Yummy. This is right up my alley. A golden Belgian style beer. Golden with some yeast cloudiness. Slightly sweet and about 9% abv. Its almost a dessert for me. Actually it is dessert, I passed on a birthday cupcake to have a beer. Priorities - gotta have them.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Galaxy Hops - Wow
Cousin Ben shared his latest IPA with me when we were at his Mom's house for Christmas dinner. (Hi Aunt Jan - Great food last night) I'm going to do a short review of it.
For those who want the review - skip a bit - this is a brief lesson. IPA stands for India Pale Ale and it is a style that was developed for transport across the ocean to India by the British. To survive such a trip this ale was heavily hopped. The hops act like a bit of a preservative, especially in the days before refrigeration. With the large amount of hops, IPA's have a very distinct taste predominated by the flavor of the hops. It tends to be very bitter.
For people that consider themselves hop heads, it tends to be the epitome of what they look for in a beer. Clear, refreshing and a nice bite to counteract all the sweetness from the grains in which the beer was brewed. For those of us who aren't into bitter, the hop aroma can be wonderful, but it might be hard to enjoy. (Particularly if you've been drinking a stupidly sweet pumpkin ale minutes before)
Review - Ben's IPA
This is a wonderful example of the classic IPA style. The aroma of the galaxy hops was just amazing and I spent at least three minutes smelling and being captivated by the aroma. The galaxy hops are floral and spicy at the same time. Just simply a wonderful captivating aroma that I find more inviting than any potpourri that I have ever experienced. The flavor of the ale was crisp and the malt tones were very mild as they should be in this type of beer. After about half a second here come the hops. Wow!When the hops hit, they hit and they stay. If you enjoy the bitter bite of hops, this is a wonderful thing. However, it's a bit much for me and my sweet tooth. If you're an IPA fan, ask cousin Ben for a sample, I don't think you'll be disappointed. He's pretty good about sharing.
Notes - I'm going to procure some Galaxy hops for brewing. I haven't brewed anything yet that would highlight their characteristics, but the aroma is so amazing, I'm going to find something.
For those who want the review - skip a bit - this is a brief lesson. IPA stands for India Pale Ale and it is a style that was developed for transport across the ocean to India by the British. To survive such a trip this ale was heavily hopped. The hops act like a bit of a preservative, especially in the days before refrigeration. With the large amount of hops, IPA's have a very distinct taste predominated by the flavor of the hops. It tends to be very bitter.
For people that consider themselves hop heads, it tends to be the epitome of what they look for in a beer. Clear, refreshing and a nice bite to counteract all the sweetness from the grains in which the beer was brewed. For those of us who aren't into bitter, the hop aroma can be wonderful, but it might be hard to enjoy. (Particularly if you've been drinking a stupidly sweet pumpkin ale minutes before)
Review - Ben's IPA
This is a wonderful example of the classic IPA style. The aroma of the galaxy hops was just amazing and I spent at least three minutes smelling and being captivated by the aroma. The galaxy hops are floral and spicy at the same time. Just simply a wonderful captivating aroma that I find more inviting than any potpourri that I have ever experienced. The flavor of the ale was crisp and the malt tones were very mild as they should be in this type of beer. After about half a second here come the hops. Wow!When the hops hit, they hit and they stay. If you enjoy the bitter bite of hops, this is a wonderful thing. However, it's a bit much for me and my sweet tooth. If you're an IPA fan, ask cousin Ben for a sample, I don't think you'll be disappointed. He's pretty good about sharing.
Notes - I'm going to procure some Galaxy hops for brewing. I haven't brewed anything yet that would highlight their characteristics, but the aroma is so amazing, I'm going to find something.
Let me know you are out there !
I've had about 3 people say they are reading my blog that I didn't know even knew about it. Thanks for the support everyone ! Please don't hesitate to share your comments or share the link with people that might be interested. I'd love for people to regisister so I could know who's out there. Thanks for your support !
Brew Day 2 - Tasting the Pumpkin
The pumpkin has been tasted - Oh My Goodness that's sweet. Just like pumpkin pie. I actually had a piece of pie while I was having some pumpkin ale and the tastes were the same. Just the texture was different.
I was proud to be able to share some with Cousin Ben. He's the one who pushed me that final step to start homebrew and I'm totally digging it. He didn't spit it out, so I'll take that as a victory. His beer preferences are very different than mine and he's a bit of a hop head. That he was able to tolerate something so sweet shows what a good sport he is. He did give me some tips that will help me with future batches.
The beer - it didn't carbonate in the bottle very much at all. There wasn't any satisfying pop when the lid was opened and there was no discernable head when it was poured into the glass. I really think I just ran out of yeast. I may have pitched my yeast before they were all awake and ready to do their work. I also didn't give them many chances to really thrive. They were probably a little colder than they would have liked to be in the basement and I didn't stir them up at all during fermentation to give them chances to find sugar that they may have missed.
