Category Archives: tastings

Polacanthus Porter

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IMG_20190829_193848Dark beers! They’re seemingly banished from the summer months, and yet I often have a craving for one even on the hottest days. Not a triple imperial barrel aged chocolate stout, of course–that’s best dumped in the sink during the month of December. I’m thinking of those more drinkable dark beers, a bit lower on the alcohol but still robust on flavor.

An end-of-summer porter seemed like a good way forward. They’re flavorful, but not necessarily gut bombs. They’re relatively easy to brew, and turn around fairly quickly. Also, they’re a “traditional” style that’s just a bit harder to find, overwhelmed by trendier beers on tap lists. If I want a mediocre hazy IPA, I don’t need to make my own; there is no shortage in area breweries!

This recipe is based on the American porter from Gordon Strong’s Modern Homebrew Recipes. My version fairly closely follows that by Strong, with the modifications primarily on the hopping and malt brands. The name recognizes the combination of American and English ingredients, because Polacanthus is a type of armored dinosaur that had relatives on both sides of the Atlantic.

Polacanthus Porter

  • 11 lb. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
  • 12 oz. 1823 Heritage Crystal Malt (Bairds), 75°
  • 10 oz. chocolate malt (Bairds), 500°
  • 5 oz. roasted barley (Bairds), 600°
  • 0.65 oz. Magnum hop pellets (13.2% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Cascade whole hops (~5.5% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Cascade whole hops (~5.5% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Safale American Ale Yeast (US-05)

Target Parameters

  • 1.058 o.g., 1.014 f.g., 5.8% abv, 36 IBU, 34 SRM
  • 60 minute infusion mash, 154°, batch sparge
  • Claremont tap water

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 4.25 gallons of water at 164.5°, to his a mash temperature of 155°. After 45 minutes, I added 1 gallon of water at 185°, and collected first runnings after a 10 minute rest and vorlauf. I then added 3.5 gallons of water, let rest for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected second runnings.
  • In total, I collected 7.1 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.048, for 73% efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and such per the recipe.
  • After 60 minutes, I turned off the flame, chilled, and transferred to the fermenter (with aeration). I had to let the wort rest in the fermenter for a few hours, to chill down to the fermentation temperature of 66°.
  • I brewed this beer on 13 July 2019. Starting gravity was 1.057.
  • I kegged the beer on 14 August 2019. Final gravity was 1.013, for 5.8% abv. This was exactly on the dot for my targets!

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Deep brown, with garnet tones when illuminated from behind; clear; persistent tan head
  • Aroma
    • Roasty, chocolately aroma; very nice.
  • Flavor
    • Roast malt character at the front, with a slight chocolate and coffee tinge; slight citrus aspect; moderately bitter, with a finish that tilts towards the bitter rather than the malty side.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, medium carbonation; off-dry finish (probably due to the roast character). It could maybe have a touch more body, but I think overall it’s okay on this end. Too much body would make this harder to drink.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Yes! This is a nice and simple recipe, with a pleasant flavor. As porters go, this definitely is towards the roasted and bitter side, but I’m okay with that. This is really drinkable as a summer porter! I would add it to my regular repertoire.
  • Overall
    • 9/10

No Latitude Tropical Stout

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IMG_20190519_191408Summer fun doesn’t mean I have to be limited to light lagers (and I do love light lagers!). I think there is a place for dark beers in the warm weather, given the right recipe and the right mindset. So, a “tropical stout” seemed like a good ticket. I had initially thought I would make something with coconut, but realized I didn’t necessarily want a full batch of a coconut beer. Why not just a simple, clean(ish), flavorful stout? So, I checked out Gordon Strong’s Modern Homebrew Recipes book and found his Jamaican Eclipse recipe. The general concept is to take a stout recipe and ferment it with lager yeast at ale temperatures. In my reading, there seems to be a lot of lore around tropical/Caribbean stouts and yeast type, and I wonder to what extent any of it is true. Either way, even a “Fantasy Island” version of the recipe is intriguing to me.

I followed Strong’s grain bill only loosely, making many substitutions and adjustments. I had no idea how much I might like this, so I scaled it for a 3 gallon batch. The result? Pretty flavorful, and a definite re-brew candidate!

