tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82502805793329418932024-02-20T10:54:22.759-08:00The Lonely Boner Brewing ProjectThe Lonely Boner Brewing Project is a blog documenting one man's home brewing (mis)adventures.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-90351659896869877142011-07-11T19:12:00.000-07:002011-07-11T19:41:07.869-07:00Brewday IRS<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBQ6KaSnm4ICbHYLuoCES9L2BmSN0TAONXe3ZQma0NEK2duXf0feUCvwXp-_M9c_hlyrkpsZj7H6YSrD7tL67oMc5rxz5yF3NTYtzpIZzG29qFF6mm9_5uIaABcf2OV63UfW_7otdEFhi/s1600/irs+label.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBQ6KaSnm4ICbHYLuoCES9L2BmSN0TAONXe3ZQma0NEK2duXf0feUCvwXp-_M9c_hlyrkpsZj7H6YSrD7tL67oMc5rxz5yF3NTYtzpIZzG29qFF6mm9_5uIaABcf2OV63UfW_7otdEFhi/s400/irs+label.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628285670747591618" border="0" /></a><br />So, in lieu of doing a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout as originally planned, I decided to go for broke and finally do my favorite beer style, the glorious, Russian Imperial Stout.<br /><br />For the less beer savvy out there, the history of the Russian Imperial Stout basically is that British brewers brewed a big, high alcohol stout with oodles of hops to please the palates of the Russian Imperial court. Imperial stouts are also a favorite of American craft brewers, with wonderful examples such as Old Rasputin, Stone IRS, and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout being fairly easy to find, along with some more difficult to find beers, that are amongst my favorites, such as Southampton IRS, Deschute's the Abyss, and the infamous Three Floyd's Dark Lord.<br /><br />I wanted my beer to be really big. I don't like my Imperial Stouts to be light in body, in taste or in alcohol. I want big roasted flavors, to be on the upper limit of alcohol for the style, and have a very big body. Brewing was going to test the limits of my mash tun, or so I thought. For a five gallon batch, I was going to be using 22.5# of grain over all. Knowing I would need a lot of strike water to fully submerge the grain in the mash, I struck with 5 gallons.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsYRUsghX0RFUaRfXa8wbdv_UV4GwQ5WVcK-1fQJyPUpPU7f9Wmh8xv529NoMWHTrBn0S6c5VU_qKOBjqpSWESu7Vz54k3ti_iu5Ri6dtJCAKSeKdicEfbjts-b_q21t8MzxDB3i1iQod/s1600/IMG_1564.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsYRUsghX0RFUaRfXa8wbdv_UV4GwQ5WVcK-1fQJyPUpPU7f9Wmh8xv529NoMWHTrBn0S6c5VU_qKOBjqpSWESu7Vz54k3ti_iu5Ri6dtJCAKSeKdicEfbjts-b_q21t8MzxDB3i1iQod/s400/IMG_1564.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628284669365040882" border="0" /></a>And by the time mashing had finished, a lot of the water had been absorbed by the grains, which you can see here:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TQIkj6_570xQz4e1Y6TP9kRXK7glJ9ssTEtLJx47BW_OujO2zpoeJRrwyvuQH17GazoRMpnctzTQm356-ZvzPwMb6y8wZJkOAr1hxRhDxBev0bROZcMUS7DZx_-nOdAa7Fmh-gqcLxwk/s1600/IMG_1565.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TQIkj6_570xQz4e1Y6TP9kRXK7glJ9ssTEtLJx47BW_OujO2zpoeJRrwyvuQH17GazoRMpnctzTQm356-ZvzPwMb6y8wZJkOAr1hxRhDxBev0bROZcMUS7DZx_-nOdAa7Fmh-gqcLxwk/s400/IMG_1565.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628284667424478178" border="0" /></a><br />I wanted this beer to be thick and dark. On BeerAdvocate, when I review an imperial stout as "being thick like motor oil," that means its good. I'm happy to report this one looks a bit like motor oil.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG0KQajC1AVc6fe5dnEYK5cVW7AYlVoSfypEA8p4OQQQiS1kd1gcEFLZBUXcRMnyqyu0s2uh46nsarLCQnj89s4-1oRVYVfRdb7t91QdxfTqXICm8jnK_YyUVPpZPJ-15RNxP01RWVT_R/s1600/IMG_1566.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG0KQajC1AVc6fe5dnEYK5cVW7AYlVoSfypEA8p4OQQQiS1kd1gcEFLZBUXcRMnyqyu0s2uh46nsarLCQnj89s4-1oRVYVfRdb7t91QdxfTqXICm8jnK_YyUVPpZPJ-15RNxP01RWVT_R/s400/IMG_1566.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628284103787727746" border="0" /></a><br />And heating it up for the boil...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pg-NSWUcaaRs18eH6_Z2iE2t5zb9LuoksQPDvwb6OrEJTnq-8a0LU1MOzYiXdknZR16FnUome10sBZagMIVylm1Gmyb0gHO9LQv1L5TTJC-IKSTxMEPhcdrgp6wMZ066sf0lQ3t-vJKx/s1600/IMG_1569.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pg-NSWUcaaRs18eH6_Z2iE2t5zb9LuoksQPDvwb6OrEJTnq-8a0LU1MOzYiXdknZR16FnUome10sBZagMIVylm1Gmyb0gHO9LQv1L5TTJC-IKSTxMEPhcdrgp6wMZ066sf0lQ3t-vJKx/s400/IMG_1569.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628284098876271234" border="0" /></a><br />For hops, I wanted some high in alpha acids so I could reduce the amount of hops I used, meaning less beer gets wasted when I transfer it off the trub. I settled on Nugget.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq_zUFstBM-QNjMK1aeNaiwHcERl8620Ue_ijhwBxzNSNjZf0-MOSMPUX0C-eBYmTop8yYNQ-cF3voiTO4kFRZA1etuSGVHT0mEYf-ZDyKDOZzw-rv_L57QDyM5ONbS17dtv29NNUlckD/s1600/IMG_1572.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq_zUFstBM-QNjMK1aeNaiwHcERl8620Ue_ijhwBxzNSNjZf0-MOSMPUX0C-eBYmTop8yYNQ-cF3voiTO4kFRZA1etuSGVHT0mEYf-ZDyKDOZzw-rv_L57QDyM5ONbS17dtv29NNUlckD/s400/IMG_1572.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628284094192252258" border="0" /></a>Classical imperial stouts were heavily hopped, but I'm not the biggest fan of hoppy imperial stouts so I just added 2 oz for bittering.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgti6KPQYFChRKp5S1mRxqLK9Gc4ZRxEbqq0lQJ3YQazJrvbsQKHH8sJMfWy5T1O7ec0HMOJXfSQS42IAbWFoAVuIGNSjk1OF-hZVicJy4YSe6srtnvB8tLnRZ2CLYyel4XscTUD80kX31z/s1600/IMG_1574.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgti6KPQYFChRKp5S1mRxqLK9Gc4ZRxEbqq0lQJ3YQazJrvbsQKHH8sJMfWy5T1O7ec0HMOJXfSQS42IAbWFoAVuIGNSjk1OF-hZVicJy4YSe6srtnvB8tLnRZ2CLYyel4XscTUD80kX31z/s400/IMG_1574.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628284090114115762" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The brewday was fairly successful but that remains to be seen when the beer is ready, which is going to take awhile. The recipe for this beer was:<br /><br />16# 2-row<br />1# carapils<br />1# flaked oats<br />1# flaked barley<br />1# chocolate<br />.5# Caramel 120<br />.5# roasted barley<br />.5# black patent<br /><br />2 oz 12.2 alpha Nugget @ 60 minutes<br /><br />Maltodextrine @ 15 minutes<br />Yeast Nutrient @ 15 minutes<br />Irish Moss @ 15 minutes<br /><br />Wyeast 1056 - American Ale<br /><br />Now, I've read many different things when coming up with recipe formation for imperial stouts, mostly regarding the amount of roasted grains. I've seen as high as 15% and as low as %5. I am a big fan of roastiness but didn't want to overdo it, so I went somewhere down the middle. The maltodextrine is there to add more body, because I want this beer to be very chewy, so I figure between the carapils, oats, flaked barley, and caramel malt the body will be very substantial and I don't think I can overdo it on the body for this beer.<br /><br />The plan for this beer is that I'm going to bottle half of it as a straight imperial stout and the other half, I'm going to condition on heavy char oak chips that I'm soaking in some Knob Creek single barrel bourbon whiskey to create a barrel aged type flavor. I'm going to bottle the bourbon aged beer in some 750ml bottles and seal them with wax for extended cellaring. The straight IRS is going to go into 12 oz bottles and also be wax sealed for extended cellaring. I will love seeing how this beer changes with age, and if I am pleased with how this beer came out, I'll brew it again in years to come and create my own verticals, which should be awesome.<br /><br />I think the biggest issue on this beer might be the yeast. This beer should be getting up to 12% alcohol, which is a size I've never brewed before so hopefully the yeast can handle it.<br /><br />Cheers!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-71331870949789026902011-07-07T17:53:00.000-07:002011-07-07T18:01:09.073-07:00Cooking with Beer: Beer Battered Fish Tacos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCbsZ3Ub82_pMBnK0R52LXed_WSuoFzXCh_OeUrQeNNicj5p6fo3xMHgKZkNNE7Yed7uzw6PaKk0Mn9_aSWL1R4F2D-GaaGuSBNlVOYEv3bbFWhHZlY-mE8rUOTXFE1EfuOKagJL8HZfE/s1600/270230_643276681576_36503336_34390304_3759953_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCbsZ3Ub82_pMBnK0R52LXed_WSuoFzXCh_OeUrQeNNicj5p6fo3xMHgKZkNNE7Yed7uzw6PaKk0Mn9_aSWL1R4F2D-GaaGuSBNlVOYEv3bbFWhHZlY-mE8rUOTXFE1EfuOKagJL8HZfE/s400/270230_643276681576_36503336_34390304_3759953_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626778761875492450" border="0" /></a><br />My girlfriend surprised me with some beer battered fish tacos the other night and they came out great so I thought I would share... after bugging her a bit for the recipe, that she kind of came up with on the fly.<br /><br />1# flounder<br />Taco seasoning to taste<br />1 cup flour<br />1 cup IPA (she used 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die IPA)<br />Vegetable oil<br />Hard/soft taco shells<br />Shredded cheddar cheese<br />Lettuce<br />Salsa<br /><br />Mix taco seasoning, flour and IPA. Let sit for 45 minutes. Cut fish into pieces, coat lightly with flour then the batter. Fry in vegetable oil for one minute per side.<br /><br />Pretty simple, but incredibly yummy. They paired great with the 21st Amendment IPA. Definitely give these a go. Cheers!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-46640653937772467012011-06-19T19:49:00.001-07:002011-06-19T20:00:34.511-07:00Das Kolsch! Tasting<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01d1nyao4rg4kIWeNNg9x3E7Dkzlx7OXUVymJPVp7JL9VyxumalqLgX2zPoh2SeqlBygkgy1c3qO5xjA0Yemf2Wqw5E87hZi7rijbWuyk3SWeM_Brcn7yEXCCLjx9KxA6ipTss6sIaIis/s1600/IMG_1563.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01d1nyao4rg4kIWeNNg9x3E7Dkzlx7OXUVymJPVp7JL9VyxumalqLgX2zPoh2SeqlBygkgy1c3qO5xjA0Yemf2Wqw5E87hZi7rijbWuyk3SWeM_Brcn7yEXCCLjx9KxA6ipTss6sIaIis/s400/IMG_1563.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620128764108168194" /></a><br /><div>Finally drinking the Kolsch. Poured it into a Gaffel Kolsch stange.</div><div><br /></div><div>Look: very pale body with a thin layer of white head that doesn't have much retention and doesn't leave much lacing either. Its clear of sediment but has a little haze. Looks about right for a Kolsch, though it could improve with a clearer body.</div><div><br /></div><div>Smell: light pilsner malt, some slight fruitiness, and very slight wine like character as well. No noticeable hop aroma. Its all pretty subtle, which is good because that's what I was going for. </div><div><br /></div><div>Taste: follows the nose with a light pilsner malt character, a little fruity, with a little bit of hop bitterness, dry and slightly tart. There's a slight wheat taste in the finish that lingers. Overall, pretty much what a Kolsch should taste like.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feel: light bodied, lightly carbonated, dry, and very drinkable. This is definitely a beer I could see myself drinking a few of on a hot day. </div><div><br /></div><div>Overall Impression: this more or less nailed what I wanted this beer to taste like. Its easy drinking yet interesting enough to make me want to drink it. I definitely see this one appealing to fans of light beer. I think if I make this one again, I would brew it the same way. Cheers! </div><div><br /></div><div>Posts About this Beer:</div><div><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/05/brew-day-kolsch-part-eins.html">Brew Day: Kolsch part Eins</a> </div><div><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/05/brew-day-kolsch-part-zwei.html">Brew Day: Kolsch part Zwei</a></div><div><br /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-79314333568358498872011-06-06T12:21:00.001-07:002011-06-06T12:31:01.483-07:00Cooking with Beer: Chocolate Stout Cake<div>So, I haven't had much in the way of home brewing activity lately since I've been busy moving in with my girlfriend and thus have been quite busy. However, to celebrate, I wanted to do something special for her. It obviously had to involve beer. How about a chocolate stout cake? Sounds good to me.