Sunday, August 28, 2016

#148/158 Citra Session IPA (148/158)

NHC 2015 Gold Medal Citra Session IPA.
NHC 2015 Jason Bryant

Jason Bryant of Reston, VA, member of the Wort Hogs, won a gold medal in Category #23: Specialty Beer during the 2015 National Homebrew Competition Final Round in San Diego, CA. Bryant’s Specialty Beer was chosen as the best among 410 final round entries in the category.

Jason makes consistently good beers.  I have learned a great deal from him over the past year.

Jason also has brewed a number of beers with commericial breweries including Old Ox, Gordon Biersch with Justin Damadio, Brew Loco and others. When writing the post I found a number of contest that Jason has entered and done well: Garage Brewers 2013, NHC 2014, NHC 2015, Spirit of Free Beer, Burp SoFB 2015, Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters 2013, DC Homebrewers Cherry Blossom 2014.  I am sure there are others but these were some quick results from his work.


Congratulations for the 2015 HNC gold medal.
Mash
3 lbs 4.5 ozPale Malt - 2 Row
1 lbs 8.5 ozMarris Otter
14.0 ozMunich Malt
10.5 ozAromatic Malt
7.0 ozCara Pils
7.0 ozCrystal Malt 10L
7.0 ozCrystal Malt 40L
Hop Schedule
0.45 ozNugget - 60 min
0.90 ozCitra - 10 min
0.75 ozMosaic - 10 min
0.88 ozCitra - 5 min
0.66 ozMosaic - 5 min
Fermentation
1 pkgsSafale US-05 American
Dry Hop Schedule
0.66 ozMosaic - 4 days
1.75 ozCitra - 4 days

Saturday, August 27, 2016

#147 Grapefruit Pulpin'


#147 Grapefruit Sculpin Keg Label
Grapefruit Sculpin Keg Label
This bright showcase of apricot, peach, cantaloupe and lemon dives into crisp grapefruit flavor. A perfect complement to citrusy hop aroma, this IPA has stripes of ruby red grapefruit and hoppy, lingering bitterness.  An escape from the winter blues or the perfect complement to a bright sunny summer afternoon, each pint of Pulpin’ is like a fresh Florida grapefruit grove bottled up into a single refreshing serving. 
The lesson learned from this batch was about dry hopping in FastFerment Conical Fermenter.  The hops and grapefruit fell to the bottom.  Afterwards there was almost no flavor from the dry hop.  To fix this another round of dry hopping was added to the keg at serving time.


Steep
0.5 lbsDingemans Cara 20
0.25 lbsBriess Caramel 20
Fermentables
6 lbsGold malt syrup (60 min)
3.15 lbsGold malt syrup (20 min late addition)
Hop Schedule
0.50 ozChinook - 60 min
0.50 ozCascade - 60 min
0.50 ozChinook - 20 min
0.50 ozCascade - 20 min
0.50 ozChinook - 5 min
0.50 ozCascade - 5 min
0.50 ozChinook - 0 min
1.00 ozAmarillo - 0 min
Fermentation
1 pkgsSafale US-05 American
Dry Hop Schedule
1.00 ozCascade
1.00 ozSimcoe
2.00 ozGrapefruit Peel
This was a great beer that was enjoyed by all.

Friday, August 26, 2016

#146 Inn Keeper


#146 Inn Keeper Keg Label
Inn Keeper Keg Label
Thirty six major awards. Four-time Brewers International Champion. Four-time CAMRA Beer of the Year. Simply put, the muse for this recipe kit has won more awards than any other English beer, period. From very simple ingredients comes a wonderfully well-balanced dram of classic strong pale ale. Spicy, herbal, and English biscuits. Flashes of clean citrus and chewy minerals blend into a complex finish that is refreshingly bitter and remarkably dry. The way a pint was meant to taste. Truly spot on!

