Capricorn Brewing Log

Batch #1     4-3-99

reached 150 degrees F at 5:41 PM
 

Steeped 1 lb Belgan Aromatic Malt for 25 mins, sparged as per instructions

Added 5.83 lbs Alexander Wheat & Barley Malt syrup
 

Rolling boil reached at 6:59 PM

added 1 oz German Spalt hops at start
added 1/2 oz German Spalt hops at 30 mins
added 1/2 oz German Spalt hops at 55 mins

added 1 tsp. Irish Moss at 30 mins

Stop boil at 65 mins
 

Wort cooling takes forever!

pitched yeast, siphoned and started cleanup at about 10:00 PM

Bitterness Calculations

1 oz     60 mins   (1)(4.5)(4)     = 18
1/2 oz   30 mins   (1/2)(4.5)(1.4) = 3.15
1/2 oz   10 mins   (1/2)(4.5)(0.7) = 1.58
                                    ------
                                     22.73
23 IBU

(using simple method in Brewing Quality Beers)
 

Bottling     Batch #1     4-10-99

We have about 4 gallons after racking.

Sample tastes like, well, beer.
 

Primed with 1 cup corn sugar and enough water to make 5 gallons.  Water used here and in making wort is purified, deionized water from Ray's in Chico.  In retrospect, it might have been a good idea to add some salts etc. to the purified water.

Yield: 53 bottles (and about a third)
 

A bottle tree would be nice but is not essential

I should figure out a way to use less sanitizer than filling the boiling kettle

Capping takes a little more force than I expected, but there is nice feedback when it's capped.

One milk crate holds 23 bottles.  If there were a compartmental insert, it would hold 16 loosely.

At this point it has a good basic taste, but there are rough edges and so on.  I presume this will improve over the next week+ as it carbonates and sits.

The recipe was put together by the Chico Homebrew Shop, since we didn't really know what we were doing yet.
 
 
 

I don't recall why I added the irish moss so early.
 

This was also before I had a wort chiller.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The physical feedback is more helpful than I thought when we bottled this batch.  In a later batch, we were using a different capper, and Brendan nearly lacerated his hand breaking a bottle.

Batch #2     12-23-00

There doesn't seem to be anywhere in Sunnyvale to get propane from, we had to go to U-Haul in Mt. View.

Put 1 lb chocolate malt in to steep @ 150 degrees, 4:43 pm

Sparged at 5:11 pm (oops, we forgot to separate the sparge water)

Finish sparging & add 7 lbs "Tartan" Scottish Red malt extract.  Start adding heat at 5:33 pm

Boil at 5:42, add 1 1/3 oz Centennial hops (10.6% Alpha)

Add 2/3 oz Centennial & 2/3 oz Cascade (6.5% Alpha) @ 30 min

We seem to have lost boil at some point, but it came right back when we turned the gas up.  We are probably fine.

Stop boil @6:45.  Start chill.

Pitched yeast at about 7:45
 

Specific gravity 1052 at 64 degrees F

The airlock is bubbling  away nicely, and the fermenting wort has a good head on it, about 2 1/2".  The gas eminating from the airlock has a nice red ale sort of character to it.

fermentation must have stopped some time today.

Batch #2 - bottling day     12-30-2000

Final gravity (w/o priming sugar) 1020 @ 65 degrees F

Yield: 51 bottles

Alcohol content:   1052 - 1020 = 32
                   32 / 8 = 4%

developing definate red characteristics
needs more body, has more of an ale body
I don't think the yeast is typical of a red
has a slightly acrid taste, was the choc. malt oversparged?
could use better head retentioin for a dark
Red.  it's definately a red, but the dark malt throws me.
pretty good alcohol for a red  :-)

Flavors have mellowed much better after three weeks.  The red and chocolate malts are getting along much better now.  Much of the acrid-ness has lessened, leaving a slightly citrus flavor.  I imagine that at six weeks it should be a good red, but with some neat burnt characteristics to back it up.  It still has no head retention, either our wateris rather poor (Sunnyvale "Pure Water" store) or we managed to contaminate it with a cleaning agent (?) at some point.  Oh, it has a certain bitter aftertaste the origin of which I am unsure.  Maybe the chocolate malt?  I still think our grain handling is pretty bad.

