Posts written by ClamberSkull

Hands Across the Lupuverse

Posted on by ClamberSkull

This recipe was based on Ale of the Riverwards Hop Hands clone which I decided to brew after hearing Ed’s enthusiasm on this Brew Files episode.

Dry hops were added 2 days in after the brewpi showed peak exothermic action. Brew day to kegerator was seven days for the first keg with the other still awaiting dry hop. I haven’t decided if I’m going to use the same hop combination on the 2nd keg to see what effect the biotransformation had or use completely different varieties.

The hop substitutions worked out in my mind and I can’t perceive the garlic notes some people get with Galaxy and Summit. Maybe there is a little too much pine / resinous character and I’d probably dial back the bittering addition next time. Also, moar oatz (this is all I had on hand).

The 20min additions in the recipe were in the whirlpool. This 20min hopstand was at 75 – 70C.

Hops Across the Handiverse?

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
34 L 60 min 60.6 IBUs 4.1 SRM 1.050 1.013 4.9 %
Actuals 1.05 1.011 5.1 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 8 kg 91.95
Golden Naked Oats 500 g 5.75
Oats, Flaked 200 g 2.3

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Magnum 20 g 60 min Boil Pellet 12
Centennial 25 g 5 min Boil Pellet 10
Galaxy 25 g 5 min Boil Pellet 14
Summit 25 g 5 min Boil Pellet 17
Centennial 35 g 20 min Aroma Pellet 10
Galaxy 35 g 20 min Aroma Pellet 14
Summit 35 g 20 min Aroma Pellet 17
Centennial 100 g 0 min Dry Hop Pellet 10
Galaxy 100 g 0 min Dry Hop Pellet 14
Summit 100 g 0 min Dry Hop Pellet 17

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
London Ale III (1318) Wyeast Labs 73% 17.78°C - 23.33°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 66.67°C 60 min

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Mr. Brown III, Brown Streak

Posted on by ClamberSkull


 

(Who-oo-oo-oo is Mr Brown?)
Mr. Brown is a clown who rides through town in a coffin
(Where he be found?)
In the coffin where there is three crows on top and two is laughing
Oh, what a confusion

The theme of the song relates to a rumour that was spreading through Jamaica that a duppy, or ghost, had been spotted in numerous locations speeding through the land on a three-wheeled coffin, perched upon which were three John crows, or buzzards, one of which could talk and was asking for a Mr. Brown.

(listen)

The very first beer I ever brewed was John Palmer’s Port O’ Palmer which happened to be ready on Halloween so making a dark brew for the fright night has become something of a tradition. You can usually find me playing the theremin on my porch dispensing homebrew to the parents of all the ghosts and ghouls.

With this particular iteration, an un-spiced keg was tapped first. Into the second keg I added an infusion of Bengal Spice tea before force carbonating:

Ingredients: Cinnamon, Roasted Chicory Root, Roasted Carob, Natural Spice and Vanilla flavors with other Natural Flavors, Dates, Ginger Root, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Cloves, and Nutmeg.

Maybe next year I’ll make a beer closer to the BJCP tropical stout guideline.

Untappd

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
34 L 60 min 30.6 IBUs 17.9 SRM 1.053 1.011 5.5 %
Actuals 1.052 1.011 5.4 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 8 kg 85.74
Golden Naked Oats 350 g 3.75
Dark Amber Malt (Red Shed) 300 g 3.22
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L 290 g 3.11
Roasted Barley 250 g 2.68
Chocolate Malt 140 g 1.5

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Magnum 20 g 60 min Boil Pellet 12
Pekko 20 g 5 min Aroma Pellet 16.8
Equinox (HBC 366) 15 g 5 min Aroma Pellet 15

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Safale American (US-05) DCL/Fermentis 77% 15°C - 23.89°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 66.67°C 60 min

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Winter Solstice – Brett Return

Posted on by ClamberSkull

brett-1

This beer was brewed in June 2016 and fermented out with WY3711 (French Saison) and then left to linger in the clutches of Brettanomyces Bruxellensis.

