RyePA, Stout updates

Hey Friends,

Last night, we dipped into Jeff's homebrew reserves to try the ESB, witbier, and BowThai ales of yore. Also, after sampling a little English mild and putting the remains of the keg into a growler, I proudly tapped the JuniorSenior RyePA, the last Cutts homebrew to be drunk this summer. It is delicious. The hop character is bright and citrusy, and there is a lot of depth to the flavor. If I were to do it again, I would do it without a broken air-conditioner and actually get the fermentation temps down a little lower to mellow out the hoppiness (tehe) a little bit and really bring out the flavor of the malts I used. I used Wyeast American Ale II, which in my opinion didn't do the rye malt enough justice at my forced higher fermentation temps. The beer is still great though, and a perfect close to the summer.

The really exciting thing about my observations on my current brews is that with just one more try, I can turn great beers into revelatory brilliant ones. That, my friends, will be what we see in the coming year as I brew more and more and start to repeat (and slightly tweak to perfection) former recipes. Can't wait.

Stout's going in the keg today to be saved for wintertime. I am really excited to have my first real taste of it today and perhaps even more excited to forget about it for a few months! Haha it should be the perfect welcome home in December.

It's been a great spring and summer of brewing in Massachusetts, and I can't wait to continue my art down in Tennessee.

Prost,
Der Braumeister

Birthday Wit!

The witbier is done, and it is just fabulous. The result of my efforts was an amazingly refreshing, flavorful brew. The color is a gorgeous wheat gold, and the mouthfeel is just wonderful. Thanks to some oatmeal in the grist, a somewhat unconventional ingredient in witbiers, the beer has nice head retention, excellent lacing, and a creamy yet crisply dry and refreshing mouthfeel. The carbonation is wonderful, for the beer is wholly effervescent but the bubbles are finer and incredibly pleasant. As for flavor, this guy is delish. It carries all of the usual notes of a witbier, a nice subtle fruity profile with clove and banana esters complimented by coriander and fresh citrus. The ginger added more depth to the flavor, with a dry, unsweetened ginger ale-like finish. So, while this beer is definitely totally within the conventions of witbiers, it offers lots of interest to the palate, much of which is reminiscent of more complex Belgian-style ales. The particular strain of Wyeast that I used for the recipe may have something to do with this as well, as it is often used for Belgian specialty ales. I am so proud right now, for this is my FIRST ORIGINAL RECIPE. Come by and taste some, and if you don't catch it now, it is VERY likely that I will be brewing it again this summer.

As for a couple of other quick updates, the lager has now been cold conditioning for about 3 weeks, and I feel I might need to do something about that. I need only to acquire some more bottles and get that thing carbonated and ready for drinking. It will certainly be refreshing and offer an option to those who care more about carbs than they do about living life...but I digest. Right now, my next adventure is to develop a recipe for the Sam Adams Longshot competition. The category for is specialty beers, so I will really be able to get those creative juices flowing! More to come on that soon...I keep that contest in mind as I look forward to my next trip to the homebrew store. It's going to be about time to make the trip soon! I already have a shopping list going for it. Perhaps I will venture there tomorrow, since I am off work :)

Prost. Sunny's Ginger Wit (aka Jeff's Birthday Wit) ftw.

Sunny's Ginger Wit...

...is in bottles. I am really excited about it. It tastes really great already, and I can't wait to see how the flavors develop. Now, with exactly ten days until my birthday, the timing should be just about perfect. It is a beautiful golden wheat color, and I just can't wait to chill it and drink its Belgiany deliciousness. Until then, I'll have to be patient, but I think I'll be just fine. Four bottles of ESB remain, so I'll have to ration them accordingly (I may also set one aside for a "beer archive" so that I can collect a few and then organize a tasting of a few of my excellent beers). Right now, it tastes really good. I feel like the character of the malt has really developed a lot. The beer has really developed a nice nuttiness to it, and the head/carbonation are of even higher quality now.

Now, the lager is still lagering and my primary is empty...may have to do something about that. I'm thinking about what my next brew will be, and what my approach will be for it. If I can get my hands on a couple of simple materials, I really want to try going all-grain (for those of you non-brewers, I will explain that when I actually do it). I just need a bigger brewpot and some sort of lautering system. I would really like to do something refreshing, probably either an American-style pale ale (which I will name "Ballardvale Pale Ale"), or a California Common beer similar in character to Anchor Steam, although that might have to wait until I can maintain proper temperatures.

This summer will be an exciting time for the brewery. I should be outputting a lot, and it'll be really fun.

An exciting time for the brewery

It truly is. Right now, I have a rogue mead that is halfway (one month) to completion, a lager that is in secondary cold conditioning (lagering), and my first original recipe, a Belgian witbier, in primary right now. Man does it feel good! There's so much to look at and so much progress to see! There's also loads of excitement as I think about a time when I will be able to taste all of them. There are a few bottles of ESB left, but the supply is dwindling slowly. It's just about time for a changing of the guards. Happy spring everyone! It's going to be great.

Holy witbier, batman!

