Pilothouse Pilsner

Yesterday I brewed a batch of the Pilothouse Pilsner from Mr. Beer. Like the Witty Monk and American Devil IPA, I added one pound of dry malt extract (DME) (Pilsen DME for this recipe). The original gravity came in at 1.058, which is a little lower than what I was anticipating (also just like the Witty Monk). The Pilothouse Pilsner was the last of the Mr. Beer ingredients that I have, but I will definitely be buying more in the future considering how well the American Devil IPA turned out.

Taste Test

The American Devil IPA turned out fantastic! As you can see, my fiance Devin thinks so as well! The beer was very hoppy and I think the taste is extremely similar to Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. This beer is also sporting a 6.7% ABV, and is definitely something I will brew again. Since the beer has only been in the fridge for 5 days, I am looking forward to seeing if the taste gets even better after a full 14 days of conditioning.

Witty Ging

Last night I brewed a witbier that was my first non Mr. Beer recipe. I picked up the ingredients from Corrado's Home Beer Center and everything cost about $20. The good news is that I have some coriander and orange peel leftover for another batch since the recipe only called for half an ounce. I crushed the coriander using a rolling pin and plastic ziplock bag. I am calling this beer a Witty Ging:

3 pounds Wheat Dry Malt Extract (DME)
.75 oz. Hersbrucker (50 minutes)
.5 oz. Coriander (15 minutes)
.5 oz. Bitter Orange Peel (5 minutes)
Safbrew T-58 Yeast

As you can see in this picture, I clearly need a bigger brewing pot. I have only used 1 pound of DME before this recipe, and the amount of volume that 3 pounds took up was a little surprising. This was also the first time I used a hops bag for the boil. It was a little surprising how buoyant it was even after it was completely saturated (If you are using a hops bag, remember to sanitize the bag before you put the hops in it). The volume eventually decreased as water evaporated, but there were a few close calls with boil overs (luckily the stove top escaped unscathed).

The beer turned out a LOT darker than I was expecting. My hydrometer reading came in at 1.061, which is a lot higher than my expected 1.050 that QBrew estimated. This just means that the Witty Ging will be a higher ABV than I thought!

Witty Monk Bottling

I bottled the Witty Monk after three consecutive days of a steady final gravity (FG). Although the FG was higher than I was hoping for (1.016), the ABV will be around 4.9%. The FG was actually right in line with what QBrew estimated, the original gravity was what came in very low (1.053 instead of 1.065). The beer seemed a little light and "watery" at this point, but that can all change after it carbonates and conditions the rest of the way.

I got 16 - 12 oz. bottles and 3 - 32 oz. bottles. I bought a lot of different color caps last week so it will be easier to differentiate between beers. I used a gold cap on the last bottle because some trub found its way in. It will be my firs test bottle after the carbonating is done.

Fallen Friar Follow-up

Great success! I fermented this beer for 21 days and bottled when the final gravity reached 1.010. I let the beer carbonate in the bottles for 14 days before I threw a test bottle into the fridge. I condition the bottle for two more days and it was delicious! I was surprised that these bottles only needed 14 days to carbonate. This was my third brew, and it is definitely something I would purchase if it was sold in stores (unlike my first bud light imitation!). It was also promising to produce such a good beer with only using Mr. Beer
ingredients. I also added a bag of booster to this recipe. Since my estimated OG for the Witty Monk I just brewed was too high, I didn't want to use the estimated OG for the Fallen Friar from QBrew. The original Fallen Friar recipe has an ABV of 4.5%, and since booster adds 1.3% ABV, I can safely assume that this beer is a solid 5.8% ABV.

Corrado's Home Beer Center

Today I took a trip to the other Local Home Brew Store (LHBS) in my area. Corrado's is a well known food market, but I never heard of it having a beer and wine center. Unlike The Brewer's Apprentice, Corrado's does not have an online store where you can shop around and see their inventory. I have to say, I was completely blown away by Corrado's and it was a little overwhelming at first. The store is much bigger than The Brewer's Apprentice, and they have numerous aisles where you can just browse around for what you want. The Brewer's Apprentice was smaller and I needed to ask for most things that were stored in the back. I walked around and picked out every ingredient I need for my next recipe (which is going to be a witbier).

Sticky Wicket

I wanted to try a regular Mr. Beer Premium Refill without adding anything to it. Most people suggest trying the recipe the way it is intended, and make changes based on the outcome and what you want to improve. I started adding to recipes and making changes starting with my second brew. Unfortunately, I paid for my over eagerness in a few instances (Whispering Wheat mishap) over the past few months. Therefore I brewed the Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout 100% in line with the recipe and directions (well about 99% actually). I wasn't worried about making a mistake; I am just a huge fan of Oatmeal Stouts. I wanted to see how the Mr. Beer recipe turned out and gradually make improvements with future batches. I pitched three Mr. Beer yeasts instead of just the two that came with the cans of Hopped Malt Extract (HME). I had some extra Mr. Beer yeast lying around and it won't have that much of affect on the outcome, if any at all.

Witty Monk

I brewed a slightly suped up batch of Witty Monk today. The only changes were the addition of 1# of Wheat Dry Malt Extract (DME) and Safbrew T-58 yeast instead of the two Mr. Beer yeasts that came with the cans of Hopped Malt Extract (HME). I tried re-hydrating the yeast for the first time. I didn't "proof" the yeast or anything; I just let it sit in the warm water for about 20 minutes before pitching. My original gravity (OG) reading was 1.053, which was a lot lower than what QBrew estimated (1.065). I double checked everything in QBrew and it looked correct. I'll just have to hope for the best and see where the final gravity lands. My best guess is that the Witty Monk HME can's are no properly designated in the database, but who knows.

The Witty Monk had an amazing orange-y smell. There were also little pellets in the HME cans. At first I thought it was something bad, and thought the cans might have been expired or worse (infected). I did some research and they were probably just a few coriander seeds! Coriander is a popular ingredient in wheat beers. In fact, coriander is nothing more than a dried cilantro seed. Who knew!?