Czech Pale Lager Reivew

Appearance: Persistent and fluffy white head. Straw gold body. Not quite crystal clear but close. I probably disturbed some sludge from the bottom of the keg while transporting it from the lager fridge to the keg-o-rator.

Aroma: I get a crisp, earthy and spicy Noble hop aroma. Pilsner malt aroma contributes nicely with a sweet and grainy character.

Taste: Very nicely balanced between hoppy taste and malt. Like the nose the hoppy quality is crisp, earthy and spicy. The malt quality is a little bit bready like the crust or so. Sweetness is low but there.

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly full for such a low ABV beer. Carbonation is moderate and contributes to the crisp / dry aftertaste. The aftertaste has a spicy hop quality and maybe a slightly mineral note.

Overall: I'm very happy with this one. It's flavorful, hoppy and well balanced between malty and hoppy. Very drinkable. Similar to my Helles but lower ABV and more balanced between the malt and hops. My wife said that it tastes like Krombacher or Warsteiner from her native Germany.

At some point I should do a side-by side with Notch Session Pils to see if it tastes like an "real" example of the style.

Festivus Ale Review

Happy Holidays!

Appearance: Tan head that doesn't quite persist long enough, moderately hazy deep amber body. Moderate opacity when held up to the light.

Aroma: Clearly holiday spice. Nutmeg / cinammon come through the strongest (I find their taste fairly similar) with ginger hiding in the background. Hop aroma is none. Malt aroma is present - hard to describe but to me a bit Belgiany- dry and spicy. Smells a little like apple pie or gingerbread.

Taste: Again dominated by the flavor of the spices, which not only have the characteristic Christmasy taste but also seem to have a dry, tannic quality in the mouth.  Hop bitterness low, or covered by the taste of the spices The beer tastes fairly dry to me. Malt characteristic present but again hard to describe since it is dominated by the spices. Probably has a brown-ale like maltiness.

Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation. A little prickly on the tounge and dry in the aftertaste.

Overall: Pleasant but not something I would drink a lot of. Probably I mashed too low. The spices could use more balancing sweetness and maybe some mellowing out. This beer really shows how cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger are spices, and although associated with sweet food such as apple pie, they really don't have much sweetness on their own. That's why the deserts with them often have ton of sugar and why this beer could probably use a little more sweetness. It's probably my mistake that I didn't quite get the mash right. When brewed properly according to the directions and allowed to age more it's probably better.

West Coast Amber Review

Appearance: Deep amber red color, with off-white slightly tan head that persists very well. Low haze but not crystal clear. (Condensation obscures the clarity in the picture.)

Aroma: A balanced combination of fruity Cascade and Centennial hops with a toasty malt background. Hop aroma is not as intense as a good IPA.

Taste: Balanced toward the bitter side for sure. Fruity hop taste as well, but there's some decent sweetness and a hint of roast in there. Subtle malt flavors with a toasty-roast quality kind of hide behind the initial hopiness.

Mouthfeel: Moderate to heavy mouthfeel, low-moderate carbonation. Aftertaste is somehow balanced towards the malty side. Some alcohol warming as this is a "bold" full bodied and full-tasting beer.

Overall: A pretty hoppy beer with substantial malt character, some sweetness and fairly high in alcohol (7.4%). Pleasant, but perhaps best considered a sipping beer. Certainly good for the Fall weather. Reminds me of my Celebration Ale clone attempt but does not have as strong a hop aroma / taste. Also more alcoholic that the Celebration clone.

Czech Pale Lager

After hearing about this style on the Beersmith podcast recently, seeing that it was added to the BJCP guidelines, and wanting to brew a session strength beer for my next lager, I decided to brew a Czech Pale Lager (Style 3A). I saw this article on Brew Your Own magazine, which provided the recipe for this beer. Note that I used the "false decoction" method - my first ever decoction mash. Pretty sure I didn't quite do it right, but not surprised about that since it's my first attempt.

