Brew #113: Double Chocolate Stout

As I brewed this one, I was able to enjoy a couple pints of my current double chocolate raspberry stout on beergas. Mmmmm, cascading nitrogen bubbles... I'm getting this one going so that I might have an entry for the Dixie Cup but also to be able to bring the keg. I've been thinking that I might try some orange extract and see how that one tastes. I also want some Marzipan stout. TO get that I might just split the batch in half and have both flavors.

Normally I don't use dish soap on any beer equipment but after brewing with the chocolate - I used a 62% Cacao ScharffenBerger bar this time - every thing gets a bit oily. The cocoa butter comes out first in the primary fermentation and floats like butter on the top. I scoop as much as I can off the top when racking and try to leave most behind. By the time it gets to the keg, most of the oils are gone. In previous kegs, it seems that oils stick to the sides and as you drink it down, the beer gets better head retention.

I did a quick starter on it. That is where the starter is made just before brewing and only has about 4-5 hours to bud and start eating some maltose. By the time I pitched, I didn't see any activity. Still, the airlock was moving nicely on the next day.

Brewed: 08-17-2009
Racked: 0?-??-2009
Kegged: 0?-??-2009

OG=1.057@71F
FG=1.0XX@YYF

ABV=%

Brew #112: Flander's Brown Ale

My dive buddy Dave brought over a Flander's Brown for us to brew and sadly his batch got something wild that I had in my Turbodog or we just took it off of the yeast too soon. We had acetaldehyde (green apples) in the aroma and taste. Overwhelmingly so. That batch had another yeast starter pitched into it to see if more yeast would be able to finish the beer out a bit and convert the acetaldehyde into ethanol and get rid of the green apple-y flavor. It has done quite a bit, but it was still a sour beer. Too sour. Next path to save that one is to brew it again and get it clean this time. Then I can blend with the original batch to taste. Reading up on Flander's Browns has them at a touch sour but not as much as a Flander's Red.

I even played with my refractometer on this batch and showed the touch over 16% brix.

Brewed: 08-11-2009
Racked: 0?-??-2009
Kegged: 0?-??-2009

OG=1.070@70F
FG=1.0XX@YYF

ABV=%

Brew #111: Eleventy-One Pale (or Nierra Sevada Pale)

This is a West Coast Pale (like Sierra Nevada) in which I used up some hops that weren't totally sealed and I woke up some WLP001 yeast that I harvested in January. We'll have to see what 6 months in the refrigerator do to it. Tasted pretty good at racking. Did a three day primary then dumped in an extra 3/4 ounces of Cascades for another 3-4 days dry hop then racked into secondary.

Brewed: 07-23-2009
Hopped: 07-27-2009 (0.75 oz. Cascade added to primary after most primary fermentation done.)
Racked: 07-30-2009
Kegged: 0?-??-2009

OG=1.051@72F
FG=1.0XX@YYF

ABV=%

Brew #110: Spiced Holiday Ale

It's time to get this one going so that the spices can tone down a bit and smooth out by the time the holidays are upon us. I think most of the times before I dumped all spices and trub into the primary to let the flavor really get into the beer. This time, I ran it all through the strainer. I'm sure that the strainer will catch the ginger and cloves and maybe the nutmeg and cinnamon would get through. Fine by me as I don't really like the clove flavor that much.

Brewed: 07-22-2009
Racked: 07-30-2009
Kegged: 0?-??-2009

OG=1.050@72F
FG=1.0XX@YYF

ABV=%

Brew #109: Czech Pilsner #2

Batch #106 was modeled after a recipe that I made over ten years ago. It used Galena hops for bittering weighing in at 13% Alpha Acid. I may actually get better hop utilization these days because I do late additions for lighter colored brews like this one. Only after I tasted that one from the keg did I get the way too bitter flavor and went to my Beer Tools Pro program to work out the recipe. A Bohemian Pilsner should run in the 35-45 IBUs and mine hit 54. This batch is intentionally under-bittered to be able to blend that batch into something drinkable. I am targetting 22-24 IBUs. When I blend, I can make one batch a touch more bitter and the other will be a touch more sweet.

