Failed Experiment

That Irish Red ale I have spoken of is a failure. I gave it time to mature, and it did. The color cleared up nicely and turned into a nice rusty red. But the flavor was just never there. In an attempt to dress it up I decided to add some oak cubes in hopes that they would add something to it, giving the beer some character. I added 1 oz for one week, removed the oak, upped the carbonation levels a twinge, and waited a few more weeks. And still it is unpleasant. Now the oak character is overwhelming. It's too sweet still and lacking any hop balance whatsoever. I'm very disappointed and will most likely end up tossing this batch as soon as I need the keg space.

On a more positive note, the 3 gal batch of Crop Circle came out nicely. Ron, who I was brewing it for, came over two weeks ago to help bottle it, then took it home. It's now sitting in his basement as he and his family are in Australia for three weeks (perfect timing). I then brewed up a 5.5 gal batch of the same for me and my wife, which is now ready to bottle as well. Speaking of bottling, we also bottled up the Wee Heavy and it's just sitting in y basement, staring at me. I'm finding it very hard walking past it and not trying one. I know they're extremely young and won't be too pleasant yet, so I shall control myself and wait until fall to try the first one.

In an attempt to conserve costs, I reused the batch of yeast from the first crop circle batch in ferment the second one. Soon I will be pitching a third batch on the yeast (well, only a portion of it). A Roggenbier. It's a German style rye beer. Just as wheat beers are made with 50% wheat, Roggenbier is made with 50% rye (yummy!). I'm very interested to see how this will turn out. The recipe looks delicious, and I am a big fan of rye flavor. Using a hefe yeast for a beer like this make peaks my interest even more. This will be a 3 gal batch, at about 60% efficiency:

3.5 lb Rye Malt
1 lb 2 oz. Pilsner Malt
1 lb 2 oz. Vienna Malt
0.75 lb Munich Malt
6 oz Caravienna Malt
1.5 oz Carafa I
1.5 oz Chocolate Malt

0.25 oz Tettnang hops - first wort hop for about 3 IBU
0.25 oz Hallertauer hops @ 60 min for 7 IBU
0.25 oz Saaz hops @ 5 min for 1.5 IBU

Mash at 150 for 75 min, or until conversion.

So Much for Trying

Last weekend I tried to make a three gallon batch on my stove top, but sadly my range couldn't bring four gallons of wort to a boil. After waiting and hoping for 15 min after it started showing promising signs, I had to move it outside to a real burner. Rather than using m garage like I had been, I took advantage of the gorgeous weather we were having and brewed in the yard. I was still within ten feet for combustibles but at least I was concealed from nosy neighbors.
The good news is that I can go back to making full 5.5-6 gallon batches. The bad news is I am no weather bound. I cannot brew during active rain or snow. Both of which come around a lot here in Wisconsin.

Booo!

I woke up Sunday morning and picked up a voice mail from the head of our condo association. The message said something to the affect of "people have noticed you brewing... something in your garage. And we're concerned that it's a fire hazard and would like you to stop immediately." I had to wait until Monday to speak with someone from the Fire Department, and indeed, in multi-unit dwellings (we live in a town home), open flames are not permitted within ten feet of constructed walls.
OK, I get it, I was violating the law, and I'm fine with the fact that I can't do that anymore. It's a huge bummer because it means I can't brew outdoors anymore, which means I have to limit myself to 3 gallon batches as opposed to 5.5 or 11. What bugs me though, is that the person who called to complain didn't bother to come talk to me. We do have one set of neighbors that have seen me brewing and have asked and were intrigued to find out what it was. I wish more people were like them.
I've been told that I should just skirt the law and brew with the garage door closed (open the yard door for ventilation). But I don't want to get in trouble, and I know the person who called it in and it's beneath him to call the police if he thinks I'm still violating code.
So, until the day we move, I'll be brewing small batches. Hey, at least that means I can experiment more with unique or strange brews.

Yippee!

