Author Archives: Andy Farke

Beer Tasting: Jarrylo Session IPA

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I brewed this one waaay back, and haven’t gotten around to posting my tasting (completed in early March). Here it is!

  • The Basics
    • Original gravity = 1.047; final gravity = 1.017; abv = 3.9%; estimated IBU = 53.
  • Appearance
    • Very fine and persistent off-white heady with a creamy character; the beer itself is a medium copper color with a mild haze.
  • Aroma
    • The aroma is hop-centered but fairly mild, with notes of tropical fruit, pear, and perhaps a hint of pepper.
  • Flavor
    • The flavor is quite clean, with a subdued and smooth hop bitterness. The bitterness is way lower than I was expecting though, and probably pushes this more into pale ale than IPA territory. The hops themselves come across as citrusy and slightly floral. There is a very slight maltiness at the back end of this one.
  • Mouthfeel
    • The body is fairly thin, unfortunately, and the beer comes across as a bit watery. The finish is relatively dry.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • I was, unfortunately, rather disappointed with how this beer turned out. Even though it is intended as a session IPA, the bitterness and body miss the mark. I think the hops I used just aren’t suited for the style, and the initial wort was thinner than desirable too. Jarrylo seems like a nice hops variety, but probably better suited for less “hefty” styles, such as a blonde ale or even a pale ale. In fact, I’ve taken to thinking of this beer as a pale ale rather than an IPA, and that helps a bit with my perception of it.
  • Overall rating
    • 4/10

Honey Fuggle Ale

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I recently ran across a fun-looking recipe in BYO (December 2015 issue), for a clone of Firestone Walker’s 805. I was in the mood to make a blonde ale, and particularly in the mood to make a new recipe of blonde ale. With a few minor modifications (US Fuggles instead of Willamette for the hops, and a touch less wheat malt, to use up my stash without having to buy more), I had everything in order.

The original recipe suggested building up from RO water; given the highly mineralized nature of our tap water, that seemed like a good idea. I’ve noticed that many of my lighter-flavored beers come across as a bit “flabby”, and suspect that the water is behind it. So, I bought a bunch of distilled water and some more brewing minerals. For the 3.75 gallons of mash water, I added 7 g of calcium chloride and just under 1/4 tsp. of 10% phosphoric acid. The 4.9 gallons of sparge water were treated with just 1/4 tsp. of 10% phosphoric acid.

I have to say that I really enjoy the honey malt addition in this one–it adds a deliciously sweet and distinct character to the wort. Although it certainly isn’t a malt for all occasions, it’s a nice ingredient to keep in the back of my mind for other batches. I’m intrigued to see how the honey malt plays out in a blonde ale like this one.

I had planned to use my culture of Conan (Yeast Bay’s “East Coast Ale” yeast), but when growing up the culture I noticed the aroma was a bit “off” from the first few generations. It wasn’t awful–just not quite right. So, I made a decision to toss it and go with dry yeast instead. The yeast didn’t really owe me anything–I got three good batches out of it, so that seemed to be plenty fine. I’m not sure if it was a contamination issue, or if the yeast had just drifted genetically.

20160521_072106

Grains ready for the mash tun.

Honey Fuggle Ale

  • 8.25 lbs. 2-row malt (Great Western Malting Co.)
  • 0.75 lbs. honey malt
  • 0.5 lb. white wheat malt
  • 1 oz. US Fuggle hops pellets (4.5% alpha, 3.1% beta), 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz. US Fuggle hops pellets (4.5% alpha, 3.1% beta), 5 minute steep after boil
  • 1 tsp. Irish moss (10 minute boil)
  • 1/4 tsp. yeast nutrient (10 minute boil)
  • 1 pkg. Nottingham dry yeast (Danstar)
  • Brewing water prepared as follows:
    • 3.75 gallons of mash water, with 7 g. calcium chloride and 1/4 tsp. 10% phosphoric acid
    • 4.9 gallons of sparge water, with 1/4 tsp. 10% phosphoric acid

Brewing Targets

  • Mash temperature = 156°
  • Original gravity = 1.045 (actual = 1.048)
  • Color = 5 SRM
  • IBU = 19