</div><div><br /></div><div>After tinkering around the interweb for awhile, I found <a href="http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/chocolate-stout-cake/">this recipe</a>. I picked up a 4 pack of Young's Double Chocolate Stout and hit it. I'm not that great at baking cakes, having only baked once before but it came out quite nicely. </div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HETXXvYRy8ck5_bYOgEGUs_7yFt2HdEhwWdET_QXg5kLuDAvNEl9jWQjfL_aymKP-u47Lqx1350XAoKjCeU47u92W94yALaYi79YrsgimLGWjOvB-mmxs9mAAyBiPQf4kAebUWcY7iEN/s1600/IMG_1542.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HETXXvYRy8ck5_bYOgEGUs_7yFt2HdEhwWdET_QXg5kLuDAvNEl9jWQjfL_aymKP-u47Lqx1350XAoKjCeU47u92W94yALaYi79YrsgimLGWjOvB-mmxs9mAAyBiPQf4kAebUWcY7iEN/s400/IMG_1542.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615190162535724754" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5J-P4wlYVhN-M4np-0bJ9J-QMJZE-vmI1yncaHmUvBmqLYEjRq-KkRKDLcGyRDnMRgVCpnOmMTzWb01SlmIxMVFzI4LavNLk8YfX0NQcbupNZIeHSXLR7sWM68JIBPFqoNJso94IIVTDb/s1600/IMG_1547.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5J-P4wlYVhN-M4np-0bJ9J-QMJZE-vmI1yncaHmUvBmqLYEjRq-KkRKDLcGyRDnMRgVCpnOmMTzWb01SlmIxMVFzI4LavNLk8YfX0NQcbupNZIeHSXLR7sWM68JIBPFqoNJso94IIVTDb/s400/IMG_1547.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615189826400545202" /></a><br /><div>The icing was really easy and also really delicious. Simmer whipped cream and then whisk in 1# of chopped semi-sweet baker's chocolate. Yeah, I thought this was going to be too much chocolate too. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8O_QBjCyUe7T9wlAmWljVf40n46ssCigpaywKhiZuyvfCZQDEZOBi4D0v5l_y_zUE-09TyvykGjyMCVG0-5MC-OO-8l-xCh30KWip8Y5lm6syugbO02UR1N2Rbwk3A1k55k5tJ5STK6d_/s1600/IMG_1548.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8O_QBjCyUe7T9wlAmWljVf40n46ssCigpaywKhiZuyvfCZQDEZOBi4D0v5l_y_zUE-09TyvykGjyMCVG0-5MC-OO-8l-xCh30KWip8Y5lm6syugbO02UR1N2Rbwk3A1k55k5tJ5STK6d_/s400/IMG_1548.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615189813976668946" /></a><br /></div><div>Frost it and here you go!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIYMgWsXJgkJnMheda4ra-4hUhHDLiv6fnPrvqZXM0Zuro-djkfypr1olbf8iF-B-JsrDluWjuoXtYoHv6iD2AovycVyXBXS99IL41e5kMcNxYAZ8RAev5D31ONxnBI-G6uGHniZSxSYw/s1600/IMG_1557.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIYMgWsXJgkJnMheda4ra-4hUhHDLiv6fnPrvqZXM0Zuro-djkfypr1olbf8iF-B-JsrDluWjuoXtYoHv6iD2AovycVyXBXS99IL41e5kMcNxYAZ8RAev5D31ONxnBI-G6uGHniZSxSYw/s400/IMG_1557.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615189810046831954" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RoGD7B4k_9McOci1a5WVotlz7fjc9S2VeBeXDT6X3WsQin4kWhJIocFaOLdq1RVtpiPuNxZ2_wJc5q4jNTu9RjrWFZDcd23kf46h207qQYcIhI2Muj6fTel5lKi1pVu3fFsOMGJTXBIe/s1600/IMG_1561.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RoGD7B4k_9McOci1a5WVotlz7fjc9S2VeBeXDT6X3WsQin4kWhJIocFaOLdq1RVtpiPuNxZ2_wJc5q4jNTu9RjrWFZDcd23kf46h207qQYcIhI2Muj6fTel5lKi1pVu3fFsOMGJTXBIe/s400/IMG_1561.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615189797012357490" /></a><br /><div>It will give you diabetes but it went nicely with a snifter of <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/1160/?ba=SkunkWorks">Stone's 2011 IRS.</a> Cheers!</div></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-5030714120299245772011-05-14T11:24:00.001-07:002011-05-14T12:15:04.941-07:00What's Up at the Boner<div>The Kolsch is fermenting away still. That begs the question of what is next for the Lonely Boner? After debating whether or not I should re-attempt the saison, try the Citra DIPA again, or do some style I've never attempted before, I figured it's best to stick to my roots and do something malty, dark and roasty:</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhyphenhyphen2Ly8qaADOE6BqRyMZHcNKEI6nsu2WpPPz8AeXvIRgHRMz7AHZMopqD_KBD5U67eIeuM7RMOL9F2ePK1AU-2tnMyDF-q9GJ_lLQQ56I97HT5igMUfNftrkWSIqQ8Tcdc32GrhFewjna/s1600/chocolateoatmealstoutlabel.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhyphenhyphen2Ly8qaADOE6BqRyMZHcNKEI6nsu2WpPPz8AeXvIRgHRMz7AHZMopqD_KBD5U67eIeuM7RMOL9F2ePK1AU-2tnMyDF-q9GJ_lLQQ56I97HT5igMUfNftrkWSIqQ8Tcdc32GrhFewjna/s400/chocolateoatmealstoutlabel.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606639754234884530" /></a><br />Yup. Time to do the Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. I decided to bump it up to Foreign Export strength after reading a good deal about Stone's mythical <a href="http://www.stonebrew.com/12th/ale/">Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout</a> (<a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/43491">Beer Advocate reviews here</a>... unfortunately I've never gotten to taste it), considered going up to Imperial strength and finally doing my IRS, but decided that Foreign Export is a nice compromise.<div><br /></div><div>I think the silkiness that the oats should provide will work nicely with the added chocolate. I want a beer with a good bit of body to it as well. Here's how I think it's going to look, as of right now: </div><div><br /></div><div>8# Maris Otter 60.6%</div><div>1.5% flaked oats 11.4%</div><div>1# Carapils 7.6%</div><div>1# Caramel 10L 7.6%</div><div>.5# Carafa 1 3.8%</div><div>.5# Chocolate 3.8%</div><div>.25# roasted barley 1.9%</div><div>.13# black patent 1%</div><div>.33# sucrose </div><div><br /></div><div>1 oz Galena @ 60 minute</div><div><br /></div><div>Wyeast 1084 - Irish Ale</div><div><br /></div><div>8 oz cocoa powder @ flameout</div><div>4 oz cacao nibs in secondary</div><div><br /></div><div>I might also add some vanilla bean because chocolate and vanilla will make it closer to milk chocolate. The sugar is just being added to boost the ABV a bit </div><div><br /></div><div>The stats should look something like: </div><div>7.1% ABV</div><div>OG: 1.069</div><div>FG: 1.016</div><div>IBU: 47.9</div><div>40.2 SRM</div><div><br /></div><div>Any input? Cheers! </div><div><br /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-70134384076589494722011-05-08T14:32:00.001-07:002011-05-08T14:53:42.213-07:00Brew Day: Kolsch part eins<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Today was a brew day that went swimmingly. Shockingly, everything seemed to go well. It was absolutely beautiful out and a perfect day for brewing. </span></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gzK3U6-0n8vKsSh9MwFGfmkRsgEDXtOIs4eLZv3WMktBTMQdkp6AovguVyWI-bTsHMquKnXkPh_kU7wu2T7uxnH7OOJAEPP74BkDR_qaI7QFIgqaDJkeD0Ti4sNrzjYGBN39Do1MLuhP/s1600/IMG_1490.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gzK3U6-0n8vKsSh9MwFGfmkRsgEDXtOIs4eLZv3WMktBTMQdkp6AovguVyWI-bTsHMquKnXkPh_kU7wu2T7uxnH7OOJAEPP74BkDR_qaI7QFIgqaDJkeD0Ti4sNrzjYGBN39Do1MLuhP/s400/IMG_1490.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604462528698904978" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Of course my first German beer is going to be introduced by a photograph making a brew kettle look as ominous as possible...</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I had no issues with my mash tun, which was pretty awesome. Mashing was done at 148 degrees F for 1 hour, using 3.5 gallons of strike water (just Long Island tap water). Then I Vorlaufed and then lautered with 3 gallons of 185 degree F water. Mash pH was around 4.6 from my test strips. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmjxWzKg-Le5glhaCvw3OZcMaQ50bwjIUVNb2bZDLLS4f44m_iYuyc6y_3cJ32z9-1A_g6Acbp4LA3NtiGLkNatRYobZunhpJxpZRYn6pnbuuWaTQsEZgAXARPnnfUTt4jWTBpP5xy82U/s1600/IMG_1493.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmjxWzKg-Le5glhaCvw3OZcMaQ50bwjIUVNb2bZDLLS4f44m_iYuyc6y_3cJ32z9-1A_g6Acbp4LA3NtiGLkNatRYobZunhpJxpZRYn6pnbuuWaTQsEZgAXARPnnfUTt4jWTBpP5xy82U/s400/IMG_1493.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604462523995001378" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Since I was only using 8# of grain, mashing out went quickly. The hot break took awhile to build up steam though... </span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVEnfTNsafgyKzYtiHA4yJ1JjfeKOJBqSDAYWIt_WmondOq2ScSoHDLIcNRy33zK9EGAgbcVV3_2nGsOoQg8zD2E-uH1esd-OzAlKcq7a4FNgJ0sUYvkj6cQDwSJdzNJsyvzm2OtJoRXX/s1600/IMG_1498.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVEnfTNsafgyKzYtiHA4yJ1JjfeKOJBqSDAYWIt_WmondOq2ScSoHDLIcNRy33zK9EGAgbcVV3_2nGsOoQg8zD2E-uH1esd-OzAlKcq7a4FNgJ0sUYvkj6cQDwSJdzNJsyvzm2OtJoRXX/s400/IMG_1498.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604462519285183202" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the meantime, the yeast starter was looking pretty healthy. </span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSBBmjvWRdmGQv2ESpWlKL2oAn8q9St0MiVUaJxOG3lVd7eP9NODI5EbGK_q7QVQctNcRSAbIbdm1XBXT8HrD1z8-nOMENcsA6NHNvqk5rghQduh8S8xK0uEvEtppVuNMIztFIeHJb6Sf/s1600/IMG_1500.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSBBmjvWRdmGQv2ESpWlKL2oAn8q9St0MiVUaJxOG3lVd7eP9NODI5EbGK_q7QVQctNcRSAbIbdm1XBXT8HrD1z8-nOMENcsA6NHNvqk5rghQduh8S8xK0uEvEtppVuNMIztFIeHJb6Sf/s400/IMG_1500.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604462512638826258" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Blogger is only letting me upload a few pictures per post and since everything went easily today, I ended up taking a decent amount of pictures. So, stay tuned for the second and more substantial part of this post! Cheers! </span></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-1977291872015797022011-05-08T14:23:00.000-07:002011-05-08T14:49:42.510-07:00Brew Day: Kolsch part zwei<div>When we last joined our brew-heroes, they were patiently waiting for the hot break, which should be coming up right about NOW! </div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bz09ie6Y5sf7qORoRGiCjb073LfcPkKFwMsAJEtoBALD3uhFCZX0YUTnCbWkzopjw8PQDbLIxJ2e-dg2d1eyAu1zenzLPGr0Nez2tDL7qS692T1HhDZCncLUdZMMx1fxHBGKEl5qptHH/s1600/IMG_1501.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bz09ie6Y5sf7qORoRGiCjb073LfcPkKFwMsAJEtoBALD3uhFCZX0YUTnCbWkzopjw8PQDbLIxJ2e-dg2d1eyAu1zenzLPGr0Nez2tDL7qS692T1HhDZCncLUdZMMx1fxHBGKEl5qptHH/s400/IMG_1501.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604459793419849890" /></a>You'll see later that the Hallertau hops were two different alpha acid contents, the reason being that I only ordered 1 oz from Midwest on accident and had to get the rest by Rebel Brewer since they get it out to you much faster.<br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqecSwPfApScyXoCL1HGlQP2_ppKsXqy4dLMeBdPLOTtsr2-oDVsEPX-CNK91S9P9QqXH5JVl1vc42AQWdPE2iI4oDWGNkxFkk0MlQZ7jeuY8Pn2zQxtFKguHj7jiU1tEstKo-JDslarbA/s1600/IMG_1509.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqecSwPfApScyXoCL1HGlQP2_ppKsXqy4dLMeBdPLOTtsr2-oDVsEPX-CNK91S9P9QqXH5JVl1vc42AQWdPE2iI4oDWGNkxFkk0MlQZ7jeuY8Pn2zQxtFKguHj7jiU1tEstKo-JDslarbA/s400/IMG_1509.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604459796212777426" /></a><br /></div><div>Mmm, Hallertau hops... </div><div><br /></div><div>I did a 60 minute boil with hop additions at 60 and 30 minutes, Irish moss and yeast nutrient at 15 minutes, super moss at 10 minutes, and then chilled to pitching temperature. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeofxD9gWJZMgjr2g2-ukqbl47F1Uob6IF_BDcZB0BKY-qrd2srbp5oot93vuBYga8XwNXmVlaQ_55UTgzdoIV1e8OMD12abllOUVKfCxT3OYXrc8a3XlKm9Ll-hR2IyZoW8PKSHkU1G3E/s1600/IMG_1511.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeofxD9gWJZMgjr2g2-ukqbl47F1Uob6IF_BDcZB0BKY-qrd2srbp5oot93vuBYga8XwNXmVlaQ_55UTgzdoIV1e8OMD12abllOUVKfCxT3OYXrc8a3XlKm9Ll-hR2IyZoW8PKSHkU1G3E/s400/IMG_1511.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604459785733631922" /></a><br /></div><div>After the boil I was pretty spot on with nailing 5 gallons for the final batch, which I'm happy about.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFdbOx87Ev8VbAAgS1dFewYfSesBBkoo4eAkt1mai5c24lqtiHC6HuD0KTUlckU2lL6nXxRH7QwqhPO1yuiic0SrX4pXg3a4MRGxaSKDrws7kmcX86HnwH6zVbmMHZnjnBERdw4-vdSbP/s1600/IMG_1516.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFdbOx87Ev8VbAAgS1dFewYfSesBBkoo4eAkt1mai5c24lqtiHC6HuD0KTUlckU2lL6nXxRH7QwqhPO1yuiic0SrX4pXg3a4MRGxaSKDrws7kmcX86HnwH6zVbmMHZnjnBERdw4-vdSbP/s400/IMG_1516.