Cannabis and Hops... Let's Make some Beer

[yktind]

Here is the partial setup of the "Cannabis Hop Back".
This is a crude prototype for this batch. If it works and this still seems like a good idea after bottling I will have one made out of glass or something. Or maybe Aluminum.

Homedepot didn't have a male to male connector so I bought the Tee and modified it, lol.

Will have more pics on bottling day. I may try running a complete beer through it just to see if it retains any properties with such a quick wash.

 

[yktind]

Fermentation is about complete at least the bubbling phase. But here is a video of the second day:

 

[yktind]

*Disclaimer, I am not a scientist. Just showing you guys why I am doing what I am doing. Its really more of a study session for myself. With that said I am interested to hear opinions on both temperature and timing. Please remember we are going for maximum flavor profile*

I have changed my mind one last time... We will be doing a decarb of the cannabis material before washing it with our beer. Oven set to 230 degrees F for 45 mins. According to the two articles below we can decarb without loosing to many terpinoids (smells). Below is a summary of the boiling temperatures for some compounds and essential oils found in Cannabis.



But why 230 degrees F for 45 mins? In reading the articles the guy had his trim and keif tested by a lab at 240 degrees for 30 mins and 60 mins. It basically shows that 60 mins gets a complete decarb. (See Below Chart). Personally I do not think my oven will stay at a constant temperature so I am anticipating fluctuations of 10 degrees +/-.

This chart is from:
"Decarboxylating Cannabis: Turning THCA into THC"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kief
CompoundBefore Decarb30 Min Decarb60 Min Decarb
THCA 24.5% 2.6% .1%
THC 3.8% 25.4% 25.5%
CBDA .6% .3% .3%
CBD 0% 1% .1%
CBN .4% 1% 1.4%
Moisture 0% 0% 0%
Total Cannabanoids 29.3% 30.3% 27.4%
Cannabis Trim
CompoundBefore Decarb30 Min Decarb60 Min Decarb
THCA 6.5% 2.9% .2%
THC .6% 4.8% 6.9%
CBDA .2% .2% .1%
CBD 0% 0% .1%
CBN 0% 0% 0%
Moisture 3.4% 4.5% 0%
Total Cannabanoids 7.3% 7.9% 7.3%
Testing provided by SC Labs
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Decarboxylating Cannabis: Turning THCA into THC:
http://www.marijuanagrowershq.com/decarboxylating-cannabis-turning-thca-into-thc/

Here is the publication that inspired the above article:
http://www.cannabis-med.org/data/pdf/2001-03-04-7.pdf

 

[yktind]

Transfer day was yesterday 8.21.2014

***Side Note***
When I opened the primary fermentor I noticed some small bubbles appearing. This tells me that fermentation is not complete. I later found out that the beer wort should sit in the primary fermentor until complete. It was already to late since half the beer was already in the glass carboy. So in an attempt to get the most yeast back into the glass carboy I did a couple of gentle stirs and pumps with the auto siphon. The beer is definitely not done yet.

Note To Self: When making a high gravity beer let sit in primary fermentor for a minimum of 10 days.

Our beer will now sit in the secondary fermentor for about 2 weeks because I will be going out of town on Wednesday. I am not worried about letting it sit for to long because the yeast is still very active. I would not recommend letting your beer sit longer than 6 weeks, this is based on nothing except feelings and different things I have read.

Now about the beer, it smells delicious, nice and hoppy but not overpowering, very sweet and a young fermentation smell. (If you have ever gotten fresh squeezed OJ that was old and started to get carbonation, this is what that smells like... Orange Juice that is beginning to ferment).

Step 1 as always... Clean and sterilize everything that will touch the beer wort. You will notice that I did not remove the foam. Don't worry, no off flavors or smells are produced. Star-San is made to leave in foam:


Open the primary fermentor and take a big deep smell... Awww. Isn't that nice.


Looking at the color of the hose it looks like we will have a really nice finish. Keep in mind that it is cloudy because fermentation is not complete. I expect it be much cleaner in another week.

 

[yktind]

Finally had the opportunity to "Hop Crazy" the last beer that we bottled.

First we will have to change the name from hop crazy to hoplicious. Not quite as hoppy as I was hoping for. Here are the notes I wrote down while tasting:

Smell Subtle Hop almost sweetness. Reminds me of Peaches or fruit with a light malt flavor. Bitter, Sharp flowery, like 7up with a smooth finish.

***Notes*** Add .5 additional priming sugar.

 

[farmasensist]

i tried mine after three weeks in the bottle. I didn't think it would be too good but it actually was. It wasn't anything amazing but if i paid for it at the store, I'd be satisfied with my purchase.

 

[yktind]

Bottling Day is going to be between Wednesday and Sunday.. It's actually Thursday but football season starts!

This will be the Imperial Indian Skywalker Pale Ale. 1 gallon will be run through our special contraption and straight into the bottles.

I will be checking the fermentation tonight using the hydrometer. Remember, we cannot bottle until fermentation is complete. Why? If we add priming sugar to a beer wort that is still fermenting it will give the yeast to much of a jump start resulting in...

Also, side note, the color has changed dramatically resulting in a much darker beer than anticipated. Will have to tweak the recipe to get a true Double IPA. Pictures Tomorrow.

 

[yktind]

i tried mine after three weeks in the bottle. I didn't think it would be too good but it actually was. It wasn't anything amazing but if i paid for it at the store, I'd be satisfied with my purchase.

View attachment 3244534

Looks tasty to me! The problem my last couple of beers have had is holding a head. I'm not sure how to fix this. So I'll be reading and posting as I finish this book. "How to Brew"

 

[farmasensist]

mine didn't have any head either. I think it was because there wasn't much carbonation. It's crazy how quick the color, smell, taste, clarity... can all change so quick. I was looking into some bottles holding them up to the light and it looked fairly clear with all the sediment swirling around at the bottom but after sitting in the fridge for two days it looked like everything more evenly dispersed and mixed itself up more evenly.

 

[yktind]

Here is a comparison of where the beer started to where it is today, color wise:
After and then Before:

 

[yktind]

After reading another chapter, I might have solved the head problem.

The last few brews I have added all of my extract at the beginning of the boil. According to the book this causes: Low Hop Isomerzation, poorer foam stability and changes in flavor. It has something to do with proteins and coagulation, etc. That is for another discussion and someone smarter than myself to describe.

In the example, John Palmer, used.

3.3 lbs LME
2.5 lbs DME

He used all of the dry malt extract in the beginning boil and then the rest of the extracts 5 mins prior to boil shut down. This is just enough time to pasterize the new sugars (make them free of bacteria).

This is from Chapter 7 in "How To Brew" by John Palmer.

So from here on out, we will be using half and half and see if that gets us a better head and a better hop profile. The next beer coming out will be a red style ale inspired by Sierra Nevada's Flipside Red IPA

 

[farmasensist]

http://www.theflavorbomb.com/

i found this today, its a little contraption that you put in the beer when you bottle it and it slowly leaches out outthe flavor of whatever is in it. It might be worth a try if the other attattempts dont work.

 

[yktind]

http://www.theflavorbomb.com/

i found this today, its a little contraption that you put in the beer when you bottle it and it slowly leaches out outthe flavor of whatever is in it. It might be worth a try if the other attattempts dont work.

That is a pretty cool little contraption. Will be doing our first attempt either Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

[yktind]

Okay so a quick update.
"Imperial Indian Skywalker Brew"
Our original gravity was 1.073 our target for a finished fermentation is 1.010 - 1.012.
I took the reading last night and we are between 1.012 and 1.014. So what this means is that our fermentation has either stalled or is taking way longer than anticipated or I didn't make a big enough yeast starter. Will give it until Friday and then will bottle and prime as usual.

Remember that not having a full fermentation prior to priming and bottling may result in exploding bottles. So we will keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. I may do a light priming just in case. Will check the reading on Friday. I just want to be clearly at 1.012 and I will feel better about everything.

 

[yktind]

Today is the Day. Time to sanitize everything and prep for bottling!

*Notes*
- Prime w/ 2 Cups of boiled water including 3.5 oz Priming Sugar.
- Decarb 14 grams/ gal (in this case 1 gallon will be used as a tester)
- Decarb = 45 mins @ 230 degrees F
- Siphon 1 gal, after priming, beer wort through contraption
- Bottle and cap immediately

 

[youngbuzz101]

you do it yet?!?!?!?! YKTIND

 

[youngbuzz101]

That canna-beer you told me you would get on come September?

 

[yktind]

We did it!!! And it is fucking delicious!! Can't say rather or not it'll get you high because I sampled a shot glass right before bottling. It retained the exact amount of flavor and smell that I was looking for!!! Pretty excited. Most expensive beer I've ever made is coming soon, hahaha.

The flavor will change over the course of the next two weeks (conditioning period). This way the beer gets carbonated. I really am impressed by the flavor. Didn't think such a quick rinse would do it but to my surprise it smells and tastes like Skywalker.

I wish I would have done the whole batch! I am a little worried that the rest of the beer will be to sweet. I think it really needed that last hit of dry hopping. Full report will come once the very first beer is opened.



Check out the Party:

 

[yktind]

Rest of the pics.

Also, my contraption broke at the end during cleaning. So will definitely need to get something made.



The plan was to use the left over cannabis and make some coconut oil or something, unfortunately I got a little carried away trying to Disconnect hoses and ejected the buds all over my sink. So they got wasted but hopefully we got a decent extraction. Would be very curious to know how THC was mixed into the beer. But I don't have the equipment to do so.

 

[youngbuzz101]

Wait up bro run that by me how exactly did you difuse the THC into the beer? Wouldn't there be no alcohol at the point in which you ran your beer through the buds?

Why didnt you soak them say overnight or would that turn the beer to vineger?

Not sure I understand your process although good job bro for following through I'm happy I remembered to check in how long until you have the end product?