Sour Saison

The first shot at this type of beer turned out really well, so I thought I'd give it another go.  The first time, I used Summer hops; this time around I'll use Medusa, and include a bit more at flameout of the second boil.

As with the previous sour beers, get Good Belly Straight Shots out and begin heating up the warming plate prior to the partial mashing process.

Brew Day: 28 July 2017

Partial Mash:
1lb Vienna malt
4 oz Carared
2 oz flaked wheat

Initial Boil (20 min):
1lb Pilsen DME
4 oz sugar

Prepare partial mash and boil using the usual process.  After boil, chill wort to 90 deg F, transfer to glass fermenter, add two Good Belly Straight Shots.  Wrap in towel, place on warming plate for a minimum of 36 hrs.

When I poured the wort and bugs into the kettle for the second boil, I took a whiff of it and got that distinctive apple juice aroma that I'd gotten with my previous attempts at sours.

Second Boil (20 min):
14 g Medusa hops (@ 20 min)
1 oz Medusa hops (10 min steep at flameout)

Yeast: DanStar Belle Saison

After the hop rest, cool wort to 80 deg F, transfer to a fermenter, and pitch the yeast.

Update: Pitched the yeast less than 12 hrs ago, and fermentation is progressing nicely!

Addendum, 8 Aug: Racked the beer on to 14 g of Medusa hops and 8 oz of fruit juice.  The juice was part pineapple juice with a good bit of watermelon in there, as well.  I sanitized it by freezing it for two days, then warmed it up with a water bath, without opening the container.

Addendum, 10 Aug: Bottled tonight, on 2 1/2 T of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water.  Got 7 regular bottles and two large bottles out of it.  Definitely looking forward to trying this one.

Addendum, 16 Oct: Had another one of these beers tonight; very tart, and very flavorful. I get a good bit of fruitiness in the nose as I start to take a sip, and I can't decide if it's from the hops or the fruit juice...but who cares, right?  Excellent carbonation, very effervescent and an excellent flavor.  I really like this one!

Addendum, 29 Jan 2018: Found one last 22 oz flip-top bottle of this beer the other day, decided to chill it.  Man, it's still good!  A lot of carbonation in this one, but it's still really good, with a good sour bite to it and very flavorful!

More Medusa

My first run at a Medusa IPA turned out pretty well, and now that I'm getting a bit more settled in our new digs, I figured it was about time to start resurrecting some of the fruit-forward IPAs I've enjoyed brewing and drinking.  I have a good bit of Medusa hops available, so I thought I'd try something a bit different, adding more hops at FWH in order to see the effect that has on the beer.

Brew Day: 23 July 2017

Partial Mash:
1 lb White Wheat malt
2 oz Briess Victory Malt
2 oz flaked wheat

Boil (20 min):
1 oz Medusa hops (FWH)
1 lb Pilsen DME (@ 20 min)
8 oz table sugar (@ 0 min)
1 oz Medusa hops, 10 min hop stand at flame-out

Yeast: Safale US-05 + 1/2 vial Clarity Firm

Addendum, 24 Jul: I checked in this morning to see how things were doing, and the picture to the right shows that in less than 24 hrs, fermentation was coming along nicely.  I'll likely be dry hopping this one about mid-week next week, and then bottling 2 to 3 days after that.

Addendum, 6 Aug: Dry hopped today, on 14 g Medusa hops.

Addendum, 8 Aug: Bottled tonight, got 7 regular bottles and 2 big bottles out of it.  Can't wait to try it!

Addendum, 22 Aug: Tried the first bottle tonight, and really enjoyed it!  The beer poured a hazy golden yellow, with a moderate head.  There was moderate fruitiness in the nose, but the flavor really opened up when I gave it a taste, fruity but not bitter.  There was moderate lacing in the glass through the entire time I was enjoying this one, even to the point where I completely emptied the glass.  I definitely enjoy this one, it's a big-time keeper!

Addendum, 6 Sept: Second bottle tonight.  Same color, although this time the bubbles were much smaller.  A nice, albeit small head, but good carbonation and some moderate lacing (Bell's Two Hearted is sort of the standard I go by...).  Very good flavor.

Something a little stronger...

It's time to get back to brewing, and with the warmer (i.e., really hot) weather, it's likely that I'll be spending a good bit of time indoors, particularly during the hottest part of the day.  So, why not get things going and build up a bit of stock?  I am going to get on to some fruit-forward IPAs, but I thought I'd start with something adventurous.  I stopped by the local home brew supply shop, and while I was browsing through the hops in the refrigerator, I decided to pick up a packet of Safbrew BE-256 dry yeast, formerly known as "Abbaye".  I've brewed with this before, and I figured I'd gite it another go.

Brew Day: 20 Jul 2017

Partial Mash:
16 oz Munich malt
4 oz rye
2 oz flaked wheat

Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME (@ 20 min)
14 g German Perle hops (AA: 7.5%, @ 20 min)
1 oz sliced fresh ginger (@ 5 min)
1 lb wild honey (@ 0 min)
14 g German Perle hops (AA: 7.5%, @ 0 min)

Yeast: Safbrew BE-256

*I followed all of my usual steps for partial mashing, boil, cooling the wort, and pitching the yeast.


