Something New

I was doing some research recently, looking for new hops, and ran across N1/69 Experimental Hops at NorthernBrewer. The description states that the hop varietal "imparts great pineapple, citrus, and melon flavors, along with some Juicy Fruit and Kool-Aid notes".  Who can say "no" to that!?!  I ordered 2 oz for my typical hop schedule, and immediately began planning what I hope to be a very fruit-forward NE-style IPA.

Brew Day: 11 Dec 2018

Partial Mash:
8 oz 2-row
2 oz flaked wheat

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

Hops:
14 g N1/69 (FWH)
1 oz N1/69 (flameout)
14 g N1/69 (dry hop)

Yeast: US-05

After I pitched the yeast into the fermenter, I had a bit more hopped wort left over than I usually do, so I sanitized an Adroit Theory bomber and put about a quart of the mix into the fridge.  I'll use this for an upcoming IPA, it should make for some interesting flavors.

Addendum, 21 Dec: Dry hopped on 14 g of N1/69 hops.

Addendum, 27 Dec: Bottled tonight on 1 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c of boiling water.  Got 8 good bottles, as well as 2 8.5 oz re-purposed soda bottles, and 1 partial fill.

Another NE IPA

I'm a fan on fruit-forward IPAs (see what Jake says about "NE IPAs" here...), and not having been able to find one commercially, I figured it was time to make another one that I'll likely enjoy after Christmas.  I have some cashmere hops left (I'm going to use some to dry hop a Belgian), so I'm going to do first wort hopping, a massive Mosaic-Citra-Cashmere hop "bomb", and dry hop.  The dry hop is going to be around the size (total number of grams) I usually use, because much more and I won't be able to get the hop bag out of the fermenter!  ;-)

Brew Day: 2 Dec 2018

Partial Mash:
8 oz Munich
2 oz flaked wheat

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

Hops:
FWH - 4 g each Mosaic, Citra, Cashmere hops
Flame-out - 19 g Mosaic, 19 g Citra, 36 g Cashmere hops
Dry hop - 4 g each Mosaic, Citra, Cashmere hops

Yeast: US-05

Addendum, 13 Dec: Dry hopped.

Addendum, 17 Dec: Bottled today; got 7 good bottles, one full re-purposed soda bottle, and one soda bottle partial fill (about half).

Sour Beer

I have some Good Belly Straight Shots left over, and while I don't have a specific plan for a beer, I thought I'd at least start by brewing the sour batch up.

Brew Day: 30 Nov 2018

Partial Mash:
6 oz Special B
3 oz Munich
2 oz flaked wheat

Boil #1 (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
6 oz table sugar

Once the boil is complete, chill the wort in an ice bath, and add the wort to a sanitized fermenter with (2) Good Belly Straight Shots; place on a warming plate (wrapped in a towel) for 48-72 hrs.

Boil #2 (20 min): 3 Dec 2018
20 min boil to kill the bugs.

By the time I got to the second boil, I'd decided to do another "barrel aged" sour ale.  As such, later this week, I'll prepare the oak chips in a manner similar to the way I did so previously.  This one is likely going to be a barrel-aged brown or red sour (BABS, BARS) ale.

Hops: 14 g Styrian Golding hops

Yeast: BE-134

Addendum, 9 Dec: Boiled 1.2 oz of oak chips in water for 5 min, then placed them in a sanitized tupperware container.  Covered the oak chips in Woodford Reserve (90.4 proof); it took 2 small bottles, 100 ml.

Addendum, 17 Dec: Racked the beer on to oak chips placed in a hop bag.  I saved the Woodford off for inclusion in baked beans.

Addendum, 21 Dec: Racked to secondary.

Addendum, 12 Jan: Bottled on 1 oz table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water.  Got 9 good bottles out of it.

Dry hopped Belgian

For my last Belgian, I decided completely on a whim to dry hop it with Cashmere hops.  It turned out that my wife really liked the flavor, and so while I still have some of these hops, I'm going to do this one again, albeit intentionally.

Brew Day: 26 Nov 2018

Partial Mash:
8 oz Munich
2 oz flaked wheat

Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
6 oz table sugar

Hops:
14 g German Hersbrucker (FWH)
14 g Cashmere hops (dry hop)

Yeast: BE-134

*I followed all of my normal procedures.

Addendum, 8 Dec: Dry hopped today; 14 g Cashmere hops.

Addendum, 15 Dec: Transferred the beer to secondary.

Addendum, 12 Jan: Bottled on 1 oz of table sugar, dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water.  Got 8 good bottles out of it.

Sah'ti

Wow, I haven't done a sah'ti variant in a while, looks like it's time to brew another one!