I made a quick starter of a Kolsch Ale yeast (because I don't lager and that yeast is rather clean finishing) - that is, the starter was made just before I started to get the water going for the brew. This starter only gets 4-5 hours to get going before it will be dumped into the wort.

I'm also toying with water chemistry a touch. 15 ltrs R/O water mixed with 9 ltrs filtered Austin water treated with 1/4 campden tablet to remove chloramines. Take 12 ltrs to steep and add 1/2 tsp Calcium Chloride and 1/2 tsp Phosphoric Acid to this steeping water only.

Recipe:

4.5 lb Bohemian Pilsner Malt
0.25 lb Cara-Pils Malt
0.25 lb Caramunich Malt
5.0 lb Extra Pale Extract

1.1 oz Saaz @ 60 mins
0.5 oz Saaz @ 15 mins
0.8 oz Saaz @ 5 mins

White Labs WLP029 German Ale/Kolsch yeast


The packet of hops were US Saaz reporting 5.8% AA.

I've blended the two batches at 60/40 and 40/60 and have trouble deciding which I like better. The more bitter one has more of the "bite" that I like from Pilsner Urquell. The other is a bit more malty and seems clearer too.

Brewed: 06-08-2009
Racked: 06-15-2009
Kegged: 07-16-2009

OG=1.054@70F
FG=1.014@72F

ABV=5.24%

Brew #108: Hoppy Red Ale

The Austin Zealots Inquisition is coming up and this year's special category is the "Nectar of the Beast" where you have to have three items with 6's in them. This one has 6 malts, and OG of 1.067, and uses White Labs WLP862 yeast (Papazian's Cry Havoc Strain). Amarillo, Nugget, and Challenger hops with Nugget and Challenger dry hop.

Brewed: 05-27-2009
Racked: 06-08-2009
Kegged: 07-08-2009

OG=1.067@71F
FG=1.018@72F

ABV=6.419%

20090804 - Time to catch up

I've not posted anything lately. It just means I've been having fun brewing and drinking the beer instead of writing about it. I did get to attend the National Homebrewer's Conference in Oakland. Many good beers, lots of things learned. I think the most worthwhile one for me was a session on cleaning and sanitizing. It's a subject that I needed to learn more about.

I've had a run of three batches that didn't turn out as expected. First, an Abita TurboDog clone came out with a touch of green-apple-y flavor. I've decided to try to save it by taking that sourness and boosting it to lambic-ness. I've dumped in tart cherries and we'll see what that does. Next, I had a Kolsch that got phenolics in it - the antiseptic or plastic flavor. I *know* it can't be from chloramines or chlorine. I took a mix of R/O and filtered water and treated it with potassium metabisulphate. My phenolics must have been produced by the fermentation. Instead of the normal fermentation in the 72-74F closet, I tried controlling the temp by sticking the fermenter in a water bath and throwing in ice every so often. I did achieve lower temps but the variance went from 65F to 70F. Last, my friend Dave brought over a Flander's Brown recipe for us to brew together. This one got green-apple-y again and I suspect that I used the same secondary as the TurboDog. Well, green apple indicates acetaldehyde which is a precursor to ethanol - the yeast didn't finish before I racked away. This one got a new starter of yeast back into it to see if they could fix the problem.

I have had some successes though. I've mixed a too-bitter Czech Pilsner with a too-sweet one to come up with my 6040 and 4060 Czech Pilsners. One is a touch more bitter and the other is a touch more sweet/malty. I go back and forth on which I like better.

I've brewed my Holiday Spiced ale in prep for the Halloween/holiday season. The house smells like gingerbread for a few days. I really have to say that PBW works wonders. I soaked the primary for a bit and it come out spotless with no other scrubbing. (Yes, you shouldn't scrub your plastic buckets, but I've been scrubbing them long before I knew better. I'll just keep scrubbing until I replace the buckets.)

On the cleaning side, I've been working through the entire list of equipment with a PBW soak, a rinse-rinse-rinse, and a sanitize. I should be able to kill off anything wild and get down to producing the clean beers like normal.

