Tag Archives: tastings

Thanksgiving IPA 2017: Recipe & Tasting

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I wanted to have a nice IPA on-hand for Thanksgiving. So, I brewed up a recipe based on my Centennial IPA, first brewed last year. The base beer is a favorite of mine, so it seemed like an easy choice. I did modify it slightly to use crystal 20 and Victory malt instead of Caravienne and Carahell. I also mixed the hopping up a little bit, maintaining focus on the citrus/pine American hops. This was combined with Mandarina Bavaria hops, to add an interesting twist that I hoped would play well with everything else.

Thanksgiving IPA 2017

  • 10.5 lbs. California Select 2-row brewer’s malt (Great Western)
  • 1.75 lbs. Vienna malt (Great Western)
  • 0.5 lb. 20°L caramel malt (Briess)
  • 0.25 lb. Victory (biscuit) malt (Briess)
  • 1 oz. Centennial hop pellets (7.6% alpha), first wort hop with 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Centennial hop pellets (7.6% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Centennial hop pellets (7.6% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (9.2% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
  • 1 oz. Mandarina Bavaria hop pellets (9.5% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
  • 1 oz. Centennial hop pellets (7.6% alpha), 6 day loose dry hop in primary
  • 1 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (9.2% alpha), 6 day loose dry hop in primary
  • 1 oz. Mandarina Bavaria hop pellets (9.5% alpha), 6 day loose dry hop in primary
  • 1 pkg. California Ale yeast (White Labs WLP001), prepared in starter

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 4.25 gallons of Claremont tap water at 161 degrees, to hit a 150° mash target. After 60 minutes, I added 0.75 gallons of water at 185°, let sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed and drained. I then added 3.5 gallons of water at 185°, let sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and drained.
  • In total, I collected 6.75 gallons of wort at a gravity of 1.050, for 71% efficiency.
    I brought the wort to a boil, and added hops per the schedule.
  • After a 60 minute boil, I chilled to pitching temperatures and added the yeast (which was prepared in a starter).
  • Original gravity was 1.062.
  • I brewed the beer on 7 November 2017, and fermented at 66° for 6 days. On 13 November, I added the dry hops directly to the primary fermenter. On 19 November, I cold crashed the beer.
  • On the morning of 20 November, I accidentally added 0.25L of lager yeast pitch intended for another beer. Oops.
  • On the evening of 20 November, I split the beer into two kegs (2.5 gallons each). The more full keg received 1 tsp. of gelatin in 1/4 cup of water, heated to 150 degrees. The other (less full) did not get gelatin. I force carbonated the kegs.
  • Final gravity was 1.008, for 7.1% abv.

20171123_131532Tasting

  • The Basics
    • 1.062 o.g., 1.08 f.g., 7.1% abv, 62 estimated IBU, 6 SRM
  • Appearance
    • This beer is a deep gold, with a modest haze (it looks a bit darker in the photo due to the lighting). The head is exceptionally persistent and off-white, with beautiful lacing on the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Light yet rich citrus aroma from the hops, with a light malty aroma with a slight hint of caramel behind that
  • Flavor
    • The beer has a bready malty character, with a firm and persistent malt bitterness. The hop flavor is piney and citrusy, tending towards a grapefruit character. The bitterness is perfect, with a smooth quality and smooth finish.
  • Mouthfeel
    • The beer has a medium body and has a moderately dry finish with moderate carbonation.
  • Would I brew this again? 
    • Yes! This recipe once again satisfies, and I’m quite pleased with how the hops turned out. This is a classic west coast American IPA. The hop aroma could maybe be a touch stronger, but that’s a minor complaint overall.
  • Overall
    • 9/10

Festbier Head-to-Head

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I’ve been wanting to do a head-to-head comparison of my festbier versus commercial examples, and finally got the chance to do so tonight. My buddy Steve stopped by, and I poured out three sampler glasses for each of us. Steve didn’t know which was which, other than that one was homebrew and two were commercial beers.

For my commercial comparison, I chose Ayinger’s October Fest-Märzen and Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest. Both were available at local stores, and are reasonably well regarded. I sampled the beers before and after brewing, to give me a bit of an idea what to expect in a festbier.

festbiers

Three festbiers (from left): Ayinger’s October Fest-Märzen, my Festivus Simplex, and Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest.

