Strong Arm Brown Ale

6 types of malt for this brew, including a Caramel malt and some German Dark Wheat to add fruit and flavor. Burst of hops. A rolling ground swell of Hallertau finished with Cascade and Citra. I had one of these in a microbrewery in Northern California, trying to mimick their style :-)

BREW DATE: 09/07/2014

BOTTLING DATE: 10/11/2014

GRAIN BILL: 14lbs total

-1lbs Briess Caramel 40L

-2lbs Weyermann Dark Wheat Malt

-4lbs German Dark Munich Malt

-4lbs Rahr 2-row Malt

-1lb English Brown Malt

-2lbs Briess Sparkling Amber DME 10L

MASH-IN: 1 hr at 155F, Mash-out 10 min at 170F. Fly sparked with 175F water.

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz German Hallertau leaf hops

-30min 1oz German Hallertau leaf hops

-10min 1oz Cascade leaf hops

- 1oz Citra leaf hops for dry hopping after 3weeks in the fermenter

Malt & hops, ready to roll

OG: 20.3 brix for 14l wort filled up to 23l => alcohol content should come out at 6.2%.

YEAST: Wyeast 1272 American Ale II

TASTE NOTES: wow strong indeed. But somehow not so much like an IPA, as I thought. More like a strong brown ale, think Newcastle on afterburner. Hence renamed to Brown Ale! Dark caramel notes, almost like licorice. The beer pours kind of turbid, head retention relatively weak. Not sure it's because of the yeast I used or the dark wheat in the malt bill. First time I used a mesh bag for dry hopping, as a result the Citra aroma is not that present, that's why the caramel notes are more dominant. Still not bad! I'd give it 3.5 stars, I'm sure it won't last long!

Hazy but super strong!

Northern Brewer German Alt

DESCRIPTION: Alt refers to an old school, top-fermented style of brewing ale rather than a relatively modern (ok, late 1800s) bottom fermented lager. Altbier is especially associated with the city of Duesseldorf. And of course the surrounding Niederrhein region, where I hail from. Alts are a bit difficult to explain to the uninitiated - kind of like a hoppy Oktoberfest? A very malty pale ale? You'll just have to try a glass of coppery-brown, rich, caramelly, and bitter ale to get the idea (from the NB kit description). This all grain kit is something I always wanted to try as a base for getting close to a true Schuhmacher Alt from downtown D'dorf. My favorite watering hole back in the 80s! So far the Alt beers I had brewed came out rather meh, but those were all extract kits, which always fail if your looking for a beer with a malty, grainy character, the essence of a Duesseldorf Alt. Let's see how this one turns out!

BREW DATE: 08/05/2014

BOTTLING DATE: 09/07/14

GRAIN BILL:

- 4lbs German Munich malt

- 2lbs German dark Munich malt

- 3.5lbs German Pilsner malt

- 0.5lbs Weyermann Caramunich II

MASH-IN: 

- 20min Protein rest at 122F

- 30min Beta Sacch' rest at 149F

- 30min Alpha Sacch' rest at 158F

- 10min Mashout at 170F

- Fly/batch sparge w/ 175F water, total of 15l wort, last run had 5brix

-  OG 1.040=> 5.2% Alcohol 

HOPS SCHEDULE:

- 1oz German Perle 60min

- 1oz German Perle 30min

- 1oz Hersbrucker 10min

YEAST: 

- Wyeast German Ale 1007

TASTE NOTES: 

Quite nice beer, but not exactly how I remember an Altbier should taste. I would say this one is somewhere between an English brown ale and a German Alt, slightly more hoppy. It is quite malty but not as much as a Frankenheimer for instance. It could also be somewhat darker. I still like it, I don't think it'll last long :-)

Fool's Wit #2

This is the second iteration of my West Coast Belgian Witbeer. This time I increased the wheat content a little, as well as the Pilsener Malt. Also, I managed to get my hands on fresh Hallertau leaf hops, let's see if it makes a difference. For sure was a mess cleaning the brewing equipment! Looking forward to this refreshing ale on a nice summer evening!

