January 1

This seriously just happened.

Hoppy Pale Ale - Recipie and Tasting

Hoppy Pale Ale - 3 Gallons

OG - 1.063
IBU - 80
SRM - 6
ABV - 6.6%

7.25lbs of 2-row malted barley
0.25lbs of munich malt
0.25lbs of victory malt
0.25lbs of Cara Pils
1oz cascade at first wort
0.3oz citra at 60min
0.5oz simcoe, 0.5oz centennial, and 0.3oz citra at 5min
0.5oz simcoe, 0.5oz centennial, and 0.3 citra for the dry hop
US-05 yeast


With this beer, I was trying to brew an IPA that would have a TON of aroma, light on the bitterness, and none of the residual sweetness you find in "hop candy" IPAs.  My used a bit too much sparge water on brew day and my 6.6% IPA turned into a 5% pale ale. I also removed the first wort hops after the 30min sparge (they didn't make it to the boil) so my beer was probably much less than the 80IBUs that BeerSmith calculated.  However, the results were still enjoyable.

This Pale Ale is pretty dry due to the lack of crystal malt in the recipe.  However, the citra hops and the BIG aroma lend a subtle sweetness to the beer.  The head is pretty much nonexistent, but there is a fair amount of carbonation.  For some reason, I can taste the US-05 in there. Maybe it is the lack of bitterness, the lack of malt backbone, or maybe my fermentation temperature was just a bit too high.  

So, my second hoppy beer attempt did not go 100% as planned, but still a noble effort.  I had much better results this time, and I know #3 (whatever it is, Bell's Two Hearted clone?) will be even better!

Only in the U.P. can you get a 9 beer flight.

Again.. posting without permission:

at Hereford & Hops

Sam's 5 Gallon Turbid Mash Schedule

Totally posted without permission..

Turbid Mash Schedule/Procedure 

Batch size: 5 gallons

Recipe: 

5.75 lbs Belgian Pils

3 lbs raw wheat

3 oz aged (debittered) hops

15 gallons water treated with one campden tablet.

Step 1: 

2.7 quarts of strike water @ 144F. Mix well with grains in mash tun. Rest 20 minutes.

Step 2: 

Add boiling water to reach 136F (approx 4.5 qts). Rest 5 minutes, then draw off 1.1 qts of turbid wort. Immediately heat turbid wort to 180F and hold.

Step 3: 

As soon as turbid wort is removed, add boiling water to reach 150F (approx. 6.5 qts). Rest 30 minutes, then draw off 4.4 qts turbid wort. Combine with previously removed turbid wort and heat to 180F.

Step 4: 

As soon as turbid wort is removed, add boiling water to reach 162F (approx. 5.5qts). Rest 20 minutes.

Mashout: 

Mash out with 180F turbid wort to reach 167-170F. Collect first runnings.

Sparge: 

Sparge until ~9 gallons of wort have been collected.

Bring to boil, add hops, boil down to ~5 gallons final volume.

Chill and inoculate with ECY01

Wild Beer Tasting - Lindemans Cuvee Rene

This is a Gueuze Lambic, supposedly the mother of all sour beers.  It consists of a blend of 3, 2, and 1 year old lambic that is aged for another year.

Appearance - Honey colored. No head.

Smell - Very aeromatic.  Lots of sour and a bit of funk in there.  Bright and sunny too.

Taste - High sourness level. Medium funk. A bit more oaky than the flanders we tried last time.  VERY dry.  A bit of tannins on the back end (from the oak?).  Sour and funky, but not as complex as the flanders. The oak is there but it's very light.

Mouthfeel - Very light and bubbly.

Overall - Excellent beer.  I love the sourness of this one, and the funk and oak do bring something to the table.  Very refreshing.  However, not as complex as I had anticipated.

Yum.. Honeybells!

Odell Brewing Company - Winter Montage

Some family traveled west over Christmas and brought the Odell Winter Montage back for us to try.  This Ft. Collins, CO brewery doesn't have any distribution west of the Mississippi, so it is unavailable in Raleigh.  Odell has a really great looking cellar series of beers that I have not yet been able to try.  

This mixed pack consists of two amber ales (90 Shilling and Isolation Ale), their wonderful IPA, and the seasonal release Wellspring Saison.  The saison was the star of the bunch.  It was very hop forward with a LOT of delicious hop aroma.

  

In addition to great beer, Odells has great packaging.  Their bottles have a unique dip right below the cap, and hop leafs in the glass right above the paper labels.  The block-print-style label art work is some of my favorite in the beer industry.  They are very classy and well done.  The IPA features an Indian boy riding an elephant and waving his hat in the air.  I would hang a print of that on my wall!

Wild Beer Tasting - Ichtegem's Grand Cru

This is the first of several wild beers that I will be drinking for inspiration for brewing my next batch.  The dregs of one or more of these will be pitched in my next sour that will be brewed in May.

Appearance - Leather brown.  Nice white head that didn't even last long enough for me to capture it on camera.

Smell - Dark fruit.  Medicinal and herb-like.

Taste - Medium to high sourness level. Light on the funk. Light on oak flavor.  Definitely dry, probably not back sweetened.    Some cola flavors in there too with dark fruit and a bit of caramel. Interesting and complex. 

Mouthfeel - Very light and effervescent on the tongue.

Overall - Very tasty.  Nice sourness and complex fruit flavors. 

Screaming Peanut Skins