Quick brewing update. I continue to refine my Sorachi Ace beer recipe previously discussed here, with the notable changes being more hops, more rice, no more wheat, and lager yeast. I love this beer, and haven’t brewed anything else in over a year. I’ve named it Sorachi Hokkaido after the place where the hop variety was bred.
Here’s the latest recipe iteration for a 5 gallon batch, brewed today:
- 6 pounds pilsner light DME
- 1 pound rice malt extract
- 2 pounds flaked rice
- 1 pound flaked barley
- 8 oz Sorachi Ace (5 oz in the boil @ 60min, 45min, 30min, 10 min, flame out; 3 oz dry)
- San Francisco lager yeast
I’ve also recently upgraded my equipment with two big additions. First, I picked up a 5 gallon ball lock keg – no more bottling. And I also got a Fermentasaurus conical fermenter. So far the Fermentasaurus is great. It’s a bit flimsy, which has been mentioned in many of the reviews, but it’s also a game changer. Super easy to fill after brewing, no need to transfer the wort into secondary as settled yeast can be removed via the butterfly valve, and looks quite simple to transfer fermented beer right into a keg via the screw on line connector. Plus, it has a perfect name. I’m excited to see how it goes.
Here it is, along with my extremely helpful brewing buddies, Robin and Leah: