Gold Glove Leapday Ale

The goal here is to make something easy to drink, similar to Oily Bohunk Bohemian Pilsner, but an ale that can be made easily in the summertime. I kept the same grain bill as the Bohunk, but changed the yeast and hops. I also opted for the Munich I instead of II to make it a little lighter. Beertools.com says this recipe is closest to a Maibock, but I am not so sure since I am using American hops. I am calling this American Golden Ale since it did not fit the parameters for a Blonde Ale or Kolsch since the predicted O.G. is too high.

Grain Bill:

9 lbs Pilsner Malt
2 lbs Munich I
.5 lb Carapils
.5 lb Carahel

Hop Schedule:

.5 oz Northern Brewer (7.4% AAU) -- First Wort Runnings
.5 oz Northern Brewer (7.4% AAU) -- 90 Minutes
1 oz Mount Hood (3.7% AAU) -- 15 minutes (along with one wirlfloc tablet)
1 oz Mount Hood (3.7% AAU) -- End

American Ale Yeast

The Mash:
I am going to try a multi-rest mash on this one to try to add a little extra clarity (or efficiency?). I am going to make this attempt with the formula found here. It is two pages, so you can see the formula I am using on the second page.

Initial Infusion Equation:
Strike Water Temperature Tw = (.2/r)(T2 - T1) + T2

Mash Infusion Equation:
Wa = (T2 - T1)(.2G + Wm)/(Tw - T2)

where:
r = The ratio of water to grain in quarts per pound.
Wa = The amount of boiling water added (in quarts).
Wm = The total amount of water in the mash (in quarts).
T1 = The initial temperature (¡F) of the mash.
T2 = The target temperature (¡F) of the mash.
Tw = The actual temperature (¡F) of the infusion water.
G = The amount of grain in the mash (in pounds).

Here is my figuring with .75 quarts of water per pound in the protein rest, and the original temperature of the grains and tun is 62.

Strike Water Temperature TW = (.2/.75)(122-62)+122
(.267)(60)+122= 138 degrees (9 quarts)

Ammount of Boiling Water to Add WA = (155-122) (.2G + 9) / (210 - 155)
(33) (11.4) / 55
376.2 / 55 = 6.84 quarts

9 quarts + 6.84 quarts = 15.84 quarts.
If I had been mashing my old way of adding 1.3 quarts per pound in a single step mash, this would have equaled 15.6 quarts, so I am on par.

15 minutes in: Temp is right around 125 degrees -- a little high, but I am happy to be this close.

45 minutes in: I added the boiling water fifteen minutes ago, and now the temp is right at 150 degrees. It should be 155, but I am going to wait another ten to fifteen minutes before I add more water.

63 minutes in: I added 1.5 cups of boiling water to try to get the temp up to 155 from 150.

I just found this tool that I will use to get more accurate hydrometer readings. I always start racking at 75 degrees, so this will be easy.

O.G. = 1.054 (and I did not make the correction which would have been 1.062 since I took the reading well after I was racking at 75 degrees.)

F.G. = 1.020
ABV = 4.45%

Notes:

3.2.08 -- Yesterday I saw a couple of clumps that looked like meatballs rising to the top, and by the end of the day there was quite a collection, and fermentation had begun.

3.9.08 -- Racked into secondary. I skipped this step with the last couple, and I am unsure if I will continue this practice. Good Head Red V was way too cloudy. I don't want that to be the case with this pretty gold ale.

3.11.08 -- Calculating Efficiency:

9 lbs Pilsner Malt X 36 = 324
2 lbs Munich I x 34 = 68
.5 lb Carapils x 33 = 16.5
.5 lb Carahel X 34 = 17
Total Potential Extract = 324 + 68 + 16.5 + 17 = 425.5

Original Gravity 6 gallons X 54 (1.054 O.G.) = 324

425.5 / 324 = 74% Efficiency

3.23.08 -- Kegged and measured final gravity.

4.02.08 -- This beer is nice and mellow -- just begging for a hot day. It could very well go by the name of Cream Ale. It is not too hoppy, and smells a little like Budweiser (but not in a bad way). Still could use time time to clear up, so no picture yet. I am wondering if I remembered to add a whirlfloc tablet. I know I forgot to on this one or the IPA.

5.02.08 -- Picture Day! I have to take a picture of this quick because I know it will be gone soon. This beer is so very clear, it makes me wonder if that is a result of the protein rest. It is such a nice beer for the spring: very comparable to Terrapin Golden Ale, but sweeter with a bit more body and yeast-fruitiness.
This guy gets no gold glove: