Pozharnik Brew Day

Today we brew the second batch of the 2008 Pozharnik Russian Imperial Stout. If you are wondering about the brewing process, I'll give you all a run down. (more detail will follow as time goes on.)

The Day before:
1) Heat the Water we need for the next day
2) Mill the Malt we need
3) Clean the Fermenter

The Brew Day:
1) Mash in (combine the milled Malt and water) in the Mash/Lauter Tun, let rest for 40 minutes
2) While Mashing, heat additional water
3) Sanitize the fermenter
4) after allow the mash to sit for 40 minutes, recirculate the wort
5) When the water is heated, transfer to the Hot Liquor tank (sanitizing the heat exchanger along the way)
5) After 20 minutes of recirculation we begin to send the wort into the kettle.
6) Collect the amount of wort we want, and bring to a boil
7) Empty, by hand, the wet grains in the Mash/Lauter tun (the grains are then sent to a local farmer, Fitch's Dairy Farm)
8) Boil for 90 minutes, while adding the hops at the various points of time
9) After the boil, we begin a 15 minute Whirpool (allowing the hops to settle in a cone at the center of the kettle)
10) A 20 minute rest, where we add the yeast to the fermenter
11) Knock Out, send the wort through the heat exchanger, allowing it to cool to 70 F (Ales) or 65 F (Lagers), to the Fermenter
12) CLEAN... Clean the kettle, the heat exchanger
13) End of the brew day, if we are brewing tomorrow, repeat the process with the grains. The water we recover into the hot liquor tank from the heat exchanger.

More on the various steps and parts later

Enjoy,

Damase