4 Dog Brewery

Had to delay brewing because of the freezing rain. This is a Session beer using up all my Cascade hops to make room for mostly lagers and bitters. Not sure which one I will brew most.                            KEGGING UNDER C02 FROM CARBOY TO KEG I have issues with the taste in my last 4 brews. Not sure if it is oxidation or not. Just an odd and unpleasant taste. I have had the orange carboy cap for years but have never used it. Went to You Tube and watched how they do it. I think I can do it. Better to do it on this beer than my lager in a few days to see if it works out okay. At least I can eliminate oxidation if this works out and keep trying to find out where the off flavour is coming from. Hey Matey!!! Ingredients 11 lbs. UCM 1 lb. Munich I 26 g Cascade at 60 min. 60 g Cascade hop stand ( 5 min after knock out ) US-05 Slurry 2nd Generation Water Profile - Chris's Pub Ale PH - 5.30 Basic brew...

Giving my lagers another try, but not an amber lager. A Bohemian Pilsner but using UCM instead of Pils malt which I can't get around here. Trying a new water profile I haven't used before. Martin Brugard who runs Bru'n Water stated he used this for Pilsners and has worked great. I am also going to over-build my starters. This is the easiest and best way to make yeast I have come across yet. No washing yeast, rinsing yeast, and getting the shits when you do re-use yeast.                                                                        MARTIN'S WATER PROFILE PsuedoBohPils - CA - 20 MG - 0 - SODIUM - 8 SULPHATE - 15- CHLORIDE - 35 MINE -               CA - 21 MG - 3   SODIUM - 4 SULPHATE - 15 - CHLORIDE - 36 This is as close as I can get. I think it is close e...

I have lots of EKG hops in my freezer, so I will be brewing this until they are gone. Back to a more traditional British bitter with this one. This is one beer I want to tweek to brew a really true British Ale. Yes, I do need British malt and Brewers Pantry has a sack of Simpsons Golden Promise for around $65.00 a sack. Worth the trip to Bomanville. Ingredients 11 lbs. UCM 1 lb. Carastan 8 ozs. Thomas Faucett 85L 28.35 g EKG at 60 min. 28.35 g EKG at 0 min. US-05 Water Profile - Amber Full PH - 5.45 O.G. - 1.050 F.G. -  1.006 % -      5.8 SRM - 8.5 BU - 21                                                          Brew Notes No activity until around 12 noon the next day. Fridge on.  Hope this tastes okay, because I am short on beer. My English Ale kind of sucks. Dec. 9 - Going okay...

Giving Tettnanger another try. Last time I used it, I bittered to 21 with just a 60 min. addition. Tasted like I added 4 ozs. at 0. Not sure what happened there.  Ingredients 11 lbs. UCM 12 ozs. Munich I 15.5 g Magnum at 60 min. 28.35 g Tettnanger at 30 min. 28.35 g Tettnanger at 0 min. US-05 - (250 ml of 4 day old slurry) Water Profile - Kal's Blonde Ale PH - 5.30 O.G. - 1.046 - 79% F.G. -  1.005 % -     5.26 SRM - 3.5 BU - 25                                                               BREW DAY NOTES Brew day was fine. The ground fault Robert gave me a few years ago malfunctioned. It is toast, so I had to  raise it to my stand/ladder and it was a pain to use, but I did it. I will buy an end to my electrical cord to make a 2 foot extension cor...

Making beer just for the hell of it and besides,  tomorrow it is going to rain, freezing rain and flurries. Trying out some flaked rice. Haven't used it in a long time. Thucky Ingredients 10 lbs. UCM 2 lbs. flaked rice 11.7 g Magnum at 60 min. 28.35 g Saaz at 0 min. US-05 Water Profile - Yellow balanced. PH - 5.30 O.G. - 1.040 - 67% - ( turned up the mill notch to 4 after this one ) F.G. -  1.007 % -      4.33 - 82% SRM - 3 BU - 15 If this isn't too fruity, I may make this with a lager yeast this summer. I have to do something about my efficiency. I know my mill is old, so I guess I have to keep turning up the notches for now. A new mill is on my list but not now.                                                             Yeast pitched @ 12 noon A big difference in the smell and l...

