Recipe #37 - Oktoberfest/Marzen

 I steeped the grains at 155F for 30 minutes and had to add filtered water to the boil to make up for the wort that was absorbed by the grain. I did this after the steeping had been completed and the grain sack had been remove, just prior to boiling the wort. Once the boil started I added the hops and waited 20 minutes before adding the DME and letting it boil for the remaining 10 minutes. Next time I will add the hops and 1/2 of the DME to the boil at the same time and then add the remaining 1/2 of the DME 10 minutes prior to flameout.

I used qBrew's default 'Oktoberfest/Marzen' style guidelines to crunch this recipe's numbers.

 Click to download Screwy's latest qBrew database   

Recipe:

Size 2.13 gallons: Estimated IBU=28, SRU=6, OG=1.048, FG=1.012, ABV=4.7%

1/4 pound Munich Malt (German)

1/4 pound Melanoiden Malt

2 pounds Muntons Extra Light DME

1 ounce Hallertauer pellet hops boiled for 30 minutes

11.5 gram Saflager WB-34/70 yeast

Pitched at 55F and fermented at 50F

Directions:

Boil 3.5 quarts of filtered water 

Boil 1 oz. hops for 30 minutes

Stir in DME and boil for 10 minutes

Place in ice bath until wort temperature cools to 55F

Add 4 quarts cold filtered water to Mr. Beer fermenter

Pour cooled wort into fermenter keg and pitch yeast

Ferment at constant 50F temperature for 21 days

 

Recipe #36 - Weizen/Weissbier

 This is the first recipe I've brewed using only DME and honey for fermentables. The hop schedule uses a 30 minute boil for bitterness, a 12 minute boil for flavor and dry finishing hops for aroma.

I used qBrew's default 'Weizen/Weissbier' style guidelines to crunch this recipe's numbers.

 Click to download Screwy's latest qBrew database   

Recipe:

Click to download this recipe file for qBrew

Size 2.13 gallons: Estimated IBU=16, SRM=4, OG=1.050, FG=1.013, ABV=4.9%

2 pounds Muntons Wheat DME

1/2 pound Golden Blossom Honey

1/4 ounce Hallertauer pellet hops boiled for 30 minutes

1/2 ounce Hallertauer pellet hops boiled for 12 minutes

1/4 ounce Hallertauer pellet hops finishing

11.5 gram Fermentis Safbrew WB-06 yeast

Pitched at 65F and fermented at 60F

Directions:

Boil 3 quarts of filtered water

Boil 1/4 oz. hops for 30 minutes

Boil 1/2 oz. hops for12 minutes

Stir in DME and honey boil for 10 minutes

Use Screwy's Cooler to lower wort temperature to 70F

Add 4 quarts cold filtered water to Mr. Beer fermenter

Pour cooled wort into fermenter keg, including 1/4 oz. finishing hops and pitch yeast

Ferment at constant 60F temperature for 21 days

Wheat DME Boil Just Before the Hotbreak

 I followed the accepted brewing practice of adding the DME to the boil 10 minutes before flameout, as longer boil times have been reported to darken the DME's color. After stirring in the DME and boiling for about 5 minutes or so the mixture really started to foam up to the top of the pot. To prevent the mixture from overflowing and making a huge mess of the stove top I removed the pot from the heat source until the foam receded, this is known as the hotbreak. Once the foam settled down I put the pot back on the burner and completed the rest of the boil.

Screwy's Cooler: 212F To 70F In 20 Minutes Or Less

The three main reasons I use a wort cooler now are to prevent the continued buildup of DMS and bacteria that can ruin the taste and flavor of my beer. Cooling the wort also shortens my brewing day because the drop of the wort to pitching temperatures happens a whole lot quicker too. The most vulnerable temperature range for cooling wort is when the wort is between 140F and 80F, that's when wild yeast and bacteria can take hold to infect the new wort and it's also when the production of DMS and sulfur begins to create the off flavors that ruin beer.  

I used a simple but effective method to connect my wort cooler to my house plumbing and it's worked with both my standard kitchen and my laundry room utility sink too. There's no soldering involved to assemble the parts making this design an even more attractive alternative. After forming the coils of the cooler there is only one connection to make using a standard 3/8 inch compression nut, after dozens of boils the original connection has never leaked since the day I initially tightened it.

