4 Dog Brewery

Last brew for 2010. Lots of brewing for 2011. I am going to use and harvest liquid yeast next year. I am going to use a lot of different yeast available now a days. This is a lower gravity ale because I have only one smack pack of 1007. I will save the slurry from this and hopefully have enough for a 14 gallon batch. This will be split into two carboys using Wyeast 1007 and Nottingham. Murphy German Ale 14 Gallons 18 lbs. OiO 2 row 1 lb. Munich malt 8 ozs. Muntons crystal 40L 75 grams Hallertauer - 60 min. Wyeast 1007/Nottingham O.G. - 1.038 F.G. - % - SRM - 6.4 BU - 20 I didn't have time to make a starter. The yeast was 3 months old and I thought that it wouldn't start, or even ferment. It was going good by the next morning. It actually started before the Notty. It is still going good. 16C for both carboys. I have no temperature control with these carboys, escept shutting a door to a cold room. Both have remained at a steady 16C.

3 Dog Oktoberfest Ale This is my version of a famous beer style from Germany. My version is an ale because my track record with lagers is dismal. I may give lagers another shot when all of my kegs are full of beer. I used all of the Pilsner malt I had. 15 Gallons 18 lbs. Pilsner malt 3 lbs. OiO 2-row 6 lbs. Munich malt 1 lb. Muntons crystal 40L 100 grams Hallertauer - 60 min. 35 grams Hallertauer - 15 min. 300 ml of US-05 slurry O.G. - 1.056 F.G. - % - SRM - 6 BU - 27

3 Dog Pub Ale 15 Gallons This is my house ale which I have been brewing for years. I need to keep this beer simple as I am going to brew it a lot next summer. 25 lbs. OiO pale malt 1 lb. Muntons crystal 40L 100 grams Hallertauer - 60 min. 35 grams Hallertauer - 15 min. 3 Sachets of US-05 O.G. - 1.045 F.G. - 1.010 % - 4.5 SRM - 5.1 BU - 27 This is ready to keg today, Dec. 15. I harvested 800 ml of yeast and hope to use 250 ml of this slurry. The last time I harvested yeast, it tasted lousy. I am still not sure what happened. Maybe I over pitched. This beer has a good noble hop taste to it. This will be ready for Christmas.

Cujo Bitter This is a rich, dark bitter. The colour is just where I want it. A deep orange/chestnut combination. Not too bitter. I bought a can of beer at our Communist liquor store called Abbotts Ale. It was bready, malty and was at the lower end of the bittering scale. Just the way I like it. I am not a hop head. I used S-04 for this beer because I haven't used it in over 10 years. I will use it more often if I like this beer. 14 Gallons 25 lbs. Canada Malt 1 lb. Flaked Barley 1 lb. Muntons Crystal 40L 12 ozs. Aromatic 12 ozs. Biscuit 12 ozs. Crystal 120 4 ozs. Special B 40 grams Target (UK) - 60 min. 40 grams Challenger (US) - 3 min. Fermentis S-04 O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - 1.016 % - 4.7 SRM - 11.7 BU - 23 This took overnight to get going. I closed my beer room to keep it cool. The temp strip says it is 64F. I assume it will heat up more as it really gets going. The temp of the room is 60F. This turned out well. Rich and malty. Very clear right from the primary....

3 Dog Harvest Ale This is a Canadian Amber Ale with all the hops in the last 20 minutes left in the boil. 15 Gallons 24 lbs. Canada Malt 2.25 lbs. Muntons Crystal 40L 1.50 lbs. Munich 50 grams Amarillo - 20 min. 50 grams Centenial - 20 min. 75 grams Amarillo - 10 min. 75 grams Centenial - 10 min. 60 grams Amarillo - 0 min. 60 grams Centenial - 0 min. 60 grams Mauribrew 514 O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - 1.018 % - 4.5 SRM - 8 BU - 23.6 This fermented quickly and just as quick - ended. After 3 days, nothing. Gravity? 1.018. This yeast has always been a wimp of a yeast. I will no longer use it again. I threw in some Notty, but nothing so far. I may shoot up some C02 to russle up the yeast to get something going. It does taste good though, not sweet. This tastes lame compared to my previous brew which used Chinook. The best about this beer is there is no cloying taste. I read that using a lot of Chinook hops gives you that. This has a good citrus taste which doesn't linger. Now to use a yeast th...

