Oily Bohunk / False Prophet Ale

Bohunk O.G. -- 1.060 -- 1.015 -- 5.9% ABV -- 43 IBU

False Prophet O.G. -- 1.075 -- 1.015 -- 7.86% ABV

Target Gravities:
Amber - 1.066
Bohunk - 1.051
70% efficiency / 13 gallons of preboil wort

Malt Bill:
22# Pilsener Malt
2# Munich I
1# Carapils

Hops:
90 minute boil
3oz Saaz (5.5%) 60 Minutes
30z Saaz 15 Minutes+ Wirlfloc
2oz Saaz 0 Minutes

To be steeped in wort made from above to make Amber:
1.5 Caramunich
1.5 Aromatic
1 Piloncillo

Yeast:
Bohunk: Weihenstephaner Dry
Amber: washed 1388 (Duvel) Starter

9.37 gallons strike water (1.5 q per pound)
3.13 gallons absorbed
Instead of adding the gallon of boiling water, I am going to pull a 1/3 decoction to bring the mash up to mash-out temperature. I will boil this decoction for about ten minutes.
6.75 gallons sparge

9.4.10 -- Brewday reflections: things went very well and smoothly. Efficiency went up ( overshot target gravity by .09 points). I am still very unpredictable with my efficiency with the batch sparging. Next time I may figure for 73% instead of the 70% I figured for this time. The decoction also went very well; we will see if it affects flavor. This may have also contributed to the jump in efficiency. Both beers are cooling now (lager in the chest freezer, and the ale in the new cooler box I constructed). I will pitch yeasts tomorrow morning once the wort has had a chance to cool down a little. I think it was in the 85 range when they were done chilling, and they both spent about 40 minutes in an ice bath.
9.5.10 -- Pitched yeast into both beers.

False Prophet Notes:
9.19.10 -- false prophet reads 1.015 - 80% attenuated.

9.29.10 - kegged false prophet.

12.24.10 -- The false prophet has been somewhat of the stepchild of the fridge, first behind Don Juan Saison, and now Mordecai Brown. That is not to suggest this is not a fine beer. It may not be my best work, but it is a very respectable Belgian style amber. The Duvel yeast is very expressive, which is the dominant flavor here. I believe I will, when steeping grain for a second beer, I will increase the ammounts since the steeping is not provinding as much character as I originally wanted. This beer could benefit from a deeper caramel flavor from the crystal malt -- Duvel yeast is a lot to compete with, which is what makes it idea for SGA. All that being said, it is still a good beer, and I have lifted more than one glass on a few occasions.

Oily Bohunk Notes:

9.25.10- 1.017 (72%). Diacetyl rest begun (removed from freezer).

9.26.10 - bohunk racked beginning to drop temp over next few days.

12.22.10 -- moved to keg in chest freezer to make room for Padunk-a-Dunkel. I still need to get a final gravity on the bohunk.

1.11.11 -- Bohunk is hooked up, and should be ready to go today. I may have to shake it a little to get it a little more carbed. It is the second snow day in a row, so we are going to need some tasty Pilsener. Wooo. Final gravity around 1.015.