Fellow INGO Homebrewers!

[JoshuaW]

What do you have going right now? What is on deck? I am trying to decide between a Saison recipe that I recently came up with but havent had a chance to make, or a nut brown ale. The nut brown is a proven recipe, but the Saison has me kind of excited, so it is a tough decision. Other than that, here is what I have on hand:

Oktoberfest Ale (extended primary)
Simple Cider (primary)
Toffee Cider (secondary)

Honey Ale (kegged, about finished)
Simple Cider (kegged, about finished)
Lemonade/Vodka (kegged)
Chocolate stout (bottled, not that great)

Nut Brown Ale (on deck, all ingredients on hand)
New Saison (most of the grain on hand, need to pick up yeast)

 

[IndyGunworks]

Not quite brew time for me yet. I keg it all and really only drink off the keezor in the summer.

 

[hooky]

I'm hoping to get the brewery fired up in April. I'd hoped to have had it going already, but it just hasn't happened yet.

10 Gallon batch of pale with 1056
10 Gallons of IPA pitched on that 1056 yeast cake
5 Gallons each of Double IPA and Barleywine on the split cake.
During the IPA brewday, I'll do a 5 gallon batch of Saison with 3711
After Dad harvests wheat, I'll do a Belgian Wit with some of the raw stuff and a Hefe too.

That'll last the rest of the year until I start lagers in the winter. I haven't brewed since before we moved in 2010.

I've got some recipes in BeerSmith format I'd be happy to share if anyone is interested.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

After seeing what you guys have in the works, I'm not sure what I do would even qualify as brewing. I'm still getting the kits from GF.

I just bottled a batch of dry stout lastnight. This will be my first attempt at a stout. I have brewed a couple different IPA's, a Wit and a batch of cider over the last couple years.

 

[JoshuaW]

I'm hoping to get the brewery fired up in April. I'd hoped to have had it going already, but it just hasn't happened yet.

10 Gallon batch of pale with 1056
10 Gallons of IPA pitched on that 1056 yeast cake
5 Gallons each of Double IPA and Barleywine on the split cake.
During the IPA brewday, I'll do a 5 gallon batch of Saison with 3711
After Dad harvests wheat, I'll do a Belgian Wit with some of the raw stuff and a Hefe too.

That'll last the rest of the year until I start lagers in the winter. I haven't brewed since before we moved in 2010.

I've got some recipes in BeerSmith format I'd be happy to share if anyone is interested.

What hops are you using in your Saison? I am planning on using an ounce and a half of Citra, but I havent fully committed to them yet.

After seeing what you guys have in the works, I'm not sure what I do would even qualify as brewing. I'm still getting the kits from GF.

I just bottled a batch of dry stout lastnight. This will be my first attempt at a stout. I have brewed a couple different IPA's, a Wit and a batch of cider over the last couple years.

Brewing is brewing! If you want, I can post my Honey Ale recipe. It is a partial mash (I do have an all grain version as well) and is insanely simple, but also one of my favorites. It is relatively light, but still has quite a bit of flavor coming through.

 

[hooky]

Nothing wrong with kits. Nearly everyone starts there. My first kit was an oatmeal stout that Anita made up. It was awesome and got me started.

The ammo analogy would be:

Buy good beer at the store = Pay full price at Gander for ammo
Brew your own with a kit = Buy from an online source and realize how much better pricing is on their ammo
Brew your own all grain = Discovering that you load whatever you want, just the way you like for a fraction of what you used to pay for store bought ammo

 

[hooky]

What hops are you using in your Saison? I am planning on using an ounce and a half of Citra, but I havent fully committed to them yet.

I've got some Haller and Tet that I need to use. I may go that route instead of something more traditional. I did a killer saison with amarillo and simcoe a few years back. The yeast was one of the wyeast saison special releases. I can't remember the number off the top of my head though.

 

[JoshuaW]

I've got some Haller and Tet that I need to use. I may go that route instead of something more traditional. I did a killer saison with amarillo and simcoe a few years back. The yeast was one of the wyeast saison special releases. I can't remember the number off the top of my head though.

The homebrew store in Elkhart is sold out of amarillo, as that was one of my first choices. I was contemplating using some simcoe, so I might still go that route. I have heard some great things about the wyeast saison yeast. I'm planning on using the White Labs saison strain. I haven't decided on fermentation temperature. I am tempted to go traditional and just throw it in the garage and let it get nice and warm.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Brewing is brewing! If you want, I can post my Honey Ale recipe. It is a partial mash (I do have an all grain version as well) and is insanely simple, but also one of my favorites. It is relatively light, but still has quite a bit of flavor coming through.

That would be great if you could post it or PM me with the recipe. I've been kicking around the idea of kegging. If your Honey Ale is as simple as you say, then this could be one I brew regularly and keep on tap.

 

[hooky]

The homebrew store in Elkhart is sold out of amarillo, as that was one of my first choices. I was contemplating using some simcoe, so I might still go that route. I have heard some great things about the wyeast saison yeast. I'm planning on using the White Labs saison strain. I haven't decided on fermentation temperature. I am tempted to go traditional and just throw it in the garage and let it get nice and warm.

I've always used wyeast for the simplicity. I did exactly what you said; threw it in the garage and it went up to 97 degrees. It was a funky, hoppy mess and one of my best brews.

 

[JoshuaW]

That would be great if you could post it or PM me with the recipe. I've been kicking around the idea of kegging. If your Honey Ale is as simple as you say, then this could be one I brew regularly and keep on tap.

If you decide to keg, send me a PM. I have a tower and faucet that could use a new home, and I am pretty sure I could be easily swayed to sell or trade for cheap.

