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!