Eagle Face Oatmeal Stout 2024

Posted on by
Reply
dark stout with tan head in tall, slightly bulged-out craft beer glass, sitting on table
Eagle Face Oatmeal Stout, in a Spiegelau stout glass. I know that beer can be enjoyed in nearly any glassware, but this sure does look pretty!

I have brewed this one many times before, and it is a house favorite. After a two-and-a-half year hiatus, I once again returned to my favorite oatmeal stout recipe. This version has two significant departures — firstly, I returned to the use of 2-row rather than Maris Otter in the recipe. The very first brew used 2-row, and I have more frequently used Maris Otter since. The biggest change here, though, was to try out BRY-97 instead of Nottingham or another higher attenuation English ale yeast. I figured it would be a worthy experiment, creating a more “American” take on the style.

Eagle Face Oatmeal Stout 2024

  • 8.5 lb. 2-row malt (Briess)
  • 1.25 lb. flaked oats (Quaker)
  • 1 lb. 80L caramel malt (Briess)
  • 1 lb. Victory malt (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. chocolate malt (Bairds)
  • 0.5 lb. roasted barley (Crisp)
  • 0.25 lb. chocolate malt (Simpsons)
  • 1.1 oz. Magnum hops (10.1% alpha), 45 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. American West Coast Ale dry yeast (BRY-97, Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.058 o.g., 1.015 f.g., 5.6% abv, 35 IBU, 48 SRM
  • Full volume mash, no sparge, 156° mash for 60 minutes, 10 minute mash-out at 168°
  • Claremont tap water, treated with Campden tablet

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 7.75 gallons of Claremont tap water, heated to 163°. I also added 3 mL of 88% lactic acid.
  • I held the mash, with recirculation, at 156° for 60 minutes, before raising to 168° for 10 minutes and then pulling the grains.
  • I collected 6.75 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.050, for 72% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat and chilled to 68°.
  • I transferred the wort to my fermenter, pitched the yeast, and started it at ambient (~65°) in my back room.
  • I brewed the beer on 6 January 2024. The starting gravity was 1.056.
  • I kegged the beer on 18 March 2024. Final gravity was 1.020, for 4.8% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Very deep brown & clear beer that pours with a fine tan head, with decent persistence.
  • Aroma
    • Clean, chocolate and coffee aroma, with a touch of roastiness. Not much for hop or yeast aroma.
  • Flavor
    • Roasty coffee in the malt profile, and a bit of subtle graininess behind that. Moderate level of bitterness.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, moderate carbonation, very slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This recipe is still a winner! My 2024 edition is a touch drier than I recall in past versions, likely because I went with BRY-97 rather than Nottingham. The return to 2-row also probably lightens the flavor a bit. I would consider this one an Americanized version of the style, but I’m ok with that. All of the past versions have been great, but this one is probably most “drinkable” (in terms of having more than one glass). I served the beer at a recent gathering, and it was certainly quite popular! It’s nice to know the recipe has a bit of flexibility–this version might be better for the warmer days of spring, and the “traditional” recipe targeted better for cold winter nights.
  • Overall
    • 9/10

Denny Kongish West Coast IPA

Posted on by
Reply

Last fall, I managed to snag a can of the Denny Kong West Coast IPA, which was brewed by North Park Beer Co. for the 2023 Homebrew Con in San Diego. It was an incredibly delicious beer, and because the recipe is readily available, I thought it would be worth a try!

The malts parallel the original reasonably well, but I made some adjustments for my hop stash and also made an adjustment to the yeast. It should be in the general ballpark, but as Denny Conn would say, my version is an homage and not a clone. The main innovations I applied here were the long mash rest and the massive dose of hops.

Denny Kongish West Coast IPA

  • 12 lb. pilsner malt (Rahr)
  • 1.25 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 4 oz. dextrose, added to boil
  • 1.3 oz. Magnum hop pellets (12.6% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2.8 oz. Cascade hop pellets (7.5% alpha), 30 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. California ale dry yeast (WLP001, White Labs)
  • 2 oz. Eclipse hop pellets (17.6% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter for 3 days
  • 2 oz. Idaho #7 hop pellets (14.0% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter for 3 days
  • 2 oz. LUPOMAX Azacca hop pellets (16.0% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter for 3 days
  • 2 oz. LUPOMAX Citra hop pellets (18.5% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter for 3 days
  • 2 tbs. (30 mL) Biofine Clear, added to keg
  • 2 oz. Nelson Sauvin hop pellets (12.9% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.063 s.g., 1.010 f.g., 6.9% abv, 65 IBU, 5 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, held at 149° for 120 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes
  • Neutralized Claremont tap water with Campden tablet, and mineral salts added to boil to achieve 55 ppm Ca, 12 ppm Mg, 54 ppm Na, 106 ppm SO4, 60 ppm Cl, 10 ppm CaCO3, RA=-38, alkalinity=8 ppm