Recipe: Czech Pale Lager
Style: Bohemian Pilsner
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.53 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.044 SG
Estimated Color: 4.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 38.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 77.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.25 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
7 lbs 8.0 oz          Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         2        86.9 %       
7.0 oz                Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM)               Grain         3        5.1 %        
6.0 oz                Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)                Grain         4        4.3 %        
5.0 oz                Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         5        3.6 %    

0.25 oz               Magnum [12.20 %] - First Wort 60.0 min   Hop           6        13.1 IBUs    
0.75 oz               Tettnang [4.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min        Hop           7        10.2 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Tettnang [4.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min        Hop           8        6.4 IBUs     
0.30 oz               Magnum [12.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min         Hop           9        5.2 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Tettnang [4.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  10. Hop           10       3.2 IBUs
   
1.0 pkg               Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70)  Yeast         11       -            


Mash Schedule: 154F, Batch Sparge, Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 8 lbs 10.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 13.78 qt of water at 168.2 F                     156.0 F       45 min       
Mash Step               Decoct 3.67 qt of mash and boil it                   168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 5.87gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------
http://byo.com/stories/issue/item/3244-czech-pale-lager-style-profile
5 g calcium chloride (CaCl2) to the mash
3 g CaCl2 to the sparge water.

Brewed on 11/1/15
Mashed in as usual, and hit my goal temp of 156F. After mashing for 40 minutes, pulled a thick decoction of approximately .8 gallons. I used a soup ladle to do so, and then drained some of the liquid out using a colander.

Put the decoction in my 5gal kettle, on gentle heat, and raised to a boil, stirring very frequently. Didn't check the temp of the main mash during this time. Boiled the decoction for 15 minutes.

The decoction definitely boiled off some liquid, and caused the grain husks to become a little more fractured, giving the mash a mushy texture. Also it seemed to get a little bit darker.

Immediately after the decoction boil.

After boiling the decoction, returned it to the main mash. Somehow, even after 5 minutes of rise time, the main mash was still only in the 160F range. Perhaps the main mash lost significant heat during the decoction?

Waited 15more minutes, then recirculated, added first wort hops. Added 2.5 gal of sparge water at 170F, waited 10 minutes, the collected batch 1. Repeated, collecting ~7.5 gallons of pre-boil wort.

I did notice a few dark-looking grain husks in the mash. Perhaps I got a little bit of scorching or darkening in the decoction. 

Pre-boil OG was 1.035, post-boil was1.045. Right on the projected numbers, but above the numbers in the BYO article.

Cooled to 80F, racked to carboy, and placed in freezer to get to 45F pitching temps.

Ack! The starter was getting a bit slushy with ice.... Not sure if / how much yeast survived. Anyway I just swirled it around to loosen things up, decanted, then pitched. We'll see if it works or if I get a nasty batch of infected crap. I would really hate for that to happen!

11/3/15 - Rumors of yeast's death were greatly exaggerated. Fermentation is apparently proceeding apace.


11/17/15 - Began diacetyl rest after 2 weeks of fermenting at 50F. After 3 days of rest, the beer will cool to 35F over 48 hours, then will enter a lager period of 3 weeks.

11/18/15 - Racked to keg and began force carbonation. Careful not to rack any of the sludge at the bottom of the carboy into the keg. Remaining lagering time will occur in the keg. Gravity was 1.016, for ~ 3.8% ABV. The sample was already tasting pretty good but did taste a little "green"

Holiday Ale Brewday

A buddy of mine and I have each brewed a spiced beer. We plan to split the batches so that we each get half of each batch. I brewed a Happy Holiday Ale, which was a kit from Midwest Supplies. This was my first use of a pre-packaged kit. The whole process is pretty easy since you are spared having to go to the shop, measure the ingredients, crush the grain etc. But of course you probably pay a slightly higher price for the ingredients and you have to pay the potentially large ($15+) shipping charge. In this case however I had a discount code that essentially reduced the price of the items I bought by a greater amount than the shipping charge.