Untappd

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
30 L 60 min 32.2 IBUs 23.7 SRM 1.045 1.008 4.8 %
Actuals 1.046 1.006 5.2 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 4.75 kg 75.76
Wheat Malt (Gambrinus) 720 g 11.48
Special B Malt 400 g 6.38
Carafa Special II (Weyermann) 225 g 3.59
Roasted Barley 175 g 2.79

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Hop Extract (c02 - Yakima Valley) 5 g 60 min Boil Pellet 80.1
Equinox (HBC 366) 45 g 0 min Aroma Pellet 15

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
French Saison (3711) Wyeast Labs 80% 18.33°C - 25°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 66.67°C 60 min

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Brett Saison

Posted on by ClamberSkull

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
38 L 60 min 20.6 IBUs 12.9 SRM 1.050 1.011 5.0 %
Actuals 1.051 1.006 5.9 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 8 kg 91.95
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L 500 g 5.75
Carafa II 200 g 2.3

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Ahtanum 59 g 60 min Boil Pellet 5.2
Ahtanum 23 g 5 min Boil Pellet 5.2
Ahtanum 17 g 0 min Boil Pellet 6

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Nottingham (-) Danstar 75% 13.89°C - 21.11°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 66.67°C 60 min

Notes

1/2 With Nottingham, 1/2 with Brett WL5051 / Yeastbay Wallonian Farmhouse cake from Wildrose wort challange.

Rehydrated dry yeast.

1.003 - Sasion 06/12
1.009 - Bitter 06/13

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Young Lady Summer

Posted on by ClamberSkull

The Cowtown Yeast Wranglers latest competition was to clone Ribstone Creek’s tasty Old Man Winter Porter. I’ve usually had my fill of winter come the end of December (although not my fill of porter) and decided to seek Young Lady Summer instead. My first idea was to use the provided grain / hop list and brew something on the lighter end of the ale spectrum.

Here is what I first threw together

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
38 L 60 min 40.2 IBUs 12.5 SRM 1.071 1.021 6.6 %
Actuals 1.046 1.01 4.7 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 11 kg 88.18
Brown Malt 453.6 g 3.64
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L 453.6 g 3.64
Munich Malt - 10L 453.6 g 3.64
Chocolate Malt 113.4 g 0.91

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Columbus (Tomahawk) 50 g 60 min First Wort Pellet 14
Chinook 56.7 g 0 min Aroma Pellet 13
Hallertauer 28.3 g 0 min Aroma Pellet 4.8

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
London ESB Ale (1968) Wyeast Labs 69% 17.78°C - 22.22°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 66.67°C 60 min

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Instead of doing this though, I thought it might be fun to attempt an Albino Stout. Something along the lines of a Milk Stout but without any dark malts. To add some roast, I added whole coffee beans (excellent yellow honey process coffee from Baja Rica cafe, thanks Randy!) and cocoa nibs to the fermenter. This beer ended up being a fun holiday beer to have around despite not really achieving a dark beer character. The consensus at the club meeting was that the coffee gave an interesting sweet pepper like favor which was similar to a blonde coffee beer that was in the Alberta Homebrewer’s advent calendar.

I wasn’t able to pass off this old man as a beautiful young lady but it’s always good to get weird.

yls2

Is my mascara smudged? The recipe is in my purse:

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
34 L 60 min 27.3 IBUs 8.0 SRM 1.062 1.017 6.0 %
Actuals 1.069 1.02 6.5 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 5 kg 53.33
Pale Malt, Maris Otter 1.814 kg 19.35
Munich Malt 700 g 7.47
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L 500 g 5.33
Victory Malt 453.6 g 4.84
Milk Sugar (Lactose) 907.2 g 9.68

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Goldings, East Kent 80 g 60 min First Wort Pellet 5

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Whole Coffee Beans 200.00 g 7 days Primary Spice
cocoa nibs 200.00 g 7 days Secondary Spice

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
London ESB Ale (1968) Wyeast Labs 69% 17.78°C - 22.22°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 68.89°C 45 min