Austin Zealot Inquisition picnic is coming up on Saturday Aug. 8. Woohoo!!!

Brew #107: Bohemian Kolsch

I won Bohemian Pilsner grain in the raffle at the Bluebonnet. Why not replace any German Pilsner malt with Bohemian Pilsner malt in a Kolsch recipe and see what happens. I also get to use the yeastcake from the previous brew.

Brewed: 05-07-2009
Racked: 05-19-2009
Kegged: 0?-??-2009

OG=1.040@67F
FG=1.0XX@YYF

ABV=%

Brew #106: Czech Pilsner

My batch #5 was one of the brews I remember as the best. I rather enjoy Pilsner Urquell and that brew did rather well. Since that time, AHS has been modifying the recipe to make the mini-mash version and keep up with the extracts that they get. I went back to that original recipe for the hops and specialty grains though. I also added 1 tsp. of Calcium Chloride to accentuate the malt and used the Kolsch Ale yeast like I had way back in 1998. I'm still fermenting in the same closet.

Brewed: 04-26-2009
Racked: 05-07-2009
Kegged: 0?-??-2009

OG=1.049@71F
FG=1.0XX@YYF

ABV=%

Brew #105: Centurion Blonde #2

I wanted more honey malt to show through in the first attempt and less of the bitter. Here's the recipe for this attempt:

1.5 lb Honey Malt
0.5 lb Flaked Wheat
1.5 lb Pilsener Lager Malt
.25 lb 2-row CaraPils Malt
3.0 lb Extra Light DME (to keep the color as light as possible)
0.5 oz Amarillo - 30 min.
0.5 oz Amarillo - 15 min. + 1 Whirlfloc tablet + 5 tsps Yeast Nutrient
0.5 oz Sorachi Ace - at flameout (0 mins.)
0.5 oz Sorachi Ace - Dry Hopped

Got low on the O.G. and the maltiness and sweetness is coming through. The balance is off however. I liked Centurion Blonde #1 better. It's still a good drinkable beer. Still need to work out what is unbalanced.

Now that it's been a while, the beer is growing on me. It's got more mouthfeel, the color is more at pale ale, nice and quaffable. The first version had a lighter feel, but more bitterness. Mouthfeel may be specifically linked to the Carapils. So I've got to figure out if I like the base as a Blonde or let the beer go more at Pale Ale. So maybe do the same thing again but drop the CaraPils from the recipe.

Brewed: 04-16-2009
Hopped: 04-21-2009 (hop addition into primary after initial fermentation was complete)
Racked: 04-24-2009
Kegged: 05-12-2009

OG=1.040@69F
FG=1.013@72F

ABV=3.537%

Brew #104: Summer Saison Belgian Ale

I've made this a few times. The lemon zest hits first and then you get the bready/yeasty Belgian type flavor to finish. It is a good summer beer as the lemon makes it refreshing. Here's the first beer I make with water conditioned with a campden tablet to rid the water of any chloramines. Kegged straight from primary.

Brewed: 03-18-2009
Kegged: 05-08-2009

OG=1.063@67F
FG=1.014@69F

ABV=6.419%

Brew #103: Vroom-Vroom TurboKitty Renamed TLA #4

Abita Turbo Dog. Nice brew to mimic. Only I have no dogs and twin turbos in my car so I have my own name for the clone. :) Sadly, I've gotten something wild in this one. Has a green apple taste that is mellow and not too bad, but the beer rates "OK if desparate". I get to drink this and think about what went wrong. Or, I get to drink this and think about what might make it drinkable. First thought is to try to get fruit and sour going and turn it into a lambic. It may be that I left it in the primary three weeks and racked straight into a keg. Or it may be that some gunk on my filter lines got a hold here. (I've gotten to the filter line since then)

Brewed: 03-17-2009
Kegged: 04-09-2009

OG=1.045@67F
FG=1.014@69F

ABV=4.061%

Brew #102: Illegitimate Pride

My second go at an Arrogant Bastard clone. The first one got me my first ribbon. Yay! And it was dead on with the hop profile. My version was sweeter than the one in bottles, so I still had sugars where the professionals get theirs down further. The other fun thing is that it uses the same yeast as the Vanguard Red (brew #101) and so I threw this on that same yeast cake. BOOM! Within 8 hours, it blew the top on the fermenter and "painted" my beer closet. What fun to go and wipe down the walls, door, ceiling of the closet and then wipe down all the other equipment in the closet too.

