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.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Saturday, November 19, 2016
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.
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.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Sour Saison
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| Source: GoodBelly.com |
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Medusa IPA
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| Source: BSGCraftBrewing.com |
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.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
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.
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.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Sour Beer
I like sour beers. There, I said it.
As a bit of side note, I had a chat on Facebook recently with Phil, the kind gent with whom I collaborated with for the EverLong IPS (still have a few bottles left). Our discussion centered around requirements for boil times, as I'd been doing some reading recently and wasn't sure I was fully understanding everything I was reading. The end result is that I did (understand, that is), and I'll be making a move to shorter boil times. As I'm not trying to get a lot of bitterness from the hops (even when I brewing an IPA), and using DME, I don't need to worry so much about having to boil off dimethyl sulfide (DMS).
Okay, so back to the sour beers. I reached out to Jake (of Crooked Run Brewing), who has been producing some fantastic sour beers. I had his gose a bit ago, and not only enjoyed the flavor, but enjoyed the conversation with my wife as she marveled at a "0 IBU" beer. Recently, I enjoyed the Nepotism, a sour beer made with peaches that was quite delicious and very enjoyable (I also enjoyed the peach-habanero IPA, as well...).
From the good folks at Crooked Run Brewing:
I would recommend using Goodbelly probiotic drink, available at Whole Foods and Wegmans. You don’t need to make a starter on that scale, just use one or two shots of Goodbelly. It contains pure lactobacillus plantarum. It works best at 85-95 degrees. You should achieve a PH of between 3.2-3.4 in 48 hours. We typically get to our target PH in less than 24 hours.
According to GoodBelly, I can get the StraightShot product (unflavored) at a local WholeFoods. I visited the Whole Foods in Fairfax recently, and while they had a number of GoodBelly SuperShots in different flavors, they didn't have any unflavored. According to one source on the Milk The Funk wiki, the mango flavor might turn out okay. However, I made a trip to Leesburg and stopped at the WholeFoods in Ashburn, and found the StraightShot product, and purchased a couple of 4-packs (they were on sale).
Okay, so as a small batch brewer, I'm thinking, how do I get the temperature up and maintain it consistently over, say, 2 days? Well, Northern Brewer has a good option for a heating mat.
Brew Day: 19 Sept 2016
Earlier in the day, set out (2) GoodBelly StraightShot shots to reach room temperature, and start the heating mat warming.
Partial Mash:
14 oz white wheat
2 oz flaked wheat
Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
After the boil is complete, cool the wort to approx: 100 deg F (it will cool further during transfer). Transfer the wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving room for the bacteria. Add (2) StraightShot shots, transfer to heating mat. Let the wort remain on the heating mat (monitoring regularly) for 48 hrs.
The image to the left shows the wort and lacto on the heating mat, where it will remain for at least 48 hrs. I'm letting it set that long based on information provided by others regarding the time it takes for this to work. I don't have the necessary equipment at the moment to check the pH on a regular basis, but to be honest, for the batch size, I'm not sure that I really need to do so.
Phase 2, 22 Sept:
This is actually kicking off a bit later than I would have liked. I wanted to move on to this phase after just 48 hrs, but due to scheduling, it got pushed off to today. Something I did notice that I wanted to document is that after sitting on the heating mat, the particulates in the wort settled considerably, and the wort was actually pretty clear. However, agitation in transport, as well as returning the wort to the brew kettle disturbed some of that particulate matter. I'm sure that it will settle out again, though.
I took the wort off of the heating mat, and into the kitchen. As I poured the wort out of the fermenter into the kettle, I noticed that it smelled like warm apple juice...that's the best description I could come up with. As I was heating the wort to boiling, I noticed that it continued to smell the same way.
I boiled the wort for 20 min, adding 4 g of Glacier hops (AA: 5%) halfway through the boil.
Once the boil was complete, I cooled the wort and pitch the yeast (Safale US-05) as per usual.
Addendum, 5 Oct: Bottled today with 1 oz table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c. boiling water. Got two 22 oz bottles and 7 regular bottles. Tasted the beer before adding it to the priming sugar, got some sour!
