'Murican IPA Review

Appearance: Big white head with OK retention, good lacing. Fairly hazy orange body.

Aroma: Fruity hops - pears or peach maybe. Some resemblance to the classic Cascade-Centennial combination. I do get a bit of a malty, bready note from the Munich malt. Intensity of hop aroma is good.

Taste: Dominated by fruity hop flavors, but with surprising bitterness given that all hops were late additions. I could mistake this for a Cascade-Centennial combo but maybe with a bit more dankess. Juicy but not overly so. I don't get strong malty character - just a hint.

Mouthfeel: Fairly light body, medium carbonation, but doesn't have the super-light body of the classic New England IPAs - probably the bitterness adds a bit of body.

Overall: Pretty good, approaching a New England IPA. Could use slightly less bitterness and less body. Overwise the hop aroma and flavors are great - a good combination of juiciness and dankness. 

'Murican IPA - Jan 2017

Recipe for a 'Murican IPA, brewed for a club-only competition to take place in February. I was aiming for something with a combination of fruity-piney hops, without super-high bitterness, and a reasonably malty profile to support it. Hence, the combo of Simcoe, Calypso and Centennial hops, with a bit of Munich, Victory and Wheat  malt thrown in. All very-late addition hops with extensive whirlpooling. Acid malt for mash pH.


Recipe: Club IPA Feb 2017
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.89 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.89 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.11 gal
Estimated OG: 1.063 SG
Estimated Color: 7.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 50.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.25 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
7.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   2        -            
5.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   3        -            
10 lbs 8.0 oz         Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         4        80.0 %       
1 lbs                 Munich Dark (BestMälz) (12.7 SRM)        Grain         5        7.6 %        
8.0 oz                Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         6        3.8 %        
8.0 oz                Wheat Dark (BestMälz) (9.1 SRM)          Grain         7        3.8 %        
6.0 oz                Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         8        2.9 %        
4.0 oz                Munich 20 (Briess) (20.00 SRM)     Grain         9        1.9 %        
1.00 oz               Calypso [13.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min         Hop           10       1.9 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min      Hop           11       1.4 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min          Hop           12       1.9 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Calypso [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  30. Hop           13       16.5 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Centennial [10.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool   Hop           14       12.7 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  30.0 Hop           15       16.5 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)  Yeast         16       -            
1.00 oz               Calypso [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days     Hop           17       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days  Hop           18       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days      Hop           19       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs 2.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash In                 Add 20.41 qt of water at 161.4 F                     152.0 F       60 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 4.36gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
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After flame out and addition of Whirlpool hops, recirculate using March pump, allowing to whirlpool for 5 minutes at ~210F. Then cool to 180F and allow to whirlpool at 180F - 160F for 30 minutes. Apply gentle heat if needed to prevent it sinking too fast to 160F.

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Brewed 1/16/17.

Slightly lower than hoped for mash temp, around 150F. Got ~7.25 gallons of 1.055 OG wort into the boil kettle. Rolling boil, added hops as specified and whirlpooled. Applied some gentle heat to avoid dipping down to 160F too fast. Then cooled rapidly to 100F.

Transferred wort, with quite some hop gunk and trub, into fermenter. Got ~6 gallons of 1.066 wort. Cooled to 62F, then pitched 1 packet of rehydrated S-05 yeast. Did not aerate. Wort sample smelled nice and hoppy, with a pieny character, and tasted fairly bitter.

Smokey Porter Reivew

Appearance: Thick tan head with good retention and lacing. Dark brown body with amber highlights.

Aroma: I get toasty brown malt, earthy hop notes, some coffee and barely noticeable smoke - probably couldn't tell the smoke is there if I didn't know the recipe included some Rauchmalt. Some crystal malt sweetness as well.

Taste: Bready brown malt, crystal sweetness, and bitter chocolate with some acridness. Dryer than expected.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and smooth. Good carbonation.

Overall: Not really a smoked porter since the smoke is barely noticeable. A bit stout like since there is a dry, roasty quality. Probably my mash was a little too low. I wish it had a little more sweetness to balance the roast. Still pretty pleasant and my wife likes it a lot.

Czech Dark Lager & Classic Rauchbier Double Brew

Double brew day of lagers, since it makes sense to use my chest freezer to do two lagers at once. Unused capacity is inefficient.



Made starters on 12/31 using yeast leftover from previous brews. Both were fermenting by the next day.


Brewed 1/2/17.

Recipe: Czech Dark Lager (Recipe per Modern Homebrew Recipes)
Style: Czech Dark Lager
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 8.01 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.053 SG
Estimated Color: 25.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.9 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
5.50 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   2        -            
6 lbs 8.0 oz          Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         3        53.1 %       
4 lbs                 Munich Dark (BestMälz) (12.7 SRM)        Grain         4        32.7 %       
1 lbs                 Caramunich III (Weyermann) (71.0 SRM)    Grain         5        8.2 %        
10.0 oz               Carafa Special II (Weyermann) (415.0 SRM Grain         6        5.1 %        
2.0 oz                Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         7        1.0 %        
0.50 oz               Warrior [16.00 %] - Boil 45.0 min        Hop           8        24.1 IBUs    
1.00 oz               Saaz [3.25 %] - Boil 10.0 min            Hop           9        3.9 IBUs     
2.00 oz               Saaz [3.25 %] - Boil 5.0 min             Hop           10       4.3 IBUs     
2.0 pkg               Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70)  Yeast         11       -            


Mash Schedule: 148F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 16.31 qt of water at 160.4 F                     148.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 9.80 qt of water at 207.7 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 3.20gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
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Brewed 1/2/17



Hit mash temp and boil volume well, ended up with around 6.75 gallons post-boil, with gravity right on at 1.052. Racked to carboy at 110F, let cool to 45F in freezer, oxygenated for 45 seconds, and pitched most of the starter on 1/3/17. Wort sample was tasting good.

