Date: February 21st
Time: 7:00pm
Where: Stone Brewery Escondido
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Nightmare Before Pumpkin Ale
So with the change of the seasons and the holidays approaching quickly, I thought it was only fitting to try my hands at a fall classic, pumpkin beer.
After some researching, I found a great recipe off HBT that I ended up manipulating a bit. (see recipe page for my recipe)
So I thought this brew was gonna be pretty simple, besides adding the oven baked pumpkin to the mash, but I still was worried. ...Well I should've been!
This ended up being the most frustrating brew ever for me! Everything went wrong. Missed my mash temp by a few degrees, stuck sparge (even with almost 2 lbs of rice hulls) and then to top it all off the immersion chiller's fittings came loose and squirted water everywhere (including my already boiled beer.)
Anyways, I made the best of it, still was able to get 10 gallons and hit a 1.052 original gravity.
Below are a few pics of the brew sesh.
Update: Beer has been in primary for 2 weeks now and has cleaned up nicely. The gravity is a constant 1.014. I will be transferring to secondary this weekend and racking to keg and adding the spices after about 5 days of secondary. Really hoping to get this one carbed up for Thankgiving!
After some researching, I found a great recipe off HBT that I ended up manipulating a bit. (see recipe page for my recipe)
So I thought this brew was gonna be pretty simple, besides adding the oven baked pumpkin to the mash, but I still was worried. ...Well I should've been!
This ended up being the most frustrating brew ever for me! Everything went wrong. Missed my mash temp by a few degrees, stuck sparge (even with almost 2 lbs of rice hulls) and then to top it all off the immersion chiller's fittings came loose and squirted water everywhere (including my already boiled beer.)
Anyways, I made the best of it, still was able to get 10 gallons and hit a 1.052 original gravity.
Below are a few pics of the brew sesh.
Update: Beer has been in primary for 2 weeks now and has cleaned up nicely. The gravity is a constant 1.014. I will be transferring to secondary this weekend and racking to keg and adding the spices after about 5 days of secondary. Really hoping to get this one carbed up for Thankgiving!
Saturday, August 18, 2018
San Diego Super Yeast WLP090 vs. Safale US-05
So in my last post I mentioned I split my 10 gallon batch into 2 carboys and pitched WLP090 in one and Safale US-05 in the other. I was really curious on how the two would differ in fermentation time, clarity, and in taste.
Both yeast were pitched without making a starter. I was also able to keep my ferment temperature at 68 degrees the entire fermentation, which was in range for both yeasts.
First thing I noticed was the US-05 started about 4 hours before the WLP090. I also noticed, once fermentation started, the WLP090 took off and fermented way more vigorous than the US-05.
Active fermentation continued on both carboys for about 3-4 days and settled down after about a week.
I have to be honest, I didn't take any gravity readings to find out exactly when each one finished, but I'm pretty sure somewhere around a week.
I left both beers in primary for 17 days then transferred to kegs where they are now cold crashing.
I took this picture to show the 2 beers between transferring.
Both yeast were pitched without making a starter. I was also able to keep my ferment temperature at 68 degrees the entire fermentation, which was in range for both yeasts.
First thing I noticed was the US-05 started about 4 hours before the WLP090. I also noticed, once fermentation started, the WLP090 took off and fermented way more vigorous than the US-05.
Active fermentation continued on both carboys for about 3-4 days and settled down after about a week.
I have to be honest, I didn't take any gravity readings to find out exactly when each one finished, but I'm pretty sure somewhere around a week.
I left both beers in primary for 17 days then transferred to kegs where they are now cold crashing.
I took this picture to show the 2 beers between transferring.
US-05 (left)
WLP090 (right)
My findings:
- I first noticed US-05 started faster.
- WLP090 fermented more vigorously.
- Both seemed to finished pretty much the same time (not proven)
- US-05 had some yeast floaters sitting on top of the beer after 17 days.