Steep
4.0 ozBiscuit Malt
4.0 ozExtra Dark Crystal Malt (160 SRM)
Fermentables
1 lbsPilsen Dry Extract
3 lbs 2.4 ozMarris Otter Malt Syrup
1 lbsCorn Surgar
Hop Schedule
1.00 ozFuggles - Boil 60 min
1.00 ozEast Kent Goldings - Boil 45 min
1.00 ozStyrian Goldings - Boil 5 min
Fermentation
1 pkgsWest Yorkshire Ale
White Labs #1469

Thursday, August 25, 2016

#145 Luckiest Man

#145 Luckiest Man Keg Label
Luckiest Man Keg Label
The Luckiest Man Pale Ale is a nod to Gehrig’s famous “luckiest man on the face of the Earth” speech.  The session pale ale was formulated specifically around a new, experimental hop variety called HBC-438. The hop was bred by Loftus Ranches and Hopunion for their Ales for ALS program, which raises money for ALS research by giving participating brewers access to new hops. For example, HBC-369, which in 2012 was officially released as Mosaic, is another hop that was born out of the Ales for ALS program.

Ron Mexico Beer Label
Ron Mexico Beer Label - Homebrew Conference 2015
HBC-438 is a result of open pollination, which is why the father is unknown. Perrault noticed that several of the resulting plants had unique aromas, particularly selection #0406363074 (“fruity, banana”). He gave Vanevehoven a small sample in 2007, then more in 2008. It hadn’t earned an HBC number yet, and #0406363074 didn’t exactly roll off the tongue, so they gave it a code name: “Ron Mexico.” Vanevehoven also called some of the beers he brewed with it “Ron Mexico.”


Mash
10 lbs 8 ozPale Mat (2 Row)
5.2 ozCrystal Malt (30L)
4.0 ozCara-Pils
Hops Schedule
0.50 ozHBC-438 - Boil 30 min
0.50 ozHBC-438 - Boil 10 min
1.00 ozHBC-438 - Boil 0 min
Fermenation
1 pkgsSafale American US-05
Dry Hop Schedule
1.00 ozHBC-438 - 7 days


Wednesday, August 24, 2016

#142 Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

#142 Tank 7 Keg Label
Tank 7 Keg Label
I enjoy Boulevard's Tank 7 so this batch was split with 3 gallons going  for a Saison Brett.  This recipe is for a 7.5 gallon batch.

Tank 7 is a big, boisterous take on the Belgian beer that was traditionally give to southern Belgian farm workers as part of their compensation. While we encourage you to give Tank 7 a try we'd discourage using any farm equipment after quaffing this 8.5-percent alcohol monster. Despite the high alcohol Tank 7 drinks easily and picks up mild grapefruit notes to complement this saison's classic, floral pepperiness.

7.5 Gallon Batch


Mash
12 lbs Pale Mat (2 Row)
3 lbs Flaked Corn
11.2 oz Caramel Malt (40L)
4.8 oz Wheat Malt
Hops Schedule
0.20 oz Magnum - Boil 75 min
0.20 oz Simcoe - Boil 55 min
3.50 oz Amarillo - Boil 5 min
2.60 oz Amarillo - Steep/Whirlpool - 10 min
Fermenation
1 pkgs Trappist High Gravit - Wyeast #3787
Dry Hop Schedule
0.74 oz Amarillo



Good Sources of information for putting together the recipe

GreenDragon's information from Boulevard on Homebrew Talk - GreenDragon 10-07-2015 02:29 PM  
Schumed - Included as Notes
MaltsRatios/Time5.25 Gallon Equivalent (TBD)
Pale Malt77.5%
Pregelatinized corn flakes 20%
Malted Wheat 2.5%
Note: known to.add a little biscuit malt.
Note: Corn Flakes now replaced with dextrose
Mash

145.4° (In) 50 min 
154.5° 25 min
163.4° 15 min
172.4° (Out)

Beginning of boil gravity of 15.7 and boil for 70 minutes to target 16.3 at the end of the boil.
Hop Schedule

Magnum 6 IBU @ 208°
Simcoe 5 IBU @ 15 min
Amarillo 15.7 IBU @ 5
Amarillo 10.7 IBU @ Flameout
Note: added bravo and citra to the mix
Fermentation

We cool the wort to 19C and let it rise to 21C. We ferment at 21 until we reach 7 Plato at which point we temp up to 23 for the remainder of fermentation. Ending Plato is 2.2.
The yeast we use for Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale is our house Belgian strain. For homebrewing purposes, we recommend Wyeast 3787 to approximate our house yeast character.

