AG#19 - California Dreaming - American Pale Ale (With pics!)

[onelegout]

Hi everyone!
Gave the brewery a good clean and got a brew going in my lunch hour. I'm not using the HERMS today as I forgot to reconnect the battery pack which fires the SSR, and I haven't yet fitted a flow control valve to the pump.

This recipe is one I've put together in about 10 mins from what I've got in stock. It's a very hoppy APA. I wanted to brew this because I've just booked flights to California for me and my girlfriend in September, and I can't wait to be drinking some of the great pale ales they have there! : ) (If anyone can recommend some breweries to visit while I'm there that would be great!)

Here's the recipe:

Batch size: 23l
Boil size: 26l

Grain bill:
4kg MO Pale malt (Didnt have any american malt)
Mash @ 66c for 60 mins, 4l/kg.

Boil schedule:
15g Centennial 10%AA @ 60 Mins
30g Cascade 7.6%AA @ 30 Mins
15g Cascade 7.6%AA @ 15 Mins
1x Protofloc tablet @ 15 mins
45g Centennial 10%AA @ 5 Mins

Yeast:
1 Packet Wyeast 1056 American Ale liquid yeast (Activator)

2pm:
Mashed in but missed my temp a bit.
Hit 65.5c so should get a bit more body than I hoped for, but not a big problem!

3pm:
Mash was very low, so raised it up using herms (fixed it) and kept it at 66 for half an hour.

4pm:
still not had a brew day without major dramas!
Half way through the boil I realised that I had no way of chilling the beer - my counter flow chiller is broken and I didn't have time to drive to a friends to borrow one. Only one thing for it - bodge an immersion chiller from the CFC!

4:30pm
Chiller built and beer is cooling.
In the confusion I forgot to add the last hops so they went in at flame out (heating element out )

5:21pm
wort is down to 30c

6pm
wort down to 25c, pitched yeast. Loads of trub but it settled out. Had a quick taste it was great! looking forward to trying it finished : )

Pics to come soon!

[onelegout]

drove the beer home (terrifying with it sloshing about in the fermenter in the footwell!)
got it in the fermenting fridge. Now I've just gotta fit a PID to the fridge so that I can actually control the temp!

[WishboneBrewery]

Fun fun fun
Bet its a good one

[far9410]

mmm sounds good

[Barley Water]

Where in California will be be staying? Although there are great places in both Northern and Southern California, it's a big state and you don't want to spend all your time driving around in a car (besides, us Yanks drive on the wrong side of the road so it could get a little wierd for you).

[Fallen]

If you're in the San Diego area, don't miss Stone, Lost Abbey and Pizza Port

[onelegout]

I'll be in San Diego at first (My brother lives there), then going to be road tripping it. Will be staying in Santa Barbara, Monteray, San Francisco, then down to Vegas.

I had planned to visit Stone, didn't realise Lost Abbey was there! And haven't heard of Pizza Port?

I'll post some brewday photos up in my lunch hour but I didn't get many interesting ones

[onelegout]

OH MY GOD BEER EVERYWHERE!

[Fallen]

Stone and Lost Abbey are a given, but get yourself to Pizza Port (Carlsbad is better than Solana Beach)! If I had the motivation (and money) I'd set something like it up over here. Foolproof!!

[onelegout]

Cool I'll definitely check it out, my brother used to live in Encinitas (now lives in la jolla). I need to go to Carlsbad anyway to pick up my hire car : )

So I hadn't checked on the beer, because I couldn't hear it bubbling.
Turns out I couldn't hear it bubbling because the airlock had blown off. I've never known a beer ferment this violently before. I ran to a farm supply shop round the corner and got a length of hose and ran back, used it as a blowoff tube http://www.brewing-tips.com/airlocks-and-blowoff-tubes (shameless plug)
But I dont think that the blowoff tube is relieving enough of the pressure. Would it be better to just put some foil over it and hope for the best?
H

[Fallen]

my brother used to live in Encinitas

me too

Check out the Thai Basil restaurant..........dare you to go for the '10 chilli' rating for your Red Curry........oooooofft!

[onelegout]

my brother used to live in Encinitas

me too

Check out the Thai Basil restaurant..........dare you to go for the '10 chilli' rating for your Red Curry........oooooofft!

Ah thats funny! : ) I plan on eating as much awesome food as possible once I'm there - until then it's diet diet diet!

Photos!






























And here's a quick video of it fermenting once I fitted the blowoff tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMveqCp8a5U

[Barley Water]

In northern Califorina they also have beer. I see you like hops, you might want to make it to Russian River. They have this concoction called Pliney the Elder which is somewhat hoppy. Addtionally, they are doing alot with barrel aging and wild yeasts plus fruit in sour beers. When those guys are done with you, your idea of beer will be totally altered and I suspect your homebrewing will be affected as well.

Also of course in San Francisco there is Anchor Brewing, home of Anchor Steam. The beer is more or less traditional but this brewery is one of the oldest "craft breweries" in the country and a pioneer in the trade. Steam beer is an original style made back in the day in San Francisco, kind of an historical deal.

In Chico there is Sierra Nevada, likely you have had some of their products. Firestone Walker is on the coast between San Francisco and LA, they also make interesting beer, much of it wood aged. Likely, I'll think of more and I'll post up again as it all comes to me.

[onelegout]

Thanks for the advice barley water! Im trying to make arrangements to visit friends in Santa rosa to visit Russian river. I hadn't heard of firestone walker but will be passing by it so will definitely check it out

The beer's still bubbling away but now the temp has stabilised at around 17 or 18c which is great. Some seriously hoppy smells coming from the fermenter!

[Birdman]

onelegout. I'm in San Francisco at the moment on holiday and was at Russian River last night. OMG, the barrel aged belgian sour ales they do are amazing. If you do visit, then definitely get yourself some 'Consecration'.

I've just finished a week long road trip around northern California and I hit the 'Brewery at Lake Tahoe', Stateline brewing, Sierra Nevada, Anderson Valley, North Coast, Bear Republic, Russian River, Lagunitas and Marin.

All this week I'm in San Francisco so will be doing lots more breweries, brewpubs and alehouses in the bay area.

My three favourite places of what I have visited so far are Bear Republic, Russian RIver and Lagunitas. I would definitely hit those places if you can....