Flamingos & Fronds IPA

Name: Syttende maIPA / Kristen’s 1st Annual IPA

  • Kit
    • Type: LME
    • SRM: 3-5
    • IBU’s: 30
    • Est. ABV: 6.5%
  • Boil Time: 90 min.
  • Boil Type: Full Boil

Before brew day

Purchase equipment:

Tasks:

  • Gather bottles (at least 48 mostly-opaque, 12 oz., non-twist bottles)

Day before brew day

  • Gather supplies
    • Refractometer
    • Water bottles
    • Bottling Bucket (6 gallon)
    • Aluminum foil
    • Brewing Kettle (6 gallon)
    • Large tub (for chilling wort and fermenter ice bath)
    • Jug (1 gallon) for measuring water
    • Sanitizer
    • Pipettes
    • Spray bottle for sanitizer
    • Mixing spoon
    • Funnels (for filling hop bags and other stuff)
    • Mesh bags (x3)
      • Extra long (1ft.) twist ties (x3), since mesh bag strings got too old
    • Carboy (Fermonster)
      • Air lock
      • Stopper
    • Vinyl Tubing
    • Thermometer
    • Bottle Brush
    • Bottle tree
    • Bottle filler
    • Bottle Capper
    • Cup for yeast
    • Pen (red) and pencil
  • Calibrate with distilled water
  • Put 12+ water bottles in freezer

Morning of brew day

Gather ingredients:

  • Brewer’s yeast (from refrigerator)
  • 10 lbs. LME (from refrigerator)
  • 8 oz. Mosaic hops (from freezer)
  • Clarifier tablet (from freezer)

Tasks:

  • Create sanitizer solution in bottling bucket

    [!NOTE] For Star San Acid Sanitizer use 28 mL per 5 gallons.

  • Fill spray bottle with sanitizer solution

  • Place gear in sanitizer

  • Place LME bags in kettle and fill with water close to the brim. Remove LME bags and use 1 gallon jug to measure volume of remaining water (should be around 5 gallons).

    Water for kettle: ____________ gallons

Boil

Temp.
190FBoiling point of water
185FMax. temperature to add whirlpool hops
170FMin. sterile temperature
160FRisk of contamination
130FMax. temp for transferring wort to fermenter
70FFermentation

  • Record brew date

    Brew date: ____/____/________

  • Add water to the kettle and turn on heat

    Time: _____:_____ ___

  • Heat the water to a boil (#9 on range dial)

    Time: _____:_____ ___

  • Turn off the heat

  • Stir in the 7 lbs. Liquid Malt Extract (LME)

    Time: _____:_____ ___

  • Bring back to a boil (#9 on range dial)

warning

Beware of the heat break!

When it is close to boiling over, turn down the heat. When the foam drops, turn the heat back up and bring back to a boil.

Note that this might not happen if you’re stirring a lot.

  • 90 min: Boil for 60 min., stirring at most every 10 min.

    Start boil: _____:_____ ___

    End boil: _____:_____ ___

  • 45 min: Add bittering hops (1 oz. Mosaic hops) in mesh bag

    These hops transfer bittering agents rather than flavor, as hop oils evaporate quickly at higher temperatures.

    Bittering hops added: _____:_____ ___

  • 35 min: Add clarifier tablet

    This clears the beer by attaching to protein molecules which become heavy and fall out of solution.

  • 30 min: Pause timer lower temperature to around 180F (#1 on range dial; a low, rolling boil)

    The temperature must remain above 170F to keep the wort sterile, but it should be below 190F. This ensures convection and keeps the wort flowing. Higher temperatures help extract more bitterness, while lower temperatures extract more aromas and flavors.

    Note: do not cover the pot, as this keeps off-flavors like DMS (dimethyl sulfide) in the wort. Additionally, the temperature differential also helps retain convection. (tips).

    Began cooling: _____:_____ ___

  • 30 min: Resume timer and add whirlpool hops (1 oz. Mosaic hops) in mesh bag. Stir vigorously for about 2 min. to create the whirlpool effect. Then stir about every 10 min..

    These hops flavor without bitterness, since the temperature should be beneath the evaporation temperature of the hop oils.

