#146 Inn Keeper

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 oz	Biscuit Malt
4.0 oz	Extra Dark Crystal Malt (160 SRM)
Fermentables
1 lbs	Pilsen Dry Extract
3 lbs 2.4 oz	Marris Otter Malt Syrup
1 lbs	Corn Surgar
Hop Schedule
1.00 oz	Fuggles - Boil 60 min
1.00 oz	East Kent Goldings - Boil 45 min
1.00 oz	Styrian Goldings - Boil 5 min
Fermentation
1 pkgs	West Yorkshire Ale White Labs #1469

#145 Luckiest Man

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 - 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 oz	Pale Mat (2 Row)
5.2 oz	Crystal Malt (30L)
4.0 oz	Cara-Pils
Hops Schedule
0.50 oz	HBC-438 - Boil 30 min
0.50 oz	HBC-438 - Boil 10 min
1.00 oz	HBC-438 - Boil 0 min
Fermenation
1 pkgs	Safale American US-05
Dry Hop Schedule
1.00 oz	HBC-438 - 7 days

#142 Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

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
Malts Ratios/Time 5.25 Gallon Equivalent (TBD) Pale Malt 77.5% 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

Additional Sources of Information

• http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/tank-7-farmhouse-ale/
• http://www.rjdistributing.net/beer/boulevard-tank-7-farmhouse-ale
• https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/what-homebrew-are-you-drinking-now-august-2014-edition.199268/page-3
• http://www.homebrewtalk.com/printthread.php?t=250256&pp=320

#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 lbs	Pilsen Malt
3 lbs	Wheat Pale Malt
8.0 oz	Munich
Kettle Sour	~2 days - 3.4 ph
110 degrees	Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker
8.0 oz	2 row in muslin bag
1 pkgs	White labs WLP677
Boil
0.5 oz	Hallertau - Boil 60 min
Fermentation
1 pkgs	Yeast - 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/

#140 Bourbon Barrel Porter

The Northern Brewer Bourbon Barrel Porter.  Planning to using Knob Creek Bourbon or Maker's Mark.

Batch Size: 5.50 gal	Style: Robust Porter (12B)
Boil Size: 7.54 gal	Style Guide: BJCP 2004
Color: 41.6 SRM	Equipment: Dibbs Brew Pot (10 gal) and 10 Gallon Rubbermaid Cooler
Bitterness: 47.9 IBUs	Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.059 (14.4° P)	Mash Profile: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Est FG: 1.013 SG (3.3° P)	Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage
ABV: 6.0%	Taste Rating: 35.0

7.50 gal	O.P. Filtered Tap Water
9 lbs 8.0 oz	Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
1 lbs	Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM)
1 lbs	Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)
8.0 oz	Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)
8.0 oz	Dark Crystal (75.0 SRM)
1.0 oz	Chinook [13.0%] - Boil 60 min
0.5 oz	Goldings, US [5.0%] - Boil 15 min
0.5 oz	Goldings, US [5.0%] - Boil 5 min
1 pkgs	Windsor Yeast (Lallemand #-)
16.00 oz	Bourbon Oak Blend (Secondary 14 days)

Infused with Makers Mark and Bulleit.

Competition Results - Westvleteren 12 (XII)

Below are the scores for the beer at the WortHog competition December 2015 meeting and placed 3rd.  The 2nd place brew by Jym F was very similar but was an all gain with Pilsen only base malt and no Black malt.  Both bears had aged a year at the time of judging.

The beer judged was Past Brews: #96 Westvleteren 12 (XII)

Judge	Appearance (15%) (0-3 points)	Aroma (20%) (0-4 points)	Taste (50%) (0-10 points)	Overall Impression (15%) (1-3 points)	Total	Notes
W. Sabu	2	2	5	2	11	Good Beer.  Dark brown Dark fruit esters
Mel	3	2	6	2	12
Dave V	2	2.5	6	2	12.5	A bit low in aroma but sublt, nice color & low head.  Fruity up front and a bit of phenolic over powering on the bak end.  hotter fermentation?  a bit oxidized?  Thanks for the entry.
Nogle	3	2	6	2	13	Apricot taste and aroma.  Very nice color
Brad Hood	3	3	5	2	13
Jason Bryant	2.5	2	6.5	2	13	Looks dark and clear Not much aroma Malty Bandaidy phenols a little low on carb, medium body Wish this was a little warmer to taste it better.  I get a little bandaid phenols, but dark fruits and malt is nice.  would like a litttle more carb for the style.  Overall a good beer. Get some lingering bitterness, almost astringent
Brent	2	3	6	2	13	Nice color/light head, nice aroma Flavor: sweet with lingering "odd" flavor.  Not malty enough
Jym F	3	2	6	2	13	ligh curdy bandaid
Calty?	2.5	3	6	2	13.5	a little flat lots of alcohol burn mashs the rich undertones in this beer
David Tuchy?	2	2	8	2	14	Blackish - low head Aroma some ??? bit weak Nice beer missing the belgian >>
Rob B	2	2	9	2	15
Dave Dav	2	3	7	2	16
Erin	2	4	9	2	17	No head Really nice.  Just missing the huge dense mousy persistent head
Rob F	3.5	3	8	3	17.5	head not dense, persistent Solvent aroma
Jason G	3	3.5	9	2.5	18	Very similar to #1
David Hillisohn	3	3	8	3	17
Wendell	3	3	9	3	18	Well done.  Best combo of med-full body+fluffy fermented some dark roast malt bitterness to finish
Jason K Jones	3	4	9	3	19	Big Malty Fruity Taste/sour for style Full mouth feel Wonderful beer A little too much sourness in the aftertaste for style

