4 Dog Brewery

 Conical - ( Brewed 29 batches of beer this year and maybe half were drinkable ) Plan on doing much better in 2021. I will be brewing Kolsch beers for 2021. I like them, easy to brew and I want to carry only one yeast slurry in the fridge at a time. Robobrew for the rest of the winter and Mr. Conical when spring comes. Ingredients 22 lbs. GTA Pils Malt 1 lb. White Wheat Malt 8 ozs. Acid Malt 125 g Hallertauer Mittelfruh at 60 min. Imperial G03 Dieter Kolsch yeast Water Profile - 75% RO                          25% Well ( I think I can get away with 25%, we will see. ) I am not going to do a late addition of hops and the bigger system seems to amplify it too much compared to my Robobrew which needs a little at the 10 min. mark. I am not doing a 10 min addition now. O.G. - 1.052 - ( 90% ) F.G. - 1.010 % -     5.5 SRM - 3.3 BU - 20                     ...

 I have an empty ferm chamber and 2 sachets of 34/70. May as well make a Helles and be done with it for 2020. Ingredients 10 lbs. GTA Pils 8 ozs. wheat 4 ozs. acid malt 62 g Saaz at 60 min. 2 sachets of 34/70 Water Profile - 75% RO and 25% Spring Since this is a lager, I am going to aerate this wort, but just toss in the 2 sachets of 34/70. I can't remember using it before. O.G. - 1.042 ( 79% efficiency ) Back to a normal reading. F.G. -  1.010 % -      4.2 SRM - 3 BU - 20 I really need to buy a big accurate pitcher for adding RO and spring water to my mash. I seem to be getting not enough water and sometimes end up with too much water. Dollar store may have something. Wort tasted great. I pitched the yeast at around 10 pm on brew day. The temp the next morning said 8.5 C. Set it for 10.5 C so am wondering about the 2 C difference. Set it for 11.5 C.                                 ...

 Just tossing this together and decided to use US-05 instead of a liquid yeast that definitely needs stepping up. Besides, I need to use this yeast as much as I can, bought it, use it. Ingredients 5 lbs. Marris Otter 5 lbs. Canada 2 row 1 lb. Simpsons Crystal 40 6 ozs. Thomas Faucett 120 28 g Challenger at 60 min 36 g EKG at 10 min. 20 g EKG at 0 min. US-05 Water Profile - Amber Balanced No spring water with this as I am going with brewing salts and RO water.  O.G. - 1.046 F.G. - % - SRM - 9.4 BU - 27                                                          BREW NOTES The 2 qts. water/lb. of grain seemed to work well. However, I am not sure how the beer will turn out with a high ratio like this. It didn't seem to be overly thin when I mashed in. Will know around Xmas, but will be painting so it may sit longer than usual. Wort is clear...

 Mr. Robobrew Brewing a lager which I really didn't want to brew at this time. No over build this time, as I am concentrating on Kolsch beers. I did buy 2 sachets of 34/70 I will use at a later date. For now. Wyeast Pils 2007 is just about ready to use.  Ingredients 11 lbs. GTA Pils Malt 8 ozs. Wheat Malt 4 ozs. Acid Malt 28 g Saaz at 60 min. 5 g Magnum at 60 min. 56 g Hallertauer Mittelfruh at 10 min. Wyeast Pils 2007 Water Profile - 75/25 RO/Spring 3.75 gallons RO in mash and sparge 1.25 gallons spring in mash and sparge O.G. - 1.052 F.G. -  1.014 % -      5 SRM - 3.4 BU - 22 I will do a fast ferment on this batch. I hope that using an aromatic malt ( which Weyermann described ) I can still get a good Pils malt taste. If not, it will be a good clean lager. These beers using this new malt are tasting just like those Polish lagers I buy at the LCBO. I would like to use the Polish hops they use if I can find them. I found them but maybe next spring or early ...

 Robobrew Another shot at a blonde ale. This time with new malt and a new water profile. If it sucks, well, this style will be my last. Yes, it sucks. I have no idea why everytime I brew this style of beer, it is just bad. Never again. Ingredients 11 lbs. GTA Pils Malt 8 ozs. Munich II 8 ozs. Vienna 4 ozs. Acid Malt Czech Saaz - 30 g at 60 min. German Magnum - 10 g at 60 min. Hallertauer - 56.70 g at 10 min. US-05 Water Profile - 75/25/RO/Spring O.G. - 1.048 - 79% F.G. -  1.010 % -      5 SRM - 3.7 BU - 30                                                                     Brew Notes A normal brew day. Nothing went wrong, but of course, clean up during the winter sucks. Do what you have to do though. I got like 1 - 2 gallons of murky trub in the carboy. This wort would just not totally clear. I ...

