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The Nano-Brewery

nano- /nan'oh/ 1.  A prefix.  2. Used losely to mean "small", e.g. nanotechnology.
brewery /Broo' er ee/, n. A brewhouse; the building and apparatus where brewing is carried on.

My current hobby has been brewing beer. I got sucked into this a few years back with a cheap, clearance kit I found at Target. It was pretty crummy compared to my current setup and it made a "beer" that was quite frankly digusting. Most first attempts are like this. The hobby and kit sat till December of 2000 when a fellow homebrewer brought into work for our Xmas party some delightful Christmas Ale. I had to try brewing again after a sip. In Jan/Feb of 2001 I went and visited my local Homebrew store and got started with a simple ingredients kit (irish red) and some newer/better equipment. It didnt last long! It was all gone 5 weeks later, considering it took 3 week to ferment and carbonate, I'll call that a success. So far into 2001 some 13 5 gallon batches have been completed. I've gone "all-grain", hand-crafting my recipes and currently have slated to move to kegging for some of my beer. I still enjoy bottles though. Once I get a decent place to brew in I want to move to 10 gallon batches with a nice 3 tier brewing sculpture with several conical fermenters. Later on? I dream of a nice brewpub.

Some brewing notes:

Oatmeal helps all my wheat beers greatly. Its missed when its not there. Improves head, and gives great mouth feel.
Black pepper might be the secret to great Wit's/Hefe's when used with Saaz. I tried it to be similar to Peroni.
FWH or First Wort Hopping is adding hops to the pot as you sparge. I feel it adds a dimension to the beer.
Dry Hopping is a great way to get hop aroma, just add it to the carboy anytime after fermentation, or during.
Crystal Malts contribution cant be underestimated, if you want a certain "sweetness" go for it.
White Labs Yeast is the best yeast i've used. Wyeast isnt bad but smack packs are a pain, i've not tried their Pitchables. Try White Labs.
Hops are important, frankly I love Saaz in any lighter beer. A hefe or wit just isnt the same, thats why i use it so much.

M y B r e w s

2 0 0 1 B r e w i n g S e a s o n

Irish Red

All ingredient kit. plain but good "irish" red. If I recall it was a simple Irish Ale kit and a can
of kicker. Thats it. Sadly my notes are missing gravities and such.

Initial Gravity:
Final Gravity:
Malt & Grain:	3.3# can Irish Ale, 1# Kicker
Hops:
Adjuncts:
Yeast:	1 Pack Dry Ale Yeast

Hoesonpeachtree Belgium White

A hoegaarden clone (more like blue moon), good but needed some help.
I dont recall a good deal about this except it sure went fast.

Initial Gravity:	1.042
Final Gravity:	1.012
Malt & Grain:	3.3# Unhopped Pilsner Malt Extract, 3.3# Unhopped Wheat DME
Hops:	2oz Saaz 3.5% Alpha Acid
Adjuncts:	1oz Sweet Orange Peel, 1tblsp Coriander
Yeast:	Wyeast Belgian Ale Yeast

VeryRaspberry Hefeweisen

Raspberry ALL Wheat beer, this was my first fruit brew. Sanitaziation of the fruit is critical!
I had several infections from the fruits wild yeasts/bacteria. Gravity was a bit high or I
misread the hydrometer, not sure which. Maybe it was spot on?

BlueBerry Hefeweisen - Blueberry ALL Wheat beer, same as above. It needed alot of help.

Initial Gravity:	1.054
Final Gravity:	1.020
Malt & Grain:	7# Wheat DME, .5# Crystal Malt (80L), .5# Oatmeal
Hops:	2oz Haulertau 4.5% Alpha Acid
Adjuncts:
Yeast:	Wyeast Weistephan Yeast

Dont Ask Wheistephan Wheat

A wheistephan wheat clone. I was testing hop teas & shorter boils (15 minute!) to lighten up color. Overall
this really proved the need for a longer boil with hops. The right level of bittering takes hold. The hop tea
just didnt give it enough bittering/flavoring. I was also testing for lighter colors, more like Hoegarrden.
Going all grain improved color/clarity greatly.

