Open Fermentation Update

It's been Lucas With The Lid Off since brew day and the aroma coming off this bad boy is intense. I can even smell it downstairs. Super-bready, caramel alcohol wafts. I'll do a gravity test soon to see where we're at. That's all for now!

Brew One is Done

Jumping Cat Brew #1 is in the history books. Only a couple game day audibles on the recipe:

1. Added 6g of FWH (el dorado). Probably won't even notice. 
2. Forgot to update the recipe to extract... wah wah.

So I changed the recipe to extract because I didn't want to sit in the cold all day! So the 2-row was subbed out for 3lbs of extra light, which went in right away, and 6lbs of light which was a late addition. How late? Flameout late. 

As usual, tossed in a campden tab and whirlfloc. This was my first time using fermcap-s - interesting stuff. Had a decent rolling boil and never once did it threaten a boil-over. So I think fermcap may get a permanent slot on the roster.

In the end, the IBUs were a little higher (56 IBU) and the OG is um... 1.085 - significantly higher than expected. I think my boil off was more than I originally calculated, but hey it's a new pot. I'm not familiar with all it's nuances!

Pitched the whole 1.7L starter into the bucket and about 12 hours later the engine is chugging along nicely. Tonight I'll pop the lid and go "open fermentation" to avoid a clogged three-piece airlock and a blown-off lid. 

HazHaz

Wood Aged Beer Experiment

I've done many brews in the past and saved the recipes in written form, or using an app... now I think I'll start recording in blog form as well. Why not? I'll also include tasting notes and whatever else I find interesting. 

On to the brew. I'm a member of the Nordeast Brewer's Alliance and for the April meeting we're doing a mini-experiment: Wood Aged Beer. I chose white oak: Vanilla, toasted coconut, cinnamon, pepper, sweet baked bread, caramel. 

I've gone back and forth on what exactly to brew for the oak - oak aged stout? Oak aged rye? Oaked mild? Oak pretty much goes with anything, right? Ultimately I decided on an IPA. I was thinking about Florida and Cigar City and the Jai Alai aged on white oak. So I'm going to very loosely base my recipe on that.

• 90% 2-Row
• 4.5% Munich Light
• 4.5% Victory
• 1% Crystal 60

Mash at 150F for 60 minutes

• .75oz El Dorado @ 60 minutes (~47ibu)
• 1.25oz El Dorado @ 1 minute (~2.5ibu)

After fermentation completes - transfer to secondary

• 2oz El Dorado Dry Hop 10 days
• White Oak Honeycomb 10 days, 1/2 WOH for 10 more days. 

Wyeast 1469 (West Yorkshire) fermenting @ 68F, 1.5L starter (stir plate)

OG 1.071
FG 1.018
IBU 49
SRM 8.8
ABV 7%

Grain bill is pretty much exactly what Jai Alai uses. Should be a beautiful bright orangey color with some light malt backbone - but not too much. I considered adding Maris Otter to beef it up and bit, but this is a wood experiment and I want the oak to come through. The hop schedule is completely different than Jai Alai - for two reasons: 

1. It's a wood experiment. I don't want the hop character to drown out the oak.
2. I have a ton of El Dorado.

At 49 IBUs, it's on the low-end of the IPA spectrum. I'm not really interested in making a hop bitter bomb - I want the aroma instead, hence the 1.25oz at knockout and the 2oz dry hop. El Dorado is supposed to impart bright tropical fruit, pear, watermelon, and stone fruit aromas. So that's neat.

I picked West Yorkshire for two reasons:

1. decent attenuation with awesome flocculation. I want a bright beer - no cloudiness!
2. dry finish with moderate nut and fruit esters. I think it'll pair well with El Dorado.

If I don't get the the FG I want, I might finish with a neutral yeast like US-05. I tried US-05 for the first time a few months ago and I was pleasantly surprised.

I'm going to do a split experiment with the oak. The honeycomb I have is good for a five gallon batch, so I'm going to cut in half. After dry hopping, I'll toss the two halves into the secondary and wait ten days. Then I'll pull half the beer and one of the oak halves. Then let it go another ten days. I'll end up with two nice dry hopped IPAs - one aged for 10 days on oak, the other aged for 20 days. Or that's the idea anyway.

So there it is - the first batch of beer for Jumping Cat.