I'm Back!

I always hate it when a blog I love following doesn't post in a few weeks, well I am now the guy I hate. I have ben super busy lately working, coaching two high school track teams, planning a wedding and buying our house. Needless to say brewing and blogging about brewing has had to take a bit of a sideline. I decided to do a quick post and update about what I have been up too brewing wise. I have my Schwartzbier on tap right now and it is really tasty, a little too roasty but really good. I have my gose carbed and waiting for the warm weather to stick around before I tap it. I have my IPA in the keg and I was hoping to have it on tap this weekend but I have a CO2 leak somewhere in my lines and so I went through 10lbs. of CO2 in about two weeks. I have my RIS kegged and conditioning and wells as the 2nd runnings from that, a beer I called a roasty mild. I have my Orval-like beer in primary still and that will keg as soon as a keg opens up. It will be dry hopped and should be great this summer. I also have a funky sour squash saison, a funky sour dark saison, a flemish sour in secondary. I will probably hold off on these until after summer. I also tasted and got a FG reading for my Dortmunder Export, wow super tasty. I was a guy who never really liked lagers but I have now made three and they are kick ass and super tasty.

I am starting to plan out my next few brews. I plan on a wit beer, a thai influenced beer (wit, saison, or blond), a berliner, a peppercorn saison, and another all brett pale using brett c. and nelson sauvin hops.

The peppercorn saison was inspired by a recent trip to Boston with my fiancee. We made a stop at Cambridge Brewing Company one afternoon for lunch and I had a sampler of all their special draft beers. The two highlights were the peppercorn saison, peppery spicy goodness, and their oak aged bock. The day was warm but this beer was so rich and tasty. They age it on untoasted american oak and medium toasted hungarian. Both beers were just outstanding.

Pictures: a couple of pints of my Light American Lager, taking a OG reading of my Dortmunder Export, my Fiancee at Cambridge Brewing Co., The Beer Menu at Cambridge Brew Co.

NHC Entries

I entered three beers into the NHC this year, something I have never done before. each beer is described in more details, including how it faired in a big local competition in an early post here.

The beers were:

Bon Hiver (Belgian Dark Strong). This beer did very well in competition and earned a second place.

100% Brett c and 100% Amarillo Belgian Pale ( I entere dit into specialty category this time instead of Belgian Specialty on the advice from a friend who is a BJCP judge)

Meyer lemon Zest and Lavender Belgian Blond ( Same category but specified base style this time, the same friend judged this beer at the mini best of show in the category and said it didn't place because no base style was designated)

Not sure how they will do in regionals but I would like feedback especially for the two that were put in wrong categories/no base style specified.

Wish me luck!

Pictures coming soon, I am on the road right now.

Dortmunder Export aka Summer Swarm

I have brewed two lagers in the past 6 months (Light American Lager and a Schwartzbier) and have really loved they way they have turned out. With summers warm weather on the horizon I felt that taking another stab at a lager would be in order. I wanted a hop forward lager, but not a pilsner, so I am going with a Dortmunder.

8# German Pils Malt

1.5# Munich

.12# Aromatic (brewmart was out of meladonin malt)

1.75 oz Hellertauer @60

.60 oz Hellertauer @ 5

.70 oz Hellertauer @ flame out

White Labs German Lager Yeast

Simple, the way I like it.

On a side note I racked my Schwartz Bier and IPA yesterday. Wow, I was very happy with them both. I dry hopped the IPA with 2 oz Simcoe and 1.75 Amarillo when I racked into the keg. I also blended two really old beers today. A 2 + year Old Ale aged on Port Soaked Cubes and a 18+ month Flemish Red. The Flemish Red has come along nicely and I kegged the rest of the Flemish Red.

Below are some pictures of the light American Lager. Bill's Beer was made for my fiancee's grandfather who is a self proclaimed "I only drink ice cold MGD". He loved this beer, I liked it, although I don't think it finished out enough and was slightly too sweet for the style

Competition Update

I just received my score sheets from the contest I entered a couple weeks back. I knew that I had earned a silver medal for my Belgian Dark Strong that was originally a Belgian Style Barley Wine (think Dark strong with lots of Marris Otter).

The first scores I looked at were my 100% Brett and Amarillo beer in 16e (Belgian Specialty). Average score 24.5 this was disapointing as I felt is one of the better beers I have made. I think the judges were confused by this beer. With comments like "Acidic and Brett character dominates. moderately high hop bitterness w/out much hop flavor. Low malt flavor, Very Dry Finish" then "Sour Finish", "Huge Brett Character is overwhelming", "Could not detect Amarillo hops, one dimensional". They say that no base style was given. This is an experimental/specialty beer. I did not really build a beer to any style but I wanted to showcase the 100% Brett ferment characteristics, and have the hops (said to give apricot like flavor) compliment the tropical fruit flavors of a 100% brett c fermentation. I feel I did a great job at this and many others have agreed. It is a wild ale, so what category do I enter this is? Ideas anyone?

My Golden Strong earned the next lowest average score with a 24.5 as well. The main complaints with this one is too many hot alcohols, and too sweet/underattenuated. I agree with the comments but feel the beer is good. I want to brew this beer again but really focus on low initial fermentation temps and then bump it up to finish the beer off.