No Latitude Tropical Stout

  • 6.25 lb. Maris Otter malt (Bairds)
  • 8 oz. crystal 80° malt
  • 6 oz. roasted barley
  • 4 oz. chocolate malt (Briess)
  • 2 oz. Blackprinz malt, 2-row (Briess)
  • 10 oz. corn sugar (dextrose), added to kettle before boil
  • 0.5 oz. Warrior hop pellets (15.8% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. Fermax
  • 2 pkg. Saflager (W34/70) lager yeast, Fermentis

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, batch sparge
  • 1.064 o.g., 1.011 f.g., 7.1% abv, 39 IBU, 32 SRM
  • Claremont water, treated with Campden tablet

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 2.75 gallons of water at 163°, to hit a mash temperature of 153°. It was down to 149° after 20 minutes, likely due to the smaller thermal mass involved here.
  • After 60 minutes, I added 0.75 gallons of water at 185°, let sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the first runnings. I then added 2.5 gallons of water at 185°, let sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the second runnings.
  • In total, I collected 4.65 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.044, for 75% mash efficiency. I added the corn sugar prior to the boil.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and other ingredients per the schedule.
  • After 60 minutes, I turned off the flame and chilled down to 67°. I transferred to the fermenter and pitched the yeast.
  • I fermented the beer at 67°. Starting gravity was 1.060.
  • I brewed the beer on 15 April 2019 and cold crashed on 28 April 2019, kegging on 29 April 2019.
  • Final gravity was 1.013, which works out to 6.3% abv.

Tasting

  • Aroma
    • Roasty, chocolatey malt aroma, but not much in the way of hops. Really nice! As it warms up, I pick up a slight alcohol note, but this is permitted within the bounds of the BJCP style description.
  • Appearance
    • Thick and persistent brown head; the beer itself is fairly clear, and brown with a faint reddish tinge
  • Flavor
    • Chocolate-forward, with a bit of roast behind that. The bitterness is moderate and clean, but not over the top. Not much in the way of hop flavor. The finish is evenly balanced between hoppiness and maltiness. This is a very smooth, highly drinkable beer.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Moderate body, but not so much as to kill drinkability. Moderate carbonation.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Yes! Maybe it’s a bit of a psychological thing, but this definitely does seem like a good warm-weather stout. It’s smooth, quite drinkable, and doesn’t taste like it is 6.3% alcohol. I don’t see much in the way of improvement needed, although I could kick the fruitiness and body up a notch. A bit of crystal 120 might help with that.
  • Overall
    • 8/10

Classico Pale Ale

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Following on my series of IPAs and pale ales, I recently worked on a “classic” American pale ale. Again, I wanted to avoid the really tropical notes (which I like, but have been getting burned out on), and elected to highlight the Falconer’s Flight blend here. It was a good success!

Classico Pale Ale

  • 5 lb. Maris Otter Malt (Bairds)
  • 5 lb. 2-row malt (Rahr)
  • 8 oz. crystal 40 malt (Great Western)
  • 8 oz. crystal 60 malt (Great Western)
  • 0.7 oz. Warrior hop pellets (15.8% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Cascade whole hops (~4% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Falconer’s Flight 7C’s hop pellets (9.8% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. Safale US-05 American Ale dry yeast
  • 1 pkg. Mangrove Jack’s M44 US West Coast Yeast
  • 3 oz. Falconer’s Flight 7C’s hop pellets (9.5% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, batch sparge
  • 1.055 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 5.7% abv, 44 IBU, 8 SRM
  • Claremont water with 1 tsp. of gypsum added during boil

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 3.75 gallons of water at 164°, to hit a mash target of 152°. After 60 minutes, I added 1 gallon of water at ~185°, let sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected first runnings. Then, I added 3.3 gallons of water at 185°, let sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected second runnings.
  • In total, I collected 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.046, for 76% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding everything per the recipe. After 60 minutes of boiling, I added the whirlpool hops, waited 5 minutes, and then began to chill the wort.
  • I transferred the wort to the fermenter, pitched the yeast, and set it to ferment at 67°.
  • I brewed this beer on 1 April 2019. Starting gravity was 1.054, and final gravity was 1.012 when I kegged it on 14 April 2019. This works out to 5.5% abv.

IMG_20190508_202711

Tasting Notes

  • Aroma
    • Hop-forward aroma, with light citrus and pine together, and a mild caramel quality behind that.
  • Appearance
    • Light copper color, hazy, with a persistent off-white head.
  • Flavor
    • The hops are at the front of the flavor, but aren’t overpowering. The hop flavor profile is a combination of citrus and tropical fruit with a hint of pine behind that. The malt flavor is slightly grainy/bready, with a faint caramel note. Really nice!
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, with appropriate level of carbonation. The finish is smooth and off-dry.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Yes! I really like this particular recipe, and think it pretty well represents what an American pale ale should be. The only minor concern (were I brewing this for competition) is the haze, which would undoubtedly settle out given more time. Otherwise, what a great beer!
  • Overall
    • 9/10

Warrior’s IPA

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IMG_20190216_213732

Transferring the wort into the fermenter

Today’s American IPAs are awesome–I love hops like Mosaic and Citra, to the point where I have been starting to hit fruity hop fatigue. The antidote? Make a beer with the most piney, resiny, harshest old school hops I could find.

