BIG DREAM Hobby and Craft: A practical guide to filtration, Pliny the Elder clone and more

Brew Day Bulletin

Dear Homebrewer,

Russian River Brewing Co.'s Pliny the Elder clone [Free] is the standard by which many modern double IPAs are measured. Surly Brewing Company Furious IPA clone [Plus and Digital Members] is an amber-colored ale with citrusy-hoppy aromas and flavors, balanced out by a chewy caramel malt backbone.

Get our guides to filtration [Free], growing your own hops [Plus and Digital Members] and using pH meters for brewing [Plus video].

Mr. Wizard brainstorms how to brew high alcohol beers [Free] and weights in on extract addition times [Plus and Digital Members].

In projects: a burner igniter [Free] and gas on tap [Plus and Digital Members].

Cheers!
Brad Ring
Publisher

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Video
Using pH Meters for Brewing

A pH meter is a valuable brewing tool when used correctly. Brew Your Own Magazine's Technical Editor Ashton Lewis shows you when and how to use a pH meter to make better beer.

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Read & Brew: Free Content For All

Recipe
Russian River Brewing Co.'s Pliny the Elder clone

Originally brewed to be part of a first-ever "Double IPA festival" back in 2000, Pliny has become the standard by which many modern double IPAs are measured. As with any hop-heavy beer, Pliny is best enjoyed fresh, while the massive hop aroma is at its peak.

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Article
Practical Guide to Filtration

One of the first differences beginning brewers may notice between their creations and commercial beer is clarity — or a lack thereof. I can remember when I'd sometimes run across a slightly cloudy beer and be completely convinced it was spoiled. Of course this was long before I started brewing beer or knew much about it. The haze I'd find in the occasional commercial beer could have been normal or due to contamination; I wouldn't have known the difference.

Ask Mr. Wizard
High Gravity Brewing

Q Do you have suggestions for brewing a high alcohol beer? I'm trying to get one over 20%.

A In order to brew high alcohol beers, three challenges must be addressed. The first is the production of wort with the potential for a high degree of fermentation. The second challenge is producing high gravity wort. The combination of high original gravity with high degree of fermentation gives you the chance of producing the big beers you seek. The third challenge is carrying out the fermentation without problems from unhappy yeast.

Project
Build a Burner Igniter

For the last two weekends, I've been fortunate enough to return to my back porch "brew house." One consequence of outdoor brewing is having the flame of my propane burner blown out by the wind. This always seems to happen when I have put the long-nosed butane match away downstairs. So I thought, why not make igniting the burner as easy as pushing a button? What brewer wouldn't want that?

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Recipe
Surly Brewing Company Furious IPA clone

(5 gallons/ 19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.060 FG = 1.014
IBUs = 99 SRM = 15 ABV = 6%

Ingredients:
6.6 lbs. (3 kg ) Muntons light, unhopped liquid malt extract
1.5 lbs. (0.68 g) Hugh Baird or Simpson Golden Promise malt
10 oz. (0.28 kg) Belgian aromatic malt (25 °L)

Article
Grow Your Own Hops

Not only can you brew your own beer at home, but you can also grow some (if not all!) the ingredients for your homebrew. The easiest and most obvious choice is hops. You don't need a huge tract of land to grow hops, although to grow enough to brew year-round you'll probably find that you will be planting a large crop.

Ask Mr. Wizard
Extract Addition Times

Q I've read that with the Texas 2-step and late extract methods that you will get better extraction of hop bitterness if the wort is less dense. Also, from the late extract method, it sounds like the full 60-minute boil isn't necessary for most malt extracts . . . just the last 15 minutes to sanitize it before cooling the wort. So my question is: Can you hold off the addition of malt extract (in an all-extract or partial-mash recipe) until the end of the boil? And then, taken to an extreme, can you just boil the hops in plain water in some smaller volume (like 1 gallon or 3.8 L) in an all-extract recipe, or does something else in the wort (like pH levels) play a part in extracting bitterness from hops?

Project
Gas on Tap

I have been building a new brewhouse after doing some fairly elaborate backyard renovations, and after putting together the kitchenette I realized it was time to bottle up some of my lambic to enter into our state competition. Anything that could go wrong did, of course. For a start, my 22-kg CO₂ bottle is located on the other side of the room. "No problem," I thought, "I'll run some gas line across the room and have a manifold so that I can have easy access." So once I had the counterpressure filler setup and the capper ready I started to bottle.

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