In the past I have said that if I had to pick one of the three segments of my brewing posts as the least interesting it would probably be the racking done in part two. Unlike the process for the Saison, I had some plans to make the Black Ale a little more interesting. It still was not at all complicated but there are a few additional details with this batch that I have to share to keep you up to date on the progress.
As always (or until I do some more video), if you are interested in a visual example of the racking process take a look at Part 2 of the Pomegranate Hefeweizen or maybe go way back to Part 2 of the Pumpkin Ale.
Not exactly black
The decision was made even before brewing this one that I would split the batch in two at some point. I have split batches in the past by dividing the brewing ingredients and brewing two batches separately from the same recipe. That method was not a complete disaster, but I did not love how the final product(s) turned out. So for this one I waited until primary fermentation was over before splitting the batch.
First time for everything
Before racking it into separate carboys for secondary, the specific gravity was determined to be about 1.0169 and a bit higher than what I wanted to see. With that, the ABV was somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.69% with the likelihood of at least one of the two split batches ending up higher in the end.
The fun part of racking
The sample (that I always look forward to drinking after the hydrometer reading is done) had a low roasted aroma with what seemed to be a bit of spice. The flavor had nice notes of roasted malt with a bit of chocolate and drank very much like a porter in body. It should be quite good when finally carbonated and ready to drink.
One of the additions
Then the batch was split with one half staying as it was and simply racked to another fermentation vessel. Before the other half went through the same process I added 1 cup of a bourbon based liqueur (with honey) and a 6.5-7” vanilla bean that was split and roughed up a bit. Some of you will have a pretty good guess as to the liqueur added, but I will keep the identity hidden in case it turns out to be a good secret to have. However, if the end product is terrible I will share it for sure!
A little visual hint
So both carboys went back to the bathtub to sit for a while longer. The half that was left alone will sit for another week and the other half (which I labeled “bounilla”) will sit for a few weeks, if not more. I have yet to let something sit in secondary for that long, but this seemed like a good one to let go for a while longer.
Until bottling . . .
so do you brew in 10 gallons and then split into 5 gallon batches? or do you brew in 5 gallons and then split into 2.5 gallon batches?
I split a five gallon batch into two 2.5 gallon batches. That way if the experiemtal half turns out to be terrible I still have a case of good stuff. That scenario has not happened yet so I end up with two variations on the same recipe/style. Someday maybe I will upgrade myself to starting with a 10 gallon batch!
So when you split the 5 gallon, do you put it into (2) 5 gallon carboys or do you have smaller ones (3 gallon)?
i’m thinking of getting a 3rd carboy (currently have a 5 gallon and a 6.5 gallon) so that i can brew more often. but i’ve also been pondering the idea of splitting batches to experiment, and so i’d get (2) 3 gallon caboys i think.
I split it into (2) 5 gallon carboys. Right now I have 2 (bottling) buckets/primary fermenters and those 2 carboys. I looked at the smaller 3 gallon ones, but this way I can have multiple 5 gallon batches going or one 5 gallon batch and two 2.5 gallon ones. That does not happen that often but I have had them all full at one time before . . . gives me the flexibility if I need it.
Splitting the Black Ale went really well, so I plan to do that more often in the future for experimentation purposes.