4 Dog Brewery

  I can't figure out who would want to drink this. Camp fire stick beer? Oh well, here it is Marty. Ingredients 6 lbs. Maris Otter 4 lbs. Cherry Wood Smoked Malt 6 ozs. CaraRed 6 ozs. CM - ( 68 srm ) 6 ozs. CaraFa III 50 grams Hallertauer at 60 min. - ( 6.8% ) 34/70 ( 2 )  Mash Volume - 5.50 gallons Sparge Volume - 5 gallons Mash Gyp - 1 gram CC - 2.3 grams Eps - 2.3 grams Baking Soda - 1.7 grams Boil Gyp - .9 grams CC - 2.1 grams Eps - 2.1 grams O.G. - 1.043 F.G. - % - SRM - 17 BU - 24 CA - 50 MG - 11 S04 - 70 CI - 69r

  This batch was supposed to be brewed in December, but it is delayed until further notice. Grace gets Murphy dressed up for Xmas 2024. This is the first brew using that enzyme from White Labs ( Brewzyme D ). They say to still do your normal D rest on day 5. I will do just that. I have to put only 5 gallons of wort in the carboy instead of 5.5 or even 6 gallons as it was made for only 5 gallons. That will give me room to get a cleaner and trub free wort getting into the fermenter. I realize you need some trub and I usually do get lots in even if I think I don't get much. I am also not using Pilsner Malt at first. If this is good, I will buy some in 2026. I won't be brewing this on a regular basis until summer. But, I most likely  will ferment this on the big system to get 4 cases at once and immediately get back to brewing my House Dust IPA which is my favourite style to brew.    BREW THIS AFTER YOU HAVE LOTS OF HOUSE DUST IPA ON HAND       When y...

  Ingredients 11 lbs. Rahr 6 ozs. Honey Malt 22 grams Warrior at 60 min. 56 grams Cascade at 15 min. 56 grams Cascade at 0 min. 56 grams Cascade dry hop 3 days before kegging US-05 O.G. - 1.044 F.G. - % - SRM - 4 BU - 45 I am starting to make lagers soon. Make this just to have, toss it on the bench and start to make your lager. I am waiting to buy some Pilsner Malt, so this recipe will be brewed until I run low of Rahr malt. Mash Volume - 5.50 gallons Sparge Volume - 5.00 gallons Mash GYP - 7.3 g CC - 1.7 g EPS - 4.3 g Baking Soda - .4 g Boil GYP - 6.6 g CC - 1.5 g EPS - 3.9 g Lactic Acid Sparge - .2 ml A normal brew day. The boiling wort does smell funny. Not sure why though. I still think that the hops were Hallertauer. God, I hope not. I didn't label them and totally forgot what they were.                                                       ...

  A blend of Cabernet and Merlot grapes. This one has oak chips that clog up my syphon hose all the time, very annoying. Yeast Pitched at 1:15 pm, Nov. 20. Cranked the heat up in the bathroom as the temp strip is reading 68 F. Won't take long to get there. Nothing yet but I have no temp strip on one of the pails. Picking one up soon. Day 14 - Dec. 4 - Check gravity - < .996 or lower. If ready, syphon into a carboy. Add stuff  according to instructions. stabilizing and degassing, then wait 24 hrs. Day 15 - Clearing Day 26 - Follow instructions, Filter and bottle soon. November 29 - Still going but slowly. December 1 - Looks like it and the other one are pretty well done. No gravity check yet.                        That is 12 days since the yeast was pitched. Just about right. May rack in                        a day or so after I check the gravity in both ...

  These kits were purchased at Costco. First thought was 2 different kits. Nope, a blend of the two. Yeast Pitched at 12 pm on Thursday, November 20. As usual I am having trouble stabilizing the temperature. Heater off until I get to 74F. I have settled for a temp of 72F as it seems easier to do rather than lower or higher. Checked it on Nov. 29. No activity. Hope the gravity is down where it should be. Not sure if I should check it or just leave it. I guess I will wait and if high, add some yeast energizer to get it going again. This wine should have temp control but can't do it in the basement cause it is way too cold.                                         CHECK INSTRUCTIONS ON DAY 14 Gravity on Dec. 4 - .993 - Same as the red, hmmm... Dec. 5 - Added Chitosan Dec. 16 - Rack to a carboy and add 1.5 g of Potassium Metabisulphate to wine. Go ahead and         ...

