Black Garnet (CF)

I'm hoping to brew more often, and will need something to replace the Scotch Ale (CC). This should be fairly similar to (AX), but some of the Pilsner malt will be from Mecca Grade and some of the roasted malts will be replaced by the barrel aged malt. Also, I'll try to up the pH of the water in order to round out the finish a bit more than last time. Finally, I'm going to do a second beer with the second runnings.

Brewed 5.0 gallons on 2023-03-26

Preboil gravity: 1.075

Original gravity: 1.086

Final gravity: 1.018

ABV: 8.9%

Apparent Attenuation: 79.1%

Link about this beverage Tilt

Inspired by Black Ruby (Baltic Porter) (AX)

Parti-gyle secondary beverage was Spaceship Beer (CG)

Process notes

2023-04-17

Kegged. Aroma is relatively muted, dark chocolate, some alcohol sweetness, kind of an earthy coffee aroma.

Some alcohol sharpness in the mouthfeel, but the sample is pretty warm. Seems fairly acidic, sharp coffee character. Nothing off; I'm curious to see how this ages and whether the alcohol mellows a bit.

2023-07-15

Bottled eight 12oz bottles; three are for the Santa Clara County Fair Comp.

Boil for 90 minutes

At 90 minutes

1 gram of Baking Soda (The hope is that this helps round out the beer a bit since the original version of this beer seemed a bit sharp. The baking soda was added to the boil kettle during the sparge.)

At 60 minutes

2 ounces of 2.7% Alpha Acid Czech Saaz pellets (Artisan Hops, Batch #57773)

At 60 minutes

1 ounce of 3.9% Alpha Acid Czech Saaz pellets (Artisan Hops, Batch #56872)

At 15 minutes

1 Whirlfloc Tablet

Mash

[58.18%] 12 pounds of German Munich (Weyermann)

[19.39%] 4 pounds of Belgian Pilsner (DingemansMalting)

[14.55%] 3 pounds of Pelton Pilsner (MeccaGradeEstateMalt)

[2.42%] 8 ounces of Special B (DingemansMalting)

[2.42%] 8 ounces of Bourbon Barrel Aged Chocolate Malt (SugarCreekMalt)

[2.42%] 8 ounces of Caramel 150 (60L) (VikingMalt)

[0.61%] 2 ounces of Blackprinz (Briess)

Single infusion mash. Mashed with 6.5 gallons (1.26 quarts per pound) of reverse osmosis water for 60 minutes. 20lb 10oz of grain was used in the mash.

Strike water temp: (0.2/1.26) * (150 - 67) + 150 = 163.2

4.00g calcium chloride and 0.50g baking soda added to water

After 0 mins

mash is 152°

After 30 mins

mash is 152°; pH is 5.35

After 60 mins

mash is 152°; pH is 5.13

Sparge

Sparged for 55 minutes with 5 gallons of 170° reverse osmosis water.

3.00g calcium chloride added to water

After 0 mins

pH is 5.15; specific gravity is 1.093

After 15 mins

pH is 5.22; specific gravity is 1.093

After 30 mins

pH is 5.26; specific gravity is 1.088

After 50 mins

pH is 5.32; specific gravity is 1.042

After 55 mins

pH is 5.41; specific gravity is 1.035

Yeast

2023-03-26

Pitch 3 packs of Saflager S-23 Lager Yeast (Fermentis) at 54°. (Pitched all three packs directly on top of the wort without rehydrating, adding any oxygen/nutrients. I'm curious to see if this ferments as well as the previous batch which did all three. Best by date on packs is all 9/2023. Batch numbers are: 64633 {1458|1455|1610} 262.)

Tasting notes (7.50/10; 2 ratings)

2024-05-19

[7/10] I can't believe I haven't taken any tasting notes on this yet. Tan head, a bit of lacing. Pumpernickel bread, roasty, earthy, bitter chocolate. Kind of minerally. Medium, full body. Maybe a bit of alcohol warmth, but it's pretty subdued.

2024-06-05

[8/10] Final pour. I've really been enjoying this lately. Dark semi-bitter chocolate, sharp flavor and finish, Good head retention. Medium body. Some dark fruit character. No noticable alcohol heat.

Beer competition results

Placed 3rd and scored 35 in 2023 Santa Clara County Fair.