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604459778810859026" /></a><br /></div><div>And finally pitching the patiently waiting yeast. Go forth and feast, my yeast! </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mh4DjGdN1KOwM57ceDecdtBsZqc2inSRgfblZg4gUMSJkDXCrsL1HEIjfaAjYtuN16kOJ1Imr3c2HNLdOL1Ga-6LXFQGl3kE082Ht8V5d1Uw2O_vsdICF4r8_bjOJMK5fc9-3c_JXLyr/s1600/IMG_1517.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mh4DjGdN1KOwM57ceDecdtBsZqc2inSRgfblZg4gUMSJkDXCrsL1HEIjfaAjYtuN16kOJ1Imr3c2HNLdOL1Ga-6LXFQGl3kE082Ht8V5d1Uw2O_vsdICF4r8_bjOJMK5fc9-3c_JXLyr/s400/IMG_1517.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604459775097424418" /></a><br /></div><div>Damn, I'm weird.</div><div><br /></div><div>So anyway, here's the technical crapola.</div><div><br /></div><div>5 gallon batch</div><div><br /></div><div>7# German pils</div><div>.5# German light Munich</div><div>.5# German light wheat</div><div><br /></div><div>1 oz 3.8 alpha Hallertau at 60 minutes</div><div>1 oz 3.0 alpha Hallertau at 30 minutes</div><div><br /></div><div>Wyeast 1001 - German Ale ~300 mL starter.</div><div><br /></div><div>2 teaspoon yeast nutrient at 15 minutes</div><div>1 teaspoon Irish moss at 15 minutes</div><div>5 teaspoon Super Moss at 10 minutes</div><div><br /></div><div>Single step infusion mash at 148 degree F</div><div><br /></div><div>Fermenting at 60 degrees F. </div><div><br /></div><div>So yeah, no drama today. Just got to sit and enjoy brewing this beer. Can't wait to try it. Cheers! </div><div><br /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-76288275013547941192011-05-06T11:41:00.003-07:002011-05-06T11:42:14.978-07:00Kolsch Label<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylRRhu5KrTeJWgrtESw3N1oqty1wVShqncIBq1QT7sxAUH12GZRnl6DE8qyCpnzMc0Dr6j43KmuzCVVjAVe7MlDgYf4GlHLOohYjLDb8Q9f28ANhLECS6YlN20zQlqX6VCXp4gA9iHXIF/s1600/kolsch+label.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylRRhu5KrTeJWgrtESw3N1oqty1wVShqncIBq1QT7sxAUH12GZRnl6DE8qyCpnzMc0Dr6j43KmuzCVVjAVe7MlDgYf4GlHLOohYjLDb8Q9f28ANhLECS6YlN20zQlqX6VCXp4gA9iHXIF/s400/kolsch+label.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603675284120711538" /></a><br />Hey y'all. This weekend I'll be brewing the Kolsch and since I had some downtime, I figured I'd make a label. Since its the summer seasonal, I thought I'd make it summer-y. Tell me what you think! <div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-39920808894557696012011-04-27T10:23:00.000-07:002011-04-27T10:38:55.122-07:00Future PlansComing up, I have a few plans for home brewing. I figure I'll fill you in!<div><br /></div><div>1. Kolsch.</div><div><br /></div><div>Coming up next is Kolsch. I have all my stuff ready to go and as soon as my final exams are over, I will get to brewing it. For a 5 gal batch, the recipe is:</div><div><br /></div><div>7# German Pils</div><div>.5# Light Munich</div><div>.5# German Pale Wheat</div><div><br /></div><div>1 oz Hallertau @ 60 minute</div><div>1 oz Hallertau @ 30 minute</div><div><br /></div><div>Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient in boil</div><div><br /></div><div>Wyeast 1007 - German Ale Yeast</div><div><br /></div><div>Single step infusion mash at 149 degrees F. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is going to be the summer beer that I brew. What's more refreshing than a Kolsch? Not much. I'm using Wyeast 1007 because I've used it before and I got a very clean flavor from it, and Kolsch yeast doesn't sound easy to work with. </div><div><br /></div><div>2. Iris Saison - Take Two</div><div><br /></div><div>After learning a lot from brewing my first saison and from reading Farmhouse Ales by Phil Markowski, I think retackling this beer will be a good idea. The recipe will be adjusted as such:</div><div><br /></div><div>8# Belgian Pils</div><div>.5# wheat malt</div><div>.13# Belgian debittered black malt</div><div>.25 # table sugar</div><div><br /></div><div>1 oz Hallertau @ 60 minute</div><div>1 0z Hallertau @ 15 minute </div><div>1 oz Hallertau @ 5 minute</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeast nutrient in boil</div><div><br /></div><div>Wyeast 3711 - French Saison</div><div><br /></div><div>Mash schedule is:</div><div><ul><li>Rest at 113 degree F 30 minutes</li><li>Raise to 131 degree F 15 minutes</li><li>Raise to 144 degree F 30 minutes</li><li>Raise to 154 degree F 15 minutes</li><li>Raise and mash out at 165 degree F</li></ul><div>French Saison yeast is easier to use and is less of an emo yeast, the malt bill will make for a lighter beer, traditional hops might work better than the American ones, and the mash schedule is out of Farmhouse Ales. </div><div><br /></div><div>3. Either a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout or a Smoked Porter.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I figure this will get brewed around July and will be drinking in August when its starting to cool. The oatmeal stout will look like:</div><div><br /></div><div>7# Maris Otter</div><div>1.25 # flaked oats</div><div>1# Caramel 10L</div><div>1# Carapils</div><div>.5# Carafa 1</div><div>.25# pale chocolate</div><div>.25# chocolate</div><div>.25# dark chocolate</div><div><br /></div><div>1 oz Chinook</div><div><br /></div><div>Irish moss, yeast nutrient and cocoa powder in boil. Cacao nibs in secondary.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wyeast 1084 - Irish Ale Yeast</div><div><br /></div><div>And the Smoked Porter...</div><div><br /></div><div>8# Golden Promise</div><div>1 # Carapils</div><div>.5# CaraMunich III</div><div>.5 # Chocolate</div><div>.25# Peated Malt</div><div>.25# Black Patent</div><div><br /></div><div>1 oz Chinook @ 60 minute</div><div><br /></div><div>Wyeast 1084 - Irish Ale Yeast</div><div><br /></div><div>Both will make for easy drinking and more robust beers for the beginning of the fall.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. An Imperial Russian Stout. </div><div><br /></div><div>Still working on ideas for this, but I figure I brew this at the end of the summer and its drinking by the middle of the winter.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. An Imperial Porter or Export strength stout with pumpkin for the fall.</div><div><br /></div><div>The girl loves pumpkin beers, I've only had one I really liked (Southern Tier's Pumking), but I figure a big, dark beer with some pumpkin might please us both. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cheers! </div><div><br /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-70326806901277390752011-04-27T10:08:00.000-07:002011-05-01T16:29:09.712-07:00Citra Imperial IPA Tasting<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bHZrDSTWIbBSkjQSexNUka1G-gt88ikOszh59PHrZ6nqmTxPfuDbI_rvr-41GOGlEEpgX952wG1sLUmpNV1gvzeN0O9kjcUM9KG2mRv8g6YSdeMv2T_SDnfVzz4MeohrGOhQu8Tj_bge/s1600/IMG_1480.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bHZrDSTWIbBSkjQSexNUka1G-gt88ikOszh59PHrZ6nqmTxPfuDbI_rvr-41GOGlEEpgX952wG1sLUmpNV1gvzeN0O9kjcUM9KG2mRv8g6YSdeMv2T_SDnfVzz4MeohrGOhQu8Tj_bge/s400/IMG_1480.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600311686977569618" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Look: a little gunsmoke is visible as soon as I pop the bottle. Some sediment is suspended in the glass, which is an effect I really like in my IPAs. Thin, white foamy head that doesn't retain very long and quickly ends up as thin layer of bubbles around the sides of the glass. The beer has a little bit of spotty lacing.</span></span></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKgMDukoHgyrOOhW2_Vay4FS1eSDEVfU3y-U2aIQfAjqMhREXEXd5rYv7DWhhLGcgAaEuiz5sC8phrizE1sxMyU4qQgXGBO7kqaXeZBhpeLqKiQLUSGTv9vScahmKyKJIhql2ekg82XMg/s1600/IMG_1484.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKgMDukoHgyrOOhW2_Vay4FS1eSDEVfU3y-U2aIQfAjqMhREXEXd5rYv7DWhhLGcgAaEuiz5sC8phrizE1sxMyU4qQgXGBO7kqaXeZBhpeLqKiQLUSGTv9vScahmKyKJIhql2ekg82XMg/s400/IMG_1484.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600311681912417938" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Smell: though not as pungent as I would've liked, it has a big passion fruit, citrus, tropical aroma with some papaya and mango as well. Very pleasant aroma and I'm very pleased with this.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Taste: follows the nose well with a delicious blend of passion fruit, papaya, pineapple and some mango with a little bit of citrus zest. The malt is hardly detectable, which is something I appreciate.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Feel: medium bodied and a little more full bodied for a DIPA than I think I would want. The carbonation is good. The alcohol isn't noticeable and its not overly bitter but there's no sweetness to be found either.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Drinkability: fairly easy drinking and though its a little big for a session beer, its still something you could have a few pints of without a problem.</span></span></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Overall Impression</span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Overall, I thought this was pretty good and with some tweaks, I can see it being very excellent. There are some adjustments I'm going to make to improve it, but otherwise, I am pretty happy with how this one came out. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Adjustments for Next Time</span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I'm going to adjust the malt bill. I'm thinking of adding carapils, reducing the caramel malt but using a higher lovibond malt for color adjustment, using some wheat for head formation/retention, and some sugar to lighten the body. I'm thinking:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">11# 2-row malt</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1# Carapils</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.5# 120L Caramel</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.5# US White Wheat</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1.75# table sugar</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I'm also going to up the hops. 93 IBU is good but there could be more hoppiness to it to really make this beer an exceptional DIPA. I've been tinkering with it and I think the goal should be to get to 120IBU but to stick with all Citra hops. I think the schedule might look more like:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1.5 oz @ 60 minute</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2 oz @ 30 minute</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1 oz @ 15 minute</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2 oz @ 5 minute</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1.5 oz @ turn off</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1 oz dry hopped</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">That gets me up to 118.9 IBU. The issue is... that's a lot of hops. This recipe lost a lot of volume to vegetal matter and it was only using 6 oz of hops all together. This uses 9 oz. So I think the plan will be to brew more wort and to use a hop bag for the dry hopping. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Blog Posts About This Beer</span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/04/bottling-citra-dipa.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bottling the Citra DIPA</span></span></a></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/04/citra-double-ipa-label.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Citra Double IPA Label </span></span></a></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/04/citra-dipa-brew-day.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Citra DIPA Brew Day</span></span></a></p></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-31616294249549938392011-04-25T11:39:00.000-07:002011-04-25T14:03:16.135-07:00Bottling the Citra DIPA<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4sOFz6XcbOAzw0rMA4h9eosmYBTpsbgnGSjAuhk0GLqYQfXhR4lP2uSixdo5wBZ8y-vhNIrc1I729l4a5SBzBwXLGCmuUn6Phm4I7fLyKjCCnMfPbYZXwRNYwYDrZ5ne3-9CzIORXvli/s1600/IMAG0037.