Rated “PG” (for Pineapple Guava) 2026

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Our feijoa (pineapple guava) tree had a slack year in 2024-2025 (probably due to dry conditions), so I wasn’t able to gather any fruit. But, the tree produced fairly well towards the end of 2025, so it was the perfect time for a rebrew of my old favorite sour beer. The feijoa fruits weren’t quite as large this year, and were perhaps a bit riper when I picked them, so the overall quality is different from the first batch. That said, it still turned out as a great beer (even if a bit of extra work)!

Everything is pretty much the same this year as the previous version; there is a mix of pilsner malts, because I was getting to the end of my Pilsner Zero supply. With a smaller harvest of fruit, I opted for a 2.5 gallon instead of a 3 gallon recipe.

Rated “PG” (for Pineapple Guava) 2026

  • 1 lb. 12 oz red wheat malt (Briess)
  • 14 oz. Pilsner Zero malt (Viking)
  • 8 oz. Synergy Select Pilsen Malt (Briess)
  • 2 oz. rice hulls (added to mash)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Saaz whole hops (South Dakota; est. 3.5% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. yeast nutrient (WLN1000), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Wildbrew Philly Sour (Lallemand)
  • 2 lb. feijoa (pineapple guava) puree, added at end of fermentation

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
  • 1.031 o.g., 1.006 f.g., 3.2% abv, 5 IBU, 3 SRM
  • Claremont tap water, neutralized, to hit 120 ppm Ca, 7 ppm Mg, 89 ppm Na, 50 ppm SO4, 120 ppm Cl, 10 ppm bicarbonate, -81 RA
  • 2.5 gallon batch

Procedure

  • Starting with 3.75 gallons of tap water, I added a quarter of a Campden tablet to drop the chloramines, and then 2.65 mL of 88% lactic acid, to neutralize the bicarbonates.
  • I heated the water to 155°, before adding the grains, and holding at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation.
  • After the main mash, I raised the mash temperature to 168° and held it there for 10 minutes.
  • Once the mash was done, I pulled the grains. I had 3.4 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.025, for 72% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, and boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops and other ingredients per the recipe.
  • After the 60 minute boil, I chilled to 84°, transferred to the fermenter, pitched the yeast, and fermented at ambient. I wrapped a towel around the temperature to maintain temperature.
  • I brewed the beer on 18 February 2026; starting gravity was 1.033.
  • The beer was down to 70° by the morning of 19 February 2026, with active bubbling in the airlock. I put my fermentation heater next to the fermenter and wrapped the fermenter in a towel in order to keep the temperature up.
  • The fermenter was around 76° when I checked it on 22 February 2026.
  • I added the fruit puree on 22 February 2026. I had picked the feijoa at the end of December, skinned it, and then froze the pulp. After thawing, I pureed the pulp with an immersion blender, heated the puree it to between 160° and 165°, and then let it sit for 30 seconds. I added the pasteurized puree to the fermenter at this point, which raised the temperature to 86°. There was a gentle krausen on top when I opened the fermenter.
  • The fermenter sat at ambient, until I kegged the beer on 7 March 2026. I used 1.5 oz of corn sugar dissolved in water to start carbonation (and reduce oxygen).
  • Final gravity was 1.009, down from 1.033; this works out to 3.1% abv, pretty close to my initially estimated target.
  • After a few weeks, I moved the keg to the fermentation chamber and topped up the CO2 with forced carbonation.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Very hazy and straw-colored beer, with a surprisingly persistent white head (likely helped by the high level of carbonation).
  • Aroma
    • Highly tart, acidic aroma, with a medium level of tropical fruit; very ripe, almost like papaya, especially on the initial pour; as the beer warms, I pick up more guava, and a bit of apricot and pineapple.
  • Flavor
    • Very clean sour profile, with a lactic acid character; a light bread dough malt flavor. As the beer warms, a medium-low level of tropical fruit comes through, with well ripened pineapple as the dominant flavor. Minimal bitterness.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Highly carbonated, crisp, light-bodied beer; a wonderful effervescent character.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a super amazing beer, made even more special by the fact that I picked the fruit in my yard. It is just about the perfect fruited sour; the aroma is a little more “ripe” than the previous version. The flavor is not as fruit-forward (hence the 9/10), but still nice. The Philly Sour strain works well for these kinds of beers; I’m definitely sold on it! Comparing with the previous version, the color is a little lighter; maybe that’s something about the fruit?
  • Overall
    • 9/10

West Coast Best Coast IPA

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Even though my tastes tilt a little more old school, and even though our area has no shortage of excellent contemporary West Coast IPA’s, I still enjoy the challenge of crafting a tasty, crispy, citrusy, fruity, pale-as-you-can-get-it West Coast IPA. During the past two years, I had pretty good results with a Denny Kong-inspired beer, so I’m continuing along those lines for 2026.

Rather than going all-pilsner, I’m doing a mix of 2-row and pilsner, with a pound of Vienna as in my previous batches. I’m ditching the dextrose, because it’s a relatively small percentage, and I figure I’ll let the mash do the work of drying out the beer. Hops are all T90 pellets (I want to try some of the newer hop products in a future batch), because I have a good number to use up still. So, this beer is a step back to more traditional ingredients and techniques.

West Coast Best Coast IPA

  • 9 lb. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
  • 2.75 lb. pilsner zero malt (Viking)
  • 1 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 0.75 oz. Citra hop pellets (12.9% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Kick Carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2.25 oz. Citra hop pellets (12.9% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 2 oz. Mosaic hop pellets (10.7% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 1 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (10.4% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 2 pkg. California ale yeast (White Labs WLP001)
  • 2 oz. Citra hop pellets (12.9% alpha), dry hop in primary
  • 2 oz. Mosaic hop pellets (10.7% alpha), dry hop in primary
  • 1 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (10.4% alpha), dry hop in primary

Target Parameters

  • 90 minute infusion mash at 149°, 10 minutes at 168°, full volume mash
  • 1.059 o.g., 1.009 f.g., 6.7% abv, 67 IBU, 4 SRM
  • Water built from RO to hit 94 ppm Ca, 24 ppm Mg, 195 ppm SO4, 94 ppm Cl
  • 5.25 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I started with 7.5 gallons of RO water and added 7 g epsom salt, 5.5 g calcium chloride, and 5 g gypsum to hit my water target parameters.
  • I heated the water to 155°, before adding the grains as well as 8.8 mL of 10% phosphoric acid, to target a pH of 5.2. I held the mash at 149°, with recirculation, for 90 minutes. Then, I raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains.
  • The 6.6 gallons of runnings had a gravity of 1.050, for 67% mash efficiency–pretty much exactly on my target.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe.
  • After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat, chilled to 195°, and added the whirlpool hops. I whirlpooled for 15 minutes; during this time, the kettle dropped to 185°. I set the Foundry to hold at 185°, to avoid things getting too cool.
  • I chilled the wort the rest of the way to 64°, let it settle for a bit, and then pitched the yeast while transferring the wort into the fermenter.
  • I let the beer free rise to 66°, and held it at this temperature for initial fermentation.
  • Starting gravity was 1.058; I brewed the beer on 3 January 2026.
  • I added the dry hops on 10 January 2026, and cold crashed to 33° on 20 January 2026. I kegged the beer on 1 February 2026, using a closed transfer.
  • Final gravity was 1.006, for 6.9% abv.
pale yellow beer with white head in glass on table during sunny afternoon

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Relatively clear pale yellow beer, with a very slight haze. Pours with a thick and tall white head that is very persistent, leaving nice lacing on the glass. Awesome!
  • Aroma
    • Fresh citrus at the forefront, and a bit of tropical fruit behind that, with a hint of blueberry. A hint of green vegetal aroma, very faint. Not much for malt, and nothing for yeast aroma.
  • Flavor
    • Very bitter, citrusy hop character. Light and clean malty flavor. Slight tropical fruit hop note, which becomes more prominent with additional sips. Clean yeast character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Light body, medium high carbonation, dry finish. Slight astringency.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a solid West Coast IPA. The bit of vegetal hop flavor and astringency are my fault, for leaving the hops in the beer for too long before kegging. I might try advanced hop products (e.g., Cryo or Abstrax) in the future, and reduce the length of the time of pellet contact in dry hopping. I might reduce the bitterness also–the beer is just a little too bitter.
  • Overall
    • 6.5/10

The Martian Amber Ale

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Homebrewing is at its most fun for me in exploration. I’ll admit that with nearly 20 years of experience, I’m now pretty familiar with many ingredients and styles, so truly novel brews aren’t as common as they used to be. So, I was pretty excited when I read about a new malt from Gambrinus, called “Mars Malt,” which is marketed as a base malt that produces a red wort. The flavor description made it sound like a turbo-charged Munich, with all of the flavor characteristics one would expect there.