Notes

added 100g of coffee to both ferementers
added 100g of cocoa nibs to one ferement

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Bonus Mascaras!:

O’Siris’ Curse

Posted on by ClamberSkull

osiris

 

This was the beer that I contributed to the Alberta homebrewer’s advent calendar (Day 11). I brewed this before I heard of the calendar so there was lots of time to bottle condition which I haven’t done in a long time. To make it a little more festive I boiled a bit of spice in with the priming sugar. I’ve since tried a couple of bottles to see how the spice was faring and… GUSHERS! Argh. I guess I shouldn’t have transported the batch through that bone yard:

osiris_boneyard

 

Please note the gravestones on the far right and far left that are enlarged in the insert. I did not apply photoshop. Twelve year old me is really very amused at this.

Anyways, these may gush.  It’s the curse doing this. It’s not because there’s an infection or too much sugar or anything. Ancient Egyptian curse and / or restless thirsty souls attempting to drink local. Really.

Something I didn’t mention in the notes was that I ran half of the Roasted Barley through the blender which was mashed in with the rest of the grist.

I guess I'll expand the recipe. I hope I don't get cursed and die.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
34 L 60 min 40.6 IBUs 35.8 SRM 1.044 1.010 4.4 %
Actuals 1.046 1.01 4.7 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 5 kg 68.8
Barley, Flaked 1.361 kg 18.72
Black Barley (Stout) 907.2 g 12.48

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Goldings, East Kent 112 g 60 min Boil Pellet 5

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
London ESB Ale (1968) Wyeast Labs 69% 17.78°C - 22.22°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 49°C 20 min
Sach 64°C 60 min

Notes

Used Toasted Flaked Barley not regular.

Measured OG 1.043

Mashed to 65, ended at 63 - step mashing went fine with 20min protein rest

First runnings lautered slowly - stopped half way and filled with sparge water. Laurtering ran fine after that.

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Coconut Porter

Posted on by ClamberSkull

coconut_label

This is the third year of Coconut Porter. This year’s version was cobbled together from malts that I had around.

But how? Recipe?

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
38 L 60 min 33.7 IBUs 30.2 SRM 1.057 1.017 5.3 %
Actuals 1.062 1.013 6.5 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 8 kg 77.91
Barley, Flaked 453.6 g 4.42
Carafa II 453.6 g 4.42
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L 453.6 g 4.42
Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L 453.6 g 4.42
Roasted Barley 226.8 g 2.21
Special B Malt 226.8 g 2.21

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Magnum 44 g 60 min Boil Pellet 12.7
Goldings, East Kent 20 g 10 min Aroma Pellet 5

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Toasted Coconut 250.00 g 0 min Mash Flavor
Toasted Coconut 200.00 g 30 min Boil Flavor
Irish Moss 2.00 tsp 15 min Boil Fining
Toasted Coconut 200.00 g 15 min Boil Flavor
Toasted Coconut 600.00 g 0 min Boil Flavor
Toasted Coconut 250.00 g 7 days Secondary Flavor

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
London ESB Ale (1968) Wyeast Labs 69% 17.78°C - 22.22°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 66.7°C 60 min

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Beer Demons in the Basement

Posted on by ClamberSkull

I decided to brew at the last minute on Saturday and chose to do a brew inspired by good times sipping Maui Coconut Porter on the lanai in that beer’s home town. I’ve brewed this before but seeing as I didn’t plan the brew ahead I had to wing a few things. I didn’t use any Chocolate or Black malt and instead used Carafa Special II and Roasted Barley (which was ground finely in a blender). I also didn’t prepare a yeast starter but had a Dry Stout fermented with WY1968 London ESB that I needed to move to a serving keg. I pitched the slurry into the new beer and expected to see a quick start to fermentation the next morning. There were no signs of life the next day and I had to head out of town.

Curiosity got the better of me and seeing as my netbook running BrewPi is close to where these carboys are sitting, I decided to remote into it and check its microphone. I did this through the command line and used various tools to compress and move data. This is what I got:

I’m pretty sure the heartbeat like sound is CO2 bubbling out of the blow off tubes… but I think I can also hear the damned conspiring the background. Creepy.