BREW DATE: 06/15/2014

BOTTLING DATE: 

GRAIN BILL: 12lbs total

-4lbs Rahr White Wheat Malt

-4lbs Rahr 2-row Malt

-4lbs German Pilsener Malt

MASH-IN: 1 hr at 155F, Mash-out 10 min at 170F. Sparge took forever. Lesson learned: a lot of wheat really slows down the drainage. I was afraid to end up with a stuck sparge, but in the end it just took longer.

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz German Hallertau leafs

-30min 1oz German Hallertau leafs

-10min 1oz Mt Rainier

OG: 19.6 brix for 11l wort filled up to 22l => alcohol content should come out at 5.1%.

YEAST: Wyeast Belgian Wit #3944

TASTE NOTES: Awesome! This second version came out both stronger and more flavorful than the first one. Lots of wheat flavor, very fruity but no dominance of banana and cloves as very often found in Bavarian wheat beers. At the same time kind of malty, too. Finishing light and citrusy, with piney undertones from the high alpha Mt Rainier hops. Exactly like I wanted it to be! 5 stars on this one!

Mt Rainier IPA

DESCRIPTION: A classic IPA with a single type of hops: Mt Rainier. I stumbled across this hops when Northernbrewer was out of Cascade and sent me this one instead with many apologies. Turns out this new strain which has been derived from Cascade really has something to it. Powerful resin aromas and strong citrus notes make this hop a perfect choice for a West Coast IPA. I also added 2lbs of dark wheat malt to get some more fruity tones in there along with a somewhat darker color.

BREW DATE: 05/26/2014

BOTTLING DATE: 06/14/2014

GRAIN BILL:

- 9lbs Briess 2-row Brewers Malt

- 2lbs Weyermann Dark Wheat

-1lb Briess Golden Light Malt Extract

MASH-IN: 

- 60 min at 157F

- Fly/batch sparge w/ 175F water

- 1.0403 OG => 5.3% Alcohol 

HOPS SCHEDULE:

- 1oz Mt Rainier 60min
- 1oz Mt Rainier 30min
- 1oz Mt Rainier 10min
- 1oz Mt Rainier dry hopping 2 weeks after brewing. 

YEAST: 

- Wyeast Northwest Ale 1332

TASTE NOTES: This one came out more like a Pale Ale, missing some of the typical floral characters of an IPA. Still pretty good though, very drinkable after 2 weeks on the bottle. Strong bitter flavor, very malty. Color didn't come out as dark as I expected, probably could use some more brown malt. Using only Mt Rainier hops was a nice experiment, but there is a reason to have different types of hops for base bittering and as aroma addition. Mt Rainier probably works best as aroma late addition. The Northwest Ale yeast settles and flocculates nicely and you hardly get any trub in your glass. 

Gatto Nero Schwarzbier

DESCRIPTION: A Schwarzbier is traditionally brewed in Bavaria, Saxonia and the Czech Republic. It's made by combining strong and malty base malts together with a fraction of darkly roasted and/or caramelized malts. The usage of Lager yeast and low temperature fermentation produces a malty, crisp, but at the same time intensely dark and flavorful beer. The Czech varieties tend to be sweet and heavy, whereas Bavarian 'Dunkles' is quite light and tart but with a touch of hops bitterness. The Saxonian style is probably somewhere in between. I personally like 'Schwarz-Koestritzer' the best. 'Schwarzer Steiger' from Dresden's Feldschloesschen is also not bad. This recipe tries to re-create the Saxonian style in the New World improvising fashion, by combining Munich & Vienna malts with Chocolate and caramelized malts. I figured that would get me close. German Perle hops is a more aromatic variety of Hallertau Mittelfrueh. I wanted to spice up things a little bit compared to a traditional Schwarzbier, without overhopping of course, so left it at 2oz total. The Pilsener Urquell yeast I used last time on my Bohemia Pilsener worked fantastic even at slightly elevated temps, so I decided to use that yeast strain again. Interestingly, San Francisco steam beers use the same technique, using lager yeasts at medium temperatures. It creates a unique floral taste, good example is Anchor Steam. So this will be a Schwarzbier steam, I guess!

