Keg Aeration & Hops

What a great combination...air & hops!

I ran into a predicament while transferring kegged beer to another keg. I had empty a 5 gallon corny, and proceeded to siphon the remaining 2 gallons into a 3 gallon corny. After trying many times without success (I think it was because of all the CO2 in solution), I ended up pouring it as gently as possible. That went as well as could be expected, but I'm sure oxygen got mixed in pretty good. Before sealing it shut, ¼ ounce of whole Yakima Golding hops were tossed in. I really like these hops for late additions and dry hopping. After bleeding out the oxygen in the large head space, I cranked it with 30 lbs of pressure.

Six hours later, I brought it to an ensemble rehearsal, and everyone really liked it. It already had a light/young & fresh/green hop aroma and taste. A couple days later, the taste is really remarkable. Much smoother and balanced. It is a wonderful cask conditioned ale.

There is quite a bit of foam coming through the line, and I assume that is because of the CO2 release emitted from the large surface area on the hops. Also, with what oxygen has been introduced (pouring & hops), the feel of carbonation is so much smoother with much finer bubbles. Since it also has lower carbonation it really feels like it has Nitrogen. I think the combination of air and hops put this beer in a much better place. It is sitting at cellar temperature and is becoming a great tasting cask conditioned ale.

What a wonderful surprise. Since this is my first experience keg hopping, and after it has already been carbonated, I look forward to seeing any differences adding them at various times. The beer transfered and keg hopped here was the Round 2: ESB Amber Ale.

Updated 5/9/08 - The foaming in this beer is way over the top, and it wont settle down at all. I'll try taking off all the headspace pressure, to help release the gas, and let it go nearly flat, and then put more CO2 in. The taste has gotten a little harsh. Perhaps as the volume has gone down to about 1 gallon, the hops become overbearing.

Blending & Bottling Old Ales

Nine gallons of two old ales were finally bottled, blended, or transfered to another bulk aging vessel. First of all, I'd like to thank the Eric Gons (a recent visitor) for sharing his experience with a similar undertaking in old ale blending. I decided to follow his example and brewed a fresh batch of old ale (Fresh Old Ale) to blend with a 14 month old stock ale (Ancient Ale) for bottling.

The Ancient Ale by itself is really fascinating. Its like an aged sherry or tawny port wine (without wood character). It has moderate aromatics of sherry, brett and sourness. I don't really call it an old ale anymore, rather it is more appropriately a "stock" ale. It definitly lost all of its "chewy" malt palette and has thinned out and dried up some. It will be quite enjoyable by itself, but is probably better blended with younger beers of varying styles like old ale, browns, porters or even an imperial IPA. The Ancient Ale's qualities will most likely dominate this blended version.

The bottling process was long and drawn out. I think it would be easiest to share the process...

Procedure for bottling 2 Old Ales on March 11th, 2008

a. Prepare bucket, bottles, hoses, priming sugar(s) before starting
b. Pre-carbdrop bottles for unmixed portions
c. Bottle 10 bottles of FRESH
d. Rack 1.75 gal FRESH into 3gal carboy
e. Rack rest into bucket, take FG, then add priming sugar (cover)
f. Bottle 10 bottles of OLD, and take FG sample
g. Rack OLD to fill 3gal carboy (1.25 gal)
h. Rack rest of OLD into bucket
i. Bottle (3.8 gal)
j. Start cleaning EVERYTHING!!!
k. Don't mix up bottles/label them

Most of this batch went into 12 ounce bottles because I'll probably want smaller servings, plus they will make the batch last longer with more bottles reserved for extended cellaring. The blended portion for bottling was at a ratio very close to 2-parts Ancient Ale to 1-part Fresh Old Ale. A portion of each was bottled on its own, so it should be interesting to compare all three beers.

As for the 3 gallon blend for additional bulk aging, the ratio is 58% Fresh Old Ale to 42% Ancient Ale. Only a day later did I notice renewed fermentation by the wild yeast strains. It won't age quite as long, and will be dry hopped and oaked towards the end of this period. It will be bottled straight and blended with a different style of beer (northern brown or robust porter or perhaps an imperial IPA).

So far it has been a very rewarding experience, and I'm excited to see how all of these old ales mature and compare. I will be writing about the results in a future post. At this point in time, I just want to say that aging beer this way takes it to a whole new and much higher level in overall quality. It just doesn't taste anything like home brew anymore...more comparable to a fine wine or barrel aged craft beer. I highly recommend extended aging (with or without wild yeasts & lactic bacteria) and blending beer for those who like these styles, and those who have a good deal of patience!

