Nov 5, 2011

Rauch-N-Wiener

Rauch-N-Weiner
1.050 --1.013 -- 4.8% ABV
30 IBU
GOLD MEDAL -- ATHENS CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL 2012



13 lbs Vienna
3.50 lbs Rauchmalt
1.5 lbs 40L Crystal
.5 lbs Carapils

3.5 oz Hallertauer (3.8% AA) -- 60 min

Safale 34/70 Dry Lager Yeast

Mash -- The Plan:
The initial protein rest will be at 122, where I will hold it for twenty minutes.  Pull first decoction (1/2 - 1/3), heat to 155, let sit for fifteen minutes in sleeping bag, then boil for about ten minutes.  Add this in until temp is around 146.  Hold for one hour.  Pull another decoction to raise the temp to mash out -- 170.

Strike Water (2qt/lb) -- 9.25 gallons
Absorption -- 2.3 gallons
Sparge Water needed -- 6.3 gallons ( a litte added to replace decoction boil-offs)

Brewday Notes:
Mash:
122 for 20 min before pulling decoction. Added back around 20 minutes later to hit 146. Down to 143 after 30 minutes, so I pulled another decoction in hopes of getting it to around 155 before mashing out.

It got it to 150. Holding for fifteen minutes before adding boiling water to get to mash out temp. 

Brewday Reflections:

Things went pretty well with the exception of the chilling taking longer than I thought it should.  I figured to shave time off with the addition of a ball-cock valve to slow the flow of wort.

The mash was also a little different than I planned, as evidenced in the notes above.  It was more like:

20 min -- 122
pulled decoction
heated decoction to around 155
let sit for 15 minutes
boilded decoction
added it to main mash, which raised the temp to 144-45 -- 30 minutes
pulled another decoction and boiled
added it back to bring mash to 150 -- fifteen minutes
added boiling water (from sparge supply) to raise it to around 160 -- ten minutes


Notes:

11.8.11 -- Pitched Yeast
11.11.11 -- Noticeable Activity (ambient temperature has been 53-55) (Fermenting all ten gallons in two corny kegs -- a first for a whole batch.)
11.23.11 -- 1.013 -- Diacetyl rest begun
11.27.11 -- still around 1.013 -- racked into clean kegs to begin lagering
3.26.12 -- Rauch-N-Wiener got the lowest score I have ever received in a competition -- 22.5 (Peach State Brew-Off). It was tasted 7th in a flight of seven other smoked beers. I can't have much confidence in judges that taste a delicate lager after what was likely to be six smoked porters. Here are the score sheets:


I would be vindicated later in the day to find out Rauch-N-Wiener took first in its category at the Athens Craft Beer Festival (score sheets later).