Tasting Briefs

Lots of seasonal beers and not enough time to take detailed tasting notes means I will summarize:

Stiegl Goldbrau Lager - Very malty and smooth Austrian beer, but a bit too sweet.

Sierra Nevada Celebration - Tasty beer, hoppy, red in color and reminiscent of Dogfish Head's 90 min IPA. 

Stone Levitation Ale - Very good, the lightest beer offered by Stone at 4.4% alcohol.

Alaska Smoked Porter - Amazing beer, like a great cigar or fine wine, complex deep and rich flavored.

Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe Marzen - A great beer, very malty, but not too sweet.

Brew 11 Extra Stout

I wanted to brew a good winter beer, and decided on a stout. I juiced it up with a bit of Agave syrup with a target gravity of 1.090. It came out with a bit too much volume, but considering that, the gravity was pretty good at 1.082. I discovered that my mash keg has a hard time maintaining higher temperatures. I will insulate it some more and try one more brew and if the problem continues I will replace it with a cooler.

Strategy: Dough in at 168, observe drop to 153,

rest 30 min.

Heat Decoction and mash out at 160

3:13 PM 11/8/2008 strike temp=168

3:33 PM 11/8/2008 Temp dropped too quickly, reheating water.

3:50 PM 11/8/2008 Temp = 164

3:52 PM 11/8/2008 Dough in - Mash temp = 152

4:05 PM 11/8/2008 Temp Check = 150

4:25 PM 11/8/2008 Temp Check = 151

4:30 PM 11/8/2008 Started Decoction - 1.5-2 gal

4:45 PM 11/8/2008 Decoction boiling

4:55 PM 11/8/2008 Stopped Decoction Boil, return to mash

5:34 PM 11/8/2008 Sparge Water = 180, starting sparge

5:54 PM 11/8/2008 4 gallons in boil kettle, started heat

6:11 PM 11/8/2008 Runoff complete, 9 gallons of wort!

6:13 PM 11/8/2008 Boil Started

6:22 PM 11/8/2008 Added Centennial and Galena hops

7:02 PM 11/8/2008 Added 15 min hops

7:15 PM 11/8/2008 Added 3 min hops

7:19 PM 11/8/2008 started chill

8:03 PM 11/8/2008 Og = 1.082, volume = 6.5 gallons

Update - The recipe had too little roasted barley, and too much agave. It packed quite a punch, and after 3 months was finally conditioned and tasted ok though.

13 lbs American 2-row
.5 lbs Crystal 60
.75 lbs Roasted Barley
1 lbs Chocolate malt
.5 lbs Dextrine Malt
.5 lbs Munich Malt
0.5 lbs Dry Light
1.5 lbs Honey
1.0 oz Centennial (8.70%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.0 oz Galena (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
0.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
0.5 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
0.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
0.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added dry to secondary fermenter

Tasting: Brew 10 Pale Ale

This is my 4th effort to make a good pale ale, this time I increased the flavor and aroma hops as well as the bittering hops. For some reason the final gravity ended up too high, and the fermentation temperature was too high so I am not there yet, but I am getting closer.

Tasting: Chilled to ~40 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 2/3 Beautiful copper color, thick off-white head, champagne-like bubbles minor haze.
Head: 3/3 Light, thick head that lasts.
Aroma: 3/3 Nice hop aroma, surrounding subtle malt.
Flavor: 2/3 Somewhat dry, nice bitterness with strong hops, and some yeast a bit sweet.
Mouth feel: 2/3 Medium body (for a pale ale), somewhat overly carbonated, sweet flavor remains after swallowing fading to hoppy tartness.
Overall: 2/3 This is a very drinkable beer. The hops are a little more forward than necessary, and it is still a bit too sweet, but I think I have worked out why and will fix that in the next brew.
Buzz: 2/3 Light buzz after 2/3 glass.

I am quite pleased with this beer. It is more complex because I used 3 different hops, and the aroma and flavor that were lacking in the prior effort are there, perhaps a bit too strong. The bitterness is nice too.

Brewing Notes:

5:54 PM 8/22/2008 Heat started.

