Back in the early '80s, there was a "Bloom County" cartoon that included a poem that struck me, and I read it during English class as a high school senior. The poem goes like this:
"I wouldn't mind if I did find a blue whale in my soup
Nor would I mind a porcupine inside a chicken coop
Yes, life is fine when things combine
Like ham in beef chow mien
But, Lord, this time I think I mind
They put acid in my rain"
Yeah, I know...it kind of started out whimsical and then went dark there at the end, but it reminds me of combining things that one might not ordinarily mix. Also, something I learned in the Marine Corps, while on the rifle range, is "bold dope changes"...basically, if you're going to make a change, make it a big one! So, I thought I'd do a sour IPA, with a different yeast, and add the mandarin juice I had left over from the tangerine wheat.
Brew Day: 10 Sept 2019
Partial Mash:
8 oz Munich
2 oz flaked wheat
Boil (20 min) #1:
1 lb DME
4 oz table sugar
During this process, DO NOT HOP THE WORT! Once the wort is cooled, place (2) GoodBelly Straight Shots into a sanitized fermenter, and rack the cooled wort on top of them. Place any left over wort into a sanitized container and refrigerate. Place the fermenter on a warming plate.
Boil (20 min) #2 (13 Sept):
Boil wort for 20 min to kill the bugs, and add hops at this point. Once the boil is done, pitch the yeast and place the fermenter back on the warming plate.
Hops:
14 g U1/108 Experimental (FWH)
14 g Huell Melon + 14 g Azacca (10 min whirlpool)
Yeast: Omega HotHead
Once I'd cooled the wort and pitched the yeast, I placed the fermenter back on the warming plate.
Addendum, 23 Sept: Dry hopped today, using 14 g Huell Melon; racked beer onto hops and 12 oz of tangerine juice.
Addendum, 26 Sept: Bottled; 6 bottles, 3 re-purposed soda bottles.
Showing posts with label fruit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fruit. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Saturday, July 29, 2017
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!
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!
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Collaboration Brew - Everlong IPS
A bit ago, I did a brew to test out LemonDrop hops, and it turned out pretty well. In fact, from the comment that Thomas from Jay's Brewing left, it was pretty darned good.
Now, having tested the LemonDrop hops, and after Mr Rufus has tried out his side of the experiment, it's time to put it all together and
Okay, the name...I'm a child of the '80s, and Phil (Mr Rufus) is "from" a decade later. But I'm also a fan of the a lot of '90s music (Foo Fighters, etc.), so we decided to go with "Everlong IPS", which is a nod to David Grohl. The "IPS" is for "India pale saison" (as opposed to "IPA", for "ale"), because of the saison yeast we're using. This promises to be fruity, crisp and tart.
Brew Day: 5 Apr 2016
Partial Mash:
12 oz Vienna malt
1.5 oz flaked wheat
Boil (60 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
3 oz table sugar
Hops:
7 g LemonDrop hops (FWH)
7 g German Brewer's Gold + 7 g LemonDrop hops (10 min)
7 g German Brewer's Gold + 7 g LemonDrop hops (flame out, 10 min steep)
Yeast: Danstar Belle Saison
Dry hop #1 (2-3 days):
14 g LemonDrop hops
Dry hop (2-3 days):
14 g German Brewer's Gold, 12 oz raspberries (frozen, sanitize by bringing to 160 deg F for 5 min)
Addendum, 12 Apr: Dry hopped with 14 g LemonDrop.
Addendum, 16 Apr: Dry hop #2, 14 g Brewer's Gold hops and 12 oz raspberries (frozen, pasteurized at 160 deg F for 5 min) - Looking to bottle on 20 Apr
Addendum, 20 Apr: Bottled tonight.
The image to the left is the beer resting on the priming sugar.
I ended up with 6 bottles, a large bottle, and a partial fill on a sanitized Dr Pepper bottle.
Addendum, 3 May: First taste test; I decided to go with the soda bottle partial fill. Yes, I used a soda bottle for bottling. I've done this before and it's worked really well, not changing the flavor of the beer, but keeping it quite nicely and allowing the pressure to dissolve carbon dioxide into the liquid.
