Brewed: Hoppy Wheat

April 28th, 2013 by scot

A hoppy wheat beer has been a long time coming. With Three Floyds Brewing Company less than an hour away, hopped up brews are part of the local American craft beer scene. Of course this has crept into my home brewing (Alpha Acid Aspirations line of DIPAs I have been working on). To this point I haven’t tried to emulate any of the FFF beers, merely using the hoppiness as inspiration.

Gumball Head is an American wheat beer that is darn tasty. In spite of my proximity to the brewery, I have a hard time picking this beer up locally. It sells that fast. I researched this beer on the internet, finding many different recipes and even more thoughts on the best way to duplicate this beer. I settled on the recipe below (still not 100% sure on the dry hops) but also have a second recipe that I will be brewing sometime this summer (and based on what I think of this one).

This recipe is quite wheat forward. I had some apprehensions with that amount of wheat, thinking that the bread/wheat aroma during the mash might over power the beer in both aroma and flavor. Enjoy!

General Information
Brew Date: Sunday, April 28, 2013
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Safale U-05
Yeast Starter: none
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.50
Original Gravity: 1.040
IBU: 24.9
Color: 4.2 SRM
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%
Alcohol by Volume: 4.4%
Primary Fermentation: 21 days @68*F
Secondary Fermentation: 7 days @68*F

Grain Bill:
4.00# 2-Row
4.00# Red Wheat
0.50# Crystal 20L
0.50# Flaked Wheat

Mash:
Saccharification Rest @ 150*F for 60 minutes.

Hop Bill:
1.50oz Amarillo (8.5) first wort hop
1.00oz Amarillo (8.5%) @10 minutes
1.00oz Amarillo (8.5%) @1 minute

2.00oz Amarillo (8.5%) dry hop for 7 days
0.50oz Galaxy (14.0%) dry hop for 7 days

Extras
1.0 tsp Irish Moss @ 15 min.
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.

Useless Fact: In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

Tags: ,
Posted in Beer Recipes, Home Brewing | No Comments »

Brewed: Brett Backspin Belgian Pale Ale

April 3rd, 2013 by scot
Bad grain crush due to putting the drill in reverse.

Bad grain crush due to putting the drill in reverse.

After having the last bottle of the first batch of Brett Backspin Belgian Pale Ale about 45 days ago, I kept kicking myself in the rear for not brewing again before batch one was no more. I didn’t think that far ahead. Time to brew round two but how to make it better?

For the aforementioned 45 days before the brew day I ran scenarios through my head on to make this round a bit different but not stray too far away from the original. One simple solution: add Brettanomyces lambicus to the Brettanomyces claussenii that I used last time.

I created two 1 liter starters for each of the Brett strains. For the first time I tried using a flask for one of the starters. Once I started to chill the starter it became apparent that the flask wasn’t go to cool off as easy as my typical kitchen pot. I don’t use thermometers for starters as I have always been a good gauge of temperature. The flask changed everything. I don’t think I ever got the temperature down and the yeast never took off. I decided to forgo the Brett lambicus on brew day. At least I should have another good Brett beer to last me.

Wrong!

I milled the grains in a hurry. Chuck was over and wanted the mill back. I grabbed the mill, weighed the grains and brought it all outside with the drill. Unfortunately I didn’t realize the drill was in reverse. I figured it still rotated, didn’t check the grain, assuming that it should have been cracked. About 50% of the grain was milled in this fashion. Dumb ass. On brew day, as I poured the grain into the mash tun, I noticed that half of the grain kernels weren’t cracked. Crap. I kept with the schedule, doing everything as planned. The aroma was great but the efficiency, as expected suffered (see below).

I only have a couple of months to wait to see if this beer turns out. I think it will but when I rack to secondary I am going to grab some of the yeast and brew again. I should write a book: Brew Like A Moron. I have an enormous repertoire and skills in the subject matter. Enjoy!

General Information:
Brew Date: Sunday, April 07, 2013
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Brettanomyces classenii
Yeast Starter: 1 liter
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.00
Original Gravity: 1.039
IBU: 25.3
Color: 7.0 SRM
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Brewhouse Efficiency: HORRIBLE
Alcohol by Volume: 4.0%
Primary Fermentation: 28 days @68*F
Secondary Fermentation: 120 days @68*F

Grain Bill:
9.50# Pilsner
1.00# Munich
0.25# Caramunch
0.25# Aromatic

Mash:
Saccharification Rest @ 153.3*F for 60 minutes.

