Maggie Helles - Wednesday, March 4, 2020
One more shot at a Helles. Going with the German Brewing Water Profile.
PITCHED YEAST ON THURSDAY MARCH 5 AT 7 AM
Friday, March 6
Going good this morning. One thing about this yeast, it is fast and strong. I didn't do an over build. Maybe I should of. I can still re-use it though. Have to do a yeast harvest though. Better to buy my stand by yeast, WLP833 which I have been using for 5 years.
Sunday, March 8
Same. A big sulphur smell also. Hope it farts it all out.
Monday March 9 - Same.
Tuesday March 10 - Same. Doing a fast ferment. Cannot take chances on sulphur/diacetyl. Will let it go an extra day or so before I actually ramp it up. Day 7? Literature says days 4 to 7.
D REST THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 6 AM.
Today was day 7 and I either had to do it today, or do not do it at all. I don't think it needed one, but didn't want to take the chance of getting diacetyl, or that bloody cooked corn taste. Maybe I will try it later on this year. I will see how this tastes, that is everything. Looking back on my previous brews the last couple of years and I did use this water profile a few times. Most of those beers were so so. I read that they were bland. I want bland. That means that there are no issues and it is a clean beer. I do think it is all in the grains, as in German Pils malt. If this tastes better than the other ones, I may have to bite the bullet and buy more Floor Malted Pils malt - at $56.00 a sack. That was the price last fall.
Friday March 13 - 64 F. Not a lot of change at this temp. No sulphur smell. Had to do a d rest or risk fart beer.
Monday, March 16 - D rest done. Ramping down slowly to around 10 C because my old fridge struggles to get it lower. I forgot to do a 90 min boil but detect no DMS or any off flavour as of yet. Doing another lager with this malt and I will do a 90 min boil. Some research indicates a 90 min boil not necessary, but may do one anyway. Need to sparge more to get 8 gallons pre- boil.
CORONA VIRUS COVID 19 UPDATE
The bulk hop buy scheduled for March is postponed for now.
The bulk grain buy is delayed until May sometime. I have no malt and some hops, but may have to resort to buying a sack of 0i0 from Brewers Pantry for $58.00 a sack. Not too bad, but I have nothing. Will brew ales and will most likely have to buy hops. Not sure about lagers though. This situation just sucks. Hockey's last 4 games are canceled, haven't heard anything about baseball. The bulk hop buy is delayed for over a month, maybe. The bulk grain buy is delayed for a month too, maybe more.
KEGGED MONDAY MARCH 30
This has a real pils malt taste. I am sure with age after clearing and carbing up it will certainly taste different, but I am happy with this. As of April 11 this is almost gone, but what I am tasting is a real nice lager. It still needs something, but not sure what? I assume a small amount of Munich I may give it something. Thinking on Melanoidin malt, but not yet anyway.
Ingredients
13 lbs. Weyermann Floor Malted Pils Malt ( Milled on notch 3 )
80 g Tettnanger at 60 min.
1 oz. Tettnanger at 0 min.
Escarpment Labs Biergarten Lager yeast
German Brewing Water Profile
CA - 22
S04 - 31
CI - 39
PH - 5.30
O.G. - 1.051 - 80%
F.G. - 1.012
% - 5.13
SRM - 3.5
BU - 25
I think I am going to brew way more ales than lagers this year. I bought 5 lbs. of Chinook hops so brewing Trump ale and similar styles is way easier than going with hit and miss lagers. Wort tasted like a real Pilsner should taste. I am half way there, so I hope the rest tastes just as good. Wort didn't clear that much in Mr. Robobrew before going in the carboy. I didn't do a whirlpool as I think I should anyway. I had a ton of trub under the false bottom and some dark chunks of stuff too. My yeast flask didn't have a lot of yeast on the bottom. Hope it was enough.
13 lbs. Weyermann Floor Malted Pils Malt ( Milled on notch 3 )
80 g Tettnanger at 60 min.
1 oz. Tettnanger at 0 min.
Escarpment Labs Biergarten Lager yeast
German Brewing Water Profile
CA - 22
S04 - 31
CI - 39
PH - 5.30
O.G. - 1.051 - 80%
F.G. - 1.012
% - 5.13
SRM - 3.5
BU - 25
I think I am going to brew way more ales than lagers this year. I bought 5 lbs. of Chinook hops so brewing Trump ale and similar styles is way easier than going with hit and miss lagers. Wort tasted like a real Pilsner should taste. I am half way there, so I hope the rest tastes just as good. Wort didn't clear that much in Mr. Robobrew before going in the carboy. I didn't do a whirlpool as I think I should anyway. I had a ton of trub under the false bottom and some dark chunks of stuff too. My yeast flask didn't have a lot of yeast on the bottom. Hope it was enough.
PITCHED YEAST ON THURSDAY MARCH 5 AT 7 AM
Friday, March 6
Going good this morning. One thing about this yeast, it is fast and strong. I didn't do an over build. Maybe I should of. I can still re-use it though. Have to do a yeast harvest though. Better to buy my stand by yeast, WLP833 which I have been using for 5 years.
Sunday, March 8
Same. A big sulphur smell also. Hope it farts it all out.
Monday March 9 - Same.
Tuesday March 10 - Same. Doing a fast ferment. Cannot take chances on sulphur/diacetyl. Will let it go an extra day or so before I actually ramp it up. Day 7? Literature says days 4 to 7.
D REST THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 6 AM.
Today was day 7 and I either had to do it today, or do not do it at all. I don't think it needed one, but didn't want to take the chance of getting diacetyl, or that bloody cooked corn taste. Maybe I will try it later on this year. I will see how this tastes, that is everything. Looking back on my previous brews the last couple of years and I did use this water profile a few times. Most of those beers were so so. I read that they were bland. I want bland. That means that there are no issues and it is a clean beer. I do think it is all in the grains, as in German Pils malt. If this tastes better than the other ones, I may have to bite the bullet and buy more Floor Malted Pils malt - at $56.00 a sack. That was the price last fall.
Friday March 13 - 64 F. Not a lot of change at this temp. No sulphur smell. Had to do a d rest or risk fart beer.
Monday, March 16 - D rest done. Ramping down slowly to around 10 C because my old fridge struggles to get it lower. I forgot to do a 90 min boil but detect no DMS or any off flavour as of yet. Doing another lager with this malt and I will do a 90 min boil. Some research indicates a 90 min boil not necessary, but may do one anyway. Need to sparge more to get 8 gallons pre- boil.
CORONA VIRUS COVID 19 UPDATE
The bulk hop buy scheduled for March is postponed for now.
The bulk grain buy is delayed until May sometime. I have no malt and some hops, but may have to resort to buying a sack of 0i0 from Brewers Pantry for $58.00 a sack. Not too bad, but I have nothing. Will brew ales and will most likely have to buy hops. Not sure about lagers though. This situation just sucks. Hockey's last 4 games are canceled, haven't heard anything about baseball. The bulk hop buy is delayed for over a month, maybe. The bulk grain buy is delayed for a month too, maybe more.
KEGGED MONDAY MARCH 30
This has a real pils malt taste. I am sure with age after clearing and carbing up it will certainly taste different, but I am happy with this. As of April 11 this is almost gone, but what I am tasting is a real nice lager. It still needs something, but not sure what? I assume a small amount of Munich I may give it something. Thinking on Melanoidin malt, but not yet anyway.
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