Procedure

  • Starting with 7.9 gallons of tap water, I added 5.6 mL of 88% lactic acid as well as a Campden tablet, followed by 3 g of CaCl.
  • I heated the water to 155° and added the grains, along with 2.9 mL of 88% lactic acid for pH adjustment.
  • I held the mash at 149° for 120 minutes, with recirculation, and then raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.9 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.046, for 65% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, for a 90 minute total boil. After 30 minutes, I added the first round of hops, and then proceeded following the recipe.
  • After the 90 minute boil, I chilled to 170° before adding the whirlpool hops and letting them sit for 30 minutes.
  • Next, I chilled to 70°, transferred to the fermenter, and chilled down to 63° before pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed the beer on 2 March 2024, and it had a starting gravity of 1.062–nearly exactly on target!
  • I added the dry hops on 10 March 2024, in a boiled (sterilized) hop bag. It was a bit tight for the volume of hops, so I was a bit concerned about how much hop contact I would get.
  • I kegged the beer on 26 March 2024, into a CO2 purged keg. Final gravity was 1.007–that’s quite low, and results in a 7.4% abv! The 120 minute, 149° mash really did the trick for drying things out. Hop flavor and aroma were a bit lower than expected, probably because of the thick concentration of hops in the bag.
  • Once the beer was down to around 34°, I quickly added the Biofine Clear, and then re-cycled the CO2.
  • I put the beer on tap on March 30.
  • Because hop aroma was underwhelming, I added 2 oz. of Nelson Sauvin hops to the keg (in a baggie) on 12 April 2024.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Light gold color, slight haze. Pours w/ a thick and persistent off-white head that leaves beautiful lacing on the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Light citrus aroma, a hint of white wine (presumably from Nelson Sauvin hops).
  • Flavor
    • High level of citrus-pith bitterness. Clean, light malty character behind that.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Moderate carbonation, medium-light body, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes, but with different hop handling. I am underwhelmed by the hop aroma and flavor, especially relative to the commercial version I tried. It was dumb of me to use such a tightly packed hop bag! The hops just didn’t shine like they should. I would definitely try a variation in the future, though. I love the dryness on this, but it might be too much for some. The low temperature, extended mash really did the trick! The BioFine also worked its magic, resulting in a fairly clear beer. Other than aroma, though this is a nice American IPA!
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Note: I tasted this again on 25 April 2024, after nearly two weeks with the extra hops. It definitely helped the beer! Although the appearance is now a bit hazier, the aroma has a fantastic tropical fruit profile (kiwi, guava, a bit of sweet white wine, and more). The flavor is perhaps a bit harsher now (I suspect due to the hops in the keg), but it also has a more prominent tropical aspect overall. Not a bad end result!

No. 11 Bohemian Pilsner

Posted on by
Reply

According to my records, I have made 18 batches of German pils over the years (starting in 2016), but only five batches of the original pilsner beer, Bohemian (Czech) pils. After a more than four year hiatus, it was time!

Taking lessons learned from previous recipes, I went for very fresh Saaz hops (from Yakima Valley Hops). Furthermore, I built the malt bill to have a touch of melanoidin malt, to avoid messing with a decoction but also not overwhelming with the honey-character that melanoidin brings at higher percentages. I used the Rahr pilsner malt as a base–although it is not “traditional,” I have found it to be an absolutely excellent malt for my tastes.

This isn’t my 11th batch, but I brewed it on 11/11 (Nigel Tufnel Day!), so the name was unavoidable.

No. 11 Bohemian Pilsner

  • 10 lb. pilsner malt (Rahr)
  • 0.5 lb. Carafoam malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.25 lb. melanoidin malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 3.5 oz. Saaz hop pellets (2.4% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1.5 oz. Saaz hop pellets (2.4% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Saaz, 5 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. tsp. WLN1000 yeast nutrient, 5 minute boil
  • 2 pkg. Diamond Lager yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.049 s.g., 1.014 f.g., 4.7% abv, 37 IBU, 5 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, held at 154° for 60 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes
  • RO water built to hit target of 6 ppm Ca, 5 ppm Na, 6 ppm SO4, 6 ppm Cl, 14 ppm HCO3, RA=7 ppm

