4 Dog Brewery

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...