rusty. Besides, I wanted a beer that would battle the Summer heat, something refreshing and easy drinking, like Dogfish Head's Lawnmower Light. So what did I go with? An American Cream Ale!


By 11AM I was out in the garage firing up the system, and to my surprise it ran like it hadn't been sitting in the garage for 9 months collecting dust. Although, I kind of figured it would start up fine, I had done a test run/ deep cleaning the previous day. While my strike water rose up to temperature, I was out on the driveway crushing the malt with my Corona Mill and drill setup. Yes, I know, I know, I need a roller mill setup, it’s on my list of things to buy when the first paycheck comes in. By 11:30AM I was ready to dough-in at 161*F, which brought me to my target saccharification rest of 149*F. Everything more the most part was going well, and after an hour it was time to mash-out and sparge, which reveal an amazingly light wort.


After collecting 12 gallons of wort to a boil, I got some great hot break material, but the foam quickly subsided as I adjusted the flame to create a gentle rolling boil. I boiled for 15 minutes before the first dose of bittering hops and the second/final dose was added to the boil a minute before flame out. Now it was time to play with my new immersion chiller (25ft.), which cooled the 10 gallons relatively quickly, within 45 minutes.


I thought I had run into a big problem when it came time to siphon over to the tall fermenter, but the process of pouring the beer into an old 3 gallon sanitized boil kettle and transferring it in to the conical was actually easier than expected.


After all the precious liquid was collected, I checked the original gravity (OG), which to my surprise was hit spot-on, 1.050. After the gravity check I pitched my 1600ml yeast starter and within 6 hours it was bubbling away.


I want to give a shout out to Joe and Miller for spending the brew day with me and for baking some delicious pies. I also want to say thanks to Malcolm for helping me move the fermenter from the garage down to the basement.



Me So Corny – Recipe & Brew Day Stats

Brewed: Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Racked: just primary fermentation

Bottled/Kegged: Friday, June 18, 2010


Batch Size (Gal): 10.00

Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%

Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Original Gravity: 1.050

Final Gravity: 1.009

SRM: 2.7

IBU: 16.6

ABV: 5.43%


Grains/Sugars (Total Grain Bill (Lbs.): 18.33)

7.50 lbs. Pale Malt (2~Row)

7.50 lbs. Pilsner Malt (2~Row)

1.67 lbs. Flaked Maize

1.67 lbs. Cane Sugar


Hops

.9 oz. Czech Saaz, 6.8%, pellet, 60min

.8 oz. Mt. Hood, 4.7%, pellet, 1min


Yeast

WLP001: California Ale Yeast 1600ml. starter


Additives

.5 oz. Polyclar, 75min


Mash/Boil/Fermentation

H2O/Grain Ratio: 1.32 qt/lb

Sacch. Rest Temp/Time: 149*F/60min

Mash Out Temp/Time: 165*F/10min

Sparge Temp/Time: 170*F/30min

Pre-Boil Vol: 12

Post-Boil Vol: 10

Evaporation Rate(per hour): 10%

Ferment Temp: 72°F

Primary Fermentation (Days): 16

Secondary Fermentation (Days): N/A

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