It is not as if I have mastered basic brewing at any level, but I felt the need to branch out a bit from the straightforward recipe brewing for my next beers. So I ordered supplies for an American IPA and decided to split it into two 2.5-gallon batches so I could experiment a bit. With that, I also purchased an extra primary and secondary fermenter so that brewing two batches at once could become the norm for me. Waiting for one to finish before starting another became frustrating since I want to practice and get better at brewing.
I am going to focus on what was different this time, so I will likely pass over some of the basic processes. If you are interested in more in depth description of those, check out “Part 1” of the “Honey Porter” or “Pumpkin Ale” on the “Brewing” page above. Hopefully this will all be clear as I try to recap two beers in one post.
The 1 pound of Crystal 60L Malt and 2 pounds of 2-Row Malt was split into halves (1.5 pounds each) and I took .5 pounds of one half and roasted it for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. In an attempt to keep the to batches straight here, the one with the roasted grains will be referred to as the Pale Ale and the other as the IPA. I was basically taking half of the recipe and staying very close to the IPA instructions and using the other half as more of an experimental Pale Ale.
Roasting some grains
Each half of the crushed grains was steeped in 1.25 gallons of 155 degree water for 45 minutes. Exact temperature control continues to be a bit of an issue for me, but 155-160 degrees was the general range for that time. Each half was then rinsed with a quart of 170 degree water before removing the grains entirely.
For both batches 3 pounds of the Extra Pale Extract was added and dissolved before returning the mixture to heat. Each was brought to a controlled, rolling boil before adding 2 ounces of Yakima Golding hops to the IPA and 1 ounce of the same to the Pale Ale for bittering. After 45 minutes .75 ounces of Cluster hops was added to the IPA and .25 ounces to the Pale Ale for flavoring. Ten minutes later the same amount of Cluster hops was added to each for aroma along with .25 teaspoons of Cayenne to the Pale Ale.
Just some of the hop pellets
After the boil, the IPA was cooled to prepare for pitching the yeast. To the Pale Ale I added 20 ounces of chunked pineapple (including juice) and 1 pound of halved seedless red grapes and allowed them to steep for 15 minutes (or so). The fruit was actually put in the freezer for a bit to cool them before adding to the pot. I wanted to temperature to drop a bit to allow the fruit to pasteurize without boiling. If the fruit were to boil, the pectin can cause problems with clarity and the higher heat can also give you different flavors that you may not be looking for.
No cutting to be done here
Many grapes to slice
Cooling continues to be another issue for me, but it was much easier with these small batches and I was able to get the temperature down without much of a problem. Each batch was put into a primary fermenter and water was added to roughly 2.625 gallons. The original specific gravity for the IPA was 1.0436 and the Pale Ale came in at 1.0534. The Pale Ale was pretty close to what I was looking for but the IPA was pretty low, possibly a result of adding too much water at the end or maybe just a result of halving the recipe. Neither was a reason to be upset.
Just some of the strained hops
This was also the first time that I decided to use dry yeast. That doesn’t always work out because the selection of dry yeast is more limited, but there was that option for this recipe. To prepare for pitching, the yeast was added to 1 cup of warm (previously boiled) water and allowed to sit for 15 minutes. One teaspoon of sugar was boiled in a small amount of water, cooled and then added into the yeast mixture. After covering and allowing to sit for 30 minutes it was clear that they were alive and ready, so I split the mix into halves.
As it came
Half of the beasties
I don’t know exactly how the dry yeast will alter the end product, but active fermentation started earlier than ever before and was actually more vigorous. It was also cheaper than buying it in liquid form, so if it works out well I will likely use it as often as it makes sense in the future.
Ah, the lovely sound of a bubbling airlock!
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