Just last week I learned that my oatmeal stout took second place in the category of Dry/Sweet/Oatmeal stouts at the 2009 Babble Brew-Off! This was only my second entry in a competition, and my first place. I got some very nice reviews and look forward to brewing and entering this recipe again.
I should also mention that I entered my Ordinary Bitter in to the English Bitter category and placed 11 out of, you guessed it, 11! The notes from this beer were actually much more telling for me and gave me some very good insight into what I had done wrong, and what to look for next time.

Finally, a Wee Heavy

I finally got around to brewing up that wee heavy. I ended up switching recipes at the last minute and going with one that I know has been tested, as opposed to the trial run I was going for originally. I missed my starting gravity by 8 pts (got 1.087), which isn't bad at all for that sized beer. I had to ferment it in the utility sink immersed in cold water to keep the temp in the low 60's, and it worked.
I got the recipe from the Jamil Show on The Brewing Network.

19 lb 9 oz Maris Otter
1 lb 3 oz Crystal 40L
9 oz Special B
2 oz Roast Barley

1.2 oz Norther Brewer @ 60 min (25 IBU)
Scottish Ale yeast with a 5 qt starter.

Updates

Not a lot has been happening around here lately. I've been sick and am on antibiotics so I have slowed down on my consumption of beer (read: stopped). I finally transferred the Rye IPA to a keg and set it outside in the fridge to cold crash. Smelled fantastic! I also submitted my Oatmeal Stout and Ordinary Bitter in to the Babble Brew-Off Homebrew competition. I have high hopes for the stout, but am a little concerned for the bitter since I bottled it from off the tap, a method which has been known to have oxidation issues (leads to pretty off-putting flavors).

I haven't gotten around to brewing the Scottish Wee Heavy since I've been sick. But now I also want to wait until I get my fermentation fridge moved from the garage to the basement so I can properly control fermentation temp on that brew. It's pretty important the yeast doesn't produce any esthery/fruity flavors, so a low (64 deg) fermentation is pretty key.

All's Well

Although I didn't really want to brew yesterday, I muscled up and got to it. I managed to hit all my numbers (mash temp, OG, volumes) spot on, so I'm pleased with that. I transferred the "red" to a secondary and racked the stout onto the yeast cake I had used for the "red". It started fermenting within a matter of hours, and has a nice creamy head of krausen at this moment. It's fermenting at a steady 68, although I would have preferred 64-65. Oh well, a little more ester production never hurt.

My next brew is a big one, and I'm really looking forward to it. A Scottish Wee Heavy. Five gallons of approximately 10% ABV Scotch Ale, mmm mmm! 19 lb of grain, a one gallon starter, and nearly one year of aging.

St. Patty's Day Preps

I've gotten started on my St. Pat's Day brewing. I cooked up the "Irish Red" a couple weeks ago (see recipe and link below), and am getting ready to brew up the stout tomorrow. I put Irish Red in quotations because this didn't come out very Irish, or Red. Everything went according to plan, mash went well, and I even hit my original and final gravities dead on. But a first sampling was a bit disappointing. This tasted more like a cross between a brown and pale ale. The color is one of a dark caramel wheat, a slight fruit note in the nose (fermented a bit high, around 67), and a decent balance between malt and bitter, tending toward the bitter end. This is not at all what I wanted, and am pretty disappointed. I know it's still very young and will surly improve with some again, but it will not transform into what I was expecting to have brewed. It's not that close. I'm considering passing this off to someone if they want it and making a fresh batch from a different recipe. But I don't have time to brew. This weekend is set for the stout, next weekend I'm away, and brewing on the 14th only gives me a month to age. That's not quite enough (it wouldn't be awful, but I'm certain it wouldn't be great either).

In the meantime I've been procrastinating kegging my Ordinary Bitter even though I've been looking forward to drinking this since I first tried it. And have also been lazy about bottling the Rye IPA. So much work, never enough time.

A Brew Year

With the new year comes brew resolutions. I don't typically believe in resolutions because they are more often than not goals we tend to break. But these are resolutions I feel I can live up to, and if I don't, no big deal.

