Amber Ale (extract)

I Started an Amber Ale tonight. I promised my girlfriend's sister that I would brew her her very own batch. So I went the easy way and did extract.
4 lbs extra pale dry malt extract
4 oz corn sugar
4 oz Crystal 40 (steeping grain)
4 oz Special B (steeping grain).
5 gallons water
1 tsp Irish moss

I steeped the grains in 1 gallon of water at 155 deg F for 30 minutes then added to the boil.

1 oz Kent Golding hops for 60 minute boil

White Labs WLP039 Nottingham Ale English yeast pitched at 80 deg F.

I came out with about 3.6 gallons and an SG of 1.055.
I expect the FG to be about 1.014.

High Gravity Cherry Porter

5 pounds cherry smoked 2-row barley
10 pounds 2-row domestic
1.5 chocolate barley
4 oz special b
8 oz 60 crystal

mash for 90 minutes at 15
sparge 5 gallons at 172
2 tbs gypsum
mash 5.0 ph
sparge 5.2
boil 90 minutes

hop addition centennial at 90 1 oz
hop add 2 at 30 minutes centennial 1 oz
hop add 3 at 15 minutes kent goldings 1 oz
hop add 4 at 1 minutes kent goldings 1 oz

add 3 lbs cherry pure at transfer to fermenting carboy

SG 1.082 corrected from 76 degrees to 60.

SG 1.082
expected FG 1.021
expected ABV 8.10%

Gravity after 2 weeks = 1.020 at 68 degrees


NOTE:
NEVER DO THIS AGAIN; IT TASTES LIKE COUGH SYRUP!!!

Something Different

I've been reading a lot about black IPAs now. I'm guessing they're not like a porter but more like Stone's Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, which I really, really - really like. I mean, like, a whole lot. I could drink a 2 liter growler, pass out, wake up with the worst hangover, shower, take some ibuprofen and drink another. But I never do that. Maybe I should try to make a Black IPA then...

Ruddy Ale

The Morning started off at 6:30 when I heated 2 gallons of strike water and doughed in with 7 gallons of British Pale malt. I mashed for 1 hour at a ph of about 5.2.
I then prepared my sparge water by heating 5 gallons to just over 200 and then poured it into my old mash tun turned hot liquor tank. I then vourloughed the wort until it ran clear[ish] and started the sparge for 1.5 hours.
This new mashtun I have works much more efficiently than the rig I had set up before. I was able to hit about 1.047 SG to get a BH value of about 90%. I had to dilute the wort with an extra gallon to get it down to 1.38.
I added the Halertau (4.5 aa) at the start of the boil and no additional hops for the length of the 60 minute boil.
I added Irish moss in at 15 minutes left and placed my chiller in the kettle. I then chilled to as low as I could get the wort in 15 minutes while I boiled 1.5 lbs of raspberry puree. I know everybody says to not boil the puree but I wanted to have a haze to the final product, so I just boiled it for about 3 minutes and dumped it in my carboy as soon as the temperature reached less than 100. I then racked the wort over the puree and aerated. I pitched the yeast at 80 degrees, put in 1.5 tsp of nutrient and placed the blow off hose in the carboy.
My SG was 1.042, so I'm expecting the FG to be about 1.009. I'll check back in 2 weeks after racking over to my 5 gallon secondary carboy.

Nameless IPA

Okay. I started out with 1.25 quarts water to 1 lbs grain ratio. I then sparged with 4 gallons for 35 minutes and decided to bump it up a gallon for about 45 minutes. I sparged the batch by taking my bottling bucket, connecting a tube and running it into a gallon jug with small holes poked in the bottom of it. I boiled the wort for about 80 minutes and added all hop additions according to schedule. I cooled the wort to about 82 degrees, transferred the wort to a 6 gallon better bottle, aerated, gave some yeast nutrients, and pitched the propagated yeast starter I made 3 days ago.
The SG was 1.060 and I expect this yeast to take it very low (like 1.005) and obtain a high gravity of around 7.9 percent to 8.3 percent.
This yeast is able to withstand 25% alcohol by volume, but you have to oxygenate a lot almost every day during the primary, and some nutrients should also be added. I only pitched the yeast about 30 minutes ago and I already have activity in the fermentation vessel

Nameless IPA

I'm trying out a recipe for an IPA after 3 dry months. My Wittwarrior only lasted about 2 weeks as most of the batch was taken to a party. I haven't even had a beer in over a month. Back to the IPA. I'm using 12.5 lbs of American 2-row, .5 10 Crystal, .5 20 Crystal, .5 carapils, 1 oz Chinook, 1 oz Centennial, 2 oz Cascade, 2 oz bitter orange peel.
The Chinooks and Centennial hops are added together at the start of the boil. one ounce of cascades are added with 30 minutes left along with 1 oz of bitter orange peel. Then, .5 oz cascades added at 20 minutes left. Then irish moss at 15 minutes left and finally, at 5 minutes I add the final .5 oz cascades along with 1 oz bitter orange peel.