Hop Bill:
1.50 ounces Fuggles (4.5%) @90 minutes
0.50 ounces Fuggles (4.5%) @15 minutes

Extras:
1.0 tsp Irish Moss @ 15 min.
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.

Useless Fact: American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

Tags: ,
Posted in Beer Recipes, Home Brewing | Comments Off

Brewed: Pot Licker Milk Stout

March 30th, 2013 by scot

pot licker milk stout

I have been attempting to brew a quality milk stout since I was extract brewing. That first version used Hershey’s powdered chocolate in the boil. It basically fell out during the fermentation process (typical four weeks). Once I began all-grain brewing I tried my hand at version two of Pot Licker. I used cocoa nibs in secondary. This seemed to work well for me. Chuck, Rich and I decided that the beer wasn’t creamy enough; I vowed to thicken it up the next time around.

In the second version I only used a half a pound of lactose (milk sugar) while aging a gallon of the beer on cocoa nibs and roasted jalapenos (fresh from Rich’s garden). I decided to up the lactose to one pound for this brewing of Pot Licker and, since I don’t have fresh jalapenos to use, I will bypass.

Pot Licker is the first non-sour I have brewed in while. I am looking forward to a quick turn around yielding a brew I can drink in a month. Enjoy!

General Information:
Brew Date: Sunday, March 31, 2013
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: S-05
Yeast Starter: None
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.50
Original Gravity: 1.061
IBU: 26.8
Color: 37.5 SRM
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68%
Alcohol by Volume: 6.2%
Primary Fermentation: 28 days @68*F
Secondary Fermentation: 7 days on cocoa nibs

Grain Bill:
9.00# 2-Row
1.00# Chocolate
0.75# Crystal 60L
0.50# Roasted Barley
0.25# Black Malt

Mash:
Saccharification Rest @ 152.0*F for 60 minutes.

Hop Bill:
2.00 ounces Fuggles (4.5%) @60 minutes

Extras:
1.0 tsp Irish Moss @ 15 min.
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.

Useless Fact: The phrase “rule of thumb” is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

Tags: ,
Posted in Beer Recipes, Home Brewing | Comments Off

Lambic

March 17th, 2013 by scot

turbid_mashI have been trying for well over a year to get some Easy Coast Yeast (ECY). The yeast is produced in small quantities and the stuff that I have been after are the highly sought after critter mixes: 01, 02, 03, 04, etc. When only 10 viles of a mix come out at a time, maybe once every six to eight weeks, that tends to make them hard to get. I was able to pick up ECY01 and ECY02 the last go around.

The strange thing about finally getting the yeast: what to brew. I had concentrated so long and hard on being “in line” to get a taste that I lost sight of what I could do with the yeasts. ECY01 intrigued me more so I did a bit of research on the yeasts and bugs that reside in the small bottle.

It didn’t take long before ideas of lambic were dancing in my head.

Never done a lambic. Never thought much about one. Never have tried many. Definitely don’t know how to brew one.

I knew what I wanted to do with the yeast but I didn’t know how to brew a lambic. Of course I turned to The Mad Fermenttionist and google.

I found A Liddil Lambic Lesson: The Cult of the Biohazard Lambic Brewers on google but found the long text a bit daunting. Besides I had never heard of turbin mashing, it sounded difficult.

Mike had done a handful of lambics that he reported on his site. He mentioned that his Lambic 3.0 was the best he had done. It as done via a turbid mash. One of the places he found information was the aforementioned A Liddil Lambic Lesson: The Cult of the Biohazard Lambic Brewers but had pinpoinnted what really needed to be read.

In the course of getting prepared for brew day, I read Mike’s notes many of times, asked him various questions via email and read the entire Biohazard Lambic site at least a handful of times. The pictures on Mike’s site help to piece the two together.

I wouldn’t say my brew day went smoothly. I feel there were some rough edges, specifically with trying to keep 1 quart of wort at 176*F. That proved very daunting based on the size of the pot and all the large pots on the stove. That temperature was all over the place but I believe I did get it up over 176*F. Next time I would use one of the wife’s 2 quart pans to give the liquid more vertical volume, allowing a thermometer to better gauge the temps. This would also open more room on top of the stove with the smaller footprint. I should have enough room in the pot for the additional 4 quarts that are added later in the process.

