70 Schilling Scotch Ale

ALL-GRAIN 

Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)

Brewhouse efficiency: 72%

OG: 1.040–1.050

FG: 1.010–1.015

IBUs: 20–25

ABV: 3.2%–3.9%

 

MALT/GRAIN BILL

6.5 lb  Pale malt

2 oz Peat-smoked malt

6 oz Carapils malt

6 oz Roasted barley

 

HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

3 oz (85 g) Molasses at 90 minutes

0.75 oz (21 g) Cascade pellets [7% AA] at 90 minutes

1 tsp Irish moss at 15 minutes

 

YEAST

 Lallemand LalBrew Nottingham High Performance Ale Yeast

DIRECTIONS

Mash the crushed grains at the rate of 1 pound (454 g) of malt to 1 quart (946 ml) of water that is 15°F (8°C) higher than your desired mash rest temperature. So, for this 60-Shilling beer, heat 6 quarts (5.7 l) of water to 173°F (78°C) and mix in the crushed malts. Adjust the mash temperature with hot or cold water to 158°F (70°C). Hold for 1 hour in an insulated mash vessel.

Recirculate until the wort runs clear. Sparge the grains into the boil kettle with 172°F (78°C) water until you get a total volume of 6 gallons (22.7 l), which will be subsequently boiled down to 5 gallons (19 l). When the wort comes to a boil, add the treacle and the bittering hops. Boil for 90 minutes.

Fifteen minutes before the end of the boil, add the Irish moss (for beer clarity) to the boiling mixture. When the boil is complete, chill to below 80°F (27°C) and pitch the yeast. Vigorously aerate the wort. Ferment at 55–70°F (13–21°C) for 10 days. Transfer to a secondary fermenter and continue until the fermentation is complete (about 2 more weeks). Transfer to a bottling bucket and condition by adding 1 1/4 cup (59 ml) of dry malt extract (DME) or ¾ cup (177 ml) of corn sugar that has been boiled in 2 cups (473 ml) of water. Bottle and cap. Let sit for 10 days at 65–70°F (18–21°C). When carbonation is achieved, store at refrigerator temperature.

Words of caution:  This recipe for us was high gravity and our conical, though 8,5 gallons in size, was consumed with krausen for the first two days.  So much so that we had to install a blow off tube to a bucket of water to protect the gaskets and seals. We hit 1.050 on the OG and after four weeks it finally hit 1.023.  We have had to change out the collection unit three times so far to clear it up.  Right now we are going to leave it be for another week or two to let it settle a little more.

GOOD LUCK and Happy Brewing!

ALL GRAIN HOMEBREWING

All Grain Mashing in a Water Cooler

All grain homebrewing is often more talk than actual difficulty. I find most peoples response to the method is "That's it?" With an outdoor burner, water cooler, and wort chiller, anyone can brew beer all grain. Here is a basic rundown on what is involved. Keep in mind this is basic, you will find many other ways to utilize your available equipment:

1. Clean and assembly your mash tun. Add 1 QRT 180°F water for Every LB of grain to be mashed (Add Water First). By adding water first, you will pre-heat your mash tun. Stir water until your temperature hits 170°F. It is now time to add your CRUSHED grains to the cooler. Gently dough grains in until all grain is covered by water. Place lid on and continue to step #2.

2. After 10 minutes you can check your temperature. You will be between 149°F and 156°F assuming you measured your water and grains correctly. Replace lid and "Mash" for 1 hour. Start to heat your sparge water at this point. You will need enough 200°F water for your expected final volume (5 gallons if you want five gallons of brew).

3. After mashing for one hour, you will want to check for conversion of starch to sugar. This will be done by placing a small amount of your wort on a white plate or bowl. Add one drop of "Tincture of Iodine" to the wort. If it quickly disappears or stays/remains red, you are ready to move on to step #4. If the iodine turns black, starch is still present, return the lid and run a few test. Calibrate your thermometer. Recheck the temperature of the mash. If both are accurate, do another iodine test every 20 minutes until conversion is complete.