Brew Day: 30 Oct 2018

Partial Mash:
4 oz Munich
4 oz Crystal Rye
2 oz flaked wheat

Boil (20 min):
1 lb Bavarian wheat DME
4 oz table sugar

Hops: 14 g German Hersbrucker (@ 20 min)

At 10 min into the boil, add 22 g of crushed juniper berries and 3 black tea bags, in a hop bag, to the wort.  Keep the bag in the wort through the cooling process.

Yeast: K-97

Addendum, 31 Oct: Checked on the beer this morning; the yeast kicked off rather nicely and is doing it's job very well.  I may need to change out the blow-off bottle in the next day or two, depending on the activity.

Addendum, 12 Nov: Transferred to secondary.

Addendum, 25 Nov: Bottled today, on 1 oz table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water.  Got 9 good bottles.

Sour Cashmere IPA

With the cashmere hops I have available, I wanted to try a side-by-side comparison of an IPA against a sour IPA.  So, same recipe, same everything, the only difference is this one was soured via my usual process.

Brew Day #1: 26 Sept 2018

Partial Mash:
12 oz Munich
2 oz flaked wheat

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

Brew Day #2: 29 Sept 2018

Boil (20 min):

Hops:
14 g Cashmere hops (FWH)
21 g Cashmere hops (@flameout, 20 min)
21 g Cashmere hops (10 min after @flameout, 10 min)
14 g Cashmere hops (dry hop)

Yeast: US-05

Addendum, 8 Oct: Dry hopped

Addendum, 11 Oct: Bottled on 1 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c boiling water.  Got 9 good bottles.

Addendum, 26 Oct: Opened a chilled bottle tonight.  The sour was very pronounced, so much so that the flavors I found in the cashmere IPA were overwhelmed.  The beer was well carbonated but none of the other characteristics were present; minimal head, no lacing, etc.  Very much an example of a sour beer.  Same body as the IPA, and just as enjoyable beer to drink.

Cashmere IPA

I received an ad from an online home brew supply store, and it mentioned having  a blonde ale available made with Cashmere hops.  I did some research on this one, and found sites like DraftMag that had descriptions of what this hop has to offer, and immediately thought to myself that I would LOVE to try this in an IPA, as well as a sour IPA.  The description at BSG has some very interesting notes...I'd really like to see how 'secondary notes of coconut' smells and tastes.

I did a search on Amazon and found an 8oz bag of the hops that would set me back less than purchasing 4oz from the online store, and they showed up the other day.  I can't wait to try them out in a beer, and to get a good whiff of the hops themselves.

One description suggests that this hop would do really well alongside Mosaic, and based on my recent experience, I couldn't agree more.

Brew Day: 27 Sept 2018

Partial Mash:
12 oz Munich
2 oz flaked wheat

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

Hops:
14 g Cashmere hops (FWH)
21 g Cashmere hops (@flameout, 20 min)
21 g Cashmere hops (10 min after @flameout, 10 min)
14 g Cashmere hops (dry hop)

Yeast: US-05

Addendum, 7 Oct: Dry hopped on 14 g of Cashmere hops.

Addendum, 11 Oct: Bottled on 1 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c boiling water.  Got 8 good bottles and one partially filled re-purposed Dr Pepper bottle.

Addendum, 26 Oct: Opened the re-purpose soda bottle tonight.  Beer poured with a golden brown color, good carbonation and a moderate, pillowy white head.  Consistent lacing throughout the glass, similar to a Bell's Two-Hearted.  Nothing specific jumped out in the aroma, but the palette was different; there was sweetness followed by a creamy mouth-feel reminiscent of coconut.  Very enjoyable IPA; body is a bit heavier than I'd want for a summertime beer, but overall, a very good drinking experience.

YAB (Yet Another Belgian)

The last Belgian turned out pretty well, and it's a very good beer that I like to keep on-hand.  So, having some of the yeast that really makes this one turn out quite nice, I brewed up another batch on a rainy Sunday.

Brew Day: 16 Sept 2018

Partial Mash:
12 oz Munich
2 oz flaked wheat

Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
8 oz table sugar

Hops - 14 g German Hersbrucker (at the beginning of the boil)

Yeast - BE-134

*I followed all of my usual procedures.

Addendum, 23 Sept: Completely spontaneous dry hop onto 14 g of Cashmere hops today.

Addendum, 27 Sept: Racked the beer to secondary.

Addendum, 28 Oct: Bottled tonight; got 8 good bottles and one partial fill.