 Conical I completely dissembled the Conical to give all of the parts a good clean. The dump elbow had a layer of calcium inside it which looked like it was put in there on purpose. Oxiclean overnight took it all away, which surprised me since it was there for what? 15 years? This will be cleaned on a regular basis. Blickmann suggests that after every 5-6 brews, you should not brew for 2 weeks to let it passivate, so I should do this again at that time. This is where I always wanted to ride through. Arizona, USA Ingredients 22 lbs. GTA Pils Malt 1 lb. Wheat 8 ozs. Acid Malt - ( 2.1% ) 20.5 g German Magnum at 60 min. 56.70 g Hallertauer at 60 min. 113 g Hallertauer at 10 Imperial G03 Dieter ( 4 L starter with over build in a 500 ml jar ) * yeast pitched at 8 am Nov 22 ) * Water Profile - 75/25 RO/Spring 6.75 gallons RO in mash 2.25 gallons spring in mash 7.50 gallons RO in sparge 2.50 gallons Spring in sparge O.G. - 1.054 - ( 85% mash efficiency ) F.G. -  1.012  % -  ...

 Robobrew Made this last year with little thought put into it. One of my best beers from last year. Hope to repeat it. Ingredients 9 lbs. Pils Malt - ( all I have ) 6 ozs. Brown Malt 6 ozs. Choc UK 3 ozs. Crystal 120 Thomas Faucett UK 2 ozs. Carafa Special III 28.35 g EKG US-05 O.G. - 1.032 - 66% F.G. -  1.009 % - 3 SRM - 18.2 BU - 16.4 Water Profile - Brown Balanced CA - 51  MG - 5 S04 = 70 CI - 56 PH - 5.50                                                                BREW NOTES I didn't get a good efficiency on this beer today. The abv will be around 2.7%. No matter because this is what I want, but yea, kind of low. Will mill my grains on notch 4 for now on.  Day 1 - Not much activity. Day 2 - Not much more, if anything. Kind of cool though, like 64 F. Looks like it will be going by       ...

 This is a pilot brew going back to 75/25 /RO/Spring water. I made Kolsch and Helles style beers a few years ago with more success than I am getting using brewing salts. The only thing is PH control. I am using acid malt, but hope it won't drop the PH too low using 75% RO water. I think I will be okay as when I use my Bru'n Water spreadsheet, the PH is always quite high, so I think I will be fine. Going with a 5.5 gallon brew instead of wasting malt on the bigger system. If this works, I will definitely brew one with it. I need good beer in kegs for the holiday season.    Ingredients 11 lbs. GTA Pils Malt 8 ozs. Wheat Malt 4 ozs. Acid Malt 14 g Magnum at 60 min. 56.70 g Hallertau at 10 min. Imperial G03 Dieter ( 2 L starter with a 500 ml mason jar over build ) 75/25 RO/Spring                                                         ...

 Robobrew This hopefully is my regular beer for now on. I am having trouble brewing my other beers for some reason, so I switched to this style which I brewed on a regular basis 20 years ago and quit brewing. Todays brew tasted fine, just what I want. So, I am giving it a go. Ingredients 12.5 lbs. Floor Malted Pils 56.70 g Saaz at 60 min. ( 3.2% AA ) US-05 - Pitched directly in the carboy. ( 15 g ) Water Profile - Yellow Full PH - 5.40 O.G. - 1.040 - (65% Efficiency ) Working on getting it higher. F.G. -  1.006 % -     4.46 SRM - 3.4 BU - 21 I didn't use any epsom salts in this low mineral water profile. Just around 2 g a piece using gypsum and calcium chloride. Hope it turns out, the wort tasted fine. Oct. 3 - Slow and steady. Yea, kind of slow, but the gravity was only 1.040. Using less mash water              and more sparge water MAY result in a better efficiency. I adjusted my water and will take a       ...

13 Gallons  Another IPA but going back to the lighter side. This will be the last one for awhile as I am changing to simple Blonde Ales which always tasted good like 20 years ago. Nope I am not. My Blonde Ale has a funny taste. No idea where that came from. Working on my Kolsch, so hoping it may be a better beer. Ingredients 22 lbs. 0i0 2 lbs. Munich I 1.3 lbs. Wheat 8.4 ozs. Honey Malt 7.7 ozs. Crystal 40 3.3 ozs. Victory 15 g Chinook at FWH 28 g Warrior at FWH 60 g Chinook @ 10 min. 113 g Chinook @ 0 min. 113 g + dry hop for 5 days 35 g US-05 Water Profile - Custom CA - 121 MG - 5 S04 - 242 CI - 53 PH - 5.45 O.G. - 1.054 F.G. -  1.012 % -       5.6 SRM - 5.4 BU - 42 I am having no luck with these latest brews. Always starts off good but always ends up tasting awful. No idea why. This is just a brew to get rid of my ingredients in mason jars.                                ...