4. Conversion is now complete. Slowly drain 1/2 gallon of wort and pour it back on top of your mash. This process is used to clear your wort. You may need to run more than 1/2 gallon. When wort is clear, sparging is your next process. Sparging is no more than rinsing the sweet wort from the grains in your mash tun. You will want to pour 200°F water over your grains and SLOWLY collect your wort from the spigot at the bottom of your mash tun. This process should take ONE HOUR. If this is rushed, your gravity will be low...take your time!

5. After ONE HOUR and you have collected enough wort, it is time to start your boil. Keep in mind you will lose approximately 15% of your boil due to evaporation. If you want five gallons of beer, start with six gallons of wort. You are now on familiar ground. You will simply add your hops as scheduled in the recipe. No need to add specialty grains, they were in your mash. Be sure to add your wort chiller and Irish Moss for the last 15 minutes of the boil.

6. You've made it this far and only have the basics left. Chill your wort as quickly as possible. Add your wort to a clean, sanitized fermentor. Aerate your wort aggressively and pitch your yeast. You are all grain beer brewing, so I hope you are building yeast starters at this point.

7. After fermentation and bottling/kegging, be sure to bring us a sample. With all of this hard work, we know you will want a quick critique of your final product...and God knows I deserve one for typing this up for you.

Congratulations on your first batch of all grain beer. As I said, more talk than difficulty, and the product is well worth the efforts. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at jason@homebrewing.org or give us a call at (313) 277 2739.

Originally posted @ https://www.homebrewing.org/All-Grain-Homebrewing_ep_47-1.html

New brew - and a steak

First sample of the maple porter.  OK, well not the real first sample, I will explain.  During bottling I found myself two caps short so I decided to bottle the rest in canning jar, risky, I know but after two weeks and a bulging cap I cracked it open.  Very little bottle fizz, but that is ok.  I poured it off into my pint glass and it formed a nice head that lasted almost until I finished.  So I put another growler in the fridge and let that sit for two days to settle out.


Opened it last night and again very little bottle fizz, but this time it had a very light foam and dissipated in minutes, mind you it was still carbonated lightly and very tasty.  A slight bitter, with the sweetness expected.  Just a hint of maple, very palatable and excellent with the steak.


I think the break-down is growler bottling, I know in the past, before I gave away all my bottles the extra was always in the growler and it was saved for when the bottles were gone.  Always stacked up to quality of the bottles. In the home brewing world they say no way on growler bottling but only claiming bottle bombs, which I have had some explosive beers in them and they never broke.
I think for the future I need to either return to the 50 bottles or get the 5 gallon corny keg, in the end same price but with the keg I can fill the growlers when I want and store in the kegerator in the shed.  Save space!  What are your thoughts?


Remember
NOVEMBER 3RD IS ‘LEARN TO HOMEBREW DAY’.  Check your area for local events and keep your eyes here for special deals from MoreBeer!

Great news and exciting changes

We have some great news -  we are now an affiliate to MoreBeer.  MoreBeer is the one stop shop for all of your brewing needs, equipment to ingredients, they have it all!

Over the few weeks we will be revamping our blog and Facebook page to provide affiliate access to special pricing, exclusive sales and even limited specialty items to fit the needs of brewers of all sizes.

We are also looking at affiliate programs for the Hot Stuff side of things as well!  So more changes will be coming.

Other changes coming are whether we continue to use Facebook.  Over the past few weeks we have posted events, news and other items and we found out they never actually posted for public view and as of this morning our affiliate announcement would not post.

We will try to keep everyone posted on what is coming up and we are also going to try to develop a video selection of brewing, hot sauce production and tips and trick, and in the mean time bookmark the blog, special announcements will be posted here, first!

Happy brew and hot sauce to you!

ZJ

Braggot - history in a bottle

As promised Braggot Recipes -

There have been reports of 2500 year old recipes of braggot found in celtic graves and village sites.  after a bit of digging what was found was spent grains that tested to have been malted, with other traces of honey, lavender chamomile and even goats milk.  Braggot?  No one really knows but there are several traditional recipes that are several hundred years old and below we have included some variations of those for your drinking enjoyment.

