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!

Thumbspike Saison

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Every once in awhile, I get bored with my usual styles and try something different. Lately, I’ve been brewing a lot of what I’ve brewed before: IPA’s, wheat beers, porters, and stouts and stuff. They’ve turned out nicely, but now I want to amp things up a bit. For some reason, I got the idea to try a saison.

saison The diverse Belgian styles don’t always appeal to me, but I think that’s because they’re often either done badly or overdone in the latest souring craze. I’m actually quite fond of the various witbiers and their cousins (including my white IPA). But, because I have another iteration of my white IPA planned, saison had a bit more appeal for the moment. I’ve had a number of good ones over the years, and they aren’t afflicted by the funky bacteria that seem to dominate so many US-brewed salutes to Belgian beers these days. Why not, then?

I did a bit of research on various websites, books, and magazines, and came up with a fairly simple recipe as my first attempt. It won’t be entirely authentic in terms of ingredients (I’m using American 2-row instead of Belgian pilsner malt, and the hops are New Zealand), but my aim is to get something that’s tasty and drinkable. In order to dry the beer out a bit, I’m incorporating some honey into the recipe.

When trying to figure out which hops I should use, I was reminded that I have four ounces of Pacific Jade in my freezer. The descriptors for the hops include words like “herbal”, “citrus”, and “black pepper”. A good combination for a saison! And, it will be a good way to use up these hops for which I’ve long been trying to find a purpose.

I elected to use WLP525, Belgian Saison I from White Labs. It has been consistently rated as a very fine yeast for saisons, and the peppery aroma and flavor intrigue me. I’ve read a lot about how it tends to stall out at lower temperatures, so I’ll be using a heating pad beneath the fermenter (which will also be outside of my fermentation chamber) and letting the beer free rise. Apparently it does quite well in the 80’s, so that should be a fun thing to try!

The name (and label) for this beer are inspired by Iguanodon, a plant-eating dinosaur characterized by a sharp spike for a thumb. The animal is represented by a whole set of beautiful skeletons from the coal mines of Bernissart, Belgium. Coincidentally, this area (part of the greater region known as Wallonia) is the home turf for saisons. I prettied up one of the old renderings of the Belgian Iguanodon fossils by Gustave Lavalette for the label.

Thumbspike Saison

  • 8 lbs. 2-row malt (Great Western Malting Co.)
  • 1.5 lbs. white wheat malt
  • 1 lb. Vienna malt
  • .2 lbs. rice hulls
  • 1.5 lbs. clover honey
  • 1 oz. Pacific Jade hops pellets (12.4% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Pacific Jade hops pellets (12.4% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. Irish moss, 10 minute boil
  • 2 tsp. BSG Fermax yeast nutrient, 10 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Belgian Saison I ale yeast (WLP565, White Labs), prepared in 1.75L starter, 24 hours in advan
  • 2 oz. Pacific Jade hops pellets (12.4% alpha), 1 week dry hop

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 4.1 gallons of water at 159º, to hit a mash temperature of 150º. It was down to 145º after 45 minutes.
  • After 60 minutes had passed, I batch sparged with 4.75 gallons of water at 185º. After letting it sit for 10 minutes, I vorlaufed and collected the runnings.
  • All told, I collected 7.1 gallons of wort with a gravity of 1.042. This equates to a mash efficiency of 76%. Prior to the boil, I added the honey, which brought the gravity up to 1.052.
  • I boiled the wort for 60 minutes, adding the hops, Irish moss, and yeast nutrient as indicated.
  • I chose to use yeast nutrient because much of what I read online says it can be a big help in enabling WLP565 to ferment to completion. The yeast nutrient left a mild odor in the wort; nothing overpowering, but it was noticeable. The package suggested adding in 1 tsp. per gallon of liquid; reading more online, it looks like that is appropriate only for wines and meads. Beers should be given only 1/2 tsp. for a 5 gallon batch. At any rate, I also read that the yeast tend to use up the nutrient anyhow, so any aroma should disappear.
  • After 60 minutes, I turned off the flame and cooled the wort down to 78º, transferred to the fermenter, and pitched the yeast.
  • Starting gravity was 1.058, when I brewed the batch on 22 April 2016.
  • I started fermentation on top of a heating pad. The yeast had really taken off within 10 hours, with a temperature in excess of 85º. So, I turned off the heating pad and let the temperature ride freely. After 30 hours more, temperature was down to 70º. By this point, my fermentation chamber had freed up, and I moved everything into there. I set the temperature to 80º.
  • Five days after brewing, fermentation was still perking along, with an occasional bubble from the airlock.
  • On Tuesday, May 3, I kegged the beer. It had a final gravity of 1.009, which equates to 6.4% abv. Flavor seems to be pretty good; time will tell how successful it is!

New World Blonde Ale

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20160415_190959Time to make a classic summer beer! For this batch, I wanted to try something different, by mixing techniques used on two previous blonde ales that have turned out well. Firstly, following my Summer Blonde Ale, I elected to keep a simple grain bill. This meant mostly 2-row malt, with a touch of dark Munich malt (somewhere in the 10 to 20 lovibond range). However, I wanted a slightly more complex hops character, so I followed a version of the hopping schedule from my Citra Blonde Ale, in that all of the hops were added in the last 10 minutes of the boil. I had two ounces of the experimental HBC 438, and this seemed like a fine batch in which to highlight those.

New World Blonde Ale

  • 9 lbs. 2-row (Great Western Malting Co.)
  • 9 oz. Dark Munich malt
  • 0.5 oz. HBC 438 hops pellets (16.6% alpha, 6.2% beta, 10 minute boil)
  • 0.5 oz. HBC 438 hops pellets (16.6% alpha, 6.2% beta, 5 minute boil)
  • 1 oz. HBC 438 hops pellets (16.6% alpha, 6.2% beta, 5 minute whirlpool)
  • 1 tsp. Irish moss (10 minute boil)
  • 1 pkg. California Ale Yeast (WLP001, White Labs), in 1L starter

Procedure

  • 48 hours in advance, I prepared the yeast in a 1L starter
  • I mashed in with 3.5 gallons of water at 161º, to hit a mash temperature of 149º. The mash was down to 149º after 40 minutes. After 60 minutes, I added 1.5 gallons of water at 180º, which raised the mash bed to 152º. I vorlaufed and collected the first runnings, and then added another 3.5 gallons of water at 180º, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then collected the remainder of the wort.
  • All told, I collected 6.8 gallons of wort at a gravity of 1.040, for 78% efficiency.
  • I boiled for 60 minutes, adding the hops and Irish moss per the schedule.
  • After flame-out, I chilled the wort down to 75º, transferred to the fermenter, and pitched the yeast slurry.
  • The starting gravity was 75º. I brewed this on 15 April 2016, and fermented it at 66º for six days.
  • The beer was kegged on 21 April 2016. At this point, it had a final gravity of 1.008, which equates to 4.9% abv.