- WLP090 finished much clearer then US-05.
- Hops presence in the WLP090 beer was much more pronounced then the one with US-05.
Both beers are in the 3rd day of being cold crashed at 34 degrees and I'll be putting them on gas tonight!
Looking forward to seeing and tasting the finished product!
Sunday, August 5, 2018
First Brew (Encinitas Brewery)
The first brew in the new garage is in the books!
After almost 2 months of not brewing because of moving and whatnot, I was finally able to brew my first batch! It's about time because I just ran out of my previously bottled homebrews!
So I decided on doing a 10 gallon batch of an easy drinking "BMC" type beer, I'm calling it my Encinitas Blonde.
After almost 2 months of not brewing because of moving and whatnot, I was finally able to brew my first batch! It's about time because I just ran out of my previously bottled homebrews!
So I decided on doing a 10 gallon batch of an easy drinking "BMC" type beer, I'm calling it my Encinitas Blonde.
Set up was pretty easy!
Forgot to pull out the folding table, so I had to improvise!
Hit my mash temperature dead on!
This was a 90 minute mash @ 152*
The boil was also 90 minutes.
There was only 1 hop addition to this recipe, 1oz of Crystal and 1oz of Williamette @ 60 minutes.
The 10 gallons were split into 2 carboys... I pitched one with Safale 05 and one with the new
WLP090 San Diego Super Yeast!
This new yeast is basically WLP001Cali Yeast on steroids! Its suppose to ferment super fast and clean up beautifully! (as of today, I'm 4 days into fermentation and both are still bubbling away!)
Really looking forward to see the out came of this yeast compared to the Safale 05!
With the move, the Keezer has been dry but has now found it's permanent home! The only bright side of having no beer is that I get to ferment in my keezer! So the 2 carboys are sitting in there fermenting at a controlled 68 degrees!!!
Planning on a 17 day primary, 3 day secondary (with Gelatin), then racked to kegs and cold crashed for 3 days!
Thursday, July 19, 2018
The Move
Welp, we did it!! We moved from the baking heat of El Cajon to the cool ocean breezes of Encinitas!
It's been about 10 days now and the house is almost completely unpacked and organized. My buddy Damon and I worked on organizing the garage all day sunday, which is where the new Big P Brewing set up will be making it's home! With the cooler air temperatures, it hasn't been over 75 since we've been there, it will make it a lot easier to ferment!
Hoping to light the burners this weekend, July 23rd or 24th, for the first brew sesh at the new pad! I guess I'm gonna have to call it Village Park Ale! :)
It's been about 10 days now and the house is almost completely unpacked and organized. My buddy Damon and I worked on organizing the garage all day sunday, which is where the new Big P Brewing set up will be making it's home! With the cooler air temperatures, it hasn't been over 75 since we've been there, it will make it a lot easier to ferment!
Hoping to light the burners this weekend, July 23rd or 24th, for the first brew sesh at the new pad! I guess I'm gonna have to call it Village Park Ale! :)
Sunday, July 1, 2018
BBQ Sauce from scratch!
So I got a burr up my ass to try something new! I thought it would be rad to try my hands at making some homemade bbq sauce. After looking into it and a bunch a different recipes, I found one I thought sounded good and based my creation from it. At the end, I had added and deleted some ingredients from the original recipe, to make it more of what I thought I'd want it to taste like.
My recipe in the end was this:
BIG P's EVENING GLARE BBQ SAUCE
3 c ketchup
1 c bottled french salad dressing
1/4 c Big P's Evening Glare IPA (any beer will work)
1/2 c Franks Hot sauce
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c Worcestershire
2 tbsp liq. smoke
2 tbsp garlic pwdr
2 tbsp pepper
2 tbsp chili pwdr
2 tbsp onion pwdr
2 x 1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c black coffee
1/2 c prepared yellow mustard
1/2 c molasses
2 tbsp cajun spice ( Zatarains preferred )
4 tbsp paprika
4 tbsp crushed dry chili
3 lg cloves garlic - minced
Combine the whole thing in a heavy pot
except for 1/2 c cider vinegar.
