#33/71/77 NB Smashing Pumpkin Ale (#33/71/77/107)

Northern Brewer Smashing Pumpkin Ale recipe

So, I made two different batches this year.  I will follow with an update as to the difference in the two recipes in the future.

SPECIALTY GRAIN  0.5 lb Briess Caramel 40  FERMENTABLES  3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup (60 min)  1.0 lb Pilsen dried malt extract (60 min)  3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup late addition (15 min)  1 oz Cluster (60 min)  1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (0 min)  Safale US-05 Ale Yeast.

The FG was expected to be 1.012

SPECIALTY GRAIN Mash (60 min) 0.5 lb Briess Caramel 40 25 oz  Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin 2.5 lb Butternut squash - sliced and baked for 40 minutes FERMENTABLES  3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup (60 min)  1.0 lb Pilsen dried malt extract (60 min)  3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup late addition (15 min)  1 oz Cluster (60 min)  1 tsp McCormicks Pumpkin Pie Spice (2 min) 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (0 min)  Safale US-05 Ale Yeast

I changed how I prepared the butternut squash.  This time I created slices and then stacked them with space similar to a Lincoln log house.  During the previous effort the pumpkin stuck to the pan.  

#36/75 AHS Christmas ALE

Austin Holiday Ale -

It’s an amber ale using seasonal spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and mace.  It’s an amber ale using seasonal spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and mace. 

Specialty malts: Crystal 40L, white wheat, chocolate malt
1.5 lb Base Grains
1.75 lb Specialty Grains
4 lb DME Featured
Hops: Saaz, Cluster
Seasonal spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and mace

O.G. = 1.052
F.G. = 1.014
ABV 5.0%
174 Cal / 12 oz

#74 Canadian Ale

This one is not designed to any particular Canadian beer, but based on the AHS Canadian that I made last year.

4 lbs	Golden Light DME	$21.00
3.3 lbs	Briess Pilsen LME	$9.99
.75 oz	Centennial (60 min)	$1.50
.25 oz	Centennial (5 min)	$0.50
	Safale US-04	$3.99
		$36.98

#72 AHS Pumpkin Ale Mini Mash

An amber ale with butternut squash and pumpkin spices.

AHS Pumpkin Ale

O.G. = 1.052 (should have measured)
F.G. = 1.013 (actual 1.020)
5.1% ABV 
173 Cal / 12 oz 

2.5 lb Base Grains, 
1 lb Specialty Grains (Crystal 60L, Caramunich)
4 lb Dry Malt Extract

4 lbs of butternut squash (cubed, baked @ 350 for 1 hour)

Kent Golding (hops)
pumpkin ale spice pack ( cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and sweet orange peel)

McCormick pumpkin pie spice might be a good addition this year.

#70 Dragon Blood (Triple Berry Skeeter Pee)

I made my next batch of Skeeter Pee but this time the taste was non-existent.  I let this one sit in secondary for much longer and tasted it before adding the sugar at the end.  I also had a problem with the FG at 1.020. So I decided to create something similar to Dragon Blood as written up by DangerDave.

ABV: 10.4%

Ingredients:
Amt                   Name                                           
16.0 cup              Washington, DC
7 lbs                 Sugar, Table (16 cups)
                      DB (20 cups)
0.33 cup              Lemon Juice
Primary (Stir Ingredients)
64.00 oz              ReaLemon
0.75 tsp              Tannin
                      DB (1 tsp)
1.00 tsp              Yeast Energizer
                      DB (2 tsp)

3.00 tsp              Yeast Nutrient
                      DB (4 tsp)

Primary (~2 days)
1.00                  Yeast Slurry
Primary (~4 days - 1.050 SG)  (vigorously mix)
32.00 oz              ReaLemon
3.00 tsp              Yeast Nutrient
1.00 tsp              Yeast Energizer
Secondary (0.995-0.998 SG) (degas)(This never happend.)

Change to the plan.
10 days
6 lbs                 Kirkland - Rader Farms Frozen Berries 
                      Blueberries
                      Marionberries
                      Raspberries

Bottling/Kegging
2.50 tsp              Potassium sorbate (sorbate)
0.50 tsp              Potassium metabisulfite (Kmeta)
2.30 lb               Sugar, Table (Sucrose)6 cups of sugar

#60 Extra Hard Lemonade

VERY similar to Mikes Hard lemonade

Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated ABV: 5.9%
Estimated Calories: 112

Ingredients:
4 lbs Cane (Beet) Sugar 
7 Walmart Great Value: Lemonade, 12 Oz 
3 Walmart Great Value: Limeade, 12 Oz 
1 pkg Lalvin EC-1118 (Lallemand - Lalvin #EC-1118) or Redstar Montrachet
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient


Primary: 18 Days @ ~70F
Secondary: Until Stable

Other Options Ingredients: • 2kg dextrose • 500g lactose • 12-24 lemons, sliced or chopped fine including peel • 5g yeast nutrient • 1 sachet SAFale yeast • Water to make up 22 litres of wort or Cranberry Lemonade

#52 Hard Cider

I wanted to create a hard cider for Saint Patrick's Day.  I waited too long so the options are now limited. My initial thoughts were to follow DayFlyer55's 5 Day Sweet Country Cider from HomeBrewTalk.  I was in a rush while making dinner so I skipped the Brown Sugar and went straight for the Molasses and Sugar.  I was just guessing and only decided to lookup the correct ratio now that I am writting down what I actually did.  The ratio for brown sugar is 1 cup sugar to 1 Tbs Molasses.  So, twice as much molasses as need.