3 Dog Harvest Ale This is another version of an AIPA. This is a lighter beer. 1.048 with only 23 units of bitterness. All the hops are added less than 20 minutes in the boil. 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Canada Malting 2-row 10 ounces Biscuit 8 ounces Crystal 120 4 ounces Special B 65 grams Chinook - 20 min. 65 grams Chinook - 10 min. 84 grams Chinook - 0 min. 50 grams Mauribrew 514 dry yeast This recipe was put together from what I had in stock. O.G. - 1.048 F.G. - 1.016 % - 4.2 SRM - 8 BU - 23.2 I had trouble with a good seal on the conical. It was leaking from the lid and the valve on the bottom. I may of added too much yeast. 25 grams is the norm for 15 gallons. I find this yeast lazy. In the past I had too high of final gravities. Back then, I didn't pay too much attention to my mash temp, but I do now. I may go with 25 grams of 514 for my next brew. Rehydrate it of course. The temp got up too 72F before I turned on the fridge. It took a few hours to get down to 67F. I hope the damag...

This is the same brew as the previous one. 14 gallons 22 lbs. Canada Malt 2 row. 75 grams Hallertauer - 60 minutes. 40 grams Mauribrew 514 O.G. - 1.042 F.G. - 1.014 % - 3.7 SRM - 4.3 BU - 20 It has a funny taste to it. It is hard to explain. The sweet malt taste is there, along with a taste that I don't like. It could be the yeast, or even my brewing practices. If I make this again, I will use Nottingham. At least I know what it will do and what the final taste is.

3 Dog Pub Ale I am back to making ales. I got a brick of Maurbrew Ale yeast ( 514 ). This is a blond ale of one malt and one hop. 15 Gallons 22. lbs. Canada Malting 2 row. 80 grams Hallertauer - 60 min 50 grams Mauribrew 514 O.G. - 1.044 F.G. - 1.014 % - 4 SRM - 4 BU - 20 I used more yeast than I should of. This is a lazy yeast with too high of final gravities in the past. I had FG of 16 and 18. I only needed 25 grams, but decided to double it. It finished exactly where I wanted it. I usually keg at the 14 day mark. This finished in 3 days when I checked it. I kegged it after 7 days. I am low on beer except for the lagers which are not ready and won't be ready for another month at least.

Cujo Lager I don't know why I am making another lager. My record is really bad with these hard to brew style of beers. I pitched a boat load of yeast at cool temps ( 44F ). I had to let it wait for around 8 hours before the carboys got down to 44F. That was 7 at night. 24 hours later I saw no activity. I didn't check it when I went to bed, but there was a thick layer of krausen on top when I got up. That is good. Still going slowly. I will give this 3-4 weeks to finish. I am not going to do a D-rest. My research on pitching cold ( 44F ) mentions that it is not neccessary. Okay, I will give it a try this time. The two fermenters are at 48F - 50F. I'll leave it there for the duration of primary fermentation, then keg. Still going strong. 11 days now. The krausen has dropped a bit, but there is still a good head on top of the carboys. The air lock is bubbling every 3-4 seconds. 14 Gallons 22 lbs. Pilsner malt 100 grams Hallertauer - 60 min. 42 grams Hallertauer - 5 min. 42 gra...