Aerator Dual Thread Adapter To Standard Dishwasher Elbow

I originally built my cooler to fit inside of the 12 quart pot I was using at the time for all my Mr. Beer extract recipes and it worked great. But as time went on and my recipes became more challenging I bought a 16 quart and then the current 20 quart pot I use today for all my batches. I still use the same cooler and it works great in quickly bringing the temperature of the wort in the 20 quart pot to yeast pitching temperatures. Since both the height and diameter of the 20 quart pot are greater than those of the 12 and 16 quart pots there is even more room between the coils and the pot wall to allow the hot wort to come in contact with the cooling coils.

Today I use my cooler in the double sided utility sink installed in my brew hause and I thread the aerator dual thread adapter onto the outside my utility sink faucet. Boiling 5 gallon batches of wort leaves the brewer with a massive cooling job on their hands. So I also use an ice bath to help drop the wort temperature to the 100F to 55F temperature range as needed.

I found that adding the boil pot to the ice water bath when it comes directly from flameout just warms the ice bath up really fast making it useless. I now hook up the cooler and let it run until the wort cools to around 100F and then I prepare the ice bath to help cool the wort down even lower. 

Combination Ice Bath And Wort Cooler

Inside the boil pot the cooling coils are about 1.5 inches apart as they spiral up from the bottom of the pot. The hot return water is routed down the drain of the double sink on the left and the ice bath provides the extra cooling power needed to very quickly drop the wort temperature down from 212F to my pitching temperatures making this setup a real time saver on brewday.

I went to Home Depot, Lowes and Ace Hardware before I found the parts needed to build my new 'Screwy's Cooler' wort cooler. The kitchen sink requires unscrewing the existing aerator and temporarily replacing it with the aerator dual thread adapter so that the standard dishwasher elbow can connect to the faucet.

1 - 20 foot length of 3/8 inch copper tubing
1 - 3/8 inch standard dishwasher elbow with compression nut
1 - aerator dual thread adapter.

My cooler was formed by bending the 3/8 inch copper around a 8 inch metal cookie tin until it took on the shape of a coil. Next I used a tubing bender and some care to bend the tubing into the cooling water supply and return shapes.

Screwy's Cooler When It Was Brand New

 The cooler shown above has a 12 inch tall riser tube with a 5 inch outward return bend. A 3/8 inch compression nut joins the 9 inch diameter coil to the dishwasher elbow and the aerator dual thread adapter.  Unscrew the existing faucet aerator and replace it with the new aerator dual thread adapter and you're done.

 Of course you should always follow strict sanitization practices with your brewing utensils. I sanitized the coil in a large pot before using it and I also made sure the sink was sanitized too. The warmed discharge water should be regulated so that it doesn't produce excessive splashing when leaving the discharge end of the tube. A length of plastic tubing can be clamped to the discharge end and routed to a bucket or pushed further down into the sink drain.

Aerator Dual Thread Adapter To Kitchen Sink

 After a 30 minute rolling boil I was able to cool the wort's temperature down to the 70F pitching range in less than 20 minutes. I literally took only a minute to disconnect the chiller from the sink and start it soaking in a pot of One-Step sanitizer. Screwy's Cooler fits easily into those big red Mr. Beer Kit boxes for even easier storage and safekeeping.

Recipe #34 - St. Patrick's Irish Stout

 In keeping with my promise to create and brew 6 interesting new versions of Mr. Beer favorite recipes using grains and upgraded yeasts for fermentation, I came up with the following St. Patrick's Irish Stout recipe. All the ingredients used, except for the grains, are available to order on the Mr. Beer website.

I used qBrew's default 'Irish Stout' style guidelines to crunch the recipe's numbers.

 Click to download Screwy's latest qBrew database

Directions:
Steep grains at 155F for 30 minutes in 1.5 quarts water
Boil hops in wort for 30 minutes, turn off flame and remove hops
Stir in HME and UMEs after flame out
Place in ice bath until wort temperature cools to 70F
Add 6 quarts cold filtered water to Mr. Beer fermenter
Pour cooled wort into fermenter keg and pitch yeast
Ferment at constant 62F temperature for 21 days

Recipe:
Size 2.13 gallons: Estimated IBU=32, SRM=38, OG=1.065, FG=1.016, ABV=6.3%

1/2 pound Crystal 10L steeped at 155F for 30 minutes
1 Can St. Patrick's Irish Stout (HME)
2 Cans Mellow Amber (UME)

1/4 ounce Goldings (US) pellet hops boiled for 30 minutes

1 Pouch Mr. Beer Liquid Stout yeast
Pitched at 62F and fermented at 62F

Recipe #33 - Octoberfest Vienna Lager

 With the colder weather just around the corner, and in keeping with my goals of using grains and  lager yeasts for fermentation, I came up with the following Octoberfest Vienna Lager recipe. All the ingredients used, except for the grains, are available to order on the Mr. Beer website.