    Whirlpool hops added: _____:_____ ___

  • 0 min: Remove from heat, remove hop bags, and cover

    Whirlpool hops added: _____:_____ ___

Pitching

Yeast parameters
YeastCellarScience CALI Dry Yeast (American Ale)
Mass12 g.
Pitching rate12 g. / 5-6 gallons; for larger batches: 2-3 g. / 1 gallon
Alcohol tolerance10-11% ABV
Hydration temp.85F - 95F
Hydration time20 min.
Fermentation temp.59-72F

important

Remember, air is now the enemy! “Hot side” airation can cause other microbes to enter the batch, which has a chance of out-competing the yeast before that is added. When in doubt, sanitize everything!

  • Plug a sink and place covered pot in it
  • Fill sink with water and add frozen bottles
  • When the temperature drops below 130F, transfer wort to the carboy by siphoning it out with a sanitized tube. Make sure the tube does not reach the bottom of the pot to prevent the sediment from the bottom from being sucked up.

caution

When sucking on the end of the tube while siphoning, do your absolute best to not get saliva on the end. Just use your lips!

Do your absolute best to make sure the siphon is placed in a way that allows the liquid to enter the carboy smoothly with minimal splashing.

  • Seal the carboy with its stopper

  • Prepare ice bath with frozen water bottles in a dark spot with regulated temperature

  • Move carboy to ice bath and add frozen water bottles

  • Record the initial volume in the fermenter

    Initial volume: _____________ gallons

  • Warm a cup of distilled water to 85-95F in a microwave

  • Sprinkle CellarScience CALI Dry Yeast (American Ale) into the cup (do not stir!)

  • Cover with foil and let yeast sit for 20 min.

  • Swirl yeast

  • Wait for wort to reach 70-80F

  • Add small amounts of wort to yeast cup to adjust to within 10F of wort temperature before pitching

  • Sanitize a large spoon

  • Use spoon to mix the wort

    This helps introduce air (which is good right now), and it also makes the temperature distribution more even, which allows for a more accurate OG reading.

  • Sanitize a pipette

  • Use pipette to sample the wort. Record the original gravity using refractometer.

    Note: if your boil-off rate was too high and the OG is decently higher than the estimated value, you can add cold distilled water to increase volume if you want. Use a dilution calculator.

    Original gravity: ________ (est. 1.060 - 1.065)

  • Pitch the yeast

    Lag time (start): ____/____/______ ____:____ ____

    Temp. of wort at pitch: ______ F

tip

When adding the yeast, you want to add a ton of air as well! Pour from a higher height to cause splashing. You can even stir and/or pick up & tilt the carboy to swirl it around.

Oxygen is now your friend! When there is oxygen in the batch, the yeast use all their energy to reproduce. Increasing the population quickly helps ensure it can out-compete any other microbes that may be present. It’s also necessary because it’ll help the beer ferment faster. Once the yeast run out of oxygen, they stop reproducing as much and start fermenting. So you want a lot to begin with!

Fermentation

  • Day 0: let ferment at around 68F

    Date: ____/____/______

  • Monitor the air lock and record the total lag time when you see fermentation.

    Note that lag time can take 3-4 hours or 1-2 days

    Lag time (end): ____/____/______ ____:____ ____

    Lag time: ____ D. ____ h. ____ m.

note

Clean and boil mesh bags, and sanitize your hands before filling them. When you place them in the carboy, do so carefully to prevent splashing.

  • Day +3: Add dry hops (2 oz. Mosaic hops)

    Dry hops added: ____/____/______ ____:____ ____

tip

Let temperature increase slightly toward the end of fermentation (the last 2 days) to allow fermentation to complete fully and kill off any negative byproducts.

  • Day ____ : once you stop seeing any bubbles in the air lock, record the end of fermentation.

    End of fermentation: ____/____/______ ____:____ ____

  • Day ____ (>11): Add dry hops (4 oz. Mosaic hops) for at least 3 days

    Remember: boil hop bags before use

note

After adding dry hops or moving the carboy, it will sometimes start bubbling again. This is not fermentation. Instead, after fermentation, the beer is usually fully saturated with dissolved carbon dioxide. Agitating it can cause it to come out of solution.