3 Dog Bitter This is a special bitter I read from my recipe book. The US-05 yeast is not traditional for this style. I have some wlp002 vials, but I am not ready to use them yet. I will mash higher (154F) and see how that goes. I just want beer for now. When the weather gets cold, I will use the English Ale yeast then. I do have to use Pilsner malt because that is what I have on hand. 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Pilsner malt 1.5 lbs. Crystal 120 1.5 lbs. Aromatic 13 ozs. Biscuit 50 grams UK Target - 60 minutes 45 grams US Challenger - 3 minutes US-05 yeast O.G. - 1.050 F.G. - 1.012 % -5 SRM - 11 BU - 27 It is fermenting normally. I am not sure about the taste. The crystal 120 sure changed what I thought it would taste like. Sample is coming up soon. It is okay. It needs to clear a lot and some aging won't hurt. I has a taste I am not sure where it is coming from. I think it is the crystal 120. 1 1/2 lbs. kind of dominates it along with the same for the aromatic malt. I...

3 Dog Lager This is a light lager which I haven't brewed in over five years. I have brewed this as an ale in the past, so I thought I would give a lager a try. The last time I brewed this with this yeast, my FG was too high. 1.018. I mashed low for 90 minutes, so this should be okay. 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Pilsner Malt 73 grams Hallertauer - 60 min. 42 grams Hallertauer - 5 min. 42 grams Hallertauer - 0 min. 50 grams Mauribrew 497 lager yeast - ( rehydrated ) O.G. - 1.044 F.G. - 1.012 % - 4.2 SRM - 2.5 BU - 20 It started good the next morning. It was quite active the following two days. I went with the yeast manufacturer's advice and fermented this at 60F. I think I could of gone lower, say 55F. I have read other brewers who brewed with this yeast and they have had good success with 50F. I will see how the taste is and if it is clean, I'll stay with 60F. No need to risk a too high of FG. It has slowed down a lot on day 3. The temp was 54F this morning. I set i...

This is another try on my many batches of this style of Canadian Ale. I changed the early additions of "C" hops toward the end of the boil. 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Pilsner malt 2.09 lbs. Carastan malt 1.32 lbs. Munich malt 1 oz. Carafa Special III ( for colour only ) It went from 6 to 7 srm. 56 g Amarillo - 60 min. 80 g Chinook - 10 min. 84 g Chinook - 0 min. 28 g Amarillo - 0 min. O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - 1.012 % - 5.3 SRM - 7 BU - 40 Going nicely the next morning. I kegged one carboy to see what it was like. It is very hazy of course as it is has only been fermenting 7 days. A nice grapefruit taste with a mellow bitterness. I am close to where I want to be, but not there yet. I will delete the 60 minute addition and lower the knock-out hops down somewhat. My total BU's will be around 23.

Storey Cavan Pride 15 gallons This is my version of an English Pale Ale. I had to use Pilsner malt because I only have this malt on hand. Use what you have. 22 lbs. Pilsner malt 1.60 lbs. Carastan malt 1 lb. Aromatic malt 4 ozs. Carafa Special III ( for colour only ) 73 grams UK Target - 60 min. 70 grams US Challenger - 3 min. 34.5 grams US-05 yeast O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - 1.012 % - 5.3 SRM - 9.8 BU - 40 This is a nice beer. The hops were really fresh and they stuck out in the sample I tasted. Usually when I take a sample from my conical, I get too much of a yeasty flavour. That makes it hard judge it. Not with this brew. Somewhat clear and very tasty. I can taste the hops more than yeast. It is not over bitter ( 40 ) and |I hope it doesn't go away. I am looking forward to kegging this.

Cujo Light 15 Gallons This is similar as the last one. Hopefully, no off flavours. I am going to let this go for two weeks because I want it to finish completely. 22 lbs. Pilsner Malt 62.5 grams Williamette 60 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.044 F.G. - 1.008 % - 4.7 SRM - 2.7 BU - 17.4 I had a hard time sealing the dome on top of the conical. I wasn't getting any blow off into the bucket. I checked and it was going good. I adjusted it and it was tighter, but still it wasn't totally sealed. I hope that with the fridge blowing in cold air, it doesn't get into the beer later on when it slows down. The beer seems fine. No air got into the conical as far as taste goes. This is very light. I like it, but prefer bitters. Cleared up nicely after a few days of gelatin. This tasted funny for a couple of weeks. It seems to be okay now, but of course it is almost gone. I won't make this style again until fall which I will use lager yeast.