I used qBrew's default 'Oktoberfest/Marzen' style guidelines to crunch the recipe's numbers.

 Click to download Screwy's latest qBrew database

Directions: 

Steep grains at 155F for 30 minutes in 1.5 quarts water
Boil hops in wort for 12 minutes, turn off flame and remove hops
Stir in HME, UME, honey and hops after flame out
Place in ice bath until wort temperature cools to 70F
Add 6 quarts cold filtered water to Mr. Beer fermenter
Pour cooled wort into fermenter keg, including finishing hops and pitch yeast
Ferment at constant 55F temperature for 21 days

Recipe: Size 2.13 gallons: Estimated IBU=26, SRU=12, OG=1.053, FG=1.015, ABV=5.1%

1/2 pound Crystal 10L steeped at 155F for 30 minutes

1 Can Octoberfest Vienna Lager (HME)
1 Can Pale Export (UME)

1/4 ounce Hallerteur pellet hops boiled for 12 minutes
1/4 ounce Hallerteur pellet hops finishing
1/2 lb. Golden Blossom Pure Honey

11.5 grams Fermentis Saflager WB-34/70 dry lager yeast
Pitched at 55F and fermented at 55F

Recipe #32 - Bavarian Hefeweizen With Steeped Grains

 This past year I've brewed seven wheat beers using Mr. Beer extracts and assorted types of yeasts. Some recipes have included a lot of adjuncts as well, like orange, grains of paradise, clove and coriander. In this next batch of wheat beer that's being planned now I want to include steeping wheat malt into the recipe. The purpose of adding steeping grains to my recipes is to add more complexity to the finished beer while I learn the basic concepts of brewing great tasting beer with grains.

I used qBrew's default 'Witbier' style guidelines to crunch the recipe's numbers.

 Click to download Screwy's latest qBrew database

Recipe Size 2.13 gallons: Estimated  IBU=21, SRU=5, OG=1.045

1/2 pound Wheat Malt steeped at 153F for 30 minutes

1 Can Whispering Wheat Weizenbier (HME)

1 Can Golden Wheat (UME)

1/2 ounce Hallerteur pellet hops boiled for 10 minutes

1/2 ounce Hallerteur pellet hops finishing

11.5 grams Fermentis Safbrew WB-06 dry yeast

Pitched at 70F and fermented at 68F

Recipe #31 - American Ale With Steeped Grains

 For this recipe I decided to include crystal malt steeping grains into the brewing process. It would be the first time I've used grains in any of my beer recipes and I was sure it would produce some really good results so I was anxious to try it. I was happy to see that this step only increased my brewing time by less than an hour, compared to the all extract recipes I'd been used to. What surprised me the most was how the steeping grains filled my house with such really awesome aromas that reminded me of warm freshly baked breads.

I used qBrew's default 'American Pale Ale' style guidelines to crunch the recipe's numbers.

 Click to download Screwy's latest qBrew database

 Estimated  IBU=46, SRM=8, OG=1.059. FG=1.015, ABV=5.7%

1/4 pound Crystal 10L mixed with

1/4 pound Crystal 40L steeped at 155F for 30 minutes

3.3 pounds Muntons Hopped Lightly extract

1 ounce Cascade pellet hops boiled for 10 minutes

11 grams Nottingham dry yeast

1 ounce Cascade pellet hops added to fermenter

 As with the standard Mr. Beer instructions I started out by sanitizing my utensils and then filling a 3 quart pot with 4 cups of water, but instead of bringing it to a boil I brought the temperature up to about 160F and dropped my grain bag into the pot. Once the bag was in the pot I maintained the temperature by turning the flame on and off and I let the bag steep for 30 minutes.

 Crystal malt 10L and 40L mix steeped at 155F for 30 minutes

After steeping the Crystal mix in the 155F water for 30 minutes I removed the grain bag from the pot being careful not to squeeze it while removing it. 

 Remove the grain bag after 30 minutes and discard it

I then transferred the wort to larger pot for the boil adding in 1 ounce of Cascade pellet hops used for flavoring and 3.3 pounds of Muntons Hopped Lightly extract and stirring them well. I turned on the flame and brought the wort up to a rolling boil for 10 minutes.

