Batch #1 - Jailbreak IPA - Brew Day - Birth 1/11/10 @ 1:00am!

So last night I brewed my first beer. I am calling it Jailbreak IPA in honor of my roommate and friend that unfortunately wont be here for the release party. So we will save some for him.

Learned lots from it as well. Brewing it inside took a very long time (5 hours) and I had to use both gas burners on the stove to bring the wort to a boil after the steep. Think I might have lost some during the preboil as it just simmered for a long time (almost an hour) before I had to turn on the other burner and success!!!!

Wanna thank everyone at Xtreme Brewing Co in Millsboro, DE for all there help with getting us setup and letting us stay and learn the correct way to home brew on extract on Saturday. Their knowledge and hospitality will be hard to beat! I want there jobs someday making wine and beer and teaching about both.

Started steep @ 7:45pm. Started with cold water...probably cool next time.


60L crystal malt in grain bag
4 1/2 gal cool water
2 t. gypsum

8# pale malt extract syrup

1.5 oz. centennial hops pellets (bittering) - 65 min
1 t. Irish Moss - 20 min
1 oz. cascade hop pellets (flavoring) - 10 min
1/2 oz. cascade hop pellets (aroma) - End of Boil

1 american ale yeast White Labs WLP001 or Safeale US-56

Fermentation (2 Days)
2 c. brown sugar
1/2# brown sugar

1 oz. cascade hop pellets (dry hop) - end of fermentation 14 Days - ten days dry hopped.

8:50pm - 150F
9:00pm - Pull grain bag and let drip

9:05pm - Add in Malt Extract. Heat off. Mix in extract.

9:15pm - Heat back on.

9:25pm - 170F
9:30pm - 180F
9:40pm - 190F - small bubbles
9:50pm - 200F foam starting on top
9:55pm - Full layer on top...thinner underneath
10:10pm - medium bubbles
10:35pm - Start 2nd burner.
10:45pm - ROLLING BOIL (Finally)
10:45pm - Add centennial Hops...1.5 oz. -Start 60 minute boil!!

11:25pm - Add irish moss and stir for 1 min. (20 min out)
11:35pm - 1 oz. cascade hops (10 min out)
11:45pm - 0.5 oz cascade hops (end boil)
11:47pm - stir 2 minutes then sit for 10 minutes.
12:00am - Took off stove placed in cold water bath.
12:35am - cool enough to pitch yeast (72-74)
12:45am - pitch yeast
1:00am - hook up blow off tube for fermenter.

Stopped brewing and turned off lights at 1:30 am last night. No bubbles, nothing. Typical I am told. Same this morning nothing. Home from work at 7:00pm. Beer is very aggressively bubbling into the blow off tank. Working very well. More details about brew day tomorrow.