Wort Stir Rod

Tony Profera • Charlotte, North Carolina

I am often described as a brew gadgeteer so I figured it was time to share one of my latest devices: a stir bar with folding wings that attaches to a drill. The vanes fold up to easily fit in the neck of a carboy, or for use in a plastic bucket. I use it to aerate wort and mix ingredients such as honey and water for my mead. Let me tell you, this really creates a vortex and whips the wort into a froth when I want to aerate before pitching my yeast (remember, this is a good thing). Plus, it sure beats the heck out of endless carboy rocking! If I had known this stir rod worked this well I would have made one long ago.  The project consists of four basic parts.

THE HEAD - (see photo at right)- As simple as one, two, three pieces—and a nut and bolt to hold it all together.

TAIL END - I designed my rod to fit into a cordless drill. I can attach a standard drill bit to the tail end of the rod. Next, put the bit into the drill and the wort will be shaking (well, frothing actually) in the carboy.

DRILL ATTACHMENT - This simple bit fitting works with any drill. I prefer my cordless model so I can take my stir rod anywhere I need to aerate wort or mix ingredients.

WHIPPING END - Note the angle cut on the wing ends in the photograph at left. This angle forces the wings to extend out from the center rod in an opposing way when spun, increasing the amount of aeration. The folding action of the wing, held loosely in place by the nut and bolt, also allows the rod to fit easily into the neck of a carboy before folding back out to provide the whipping action.

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Reader Recipe

Mike Prilla  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Sweet Stout

5 Gal

Ingredients

• 7 gal. distilled water
• 1⁄4 tsp. salt
• 1⁄4 tsp. Epsom salts
• 1⁄4 tsp. calcium chloride
• 1⁄4 tsp. baking soda
• 1⁄4 tsp. gypsum
• 1⁄4 tsp. Burton water salts
• 1 tsp. amylase enzyme
• 12 drops of lactic acid
• 1 lb. German Pilsner malt
• 1 lb. Wheat malt
• 1 lb. American crystal malt (60 °L)
• 8 oz. dextrine malt (CaraPils)
• 1 lb. Belgian Special B malt
• 1 lb. British chocolate malt
• 4 oz. roasted barley
• 9 oz. of flaked oats (that have been toasted for 30 min at 325 °F/162 °C)
• 9 oz. flaked oats
• 8 oz. flaked wheat
• 3.3 lbs. light liquid malt extract
• 3 lbs. dried wheat malt extract
• 1 stick licorice
• 6 tbsp. Hershey’s dark cocoa powder
• 6 tbsp. Hershey’s cocoa powder
• 2 vanilla beans
• 1 tsp. Irish moss
• 1.5 oz. Fuggles hops (4.75% AA) for 60 minutes of boil
• 1.5 oz. Kent Goldings hops (5% AA) for 60 minutes of boil
• 0.5 oz. Fuggles hops (4.75% AA) for 15 minutes of boil
• 0.5 oz. Kent Goldings hops (5% AA) for 15 minutes of boil
• 1 packet of Wyeast 1084 (Irish Ale) yeast
• 1 tsp. yeast nutrient
• 1 tsp. diammonium phosphate
• 1 tsp. yeast energizer
• 1 bottle (2 oz) of Watkins peanut butter extract
• 1 bottle (1⁄2 oz) CK products peanut butter cordial oil
• 6 oz. medium toasted oak chips or cubes
• One packet of plain gelatine
• 1 tsp. polyclar
• 1 tsp. isinglass
• 1 lb. lactose
• 8 oz. maltodextrin
  

Step by Step

Do a step mash acid rest at 95 °F ( 35 °C) for 25 minutes with a protein rest at 122 °F (50 °C) for 25 minutes. Then mash at 149 °F (65 °C) for 90 minutes. Remash in another pot of 149 °F (65 °C) water for 30 minutes. Mash out at 168 °F (78 °C) then sparge with 168 °F (78 °C) water. Boil 60 minutes and add hops as described above.

Add the following based on time intervals: 60 minutes of boil: 1 stick licorice, 2 tbsp. Hershey’s dark cocoa powder, 2 tbsp. Hershey’s cocoa powder, 1/2 vanilla bean; 15 minutes of boil: 1 tsp Irish moss, 2 tbsp. Hershey’s dark cocoa powder, 2 tbsp.  Hershey’s cocoa powder, 1⁄2 vanilla bean; 5 minutes of boil: 2 tbsp. Hershey’s dark cocoa powder, 2 tbsp. Hershey’s cocoa powder, 1⁄2 vanilla bean.