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 366px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4sOFz6XcbOAzw0rMA4h9eosmYBTpsbgnGSjAuhk0GLqYQfXhR4lP2uSixdo5wBZ8y-vhNIrc1I729l4a5SBzBwXLGCmuUn6Phm4I7fLyKjCCnMfPbYZXwRNYwYDrZ5ne3-9CzIORXvli/s400/IMAG0037.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599593488284301234" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Annnnd the Citra Imperial IPA is bottled! I am surprised how much volume I lost due to the 4 oz of pellet hops from the fermentor and the 2 oz of full flower hops from the dry hopping. The next time I brew such a hoppy beer, I'm going to have to do a better job stopping that from happening. Bagging the hops would probably help or using some other piece of equipment, and maybe brewing a larger batch so it ends up with more beer in the final product. </div><div><br /></div><div>As always, did a little into a glass just to see how it is right now. A little chill on the glass because I stuck it in the fridge in the glass to get it to slightly above room temperature before sampling it.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwIRuDqQszmVqgWPTJxf2H-STYFJeiBqVOAGmQwVywpbQcuLmS0GEsE31H7lNXcJGF1izIBgAPfBnOHmX-r11nFwtxC472xnuR6uXToKdwBcpuZgugdZVhbjlR34muyMyLDqbKNJCmDtx/s1600/IMAG0036.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwIRuDqQszmVqgWPTJxf2H-STYFJeiBqVOAGmQwVywpbQcuLmS0GEsE31H7lNXcJGF1izIBgAPfBnOHmX-r11nFwtxC472xnuR6uXToKdwBcpuZgugdZVhbjlR34muyMyLDqbKNJCmDtx/s400/IMAG0036.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599593487775180546" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>While you can't really tell what the final product is going to be like from this given that its pretty flat, you can tell that the dry hopping really added a lot in the nose of this beer. Big, tropical hop character in the nose and a little more bitterness in the taste than it was before it was dry hopped.<br /><br />I tried pitching some yeast (used White Labs California yeast) to the bottling bucket to see if that helps my history of under-carbonated beer.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I also printed out the label I posted earlier and just taped them on really quickly so they look pretty. I'll bottle condition them for a week and then we'll see how they are. Can't wait! </div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jpgbfWDmLShopbdQMBxOiqQEPTYCNnaG1aHdEhambnFWWef7hWHre5RwFedYkugcIYv4pvMf_D21JMHonZROjDPCVNlt2_JizM-wt-nmVt7HPqp6hvDh9GjYP0_F0eEhLkK-8sS3UkVu/s1600/IMAG0038.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jpgbfWDmLShopbdQMBxOiqQEPTYCNnaG1aHdEhambnFWWef7hWHre5RwFedYkugcIYv4pvMf_D21JMHonZROjDPCVNlt2_JizM-wt-nmVt7HPqp6hvDh9GjYP0_F0eEhLkK-8sS3UkVu/s400/IMAG0038.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599593483183580018" border="0" /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jpgbfWDmLShopbdQMBxOiqQEPTYCNnaG1aHdEhambnFWWef7hWHre5RwFedYkugcIYv4pvMf_D21JMHonZROjDPCVNlt2_JizM-wt-nmVt7HPqp6hvDh9GjYP0_F0eEhLkK-8sS3UkVu/s1600/IMAG0038.jpg"></a><div style="text-align: center;">The photos are a little poor because I was taking them with my phone's camera. Cheers!</div></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-23060002442143468882011-04-22T08:42:00.000-07:002011-04-22T10:35:53.234-07:00Top 10 Commercial Beers of All Time<div style="text-align: left;">Well, I figured I would blog about this. Why? I dunno. Maybe it will help give you an idea of what I like and thus will give you some insight into the madness that is my brewing. Mostly, I just feel like posting some beer advocacy can't hurt and I haven't blogged in awhile. Each of the beers will have a link to my BeerAdvocate review so if you want to check that out for a more detailed, and timely review, go right ahead.</div><div><br /></div><div>(don't worry; bottling the Citra DIPA soon and brewing a Kolsch soon too! And after that, who knows? Maybe an IRS to age until the winter or another shot at saison) </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, in making a top ten list, a lot of things get left out, so I think my list is closer to beers that made lasting impressions than anything. </div><div><br /></div><div>Without further ado...</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/90/?ba=SkunkWorks">10. Stone Smoked Porter</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beerbeer.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Stone-Smoked-Porter-01.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://beerbeer.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Stone-Smoked-Porter-01.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 425px; height: 340px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh, Stone Smoked Porter. This was the first beer that made me go "Damn! That's good!" Its complex enough to keep you interested without being so complex as to make it unsessionable. The smoke isn't obnoxious. All around, it continues to be one of the beers that I have the fondest memories of and like going back to when I get a chance. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45/680/?ba=SkunkWorks">9. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://www.beersurfing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/DPP_0006.JPG" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 600px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout holds a special place in my heart because it was one of the first Russian Imperial Stouts that I had. Also, despite being amazingly delicious, it gets extra points for the fact that its incredibly accessible. If I wanted to, I could head to the distributor right now and buy a case of it and I wouldn't have to break the bank to do so. This is comforting in a world where most Imperial stouts are overpriced! This is the best beer the Brooklyn Brewery makes, in my opinion. </span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/40058/?ba=SkunkWorks">8. Southern Tier Choklat</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3360/3334829099_aec9172564.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 389px; height: 500px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Southern Tier seems to be a hit or miss brewery. You either love 'em or hate 'em. Though I've been underwhelmed by their regular line up and their hoppy beers particularly (all of their DIPAs taste like barleywines to me), their Black Water imperial stout series really hits the spot when you want a desert beer. Of all of them, my two favorite are Choklat and Mokah, which is a blend of Choklat and their coffee stout, Jahva. Of all the chocolate added beers I've had, Choklat is undoubtably the best. It features the chocolate prominently without being one dimensional.</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13307/28877/?ba=SkunkWorks">7. Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img src="http://www.simplybeer.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/mikkeller_beergeek2.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 475px; height: 356px; " /><div style="text-align: left;">I don't drink a whole lot of Mikkeller. For one, their beers are a little too expensive. Also, some of them are a little gimmicky if you ask me. That said, Beer Geek Breakfast was my favorite beer of 2010. Though not really a very big imperial stout, the Guiness-esque head makes it a beautiful stout, the body is great and the flavors work together well. Its also not (that) hard to find. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/19960/?ba=SkunkWorks">6. Founders' Kentucky Breakfast Stout</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82CAozaw2FlSTBdeepZE5dw8K1gYXF5srfhqgwbHRuNyR8NAwuxCQCdykUkPldNSJzIQHlwyPieDdKNCTi-2LNCujIktzDOYX0eIOFtvyCKrdC77IUCgyZ5NapvDZjCUzyEIF_06x8LGg/s400/206620_674862802650_27904258_36362551_2512316_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598454753828303826" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">I was debating which of Founders' stouts to post to this list, because Breakfast Stout and Imperial Stout are both amazing. This is one of the more balanced barrel aged beers I've had and doesn't taste anything like the 11% ABV beer it is. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">The fun story about this is how my girlfriend and I managed to get 4 bottles at our local beverage distributor despite a 1 bottle limit. The moral of the story: be a regular somewhere and spend five minutes chatting up the owner and be friendly. You'll get extra beers out of it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/38446/?ba=SkunkWorks">5. Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5029353983_e0bc75df10.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">I was lucky enough to have a pint of Stone's Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean at Rattle N Hum's Stone Total Tap Tower Takeover Tour Two Thousand Ten. I already told you how much I loved Stone Smoked Porter, but the vanilla version is extra good. When are they going to bottle this? Hopefully soon. In a night filled with super rarities like 2008 IRS aged in bourbon barrels, brandy barrel aged Double Bastard, this simple yet amazing porter beat them all and was the most memorable of the night for me. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Also, for the brewers out there, there's an old <a href="http://blog.stonebrew.com/?p=1142">Stone Blog entry </a>about brewing this beer! Cheers! </span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/8227/16814/?ba=SkunkWorks">4. The Alchemist Pub & Brewery Heady Topper</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://www.craftbeer.com/attachments/0001/5857/alchemist_post_post.jpg?1290551773" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 336px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/8227/?view=beerfly&ba=SkunkWorks">The Alchemist</a> is another must on the beer fan's travel itinerary. All their beer is amazing, but I'm going to focus on Heady Topper to prevent this from being a "Best Beers by the Alchemist" list. My girlfriend and I visited Vermont for Valentines Day, largely to see what the Alchemist was about. I asked the bartender if Heady Topper was on tap, because it wasn't listed on the beer list. To my surprise, it was! Getting a 12 oz pour and apprehensively expecting yet another ultra-hyped beer to fall short of my expectations well, lets say I wasn't let down. Its an incredible beer and its coming to cans soon! Drink it as soon as you can. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/4083/?ba=SkunkWorks">3. Stone Ruination IPA</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://luekensliquors.com/store/zen-cart-v1.3.8a-full-fileset-12112007/images/RUINATIONIPA.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 343px; height: 500px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Stone's Ruination IPA was probably the first DIPA I had and I think it was the first hoppy beer that I really truly loved. While many other IPAs that have been released since Ruination are more aggressive and more palate destroying, this beer really hits what a DIPA should be on the head for me and its beaten out some classic DIPAs in my mind, like Pliny the Elder (which I'm not a big fan of, by the way). And one of the best things about Stone beers? You can get them pretty easily almost no matter where you are. </span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1628/6512/?ba=SkunkWorks">2. Southampton Imperial Russian Stout</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_da0LpLWybM24rlksi9vvMSXLu4zD3Fc92pFwHdUPpUDwKAy9XMH3qHz2T_QgzVJhrEsmcgiWGUSjCkxx3fQ_qHfNETo1WrQjh_gjHLwEyOdt7E_Uqcf9PwiloMsY5WBqo6-nY8RSXMsx/s400/180658_641622227030_27904258_36170851_6232638_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598437963013288050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1628/?view=beerfly&ba=SkunkWorks">Southampton Publick House</a> is the best place for a beer fan to visit. Their beers are all excellent and Phil Markowski, the brewmaster, does an excellent job when it comes to things like saison. Hell, he literally wrote the book on saison. Their IRS is one of the best I've had. What adds to how good it is, for me anyway, is that it doesn't resort to things like barrel aging or added ingredients to get its luscious flavor. I'm glad my cellar has five waiting for special occasions.