Cautions for next batch.

I've noticed a couple of things that shouldn't be happening with my beer making process:

1. My efficiency is really poor.
2. It seems that I am bottling way less than 5 gallons of beer.

With my Irish red, I pulled out a gravity reading of 1.030 where it should have been 1.050. The Honey Basil was a better 1.042. I ended up throwing in a bunch of honey for the red to boost the sugar content because I don't want an ABV of 3%. I left the Honey Basil as it was and I pulled out an ABV of 4.6% for that one.
I have been struggling with hitting my target Mash temp. I'm going too low. I'm usually off about five degrees. The Cali B had a nice OG (still lower than it should be) but I hit the target temp. The other thing I don't do is stir the mash every 20 minutes. The web has paranoid me in believing that even the littlest bit of stirring will cause hot side aeration (tastes like wet cardboard). Hopefully some gentle stirring will release those sugars.
What I'm going to do different next time:
A. Stir every twenty minutes.
B. Use a 2:1 water to grain ratio.
C. Do not Mash Out.
D. Drain as slowly as possible.
E. Watch my temps carefully.

My next problem is the lack of beer. I didn't really pay close attention to the exact level of beer that reached the bottling bucket but it seems I'm missing about a gallon and a half. At least that was the problem with the Honey Basil. I added 5 ounces of dextrose to the bottling bucket thinking I was going to be bottling five gallons. Hopefully I don't get bottle bombs. That would blow.
I already marked the bottling bucket at the 5 gallon mark and will get a strip for the carboy.
A. Get a 6.5 Gallon boil going to get a 5.5 gallon batch.
B. Don't be afraid to top up with water if low.
C. Measure
D. Get a bigger funnel to pour the wort into carboy.
E. Waste less wort fluid into carboy

Irishish Red Update

A week after bottling, the beer had a red tinge but was mostly brown, now it has morphed into a nice looking red. When I first tried the beer, it was a ridiculously sweet beer. I tried it on Saturday, less than a week after bottling and it was a banana bomb. I tried it on Wednesday and the banana flavour had subsided a fair bit but it tasted like fruit flavoured candy.
It had attenuated right out with the OG 1.050 and FG 1.004 so I know the yeast converted all the fermentable sugars.
There was a mild heat wave and it caused the linen closet to heat up to 73 degrees F. So, that may have been the problem.
I will be cracking open a beer every 3 days to see what it has changed into.
I am happy to report that the beer has debananaified considerably and is not too bad of a beer. A little thin but smooth and easy drinking.

Brew #4: My Own Recipe

Exciting times when you become confident enough to create your own recipe. This doesn't adhere to any style that I know of but me just wanting to try different malts.
This time, Dark Munich and Honey Malt are the stars of this bill. Honey malt is a crystallized malt that should add an intense sweetness to the brew. I am only using 6% HM so it shouldn't be too overbearing which is good because I am not a big sweet fan (I love black coffee). The Dark Munich will not give you a dark beer but will enhance the aroma and taste of these beers. Some descriptors that I have researched are: biscuit, honey, nut, and caramel. As it stands, it looks like this is going to be a sweet, full bodied gold-copper coloured beer.

UPDATE: Things change during brewday and this is no different. I added Basil and 1/2 Oz of Mt Hood hops at 5 min left. I blogged about experimental beers earlier and a honey basil idea was included in that blog. So, what the hell.

Basil Ganglia Ale (musician I knew)

9LB / 4.08 KG Domestic 2 row
1.5LB / .67 KG Dark Munich
12OZ / .34 KG Honey Malt
8OZ / .22 KG Flaked Barley

1OZ / 29G Goldings 60 Min
1OZ /29G Goldings 20 Min
.5OZ /14.5G Mt Hood hops 5 Min
a bunch of Cinnamon Basil 5 Min

I will be reusing 1335 yeast from the Irish Red. Reusing yeast (if it works) is awesome because it reduces the costs considerably. This is also the first time I am attempting this.

Bottling Sucks

Yes, it does.

