4 Dog Brewery

MILLBROOK BLONDE ALE 11 Gallons 22 lbs. Bohemian Pilsner 2 lbs. Munich 6 28.35 g German Magnum - 12.4% AA - 60 min. 28.35 g Tettnanger - 3.2% AA - 0 min. US-05 75/25/CITY/RO I am using my last remaining glass carboy. Please don't cut an artery!!! This recipe is the only recipe I am making in 2016. I have no reason to make another style as my luck is bad brewing other beers. Just this recipe with lager yeast, kolsch yeast and maybe dry yeast to keep the pipeline full. Instead, concentrate on building a good stockpile of bottle conditioned beer for the summer. That way, you won't have to make beer in the heat of the summer. O.G. - 1.054 - 89% F.G. - % - SRM - 3.7 BU - 20 As usual, it still has a big krausen in both carboys with US-05. It will take at least 14 days to finish, or even longer. I will bring it out and toss it on the bench if I need room in the keezer. I put them on the brew cart with garbage bags over them to keg later. I do need them to be kegg...

11 Gallons Millbrook Blonde My 833 yeast didn't do anything when I made a starter. One vial was empty. I do not know what the hell happened. I tossed them and bought some dry yeast. 22 lbs. Bohemian Pilsner 2 lbs. Munich 6 28.35 g German Magnum - 12.4% AA - 60 min. 28.35 Tettnanger - 3.2% AA - 0 min. US-05 - 1 1/2 sachet in each carboy 1 tsp yeast nutrient 75/25 RO/City I am using new elements for this brew. The MT element would not come out, so I will go with the old one until all fermenters are full and then try again. I lowered the BU for this ale and my future lagers as I don't like the " soapy " hops but I bought 11 lbs. so I have to brew with it. I decided when I was actually brewing this to use my Magnum hops for a 60 min. addition. I then decided on brew day to add a small amount at flamout. Not a lot of flavour, but the wort was of course sweet. Nice colour. I did a whirlpool at the end of the cooling and it cleared nicely. I had a ton of trub...

Has a real nice colour to it. I had to toss 1-2 litres as it won't fit in the carboy. It says it is 6 US gallons though. S-04 yeast. I sprinkled it on top @ 64 F and took off the next day and fermented vigorously for 3-4 days. Never took a OG reading, ( could of used the tossed 1-2 L ). No matter. This will be ready for Jan. 1. The FG was 1.018. Too sweet but drinkable. If I ever buy this again, ( unlikely ) I will use Nottingham or US-05 but now S-04. Way to bread crust taste. Also, use more yeast. This fermented well and was quite active, but the end gravity was only 18. This may be an under attenuated wort and nothing will get it down. I will make my own brown ale next time if I really want one.

This finished in just under 4 days. Temp was climbing to 72 F, so I closed the door and it cooled to 68 F but no cooler. 15 g of Coopers yeast and 6 L of boiled and cooled RO water. Tastes like burnt wood. Not too bad over all.

Murphy 11 Gallons * LAST TIME BREWING THIS STYLE OF BEER, NEVER AGAIN * This recipe is a little different than the last one. More Munich malt and way more aroma and dry hops. The last one had too much crystal malt and not enough late addition hops. 13 lbs. Bohemian Pils 8 lbs. Munich malt 1 lb. Crystal 40 - Breiss 56.70 g Magnum - 12.40% AA - 60 min. 113.40 g Ahtanum - 6% AA - 0 min. 113.40 g Ahtanum - 6% AA - dry hop split in 2 carboys. US-05 100% city water O.G. - 1.046 F.G. -  1.010 % -      4.7 SRM - 6 BU - 40.7 I am going to brew this one more time if it is any good. I have to stop using my Pils malt for this style of beer, but have no other malt on hand. The HB stores around Ontario for some reason are charging $100.00 or more for a sack of grain these days. No sale. If I have to pay that, there is no savings on making your own beer. I used too much Munich malt. On kegging day, I almost threw it out. Kind of an astrigent, malty taste. I a...

