It was so good the first time, it had to be done again

Grain Bill / Fermentables

• 14 lbs 2 Row Pale Malt
• 1 lb Carapils
• 0.5 lb Crystal 10
• 0.5 lb Crystal 20

Hops

• 2 oz Chinook (10.5  AAU)
• 4 oz Amarillo (7.7 AAU)
• 3 oz Citra (13.3 AAU)

Yeast

• Nottingham (2 packets)

Other

• Whirlfloc Tablet

Target Stats

• 6 Gallons
• OG 1.078
• FG 1.018
• ABV 7.90%
• IBU 74.28
• SRM 5.67
  

Final Stats

• 6.5 Gallons
• OG 1.073 (1.062 Tilt)
• FG 1.014 (1.011 Tilt)
• ABV ~6.30% (The initial hydrometer reading was too high due to a lack of wort in the brew kettle during the initial reading. The Tilt’s final reading was too low, due to krausen remnants weighing it down slightly.)
• Efficiency 81%

Prior to Brew Day

Collect water to allow chlorine to dissipate.

Brew Day (2018-11-04)

Heat 9.5 gallons of water to 160°.  (Unfiltered Dover City water with chlorine removed.)

Gently dough in grains until all grain is covered by water. Add 1/2 tsp gypsum and 1/4 tsp epsom salts and stabilize pH at ~5.2

Mash grains at 152° for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Remove “grain bag“, rinse, squeeze and allow grains to drain.

Bring wort to a boil.

Once wort is boiling, add 1 oz Chinook hops and continue for 45 minutes.

Add 1 oz Chinook hops and continue boil for another 10 minutes.

Add whirlfloc, yeast nutrient, 1 oz Amarillo, 1 oz Citra hops and continue boil for 4 minutes.

Add 1 oz Amarillo, 1 oz Citra hops and continue boil for last 1 minute. (This is a good time to drop in the wort chiller.)

Reduce wort temperature to 170° and add 1 oz Amarillo.

Reduce wort temperature to 68° and take OG reading.

Sufficiently aerate and transfer to primary fermenter.

Pitch rehydrated yeast into fermenter.

Allow beer 1~2 weeks in the primary to adequately ferment and cleanup any diacetyl produced during fermentation.

Dry hop with 1 oz Amarillo, 1 oz Citra for 1 week.

Bottle and wait another 2 weeks or keg and carb.

Enjoy!

Notes:

• November 4, 2018 Brew Day
  • The hydrometer reading may be off due to hitting the bottom of the brew kettle. The (recently calibrated) Tilt is likely the more reliable reading this time around.
  • 50% of the final ounce of Amarillo hops were added at flame out and the other 50% were added at 170°. 😉
  • Tossed the last 1/2 gallon of wort and hop muck into a growler with a packet of Red Star Champagne yeast… for science. It was bubbling within 7 hours.
  • Rebrew of the original Space Ghost:
    • Added 1/2 tsp gypsum and 1/4 tsp epsom salts and mash pH stabilized at 4.94
    • Pitched two packets of rehydrated Nottingham at 72° and  put the carboy in the fermentation chamber to quickly drop the temperature to 50°.
      
      
• 18 h Nothing! Fermentation chamber was too cold at 48°. Set Inkbird to 51° to raise the temperature.
• 36h Finally! Large krausen, 1.055 gravity and internal carboy temperature was 52°.
• 4 days, gravity was 1.033
• 9 days, transferred carboy to a room with a 67° ambient temperature and dry hopped. Hydrometer is reading 1.014 and Tilt reads 1.011, possibly due to being covered with krausen remnants.
• 13 days, kegged and set to 40 PSI.
• 14 days, tried initial sample which was a bit flat, had a significant bite and a slightly muddled Citra taste. The bite will subside once the CO2 settles in a bit more and I’m hoping the hops brighten with time.