Today’s project was another variation on the dark wheat beer, which I’ve made twice before. Today I used a slightly varied grain bill, different yeast and hops.
- 2 lbs. Vienna Malt
- 3 lbs. 2 Row
- 1 lbs. American Cystal Malt 20L
- 2 lbs. American Cystal Malt 40L
- 1 lbs. American Cystal Malt 60L
- .5 lbs. CaraAmber Bsicuit Malt
- .5 lbs. Pale Chocolate Malt
- .5 lbs CaraPils
Total: 10.5 lbs.
Yeast was the Safale S04 this time, and the hops were Fuggles. My initial attempt was for another ale yeast from the fermentation trap, which was a month past it’s best before date and having been stored at room temperature. After 8 hours in a starter of honey and warm water it showed no signs of life. By contrast the Safale I’ve had in my fridge for quite some time was 2 months past it’s best before date, and was growing well after less than an hour.
Previously I’d added DME to lift the gravity. This time I added about 3.5 lbs. of grain to the earlier recipe to attempt to make up the difference, and ended up with exactly the same OG: 1.052 when I checked it just before the flame-out. Oddly, when I checked it a second time with the same refractometer, it yielded a very different result, of 8.9 Brix, which would be 1.035 SG. If that reading is correct, my only guess would have been that the chiller was leaking into the beer. Since that water would not be sterile, I certainly hope that isn’t the case. Each time I checked, it appeared to be doing fine.
About this point I was thinking brewing in warmer weather would be a better idea.