Batch 57 sweet cascade tasting notes

Pours brown with orange hues, big light tan head, cloudy/translucent.  Head stays/laces.

Smells like hops, grassy/piney/earthy, slight sweet malt behind

Mouth feel, thick.  Carbonation doesn't clean it up well.

Tastes like hop bitterness first, then a touch of pine/earth.  Sweetness underlies, but no escaping the plain bitterness. 

Finishes just plain bitter.  Don't really want more.

Overall, nothing like Stone's arrogant bastard, even though recipe is similar except the hop type.  The Chinook makes that much difference.  I did use more of the cascades, but the aa% is lower, or it should be.  Is it Roger's cascades, or cascades in general?  I think it's a combo, but I used store cascades at flameout, when the hop character should shine, and I'm getting nothing compared to the Chinooks.

Don't try this again.  Failed experiment.  Kinda buzzed, though.

Whoops on the pils

So, I've been working away on my sack of Weyermann's pilsner thinking it was their bohemian pilsner.  Wrong.  It is a sack of their base german pils.

I spotted a sack of the bohemian variety at Chicago Brew Werks in Plainfield when I was there a couple weeks ago, and realized the labeling for the bohemian says 'bohemian'.  The one I got just says 'pilsner'.

Oh well, still making pretty good beer.  Another 30 lbs to go or so, then I'll replenish with the originally intended bohemian pils, which won my SMaSH base malt taste test last year in the pils category.

Doh.  Slap on the (big) forehead.

Ideas for next weekend's brew

Spring is coming.  What will you want to drink on March 1?

Stone's Arrogant Bastard clone.  Hoppy, yet robust.

Yessss.

Back to the tried and true recipe:  7.2 abv, 9% caramel 120, 2 oz of chinook.  Go back and check notes on the base malt, I think half Maris Otter and half pils.

Or are we ready for a hop experiment?  We have the Vanguards here, maybe smash out with Maris Otter?  Hmmm.  Decisions decisions.

Well, I have a hoppy beer in secondary, so maybe I wait on the SAB clone for a week.  OK.

Batch 56 nut brown tasting notes

Pours brown, small tan head that lingers.  A little hazy. Laces OK.

Aroma, sweet malt, nuts, light freshness of spice.

Mouth feel, very slight cling cleared by carbonation fast.

Flavor, complexity here, hazelnut, malt, sweet, slight hop bitterness without real hop character (maybe spice). 

Finishes sweet, but clean with nut impression.  Pretty well balanced on malt side, maybe less crystal, more choc, but only slight change.  Could use a little more late hops, but stick with goldings.  Could reduce carbonation, but watch mash pH for better head.

Batch 63 Sweet Stout

3 gallon batch

Soak the following in 1/2 gallon cold water overnight in the fridge, whole not ground:
4-5/8 oz UK roast barley
5-1/8 oz Belgian debittered black
4 oz Belgian chocolate
Catch grist in strainer, add tea at beginning of boil
Cleaning out inventory of old roasted grains

Mash
3 lbs 13-5/8 oz Muntons Maris Otter (empty out sack)
1 lb dark german Munich
1 lb flaked wheat
12 oz mfb caramel 120
4 oz Belgian chocolate
1/8 tsp soda
1/4 tsp cacl

Mash at 150 df 30 mins pH 5.0
155 df 30 mins

TOG 1.060 into boil with roast tea

SRM (with tea) est 70

OG into boil (with tea) 1.057 (final runnings pot 1.034)

Boil 60 mins
60 mins 7 gr nugget 13.5% 20 IBUs
20 mins 14 gr glacier 5.0% 9 IBUs
15 mins 1/2 tsp Irish moss
10 mins 100 gr lactose

30 IBUs

OG into fermenter 1.062

Pitch with S-04 in 1/2 qt starter at 72 df, move to 60 df for primary.  2 days at 60, 4 at 63 df.

Rack to secondary 1/31/14, leave at 63 df.