Krabby Patty This is quite a turnaround as compared to what I have been brewing the last while. Very light. I just wanted to brew a very light beer for something to do. 22 lbs. Pilsner Malt 50 grams EKG - 60 min. 60 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.042 F.G. - 1.009 % - 4.3 SRM - 2.7 BU - 14.5 This was one of the most vigourous fermentations in a long time. There was no krausen in the blow off tube because of the dome lid on the conical. But, the bubbles were quite active. This has a nice, light taste to it. On day 8 I opened the fc and I got a bad smell. It wasn't a real disgusting smell, just bad enough that I knew something was going on. It has carried over into the kegs too. When you pull a pint, the smell is there. The taste is not that bad, a faint off flavour. This has stumped me. An infection for sure, slight that it is. From what? That part is the big question.

Maxwell Amber Ale This is another variation of my other brews. I am trying to brew some maltier beer, but don't want to lose that "C" hop aroma with too much specialty malts. A balancing act for sure. 22 lbs. Pilsner Malt 1.1 lb. Carastan 1.1 lb. Munich 1.1 lb. Biscuit 28 grams Chinook - 60 min. 28 grams Chinook - 10 min. 84 grams Chinook - 1 min. 60 grams Nottingham

3 Dog Harvest Ale II I changed the recipe a little bit. I wanted more flavour using specialty malts, but I didn't go crazy with them. Hopefully, they worked well together. 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Pilsner Malt 1.1 lbs. Carastan Malt 1.1 lbs. Munich Malt 1.1 lbs. Biscuit Malt 1.1 lbs. Aromatic Malt 28 grams Amarillo - 60 min. 28 grams Chinook - 10 min. 84 grams Chinook - 1 min. O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - 1.012 % - 5.3 BU - 27 SRM 6.6 60 grams Nottingham It is bubbling happily away 10 hours later. This is not a highly hopped beer. I do taste the citrusy hop, but not overly bitter. I am not a hop head. I want a good malt taste with a citrus flavour. I just had to sample some of this to see how the malts went with the lower hop schedule. Nice. It has a good biscuit/bread like taste to it. This beer has too much of a biscuit taste to it. I guess I should of used way less biscuit malt. Maybe after it ages awhile.

3 Dog Harvest Ale This is my house ale. Not too hoppy, but with a nice citrus finish. 15 gallons 22 lbs. Weyermann Pilsner Malt 1 kg. Carastan Malt 500 grams Munich Malt 28 grams Chinook - 60 min. 28 grams Chinook - 10 min. 84 grams Chinook - 1 min. 60 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - 1.012 % - 5.3 SRM - 6.2 BU - 31 I like Chinook, but find if I use a ton of it I get a cloying taste. I am trying to find a similar hop I can use a ton of. Horizon is a good choice, but I can't find any. I seemed to have hit a sweet spot with these chinook hops. 31 BU seems to be the limit, at least for me for this style of beer. When these hops are gone, I am going to brew a batch using Cascade hops. If I like it, I will buy a 5 lb. brick of it. This brew is good so far. It still has that citrus hop flavour. I hope to retain that after adding some Gelatin. I won't add too much.

Maxwell Pilsner 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Weyermann Pilsner Malt 50 grams Hallertauer 4.5% AA - 60 min. 100 grams S-189 Mashed for 90 minutes @ 65C Fermented @ 10C. This is another tribute beer. This time for Max who left us on April 20, 2010. 3 Dog Brewery is down to one dog now, but will always be " 3 Dog Brewery ". O.G. - 1.048 F.G. - % - SRM - 2.7 BU - 13 This brew is still fermenting along at a great pace. It is starting to slow down after day 6. I can check the gravity and taste in a few days. I want to see if it has diacetyl. It shouldn't have because I pitched cold.

