Category: Uncategorized

Looks and tastes the part.  I get Banana and Clove aroma/flavor.   I love passionfruit and can detect it in the slightest amounts.   I couldn’t resist adding a little passion fruit extract at flame out.  I doubt anyone, other than myself, would be able to detect it.

The Dark Munich malt contributed a bit more color than is typical for a Hefe.   I didn’t use Pilsen malt at all which proves you don’t need to use German malt to make a decent Hefe.  This is at least my 5th batch of Hefe.   Of those I’d say two batches pretty much nailed the flavor profile.  I find following grain bill, mash, and yeast will make a decent hefe:

• grain bill should consist of at least 50% wheat
• my latest mash schedule for a hefe is:
  • Mash in 110ºF for 10 min
  • Protein Rest 122ºF for 10 min
  • Sach Rest 154ºF for 40 min
  • Mash out 168ºF for 10 min
• White Labs WLP-300 Yeast.  I find it best it under pitch it.

I use a Grainfather so it’s easy for me to step mash.  Note my system requires 5 – 10 minutes to ramp up between mash steps.  So you may need to adjust the schedule based on your system.

This brew was inspired by the California Common (BJCP 16B).  What exactly is a California Common?   We’ll it’s a style of beer that Anchor Brewing is famous for making;  their “Steam Beer” is basically what this style was born from.  You can read about it at this link https://www.anchorbrewing.com/beer/anchor_steam

It’s supposed to be a medium amber color (mine is a bit too dark) and have notes of carmel and toast.   The body should be medium.  The bit that interested me the most is that’s it’s fermented with a lager yeast at Ale temperatures.   Since I had Fermentis SafLager 34/70 on hand I just had to try my hand at this style.

Brewer’s 2-Row Pale Malt (Briess)	8 lbs 12 oz
Rye Malt (Thomas Fawcett)	1 lb
Honey Malt	8 oz
Crystal 20L	4 oz
Chocolate Malt (Muntons)	4 oz
East Kent Goldings (6%) T-60)	1 oz
East Kent Goldings (6%) T-60)	1 oz
East Kent Goldings (6%) T-60)	1 oz

Holy smokes did this beer ferment fast.   I was amazed.  My OG was 1.052, FG 1.010, and it only took three days to get there.  

The end result? A 5.5% Darkish Amber which does hit on some of the style characteristics of a California Common.   I’ll have to see I can find Anchor Steam at my local craft beers shop to compare.

I’m going to enjoy this one…   Cheers!

Weissbier!  Another favorite style of mine to brew.   Malt bill is simple, very little hops (just to enough for 15-20 IBU) and the rest is all about the yeast.  However, this version won’t be traditional Wheat & Pilsen Malt recipe.   Mostly because I’m out of Pislen, but also because I’m curious what the end product will be like without it.

Avangard Wheat	7 lbs
Thomas Fawcett Golden Promise Pale Malt	3 lbs
Golden Promise Pale Malt	1 lbs 8 oz
German Magnum (14.1% Alpha) T-45	.25 oz
German Magnum (14.1% Alpha) T-10	.25 oz
White Labs WLP-300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast	1 packet

So that’s a bit different then my past Hefe’s.   However, what’s really different this time around is that I’m trying to a match Munich’s water profile.

I had my brewing water tested and plugged the numbers into Beersmith.   I choose a target water profile of Munich.   The end result are of the following water additions:

MASH Water (4.6 gallons)

Calcium Carbonate	3.01 grams
Epsom Salt (MgSO4)	.44 grams

Sparge Water (3.6 gallons)

Calcium Carbonate	3.52 grams
Epsom Salt (MgSO4)	.51 grams

Brewing now… Let’s see how this one turns out.

Another of my goto styles of beer is hoppy Session Ale.  Some commercial examples that come to mind: Good Nature Farm Brewer Blight Buster & Non-stop Hop Onslaught, Founder’s All Day IPA,  and Tired Hands Hop Hands.   I’m fortunate that Sapwood Cellars has opened up near me and they specialize in this style.  Their .38 Special and Rings Of Light are delicious.