BRONZE AGE BRAGGOT BEER RECIPE From Radical Brewing

Specifications
Batch Size: 5 gallons
OG: 1.100
ABV: 12-13.5%
IBUs: none

Ingredients (Braggot Recipe All-Grain)
8 lbs. wheat malt
8 lbs. cranberry honey
1 lb. two-row malt
0.1 oz. bog myrtle
1 wintergreen Lifesaver and a few drops of liquid smoke (or a few ounces of smoked malt)
1 packet wine yeast (such as Lalvin D-47)

Ingredients (Braggot Extract Recipe)
6 lbs. Wheat LME
8 lbs. cranberry honey
0.1 oz. bog myrtle
1 wintergreen Lifesaver and a few drops of liquid smoke (or a few ounces of smoked malt)
6 lbs. cranberries, frozen then thawed (or 1/2 gallon of pure cranberry juice)
1 packet wine yeast (such as Lalvin D-47)

Directions: For all-grain, mash the grains with 1.5 qts. of water and hold at 150°-154°F. for 60 minutes. Sparge to collect 3-4 gallons of wort and bring to a boil. (For extract, mix LME with 3 gallons water and bring to a boil.) Add the bog myrtle and boil for 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the Lifesaver and liquid smoke (if not using smoked malt). Mix in the honey. If needed, top off with enough clean water to make five gallons.

Cool to about 60°F., aerate, and pitch yeast. Towards the end of primary fermentation, transfer to a sanitized secondary fermenter containing the cranberries or cranberry juice. Allow to ferment for an additional 2-4 weeks, then transfer to a third fermenter and allow to clear. Traditionally, this type of braggot beer would be still, but you may carbonate if you wish.

A final word of advice: Whenever doing heavy homebrew experimentation, it’s a good idea to start with a small batch, as little as one gallon. Honey can be expensive, so it’s worth giving your braggot a few tries to get the braggot beer recipe right. You may wish to cut the above recipe in half the first time around



English Braggot

This recipe is featured in Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales & World-Altering Meditations in a Glass by Randy Mosher.

INGREDIENTS
For 5 gallons (19 l)
12 lb (5.4 kg) Amber/Biscuit malt
6 lb (2.7 kg) Pale malt
2 lb (0.9 kg) Honey
0.8 oz (23 g) Cinnamon
0.8 oz (23 g) Black or Long Pepper
0.8 oz (23 g) Chopped candied ginger
0.2 oz (6 g) Galingale
0.2 oz (6 g) Cloves
0.5 oz (14 g) Low-alpha English hop (optional)
Alcohol-tolerant English ale yeast
SPECIFICATIONS
Original Gravity: 1.104
ABV: 10.5-11.5%
DIRECTIONS
Mash grains for 60 minutes at 153-155* F. Collect wort and bring to boil. If using hops, add them to the boil kettle at the start of the 60 minute boil. Rack to primary and pitch your favorite alcohol-tolerant English ale yeast.

Add honey and spices to secondary fermenter. Mature for 8 to 12 months. This braggot can be served still or with a lower level of carbonation.

Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

14 mins

Total time

1 hour 14 mins

Author: MaryAnn Dwyer

Servings: About 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. culinary lavender
• 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• pure cane sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, sift together flour and salt. Set aside.
2. Place 1 Tbsp. of the granulated sugar, lavender, and lemon zest in a mortar and grind lightly with the pestle.
3. Place lavender mixture in large bowl with remaining sugar and butter. Cream together until smooth. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture until it forms dough. Shape into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes (I used a 1 3/4 inch cutter) and place on prepared sheet. Sprinkle with some pure cane sugar, then place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
6. Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Can be store in an airtight container for 5 days.

Easy Peach Hot Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

4 peaches, skin and pits removed
4 habaneros, leave the seeds in or out depending on how spicy you like things
½ medium onion
4 cloves garlic
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
1 tablespoon pure raw honey or sweetener of choice

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients together in a high powered blender or food processor and process until the sauce is completely smooth.

1. Once smooth, place the mixture in 2. a pot on the stove over medium heat.
3. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat, let cool and then store in the fridge. Enjoy!

Notes:
The flavors really come out and develop after a few days in the fridge. I have also found that the heat seems to get a little more mild with time in the fridge, too. If you find that your hot sauce is still too hot, stir in a bit more sweetener until it is to your liking.