Procedure

  • To 7.5 gallons of RO water, I added 0.3 g gypsum, 0.3 g calcium chlorie, and 0.5 g baking soda, to hit my water target parameters.
  • I heated the water to 160°, and added the grains to hit a mash target of 154°. I added 4 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the mash pH, and recirculated for 60 minutes.
  • Next, I heated the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains and starting the ramp-up to the boil.
  • In total, I collected 6.75 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.042, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • I boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops and finings per the schedule. Finally, I turned off the heat and chilled to 75° before transferring to the fermenter.
  • Once in the fermenter, I chilled the wort to 52° before pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 11 November 2023. Starting gravity was 1.049, exactly on target!
  • I held the fermentation temperature at 52° until 2 December 2023, when I moved the beer to ambient (~60°).
  • I kegged the beer on 26 December 2023. Final gravity was 1.014, for 4.7% abv.
  • Because I’ve been a bit slow to finish kegs lately, this beer ended up lagering for a full three months before tasting.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Beautiful medium gold color, brilliant clarity, pouring with a long-lasting, creamy white head that leaves nice tracks on the side of the glass.
  • Aroma
    • A whiff of spicy Saaz at the front, at some maltiness (slightly bready) back of that.
  • Flavor
    • Bitterness-forward, which lingers on the tongue, followed by a subtle maltiness. Clean fermentation profile. Tiny bit of caramel. I feel like the melanoidin is perhaps too much in the background–I would like a tiny touch more.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, medium carbonation, off-dry mouthfeel.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Yes! It’s probably the best Bohemian pilsner I have made to date! It has a nice mix of malt/hops….It maybe could be a bit deeper gold in color, and I wouldn’t complain with a touch more melanoidin character. It was well worth the (not entirely intentional) extended aging, too.
  • Overall
    • 9/10 (for color)

Olde Tyme IPA

Posted on by
Reply

The beloved India Pale Ale has diversified markedly since its 19th century roots in England, exploding onto the scene in the United States during the “Craft Beer Revolution.” Even during my own lifetime, I’ve seen incredible change, from the old school American IPAs, to the rise of West Coast IPAs, Hazy IPAs, white IPAs, session IPAs, and everything else in between. For better or worse, the market trends have definitely tilted fruity and hazy, and it’s often difficult to find anything that approximates the brews of the 1990s and early 2000’s. I have a certain sentimentality for them and like to brew one every once in awhile.

The IPAs of 25 years ago (in my memory, and in recipes) tended to have more going on with the malt, tended to be a bit darker in color, and focused on the pine/citrus/resin hops that dominated at the time. I did some looking through old Zymurgy issues, and found a recipe commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Maltose Falcons (now 50 years old!). This recipe from 2000 (available here) was later published in the September/October 2006 Zymurgy issue, titled Odyssey Ale. It is definitely a time capsule of its era!

To the original recipes, I modified the hop varieties slightly. I made some modifications for hops on-hand; so, I used Magnum instead of Perle, and Strisselspalt instead of Crystal. Both are varieties available in the late 1990s. The original recipe doesn’t have a dry hop charge, and I felt that was important to keep the beer interesting. So, I added 1.5 oz. of Strisselspalt and 1.5 oz. of Chinook into the dry hop. My only other major modification was to use Munich I instead of “Dark Munich” (Munich II), because that’s what I had on-hand.

Olde Tyme IPA

  • 12.5 lb. 2-row brewers malt (Briess)
  • 1 lb. crystal 40 malt (Great Western)
  • 1 lb. Munich I malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 lb. Carafoam (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB (mash)
  • 0.5 oz. Chinook hop pellets (12.3% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Magnum hop pellets (10.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Strisslespalt hop pellets (1.8% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Cascade hop pellets (7.5% alpha), 10 minute whirlpool
  • 0.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 10 minute whirlpool
  • 2 pkg. American West Coast Ale dry yeast BRY-97 (Danstar)
  • 1.5 oz. Chinook hop pellets (12.3% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1.5 oz. Strisslespalt hop pellets (1.8% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.068 s.g., 1.017 f.g., 6.7% abv, 50 IBU, 9 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, held at 155° for 60 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes
  • Neutralized Claremont tap water with Campden tablet, and mineral salts added to boil to achieve 103 ppm CA, 19 ppm Mg, 54 ppm Na, 248 ppm SO4, 60 ppm Cl, 10 ppm CaCO3, RA=-77, alkalinity=8 ppm.

