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All Grain Brewing / Re: First two BIAB batches low efficency (55-60%). Top reasons for low?

« on: January 22, 2013, 07:35:03 AM »

I agree with dmtaylor and mtnrockhopper on this one. What are your volumes at each step in your process? The crush definitely is/can be the first thing you can correct easily if this concerns you. Not that I have to, but I double crush my grains. It's more about reaching consistent numbers than shooting for a specific number. If I felt all I could get was 60%, with the effort I wanted to give, and I got that every time using a specific method, then I'd be happy and wouldn't worry about chasing 70% or 95% unless my pocketbook or quality was affected.

The way you are calculating efficiency through BrewersFriend suggests you may not be accounting for your final volume, which can be different from what the recipe states. Your volume measurements may swing your efficiency around 5-10% if you aren't careful. Gravity is not the only factor in calculating efficiency.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 9/28 Edition

« on: September 29, 2012, 01:48:20 PM »

I just finished my first no-sparge, no-chill double batch of "Thomas Jefferson" Ale (Mosher) and "Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's" Ale for a friend who's into the founding fathers. Suffice to say he did NOT want to brew the Obama beers 

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Beer Recipes / Re: Theakston's Old Peculier

« on: June 21, 2012, 04:41:32 AM »

My side-by-side comparison was done at 5 months, only because that's when I first found Theakson's was available in my area. I felt the beer was pretty tasty a month after brewday, which may be too young for some brewers in general. The beer lost some of its creamier mouthfeel and became drier as it aged, probably in part because of the increased carbonation and the bottle conditioning, which I think detracted from the beer somewhat. I kept the beer at cellar temps 50-60F. I'd say the black patent character dropped out the quickest but I also tend to think that later it adds a different dimension to the beer (dryness, can accentuate the dark fruits, tart/port, etc). The recipe does not have a lot of black malt in it and it is essentially there for color, I believe. YMMV.  I only made enough for 10 bottles and I wasn't able to age it for longer than 5 months. I'm finding that difficult to do with some of the English strains.

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Beer Recipes / Re: Theakston's Old Peculier

« on: June 18, 2012, 04:15:08 PM »

This is what I tried last December, and last month I did a side-by-side tasting with the real McCoy (bottle, US) which I and an English friend who grew up on the stuff found to be pretty darn close or at the very least within the same ballpark, tastebuds being different as they are

All-grain recipe, 5 gallon batch size
OG 1.058-1.060, IBU ~30, SRM ~21 (deep dark ruby)

75% Optic Pale malt
10% Simpson Crystal 75L
5% Torrified Wheat
2% Black Patent
8% Sugar

Mash @ 150-154F

Fuggles 4%AA 2oz @ 60min
Fuggles 0.5oz @ 15min

Yeast: 1469 West Yorkshire @ 62-65F

This was the first time I used Optic and I loved it. Fat and juicy malt. But any british pale will do. Torrified wheat can be omitted as I don't believe the real recipe uses it. I thought it may have added a nice creaminess but at this level it might just be suggestive.

The sugar I used was homemade invert sugar "No. 4" as described here http://www.unholymess.com/blog/beer-brewing-info/making-brewers-invert

I couldn't definitively pick out the dark fruit flavors of this sugar in the beer and my bottles of OP didn't have that "treacly" character I remember from bottles I had more than several years ago. I'm sure one could substitute black treacle here but I have no experience with that. From the link posted, I actually used the dilution method with blackstrap molasses, Brer Rabbit brand.

The Black Patent probably could be swapped with roasted barley, chocolate, etc. I tend to like black patent and don't find it acrid. Any of that black character did mellow out to where my brew and OP were pretty dang close in character. If you're afraid to use it in the mash, feel free to throw it in during the sparge to reduce its flavor. The real recipe probably uses a jet black brewers caramel instead.

I used Willamette instead of Fuggles and didn't suffer from the substitution. OP in the bottle doesn't have much hop character in it except to balance the sweetness. Feel free to dryhop with Fuggles if you'd like.

I went with the Yorkshire strain and felt it was superb in this capacity. I've had mixed success bottle-conditioning with this and other similar English yeasts. Definitely carb on the low end- though I found the OP a bit spritzy in the bottle. If I were to bottle again with this strain, I may consider not priming at all as I suspect it reawakens in the bottle.