American Pale Ale

I made this last fall and unfortunately I over-carbonated it.  I used a little too much brown sugar for even a normal batch but this batch ended up being much less than a normal yield because leaf hops were used (this was the first such batch so all previous batches listed were using pellet).

American Pale Ale
OG: 1.075
FG: 1.018
ABV: 7.7%

30 minute 1.5 lb Caramel 40°L at 155°F

10 minute off burner steep

5 minute 6.6 lb Golden Light LME, 3 lb Briess GL DME addition

25 minutes to rolling boil, 2 oz. Cascade, 2 oz. Citra (bittering) hops added

50 minutes into boil, 1.5 oz. Amarillo (flavoring) hops added

58 minutes into boil, 1 oz. Cascade leaf (aroma) hops added

60 minutes into boil, removed from burner

15 minutes to cool, original gravity 1.075 at 79°F, dry pitch (forgot to write down what type of yeast)

12 day primary fermentation, 1 oz. Cascade leaf dry-hopped at end

12 day secondary fermentation, bottled using 1 cup boiled brown sugar

Had first beer 10 days later, was over-carbonated but other than that was delicious, not nearly as hoppy as I expected but had a really complex flavor that up until this point I had not yet achieved.

My Little 500 brew

For Little 5 last year I made my strongest beer thus far.  It came out at a whopping 8.2% but had a thick and smooth body without the bitterness of an IPA like you would normally expect out of beer with that high of an ABV.

Brown Ale:
OG: 1.072
FG: 1.012
ABV: 8.2%

30 minute 8 oz. Caramel 60°L, 4 oz. Coffee Malt, 2 oz. Roasted Barley at 155°F

10 minute off burner steep

10 minute 1 lb brown sugar, 6 lb Gold LME, 2 lb Light DME addition

26 minutes to rolling boil, 1 oz. Summit (bittering) hops added

58 minutes into boil, 1 oz Glacier (flavoring) hops added

65 minutes into boil, 1 oz Glacier (aroma) hops added

68 minutes into boil, removed to ice bath

12 minutes to cool, original gravity 1.072 at 70°F, dry pitched Wyeast #1007

7 day primary fermentation, 1 oz. Palisade dry-hopped at end

12 day secondary fermentation, 59°F with final gravity of 1.016 ABV 8.2%, kegged (my first batch that I kegged)

Had the first pour two days later and it was great.  Next time would want to bottle it.

Pumpkin Ale - My Big Mistake

So I decided to make a Pumpkin Ale by adding a ton of roasted pumpkin to a Copper Ale.  One thing I did not think through was sieving out the pumpkin before bottling.  The result was a sediment filled beer that tasted great until you got to the last 1/3, then it was absolutely miserable.  I think that if this were repeated and properly sieved it would make for a great fall beer.

Mashed pumpkin carmelizing in oven, eat the excess with whipped cream!

My Pumpkin Ale
OG: 1.055
FG: 1.022
ABV: 4.7%

Cleaned (inside and out) then cut medium-sized pumpkin into 8 slices

5 minutes in oven to soften

Separated pulp from rind and mashed pulp

45 minutes mashed pumpkin carmelized in oven at 350°F

30 minutes steep 8 oz. Munich, 2 oz. Roasted Barley, 6 oz. Caramel 80°L

10 minutes off burner steep

5 minutes 6 lbs Gold LME, 1 lb Light DME malt added

20 minutes boil start, 1 oz. Chinook (bittering) hops added

45 minutes into boil, ~5 pounds mashed pumpkin added

50 minutes into boil, 1 oz. Willamette (flavoring) hops added

55 minutes into boil, 1/4 Tsp. cinnamon added, 3/4 Tsp. nutmeg added

65 minutes into boil, pulled from burner

60 minutes cool to 79°F, original gravity 1.055, activated Wyeast #1007 pitched

4 day primary fermentation

7 day secondary fermentation, 68°F final gravity 1.022 4.7% ABV, bottled using 2/3 cup boiled brown sugar

Had first beer 12 days later, and as described it started out great and then turned awful.  The ABV was also a bit low but that could have been due to the shorter fermentation period (I was in a bit of a rush for Thanksgiving).

My American Pale

My American Pale
OG: 1.060
FG: 1.010
ABV: 6.9%

Using this trick will help with preventing boilovers, something I wish I knew before this batch

25 minute 1 lb 2-Row, 1 lb Crystal 40°L at 155°F

10 minute off burner steep

5 minute 6 lb Golden Light DME dry malt addition

10 minutes on burner led to minor boil-over

10 minutes later rolling boil reached, 1 oz. Simcoe, 1 oz. Citra hops added

30 minutes into boil 1 oz. Simcoe hops added

55 minutes into boil 1 oz. Citra hops added

60 minutes into boil dropped into ice bath

45 minutes to cool, original gravity 1.060 at 80°F, dry pitched Safale US-05 yeast

7 days primary fermentation, transferred to secondary

7 days secondary fermentation, final gravity 1.010 at 69° ABV 6.9%, bottled using 2/3 cup boiled brown sugar

Opened first bottle after 16 days and absolutely loved it.  Everyone who tried it enjoyed it thoroughly as well, will have to retry this some time soon.

Fuggles IPA

Fuggles IPA
OG: 1.053
FG: 1.018
ABV: 4.7%

30 minute steep 1 lb Caravienne grains at 158°F 

8 minute off burner steep

5 minutes adding 6 lb Gold LME

13 minutes to boil, 1 oz. Fuggles (bittering) hops added

55 minutes into boil 1 oz. Fuggles (flavoring) added

80 minutes into boil 1 oz. Fuggles (aroma) added

82 minutes into boil, pulled from burner

28 minutes to cool to 75°F, original gravity 1.053, activated Wyeast #1275 at 90°F pitched

7 days transferred to secondary fermenter

8 days transferred to bottling bucket, final gravity 1.018 at 62°F ABV 4.7%, bottled using 5 oz. Brewer's Best priming sugar

Had first beer 15 days later and absolutely loved it.  A bit low on the ABV but next time could just throw in a bit more LME or reactivate the yeast.

Beer! (First post, Autumn Amber Ale)

Well I have dozens of recipes I have previously made lying around so I figured I might as well share the best ones with the world (with a few suggestions on improvements).  You may notice some details missing in a few recipes but that's because I am working off of handwritten notes that are up to 18 months old and cannot remember what was precisely done there.  If you are trying a recipe that I skipped something on and want some advise on how to move forward, feel free to e-mail me for suggestions.

First up is an Amber Ale that I made in the fall of 2012:

Autumn Amber Ale
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.017
ABV: 5.2%

35 minute steep 2 oz. Special B, 8oz. Caramel 80°L, 2 oz. Roasted malt at 152°F in 2 gallons of water

10 minute off burner steep

5 minute 6 lb addition Gold LME malt

80 minutes to rolling boil, 1 oz. Hallertau (bittering) hops added (I really need to get a gas burner to speed up the boil)

50 minutes after boil start, 1 oz. Fuggles (aroma) hops added

60 minutes into boil, removed from burner to ice bath

70 minute cool down to 78°F, original gravity 1.054, activated Wyeast #1056 dry-pitched

4 day primary fermentation, transferred to carboy

11 days transferred to bottling bucket, 1.017 final gravity at 64°F ABV of 5.2%, bottled using 5 oz. Brewer's Best priming sugar

Opened first bottle 20 days later.  I was hoping for a little more hop, would add another 1/2 oz of Hallertau