Recipe

• 9 pounds 2-row
• 1 pound crystal 10L
• 0.5 ounces Nugget pellets
• 1 ounce Centennial pellets
• 1 ounce Simcoe pellets
• 1 packet SafAle US-05

Hop Schedule

60 minutes

• 0.25 oz Nugget pellets

20 minutes

• 0.25 oz Nugget pellets

10 minutes

• 0.5 oz Centennial pellets
• 0.5 oz Simcoe pellets

0 minutes (flameout)

• 0.5 oz Centennial pellets
• 0.5 oz Simcoe pellets

Procedure

I used the Robobrew v3.1 system. It has a malt pipe and the ability to control temperature using a 1000W and a 500W element.

Fill the kettle with 7.5 gallons of water. Heat to 156°F. Set target temperature of kettle to 150°F. Add grains in slowly, stirring constantly. The temperature should drop to 150°F. Maintain 150°F for an hour.

After an hour, the gravity of the wort should be about 1.037. Pull the malt pipe and set it on top of the kettle to drain. Set the target temperature to 220°F. Setting the temperature over boiling ensures that the elements stay on full during the entire boil.

As the wort approaches a boil, around 200°F, remove the malt pipe. Watch for a hot break and stir to prevent a boil over. If the foam gets extreme, spraying with a bottle of StarSan or water will quickly reduce the head.

After the hot break, add the first addition of 0.25 oz of Nugget pellet hops. Set a timer for 40 minutes and wait.

When the timer sounds, add 0.25 oz of Nugget pellet hops. Set a timer for 10 minutes and wait.

When there is 5 minutes left on the timer, add the immersion chiller. Adding the immersion chiller now will sanitize it before we chill the wort.

When the timer sounds, add 0.5 oz of Centennial and 0.5 oz of Simcoe pellet hops. Set a timer for 10 minutes and wait.

When the timer sounds, add 0.5 oz of Centennial and 0.5 oz of Simcoe pellet hops. Turn the heating elements off and start a slow flow of cold water through the immersion chiller. There’s no need to go fast. Cooling slowly will give the last addition of hops time to incorporate and save some water. I also recirculate the wort through the pump and position the hose at the screen of my hop spider. It will help introduce air into the wort that the yeast use to multiply early on.

Take a sample of the wort and set aside for a gravity reading. It should be about 1.041.

While the wort is cooling, prep the fermenter. Sanitize it with StarSan and drain it. Put the airlock in a bowl of StarSan.

Once the wort reaches 70°F, siphon the wort into the cleaned and drained fermenter. Try not to disturb the trub (read: hops and proteins) on the bottom of the kettle. Once complete, sprinkle the yeast over the wort, put the lid on the fermenter, fill the airlock with StarSan, and put the airlock in the bung.

I did not have any temperature control when I made this batch. It’s currently winter here and I did have a hard time getting fermentation to start. Initially, I left the fermenter in the basement where it’s 58°F to 60°F. After about a day, I moved the fermenter into my kitchen upstairs where it’s closer to 65°F during the day. After the move, I started to see bubbles in the airlock. After a couple days, fermentation seemed to stall. I put a heating pad from a seed starter kit under the fermenter in hopes that it would help the yeast attenuate a bit more. The next day, there were some more bubbles in the airlock. Another day after that, there was nothing.

After another day or two of no activity, I decided it was time to get the beer out of the fermenter. It was almost time to bring it down to my family and friends! Once complete, I siphoned the beer into a keg and put it on 20 PSI and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The next day, I took out the keg, set the regulator to 15 PSI, put the keg on the ground, and rolled it around for about 15 minutes. I stopped when I could not hear any more CO2 going through the regulator. Doing this pushes the CO2 into solution faster as it has more surface area in contact with the CO2 gas. Cold fluid is much easier to work with when trying to dissolve CO2.

I waited a couple hours for the foam inside the keg to subsite and then started serving. Holy man did it foam. I was pushing 15 PSI through a 3 foot serving hose…

Tasting Notes

The beer’s taste changed throughout the life of the keg, however short that was. The keg lasted about a week. There was a lot of sharing throughout the holiday season.

Very early on, there was a slight bitterness that was pleasant and not overwhelming. There was not much hop flavor or aroma, just a slight fruity taste. I think the Centennial pellets I got were a bad batch.

A week later, and once I figured out how to use a lower PSI when serving, the beer was much more fruity with some melony flavors. The slight bitterness was still there, but it was a good balance. It was a very easy drinking beer at a reasonable 4.5% ABV.

Lessons Learned

3 feet of 3/16” of serving hose is not enough for 15 PSI. I had foaming constantly throughout this keg. Only toward the end of the keg did I set the PSI to around 4. Once I did, I was able to get a much better glass of beer with an appropriate head. I have ordered more hose and will use a longer section next time. The theory is that there is more resistance in the line that will prevent the beer from exploding out the tap and therefore reduce the amount of foam produced.

7.5 gallons is a bit too much for the RoboBrew. I think bringing the initial volume down to 7 gallons and sparging will make mashing a bit easier. I have a temperature controlled kettle that has a 1.5 liter capacity that will work nicely.

I lost just over 1 gallon of water to the grain. I started with 7.5 gallons and had about 6.4 gallons after I pulled the grain pipe.

Check the freshness of hops before buying. I bought these hops at my local homebrew shop and had the chance to open and smell the bag, but I did not. Next time I’ll make sure to do that.

2020-01-06