In the cauldron today, another German-style Altbier with some minor tweaks and an attempt at open fermentation.
Ingredient list for an 11.5 liter batch:
1.8 kg Amber liquid malt extract
220 g Crystal medium malt
100 g De-bittered black malt
50 g Crystal hops (pellets)
Half a 11.5 g packet SafAle K-97 Yeast
12.5 liters water
I'm using 5 liters of the water to boil the malt and hops in. The remaining 6.5 liters will be cold tap water waiting in the brew bucket.
For the last two batches I've brewed I have used hop pellets. One thing I have learned -- I absolutely HATE using hop pellets. As I was pouring the wort through the funnel/strainer, I had to constantly spoon out the slimy, pulverized hop shit because it kept plugging up the screen openings of the strainer. Never again! Unfortunately, my local homebrew supply store no longer carries whole leaf hops.
With having to constantly mess with clearing out the strainer, not using any sanitizer, and using an open container (with a cotton cloth covering) for fermentation, if I don't get some kind of contamination on this batch I will never worry about it again.
It has been a day and a half since I pitched the yeast and I have skimmed the krøjsen (kräusen) three times. Up to today, there has been bready and hoppy aromas, not unusual but stronger than I have smelled when primary fermenting in a glass carboy with a blow-off tube.
This morning, I noticed a new, subtle odor --not offensive but just different. Hopefully, it has been present in the past but undetectable with the glass carboy/blow-off tube setup.
I have to admit, I am getting just a little nervous.
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