Jackass IPA

I thought I would try something a little different this time. I'm going to post the recipe and steps, as given by Beersmith, in case someone out there would like to give it a try as well. I'm brewing this Saturday. Probably start sometime in the morning so I have the afternoon to do some things around the house (like drink). Just kidding, maybe. Anyways, I will post pics on facebook as I'm brewing and then post different pics and a summary of the process on here come Monday. So, here we go:

Recipe Specifics
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Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 10.88
Anticipated OG: 1.055 Plato: 13.48
Anticipated SRM: 7.3
Anticipated IBU: 36.8
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
94.3 10.25 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.037 2
5.7 0.63 lbs. Crystal 60L America 1.034 60

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
19.84 g. Perle Whole 7.20 20.1 60 min.
5.10 g. Magnum Whole 13.10 9.4 60 min.
28.35 g. Cascade Pellet 6.30 7.4 15 min.
21.26 g. Cascade Pellet 6.30 0.0 0 min.
21.26 g. Cascade Whole 6.80 0.0 Dry Hop


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.25 Oz Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)


Yeast
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White Labs WLP001 California Ale


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 10.88
Water Qts: 13.59 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 3.40 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.25 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 154 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 168 Time: 5
Sparge Temp : 170 Time: 0


Total Mash Volume Gal: 4.27 - Dough-In Infusion Only

Battle of the Brews Recap

Well my first homebrew contest is in the books. And it was a huge success. I only had one entry (if only I hadn't drank all the Pilsner). I entered my Atomically Red Irish Ale. I placed second in my category. That's right. First contest ever and I took second place. To say I was pleased would be a gross under statement. I went into this expecting to just get valuable feed back from the judges. So now I will get that along with the pride of knowing I made a decent beer. :)  The only down side to the competition was the 116 degree heat. It was way too hot to maintain a buzz. The drive to the Delaware State Fair took about an hour and fifteen minutes. I stayed just long enough to get the results for my category (45mins) and then I left. Met some good people and drank some great micros from local breweries such as Dogfish Head, Fordham and the great Extreme Brewing (my homebrew supply store). So my next big step towards my dream career is getting a half barrel keg, cutting the top off, welding a spigot in the bottom and bumping up my brewing capacity to 10 gallons at a time. This will happen very soon.

Next up on the brew calender is the Jackass IPA. Looking at this weekend most likely. Perhaps sooner if I'm lucky. I hope everyone is doing well and having a great start to the week. Take care and I will post again soon. CHEERS!!!

Donkey Milk Stout

Hope everyone has been doing well throughout my long absence. The computer is still down for the count so I'm posting this from another. I just brewed up a Milk Stout this past weekend. It is a dark one. Almost black in color. Had an amazing smell and has already passed its peak of fermentation. It has a little over 2 weeks left in the fermenter and then its a long 3 months in the bottles for conditioning. Since I'm not a very patient person I am brewing an IPA this weekend. That will be ready for drinking much sooner.

Tomorrow at noon begins the Battle of the Brews at the Delaware State Fair. The forecast calls for a very nice 116 degree day. Looking very forward to that. Great drinking weather. There were over 230 entries. A huge number. Especially for a first year contest. I'm not expecting any miracles but it will be nice to see how these contests work and to get some feed back on my Irish Red. Plus there will be sampling of many other homebrewers concoctions and a number of local micro breweries on hand serving the best of their brews. Should be a great time. I will update everyone on the results. Take care and I will be back soon. CHEERS!