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/51257/?ba=SkunkWorks">1. Black Tuesday</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://www.drunkenpolack.com/images/blacktuesday.JPG" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 333px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>Black Tuesday is notorious in beer circles because it is pretty much everything a beer geek could want. Its over 18% alcohol, an imperial stout, aged in bourbon barrels, and incredibly rare. My bottle kind of fell into my lap. I set up a trade on BeerAdvocate, sent out some aged Dogfish things and some locals, and said "Just send whatever" and I got a Black Tuesday. Not bad! </div><div><br /></div><div>As for the beer itself, its pretty amazing to me how they got it up to 18% alcohol without it tasting like rocket fuel and in fact have made a beer that is wonderfully complex and unlike anything else I've ever had. If you can score a bottle, definitely do so!</div><div><br /></div><div>And for some honorable mentions: Cigar City Hunaphu, Ithaca Flower Power, Stone Double Bastard, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, North Coast Old Rasputin, Pretty Things Jack D'Or, and probably a dozen others. Cheers! </div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-65169065332800242912011-04-15T19:23:00.000-07:002011-04-15T17:01:18.498-07:00Saison Tasting<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tsfBRboWQ7hoEOb3IZIR5iVPV324aElMrF2fQXqERt1CtdcDl8lLJpRwEY_xFxHzi8AGsYoIGVi9-A3u1TPcgHPhcKM676GHUZmE3biBE0WhHfoWh_BOvKx6h-YmW4vV6DfeHZpaanEQ/s1600/IMG_1478.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tsfBRboWQ7hoEOb3IZIR5iVPV324aElMrF2fQXqERt1CtdcDl8lLJpRwEY_xFxHzi8AGsYoIGVi9-A3u1TPcgHPhcKM676GHUZmE3biBE0WhHfoWh_BOvKx6h-YmW4vV6DfeHZpaanEQ/s400/IMG_1478.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595866443294228050" border="0" /></a>Without further ado, here's the tasting results of the Saison!<br /><br />Look: cloudy, yellow body. Thin, bubbly head forms at the top but doesn't retain for more than a few minutes, ultimately just becoming a thin layer of foam and bubbles hugging the sides of the tulip. A little bit of patchy lace is left behind as well.<br /><br />Smell: actually, quite promising. The fact that Wyeast sells the Saison DuPont yeast is fairly apparent in the nose, and the beer is filled with those familiar esters. Hints of fruitiness from the hops are there as well.<br /><br />Taste: annnnnd here's the let down. The Munich malt comes out way too strongly here and it kind of drowns out the other flavors, sticking them in the background. There's the saison yeasty goodness back there along with some grapefruit and some tartness. Its also missing the paradise seed.<br /><br />Feel: a little fuller than I would've liked and not quite as dry as I would've liked either. The carbonation is fairly decent though.<br /><br />Drinkability: fairly easy drinking, could see this being a decent summer beer if not quite exactly a perfect saison.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTI1t6BNS0qA-WYIeyv3bNaCXnyagdV4VSwuvFxx1wjZRaYKE9BhEmFln3V2iv_f5TQWVrSN7PO1zTEcMDxOsjlgcck4WaRQfWI3K0ah1lYrXQX38sIlWMkRl6sjhBa46vfG8HRZMeSzDd/s1600/IMG_1474.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTI1t6BNS0qA-WYIeyv3bNaCXnyagdV4VSwuvFxx1wjZRaYKE9BhEmFln3V2iv_f5TQWVrSN7PO1zTEcMDxOsjlgcck4WaRQfWI3K0ah1lYrXQX38sIlWMkRl6sjhBa46vfG8HRZMeSzDd/s400/IMG_1474.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595866440177963490" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Overall, its not quite what I wanted it to be. Saisons are tricky though, so at least I learned some things. For my next saison I'm going to:<br /><ul><li>Adjust the grain bill. I'll use a little less malt overall, cut out the Munich, halve the wheat and maybe cut down the sugar. So basically, all pilsner malt with a little wheat, maybe some sugar and maybe an oz or two of debittered black for color adjustment.<br /></li><li>Adjust the hops. I think I'll go a more classic route and use something like Hallertau.</li><li>Phil Markowski, in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Farmhouse-Ales-Culture-Craftsmanship-Tradition/dp/0937381845/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302893526&sr=8-1">Farmhouse Ales </a>describes a few different mashing schedules, and I think I'm going to try the one from Saison DuPont.</li><li>For the yeast, I'm going to stick with the Saison DuPont yeast because I do like the characteristics this yeast has. However, I'm going to make a starter and after the fermentation has gone for a bit, I'm going to pitch another yeast strain to dry out the beer. </li></ul>You live and you learn! Saisons are tricky and mine may not quite be on par with world class saisons, but I'm glad I attempted the challenge of brewing it. I'll try and age a few bottles for an extended period of time and see how they develop. Cheers!<br /><br />Blog Posts About this Saison:<br /><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/04/tis-saison-to-bottle.html">T'is the Saison to Bottle.</a><br /><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/03/whats-brewing.html">What's Brewing. </a><br /><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/03/saison-update.html">Saison Update.</a><br /><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/02/craft-beer-beer-arts-crafts-and-saison.html">Craft Beer (Arts &) Crafts... and a Saison Update.</a><br /><a href="http://lonelyboner.blogspot.com/2011/02/brewday-saison-or-how-not-to-brew.html">Brewday: Saison (or how not to brew).</a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-33589247015393640022011-04-13T12:11:00.000-07:002011-04-15T08:15:12.376-07:00Citra Double IPA Label<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1foklYhwFii_KGGjJuEHg-TvL1EHgoDWd4yUlv47QEERlkp9CYsjzFixnqg19cPOm4-IoR-clizdFRA_kXfFC33PUJr-2WO8kW5bQ8df4Q6WCgJz27NaYAV9d6FV5BH3kYCMVc-bxhcs/s1600/citralabelcomplete.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1foklYhwFii_KGGjJuEHg-TvL1EHgoDWd4yUlv47QEERlkp9CYsjzFixnqg19cPOm4-IoR-clizdFRA_kXfFC33PUJr-2WO8kW5bQ8df4Q6WCgJz27NaYAV9d6FV5BH3kYCMVc-bxhcs/s400/citralabelcomplete.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595148196472468690" /></a><br /><div>Fermentation is pretty much complete. I tried a sample and it is quite tasty. Citra is really a very interesting hop and there's really nothing quite like it. The passion fruit character is unlike anything I've had elsewhere, along with hints of melon, papaya, pineapple, and grapefruit. It has just enough malt backbone to balance it out a little bit but not so much as to make it sweet and its still pretty dry. </div><div><br /></div><div>For a more powerful aroma, I'm going to be dry hopping it with 2 oz of even MORE Citra hops. I've never dry hopped before so I've been looking at different dry hopping methods. I think I'm just going to let the hops loose in the carboy until I bottle. </div><div><br /></div><div>And speaking of bottling, I worked up a simple label for this beer. Basically just a quick and easy filter of a image of hops and text added in Photoshop. Let me know what you think!</div><div><br /></div><div>EDIT: Transferred the beer onto 2 oz of Citra hops for some dry hopping action. After reading a bit about dry hopping, I decided just to do the hops directly into the beer so I don't have to worry about sterilizing my hop bag. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF51spt3dcf-6iaceWqou2mrS3p4PGnreC8lbz0mSoBFs0u81JoJ6kJ0Y-CxNHNSpOc9-MSdXgTbskjjWdCPbtSGSYTEer2GzJQy3M9QxkHmcwgpbPvNAJy7bG1kj_spZM3UONta2eOQn6/s400/IMG_1473.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595828499168817410" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 369px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>But on a sad note, 4 oz of dry pellet hops led to a serious about of trub at the bottom. Holy moly!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAu0fa12ax_Vnle7v2mjvPR4UfVzvHtQ_ik0NdXQQkl4pcogEIy5s8f_auRDVp6iW7xahdd3qHGO97LIBuBLSKtXHBDVe-K1cFV5mVC-H9SHWnWMDSu2hAKZJ43-yP9QinNuweM9ZK8Bv/s400/IMG_1471.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595828503890872258" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">That's about 1 gallon of unusable stuff. That's the price you pay for high IBUs. Cheers! </span></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-60968823277296957312011-04-06T08:20:00.001-07:002011-04-06T08:20:48.330-07:00Just got a Twitter.Why? I don't know. Maybe it will help me promote this blog in the future if I ever end up caring about the volume of readership this blog gets. Follow me by clicking the link to the right!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-35234538404296764372011-04-03T12:48:00.000-07:002011-04-06T10:39:55.804-07:00Tis the saison... to bottle.<div style="text-align: left;">So, I finally got around to bottling the saison. I lost so much volume from the craptastic brew day that I only ended up with one case of 500ml bottles and enough to fill one pilsner glass to see what its tasting like:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK67XY13Gy6WGnhBeWXZPp3SLtjRL8t4g0Inl01huci1ShgyWwdcGRDZ4wMwf_GPQppQDLLG5ca83BD4Li7yXheUEhxvYVt4NFyD0M_mlW35KtcDpZLg9pSezB7P9QAlvB4vDzPmWwnm3W/s400/IMG_1459.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591447206154409458" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 342px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>Granted, its tough to tell exactly how it will taste when its served a little cold and after its carbonated, but I do like the color. Its much better than how it looked in taster glasses. As for taste, it has some definite fruity elements, like apple and pear, some tropical fruit from the hops, and some pepper from the seeds of paradise. A little sweet, so I'm thinking maybe next time I brew a saison I'll pitch a different yeast strain to finish off to help dry it out... but maybe carbonation will help make it taste drier. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIvF54rfB_rAJu3tooQPfKBTgTgFvv1hdWynK-y_R4_EqDD0C4vEN3RXY82a9yueILDFauqBdhVr4j-tKra0pcqMd6QkiUjoJijJ_4ARiWlSwd17WX5slYKLhu4R-RtG-Pd4XzXeD5i-m/s400/IMG_1461.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591447207658288962" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">I used the flipper top bottles because saison doesn't seem appropriate when bottled in normal 12 oz bottles or bombers and I don't have enough 750ml bottles to bottle the batch. I'm going to cellar it for a few weeks before popping it open to see how it is. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEicvqZYyFKp0PLozcDVSs9KVitDR8oZQilvDMUz5T6-wKBbKcO6lo_8GCNt5zi6XhHqJ4y1Zkgap3hngpSoWMrekqyZYPQkuPueN8D7rNCRKrK_LsHD2jSjztSfbdMh6hlkCV-YhuhmIR/s400/IMG_1465.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591447223341724434" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">The handwritten label on the case just has the ingredients, brew date, bottle date, etc on it so I'll know what's in the bottles if I end up leaving some down there for a few months. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Also, checked on the Citra DIPA and it has a good krausen formed already so fermentation is nice and underway! I'm excited for that beer! </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Cheers! </span></span></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-3219590100846624002011-04-02T13:16:00.000-07:002011-04-06T10:41:06.137-07:00Citra DIPA Brew Day<div style="text-align: left;">Finally, an all grain batch goes (relatively) smoothly!