Brewers Notebook 01: Punk IPA Brew Lifecycle (Fermentation to Drinking)
Notes and Lessons Learned for the Brew Lifecycle
This article contains the original instructions and my personal ‘brewers notes’ regarding each step of the brewing process. If you’re planning to buy the Brookly Brewshop kit, it’s a terrific kit, but as a novice, there are a few improvements that would aid the clarity of the instructions provided! I’ve noted these in the brewers’ notes section within each stage below.
Punk IPA Brew Day Stages
This article is the continuation of Brewers Notebook 01: Punk IPA Brew Day, which covers the ingredients, instructions and notes for the Punk IPA Brew Day using the Brooklyn Brewshop kit. Check out part 1 for more about the brew day, or continue here to pick up the story at fermentation.
Punk IPA Brew Lifecycle
Once brew day is over, you’re into the long wait. Working life tends to get in the way also, so 29 days of brew time was closer to 42 in truth:
Generally speaking, the extra time was a benefit and gave the time for flavours to develop and sediment to fall out of suspension.
Fermentation
This is when your beer actually becomes alcoholic. During Fermentation the demijohn should be kept out of direct sunlight while ale yeast turns sugar into alcohol.
Instructions:
- Let sit for two or three days or until vigorous bubbling subsides. This is when fermentation is highest. You may notice bubbles and foam at the top of the beer. After bubbling calms down, clean tubing and ready your airlock.
- Sanitize, then re-assemble the airlock, filling one-third of the way with sanitiser. Insert airlock into hole in stopper.
- Keep in a dark place at room temperature for two weeks without disturbing other than to show off to friends. (If beer is still bubbling, leave sitting until it stops.)
Brewers Notes:
Krausen — During this time the blow-off tube was blocked early and significant krausen (yeasty foam) forced itself along the tube. Unsure what to do, I left it alone! However, I should have unblocked, cleaned and replaced it. completely. Fortunately, the tube was not a tight fit to the lid so I believe that CO2 was still able to escape through the leaky connection.
Bottle Conditioning
Once your beer’s in bottles, it carbonates naturally with the help of just a little extra sugar. It wakes up your ale yeast (that went dormant during fermentation) to create just enough bubbles for some nice fizz.
Instructions:
- Thoroughly rinse bottles with water, removing any sediment.
- Mix remaining sanitiser with water. Fill each bottle with a little sanitiser and shake. Empty after two minutes, rinse with cold water and dry upside down.
- Dissolve 3 tablespoons of honey with 120ml water. Pour into a sanitised pot. You will be siphoning your beer into the same pot in the next steps.
- Carbonation comes from adding sugar when bottling, so if you filled your jug with less than the full gallon in the last step, use less honey when bottling. Using the full amount can result in your beer being over-carbonated.
- Syphoning:
A. Attach open tubing clamp to tubing.
B. Fill tubing with sanitiser.
C. Attach sanitized tubing to the short curved end of your sanitized racking cane. Attach the black tip to the other end
D. Pinch tubing clamp closed.
E. Remove screw-cap stopper and place racking cane into jug, just above the sediment at the bottom (“trub”).
F. Lower end of tubing not connected to racking cane into sink. Suction will force beer up and through the racking cane and tubing. Open tubing clamp, let sanitiser flow into sink until beer just starts to flow out of the tubing, then clamp shut. Open clamp on tubing, allowing beer to flow into pot with sugar solution. Tilt jug when beer level is getting low, but be careful in not sucking up the trub. - Syphon beer from pot into bottles, pinching tube clamp to stop ow after each bottle.
- Close bottles.
- Store in a dark place for 2 weeks.
Brewers Notes:
Buy and Auto-Syphon — Do not even attempt the suggested approach to syphoning if you can purchase an ‘auto-syphon’ in advance. This is a small, easy-to-use device, that requires a few pumps only to begin syphoning.
The trick to making this method work — If you do decide to use this approach then the single most important fact is to make sure the tube is completely full end-to-end with sanitiser. Having anything less will not create enough pressure for syphoning to work. It took several tries before I realised this was the key, and successfully executed the manoeuvre every time since.
Bottle Carbonation and Sediment — Honey dissolved in water is used for carbonation, alternative sugars can also be used. What no one mentions is that the carbonation is actually fermentation starting again with the new sugar. There is no airlock for the CO2 to escape so it is forced into the beer, carbonating your ale. An unfortunate side-effect of this extra bit of fermentation is the sediment that moves out of suspension and falls to the bottom of the bottle.
Bottle Bombs — Bottle carbonation runs the risk of the pressure of carbonation becoming too great for the strength of the bottle, causing it to break/explode. Make sure you locate the bottles in a self-contained safe space, just in case.
The Taste Test
Supplier Information:
NOTE: Some beers get better with age. This beer, however, is best when super fresh. Save sentimentality for stouts and saisons. Drink your Punk IPA as soon as it’s carbonated.
Tasting Notes:
Sediment in the bottle, but was surprisingly ok for a first try!
Appearance — Very good pale-ale colour and very close to Punk IPA. Head retention was short-lived though.
Flavour: There were many similarities to the real Punk IPA, it was the grittiness from the excessive sediment that really let this one down. I was disappointed at the time, but on reflection, this was clearly a brew in the Pale Ale wheelhouse, if a very pale imitation of the Punk IPA original. There was an approximation of the deliciously sharp finish of Punk IPA.
Carbonation — Carbonation was just right, it was accurately carbonated to the Pale Ale Style and a good copy of the Punk IPA carbonation level.
Lessons Learned
Looking back at this experience a few months later, I learned a lot from this experience, even if there was plenty of room for improvement in the final taste.
A Great Starter Kit: This was a great starter kit, and while a few mistakes were made along the way, the end result was still drinkable with the familiar Punk IPA bitter finish.
Quality Equipment: The equipment was terrific, but I learned on subsequent use that a USA gallon (3.8 litres) is different from the UK imperial gallon (4.5 litres), so the demijohn is a touch smaller if you use UK gallon recipes.
ABV Unknown: The lack of a hydrometer to take a gravity reading meant that an ABV calculation was not possible. Take a guess at one of my first additional purchases.
The Metric System: This was an American kit with no adjustment to the UK market unit of measure. Fortunately, the thermometer provided both readings so it provided a quick and easy conversion.
Sediment Issues: The main problem with the final result was the level of sediment that remained in the bottles, this was probably the most disappointing part of the final result, it was like a sandy beach at the bottom of each bottle! In further brews, I learned of using a muslin or nylon bag to help with filtering out grain, hops and other ingredients used during brew day.
The Water: In all my early brewing, I just used tap water and didn’t think too much about it. I now realise that there are tastes and chemicals associated with tap water so I have switched to 5L bottled water, which conveniently provides a few extra fermentation vessels for the odd cider or wine every now and again!
Patience: If I ever overcome this problem, it probably means that I’m dead. I’m always over-excited about what the next brew will taste like! But in truth, homebrews mature (or ‘condition’) with age and a little extra time in the early stages will allow the best flavours to come through.
An Auto-Syphon: Manual syphoning with sanitiser fluid should be a future Olympic sport, or maybe just buy an auto-siphon, it is so much easier!
My First Brew (follow the link to the playlist)
Follow along as I experience my first brew day, the brewing lifecycle and finally, the taste test.
At the time of writing, it’s been 5 months since my Punk IPA brew, and despite my mistakes along the way, it proved to be a very resilient first recipe. I want to brew it again with my extra 5 months of experience and fine-tune the final taste result.
Cheers Everyone
Rob