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 3.75 gallons of water at 167.9°, to hit a mash temperature of 157°. The mash was down to 152° after 60 minutes.
  • I collected the first runnings, and then added 4.9 gallons of water at 185°, to bring the mash bed up to right at 170°. I let it sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the rest of the wort.
  • I collected 7.2 gallons of wort at a gravity of 1.039, for 81% efficiency! Wow! I am not sure if this was the result of my water treatment, or something else, but it was certainly unexpectedly high.
  • I brought the wort to a boil, and added the various ingredients per the schedule in the recipe.
  • After 60 minutes, I added the final dose of hops and chilled the wort down to 80°. After transferring it into my carboy, I let it cool in the fermentation chamber for an hour or two, down to 68°, and then sprinkled the yeast on the wort.
  • The starting gravity was 1.048, and I am fermenting the beer at 68°. This beer was brewed on Saturday, 21 May 2016.

Spring Cleaning Amber Ale

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Amber ales have gotten a bit of short shrift in my homebrewing world lately. They’re fairly easy to craft well, and rank among the classic (and stereotypical) “brewpub” styles. I brewed them relatively frequently when I started out in homebrewing, and as a result got a little bored with them. It has been nearly a year and a half since my last amber ale, though, and lately I have been kinda missing having one on tap.

One good thing about amber ales is that for me they have a fairly broad spectrum of possible flavors, which makes them convenient for using up ingredients. The flip side of this is that they can become a muddy mess of too many competing flavors. I think I have struck a reasonable balance in the recipe below, although the proof will be in the tasting a few weeks down the line. My first task was to use up a few lingering pounds of Maris Otter for the base malt, with the remainder made up with the ol’ standard American two-row. A touch of Victory malt will add some biscuit notes, and honey malt should bring in a bit of caramel sweetness (instead of using the more traditional crystal malt). To aim for deeper red hues, I’ve added in just the tiniest bit of black malt.

Hop Spider in Action

Hop spider in action for Spring Cleaning Amber Ale

Spring Cleaning Amber Ale

  • 5.34 lbs. Maris Otter malt (Thomas Fawcett)
  • 3.5 lbs. 2-row malt (Great Western Brewing Co.)
  • 0.75 lbs. Victory malt
  • 0.5 lbs. honey malt
  • 2 oz. de-bittered black malt
  • 1 oz. Cluster hops pellets (6.8% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz. American Fuggle hops pellets (4.5% alpha, 3.1% beta), 5 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. Irish moss, 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. yeast nutrient, 10 minute boil
  • Vermont Ale yeast (The Yeast Bay), prepared in starter

Brewing Targets

  • Mash temperature = 152°
  • Original gravity = 1.049
  • IBU = 29

Procedure

  • I made a yeast starter three days in advance, using a jar of yeast that I had set aside three months ago. The 1.75L starter took right off. After two days, I saved 0.6L for another batch and cold-crashed the rest for this batch.
  • On brew day, I mashed in with 4 gallons of water at 163.8°, to hit my target mash temperature of 152° exactly. The mash went down to 149° after 60 minutes. At this point, I vorlaufed and drained the first runnings. I added 4.75 gallons of water at 190°, to hit 169°. I let this sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed and collected the rest of the wort.
  • All together, I collected 7 gallons of wort at a gravity of 1.041, for 76% efficiency.
  • I brought the wort to a boil, and added the hops and other ingredients per the schedule for the recipe.
  • After 60 minutes, I chilled the wort and transferred it into the fermenter. The wort was exceptionally clear–quite a change after all of the hazy wheat-based recipes of late! The temperature was only down to 80°, so I let it sit in the fermentation chamber for three hours until the temperature hit 68°, and pitched the yeast at this point.
  • Starting gravity was 1.050, nearly exactly at my brewing target. I’ll be fermenting at 68°.
  • I brewed this on May 14, 2016.

Pannotia White IPA 1.6

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Lemon extract

Lemon extract

I’ve been having a lot of fun tooling and re-tooling my white IPA recipe. Because it has been some time since I last brewed up a batch, I wanted to bring this brew on-line again, with a few tweaks to inch ever closer to perfection.

