I have brewed this beer a few times before but this is my first go at it on the new eBIAB system. I pretty much stuck with my old recipe but I used all Weyermann malts this time.
BrewDesign
Recipe Info
Beer Name: vienna_EBIAB_1
Style: Vienna Lager
Style
Original Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.011
Color: 11.9
Alcohol: 5.7 %
Bitterness: 29.6 IBUs
Brewery
Efficiency: 70
Attenuation: 80
Mash
Mash Fermentable Weight: 12.85 Pounds
Mash Thickness: 1.8 Quarts per Pound
Grain Temp: 72 F
Strike Water Qty: 7.78 Gallons
Mash Volume: 8.81 Gallons
Strike Water Temp: 153.8 F
Mash Temp: 145 F
Boil
Kettle Gravity (start of boil): 1.045
Predicted Mash Run-off Volume: 6.626
Target Starting Boil Volume: 7.25
Boil Duration: 60 Minutes
Evaporation Rate: 1.25 Gallons per Hour
Final Boil Volume: 6
Fermentables
| Weight (Lbs) | % by Weight | Name | Yield | SRM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 42.8 | Weyermann Pilsner; German | 80.0 | 1.8 |
| 5.5 | 42.8 | Weyermann Vienna Malt | 79.0 | 3.4 |
| 1 | 7.8 | Weyermann Munich Type II | 78.0 | 8.9 |
| .75 | 5.8 | Weyermann Caramunich I | 73.0 | 39.0 |
| .1 | 0.8 | Briess Midnight Wheat Malt | 0.0 | 550.0 |
Hops
| Weight (ozs) | Name | AAU | Time (mins) | Use | IBUs / Addition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .7 | Northern Brewer Pellets (US) | 10.6 | 60 | Boil | 24.6 |
| 1 | Saaz Pellets | 3.0 | 15 | Boil | 4.9 |
Yeast and Friends
| Amount (Milliters) | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 vial | White Labs WLP830 German Lager |
Misc
| Amount | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tablet | Whirlfloc Tablet | 15 |
| 1 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Wyeast) | 10 |
Notes
Liquid Yeast Pitch – Stirplate Starter
First Starter
307 billion cells
Quantity of Yeast: 1 vials / pouches (100B cells per)
Quantity of DME: 155 grams
Starter Size: 1.5 liters
mash temps:
145F 30 mins
158F 45 mins
168F 10 mins
Mash Salts:
Gypsum: 4.0 gram
Calcium Chloride: 4.0 gram
Pickling Lime: 1.0 gram
Mash Acid:
Sparge/Boil Salts:
Predicted Mash pH of: 5.20
Mash Ions (ppm):
Ca: 94.0 Mg: 3.0 Na: 21.0 Cl: 76.5 So: 99.7
Boil Ions (ppm):
Ca: 94.0 Mg: 3.0 Na: 21.0 Cl: 76.5 So: 99.7
1-2-16 made 1.5L starter of WLP830
1-4-16 normal brew day
1-5-16 AM no bubbling
noon very slow bubbling
1-6-16 1″ kreusen and steady bubbling
1-7-16 ”
1-8-16 ” but maybe slowing a hair
1-9-16 ~2 sec between bubbles
1-10-16 ~4 sec
1-11-16 ~6 sec
1-12-16 ~15 sec
1-13-16 ~20 sec
1-14-16 ” but starting to clear
1-15-16 ”
1-16-16 ~40 sec
1-18-16 bascially done bubbling
1-19-16 up to 55F for diacetyl rest
1-20-16 up to 60F
1-21-16 no bubbling
1-23-16 racked for lagering. good and clean. a little sulfur and maybe a whisper of acetyldehyde? tastes young but very promising. pH 4.47 FG 1.014.
2-15-16 gelatin added (1/2 tsp + 1/4 cup filtered water and microwaved to 180F)
2-18-16 racked to serving keg and set to 30 psi for 24 hours @ 40F
2-19-16 put on draft. excellent. crystal clear. carb pretty good. set to 13 psi to get 2.5 volumes @ 40F
2-28-16 same as intl amber carb. seems a bit high. if fridge set to 38F I would carb @ 12 psi. bottled off 7 bottles.
comparison to devil’s backbone vienna
aroma: mine: bready, toasty, a little noble hop. DB: very similar
appearance: dead on the same.
flavor: pretty damn similar.
mouthfeel: DB is a bit more carbonated. right now i’m 40F @ 12psi. will turn up to 13.
overall: they are very, very similar and difficult to tell apart. mine may be a hair more malty and db a hair more carbonated.