FG 1.022 out of secondary.

Abv est 5.2%

Bottle 2/14/14 with 110 gr table sugar.  Yield 31@12oz, 372 oz.

Dark grains steeping cold

recipe ideas for this weekend

OK, almost out of stout, need to refresh the yeast, and re-stock for drinking purposes.  Especially this time of year.

Tasting notes show we need to add munich, bump up the lactose and caramel, try steeping the roast barley ahead of time, maybe only use chocolate in the mash for roast character.  Want to mash at higher temp and add a decent amount of flaked wheat for more body.

Earthy hops are appropriate.  Maybe try the glaciers that you just bought for aroma, on top of nugget for bittering.  Better go check your last recipe in the book.

Batch 54 Tripel tasting notes

Side by side with Chimay White Cinq Cents Tripel

Pours slightly hazy gold, big white even head, identical.

Aroma: original a little boozy, slight perfume, mine more malty, yeast. Very close.

Mouth feel: original a tad more toothy, but carb is identical, mouth feel very similar.

Flavor: mine has a little more malt bite, otherwise yeast dominant flavor, slight hop edge near the end.

Finish: almost identical, slight hop edge cleans palate nicely.  Original is more hoppy/aromatic/fragrant to finish on big gulp.

Overall: Wow, very good try, could back off on Munich a little, find a more perfumy hop for later in the boil, maybe add 5 IBUs at 15 mins with something piney like Simcoe, raise mash temp 1 or 2 df.

Pretty buzzed after this tasting!

Batch 62 Savory Witbier

3 gallon batch

3 lbs weyermanns german pils
2.5 lbs flaked wheat
12 oz gwm Vienna
1/4 tsp cacl

SRM 4

TOG 1.056

Mash 15 mins at 130 df
45 mins 148 df pH 5.2+
15 mins 154 df

OG into boil 1.054 (72% eff, not counting about 1 gallon final runnings at 1.025)

Boil 75 mins

60 mins 7 gr German hallertau 4.1%  7 IBUs

15 mins 1/2 tsp Irish moss

15 mins 7 gr German hallertau 4.1% 3 IBUs

10 mins spice mix: 1 tsp fennel, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/4 tsp black peppercorns, all crushed together

10 IBUs (not counting spices)

OG 1.056 into fermenter (75% eff after adding boiled final runnings at chiller)

Pitch with reclaimed wyeast 3944 in 2/3 qt starter at 72 df, put at 68 df for primary with blanket.  Full krausen at 8 hours.  Primary runs at 70 df.

Abv 5.5% (est)

Rack to secondary 1/24/14, move to 67 df.  Secondary around 65 df.

Bottle 2/7/14 with 111 gr table sugar.  Yield 30 @ 12 oz plus big sample, 370 oz total.  Sample is tasty, clean, licorice, sweet.

Batch 53 wit tasting notes

Tasted cold

Pours solid head, nice yellow gold color, slight haze, big white head that stays.

Aroma: orangy coriander, lemon?  Light vanilla malt.

Mouth feel:  very light and refreshing. 

Flavor:  starts orange fruit/coriander, some vanilla malt in the middle, finishes phenolic spice.  Not at all bitter.

Overall: coriander dominates this one, phenolics a little heavy, try with less coriander and more sweet orange peel, double at priming.  Also, ferment at higher temps, try to get more esters from this yeast.

Batch 49 sweet stout tasting notes

Cellar temp

Pours: big head, black with brown hues, opaque with brown at the edges, big light tan head

Aroma: light roast malt with earth hops, tart yeast.

Mouth feel: pretty full body, but big carbonation smooths it out some.  Thick, but not chunky.

Flavor: starts almost clean, then espresso, then earthy hops at the end.  Not sweet enough to offset the roast bitterness. 

Overall, seems like  dry stout, overcarbed.  Needs to back off of the roast, bump up the lactose and caramel.  Try wheat instead of oatmeal.  Could also use more malt character, Munich or Vienna.  Say SRM 50, 30 IBUs OK, try steeping half of the roast barley ahead of mash.

