Another Summer IPA

My first summer IPA turned out really well, so well, in fact that I wanted to enjoy another round.  This one went over really well with my daughter, some friends, and my lovely wife, who does NOT have a palate for IPAs.  However, these IPAs are not like commercial West Coast IPAs, with respect to bitterness...these are very fruit-forward IPAs, relying only on the hops for the fruitiness.

Brew Day: 26 Nov 2016

Partial Mash:
8 oz Franco-Belges Vienna malt
8 oz Gambrinus Honey malt
1.5 oz flaked wheat

Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
4 oz table sugar
14 g Summer Hops (FWH)

1 oz Summer Hops (10 min hop stand)

Yeast: US-05

Addendum, 6 Dec: Dry hopped with 14 g Summer hops.

Addendum, 9 Dec: Bottled with 3/4 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water.  Got 10 bottles.

Addendum, 2 Jan: I've had a couple of these beers by now, and I wanted to add some tasting notes.  My goal in using the Gambrinus Honey malt was to add some malty sweetness to the beer, but that didn't quite work out the way I had hoped; the maltiness overwhelmed the flavor of the hops.  Also, the carbonation was a bit low...the head was almost non-existent unless I up-ended the bottle into the glass.

Yet Another Big Belgian

My previous Belgian Beauty was a hit, and still is; we had one last night.  My wife and some of our friends really like it...a lot.  Since we're just about out, no time like the present to make some more...

Brew Day: 19 Nov 2016

Partial Mash:
1 lb Franco-Belge Vienna Malt
1.5 oz flaked wheat

Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
8 oz corn sugar
7 g Saaz (AA: 6.5%) hops @ 20 min

Yeast: T-58

Addendum, 6 Dec: Transferred to secondary tonight.  I'll probably let it sit for another week to 10 days before bottling.

Addendum, 17 Dec: Bottled today, with 0.6 oz table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water.  This one will be ready for New Year's Eve.

Addendum, 2 Jan 2017:  My wife tried the beer last night; she really liked it.  She tried the partial fill and said that it tasted different; not that it was more or less carbonated, but it tasted different.

Sour Saison

Source: GoodBelly.com

Not long ago, I had a really good sour saison (with guava and Thai chilies) called "Something for the pain" at Crooked Run Brewing.  I thought that idea of brewing a sour beer and fermenting with a different yeast was intriguing, and I also thought it would be a good time to try hopping with some Summer hops.  Also, I'm not entirely sure of the shelf-life for the GoodBelly Straight Shots, so I want to make sure I use them up.

Brew Day: 11 Nov 2016

*Early in the day, set out (2) GoodBelly Straight Shots, and start warming the heating pad.

Partial Mash:
1 lb white wheat malt (crushed)

*Used my usual partial mash process.

Boil #1 (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME

*NOTE: No hops or yeast at this point!

Chill the wort to approx. 100 deg F (it will cool further during the transfer), and transfer to a glass fermenter.  It is okay to fill above the 1 gal line on the container.  Shake the Straight Shots and add each one directly to the fermenter.  Cap the fermenter, insert a blow-off tube (the bacteria does not form a krausen, this is just to isolate it...), wrap the fermenter in a towel and place on the heating pad.  Allow to remain there for approx. 48 hrs.

Boil #2 (20 min): 13 Nov
Allow the soured wort to a boil for 20 min (to kill the bugs). At flameout, do a 10 min hop stand with 14 g of Summer  hops.

Yeast: DanStar Belle Saison

Addendum, 14 Nov: Checked on the fermenter this morning while preparing other beers for dry hopping tonight; fermentation is going very well.  I am definitely looking forward to trying this one when it's done.

Addendum, 23 Nov: Dry hop with 14 g of  Summer hops.

Addendum, 25 Nov: Bottled this evening, with 0.6 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water.  My beers have been over-carbonated lately, and this one seemed to still be pretty active...the airlock cap was still floating pretty high when I bottled the beer.  I know that's not supposed to be an indicator of active fermentation, but I thought I'd just be safe.  After all, these beers are not heavily carbonated.

I got 8 good 12 oz bottles and one partial fill out of this batch.

Addendum, 9 Dec: Tried the partial fill...interesting flavor.  I'll definitely try this one again.  Mild carbonation, as is expected from these beers.  Good sour flavor, but something a little different from the last one.  I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison.

