Late Summit

My latest brew is an American Brown Ale called, "Late Summit" because I added an ounce of Summit hops late in the boil (i.e., a late hop addition). Summit hops are high alpha hops. In fact, the pellet hops I used are 17.9% alpha. Summit hops are a "super-high alpha dwarf variety grown on low trellis systems in Yakima valley" (source). They are known for having a funky, earthy, tangerine character. I'm hoping for kind dankness, tangerine, and citrus flavor.

In the Morning

Brew Date: 2012-03-27
Recipe Name: "Late Summit" (based on Jamil's "Dirty Water Brown")
Beer Style: American Brown Ale
Batch Number: B6

Recipe Original Gravity: 1.048
Recipe Final Gravity: 1.011
Expected ABV: 4.9%
Anticipated IBUs (bitterness): 36-38
SRM (color): 20
Expected Efficiency: 70%
Calculated Brewhouse Efficiency: 73% (using 6.5 gal for wort volume)

Yeast Starter Size: 2 liter
Water Volume: 2 liters
Dry Malt Extract: 200 grams
Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast 

Grain Bill
10 lb Canadian Two-Row
.5 lb Crystal 40L
.5 lb Chocolate Malt
.75 lb Crystal 60L
.75 lb Victory

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Brew Day Start Time: 3:15 PM

Music: Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks 14 - Boston Music Hall, 1973-11-30 & 1973-12-02

All the water used for this beer is straight from our tap. We have well water and the pH is between 6.5 and 7. My understanding is that the darker malt will bring the pH down toward the 5.2 range, which is ideal.

Mash
Strike Water Volume: 4 gal
Strike Water Temperature: 165 F
Rest Temperature: 152 F
Rest Time: 60 min 

Brown Vorlauf

Sparge #1
Sparge Water Volume: 2.5 gal
Rest Temperature: 170 F
Rest Time: 5 min

Sparge #2
Sparge Water Volume: 2 gal
Rest Temperature: 170 F
Rest Time: 5 min

Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.044
Pre-Boil Volume: ~ 6.5 gal
Boil Time: 60 min

Music: Phish - 2011-05-29 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY

Rolling Boil

Hop Additions

10 grams Horizon @ 60 min
1 oz Amarillo @ 15 min
1 oz Summit @ 5 min

Yeast Starter and Hops

Actual Original Gravity: 1.050

Brew Day End Time: 7:32 PM

Fermentation Temperature: 64 F

It's taking off! Thursday night (29th)

I'm excited about this beer. Everything went really smooth during the brew day. My starter ramped up nicely. My gravity readings were fairly close to Jamil's recipe. I'm also excited about the hop additions. What makes this brew particularly enjoyable is being able to see the beer as it ferments in my clear, Better Bottle carboy. This is the first time I can see the fermentation process. The whole thing is alive with yeast cells. I check on it every morning and first thing after work...and after dinner...and before bedtime.