Monkeying Around...At Monkey Paw

Last month I had the opportunity to go and help my friend Derek brew a fact of beer at Monkey Paw Brewing Company in San Diego. Derek has been brewing at Monkey Paw for almost a year and already he is getting wonderful reviews. I have know Derek for about 4 years, we met through home brewing and  he was the creator of our homebrew club CHUG. I was able to help Derek brew his Rich Man's IIPA. It was  great opportunity to learn and experience what brewing on a commercial scale was like. The brewery is tiny and with all the kegs, grain and storage there is little room for much less. The biggest thing I noticed was that the process is much more hands off than homebrewing, most of the time you are pushing buttons and turning valves. The hardest part was using the clamps to run hoses from outlet to inlet. I also noticed how long the process takes. We started to mill in at about 9am and I left around 5:30pm leaving Derek with a small amount of clean up. I learned a bunch and really gained a greater respect for commercial brewing...these guys work extremely hard. In addition to brewing I helped Derek fill kegs, clean tanks and manage inventory. He is not only the head brewer, but the bar manager for the pub.
The other cool thing that occurred from this particular batch of beer from Monkey Paw was that during the CBC the mobile canning unit called the Can Van came to Monkey Paw and Derek and owner Scot Blair canned three batches of beer (Rich Man's, Oatmeal Pale Ale, and Sweet Georgia Brown). This beer was officially the first beer to be canned in San Diego, well at least since Aztec and Mission Brewery (the originals) closed in 1953. I was able to buy a couple of four packs at one of the local beer stores Bine and Vine. I enjoyed the fruits of my labor (well mostly Derek's, although I did clean out the mash tun) on my front porch the other day...it was great feeling and  great way to end a long week.

In short, this was great day spent with a good friend learning about professional brewing.

Thanks Derek!

Spring Forward Pale Ale

Well, let me start off by saying I don't know what style this beer is. It is not a typical Belgian Pale, nor is it a Wit beer. It is a blend of the two and uses american hops. It just sounded like a beer I would want to drink on a warm day or evening, so I went for it. I only had about 2 hours and 15 minutes to brew this beer and based on some new information about mash conversion times from some local commercial brewers I decided to give a short mash a shot. When I say short, I mean the time it took me to raise my sparge water up to temp, about 15 minutes. The brewers I talked to said you can get away with a 7-10 minute mash. In fact one of the bigger breweries here in San Diego actually uses this method, and their beers are amazing.

I wanted a beer that was cirtusy, fruity, slightly tart, hoppy, and just a refreshing beer. I used some grapefruit zest, and amarillo hops to get the citrusy/fruity aroma and flavor profile. Add to that the Belgian yeast and I figure I can get quite a bit of citrus fruit out of this beer. I also wanted a slight tartness, so I used 10% acid malt. I am not sure how this percentage of malt will affect the tartness but I figure I can start at 10% and build up from their. In addition I used about 30% wheat malt.

Ingredients: US 2-Row, White Wheat, Carapils, Acidulated Malt, Amarillo @60, 15, 5, Grapefruit Zest @ Flameout, WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast.

Special Day Cider

A friend at work is getting married in a few months. She is a foodie and although she doesn't like beer, she has a great respect for well crafted beer as well as all well crafted food and drink products. She knows I homebrew and so for her wedding she asked if I would mind making a batch of cider. I haven't made a cider in about 3 years and my first attempts were fusel, hot, acetic messes. I have done some research on ciders since the last batch and I used this knowledge to make this batch of cider. My friend likes a slightly sweeter cider with lots of apple flavor and aroma. To achieve this she bought 4 gallons of California organic apple and organic apple cherry cider. I decided based on what she wanted and the research I have done that I would use an English Ale strain. In the past I have used Champagne yeast. In addition I wanted to keep the cider fermenting at a lower temp than in the past, so I placed the fermenter in a water bath in which I placed frozen water bottle to hold the surrounding temp in the 50-60s. I am hoping that with a less attenuating yeast held at cooler temps I should avoid the hot fusel alcohols I have gotten in past batches. I also did not boil, or pasteurize the must in any way. The cider was flash pasteurized already and I didn't want to lose any aromatics or apple flavors. I poured in the must and pitched the yeast.

Ingredients: 2.5 gallons Organic Apple Juice, 2.5 gallons Organic Apple Cherry Juice, Pectine Enzyme, WLP002-English Ale Yeast.