Initial Gravity:	1.030
Final Gravity:	1.010
Malt & Grain:	3# Xtra Pale DME, 3# Wheat DME
Hops:	1oz Saaz 3.1% Alpha Acid, 1oz Haulertau 4.5% Alpha Acid
Adjuncts:
Yeast:	Wyeast Weistephan Yeast

American Patriot Porter

A rockem sockem porter thats more like a stout with the addition of oatmeal & malto-dextrin.
This was a abortion of sorts using a bastard mix of a two ingredient kits. It wasnt a porter, nor
a stout. Good idea though and quite frankly it went so quick with no complaints! This is the same as
my good buddy Dixons excellent porter, except he uses a better ingredient kit.

Initial Gravity:	opps!
Final Gravity:	1.06
Malt & Grain:	4# can Laaglander Dutch Bock Kit, 4# Mountmellick Brown Ale Kit, .25# Black Patent, .25# Crystal Malt (80L), .5# Chocolate, 1# Oatmeal
Hops:	from kits
Adjuncts:	8oz Malto-Dextrin
Yeast:	2 packs Generic Dry Ale Yeast

Honey Lemon HefeWeisen

Honey, Lemon and Hefeweisen. Perfect! Or was it! After time there is a odd almost metallic
flavor to this which I'm not certain of its origin. I suspect the lemon rinds I used or the
Georgia Wild Flower Honey. Next time I might use Key Limes instead and make a puree with the pulp.

Initial Gravity:	1.034
Final Gravity:	1.010
Malt & Grain:	3# Pale DME, 3# Wheat DME
Hops:	2oz. Haulertau 4.5% Alpha Acid, 1oz Saaz 3.1% Alpha Acid
Adjuncts:	18oz Georgia Pure Wile Flower Honey, 6 Lemons (zested)
Yeast:	Wyeast Belgian Wit Yeast (repitch)

Hoesonpeachtree DunkelWeisen

Hoegaarden meets Dunkel, dark & tasty. My notes from tasting says this is as good as
a grants porter. Hrm, I musta been drunk when I wrote that since this is a Dunkel.
Oh well. This was my first brew made using White Labs yeast, I have not regretted it.
I also do a "mini-mash" of grains, i'll explain my mini-mash later. Could have used Oatmeal.

Initial Gravity:	1.052
Final Gravity:	1.014
Malt & Grain:	5# Amber LME, 3# Xtra Pale DME, 1# Torrified Wheat, 1# Crystal Malt (90L), 1.5# Chocolate Malt
Hops:	2oz. Saaz 3.1% Alpha Acid
Adjuncts:	1 tblsp Coriander, 5 Oranges (zested)
Yeast:	White Labs American Hefe Yeast

More Hoesonpeachtree

All grain version of my quest for the perfect belgian white. I used First Wort Hopping.
There is a intresting grapefruity flavor that comes out. I did notice some odd off flavors
in some bottles, probably needs more orange flavoring. Prime tabs carbonate the batch.
I tried extract since zesting oranges was a PITA with limited success. I also tried Black
Pepper to add some spicyness. The cumin was too much, pepper? Needed some more.

Initial Gravity:	1.034
Final Gravity:	1.008
Malt & Grain:	5# American 2-row, 4# Torrified Wheat, 1# Belgian Aromatic, 1# Oatmeal
Hops:	3oz. Saaz 3.1% Alpha Acid
Adjuncts:	1 tblsp Coriander, .5 tblsp Black Pepper, .25 tblsp Cumin, 1 tblsp Orange Extract
Yeast:	Self-Cultured Hoegaarden Bottle Yeast

90 Schilling Scotch Ale

Another All grain delight. Recommended by my homebrewer so I tried it. Reminds me of Robert The Bruce
Scotch Ale that I get on tap at a local pub (Cripple Creek). It's malty, still needs some aging.
After 3 months its still a bit "raw" but coming along nicely.

Initial Gravity:	1.080
Final Gravity:	1.012
Malt & Grain:	15# American 2-row, 1# Crystal Malt (90L), 4oz Black Patent, 1# Chocolate Malt
Hops:	2oz. Kent Goldings 6.2% Alpha Acid, 1oz Fuggles %5 Alpha Acid
Adjuncts:	1# Dark Brown Sugar
Yeast:	Generic Dry Ale Yeast


Nice aeration foam!	fermenting nicely

Belgian Hefewit

Another in my attempts towards a perfect belgian white beer. This time I did First Wort Hopping AND
then dry hopping in the primary with the spices. I have only tasted one bottle so far so its difficult
for me to tell if its going to be very good.

