Schädelbier (Schwarzbier) (BJ)

Brewing ten gallons in order to do a split batch and add coconut to the other 5 gallons.

Brewed 10.0 gallons on 2019-03-17

Preboil gravity: 1.059

Original gravity: 1.064

Final gravity: 1.016

ABV: 6.3%

Apparent Attenuation: 75.0%

Inspired by Schwarzbier (AR)

Split batch with CocoBomb (Schwarzbier w/ cocao nibs + coconut) (BK)

Process notes

2019-04-03

Fermented ~51° for 10 days. Since then, I've been slowly ramping up to 67°. SG is 1.018.

2019-04-03

Took a sample. Slight roast, coffee, some fruitiness; tough to describe. Pretty well balanced w/ bitterness. No noticeable off flavors or aromas. Medium body. Pretty tasty so far.

2019-04-22

Kegged. It has been sitting at ~35° for two weeks before kegging. Dark brown, slightly red hue. A bit of sulfur, coffee, toffee, chocolate in the aroma. Medium body, pretty big flavor, more than I remember in the last one. Pretty big chocolate flavor, slight bitterness. This is tasting real good.

Boil for 90 minutes

At 60 minutes

1 ounce of 9.9% Alpha Acid Magnum pellets (German Magnum)

At 15 minutes

1 ounce of 3.1% Alpha Acid Hallertau Mittelfruh pellets

At 15 minutes

2 Whirlfloc Tablet

At 15 minutes

1 teaspoon of Fermaid K

At 5 minutes

1 ounce of 3.1% Alpha Acid Hallertau Mittelfruh pellets

Mash

[59.26%] 12 pounds of Heidelberg Malt (BestMalz)

[29.63%] 6 pounds of Munich Dark (VikingMalt)

[6.17%] 1 pound 4 ounces of Carafa Special I (Weyermann) (I'm not sure which Carafa I actually bought.)

[4.94%] 1 pound of Crystal 40L (GreatWesternMalting)

Single infusion mash. Mashed with 6.3 gallons (1.24 quarts per pound) of reverse osmosis water for 70 minutes. 20lb 4oz of grain was used in the mash.

Strike water temp: (0.2/1.24) * (152 - 67) + 152 = 165.7

2.20g calcium chloride, 2.60g gypsum, 1.20g epsom salt, 3.00g baking soda, and 1.00g chalk added to water

After 0 mins

mash is 155°

After 35 mins

mash is 154°; pH is 5.20

After 70 mins

mash is 153°; pH is 5.35

Sparge

Sparged for 75 minutes with 10 gallons of 170° reverse osmosis water.

3.00g calcium chloride, 3.60g gypsum, and 1.60g epsom salt added to water

After 0 mins

pH is 5.17; specific gravity is 1.090

After 20 mins

pH is 5.15; specific gravity is 1.073

After 45 mins

pH is 5.29; specific gravity is 1.046

After 75 mins

pH is 5.40; specific gravity is 1.018

Yeast

2019-03-17

Pitch starter (started on 2019-03-16 with 1000mL water, StirPlate, 100 grams DME, 0.50 tsp FermaidK) made from 2 packs of WLP820 Octoberfest/Marzen Lager (WhiteLabs) at 50°.

Tasting notes (6.00/10; 2 ratings)

2020-02-17

[6/10] Tan head. Kind of earthy, very slight licorice, burnt toast, acidic stale coffee aroma. Acidic tartness is still there. Lots of coffee notes. Astringent, dry finish. Real bitter chocolate. Quite a bit going on in this beer. Maybe some chalk or baking soda in the boil to reduce the acidity will help, but this is enjoyable.

2020-06-23

[6/10] Final pour. The keg has been in and out of the freezer for past year. Sharp, acidic coffee aroma. Thin body, flavor and finish are sharp as well. Fairly thin body. Probably need to boost carbonates, but overall, this has been an easy drinking beer.