Sandbox Brewing

Brew date: Dec 18, 2021

Now on my third iteration of this recipe, I’ve decided to go a little off-script based on the style guideline and increase the IBUs and the finishing hop intensity. Sort of an “American version” if you will. To ensure the balance isn’t totally wrong I went easy on the salts and biased towards malty when choosing water profile.

Batch information:

Brew system: Grainfather, with stovetop sparge water
Batch size: 20L (into the fermentor)
B.H. Efficiency: 70%

The grist is as follows:

3.60 kg – Bohemian Pilsner malt
0.45 kg – Munich II malt
0.13 kg – Caramunich II malt
0.13 kg – Victory malt
0.13 kg – Rye malt

For hopping, I went with:

40g – Tettnanger at 60 min (23 AAU)
20g – Tettnanger at 5 min (3 AAU)
20g – Loral at 5 min (6 AAU)

Fermentation is with Ardennes from Wyeast (3522) with a 1.5L stir plate starter.

Brew day Notes:

Pre-boil gravity 1.038, post-boil hit the target of 1.044. Added 3g CaCl, 2g gypsum, and 0.5g epsom mid boil. Didn’t acidify the mash this time (usually do 7-8g of 88% lactic acid), but wort cleared up nicely around the 45 minute mark. Mash was 16L, with a 10 minute rest at 131F, then 50 minutes at 149F, and 10 minutes at 160F. Sparged with 14L of 160F water.

This is a re-brew of the Trappist-style single brewed about a year ago. It was successful and I haven’t changed the grist at all, but I am using a different yeast this time: WYeast’s 1214 Chimay strain.

Grist:
84% Bohemian Pilsner (Weyermann) – 3.36 kg
8% Vienna malt (Weyermann) – 0.32 kg
4% Flaked wheat – 0.16 kg
4% Flaked oats – 0.16 kg

Hopping:
29 AAU of Boheime 7.6% AA at 60 minutes
4 AAU of CZ Saaz 2.9% AA at 5 minutes

Water:
4.5g of 88% lactic acid added to mash liquor

Added at boil:
3g CaCl
3.5g Gypsum
1.5g Epsom
0.6g table salt
2.5g chalk

Fermentation
WYeast 1214 Abbey yeast (Chimay strain) – no starter
(Thought I had Imperial on hand, hence no starter, whoops)

This is a rekindling of a beer I’ve brewed a few years ago with the intention of brewing each year, but due to an over-abundance of old ales, barleywines and the like in my cellar, I had put it off until now. I have changed it up a bit from previous, and that’s something I might continue to do – the inspiration of this beer is Fuller’s Vintage ale which is a different recipe each year as well.

Some things will remain constant each year, and not all of these things are consistent with the Fuller’s beer that inspires it. I will target from 8% to 10% ABV and keep the colour somewhere between amber to brown. I expect I’ll always pitch brett, in-part because I don’t trust my current equipment for clean beers that have a higher FG, if the intent is to age them.

I also expect I’ll use the same water profile each year, to keep the “terrior” somewhat consistent in that respect. Here is the 2021 iteration, which was brewed on Jan 3, 2021 and will be bottled later in the year.

Malt Bill:
5.75 kg Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter (~96%)
0.25 kg Thomas Fawcett Dark Crystal (~4%)

Hopping:
35g Nugget @ 75 min (~50 IBU)
15g Cascade @ 10 min (~10 IBU)

Water Additions (RO base):
6g Calcium Carbonate
4g Calcium Chloride
1g Gypsum
1g Epsom
1g Baking Soda

Mash Profile:
19L mash liquor, mashed in at 120F
Rest 10 min at 131F
Rest 60 min at 153F
Rest 10 min at 167F
Sparge 9L of 165F water

Boil three and a half hours

Fermentation:
Primary 7 days at 66F with S-04
Secondary three to six months at ambient with Brett Lambicus

This iteration of Dreamreader is referred to as a ‘biere de garde’, but only in the loosest sense. It is a slightly malty (toasty malt, not caramel malt) ale that’s been co-fermented with saison and Kolsch strains; the majority of the cell count being Kolsch since the saison yeast is so expressive.