After seeing Denny Conn post on the AHA Forum about his plans to make a SMaSH altbier using Mars malt, I was inspired to make my own SMaSH recipe, aiming for an American amber ale. American ambers and altbiers are quite similar in strength, color, and bitterness, and so I think the recipes can be swapped around in creative ways. For an American amber ale SMaSH, I decided to focus on Centennial hops, because the pine and citrus work perfectly for that West Coast flavor. Yeast needed to be something clean and fast; although I often lean on WLP001 and BRY-97, I usually forget about Nottingham as another option. Although a British yeast, it’s another classic of American brewing, and does a good job of staying out of the way of the malt and hop flavors. Plus, Nottingham ferments fast and drops clear, both positive qualities for this project.

Because this was an experimental batch, I aimed for 2.75 gallons rather than my usual ~5 gallons. Gravity targeted Gambrinus’s recommended strength of 1.048 to maximize red color, and it also would keep the alcohol level in check. The hopping level was pretty standard for an American amber ale, and I kicked in some dry hops to maximize flavor and aroma. To avoid too minerally of water, I cut my tap water with some RO water, and built in epsom salt to boost the sulfates and enhance the hops.

I had fun putting together a logo/label for this recipe–it’s fairly simple, with a NASA-sourced artist’s image of Mars viewed from orbit, with a NASA-inspired font. All were freely available, and none were AI.

The Martian Amber Ale

  • 6 lb. Mars malt (Gambrinus)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 0.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Kick carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Nottingham ale dry yeast (Lallemand)
  • 1.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), dry hop in primary

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
  • 1.048 o.g., 1.008 f.g., 5.3% abv, 33 IBU, 14 SRM
  • Water built from Claremont tap water and RO water to hit target parameters of 78 ppm Ca, 23 ppm Mg, 58 ppm Na, 107 ppm SO4, 78 ppm Cl, 85 ppm bicarbonate
  • 2.75 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I built the water up with 2.75 gallons of tap water (with a Campden tablet), 1.5 gallons of RO water, and 3 g of epsom salt.
  • I heated the water to 158°, before adding the grains and holding at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation.
  • After 60 minutes, I heated the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, and then pulled the grains.
  • In total, I collected 3.9 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.041, for 73% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe, maintaining a 60 minute boil.
  • After 60 minutes, I chilled the beer to 68° and let it settle for a bit before transferring to the fermenter and pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 17 January 2026. It had a starting gravity of 1.049, a pretty good match for my target gravity.
  • Because ambient temperatures were pretty cool, I let the beer sit out. It was at 66° by the next morning, with regular bubbling through the airlock.
  • The beer was up to 70° by the morning of 19 January, so I moved the fermenter to a cooler room. This is still well within the optimal range for Nottingham, so I’m not too worried.
  • The fermenter was down to 66° by the evening of 19 January, and I moved it to a warmer room overnight.
  • The fermenter was down to 62° by noon on 20 January 2026. I added the dry hops at this point; when I opened the fermenter, the krausen had fallen pretty much entirely.
  • I cold crashed the beer on 24 January 2026, and kegged using a closed transfer on 1 February 2026.
  • Final gravity was 1.011, for 5.0% abv.
A glass of reddish amber beer with a foamy ivory-colored head, sitting on a stone surface surrounded by leaves.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Clear, reddish amber beer, with a tall and persistent ivory head–it’s fluffy and gorgeous!
  • Aroma
    • Prominent bready aroma, slightly toasty; more dark bread than light. Very malt forward. Resiny hops at a moderate level.
  • Flavor
    • Medium-high maltiness, with dark bread character. Bitter, with a citrus and pine hop character. Clean yeast quality.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, medium carbonation, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a pretty good SMaSH. The body is a touch thin, and I might recommend a mash at 156° or 158° in a future version. Alternatively, I might add a bit of crystal 20 or crystal 40. Overall, this is an interesting beer and a worthy experiment.
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Dunkel-Osteus 2025

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Another year, another run at my Munich Dunkel recipe. This is my fourth time brewing this one, although the last instance was in 2021. The malt bill is exactly the same, but I swapped in Perle for Magnum and Munich Lager yeast (WLP860) for W34/70. The former change is one of convenience; the latter change is to accentuate the maltiness of the beer a touch. After my previous brews with WLP860 dry yeast, I’ve learned to accept that it’s a slow starter, and not worry!

As a fun side project, I redesigned the logo for this batch (below), using a recent re-interpretation of the size of Dunkleosteus. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Human silhouette by Gabriela Palomo-Munoz; Dunkleosteus image by Russell Engelman. CC-BY 3.0.