  I think I have my recipe to where I want it. Should be ready for Storey Christmas. Every time I order Cascade hops the AA% is different. I will be using the odd specialty grain now and then to use them up. You can't taste them in a hop forward beer. Ingredients 11 lbs. Rahr 4 ozs. Honey Malt 22 grams Warrior at 60 min. - ( 12% ) 75 grams Cascade at 15 min. - ( 6.4% ) 56 grams Cascade at 0 min. -   ( 6.4% ) 56 grams Cascade dry hop 3 days before kegging. - ( 8.5% ) US-05 Mash Volume - 5.50 gallons Sparge Volume - 5 gallons Mash Gyp - 7.3 g CC - 1.7 g - ( 1.87 g ) Eps - 4.3 g Baking Soda - .1 g Boil Gyp - 6.6 g CC - 1.5 g - ( 1.65 g ) Eps - 3.9 g Sparge - .2 ml lactic acid O.G. - 1.045 F.G. -  1.010 % - SRM - 3.7 BU - 45 CA - 110 SOD - 20 S04 - 275 CI - 51 PH - 5.30                                                          BR...

Murphy  Been about a year since Murphy left us. Kind of miss him. He just walked up our laneway and  went to the back deck and stayed there until I let him in. That is all it took. Saw another cat walk up our laneway on October 15 of this year just the same way as Murphy did. Word got around I guess. I am taking an inventory of hops to see what I need for batches up to Xmas. After that? No idea yet. Marty's smoked beer maybe. Ingredients 11 lbs. Rahr 2 ozs. Simpsons CL 2 ozs. CaraRed 1 oz. CaraFa Special III - ( never use this in an IPA again ) 14 g Warrior at 60 min. 56 g Cascade at 15 min. 56 g Cascade at 0 min. 56 g Cascade dry hop 3 days before kegging. -  US-05 ( 1 ) RO Water Mash Water Volume - 5.50 gallons Sparge Water Volume - 5 gallons MASH Gyp - 7.3 g CC - 1.6 g Eps - 4.2 g Lactic Acid - .3 ml BOIL Gyp - 6.7 g CC - 1.5 g Eps - 3.8 g Lactic Acid Sparge - .2 ml CA - 110 MG - 20 SODIUM - 4 CI - 51 S04 - 275 PH - 5.30 O.G. - 1.050 - 87% F.G. - % - SRM - 6.3 ...

  First time smoking a Turkey. A lot of ways to do it according to You Tube. There seems to be the first rule is to use a water pan but don't put any water in it. It will hold back the temp so you won't get it up to around 300F. Well, I can do that but have to do a couple of other things first. Use a SS bowl on the bottom of the smoker just above the lower part and put your water pan on top of that. It supposedly won't get the bird too rubbery with all of the extra humidity when using it with water. You have to adjust the temp with the lower vents almost closed and the upper vent wide open. I am sure I will have to adjust the upper vent so don't walk away too much. Buy a cheese cloth to put over the bird for half of the cooking time to stop it from getting too dark. Install the lower grate over the hot coals and then the SS bowl and then the water pan over that. The water pan won't burn the drippings because of the SS bowl is used as a heat buffer. Brining the turke...

Still brewing this with ingredients I have on hand. Specialty malts are kept to below 5%. Ingredients 11 lbs. Rahr 2 ozs. Simpsons CL 2 ozs. CaraRed 1 oz. CaraFa III 21 grams Magnum @ 60 min. 56 grams Cascade @ 15 min. 56 grams Cascade @ 0 min. 56 grams Cascade @ dry hop ( 3 days before kegging ) - Oct. 23 US-05 DRY HOPS ESTIMATED TO BE ADDED AROUND OCTOBER 23 I ended up dry hopping for 4 or 5 days since it was still fermenting. O.G. - 1.040 - 70% F.G. -  % - SRM - 6.3 BU - 43 Mash Volume - 5.25 gallons Sparge Volume - 5 gallons Water - RO Water Profile - 4 Dog Brewery CA - 110 MG - 20 SODIUM - 4 S04 - 275 CI - 51 PH - 5.30 Sparge - .2 ml Lactic Acid Mash Gyp - 7 grams CC - 1.5 grams Eps - 4 grams Lactic Acid - .3 ml Boil Gyp - 6.7 grams CC - 1.5 grams Eps - 3.8 grams I am using a very small amount of Roasted grain for colour. Keg this style if you want to CPBF using your PET bottles. Please do this if you have time because the filler is just sitting in a box and doing nothing for ...

