West of Eden Belgian Ale

My first beer in our new location in the Santa Cruz Mountains! Looking forward to find out how the much softer water works here. Seems like hard water like typically found in Southern Germany favors wheat beers and heavy beers (Oktoberfest, Maerzen), whereas soft water usually is used for brewing delicate lagers. Think Jever or Warsteiner, both from Northern Germany. To be safe I'm starting with an Ale, a variation of my Panorama Pale Ale, which came out pretty good. Replaced some Standard 2-row Brewers Malt with the more refined Pilsener Malt, also replaced the Chinook I used for dry hopping with Citra. Main reason being leaf hops availability, but it should also add some nice citrusy flavors. Also, somehow I didn't get the American Ale yeast delivered, instead they shipped Belgian Ardennes yeast. That should work too, but then of course it becomes a Belgian Ale with a West Coast twist!

BREW DATE: 11/01/2015

BOTTLING DATE: forgot, sometimes around xmas

GRAIN BILL: 11lbs total

-3lbs Briess Brewers Malt

-3lbs Rahr Pilsener Malt

-4lbs Dingemanns Munich Malt

-1lb Weyermann Red Wheat Malt

MASH-IN: 1 hr at 158F, Mash-out 10 min at 170F. Fly sparked with 175F water.

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz Cascade Leaf

-30min 1oz Cascade Leaf

-10min 1oz Cascade Leaf

OG: 12.4 brix for 15l wort filled up to 23l => alcohol content should come out at 4.9%.

YEAST: Wyeast Belgian Ardennes 3522

DRY HOPS:

-1oz Citra Leaf after 10d in the fermenter, for 4d

Secondary fermenter after 2 weeks, for 1 week.

TASTE NOTES: Yay, very nice one! Was gone in no time at all! Amber color, nice head, lots of hops but not overwhelming like some IPAs you can buy today. 

Fool's Wit #3

My 3rd iteration of this fresh and fruity Witbeer, California style. This time I used all leaf hops. Interestingly enough the OG was much lower compared to last time even though I extracted 14l of wort vs. 11l previously. I assume it has to do with the degree of conversion of the wheat. If I remember correctly I used a little bit less water for the initial mash in last time. I also noted the sparge was much easier this time, indicating some difference with the wheat. Usually, the more wheat you have in the grain bull, the more difficult the sparge gets. Let's see, looking forward to my favorite summer beer!

BREW DATE: 07/11/2015

BOTTLING DATE: 

GRAIN BILL: 12lbs total

-4lbs Pilsener Malt

-4lbs Briess Brewers Malt

-4lbs White Wheat Malt

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

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz German Hallertau leafs

-30min 1oz German Hallertau leads

-10min 1oz Cascade leafs

OG: 14 brix for 14l wort filled up to 23l => alcohol content should come out at 4.5%.

YEAST: Wyeast Belgian Witbeer

TASTE NOTES: Yum! Very fresh and fruity, just the right thing for a hot summer afternoon! 

Jubiläums Mölmsch

Jubiläums Mölmsch is a very dark variety of a German Ale, very malty character with loads of noble hops in the finish and medium alcohol content, about 5% abv. This is a beer that was brewed at the last remaining brewery of my home town, Mülheim/Ruhr. It was kind of a unique beer, as this brewery had specialized in German Ales, vs. main stream lager type Pilsener or Alt beers which are most commonly found in Germany. The style is very similar, at least with respect to the brewing process with "Kölsch" (hallmark beer style of Cologne, 50km to the south). The difference was that those beers brewed at Mölmsch brewery were darker, and also were using an abundance of noble hops, quite ahead of their time. Sadly, the brewery closed in 1991, and with it a long standing tradition in my home town. Fast forward a couple of years ago: 2 young guys from Mülheim restarted the brewery and re-created some of the recipes. It is now brewed under commission in Hagen, a town close by, under the same brand name, Mölmsch. They haven't gotten to this variety yet in their repertoire, so here is my version of creating this "vollmundig" classic!  

BREW DATE: 05-30-2015

BOTTLING DATE: 

GRAIN BILL: 12lbs total

-4lbs Rahr Brewers Malt

-2lbs Bohemian Dark Malt

-2lbs Franco-Belges Vienna Malt
-1lb Weyermann Caramunich I Malt
-1lb Franco-Belges Kiln Coffee Malt 

MASH-IN: 1 hr at 158F, no mash-out. Fly sparked with 175F water. I wanted to experiment with the mash out, having it sit at a slightly  higher mash temp and forgo the mash-out to avoid getting tannins. But as you see below, it really makes a difference in OG. Even though I had 12lbs of malt I only got enough sugars extracted to get 16l of beer, usually that should be 23l at a good alcohol content. Lesson learned: 153F mash temperature for 60min with 10min 175F high temp mash out is the way to get those sugars rolling.

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz German Perle

-30min 1oz German Tettnang

-5min 1oz Czech Saaz

OG: 11.2 brix for 13l wort filled up to 16l => alcohol content should come out at 4.8%.

YEAST: Wyeast 1007 German Ale

TASTE NOTES: Not too bad, but also not quite on the spot for the beer I was trying to brew. A little bit too heavy on the dark malts, also too much hops. Next time probably will take out the coffee malt and the Perle hops. 

