What’s Brewing? March 2022 Edition

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The past few weeks have transitioned from brewing to kegging…my weekends are filling up again and my supply is pretty good, so I haven’t been making a ton of beer lately.

“The Simple Monk”

Beer Batch Updates

  • I kegged “The Simple Monk,” and even got it reviewed! That’s some fast turnaround.
  • My pre-Prohibition lager is getting close to the point of kegging.
  • I kegged my kolsch-style ale on March 4, using a closed transfer, and hit my numbers pretty much on the nose. The Edelweiss hop blend comes through as a pleasant floral aroma and flavor, and I feel like I have a really good understanding of that blend after a few brews under my belt. The beer is already fairly clear, and I’m feeling that it will be enjoyable once carbonated and conditioned. It just went on tap yesterday.
  • The altbier is kegged, conditioning, and now on tap.
  • I kegged my HOPBOX pale ale…it’s really delicious in preliminary samples, with a subtle strawberry character from the Strata hops.
  • My brew club is doing a Belgian pale ale competition in April, and I started one last weekend. The grist is fairly complex–pilsner, Munich, Cara 20, aromatic Munich, caramel Munich, and dextrin malt, but the hopping is just Magnum and Saaz. I let it ferment at garage-ambient (~64° external) for a few days, and then brought it indoors to finish out. I used Omega’s Belgian Ale A yeast.

What’s On Tap?

  • The Simple Monk went on tap two weeks ago, and it’s pretty much exactly what I had hoped for.
  • The latest version of Alstadt Alt just went on tap a few days ago…it’s also pretty excellent!
  • As mentioned above, the kolsch recently went on tap.

What’s Coming Up?

  • I will probably do an American IPA sometime soon. I’m not sure which direction I’ll take it in, though. I have some Yakima Valley hop extract to use; it’s primarily CTZ, so would likely be a good base for a traditional West Coast IPA. The recipe I have sketched out is fairly similar to the 2021 IPA in terms of grain bill, with the hop extract, Centennial, Amarillo, and Cascade as the hops.

Other News

  • I packaged the miso paste after two months of fermentation, and same for my sauerkraut.