3 Dog Harvest Ale 15 Gallons Another stab at the only recipe I will be brewing for the time being. 22 lbs. Canada Malt 1 kg. Munich Malt 1 kg. Carastan Malt 28 grams Chinook MH 28 grams Chinook 30 min. 28 grams Chinook 10 min. 84 grams Chinook 1 min. 60 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - % - SRM - 7.6 BU - 34.6 It took off normally the next day. I maintained the temp to around 18 to 20 degrees. It got to 21 for a bit, but I cooled it down in a hour or so. It takes a lot to cool 14 gallons of beer, so keeping an eye on the temp is a must for the first few days.

3 Dog Harvest Ale 15 Gallons This is my main recipe for now. In fact, it is my only recipe. I have been working on this style for two years now and I won't quit until I get it where I want it. 22 lbs. Canada Malt 1 kg. Munich Malt 1 kg. Carastan Malt 28 grams Chinook ( 11.4% AA ) MH 28 grams Chinook ( 11.4% AA ) 30 min. 28 grams Chinook ( 11.4% AA ) 10 min. 84 grams Chinook ( 11.4% AA ) 1 min. 60 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - % - SRM - 7.6 BU - 34.5 I was using just 30 grams of Nottingham in my 14 gallon conical and I thought I wasn't using enough. I went with 60 grams sprinkled on top. I am fermenting this around 64F - 66F. I still isn't warm enough for the frdige to come on very often. It is bubbling away at a steady pace, but no blow-off at the moment. My last brew was in carboys and it spewed all over the place. I filled the conical to the very top, but the domed lid holds a lot of trub. I have read that spewing krausen in a bucket using carboys is a good thing. ...

3 Dog Harvest Ale I have been working on this brew for 2 years now. Not a lot of success though. I need to get a different 60 minute bittering hop like Horizon, or Amirillo. That way, I can go with Chinook for aroma only and load up on that. Anyway, we'll see what this one is like. I am not a hophead, but I do like "C" hops in my ales. 14 gallons 22 lbs. Canada Malt 2.2 lbs. Carastan Malt 2.2 lbs. Munich Malt 28 grams Chinook ( 11.4% ) MH 28 grams Chinook ( 11.4% ) 30 min. 28 grams Chinook ( 11.4% ) 10 min. 84 grams Chinook ) 11.4% ) 1 min. 30 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.053 F.G. - 1.012 % - 5.3 SRM - 7.6 BU - 34.6 I want this brew to be reasonably hoppy, but not too bitter. Just lots of citrus taste and aroma. The blowoff hose was busy. I lost about half a gallon and the smell of the chinook hops was fantastic. This has a good chinook hop aroma. Bitterness is where I wanted it. The copper colour is nice and will be clearer after the addition of gelatin. I sampled some o...

3 Dog Cavan Springs Ale This is the last time I will brew this recipe. I don't like it that much. I am glad I didn't buy a sack of Vienna malt. Maybe in conjunction with munich, crystal it may be a better beer. IPAS for the next few months anyway. 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Canada Malting 2-row 2.34 lbs. Vienna Malt 75 grams Hallertauer - 60 min. 25 grams Hallertauer - 30 min. 30 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.050 F.G. -1.008 % - 5.5 SRM - 4.5 BU - 23 This beer turned out okay, but it is too bland. \i brewed it to see if all my cleaning and sanitation the last month or so was up to par. If I had any sanitation issues, it would of turned up in this simple ale.

3 Dog Cavan Springs Ale This is a variation of my usual pub ale. I retired that one and went on to this one. This has to be a really good beer to brew it again since I have to get the vienna malt online. I am sick of ordering stuff online and paying the huge postal rates. 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Canada Malting 2-row 2.0 lbs. Vienna Malt 90 grams Hallertauer pellet hops ( 4.5 AA ) - 60 minutes 24 grams Hallertauer pellet hops ( 4.5 AA ) - 20 minutes 35 grams Notttingham O.G. - 1.050 F.G. - 1.008 % - 5.53 srm - 4.6 BU - 26.6 I read the pdf file on Nottingham. They said that aeration is not necessary with this yeast. If you repitch it, ( I don't ) then you need to aerate. I have always aerated my beers with Nottingham. So, I did what they said. I was of course hesitant to do this. The fermentation got up to 71F at one time, so I had to turn the fridge on. It pretty well finished fermenting in 4-5 days. Hmm, a stuck fermentation? I let it go to around day 8 and took a sample. Quite yeasty, ...