My goal is to stop the fermentation as soon as we are below 1.04.  This should give us a sweet cider with 4.9% ABV.  Update:  It was a little too sweet.  So we let the cider go another day and then put it in the lagering fridge to have the yeast stop.  The final is a FG 1.034 and 5.7% ABV and 260 calories/12 oz.

Fermentables 13 frozen concentrate Giant brand Apple Juice    (~4.875 gallons) 2 lbs Dominion Sugar    (~3.8 Cups) 4 oz Grandmas Molasses    (~8 Tbs) Misc 2 Cinnamon Sticks Yeast Munton's Gold

#12/44/53/66/82/83 Corona

This is a staple around the house, especially during the warmer months.  This is an inexpensive beer to make when washing the yeast.  This is a cheap $16 beer using extract.

Corona Extra is lighter than traditional beers, with a crisp and refreshing taste.

This light, dry beer has pleasant malt and hop notes with a round dry finish.  Best served ice cold, with a wedge of lime that complements and intensifies the flavor through the palate.

Fermentables

3 lbs Light DME

3 lbs Corn Sugar

Hops

.75 Hallertauer (60 min)

.25 Hallertauer (5 min)

Yeast

WLP940 Mexican Lager

158 Calories

8.7 IBUs

#45/67 Cerveza Pacífico Clara

Mexican pilsner-style beer first brewed in 1900 when three Germans opened a brewery, the Cerveceria del Pacífico in Mazatlán.  This Pacifico Clone beer recipe kit makes a light refreshing lager.  This beer gets no respect by beer drinkers with a Beer Advocate Rating of 63 and a Rate Beer Rating of 5.  This is a great beer for parties since half the people there don't really like beer.

The Adventures in Homebrewing recipe is available online for typically $20.  I tried to make a similar variation.

Grains (20 mins)
1 lb Flaked Maize
Fermentables
3 lb Light DME
4.75 lbs Northern Brewer Gold Malt Syrup
1 lb Rice Solids (I used the wrong ingredient here)
Hops
.5 oz Liberty (60 min)
.5 oz Liberty (1 min)
Yeast
WLP940 Mexican Lager

	Pacifico	Mine (Beersmith)
IBU	14	5
ABV	4.4%	6.3%
SRM (Color)	3	6.4
Calories	145	217

I messed the first batch of this with the use of Flaked Rice instead of Rice Solids.  The taste turned out just fine.  Not big deal.  I steeped the Flaked rice with the Flaked Maize.  After realizing my mistake, I tried to dissolve another pound of Flaked Rice.

#42/50 NB Irish Dry Stout

This is the Northern Brewer recipe for Guinness. This is Ireland's most popular and well-known beers, this stout has a pronounced roasty, coffee-like flavor and aroma, imparted by a generous helping of roasted barley.
Guinness (pron.: /ˈɡɪnɨs/ gin-is) originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness (1725–1803) at St. James's Gate, Dublin. A feature of the product is the burnt flavour that is derived from roasted unmalted barley. For many years a portion of aged brew was blended with freshly brewed beer to give a sharp lactic flavour and fatures a characteristic "tang". The draught beer's thick, creamy head comes from mixing the beer with nitrogen when poured.
Prior to 1939 if a Guiness brewer wished to marry a Catholic girl, his resignation was requested.

13A. Dry StoutAroma: Coffee-like roasted barley and roasted malt aromas are prominent; may have slight chocolate, cocoa and/or grainy secondary notes.
Appearance: Jet black to deep brown with garnet highlights in color. A thick, creamy, long-lasting, tan- to brown-colored head.
Flavor: Moderate roasted, grainy sharpness, optionally with light to moderate acidic sourness, and medium to high hop bitterness. Dry, coffee-like finish from roasted grains. May have a bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate character in the palate, lasting into the finish. Balancing factors may include some creaminess, medium-low to no fruitiness, and medium to no hop flavor. No diacetyl.
Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium-full body, with a creamy character. Low to moderate carbonation. For the high hop bitterness and significant proportion of dark grains present, this beer is remarkably smooth. The perception of body can be affected by the overall gravity with smaller beers being lighter in body. May have a light astringency from the roasted grains, although harshness is undesirable.
Overall Impression: A very dark, roasty, bitter, creamy ale.

#37/76 Saison de Noel LE (#37/76/109)

Deceptively dark and beguilingly complex, this holiday specialty is brewed in the tradition of Belgian farmhouse ales. Unlike most saisons, intended to refresh and sustain farmers doing manaul labor, this one is engineered to complement rich holiday fare and sustain you through long winter nights. A generous malt bill with highlights of butter toffee, chocolate, dark fruit, and bread tangles with the earthy, spicy funk of Wyeast’s French Saison strain and a single addition of bittering hops to strike an evolving balance. The porter-like color tricks your palate into expecting burnt, roasty notes and perhaps even a full body, but the reality that hits your mouth is a lean, attenuated beer with a snappy, estery, slightly tart edge and a warming, peppery finish. No spices here - all the complexity comes from malt, yeast, and your skill as a brewer! Brew now for Christmas, and stash away at least a six-pack of this age-worthy saison to enjoy on into the spring.  Purchase this from Northern Brewer.

Grains
6 lbs Pilsner malt syrup
1 lbs D-90 Candi Syrup
1 lbs Briess Pilsen dry malt extract late addition (15 min)
1 lbs Corn Sugar late addition (0 min)
0.5 lbs Belgian Aromatic malt
0.25 lbs Weyermann Carafa III
0.25 lbs Weyermann CaraAroma
Hops-Bittering 1 oz US Magnum
Yeast Wyeast 3726 Farmhouse Ale

Nice Christmas beer.  Keep it around and call it your Valentine's brew.