As you can see, I am very excited about my witbier. I have just brewed and pitched the yeast (my first experience with liquid yeast culture, Wyeast 3463). I am really excited for this, my first original recipe. I already can't wait for it to be done...I have a feeling that it will taste delicious and refreshing, and it is likely that I will be brewing it again sometime during the summer. I know what you're thinking, what could be so special about this witbier? Let's just say that it takes the conventions of a witbier and expands them, without defying them. Sunny's Ginger Wit, as I am calling it, will be ready to drink in about three weeks. The really awesome thing about the release date is, if all goes according to plan, we should be cracking this batch open on my birthday, April 17th. That is pretty cool. I can't wait to taste the fruit of my mental and physical labors!

Prost,
Der Braumeister

Secondary lagering, wit to come

The lager is in secondary in the downstairs fridge and my 6.5 gallon carboy is currently sanitizing. I have to make a quick grocery run to get some extra ingredients for the wit, but I will hopefully be brewing that by some point today! I can't wait. It's my first original recipe, and I think it will be dynamite (go 'Dores). Whether or not this is currently obvious, I will not be posting the full recipe on my blog. All recipes I have used thus far have been publicly available, but I will consider this recipe to be at least moderately privileged information. Certain ingredients in the recipe will be obvious, because certain aspects of the recipe will be things I want people to get excited about. Anyway, I'm super excited and I can't wait for this beer to emerge just in time for spring.

-The Brewdude

Can't wait to free up my primary fermenter

Fermentation is slowing, haze is clearing, and the brew is nearing completion of its primary fermentation. I can't wait to get this thing into secondary, and that will hopefully happen by the end of this week. At that point, I will brew an earth-shattering, all original recipe for Belgian witbier! I am really excited about it...should be a great brew for late spring/early summer! I may even have to do another one mid summer if it goes well.

In other exciting news, I have been in touch with a fellow homebrewer in Andover who is a horticulturist by trade and grows five different kinds of hops in his garden! He has generously offered to split off his rhizomes so that I might start growing some of my own hops, so hopefully I will have some fresh buds of homegrown Cascade, Kent Goldings, Fuggles, Mt. Hood, and Willamette in my yard that I can use throughout the winter! This would make me BEYOND happy.

A shoutout to Dave and Brenda Bryan for putting me in touch, and a shoutout to Peter Konjoian for just being generally awesome!

Mmmm...hops!

A real flavor update

Man does the ale taste good! Apart from the obvious beautiful color of the beer, the taste is wonderful. Inspired even. I can't believe this is my first beer. The taste has really blossomed since I first sampled the beer last weekend. This weekend really showed some wonderful character to the ESB, which is now proving to have a nice hoppy bitterness, the Kent Goldings giving off an earthy and mildly floral goodness. The malts provide a nice balance and make the brew super drinkable. The mouthfeel is beautiful, medium carbonation and silky light body, with of course the beautiful creamy head that I displayed in the last post. All I can say is, thank you St. Arnold!

I am totally excited about the beer, and everyone else seems to really like it, too. This beer is well-balanced and very drinkable, with tons of interest for the palate. Come by and try it, I guarantee that you've never had anything like it before!


In other news, today I sold out. My family likes light beer and requested that I brew them one, so with the help of some extra-light malt extract and some amylase enzymes, that is going to happen rather soon. I will be cold fermenting in my perpetually 50° garage and lagering, well, somewhere. Don't judge me, we're all whores. Honestly, even just throwing together another brew was really fun for me, and as soon as the Youzaho Light Lager goes into secondary, I'm going to brew my summer witbier. Very exciting. And in case anyone's interested:

2 lbs Munton's light hopped dried malt extract
1 lb Munton's extra light dried malt extract
2 lbs dried rice syrup solids
1/4 oz. Hallertauer hops, flavor, 10 min


Prost,

The Brewmaster

Looking ahead...

Even though my most recent brew is a style of beer that is quick to mature, not all beers are like this (obviously). Today, I had a huge surge of inspiration as I look ahead at my brewing prospects. I already know that I really want to have an Oktoberfest/Märzen for this fall (either to bring to school or to have for fall break/Thanksgiving) and a winter warmer stout for winter break. Am I thinking too far ahead? Hell no. These types of beer require a bit more patience, as they tend to mature into godly nectar greatness over the course of a couple of months, so I plan to brew these in the summer months and then literally not touch them until their proper season. I am currently researching prospects for my Oktoberfest, but I have already formulated a recipe for my Christmas stout. This recipe stemmed from an idea I had when I first started reading Charlie Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing over a month ago, and I have recently planned out the brewing of said idea. First off, I am a big fan of Chocolate/Double Chocolate stouts, stouts that use bittersweet or bakers chocolate as an ingredient, in addition to chocolate malt, which is just a type of dark malted barley. Additionally, I am quite the fan of chocolate desserts etc that have chili peppers as an ingredient, as the spiciness compliments the chocolate beautifully. FURTHERMORE, Charlie Papazian is a big advocate of using hot peppers in beer, as apparently it can be really effective and delicious. Thus birthed my idea of the "Hot Chocolate" Stout, a winter warmer for the ages brewed with real cocoa and hot chilies. Hot damn, you might say. I am already unbelievably excited about it. Probably will brew it within the next month or two, then open it up after my fall exams are over and I start singing Christmas carols. So awesome.

In other news, I have developed another original recipe that I plan to brew soon (and also drink relatively soon) for a summer Belgian witbier. This one will no doubt be really delicious, and in addition to the traditional ingredients of orange zest and coriander, I plan to throw in some grapefruit zest and top it off with a sparkle of ginger, perhaps a few cloves as well. Look for this one in the summer--should be a real treat.