Addendum, 18 Oct: Chilled and tried one tonight. Wow! Pours with a light yellow/straw color, a bit hazy as you'd expect from the wheat malt. Almost no head, but decent carbonation. Very minimal lacing. The important thing is that the flavor is definitely sour, not funky or cheesy. Good body, light, drinkable beer. Definitely a success for a first run at a sour beer, many thanks to Jake at Crooked Run for the tips.
As a bit of side note, I had a chat on Facebook recently with Phil, the kind gent with whom I collaborated with for the EverLong IPS (still have a few bottles left). Our discussion centered around requirements for boil times, as I'd been doing some reading recently and wasn't sure I was fully understanding everything I was reading. The end result is that I did (understand, that is), and I'll be making a move to shorter boil times. As I'm not trying to get a lot of bitterness from the hops (even when I brewing an IPA), and using DME, I don't need to worry so much about having to boil off dimethyl sulfide (DMS).
Okay, so back to the sour beers. I reached out to Jake (of Crooked Run Brewing), who has been producing some fantastic sour beers. I had his gose a bit ago, and not only enjoyed the flavor, but enjoyed the conversation with my wife as she marveled at a "0 IBU" beer. Recently, I enjoyed the Nepotism, a sour beer made with peaches that was quite delicious and very enjoyable (I also enjoyed the peach-habanero IPA, as well...).
From the good folks at Crooked Run Brewing:
I would recommend using Goodbelly probiotic drink, available at Whole Foods and Wegmans. You don’t need to make a starter on that scale, just use one or two shots of Goodbelly. It contains pure lactobacillus plantarum. It works best at 85-95 degrees. You should achieve a PH of between 3.2-3.4 in 48 hours. We typically get to our target PH in less than 24 hours.
According to GoodBelly, I can get the StraightShot product (unflavored) at a local WholeFoods. I visited the Whole Foods in Fairfax recently, and while they had a number of GoodBelly SuperShots in different flavors, they didn't have any unflavored. According to one source on the Milk The Funk wiki, the mango flavor might turn out okay. However, I made a trip to Leesburg and stopped at the WholeFoods in Ashburn, and found the StraightShot product, and purchased a couple of 4-packs (they were on sale).
Okay, so as a small batch brewer, I'm thinking, how do I get the temperature up and maintain it consistently over, say, 2 days? Well, Northern Brewer has a good option for a heating mat.
Brew Day: 19 Sept 2016
Earlier in the day, set out (2) GoodBelly StraightShot shots to reach room temperature, and start the heating mat warming.
Partial Mash:
14 oz white wheat
2 oz flaked wheat
Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
After the boil is complete, cool the wort to approx: 100 deg F (it will cool further during transfer). Transfer the wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving room for the bacteria. Add (2) StraightShot shots, transfer to heating mat. Let the wort remain on the heating mat (monitoring regularly) for 48 hrs.
Phase 2, 22 Sept:
This is actually kicking off a bit later than I would have liked. I wanted to move on to this phase after just 48 hrs, but due to scheduling, it got pushed off to today. Something I did notice that I wanted to document is that after sitting on the heating mat, the particulates in the wort settled considerably, and the wort was actually pretty clear. However, agitation in transport, as well as returning the wort to the brew kettle disturbed some of that particulate matter. I'm sure that it will settle out again, though.
I took the wort off of the heating mat, and into the kitchen. As I poured the wort out of the fermenter into the kettle, I noticed that it smelled like warm apple juice...that's the best description I could come up with. As I was heating the wort to boiling, I noticed that it continued to smell the same way.
I boiled the wort for 20 min, adding 4 g of Glacier hops (AA: 5%) halfway through the boil.
Once the boil was complete, I cooled the wort and pitch the yeast (Safale US-05) as per usual.
Addendum, 5 Oct: Bottled today with 1 oz table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c. boiling water. Got two 22 oz bottles and 7 regular bottles. Tasted the beer before adding it to the priming sugar, got some sour!