Tips for Better Infusion Mashing

To follow up on a post about 3 methods of "doughing-in," I'd like to share some useful tips for better infusion mashing. It is important to pay careful attention to this stage in the process. Especially, keeping the grains "in-suspension" allows converted sugars to dissolve more completely in the surrounding water. Recording Ph and conversion readings regularly will take the mystery away and put you in the driver's seat when mashing. Below is a procedural list of tips based on a process I use that works.

1. For dough-in/mash-in use Method #3: Grains over Water
2. Keep mashtun and grains at room temp before mashing (or other known temp)
3. Use an accurate thermometer (scientific)
4. Pour in strike water 6+°F above the strike temp (or more)
5. Allow water's temp to fall to the exact strike temp
6. Pour in grains steadily & evenly while stirring gently
7. Avoid stirring the mash in a way that forces grains under a false bottom
8. Attach a length of string to the end of the thermometer
9. Cover mashtun with thermometer inside and string under the lid
10. Check the temp after 5 minutes
11. If it is too hot, stir the grains by folding over
12. Close the lid with thermometer and check in another few minutes
13. One more light folding stir should get it perfect
14. Use a "slicing" technique to loosen mash every 15-20 minutes
15. Stir by slicing evenly and swiftly
16. Take a small sample every time it's sliced and cover immediately
17. Cool sample, and analyze Ph and conversion
18. When conversion is complete proceed with varlauf & sparge
19. Add mashout infusion water if batch sparging
20. Add sufficiently heated (170+) water if fly sparging

Other Tips

1. Increase the qt/lb ratio as the gravity goes up (I prefer thinner mashes if possible)
2. Know your water's hardness & chemical make-up
3. Check and record mash Ph for every beer (this info comes in hand over time)
4. Get to know your mash Ph at different colors (similar until very dark)
5. Condition strike water as necessary (Calcium, acid blend, etc...)
6. Condition mash-out and sparge water if preferred
7. Batch sparge for most brews usually lower in original gravity
8. Fly sparging may be easier with larger batches or higher gravities
9. Use reliable brewing software or equations for all infusions (vol & temp)
10. Make sure the grains don't compress, stir it into suspension
11. Avoid letting out heat while stirring, replace lid quickly

I feel like things are missing,
so more may be added later.

Doughing-In with Infusion Mashing

Doughing-in/mash-in refers to the mixing of pre-measured crushed grains and heated water in order to sustain a constant mash temperature for a period of time. There are many variables to consider while doughing-in (grain weight, grain temp, mashtun temp, water volume, water temp). I'd like to take this time (brewing downtime) to write about how to reduce the number of unknown variables leading to a desired initial mash temperature in an unheated mashtun.

It seems as though many home brewers, new to all-grain brewing, go through as many as 3 methods before settling on the one that works best. I've gone through this trial period, and I think it exists because of what has been published and suggested on forums.

#1. Water over Grain: Pouring the grist into the mashtun, then pouring hot strike water over it. This method involves unnecessary variables (mashtun temp & ambiguous water temp). Following it will only result in inconsistency with every batch.

#2. Pre-Heated Mashtun: Initially, preheating the mashtun sounds like a good idea because it is an attempt to take away the question of mashtun temperature. I think it only adds more confusion. How hot are you getting the mashtun? Is it getting to the same temp every time? Plus, there is an additional volume of water to preheat. Ultimately there is still ambiguity in what the strike water temp should be.

#3. Grain over Water: Pour over-heated strike water into the mashtun, stir until strike temperature is achieved, then stir in grains steadily and evenly. This method excludes mashtun temp and water temp variables, and the only minor variable is the grain temperature. As long as you know the room temperature in your home, the grain will be very close to that.

"Grain over Water" takes all the guesswork out of planning and the brewday. I have used it with pinpoint accuracy, but will come out a little high on occasion. If the mash temperature settles too high it can easily be stirred and cooled. It's never fallen short.

Finding a good equation or infusion mashing software is important. Note that Tastybrew and Promash do not take into account mashtun temperature, so "Grain over Water" is the appropriate method when utilizing these applications.

It would be interesting to find out how many other methods brewer's have used. I would also like to know if this is helpful to you. If you have any questions, please ask.

Check out the following post about...
Tips for Better Infusion Mashing