Taihei IPA -- Brew Day!

Today I brewed Taihei IPA v1.0, my first brew in Hawaii, and first all-grain beer. (click on the link for recipe!)
Again, Taihei, the Japanese word for Pacific (taiheiyou), and the beer is so named because the hops I'm using come from all around that ocean, and I'm brewing right smack in the middle of it, here in Hawaii!

Stats
OG: 1.076
FG: 1.014
ABV: 8.14%
SRM: 9.34

 There were a few hiccups, the biggest one being that I forgot a grain bag for the mash.  A grain bag holds the grain while its being mashed, keeping the solid grain bits from getting into the water (they can provide some off-flavors).  It took another hour and a half to filter out the grains, and I ended up with a much smaller wort (the liquid) than I otherwise would have if I had done it right.  Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done in the brewing world.

The brew itself went mostly well, but I forgot to add Irish Moss, a fining agent that helps clear up the beer.  So... it's really fucking cloudy now.  While I'm sure most of the stuff will settle over time, it will take a while and there will be a butt-tonne of sediment in the bottom of my fermenter.

At the end of the boil, I had well under 2 gallons of wort when I poured it into the fermenter.  That was real bad.  I added about 3 qts of cold water to help cold crash it a little (and protect the fermenter from thermal shock), and replenish some of the lost wort, but the result is going to be a noticeably lighter beer.  Not noticeable yet because its so damn cloudy, but eventually....

Original Gravity after boil reads 1.076, much lower than the 1.083 than my Brewer's Friend calculation estimated, but that's probably OK because it estimated an 8.77% ABV, which is a little higher than what I'd like to make with this beer anyway.  Of course, if things go as estimated, the ABV will still be over 8% -- especially with that healthy yeast starter I used.

The sample tasted very spicy, like ginger and cinnamon -- not too dissimilar to how What's This? tasted during its post-boil sample.  It might be because of all the floating sediment and the barley itself, whose flavor should recede into the background over time.  I can taste the sediment and its gross.  The hops smelled completely different - citrus, lemon, and a hint of floral.  These flavors should come out as it ferments over the next month or so. 
*UPDATE* That spicy flavor dropped quite a bit as the sample wort cooled and settled.  The trub in my test tube also settled real nice, which is good.


Finally, I cold-crashed the wort until it was about 80F, pitched the yeast, and moved the fermenter to the beer room.  I'll take a peek probably once a day for the next couple days, then just check temps daily afterward.  The goal is to keep it between 70 & 75F.  At this high a temp, the beer will ferment much more quickly than usual, which could be good or bad, but I don't have the $$ for a fancy temperature control system.

Fermentation should start soon - probably late tonight or early tomorrow morning, since I made a good, healthy yeast starter.  I expect about 3 weeks in the primary, then I will rack the stuff to a secondary fermenter (another first for me!).  Racking to secondary will go a long way in clearing up this beer, as most of the trub (the stuff that settles to the bottom) will remain in the primary fermenter, and that's exactly what this beer needs.
  After racking, I'll give it another week or so to settle and clear up, during which I'll dry-hop with about 1-2 oz of the Sorachi & Wakatu I've got left over.  After that (assuming gravity stabilizes), the beer will be bottled, and conditioned for another week or two.  All-in-all, it should take about 5-6 weeks at the temps I'm working with, and the beer should be ready for the big time by the end of April!

Coming Soon: Taihei IPA

太平洋！

What time is it?

No, it's not Adventure Time.  It's brew time!  We've just moved to Hawaii, and I'm preparing my very first brew in a new environment.  There are several new factors that I need to consider here.  First and probably most important, I no longer have a basement.  I also don't have the funds to acquire expensive cooling equipment, a special brewing fridge/freezer, etc.  I've commandeered the storage room under the stairwell, and temps seem to generally stay around 70-74F in there, meaning I'll need to focus on brewing beers that can ferment well in that temperature range without developing off-flavors.  Second, I'm not going to have some of the same ingredient availability as I had in Maryland, including my favorite hop style, Falconer's Flight.  So this first brew, I'll be testing out a couple new varieties of hops.

The latest beer, which I expect to brew this weekend, will showcase hops from around the Pacific Ocean:  Australian Galaxy for bittering, New Zealand's Wakatu for aroma, and I was happy to find my other fave, the Japanese Sorachi Ace (which I'll be using for aroma this recipe).  The major uniting theme in these hops is citrus zest, with some fruity notes.  Of note, this will also be my first all-grain brew.  I've even purchased a 5-gallon kettle for the occasion.  Since the hops all come from various Pacific islands, I've named it Taihei IPA, based on the Japanese word for "Pacific Ocean": 太平洋　(たいへいよー / taiheiyo-; "Taihei" is just "Pacific").

  One neat thing about Hawaii is I was able to quickly find two facebook groups dedicated to brewing locally.  Several experts have already weighed in on the recipe, helping me adjust it and understand the mashing process.  If you keep up with my beers, you may remember I did a partial mash for What's This? Christmas Ale -- the bulk was pilsner liquid malt extract (LME), but I added some chocolate malt.  In that case, I only needed enough water to mash the pound or so of grain I used, and was able to add extra water to the boil later (this is called a condensed wort).  LME is cool like that.  But with all-grain, you have to add all the water at once, or it doesn't come out right.  With this in mind, because I only have a 5 gallon kettle (anything bigger won't fit well on my stove), I'm sticking to 2-gallon batches until I get the hang of brewing in Hawaii.  Much cheaper, and less of a pain if I screw them up ;).

Anyway, here's the recipe.  Bear in mind, the numbers are estimated at this time, based on calculations from Brewer's Friend.  You should be able to view the BF version here.

TAIHEI IPA
Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 2 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 2.5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.066
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.083
Final Gravity: 1.016
ABV (standard): 8.77%
IBU (tinseth): 99.76
SRM (morey): 9.34
FERMENTABLES:
5 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (83.3%)
1 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 20L (16.7%)
HOPS:
0.5 oz - Australian Galaxy, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.2, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 62.54
0.5 oz - Sorachi Ace, Type: Pellet, AA: 11.1, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 22.66
0.5 oz - NZ Wakatu, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 10
0.25 oz - Sorachi Ace, Type: Pellet, AA: 11.1, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 4.55
YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Starter: Yes
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 81%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 54 - 77 F
Fermentation Temp: 72 F
Pitch Rate: 0.5 (M cells / ml / deg P)

Will probably add 1oz Sorachi Ace and 1oz Wakatu dry hop 4 days before bottling, depending on what the sample tastes like.

Here's hoping it all turns out right!