The grain bill is essentially the same as my most recent batch, with the primary change being a switch to 2-row alone as the base malt. Hops are modified slightly in line with my current inventory, with Amarillo hops pellets instead of whole Cascade hops. The final component that I felt the beer was missing was a nice lemon background and aroma. One option was to use Lemondrop hops, but these are rather hard to get. Instead, I elected to craft some lemon extract (see photo at right). With the zest from four lemons and four shots of cheap vodka, I combined it all into a jar and did the “set and forget” routine. Once the beer fermentation is done, I’ll strain the mixture and toss it into the keg.

Pannotia White IPA 1.6

  • 7.75 lbs. 2-row malt (Great Western Malting Co.)
  • 3 lbs. white wheat malt
  • 1 lb. flaked wheat
  • 0.5 lbs. flaked quick oats
  • 0.5 lbs. rice hulls
  • 8 g. gypsum
  • 1 oz. Amarillo hops pellets (7.0% alpha, 5.6% beta), added to wort prior to boil and boiled for 60 minutes
  • 1 oz. Amarillo hops pellets (7.0% alpha, 5.6% beta), 35 minute boil
  • 2 oz. Amarillo hops pellets (7.0% alpha, 5.6% beta), added at flame-out and steeped during chill
  • 1 oz. Citra hops pellets (14.1% alpha, 3.6% beta), added at flame-out and steeped during chill
  • 1 oz. Galaxy hops pellets (13.8% alpha, 5.9% beta), added at flame-out and steeped during chill
  • 1 oz. Citra hops pellets (14.1% alpha, 3.6% beta), dry hop
  • 1 oz. Galaxy hops pellets (13.8% alpha, 5.9% beta), dry hop
  • 1 oz. Mosaic hops pellets (11.3% alpha, 3.2% beta), dry hop
  • 1/8 tsp. yeast nutrient, 10 minute boil
  • 8 g gypsum (added to boil)
  • 0.35 oz. bitter orange peel, 1 minute boil
  • 0.15 oz. coriander seed (crushed), 1 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Belgian Wit Ale yeast (WLP400, White Labs), prepared in 1.25L starter, chilled and decanted
  • Lemon extract, zest of four lemons infused in four shots of vodka (~6 oz., resulting in 5 oz. of extract).

Procedure

  • Eight days in advance, I prepared a 2L starter, with an aim to overbuild my yeast culture for an upcoming Belgian wit. On the third day, I decanted 0.75L into a jar and cold-crashed the remaining 1.25L. I ended up delaying my brew day a bit, due to illness.
  • On brew day, I mashed in with 4.5 gallons of water at 167°, to hit a mash temperature of 152°. The temperature was down to about 150° after 30 minutes.
  • After 60 minutes of mashing, I collected the first runnings and then added 4.25 gallons of water at 185°. This raised the mash bed to 165°. I let it sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the remainder of the wort.
  • Altogether, I collected 6.75 gallons of wort at a gravity of 1.051, for 75% efficiency.
  • I had an outside meeting, so had to leave the wort sitting for two hours. Upon my return, I added the first round of hops and brought the mixture to a boil (approximating a first-wort hopping technique).
  • As the wort boiled for 60 minutes, I added the various ingredients per the schedule in the recipe.
  • After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat, added the final charge of hops, and chilled the beer. Once the beer was chilled down to 77°, I transferred it to the fermenter and pitched the yeast. A krausen started forming within 12 hours.
  • Starting gravity was 1.060. I am fermenting this at 68°, and plan to keep it in the primary for around 10 days before transferring to the keg.
  • This beer was brewed on Tuesday, May 10.

A New Blog Home

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If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you have probably noticed the new look and the new URL. After nearly eight(!) years at my original home, it was time for a change. All of the content has been migrated, and most new content will be more of the same–recipes, tastings, and the like. However, I also plan to have more frequent essay-style posts, and to use this blog as a workshop for some beer writing projects. Cheers to whatever lies ahead!