Batch #27: Monster Mash Alt

Ten gallons of an alt beer, loosely based on my previous three batches, but with a bit of roasted wheat in place of the crystal for a deeper color. A multi-rest mash with a modified Schmitz process "decoction" made the mash particularly monstrous. It was a very long brewday, with a very thoroughly stuck mash, but the decoction and multiple rests together gave very high efficiency. Still, after this I felt more like I had consumed 10 gallons of beer than produced it :-)

Recipe

Grain Bill

8 lbs. Durst Munich
8 lbs. Durst Pilsener
4 oz. Durst Dark Crystal
8 oz. Weyermann chocolate wheat (in sparge, poorly crushed with rolling pin)

Hops

2 oz. Perle leaf hops (7.7% AA) @60 min
1 oz. Hallertau leaf hops (4.0% AA) @60 min
2 oz. Spalt leaf hops at knockout.

Yeast

Batch 27a: Wyeast 1007 German Ale yeast, 1 qt starter.
Batch 27b: White Labs WLP320 American Hefeweizen (reputedly the Zum Uerige strain, via Widmer), 1 qt starter.

Mash

Multi-rest decoction mash (modified Schmitz process).

Warm water + grain infusion to 41-42C for 30 minutes.
boiling water infusion + direct heat to 61C for 30 minutes.
Thin mash saved at 61C for 80 minutes.
Thick mash brought to boil over 65 minutes, boiled for 15 minutes.
Added thick mash to thin to bring to 70C for 30 minutes.

Vitals

Batch 27a

OG: 1.054
FG:
Calculated IBUs: 40
Carbonation:

Batch 27b

OG: 1.058
FG:
Calculated IBUs: 41
Carbonation:

Timeline

Brew day: December 4, 2003

12:35 Dough-in at 41-42C with 4 gallons warm water + 1.5 qt cold water.
1:05 Begin rise to 60C with 3 gallons boiling water.
1:09 Raised to 60C.
1:24 Dropped to 58C, raised to 61C with direct heat.
1:39 Transfer thin mash to 10 gallon cooler/lauter tun. Add boiling water to stabilize at 60-61C.
1:45 About 3 gallons total thin mash and water collected. Start heating main (thick) mash to boil.
2:20 Mash "burping".
2:50 Mash at a good boil. Nice and tectonic :-)
3:05 Add hot grains to tun.
3:10 Tun at 70C still about 3-4 gallons of grain left.
3:20 Chilled grains to about 70C with ice additions and stirring. Transfer to tun.
3:27 All grains added to mash, final rest temperature at 67-68C.
4:00 Begin recirc and fly sparge into 10 gallon pot.
4:15(approx.) Split first runnings between 10 and 6 gallon pot, and switch runoff to the 6 gallon pot.
4:28 Curses -- stuck! Grain solids have compacted (probably due to decoction) to the consistency of peanut butter, and not even the chunky kind :-) Added more sparge water and stirred to loosen up the bed.
4:35 Started again.
4:56 6 gallon pot on to boil. Direct final runnings back into 10 gallon pot.
5:10 10 gallon pot on to boil. Equalize gravity by exchanging liquid between 10 and 6 gallon pot with a 2-qt pyrex measuring cup.
5:15(approx.) Break for dinner, Grace's nap. Turn heat down on pots to avoid messy boilover.
6:50 Both pots boiling.
7:10 10 gallon pot gravity: 1.048.
7:17 6 gallon pot gravity: 1.052. Exchange some more liquid.
7:25 Add bittering hops.
8:24 Add aroma hops.
8:41 10 gallon pot transferred to fermenter, about 5 gallons (Batch #27a).
8:55 6 gallon pot transferred to fermenter, about 4.5-4.75 gallons (Batch #27b). Begin clean-up.
9:27 Done with clean-up.
9:40 Batch 27a OG 1.054, pitched Wyeast 1007 at 70F.
9:44 Batch 27b OG 1.058, pitched WLP 320 at 70F.

Both fermented under kitchen table, temp range 62-66F. Fermentation visible (krausen) within 12 hours.

Batch 27a blew off December 7, swirled yeast back into suspension, cleaned and sanitized airlock with rubbing alcohol, and replaced.

12/20/2003, racked to cornies. Batch 27a SG 1.016, Batch 27b SG 1.018. Moved to 50-55F basement, pulled pressure relief valves every couple days for the next few weeks.

4/8/2004: bottled remainder of batch 27a, primed with 3 primetabs per 12-oz bottle. Yield: 12 bottles for competitions and tastings, 10 presentable ones (got a lot of yeast in the first and last bottles).

4/13/2004: finished batch (b)

Tasting notes

Batch 27a:

1/27/2004

It's still a bit young, has a green hop bitterness to it which should mellow with time. As for the body, holy melanoidins batman! It's about as rich as a good beef stock. The bitterness is a bit low, and does not quite balance the malt sweetness as much as I would like (that, too, might improve with age). Unfortunately, I think the schmitz decoction process is a keeper: this has a much more intense malt flavor than the previous alts at this point.

2/15/2004

Dark brown in color, and crystal clear. Intense malt aroma, with a little spicy/perfumy/resiny aroma. Assertive bitterness balances the maltiness, leaving a lightly chocolaty impression in the finish. Finishes dry, ready for another sip :-)

5/5/2004

Preparing to submit to the 2004 Upper Mississippi Mash-out. Not much to add to the above tasting note. The beer is still intensely malty, balanced with bitterness, and finishes dry. It has mellowed a bit, of course, but is still a big hitter.

Batch 27b:

3/11/2004

Despite the higher gravity, this sub-batch seems more hop-balanced than the lighter half. I attribute this to the yeast, which is far more crisp and a bit tart. The malt is still assertive, but not as dominant, giving just a barely sweet impression. The yeast (WLP320) is very non-flocculent, and the beer is just starting to clear.

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