In any case, the recipe and directions are available in .PDF from Midwest. The instructions were a bit vague and did not specify the exact strike water volume or temp to use. I ended up at an initial mash temp of 142F and had to add some boiling water to bring the mash to 152F, still a little under. Ug. I don't like the extra stress that causes on brew day and I hope the beer finishes with the appropriate sweetness.

Brewed 10/16/15
Got OG of 1.062. On the low end but OK. Volume into carboy was 5.3 gallons or so.

It was smelling really nice after the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to the boil.

For this one I pitched S-04 slurry left over from my previous brown porter. I didn't make a starter but just pitched the slurry directly from the Mason jar to the wort. The beer fermented at around 68F ambient air, and fermentation seemed to pick up very fast after pitching - like within a few hours.

11/17/15 - Racked to secondary. Beer tasted OK but not great. Gravity was 1.010. Plan to bottle in early December.

West Coast Amber

I've never brewed the American Amber style before but I thought it would be nice for the Fall weather. This one is the "West Coast Blaster" from Brewing Classic Styles and is supposed to be a fairly bold, hoppy, and very flavorful example of the style.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.88 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.072 SG
Estimated Color: 17.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 64.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.2 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
11 lbs 4.0 oz         Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        72.9 %       
2 lbs                 Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                    Grain         2        13.0 %       
1 lbs                 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)    Grain         3        6.5 %        
8.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)   Grain         4        3.2 %        
8.0 oz                Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         5        3.2 %        
3.0 oz                Chocolate Rye Malt (250.0 SRM)           Grain         6        1.2 %        
0.50 oz               Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.50 %] - First Wo Hop           7        29.7 IBUs    
0.15 oz               Warrior [15.70 %] - First Wort 60.0 min  Hop           8        8.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Cascade [4.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min         Hop           9        5.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Centennial [11.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min     Hop           10       13.0 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Cascade [4.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  10.0 Hop           11       2.5 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Centennial [11.60 %] - Steep/Whirlpool   Hop           12       6.5 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)  Yeast         13       -            


Mash Schedule: 154F, Batch Sparge, Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 15 lbs 7.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 21.70 qt of water at 167.3 F                     154.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 12.35 qt of water at 197.1 F                     168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 0.82gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------

Brewed 10/11
Preboil OG 14.4B, 1.059
Postboil OG: 18.8B, 1.077

Got ~5.5 gallons into the fermenter. Placed at ~68F to ferment.

Kegged on 10/22 with priming sugar, going for ~2.2 volumes.

Brett C Saison Review

Appearance: Billowing, dense and persistent white head. Body is light golden-yellow color. Chill haze but by no means muddy or unappealing.

Aroma: Earthy, with some lemony aroma and funkiness. Not especially strong. Hop aroma is very low but I think I smell some noble hop quality. As it warms a little the brett and fruity smells comes out better.

Taste: More complex than the nose. Starts fairly clean, with some fruit quality (maybe tart apples) but certainly not as fruity as the saisons I have brewed with WLP330.  Lightly bready wheat malts in the middle, slight yeastiness, and then some funky brett tastes. I don't think it has the "classic" brett tastes, but maybe some light acidity, dryness, and prickly quality. Almost tastes slightly tannic. Does not taste like a "clean" beer to me. Bitterness blends pretty well with the brett funk.

Mouthfeel:  Dry body, high-ish carbonation, and dry finish.

Overall: Not really sure what it is "supposed" to be so it's hard to judge. To me it's pleasant and Belgian-y but I think it could use a little more fruity quality. According to someone whose judgement I trust it has a classic Belgian quality.

I put ~2 gallons in bottles and ~3 in a keg. Will allow some bottles to age and see how they develop. 