Next up was my (Belgian Blond with Lemon Zest and Lavender). I expected this beer to not do very well because I think the lavender is a bit overpowering, but it is a crowd pleaser. The beer scored a 33 ave. with a 36, 34, and a 29! Really? With the other two scores being in the mid 30's. The judge who gave it a 29 also complained that the beer has diacetyl and grassy aromas. He even suggested that I do a diacetyl rest on a Belgian Blond Ale, really? Other than that the main complaint was that the lavender was a little overpowering. I am kinda bummed on this one because the min. score for the top three was a 33.5.

Finally my Belgian Dark Strong scored an ave. of 35. It scored a 37 and a 33. Overall, comments were great complex malt bill, but lacked a the typical strong Belgian Phenolics, also low carbonation levels detract from the beer overall. The one judge asked for the recipe. As I mentioned earlier I made this style as a Belgian Barley Wine based on a English Barley Wine and Belgian Dark Strong, but at 18+ months the hops have faded and the has become much more Dark Strong.

So in conclusion I feel that the scores were pretty fair except the 100% Brett beer. BJCP needs to figure out how to address the issue of wild ales. For my lavender and lemon blond the 29 with the 36 and 34 really seemed out of place. I don't really brew for competition so considering that none of my beers were brewed into specific guidelines I am really happy. It is good to get impartial feedback as well. I may even enter the two high scoring beers into the NHC and I will be entering them into the San Diego County Fair.

Second Place Win!

Well I heard through a friend that I had won a second place in Quaff's America's Finest City HB contest. My Belgian Dark Strong/Belgian Barley Wine called Bon Hiver scored the second place win. The beer is about 16 months old and is really drinking nicely. It was a cross between a Belgian Strong Dark and an English Barley Wine. I will post more on the this recipe and how teh other beers faired later.

My New Homebrew Club: CHUG

I have thought about joining a a homebrew club for the past few years. I was briefly in a very loose brewing organization a few years back called Nano Club, too many of the guys got into the "industry" and homebrewing became less of a priority for them, which I understand. San Diego has a couple of clubs one is the big one QUAFF. Quaff is a good club, but it just doesn't seem like my style. Luckily one of the guys that I was in Nano Club with started a new homebrew club for San Diegans in the city. The club is called CHUG and it stands for what ever each of us wants. So far I have come up with Cerevisiae Harmed Upon Gulping. It is the first thing I came up with and works, except for all the other yeasts and bugs I have been brewing with. The club is pretty free form and it is just getting started but we will be meeting periodically to talk beer styles, techniques, and to share beers and get feedback from each other on our bees.

We have a great website (http://www.chugsd.com/) where we post recipes, etc.

I am looking forward to this club!

One Hell of a Brew Day Part 2: The Recipies

I brewed a Schwartzbier and a San Diego style IPA. For the Schwartzbier I went for middle ground for the style, it lies between a traditional German style and a more roasty American style. I was going to use some roasted barley but at the last minute I decided against it and just upped the amount of Carafa II. This is only my second attempt at a Lager

4C-Dark Lager-Schwarzbier

Selected Style and BJCP Guidelines

Recipe Overview

Volume At Pitching: 5.28 US gals

Expected OG: 1.049 SG

Expected FG: 1.011 SG

Expected ABV: 5.0 %

Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 27.9 IBU

Fermentation Temperature: 55 degF

Fermentables

US 2-Row Malt 4.50 lb

Dark Munich 30L Malt 4.00 lb

German Carafa II 0.50 lb

US Chocolate Malt 0.25 lb

US Caramel 40L Malt 0.25 lb

Hops

German Hallertauer Hersbrucker 3.5 % 1.75 oz 23.6 Loose Pellet Hops 60 Min From End

German Hallertauer Hersbrucker 3.5 % 0.50 oz 4.1 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End

German Hallertauer Hersbrucker 3.5 % 0.50 oz 0.3 Loose Pellet Hops 1 Min From End

Yeast

White Labs WLP830-German Lager

Visible signs of fermentation after 12 hours, large Krausen forming after 24 hours.

For my IPA I wanted to make something that was typical San Diego IPA (or at least attempt it). I went with a beer close to Alpine's Duet. It is a Golden colored, dry, balanced bitterness, and huge hop flavor and aroma. I went with a simple malt bill and a "duet" of Amarillo and Simcoe hops. I plan on dry hopping this beer with whole leaf Amarillo and Simcoe. I am debating throwing in some un-toasted american oak chips with the dry hops.

"Edgemont IPA"

14B-India Pale Ale(IPA)-American IPA

Recipe Overview

Volume At Pitching: 5.28 US gals

Expected OG: 1.072 SG

Expected FG: 1.016 SG

Expected ABV: 7.5 %

Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 70.7 IBU

Fermentation Temperature:

66 degF

Fermentables

US 2-Row Malt 11.00 lb

US Caramel 20L Malt 1.50 lb

US Carapils Malt 1.50 lb

Corn Sugar 8.0 oz

Hops

US Amarillo 8.6 % 0.50 oz 13.8 Loose Pellet Hops 60 Min From End

US Simcoe 12.2 % 0.35 oz 13.7 Loose Pellet Hops 60 Min From End

US Amarillo 8.6 % 1.00 oz 16.7 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End

US Simcoe 12.2 % 1.00 oz 23.7 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End

US Simcoe 12.2 % 1.00 oz 1.7 Loose Pellet Hops 1 Min From End

US Amarillo 8.6 % 1.00 oz 1.2 Loose Pellet Hops 1 Min From End

US Amarillo Dry Hop

US Simcoe Dry Hop

White Labs WLP001-California Ale

Strong fermentation after 12 hours, great hop aroma coming from the airlock.