Addendum, 11 Nov: Taste test.  Terri tried it without me telling her what the beer was; she guessed that it was a Belgian but also said that there was a smoothness to it, as well.  I told her that I'd dry hopped the beer with the cashmere hops, and that the hops was described as imparting "coconut".  With the IPA, I'd gotten that not as a straight coconut flavor, but more an impression, based on mouthfeel; there was a slight sweetness and a smoothness that I'd associate with coconut milk. I tried it, as well, and found that I really enjoyed it.  This may be "the new thing"...dry hopping a "normal" beer to impart a little something different.  Some options might be Huell Melon, for a hint of strawberry, in a Belgian or a hefeweizen. 

Sour Beer

With the fall coming and the stores all overwhelmed with pumpkin ales and fall beers for Oktoberfest, I felt that I needed to start preparing some sour beers for the fall season.  One of the great things about homebrewing is that I can have what I want, when I want it!

Brew Day #1: 4 Sept 2018

Partial Mash:
14 oz Munich
2 oz flaked wheat

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

After the boil, chill the wort to 80 - 90 deg F, and add to a sanitized fermenter, on (2) Good Belly Straight Shots.  Place an air lock in the fermenter cap, and place on a warming plate, wrapped in a towel.

Brew Day #2: 7 Sept

Boil #2 (20 min):

Hops:
FWH: 14 g Jarrylo (AA: 14.2%)
Flame out #1 (20 min): 6 g Jarrylo, 10 g Mosaic (10.8%), 10 g Citra (13.3%)
Flame out #2 (10 min): 6 g Jarrylo, 10 g Mosaic, 10 g Citra
Dry hop: 7 g Mosaic, 7 g Citra

Yeast: US-05

As soon as I took the wort off of the burner, I added the first flame out hop addition, and then added the second 10 min later.  At the 20 min mark, I put the wort in an ice bath to cool it to about 80 deg F, and pitched the yeast.  I then inserted a blow-off tube in the fermenter cap, and put the beer in the basement bathroom.

Addendum, 18 Sept: Dry-hopped the beer this evening.

Addendum, 21 Sept: Bottled; got 7 good bottles, one partial fill, and on repurposed Mountain Dew bottle.  This beer smelled very fruity during the bottling.

Addendum, 7 Oct: Opened the soda bottle tonight.  The beer poured with a hazy golden color, typical of the sours I've made.  There was mild carbonation and no head, also inline with sours.  The beer was mildly tart, and had a hint of fruitiness.

Wai-iti IPA

Not long ago, I was at my local home brew supply shop and found some Zythos hops for an IPA.  I was interested in some hops that would impart fruit, specifically pineapple, and had gone to the shop looking for Denali hops.  While I was there, Arthur latched on to my thoughts regarding a hop variety that would provide something akin to pineapple (or another sweet fruit), and came up another hop variety called Wai-iti. I liked the description enough to go ahead and get some on the spot, and I finally found the time to put together an IPA.

Wai-iti Hops:
Band of BrewTuber's review
MoreBeer description
Hopslist description

Brew Day: 28 Jul 2018

Partial Mash:
12 oz Munich
2 oz flaked wheat

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

Hops:
7 g Wai-iti hops (FWH)
14 g Wai-iti hops (20 min steep, @ flameout)
21 g Wai-iti hops (10 min steep, 10 min after flameout)
14 g Wai-iti hops (dry hop)

Yeast: US-05

I followed all of my usual procedures.

Addendum, 7 Aug: Dry-hopped the beer today; got some very fruity aromas during the transfer on to the hops, and the beer was hazy.

Addendum, 9 Aug: Bottled tonight, on 1 T of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 c boiling water.  Got 6 good bottles and two 22 oz flip top bottles.

Tasting Notes, 10 Sept: Opened a bottle tonight that I'd filled all the way up to the top; usually when filling bottles, there's some room left when I remove the racking crane, but with this bottle, I'd let some of the remaining beer trickle into the bottle, filling it up all the way.  As such, there was no head space in the bottle, and the beer was well carbonated.  The beer poured with a pillowy, white head, and the beer itself was a golden color.  There's a definite aroma of sweet fruits in the nose, as well as on the palette.  There was definitely a dearth of any bitterness at all, and no pine resin (as with the Zythos IPA).  This is a very juicy IPA, although I'm not getting a definite impression of any one particular fruit (pineapple, mango, guava, etc.).  Very good, very drinkable beer.

I had an opportunity to enjoy the Tangerine Technique Pale Ale at Kindred Spirit Brewing this past weekend, and the Wai-iti IPA has a bit more body, and a bit more flavor, as well.

As I was enjoying this beer, I noticed some definite lacing going on along the glass; not as much as, say, a Bell's Two Hearted, but very definite lacing.

Good gravy, but I do enjoy a juicy IPA!  Why go bitter if you don't have to?