3 Dog Stewart Street Tankhouse Ale This my first attempt at cloning that wonderful beer made by Millstreet Brewery. Their Tankhouse Ale is incredible. Malty, slightly roasty and the Cascade hops give it a nice sweet taste that goes with all the specialty malts. Delicious. I am using Chinook because I like them and I have 5 lbs. to use up. 14 Gallons 22 lbs. Canada Malting 2-row 2.2 lbs. Carastan Malt 2.2 lbs. Munich Malt 1.5 lbs. Dingemans Special B 28 grams Chinook ( 11.4% AA ) FW 28 grams Chinook ( 11.4% AA ) 30 min. 28 grams Chinook ( 11.4% AA ) 10 min. 84 grams Chinook ( 11.4% AA ) 1 min. 40 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.056 F.G. - 1.012 % - 5.8 SRM - 14.3 IBU - 42.5 This was supposed to be 15 gallons in my conical, but it has some beer stone or water salt problem. It is soaking in star san. As of last night it hasn't come off. I am worried because if I can't get it off, it may inhibit bacteria. That is not good. The wort tasted good. Not as bitter as I had wanted, but I used a...

3 Dog Harvest Ale This is another pool beer using "C" hops. It certainly had a good citrus hop aroma. 15 Gallons 20.3 lbs. Canada Malting 2-row 1 lb. Flaked Barley 40 grams Nottingham 28 grams Centenial hops - ( 8% AA ) - 60 min. 14 grams Chinook hops - ( 11.5% AA ) - 30 min. 87 grams Chinook hops - ( 11.5% AA ) - 1 min. 1 Whirlfloc tablet - 5 min. O.G. - 1.046 F.G. - 1.010 % - 4.73 SRM - 4.2 BU - 29 I moved the Conical into the beer room with the wall heater. The other room where I keep my fridge with the temp controler is too cold - 15C. No problem for Nottingham, but it will be too clean. I have found in the past that Nottingham has a sweet spot as far as fermentation is concerned. Over 72F - too many esters. 58F - too bland. I mean really tasteless. Not like a lager, just bland and I don't like it. This yeast likes IMO 66F to 68F. Kegged it on Feb.14. It has a good chinook hop taste to it, but lacks malt. I only used 2 row because that is all I had at the time.

Krabby Patty Another stab at this light ale. I used all of my EKG hops I bought two years ago for very inflated prices. I am not sure what kind of hops to buy now. Williamette maybe. They are cheap. 15 Gallons 20 lbs. Canada Malting 2-row 8 ounces Crystal ( 70L ) 74 grams EKG ( 60 min ) 40 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.042 F.G. - 1.010 % - 4.2 SRM - 4.6 BU - 21.4 It has a nice sweet taste to it. Very light. This is a beer for around the pool, etc... I want to get a few kegs ahead and I can brew more interesting beers in the spring. Lagers for sure.

Krabby Patty This is a tribute to my grandson who loves Sponge Bob Square Pants. He calls his burgers Krabby Patty just like the show. I have had great success in the past with this light ale, but not lately. 15 Gallons 20 lbs. Canada Malting Pale Malt 8 ounces Crystal ( 70L ) 57 grams EKG hops 40 grams Nottingham O.G. - 1.042 F.G. - 1.010 % - 4.2 SRM - 4.6 BU - 16.5 The basement is cool 62F. I let this ferment at that temp because I am using Nottingham and it is supposed have no problem fermenting at cool temps. I would of had to move the Conical in the beer room with the heater on using another kind of yeast. It fermented no problem and it got up to 66F a high krausen and stayed there for two days. No need to take a gravity reading until day 12, and that will be on Jan. 13-14. This turned out good. Very light and refreshing. The hops sure lost their bittering qualities. No problem since this is a brew I am trying to get down consistently to have around the pool. I plan on having lots...