Things are in full swing here at Darkside HQ (aka the condo), as we start on our first test batches of a Rye IPA for the Garrison homebrew contest. Our plan is to make two 1 gallon batches with the same wort, and then do two boils with different hop profiles. We also have a secret ingredient for one batch, which will either be great or absolutely terrible.
We're using Maris Otter as a base malt for the first time, so pretty much everything about this brew is new to us. Trying to figure out how much rye malt to use has been interesting, as there seems to be many different opinions. Some sources suggest you shouldn't go over 15% of the total grain bill, but as the goal is a rye beer that doesn't seem like enough. So, we ignored it and went with more. With some light and medium crystal put in to enhance body and colour, everything is now in the mash tun.
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| Grain, false bottom and Coleman Cooler Mash Tun |
As we now have an hour to wait before lautering, I'd say it's time to drink a beer and play some NHL 12!
Looks good. I plan on entering as well. I have a secret ingredient as well from down under!
ReplyDeleteVegemite? :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Kangaroo? Please tell me it's kangaroo!
ReplyDeleteSo far I'm not sure if our special addition really did much... the two test batches smell pretty much identical. Time will tell, I guess!
Hope your Rye PA is coming along well.