Brew date: April 4, 2020
Bottling date:

Grist:
2.20 kg Bohemian Pilsner malt (Weyermann)
1.10 kg Vienna malt (Weyermann)
1.10 kg Munich II malt (Weyermann)
0.18 kg Flaked oats

Hops:
30g Bohemie @ 60 min
25g CZ Saaz @ 5 min

Fermentation:
~60B cells of Kolsch (WY2565)
~100B cells of Spooky Saison

This is the second iteration of a Belgian single style ale I’ve tried, the first being a very successful collaboration with Cory Day. I kept the grist very much the same; the only real change was the yeast.

Brew date: February 16, 2020
Bottling date: March 15, 2020

Grist:
84% Pilsner malt, Weyermann (3.77 kg)
8% Vienna malt, Weyermann (0.32 kg)
4% Flaked oats (0.16 kg)
4% Flaked wheat (0.16 kg)

Hopping:
40g Bohemie @ 60 min
50g Saaz @ 5 min
15g Citra @ 5 min

Fermentation:
Escarpment Labs – Dry Belgian (1.5L starter; older pack)
Temperature: ambient (68-73F)

Mash Schedule:
Mash in at 55C for 15 min (16L mash liquor)
Raise to 65C for 65 min
Mash out at 75C; sparge with 14L of 72C water

Water Additions from Vancouver water (near-RO):
3g gypsum
7.5g Lactic Acid

Stats:
OG: 1.037 (Target: 1.040)
FG: 1.004 (Target: 1.003)
IBU: 41
ABV: 4.3%

Bottled with 3.2 vols (150g sucrose)

Brew Date: January 18, 2020

Slush Fund is a ‘freezer cleaner’ beer with the intention of using up some excessive hop inventory, particularly IPA-friendly new world varieties that I don’t use often in the saisons and Belgian ales I’m typically brewing. The name comes from today’s weather – the first warm day after some big dumps of snow.

Brewing equipment: Grainfather
Batch size: 20L

Mash Schedule:
131F for 15 minutes
152F for 75 minutes
167F for 10 minutes

Boil 90 minutes

Water additions (mash water):
5.0g CaCl
2.0g gypsum
5.2g 88% lactic acid

Grist:
3.00 kg Weyermann Pilsner
2.00 kg Golden Promise
1.00 kg Flaked oats

Hopping:
20g Apollo @ 60 min
7g Apollo, 15g Amarillo @ 15 min

Whirlpool @ 180F: 80g Mosaic, 40g Citra

Fermentation:
Escarpment Labs Voss kveik
Fermented ambient beside heater

Time for another batch of the house saison.

Brew date: TBD
Bottling date: TBD

Target OG: 1.042
Target FG: 1.002
ABV: 5.3%
IBU: 34

Water:
4g gypsum
6g CaCl

Grist:
2.72 kg Pilsner malt (68%)
0.72 kg Vienna malt (18%)
0.48 kg Flaked wheat (12%)
0.08 kg Acid malt (2%)

Hopping:
35g Willamette @ 60 min
14g Motueka @ 15 min
28g Nelson Sauvin @ flame out

Fermentation:
Escarpment Spooky Saison, gen 2
Pitch at 27C, raise to 29C over 48hr

This is the second iteration of Kombi, a Belgian pale ale brewed to BJCP style 24B. The first iteration was brewed with homebrew competitions in mind. I only entered it in one competition, because of carbonation issues due to my error, but it placed gold in that one!

This re-brew has only minor tweaks to the grist and hopping, but I’m switching to Escarpment’s Dry Belgian strain (STA-1 positive) for a much more dry interpretation, more in line with my preferences. It is hard to say at this point if it’ll be as well suited to competitions, but I do plan to enter it in a couple in 2020.