 I just love the colour of this beer. Not sure where mine will be, but I hope it is close. Never brewed this style before as I always thought that it was some sort of black lager. Never assume anything.  Ingredients 8.5 lbs. Floor Malted Pils Malt 4.5 lbs. Munich II 1.8 ozs. UK Choc Malt ( for colour adjustment ) 19 g German Magnum at 60 min. 56.70 g Tettnanger at 30 min. 34.50 g Tettnanger at 10 min. Escarpment Labs Isar Water Profile - Kal's Maibock - The Electric Brewery CA - 50 MG - 10 S04 - 70 CI - 70 PH - 5.48 O.G. - 1.050                          Yeast pitched at 12 noon on brew day F.G. -  no idea ( not sweet though ) % - SRM - 9 BU - 34.5 1 L starter in fridge on Sept. 10. Stepped up to a 3 L after that. Added 500 ml to a mason jar for over build on Sept. 16. I didn't take any pics as it was an unremarkable brew day. Maybe later...                   ...

 Robobrew Ingredients 11 lbs. 0i0 1 lb. CaraMunich I 1 lb. Wheat 4 ozs. CaraRoma - 150 L 14 g Warrior at 60 min. 22 g Chinook at 30 min. 40 g Chinook at 15 min. 28.35 g Cascade Cryo LupulN2 - ( Hop Creep at 160 F holding for 20 min. then continue to cool. ) 15 g US-05 O.G. - 1.051 F.G. - % - SRM - 8.6 BU - 52 Water Profile - Amber Balanced CA - 49 MG - 10 S05 - 76 CI - 63 PH - 5.50 I am not sure how many more pilot brews I am going to do. Hell, they are all pilot brews. The higher I went with the sulphates, the worst the beer got. The very first one was kind of bland, but stayed good until the end of the keg. I can't say that for the previous 2 darker brews. If this sucks, I am going to make these beers with a SRM of 5 or lower. I have noticed that Mr. Robobrew beers seem to magnify the specialty malts compared to my big system. I guess I have to drastically lower the amount of specialty grains in future brews. Yea, but buy how much? I would say if the big system calls for 1 lb. of...

 Maggie Marzen - Robobrew Re-circulating Mash for 60 min. Drinking a beer of course Thinking on a Czech Amber lager, but could not find enough info on this style. Will keep researching and may give it a go this winter which will be mostly lagers. Ingredients 7 lbs. Floor Malted Pils 3 lbs. Munich I 2 lbs. Vienna 1 lb. CaraMunich III 12 g Magnum - 60 min. 56.70 g Saaz at 30 min. 28.35 g Saaz at 0 min. Escarpment Labs Isar Lager ( 3 L stepped starter,  37 days old ) Water Profile - Amber Full PH - 5.50 O.G. - 1.048 F.G. -  1.012 % -      4.8 SRM - 8.7 BU - 27.5 I made my first good one on Oct. 31, 2018 and did a couple after that which sucked. I do think it was my yeast washing or lack of. I now do an over build of yeast which is a game changer. I need 550 billion over build cells. I am using 454 g of DME instead of 500 g which is slightly over a pound. I am still way above that so I think I am good. Having problems with the stir bar falling to the side of th...

I have to re-mill my grains as it is too course. 17 year old mill is getting worn. Looked okay, but there were a lot of whole kernels along with a good crush. Notch 4 for now. Wort is a real nice colour.  Ingredients 11 lbs. 0i0 13.2 ozs. Wheat 11.6 ozs. Munich I 8 ozs. Victory - ( hope it isn't too low ) 17 g Chinook at 60 min. 15 g Chinook at 20 min. 15 g Chinook at 15 min. 15 g Chinook at 10 min. 15 g Chinook at 5 min. 73 g Chinook - Hop Stand 5 min after cooling starts. 15 g US-05 O.G. - 1.054 - 82% F.G. - % - SRM - 7 BU - 42 CA - 82 MG - 18 S04 - 200 CI - 53 PH - 5.44 I want a slightly darker beer I think. Going for something around 7. Will use Special III to do it. Cooling at 8:30 am. Not bad, I think I can do better if I can get the heat right in the sparge tank. I have to set the dial to a lower setting earlier so so I have time to get it just right. Missed my hop stand by a lot. It cooled way faster than I thought. 101 F instead of 170 F. Oh well, what's done is done. ...