I haven't brewed a blonde ale in years. Just trying to get this water profile down so I can slowly gravitate to light lagers. If this is okay, I will keep re-using this yeast for the rest of the winter. 11 lbs. UCM 8 ozs. Munich I 17 g Magnum at 60 min. 28.35 g Saaz ( hop stand at 5 min ) US-05 Water Profile - Kal's Website CA - 50 S04 - 67 CI - 69 PH - 5.30 O.G. - 1.043 - 76% F.G. -  1.010 % -      4.3 SRM - 3.4 BU - 22 MASH SALTS - GYP - 1 G. CI - 2 G. EPS - 1.8 G. SPARGE SALTS - GYP - 1 G. CI - 2 G. EPS - 1.9 G LACTIC IN MASH - 2.3 ML. LACTIC IN SPARGE - .4 ML.                                                         BREW NOTES As soon as I added the hop stand addition of Saaz hops it turned hazy and never cleared. Usually it starts to clear in a matter of minutes. Hmmm... I guess when I keg it and ...

Making a light, English ale along the lines of a Boddingtons or similar beer. Using my slurry of Wyeast 1318 London Ale III. Ingredients 11 lbs. UCM 1 lb. Bairds Carastan ( 30 L ) EKG - 34 g - 6.4% AA at 60 min. EKG - 28.35 g -  6.4% AA at 0 min. Wyeast 1318 London Ale III slurry ( 300 ml ) Water Profile - Yellow Full CA - 50 MG - 7 S04 - 55 CI - 70 PH - 5.35 Mash GYP - 1 G CI - 2 G EP - 1.3 G Lactic Acid - 1.5 ml SPARGE GYP - 1 G CI - 2 G EP - 1.3 G Lactic Acid - .4 ml O.G. - 1.042 F.G. -  1.012 % -      3.94 SRM - 5.6 BU - 25 Even though the unwashed slurry is 2 weeks old, I am still going with it. I will pitch as much as I can and will see what happens.                                                      Yeast slurry pitched @ 1 pm. Nov. 13 - Going okay. 64 F. Turned on heater for now...

5.5 gallons. Different recipe from the last one as I am using different ingredients. Hard to compare which one I like as this one is lighter than the previous one. I would like to make lighter looking bitters, but still have a good caramel/toffee taste. Thinking on going with 10% Carastan malt like I did 15 years ago using well water. I really should send away a sample of my well water to see if I can figure out how to brew with it. Ingredients 11 lbs. UCM 8 ozs. Simpsons Double Roasted Crystal - 112 L 56.70 g EKG - 60 min. Wyeast 1098 Water Profile - Amber Full O.G. - 1.040 F.G. - % - SRM - 7.4 BU - 31 I checked my records back in 2013 and found a bitter which had almost the same ingredients as this one. I do remember how good it tasted. I did use Epsom salt, just gymsum and cal choride. I am doing that today. I remember reading that is all you need, just half a teaspoon of each and that is it. Maybe I am over doing it with the salts. Will see in 2 weeks ...

5.5 Gallons - Using my wine pail. Still smells a bit like wine, but I will do it anyway. Good seal next morning. I tasted the hydrometer sample and it really didn't taste that great. Had an unpleasant taste which surprised me at this stage of brewing. Nothing to do but wait and see. Hope the dark crystal wasn't stale. Thinking on buying a sack of Carastan malt from UCM. Never had stale malt from them, not ever. Ingredients 11 lbs. UCM 14 ozs. Thomas Fawcett Crystal 85 1 oz. UK Choc Malt - 400 L 42.70 g EKG - 60 min. 14 g EKG - 20 min. 28.35 g Cascade - 0 min. ( tasted a Wellington SPA bitter with a finish of US hops, good. ) Wyeast 1318 London Ale III Water Profile - Amber Balanced O.G. - 1.046 F.G. - % - SRM - 10 BU - 25.8 I seem to have trouble with my efficiency and I know it is my mill not doing the job. Still on notch 3. If I go to notch 4, it has too much powder in it. UCM is smaller than all malts, so my efficiency is going from 81% to 73%. But,...

2 - 15 L Costco White Wine Kits O.G. - 1.092 Racking gravity - 1.000 F.G. - .992 % - 13.5 In pails with the lid on loose with baseboard on 68 F. Temp is a little high - 74 F. Can't get it to go to 72 F, so I quite trying but keeping it from getting to warm. Day 1 - Followed the kit instructions. Added 8 L of spring water to each pail. Day 2 - Bathroom smells like wine. Day 3 - Same. Day 8 - 74 F. Temp strips are reading 2 F apart, either accurate or not, who knows. Rack to               carboys soon. Day 11 - Had a hard time leaving the sediment behind in the pails. Got around 2 inches in each                pail. I will be more careful next time, but I think it doesn't matter anyway because it is                only in these carboys 15 days. Rack and clear after that. Day 26 - Oct. 23 - Rack to a carboy and add/degas all the stuff. Day 27 - Oct. 24 - ...