Brown Porter Review

Appearance: Very dark brown, but not quite black, with a lightly tan off-white head that has decent persistence. Lacing sticks to the side of my glass.

Aroma: Bready and roasty, but not intensely so. Malty but not sweet, and a little chocolatey. Hop aroma is present but subtle, and probably not quite the right type of British hop aroma. I don't get any yeast esters.

Taste: Again kind of bready, like the crust, and roasty-chocolatey. Sweetness is low-moderate but it's not dry. I don't really get much nutty character or a strong impression of biscuity Maris Otter character that would have come from using more of that malt, as was called for. No yeast-derived flavors that I can really detect. Bitterness is pretty evenly balanced with the malt, but I would say it is malt forward more than bitter. Smooth tasting, similar to a dark mild but more intense in character.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, low-moderate carbonation. Thinnish mouthfeel but the bready quality and sweetness prevent it from being thin. Like a dark mild but less watery.

Overall: Pretty pleasant, easy drinking and tasty. Would like to brew again but with more MO malt, and with a more characterful yeast expression.

Oktoberfest Review

Appearance: Beautiful thick and persistent head with off-white brownish tinge. Color is deep brownish red. Some haze but this is one of the first few pours from the keg so the haze is likely to reduce over time. A pretty good-looking beer.

Aroma: Sweet, malty, bready and a little toasty. Hop aroma is none, and I don't get a sulfur, DMS or other smells of improperly fermented lager. It has a certain flavor note that has been common among all my lagers - I think a feature of the pilsner malt - and that I would describe as slightly corn-like but grainy malty and pleasant.

Taste: Pretty smooth. Malty, sweet and lightly toasty. Hop flavor is close to none but maybe a slight earthy or spicy noble-hop note. Clean lager taste. Flavorful but not intensely so. Bitterness is enough to balance the sweetness but the beer leans toward a malty, sweet note. Finishes a little more dry and malty than the initial taste.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation is moderate, body chewy but not heavy. Good for colder weather.

Overall: I like it a lot. Not sure how it will stack up to the exemplars of the style, but I will do a side-by-side tasting at some point soon.
 

Home Grown Hop Pale Ale Review

Here is a review of a pale ale brewed with wet Centennial and Cascade hops grown in my parents' garden. The growing setup was not optimal, but the yield was OK for second year hops. This purpose of this beer is more exploratory than anything else.... just to see how the homegrown hops taste.

Appearance: Pretty hazy yellow, with off which, sticky and persistent head. Not sure the source of the haze - chill haze maybe due to the slow cooling time?

Aroma: Lightly to moderately hoppy, Centennial style. Fruity like peaches maybe, but also I somehow get a slightly cheesy note or something, but that has faded over the two weeks the beer has been in the keg. Reminds me a bit of the SNPA Celebration Ale clone I did awhile ago, which is a good sign. Not much dankness in the aroma.

Taste: Similar to the aroma, especially somehow in the aftertaste. Balance is towards bitterness, which is moderate, dank, and bordering on slightly harsh. Hoppy flavor is fruit, but lacking the cheesy quality. (I suspect the "cheesy" descriptor is just a quirk of my palate or something, as I did get the same sense with the SNPA clone but nobody else would describe it that way.) Malty taste is low. 

Mouthfeel: Pretty good body, moderate carbonation.

Overall: OK but not great. Needs more hop aroma, better appearance, reduced haze, and greater complexity. Given that I don't know the quality of the showcased ingredients - the hops - I'm not sure if the beer would be better with commercially grown hops, better boiling / brewing technique, or simply a larger hop charge. In any case I am glad I made this beer and will continue to make fresh hop beers in future harvests.

My guess is that I did pick the hops at the right time, as the beer generally has the right aroma and does not taste grassy or otherwise disgusting.

I don't think I will really do SMASH beers in the future as the result seems to be a bit simplistic or one-dimensional.