My yeast project was a success. I grew a nice and clean culture of yeast from a can of Heady Topper. I harvested enough yeast to pitch for this batch of IPA, plus extra yeast to store in mason jars for the next few batches. Time to brew!
I was able to find a day that worked out with the family schedule that allowed me the time to focus and actually enjoy the day. My wife is awesome for taking one for the team.
Off to the brewery to get things going (It’s really my garage, don’t tell anyone…
). Having a dedicated place all set up for brewing is such a great thing.
For this 5 gallon batch of IPA, I’m using 12 pounds of Munton’s Pearl Malt and one Pound of German Munich Malt. I mill my grain immediately before mashing to preserve freshness, similar to coffee. This process strips the husks off, keeping them mostly whole, while crushing the inner components of the kernel. I fill the hopper and get to crushing.
After crushing, the grains are added to a measured amount of water in the mash tun and held at a specific temperature. During this time, starches are converted to sugars for the yeast to consume during fermentation.
The mash water re-circulates from the bottom back to the top of the grain bed. My system monitors the temperature and fires the burner as needed to maintain the pre-set temperature. Every aspect of my process is strictly controlled and measured.
I am blessed with very soft water. It’s perfect for brewing. My water was tested by a laboratory that provides analysis specific for brewing, so I can understand what needs to be added for certain styles of beer. IPA benefits from a higher level of sulfate. It helps to emphasize hop flavors and bitterness. I add salts to boost the needed elements. For this beer, I’m adding measured amounts of calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate and calcium chloride to the mash tun. I use brewing software to calculate these additions on the computer.
I also added 3ml of food grade lactic acid solution, which will bring the mash into the proper PH range. After things have a moment mix well and settle in, I measure the PH with a calibrated meter to confirm my mash is where it needs to be. I targeted a ph of 5.3. Anything over 5.5 and the beer won’t be what it could be…. Great beer!
More to come later… Hoping to keep this thread alive…. :getsome: