THE FULL MOUNTIE (2nd Session - Oct, 2017)

SUMMARY
This beer was alright. There is a slight metallic flavor which is rather unpleasant, and its over carbonated, but it hits most other aspects. There is a pleasant syrupy sweetness which is supported by a full bodied malt backbone. Special B needs to be omitted in the future, as the raisin flavors simply do not resonate with this beer. Its not overpowering as with other past recipes, but it just doesn't fit here.

Unlike the previous attempt, I ignored the bourbon oak aging process.

RECIPE
Grains (17.6 lbs)
     12.0 lbs 2-Row
      4.0 lbs Dark Munich
      1.0 lbs Chocolate Malt
      0.5 lbs Aromatic Malt
      0.1 lbs Special B
Hops (12.9 AAUs)
     7.4 AAUs Northern Brewer (.75 oz | 9.9%)
     5.5 AAUs Fuggle (1.0 oz | 5.5%)
Yeast

Wyeast 1272 (American Ale II)

(Med | 72-76% | 60-72°F) [10% abv tolerance]

Misc

     12.0 fl oz Grade A/B Pure Maple Syrup 

BREW NOTES

Despite a seventy-four week break from brewing, this session went quite well. I created my yeast starter a bit late (12hrs in slap pouch, 12hrs on stir plate), but the mash schedule was achieved, as was the lauter, and boil. The only hiccup came when a slight boil-over blew out the burner, and caused a one minute cease-boil at around the :10 mark. However, nearly every other step was flawless.

The big focus of this session was to repair my brewing efficiency. My previous brews had hovered around the 43% mark, and was causing repeatedly low-OGs. The goal was to hit 50%, but I ended up achieving 56%. This was mainly due to changes I made in my rest temp calculator and lautering temperature. The calculator adjustments allowed me to adjust the mash schedule on the fly to account for heat loss, and made it easy to achieve proper rest temps. Additionally, I made sure to raise my lautering temp as high as possible to ensure proper sugar extraction was the wort left the mash tun.

For my yeast starter, I used light DMS (which I had not accounted for in my recipe). However, this oversight did not effect the recipe enough to warrant adjustment.

I preheated the mash tun until the temperature settled to 168*F, and mashed-in. The end temperature was a bit high, so the lid was removed until the temperature settled to 152*F. During the first rest step, 4*F was lost, and additional water was required to raise the temperature up to the desired 156*F. Each step was 45min in duration.

The first runnings we measured at 1.069, after adjusting for temperature (as will all subsequent readings). After gathering 5gal in the brew kettle, gravity measures read 1.058, and the final 6.5gal reading was 1.055.

A slight boil over after the Irish Moss addition caused a flame-out, but the boil schedule was not adjusted since the effect was minimal. Hop bags were removed at flame-out, and maple syrup was added. An 80min ice bath reduced temperature to 74*F, and the yeast was pitched. The final OG of the 5gal batch measured 1.063.