Addendum, 18 Oct: Chilled and tried one tonight. Wow! Pours with a light yellow/straw color, a bit hazy as you'd expect from the wheat malt. Almost no head, but decent carbonation. Very minimal lacing. The important thing is that the flavor is definitely sour, not funky or cheesy. Good body, light, drinkable beer. Definitely a success for a first run at a sour beer, many thanks to Jake at Crooked Run for the tips.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Hop Bomb
I should call this one my "dregs IPA", as the partial mash is made up of a bunch of small portions of different malts I had sitting around. For example, I'd get a pound of Munich for a recipe and only use 10 oz, or I'd have some other malt sitting around. It turns out that when I combined the small portions, I had a pound of malt, so I just added 2 oz of CaraPils to that and now I have a partial mash ready to go! Admittedly, it's a bit more malt than I usually use, but this time, I'm going to hit the hop stand with a pretty massive amount of hops (for the batch size). And to do that, I decided to use up the rest of the LemonDrop hops I had from the EverLong IPS I brewed a bit ago (which is still very good, by the way).
Brew Day: 18 Sept 2016
Partial Mash:
6 oz Munich
4.5 oz Vienna
3.5 oz red wheat
2 oz 2-row
2 oz CaraPils
Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME (@ 20 min)
4 oz table sugar (@ 20 min)
Hops:
14 g LemonDrop (AA: 4.4%, @ 20 min)
1.5 oz LemonDrop (10 min hop stand @ flameout)
14 g LemonDrop (dry hop)
Yeast: Danstar Belle Saison + 1/2 vial Clarity Firm
Addendum, 30 Sept: Dry hopped today, with 14 g LemonDrop hops.
Addendum, 5 Oct: Bottled today with 1 oz table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c. boiling water. I got 8 good bottles and one partial fill out of it.
Brew Day: 18 Sept 2016
Partial Mash:
6 oz Munich
4.5 oz Vienna
3.5 oz red wheat
2 oz 2-row
2 oz CaraPils
Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME (@ 20 min)
4 oz table sugar (@ 20 min)
Hops:
14 g LemonDrop (AA: 4.4%, @ 20 min)
1.5 oz LemonDrop (10 min hop stand @ flameout)
14 g LemonDrop (dry hop)
Yeast: Danstar Belle Saison + 1/2 vial Clarity Firm
Addendum, 30 Sept: Dry hopped today, with 14 g LemonDrop hops.
Addendum, 5 Oct: Bottled today with 1 oz table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c. boiling water. I got 8 good bottles and one partial fill out of it.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Melon Hops
I haven't brewed in a while and I need to get back to it. That said, I've got some melon hops I want to try, given that they're described as imparting melon and strawberry. This time, however, I'm going to try a couple of different things. First off, I'm reducing the boil time, and as such also reducing the amount of water I add to the brew kettle to get things going. Second, I'm going to try a bit more aggressive to the hopping, using a hop stand. Actually, this second part really isn't new, as its very similar to what I did with the Summer hops, and boy did that ever turn out good!
Brew Day: 16 Sept 2016
Partial Mash:
14 oz 2-row
2 oz CaraPils
Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
4 oz table sugar
Hops:
7 g HBC-438 (AA: 15.7%, @ 20 min; bittering)
1.5 oz Huell Melon hops (AA: 4.5%, 10 min "hop stand"/steep, @ flameout)
14 g Huell Melon (dry hop)
Yeast: Safale US-05 + 1/2 vial Clarity Firm
*I followed all of my usual processes for partial mashing, cooling the wort, and pitching the yeast.
Addendum, 28 Sept: Dry hopped the beer today with 14 g Huell Melon hops. Will bottle on Fri.
Addendum, 30 Sept: Bottled today with 1 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c. boiling water. Got 9 good bottles and 1 generous partial fill. I'm really looking forward to trying this one in a couple of weeks.
Addendum, 14 Oct: Tried my first one tonight...very good. Pours with a full, pillowy head, lots of lacing (think Bell's Two-hearted). Fruit in the nose, and fruit with maybe a very tiny bit of pine or cedar on the tongue; this will likely dissipate with time. None of the harsh bitterness typical of commercial American IPAs, but a very fruit-forward flavor.