Note: Ardennes may be a true clone for tank 7 ..wouldnt reveal temp range though
Dry Hopping

Amarillo  .089 kg/bbl

Monday, August 22, 2016

#141 Berliner Weisse

Sour Kettling at 110 degrees
Berliner Weisse is a cloudy, sour, white beer of around 3% abv. It is a regional variation on the white beer style from Northern Germany, dating back to at least the 16th century.   The following produced 3.7 ABV, 3.4 ph, 120 calories, 1.037OG est.   “Modern” Berliner Weisse can be produced using a three step process.   Sour mash/kettle,  Pasteurize and  Ferment

Mash 150° - 60 min + 15 min boil + chil
4 lbsPilsen Malt
3 lbsWheat Pale Malt
8.0 ozMunich


Kettle Sour~2 days - 3.4 ph
110 degreesAnova Sous Vide Precision Cooker
8.0 oz2 row in muslin bag
1 pkgsWhite labs WLP677


Boil
0.5 ozHallertau - Boil 60 min


Fermentation
1 pkgsYeast - Who knows.  Didn't take notes.  Would be good to know now


Used bricks to lift the pot up higher.
Otherwise the pot wanted to float
After getting scared by many articles and getting my ph low quickly, I added phosphoric and 6 tsp of lactic acid, but didn't appear to have great impact.  After the production of the wort, but before pitching the culture of Lactobacillus, some brewers like to slightly lower the pH of the wort with food grade lactic acid or phosphoric acid before adding the Lactobacillus. Acidifying the wort before pitching Lactobacillus has several benefits, such as discouraging unwanted microbes that may have accidentally been introduced into the wort, and helping to prevent Lactobacillus from degrading foam proteins. The idea is to get the wort down to a pH of 4.0 - 4.4 before adding Lactobacillus.

To address issues with the depth of the tub bricks were placed on the bottom of the tub before adding the brew pot.  The Anova sous vide device was attached to the side of the tub which acted as a larger vessel with water to keep the heat applied to the outside water.

The brewing pot was placed inside of a keg tub.  To protect the wort  a layer of plastic wrap set directly on top of the mash in the kettle to keep air away, while others purge the space above the mash with carbon dioxide.  Without eliminating oxygen there is the potential  for funky off-flavors and aromas can generally be avoided.

The Sous Vide was set for 110º F for approximately 2 days.  Continued Sour Kettling until 3.4 ph, about 2 days.  After tasting and talking with Jym F., I wish that I had let the ph continue until 3.1.  The beer was just not as sour as I had hoped.

Some key notes for kettle sours
  • pH: pre-acidify to 4.0-4.5 (1 mL of 88% lactic acid = .1 shift in pH for 5 G of wort)
  • Temperature: variable but… 106º-120º F (41º-49º C)
  • CO2 & O2: depends on lacto source but CO2 blanket is recommended
  • Time: variable, but usually 18-72 hours
My biggest changes for next time?
Grist Bill
Going forward there was probably not enough wheat malt in my grist bill.  A typical Berliner would have a grist bill contains 50–70% wheat malt, and the rest is pale barley malt. Until the middle of the last century, breweries also used smoked wheat malt in addition to regular wheat malt. Once one brewery began using unsmoked wheat malt, however, consumers seemed to prefer it, and so the other breweries followed as well.
The munich malt could also be removed.
ph
I would let the ph go lower next time.  I was worried about being too sour.  This was definitely not the case.
Carbonation
After tasting, I am going to increase the carbonation.

Additional Sources of Information
  • Berliner Weisse - From Past to Present. Retrieved May 07, 2016, from https://www.morebeer.com/articles/berliner_weisse
  • Milk The Funk Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2016, from http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/
  • Sour Beer Blending. (2016). Retrieved June 07, 2016, from http://sourbeerblog.com/sour-beer-blending/

linkwithin_site_id 2127225

Related Posts Plugin...