I've had a taste of this, and it's still sweet so I'm letting it sit in the keg for a while more before I put it in the kegerator. Let it finish out more.

Brewed: 02-02-2009
Racked: 02-20-2009
Kegged: 05-12-2009

OG=1.075@66F
FG=1.0??@??F

ABV=%

Brew #101: Vanguard Red

Revisit a nice brew with nothing over the top. Let's see if mixing Reverse Osmosis water with the filtered makes a difference. This batch also marks my first try at a starter. It's been cool lately where my kitchen may be at 66-68F. The airlock is showing activity by the next morning even at this cool of a temp.

This brew got a score of 32.5/50 at the Bluebonnet Brewoff. BJCP Amber Ale style. I think it is a good one for those people not into huge flavor. It is rather mellow as homebrews go, but that makes it a good drinkable beer.

At the beginning of June 2009, I've only got 7 bottles left. Might be enough to enter in the Lubbock contest and maybe Cerveza Fest in San Antonio.

Brewed: 01-27-2009
Racked: 02-02-2009
Kegged: 02-20-2009

OG=1.050@67F
FG=1.012@68F

ABV=4.978%

Brew #100: Honey Lemon Blonde

For batch number 100, I'm using Beer Tools Pro to formulate my own recipe. The hope is to get honey-type flavors from Honey Malt and some lemony tartness from Sorachi Ace hops and blend them into a pleasantly quaffable brew. I based the recipe on a blonde ale and tweaked it from there. I've added 1/2 oz. Sorachi Ace at the last 5 minutes and will dry hop with the other 1/2 oz. Bittering and flavoring used 1/2 oz. of Amarillo for each. I'm anxious to see how this will turn out. It could be real good or could be off the mark.

The taste was pleasant at racking but no lemony tones yet.

At kegging, the lemon took over. It's tart almost at sour only from the half ounce dry hop. But this is still the taste warm and flat. If it continues, I'd want a bit more sweetness to shine through to balance the tang of the lemon.

This was a brew that didn't match my design, but was quite pleasant. It was hoppy like a pale ale, but .... different. The Sorachi Ace dry hop tended to give lemony, tangerine, but also a slight grassy flavor. So lemongrass. It worked. I do intend to do this again.


Actual Recipe:

1.0 lb Honey Malt
0.5 lb Flaked Wheat
2.0 lb Pilsener Lager Malt
5.0 lb Extra Light LME
0.5 oz Amarillo - 60 min.
0.5 oz Amarillo - 15 min. + 1 Whirlfloc tablet + 5 tsps Yeast Nutrient
0.5 oz Sorachi Ace - 5 mins.
0.5 oz Sorachi Ace - Dry Hopped

Took 1/2 RO water and 1/2 filtered Austin water and added 1/4 tsp Epsom Salt (just to see), 1-2 drops phosphoric acid to adjust pH. Added one drop olive oil as I pitched yeast. I do a late addition for the LME where I take the pot off the burner with 15 mins left of the boil, stop the timer, add in the LME, bring it back up to boiling, add the flavoring hops, and continue the timer for the last 15 mins. Supposed to keep scorching or caramelizing down. I am still doing partial boils on my stove.

This brew ranked a 36/50 in the Bluebonnet Brewoff and made it to the second round as a Specialty Beer, since it is an overhopped Blonde.

Brewed: 01-14-2009
Racked: 01-22-2009 (w/ 0.5 oz. Sorachi Ace dry hop)
Kegged: 01-27-2009

OG=1.052@65F
FG=1.014@66F

ABV=4.978%

Brew #99: Ahtanum Pale Ale

My last hoppy beer is finished so I must have a replacement...