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Recipe: Bamberger Rauchbier 2017 (BCS)
Style: Rauchbier
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 13.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 28.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
2.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   2        -            
3.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   3        -            
4 lbs                 Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         4        32.7 %       
4 lbs                 Smoked Malt (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM)        Grain         5        32.7 %       
1 lbs                 Caramel Malt - 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM)   Grain         6        8.2 %        
1 lbs                 Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM)           Grain         7        8.2 %        
1 lbs                 Munich II (Weyermann) (8.5 SRM)          Grain         8        8.2 %        
8.0 oz                Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)             Grain         9        4.1 %        
8.0 oz                Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)                    Grain         10       4.1 %        
4.0 oz                Carafa II (Weyermann) (415.0 SRM)        Grain         11       2.0 %        
0.50 oz               Warrior [16.00 %] - Boil 90.0 min        Hop           12       26.7 IBUs    
0.50 oz               Hallertauer [2.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min     Hop           13       1.4 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Hallertauer [2.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min      Hop           14       0.8 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Old Bavarian Lager (White Labs #WLP920)  Yeast         15       -            


Mash Schedule: 150F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 16.31 qt of water at 162.8 F                     150.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 9.80 qt of water at 203.7 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.83gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
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Brewed 1/2/17. 
Had to use my old pot, without volume markers. Under volume. Got around 5 gallons of 1.060 wort into my carboy, so under volume. Cooled to 45F, oxygenated ~45 seconds, and pitched the starter on 1/3/17. Collected the trub from the kettle, put in freezer, then sepwrated around 1 quart of clear wort from the trub, boiled briefly, cooled and added it the carboy. Did the same with 1 quart of Czech Dark lager but added it to the rachbier.

Brett Table Saison Review

Appearance: Billowing, dense white head with excellent retention. Golden hazy body with lots of little bubbles rising up the side of the glass.

Aroma: Immediate impression of mild bretty funk. Not super fruity, just bretty. Maybe aspiriny smell. Earthy hop character and malt character is minimal. Pleasant. I don't get any notes of cherry, despite the name of the yeast.

Taste: Brett is the star here. Light funk, aspirin like notes, maybe a little bit of acidity. Hop flavor is low. Not much in the way of malt, as whatever malt notes one can get from a 1.030OG beer are surely covered by the brett here.

Mouthfeel: A bit thin and watery, unsurprisingly. Quite dry, but not highly carbonated enough to give it a tingly feeling like champagne. Does leave a bretty aftertaste.

Overall: Light in brett funk, refreshing and at 3.3% very easy drinking. I may brew a beer like this again, though since it's the parti-gyle of a 12% wheatwine, I will have to use a different recipe since I don't plan to brew another huge beer for a while. 

Chocolate-Cherry Stout

Appearance: Very dark body, billowing tan head with good retention. Decent lacing. No hints of reddish color from the cherries.

Aroma: Vaguely reminiscent of cherries and chocolate - so not overwhelming. Light booziness in the nose. Maybe some earthy hops.

Taste: Hard to place, light roasty quality in the body, with the chocolate and cherry coming through a bit in the finish. Alcohol is there, contributes to the dryness. Maybe a slight tannic quality in the finish

Moutfeel: Fairly light in body. Good carbonation.

Overall: Pleasant but not great. I wish the chocolate and cherry were more prominent so that it was very obviously a Black Forest stout. Next time I would use a little more caramel malt to counteract the dryness and bitterness.

Smokey Porter Dec 2016

Brown Porter recipe with 1/3 of the base malt as smoke malt, and Carafa III-Dehusked for the dark malt.


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Smoke Porter Dec 2016
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.25 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal 
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 38.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.4 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU       
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -           
6.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   2        -           
3.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   3        -           
5 lbs                 Maris Otter Malt (Muntons) (3.0 SRM)     Grain         4        44.4 %      
2 lbs                 Brown Malt (65.0 SRM)                    Grain         5        17.8 %      
1 lbs 8.0 oz          Smoked Malt (Briess - Cherry)  (9.0 SRM)  Grain         6        13.3 %      
1 lbs 8.0 oz          Smoked Malt (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM)        Grain         7        13.3 %      
8.0 oz                Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)          Grain         8        4.4 %       
8.0 oz                Carafa Special III (Weyermann) (470.0 SR Grain         9        4.4 %       
4.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)   Grain         10       2.2 %       
1.00 oz               Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min          Hop           11       15.1 IBUs   
1.00 oz               Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min          Hop           12       11.6 IBUs   
1.00 oz               Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min          Hop           13       5.5 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               S-04 [23.66 ml]       Yeast         14       -           


Mash Schedule: 154F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 4.0 oz
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Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time   
Mash Step               Add 15.06 qt of water at 167.4 F                     154.0 F       60 min      
Mash Step               Add 9.00 qt of water at 195.9 F                      168.0 F       10 min      

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.58gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
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Brewed 12/10/16. Mash temp a bit low - maybe 151F - 152F.

Got 7 gallons of 1.049 wort, and 5.9 gallons of 1.054 wort. 5.5 gallons into the fermenter at 110F, allowed to cool in the 25F ambient air, pitched rehydrated yest when 66F. Active fermentation ~20 hours later.

12/24/16: Kegged with sugar, aiming for 2.25 volumes.