Well, it’s clear now that CDA1 had a catastrophic failure in the mash. I had some good postmortem discussions with Zach W. and Angry Dave. These are the points and adjustments to be made:
CDA1
1st batch I missed the gravity…ended up with 1.036 OG. We think the mash was an abject failure for the base malt. Maybe too hot for too long. Maybe the boil scorched the specialty malt sugars. In any event, this beer came out undrinkable.
CDA2
Adjust brewery efficiency down to 65% in Beersmith recipe.
2nd batch will use filtered water to a 10 gal cooler (from Home Depot) to hold the bag. Also adding thermometer (from Williams Brewing) to the tun to make sure mash temp stays where it needs to be. Will test mash water pH and amend with 52 pH Stabilizer if needed.
Need to improve my mash technique:
Bag, then water, then grain. Add grain slower and stir/mix thrououghly when adding.
At end of projected mash time, perform iodine test and lengthen mash time if necessary.
Keep extra sparge water at proper temperature in boil kettle.
Batch sparge and transfer to secondary vessel.
At end of sparge, transfer to boil kettle.
Will also tweak end of boil:
After boil is cooled, drain through strainer into primary fermenter. I’m hoping to keep more trub out of the fermenters.
I believe the best way to find out for sure what went so terribly wrong with CDA1 is to “get back on the horse that threw me” and brew this again. This will then allow me to apply the changes to my procedures for future beer.
Recipe Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 gal | 60 min | 77.3 IBUs | 26.1 SRM | 1.055 | 1.013 | 5.5 % |
| Actuals | 1.061 | 1.013 | 6.3 % | |||
Style Details
| Name | Cat. | OG Range | FG Range | IBU | SRM | Carb | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American IPA | 14 B | 1.056 - 1.075 | 1.01 - 1.018 | 40 - 70 | 6 - 15 | 2.2 - 2.7 | 5.5 - 7.5 % |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pale Malt (2 Row) US | 11.754 lbs | 83.64 |
| Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L | 1.107 lbs | 7.88 |
| Carafa Special II (Weyermann) | 13.36 oz | 5.94 |
| Special Roast | 5.73 oz | 2.55 |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galena | 1.22 oz | 60 min | Boil | Pellet | 12.5 |
| Cascade | 1.22 oz | 45 min | Boil | Pellet | 5.5 |
| Willamette | 1.22 oz | 15 min | Boil | Pellet | 5.5 |
| Cascade | 1.2 oz | 0 min | Boil | Pellet | 5.5 |
| Cascade | 1.2 oz | 7 days | Dry Hop | Pellet | 5.5 |
Miscs
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whirlfloc Tablet | 1.20 Items | 5 min | Boil | Fining |
| Polyclar | 0.30 oz | 1 day | Secondary | Fining |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Ale II (1272) | Wyeast Labs | 74% | 60°F - 72°F |
Mash
| Step | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saccharification | 152°F | 75 min |
| Mash Out | 168°F | 10 min |
Notes
| CDA1 1st batch I missed the gravity...ended up with 1.036 OG. We think the mash was an abject failure for the base malt. Maybe too hot for too long. Maybe the boil scorched the specialty malt sugars. In any event, this beer came out undrinkable. CDA2 2nd batch will use a 10 gal cooler to hold the bag. Also adding thermometer to the tun to make sure mash temp stays where it needs to be. Will test mash water pH and amend with 52 pH Stabilizer. Need to improve my mash technique: Bag, then water, then grain. Add grain slower and stir/mix thrououghly when adding. At end of projected mash time, perform iodine test and lengthen mash time if necessary. Keep extra sparge water at proper temperature in boil kettle. Sparge and transfer to secondary vessel. At end of sparge, transfer to boil kettle. After boil is cooled, drain through strainer into primary fermenter. Subbed Galena for Centennial (out of stock) |
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