First Brew - Session IPA

So, the votes are in, and the first brew is going to be a session IPA.  I'm pretty excited about it, because I've been wanting to try one for a while.  What is a session IPA you ask?  IPA's have become one of the most popular beer styles in craft beers.  Once people discovered the amazing flavor that hops can provide, it began the arms race to stronger, more bitter beers: Double IPA, Imperial IPA, etc., all with more hop bitterness, but also stronger and with more alcohol.  Even the "standard" IPA has crept upwards, from an original strength of around 6.5% to upwards of 7 or 7.5%.  These are fantastic beers, loaded with hop flavor, but most of us are going to have trouble drinking more than a couple without becoming inebriated.  Enter the "session" beer.

Session beers are "small" (lower-strength) beers that are "drinking-beers".  Well-balanced and refreshing.  This can be a challenge in an IPA as IPA's are typically "un-balanced", in that there is a higher bitterness-to-original gravity ratio (gravity is a measure of the amount of sugars dissolved into the wort, and is directly related to the final amount of alcohol and/or residual sweetness in the beer).  So we're looking to make a lighter beer, but one that still has some hop-bite.

Recipe:
batch size: 8 gal
boil size: 10.34 gal
final bottling volume: 7.6 gal
brewhouse efficiency: 70%
estimated original gravity: 1.051 SG
estimated ABV: 5%
estimated IBU: 60.4
estimated color: 8.1 SRM

Grains:
13 lbs Pale Malt (2 row) US (2.0 SRM)
1.5 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40 SRM)
1.5 lbs Munich Malt (9 SRM)

Hops:
0.8 oz Simcoe (12.9%) - boil 60 min
0.8 oz Simcoe (12.9%) - boil 20 min
0.8 oz Centennial (9%) - boil 15 min
0.8 oz Simcoe (12.9%) - boil 10 min
0.8 oz Centennial (9%) - boil 5 min
1.6 oz Amarillo (8.5%) - dry hop
1.6 oz Citra (12%) - dry hop

Yeast:
American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) - 1.5L starter

Brew Day Photos:

Milling the grain

Orange cooler on the right is the "mash tun".

The grains will soak in hot water in the mash tun for one hour; the specific temperature of the water activates enzymes that convert the starch in the grain to sugar.  The sugar is then extracted with more hot water to create "wort".

Boiling the wort to extract hop bitterness and concentrate wort

Original (pre-fermentation) gravity right on target!

Yeast starter ready to do it's thing

Here at Feral Chicken Brewery, nothing gets wasted!  Staying true to our name, the chickens get to enjoy the spent grain...

Welcome!

Welcome to Feral Chicken Brewery's Community Supported Brewing blog page!

The idea for the CSB came to being after much discussion about 1. how we want to make lots and lots of different beers 2. how we can't possibly drink all the beers that we have made in order to make room for the new beers that we want to brew... and taste and 3. how we probably can't afford to buy all the ingredients for all the beers we want to brew. So, we thought what if we got a group of people together and we all pitched in and made new beers on a weekly/bi monthly/monthly basis and we all got to keep a few six packs?  Everyone wins.

To get things rolling this fall/winter, Jeff made a DELICIOUS pumpkin porter (watch out Four Peaks!) and his own creation, a  Black Forest (sour cherry chocolate) stout with sour cherries we smuggled back on the plane from Pennsylvania this summer.

Here's the deal:
1. you pitch in $5(ish) per six pack depending on the type of beer (obviously mead, barley wine, other high gravity beers would have more ingredients and be more expensive, lighter beers may be less).  Plus bottle cost....
2. Bottles cost approximately 0.50 each, or $3/six pack. Please return your bottles for a discount!
3. you're MORE than welcome to come help!!!!  it's COMMUNITY SUPPORTED BREWING!  YOU are the community!  This is an awesome way to come get a brewing education and drink some beer.

Our next brew is up to you!  Check out the survey on the right and vote in the next few days.  Or, if you'd like something different, please make a suggestion!  The survey will change periodically depending on your feedback.  (note: I don't currently have the equipment to make lagers or wheat beers).

Our next brew day is this Saturday, November 16th. Please let us know if you're interested in this batch by Thursday November 14th.  Or, if you're interested in retroactively "chipping in" for the pumpkin porter or the Black Forest Stout, let us know that too!  The only deadline for that is when the beer has been consumed. :)

Legally, we are a brewing club.  We are all chipping in to buy ingredients, and get to take home what we brew.  We ARE NOT SELLING ALCOHOL!!!!!

Thanks!  We look forward to seeing you at out next brew day!