Slight variation of my pilot brews for this west coast style. Brewing the previous batch on Mr. Robobrew in a couple of days. This and all of these brews have the most hops I have ever used. Taste is good so far, but only if you like hops :) The milled grain is too course. My efficiency went way down. Notch 4 for now on no matter what grain I use. I will re-mill my already milled grain for Sunday, Aug. 2. Ingredients 11 lbs. 0i0 12 ozs. Wheat 8 ozs. Honey Malt 17 g Chinook at 60 min. 15 g Chinook at 20 min. 15 g Chinook at 15 min. 15 g Chinook at 10 min. 15 g Chinook at 5 min. 73 g Chinook hop back - ( around 5 - 10 min chilling ) US-05 - 15 g CA - 57  MG - 5 S04 - 99 CI - 44 PH - 5.45 Very similar to the previous one. Definitely not enough darker specialty grains. The next one is darker, but it is too early to say anything about the maltiness I am looking for. O.G. - 1.040 - ( Milled on notch 3, now on notch 4 ) F.G. - % -  SRM - 4.4 BU - 42 I think I want to brew a darker br...

Decided to use the keezer to ferment this as it is quite hot outside and in the basement. Using the 27 L pail along with my short thermowell. Either this or leave it until Sept. Nope, bought it so ferment it. Leaving it for 14 days as per instructions inside. O.G. - 1.090 - Temp is around 23 C.  F.G. -  .0994 - Day 14 or so. % -      13 Took about an hour or so. Quite hot ( 84 F ) in the laundry room now. Used Spring water up to the 23 L mark. This is easier to brew than the Costco wine as you just leave it for 14 days, check the gravity, rack to another pail, add everything in their proper order and transfer to a carboy and wait another 14 days and then bottle.                                                                  FERMENTATION NOTES Next day - Going good, star san foam coming up through t...

Conical Got my Chinook hops on Sunday and ordered my grains the same day. I ordered them in February and it took this long to get them because of Covid 19. The worst year for bloody everything, they should wipe it from the history books. At least I don't have to scrimp on the hop additions, the sky is the limit. I ordered 5 lbs. but should of ordered 11 lbs. Next year.                                                               INGREDIENTS 22 lbs. 0i0. 1.5 lbs. Munich I 1.5 lbs. Victory 1.31 lbs. Wheat Chinook - 11.5 AA - 32 g at 60 min. Chinook - 11.5  AA - 30 g at 20 min. Chinook - 11.5 AA - 30 g at 15 min. Chinook - 11.5 AA - 30 g at 10 min. Chinook - 11.5 AA - 30 g at 5 min. Chinook - 11.5 AA - 113 g dry hop US-05 - 35 g PH - 5.50 Water Profile - Yellow Balanced   Will go to yellow dry if this doesn't agree with m...

Stewart Line Festbier - Conical This is almost the same beer as my Marzen. I used a bit less of CaraMunich I as I wanted a lighter, less roasty beer for the summer. This is still kind of malty for a Festbier. I have decided not to buy the bulk grains from Chile. Not German malts, so why do it? INGREDIENTS 12 lbs. Bohemian Pilsner 8 lbs. Munich I 6 lbs. Vienna 8 ozs. CaraMunich I 1.1 oz. Carafa Special III 34/70 Fermentis Lager Yeast - ( 5 Sachets ) Water Profile - Amber Full PH - 5.50 O.G. 1.051 F.G. - 1.012 % -     5.13 SRM - 7 BU - 26.6                                                                BREW DAY NOTES Very hot in the garage, but it is done. Added some water to the Robobrew chiller with ice and I think it was colder this way. This may be darker than the last one, but that is fine. Still not cooled down...

Robobrew I made this style back in Oct. 31, 2018. As usual, I quit making it. I hate it when I do that as this was a real nice beer. Buying some bulk grains in July, so this and the next one will give me an idea of how much grains to buy. Re-using this yeast and doing an over build with every starter. Decided to not buy the bulk grains from Chile. They are not German grains, and they most likely won't taste like this brew. Ingredients 5 lbs. Vienna Malt 4 lbs. Pilsner Malt 3 lbs, Munich I 8 ozs. CaraMunich I 3.4 g Carafa Special III 16.20 g Magnum at 60 min. 28.35 g Tettnanger at 20 min. 56.70 g Tettnanger at 5 min. 34-70 -  Fermentis Lager - 11.5 g sachets - ( 2 )  O.G. - 1.052 F.G. - % - SRM - 7 BU - 27.5 Water Profile - Amber Full PH - 5.50 - I am still going with this PH as it seems to me that when I lower it with any brew to                   5.2 - 5.3, it sucks, but my Amber beers seem to be fine with a PH of 5.5.   ...