Procedure

  • I collected 7.75 gallons of tap water and added a Campden tablet along with 5.5 mL of 88% lactic acid, for the initial water adjustments. I heated this to 163°, and then added the grains, to hit a mash temperature of 155°. At the time of mash-in, I added 2.5 mL of 88% lactic acid, to adjust the pH.
  • I held the mash temperature at 155° for 60 minutes, with recirculation. Then, I raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 7 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.057, for 72% mash efficiency.
  • As I brought the runnings to a boil, I added 9 g gypsum and 2 g epsom salt, to hit the water profile target.
  • Once the kettle was boiling, I added hops and finings per the recipe, boiling for 60 minutes.
  • After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat and chilled slightly before adding the whirlpool hops. I whirlpooled for 10 minutes, before chilling to 66° and transferring to the fermenter.
  • Starting gravity was 1.066. I brewed the beer on January 1, 2024.
  • I pitched the yeast, and set the fermentation chamber to 66°.
  • I kegged the beer on 7 February 2024, adding dry hops to the keg. Final gravity was 1.013, which equates to 7.1% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Burnished orange-gold, clear with only a very slight haze, moderately persistent white head.
  • Aroma
    • Orange/citrus aroma, slight malty note, and no yeast character
  • Flavor
    • Nice malt backbone, with a light caramel quality. Moderately high bitterness, with a piney resin aspect that lingers on the tongue.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body. Moderate carbonation. Slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This beer tastes like 2001…which is nice sometimes, but not what I always want on tap. Overall, this is a very good beer, which fits exactly what I wanted in the recipe. So, I would say it is a “10/10” for hitting my goals of an IPA from 25 years ago, but 7/10 for everyday drinking.
  • Overall
    • 10/10

Sierra Nevada Porter Clone

Posted on by
Reply

I love American porters, and they are among the first beers I ever brewed (all the way back to 2009!). Sierra Nevada’s porter is a great one, a classic in the American porter style, as listed by the BJCP 2021 style guide. The BJCP also indicates that this style is “becoming increasingly hard to find.” That’s a good reason to make a homebrew version!

I did some searching to find an appropriate recipe, which landed on one that is allegedly directly from Sierra Nevada. I adjusted the grains very slightly to get more even amounts, and I also upped the Carafa Special III and black malt, in order to darken the beer. Oddly, the grain-only version was lighter than consistent with the style (noted by folks at the original link), so I added Sinamar to bring things into line. The original recipe called for Sterling and Aurora hops, neither of which I had on-hand. So, I substituted Mandarina Bavaria and Elixir. They’re not the same, but should be enough in the ballpark.

This was an enjoyable recipe to brew. It didn’t require dry hopping or whirlpooling, and I didn’t bother with a closed transfer. Other than using Sinamar, the ingredients and techniques were dead-basic.

Sierra Nevada Porter Clone

  • 10.25 lb. 2-row malt (Briess)
  • 1 lb. Munich I malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 lb. caramel malt – 60L (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. chocolate malt (Bairds)
  • 1 oz. black malt (Briess)
  • 1 oz. Carafa Special III (Weyermann)
  • 1.5 oz. Sinamar (added at end of boil)
  • 1 oz. Mandarina Bavaria hop pellets (6.7% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Elixir hop pellets (5.1% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Elixir hop pellets (5.1% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. California ale yeast, dry version (White Labs WLP001)

Target Parameters

  • 1.056 s.g., 1.014 f.g., 5.7% abv, 35 IBU, 40 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, held at 154° for 60 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes
  • Claremont tap water with Campden tablet

Procedure

  • I heated 7.5 gallons of water to 160°, and added the grains for a mash temperature of 154°. I added 5 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the pH, and held the mash at 154° for 60 minutes.
  • After 60 minutes, I raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains and heating to a boil.
  • The mash yielded 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.050, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • I boiled the wort for 60 minutes, adding finings and hops per the recipe.
  • After the boil, I chilled to 70° and transferred to the fermentater.
  • I brewed the beer on 2 December 2023. Starting gravity was 1.058, just a touch above target.
  • I fermented the beer at 66°, and kegged on 31 December 2023. Final gravity was 1.016, for 5.5% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • The beer is a deep, deep brown, almost black, with a persistent tan head.
  • Aroma
    • Dark chocolate and coffee–very roasty! Resiny hop character. Very nice!
  • Flavor
    • Rich, chocolate and coffee malt notes. Medium-high bitterness with a resiny and piney character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes! This is a fantastic American porter, simultaneously rich and drinkable. It has interesting character, and is just a nice beer. I don’t know how it would stack up against Sierra Nevada’s product, but even on its own this recipe is pretty nice.
  • Overall
    • 10/10