One year anniversary of all grain brewing.

[NastyN8]

It's now my one year anniversary of brewing all grain recipes. I've learned a lot, and failed a few times. I've made a few amazing beers, and a few mediocre, but most have been pretty good. At first I was using other peoples recipes, but now I'm making up my own recipes as I go, and they've gotten much better. I'll post a list of things I've done, things that worked out great, and things I've failed at, hopefully I can get some good feedback and maybe answer any questions.

>I've switched to pitching yeast from the krausen of already brewing beers and I love it. Saved me tons of money and I've been using the same strain of yeast for months.
>I started buying bulk lbs of fresh hops online, which has also saved me tons of money, but I can only use a couple different types of hops at a time. It's worked out nice to just use one or two types of hops per brew.
>I've been experimenting with overnight mashing, and I really like it.
>When I stopped being so anal with my sanitizing, I started having a bit more fun. I do sanitize everything, but I stopped worrying so much about infection.
>I usually stick with three grains for almost all my beers, but add a pound or two of special grains to change up the flavor. White wheat, American 2 row and Chilean Crystal malts.

I'd love to hear some criticism, comments or questions.

 

[NastyN8]

Here's what I'm brewing today: Bloody Honey Hefe
Grainbill:
6# American 2 row
4# White Wheat
1 oz Cascade hops
2# Honey
1/2 oz corriander
California ale yeast

 

[NastyN8]

Oh, I forgot about the three blood oranges that go into the boil.

 

[cjp89]

Maybe like revolvers blood and honey? That's a really good beer.

 

[NastyN8]

Maybe like revolvers blood and honey? That's a really good beer.

I've never had it, unfortunately. It usually turns out really crisp with a citrus snap at the end.

 

[cjp89]

I think you can only get it here in tx.aybe even just in the Dallas area

 

[NastyN8]

I'm in the wonderful state of Utah where they don't like people drinking good beer. That's why I homebrew!

 

[cjp89]

I think revolver just uses the zest of the orange at the finish. Probably less citrus pop and just gives it the nose

 

[NastyN8]

I tend to like the flavor of fruit added to the boil rather than at the end or in the secondary. You get a little zing from the fruit without losing the flavor of the hops and malt. Rather than having an overpowering fruit flavor, I like beers to have just a tiny note with that mouth feel of acidity from fruit.

 

[stpug]

>I've switched to pitching yeast from the krausen of already brewing beers and I love it. Saved me tons of money and I've been using the same strain of yeast for months.

That's cool. I've been harvesting and reusing, but never actually pitched directly from active krausen into a beer; probably because I rarely have one beer with active krausen when another is ready for pitching. I HAVE top cropped; stored; and pitched that though (so kind of similar, kind of).

>I started buying bulk lbs of fresh hops online, which has also saved me tons of money, but I can only use a couple different types of hops at a time. It's worked out nice to just use one or two types of hops per brew.

You can certainly get yourself into a muddled mess with using too many different varieties of hops in a single brew so keeping it simple is a good way to go. Plus, it's easier to distinguish which hop imparted what flavor/aroma when you're only dealing with two varieties.

>I've been experimenting with overnight mashing, and I really like it.

I've heard of people doing this but never tried it myself. Not to say never, but I highly doubt I'd ever do this method. I like to start the process and finish the process in one fail swoop, and leave the next day for something else. But, cool nonetheless.

>When I stopped being so anal with my sanitizing, I started having a bit more fun. I do sanitize everything, but I stopped worrying so much about infection.

Exact same feeling here. I used to be VERY sanitary - and it kind of took some fun out of the process because I was always worried about contaminating something. A couple years ago I decided that in order to brew and enjoy all of the moments that I needed to "simplify" and I've done just that. I now enjoy my brewdays thoroughly! Sanitizer is barely used on brewday

>I usually stick with three grains for almost all my beers, but add a pound or two of special grains to change up the flavor. White wheat, American 2 row and Chilean Crystal malts.

Again, that's a good habit for most brewers to adopt. Keep it simple and avoid a muddled mess. There are some definite style exceptions but for the most part the simple recipes present better, quicker. I've used the Patagonia crystal malts a few times and have found them to have a very unique character trait to them, which I like in several beer styles. To me, they kind of have both aspects of a fruity british crystal and a sweet american crystal. Good stuff and I use it on occasion.

Thanks for sharing your years adventure into all grain. May your next year bring you perfectly balanced beers

 

[ForestGroveBrewer]

I'm in the wonderful state of Utah where they don't like people drinking good beer. That's why I homebrew!

Thats why I moved to Oregon. Much more civilized people here.

 

[Rdom]

Oh, I forgot about the three blood oranges that go into the boil.

I've been thinking about brewing a blood orange saison. Do you get much bitterness from the oranges added to the boil? Do you use some of the peel also?

 

[NastyN8]

I've been thinking about brewing a blood orange saison. Do you get much bitterness from the oranges added to the boil? Do you use some of the peel also?

I just quarter the oranges and throw them in the boil. I also make sure they get into the primary as well. With only one oz of Cascade, it adds the perfect flavor.