End of fermentation: ____/____/______ ____:____ ____

  • Day ____ (>14): bottling day
Date/time (year ______)TemperatureBubbles/sec.
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Before bottling day

  • Gather supplies

    • Bottles
    • Bottle brush
    • Bottle washer
    • Rubber mallet for crushing PBW tablets
    • Piece of paper
    • Funnel
    • Bottle tree

  • Soak bottles by filling with water

  • Using a couple PBW tablets at a time, wrap them in paper, and crush them with a rubber mallet. Use a funnel to put a little of the powder in each bottle. Leave overnight.

  • After at least a day, take bottles one by one and:

    1. Scrub them
    2. Drain them
    3. Rinse them thoroughly with the bottle washer
    4. Place upside-down on the bottle tree

Morning of bottling day

  • Several hours before bottling: move the carboy to where you will be draining it to let the “trub” settle.
  • Gather supplies
    • Stool for sitting
    • Carbonation drops
    • Bottle caps
    • Bottle filler
    • Spray bottle of sanitizer
    • 1 gallon bucket of sanitizer
    • Aluminum foil
    • Siphon hose
    • Refractometer
    • Pipette
    • Sauce pan for caps
    • Bowl for caps
    • Bottle capper
    • Funnel

Bottling day!

Estimated time: 4 hours

  • Record date and final parameters

    Bottling day: ____/____/______ ____:____ ____

    Days in fermenter: ____ D.

  • Sanitize a pipette

  • Carefully remove air lock and lid, and sample the beer with a pipette. Use the refractometer to record the final gravity.

    Final gravity: ________

  • Loosely cover the fermenter with aluminum foil

  • Calculate ABV

    ABV: ______ % (est. 6.5%)

  • Sanitize

    • Siphon hose
    • Bottle filler

  • Attach siphon hose to the carboy spigot

  • Attach bottle filler to the hose

  • Boil bottle caps in a sauce pan for 5 min.

  • Place bottle caps in a bowl of sanitizer

  • Add a bit of sanitizer to the first several bottles using the funnel

tip

Make sure to fill one or two transparent bottles. This lets you monitor clarity during carbonation. You should be sure to drink these first, as light can spoil the beer faster than in more opaque bottles.

  • For each bottle:

    1. Cover, shake the sanitizer, and drain into the next empty bottle using the funnel
    2. Let dry a bit
    3. Slowly fill bottle with bottle filler, being careful to prevent air from entering the beer. Leave 1 to 1.5 inches of head-room.
    4. Gently add 1 carbonation drop to the bottle
    5. Remove cap from sanitizer and cap the bottle

  • Store in tub or another container, at room temperature, in case of explosion.

    Let carbonate for 2 weeks before drinking.

Morning of cleaning day

  • Gather supplies
    • Stool for sitting
    • Soap
    • Sponge
    • PBW tablets
    • Dish drying rack
    • Bottle tree
    • Bottle washer
    • Bottle brush

Cleaning day :(

  • Carboy

    • Wash off particulate. If possible, use a jet of water like from a bottle washer attached to a faucet. Otherwise, soak with water that is less than 125F and agitate (to quote a pamphlet I received from “The Vintage Shop”, “remember you are sanitizing, not sterilizing”). If absolutely necessary, use a soft non-abrasive cloth to gently rub it off. Be careful to not scratch the inner surface!

    • Fill your sanitizer bucket with warm water (less than 125F). Transfer to the carboy

    • Add sanitizer and stir

      Note: Now would be a good time to check the spigot stopper to be sure it has a good seal. You do not want to be surprised by this later on after you have transferred the wort… Trust me.

    • Agitate to get every surface wet. Surfaces don’t have to be submerged the whole time to be sanitized1

    • After the required amount of time, transfer back to sanitizer bucket

    • Let carboy air dry

  • Other gear
    • Thoroughly rinse hop bags under water, using your hand to keep them open
    • Use soap and water on other gear
    • Fill bucket with water
    • Place gear in bucket
    • Add PBW tablets
    • Remove gear and rinse

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