Warrior’s IPA

  • 12 lb. 2-row malt (Rahr)
  • 1.5 lb. rye malt (Viking)
  • 0.5 lb. crystal 60 malt
  • 4.4 oz. crystal 80 malt
  • 4 oz. rice hulls
  • 1 oz. Warrior hop pellets (15.8% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
  • 2 oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets (6.0% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1.5 oz. Cascade whole hops (~3.5% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
  • 2 pkg. Safeale American Ale yeast (US-05)
  • 3 oz. Columbus hop pellets (14.0% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 154°, no sparge
  • 1.065 o.g., 1.016 f.g., 6.5% abv, 61 IBU, 9 SRM
  • Claremont tap water, augmented with 1 tsp. gypsum

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 7.75 gallons of water at 162°, to hit a mash temperature of 151.7°. After 60 minutes, I vorlaufed and collected 5.75 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.055. This equated to a fairly miserable measured mash efficiency of 60%. (After this, I re-aligned my mill, in case that was the problem–I also figure the percentage of rye might be partly to blame, too).
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat, added the whirlpool hops, let sit for 5 minutes, and then chilled.
  • I transferred the beer to the fermenter, and fermented at 66°.
  • I brewed the beer on 16 February 2019, and kegged on 9 March 2019.
  • Starting gravity was 1.065, and final gravity was 1.011, for 7.2% abv.

Overall Impressions

I served this beer for a party, and it kicked before I could really get a good tasting. I didn’t even get a good picture! It was really popular with the hopheads, definitely delivering on the hop flavors and aromas that I wanted–rich, resiny, and piney. I felt like it needed a bit more time to mature, because the malt flavors weren’t quite there yet. Another few weeks might have helped. Oh well…I guess that means I have to brew this again!

Pale Ale 2019

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Completely uncreative name. I needed a pale ale, this was the first one I brewed in 2019, this is what I got. This batch was a bit of a mutt, with pilsner malt as most of the grist, American hops, and Nottingham yeast. I basically wanted to play around with ingredients, and see what a pale ale outside of the norm might be like.

Pale Ale 2019

  • 5 lb. 14 oz. Barke pilsner malt (Weyermann)
  • 2 lb. 15 oz. Vienna malt (Great Western)
  • 1 lb. 12 oz. 2-row malt (Rahr)
  • 8 oz. Crystal 40 (Great Western)
  • 2 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% alpha est.), 60 minute boil
  • 2 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% alpha est.), 1 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Nottingham yeast (Lallemand)
  • 2 oz. Simcoe hop pellets (13.6% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. Centennial hop pellets (9.3% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, no sparge
  • 1.049 o.g., 1.011 f.g., 4.9% abv, 39 IBU, 6 SRM
  • Claremont tap water, augmented with 5 g of epsom salt and 2 g of calcium chloride.

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 7.5 gallons of water at 165°, to hit a mash temperature of 158°. It was too hot, so I dropped in a frozen water bottle.
  • The mash was down to 153.6° after 40 minutes. I elected to do a 45 minute mash with this batch.
  • I collected 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.043, for 69% mash efficiency. This is slightly lower than if I had done a batch sparge, so no surprises here.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and other ingredients per the recipe.
  • After 60 minutes, I chilled to 70°, transferred with aeration, and pitched the yeast. Starting gravity was 1.050.
  • I brewed this beer on 5 January 2019, and fermented at 67°.
  • I kegged the beer on 24 January 2019. Final gravity was 1.015, down from 1.050, for 4.6% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Clear, gold beer, with a persistent white head that continues as an even blanket over the surface of the beer.
  • Aroma
    • Hop-forward aroma, with citrus and piney notes.
  • Flavor
    • Moderately bitter, with a flavor tipped towards the hoppy side. The tropical and citrus aspects of the hops come through, although there isn’t much in the way of malt flavor.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side for my preference. Carbonation is appropriate for the style, and the finish is nicely rounded.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Probably not, at least in its current form. Pilsner malt just doesn’t make for a pale ale in my flavor wheelhouse, so I might swap that for 2-row. The hop profile is dead-on perfect, especially for a good springtime pale ale. This beer has improved greatly as it matured–I didn’t care for it at all when first kegged, and now it is a pretty drinkable brew.
  • Overall:
    • 6.5/10