Cool wort and siphon out 1 gallon (3.8 L) of this concentrated wort into a clean empty distilled water container and put it in the fridge. Then add water to the remaining wort to the 5-gallon (19-L) mark. Pitch yeast between 68 °F and 72 °F, add yeast nutrient, diammonium phosphate and yeast energizer. In 3 to 7 days, after fermentation has slowed down and the kräusen has settled, add the stored wort and rack to secondary.

Then add Watkins peanut butter extract and CK products peanut butter cordial oil, 1⁄2 vanilla bean and 6 oz. medium toasted oak chips or cubes. Fine with plain gelatine, Polyclar and Isinglass. Carbonate at 3.0 volumes with 12.5 oz. dried malt extract. Also add lactose and maltodextrin at bottling.

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Replicator

by Marc Martin

Dear Replicator,

I have now found a beer that may be my all-time favorite and would love to be able to clone it. This summer my wife and I took an Alaskan cruise that ended in Anchorage. Knowing we would spend an extra day there, I had already searched the web for breweries. We did go to three, but our favorite by far was Midnight Sun. It’s not easy to find as it is tucked away in a residential area, but worth the search since they had 6 excellent beers on tap. The best of the bunch had to be their Full Curl Scotch Ale, which was nice and malty with a good alcohol punch. I am hoping you can show me how to replicate this fine brew.
Thomas Fruedheim • Asheville, North Carolina  

As I have mentioned before, my regular job allows me to travel throughout the northwestern states including Alaska. I have visited Midnight Sun several times before and this gave me a good excuse to stop by again. I would agree that at Midnight Sun they consistently develop excellent beers with a definite focus on high gravity and some very nice Belgian varieties.

I was eagerly greeted by Gary Busse, the general manager, and Ben Johnson, one of the brewers. After a round of sampling, they gave me some history of their small, quirky brewery. Since opening in 1995, they have produced over 1,000 batches and in May of 2005 released an anniversary Belgian-style barley wine to commemorate this milestone. Their beers have garnered several Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medals and their Arctic Devil barley wine consistently wins awards at the Alaskan Barley Wine Festival.

Ben and head brewer Gabe Fletcher both started as homebrewers and now brew on their 15-barrel system. Unfortunately, many of their beers never make it to the lower 48 since they are so popular in Alaska.  Ben reports that their Full Curl Scotch ale has been a consistently good seller, but is going to be discontinued so they can further expand their line-up.

Ben describes Full Curl as a wee heavy strong scotch ale and at 7% alcohol by volume, it fits the style. He reports that by using a good percentage of Special B and crystal malts they achieve the sweet, malty finish. One hop addition provides just enough bitterness to back up a big malt bill. As Ben and I shared a bottle I found it to be very reminiscent of Belhaven’s Wee Heavy. An excellent choice, Thomas, and now you can brew your own.

For further information visit their website www.midnightsunbrewing.com or call them at 907-344-6656.

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Midnight Sun Brewing Full Curl Scotch Ale

5 gallons/19 L, extract with grain; OG = 1.074  FG = 1.020; IBU = 22  SRM = 14 ABV = 7.0 %

Ingredients

• 6.6 lbs. (3.0 kg) Muntons light, unhopped, malt extract
• 2.2 lbs. (1.0 kg) dried malt extract
• 8.0 oz. (0.22 kg) Special B malt
• 4.0 oz.  (0.11 kg) crystal malt (30°L)
• 2.0 oz. (57 g) Special Roast malt
• 1⁄2 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
• 6 AAU Perle hop pellets (60 min.) (0.71 oz./20 g of 8.5% alpha acid)
• White Labs WLP 028 (Edinburgh) or Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale) yeast
• 0.75 cups corn sugar for priming (if bottling)
  

Step by Step

Steep the crushed grain in 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of water at 150 ºF (66 ºC) for 30 minutes. Remove grains from the wort and rinse with 2 quarts (1.9 L) of hot water. Add the liquid extract and bring to a boil. While boiling, add the hops as per the hopping schedule. During the boil, use this time to thoroughly sanitize a fermenter. Add the yeast nutrient after 45 minutes of boiling. Now add the wort to 2 gallons (7.6 L) of cold water in the sanitized fermenter and top off with cold water up to 5 gallons (19 L).  