If I had the money to get into kegging, I would be all over it, but unfortunately, that is not feasible at this time.
I usually start cleaning the bottles the day before. I funnel small amounts of bleach into the bottles, fill it up with hot water and wait for a couple hours. I rinse them out at least three times to make sure there is no chlorine remnants (not interested in beer smelling and tasting like bandages). After that, I pour sanitizer into each bottle shortly before bottling.
I then get the bottling bucket cleaned out, prepare priming sugar, transfer the beer into then bucket, then get ready to bottle.

Yesterday, my bottle wand filler broke as I was trying to insert it into the auto siphon just before I was to fill the bottles. A bunch of scenarios ran through my mind as to what I should do. Sunday night and stores aren't open, should I just forget about the filler and siphon without it but I envisioned the waste of beer and quickly scrapped that idea. I just used the shorter length of the filler. I had to hold the bottle up instead of having it on the floor.

Capping is pretty easy and I don't mind that but with a keg you clean it and siphon the beer into it, force carbonate and let condition.
A four to six hour process down to a max two and less chance of infection...hmmm.
Too bad I don't have the money for it.

Irish Moss

Irish moss is not actually a moss but a seaweed. Irish moss is used in the brew to remove haze causing proteins in the beer. Obviously, there is a lot of contradicting info online. One website states that you should add a tablespoon at the beginning of the boil because longer is better. Other people say it won't work if you add it earlier than 20 minutes before end of boil. On a homebrew forum, one guy claimed that you should hydrate the Irish Moss 15 minutes before you put it in the boil.
Some other info regarding clarity of the beer (culled from online sources): make sure you chill the wort as quick as possible, crash cool the beer after the fermentation process is complete, and strain your beer before fermentation. A lot of these steps could be very well undone by the phenomenon of 'chill haze' which occurs when you put your beer into the fridge to chill. When you remove and pour the beer, the refreshing liquid has become hazy. Apparently, if you leave the beer in the fridge for over a month, the haze causing proteins eventually settle out leaving the brew with a nice clarity.
The important thing to realize is that haze DOES NOT affect the taste of the beer just the appearance. Also, if you are entering it in a competition, you will lose one point overall for clarity.

Red Ale Update

I brewed the red on Tuesday after the boys went to bed. I started the process at 6:30 PM and crawled into bed at about 2:00 AM. This brew did not go to plan. That's funny because so far only my first beer went off without a weird hitch. This time my efficiency sucked. For some reason, I couldn't get my mash temperature above 146f. The sugars didn't convert properly and I received an OG of 1.030 which would give a maximum ABV of 3.9% and probably end up as 3%. Unacceptable. I had no other option but to raid the pantry for some tasty fermentables. I decided upon 1 1/2 cups of wildflower honey. I added the honey at 15 minutes left in the boil. My OG turned out to be 1.050 / max 6.4% ABV. That's a lot better and the wort tasted nice. The recipe called for .5 OZ of Goldings hops at the end of the boil and in an impulsive move, I threw in an ounce instead. The hops I buy come in 2 Oz packages so I decided not to save the hops for a few months down the road but to use it now. The yeast is presently doing its job. Looking forward to trying it.

Wah! Wah! Sassafras Red

It's almost an Irish red but I decided on using domestic Manitoba malt instead of the traditional Maris Otter or UK malt and it is .75 cents/kg cheaper than MO. This time I am using Flaked Barley and chocolate malt to give it some head and body. The flaked barley supposedly will give the beer a grainy taste and will lend excellent head retention. The chocolate malt is my 'character' malt that should impart complex vanilla/caramel flavours. The Irish moss that I will be adding will add clarity to the brew. However, the flaked barley might give it a hazy appearance.
I am making this for a party that is happening in about a month. Hopefully, it will be conditioned enough for the event. I also have a 2 liter bottle of my California Bastard saved for the event.

KG LB
4.08 9 Domestic 2 row
.335 .75 Flaked Barley
.23 .50 Crystal 77 L
.07 .12 Chocolate Malt

30G 1 OZ Goldings Hops 60 min
30G 1 OZ Goldings Hops 5 min
1 1/2 cups honey to raise the poor OG of 1.030
1 TSP Irish Moss 15 min

The photo above is of Flaked barley.