Extract Hefeweizen (Westerlies Weizen)

Hefeweizen was the first beer that I ever made that was a true success. I even won my first award with my first Hefeweizen. The beer was a huge hit with my friends and family's well. The first batch I made was back when I was still an extract brewer. I tried to make an all grain Hefeweizen a few years back, but it just didn't come out the way it should have. I didn't do a deccocotion and I think that was one reason it didn't come out the way it should have. Iread that you could get a great Hefeweizen from extract, and my earlier batch supported that theory. I decided I would give an extract Hefeweizen another go. It's a simple recipe and it was great to knock out a batch in about an hour and a half.

The name comes from the westerly winds that blow on shore off the Pacific Ocean. These winds will often bring in coastal clouds, that are murky and cloudy, much like a hefeweizen. These clouds are most prominent in spring and early summer, commonly referred to as May Gray and June Gloom. Weather like that reminds me of a refreshing hefeweizen.

Recipe: 3# dry pilsner extract, 3# dry Bavarian Hefeweizen extract, Hallertauer @60 and 20, White Labs 300 Hefeweizen Ale.

Spring Saison

I wanted to brew a saison since the weather is starting to warm, the days are getting longer and spring is on its way. I even have some of my hops starting to sprout. I wanted to keep it simple and light, with a refreshing quality, and possibly throw something in that would make this saison a little different. White Labs has recently made their American Farmhouse Yeast a year round selection. I didn't have a chance to try it last year when it was released as a platinum strain, but I have heard great things about the yeast. what I found most intriguing was that the yeast is said to be a blend of a farmhouse strain and a Brett strain that lends a tartness to the finished beer, supposedly from Lost Abbey. Here is White Labs description of the yeast. When I opened the vial to this yeast is squirted like a geyser and had an amazing pineapple aroma. Needless to say I am excited about this yeast and how it will lend itself to the beer. In addition to a different yeast, I was able to pick up some Sorachi Ace hops as the new crop of hops has finally made its way into the LHBS. These should lend some citrus, lemony type flavor and aroma which should pair amazing well with the yeast. I debated adding some Meyer Lemon zest form my backyard tree, but I wanted to see what the hops and yeast could do on their own

Recipe: 2-Row, Honey Malt, White Wheat. Sorachi @ 60, 20, and 5 minutes, White labs American Farmhouse Ale.

Toasted Oatmeal Stout

The next beer I am going to brew is for St. Paddy's Day. It is a basic oatmeal stout recipe, except I bumped up the amount of oats a little and I am planning on toasting the oats as well. I am also going to grind up a portion of the roasted barley in a coffee grinder and add it to the mash. I hope I get a nice, smooth, roasty, silky, chocolate-like beer.

I'm also planing on splitting this 6 gallon batch post fermentation, where one portion is left as is and the other will get coffee beans.

Ingredients: Marris Otter, chocolate malt, crystal 80, victory, roasted barley, toasted flaked oats. Fuggles @ 60, US 05.

2012 Brewing Quarterly Schedule*

Lat year I put together this list with high hopes and lofty ambitions. Well out of the 33 beers I said I would brew, I hit 16 (plus others I didn't set out to brew, probably an additional 4-5 beers). Not too bad approximately half of what I aimed for. I was all over the board as far as when I would brew the beers and I often missed my mark for beers brewed for special occasions (Oktoberfest, Christmas beer, etc.).

I have decided to approach this year from a slightly different approach. First of all I will be developing a Quarterly schedule and I will re-evaluate at the end of each quarter. I have also noticed that I brew a bunch of beers that have all sorts of creative ingredients and flavorings. I love brewing this way, its one of the reasons I brew. However, it never really allows me to focus on a style and really hone in on the nuances of the style. This year I hope to focus on a few styles and do small tweaks in the recipe that will allow me to really create a great base beer recipe and also allow me to get a better understanding of the styles I am focusing on. The styles I am hoping to focus on are the following: American/Oatmeal Stout, American/Southern Brown. I know they are both hybrids, but I want to take the best from each of the styles. I will also continue my work on Saisons and IPA/Pales. In addition I hope to finally master a lager that will ferment out completely in a timely manner.

January:

Wee Obese - A Wee Heavy, Wee Heavy

Brown #1 - A complex malt bill brown ale

February:

Stout #1 - A Basic Oatmeal Stout with a bigger hop punch

Gueze Y1 - For my Birthday my wife gave me a gift certificate in which she will be my assistant brewer for a Gueze. Luckily that means she signed up for a 3 year tour. Looking forward to this one.

Old Oak- A Big, Malty, Oak aged English Style Barleywine. An ode to Avery's Samaels.

March:

Pale #1- ???

Biere De Garde- A malty Farmhouse Ale

Pomme Dubbel - A Belgian Style Dubbel with Pomegranate Molasses instead of dark candy syrup.

Here's to 2012!

*Beers Subject to Change