As a side note, when I went to get one of the bottles to chill, I noticed that one of his 'brothers' had exploded. This was my first bottle burst, and thankfully when I started home brewing almost 2 yrs ago, I got one of those storage tubs from Target and I keep the bottles in that while they're conditioning, just in case this sort of thing would happen.
Brew Day: 16 Sept 2016
Partial Mash:
14 oz 2-row
2 oz CaraPils
Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
4 oz table sugar
Hops:
7 g HBC-438 (AA: 15.7%, @ 20 min; bittering)
1.5 oz Huell Melon hops (AA: 4.5%, 10 min "hop stand"/steep, @ flameout)
14 g Huell Melon (dry hop)
Yeast: Safale US-05 + 1/2 vial Clarity Firm
*I followed all of my usual processes for partial mashing, cooling the wort, and pitching the yeast.
Addendum, 28 Sept: Dry hopped the beer today with 14 g Huell Melon hops. Will bottle on Fri.
Addendum, 30 Sept: Bottled today with 1 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c. boiling water. Got 9 good bottles and 1 generous partial fill. I'm really looking forward to trying this one in a couple of weeks.
Addendum, 14 Oct: Tried my first one tonight...very good. Pours with a full, pillowy head, lots of lacing (think Bell's Two-hearted). Fruit in the nose, and fruit with maybe a very tiny bit of pine or cedar on the tongue; this will likely dissipate with time. None of the harsh bitterness typical of commercial American IPAs, but a very fruit-forward flavor.
As a side note, when I went to get one of the bottles to chill, I noticed that one of his 'brothers' had exploded. This was my first bottle burst, and thankfully when I started home brewing almost 2 yrs ago, I got one of those storage tubs from Target and I keep the bottles in that while they're conditioning, just in case this sort of thing would happen.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
More Sah'Tea
My second attempt at a Sah'Tea clone turned our pretty good, and I thought I do some minor tweaks and try it again. My wife has really gotten into the ginger saison (she really likes that one!), and I have a hefeweizen and big Belgian that will be ready soon.
Interestingly, I used Clarity Firm with the Belgian, which makes it GR, or gluten-reduced. So far, there doesn't seem to have been any effect on the flavor of the beer when I've used the Clarity Firm.
Brew Day: 11 Aug 2016
Partial Mash:
10 oz Munich malt
6 oz rye
2 oz flaked wheat
Boil (60 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
4 oz table sugar (@ 60 min)
7 g German Hallertau (AA: 3.1%) (@ 60 min)
12 g crushed juniper berries + 2 black tea bags (@ 10 min)
Yeast: Safale K-97, 1/2 vial Clarity Firm
*I followed all of my usual procedures for partial mashing, as well as cooling the wort and pitching the yeast.
Addendum, 13 Aug: Fermentation is going really well; so well, I had to swap out the blow-off bottle for a clean one this morning.
Interestingly, I used Clarity Firm with the Belgian, which makes it GR, or gluten-reduced. So far, there doesn't seem to have been any effect on the flavor of the beer when I've used the Clarity Firm.
Brew Day: 11 Aug 2016
Partial Mash:
10 oz Munich malt
6 oz rye
2 oz flaked wheat
Boil (60 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
4 oz table sugar (@ 60 min)
7 g German Hallertau (AA: 3.1%) (@ 60 min)
12 g crushed juniper berries + 2 black tea bags (@ 10 min)
Yeast: Safale K-97, 1/2 vial Clarity Firm
*I followed all of my usual procedures for partial mashing, as well as cooling the wort and pitching the yeast.
Addendum, 13 Aug: Fermentation is going really well; so well, I had to swap out the blow-off bottle for a clean one this morning.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Summer Hops IPA
Jillian down at Jay's Brewing home brew supply recently got a stock of Summer hops in, and set 2 oz aside for me, for which I am greatly appreciative. She'd done some research (BeerMumbo says "apricot and melon profile") and landed upon this hop in particular, and I'm really looking forward to trying this in a fruit-forward IPA.
