Brew8: American Red

Based on Sharkbite Red recipe
http://hbd.org/discus/messages/40327/42824.html?1188573053

Single Infusion Mash (152, 60+ mins)

Equipment: Mash tun (6 quart crockpot, nylon bag), Lauter tun (6 quart & 4 quart sparge pots, 8 quart pot, strainer/steamer, funnel, string funnel holder), Boil pot (8qt pot), Fermenter (2 1 gallon carboys), Airlocks, Hydrometer, Idophor, Thermometer, wort chiller (2 frozen gallon bottles, cooler), strainer, funnel, ruler, stirring spoon, scale, pint measuring cup

Recipe:

2.5 gallons water

Target: 1.75 gallons wort, OG: 1.055

2 lb. 4 oz (2.25 lb) 2-row base

8.8 oz (0.55 lb) Crystal 80

IBUs: ~24

2/15 oz Centennial (9.9%) at 60 mins

1/5 oz Cascade (7.5%) at 15 mins

Yeast: Ale Yeast (Brew6 Coopers Dry Sludge)

Steps:

Mash:

1. If boiling prepare bath with 2 gallon ice
1. Bath prepared from cold conditioning stout bottling (~42 F)
2. Heat Mash tun
3. Prepare strike water. Using ratio 1.5 qt/lb, 4.2 qts water to 165  F
4. Temper in grains with strike water
5. With thermometer, maintain mash temp
6. Stir mash every so often
7. Prepare sparge water: ~175 F at .5qt/lb water loss to grain, 1.4 qts loss, 4.2 qts water, round up to 5
8. At end of mash, scoop wort over grains into lauter (4qt pot). When pot is full, pour wort into boil pot. Repeat.
1. Ended mash at ~75 min
9. Measure wort amount to find sparge wort amount.
10. Measure gravity.
1. 1.040 for 1 gallon
11. While measuring gravity and wort volume, sparge into secondary pot until reaching sparge wort amount or 1.75 gals wort in boil
1. Continued to sparge while boiling

Boil:

1. Bring wort to rolling boil
1. Took ~20 mins
2. Once wort has reached boil, pull 4 oz and chill to 90s F in water bath
3. Add hops according to schedule
4. Rehydrate yeast by pouring chilled wort over it. Shake to mix and measure/split mixture into 2 for fermenters
1. ~2.7 oz weight per fermenter
5. With a 10-15 minutes left in boil, sanitize fermenter, airlock, blowoff tube, wort chiller, strainer, funnel, ladle [need to scoop some wort for hydrometer]
6. Near end, add extra water to reach target brew amount if needed
7. Finish boil at 60 mins
8. Chill wort in bath using running water if bath temp rises too high and then aerate
1. Took ~30 mins
2. Used 42F water with ice cubes in sink bath
3. Rapid dropoff of temp at first 10+F per min
4. Slowed significantly around ~110F
5. Chilled to final: ~79F
9. Measure OG
1. 1.050
10. Scoop and strain wort into first fermenter; pour and strain wort into second
11. Pitch yeast
12. Cap with airlock/blowoff tubes

~4 hours start to finish

~73F start fermentation temp

Active fermentation was noticeable ~8 hours later
Bottles hit 75F ~16 hours later. Began cooling with gallon ice and tray of water housed in cardboard box. Fermentation temp reached ~67 F at ~32 hours.