Big Brew Week(end)

Alright, so I caught the bug to pump out some hoppy beers in the past 8 days. First I brewed an American brown ale based off of Tasty McDole's Janet's Brown recipe. I have brewed an American brown in the past that turned out very nicely, but it was much more malt focused. I still have a few bottles, so I am looking forward to a taste comparison to see whether a malt or hop oriented interpretation is favored. The brew process was the first time I had the malt ground at the LHBS, and my numbers were lower than expected, so I had to add some DME to the brewpot to get my gravity up to where I needed it. I had also never mash hopped before, and this was a theme of the course of the next few brews.

The next set of brews were 4 different IPAs. One was my Blind Circus IPA, brewed around last Thanksgiving and well recieved over Christmas.

The next I brewed was called Palm Reader IPA. This brew had the same exact grain bill as the Blind Circus, but the hops used were all different and one I have never used. These include Falconer's Flight and Falconer's 7C's in the mash and as 30 minutes additions, followed by Nelson Sauvin at flameout and dry hops.

The third brew was an IPA called Jumper with about 35% of the grain bill being malted wheat. I felt that wheat would help to enhance the fruity characteristics I was looking for from a heavy dose of Amarillo and Citra hops. The citra hops were hole leaf in this batch, so my utilization may be a little lower than hoped.

 The final IPA was close to the Jumper, but all the Citra I had were pellets this time. I also really wanted to go a bit closer to the edge, and use 100% Brettanomyces for the yeast, with 66% B. clausenii and 33% B. bruxelensis. I ran out of DME and didn't realize it, so I did not have a starter, but hoped that 3 vials would be enough. Fermentation was slow to start and took about 3.5 days before I started to see a krausen that only lasted about 30 hours. However, the gravity had only dropped by about 15 points at that time, and is still very slowly fermenting 10 days after production. It has tasting very interesting thus far, like a very fruity grapefruit just.

All of these beers will be dry hopped and bottle conditioned.

Heffe Brew Day

About 2 weeks ago, I brewed 5 gallons for a German Style Heffe. I split this batch into 5 different 2 gallon buckets, as I wish to discern which yeast I like best. In retrospect, I wish I would have added another step or two to my step mash, which had 3 rests at 122, 150, and 168. Next time, I feel I will start lower, around 108, to develop the precursors for the clove aromas a little more, and have a rest around 156 as well.

The yeast I chose were:

White Labs WLP 001- Cal Ale, a very neutral strain
White Labs WLP 300- Bavariam Wheat- the classic heffe strain
White Labs WLP 320- American Wheat- less banana and clove than the German cousin
White Labs WLP 380- Heffe IV- more clove character than 300
Wyeast 3638- Bavarian wheat- more fruity ester to complement banana with the clove phenols            being more subtle

I also open fermented them all (covered with aluminum foil) at around 70-72 degrees for 1 week. They all finished at roughly around the same gravity, the the WLP 300 finished slightly lower than the rest.

Bottling days was fairly easy, and there was enough for about 9 bottles/batch, but I just stuck with 8/gallon.

 

Tasting notes coming soon.

So it begins...

I will be getting hitched ion June of 2014, and as an avid home brewer, I have decided to step up my game and brew 6 different beers for the special day. This has inspired me to become more creative and experimental, as well as take a more precise approach into creating the final product. Goals will include building a fermentation chamber, start kegging, and creating 6 different recipes than can fit all palates. I have decided loosely on 5 different beers to put in a keg, as well as possibly making bottles available, however, the bottled selections would be a bit heavier and higher alcohol beers, so we'll see.

The styles I wish to brew for the day:

German-style Heffeweizen (served from the bottle)

American IPA

Witbier (possibly making this a fruit beer)

American Brown Ale

Cream Ale/Blonde Ale/Kolsch

Pale Lager/Alt

The main goals for the Heff:
Decide on yeast strain; open or closed ferment; decoction or infusion mash

The main goals for IPA:
Decide on dry hopping schedule and varieties; if time allows, play with all around hopping schedule/amounts

The main goals for Witbier:
Decide on whether or not to add fruit and what form; acid malt? sour mash? lacto culture?

The main goals for Brown ale:
Decide if I like hop forward or malt forward; if hop forward, figure out hopping schedule

The main goals for Cream Ale/Blonde/Kolsch:
Decide on which of the 3 lawn mower styles I like best; decide on best fermentation temp

The main goals for Pale Lager/Alt:
Decide on which clone recipe (Sam Adams/Long Trail) is better; decide on yeast strain

In order to accomplish this goal, I will be splitting sever 5 gallon batches up to 5 different ways. I will then give each option to several volunteers with a general feedback form and go from there.

Cheers!