What is a “session” beer you ask?   Generally it’s a beer between 3-5% ABV.  A beer where by design you can have a few and maintain your falculties. It’s not a new term.   Old school English Milds and Porters also fall into the “session” category. 

So today i’m brewing a beer that’s loosely inspired by a YouTube channel I like to watch (Harrison’s Brewery in the UK).  Harry makes a beer called Vacant Gesture which is only 3.8% ABV.   My brew won’t be an attempt at a clone.   I’m targeting a 4% hoppy ale featuring Cascade hops and Kveik Yeast:

7 lb	Thomas Fawcett Golden Promise Malt
14 oz	Briess Carapils
4 oz	Avangard Wheat Malt
1 oz	Cascade T-60
1 oz	Cascade Whirlpool 30 min
1 oz	Cascade Dry Hop 5 Days after primary fermentation
1 oz	Cascade Dry Hop 3 Days, in 2 days into first dry hop
Yeast	Omega Hornindal Kveik yeast slurry from previous batch

This brew is currently in the hop-stand/whirlpool.   When it’s keg conditioned I’ll post an update.

9/13/19 Update:   Well I didn’t stick to the dry hop schedule above.  After the first dry hop charge of Cascade I just wasn’t impressed…  So for the 3 day charge I used 1oz of Azacca and 1oz of Cryo Amarillo.   I suspect the Cascade hops were rather old.

I’ve decided to name this ‘Gesture DDH’ since it was inspired by Harrison’s Brewery’s Vacant Gesture.  I’m happy to say I hit my target ABV of 3.8% exactly (well, as exact as you can be with homebrew).

Here’s what it looks like:

Update: 01-17-2020 Just wanted to let folks know that this beer was decent when it was young, but it fell off the cliff quickly.  I didn’t drink the last gallon or so of this brew.   I think I used it to marinate some BBQ.

One reason why I love homebrewing is that I get to make styles I enjoy which I can’t regularly find on tap at the local pub.   With everyone chasing the latest trends in craft beer I find it rare that a straight up “Stout” is on tap.   That’s why I made this beer.

6 lb	Briess Brewer’s Malt 2-Row (1.8 SRM)
6 lb	Thomas Fawcett Golden Promise Pale Malt (3.0 SRM)
1 lb 5 oz	Muntons Chocolate Malt (425.0 SRM)
1 lb	Flaked Oats (2.5 SRM)
8 oz	Dingemans Aromatic Malt (19.0 SRM)
4 oz	Muntons Roasted Barley (525.0 SRM)
1.25 oz	Warrior 15% Alpha T-60
1 oz	East Kent Goldings 5% Alpha T-10
	Nottingham Yeast Harvested from previous batches

The end result?   A 7.4% full bodied stout with chocolate, roast, and bitter finish.  The next version of this I’ll probably dial back the bitterness and maybe ditch the roasted barley all together…

You can find this beer on untappd at this link

What do when you want a light ale on tap made with some ingredients from the backyard?  You make a Blackberry Grape Jalapeno Kolsch.  I use the style of Kolsch loosely here.   It’s a malt bill that’s similar to Kolsch inspired brews I’ve made before but as I didn’t have Pilsen malt I substituted it for Golden Promise:

1 tsp	Calcium Chloride (mash)
.25 tsp	lactic acid (mash)
9 lbs	Pale Malt, Golden Promise (3.0 SRM)
8 oz	Carapils (1.5 SRM)
8 oz	Wheat Malt (2.0 SRM)
0.50 oz	Hallertau Magnum (14.10%) T-60
1 oz	Saaz (2.6%) T-15
1 tsp	Irish Moss T-10
1 pkg	SafAle K-97 German Ale

On day 6 of fermentation the SG was steady at 1.010.   That’s when I dumped approximate 1.5 lbs of Blackberry, 1/2 lb of grapes, and one Jalapeno (all from the backyard) in the fermenter.

Of course the extra sugars kicked off a second fermentation.  I waited another 10 days and keg’d it.   I was pretty sure the secondary fermentation would be done by then.