Recipe, if you don't mind

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
38 L 60 min 33.7 IBUs 30.2 SRM 1.057 1.017 5.3 %
Actuals 1.062 1.011 6.7 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 8 kg 77.91
Barley, Flaked 453.6 g 4.42
Carafa II 453.6 g 4.42
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L 453.6 g 4.42
Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L 453.6 g 4.42
Roasted Barley 226.8 g 2.21
Special B Malt 226.8 g 2.21

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Magnum 44 g 60 min Boil Pellet 12.7
Goldings, East Kent 20 g 10 min Aroma Pellet 5

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Toasted Coconut 250.00 g 0 min Mash Flavor
Toasted Coconut 200.00 g 30 min Boil Flavor
Irish Moss 2.00 tsp 15 min Boil Fining
Toasted Coconut 200.00 g 15 min Boil Flavor
Toasted Coconut 600.00 g 0 min Boil Flavor
Toasted Coconut 250.00 g 7 days Secondary Flavor

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
London ESB Ale (1968) Wyeast Labs 69% 17.78°C - 22.22°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 66.7°C 60 min

Notes

oconut Porter
Robust Porter


Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 10.00 gal
Boil Size: 11.84 gal
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: 3 Keggle HERMS V1.2
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
16.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 71.11 %
2.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 8.89 %
2.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.89 %
1.00 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 4.44 %
1.00 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 4.44 %
0.50 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 2.22 %
0.75 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 18.1 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
0.75 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 7.1 IBU
1.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 5.2 IBU
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.75 lb Coconut (toasted) (Mash 1.0 hours) Misc
0.75 lb Coconut (toasted) (Secondary 7.0 days) Misc
2.00 lb Coconut (toasted) (Boil 0.0 min) Misc
2.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Primary 3.0 days) Misc
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (Chico) (DCL #S-05) Yeast-Ale
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.059 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.87 %
Bitterness: 30.3 IBU
Est Color: 31.5 SRM


Mash at 155 for 60 min
Double batch sparge


Research and pre-brew notes-
Maui uses only toasted coconut that they roast themselves for the coconut flavor, no coconut milk or extracts at all. It looks to be a med-light toast from pics of the Maui/Kona collaboration brew with stone. From interview; "Toasting should be just enough give a nutty flavor and denature the head killing oils." They use just over 200# of coconut for a 20bbl batch, which comes out to roughly 1/3# per gal. "Some goes in the mash, some goes in the boil, the majority goes in a hop-back, and some goes in the brite tank." Without a large hop-back, we should probably add the majority of the cocnut as a whirlpool addition, which is how it seems the collaboration brew was done at Stone. Uses 6 malts, and from descriptions it sounds like there's definately some chocolate malt and black patent. Looks to be on the darker end of the scale for robust porters, I'm guessing at least 30 SRM. Seems to have a higher FG and comes in at ~5.7 abv. Mouthfeel described as thick, rich, and creamy, and with the higher FG it definately needs some cara-pils and a med-high mash temp. Maybe even some flaked grains for body/mouthfeel? IBU's estimated at 30, and uses only cascade and columbus hops. Hopping is in the American style used at bittering, flavor, and aroma additions. Yeast selection is somewhat clean but may also be playing up the maltiness. Maybe try a cleaner english yeast like S-04? Probably split to two fermenters and try S-04 in one and S-05 in the other to see which one is closer.
Created with BeerSmith

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SMaSH Exchange

Posted on by ClamberSkull
Skull_Cracking

SMaSHy SMaSHy

I decided that this would be my first attempt at participation in an official brew club event. I’m a big wuss and chose an exchange instead of a competition so I don’t have to cry over a poor quantitative result.  All those in the exchange chose a hop variety and followed pretty much the same recipe using domestic 2 row and the hop of their choosing.

The brew went a little like this.