Strategy: Dough in at 145, observe drop to 135

Lauter/Heat until 148

Rest 30 min

Lauter/Heat until 160

Rest 30 min

5:13 PM 9/27/2008 Dough in at 145

5:18 PM 9/27/2008 mash temp = 135

5:23 PM 9/27/2008 mash temp = 140

5:27 PM 9/27/2008 Started heating sparge water

5:58 PM 9/27/2008 Mash temp = 158

6:06 PM 9/27/2008 Cooled to 150

6:28 PM 9/27/2008 Recirc up to 160

6:43 PM 9/27/2008 Start Sparge

8:22 PM 9/27/2008 Start Boil

8:28 PM 9/27/2008 Added .8 oz Chinook Hops

9:15 PM 9/27/2008 insert chiller

9:25 PM 9/27/2008 add 5 min hops + irish moss

9:30 PM 9/27/2008 Stop heat + add aroma hops + start chill

10:01 PM 9/27/2008 og = 1.054, taste is thin, not bitter.

3:11 PM 9/28/2008 Fermenter is bubbling away

Updated:
Recipe
11 lbs American 2-row
8 oz Crystal Malt 40°L
4 oz Crystal Malt 60°L
4 oz Carapils®/Carafoam®
.85 oz Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
.5 oz Liberty (4.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
.5 oz Liberty (4.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Notes on Lagering

N. Jufer (I am not sure if he wants to be quoted, but I need to attribute this to him since it is a direct quote)  responded to a question about lagering on the American Homebrew Association digest email I got today with an entirely different approach from what I used on the Pilsner I completed recently.  I used the Noonan (based on the German) method.  I think I will try this next time:

Rather than repeat rigid old school German lager practice (as in Noonan's "New Brewing Lager Beer"), I will relater to you what works for me (and works quite well judging by competition results). I drew on George Fix's similar experience as related in the Classic Beer Styles Book "Vienna-Marzen-Octoberfest". Also Palmer and Zainasheff have similar recommendations in "Brewing Classic Styles. My basic process is to pitch a big pitch of yeast on wort at 46 to 47 degrees F and let it ferment to completion at 50 degrees. Sometimes after a week to 10 days I will raise the temperature to mid-50's to finish the fermentation, but in all cases I let it ferment to completion in primary. This means, bubbling has virtually ceased and almost all the yeast has fallen and the beer is clear. This is generally fourteen to twenty eight days and is dependent on OG, fermentability of the wort, and on yeast strain, pitching rate, yeast health,  and the temperature regimen used.

 

Being a keg brewer, At this point I rack to the finishing keg and cool it in the refrigerator at 34 degrees. George preferred to cool the primary down to 34 degrees before transferring to keg (which aids in dropping more of the yeast still in suspension. I generally don't have room in my little fridge to do this so I transfer at 50 degrees F or whatever the finishing temperature was. Then the Corny keg is put in the fridge which is set at 34 degrees. I begin force carbonation immediately which by my process usually takes about 10 to 14 days to achieve. I usually don't hook up the out side of the keg during that period. When I do I pull off the yeast from the bottom and take two ounce samples every four days to a week or so until it clears to brilliant. This usually takes two to three weeks but the beer is not at its best until around four to six weeks (bocks and baltic porters even longer).

Tasting: Budweiser American Ale

I have only read one good review of this beer, and several ambivalent reviews. I think it would be properly classified as an Amber Ale. I have 2 favorites in this category: Deschutes Green Lakes Amber Ale, and Firestone Double Barrel Ale, and this beer is nothing like them.

Tasting: Chilled to ~40 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 3/3 Beautiful copper color, nice off-white head, champagne-like bubbles.
Head: 3/3 Light, thick head that lasts.
Aroma: 2/3 Very light hops, and maybe some malt?? .
Flavor: 2/3 Very dry, somewhat watery, some yeast bitterness, and light hops, no malt.
Mouth feel: 1/3 Very light body, somewhat overly carbonated.
Overall: 1.5/3 Not very ale-like, very light in flavor, aroma, and bitterness, a few weird flavors that are very subtle, but definately there.
Buzz: 0/3 No buzz after 22 oz.

This is not a bad beer, but it isn't a good beer either. It is the best Budweiser I have had, but not as good as some of the Michelob beers like Amber Bock. A bit more gravity wouldn't hurt, but this is a very drinkable beer.

After purchasing this beer, but before posting this review, I read a couple interesting posts on Beervana discussing whether or not this should be considered a "craft beer".  As you can see in my comments, I do not, for the following reasons, repeated here:

Craft brewers and craft beer generally avoid the use of adjuncts unless it is used traditionally, like adding Belgian sugar to a Trippel, and don't use ingredients that the style doesn't call for to change the appearance or flavor or the beer.