Steve and I tasted simultaneously, but I tried to avoid giving him any leading comments or critiques that might sway his opinion. Our observations are below; I transcribed his comments, but wrote down my personal observations without telling him, so as to avoid that avenue of bias.

  • We noticed that my beer has an ever so slightly lighter color, as well as a taller and more persistent head. All of the beers are quite clear.
  • Steve noted that the Ayinger version had a more prominent malty aroma. We both perceived malty sweetness and a hint of ginger in the flavor (the latter likely from the hops). I think that the maltiness is potentially from mild oxidation, which wouldn’t be a huge surprise for a beer that might have sat on a store shelf for some time after import. The malty character had that slightly cloying aspect from oxidized beers, as I experienced in an excellent seminar at the 2017 Homebrew Con.
  • The Sierra Nevada version came across as a little less carbonated to me, and Steve remarked that the flavor was a little flatter on the tongue. We both noted that the taste was less complex, and its head was not very persistent relative to the other two beers.
  • Steve described my homebrew as having a more complex taste than the Sierra Nevada version, and he preferred that mine had a less distinct after taste than the other two beers. For me, the hop aroma on mine was a touch more pronounced than in the Sierra Nevada and maybe a shade more than in the Ayinger, which I liked.
  • When asked to guess which was the homebrew, Steve guessed mine, based on the slight color difference and some intangibles in flavor. When asked which he preferred, he ranked my homebrew and the Ayinger pretty closely, with the Sierra Nevada in third place. I am biased, but I preferred my homebrew by a slight margin (although perhaps a fresh example of Ayinger would perform better), and agreed that the Sierra Nevada came in third place.

Overall, I think my festbier is definitely a contender against the two commercial varieties I sampled. It captures the style quite well, and in some ways (especially appearance, via head and head retention) exceeds the commercial examples. As I noted in my earlier tasting, I could up the maltiness just a shade. But overall, I’m pretty thrilled with how my version of a fall favorite turned out! This exercise in comparison was really educational–I’ll be trying it again for selected beers.

Beer Tasting: Dark Helmet Schwarzbier

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My schwarzbier has been kegged for over a month, and seems to be at its peak. Tasting time!

20170903_151314Dark Helmet Schwarzbier

  • The Basics
    • 1.046 o.g., 1.014 f.g., 4.2% abv, 26 estimated IBU, 28 SRM
  • Appearance
    • Clear brown beer with a slight ruby tinge. The head is a light tan color and persistant.
  • Aroma
    • Light chocolate aroma with a slight roastiness; very nice!
  • Flavor
    • Clean and smooth, with a nice bready maltiness backed up with a bit of roasty chocolate and slight coffee notes. There is a modest bitterness, which melds quite well with the malt.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Smooth, light, and crisp; moderate carbonation and a gentle bitterness to the moderately dry finish.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Indeed! This beer has matured into a delicious and very drinkable lager. I feel like I nailed the style pretty well. Although we are squarely in the heat of summer, this is one dark beer that I don’t mind having around. It’s surprisingly refreshing! Overall, there is very little I would change about this beer. It’s nice to have another reliable session beer in my portfolio, too.
  • Overall
    • 10/10

Beer Tasting: Countdown IPA

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20170827_131705This recipe isn’t my best IPA, but it’s a pretty darned good IPA.

  • The Basics
    • 1.064 o.g., 1.011 f.g., 7.1% abv, 68 estimated IBU, 9 SRM
  •  Appearance
    • Light copper color with a slight haze, pouring with a dense white head that leaves lacing on the side of the glass as it subsides to a persistent ivory colored blanket.
  • Aroma
    • Moderately prominent dank, piney aroma; quite nice and classic! I could up the aroma a touch, but it’s generally OK.
  • Flavor
    • This beer is dominated by a smooth, piney bitterness, backed up by a smooth and doughy malt profile.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Moderately dry, with a smooth and extended bitter finish. Carbonation is moderate and appropriate for the style.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Probably. This is a nice, middle-of-the-road American IPA. The hops are nice, although I should I say I don’t find the CryoHops notable one way or another. I was perhaps expecting a bit more hop character from them, given they were touted as providing twice the aroma for a given mass of hop. Maybe it’s more like 1.5x? I might up the aroma a touch, with perhaps a bit more Simcoe. As usual, the general base recipe is pretty solid.
  • Overall
    • 8.5/10

