RIS Showdown

Tonight I tasted a bottle of Old Rasputin against my clone home brew, Arctic Circle.  The Rasputin has the same bitterness as Arctic does, something I didn't remember when I did the original taste test.  I notice more malt aroma in the Rasputin, but the Arctic seems to be smoother and less bitter actually.

The brewmaster's assistant did a blind tasting and decided that the Arctic Circle was better.

This may be the best beer I've brewed yet.

Belgian Quad

Just moved the Belgian Quad from the secondary to the keg and now it's carbonating.

Need to think of a name for this one.

It's tastes great, very Belgian.  Brewer's assistant says it tastes like an expensive bottle of commercial Belgian, so I guess we did all right.  I need to get a bottle of Three Philosophers to taste against since this is a clone recipe.

Brewery Ommegang recommends Three Philosophers with roasted meats and rich cheeses.  I'm thinking lamb.

Waiting for carbonation...

Strong Dunkel

Reader Jason's Dunkel after finishing up its weightlifting set.  How strong is that beer, Jason?

Beer Moving Day

Today I moved the RIS from secondary to the keg.  Had a bit of an emergency; when I pressurized the keg, the pressure relief valve was leaking.  I turned it a bit and it stopped, but when I jostled the keg, it started again.  So I took the valve off and flipped the seal over to the side that is flat, the original side had worn down.  Voila.  No more leaking.

Cleaned out the carboy, and moved the Belgian to secondary.  Measured FG at 1.020.  Exactly what the recipe says in Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them  That gives it an ABV of 8.9%.

Tasted it and it is a bit harsh, kind of like the stout, and it has a lot of settling to do, very cloudy.  So we'll let it sit for a while and see how it goes.

For Jason, here's how to move your beer from one vessel to another.
Fill your racking cane completely with water and about a foot of the tubing after the curve of the cane.  Put your finger over the end of the tube and quickly invert the cane and insert into beer.  Take your finger off the end and let the beer start flowing.  I usually drain the water that was in the tubing into a cup and then put the tubing into the next vessel.


Sorry about the lighting, kind of dim today in the kitchen.

Brewmasters

Discovery Channel has a new show starting tomorrow night called Brewmasters.  Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione is the host.  There's no embed link so you'll have to click through.

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/brew-masters/

From the description:

Each week on Brew Masters, Sam Calagione, maverick, family man and entrepreneur owner of Dogfish Head Brewery travels across America and around the globe as he explores new ingredients and techniques and collaborates with other craft brewers to come up with the next great brews. Every Sunday at 10 pm E/P.

Keg Fridge Upgrade

I was getting a bit worried about all the weight on that thin glass shelf, so today we upgraded to a 3/4 inch plywood shelf.

Belgian Dark Strong Ale

Decided to brew again yesterday so we'd have a variety of beer for the holidays.  I started with the Ommegang Three Philosophers recipe in Brew Like a Monk, page 248.

Calculated for 5 gallons and am altering to adjust to my timeline.

10lbs. 11oz.  Dingeman's Belgian Pale Malt
2lbs.   12oz.  Dingeman's Belgian Munich Malt
1lb.  Flaked Wheat
10oz.  Dingeman's Special B Malt
9oz.    Dingeman's CaraMunich Malt
6oz.    Dingeman's CaraVienna Malt
10oz.  Dark Candi Sugar 275L

1oz.   Northern Brewer hops 8% AAU

White Labs WLP500  Trappist Ale Yeast


Infusion Mashed the pale, munich, and wheat at 155F for 75 minutes.  Added Special B, CaraMunich, CaraVienna to lauter tun during sparging.

Collected 8 gallons of wort.  Boiled for 75 minutes down to 6.5 gallons.  Added Candi Sugar.

Added hops and boiled for 75 more minutes.  A gorgeous brown with hints of red.

OG 83, recipe specified 87.  Pretty close.

Cooled to 86F and pitched yeast.  Fermenting at 68F.

Need to think of a good name for this one.