After tasting Budweiser American Ale (as an example) 3 things made me suspicious::

1. The head retention was much better than I have ever seen on a light-bodied ale.

2. The body was much lighter than the color would normally permit

3. There were some very subtle off-flavors that I haven't noticed in an ale before.

These could all be in my head, but the above, combined with the fact that the label does not claim "using ONLY the finest malts, hops and water" or something equivelent tells me that the beer has been engineered with adjuncts and ingredients to position it where Budweiser thinks it will be best received by macro-beer drinkers.

If any of the above are true, this is NOT a craft beer in my opinion.  It doesn't mean it isn't good beer, but the whole point of craft beer to me is to work to get basic ingredients to do what you want in the beer, accepting that there are tradeoffs, and trying to achieve the best balance with what you have.  I think adding chemicals to aid with head retention, or rice to thin an ale changes it into something else, and would be analagous to using acrylic paint to touch up an oil painting.  It may look great, but it is no longer an oil painting.

Force Carbonation

Brew 8 has completed fermentation and lagering, it doesn't taste that great yet, but hopefully it will come around during bottle conditioning?? I am trying to force carbonate for the first time. I used a carbonation chart which tells what psi to apply to the beer at what temperature to achieve the desired level of carbonation. Pilsners typically have 2.4 volumes of CO2 and I am keeping it at 40deg (F) so I applied 12.5 PSI and will hope for the best.

Fischer's Biere D'Alsace Amber Ale

Tasting: Chilled to ~40 degrees (f) from a large stemmed glass.

Appearance: 3/3 Beautiful copper color, nice off-white head, champagne-like bubbles.
Head: 1.5/3 Light head thins quickly.
Aroma: 2/3 Light malt, and fruity, grape-like smell no discernible hops on the nose.
Flavor: 2/3 Sweet, malty, hint of fruit, no discernable hops or very light bitterness slight musty aftertaste from the english hops.
Mouth feel: 2.5/3 Light body with light malt lingering on the palette.
Overall: 2/3 Not very beerlike, very light in flavor, aroma, and bitterness, but I really enjoyed it. This would be a great beer on a hot summer day.
Buzz: 2/3 This beer has a serious kick considering how light the body is, at 6%.

The alcohol percent exceeds many beers with heavier body which makes me suspect some other fermentables are used. Fisher's is owned by Heineken.

Two great articles on brewing

Found these links in my daily AHA Tech Talk email. Very good.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Troubleshooting_Brewhouse_Efficiency

Great American Beer Festival

I don't know if I will ever attend the Great American Beer Festival or not, 3 days seems an awful short time to enjoy all the Beer that America has to offer.  A very special congratulations to AlesSmith for being the second San Diego brewery in 2 years to win small brewer of the year:

Here are the categories with the most entries submitted:

1. Category: 46 American-Style India Pale Ale - 104 Entries
   
2. Category: 4 Fruit or Vegetable Beer - 87 Entries
   
3. Category: 12 Experimental Beer - 82 Entries
   
4. Category: 17 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer - 79 Entries
   
5. Category: 44 American-Style Pale Ale - 76 Entries
   

Making beer is not about winning contests, and I am sure that some of the best beer being brewed in the US wasn't even submitted for review this year, but I am still very interested in which breweries are doing well, and which beers are well reviewed.  I naturally root for San Diego and Oregon brewers.  Here is how they did (see the entire list of results here):

Category: 5 Herb and Spice or Chocolate BeerCategory: 5 Herb and Spice or Chocolate Beer - 72 Entries

Bronze: State Beach Blonde, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Category: 7 Specialty Beer - 21 Entries

Silver: Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Rogue Ales, Portland, OR

Category: 10 Session Beer - 33 Entries

Bronze: Blonde Bombshell, Cascade Lakes Brewing Co., Redmond, OR

Category: 12 Experimental Beer - 82 Entries

Bronze: Le Pelican Brun, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Paciic City, OR

Category: 13 Gluten-Free Beer - 10 Entries

Bronze: Chinquapin Butte Golden Ale, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR

Category: 14 American-Belgo Style Ale - 36 Entries

Bronze: Big Wednesday, Pizza Port Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA

Category: 15 American-Style or German-Style Sour Ale - 34 Entries

Gold: The Dissident, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR

Category: 18 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer - 27 Entries

Bronze: Cascade Kriek Ale, Cascade Brewing Co., Portland, OR

Category: 19 Aged Beer - 38 Entries

Silver: Vintage Speedway Stout, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category: 22 International-Style Pilsener - 22 Entries