Initial Gravity:	1.030
Final Gravity:	1.014
Malt & Grain:	5# American 2-row, 3# Torrified Wheat, 1# Flaked Wheat, 1.5# Belgian Aromatic
Hops:	2oz. Willimette
Adjuncts:	1oz. Bitter Orange, 1 tblsp Coriander, 1 tblsp Black Pepper.
Yeast:	White Labs ???
Notes:	Willamette is too earthy for a Wit beer.

Raspberry Wit #2

My second attempt at a fruit beer. Lessons learned from before clearly helped.
Put the fruit in 160-170 degree water to steep and cool. Should allow it to kill off
any little nasties. Freeze fresh fruit, I used frozen so it wasnt a problem. I could have
puree'd it also. That would have eliminted the clearing stage. FWH 1.5 oz, dry hopped 1.5oz
in primary with ground spices. 1 week primary, rack over raspberrys for 1 week, rack to
clearing carboy for week.

Initial Gravity:	1.062
Final Gravity:	1.007
Malt & Grain:	5# Munich Malt, 2# American 2-row Pale Malt, 5# Torrified Wheat, 1# Belgian Aromatic, 1# Oatmeal, .5# Crystal (20L)
Hops:	3oz Saaz 3.0% Alpha
Adjuncts:	1oz. Bitter Orange, 1 tblsp Coriander, 1 tblsp Black Pepper, 5lb frozen raspberrys.
Yeast:	White Labs Belgian Wit


Racked over raspberrys.	Transfering,look @ the trub!	Transfering

20w50 Crankcase Stout

Its dark. Its rich. It looks like used motor oil. The final gravity seems too high. There are definatly some
fermentables left over but don't know if there is that much. Overall this is better than Mackelsons Triple
Stout. Rich, Black, Creamy and perfectly hopped. I will not change a thing.

Initial Gravity:	1.069
Final Gravity:	1.030 (?)
Malt & Grain:	5# Munich Malt, 7# American 2-row Pale Malt, 1# Chocolate Malt, 1# Black Patent, 1.5# Dark Crystal Malt (120L), 0.5# Roasted Barley, 1.5# Oatmeal (Quaker)
Hops:	1oz East Goldings, 1oz Kent Goldings
Adjuncts:	16oz Lactose, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Citric Acid
Yeast:	White Labs British Ale WLP005
Notes:	Final Gravity seemed high.

2001 Xmas Ale

A very special Xmas ale. I brewed this mostly to have something yummy to give out.
My hydrometer broke so no gravity readings. I was too lazy to get one right away.
The spices are very subtle, almost too subtle. Next time more spices.

Initial Gravity:
Final Gravity:
Malt & Grain:	7.5# Light LME, .5# Special B, 1# Crystal Malt (40-60L), .25# Chocolate Malt, .25# Black Patent, .50# Brown Sugar.
Hops:	1oz Haulertau (4%AA) 60min, 1oz Tattenger (3%AA) 10min
Adjuncts:	1 Cinnamon Stick, 1tsp ground corriander, 1tsp ground cardamon, 2tsp pumpkin spice, 1tblsp orange peel
Yeast:	White Labs British Ale WLP005 - REPITCH
Notes:	Double spices quantity.

Belgian Wit #3

On endless quest for the perfect Hoegardden clone. While i've been mostly pleased with some taste elements
i've not been completely thrilled with all aspects. I've wanted lighter color (2-6 SRM), and after tasting
more samples of Hoegardden i've been overhopping for the style. More orange and esters are desirable.
Underpitching can help here. Giving nice clove and banana overtones. Dry hopping could improve matters also. This used cultured bottle yeast and the results are pleasant. Color is almost TOO light, 2-3SRM!

Initial Gravity:	unknown
Final Gravity:	1.006
Malt & Grain:	5# 2-row Belgian Pilsner, 5# Torrified White Wheat, .5# Briess Flaked Oats
Hops:	.25oz Cascade (5.3%AA) 60min, .25oz Haulertau (4%AA) 30min, .25oz Cascade (5.3%AA) 10min
Adjuncts:	.5 tblsp Paradise Seed (cardamon), .5oz Bitter Orange, .5oz Sweet Orange, .5 tblsp Coriander
Yeast:	Hoegardden Bottle Yeast
Notes:	Bit light, need more aroma.

