Scotch Ale in secondary

The Scotch Ale has been transferred to the secondary. It stayed in the primary for almost two weeks, so there will not likely be any further fermentation, but this will allow it to clear as more sediment settles. I plan to bottle in a week or two. I was able to sample some of the beer, and I am very happy with the outcome. As expected, the beer has a strong roasted malt taste, and there is a smoky smell. Even after this beer carbonates in the bottles, it will help if it matures in the basement for a number of weeks. I made this to be consumed as my fall or autumn beer, in addition to the Oktoberfest Lager, which will be ready in September. I will put some away and see how they taste in December. With a projected 8% alcohol content, this beer will be enjoyed carefully one bottle at a time.

Oktoberfest Fermenting!

My first attempt at a lager has started showing active fermentation! The carboy has been sitting at 52-53 degrees, which is right in the middle of the desired range. Last night, approximately 38 hours after the yeast was pitched, foam was seen at the top. This morning, after 48 hours, there are about three bubbles per 30 seconds in the airlock. I now feel better knowing the fermentation is visible. Below is a picture taken last night on a cell phone. You can see a thin foam at the top. Since this is a lager yeast, there will not likely be a heavy foam at the top, or even a blow off, as shown in my last two ales. Ale yeasts are top fermenting, while lagers are bottom fermenting. Thanks to Kati for watching and reporting the status of this beer in Cincinnati!

Oktoberfest Beer Started

I have started my first attempt of a lager. I brewed a Märzen style Oktoberfest on Saturday. The beer was brewed in Cincinnati, since it will need to stay in a fridge until September. In this previous post I talked about the fridge and temperature gauge that will allow me to lager. I was joined by Jordan and Nate for the mashing process. As was the case with the Scotch Ale, I had trouble initially with the lauter tun. The milled grain collected at the bottom of the lauter tun and blocked the manifold. This was corrected by pouring the water and grist back into the mash tun and returned to the lauter tun. The boiling wort had a great copper color and smell. The Hersbrucker hops had a very interesting smell, quite different any hops I have ever used. It was pungent smell, almost like cheese, but it seemed to go well with the sweet smell of the grain.

After the boil I had close to five gallons of wort. I incorrectly assumed that the wort could chill in my fridge and after a couple hours I finally used the wort chiller. I was only able to get the temperature down to 80 degrees, so re-sealed the container and put it back into the fridge. Overnight the beer was down to 65 degrees. I pitched the yeast and placed it back into the fridge. Within 12 hours it was 55 degrees and after 24 hours it was 51 degrees and it should stay at that temperature. After 24 hours there still is no activity. I have read that the lager yeast is slower than ale yeast, so it may take a few days to start. There are a few different ways to pitch yeast for a lager, and I felt this was the best method. I will be more comfortable with my decision when it starts to bubble and show fermentation.

Scotch Ale

Last Wednesday I brewed a Scotch Ale. I was joined by Scott for his first homebrew. I found a simple all-grain recipe. I used the same bucket system that was used for the my first two all-grain batches (ESB, Hefeweizen.) I also used a single temperature infusion with the mash tun. This recipe used 22 lbs. of grains. I was forced to use two mash tuns, and the lauter tun twice. My previous recipes used 12-14 lbs of grain. The higher amount of grain increased the amount of fermentable sugar, and I expect around 8% alcohol. The beer will have a darker color, with a malty and smoky taste. The hop pressence will be low. The fermentation started within 24 hours and it was quite active. I hope to bottle by mid-July, and the beer will potentially be ready by August, but it will better if it sits until September.