Home » Journals » Journal Entries for 'davidank' Register | Login
Search (via Google)
« Older Journal EntriesNewer Journal Entries »

By David Ankenbrant on Mar 29th 2006, 3:32 pm Permalink
I just brewed my summer ale and I did use 2 lbs of corn that I boiled and pureed up in my blender. I couldn't help myself I really wanted to try it. I will see how that turns out. I used 2 fermenters with nottingham dry yeast in one and WYeast 1272 in the other (which the 1272 hasen't taken off yet the next morning 7 hours later, I might have to get another yeast at the LHBS) I am doing an experiment to see myself the difference the yeast makes on the wame wort.

After making my Yuengling lager clone and using the US56 yeast, and now my Amber ale using the WY1272, I am noticing a certain something to the taste of the beer I don't particularly like. It has smoething to do with the maltiness and the taste in that area. I think I might be using too much crystal malt for my tastes in my brew. I think I need to use at most 1/2 lb per 5 gallon batches, or less, I have been using 1 lb per batch. Or a lighter crystal, I have been using 60L, 80L, and I even used 120L a little. I think it is an overly maltiness and the dark crystal malt qualities that it gives the brew that I am not fond of. Maybe it's not the yeast but an over use of the crystal malt for me.

I am definitely still in my learning stages. I am still trying to figure out through brewing batches what I do and do not like in a homebrew. I am getting better at brewing from the feedback of others trying my beer, but I am not satisfied with my results. I want better beer. I am still trying to find the balance of how I like things in my homebrew...how much bitterness, how much aroma hops, what malts I like, etc. At this point, every batch I make could be a winner, but could be a dud in an attempt for me to find what I like in my PERFECT homebrewed beer!

So far the best beer I made was my Saison. The T58 yeast was overpowering at first but mellowed out nicely after some bottle aging. It could use a bit more carbonation and head though. I will have to see how my amber ale turns out after some aging. Acording to bitterness compared to OG, my amber ale is a bit on the hoppier side.

After having the Island Ale at Cheeseburger in paradise, I notice that I REALLY LIKE a hoppy up front aroma in my beers. I tried to have that a bit in my summer ale with some hops .25oz cascade 6 AA and .29 oz cluster 5.4AA steeped for 30 minutes at flameout. The summer ale will be a very light colored ale, I can tell the wort running through the hose from my mash tun had a light hue of yellow.

I guess that is it for this entry.
By David Ankenbrant on Mar 3rd 2006, 3:28 pm Permalink
It's about time I add another journal entry...

I had a couple people try my saison to get some feedback and get ideas of how to make better beer. Different people had different opinions. I know that I would of added more bittering hops, but my boss at work said he thought it was a tad too bitter. My other co worker said that all in all it was good, but it wasn't his favorite as he likes a more maltier, more bitter, and more roastier flavor to beers. The lady I work with said she definitely didn't like it, but she isn't a beer drinker, she said.

I am begining to see how to tweak beers to be exactly a certain way. I am understanding how much hops to add for bitterness in relation to the OG, type of beer, etc. I have fine tuned my mash tun, strike water to exactly what temps I need to hit my masah temps, my efficiency so I can predict how much grain I need in my recipes to hit a certain OG, and etc with my mashing procedures. I am sure I will more fine tune things the more I make beer, but I am happy that I am understanding things finally, lol.

I definitely know that I like more bitterness in beer than I originally thought. I am begining to be able to taste different things in beer too. I went to the cheeseburger in paradise restaurant and had the Island Ale...and it was pretty good. I was able to taste the maltiness, and the hop bitterness, and the arome and flavors.

My next brew I want to make is a brown porter in the idea of Yuengling Porter, but maybe a bit more roasty tasting.I just made my "david's Amber' recipe given to my from Denny. It is in the fermenter 5 days now, and this sunday I will rack into the secondary. This is the beer that I have gotten closer to zeroing in on my efficiency...The OG on the recipe called for 1.057 but I hit 1.044-So I should of added more grains to the mash. The efficiency on the recipe from promash was 73% so I figure I am about somewhere 65% to 69% efficiency. AS long as the beer that I make turns out good, that is all that matters!

After I make my porter, I think I want to try a pale ale, something for the summer, something like a Pale aAle with a hint of orange, call it Roasted Orange Pale Ale, who knows.

Anyway, I guess that is it for this entry, and on to more reading my DGB book and onto more brewing!
By David Ankenbrant on Jan 24th 2006, 2:21 am Permalink
Today I got home from work and found the lid of my bucket fermenter cracked open. Hope no nasty wild yeast go into there. It is also the first time I used a blow by tube...when I wok up this morning the day after pitching the dry Safbrew T58 yeast was backin up into the air lock and the bucket was buldging from the yeast. The smell of the wort from my saison smells like cookies...it smells awesome!

I also bottled my Yuengling Lager clone recipe along with brewing my saison. The brew day lasted from 3:00 in the afternoon to 12:00 midnight. Long day. I tasted a glas of the Yuengling Lager clone when I bottled and It had a wine type taste to it, it was good. I guess I will see how the YL clone turns out and how the saison turns out in a bit...I hope it doesnt taste thin like the last beer I made, although I am sure my first all grain tasted washed out and extra hoppy because I added the water to bring up the fermenter volume. If my two recent beers taste washed out again, then I'll have to figure out why.

I also went to clean out the fermenter my YL clone was in the day after I bottled and there was yeast and some beer in the bottom...and it had a VERY stong alcohol smell to it...which I liked...so I figured out so far that the qualities in a beer that I like are: wine taste to it, cookie like smell/aroma, definitely not bitter, malty and balanced, I don't like the citrus aroma type hops all that much.

The Saison is also the first recipe that I used my 40 quart brew pot and boiled all in one pot. Hope that makes a difference in my beers. I think I am going to start using a secondary and aging my beer for a bit before I bottle, as I was only using a primary for about amonth then going straight to bottling.

Oh well, I guess that is it for now.
By David Ankenbrant on Jan 2nd 2006, 1:17 am Permalink
Last night, at my New Years Eve Party at my house...One of my friends (most of them don't really like beer they lixe mixed drinks) tried one of my brews...and they said "It was pretty good." That was news for me as it made me know I am on the right path to makeing some good homebrew!

My friend, who I am training at work gave me some brews to try (Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic, and Troegs mad elf beer) I gave him 2 bottles of my brew to try, I will see probably on this coming tuesday what his opinions are. I am sure it will be good feedback, because he LOVES beer and has tried many different kinds of brew!

I just printed out the about 40 page info from http://www.bjcp.org/ about the different styles of beer so I can see what the ingredites and etc are in the different styles of beer. This will help me in knowing how to brew a style of beer that I want and to make sure it IS that kind of beer.

I just got finished drinking the Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic...I was kinda hesitant on drinking a 'lambic' but it was MUCH better than I thought it would be, but It definitely wouldn't ever be a favorite kind of beer.
By David Ankenbrant on Dec 29th 2005, 2:37 pm Permalink
last night I made my Yuengling Lager clone brew. I used my wort chiller for the first time and it sools the wort SOO fast I don't know how I can now brew without it! This is my 2nd all grain brew and my 1st 5 gallon batch instead of the 3 gallon batches.

I need to start making batches more often!! I need to make a batche at least once every 2 weeks. I am very busy but I think I can do it. Yum! Beer!

I also tried a Yuengling Porter last night, and it was DeLicIoUs!! I want to make a clone of that now.I want that to m=be my next batch to make but I need a recipe, I might need to buy that clone brews book to get the recipe.(and hope that the recipe is right on the mark and tastes like the actual Yuengling porter.