At Tracy & Jean's Oct.17/201 15 Gallons Millbrook Dortmunder - * NEVER BREW THIS AGAIN, TOO MALTY * First time brewing this style. Wort is a nice golden colour going into the fermenter. O.G. - 1.052 F.G. -  1.014 % -    5 SRM - 4.8 BU - 27 17 lbs. Bohemian Pils Malt 8 lbs. Munich Malt 6 L 147 grams Tettnanger - 3.2 % AA - 60 min. WLP833 German Bock 75/25/RO/CITY                                                          BREWERS NOTES Way too much Munich malt. I got this recipe out of BCS. This is the first or second one from his book that I don't like. Not too bad as I have based most of my brews on his book the last few years. However, it seems to be mellowing out now, but will need to age a month or more. I won't brew this again, I like my Pilsner recipe better. Note to self: NEVER BREW A NEW RECIPE...

11 Gallons                                                              MURPHY'S PEE If it smells like cat piss, then it will be a good beer. This is a clone of Stone IPA right from the Stone Brewing web-site. A small change from the crystal malts and base malt. HB stores are now charging an arm and a leg for malt nowadays, thanks to our dollar and those cocksucking Americans who bought out G&P. So fuck em, not buying their malt.  I am using US-05 because I don't have time to make a starter. I had to lower the base malt as I still need my usual amount for my Pils and Kolsch beers. 20 lbs. Bohemian Pilsner 2 lbs. Crystal 40 2 lbs. Munich 6 1 lb. Crystal 90 56.70 g Magnum - ( 12.4% AA ) - 60 min. 56.70 g Ahtanum - ( 6% AA ) - 0 min. ( They smell great by the way ) 100% city water O.G. - 1...

15 Gallons I hope to repeat this to get the same results as the one I brewed on July 29. Most of the time I don't get the same results. However, I am using my usual yeast, but that beer was made with 940 which made a real nice Helles. I will go back to it if the next few beers are not what I want, yup, blame the yeast. 24 lbs. Bohemian Pils Malt 125 g Tettnanger - 3.2% AA - 60 min. WLP833 German Bock 75/25/RO/CITY O.G. - 1.054 F.G. -  1.012 % -    5.4 SRM - 3.3 BU - 22.8 833 Pitched @ 46 F @ 9 am Monday, Oct. 5. Good activity @ 48 hrs. Turned fridge off on day 15. Will let it get to 68 F for a few days. Drop yeast and lager until kegging day. I have a little diacetyl in the sample, so I got the wall heater on high to get it up to 68 f as fast as possible. Gravity is too low - 1.014 for a proper d-rest. I should of done it a few days ago.           ...

                                                                                        BREW CREW 11 gallons Hopefully it won't be too hot to brew as the last month has been hot and humid. 11 C today. rain, rain, and more rain. I can't clean my mash tun or boiler because it is still raining. Pilsner or Kolsch? I am not sure what to brew on a steady basis. Will compare when I need to buy more yeast. Maybe both. The Pilsners are nice and easy to brew once you pitch your yeast. The Kolsch brings out the hops better than my Pilsners do. Not sure why though. My next Helles will be made with 833 which I find hard to get lately. If I have to, I will order anywhere in Canada if the Ontario stores don't have it. 20.62 lbs. Bohemian Pils Malt ...

SIRE 11 gallons This brew is dedicated to Sire. An absolutely wonderful dog and master food thief. 22 lb. Bohemian Pils Malt 2 lb. Munich - 6 L 135 g Tettnanger - 3.20 AA - 60 min. Wyeast 2565 Kolsch- Pitched yeast on Tuesday, August 4 @ 5 am. 75/25 RO/CITY Big storm last night. Had to reset timers. I think one is not working. O.G. 1.050 F.G. - 1.013 % -    5 SRM - 3.7. BU - 25 TAX FREE BEER TASTES BETTER I have to wait until tomorrow to pitch the yeast. Needs more time to clear. Pitched 1 L in each carboy. Hope it wasn't too much. I don't like DME. Good layer of krausen a day after the yeast was pitched. Thought about a d - rest, but will let it continue. Still active. Needs a thermowell. As of August 10, still fairly active. Today is day 7 so no d rest yet. Later in the week set it to 19 c. Activity has slowed down Turned off fridge to let it rise to 19 C for a few days. Can't toss it on the bench as we are headed for higher temps this...