</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRvqpWz5fG9k9Y0SA0neP_y2UmZ7lOaYuD5gMCyHrdBk3lvTufTGB0eCPcUST8qyrcRIFFgWBtQlB2yfiPw9XWv4xsdl8B3ewNrWetunBoucQYPfUUyQFEyaT6EAa5lWQDuTf5ylhDuz7/s1600/IMG_1445.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRvqpWz5fG9k9Y0SA0neP_y2UmZ7lOaYuD5gMCyHrdBk3lvTufTGB0eCPcUST8qyrcRIFFgWBtQlB2yfiPw9XWv4xsdl8B3ewNrWetunBoucQYPfUUyQFEyaT6EAa5lWQDuTf5ylhDuz7/s400/IMG_1445.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591084915567449314" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">That's a lot of Citra hops...</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>This is the first beer that I made a yeast starter for. Since the original gravity is going to be kind of high on this one, a yeast starter helps the yeast ferment a bit better. </div><div><br /></div><div>I got my strike water to 165 and when added to my grain, I got a mash temperature of 150. Its a little lower than I have done in the past, but this should help the beer dry out a little bit more. I don't think there's anything worse than a sweet DIPA. I was aiming for 7 gallons of wort and boiling it down to 5.5, but I ended up getting 6.5 and boiling down to 5. I wanted some extra for a 5 gallon batch because with a DIPA, you end up losing a lot of volume to vegetal matter from the hops. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjccDItsW89K5NtLqJbXejb4bPMllHBD647dYctEsyEUSBUtm2ku4gh0o4ZbGOL3O0BsaJCEA3YB2tFPHsQsUSL4_hJQZqNNbKswj1WPGXZN-yB_KVFrVcNXkcR2zckL0EU7q-geTZ1z-BU/s400/IMG_1450.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591085517307789666" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>I had an extra .1 oz of hops so I added that to the 5 minute addition so as not to add more bitterness. I also decided to add some Irish moss to the beer to clarify it a bit. Once I stopped the boil and started cooling down to get to pitching temperature, I noticed the ridiculous amount of hops floating around. You can kinda see it here...</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ijW6j2u3Fm5yeVRAQ4-s-KCZXFsKjWrytuLv2PrlZZ42FygoZdtJXAZhA98LY6m5aipHt_d34wzl6tbJ3f21I4LOMuHEIdh5K0BGmweHFFSRa6ccbEHjHlezVSWvOczflj671iyp75Kj/s400/IMG_1453.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591085519044032418" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>And after aerating, pitched a nice amount of California ale yeast. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEircXGbmbtbIUdNWOHDMcL5GWlOOp2edmoh90gMKZq8Z6DPmCqcoZp_AIULHEYeg0sy65_DbU9mPfrAGLwsYTxwoM2jd46SeZXmAx6GA2xauew4wTe6HxaFztly1DCuU77OPKegUlE2BKn6/s400/IMG_1454.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591085523828888818" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div>Overall, had a relatively easy brew day. I'm planning on bottling the saison tomorrow. I'm gonna be using my flip top bottles, which are 16 oz so hopefully it goes quick. Tonight, we're celebrating with a trip to <a href="http://www.bobbique.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">Bobbique</span></a>! Cheers. </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-38654001063595476192011-04-02T10:31:00.000-07:002011-05-01T16:31:49.260-07:00Everything and the Kitchen Sink Imperial Porter Tasting<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKDlEamEyCac2JwAeinpA-kWAnY7sz3JHwSAaDh8zQtgmFjby2wrn2T2VwHg_JN2DQtpMj7xD6EGJ9vGtEdaYoVMsz2-qT9-uBP3LNW_SW-78FVKqYQBnMMU5ERxZvJSX57iD0zibe60e/s1600/IMG_1449.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKDlEamEyCac2JwAeinpA-kWAnY7sz3JHwSAaDh8zQtgmFjby2wrn2T2VwHg_JN2DQtpMj7xD6EGJ9vGtEdaYoVMsz2-qT9-uBP3LNW_SW-78FVKqYQBnMMU5ERxZvJSX57iD0zibe60e/s400/IMG_1449.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591082376172980578" /></a><div><br /></div>This was one of the last extract beers I brewed. I decided to kinda throw everything that is hyped in the craft beer community into one beer. After the beer sat on a primary for awhile, I threw basically everything at it. Bourbon soaked American oak chips, coffee beans, cocoa/chile powder, vanilla beans and some vanilla extract. I aged it for about 6 months before bottling.<div><br /><div>Let's just say, way too much oak and way too much bourbon when this beer was fresh. Not only that but I think my palate wasn't developed enough to be able to pick the flavors apart and given that I wasn't even a huge fan of barrel aged craft beer at the time, this beer stood no chance for me to like it... much less everyone I know who doesn't even care for craft beer. </div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I'm brewing the Citra DIPA today and I was heading to the basement to retrieve some equipment when I found a few bottles I had designated to open after six months in the bottle. I figured, ehh! What's the worst that could happen? The worst that could happen is I kill some time while waiting for my beer to brew! Popped one open just to taste it. Its been cellared for about 7 months. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TX3gPYrmZRduKo76R1tOtE4CHPVD_IxqFH8jvhBfjEYnSO-R_3E6TVNXmkQrX4tQQYFVSZBGj_jKV9Vtto-BPdUApEq4d89y7Sg_hO7EGLNjVwG8V2jPeVOVim5vF1rJffwT5usjA75M/s400/IMG_1448.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591082370693978450" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>12 oz bottle poured into a snifter and served at cellar temperature.</div><div><br /></div><div>Look: dark brown but not quite black. There are brownish, red highlights when held to a light source. The head is tan, one finger thick, and has excellent retention. There's a bit of patchy lace left as I drink it but it quickly disappears but leaves a few pockets of lace here and there on the snifter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Smell: hints of coffee, some oak and chocolate. The bourbon is subdued but certainly there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Taste: follows the nose fairly well with the oak standing in the foreground. A bit tannic, with some light chocolate and vanilla notes. Whether the vanilla is from the actual vanilla or from the age in the oak, I can't tell. Coffee stands out when the beer is first poured but as it warms, it kind of loses that flavor and yields to a more bourbon/oaky flavor. The bourbon is distinct in the finish and leaves my mouth tasting like I just did a shot of bourbon, but it isn't quite as sharp. The time in the cellar has smoothed this one out and the flavors have begun to mesh quite well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mouthfeel: medium bodied, actually decently carbonated and is accurate for the style compared to other Imperial porters I've had. A bit of boozy bite in the front of my tongue and a little booze throughout the taste without being overwhelming. The beer was around 8% alcohol based on gravity readings but the bourbon added to it added some alcohol to the beer, but it was beyond my ability to measure that contribution. It drinks like a 10% beer. </div><div><br /></div><div>Drinkability: certainly a sipper and not so much a sessionable ale. After all, its a bit above 8%! </div><div><br /></div><div>Overall Impression: I'm surprised how well the flavors have come together in this. The oak has really been tamed and the bourbon is working very well for me. I don't think this is a beer for people who aren't into barrel aged beers, but I actually like it and its something I would've been happy with if I ordered it at the bar. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of the earliest pieces of advice I received about brewing was that if you don't like your beer at first, let it age a bit and age can take care of many problems. While that isn't true for things like IPAs and DIPAs, it nonetheless worked for this beer. I'll keep this in mind when I decide to brew another "barrel" aged beer in the future. Cheers! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-48838164031202208272011-03-30T09:49:00.000-07:002011-03-30T10:34:07.098-07:00The Brew Day That Wasn't... and other stuff.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>So this past Saturday, I got everything ready and then realized I'm missing a piece to connect my valve to the <a href="http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Bazooka-Screen.html">Bazooka screen</a> and so decided to cut my losses and not brew. As we speak, the yeast is back in the fridge taking a nap, waiting to chow down later this week. I'll probably end up brewing Saturday or Sunday. <div><br /></div><div>After brewing the Citra DIPA, I'm going to bottle the saison and cellar it for awhile and probably drink it in May. </div><div><br /></div><div>At the beginning of May, I am going to try to brew a beer that I've recently become fascinated with, which is Kolsch. I hope you're ready for a lesson in beer geek-ery. </div><div><br /></div><div>Kolsch is a German ale. What? You didn't know Germans made ales? Well, you'd be wrong. Lagering beer is a relatively new phenomenon and unfortunately, their popularity in Germany led to the marginalization of brewers producing German ale. There are still traditions of German ales though and American craft brewers have helped to keep these traditional styles alive. Hefeweizen is probably the most famous/popular and most people are familiar with Dunkelweizen and Weizenbock, probably because Sam Adams brews a Dunkelweizen and Brooklyn Brewery has a Weizenbock. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are also some interesting, less known styles. There's Berliner Weisse, which is a sour, low alcohol beer served with fruit flavored syrup, and altbier, which is kind of a German brown ale, conditioned for longer than most ales, and using the "old" tradition of using ale yeast. Both are exceedingly difficult to find. Alt isn't usually exported out of Germany and Berliner Weisse is dying out as a style.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's also Kolsch. Kolsch is a beer brewed in Cologne, using lighter malt and low amounts of hops, and is fermented at normal ale temperatures before being lagered. The result is a beer that an untrained palate might mistake for a light lager, as flavors like apple and wheat are fairly subtle. The beer is traditional served in stanges:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://koelsches-eck.com/Gaffel_K_lschkranz_offen_186_2_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 600px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">I've only had the chance to try two Kolschs. I had <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1536/4137/?ba=SkunkWorks"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">Gaffel Kolsch </span></a>and <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/12959/56786/?ba=SkunkWorks"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">Captain's Kolsch</span></a> from Captain Lawrence Brewing. Both were quite good and I wish I could explore the style more, but alas. Kolsch is a pain in the ass to find.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">So, I'm gonna brew it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">I think this is an important part of homebrewing. While homebrewing is cool in the sense that you can get high quality beer by the case load, there's also something a bit more meaningful to it, at least for me. Brewing is a human tradition and it is something that our ancestors have done for thousands of years, and the beer they brewed was different everywhere. It is a sad reality that today, many of these styles of beer are dying out because of aggressive marketing and business practices of big beer. Luckily, craft and homebrewers can keep these traditional styles alive by making them and educating themselves and others about the tradition of real beer. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">So, with that in mind, sometime soon I'm going to have to work on a Kolsch. It should be nice and easy compared to everything else. My recipe only calls for 8lbs of grain. It doesn't have some crazy kind of yeast that needs difficult to reach temperatures (ala the saison). It doesn't have to reach a really high gravity like the DIPA needs. Plus, it will be a nice beer to drink through the summer months. I'm going to have to get some stanges so that I can drink them properly, though. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Here's the recipe:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>Lonely Boner Kolsch.</div><div>5 gallon batch.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div>7# German Pils. 87.5%</div><div>.5# German Light Munich 6.3%</div><div>.5# German Light Wheat 6.3%</div><div><br /></div><div>1 oz 3.8% AA German Hallertau @ 60 min</div><div>1 oz 3.8% AA German Hallterau @ 30 min</div><div><br /></div><div>White Labs WL029 German Ale/Kolsch</div><div><br /></div><div>Going to mash at 149 degrees. I think I'll ferment it for two weeks at normal ale temperatures then toss it in the basement for a bit to age for a bit. </div><div><br /></div><div>OG: 1.045</div><div>FG: 1.011</div><div>ABV: 4.5%</div><div>29.3 IBU</div><div>2.9 SRM (a little bright for the style)</div><div><br /></div><div>Cheers! </div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-67977105804452452512011-03-23T10:32:00.000-07:002011-03-23T11:06:10.837-07:00What's Brewing<div>Soon, the Saison is going to get bottled. It'll be going into 12 oz bottles and will get cellared for a good amount of time. I'm also thinking of pitching some new yeast at bottling to assure carbonation.</div><div><br /></div><div>I decided on going a little classier than Saison du Boner, on the off chance I want to give a bottle to a coworker or two. I made a quick label, so I can slap 'em on so I know what's what since this might be getting some extended cellaring.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDRRLIENfPkJZoHEEmucBbPEGJ1GmPCyajhgCM8OmecCnX4lO534DGvYL03c1tPOyJx3_ebOM1m4xUuh55FYQDDBxT_TepyO9AdfIXdr6GP7SrqOke7mY1sjmxyztnEDhIskYpcgQq7As/s1600/irissaisonlabel.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDRRLIENfPkJZoHEEmucBbPEGJ1GmPCyajhgCM8OmecCnX4lO534DGvYL03c1tPOyJx3_ebOM1m4xUuh55FYQDDBxT_TepyO9AdfIXdr6GP7SrqOke7mY1sjmxyztnEDhIskYpcgQq7As/s400/irissaisonlabel.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587333750008841266" /></a><br /><div>Decided on Iris since the song by the Goo Goo Dolls holds meaning for my girlfriend and I. Awwwww.</div><div><br /><div>My next project is going to be a double IPA. Brewday is tentatively Sunday and it'll be ready a few weeks later. I'm thinking of kegging this one since IPAs are always better on tap. </div><div><br /></div><div>Batch size: 5.5 gallons (brewing some extra because with highly hopped beers, you can expect to lose some final volume due to hop sediment)</div><div><br /></div><div>Malt bill:</div><div>15# US 2-row 93.8%</div><div>1# US Caramel 40L 6.3%</div><div><br /></div><div>Keeping it simple with an easy grain bill. Nothing but base malt with a bit of caramel for color adjustment/head retention.<div><br /></div></div><div>Hops:</div><div>Citra @ 60 min </div><div>Citra @ 30 min</div><div>Citra @ 15 min</div><div>Citra @ 5 min</div><div><br /></div><div>All Citra hops for this one. Citra is a high alpha hop that gives a citrusy fruit character along with some tropical fruit character. </div><div><br /></div><div>White Labs WLP001 - California Ale Yeast</div><div><br /></div><div>Extras:</div><div>Yeast Nutrient</div><div><br /></div><div>I also am going to be making a <a href="http://www.beerdude.com/yeast_starter.shtml">yeast starter</a> for this guy because of the high gravity of this brew. </div><div><br /></div><div>The final stats on this should be:</div><div>OG: 1.080</div><div>FG: 1.018</div><div>8.4% ABV</div><div>77.9 IBU (should change, depending on the alpha content of the hops Rebel Brewer sends)</div><div>8.3 SRM </div><div><br /></div><div>Sounds fun. Cheers! </div></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-88832439434286537942011-03-05T11:35:00.000-08:002011-03-05T11:41:42.328-08:00Saison Update<div>So the saison has been workin' away for two weeks now. It still needs a good bit of attenuation. I broke my hydrometer so I'm going by taste testing and well, its still too malty.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FX8x2rn-fcWMRYQHLgTCXjxq722YL8PoceHB4Knr5oCdUaigkMfnJaHPR4yzPePEYEareE8uGxivsQ4AiAcaDG4CeE5Mp8TsmPY3B3ilwnO-lVcOfsIKt7eh0Xfe-cLYLvXdhdKlNWAJ/s400/IMAG0187.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580682214289895298" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">I assure you that I did not piss in a cup and call it beer.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">The color also leaves something to be desired, but hey. Not much you can do now. I think my error was using the amber sugar to affect the color of the beer and then not making it dark enough. The level of haze is good though.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Today I transferred my saison to a secondary:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKw_uK08gSbu9vwX3CnBgwdAfSGmyw7fmW_SSmUS4Lna2zIPmFv2R_MYpiYvlvGlEOUM_T8JfYfsIssyw4I5_1wCY307oNlXvA1_fMs23KcmeoJhOazV1jQEqJ6PDe_vXvHURsZmSgeN1y/s1600/IMAG0189.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKw_uK08gSbu9vwX3CnBgwdAfSGmyw7fmW_SSmUS4Lna2zIPmFv2R_MYpiYvlvGlEOUM_T8JfYfsIssyw4I5_1wCY307oNlXvA1_fMs23KcmeoJhOazV1jQEqJ6PDe_vXvHURsZmSgeN1y/s400/IMAG0189.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580682216579082338" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Due to the awkward size of the batch because I lost so much wort, my batch was too big to fit into a 3 gallon carboy and kinda too small for a 6 gallon. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In a week, I'm gonna pitch some brettanomyces and throw in some oak cubes for a barrel aged character and then bottle after a week or so. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cheers! </div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-44190402411997339152011-02-27T09:58:00.000-08:002011-02-27T11:16:52.289-08:00Craft Beer Beer (Arts &) Crafts... and a saison update.<div>My girlfriend and I had off yesterday and since we're a pair of craft beer devotees and (almost) foodies, that meant beer and food related activities all day long. We visited <a href="http://bluepointbrewery.com/">Blue Point Brewing Co</a>, which is probably the most popular Long Island brewery, for a quick tour and some tasting. Later on, we drank a bottle of 2011 Sexual Chocolate. If you would like to read my review on BeerAdvocate, <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11036/35284/?ba=SkunkWorks">here's the link</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>But first, we did some arts n' crafts. If you're an avid beer drinker, you might have developed a habit like ours... we save almost every bottle (they are too cool to throw away/recycle/reuse for homebrew) and save all the intact bottle caps you can. We thought it would be cool to do some bottle cap magnets for the beer fridge:</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Kynv-gSlN_n1Igkz4liDnGuDRNzl3iwWmrH6MPVyDx3-pIONkj97L6zUYWEPdlGuT2iBTLwnVM3aRtsVEb0RqjCN6fdiYpCLXE40TW27eXsWSgNAMVHq0qZ54xWA7VO8HMi1Bhrcdizx/s1600/IMG_1435.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Kynv-gSlN_n1Igkz4liDnGuDRNzl3iwWmrH6MPVyDx3-pIONkj97L6zUYWEPdlGuT2iBTLwnVM3aRtsVEb0RqjCN6fdiYpCLXE40TW27eXsWSgNAMVHq0qZ54xWA7VO8HMi1Bhrcdizx/s400/IMG_1435.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578431325312793986" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61Xg0irlbJNi-Is7wKCnydPqsCecLTUSj7o9mWlzmOm_a6YDCryvQhDZc91C5bGXEPHNdc3GBFZeHXIk2aHelRNfRWO_OPnbb16rfz2jbzELXU0EQ1zNOOEp1H4H9i6BT3WQ82BwF4lIS/s1600/IMG_1438.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61Xg0irlbJNi-Is7wKCnydPqsCecLTUSj7o9mWlzmOm_a6YDCryvQhDZc91C5bGXEPHNdc3GBFZeHXIk2aHelRNfRWO_OPnbb16rfz2jbzELXU0EQ1zNOOEp1H4H9i6BT3WQ82BwF4lIS/s400/IMG_1438.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578431323352263410" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Yeah, that's a Heineken case. No, I don't drink it. I had a bunch o' bombers packed into it at the distributor.</span></div><div><br /><div>My girlfriend also made the Blue Point bottle cap flower, since one of her favorite Blue Point brews, <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/764/36041">Spring Fling</a>, is coming out now. She made it out of Sculpey and hot glue. The magnet in the middle between the Ben and Jerry's sticker and the Fat Tire sticker is a magnet she made for me Christmas and says "Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy" and the picture is me enjoying a <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/52752/?ba=SkunkWorks">Stone Imperial Russian Stout aged in bourbon barrels </a> at Rattle N Hum for the Total Tap Tower Takeout Tour 2010 event.</div><div><br /></div><div>We also had a 4 oz (or so) sample of my saison, that has been fermenting for a week at this point. Some notes:</div><div><ul><li>the color isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be based on the way the mash/boil looked. Bright golden body with a bit of a wheat haze. Might be a bit light for the style, but that's okay.</li><li>The hops are still pretty forward, which will ease a bit as the beer ages. </li><li>The malt is still there but that should get fermented out.</li><li>The familiar saison spiciness isn't really there yet.</li><li>I stuck a heating pad under the fermentor so hopefully the increased temperature will help bring out some saison familiar tastes. </li></ul><div>So maybe the saison brewday wasn't a total loss.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I also got some reading material and I'm currently reading through Phil Markowski's <i>Farmhouse Ales: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition. </i>Markowski is the brewmaster at Southampton Publick House, probably the best Long Island brewery. So far, its about the history of biere de Garde and saison and not so much about actually brewing it but its pretty interesting so far. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cheers! </div></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-43827715917113334352011-02-19T17:14:00.000-08:002011-02-19T18:07:45.443-08:00Brewday: Saison. Or, How Not to Brew.<div style="text-align: center;">Yeah, so my parents' freakishly groomed cat will be the mascot of today's brewday.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8F3d2GXEqgx8pa753dSZvQPIDdco09ornmRUknIc1hEpxj8fCcS_ziZnoECwjx5z5kmfUWV_vOZ8HPJ9GMt5G7yjIZ3Y33ZsH93bjNTJGcgkXnsc7C_Bgh4kNAFBhUy85lt4ltI7tfC5E/s1600/IMG_1411.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8F3d2GXEqgx8pa753dSZvQPIDdco09ornmRUknIc1hEpxj8fCcS_ziZnoECwjx5z5kmfUWV_vOZ8HPJ9GMt5G7yjIZ3Y33ZsH93bjNTJGcgkXnsc7C_Bgh4kNAFBhUy85lt4ltI7tfC5E/s400/IMG_1411.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575577387598459986" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">I am Lucy. Destroyer of worlds. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Ok, so some times things just get out of hand. On almost every single brewday I've had, I've managed to do something wrong. Something either spills or I hurt myself or I realize I'm missing something important. For instance, my first all grain batch featured a stuck mash. Nonetheless, I managed to unstick it and even though it wasn't the greatest situation, I still ended up with a good beer in the end. Usually its not an issue to readjust and improvise something on the fly. Well, today didn't go so smoothly but that's okay because there's still stuff to learn from and hey... maybe the beer will turn out all right anyway. <div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Inverting Sugar</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">The first thing I had to do was get my sugar inverted. If you remember, my recipe called for 12oz of amber candi sugar. After doing some reading on the internet and in a good book called Radical Brewing, I learned that homebrew store bought candi sugar is a rip off. Its really just sucrose (table sugar) and a process you can do at home.