Opening the bottle proved to require a bit of effort, as the pressure had built up pretty well. The beer poured easily, without a substantial head. Full blast of berries in the nose. The initial taste is of light bodied beer with a hoppy bitterness, followed by a hint of the berries going down, with no aftertaste of any kind. This has only been in the bottle for two weeks, and all of my previous IPAs had the hoppy bitterness settle out after 3 or more weeks, so I'll let the other bottles for a bit longer.
This is definitely a lighter-bodied beer, with a mild tartness from the berries. I'm definitely going to let this sit for another week or two before trying it again. Stay tuned.
Addendum, 27 May: Finally got around to having another one, and man, is it good! Right after the pour, there was a nice, pillowy pink head on the beer, and I got a full nose of berries. The raspberries are definitely coming through much better in the flavor this time, and there's a slight tartness on the back. The beer has a nice moderate body, with excellent flavor and lacing.
Addendum, 6 Jul: Chilled and cracked a 22 oz bottle of this tonight...I'm still amazed at the pink
beer, with a pink, billowy head and some moderate lacing. REALLY good beer! A nice fruit nose from the berries, and the flavor on the tongue is a nice IPA zing with a bit of berry tartness. Not too much of either, but just enough!
Now, having tested the LemonDrop hops, and after Mr Rufus has tried out his side of the experiment, it's time to put it all together and
Okay, the name...I'm a child of the '80s, and Phil (Mr Rufus) is "from" a decade later. But I'm also a fan of the a lot of '90s music (Foo Fighters, etc.), so we decided to go with "Everlong IPS", which is a nod to David Grohl. The "IPS" is for "India pale saison" (as opposed to "IPA", for "ale"), because of the saison yeast we're using. This promises to be fruity, crisp and tart.
Brew Day: 5 Apr 2016
Partial Mash:
12 oz Vienna malt
1.5 oz flaked wheat
Boil (60 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
3 oz table sugar
Hops:
7 g LemonDrop hops (FWH)
7 g German Brewer's Gold + 7 g LemonDrop hops (10 min)
7 g German Brewer's Gold + 7 g LemonDrop hops (flame out, 10 min steep)
Yeast: Danstar Belle Saison
Dry hop #1 (2-3 days):
14 g LemonDrop hops
Dry hop (2-3 days):
14 g German Brewer's Gold, 12 oz raspberries (frozen, sanitize by bringing to 160 deg F for 5 min)
Addendum, 12 Apr: Dry hopped with 14 g LemonDrop.
Addendum, 16 Apr: Dry hop #2, 14 g Brewer's Gold hops and 12 oz raspberries (frozen, pasteurized at 160 deg F for 5 min) - Looking to bottle on 20 Apr
Addendum, 20 Apr: Bottled tonight.
Opening the bottle proved to require a bit of effort, as the pressure had built up pretty well. The beer poured easily, without a substantial head. Full blast of berries in the nose. The initial taste is of light bodied beer with a hoppy bitterness, followed by a hint of the berries going down, with no aftertaste of any kind. This has only been in the bottle for two weeks, and all of my previous IPAs had the hoppy bitterness settle out after 3 or more weeks, so I'll let the other bottles for a bit longer.
This is definitely a lighter-bodied beer, with a mild tartness from the berries. I'm definitely going to let this sit for another week or two before trying it again. Stay tuned.
Addendum, 27 May: Finally got around to having another one, and man, is it good! Right after the pour, there was a nice, pillowy pink head on the beer, and I got a full nose of berries. The raspberries are definitely coming through much better in the flavor this time, and there's a slight tartness on the back. The beer has a nice moderate body, with excellent flavor and lacing.
Addendum, 6 Jul: Chilled and cracked a 22 oz bottle of this tonight...I'm still amazed at the pink
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Fruit-forward IPAs
Experimenting with hops, I've found that I like fruit-forward IPAs; in this instance, what I'm referring to is fruit aromas and taste that derives solely from hops, not the addition of fruit to the beer. An IPA doesn't need to be overpoweringly bitter, with in-your-face pine resin or grapefruit-citrus. Sure, some like an IPA that way, and I've enjoyed a few myself that are that way...they usually come with names like "hop-pocalypse" or "molotov hop-tail". I ran across this recipe for a juicy-fruit IPA, and I recently had an opportunity to try the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Tropical IPA, based on Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.