 Boiling wort and extract with Cascade flavoring hops

I filled a sanitized 2.13 gallon Mr. Beer fermenter with 6 quarts of filtered water that was around 72-76F getting it ready ahead of time while the wort was still boiling.

Mr. Beer fermenter with 6 quarts of filtered water

  Once the boil was completed I let the pot sit on the stove while I filled the sink with ice cubes and cold water. I then placed the pot of wort into the ice batch until the temperature dropped down to 70F, the recommended temperature for pitching my yeast.

While the wort was cooling down in the sink I prepared my yeast by pouring 4 ounces of 90F water into a sanitized bowl and then adding 11 grams on Nottingham yeast to it. 

Nottingham yeast after a 15 minute soak

 To get the yeast temperature down to 70F I added about 4 ounces of wort to the mix every 5 minutes and stirred it gently, repeating this until the yeast mix was the same 70F as the wort.

Add wort and stir until mix is at 70F

When the Nottingham yeast mix was at 70F I tossed in 1 ounce of Cascade pellet hops, aerated the wort and pitched the yeast. After pitching the yeast I aerated the wort again and twisted on the top of the fermenter.

Pour yeast mix into well aerated 70F wort

  The fermenter is now sitting in an air conditioned room at 60F with one end of a wet tee shirt  wrapped around it and the other end sitting in an inch of water to help keep it cool. I'll be monitoring the fermentation over the next few weeks while imagining what this finished brew will taste like.

Fermenter with tee shirt for 'wick' cooling

 The Danstar Nottingham yeast took about 48 hours at 60F before it created any noticeable amounts of krausen at the top of the fermenter.  The Mr. Beer dry yeast at 70F has sometimes produced krausen within 24 hours in some of the prior brews I've done. By day 5 the 'Notty' had produced a very noticeable layer of krausen that is still visible on day 15.

Nottingham Krausen Layer On Day 5

Unlocking The Mysteries Of Yeast

 Many of you more experienced brewers out there already know that the the type of yeast used to ferment your beer can make a huge difference in the way your finished beer tastes. More importantly the way the yeast is pitched can also make or break your fermentation, resulting in a beer that comes out crisp and clean or one that has a lot of off flavors making it impossible to drink.

 High Tech Imagery Of Saccharomyces

  When it comes to getting the most out of your yeast there are three basic rules to follow time, temperature and sanitization. Proper sanitization is the key to producing any beer, so remember to sanitize your utensils before using them to make your beer. If I'm not sure if a utensil should be sanitized while I'm brewing I sanitize it just to be sure.

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

 Most types of ale yeast available from Mr. Beer ferment the best when wort temperatures are kept within 68-76F, which also makes them compatible with the temperatures found in most homes. But some ale yeasts work best at 57-70F so it's always important to read the directions that ship with the particular type of yeast your are using. Keeping your yeast healthy and vital throughout the entire fermentation process will result in lots of alcohol and co2 which are necessary for making a really great beer.

Read The Directions

 Every brewer wants a good fermentation of the beer they've brewed. You've researched and found that perfect beer recipe, purchased the best ingredients available, carefully followed the brewing instructions to the tee and now it's up to the yeast. The amount of time the fermentation will take is dependent on the type of yeast, the temperature of the fermenting beer and the amount of fermentable sugars in your recipe.

Try to always keep your fermenting beer at a constant temperature throughout the fermentation process. This temperature should be within the recommended temperature range for the yeast you're using. Maintaining the right temperature and keeping it as constant as possible will help you with your future brews as well, you want to keep key parts of your brewing process as repeatable as possible it'll make tweaking your recipes a bit easier.

Yeast Cells

 Now that we understand some of the basic principals about yeast and the important role it plays in our beer fermentation process we can apply these principals to our next brew and produce some really good tasting beer. To compare the differences yeast can make in your beer I suggest brewing at least 2 batches of beer using the same exact ingredients except for the type of yeast and see what you find out.  

 Click here to find out more about .....Yeast In Your Beer.

 What's ahead:

 As the temperatures in New Jersey start to fall, and in the colder months ahead, I plan to brew several batches of beer using Lager yeast (Saccharomyces carlsbergensis) in place of Ale yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Although the recipe ingredients and the brewing steps are the same for both lagers and ales, the real difference is in the yeast strains and the taste of the beers that they brew....