BREW DATE: 03/29/2014

BOTTLING DATE: 04/27/2014

GRAIN BILL:

- 5lbs Briess Munich 10l Malt

- 5lbs Briess Goldpils Vienna Malt

- 1lb Weyermann Caramunich III

- 1lb Briess Chocolate Malt 

MASH-IN: 

- 60 min at 157F

- Fly/batch sparge w/ 175F water

- OG: 9.5 brix = 1.038 OG => 4.9% Alcohol 

HOPS SCHEDULE:

- 1oz German Perle 60min

- 0.5oz German Perle 30min

- 0.5oz German Perle 15min

YEAST: 

- Wyeast 2001 Pilsener Urquell Lager 

TASTE NOTES: 

Wow this came out much stronger than I expected, more like a Chocolate Stout than a Schwarzbier. Super malty, dark notes of toffee, mocca and tobacco, very dense foam and flavor. Not too bad though! The Perle hops gives it a really nice flavor, not too bitter but just right with a hint of floral and citrus in it, very faint. To really emulate Schwarzbier I probably have to cut the roasted malts down by at least 50% I guess. The Lager yeast worked out fine, no estery side notes, very clean taste. 

Gatto Nero! Cheers!

Rough Ryder RyePA

DESCRIPTION: Full body IPA bursting with Mt Rainier and Citra hops. 1/3 rye, 1/3 2-row barley, 1/3 Munich malt. The Rye is known to add bready undertones and give the whole thing more depth. Had a RyePA at Santa Cruz Westend Tap and Kitchen some weeks ago, that was quite nice, so I thought I might give it a try!

BREW DATE: 03/01/2014

BOTTLING DATE: 03/22/2014

GRAIN BILL:

- 4lbs Briess Rye Malt

- 4lbs Briess 2-row brewers malt

- 4lbs Briess Munich 10L malt

- 1lb Briess Sparkling Amber Malt Extract to add body

MASH-IN: 

- 60 min at 157F

- Fly/batch sparge w/ 175F water

- OG:17.2 brix (wort), 7.6 brix before bottling

HOPS SCHEDULE:

- 0.5oz Mt Rainier 60min

- 0.5oz Mt Rainier 30min

- 1oz Mt Rainier 15min

- 1oz Mt Rainier 5min

- 1oz Citra for dry hopping after 2 weeks fermenting

YEAST: 

- Wyeast Northwest Ale 1332

12lbs of malt + 1lb of malt extract, that should do it!

TASTING NOTES:

Tried the first sample 6 days after bottling. Still needs a little time but you can tell this one came out great. Strong, malty character with loads of flowery and citrusy hops flavor. Pours a coppery hue of reddish brown, not too much head retention though. The rye announces itself with bready undertones, nicely balancing the strong hops character. Alcohol somewhere around 6.5%, strong enough to give you a good buzz after just one pint :-)

Rough Ryder RyePA

Bohemia Pilsener

DESCRIPTION: My attempt to fashion a Pilsener style beer! Finally it got cold enough to try out some Lager fermenting. Since I had trouble previously extracting enough fermentable sugars from the all grain recipe, I added 1lb of malt extract to the wort. This brought the OG right on target. For the grains I used a mixture of German and Czech style malt. To give it a New World flavor, I used Cascade hops as late addition. That should add a nice spicy and fruity hops note.