I've done a couple of fruit-forward IPAs myself...the still unnamed IPA (I'm referring to it as "hop bomb" at the moment), a Melon + Galaxy IPA (huge thanks to Mr Rufus Brewing for the recipe idea...), the Mandarina IPA, and most recently, a Calyspo IPA. Each of these has come out really well (still waiting to do dry hop #2 for the Calypso IPA, so it will be a bit longer), and I've enjoyed them without the addition of fruit (juice, rind/zest to the beer). These beers have been sort of my version of DuClaw's Hop Continuum series, with beers often being described as "unique".
I haven't always done just straight hopped-up beers. I really enjoyed the first grapefruit IPA I brewed, and that was a combination of hops and grapefruit zest.
So, the "hop bomb" IPA I made turned out really well...and I mean, REALLY well. Several of the folks who've tried it all have two things in common...they don't care for IPAs, and they really liked it. The consensus has been that both the aroma and flavor of the beer are rife with berries, and on the sweet fruit side.
From NorthernBrewer:
Mosaic - "Mosaic™ is so named because it gives a range of aromas and flavors which are complimentary to other common hop aromas. Everything from citrus, pine, earth, herbal, mint, bubblegum, blueberry, lime peel, black pepper - the character seems to change depending upon the conditions it is in."
Brewer's Gold - "German Brewer's Gold is a moderate alpha bittering hop with spicy, fruity, and black currant character."
HBC-438 - "Expect prominent tropical and stone fruits, herbal, spicy, a subtle cedar note in the aroma."
Being a small batch home brewer, the "reviews" pretty much mean that that beer is all gone (I tend to average about 9 bottles per gallon), so I thought that with some time I have available, I'll make two batches. I'm going to use the same recipe and hopping schedule for both batches, and I'm also going to continue with the two-step dry hopping (started with the Calypso IPA) and see how that affects the final results.
 |
| Brew Day #2 Starting off... |
Brew Day #1: 7 Jan 2016
Brew Day #2: 8 Jan 2016
Music To Brew By
Something else to add...while watching an episode of BrewTV, Wil Wheaton mentioned that along with his brewing notes, he also makes a note of the music he listens to while brewing. I have my workout music on my iPod, and I like to listen to some of the music while brewing and bottling, so here goes:
Disturbed - Sound of Silence
FatBoy Slim - Weapon of Choice
AC/DC - Thunderstuck
I've also got a mix of Van Halen (NOT "Van Haggar"), Poison, Ozzy (Crazy Train, and Close Your Eyes Forever with Lita Ford), Linkin Park, Family Force 5 (Zombie), and Skillet. I've even got the entire soundtrack from Highlander (all Queen/Freddie Mercury) mixed in there, as well.
Partial Mash:
8 oz Rahr 2-row malt
4 oz Gambrinus honey malt
4 oz Munich
1 oz CaraPils
*I followed my usual partial mash process.
Boil (60 min):
1 lb Munton's Plain Extra Light DME
6 g Mosaic (AA: 12.1%) (@ 60 min)
Hop Schedule:
| 15 min | 0 min | DH #1 | DH #2 | |
| Mosaic (AA: 12.1%) | 4 g | 4 g | 5 g | 5 g |
| HBC-438 (AA: 15.7%) | 4 g | 4 g | 3 g | 3 g |
| Brewer's Gold (AA: 5.9%) | 4 g | 4 g | 7 g | 7 g |
Yeast: Safbrew US-05
*I followed my usual process for cooling the wort and pitching the yeast.
 |
| 9 Jan: Fermenters |
The other two fermenters are doing well. The golden one in the back is the abbaye, and the one to the far left is the Calypso IPA, due for dry hop #2 soon...like today.
Addendum, 18 Jan: Dry hop #1 for both fermenters today. Both were pretty clear, and a nice golden red color when I transferred them into clean, sanitized fermenters and on the hop pellets. I've got the hops for dry hop #2 measured and ready to go.
Addendum, 20 Jan: Dry hop #2 for both fermenters; bottling on Fri afternoon.
Addendum, 22 Jan: Bottled tonight, each with 1.1 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water; got almost 18 bottles out of it. From the first fermenter, I got one bottle that was almost completely full, and from the second I got one bottle that was just over half full. I'm really looking forward to tasting this in two weeks, although I still don't have a name for it. I wrote "BG" on the labels, for "Brewer's Gold", but maybe after I taste it I'll come up with a name.
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