The second brew session of break took place today in the Fieldpointe brew garage. The gear was initially setup outside however the wind persuaded a move to the garage. Good thing because a little snow fell and turned into rain during the session.
This was a solo event so nothing unique to report on like there usually is when others are involved. Some entertainment was sought by working 2o meter Slow Scan TV (SSTV) during the boil but wasn’t too productive. The high powered stations were ruling the band leaving little room for low powered station success. However, I was able to decode some SSTV images from the International Space Station as it passed the vicinity. The ISS is transmitting lunar images between Christmas and New Year. Unfortunately, most of the passes are during the very early hours of the morning and being on break, I’m sleeping in – a bit. (Still wake up on the early side. But still …)
The new Blichmann Hellfire burner was used for the second time today. (Once today – second time used.) I am very happy with the purchase as it performs well. Clean burning blue flames producing plenty of heat to get the job done. An added benefit was that it warmed the garage up nicely – not that it has been that cold around here so far this winter. Today’s very minor snowfall perhaps gets us to about 1.5 inches so far for winter. Kind of silent. And nice.
The beer this time is a Strong American Ale. Previous renditions of this beer have been produced before but it has been average so a few changes were made to the recipe. The grain bill was increased and the hop type was changed with another ounce or two added. This edition should be more interesting.
Here are the makings of this edition of Silent Night Winter Ale.
Grain
- 14 lb – 2 Row Brewers Malt
- 1.5 lb – American Caramel 60°L
- 0.25 lb – American Chocolate Malt
Hops
- 2 oz – Cascade (60 minutes)
- 1 oz – Cascade (45 minutes)
- 1 oz – Cascade (30 minutes)
- 1 oz – Cascade (15 minutes)
Adjunct
- 2 lb – Honey (Flameout)
Yeast
- 1 Pack – Fermentis Safale US-05 (1 Liter Starter)
Projected Analysis
- OG: 1.079
- FG: 1.021
- Color: 17.6 SRM
- ABV: 7.74%
- Bitterness: 69.6
Here’s hoping that this winter remains silent as we transition to 2022.