#137 Belgian Tripel

Belgian Tripel - Image by David Heath

This was an extract kit from Midwest Homebrewing Supply. The recipe is available online here. Ben Holland's review this could take a while to mellow out.  For Ben this was good after 6 months.
From

I believe the key to Belgians will be in the fermentation. Most of the recipes appear to be simple with the expectations that the yeast will do all of the work.

Batch Size : 5.50 gal     25.9 IBUs Estimated.
OG: 1.075 SG     FG: 1.007 SG
Mash: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Boil: 60 minutes

Mash 154 degrees - 60 min
12 lbs	Pilsen Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.0 SRM)
8.0 oz	Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM)
4.0 oz	Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM)
2 lbs	Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM)
60 min
1.50 oz	Styrian Goldings [5.40 %]	24.3 IBUs
5 min
1.00 oz	Orange Peel, Sweet
0.50 oz	Styrian Goldings [5.40 %]	1.6 IBUs
Yeast
1.0 pkg	Belgian Ale (White Labs #WLP550) [35.49 ml]

Fermentation started with the BrewPi setup at 64 degrees.  The goal is to be at 70 degrees 7 days later.

#136 Pizza Port's One Down Brown Ale (done)

Pizza Port Solana Beach

Pizza Port in Solana Beach was the first of three brewpubs to open under the Pizza Port name. Brandon Edwards, who used to be an employee of Morebeer, has been brewing in Solana Beach for a number of months, and with Pizza Port for a few years. Brandon made this recipe to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Toronado beer bar opening in San Diego. This brown ale is pretty malty and hoppy, but we wouldn't expect anything less from Brandon!

Estimated Original Gravity:1.062-66
SRM 30
IBU's: 25-29

Estimated Alcohol Percentage: 6.3%

Steep 149°F for 60 minutes - 2.5 Gallons of water
Amt	Name
8.0 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
6.0 oz	Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
6.0 oz	Crystal 75, 2-Row, (Great Western) (75.0 SRM)
4.0 oz	Pale Chocolate Malt (Crisp) (225.0 SRM)
2.0 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)
75 min Boil
8.0 oz	DME Golden Light (Briess) (4.0 SRM)
9 lbs	LME Golden Light (Briess) (4.0 SRM)
Amt	Name
75 min Hop
0.50 oz	Magnum [12.00 %]
30 min Hop
0.50 oz	Cascade [5.50 %]
15 min
	Irish Moss
	Yeast Nutrient
	Chiller
0 min Hop
1.00 oz	Cascade [5.50 %]
Yeast
	British Ale (White Labs #WLP005)

Tanked - Pizza Port Ferementer Aquarium

My kids would be disappointed if I didn't mention the Fermenter Aquarium built on Tanked at Pizza Port Bressi Ranch.

#135 Cascade Mountains West Coast Imperial IPA

#135 Cascade Mountains West Coast Imperial IPA  Imperial IPA
Batch Size : 5.50 gal     115.4 IBUs Estimated.
OG: 1.082 SG     FG: 1.013 SG
Mash: Gdizzle Batch
Boil: 60 minutes

This was my first usage of Beer Dust.  I wanted to use this with an all-grain recipe, but realized that my notes were not as expected when I started the brew night.  I wanted to get 3 brews done so we went with this.


"A blend of water conditioning minerals that maximize bitterness and hop flavor in your beer. IPA Beer Dust is the perfect water conditioning blend to produce a hop forward West coast or East coast IPA guaranteed to satisfy the hoppiest of hop heads. Just add IPA Beer Dust to your grain when mashing in for all grain brewing or to the boil when brewing an extract IPA."

The other twist was to use the Heady Topper yeast, RVA 104 HopTopper Ale, which I picked up from Derick at "my Local Homebrew Shop" in Falls Church.  

Water
7 gal	Distilled water
Steep
8.0 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
Extract
3 lbs 2.4 oz	Gold Malt Syrup (NB) (4.8 SRM)
60 min
1.00 oz	Summit [17.00 %]	54.7 IBUs
30 min
0.50 oz	Cascade [7.00 %]	7.9 IBUs
20 min
2.00 oz	Cascade [5.50 %]	19.5 IBUs
15 min
6 lbs	LME Golden Light (Briess)(4.0 SRM)
5 min
2 lbs	Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM)
Flame out
2.00 oz	Cascade [5.50 %]	0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz	Summit [17.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
Conditioning
	2-3 weeks in secondary
Dry Hop 7 days before
4.00 oz	Cascade [7.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
Yeast - Use either (I chose the RVA)
1.0 pkg	American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) [124.21 ml]
1.0 pkg	RVA 104 HopTopper Ale (RVA #104)