15 gallons MAGGIE 24 lbs. Best Maltz Pilsen 113.40 g Hallertauer - 2.7% AA - 60 min. 28.35 g Tettnanger - 4.40% AA - 60 min. WLP 940 Mexican Lager 75/25 RO/CITY I changed the recipe a bit. My Munich 6 L is getting old and I want to see what this Pils will taste without it. We are in the middle of a real heat spell here. 33 C. I hope to get a good quick start to the mash and get the boil going by 7 am. O.G. - 1.050 F.G. - 1.012 % -    5 SRM - 3.3 BU - 25 TAX FREE BEER TASTES BETTER The air lock keeps sucking back the star San. I switched to a blowoff hose and am seeing no bubbles. I checked and there is a thick layer of krausen on top. WTF? Don't know why there was no activity with a blow off hose, but changed to an airlock and it seems fine now. Good activity for a lager. No sure if I'm going to do a diacetyl rest. If so, do it soon. Today is day 10 or so. Not today. Still going good. Turned fridge off on Aug 12. Set it at 19 on Aug 13. Will let ...

                                                    MILLBROOK KOLSCH CARBOYS Using my 2 of 4 Kolsch yeast packets I bought. I definitely am going to use my yeast as soon as I receive it. I have a habit of letting them sit in the fridge for months. This yeast was abused. I had it in and out of the fridge 3 times after smacking it. Busy time of year, but now the starter is going. I still don't like the Tettnang hops I bought but am using them for now. May toss them later in the year when money is more plentiful as we are broke atm. I found some older and sealed Tettnanger hops in the freezer which I am going to use for this brew. 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Bohemian Pilsner malt 2 lbs. Munich malt type 1 ( 6 L ) 98 g Tettnanger - 4.4 ...

Millbrook                                                       Millbrook Helles 15 Gallons 22 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen 2 lbs. Munich Malt 1 103 grams Hallertauer 4% AA - 60 min. WLP940 Mexican Lager 75/25 RO/WELL O.G. - 1.050 F.G. - 1.010 % -    5.26 SRM - 3.7 BU - 24 TAX FREE BEER TASTES BETTER I thought about not doing the fast ferment with this Pilsner. The last time I did it I got no Pilsner taste at all. Bland and boring. Just like a very clean Blonde Ale which sucked. Sampled on day 9 and I got a nice Pilsner taste with no sulphur and diacetyl. No fast ferment now. Set it at 12 C until done. Well, I did do a d rest after all as I went downstairs and found the fridge door open.   ...

11 Gallons This is kit I bought from Brewers Pantry back in April. I hope the extract is still good though. I kept it in the fridge since I bought it. I will try to use the Williams Mash bucket I used back in 1998 for the 2 - 3 lbs. of specialty grains. Right Up To The Brown Mild 10 lbs. Amber LME 2.16 lbs. Crystal 60 4 ozs. Black Malt 40 g EKG - ( 5.7 % AA ) - 60 min. Wyeast London ESB 1968 - ( stepped up @ 4-15 ) 3 L starter 5-30 15 Gallons City ( dechorinated with 1 campden tablet ) Williams Mash Bucket ( circa 1998 ). O.G. - 1.030 ( Yikes!!! A 2-3% beer ) F.G. -  1.009 % -      2.8 SRM - 15 BU - 18 This will be served with beer gas and a ss aeration stone. I have to take the tank back by June 30th. I have 300 psi left in the tank. It'll be close as if I will have enough for a keg. It certainly wasn't a timer saver but a lot less stuff to carry and clean. The mash-tun worked very good and was a snap to clean. I can do a full all-grain...

2 23 L Festa Brew Continental Pilsner in my conical. WLP833 German Bock Lager -  ( slurry stepped up in a 3 L starter ) I may of under-pitched the yeast for this beer. We will see...Going good for a lager though. Started @ hour 36. All of my previous GOOD lagers started on hour 72. O.G. - 1.050 F.G. -  1.012 % -      5 BU - 18 SRM - 5 Tossed in the fridge a day or so before and set it at 46 F. Add both bags to conical, aerate and pitch yeast close to wort temp. Let it rise to 50 F and check for activity before starting your fermentation schedule. I turned off the fridge on Friday, May 15, Day 7. It should finish in a few days. Rotten egg smell has gone down a bit, but is still there. Basement temp is @ 66 F. Very active fermentation after turning off the fridge on day 7. It took 2-3 days to stop and is now ( May 23 ) at 5C. Will keg in 5 days or so. Kegged on May 25. Had about 2 - 3 L extra. Next time don't fill up the conical too full as you...