Reduce on low for 2hrs, stirring every 15 min.
At the very end, add reserved 1/4 c cider vinegar.
This made 1.5 big mason jars full. (about 1.5 quarts)
You won't be disappointed with making this, fully worth the time and effort! Especially if you plan on cooking a bunch of ribs and want to personalize them a bit! Enjoy!
My recipe in the end was this:
BIG P's EVENING GLARE BBQ SAUCE
3 c ketchup
1 c bottled french salad dressing
1/4 c Big P's Evening Glare IPA (any beer will work)
1/2 c Franks Hot sauce
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c Worcestershire
2 tbsp liq. smoke
2 tbsp garlic pwdr
2 tbsp pepper
2 tbsp chili pwdr
2 tbsp onion pwdr
2 x 1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c black coffee
1/2 c prepared yellow mustard
1/2 c molasses
2 tbsp cajun spice ( Zatarains preferred )
4 tbsp paprika
4 tbsp crushed dry chili
3 lg cloves garlic - minced
Combine the whole thing in a heavy pot
except for 1/2 c cider vinegar.
Reduce on low for 2hrs, stirring every 15 min.
At the very end, add reserved 1/4 c cider vinegar.
This made 1.5 big mason jars full. (about 1.5 quarts)
You won't be disappointed with making this, fully worth the time and effort! Especially if you plan on cooking a bunch of ribs and want to personalize them a bit! Enjoy!
Monday, May 28, 2018
Memorial Day Brew Session
So it's been some time since I last update this site, so I thought I'd jot down my recipes I brewed yesterday (Memorial Day 2018). I really needed to get a few brews in for this summer since I have nothing on tap now, so I decided to do 10 gallons of a Blonde Ale (Ombre Ale) and a 5'r of a IPA (Stuporous).
I originally thought I'd just do two of my recipes I had done before, but once I got home I noticed I didn't have all the hops I needed for either recipe. So the night before, I had to change up each hop schedule, making them 2 new beers.
The brew sesh was great, got an early start and ended by 3 in the afternoon! Hit all my numbers dead on and was even able to do a few other chores (like cleaned my bbq) during each mash.
Anyways, here is the final recipe of each beer:
Taste Rating (50 possible points):
35.0
Taste Rating (50 possible points):
35.0
I originally thought I'd just do two of my recipes I had done before, but once I got home I noticed I didn't have all the hops I needed for either recipe. So the night before, I had to change up each hop schedule, making them 2 new beers.
The brew sesh was great, got an early start and ended by 3 in the afternoon! Hit all my numbers dead on and was even able to do a few other chores (like cleaned my bbq) during each mash.
