Brewing Processes
I brewed on Saturday and had a great session. First I cut the gap on mill to .031, down from .035. I had been seeing very poor efficiency over my last couple batches and decided to try and combat it. Every since I started using the pump and new manifold my efficiency was slipping. My last batch it hit ~63% which was totally unacceptable.
Any time you change your brewing process you introduce new variables that will eventually need to be accounted for. I have been lazy about it and I finally decided to do something about it.
In addition to cutting the gap I changed my vourlouf technique to encorporate the pump. By running the output on the pump slow I was able to automate the vorloufing with the pump. I just turned it on and came back in 20 minutes and the wort was crystal clear. When I started to use the pump I installed quick disconnects on all of my brewing vessles. The mash tun has a output and a return valve on back top side of mash tun. I would love to post pictures of it however I am way too lazy to do that. Credit on the extended vourlouf goes to Jonny over at LABrewer. Its great to see him posting again (but where are the ruthless brewer archives) , that guy is a wealth of home brewing knowledge.
I ended up brewing an updated version of the turkey load lager, so it more closely reflects its name. I want it to look like a generic light american lager but still be able to knock you on your ass with flavor.
Recipe
| Amount | Item | Type | % or IBU |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17.00 lb | Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 91.9 % |
| 1.00 lb | Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) | Grain | 5.4 % |
| 0.50 lb | Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 2.7 % |
| 0.49 oz | Magnum [14.10%] (60 min) | Hops | 25.7 IBU |
| 1.00 oz | Warrior [15.00%] (15 min) | Hops | 14.8 IBU |
| 1.00 oz | Columbus (Tomahawk) [16.40%] (5 min) | Hops | 10.1 IBU |
| 0.99 oz | Chinook [13.00%] (10 min) | Hops | 9.5 IBU |
| 1.00 oz | Amarillo Gold [9.30%] (5 min) | Hops | 5.7 IBU |
| Bohemian Lager (Wyeast Labs #2124) | Yeast-Lager |
Mash at 150 for 75 minutes. No mash out
Collected 5.75 gallons of Wort @ 1086 for a calculated efficiency of just shy of 74%. It is currently fermenting @ 50 degrees in the fermentation chamber (the basement shower).