Ben tells me that if I am using the smack pack type yeast that is provided by wyeast, I can actually activate the night before with no loss of quality. I think this will help me in the future, especially when I'm shooting for a higher gravity beer like I was with this one. Also yeast are cheap, so I shouldnt be afraid to pitch more if I need to.
The beer that has been bottled and is in the basement is all going to get agitated and be put back to carbonate for another week. I'm hoping to get a little more carbonation out of it. That would also help offset a little of that sweetness.
Notes for the next time - 10% more hops - there isn't any discernable hops or aroma with all the spices I put in. Yeast - activate the yeast in advance or maybe try making a starter. More fermenation is desirable and will dry out the flavor a bit.
My rating 7 out of 10. - Too sweet and too flat, but otherwise a good representation of what it was supposed to be.
I was proud to be able to share some with Cousin Ben. He's the one who pushed me that final step to start homebrew and I'm totally digging it. He didn't spit it out, so I'll take that as a victory. His beer preferences are very different than mine and he's a bit of a hop head. That he was able to tolerate something so sweet shows what a good sport he is. He did give me some tips that will help me with future batches.
The beer - it didn't carbonate in the bottle very much at all. There wasn't any satisfying pop when the lid was opened and there was no discernable head when it was poured into the glass. I really think I just ran out of yeast. I may have pitched my yeast before they were all awake and ready to do their work. I also didn't give them many chances to really thrive. They were probably a little colder than they would have liked to be in the basement and I didn't stir them up at all during fermentation to give them chances to find sugar that they may have missed.
Ben tells me that if I am using the smack pack type yeast that is provided by wyeast, I can actually activate the night before with no loss of quality. I think this will help me in the future, especially when I'm shooting for a higher gravity beer like I was with this one. Also yeast are cheap, so I shouldnt be afraid to pitch more if I need to.
The beer that has been bottled and is in the basement is all going to get agitated and be put back to carbonate for another week. I'm hoping to get a little more carbonation out of it. That would also help offset a little of that sweetness.
Notes for the next time - 10% more hops - there isn't any discernable hops or aroma with all the spices I put in. Yeast - activate the yeast in advance or maybe try making a starter. More fermenation is desirable and will dry out the flavor a bit.
My rating 7 out of 10. - Too sweet and too flat, but otherwise a good representation of what it was supposed to be.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Brew Day 2 - Bottling the Pumpkin
Brew 2 - Pumpkin Ale. Made a very lazy weekend of my 2nd bottling. I spent 1/2 an hour just reinforcing my cardboard boxes so they wouldn't tear out the handles when loaded with my precious cargo. I also took a great amount of time sanitizing. I was only working 12 bottles at a time.
I transferred the beer to a secondary for bottling on Friday night to get it off the pumpkin and yeast trub. I wanted to make sure it had a chance to settle out. I was hoping to get a greater yield than my first batch.
I do have a couple of concerns. The final gravity was only 1.016 or so. I thought it would finish out a little dryer than that. The taste I did of the sample I pulled for measuring the FG was very sweet. I wonder if I shouldn't have pitched a 2nd package of yeast. I hope I don't have any bottle bombs.
I was able to bottle a full 608 oz, which is just 1 qt shy of a full 5 gallons. That's a really good yield. I am now patiently waiting for my bottles to ferment.
I am really pleased with the color. We'll find out in another week if it's any good.
I transferred the beer to a secondary for bottling on Friday night to get it off the pumpkin and yeast trub. I wanted to make sure it had a chance to settle out. I was hoping to get a greater yield than my first batch.
I do have a couple of concerns. The final gravity was only 1.016 or so. I thought it would finish out a little dryer than that. The taste I did of the sample I pulled for measuring the FG was very sweet. I wonder if I shouldn't have pitched a 2nd package of yeast. I hope I don't have any bottle bombs.
I was able to bottle a full 608 oz, which is just 1 qt shy of a full 5 gallons. That's a really good yield. I am now patiently waiting for my bottles to ferment.
Unibroue Don de Dieu
Tastes like a classic wheat beer. The suspended yeasts give it a fruity flavor. Just a little alcohol hotness which is acceptable given its 9% abv. I would buy this beer if I saw it on a menu.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Another from Unibroue
Ephemere - ale brewed with apple juice,coriander,curacies peels on lees. 5.5% ABC.
Definate apple aroma. Light color between 5 & 10 SRM. Light fruity flavor. Slightly sweet and lightly hopped. Almost could pass for a hard cider but for the faintest hint of malt.
Seems like it would be refreshing in the summer.