Recipe Name

  • 10 lb. Munich II malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 lb. Carafa Special II malt (Weyermann)
  • 6 oz. melanoidin malt (Weyermann)
  • 1.1 oz. Perle hop pellets (6.3% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 Kick carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2 pkg. Munich lager dry yeast (White Labs WLP860)

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute full volume mash at 152°, with mash-out at 168°
  • 1.050 o.g., 1.014 f.g., 4.7% abv, 25 IBU, 23 SRM
  • Claremont tap water
  • 5 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I heated 7.4 gallons of water to 158°, added a Campden tablet, and mashed in. I held the mash at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation, and then raised the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute mash-out.
  • Once the grains were removed, I had 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.045, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, addings hops and finings per the recipe.
  • After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to 67° before transferring to the fermenter.
  • After chilling the beer down to 50°, I pitched the yeast.
  • I brewed the beer on 6 December 2025. Starting gravity was 1.052.
  • The fermentation chamber was held at 52°. Knowing that the dry WLP860 is a slow starter, I peeked into the fermenter and saw a small amount of krausen on 10 December 2025.
  • I moved the beer to ambient on 3 January 2026, and kegged it on 24 January 2026. I carbonated the beer with forced carbonation.
  • Final gravity was 1.014, for 5.0% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Very clear, dark brown beer with deep garnet red highlights, pouring with a persistent light tan head.
  • Aroma
    • Rich bready malt aroma, with a medium level of chocolate character. No hop or yeast character to speak of – it’s all malt!
  • Flavor
    • Medium high maltiness, with a toasty breadcrust quality and a bit of chocolate. Medium bitterness, with a slightly spicy aspect. Clean yeast character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, medium carbonation, smooth finish, slightly dry.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is such a highly drinkable recipe–probably one of my favorites. There’s not much else to say; it’s a good beer!
  • Overall
    • 10/10

Dimorphos Kellerbier 2025

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Back in 2021, I made my first kellerbier; it was a great lager for the winter months and was worth rebrewing in one form or another. The 2025 version (consumed in the early days of 2026) is in the same ballpark as the 2021 version, but has a number of minor changes. The base malt percentages are very slightly tweaked, and I subbed in Carared for Mela malt. North Brewer, rather than Magnum, is the core bittering hop. Finally, I focused on whole hops and moved them to the very last 10 minutes of the boil, to amplify hop aroma and flavor.

Recipe Name

  • 5 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 4.25 lb. pilsner zero malt (Viking)
  • 1 lb 2 oz. Barke Munich malt (Weyermann)
  • 4 oz. Carared malt (Weyermann)
  • 2 oz. Carafa Special II malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (6.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1.1 oz. Hallertauer whole hops (est. 3.0% alpha, South Dakota origin), 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Kick Carrageenan tablet
  • 1.1 oz. Hallertauer whole hops (est. 3.0% alpha, South Dakota origin), 5 minute boil
  • 2 pkg. Diamond lager yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.049 o.g., 1.007 f.g., 5.5% abv, 29 IBU, 10 SRM
  • Full volume step mash with recirculation, held at 142° for 40 minutes, 156° for 40 minutes, and 10 minute mash-out at 168°
  • Claremont tap water

Procedure

  • Starting with 7.4 gallons of tap water, I added a Campden tablet and heated the water to 147°. Next, I mashed in with the grains and 3.7 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust pH. I held the mash at 142° for 40 minutes before raising it to 156° for another 40 minutes. Finally, I mashed out at 168° for 10 minutes before removing the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.5 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.044, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • After bringing the runnings to a boil, I added the hops and finings per the recipe, across 60 minutes of boiling time.
  • I chilled the wort to 67°, transferred to the fermenter, pitched the yeast, and then chilled down to 52° in the fermentation chamber.
  • I brewed this beer on 22 November 2025. It had a starting gravity of 1.052.
  • The beer fermented at 54° until 1 December 2025, when I moved the fermenter to ambient (~60°).
  • I kegged the beer on 23 December 2025. Final gravity was 1.016, with an abv of 4.7%.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Brilliantly clear, light copper beer, with a creamy and persistent ivory head
  • Aroma
    • Rich bread crust aroma at a medium level, with medium-low spicy hop note. Clean fermentation character.
  • Flavor
    • Malty rich flavor, with notes of bread and dark bread crust. Medium-high bitterness, with a slightly herbal hop character. Clean fermentation character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium carbonation, medium body, off-dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is an enjoyable beer! I have no major comments or adjustments to suggest. If I make this again, I might go with a more characterful yeast; perhaps White Labs’ Munich Lager or something similar.
  • Overall
    • 8/10