Brewing on Monday

I have Monday off for Presidents day and so I will be brewing two batches. I posted last time that I will be making a schwartzbier and either a bier de garde or a vanilla strong ale. Well with the rest of the country deep in snow, the weather here in San Diego has become awesome, we are expecting highs in the 70's today and lots of sun, even the flowers on my iris' are starting to bloom and I even see my first hop shoot breaking ground!. I also have lots of sour beers aging away in carboys. So instead of a big beer that will take a while to age and may be out of season by the time it is ready I went with something a little more San Diego. I will be brewing my second IPA. It is not a style that I usually brew because I am so spoiled living in San Diego (not the weather) because we have some of the best IPA's around. Green Flash West Coast, Alpine Duet, Nelson, O'Briens, Port Slap and Tickle, Stone IPA, Ballast Point Sculpin, we even get Russian River Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder all the time. I am a fan of light colored, dry, huge hop aroma and flavor IPAs with a balanced but strong bitterness. The recipe I will be brewing is inspired by Alpine's Duet a IPA brewed with Amarillo and Simcoe in perfect balance "duet". I am using 2-row, Crystal 20L, and Carapils. I will be dry hopping this beer as well. I amy even throw a little untoasted American Oak chips in with the dry hops as Blind Pig used to and Alpine's Pure Hoppiness does.

I will also be brewing my scwhartzbier my second lager, more on that on Monday. I cleaned my keggerator and the brew house yesterday so i am ready to go. I will have my Brett Gose and American Mild on soon, they are cooling and carbonating right now.