NHC 2016:
I scored a 35 which is good but not good enough to move on at NHC. Comments were positive except one judge said it was a bit oxidized. Score sheets:
Colonial Cup 2016:
Scored a 28.5 and didn’t place. In reading the comments and tasting my last bottles at home I have to chalk this up to crappy judging and typical group think. I always find it highly suspect when two judges write the exact same comments. It annoys me to no end when i hear judges next to me in competitions talking about a beer before they are done judging it. “are you getting green apple?” “now that you mention it, i am getting a bit of it!”. There isn’t even a whisper of acetaldehyde in this beer. I guess the bottle they had could have gotten some oxygen in it but they were meticulously purged and capped on foam and stored cold so i’m having a hard time believing it especially since the NHC judges specifically called out how clean the ferment was. then again the one NHC judge mentioned oxidation so maybe I need to hold off on bottling till the last minute. Score sheets:
Not sure I would change anything with this beer except maybe go back to Best Malz. For some reason this beer has done better with BM over Weyermann but it could just be luck of the draw with judges. Also, I’ll bottle it closer to the competition although I think I bottled them 2 weeks ahead of time which really isn’t very long. Maybe I’ll look at my bottling technique to try and reduce any oxygen pickup.
First Starter
307 billion cells
Quantity of Yeast: 1 vials / pouches (100B cells per)
Quantity of DME: 155 grams
Starter Size: 1.5 liters
mash temps:
145F 30 mins
158F 45 mins
168F 10 mins
Mash Salts:
Gypsum: 4.0 gram
Calcium Chloride: 4.0 gram
Pickling Lime: 1.0 gram
Mash Acid:
Sparge/Boil Salts:
Predicted Mash pH of: 5.20
Mash Ions (ppm):
Ca: 94.0 Mg: 3.0 Na: 21.0 Cl: 76.5 So: 99.7
Boil Ions (ppm):
Ca: 94.0 Mg: 3.0 Na: 21.0 Cl: 76.5 So: 99.7
1-2-16 made 1.5L starter of WLP830
1-4-16 normal brew day
1-5-16 AM no bubbling
noon very slow bubbling
1-6-16 1″ kreusen and steady bubbling
1-7-16 ”
1-8-16 ” but maybe slowing a hair
1-9-16 ~2 sec between bubbles
1-10-16 ~4 sec
1-11-16 ~6 sec
1-12-16 ~15 sec
1-13-16 ~20 sec
1-14-16 ” but starting to clear
1-15-16 ”
1-16-16 ~40 sec
1-18-16 bascially done bubbling
1-19-16 up to 55F for diacetyl rest
1-20-16 up to 60F
1-21-16 no bubbling
1-23-16 racked for lagering. good and clean. a little sulfur and maybe a whisper of acetyldehyde? tastes young but very promising. pH 4.47 FG 1.014.
2-15-16 gelatin added (1/2 tsp + 1/4 cup filtered water and microwaved to 180F)
2-18-16 racked to serving keg and set to 30 psi for 24 hours @ 40F
2-19-16 put on draft. excellent. crystal clear. carb pretty good. set to 13 psi to get 2.5 volumes @ 40F
2-28-16 same as intl amber carb. seems a bit high. if fridge set to 38F I would carb @ 12 psi. bottled off 7 bottles.
comparison to devil’s backbone vienna
aroma: mine: bready, toasty, a little noble hop. DB: very similar
appearance: dead on the same.
flavor: pretty damn similar.
mouthfeel: DB is a bit more carbonated. right now i’m 40F @ 12psi. will turn up to 13.
overall: they are very, very similar and difficult to tell apart. mine may be a hair more malty and db a hair more carbonated.
NHC 2016:
I scored a 35 which is good but not good enough to move on at NHC. Comments were positive except one judge said it was a bit oxidized. Score sheets:
Colonial Cup 2016:
Scored a 28.5 and didn’t place. In reading the comments and tasting my last bottles at home I have to chalk this up to crappy judging and typical group think. I always find it highly suspect when two judges write the exact same comments. It annoys me to no end when i hear judges next to me in competitions talking about a beer before they are done judging it. “are you getting green apple?” “now that you mention it, i am getting a bit of it!”. There isn’t even a whisper of acetaldehyde in this beer. I guess the bottle they had could have gotten some oxygen in it but they were meticulously purged and capped on foam and stored cold so i’m having a hard time believing it especially since the NHC judges specifically called out how clean the ferment was. then again the one NHC judge mentioned oxidation so maybe I need to hold off on bottling till the last minute. Score sheets:
Not sure I would change anything with this beer except maybe go back to Best Malz. For some reason this beer has done better with BM over Weyermann but it could just be luck of the draw with judges. Also, I’ll bottle it closer to the competition although I think I bottled them 2 weeks ahead of time which really isn’t very long. Maybe I’ll look at my bottling technique to try and reduce any oxygen pickup.