Schwarzbier Nasferatu / Black Hearted Ale

Nasferatu -- 24 IBU -- 1.055 Black Hearted -- 69 IBU -- 1.062

It has been a long while since I brewed last, and half of that batch got dumped because of an infection. The lager chest is completely empty, and I see a homebrew shortage in the future. This is the first batch I am making with my new plate chiller, hop bag filter, fermcap, and dip tube assembly I attached to the kettle.

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The Malts: 10 lbs Munich II 9 lbs Pilsener 1 lb Carafa III (an additional pound in sparge) 1 lb Carapils

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The Hops (main boil) 2 oz Hallertauer (3.9% AA) -- 90 minutes 2 oz Hallertauer (3.9% AA) -- 15 minutes + Whirlfloc tabs

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Black Hearted Additions (added to about a gallon of wort): 2 lbs 80L Crystal 2 lbs 120L Crystal Black Hearted Hops 2 oz Centennial ( 8.8% AA) -- 20 minutes 1 oz Centennial (8.8% AA) -- 10 minutes 2 oz Centennial (8.8% AA) -- Dry

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Brewday Notes: 10.( gallons strike water 5.25 gallons sparge water plus 1.5 quarts deadspace = 5.63 gallons Temp just right at 150 after fifteen minutes, and then again at 70 minutes. Temp after first decoction ( about three gallons ): 170 Dip tube a scruby clogging. 1.055 at 70 degrees. BH: 1.061 at 69 degrees.

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Reflections on Brewday: Things went very smoothly considering the upgrades until I had a nasty clog when it came time to clean the pump/chiller. That added two hours to the experience. It would have been my fastest brewday otherwise. I only ended up with about nine gallons of beer, and that may be due to dividing them unequally. There is plenty to be encouraged by for the next time. I need to be sure to tighten up the hop bag since it fell off.

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2.27.11 -- Pitched yeast into both beers.

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Nasferatu Notes:

3.11.11: 1.021 diacetyl rest begun

3.15.11: still around 1.020. I am going to let it stay at room temperature until I return from our camping trip

3.19.11 -- The beer appears to be stuck at 1.020. I shook the keg up pretty good this time thinking there should not be any oxygen in there. If it still does not move, I am going to add it to the Nottingham cake the Black Hearted Ale is currently on.

4.3.11 -- Racked on to the 1214 cake previously being used by Black Hearted.

4.23.11 -- Down to 1.018 lagering begins

Black Hearted Notes:

3.4.11 : dry hopped with 2oz centennial (8.8%AA) keeping in mind that this is closer to four gallons of beer than five. Fermentation has been around 60 degrees

3.7.11 : 63 degrees 1.023. Temps have been low, so I expect this one to be working slowly (7 days). Sample already tastes very good.

3.13.11 -- 65 degrees 1.021 -- still moving, albeit slowly.

3.26.11 Still stuck around 1.020. Racking onto cake from dirty blonde (1214)

4.3.11 -- After sitting on the 1214 cake for a week, it did not move a speck. Kegged and gassed. I am starting to believe the wort may not have been as fermentable as I thought (carfa?)