Citra Blonde Ale 1.1

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I desperately needed to get my taps fully filled before a new baby arrived (I was down to only two armed and operational faucets, and one of those was ready to give out at any moment!). I had a schwarzbier and an IPA spooling up within the next few weeks, but wanted to have a light and drinkable beer to replace my wheat ale once that keg kicked. Something with fast turn-around and tasty, interesting drinkability.

Time for another batch of my Citra blonde ale! This beer turned out excellent last time (nearly two years ago), and is worth another go.

Compared to my last batch, I made some very minor edits for my ingredient stockpile (different brands of malt, etc.). I also went with a single infusion, rather than multiple infusions to hit different temperature rests.

Citra Blonde Ale 1.1

  • 5 lbs. Château Pilsen malt (Castle Malting)
  • 5 lbs. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
  • 0.75 lb. Munich II malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 lb. caramel malt 20L (Briess)
  • 1 Whirlfloc pellet, 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Citra hop pellets (14.1% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Citra hop pellets (14.1% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Citra hop pellets (14.1% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
  • 1 package American ale dry yeast (US-05, Safale)

Target Parameters

  • Full volume infusion mash to hit target of 152°, 60 minutes, no sparge
  • 1.050 o.g., 1.011 f.g., 5.1% abv, 20 IBU, 5 SRM, 5 gallons into fermenter
  • Water adjusted to hit 83 ppm Ca, 5.4 ppm Mg, 5.6 ppm Na, 79.4 ppm SO4, 87 ppm Cl, 50.7 ppm HCO3

Procedure

  • For the mash water, I mixed 1.8 gallons of Claremont tap water with 6 gallons of RO water, in addition to 3 g gypsum, 1 g epsom salt, and 5 g calcium chloride. I also added 3.1 mL of 75% phosphoric acid, to adjust the calculated pH.
  • I heated the sparge water to 160°, added it to the mash tun, and added the grain when the water hit 156.6°.
  • After 60 minutes, I vorlaufed and then collected 6.25 gallons of runnings. These had a gravity of 1.047 (a bit higher than expected), so I added 0.25 gallons of RO water to bring the gravity down to 1.045 and increase the overall volume a bit.
  • I boiled for 60 minutes, adding ingredients per the schedule.
  • After flame-out and the whirlpool addition, I chilled to 80° and finished the rest of the chilling in my fermentation chamber. Once the wort hit 66°, I pitched the dry yeast directly.
  • I brewed this beer on 15 July 2017, and fermented at 66° for two weeks. Starting gravity was 1.052.
  • I kegged the beer on 29 July 2017. It had a final gravity of 1.008, which works out to 5.8% abv. Then, I force carbonated.

Tasting

  • The Basics
    • O.G. = 1.0542; f.g. = 1.008; 5.8% abv; 5 SRM; 20 estimated IBU
  • Appearance
    • Light gold and beautifully clear. The beer pours with a thick white head that settles to an even blanket.
  • Aroma
    • Lightly grainy and slightly sweet malty aroma; a hint of citrus behind that.
  • Flavor
    • Light, very slightly sweet and candy-like aspect, with gentle maltiness; there is a bit of orange citrus behind that. Very clean flavor, with a mild and smooth bitterness.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Moderate carbonation, light body, with a gentle and moderately dry finish.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • As always, this is a very nice beer! I slightly prefer Great Western 2-row as a base malt, but Rahr is also respectable. I target mash-in a touch higher if doing a single infusion mash, or else follow the multi-rest schedule, because the beer ended up a bit more attenuated than expected, but that’s a minor point. The late-hopped Citra comes across really nicely, and this is a winner. As an additional variant for next time, I might follow the original Gordon Strong recipe a bit more closely and mix some Galaxy hops in with the Citra.
  • Overall
    • 8.5/10