Definate apple aroma. Light color between 5 & 10 SRM. Light fruity flavor. Slightly sweet and lightly hopped. Almost could pass for a hard cider but for the faintest hint of malt.
Seems like it would be refreshing in the summer.
Friday, December 16, 2011
A new to me brewery and beer
Thanks to a generous gift from one of the parents and the pre school co op, I had a chance to try a new beer tonight. I was gifted a holiday sampler of Unibroue beers. I hadn't tried anything by this brewery before but the first beer was awesome.
Maudite - A caramel brown ale with nice malty notes, fruity nose and about 8% ABV. Very lightly hopped. It is bottle fermented and drinks super easy slight yeast taste. Will definately try again if I see it in the stores or local watering hole. Looking forward to trying the other 5 in the sampler
Thanks to Bob and Lisa for the gift.
Pictures
Maudite - A caramel brown ale with nice malty notes, fruity nose and about 8% ABV. Very lightly hopped. It is bottle fermented and drinks super easy slight yeast taste. Will definately try again if I see it in the stores or local watering hole. Looking forward to trying the other 5 in the sampler
Thanks to Bob and Lisa for the gift.
Pictures
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Brew 2 - Part 4 - More Pictures
Grains and Pumpkin ready for the water
Water is ready, grains and pumpkin in
Malt extract warming in a sink of hot water
Brew 2 - part 3 - pictures
Pictures of some of the important pieces
Fermenter or Carboy
Sanitizing bucket
measured spices
Fermenter or Carboy
Brew 2 part 2
Dec 3rd - brewday
I did a little reading and made a few changes to the published recipe. Mostly I upped the pumpkin and malt to make the final result hopefully a little sweeter. I'm pretty sure the recipe actually belongs to Great Fermentations so I won't post it publicly.
Having the experience of my first brew under my belt, it was amazing how much easier the second try was. It took about an hour to prep and get everything sanitized measured and prepared. A couple hours later, after lunch it was time to get started.
From adding the water to cleaning the last utensil, it was only about 3 hours round trip and most of that was waiting for the alloted boiling or steeping times. I managed to watch some TV and do some reading while I was waiting, so it seemed a pretty relaxing afternoon
Something to note, the smell of boiling hops isn't universally adored. In the future all brewings will need to occur on the propane cooker outside.
I did a little reading and made a few changes to the published recipe. Mostly I upped the pumpkin and malt to make the final result hopefully a little sweeter. I'm pretty sure the recipe actually belongs to Great Fermentations so I won't post it publicly.
Having the experience of my first brew under my belt, it was amazing how much easier the second try was. It took about an hour to prep and get everything sanitized measured and prepared. A couple hours later, after lunch it was time to get started.
From adding the water to cleaning the last utensil, it was only about 3 hours round trip and most of that was waiting for the alloted boiling or steeping times. I managed to watch some TV and do some reading while I was waiting, so it seemed a pretty relaxing afternoon
Something to note, the smell of boiling hops isn't universally adored. In the future all brewings will need to occur on the propane cooker outside.
Brew 2 - Pumpkin Ale - Great Fermenations of Indianapolis - Modified - part 1
I had an awesome expericence a couple weeks ago in Louisville KY. Mostly because after a very long day I had an awesome glass of Shlafly Pumpkin Ale.
Schlafly Website - Must be 21
As I have always enjoyed pumpkin beers when I have tasted them, I thought maybe I should try one on my own.
Off I went down to my local homebrew store (LHBS) to check out what they had. Tony was there and he pointed me toward their Pumpkin Ale. Sounds like a winner to me. A couple minutes later I'm out the door.
Schlafly Website - Must be 21
As I have always enjoyed pumpkin beers when I have tasted them, I thought maybe I should try one on my own.
Off I went down to my local homebrew store (LHBS) to check out what they had. Tony was there and he pointed me toward their Pumpkin Ale. Sounds like a winner to me. A couple minutes later I'm out the door.
Cousin Ben
I want to say thank you to cousin Ben. He shared his homebrew with me and gave me that final push I needed to start doing this for myself. I hope he share some of his own work and comments.
Thanks cousin
-Waber
Thanks cousin
-Waber
October Fester - Great Fermentations - Brewed Sept 17, by WT
This post is after the fact since I brewed on September 17th and it's now December 3rd. I used the October Fester kit by Great Fermentations in Indianapolis. (My local homebrew store or LHBS for short) It was enjoyed by myself and several of my friends. I got good feedback from everyone who tried it and I think I will try it again in the future.
It was a little too hoppy for me. I seem to be very sensitive to bitter flavors so I can't enjoy overly hopped beer. Next time I will probably make an extra gallon and add extra malt but use the same amount of hops.
I posted about my first beer brew on the survival podcast forums. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of traffic over there. They were very helpful though and I will probably continue to cross post over there.
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