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Notes

2/16/2019 - The brew went very well. I was a bit low on my mash in temperature. Strike water was maintained between 165-168F, though after mash in muy temperature was 147 when I was targeting 152F. My readings throughout the brew were as follows: -Mash in at 147F; pH was initially 4.8, so I immediately added 1.3 grams of Baking Soda, which then brought the pH to 5.3 after 15 minutes. -30 minutes: pH=5.22, Temperature: 143F -45 minutes: pH=5.00, Temperature: 140 -Began Vorlauf and was able to bring the temperature back into the low to mid 150’s for the duration of the lauter. -Post Mash Gravity, immediately before adding sparge water was 1.065 -Kettle full ocurred at 15 gallons, where I achieved a final runnings of 1.010-1.016; Pre-Boil gravity was 1.041, 15 gallons (target was 14.44 Gallons, 1.043) -Boiled down to approximately 12.5 gallons and had 10.8 gallons in the fermentor at 1.053 SG (13.25 P). This indicates that my boil off rate is approximately 1.67 Gallons per hour. I will make this adjustment in my settings. -I pitched 675 grams of my yeast based on my viability count at 48F. I then slowly warmed the fermenting wort to 52F within about 4 hours. 02/18/2019 - Coming along slowly, but it’s moving. I simply anticipate this will be a long process! pH = 4.71; 1.38%ABV (11.8 Brix). Tastes great still! 2/19/2019 - pH=4.55; 1.035 SG (10.6 Brix, 2.35%ABV); Tastes great! Starting to pick up just a bit of sulphur, but overall, the wort still tastes great, being mid-fermentation. 2/20/2019 - pH=4.38; 1.024 SG (8.85 Brix); Very green, but proceeding well! 2/21/2019 - pH=4.29; 1.014 SG (7.4 Brix); I raised the temp to 58 last night to encourage full attenuation before leading into the colling and lagering phase. I will allow for at least two days of consecutive identical readings before colling to the low 40’s for lagering. The beer tastes “tangy” though I anticipate this is due to some sulphur compunds or other metabolic byproducts that will be ckeaned up with time. There are no odd aromas, and the beer otherwise appears to be very clean. 2/22/2019 - Dried out a whoe lot.. Down to 1.012 (erros: Low Mash temp? Only thing I can think of.. Perhaps this is a very attenuative yeast..) pH=4.32; 6.8Brix 2/22/2019 (evening) - 1.009 (6.6 Brix, 4.38pH. Clean Smelling, I will let it stand for another day to ensure full attenuation before moving into the lagering phase. 2/23/2019 - pH=4.33; 1.009 (5.8% ABV). I get a touch of sulphur, but otherwise, very good. I’ll take another reading tomorrow, but will likely begin lagering tomorrow afternoon, at the latest. 2/24/2019 - Started Lagering today.. Lowered to 42F over 12 hours, from 58F. 2/26/2019 - I have added Silicon Dioxide on two consecutive days, and the beer is much more clear. It tastes great, but am going to bump it to 45F as this rascal continues to lager. In the future, I will wait to fine the beer, especially during lagering. pH=4.6; SG: 1.008. 3/10/2019 - It is obvious that I began lagering the beer too soon. Next time around, I need to allow for a lengthier dicetyl rest before moving into the lagering phase. I also should hold off on the addition of any fining agents until I am in full-on lagering at 32F. To correct this, I am essentially kraussening the beer. I prepared a 2L wort at 1.060 SG. I pitched the same yeast as the original beer into the new wort, waited about 4 hours, then pitched the entire volume of the new wort into the fermentor, which has about 10 gallons of the Pilsener, sitting at 58F. My plan is to raise the temperature 1F per day over the next couple of days to 60F, then hold for at least a week to allow for a full clean up of the residual VDKs. Stay tuned to see how this works! 3/17/2019 - The Beer is around 6.5% ABV, too high for the style and the alcoholic character coems across. The diacetyl flavor is absent, but it is clear that the beer’s delicate malt and hop balance is thrown off by the excessively high alcohol for the style. I will allow for an extended cold conditioning period, though stylistically, the beer has too much alcohol. To correct this in the future, I need to ensure that I achieve appropriate mash temperatures (slightly higher than this beer had, and more in the 152F range), and also ensure that I achieve appropriate OG values in order to produce a beer that is closer to the 5.0% ABV range. Otgerwise, thge recipe is good and I would like to brew this again using the same recipe, in appropriate grain amounts and proportions in order to hit my numbers. I also need to allow for enough time for VDK’s to be cleaned up before lagering the beer. 4/8/2019-Next time I make the beer, try just Pilsner and Munich 9°L malt (90/10% ish). Look for more of a dry, crisp cracker character rather than the biscuit character.