Something that's a bit different in the way I'm using hops is the hop schedule. I'm not trying to get an overpoweringly bitter beer, as much as I'm trying to coax aroma and flavor out of the hops. For example, Old Busthead Brewing recently posted to Facebook regarding an "ExtraExtra Ordinary Double Dry-hopped Double IPA in honor of our 2nd Anniversary." The DIPA has 2 dry hops, as well as two hot hop additions (kettle, whirlpool), and comes out at 2 IBU. I can't even begin to imagine how the Simcoe and Citra hops taste in the beer!
I'll be very interested to see how this one turns out.
Brew Day: 19 July 2016
Partial Mash:
1 lb Pilsen Malt
1.5 oz flaked wheat
Boil (60 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
4 oz table sugar
Hop Schedule:
14 g Summer hops (FWH)
1 oz Summer hops (flameout, steep)
Yeast: Safale US-05, 1/2 tube Clarity Firm
*I followed all of my usual procedures for partial mashing, cooling the wort, and pitching the yeast.
Addendum, 31 July; Dry hopped early this morning, with 14 g Summer hops.
Addendum, 8 Aug: Bottled tonight, with 1 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water. I got 9 good bottles out of it. Everything was cleaned up and put away quickly. I'm looking forward to trying this one around the end of Aug.
Addendum, 24 Aug: Tried my first one of these tonight. Wow. The beer poured with a nice white, pillowy head, and there was a good bit of lacing throughout. The beer was clear and straw colored, and the first sip was full of sweet fruit flavor, without the harsh, cloying bitterness usually associated with IPAs. I really enjoyed this beer, and I'm definitely going to continue using the hopping schedule.
Addendum, 1 Nov: I recently found out that my daughter has taken a liking to IPAs, so I invited her over to the house last night to try one of these IPAs, have some dinner, and help pass out candy. She said that she really liked the IPA and that it tasted "fruity". I thought that was pretty good because (a) it was what I was shooting for, and (b) I hadn't told her anything about what to expect from the beer.
Something that's a bit different in the way I'm using hops is the hop schedule. I'm not trying to get an overpoweringly bitter beer, as much as I'm trying to coax aroma and flavor out of the hops. For example, Old Busthead Brewing recently posted to Facebook regarding an "ExtraExtra Ordinary Double Dry-hopped Double IPA in honor of our 2nd Anniversary." The DIPA has 2 dry hops, as well as two hot hop additions (kettle, whirlpool), and comes out at 2 IBU. I can't even begin to imagine how the Simcoe and Citra hops taste in the beer!
I'll be very interested to see how this one turns out.
Brew Day: 19 July 2016
Partial Mash:
1 lb Pilsen Malt
1.5 oz flaked wheat
Boil (60 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
4 oz table sugar
Hop Schedule:
14 g Summer hops (FWH)
1 oz Summer hops (flameout, steep)
Yeast: Safale US-05, 1/2 tube Clarity Firm
*I followed all of my usual procedures for partial mashing, cooling the wort, and pitching the yeast.
Addendum, 31 July; Dry hopped early this morning, with 14 g Summer hops.
Addendum, 8 Aug: Bottled tonight, with 1 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water. I got 9 good bottles out of it. Everything was cleaned up and put away quickly. I'm looking forward to trying this one around the end of Aug.
Addendum, 24 Aug: Tried my first one of these tonight. Wow. The beer poured with a nice white, pillowy head, and there was a good bit of lacing throughout. The beer was clear and straw colored, and the first sip was full of sweet fruit flavor, without the harsh, cloying bitterness usually associated with IPAs. I really enjoyed this beer, and I'm definitely going to continue using the hopping schedule.
Addendum, 1 Nov: I recently found out that my daughter has taken a liking to IPAs, so I invited her over to the house last night to try one of these IPAs, have some dinner, and help pass out candy. She said that she really liked the IPA and that it tasted "fruity". I thought that was pretty good because (a) it was what I was shooting for, and (b) I hadn't told her anything about what to expect from the beer.
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