I started taking pictures but the process and purchasing Dark Lord Tickets sidetracked me. I will be brewing another lambic via turbid mash in the next month (using some of the yeast cake from this beer). I plan on taking more pictures, documenting the process (video, maybe?). Enjoy!

General Information:
Brew Date: Sunday, March 17, 2013
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: ECY01
Yeast Starter: None
Batch Size (Gallons): 4.75
Original Gravity: 1.052
IBU: 13.1
Color: 3.6 SRM
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68%
Alcohol by Volume: 4.7%
Primary Fermentation: 365 days @68*F, including some oak chips

Grain Bill:
6.00# Pilsner
3.00# Red Wheat

Mash:
Turbid Mash

Hop Bill:
1.00 ounces Saaz (3.20%) @90 minutes

Extras:
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.

Useless Fact: On Average, You blink over 20,000,000 times a year.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Beer Recipes, Home Brewing | Comments Off

Tasted: Alpha Acid Aspirations – Chunk

March 5th, 2013 by scot

alpha acid aspirations chunk

The second beer in the Alpha Acid Aspirations is ready for review: Chunk. Of course I have tasted the beer a half dozen times before brewing. I feel that it is best at this point, as it seems to be peaking.

Look: Pours cloudy (more like opaque) with a couple of fingers of tightly packed, small bubbled, off-white foam that has some quality staying powers. The top stiffens as it recedes, leaving sporadic bits in its’ wake. The beer is a deep amber color.

Aroma: A light malty backbone comes through from behind a shroud of hops. The hops are full of topical and citrus fruit aromas, some floral notes as well.

Taste: Lots of hops in the taste. More tropical and citrus hop flavor tap a tune. Malt is more than a usual for a DIPA. I like the “difference” that is normally not there in a DIPA. The finish is full of hop flavor and bitterness. Bitterness is actually complex: clean (Warrior), rough (Chinook) and some grapefruit (Cascade(?)).

Drinkability: Fuller body than a normal DIPA (seemingly 151*F mash temperature added enough difference to bring up the body). There is a stiff bitterness that doesn’t have much carbonation to hide behind, causing the bitterness to kill the palate.

Overall: Even though this is a DIPA, there isn’t much hiding from the bitterness. The Maris Otter does seem to give a bit more malt base but I don’t think it is enough for the price difference with 2-row. I would brew this beer again but would definitely tone down the bitterness, maybe even remove the Chinook.

This isn’t a beer for anyone who does’t like loads of hop bitterness. I will brew it again but only occasionally. Enjoy!

Useless Fact: Certain frogs can be frozen solid, then thawed, and survive.

Tags: ,
Posted in Home Brewing | Comments Off

Brewed: Aigre Saison

March 3rd, 2013 by scot

The name of the beer, in English, is Sour Saison. I decided to jump on the bandwagon of using French for a French/Belgian inspired beer. As you can tell by the simple name, I went all out. I didn’t use my customary golf terminology (from my days of a caddying). Fret not my friends I will meander back to the normal naming conventions with my next few beers but I will use French names in the appropriate spots.

I used a blend of WLP 566 and some of the yeast cake from a recent brewing of Bad Tipper Oud Bruin. I had been thinking about sour mash, acid malt, and other possible ways to get this beer tart/sour. Alas, I thought reusing some roeselare yeast would do the trick. I used a high mash temperature to create longer chain sugars to keep some goodies around for the bugs to munch on. I have used Brett in a Saison in the past but I truly wanted to say this was a straight forward sour beer, thus the bugs.

This one will be racked off the yeast after four weeks into secondary, allowing it to age until it starts to taste as I expect. I am going to add a bit of oak chips to the secondary as well. Enjoy!

General Information:
Brew Date: Sunday, March 03, 2013
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP 566 and Oud Bruin yeast slurry
Yeast Starter: 2 liter for 566 (was four month old yeast)
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.25
Original Gravity: 1.057
IBU: 20.9
Color: 3.6 SRM
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68%
Alcohol by Volume: 5.7%
Primary Fermentation: 28 days @68*F
Secondary Fermentation: 365 days @68*F, including some oak chips

Grain Bill:
10.00# Pilsner
1.00# Red Wheat
0.25# Flaked Oats

Mash:
Saccharification Rest @ 156.3*F for 60 minutes.

Hop Bill:
0.20 ounces Warrior (15.0%) @90 minutes
1.00 ounce Fuggles (4.5%) first wort hop
1.00 ounce Fuggles (4.5%) @3 minutes

Extras:
1.0 tsp Irish Moss @ 15 min.
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.

