Homebrew Hack : Monitoring Your Fermentation Gravity

At the last Square Kegs meeting, I was talking to some of the other club members about the hack we use to monitor fermentation progress without constantly pulling gravity samples out (or off of) our fermentors. Since it didn't seem like the majority of the club did this or had heard of it, it seems post-worthy.

I can take no credit for this idea. For the sake of argument, I'll just assume that Jeremy stumbled upon this on his own. (I'm sure that someone else out there did this first, but I like giving him the credit.)

Typically I'll take gravity readings throughout our brew day in order to make sure we're on target for our numbers and to determine if we need to adjust up or down towards the end of the boil. Typically I'll pull an O.G. (original gravity) reading during cooling. Then, once fermentation visibly starts, I'll use a wine thief to fill a sanitized sample jar and drop a hydrometer in it. We'll then leave the sample jar full of fermenting wort in our fermentation freezer and use it for gravity readings. Depending on the beer, it can be a little tough to read the hydrometer through the yeast and other trub that accumulates in the sample jar, but it's easy enough to get an approximate reading.

I also realize that technically the volume of wort in a fermentor is going to be a couple of degrees warmer in the middle of the fermentor and that there will be a difference in pressure between the two. However, I think that the reduced risk of infection and the ability to adjust fermentation temperature or dry hop at the appropriate time totally outweighs whatever differences those factors introduce.

A Tale of Two Pales

These are actually the same beer. Same malt bill, same process other than a slightly longer mash on the darker one, different hops in the same quantity, and different carbonation levels. The left beer was hopped with Pacific Gem (13.2% alpha) and Australian Galaxy (13%) and the right was Columbus (13.9%) and Simcoe (13%). Never mind the shitty picture quality - you can still get the point.)

They're all small differences, but this is one of those one of those experiences that continues to blow my mind and preconceived notions about what matters in brewing.

I'm not sure where the dramatic difference stems from, but here are a few possibilities:

• There are a few episodes of Can You Brew It where Jamil talks about how particulate still in solution in the beer can actually make it appear lighter. 
• The actual oil levels in the hop combinations were different. I know that hops and yeast tend to do a little chemical dance at different points of fermentation, so it's possible that the beer on the right flocculated out better because of this.
• The dissolved volumes of CO2 were different (I carbonated the left and Jeremy did the right), which again could affect color
• One of the two beers (I didn't take great notes on the order we brewed them in) was mashed about 15 minutes longer than the other. I don't think that would have a significant impact, but in this case I can't rule it out.

So ultimately I don't really know how two beers with the same malt bill ended up looking so different, but it was an eye opening experience. 

Equipment Notes : Fermentation Heater / Brew Belt

Chicago winters are cold. This one hasn't been as bad as they usually are, but it's still cold. And since I chose to live in an old two flat built in the 1920's (before the advent of modern insulation) that means my basement is cold. I keep the thermostat down there set to 65, but based on the little temperature recording thermometer I keep with the "cellar" beer, the air temp at ground level can get as low as 45F.

So all of this produces great conditions for making lagers (duly noted for next year's brew calendar), but Jeremy and I decided to brew a saison so it'd be ready right as the first signs of spring are appearing. And saison yeast likes it hot. I'd initially thought fermenting at 67 - 68 for the first 48 hours and then turning the fridge controller all the way up to 80 would result in a decent free rise and get the 80-85% attenuation appropriate for a saison.

OG: 1.072
Target FG: 1.010
Original Volume: 5.5 US Gallons

Reality: at 72 hours from pitching, the beer was around 1.036 and 61 degrees F. Damn lazy yeast!

Since brew belts are only about $20 from Brew Camp (my awesome local homebrew store), it seemed like a reasonable piece of equipment to experiment with. Particularly since Saison yeast are tolerant of high fermentation temperatures and I only have a controller suitable for cooling which means the brew belt is just going to be on without a controller.

So this past Wednesday night I bought one and wrapped it around my better bottle per the instructions.

In about twelve hours, it raised the temperature up to 70F and by this morning (36 hours later) it was up to 81F. These bad boys actually work really well. If I were to use it on anything besides a Belgain yeast strain that can handle the heat, it'd be necessary to get a digital controller to prevent it from overheating the beer.

I'll post some stats on the finish beer as well as some tasting notes when it's ready.

Back to the Basics : The Extract Experiments (pt 1.)

So, after a summer of intense brewing I'm going to test a hypothesis this winter. Since I'm in Chicago and it gets way too damn cold and snowy to brew outside, I'm going back to extract with steeped grains. This might seem a bit odd, even given the environmental constraints of the midwest, but there's a purpose. Jamil often talks on The Brewing Network about how important good fermentation is to the end result of a beer. I want to put this to the test and see if we can brew some amazing extract beers this winter using a stovetop, a ten gallon megapot, a wort chiller (which I need to add a garden hose fitting somewhere indoors for), and proper fermentation technique.

The hot side process will be dramatically less complex than what we've been doing all summer, but the fermentation side will stay exactly where it's at now. (Yeast starters with proper pitching rates, oxygenation, temperature control, finished up with cold-crashing and 1-2 weeks of lagering depending on the beer.)

We're starting off with an Imperial IPA and a Mexican Hot-Chocolate infused stout. (Foreign Extra.) Results on these beers and a few more will follow soon...

Citra IPA (Zombie Dust Inspired) Wrap Up and Tasting Notes

This beer was in the fermentor for twelve days (five or six very visibly active days, after which I raised the temp on my controller by four degrees to help the yeast do their cleanup work), cold crashed and on the yeast for another week, and then transferred to a keg and lagered for another week.

After a lot of reading this summer and fall (particularly Jamil Zainisheff and Chris White's Yeast book), I've switched to a process that relies more on temperature than on racking to achieve clarity in my beers. It seems to be working pretty well...

So on to the fun part - drinking the beer! 

Appearance: Straw colored, leaning ever so slightly towards copperish. (Thank you melanoidin malt.) Bright white head which sticks around and leaves a defined lacing down the side of the glass.

Aroma: I love Citra. Seriously. The nose on this one is resiny, overlaid with the tropical fruit you pretty much only get from Citra. Negligible malt on the nose.

Taste: Starts out with the same pine and resin and note you get on the nose, after which you move to the residual malt sweetness and some slight bread / toast notes and then finishes out with that tropical fruit funky bitterness. The first couple pours had some distinct sulfury yeast flavor from the Wyeast 1056 which I've picked up on other batches, but that's disappeared either on account of cold and time or just being pulled out in the early pours.

Mouthfeel: Light body and lively carbonation. 

Drinkability: Win. For a beer that came in at 7.5%, there is almost no aggressive alcohol character or other hints that it's a big beer. The low finishing gravity and the dry finish make this a dangerously session-able beer.

I'll post pictures shortly and do a side by side of the Wyeast and White Labs batches soon!