1) be more consistent with my technique
2) keep better notes on tasting, etc
3) better planning/execution
4) make a 9% or higher
5) make a lager

As for the brew-off, my brew day went pretty well. No big surprises, or accidents, or anything. Very smooth, just the way I like it. I tasted the beer for the first time the other day. It was still young, and I don't think it was completely fermented (FG is supposed to be 1.010, it was around 1.016), but it was mighty tasty! Very smooth caramel flavor with a very nice hop balance. I was originally going to bottle this and put the Rye IPA on tap, but I think those plans will have to be switched. I'd really like an easy drinker like this on tap about now.

It's also about time to get started on my St. Patty's Day brews - a red and a stout. I was goingto start this past weekend but just didn't get around to it. So I'll get the red started next weekend before we go on vacation, then brew up the stout a week after we get back. That way I can get a good couple weeks of the red on the yeast, plus pitch the stout right onto the same cake. Hooray for planning!


Rolf's Irish Red
6.5 lb Marris Otter
1 lb Brown Sugar
0.5 lb Dextrine
0.25 lb Chocolate malt
0.25 lb Flaked Oats
1 oz Challenger hops (60)

Anticipated OG 1.051
Anticipated FG 1.013
IBU 22
SRM 16

Guiness Clone
6.75 lb Marris Otter
2.5 lb Flaked Barley
1.12 lb Roasted Barley
2 oz Acid Malt
2 oz East Kent Golding hops (60)

Anticipated OG 1.044
Anticipated FG 1.012
IBU 32
SRM 25

A Challenge!

Jake has challenged me to a beer-off! This is very exciting. We will be brewing the same recipe (below), an Ordinary Bitter, and see what kind of results we get. I ordered a pound of Fuggle hops from Hops Direct and sold 4 oz to Jake and Kelly (at cost, of course). So now I have 13.5 oz of Fuggle hops (they gave me a heavy lb) that need to used in some beer. Thus the English Mild, or the Brown ale on my to-do list. As I said, I'm looking forward to this brew-off, which I will probably brew this weekend, and will of course post all things brew related.


Ohiobrewtus' Ordinary Bitter

6.75 lb Marris Otter
0.50 lb Crystal Malt 60L

0.50 oz Fuggles (60 min)
1 oz East Kent Goldings (40 min)
1 oz East Kent Goldings (15 min)
1.5 oz Fuggles (5 min)

Wyeast English Special Bitter yeast (Private Collection)

Expected OG 1.041
Expected FG 1.010
IBU 35
SRM 7

IPA a go-go

I'm back to the IPA basics. Love me some hoppy brews, and it's been a while since I made one. I brewed a Dogfish Head 60 min IPA clone back in the last week of November, it's bottle aging right now. I have tried a bottle and it's just like I remember (well, I bit lighter as I missed my OG by 10 pts). It's got an amazing grapefruit aroma from the dry hops, nice smooth, light body, and a lovely crisp bite.
The Rye IPA has been fermenting for two weeks now, and I just took my first sample of it. I was very pleased with the results. It's got a very strong hop bitterness right now, but once it gets dry hopped that should balance it out pretty well.

It's The Litte Things

As I mentioned earlier, brewery activity has slowed lately. I brewed up a 2 gallon batch of Dogfish Head 60 Min clone, it's dry hopping right now and will be ready to bottle in about a week (I can't wait!). That basically came about from brewing withdrawal. I put the porter on the gas to carbonate and it's coming along. I think it's too young still as it is very sweet. Served at just below room temp it's not as bad, more of the roasted flavor comes through. But being that this is a rather big beer (OG was about 1.084) it probably needs months of aging in reality.
The stout came out pretty darn great! It's actually pretty light in body, and has a good bitterness to it that compliments the roasted flavors very nicely. The oats definitely added a smoothness to it that I enjoy.
I'm looking forward to getting the amber ales on the gas so they can be drinkable in a week or so. Then this weekend it's time to (finally) brew up Denny Conn's Rye IPA. I am very excited for this as I have only heard good things. And I'm ready for nice hoppy beverage. It'll also need some aging, but that's why I have the Dogfish Head to tide me over. I think I'll also make another quick turnaround brew after that. Something similar to the Scottish Light I brewed a while back, but more along the lines of an English Mild. Something that's drinkable within a few weeks of brewing, not heavy, goes down easy. A good lunch beer. Yeah, that's what I'd like about now.