Cujo's Elbow ( Kolsch ) 11 Gallons ( Carboys ) 22 lbs. Weyermann Bohemian Pils 1.22 lbs. Vienna 1.22 lbs. Munich 135.50 g Tettnang ( 3.2% AA ) Wyeast 2565 Kolsch 70/30 RO/WELL I am not sure about using 30% well water. I know it isn't a lot but lately I have been getting some funky flavours in my beers and not sure where it's coming from. I usually get water after playing hockey, but it is over and baseball hasn't started yet. O.G. - 1.051 F.G. -  1.012 % -      5 SRM - 3.6 BU - 25 FTBS I forgot to put in the whirlfloc at the 10 min. mark. Real hazy beer going in to the carboys. Done that before. Split the yeast in half and pitched @ 70 F. Had to go and put air in Kerry's tire and was in a hurry. I came home and moved the carboys to the keezer. I can't find my orange carboy cap. Well, it's been 12 days now and it is still fermenting at a good pace. I have to keg this by day 16 or I can't serve clear/carbed beer by May 25th. I shut o...

Since I didn't like the Festa Brews, I am going back to this one. I made it about 15 years ago and it was nice. Cost is $40.50 but I think it is better than that Festa Brew which just didn't taste that good. The wort smelled good, but then again so did the Festa Brew. I toppped up with 7 L of boiled and cooled well water. O.G. - 1.050 F.G. - % - SRM - 14 BU - 30 * MAY DRY HOP FOR FUTURE BREWS * 15 G Coopers dry yeast. Just sprinkled on top. Going good at bedtime. Spewing out of the blow off hose the next morning. Not overly active, but steady. Had to turn on the wall heater because of global cooling. This kit didn't taste that great. No sure why, but using bottled spring water instead of my dreaded well water may be the reason. The kit was 6 months old and the BB date is 9 months, so I guess it was good. The reason this and some other of these kits didn't taste that great is the yeast. Coopers? That yeast sucks and the amount is not enough. The Pilsner should of ...

15 Gallons ( Using Brulosophy's lager fermenting schedule ) Another Pilsner for the summer months. I have to lager this in the keezer and do not serve it. Has to be good though. It is, but needs to be left alone for a few months. I did get 2 full kegs though. Maggie A slightly different recipe from the Nov/Dec Pils. Same yeast though. I grabbed the wrong hops though. I used Tettnang instead of Hallertauer. I hope it doesn't taste sweet because I want to get a lower FG but usually don't get it. fg - 1.012, acceptable. 22 lbs. Bohemian Pils 1 lb. Vienna 1 lb. Munich Type 1 Tettnang - 108 grams ( 3.2 AA ) @ 60 min. WLP 833 German Bock ( best yeast so far ) 70/30 RO/CITY O.G. - 1.050 F.G. - 1.012 % -      5 SRM - 3.5 BU - 20 Took the usual 3 days +- a few hours to see any activity in the air lock. I lowered the level of star san in the air lock to the line. I added too much since it wasn't done cooling. Pitching temp - 48 F. The temp varies fr...

Festa Brew English Pale Ale It wasn't that pale in colour. Around 6 SRM and tasted great. This will be served on beer gas. O.G. - 1.052 F.G. -  1.012 % -      5.3 SRM - 6 - 7 BU - 25 Nottingham ( 1 ) US-05 - ( 2 sachets ) FTBS I hope using Nottingham and US-05 at the same time didn't ruin this beer. Lots of pro breweries blend yeast so I think not. Going good around 4-5 hours from sprinkling the yeast in. I will use liquid yeast next for any Festa Brew - 1968 ESB. Seemed to be okay so far.

Festa Brew West Coast IPA My first time with this kit in 10 years. Wort smelled great, a nice bronze colour. I couldn't get all of the wort in my new PET carboys. You need some head space for O2 aeration and blow off. I lost about 1 1/2 L of wort. O.G. - 1.060 F.G. -  1.014 % -      6 SRM - 12 - 14 BU - 42 3 sachets of US-05 FTBS I used 3 sachets of US-05 since they all were near the end of their BB. The US-05 that came with the kit was out of date. I need to contact Magnotta with my concerns on their old yeast. If I continue to use these kits I will use liquid yeast as I will get a better product with fresh yeast. Going good the next morning. I had to use 2 drops of fermcap in each carboy to get the foam down.Taste is fine. A little too much crystal malt for me as I made this with crystal 60 and it was too grainy. Still, for the ease of putting it all together, fine, I like it. I will buy it again because I have to use up my 11 lbs. of Tettnan...