Wendy gave me 'the rocket' (as Bob calls it) for my birthday.  It is a 200,000 BTU/hr propane burner.

Later, I found out that the 76 station at Fair Oaks and Hwy. 101 has propane.

This recipe was one that Wendy concocted.
 
 
 

Remembering how long it took wort to cool last time, I bought a wort chiller before this batch.  I could easily have made one, but it wasn't very expensive.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

If I remember correctly, we used a dry yeast for this batch.

I made this comment because I got a bit tipsy on one bottle.  I was probably dehydrated.
 
 

The citrus was probably from the Cascade hops.

Batch #3     2/3/2001   --   Belgian ale (Dubbel)

60 min boil w/6.6 lbs Gold Malt syrup & 1 lb Light DME
(Muntons spraymalt extract "PLAIN LIGHT")
& 1 lb Brewers Garden Belgian candi sugar (sucrose from beets)

added 1 oz Styrian Goldings (pellet - 4.3% Alpha) for 60 min.

added 1 oz Saaz (pellet - 3.7% Alpha) for ~1 min
"Product of Czech Republic"  :-)

Starting gravity 1.063

Total boil was 1 hour
-----
2/4/2000, 1pm
yeast does not seem to be fermenting yet.  I'm a little worried about it.  White labs stuff is supposed to be pretty good.

2/5/2000, 1am (Monday morning)
Just got back from Lee's place, and fermentation is progressing nicely now.

2/9/2000, 11pm (Friday)
Fermentation has slowed almost to a stop.  There is still a little foam, but there is no visible yeast activity and bubbles in the airlock are few and far between.  Tomorrow it should be ready for the secondary, which is convenient since it will be the weekend.

-----
Final gravity 1.013 @ 66 degrees F  (1.014 corrected)  -->  -40 points
   5% abw
-----
This kit recipe came out rather well.  I feel there is a little rubbery flavor to it, but Lee describes that as representative of the style.

I thought the origin was interesting
 
 
 

They were out of the Wyeast that they normally use for this kit, so they sent us a White Labs Trappist Ale yeast instead.

I obviously hadn't adjusted to the new year yet, I wrote the wrong year on these notes
 
 
 

It also benefitted from a couple months of aging.  It was quite nice in June.
 

Batch #4     2/17/01   --   American Pale Ale

Steep grains @ 155 degrees F for 45 mins.

toal boil time will be 90 minutes, start adding hops after 30

bitter 60 mins
flavor 30 mins
aroma 10 mins

would have measured O.G. but Lee broke hydrometer.

-----

I like the finished product, Lee is decidedly not a fan.  The flavor/aroma times probably should have been shorter, it doesn't have quite the character it was supposed to.  The recipe was created by averaging 5 Sierra Nevada clones.

Lee complains of a 'plastic' or 'metallic' taste.  I don't percieve what he does in it.

Batch #5:   American Brown Ale     3/31/2001

6.6 lbs Northwestern light (substituted 5 1/2 lbs. light DME)
1 lb Williams Austrailian darm DME (sub. generic)

6 oz chocolate malt
6 oz roasted barly
6 oz 80L crystal malt (sub. 60L)

All hops pellet

Bittering:  60 min.
   1 oz Fuggles @ 4.3% Alpha
   1 oz Northern Brewer @ 6.6% Alpha

Flavoring:  10 min
   1/2 oz Fuggles
   1/2 oz Cascade @ 5.7% Alpha

Finishing:  2 min.
   1/2 oz Cascade

Yeast:  Wyeast 1007 (substituted White Labs WLP029 German Ale / Kolsch Yeast)

-----

Steep grains @ 153 degrees F for 35 min
raise to 170 degrees F, sparge with about a gallon of 175 degree F water

at 10 min remaining added:
   8 1/3 oz corn sugar
   9 oz confectioners (cane) sugar

Total boil was 1 hour

O.G. 1.060 @ 72 degrees F  (1.061 adjusted)

Fermentation temp. is 70 degrees, above spec but the best we can do.
-----
Sat. 4/7/01
   Siphon to secondary.  Gravity 1.020 @ 66 degrees F  (1.0205 corrected)

Mon 4/16/01
   Bottle.  FG 1.018 corrected.  Primed w/ 1 cup DME.