2 0 0 2 B r e w i n g S e a s o n

Belgian Wit #4

On endless quest for the perfect Hoegardden clone... Continues. I wanted more body. A step mash (done for
#3) is not right for the grain bill. It was a good experiment. This time around I did a 2 step mash: Mash
in at 145 for 20 minues, stepped up to 158 for 60 minutes. No-Sparge Sparge. Dry hopping is where its at for
hop aroma. I pitched with White Labs Belgian Wit Yeast. I say add 2#'s more grain.
Color and Haze were great.

Initial Gravity:	1.032
Final Gravity:	1.004
Malt & Grain:	5# 2-row Belgian Pilsner, 5# Torrified White Wheat, .5# Briess Flaked Oats
Hops:	.25oz Cascade (5.3%AA) FWH, .25oz Haulertau (4%AA) FWH, .33oz Haulertau (4%AA) 30min, .25oz Cascade (5.3%AA) Dry Hopped
Adjuncts:	.5 tblsp Paradise Seed (cardamon), .5oz Bitter Orange, .5oz Sweet Orange, .5 tblsp Coriander, 1/2tblsp Black Pepper. 1/2 at end of boil, 1/2 in primary.
Yeast:	White Labs Belgian Wit
Notes:	Tapped it today (09 Mar 2002) and its much improved over the previous batch. Cloudy, tangy, just about perfect. Hops were better but then again its been aging for a bit.

British Brown Ale #1

I got a great deal on some Malt Extract (FREE). 30#'s to be exact! I used it in my Xmas with great results
but that only polished off ~7#'s. I froze some and gave some away. Time to use some in a brown ale!
So far this brew is very good, we shall see how it turns out. EDME Dry Yeast is great! 2 days to
ferment from 1.062 to 1.014! VERY CLEAN.

Initial Gravity:	1.062
Final Gravity:	1.011
Malt & Grain:	8# Light Malt Extract, 1# 40L British Crystal, 1/2# Carapils
Hops:	1oz Northdown (7.4%AA) 60min, .25oz Challenger (8%AA) 30min, .25oz Challenger (8%AA) 15min, .5oz Northdown (7.4%) Primary
Adjuncts:	1 pkg Burton Salts (Gypsum)
Yeast:	2pkgs EDME Dry Yeast
Notes:	Pretty clean and malty. Very close to Bass Ale.

Belgian Trappist Ale #1

I decided to do a trappist ale after reading a book on belgian ales. In this case I wanted something more like a dubbel but close to the trappist style. Overall I would say its pretty good.

Initial Gravity:	1.060
Final Gravity:	1.008
Malt & Grain:	10# Belgian Pilsner, 2# Belgian Munich, 1# Belgian Aromatic, 1# Belgian Biscuit, 1# Special B, 1# Caravienna, 1# Wheat Malt, .5# Briess Oats
Hops:	.5oz Saaz (5.2%AA) FWH, .5oz Haulertau (3.2%AA) 45min, .5oz Haulertau (3.2%AA) @ 30min, .5oz Saaz (5.2%AA) at 10min
Adjuncts:	.5# Belgian Candy (White), 1 tblsp Coriander, 1 tblsp Bitter Orange Peel, 1 tblsp Sweet Orange Peel, 1 tblsp Cardommon @ 10min
Yeast:	White Labs Trappist Ale
Notes:	Slow fermentor to be sure. It finished clean and somewhat reddish/brown, just like I was shooting for. Letting this one age in the keg for a few months at least.

American Porter #1 1/2

I did a porter last year which I liked. It was a variant of a buddy of mine's brew. His is more stout than a porter. Mine is closer to the real thing, I hope. This was a no-sparge batch, which I like to do lately. EDME dry yeast ferments like you would not believe. This batch was at terminal gravity in 2 days! I transferred to keg with some prime tabs to naturally carbonate.

Initial Gravity:	1.060
Final Gravity:	1.016
Malt & Grain:	10# US 2-Row Pale, 1# Flaked Maize, .5# Oats, .5# 80L Crystal, .25# Black Patent
Hops:	.5oz Clusters (9%AA) FWH, .5oz Cascade (5.3%AA) 30min, .5oz Cascade (5.3%AA) @ 10
Adjuncts:	.5# Brown Sugar
Yeast:	2 Packs EDME Dry Yeast
Notes: