The owner of Daddy Brews had an electric brewery, about the size of the one I left at home (15 gal). The major difference is that this one can be completely automated! (except for the hop additions) However, since I had never seen the mash tun of this system running (and was nervous to use it without my boss), so we didn't use the mash tun and just did a single infusion mash using a cooler. The boil kettle brought 6 gallons of sweet wort up to a boil in about 10 minutes! This got Walter and I excited about the idea of building our own electric brewery. But more on that later...
The beer lines at the bar were already running with IPAs and Stouts, so I decided to go a different route, and brew a Brown Ale. To make it interesting, I added guajillo chiles to the secondary. The day before the big brew day, I made a starter with WLP013 London Ale yeast, from White Labs. I placed it on a stir plate (handmade by one of the customers) and left it over night until we pitched the next day. Here is the recipe I put together:
Marrón Picante (Spicy Brown)
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Batch Size: 5.0 gal
Estimated OG: 1.061 SG
Estimated Color: 26.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.6 IBUs
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Grain:
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75.0% - 9.0 lbs. Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
12.5% - 1.5 lbs. Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
4.2% - 0.5 lbs. Cara-Pils (2.0 SRM)
4.2% - 0.5 lbs. Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
4.2% - 0.5 lbs. Special B Malt (180.0 SRM)
Hops:
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1.00 oz Willamette [Pellet, 6.50 %] @ 60.0 min
0.50 oz Fuggles [Pellet, 5.50 %] @ 30.0 min
0.50 oz Willamette [Pellet, 6.50 %] @15.0 min
0.50 oz Fuggles [Pellet, 5.50 %] @ 0.0 min
Yeast:
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White Labs WLP013 London Ale
Misc. Ingredients:
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6 dried guajillo chiles - Secondary Fermentor
Walter and I brewed on a rainy Sunday. Everything went pretty smoothly except for the mashing. The cooler didn't hold the temperature nearly as well as I had anticipated. The initial temperature was 136°F. Coincidently, this is in the temperature range for a protein rest, so I wasn't too worried. We remedied the situation by adding more boiling water to raise the temperature, though the temperature was still on the low end for saccharification, about 149°F.
The brew day went very smoothly following the mash. We did lose more water due to evaporation during the boil than we had anticipated, so we had to top off halfway through the boil with another half gallon of water. The measured original gravity was 1.060.
We ended up with 5 gallons in the fermentor. Primary fermentation lasted one week. After that, I transferred it into a secondary fermentor and added the guajillo chiles. To prepare the chiles, I boiled them for 10 minutes in 1 pint of water. I pitched both the chiles and the water into the fermentor after they had cooled.
I had brewed this beer with the intent of taking it to the South Florida Brew Fest. Unfortunately, this meant that the timeline for the beer had to be rushed. The beer sat in secondary fermentation with the chiles for only 4 days. I then transferred it to a keg in order to carbonate it in time for the beer fest (patience is required for carbing a beer).
The final beer ended up being pretty good. The sweetness from the crystal malt paired really nicely with the chiles. The body was a bit on the thin side, which was expecting due to the low mash temperature. The chile flavor also wasn't as pronounced as I had wanted. There was a slight spicy smell and you could taste the chiles a bit, but there was no heat what-so-ever, which was a little disappointing for me. I think most people at the beer fest enjoyed the lack of spice.
Overall it was a hit. I think the next time I brew this, I will raise the mash temperature to increase mouthfeel. I will also leave the chiles in the fermentor for at least a week. I think I could add a few more chiles, but to start, just increasing the time will be a good experiment.
We ended up with 5 gallons in the fermentor. Primary fermentation lasted one week. After that, I transferred it into a secondary fermentor and added the guajillo chiles. To prepare the chiles, I boiled them for 10 minutes in 1 pint of water. I pitched both the chiles and the water into the fermentor after they had cooled.
I had brewed this beer with the intent of taking it to the South Florida Brew Fest. Unfortunately, this meant that the timeline for the beer had to be rushed. The beer sat in secondary fermentation with the chiles for only 4 days. I then transferred it to a keg in order to carbonate it in time for the beer fest (patience is required for carbing a beer).
The final beer ended up being pretty good. The sweetness from the crystal malt paired really nicely with the chiles. The body was a bit on the thin side, which was expecting due to the low mash temperature. The chile flavor also wasn't as pronounced as I had wanted. There was a slight spicy smell and you could taste the chiles a bit, but there was no heat what-so-ever, which was a little disappointing for me. I think most people at the beer fest enjoyed the lack of spice.
Overall it was a hit. I think the next time I brew this, I will raise the mash temperature to increase mouthfeel. I will also leave the chiles in the fermentor for at least a week. I think I could add a few more chiles, but to start, just increasing the time will be a good experiment.
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