The recipe here is the one from the book, with my substitutions noted.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Even though mash and sparge temperatures aren't so important for an extract brew, I am trying to be more particular about it in preparation for all grain brewing.

On a whim, we added all that sugar to boost the alcohol content.  This batch was brewed for Wendy's graduation party.  :-)

Final ABW was a little over 5 percent.

Batch #6:   Hefeweizen (European style)     4/8/01

1/2 oz Perle + 1/4 oz Hallertauer   60 mins
5/8 oz Hallertauer      30 mins
5/8 oz Hallertauer      5 mins

Wyeast 3068 or Yeast Labs Bavarian weizen

irish moss 8 mins

90 minute boil
-----
Mashed grain for 60 mins @ 155 degrees F
raised to 170, held for 5 mins
sparged w/ 170 degree water
-----
O.G. 1.040 @ 78 degrees F (1.042 corrected)

We came up shy on water.  A 90-minute boil uses a hair over 8 gallons
-----
Monday 4/16/01
   Siphon to secondary.  Gravity is 1.010.  There is still some foam in the fermenter, but no airlock activity.
-----
Tuesday 4/24/01
   Bottled.  Primed 1 1/4 c DME, which might have been too much as there was already some carbonation.  Taste is pretty light, it should be good.

F.G. 1.011, 3.9% ABW, Yield was 52 bottles.

I think we went with the Wyeast strain for this brew.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

There was a huge head in the fermenter with this one.  The finished product had great head retention.

As it turned out, although it was certainly drinkable by the party (May 19-20), the clove-like character of the style didn't really develop until June.

Batch #7:  Apple/pear cider     6/6/01

Siphon 4 gallons apple juice into carboy, leaving sediment behind.

Boil pear juice 10 mins, dissolve honey, add to carboy.

Add enough of 5th gallon of apple juice to make 5-gallon batch.

Rehydrate yeast as per directions and pitch.
 

Starting gravity 1.064

(gravity of the juice by itself was 1.059)

-----

6/7/01

Used ice water bath to cool carboy to 78 degrees F.  Weather is very hot.  Fermentation is progressing nicely.

About 3 ozs of honey remained stuck to the sides of the jar.  If I had realized it was that much, I would have scraped it out.  Oh well.  We still got a pretty good gravity.
 

Batch #8:  Light Peach Cream Ale     8/4/01

1/2 lb Cara-Pils, steep @ 150 degrees for 45 mins.
5 lbs liquid pale extract
2 lbs 60/40 wheat extract

1/4 oz Mt. Hood @ 4.7% Alpha 90 min.
1/2 oz Mt. Hood @ 4.7% Alpha 60 min.
1/4 oz Cascade @ 5.8% Alpha 30 min.

Wyeast 2112 (CA Common)

Irish Moss

O.G. 1.052

we used 7 gallons and we were a tiny bit short

9/7/01

Siphoned to secondary with puree of 6 large peaches and one 16 oz can, drained. Probably 3 1/2 or 4 lbs. Should have been done earlier, but we were all very busy.

Gravity is 1.015, so it's a hair over 4% ABW.

10/6/01

Prime w/1 cup DME & bottle. F.G. 1.014
took a very long time for bubbles to stop rising in secondary.