Useless Fact: ‘Formicophilia’ is the fetish for having small insects crawl on your genitals.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Beer Recipes, Home Brewing | Comments Off

Bottled: Worm Burner Barleywine

February 24th, 2013 by scot

bourbon barrel aged worm burner barleywine

I brewed Work Burner Barleywine back in November. It was a bit of “garbage” beer as I threw in some malts that needed to purged from the inventory. This beer also was the first one brewed after trying to determine why, at least to my perception, my high gravity home brews were coming across with high alcohol in the aroma/flavor. The beer sat in the basement on a heat pad, connected to a temperature gauge and wrapped in a blanket to keep it at 68 degrees. This process seems to have helped on a taste of the beer out of the barrel. A couple of weeks will be the real test.

Removing the bung from the barrel allowed the character of the beer to come out. It smelled fantastic: vanilla, oak, bourbon and molasses headed the sensation. I couldn’t stop quaffing the beer. Racking to a bottling bucket continued the onslaught of the barrel aging on the nose.

The beer did drop from 1.016 to 1.014 while in the barrel. The taste, of the flat beer, was dominated by the barrel but didn’t kill my palate with alcohol. Success???

I always use the bottle priming calculator from TastyBrew.com. It would probably easier to look back in my notes but the computer is always on; much easier than paging through the note book. ;) I used 2.7 ounces of priming sugar in two ups of tap water, boiled for 15 minutes.

Because the aroma was so fantastic, I am going to be have a hard time not popping a cap before it is fully carbonated. Now let’s hope it meets my expectations. Enjoy!

Useless Fact: A fully loaded supertanker travelling at normal speed takes a least twenty minutes to stop.

Tags: ,
Posted in Home Brewing | Comments Off

Last Bottle: Brett Backspin Belgian Pale Ale

February 22nd, 2013 by scot

brett backspin belgian pale ale

In my short home brewing career (four years) many beers have come and gone without much fanfare. The last bottle of most beers wasn’t much of of a thought and, in some cases, didn’t come quick enough. Heck, I think I have some bottles of two year old IPA.

Why should Brett Backspin be any different? Simply it is my favorite beer that I have ever brewed. I had to pay hommage to the beer as well as compare notes from seven months ago.

Look: Not much as changed from the original look of this beer. Worth noting that is it extremely clear. Original notes: Clear accents the golden hue with a pure white lacing that doesn’t have depth or staying power. Lacing is sporadic, mildly dotting the glass throughout.

Aroma: Green grape/white wine and pear have become much more dominant; still extremely pleasant. Different from “regular” yeast and so much more rewarding. Original notes: Delicate. Complex. Gentle white wine permeates along with pleasing yet docile pear accent. Laid back grain scents add a backbone to the aroma.

Taste: Similar to the nose that both Brett characteristics have picked it up a notch. Amazingly they are still harmonious with each other. Orginal notes: The white wine (green grape but w/ alcohol maybe) greets first, stemming from the nose. Carries throughout the beer. Pear picks it up a notch, creating more of balancing act. Fragile. Grains again show here.

Drinkability: Very refreshing, especially in the summer months but a cold winter day didn’t hinder the enjoyment. Dries the palate. Original notes: Light body without a question. Carbonation adds a nice elegance to the beer. One of the few times I have dialed it in well.

Overall: This beer was fantastic. I hate that this was my last bottle. So good when young but awesome at this point in time. Going to be brewed again soon. One I need to have a bottle of in the cellar all the time! Original notes: The Brett is there but not as pronounced as I would have liked. But as I continue mull this beer over, maybe that isn’t a bad thing. A delicate, yet complex beer has its place. The body is very light. After hearing an interview with Chad Yakobson, I might have to throw some oats in the next batch to hold up the body. That said, this is one light, easy drinking beer.

Useless Fact: The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

Tags: ,
Posted in Home Brewing | Comments Off

Tasted: Alpha Acid Aspirations – Blast

January 20th, 2013 by scot

alpha acid aspirations blast

In early December, 2012, I brewed up a batch of Blast, the start of a series of Imperial IPAs known as Alpha Acid Aspirations.

Blast is my first attempt at adding rolled oats to the grist in order to achieve mouth feel within a DIPA while trying to keep the beer dry. It is also the first time I have used Pilsner malt in a DIPA.