Anyways, here is the final recipe of each beer:
Ombre Ale
| Brew Type: All Grain | Date: 5/27/2018 |
| Style: Blonde Ale | Brewer: Big P Brewing |
| Batch Size: 10.00 gal | Assistant Brewer: Collaboration with Vintage 63 |
| Boil Volume: 12.27 gal | Boil Time: 60 min |
| Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 % | Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal) |
| Actual Efficiency: 76.02 % |
| Amount | Item | Type | % or IBU |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14.00 lb | Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 81.16 % |
| 1.25 lb | Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 7.25 % |
| 1.00 lb | Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) | Grain | 5.80 % |
| 1.00 lb | Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) | Grain | 5.80 % |
| 1.00 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) | Hops | - |
| 0.50 oz | Columbus (Tomahawk) [13.10 %] (55 min) | Hops | 12.1 IBU |
| 0.50 oz | Columbus (Tomahawk) [13.10 %] (35 min) | Hops | 10.2 IBU |
| 0.50 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] (20 min) | Hops | 4.0 IBU |
| 0.50 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] (5 min) | Hops | 1.3 IBU |
| 2.00 items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) | Misc | |
| 1 Pkgs | California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [Starter 35 ml] | Yeast-Ale |
| Estimated Original Gravity: 1.046 SG (1.038-1.054 SG) | Measured Original Gravity: 1.047 SG |
| Estimated Final Gravity: 1.011 SG (1.008-1.013 SG) | Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG |
| Estimated Color: 5.4 SRM (3.0-6.0 SRM) | Color [Color] |
| Bitterness: 27.7 IBU (15.0-28.0 IBU) | Alpha Acid Units: 16.6 AAU |
| Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 4.67 % (3.80-5.50 %) | Actual Alcohol by Volume: 4.82 % |
| Actual Calories: 207 cal/pint |
Stuporous IPA
| Brew Type: All Grain | Date: 5/27/2013 |
| Style: American IPA | Brewer: SP |
| Batch Size: 5.50 gal | Assistant Brewer: |
| Boil Volume: 7.39 gal | Boil Time: 60 min |
| Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 % | Equipment: Brew Pot (15 Gal) and Igloo/Gott Cooler (10 Gal) |
| Actual Efficiency: 71.65 % |
| Amount | Item | Type | % or IBU |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.00 lb | Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) | Grain | 74.58 % |
| 1.75 lb | Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) | Grain | 11.86 % |
| 1.00 lb | Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) | Grain | 6.78 % |
| 0.50 lb | Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) | Grain | 3.39 % |
| 0.50 lb | Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) | Grain | 3.39 % |
| 0.50 oz | Simcoe [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) | Hops | - |
| 0.50 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) | Hops | - |
| 0.50 oz | Apollo [18.00 %] (60 min) | Hops | 24.3 IBU |
| 0.50 oz | Simcoe [12.20 %] (45 min) | Hops | 15.1 IBU |
| 0.50 oz | Simcoe [12.20 %] (30 min) | Hops | 12.7 IBU |
| 0.50 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] (15 min) | Hops | 4.7 IBU |
| 0.50 oz | Simcoe [12.20 %] (10 min) | Hops | 6.0 IBU |
| 0.50 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] (5 min) | Hops | 1.9 IBU |
| 0.75 oz | Simcoe [12.20 %] (0 min) | Hops | - |
| 1 Pkgs | California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) | Yeast-Ale |
| Estimated Original Gravity: 1.075 SG (1.056-1.075 SG) | Measured Original Gravity: 1.072 SG |
| Estimated Final Gravity: 1.017 SG (1.010-1.018 SG) | Measured Final Gravity: 1.011 SG |
| Estimated Color: 14.0 SRM (6.0-15.0 SRM) | Color [Color] |
| Bitterness: 64.7 IBU (40.0-70.0 IBU) | Alpha Acid Units: 24.7 AAU |
| Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 7.67 % (5.50-7.50 %) | Actual Alcohol by Volume: 7.97 % |
| Actual Calories: 324 cal/pint |
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Spent Grain Doggy Biscuits
After years of just trashing or composting my "spent" grains after I brewed, I decided I would try making some doggy treats out of it. After doing some research, I found an easy recipe that I could mix up during my boil!
The recipe was as followed;
4 cups of spent grains (straight from the mash tun) *any grains from any beer will work!
2 cups of flour
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
I put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mixed it up until the concoction was good and evenly mixed.
I then spread the mixture onto an ungreased cookie sheet (next time I'll spray with cooking spray).
Once it was spread out evenly over the entire sheet, I scored into a bunch of little squares.
Preheated the oven at 350 and baked for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, took them out, took a turner and unstuck them from the pan. At that point I turned the oven down to 200 and proceeded to bake for 2 more hours to dry them out more. *you may have to bake longer depending on moister. Try to get them as dry as possible to prevent mold growth when stored.
The dogs love 'em!!!!! I'll be making a batch of these every time I brew! Super easy and, heck, saves some money on buying doggy treats!!!
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