52 - 14 = 38 / 8 = 4.75% ABW

Batch #9:  Left (Stage Right) Coast IPA     9/16/01

3 tsp Gypsum
1/2 tsp Epsom Salt

7 1/2 lbs pale malt extract
1 lb. 60/40 wheat malt extract

1/2 lb. crushed cara-pils
1/3 lb. cryshed crystal @ 50L

1/2 oz Cascade @ 4.8% Alpha     90 min
3 1/2 oz    "      "      45 min
2 oz    "      "      30 min
1/2 oz fresh, homegrown Cascade      30 min
1/2 oz Mt. Hood @ 4.7% Alpha at end of boil
1 3/4 oz Cascade @ 4.8% Alpha   dry hop

Wyeast 1056

Homebrew shop was out of cara-pils, so we had to sub basic light malt.

O.G. 1.056 (approx, was 1.061 but added H₂O)

Siphon to secondary, gravity 1.022

10/6/01

Prime w/1 cup DME & bottle. F.G. 1.016

56 - 16 = 40 / 8 = 5% ABW

Excellent! If we can make more like this then we know what we are doing. Could use a tad more aroma hops.

Batch #10:  Spiced Christmas dark ale     11/18/01

1 oz Fuggles   60 min
1/2 oz Williamette   10 min
1/2 oz Hallertauer   55 min
1/2 oz Hallertauer   5 min

1/2 tsp irish moss   5 min

3/4 lb honey

5 3-inch cinnamon sticks
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp whole cloves
6 oz grated ginger root
zest of 6 oranges

Simmered spices with honey for 45 min.

added honey (strained) at 60 min.

total boil one hour, 20 min.

S.G. = 1.061

target primary fermentation temperature: 60 degrees F

transferred to to secondary 12/01, gravity 1.022
----
12/17
   Have been waiting for flavors to develop, and holding temp. at about 62 degrees F. Am suspicious that it may have been left in the primary for too long.

12/22
   Bottled. Tastes okay. Gravity very high at 1.020, works out to 5.1% abw. It seemed pretty fizzy at bottling, so we only used 3/4 cup DME to prime.

Batch #11:  Left Coast IPA (again)     12/16/01

1/2 lb cara-pils
1/3 lb crystal @ 50 degrees L

   steep @ 152 degrees F for 30 m

Mash grains for 30 min, raise to 165 degrees F, hold 5 min, then remove grain.

7 1/2 lbs pale malt extract
1 lb 60/40 wheat malt extract

1/2 oz Cascade @ 4.7% Alpha    90 min    (pellet)
3 1/2 oz Cascade @ 4.7% Alpha    45 min    (pellet)
2 1/2 oz Cascade @ 4.7% Alpha    30 min    (pellet)
1 oz Mt. Hood @ 4.7% Alpha    end of boil    (whole)
2 oz Cascade @ 4.7% Alpha    dry hop    (pellet)

Starting gravity unknown, I still have not replaced my broken cylinder. (oops)

   White Labs WLP001 California Ale yeast

   target fermentation temp. 68 degrees F

Oops, forgot irish moss in this batch.

12/22
   Siphon to secondary, add 2 oz Cascade dry hops (pellets). S.G. 1.022 (seens a bit high) Beer is very cloudy. Should do a tertiary for settling.

12/31
   Siphon to tertiary. 1.020. Tastes sort of odd, a little like pineapple. A bit too malty for the style. I think a little aging will improve it. Dissolved CO₂ is low.

Bottle. S.G. 1.016

Batch #12:  Leftover Malt Weizen     12/24/01

5 lbs 60/40 wheat malt extract
1 lb light malt extract
3/4 lbs cara-pils
1/2 lb rolled oats

steep everything for 45 min @ 155 degrees F. Remove 1/4 lb cara-pils 15 mins. through, boil for 5 mins, then return to kettle. Mash out at 170 degrees F.

boil 90 mins.

1 oz Williamette    90 min    5% Alpha
1/2 oz Mt. Hood    30 min    4.7% Alpha
1/2 oz Mt. Hood    10 min    4.7% Alpha
1/2 tsp Irish Moss    10 min    mmmm...seaweed...

Wyeast 3068 (made starter on 12/23)

S.G. 1.035    We were short 3/4 gal and had to add

Siphon to Secondary on 1/2/02, S.G. 1.012

Bottled, S.G. 1.012

Lee, Wendy and I all went our separate ways, and brewing activities stopped for the next three years.