I will post the recipe for the partial mash version and some tips/procedures at the end of this post for the Honey Ale. If you (or anyone else) has Beersmith and would like the recipe file, I can send it via PM. Same goes with the all grain version.

I've always used wyeast for the simplicity. I did exactly what you said; threw it in the garage and it went up to 97 degrees. It was a funky, hoppy mess and one of my best brews.

The South Bend area has one homebrew store (in Elkhart), and they dont stock Wyeast! They have an extensive selection of White Labs though. Im not going to lie, I use Nottingham for just about everything though. It is cheap, and unless I need the yeast to add character, it works for just about everything. I started farming it out a few weeks ago too, so now it is free! Of course I am farming my yeast so I can actually use some different strains without driving to Elkhart or ordering it. If I do the saison, I am definitely just going to throw it in the garage and let it do its thing. If it turns out to funky, I still have the Nut Brown to fall back on and keep the keg full, so no time like the present!


Now the Honey Ale:

2lbs Honey Malt
1lbs Pale Malt (2 Row)
3lbs light dry extract
.5oz East Kent Goldings (60min) (whole leaf)
.25oz East Kent Goldings (15min) (whole leaf)
.25tsp Irish Moss (10min)
2lbs Honey (10min)


If you already have an established mashing procedure, go with that. If you want to do it all nice and proper, go with that. Personally, this is the only partial mash recipe I ever did, and after two times I just converted it to all grain, so I the procedure I am posting might be a little non-standard, but I can confirm it works. If you go through the trouble and calculate efficiency, I was getting about 63-65% (which is pretty low). If you are okay with all of that, proceed.

Mash at 160* in 1.5 gallons of water for 60 minutes. I use a grain bag for simplicity (aka, a paint strainer bag). While this is going, get the remaining 3.5 gallons of water ready in your boil kettle. Bring the 3.5 gallons to 170*. At 60 minutes, pull the grain and let it drip. When most of the water has dripped off, move it over to your boil kettle. Let it steep for 10 minutes, then pull the grain and let it drip. Discard. (makes good compost!) This essentially works as your sparge and will help get some of the extra sugar off of the grain. At this point combine all of your wort into one pot and top up slightly to account for boil off. Bring to boil. Add your extract like you would normally. Add the hops and honey according to the schedule. Chill to 75* and transfer to fermenter, dump a pack of Nottingham (or other favorite ale yeast) on the top of the wort, and let it do its thing.

Your OG should be in the 1.047 range. It might be higher or lower, depending on how effective the mash went and how thick the honey was. It really is fine wherever, the taste doesnt vary much, I have had it as low as 1.037 and still taste fine. If it is on the low side it might seem kind of watery, but still very good and you can just drink more to compensate for the lower alcohol!

I have added the remaining .25oz of the hops to the keg, which turns out great. You could just as easily dry hop it near the end of fermentation, use them near the end of the boil, or simply not use them at all. It isnt that much, but it is a pleasant surprise in the keg.

 

[TheWabbit]

I have Mead (honeywine) going in the basement now. It will be ready for T-Day, Xmas and New Years. I'm going to experiment with a cherry cider next when my shipment from Midwest Supplies arrives.

 

[Naptown]

keggerator: Brewer's best APA extract
Keggerator: GF Wild Child Mild Brown extract

Primary: GF Hearts Squared all grain

Kegged: Scott's Pale (sierra nevada clone) all grain
Kegged: GF Wild child Mild extract

Gonna do a 3Floyds Gumballhead clone for a neighbor here soon. I also want to find a recipe for a grapefruit IPA.

 

[JoshuaW]

I have Mead (honeywine) going in the basement now. It will be ready for T-Day, Xmas and New Years. I'm going to experiment with a cherry cider next when my shipment from Midwest Supplies arrives.

I have never done mead, but have always wanted to try it. Does it really take that long to age out? I do some wine, but aging is part of the reason I dont do much. Even bulk aging something for three months is hard, because I only have a few fermentation vessels.

Oh, and my saison has been revised. They were out of the saison yeast, but they had some White Labs 023, which is supposed to produce some apple-like esters. I have had this idea ever since to blend cider with a light ale, so I am going to give this a try. I really have a thing for Dogfish Head's Noble Rot, so I am hoping for a similar concept. Hopefully it will turn out.

 

[hooky]

Saison season is July and August for me. Let the ferm temps creep up around 90 and enjoy the funk.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

In general, how much attention to you give to OG & FG?

 

[Pete]

I have brewed in the past with less than stellar results. Anybody out there willing to help a wannabee brewer?

 

[hooky]

In general, how much attention to you give to OG & FG?

When I was bottling, it was much more important to me. I saw the aftermath of a bottle bomb. I'd have hated to have been holding the bottle when it went boom.

I have brewed in the past with less than stellar results. Anybody out there willing to help a wannabee brewer?

Where are you located? I might be able to help you out.

 

[Naptown]

I'd have hated to have been holding the bottle when it went [strike]boom[/strike] Glock.

FIFY

 

[JoshuaW]

In general, how much attention to you give to OG & FG?

I take a reading after transferring to primary, put it in my notes in Beersmith, then I take a FG when I go to keg or bottle, log it in my notes. I try to keep good notes, but I don't like reviewing them because I'm not terribly consistent and it bugs the crap out of me. I kind of fly by the seat of my pants and see what can happens. On my regular recipes I have some crazy OG variations. I finally have a decent process, so now I am working to smooth things out and be more consistent.

Pete, if you are in this part of the state, I would be more than happy to brew with you a few times.