BREW DATE: 01/11/2014

BOTTLING DATE: 02/22/2014 (6 weeks)

GRAIN BILL:

- 4lbs Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner Malt

- 5lbs Maillard German Pilsner Malt

- 1lb Briess Pilsen Light Malt Extract

MASHING: 

- Sacch Rest: 60min at 153F

- Fly sparge with 180F water

HOPS SCHEDULE:

- 1oz Czech Saaz 60min

- 1oz Czech Saaz 30min

- 1oz Cascade 5min

YEAST:
- Wyeast 2001 Pilsener Urquell (48-58F). Fermenting took place at the high end of the range, around 58F. The little room outside still didn't get down in temperature enough, even though ambient temperature were as low as low 30s during the nights. Oh well..

OG 1.038 equivalent of 4.8% abv, 21.5l total yield.

1.029 at bottling (incl prime sugar)

TASTING NOTES: 

Already when bottling I could tell this one is a winner. Whew I'm so glad the somewhat higher temperatures didn't mess up he fermentation! Super drinkable after 2 weeks on the bottle. Classic Pilsener color, moderate foam. Floral nose with hints of citrus. Clear and crisp taste, deftly malty undertones with sweet and flowery top notes. The Czech Saaz gives a noble hops flavor just as intended, the Cascade some more serious piney after tones. Somewhere between a Warsteiner and a Staropramen I would say, with some more hops flavor and bitterness added. Overall, this is one of the best beers I've ever brewed!

Grain bill and hops addition

Crisp and clear Bohemia Pilsener!

U Moru

DESCRIPTION: This is my interpretation of Pietra", a beer made from chestnuts, available only on the French island of Corsica in the Mediterranean. We had many of those during our hike in 2009 on the GR20 in Corsica, a beautiful trail across the island, crossing mountain ranges, valleys, and rivers, with fantastic views of the scenery of this serene island. Pietra is a brown lager, it has a nice nutty full flavor but is still refreshing on a hot summer evening. 

I can't really make a true lager here in late fall as the temperature is still too warm, so instead I opted for Belgian Abbey Ale yeast, and added loads of malt to get a heavy and smooth beer. Chestnuts don't ferment by themselves, so you need to add enzyme rich malt to get the starch converted into fermentable malt. 6-row is exactly the right ingredient here. The chestnuts were freshly harvested from a farm in Oregon, I roasted them in the oven at 380F for about 45min. After that, the peel comes off quite nicely, and some of the initial bitterness goes away. I ended up eating a lot of the freshly roasted chestnuts since they are indeed delicious! Coarsely grounded in a mortar, the chestnuts were added to the mash and were let to rest together with the other grains.  

Since I didn't want to overpower the delicate chestnut flavor with too much hops, I opted for the benign but still noble bitterness of German Hallertau hops, 3 oz. total. OG of the wort came out pretty high at 1.0777, diluted down to 1.042 OG to give 23 liters of brew. Let's see how this one comes out!

BREW DATE: 12/01/2013

BOTTLING DAY: 12/29/2013

GRAIN BILL:  

- 2 lbs. Rahr 6-row pale
- 5 lbs Rahr 2-row pale

- 1 lb. Briess Caramel 60L

- 2 lb.English brown malt

- 2 lbs. of coarsely ground roasted chestnuts. 

MASHING:

- Sacch Rest 153F for 60min, Mash-out 170F at 10min.

HOPS SCHEDULE:

- 1 oz. Hallertau (60min)

- 1 oz. Hallertau (30min)

- 1 oz. Hallertau (15min) 

YEAST: Wyeast Belgian ABbey Ale II

TASTING NOTES: Very smooth amber ale. Malty and nutty at the same time, with some strong background bitterness to it. Estery flavors from the Belgian Abbey Ale yeast are there but just adding a bit of complexity and creaminess. The chestnut flavor is subtle and not overwhelming. Next time I probably should  use less hops for a smoother flavor and grind the chestnuts more to allow more extraction and add more chestnut characteristics. Overall still a nice drink for a cozy late afternoon next to the fireplace!

2lbs of roasted chestnuts 

grain bill and hops addition

Nutty, creamy, slightly hazy U Moru! Sante!