Before the additions the brew was at 5.4% ABV.  So I’m guessing the end result is between 6 – 6.5 %.

This beer was transformed from what would have been a clear crisp Kolsch inspired brew to something that’s hazy, slightly tart, berry flavors are subtle as is the Jalapeno aroma and flavor (no heat).  Since I like heat I may add two Jalapenos next time 🙂

I like making lighter beers for the summer.  I knew I was going to make a Hefe but when checking out the hops at Maryland Homebrew I noticed “Lemondrop” hops.  My mind immediately thought of the German tendency to blend a Hefeweizen with Lemon.

Here’s the ingredients:

6 lb 14 oz	Pilsner Malt
4 lb	Wheat Malt
1.4oz	Hallertauer Hop T-60
1 pkg	Fermentis WB-06 Yeast
2 oz	Lemondrop 5.2% Alpha 4 days after primary fermentation

I mashed in at 133ºF for 15 mins, stepped up to 152ºF for 60 mins, and mashed out at 168ºF.

The end result?  A 5.0% Hefe with a tart lemon character.  It is refreshing and easy to drink.   The flavor is a bit one demensional so next time I’ll probably substitute some of the Lemondrop for something else.

I like Belgian Wit’s and Saison’s so I figured for this brew I’d make somewhat of a hybrid between the two.

I started with a traditional Belgian Wit grain bill:

• 8 lbs Pilsner
• 2 lbs flaked oat
• 1 lb wheat malt
• 4 oz caramunich malt

I mashed in at 152ºF for 60 mins and mashed out at 170ºF for 10 mins.

The only hops in this brew were 3/4 oz of Columbus in the boil at T-60.

This was my first time using coriander seeds.  The aroma released while crushing them was amazing.   I added 1oz of them at T-5.

That just leaves the yeast.   When Sapwood Cellars was breaking in their brew system they produced a test batch, some of which they gave to homebrewer’s.   I picked up a carboy full and fermented it will Danstar’s Belle Saison Yeast.   I used the slurry from that batch to ferment this brew.

The end result?

My ability to describe flavors and mouth feel is still developing, but I’ll take a stab at it.  The first thing I notice is a slight Saison funk aroma followed by citrus.  I’d say it’s dry with a light body.   The finish to me is a bit tart with some lingering citrus.  I’m left thinking dry hopping this brew would have been good idea, but I really wanted to see what coriander contributes.

Now’s it’s time to keg my Aletoberfest!

The Black IPA I submitted to NHC 2019 did a bit better than the Kolsch.  My average rating was 30 which is start of the “very good” range.

This is what it looks like in Beersmith:

The judges say:

So it looks like my Black IPA was too roasty for the style.   I’ll definitely take that into consideration when submitting for brews for next years competition.

I’m quite happy the results from this brew.   It’s really cool getting feedback.  

Now back to my regular brewing schedule 🙂

As I stated in my previous article I submitted two beers for the National Homebrew Competition.  I didn’t make it past the first round, but that’s not really a surprise.  Here’s the info on the Kolsch!

I had high hops for this beer mostly because I perceived previous versions to be highly drinkable and to style.  If you are interested here is recipe:

Here are the judges score sheets

I find these comments very useful.  A few are rather concerning to me and may point to problems in my process.   Both judges noted the appearance was “hazy”, which certainly should not be the case a Kolsch.   I suspect my beer had not been cold aged long enough before it was evaluated, or some issue occurred when I bottled it.  This is what it looks like today (hazy it is not):

In some aspects the score sheets are contradictory.    On one the finish is “cloying sweet” and the other “lingering bitterness”.   One said the  carbonation was low and the other between medium and high.   One notes the malt character is too low and the other too high.  It seem like they were trying different beers.   Very strange.  I submitted two bottles so I can only assume they each tried a different bottle and one was significantly different from the other.   Maybe I did something wrong during the bottling process?

Anyway…  an overall score of 24 means my beer is “good”.  Not great.  Not horrible…  Just good.   I’ll take that and hope to improve upon that score next time around.

-P