Cool the wort to 75 ºF (24 ºC). Pitch your yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Allow the beer to cool to 68 ºF (20 ºC). Hold at that temperature until fermentation is complete. Transfer to a carboy, avoiding any splashing to prevent aerating the beer. Let the beer condition for 1 week and then bottle or keg. Allow to carbonate and condition for two additional weeks and enjoy your scotch ale.

All-grain option:

This is a single step infusion mash. Replace the malt syrup with 14 lbs. (6.4 kg) 2-row pale malt. The specialty grains increase slightly. Special B, 12 oz. (0.34 kg), crystal malt, 6 oz. (0.17 kg), and Special Roast, 4 oz. (0.11 kg). Mix the crushed grain with 4.5 gallons (17 L) of 168 °F (76 °C) water to stabilize at 150 ºF (66 ºC) for 60 minutes. Sparge slowly with 175 ºF (79 ºC) water. Collect approximately 6 gallons (23 L) of wort runoff to boil for 60 minutes. Reduce the bittering hop amount to 0.6 oz. (17 g) to allow for the higher utilization factor of a full wort boil. The remainder of this recipe is the same as the extract with grain recipe.

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Beginner’s Block

Partial Mashing: “Steep” any grain you want

Most beginning homebrewers steep crushed specialty grains when making their wort. Later, they learn that there are steepable grains and grains that should not be steeped. Grains that can be steeped include crystal malts and darkly roasted grains such as chocolate malt and roasted barley. However, base malts — such as pale malt, wheat malt, Pilsner malt, Vienna malt and Munich malt — should be mashed instead of steeped. Although these grains can’t be steeped, you may still want to brew recipes that include them. And luckily, you can. All you need to do is learn how to perform a partial mash.

In practice, steeping and mashing are very similar. They both involve soaking crushed grain in hot water. The main conceptual difference is what the soaking does to the grains. In steeping, colors and flavors from the husk of the grain, and sugars from the interior, are dissolved into the brewer’s wort. In mashing, colors and flavors from the husk dissolve into the wort, but inside of the base malt there are no sugars, only starch. The starch dissolves into the wort, then enzymes from the base malt convert it into sugars.

The practical difference between steeping and mashing involves the relative volume of water used and the temperature the grains are soaked at. When steeping specialty grains, the amount of water you steep in and the temperature of the water are not that important, within reasonable bounds. You can steep grains in just enough water to cover them, or a much larger volume of water. (Over 6.0 qts. of water per pound of grain (13 L/kg) is not recommended.) Likewise, you can steep grains in cool water or at temperatures up to 170 °F (77 °C). Higher, even, if you use only a small amount of water.

In contrast, when mashing, you need your grain and water mix to have a certain thickness. The thickness of a mash should be between 1 and 2.5 qts. of water per pound of grain (2–5 L/kg). In addition, the grains should be held in the 148–162 °F (64-72 °C) range during the mash. If you mix your mash at this thickness and hold it in this temperature range, you will convert all the starches.

So what does this mean for a beginning extract brewer? It means that if you’ve already brewed recipes that involved steeping some specialty grains, you only need to keep two additional things in mind if you want to try a partial mash recipe.  The first thing is the volume of water. Many partial mash recipes, including most in BYO, list the amount of water required for the partial mash. If the proper mash volume is not listed, you can calculate it easily — just take the combined weight of all the grains (base and specialty) and multiply by 1.5. This will give you the number of quarts of water to use for your partial mash. (Multiply the total kilograms by 3 to get the number of liters of water for your partial mash.)

Secondly, keep in mind that your grains will be colder than the mash water. So, you will need to heat this above the target mash temperature. (Try heating the mash water to 11 °F (6 °C) over the target; this should get you close.)

The recipe will likely specify a single temperature to mash at. The length of the mash should also be specified. However, in a small mash, temperatures will drop fairly quickly. If you are mashing on your stovetop, you can add heat in short bursts every few minutes. Some homebrewers put their brew pot in the oven on the lowest setting (sometimes with the door open). Still others mash in small insulated coolers and try to insulate the cooler as best they can. Keep in mind that heat loss affects the character of your partial mash wort, but not the quality. If your mash temperature dips into the low end of the above range (or below), your partial mash will exhibit a high degree of fermentability. However, your partial mash wort will be combined with malt extract, and the blend of the two almost always yields good results. Do whatever you reasonably can to hold temperatures steady, but don’t sweat fluctuations that are beyond your control.

So don’t get scared off by the words “partial mash” in a recipe. If it looks interesting, try it. You’re guaranteed to enjoy it, at least partially.