Medusa IPA

Source: BSGCraftBrewing.com

Not long after I first started brewing small batches, I received 1 oz of Medusa hops and tried my hand at an IPA.  Unfortunately, the fermenter cap cracked pretty badly, and it was several days before I found it, so I lost that batch. I've recently been able to get access to some more of these hops, and I'm going to give it another shot, using the same hop schedule that I've been using for my more recent IPAs.

My daughter recently tried my Summer IPA, and based on her feedback (as well as my own empirical testing), the hop schedule seems to work pretty well; I thought I'd stick with it for this one, as well.

Brew Day: 2 Nov

Partial Mash:
11.5 oz 2-row malt, crushed
1.5 oz flaked wheat

Boil (20 min):
19 oz Pilsen DME
4 oz table sugar

Hops:
14 g Medusa hops (FWH)
10 min hop stand with 1 oz Medusa hops

*Cool wort, pitch yeast via normal process

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

Addendum, 14 Nov: Dry hop: 14 g Medusa hops

Addendum, 17 Nov: Bottled today; got 9 good 12 oz bottles and 1 partial fill that's like 90%

Addendum, 2 Dec: Tried the first Medusa IPA tonight.  From the picture to the right, you can see it has a straw yellow color, and is a bit more carbonated than it needs to be...I'm going to be backing down on the priming sugar, to about 0.6 oz, rather than a full ounce.  After a few minutes of sitting it settle down pretty nicely.

Started off with a bit of sweet fruit in the nose, as well as on the palate.  My wife tried it and when I said that to me, it had a hint of pineapple, she agreed.  Not bitter at all, with a flavor reminiscent of melon.

As I progressed drinking the beer, the head continued to settle down and there was some light lacing on the glass.  Looking through the glass, the head had large bubbles, but in the middle of the glass, the head resembled more of a latte foam.

Another Sour Beer

My first sour beer (not a gose, just a sour) turned out really well, thanks to the support provided by Jake of Crooked Run Brewing.  Having had some initial success, I wanted to try out hopping a sour beer, going for a sour IPA, using some of the Medusa hops I've got.

So, I took a look at the recipe that Jake posted to his blog, and using a conversion of 31 gal (US) to a barrel, I came up with total hop additions of 14 g @ whirlpool, and about 20 g @ dry hop.  This being the first time, I'm going to be a bit conservative, but it's a good start.

Brew Day: 1 Nov 2016

*Early in the day, begin warming the heating pad, and set out (2) Goodbelly Straight Shots.

Partial Mash:
1 lb white wheat malt, crushed

*Partial mash using my regular process

Boil #1 (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME

*NOTE: No hops or yeast at this point!

Chill the wort to approx. 100 deg F (it will cool further during the transfer), and transfer to a glass fermenter.  It is okay to fill above the 1 gal line on the container.  Shake the Straight Shots and add each one directly to the fermenter.  Cap the fermenter, insert a blow-off tube (the bacteria does not form a krausen, this is just to isolate it...), wrap the fermenter in a towel and place on the heating pad.  Allow to remain there for approx. 48 hrs.

Boil #2 (20 min): 4 Nov 2016
Starting the boil this morning (very early), I caught a whiff of the wort...as before, it sort of smells like apple juice.  This one is definitely going to be interesting, as the only real thing I'm changing about this is that I'm hopping it.

Hops: 10 min hop stand with 14 g of Medusa  hops (AA: 3%)
Yeast: Safale US-05

As a bit of a side note, some thoughts on brewing these beers...

First, the bacteria doesn't create a krausen; as such, when I get the fermenter ready to sit on the warming plate, I tend to fill the fermenter all the way up to the neck, leaving about an inch or two at the top.

Second, even though the second boil is not intended for volume reduction (it's meant to kill the bacteria), this will happen.  As such, adding some water to boil to make up for any loss in volume is fine.  This is particularly true if it's accounted for during the first boil, with the addition of a bit more fermentables.

Addendum, 14 Nov: Dry hop with 14 g of  Medusa hops (AA: 3%)

Addendum, 17 Nov: Bottled today; got 8 good 12 oz bottles.

Addendum, 4 Dec: First taste of the sour IPA.  Straw yellow color with light carbonation.  Excellent flavor, definitely sour with an ever-so-slight sense of sweet fruit that comes through the nose at first.