Autumn Brown Ale

Mash

Strike Water: 4.6G @ 167F Initial Mash Rest: 151-152F Ending Mash Rest: 150-151F Start Time: 4:45PM End Time: 5:55PM Wort Collected:

Floated a tupperware lid on top of grain bed to pour vorlauf on top without distrubing grainbed. Worked pretty well.

Slow to drain first runnings. Really need to get the copper manifold hooked up.

Sparge

4.75G water Sparge in two batches each about 2.375G. First round sparge 190F.

• Grain bed temp: 171F
• Total Wort Collected: 5.25G

Second round sparge 170F

• Total Wort Collected: 7.25G

Sparged an additional .5G to bring boil volume up to 7.7G

Pre-boil Gravity: 1.048

Boil

Start with 7.7G Boil 70 min End with 6G

Cool down to 79F, siphon to fermenter. Put fermenter in water bath with frozen water bottles Pitch yeast when wort is down to 72F OG 1.061

Fermentation

Not sure exact wort temperature when yeast was pitched. Fermenter sat in a water bath with frozen water bottles for an hour and started at 79F. Should have been around 70F.

12 hours later, water bath temp is 66F and no signs of activity. In past experience, Ringwood Ale yeast is a very slow starting yeast. I should have made a starter.

No activity after 24 hours, have been gently swirly fermenter to rouse the yeast. After 36 hours there was about 2 inches of visible krausen and average activity for this slower yeast. No blow off necessary.

2011-09-27 (3 days)

Fermentation has slowed. Still plenty of krausen but bubbling and activity has slowed. Temperature holding at 72 in water bath.

2011-10-26

Recorded final gravity of 1.012 when I kegged this beer about 10 days ago. Today this beer went in the kegerator. It has been on the spare CO2 tank at 26PSI for 10 days at 68F. Tasting quite pleasing so far, maybe still a little green. The taste is not too heavy but with a lingering hint of chocolate fudge. Not as much hop bitterness as I expected for the amount of bittering hops used. Quite a nice balance.