The second beer I ever made was my first time going all grain. This recipe (here) was a Stone & Wood clone, designed to loosely resemble the beer. While this was one of the most successful beers I’ve made, I decided to re-do it, this time with a much better, fine-tuned setup. The aim of this is to get an understanding on the impact of changing certain aspects to a brew and how they affect the end result. The grain bill is remaining mostly the same, with slightly more Wheat malt and Carapils. I’ve also increased the hop additions, adding slightly more bitterness and hopstand additions. Furthermore, I’ve tweaked the water chemistry in order to favour a light, hoppy ale, while removing chloramine with campden tablets. The beer will be kegged, whereas previously it was bottled, presenting more chance for oxidation.
The updated recipe can be found here:
Stone & Wood Clone #2
Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 23 liters (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 27 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.043
Efficiency: 70%
STATS:
Brew Date: 25/02/2021
Original Gravity: 1.043
Final Gravity:
ABV (standard): %
IBU (tinseth): 27
SRM (morey):
Mash pH: 5.45
FERMENTABLES:
3 kg – Gladfield Ale Malt
2 kg – Gladfield Wheat Malt
250 g – Carapils
HOPS:
BOIL ADDITIONS
15g Galaxy (30min)
WHIRLPOOL/HOPSTAND
After boil, leave to chill to 85°C then add 1st hopstand addition:
25g Galaxy
DRY HOP
60g Galaxy (Day 5)
MASH GUIDELINES:
- Strike, Temp: 65 C, Time: 75 min, Amount: 20 L
- Sparge, Temp: 22 C, Amount: 14 L
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 each – Whirlfloc, Time: 10 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
7g Gypsum (CaSO4)
4ml Lactic acid (88%)
YEAST:
Safale US-05
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Optimum Temp: 18c for 10 days
TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Brisbane tap water treated with campden tablets and mineral additions.
Ca - 73
Mg - 15
Na - 44
Cl - 73
SO - 137
HCO3 - 117
Brew notes:
-Mash went okay, efficiency ended up about 70% which is fine. I think in the future i’ll try sparge longer with hotter water. OG ended up at 1.043, a few points below where I’d like it, but thats fine. Mash pH was spot on.
-Transferring to the keg via closed transfer with bouncer filter is still a bit troublesome. I’m worried about oxidation due to the filter, so in the future I’m going to purchase a domed lid/pressurised transfer kit in order to do a completely closed and pressurised transfer, with a cold crash so there’s no need for filtering. My main concern is closed posts when transferring, but a solid cold crash should eliminate this.
-FG ended up at 1.008, making the ABV 4.7%. Fermentation went really well with 85%+ attenuation and healthy yeast.
-Kegged on 10th March with 12psi at 4c. First sample will be tested in 5-7 days. Smell and taste is terrific, main concern now is oxidation. No perceivable off flavours thus far. In the future, I might substitute some of the ale malt for something less malty and also aim to slightly reduce the IBUs.
-Update: Beer turned out good, suffered slightly from oxidation. Considering changing my method of transferring. Also this beer turned out very clear, next time id add some flaked oats and wheat to up the haze and body. I’d also consider a slightly larger dry hop and slightly less IBUs.