A Robobrew. Changed the recipe a bit. Re-using the previous Marzen yeast if it smells and tastes okay. Sick of try to clean my carboys. I guess I need to clean and get my Conical back into action. I have to do a double brewday to fill it, but may just do 6 gallons in it. Not now, but later... Ingredients 8.50 lbs. UCM 1.5 lbs. Munich I 1 lb. Barke Pils 1 lb. Vienna 12 ozs. CaraMunich I 2 ozs. UK Choc 15 g Magnum - 60 min. 26 g Hallertauer - 30 min. 28.35 g Hallertauer - 1 min. Omega 114 Bayern Lager slurry Water Profile - Amber Balanced PH - 5.39 - ( Added .04 ml Lactic Acid to mash by mistake ) Should be 5.43, should be okay. O.G. - 1.046 - 73% - Why the drop in efficiency? F.G. - % - SRM - 9.3 BU - 30 Since the previous beer seems okay, this one is a go. Slurry is in the flask. No, I am not going to make a starter, just go with what I got. I didn't get a whole lot, around 500 ml, but looks like 400 ml now. Use it and RDWHAHB. My keezer is not coo...

5.5 Gallons Using Omega Bayern 114 Lager yeast for the first time. OBK sent me this 134 day old yeast and charged me full price too, nice of them. $11.50. Not buying ingredients from them again because I am sick of their old, stale ingredients. Equipment? Yes, but that is it. Ingredients 7 lbs. Barke Pilsner 3 lbs. Munich I 2 lbs. Vienna 1 lb. CaraMunich III 1 oz. UK Choc 400 L 15 g Magnum - 60 min. 28.35 g Hallertauer - 30 min. 28.35 g Hallertauer - 0 min. Omega Bayern 114 Lager Yeast ( 141 day old yeast. 1 L to a 3.5 L starter ) Water Profile - Amber Balanced O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - % - SRM - 10 BU - 28 Brewed, cleaned up, and waiting for the wort to cool down. Pitched the yeast the next morning at 10 C. Temp - 52 F. Activity the next morning. 12 hour lag time, beats 72 hrs with WLP833. Day 1 - Nice head of krausen on top. I am losing some beer through the blow off hose, but that is because I stupidly forgot to leave room for the liquid yeast. Al...

5.5 Gallons I have put together many Mild recipes, but have never followed through with one. I may brew more if this turns out okay. I am using a neutral dry yeast for this brew because I have only one sachet left and am sick of AIPA'S. I do like the 3 - 3.5% part. Ingredients 8 lbs. UCM 6 ozs. Brown - 90 L 5.5 ozs. Crystal 120 L 3 ozs. UK Choc 400 L 3 ozs. Roast Barley - 575 L 12 g Magnum US-05 Water Profile - Brown Balanced PH - 5.50 O.G. - 1.042 - ( 95% ) What? Not sure what happened here. F.G. -  1.010 % -      4.2 SRM - 17.6 BU - 17.6                                                                            NOTES Had a ton of foam while the mash was going on. I used 1.76 qts/water per lb. of grain and it still was too thick. 95% mash efficiency? Nev...

5.5 Gallons Continuing my Amber AIPA brews to finish using these hops. Ingredients 11 lbs. UCM CaraMunich I - 8 ozs. Honey Malt - 8 ozs. Crystal 120 - 4 ozs. UK Choc Malt - ( 300 L ) - 2 ozs. 20 g Columbus 56.70 g Cascade - Hop Stand at 180 F US-05 PH - 5.42 Water Profile - Amber Balanced O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - % - SRM - 10 BU - 40 Double mill the grains on the default setting of your 16 year old Valley Mill. It may help your efficiency from 70% to the normal 81%. Using notch 4 vastly decreases the mash recirculating so much that I can't walk away because it keeps rising. I looked at it and decided it didn't need a double mill. Some were milled too much and some were not. 16 years old now, so just keep using it.                                                                  BREW DAY NOTES No disas...

5.5 Gallons Since my Conical needs work, I am using carboys most likely until next summer. A slight change of the recipe since the last one just for the hell of it. Scrubbed it with BKF, but it still needs an acid wash with PBW sometime this fall when I put it away for the winter. Get it out as early as possible next spring as I want to brew a lot of beer and not have to brew in the humid conditions of summer. Makes a lousy brew day, just hate it. Hopefully I can brew lots of beer next spring so I don't have to brew a lot in the summer. I will however, brew with Mr. Robobrew all summer long, but not have to. I just like to brew beer.   Ingredients 10.9 lbs. UCM - ( supposed to be 11, but close enough ) 8 ozs. Honey Malt 8 ozs. CaraMunich I 4 ozs. Crystal 120 2 ozs. UK Choc Malt - 300 L US -05 -                                       Pitched @ 1 pm. 20 g Columbus - 17.3% AA...