Slow

Not much has been happening since Teach a Friend to Homebrew day. In fact, I've taken those few weeks in between off as there's lots of beer aging away, waiting for a keg to free itself (well, it can't do it alone, I'll help). I transfered the ten gallons of Amber Rye to secondary fermenters and added Polyclar, a clarifying agent that helps eliminate evil chill haze.
I'm also getting ready to make my first lager, now that the cold has come. But my fermenting fridge is in the garage, and it's even too cold in there! I have the thermostat in the fridge set to 50, but the temp is around 45. A bit too cold for the lager yeast I've chosen, Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager, which has a temp range of 48-58. So I'm thinking of moving the fridge to the basement where I can have excellent control all year round. Too bad the things heavier than a mo'fo.

Pilsner Jasuhn
8 lb German Pilsner
1 oz Select Spalt (60 min)
1 oz Saaz (30 min)
0.5 Spalt (30 min)
1 oz Saaze (flame-out)

Target OG 1.048
Target IBU 33

Teach a Friend to Homebrew

Saturday, November 1, was teach a friend to homebrew day. I only had one friend over who had never brewed before, and one who does partial mashes. The day had it's glitches with a mill that wouldn't crush the grain at first (turned out to be a loose screw), and a way missed OG (1.043 instead of 1.053). But we still ended up with ten gallons of beer, albeit slightly different from what we had set out to brew (Southern Sky Amber Rye). I used this batch as an opportunity to try a brew with two different styles of yeast to see how they affect the beer. Five gallons were fermented with Wyeast London Ale 1028, and the other five with a packet of Nottingham dry yeast. I took our first hydrometer samples this past weekend and was impressed with the differences. The Nottingham yeast produced a smoother, more malty product, with the hops being nice and subtle. The London Ale yeast let the hops shine through very nicely. Their flavor really popped. But it's early, and time will be the ultimate judge.

Stupid Dogs

I was supposed to brew a Summit SMaSH (single malt and single hops) this weekend, but ran into some obstacles. Saturday started off great. A friend from work got us free tickets to the Badger game against Illinois. Another friend was working the beer tent, so we got to drink for tips only. Great seats and a great game! Badgers finally won their first Big 10 conference game of the season ('bout freaking time!). Went back to the beer tent after the game, met Wendel the Miller Hight Life guy, got some free swag. Good times. My buddy and I shared a cab ride back to my place to hang out and sober up. After a couple ours I drove him home and that's when the shit hit the fan.

I got back to my place after 10-15 minutes only to find our foster dog Einstein soaking wet and bleeding in our kitchen. Dexter (our forever dog) is lying under the table, his muzzle and neck covered in blood that's clearly not his own. Both dogs are panting heavily. Without hesitation I leave Dexter behind and take Einstein to the emergency vet. I spend an hour or so there while he gets checked out. They decide they want to sedate him to get a better look at his wounds and send me home, telling me they'll call in a few hours to come pick him up.

I get home, clean Dexter off and find a few nicks and bruises on him, but nothing too bad. After a few hours I get a call from the vet. They say they'd like to keep him overnight so they can keep a better eye on him as he comes out of sedation. I pick him up the next morning, and he's got four drainage tubes put into his bigger wounds. He is messed up! I don't know who or what started the fight as both dogs have been getting along very well for three weeks now, but Dexter most definitely won.

So my Sunday was spent picking up meds and cleaning wounds instead of brewing. But there's always next weekend.