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The first step is to add a little bit of lemon juice for the citric acid, a little bit of water, and then boil it. I actually added too much water, I think. So don't do what I did. </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagc5J-hnzrlJ4Z3f-tc5OogkG31YTzOOTALyf4ZJD1FOJ3RaQ-5OjOAmkE_8W2T-5C86ez8az5LYLNzXiRgvjBfx3l94P_o_s3fdYckHGxZZN0KqPaPgSdnSr8tQRZIJ0WnpKOGVDWvZm/s400/IMG_1413.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575578072000659714" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once it gets to the color you want, you want to pour it out onto a baking sheet with some wax paper laid down.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPs_fGhVRJN3YR3r936Ied-0jr-3p36cNhX8NPMeueu-U2yWRGQCnzc-xqzKe3qkhkHLPLH1cziWzemFlcuqN8YF5Po1_S5ugXs4SA4BuiW_sIJ50AtTYfLmm6VgAtVfCRqcLWpS3iL3T9/s400/IMG_1416.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575578076245377122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It'll harden again. To speed this process along, I stuck it in the fridge. Once it came out, it was pretty solid so I broke it up so I could get it into my boil without much issue. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwbXRfsvqvjqYVONZUwQbX40nhE8vicOd15ZGXPyrlT1TLDn9hg6ldZ-KSItj-CqPzKjPk2KQXgAgtmzOth-e3K5M87jdnisxKKZXxhkRY0h5lrYaeu2d8yOuLngNlllhWwNDAtf-2sfr/s400/IMG_1429.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575578080960695522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div>I think there's some debate as to whether or not inverting sugar is necessary. Some people seem to think you can throw table sugar into beer without much issue, others seem to think it will make your beer taste like cider. I figured, ehh, why not? Its not really that much extra effort. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Milling</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Behold, my state of the art mill!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf7eceVdWraI7591sSN_KGuk8b_AOFDCl1AQi3O-Rt6sbJYcSeCcTzwTTzLiYcbQMLKqNeuHX1tRqajWUGexVzTgDDrinASCiIivfiJz984R2uzixLZqdtDnMgm9Tx1tYGGandYrSeMfNm/s400/IMG_1417.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575579687587081010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">After getting that stuck mash the last time I brewed, I figured I would revert the mill to the factory setting. Here's my milled grains.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1TGRTfTQW7T5WiQ6T76XBKdP3K_MB0jleY7pxaqnnb8ri8Z6I6K2Lkb5zGhtEAB_E69K_JBL4V-prJFTJCOj_QRQstWmdpGkuiIsuK_Wy1pBqj8blxP0fptCl025aBSjn-D86rKCprC7/s400/IMG_1421.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575579691434602882" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b>Mashing</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">As always, this is where it started going down hill. Here's my set up for y'all to pine over it:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_spk8mgGQ9WCvQpNJmYAjylBHVPLn7mm5fj-ObyHIG_NJOwD_aJ3W4piqUAn8Q4PwdrFzTe_-ETTvEdLEMc5hWtjMca8yN2rlsbxSckPQocOaExDP8M2E4p5WNFPkZFPH7THBkzB79Z8X/s400/IMG_1422.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575580187400548834" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">One thing you might've noticed is that this is set up outside. And its the middle of the New York winter. Well, it was really nice almost until the minute I had to turn on the tank. Then it became a windy, nasty day from hell. The result was that my fire kept getting blown out and I had to sit out in the cold watching the fire instead of setting it on auto pilot and getting warm. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Last time, I mashed a little too hot. I hit 185 degrees for my strike water last time and my mash ended up being at around 160, so this time I did 175 and it ended up just right at around 150.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxz36qlR3Si606yvfH5O0pgjaUIB3aH0qd4kAAPwnWId264x8rUXKUNmLKpbv90l3uY0wMGd7tpAu3dfvwoW9S7HgqPeASF0yJFoiS716CWPtGh4n_QUjFXeCW0OGYT06Hu5jhPr0wmSJN/s400/IMG_1428.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575580871412199794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">While that sat for an hour, I sanitized my fermentor and prepped my boil additions. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Again, I ended up with a stuck sparge. I think I'm gonna switch out the square cooler for a cylinder and get a false bottom. This shiz is ridic, yo. At times it was so bad, I seriously considered just tossing it, or just fermenting what I had and seeing what the area's wild yeast could do. I also didn't clear the sparge so easily this time and ended up losing a good deal of the mash as a consequence. I ended up with about 5 gallons going into the boil when the target was 6.5, which would've yielded a 5 gallon batch. Oh well! </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b>The Other Stuff</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">I had to crush 1 gram of grains of paradise to add to the boil. I didn't have a spare grinder so my brilliant plan was to stick it in a ziploc bag and hit it with a mallet gently until they popped open. It worked!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRqPljFK-MRDMl2x1eMz-Uk2xC_nXkt25-l5xaON9WM8HrlckLeFXNbVbByr3CWc5mqAjEuDAnFTatPtwSKSRc0NIBAgrn5l74wqLbLjf2xGnPEONgoyJ5833EiwKbkl0s2M-jXRbG47n/s400/IMG_1424.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575583419460444386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">I've also learned that its always a good idea to arrange your boil additions before you have to put them in. That way, when the boil is going you don't have to worry about measuring out hops or looking for this or that. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSMd7Zq1Tl7pmJ1DsuQ1If__eyCJcuBA5sqOQbCNRW-D_uSlTY_ehY9PF9uAY93XGlleh8U2LUcXUn-8xCNdbHZiX719OveiLcxhos7ayFe3OvjQMfWpc3cDqiZZVLkhKovJ24LO_or3w/s400/IMG_1426.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575583428650709330" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">If you noticed the hop bag, its because I'm a moron and ordered whole leaf Cascade hops instead of pellets. Pellets are much easier to work with and they are the same as whole leaf hops in terms of quality so I usually go with those. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimm59Zg6Ffc8for4EtxTc4kzZTP_QhyphenhyphenpRpIyUxKVAZUu2jWIwD6BjauxmOtxQIHROCMwplgMnFZ3BKreA2kIEWxCgg6mQBurVoh3nfCGbKz_N8n-BGICR3KQiohnHpCfstFQnZj3e2Z9P_/s400/IMG_1425.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575583428391978530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Whole leaf hops are pretty though.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">I also decided to go with some Irish moss because the wort looked so cloudy that I figured some Irish moss would help make it look a little better. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b>The Boil</b></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b><br /></b></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">After being disappointed that I only collected 5 gallons from the mash, deciding not to lauter again, I began the boil. I also was not happy with the color, but since this is the first brew I'm doing that's supposed to be fairly light in color, maybe fermenting and letting the sediment settle a bit will give this beer a more appealing color. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the hot break.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNiLz3mWzv2BhshOVLtDKLe4xVncqJd_wco19vBfBnxsbRLR_6DlxU_t0IdrdAUNgm9-8INZfLdgGafFNnwzIedpZ71nm-GVw_14QvyJpgWb9l-4urRBiKULyGywmLMCRHm2hKEKhk4Z2/s400/IMG_1432.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575584618060832146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vnJ2XwvtW9AI5urB5N8CrXtP489PuPS0yoDmvRZtYMlR4zHvBI0-OZan09I-Sb7EhU16sFRNe3q3BeqHTyPKJf3WN4U1k0KjH3wotni3TDlx_L-zK5W4ke-zfquLF3Vd8TsO32qG4nn0/s400/IMG_1433.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575584624441555346" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqf1sDo7DenWG7Dbul96I7Y29z-tfqsXv9UoNGLPuWm63fGGFOb6gyNWau212njCNbi_ze7zc2RDz_vAPJS3Tkuf_83cCJeLxMJkfuTdXQGQDg2SdXvKeLBNBmxV94PaBcIi39ztF2X5se/s400/IMG_1434.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575584623230290434" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">After that, I chilled it down to 65 pretty quickly. Pitched the yeast. Stuck it in the closet and covered it in a blanket to keep it nice and warm so that saison yeast can go to town.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Hopefully it works out in the end. The worst of all possible brewdays usually are redeemed in the end when you finally drink the beer. I think my next batch (the Citra DIPA) will mostly be done on the stove top, which is easy because it is a smaller batch. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Cheers! </span></span></span></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-61186951635006513642011-02-19T17:09:00.001-08:002011-02-19T19:20:37.922-08:00RDWHAHB<div><br />That means "Relax, don't worry, have a home brew." It was said by Charlie Papazian. He's the guy who wrote The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Its something to keep in mind when a brew day goes to hell the way today did. Here are some pictures of some of the reject batch of Vanilla Porter. They are called rejects because I bottled them in twist off bottles with pry off caps. Still quite tasty! </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0ScgZqla_tFTckeCbtpgdAVKwjIgZsedS5N8g6p4wUJMzHJIJ8docQw7vKn1eBEQaKrZdR70bwCaycuLKXVAQ1_nhUUaasX31aAyGq-PIeBc7kBfOaP8Ed4IXOj8c5CqytcZtjqB4xHe/s400/IMG_1408.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575573131652739794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT49ANcpqWwajfUEgn8XliTDJMqE05hsqfLF5G-1H6L9CT_qMxsW6uxT-d6HNo1rODHKDkIkL1-ifQptS-hIK1yGuQqDNxhiDw6IESWAgW-5tcrkJ0uBj0CFouEn2uftB8Lq7EpDkvF7I/s1600/IMG_1414.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT49ANcpqWwajfUEgn8XliTDJMqE05hsqfLF5G-1H6L9CT_qMxsW6uxT-d6HNo1rODHKDkIkL1-ifQptS-hIK1yGuQqDNxhiDw6IESWAgW-5tcrkJ0uBj0CFouEn2uftB8Lq7EpDkvF7I/s400/IMG_1414.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575573134026321490" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Half full so you can see the lacing. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I'll post about my horrific saison brewing experience next post... so as not to infect this post with its negativity.</div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250280579332941893.post-22554140816162944022011-02-18T18:50:00.001-08:002011-02-18T18:56:44.218-08:00Update!Ok, so I never got around to brewing that Saison. I have been busy with random beer adventures with the girlfriend, work, and school so there hasn't been much time. Brew day is tomorrow though. <div><br /></div><div>After reading about brewing Saisons and realizing that its gonna take a while to brew, and the fact that my vanilla porter is almost gone, I am gonna do a small batch of something else while the saison conditions. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you... Tri-citra-hops! A Citra DIPA.</div><div><br /></div><div>Batch Size: 2.5 gal</div><div>Expected OG: 1.089</div><div>Expected FG: 1.020</div><div>Expected ABV: 9.3%</div><div>IBU: 114.8</div><div><br /></div><div>Grain Bill</div><div>6# US 2-row 75%</div><div>1# US Caramel 20L</div><div>1# US White Wheat</div><div><br /></div><div>Hop Schedule</div><div>.25 oz Citra @ 60 min</div><div>.25 oz Citra @ 45 min</div><div>.25 oz Citra @ 30 min</div><div>1 0z Citra @ 25 min</div><div>.25 oz Citra @ 15 min</div><div>.5 oz Citra @ 5 min</div><div>.5 oz Citra @ turn off</div><div><br /></div><div>White Labs WLP001 - California Ale Yeast</div><div><br /></div><div>Mmm. Citra hops. Should be fun. Keep an eye out for Saison du Boner's brew day blog. Cheers! </div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386894247162438813noreply@blogger.com0