Gold: Session Premium Lager, Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, OR

Category: 23 German-Style Pilsener - 44 Entries

Silver: Party Pants Pilsener, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Category: 25 Munich-Style Helles - 30 Entries

Gold: Himmelbrau Helles, Laurelwood Brewing Co., Portland, OR

Category: 41 English-Style Summer Ale - 34 Entries

Gold: Surfer’s Summer Ale, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Paciic City, OR

Category: 42 Classic English-Style Pale Ale - 48 Entries

Gold: Full Sail Pale Ale, Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, OR

Category: 45 American-Style Strong Pale Ale - 71 Entries

Bronze: Organic IPA, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland, OR

Category: 46 American-Style India Pale Ale - 104 Entries

Bronze: Hop Head, Bend Brewing Co., Bend, OR

Category: 47 Imperial or Double India Pale Ale - 50 Entries

Gold: Hopnotic 2X IPA, San Diego Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Bronze: Hop 15, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA

Category: 48 American-Style Amber/Red Ale - 65 Entries

Gold: Dry Hopped Red, Rogue Ales, Portland, OR

Bronze: American Amber, Rogue Ales, Portland, OR

Category: 50 Bitter or Pale Mild Ale - 42 Entries

Gold: Drop Top, Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR

Category: 51 Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter - 43 Entries

Gold: Bachelor ESB, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR

Category: 53 Irish-Style Red Ale - 31 Entries

Silver: Ragtop Red, Rock Bottom Brewery - La Jolla, La Jolla, CA

Category: 67 Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout - 19 Entries

Bronze: Port Truck Stout, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Category: 68 Foreign-Style Stout - 28 Entries

Silver: Black Bear XX Stout, Alameda Brewhouse, Portland, OR

Category: 70 Sweet Stout - 19 Entries

Bronze: Cow Stout, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Category: 72 Imperial Stout - 44 Entries

Silver: Night Rider Imperial Stout, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Category: 73 Strong Scotch Ale - 38 Entries

Gold: AleSmith Wee Heavy, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Silver: Way Heavy, Pizza Port San Clemente, Carlsbad, CA

Category: 74 Old Ale or Strong Ale - 40 Entries

Gold: AleSmith Decadence Old Ale, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category: 75 Barley Wine-Style Ale - 55 Entries

Gold: Treblehook, Redhook Ales Brewery, Portland, OR

Silver: AleSmith Old Numbskull, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

 - 72 Entries

Bronze: State Beach Blonde, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Brew 9:Winter Warmer with Notes on Batch Sparging

Brad and I went in on our equipment for the first few brews, to reduce our exposure in case we didn't want to continue, and to help us get started faster. I bought the burner and pot for our first extract, he bought the Carboy and the rest of the equipment.

As we continued to brew, I slowly added to my equipment list until I had everything to brew all-grain, and now he is doing the same. Two weeks ago Brad and I brewed a Winter Warmer at his house, using his equipment with the exception of my Mash/Lauter Tun as he is still building his (more on that once it is done). We only had two vessels so I assumed that we could batch sparge, but the results were terrible efficiency.

After re-checking the procedure, I now realize that batch sparging still requires 3 vessels:

1. A mash/lauter tun (holds the grain over a false bottom)
2. A Hot liquor tank (maintains clear water at 170 degreees)
3. A boil kettle, or a runoff vessel capable of holding the total volume of Wort.

The reason you can't do it with two vessels is because you actually have to sparge 3 times to get decent efficiency:

1. After the mash is complete, add enough water to increase temp to 160, then recycle until clear, then sparge until the runoff slows.
2. Add half the remaining sparge water (heated to 170), recycle until clear, then sparge until the runoff slows.
3. Add the remaining sparge water (heated to 170), recycle until clear, then sparge until the runoff slows.

On low gravity batches, if you are willing to accept very low efficiencies, you can reduce the number of steps. Since we only had 2 vessels we added all our sparge water to the mash and drew the wort of in one large batch sparge. While our target gravity was 1.088, we only achieved an original gravity of 1.070, a huge difference! There was no way we could have achieved 1.088 with that equipment unless we lowered our yield to 4 gallons, and boiled off an additional gallon to thicken the wort.

What we did instead, once we realized our beer would have too much bitterness for the gravity we achieved, was boil 2 lbs of Dry Malt Extract (DME) into 2 quarts of wort and add it to the primary to boost the gravity to somewhere near our target and hope for the best.