Cannabis and Hops... Let's Make some Beer

Sorry Guys I made a mistake. We will not be brewing an IPA we will be brewing an Imperial IPA. What the hell is the difference. Well its just numbers really. Take a look:

This is out of How To Brew: J. Palmer
Indian Pale Ale Style Guidelines:
SubStyles -------- OG (Original Gravity) ------- Degrees Plato ------- FG (Final Gravity) -------- IBUS (International Bittering Units) --------- Color
English IPA -------------- 1.050 - 75 -------------------- 12.5 - 18 ----------------------- 1.010 - 18 ------------------------------ 40 - 60 ------------------------------ 8 -14
American IPA ----------- 1.056 - 75 -------------------- 13.5 - 18 ----------------------- 1.010 - 18 ------------------------------ 40 - 60+ ---------------------------- 6 -15
Imperial IPA ------------ 1.075 - 90+ ------------------- 18 - 22+ ----------------------- 1.012 - 18 ------------------------------ 60 - 100+ --------------------------- 8 -15

*Note*
I will do a write up on how to measure using a hydrometer soon. This is kind of jumping ahead in the book. But Why waste time we have to taste this soon to be delicious beer.

OG - FG Approximate ABV Chart:


Plato Conversion Chart (This is usually used with a Refractometer. I do not have one therefore I won't be going into to detail):


Color Rating Chart:


I need to do some more reading about yeast and making a starter then I will post the recipe and an explanation on yeast.

***I need to write this equation down for later use***

Dry malt is approximately 40 points (that is actually 1.040 on the hydrometer) per pound per gallon. My goal is about 10% ABV.

The equation is: OG = m (malt in pounds) x 40/ 5 gallons of water

We know that the FG should land around 1.010 once fermentation is over and our goal is 10% ABV (~1.090). How many pounds of DME (Dry Malt Extract) will we need?

90 = (m * 40) / 5
5 * 90 = m * 40
450 = m * 40
450/ 40 = m
11.25 = malt in pounds

Remember that the 90 and 40 in this example are points, on the hydrometer they will read 1.090 or 1.040. This is just how the equation works in terms of pounds of malt.

Based on this example our wort will need ~ 11.25 pounds of DME or 13.5 pounds of LME

Here is the conversion from Dry Malt Extract (DME) to Liquid Malt Extract (LME): Approximately 1 pound of dry malt extract would roughly equal 1.2 pounds of syrup malt extract. Likewise, 1 pound of syrup malt extract would roughly equal 0.8 pounds of dry malt extract.

Also, here is a very useful calculator if you don't like math:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

Holy Shit this thing is fucking awesome... If you know how to use it:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/

Very good calculator.

So after doing some fuzzy math I have decided to use 14 grams / fat gallon of beer (12 Beers). We will be siphoning off ~ 1 gallon of our wort go through our special contraption and begin the final conditioning period of our "Indian Skywalker" brew.

I bottled mine yesterday after being in the fermenter for two weeks. I got 12 x 22 oz bottles and 22 x 12 oz bottles. It smelled weird when i took the lid off, it was really, really sweet smelling. I took a little taste and it was very sweet and malty but also had a very bitter hop taste.I can see now how the flavors work together to make a balance of sweet and bitter but it's too early. Right now its like the flavors are cocompeting to see which one can taste worse. I put it in the bottling bucket, added the priming sugar and let it sit for about an hour. When i came back, the smell totally changed. It was a very strong smell of hot alcohol. Now i just have to wait. I think i might do a wheat beer next.

farmasensist said:

I bottled mine yesterday after being in the fermenter for two weeks. I got 12 x 22 oz bottles and 22 x 12 oz bottles. It smelled weird when i took the lid off, it was really, really sweet smelling. I took a little taste and it was very sweet and malty but also had a very bitter hop taste.I can see now how the flavors work together to make a balance of sweet and bitter but it's too early. Right now its like the flavors are cocompeting to see which one can taste worse. I put it in the bottling bucket, added the priming sugar and let it sit for about an hour. When i came back, the smell totally changed. It was a very strong smell of hot alcohol. Now i just have to wait. I think i might do a wheat beer next.

View attachment 3225815

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Congrats on your first batch!!! Its funny even after bottling. two weeks has a certain flavor, 4 weeks has a smoother flavor. 6 weeks... IDK I have never left one alone long enough, haha.

Good News. Went to the brew shop gathered all of the ingredients on Saturday including a yeast starter kit. Will post pictures tomorrow. Anyway for the starter all I did was:

Here is what white labs says:
http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/homebrew/starter-tips

1/2 pound Light DME
1 Pinch Fermentaid (came with the kit)
1 Liquid Pack of White Labs 99 Super High Gravity Yeast

To help give our beer a jump start the start is required. We do not want the yeast filling up on sugars before they are all gone. So what we do is increase the cell count by a few billion. Then we will dump our yeast starter into our wort.

Here is the basic recipe of our "Indian Skywalker Ale":

.5 lbs Amber DME
11 lbs Light LME
*1.5 ibs Carmel Crystal 30
*1.5 lbs American Pale Ale

* = grains, steeped @ 155 degrees F for 30 - 45 mins

White Labs Super High Gravity in Starter (48 - 72 hours depends if we brew today or tomorrow).

1.5 oz Nugget @ 15
1.5 oz Centennial @ 30
1 oz Cascade @ 45
1 oz Cascade @ 60
1 oz cascade @ 75
Boil Stop @ 90

We will aerate the mix by swishing back and forth a total of 20 times as opposed to our normal 5 times.

