Begin Brewing!

While browsing Craft Beer and Brewing, I noticed they'd posted a clone recipe for Avery Brewing's "The Reverend" Belgian Quad. This is one of my wife's and my favorite beers, so naturally I jumped at the chance to capture the recipe here for later use. Note: This recipe differs from the way it's published on Craft Beer & Brewing because I've adjusted it for my own brewhouse environment with The Grainfather. Refer to the link above if you want the "official" recipe. The Ingredients 15 pounds, 11 ounces of 2-row Pale Malt 11 ounces of Aromatic Malt 6 ounces of Cara-20 Malt 6 ounces of Cara-45 Malt 6 ounces of Special B Malt 1 pound of Dark Candi Sugar 1.75 ounces of Sterling hops pellets @ 6% AA 0.35 ounces of Sterling hops pellets @ 6% AA 0.80 ounces of Sterling hops pellets @ 6% AA 1/2 tsp. Super Irish Moss 1/4 tsp. Yeast Nutrient 1 vial White Labs Clarity Ferm Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity Yeast or White Labs WLP530

There is an old mash technique referred to as "hochkurz" mashing, which stems from the German words for "high" and "short". This mash style starts at a higher temperatures than most and stays at each temperature for less time, thus "high temperature" and "short duration" at each temperature stage. The idea in a Hochkurz mash is to mash in two steps. The first step maximizes the beta amylase enzyme activity, and takes place at 145F. It lasts for 30 minutes (up to 45).  The second step maximizes alpha amylase enzyme activity, and occurs at 158-162F. It also lasts for 30 minutes (up to 45 if needed to complete conversion). These steps are followed by a traditional mash-out at 170F for 10-15 minutes. This allows the mash to complete in 70-100 minutes. Theoretically, this 70-minute mash will result in a more complete conversion than a single-step mash that runs over a longer period of time, since the Hochkurz mash gives each of the two m

The beer prior to cold conditioning A while ago, I read something about Mandarina Bavaria hops. One of the brewing sites had them on sale at the time. They said the hops can impart a mandarin orange aroma and flavor to a beer. I had no idea what I would do with them, but I bought some anyway. After doing some thinking about it, I thought they sounded like they might go well in a blonde ale. I thought a nice malty blonde ale with some added bitter orange peel and sweet orange peel, combined with a couple of healthy later additions of Mandarina Bavaria hops would create a very nice spring or summer beer. Not having a ton of faith in my recipe creation skills, I decided to do a 3-gallon batch for this one (or 3.9 gallons before shrinkage, trub, and other losses). I also wanted to see if The Grainfather boiled a batch any harder if it was a smaller size, and if this impacted chill haze. Update 06/04/2017:  This beer took second place in the fruit beer category at the Ohio State