Dial it in

I attempted a clone of the Houblon Chouffe IPA Tripel last week.

Here's the recipe:

Mash
26 lb 2 Row pale
2 lb Munich
1 lb Crystal 80
1 lb Belgian Biscuit
2 lb Sucrose

Mash at 145 F for 20 minutes and 155 Friday for 40 minutes

11 gallon boil volume, 10 gallon final volume

Hops
1 oz Columbus, 60 min
3 oz Saaz, 10 min
1 oz Columbus, 10 min

Yeast
WLP500

OG 1.064
FG 1.008
ABV 7.4%

As you might guess from the gravity after the boil, my efficiency was a terrible 50%. This was my second attempt at fly sparging, and it has also failed miserably. I'm ready to switch exclusively to batch sparging. This beer will not be much of a clone, but I hope it will be a respectable IPA anyway. Just look at how full this hop sack is!

At least, a few leaks aside, the RIMS and exchanger are working great.

Cheers!