Prime with 3 oz Corn Sugar, 2 Cups of water.

Siphon 1 gallon through special made "Hop Back" containing 14 grams of Dried and Cured Skywalker OG.

***Special Note*** We will not be doing a decarb for this trial.

Here is a pretty cool Yeast cell count calculator. This will help determine how much yeast you will actually need.
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Okay Bottling day was on Saturday:

Looks like we are about 5% or so. The color is beautiful, smells amazing and has a perfect hop bitterness. Very excited to try this in two weeks.

Oh and here is the beginning of "Indian Skywalker"

This is the starter:
Always make sure you are drinking beer while making beer

The rest of the starter pics. It is now in the fridge waiting for the yeast to settle to the bottom. Brew day is Thursday!

Bottle Caps Came in Today!!



Also, I have decided to dry hop with an additional 4 oz of whole hops. I am a little worried that our beer will come out to sweet. We are using way more malt than normal. Brew Day is today!!! Once the wort goes into the fermentor it will stay there for 7 days, then transfer into the glass carboy with 4 oz of whole hops.

Hey Guys change to the recipe:

Here is the basic recipe of our "Indian Skywalker Ale":

.5 lbs Amber DME
11 lbs Light LME
*1.5 ibs Carmel Crystal 30
*1.5 lbs American Pale Ale

* = grains, steeped @ 155 degrees F for 30 - 45 mins

White Labs Super High Gravity in Starter (48 - 72 hours depends if we brew today or tomorrow).

1.5 oz Nugget @ 15
1.5 oz Centennial @ 30
1 oz Cascade @ 45
2 oz Cascade @ 60
4 oz Cascade mix (Whole Hops) @ 75
Boil Stop @ 90

We will aerate the mix by swishing back and forth a total of 20 times as opposed to our normal 5 times.
Prime with 3 oz Corn Sugar, 2 Cups of water.
Siphon 1 gallon through special made "Hop Back" containing 14 grams of Dried and Cured Skywalker OG.
***Special Note*** We will not be doing a decarb for this trial.

Below are some estimates of the beer:

IBU = 95.85
ABV = 10.84%
SRM (Color) = 11.59

Also, will no longer do a dry hop since this recipe change will super boost the IBU's.

I found this not too long ago. it explains how the boil time and gravity change the IBUs. Theres also a part two to it.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/analyzing-tinseth-formula.html

that's really cool. where did you find that cap?

farmasensist said:

that's really cool. where did you find that cap?

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MY GF special ordered them for me

farmasensist said:

I found this not too long ago. it explains how the boil time and gravity change the IBUs. Theres also a part two to it.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/analyzing-tinseth-formula.html

Click to expand...

Thanks for the share. That is a pretty interesting read. Now I can justify our 90 min. Boil Time. Also, if you look at the order we are adding hops this is very specific. Nugget has a spicy bitter flavor without to much aroma. Centennial has a nice Lemony feel with a bit more aroma and cascade is basically for our smell. Also, adding 2 oz of hops and 60 vs 1 at 60 and 1 at 75 is what gave us a good boost in IBU's. Adding the 4 oz whole hops at 75 mins instead of Dry Hopping let's extract a bit more bitterness from the whole hops, getting us into the 90 IBU zone. Dry Hopping is purely for aroma.

Time to get to work! I'll post the Brew Day Pics in the morning.

Brew Day!!! = 8/14/2014

Quick Recipe Recap:

"Imperial Indian Skywalker Ale":

.5 lbs Amber DME
11 lbs Light LME
*1.5 ibs Carmel Crystal 30
*1.5 lbs American Pale Ale

* = grains, steeped @ 155 degrees F for 30 - 45 mins

White Labs Super High Gravity in Starter (48 - 72 hours depends if we brew today or tomorrow).

1.5 oz Nugget @ 15
1.5 oz Centennial @ 30
1 oz Cascade @ 45
2 oz Cascade @ 60
4 oz Cascade mix (Whole Hops) @ 75
Boil Stop @ 90


Step One: Get yeast out of fridge and get to room temperature, Gather Supplies and make sure you have everything before starting.


Sterilize and get 2 gallons of water up 155 degrees F.


Pour off 80% of the top liquid and give a couple of swirls. (Yeast)



Start Steeping Grains



Bring to boil (Its actually under boil. You have to play with the temp because at this point boil overs are pretty easy), add in all the malt and stir. Make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Get the Hops Ready!

Rest of the brew:

This is the first couple of Hop Additions. This was a 90 Minute Brew with additions every 15 mins.



The Final 4 Oz. of Fresh Whole Hops.



Cool the wort down as quickly as possible. I even put Ice on top. Not sure if it helps but it makes me feel better about it.



This is right after agitation (x20)



Take the reading from the hydrometer (no pic), Fill a glass and pitch the yeast.



I think it is pretty important to taste the beer in different stages. It helps me learn how the smell and flavors change. Which helps tweak recipes to where you want them.

See you guys in a week or so when we do the transfer into the glass carboy.

Notes on the Hydrometer:

Our OG (Original Gravity) is about: 1.072
Estimated ABV: 9.25%
Estimated IBU: 94

Here's to a Full Fermentation!!!

The ABV % less than expected by a full percent. So equations don't always translate into real life. It is better use them as guidelines and estimates not exact. At least for our purposes.