Hey Ryan - sorry you won't be able to make it :(
I was only referring to the mash getting stuck with the 3# of libby's
canned pumpkin. That stuff is pretty thick and messy :P
Good call on the mash tun, but question: how big is the tun that you're
using? I got a 10gal rubbermaid cooler myself, and I've done a couple RIS's
that barely fit, so we should be fine. Are you rocking a 5gal?
I've modified the recipe a bit: http://i.imgur.com/930Xx.png
I know, the crystal is a bit wacky, but i'm trying to get rid of my one-off
amounts of it. I think it'll end up being OK. I'm also going to probably
swap out the Cascade for something a bit less spicy, we'll see. Also, for
the adjuncts, I've got .5 tsp of:
-Nutmeg
-Cinnamon
-All spice
-Pumpkin Spice
I also have another version with Cloves added, but I'm not liking the scent
of it - clove scents overpower the other spices I'll bring both and see
what others think and we'll go with what we all think would be good.
The software I use is BeerSmith - the best damn $30 I've spent:
http://beersmith.com/
It shows the mash in the "Brew Steps" portion - but just to get it out
there:
Mash in at 156 (full body) with 3.75 gal of water, mash for 45 minutes
(but I've always gone an hour, silly software)
Boil 6.5 gallons of water - pre-boil grav is 1.064
Boil down to 5gal, grav = 1.073 (est abv 7.8%)
As for the suspended fermentation on the first beer:
>* Adequate wort aeration when transferring to bucket?
Yurp
>* What kind of yeast was used? Was a starter used? How hot was the wort
when the pitching happened? Problems pitching could do it.
Double pitched wyeast 1084 smack packs. Both packages were nice and plump
when we pitched. Wort was "chilled", but we didn't check the temperature.
With extract brews you typically have ~2 gallons of wort, that we dropped
temp with a immersion chiller for a good 20 minutes, and we poured in 3
gallons of cold water, so I didn't even think to check the temp. That may
have kicked us in the ass :P
>* Did the recipe have lots of unfermentables? Did it have adequate yeast
nutrients?
I didn't bring any of my nutrients, moss, or even water chemicals, this was
a very back of the envelope brew. However, I don't think
their absence effected fermentation (my personal opinion). One thing to
note though, is that this kit was kind of "old" so the ingredients weren't
the most fresh. This may have a bit to do with it, but we also forgot to
check OG, so we're not even sure if 1.018 is "good" or "bad". WOOPS.
>* Fermentation temp was initially high until we got Chillmon working.
Usually too low cold shocks yeast, and sticks the ferment. (But too high is
bad too; produces off favors.)
Right, if it was too cold the yeast would have dropped right out. So i'm
not sure if this to blame either.
IT'S A MYSTERY! We could just drop in another smack pack if we want. I'll
check the gravity tomorrow and let you know where it's at.
On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 12:51 PM, Ryan Pierce <rdpie
...@pobox.com> wrote:
> Sorry I'm not going to be able to make it. Assuming brewing happens....
> I never have had a stuck mash before using the same recipe. My guess on
> what happened was that during the dough in, someone else was stirring
> vigorously, and I never explained the false bottom concept. I think it got
> tipped, and mash got under it, plugging it. Oops.
> What software are you using? Looks seriously cool but I don't see a mash
> schedule listed with temp and water amount.
> Also, that's 13 lbs of grain/adjuncts. So far I've only done 8 lbs in that
> cooler with 2 2/3 gal water. I have a second Gott cooler, twice as large,
> for high gravity beers, that I'd be very happy to bring in. (The original
> owner wanted it for barley wines.) But it is at home and I'm in Portland.
> (Hey, any hacker spaces in Portland? I've already discovered Powell's
> Books, which is a hacker's wet dream. Shelves of tube amp books, stuff on
> Arduino, stuff on machining.... I've never been in a book store that
> large!) So I don't know the upper limits on how much my mash tun can hold.
> Another factor to consider: It seems beer #1 had a stuck ferment, at 1.018
> at racking. I'm hoping it will resume in the carboys now that the yeast is
> stirred up. But I'm thinking what could have happened, especially from
> others because I wasn't there. Some thoughts on possible causes:
> * Adequate wort aeration when transferring to bucket?
> * What kind of yeast was used? Was a starter used? How hot was the wort
> when the pitching happened? Problems pitching could do it.
> * Did the recipe have lots of unfermentables? Did it have adequate yeast
> nutrients?
> * Fermentation temp was initially high until we got Chillmon working.
> Usually too low cold shocks yeast, and sticks the ferment. (But too high is
> bad too; produces off favors.)
> Happy Brewing! (Or should I say, Hoppy Brewing?)
> Ryan
> On Sep 20, 2012, at 9:11 AM, Andy Pace <andy.p...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Here's a quick back of the envelope base recipe:
> http://i.imgur.com/PA5QA.png
> The ingredients that are missing are where all the fun in a pumpkin beer
> is - the spices!
> I'd like to get some thoughts on which to use - i'm personally a fan of
> cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg and clove in holiday beers.
> Hell if it were up to me we'd just toss in .50tsp of each! The base recipe
> is very, well, base, so these spices are really going to come through,
> along with the pumpkin.
> The yeast is also very neutral. Makes a great platform for these types of
> beers.
> Let me know what you all think!
> On Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 10:53 AM, Andy Pace <andy.p...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Pumpkin beers are quite the step up, but I think we can handle it!
>> I'll start drawing up a recipe and send it around for feedback. Probably
>> using Libby's pumpkin pie in a can. I've used it before and it's much
>> easier than using pumpkin and turns out great.
>> PREPARE FOR A STUCK MASH. Although I got a few tricks up my sleeve to
>> lower the chances of that happening :)
>> On Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 10:19 AM, malerie kaplan <kawaiib...@gmail.com>wrote:
>>> pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin
>>> On Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 9:59 AM, Eric Stein <t...@des.truct.org> wrote:
>>>> Excuse me! 9/23! NOT 9/20!
>>>> Eric
>>>> On 09/20/2012 09:57 AM, Eric Stein wrote:
>>>> Hello all!
>>>> Beer Church this Sunday. Be there or be square. Discuss brewing in
>>>> this thread as I have no plans on what exactly we are brewing this weekend,
>>>> although Malerie was thinking of maybe Pumpkin beer.
>>>> http://pumpingstationone.org/2012/09/beer-church-920-at-noon/
>>>> Eric
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>>> --
>>> -Malerie
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>> Andy Pace
> --
> Andy Pace
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