This is the biggest beer we’ve ever made. Nearly 50 pounds of grain, just over half a pound of potent hops, and a 14 hour brew day. We started at 10 AM and didn’t finish until just past midnight.
Our mash tun was too small to fit all of the grain and water at once, so we had to split the mash into two separate batches. Once the first batch was done, we drained it off, started the boil, and then started all over again with the second mash. We collected about 23 gallons of wort in total, and it took 8 hours to boil that down to the 10 gallons we needed.
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Batch Volume (Gallons): 10
Boil Time: 8 hours
Yeast Starter: Yes
Target Gravity: 1.134 original
1.020 final
Actual Gravity: 1.134 original
1.022 final
Attenuation: 65%
ABV: 15.1
Estimated IBU: 150
Fermentables:
40 lbs. 2 Row (Maris Otter)
2.5 lbs Rye Malt
2 lbs. Crystal 150 L
2 lbs Belgian Chocolate Malt
1.5 lbs Special B
4 oz Black Patent
4 oz. Roasted Barley
Hops:
90 min. 6 oz Nugget 13% AA
90 min. 3 oz Pacific Gem 16.3% AA
10 min. 1 oz Pacific Gem 16.3% AA
Adjuncts:
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Yeast:
4 L starters, 2 vials of yeast per, decanted
California
California V
Brewing Notes:
Mashed at 146F for one hour, ~24 lbs of grain at a time.
Wort has the consistency of maple syrup!
Pacific Gem blackberry and wood notes really come through, I hope some of that stays through the aging process.
Fermentation Notes:
We split the beer into four 6.5 gallon carboys, for fear of explosive yeast activity. Each carboy got a vigorous shake to boost oxygen levels needed for healthy yeast growth. Still using ambient room temps unfortunately, 68 to 72 F. Still considering adding fruit or oak to half of the batch…
This post created by Matt S. on 2011/07/10
Well, there it is. A pile of junk. (more...)
Published on 2012/05/01 19:58.
Filed under: Stuff in general
Yet another Yosemite trip. We had lots of fun this time. We managed to get somewhat lost on a walk-off and stuck between a cliff and a rattlesnake. We made it out. Here are the photos.
Published on 2012/04/25 10:20.
Filed under: Stuff in general
And the annual Joshua Tree trip went off without a hitch!
Published on 2012/04/15 19:23.
Filed under: Adventures, Climbing
Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.
-- Carl Sagan
A life insurance policy: really just betting that someone is about to die.
Recently I had need to extract my password hash for use on other computers. I spent some time poking around to see if there was something that already existed, I didn't immediately find anything to use, and I thought this would be a fun challenge, so I put this together. It did the trick and I'm back in business. (more...)
Published on 2012/03/26 11:39.
Filed under: Dorking
You can make yourself feel guilty about anything if you put your mind to it.
Just a few quick photos from my most recent yosemite adventure... We lucked out and the weather was Perfect, even though there was snow on the north facing climbs. It was even really dry on the north side of the valley. On this trip I led a couple of 5.8 routes, and took my first ever lead fall. Most importantly, my gear held!
Published on 2012/03/12 19:42.
Filed under: Adventures, Climbing
Went out to Yosemite for my first time for my birthday this year. It was very convenient as I went as part of a company retreat. The company hosting the retreat was not my own, and I was therefore free to do fun things, like go climbing. And so climbing happened.
Published on 2011/10/24 10:29.
Filed under: Climbing
Last weekend Lachlan and I took off for Lover's Leap. It's up in Strawberry, CA, near South Lake Tahoe. We did four trad climbs, and a little bouldering. We climbed from dawn until dusk. Other than that there was a bottle of bourbon, a camp fire, and macaroni and cheese. A wonderful weekend. Hopefully next time we'll get to climb Bear's Reach.
Published on 2011/10/04 17:36.
Filed under: Adventures, Climbing
Here are even more photos from our Maui trip. Laura made it out for the second week, and the fun rolled on. Much more beaching, snorkeling, and adventuring. Most of the pictures are from two adventures: Road to Hana, and Haleakala for sunrise.
Published on 2011/08/26 13:06.
Filed under: Adventures
Matt, Chelsea, and I took off for Hawaii on the 10th of August. I managed to find a place to nap on the plane, far away from the crying baby. Matt and Chelsea were not so lucky. The baby was positioned directly behind them. After that, we promptly went to the grocery store and got all set up for a long bout of relaxation. We've been in the ocean every day thus far. Here are some photos of our trip.
Published on 2011/08/17 11:41.
Filed under: Stuff in general
Why don't people touch one another more?
The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it
But the way those atoms are put together
-- Carl Sagan
I've been wanting to start a yeast library for some time now. At first there were grand visions of dozens of different yeast strains, all available in the freezer at a moment's notice. After spending a couple of weeks researching propagation and quality control techniques, I think I scared myself out of it. A few months passed, and I finally picked up where I left off. I realized I could step into this slowly, just like I did with homebrewing. I don't need a 400x oil immersion lens, a hemocytometer, or a -80˚C lab grade freezer yet-- just some vials, a pressure cooker, and fresh yeast (OK, and a few other things). (more...)
Published on 2011/06/18 00:23.
Filed under: Brewing, Dorking
What if people just gave things to one another because they could. What if one day you were walking down the sidewalk, and a person approached you, just to hand you a flower. How about a person standing on the sidewalk playing a 12 string touch guitar, just giving their music to the world around them, with no expectation of receiving anything in return. It happens, and it's truly beautiful when it does. These are the events where a real connection happens. Sure it's nice to meet people working at your favorite music store, or pizza place, but it's an entirely different interaction.
(more...)Published on 2011/06/16 17:14.
Filed under: Dorking, Stuff in general
Every day I wake up determined to both change the world and have a good time. Sometimes that makes planning the day a bit difficult
-- E.B. White
Matt is preparing a sushi feast today, and as such, we went shopping. These are some of the that I found on our morning expedition just blocks from our house.
Published on 2011/06/05 14:15.
Filed under: Eats
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