Next weekend

Almost out of Witbier.  Have another go at it.

Lets try different spices, fennel and pepper.  I think we'll want different hops, not soriachi ace like with orange and coriander.

Go back to basics,  Hallertau.  Look for the good stuff.

Look for ideas on fennel quantities in saison recipes.  Go easy on the pepper - black pepper corns, cracked, at the end of the boil.

Fennel, the best I can find is a crushed tsp in a 5 gallon batch, near end of boil.

Batch 61 APA

3 gallons

5.25 lbs muntons Maris otter
4 oz mfb caramel 120
2.5 oz mfb kiln amber
1/2 tsp gypsum

SRM 11

Mash at 150 df 75 mins pH 5.2

TOG 1.057

OG into boil 1.057

Boil 60 mins

30 mins 30 gr rogers cascades 5%? 24 IBUs

15 mins 30 gr rogers cascades 5%? 15 IBUs

15 mins 1/2 tsp Irish moss

Flameout 1/2 oz cascades 6.7%

39 IBUs

OG 1.057 into fermenter

Pitch with S-04 in 3/4 qt starter at 72 df, dry hop 11 gr challenger 8.9%, put at 60 df.

Full krausen at 19 hours, 63df.  Run primary at 60 df.

Rack to secondary 1/17/14, dry hop with 8 gr northdown 9.4%.  Place at 66 df.

Bottle 1/31/14 with 100 gr table sugar, yield 29 @ 12 oz, 348 oz total.

Next weekend

Need to do a hop cleanup batch, something blond with amber/caramel, plenty of hop varieties.  Need to do an inventory, then design the additions properly.

68 gr rogers cascades, 5%?
1 oz nugget 13.5%
1/2 oz cascade pellets 6.7%
8 gr Northdown 9.4%
11 gr Challenger 8.9%

OK, going through this, I like the earthy spicey aroma of the northdown.  I don't recall challenger's flavor, I suppose it is similar. I used it for bittering only, so its a guess at best.

I think the nugget I can leave unopened, save for another batch.

I can use up rogers cascades for stepped bittering, then hit flameout with the cascade pellets, then dry hop the challenger at pitching, then the northdown in secondary.  This will make a muted IPA flavor, the cascades will give a little pine, but the other dry hops will be more earthy.  

Go for upper 5s for abv, use caramel more generously than amber, although neither that much, keep the mash low temp for a thinner beer, IBUs around 50.  

Batch 60 Dubbel

3 gallons

5.5 lbs weyermans german pils
1 lb dark German Munich
4 oz mfb kiln amber
4 oz mfb caramel 120
4 oz gwm Vienna
2 oz Belgian chocolate
1/2 tsp cacl

SRM 17

TOG 1.068 (75%)

Mash 148 30 mins  pH 4.9 
154 45 mins normal thickness

Mash note: re-started lauter after boil pot full.  Second final runnings pot 1.033 OG.

OG into boil 1.070 (77% eff)

Boil 90 mins

60 mins10 gr US Goldings 5.2%. 11 IBUs
30 mins 3 gr US Goldings 5.2%.  2 IBUs
15 mins 5 gr Northdown 9.4%. 5 IBUs
15 mins 1/2 tsp Irish moss

18 IBUs

OG  1.072 into fermenter, 79% eff overall

Abv est 7.3%

Pitch with wlp500 in 2/3 qt starter at 73 df, leave at 60 df.  Pretty good activity (8 secs) at 9 hrs, 63 df.  60 df at 19 hrs, full krausen.

Most of primary at 60df, dropped to 54 df for 12 hrs, last 2 days at 70df.

Rack to secondary 1/10.  Leave at 66df.

Bottle 1/24/14 with 115 gr table sugar.  Yield 4@22oz, 23@12oz, 364 oz total.