This will hopefully be one of several beers to be available toward the end of August. Maybe I'll call this one "Abbie...Abbie...Abbie Someone".  ;-)

Quick Update: Just a few hours after I pitched the yeast, I was down in the basement and I stuck my head in to take a look...and the yeast is going absolutely crazy!  The yeast really took hold and is eating up the sugar!  When the description said that it moved fast, I had no idea...most of my other stuff usually took a bit longer to get to this point.

Addendum, 21 Jul: Swapped out the blow-off bottle this morning...it was just about to completely overflow.  As soon as I did, I could see/hear the rapid flow of bubbles flowing into the new bottle.  Very nice!  I took a good whiff of the contents of the old bottle, got some sweet fruit in the nose.  It will be very interesting to see how this is going in a week to 10 days, after the yeast has had a good long time to eat through the sugar.  Also, I'm hoping that by adding the honey at the end of boil, I retain some of the flavor.

Addendum, 6 Aug: Bottled today, with 2 1/2 T of sugar dissolved in 1/2 c. boiling water.  Got 6 good bottles and 2 larger bottles out of it.

Addendum, 21 Aug: Chilled two small bottles over the weekend, opened them last night.  Opening the bottle, there was the slightest, very small escape of gas.  The beer poured with no carbonation.  The beer itself was good...full-bodied thickness, very tasty.  There as also a boozy warmth to the beer, as well.  My thinking on this one (note: I do not test of gravity due to the volumes I brew) is that the alcohol level overwhelmed the yeast, so there was very little left viable at bottling.

Addendum, 18 Nov: I kept a couple of the bottles around, and this evening, we opened one...and found that it poured with a wonderful head!  So, two regular bottles met their end tonight, and there's still a 22 oz flip top bottle available. 

First Brew at Aslan Acres

We're (still) settling into our new digs, a place we decided to refer to as "Aslan Acres".  In honor of the name, I decided to make use of the local flora (just shy of 19 acres, with about half of it wooded...) and brew a dandelion beer.

I'd actually run across a recipe for dandelion beer in Buhner's Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers (starting on pg 278) a while back, and thought about trying it out.  However, I just wasn't in a location with a great deal of the plant.  Now, I am much more cognizant of the plant, because there is another plant in the fields that has a yellow flower similar to the dandelion, but isn't a dandelion at all.

Anyway, there are basically two ways I've found to make dandelion beer.  One is to just use dandelion plants, sugar and yeast, and the other is to add the dandelions to what is seen a more traditional "beer"; that is, one that uses malt.

Other similar recipes can be found here, and here.

I decided to start out with my first attempt being based on CJJ Berry's recipe (circa 1963, from Buhner's book).  I made some very minor variations to the listed recipe.

Brew Day: 9 July 2017

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb dandelion leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 oz fresh ginger, sliced thin
- 1 lb sugar
- 1 oz cream of tartar

Yeast: Safale US-05

Place leaves, rind of the lemon (exclude white pith), and ginger in a muslin bag, boil in 1 gal of water for 20 min.  Add sugar, cream of tartar, and juice from the lemon.  Cool to 80 deg F, pitch yeast.

Most recipes that I've seen suggest fermenting for three days, then transferring to bottles, with no mention of priming sugar.  From there, it's 1 to 3 weeks until it's ready to drink.

Addendum, 10 Jul: As I've done with previous brews, I went to check to see how this one was going along.  The yeast seems to have kicked off nicely, and was happily munching away on the sugar.  With this brew, there is no krausen, so the blow-off bottle remains clear, and there is a steady stream of bubbles flowing out of the end of the blow-off tube.

Addendum, 16 Jul: Bottled today; got 9 good bottles.  There still bubbles coming from the blow-off tube, so hopefully, enough fermentation action will continue to carbonate the brew a little.

Addendum, 26 Jul: Tried one bottle tonight, after chilling in the fridge for 2 nights.  The beer is very well carbonated, even without the use of priming sugar.  It pours a cloudy yellow, with a full head that dissipates quickly.  There isn't much of anything in the nose, but my wife described the taste as being similar to a shandy.  Very light and refreshing, with a great deal of lemon flavor. This wouldn't hurt to have a bit more ginger, but it is very light and has a good flavor to it.  There is a small amount of sweetness on the tongue just before the lemon citrus hits.  I let this one sit for 6 days before bottling, when recipes called for 3 days.  I could probably let this go a bit longer (maybe 10 days) and that might result in a bit lower carbonation.  All in all, a nice beverage, and something I'll definitely do again.  Something else...this is completely gluten free!

This is clearly a spring brew, as that's when the plants seem to proliferate.  If I can find an sufficient source of the plant nearby in the near future (we're into summer at this point...), I'll try another brew.  Variations of this recipe can include, but are not limited to:

- Instead of sugar, use locally grown honey
- Use the entire plant, including the tap root (not just the leaves)
- As described in Leda Meredith's The Forager's Feast, try roasting the roots of the plant