Ingredients in the mash 9 lbs. Bairds Maris Otter 2 lbs. Flaked Barley- ( DO NOT MILL FLAKED BARLEY ) Nottingham dry yeast Cold Steeped in the fridge overnight in 1 gallon of water in a pot. Pour the black extract into another pot with your big funnel which  has the middle strainer.                                        DO NOT RINSE THEM AT ALL 6 ozs. Black Malt 6 ozs. CaraFa Special III 6 ozs. Roast Barley 6 ozs. Chocolate Malt Add this extract the last 15 minutes or so in the boil to sanitize. Remove from the fridge an hour before adding to the boil and strain it with your big  funnel into another pot.  Make sure you don't have too much wort in Mr. Robobrew when you sparge. You will need a gallon or slightly less before doing the boil. Go to the 6.5 gallon mark and no more. It did indeed go to that level. Now, if I can figure out a better way to cold steep the grains....

  Ribs 2-2-1 The weather is warmer on Aug. 31st - 25C, today? 21C. 2 hours smoke 2 hours in foil with brown sugar, honey and 4 slices of butter chunks. 1 hour in butcher paper with bbq sauce on the bbq. I usually don't have much heat left on the smoker, so that is why I use the BBQ.                                                             Day before after membrane removal, add Rib rub. Completely cover the Ribs fully. Toss in a bag in the fridge. An hour before smoking, add the other rub or what you have just to freshen them up. When your chimney starter is completely white, pour it all around the charcoal in the WSM instead of pouring them in the middle. I see when I am done that I am not getting them all burnt through like the middle ones.                          ...

  I need to have enough beer for 2 sets of guests at different times. May as well use the big system and get it all done at once. This is in the style of an English IPA. I usually don't get high efficiency but today was an exception. Right up to 1.060 where it used to be. Maybe I got the mill gap just where it should be for the first time. I have 2 more sachets of Notty and will make something with them during the fall. It will have to wait until we come back from Jamacia. I also have 5 sachets of US-05.  Ingredients -  Crisp Maris Otter - 21 lbs. Rahr 2 row - 8 lbs. CaraFa Special III - 3.5 ozs. 140 grams EKG at 60 min. 65 grams EKG at 10 min. 11 gallons Distilled Water in Mash 10 gallons Distilled Water in Sparge MASH Gyp - 14.6 grams CC - 3.3 grams Eps - 7.7 grams Baking Soda - 2.8 grams PH - 5.45 BOIL Gyp - 13.3 grams CC - 3 grams Eps - 7 grams Lactic Acid - .4 ml Amber Balanced CA - 50 MG - 10 S04 - 75 CC - 63 PH - 5.43 O.G. - 1.060 - ( Now this is a shocker since my...

  This is weather permitting for sure. I am not sure if I can smoke for 4 - 5 hours in the garage. They say not to do that. Set smoker up early in the morning and plan on starting at 11 am. This way you won't be rushed and end up with chewy ribs. Plan on using your bbq for the last hour at 225F .                                                                   SCHEDULE 2 hours smoke @ 225 F. 2 hours smoke @ 225 F double wrapped foil. Butter, brown sugar and honey. 1 hour on the bbq unwrapped with bbq sauce @ 225F. ( use smoker if it is still hot ) I used the smoker for the last hour. The temp went down to 218. I did this for 1 1/2 hours. Spritz with your apple cider vinegar and RO water mixture every 30 min. If you have any left over in a bottle, toss it and make up a new mixture. ABOVE ALL, DRINK LOTS OF HOMEBREW...

Ingredients 11 lbs. Rahr 5.60 ozs. Honey Malt 14 g Warrior @ 60 min. 56 grams Cascade @ 10 min. 56 grams Cascade @ 0 min. 56 grams Cascade in the fermenter 3 days before kegging. ( added July 14 ) Keg on July 17 O.G. - 1.040 - 70% - ( low using Rahr ) F.G. - % - SRM - 4 BU - 32.6 Water Profile - 4 Dog Brewery CA - 118 MG - 15 S04 - 275 CI - 51 Mash Water Volume - 5.50 gallons Sparge Water Volume - 5.00 gallons MASH Gyp - 8 g CI - 1.7 g Eps - 3.2 g PH - 5.33 BOIL Gyp - 7.3 g CI - 1.5 g Eps - 3 g                                                      BREW DAY NOTES Very humid out today. Hot in the garage, even at 4 am. I didn't bring up the irish moss tablets and now I know why the beer is so hazy in the cooled wort. I will have to deal with clearing the beer after fermentation is done. I can still clear it but it may not get clear as I like it, but so what?...