Normally, I would rack off of the hops into another carboy. THis time I used a patch of a green scrubbie to act as a filter and keep hop matter from going through the racking cane and tube. Mighty tasty!!!

Will this be ready for a Superbowl party?

Brewed: 01-09-2009
Racked: 01-17-2009 (w/ 1 oz. Ahtanum)
Kegged: 01-27-2009

OG=1.046@69F
FG=1.012@66F

ABV=4.454%

20090115: Root Beer!

I have my sepcial keg for holding my homemade root beer. I call it home made, but is really easy when you take some extract that is already made and add it to 4 gals water with 8 cups sugar. My tweak is that I buy the Root Beer Extract and the Birch Root Beer extract and mix them half and half. For this round I took 17.5 quarts RO water, 2 cups light brown sugar, 6 cups white sugar, and the extract. All the water was boiled at least 15 minutes to try to drive any oxygen out and to make sure that the sugars got dissolved properly. Slap that into the kegerator and force carbonate to about 2.5 volumes.

When it was boiled, you could really smell the birch extract. That stuff is the "ZING!" flavor that Barq's has. It mellowed nicely in the keg though - YUMMY!

Brew #98: Whiskey Oaked Porter

I'm revisiting a porter with oak chips again and this time I'm adding a bit of whiskey to the mix. I've soaked the oak chips in Maker's Mark for 2 1/2 weeks before adding it into the primary after the yeast had already settled down. Only the chips were added but I'm saving the whiskey to possibly add at kegging to flavor to taste.

34.5/50 at Bluebonnet Brewoff.

Somewhere in there I thought the whiskey flavor had tailed off. I added 300ml at kegging originally, so I doubled that and added 600ml. Shortly after, I saw the condensation line at about halfway down the keg. It meant I added double the whiskey to half the batch - 4 times the original addition. It took a bit for the whiskey to come down, but it was very well received at a band practice night in March.

Brewed: 01-03-2009 (Whiskey soaked oak chips added 01-10-2009)
Racked: 01-17-2009
Kegged: 01-22-2009

OG=1.063@68F
FG=1.014@67F

ABV=6.419%

Brew #97: Double Chocolate Stout w/Raspberry

My award winning Double Chocolate Stout w/Raspberry (named Midnight Chocolate Bar Stout) is down to less than a gallon left and here is the replacement. It should be ready for entry to the Bluebonnet, and I'll take the remainder and charge it on the beergas to serve at the contest's Club night.

Recipe (5 gals):

3/4 lb. Chocolate Wheat
1/8 lb. Roasted Barley
1/4 lb. Crystal 40L
1/8 lb. Black Patent
2 1/2 lb. Maris Otter Pale Malt
1/2 lb. Maltodextrin
5 lb. Liquid Dark Extract

1 oz. Galena (bittering hops for full 60 minute boil)

3.5 oz. Lindt 70% cacao chocolate bar (added in last 5 minutes of boil).

4 oz. Raspberry extract (added at kegging)

When doing primary fermentation, the oils in the chocolate will get bubbled by the krausen and make a "butter" on the top. When you go to rack, take a sanitized slotted spoon and try to scoop out this "butter" as best you can. You will likely get some at the top of your secondary, but you will try to leave it behind by the time you get it into the keg. Those oils could kill the head retention. Add 4 oz. raspberry extract at kegging for the raspberry version or 400 ml Amaretto for my Marzipan Stout.

Brewed: 12-17-2008
Racked: 01-03-2009
Kegged: 01-27-2008

OG=1.055@69F
FG=1.020@66F (I bet the chocolate is throwing this measurement off)

ABV=4.585%

Time to get caught up.

My last post stated my shock at not having brewed for almost 6 months. The nice thing about the rate of my brews previous to that are that I am only now drinking down those brews. I had room for some root beer again and room for the partial keg of Black Star Coop's Moontower that I sponsored. Imperial Stout - very nice!!

Now it's time to catch up my blog to the last four brews.