Odd how the mind wanders about some days...
"If there's a buzzing-noise, somebody's making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee."
Then he thought another long time, and said: "And the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey."
And then he got up, and said: "And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it." So he began to climb the tree.
OK... So I really like that
strong American ale I made about a month ago. I want to make another batch, but part of the "secret sauce" is the ginormous starter I pitched the beer onto. Last time, I used an unhopped wort from DME to make a big starter. I racked off the resulting unhopped beer and I set aside about a gallon in a vented jar. I poured a little vinegar with live
acetobacter in it and now it's turning into malt vinegar. I don't need another gallon of the stuff, so why not make an actual beer instead?!
So today's recipe started out as an excuse to grow some more Wyeast 1272
American Ale II yeast. However, I also got a hanckering to make a pale ale. Thus far I've been making darker beers; nothing really appropriate for summer. So I decided to make an American Pale Ale with a twist. I decided to add some honey for a bit of spice and aroma. This is a recipe that's come straight outta my own oddyknocky. If it doesn't pan out, I have no one to blame but myself!
So today's brew day and I wake up to the sound of the wind blowing. What goes thought my mind? The phrase "Blustery day"; an occupational hazard of being a parent I suppose. So what comes next? Well, it's a blustery day and I'm making a golden bear colored yellow ale with honey in it. This must be "Pooh's Blustery Ale".
From Beersmith...
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 5.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 44.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 78.05 %
0.75 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 7.32 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.88 %
0.75 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 35.4 IBU
0.25 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (30 min) Hops 9.1 IBU
0.25 oz Willamette [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 lb Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 9.76 %
(Added at the end of the boil)
1 Pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) Yeast-Ale
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 9.25 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Light Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Mash In Add 11.56 qt of water at 164.9 F 150.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 7.40 qt of water at 201.6 F 168.0 F
I've been writing this as I go. The software predicted the mash temperatures very closely. I like this program. I've been trying out Promash, but I think that I like
Beersmith better. For those of you using Linux, Beersmith, like Promash, runs well under Wine.
An addendum: Beersmith also nailed the estimated starting gravity. The estimate was 1.057; I measured 1.056. I can't be sure with all of the foam kicked up in the fermentor, but it also looks like the program nailed the post-boil volume as well.