The beer didn’t turn out how I was expecting. Ahtanum is supposed to be akin to other American hops with citrus notes. This beer had smooth bittering and a floral nose, not really what was advertised. There may have been packaging issues as well because some members of the exchange commented that the beer had an off colour, a little brown or pink even but there wasn’t any oxidation off flavours. I blame this to the fact that I didn’t perform the usual sac[charomyces]ifical rites and it angered the yeasts within.

I haven’t had a chance taste many of the brews included in the exchange but am looking forward to educating my face hole with the beard around it. I’ve tried Mosaic, Challenger and Pacific Jade thus which have all been delicious.

This was the first batch that I labeled and grabbed an over the neck tag design off of a post on the homebrewing subreddit. It would have worked a lot better if I had used a thicker paper stock. Many of the labels had ripped after transport. I was forced to trade the LHBS proprietor a bottle for the required tape to mend the damage upon drop off.

SMaSH_Tag

Let's see that recipe

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
20 L 60 min 45.0 IBUs 3.5 SRM 1.060 1.013 6.2 %
Actuals 1.06 1.011 6.4 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 5.496 kg 100

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Ahtanum 46.5 g 60 min Boil Pellet 6
Ahtanum 28.3 g 20 min Boil Pellet 6
Ahtanum 28.3 g 10 min Boil Pellet 6
Ahtanum 28.3 g 0 min Boil Pellet 6
Ahtanum 28.3 g 0 min Dry Hop Pellet 5.2

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Safale American (US-05) DCL/Fermentis 77% 15°C - 23.89°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 66.67°C 60 min

Notes

OG= 1.060
IBU= 45
Boil time = 60 mins
Ferment temp = 19C (if possible, if not please specify temp on label)
Batch size = 20L


2 row or light extract to reach 1.060 OG on your system
60 mins - variate amount to obtain 45 IBUs
20 mins - 1 oz hop
10 mins - 1 oz hop
0 mins- 1 oz hop
dry hop for 4 days - 1 oz hop
2 packages of Safale US-05 (rehydrated)
Your choice of fining
2.5 volumes of c02
Mash Temp 152F


Brewers will be required to bottle their beers and label them with the hop you used, if it is extract or 2-row, and any other variants you think may be important  The amount you will need to bottle will be determined after we know how many people participate but be prepared to supply 19L.  Beers will be due March 30 at the Vineyard and pickup of the sorted beers with be available April 6.

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Schwarz Pigs

Posted on by ClamberSkull

This is my first attempt at a lager. I am suspicious of this whole lagering business so I choose a style that will hide imperfections. I went so far as to brew a 40l batch and split it using Southern German Lager yeast in one fermenter and trusty Safale us-05 in another. My first mistake was to drain the entire kettle into carboys at ale pitching temperature. I added the ale yeast and figured I’d pop the lager in the fermentation chamber to cool. I got nervous other microbes might take hold after a couple of hours yielded only a degree drop so I pitched hot:

Screen Shot 2015-05-07 at 9.38.07 AMI let the beer come up to 12°C where it sat for the most active period of fermentation. Here’s the whole schedule:

Screen Shot 2015-05-07 at 9.41.16 AMSo at this point I’m slowly moving the beer down to cold crashing temperature. This is an adaption of Brülosopher’s lager method which seems reasonable. I pulled a gravity sample before raising the temperature and it was right on track. This beer developed a thick creamy tan krausen that has now vanished.

Here’s the recipe using the great BeerXML Shortcode WordPress plugin:

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Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
38 L 60 min 23.6 IBUs 25.4 SRM 1.050 1.013 4.9 %
Actuals 1.046 1.01 4.7 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
2-Row 7.1 kg 79.95
Munich Malt 480 g 5.41
Carafa II 400 g 4.5
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L 400 g 4.5
Pale Chocolate 400 g 4.5
Chocolate Malt 100 g 1.13

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Ahtanum 60 g 60 min Boil Pellet 5.2
Saaz 28 g 20 min Boil Pellet 4
Saaz 28 g 0 min Boil Pellet 4

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Southern German Lager (WLP838) White Labs 72% 10°C - 12.78°C

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 66.67°C 60 min

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