Last weekend, I brewed an American-style IPA Ale, which is a recipe that calls for a lot of hops. I was following an all-grain method, and one thing I was reminded of was that it takes a solid six hours plus. I started brewing at 10:30 after setting up for a half-hour and finished around 4:30 pm with clean-up yet to do. This time, I wrote out the basic procedure ahead of time, with help from Ryan, and this saved me flipping through books wondering what the next step was. I noted down the time I started each step.
I used a digital scale this time to weigh the grain. It makes the process much easier and more accurate. (Maybe it’s just easier adding up decimals than fractions.)
My homegrown hops, Cascade and Nugget, were ready so I was able to use them. What a great aroma they have. I probably put into too many hops – it weighed four ounces – but we’ll see. The photo below was taken just after I added the hops before the boil.
After the hour-long boil of the wort, the hops have sunk to the bottom and they look nothing like their former selves. The temperature of the wort must be brought down to about 70-80 degrees using room-temperature water that circulates through a wort chiller. I actually used a garden hose to provide the water and the output was directed to the duck pond, which needed a little extra water. Finally, we siphon the wort into a carboy, and it’s ready for the yeast. It will sit in the barn for a couple of days fermenting.
Dale Dougherty 