I believe I achieved the mouth feel I was going for (read more below) but I didn’t feel the beer was as dry as I would like in a DIPA. Possibly the oats but I usually use one pound of sugar, this time I only used a half pound. I did mash at 150 degrees which should be about right. I feel I have two courses of action next time: less oats or lower mash temperature. Don’t want to try both at the same time as I don’t know which one would be the difference changer and to what degree.

The Pilsner malt didn’t do anything fantastic to the overall flavor or aroma of the beer. I wasn’t looking for much and achieved it precisely. I don’t think I will use the more expensive malt in the future. Save my pennies for the next batch.

Per typical I have taste tested this beer a good three or four times prior to the write up.

Look: The beer has a cloudy haze that limits visibility to 50%, while darkening the beer to deep orange/gold color. The foam is an inch high of tightly packed tiny bubbles. Retention is right on for a DIPA with thick, coating lacing, even in spite of the oats.

Aroma: Hop forward. Bright orange citrus and tropical scents fill the nostrils while a touch of pine follows through. Malts are subdued, as expected, giving off ideas of grain and bread/dough. I think this might be a product of both the Pilsner and oats.

Taste: A burst of tropical and orange hops flavors label the palate. Lightly toasted bread holds up the malt end. The finish brings more hop, leaving a trailing orange and pine bitterness that doesn’t over power but does dull the buds.

Drinkability: Medium body or better with, at best, medium carbonation. Drying but juicing fruit can be had as well. Needs to be drier.

Overall: This beer is all about the hops; keeping with my west coast DIPA style. I will make this beer again, as the overall profile of the beer is pleasing, just a couple of flaws. A bit of tweaking should make this a staple in the home brewing repertoire. Viva the hop.

Part two in the Alpha Acid Aspiration series was dry hopped today as well. Should be ready in about two weeks. More delicious DIPA to come. Enjoy!

Useless Fact: A person cannot taste food unless it is mixed with saliva. For example, if a strong-tasting substance like salt is placed on a dry tongue, the taste buds will not be able to taste it. As soon as a drop of saliva is added and the salt is dissolved, however, a definite taste sensation results. This is true for all foods.

Tags: ,
Posted in Home Brewing | Comments Off

Brewed: Bad Tipper Oud Bruin

January 6th, 2013 by scot
Blanket, heating pad, temperature probe to keep fermenting wort comfy in the basement.

Blanket, heating pad, temperature probe to keep fermenting wort comfy in the basement.

Back a little over a year ago when I first brewed Bad Tipper, I felt like a pioneer. The one brewing club that I am is more of a “beginners” club that people graduate from. I have never heard conversations about such things except in dark corners in the back under hushed tones. I was venturing into wild yeast and bacteria for the first time in my brewing career and, the best of my knowledge, anyone in my brewing club. Exciting to say the least.

That first batch also set me on the path to realizing I would be brewing this beer every year. The ideas of what I could do with this beer have been grand. A bad spring that killed off the sour cherry crop ended one train of thought. What to do? I know, brew the beer again and blend them into a used bourbon barrel. The new batch can be used for top-off, if needed, and I can use some the new batch with sour cherries this year (here’s hoping for a great crop).

The second annual brew day of Bad Tipper Oud Bruin went well. The numbers were close but more importantly the process seemed to go well, I wasn’t distracted and the new fermentation process I am using is going to only make my home brews more tasty.

The goals of using this beer in conjunction with the inaugural batch along with some cherries (possibly more blending options) is what home brewing is all about. Enjoy!

General Information
Brew Date: Sunday, January 03, 2013
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast:
Yeast Starter: none
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.50
Original Gravity: 1.077
IBU: 13.1
Color: 19.6 SRM
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%
Alcohol by Volume: 7.2%
Primary Fermentation: 28 days @68*F
Secondary Fermentation: 365 days @68*F

Grain Bill:
10.00# Pilsner
4.00# Munich
0.75# Caramunich
0.50# Aromatic
0.50# Special B
0.50# Wheat
0.13# Black Patent

Mash:
Saccharification Rest @ 157*F for 60 minutes.

Hop Bill:
1.00oz East Kent Goldings (5.0%) @90 min

Extras
1.0 tsp Irish Moss @ 15 min.
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.

Note: this recipe is straight from Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer.

Useless Fact: The term “the whole 9 yards” came from WWII fighter pilots in the Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got “the whole 9 yards.”

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Tags: ,
Posted in Home Brewing | Comments Off

« Older Entries