No ball today, so a great time to make beer. Conical this time. Using my slurry from the last batch. I did taste an off taste, but now it seems to be okay. Adding gelatin today to clear it for the Big Six coming here on Aug. 16. Ingredients 24 lbs. UCM 75 g Hallertauer - 60 min. - Was supposed to be 82 g. Escarpment Kolsch slurry - 6 days old. 500 ml, pitching it all after decanting a bit of beer on top.                                              BF says I need to make a starter, but I disagree. We will see who is right.                                              I think BF was right. O.G. - 1.051 F.G. - % - SRM - 3.3 BU - 16.4 I found 4 ozs. of hops at 60 was too much, even though I have done it for many years with no problems. No ide...

Mr. Robobrew 5.5 gallons 11 lbs. UCM 1 lb. Vienna Malt 8 ozs. CaraMunich I - 35 L 1 oz. UK Choc Malt 20 g Columbus at 60 min. 2 ozs. Cascade at 0 min. 2 ozs. Cascade dry hop 5 days before kegging. US-05 Using a carboy because I bought a carboy cleaner so we will see how clean it gets it in 2 weeks. O.G. - 1.043 - 70% efficiency. I assume my mill is getting worn and I will turn it up a notch. F.G. - % - SRM - 6.3 BU - 40 First thing I have to do is to see if Mr. Robobrew works. I knocked it over in the garage watering my flowers. After all, it is a cheap PC board installed in a coffee urn. Yes, it still works.                                                             BREW DAY NOTES Weather is nice, so get r done. May try to set the timer in the Robobrew to get hot water in the morning when I wake up. Nope, d...

Conical My annual Big Six brew. Get it right. This is a pretty simple recipe and I have lots of time to make it. 3 weeks in the primary? Fine, whatever it takes.                                                                     INGREDIENTS 22 lbs. UCM 18.5 ozs. Munich I 113.4 g Hallertauer Escarpment Labs Kolsch O.G. - 1.047 F.G. -  1.010 % -      4.8 SRM - 3.5 BU - 25 Making a 3.5 - 4 L starter with this yeast and fermenting it at 62 F. I am having a hard time with my stir bar. The 2 inch one keeps falling to the side after like 10 years of use. I have to use the one inch bar and it works though, just not as good as the longer one.                                  ...

5.5 Gallons I am going with the same grains, but may change the hop schedule if the last one is not to my liking. Hard to do when you just kegged it and things change in a short period of time. Either way, I am going to brew this. This will be bottle conditioned in my plastic bottles which I bought and have never used. You have 3 sachets of US-05 and it will be late mid-August before you need any more. Do not run low and always order at least 2 sachets with every order and always keep some in stock. I may change this recipe to get it a bit lighter in srm and taste. Compare the two to see which one you like best. Ingredients 11 lbs. UCM 1 lb. Breiss Crystal 40 8 ozs. Breiss 120 US-05 22 g Columbus at 60 min. 56.70 g Columbus at 0 min. 28.35 g Cascade dry hop 5 days before kegging. 113.4 g Columbus dry hop 5 days before kegging. ( did I use too much? we will see. ) O.G. - 1.047 F.G. -  1.010 % -     5 SRM - 10 BU - 44         ...

Another wine put down. May have to heat the room, in June?                                                                 FERMENTATION NOTES O.G. - 1.092 DAY 10 -.995 F.G. -    .992 % -     13.5 Yes, had to turn on baseboards as it is too cold here in mid June. What a joke. Going good the next morning as the smell is strong. Turned down heat, 74 F, too warm. Baseboards are hard to regulate. Day 1 - Put everything together. Day 2 - It is fermenting, I can smell it. 74 F, turned off baseboard heater. Day 6 - Ants. Yes, ants all crawling on the rim of the pail trying to get in the wine. This is not good              with a lose lid. I hammered on the lid and added an air lock. No more ants, but they are still               ...

Conical Need to brew this as soon as possible to brew another one on Canada Day. Making a 3.5 L starter instead of a 2 step starter. Hope it works. This is on my regular bigger system in the garage.                                                                       INGREDIENTS 22 lbs. UCM 1.13 lbs. Munich I 113.4 g Hallertau Mittelfruh WLP029 Kolsch - ( one step starter, 3.5 L ) O.G. - 1.045 - ( 79% usually 82% ) F.G. -  1.012 % -      4.5 SRM - 3.4 BU - 25 First brew of the year out in the garage. One month behind because of our cold, wet weather. I should be able to brew 3 batches before Aug 16 when the big 6 get here. 2 with this yeast and maybe another using Escarpment Kolsch yeast which I can't seem to find. It made a great Kolsch last month which I dry ho...