CUJO'S ELBOW 11 Gallons - Carboys on bench          * BROKE 1 CARBOY - SAVED 1 - NICKED AN ARTERY * I bought 11 lbs. of Tettnang pellet hops ( 2013 ). They are only 3.2% AA.  May as well use them in a simple ale to find out how they are. 22 lbs. Bohemian Pils 2 lbs. Munich type 1 135 g Tettnang - ( 3.2% AA ) - 60 min. 28.35 g Tettnang - ( 3.2 AA ) - 0 min. US-05 75/25/RO/WELL O.G. - 1.050 F.G. -  1.010 % -     5 SRM -3.7 BU - 25 Kegged this. A little over the top with the flame out hops. Won't do that again. Taste is fine considering it sat there for 3 hours in the remaining carboy. I won't use dry yeast again in a blonde ale. I just can't get the taste I am looking for. Wyeast 1010 in my blonde ale a couple of years ago tasted real good.The Tettnang hops are fine. That is good since I bought 11 lbs. of it cheap. 2013 crop. FTBS

                                                                 BROTHER CHRIS Finally getting around to brewing this. The yeast is getting close to 4 months old, so get'r done. 5.5 Gallons 16 lbs. Bohemian Pils 4 lbs. corn sugar 1 lb. Munich 110 g Tettnang - ( 3.2% AA ) 4 L Wyeast 1762 Abbey Ale II 75/25 RO/WELL O.G. - 1.084 - 76% efficiency. F.G. -  1.010 % -     9.56 SRM - 4.3 BU - 32.7 Make a 4 L starter with 108 day old yeast so you will definitely end up with lots of yeast either way. If you happen to get 90% efficiency, you will still have enough yeast to get the job done. Pitch cold, 64 F. I had a hard time cooling t...

Pals 15 Gallons ( More like 12 with the boil over ) I had a boil over near the end of the boil. The addition of the chiller pauses the boil for a bit, so I turn on the other element to get it back quickly to a boil. However, as usual, my cell phone screwed up again ( trying to set the timer ) and I took an eye off the boil for a moment and I lost about 2 L of wort. That doesn't bother me as much as I think I lost some bitterness as the wort didn't have as much BU as I wanted. Will see in 3 weeks. I read that running hot water through the chiller before you toss it in the wort will decrease the pause in the boil. I'll try it next time. 22 lbs. Bohemian Pils 2 lbs. Munich type 1 99 grams Hallertauer ( 4% AA ) - 60 min. WLP830 German Lager 75% RO 25% WELL It takes until the next day to add the yeast at 44 F. This morning it was 48 F. Finally pitched the 830 @ 4:30 pm. O.G. - 1.050 F.G. -  1.015 % -     4.6 SRM - 3.7 BU - 23 Kegged on March 9....

Cujo Cujo's Elbow 11 Gallons 22 lbs. Bohemian Pils Malt 2 lbs. Munich Malt type 1 80 grams German Hallertauer ( 4 AA ) Wyeast 1098 British Ale 70/30 RO/CITY O.G. - 1.050 - 82% F.G. - % - SRM - 3.7 BU -18.5 FTBS Hopefully this won't be a harsh and just awful beer I tossed out recently. I still don't know what went wrong. Moved on and have to brew more often to get the pipeline full as time is a factor. I won't be able to brew on the shelf when spring comes, too warm.

Maggie 15 Gallons After the 90 min. boil and the removal of cold break, I am left with maybe 10 gallons, less after kegging. It has to be good though. I have been reading about not removing the cold break as it does nothing to improve the beer. I will see when I keg this and the amount I get in my kegs. 22 lbs. Bohemian malt 2 lbs. Munich Type 1 malt 88 g German Hallertauer ( 4 AA ) - 60 min. WLP940 Mexican Lager 75/25 RO/WELL water in mash 70/30 RO/WELL water in sparge O.G. - 1.044 - 73% - This is getting lower all the time. F.G. -  1.014 % -      4 SRM - 3.7 BU - 20 FTBS Pitched the 940 at 1 pm the next day. Temp - 46 F. Set fridge to 10 C right away. It took 68 hours to see any activity in the air lock. The last one took 70 hours. I don't know why it takes so long to get going as the resulting beer is quite good. I will not change a thing, just accept the long lag time. I am going to raise the grain bill to reflect my poor efficien...