Brew date: December 26, 2019
Bottling date: TBD

OG: 1.049
FG: TBD
ABV: 6.0%
IBU: 27

Grist:
3.80 kg Bohemian Pilsner malt
0.60 kg Munich II malt
0.20 kg Biscuit malt
0.20 kg Caramunich II malt
0.20 kg Flaked oats

Water:
4.5g CaCl
2.5g gypsum
5g 88% Lactic Acid

Mash Schedule:
55C for 15 min
65C for 70 min
75C for 10 min

Boil 90 minutes

Hopping:
35g Boheme (6% AA) @ 60 min
25g Saaz (2.8% AA) @ 5 min

Fermentation:
Escarpment Dry Belgian (gen 1) approx 150B cells
Fermented at ambient, 72F generally during activity.

Brew Day Notes: Prepared the full volume (30L) with salts in the GF, and pumped off 14L once warmed into my sparge pot.

Sacred Place is the second of three core beers in my dream brewery, following Quiet Light. It has more malt complexity and less hop prominence than Quiet Light, and I’d call it a farmhouse (style) pale ale. It’s fermented with the same house primary strain, and bottle conditioning strain.

Brew date: December 13, 2019
Bottling date: TBD

OG: 1.044
FG: TBD
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 31

Grist:
2.80 kg Vienna malt (70%)
0.60 kg Malted rye (15%)
0.60 kg Flaked wheat (15%)

Water:
6g CaCl
4g gypsum
3g epsom
2g baking soda
1g chalk
5g 88% Lactic Acid

Mash Schedule:
55C for 15 min
65C for 70 min
75C for 10 min

Boil 120 minutes

Hopping:
30g Boheme (6% AA) @ 60 min
30g Loral (10% AA) @ 5 min

Fermentation:
Spooky Saison (gen 1) approx 150B cells
Temp 78F starting, up to 82F at 48h

Brew Day Notes: Prepared the full volume (30L) with salts in the GF, and pumped off 14L once warmed into my sparge pot. Checked pH after 10 min and was surprised to find it at 5.90. Might be my meter calibration, but added a further 6g lactic acid to get it down to a measured 5.30.

Like many homebrewers, I have an imaginary brewery I have been refining in my mind for a couple years now. It’s separate from Sandbox, though of course it shares many similarities and many of the beers I make are in an effort to hone in on what I’d want to brew in said brewery.

At the present moment, Quiet Light is one of three core beers of this imaginary brewery. It’s a golden saison style ale, hoppy and bright when fresh, and bottle conditioned with a subtle brettanomyces strain for further complexity over time. My magic combo for primary and bottling strains is currently Escarpment’s Spooky Saison and Berliner Brett, respectively. I’ll be trying this combination in the two other core beer prototypes, which will be brewed over the coming months.

Brew Specs:

Batch size: 20L into the fermentor
Equipment: Grainfather (Est 72% BHE)
Brew date: November 11, 2019
Bottling date: December 4, 2019

Target/Actual OG: 1.042 / 1.041
Target/Actual FG: 1.005 / 1.006
ABV: 4.6%
IBU: 30

Water Adjustments:
6.5g gypsum
4g CaCl
1g epsom

Grist:
2.80 kg Bohemian Pilsner (70%)
0.60 kg Vienna malt (15%)
0.60 kg Flaked wheat (15%)

Hopping:
25g Boheme @ 60 min
40g Perle @ 5 min
Dry hop: 10g Perle for 7 days

Other:
Whirfloc @ 5 min

Fermentation:
Escarpment Labs ‘Spooky Saison’ gen 1 pitch (approx 130B cells)
Temp SP: 80F for first 24h, raised gradually to 84F at 72h.

Bottled with 3.0 vols (152g of sucrose).

Brew Day Notes:
Forgot the salts for the second brew day in a row, resulting in a mash pH of 5.66 at midway through. Whoops. Added alongside some 88% LA to bring it down to the happy zone.