Jubiläums Mölmsch!

Panorama Heights Pale Ale

Time for a Pale Ale, summer is on the door steps! This recipe is for a medium body pale ale with a nice hoppy finish. I used only high alpha/beta leaf hops (Cascade with 7.9% alpha / 6.6% beta), with a special kick from the super strong alpha Chinook (13.3% alpha, 3.7% beta) for dry hopping. The red wheat addition is an experiment to see if I can get it a little on the mellow side at the same time. Looking forward to see how that balances out! Also, a little wheat helps somewhat with head retention, however you gotta be careful not to overdue it, otherwise the beer gets cloudy. Red wheat is harder and has more protein than white wheat. Supposedly, it results in a rounder flavor, where white wheat can come across as a little tangy and dry if used as an adjunct.

BREW DATE: 04/05/2015

BOTTLING DATE: 05/16/2015

GRAIN BILL: 11lbs total

-6lbs Briess Brewers Malt

-4lbs Munich Malt

-1lbs Red Wheat Malt

MASH-IN: 1 hr at 153F, Mash-out 10 min at 165F. Fly sparked with 175F water.

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz Cascade leafs

-30min 1oz Cascade leafs

-10min 1oz Cascade leafs

Dry Hop after 7days in primary: 1oz Chinook leaf hops

OG: 14.8 brix for 15l wort filled up to 23l => alcohol content should come out at 5.4%.

YEAST: Wyeast American Ale 1056

Pale Ale ready to go

TASTE NOTES: wow, this one really hits home! A fresh, citrusy pale ale, exactly right for some warm summer evenings. Much clearer in the bottle due to 2stage fermentation. The usual trub at the bottom is almost completely missing. Still some haziness but with really no taste side effects. The Chinook hops adds nice lingering piney after tones. Head retention is the one thing that could be improved, overall 4.5 stars I would say.

Super fresh and hoppy, Panorama Pale Ale with a view!

Panorama Heights Springfest Maerzen

Oktoberfest beers are unique to late summer reveling under a blue/white checkered sky in Bavaria. The style is actually called Maerzen, as those beers were usually brewed in March since brewing was not allowed during summer in the olden days. Whatever was left over from that March batch was finally served at the Oktoberfest. Nowadays an Oktoberfest Maerzen is brewed in late summer, of course. Nothing better than fresh beer! A Maerzen is usually a pretty strong, light to medium brown beer, somewhere around 5.6%abv. Also unique is the addition of strong bittering hops, a stark contrast to the very lightly hopped Helles or Dunkles you'll get otherwise in Southern Germany. Instead of ale yeasts like you would use for British brown ales, Maerzen uses Lager yeast. Unfortunately it is way too warm here in California to brew this kind of beer in late summer, since this specific Lager yeast is not very happy with temperatures above 65F. So I just changed the name to a "Springfest Maerzen" and added a West Coast twist to it with a rolling ground swell of Cascade leaf hops finished with noble Tettnang hops. I'm kind of hoping to mimic a "Einbecker Mai-Urbock", lots of memories from my early college days! 

BREW DATE: 02/28/2015

BOTTLING DATE: 03/22/2015

GRAIN BILL: 12lbs total

-5lbs Salzgitter German Pilsener Malt

-5lbs Briess Bonlander Munich Malt

-1lb Weyermann Caramunich II
-1lb German Dark Munich Malt

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

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz Cascade (leafs)

-30min 1oz German Tettnang

-10min 1oz German Tettnang

OG: 15.8 brix for 17l wort filled up to 23l => alcohol content should come out at 6.3%.

YEAST: Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest Blend 

Springfest Maerzen grain ingredients

Cascade leaf hops ready to go into the final boil

TASTE NOTES: Pretty awesome! Very fruity, at the same time still some good hops aromas. Slightly sweet just as a Maerzen is supposed to be. Einbecker Mai-Urbock reborn on the West Coast! Pours somewhat turbid though, the same problem with all the other beers I've made so far using Lager yeast. I suspect it has either to do with the slightly elevated temperatures vs. recommendation (about 62F in my basement, vs. 56F recommended), or with the relatively high Ca/Mg content in our water here. My next beer will have a 2stage fermentation, let's see how that turns out.

Gatto Nero Schwarzbier II

Second try for my wintery Schwarzbier! This beer style is close to a Porter or Stout in terms of grain bill, but uses a Lager yeast to yield a crispier finish. Traditionally brewed in the Czech Republic as well as in parts of Saxony and Northern Bavaria. To avoid getting too stouty which would be covering the nice malty flavors of a true Schwarzbier, I'm substituting the Chocolate Malt from the original recipe with a Nocturnal Blend from Northern brewer, plus adding 1lb of toasted Coffee Malt. See below! For comparison, my previous recipe is here:

BREW DATE: 01/28/2015

BOTTLING DATE: 02/22/2015

Temperatures during fermentation stayed at 60-62F despite some warm weather here in California.

GRAIN BILL: 12lbs total

-5lbs Briess Munich 10l

-4lbs Goldpils Vienna Malt

-1lb Weyermann Caramunich III
-1lb Franco-Belges Kiln Coffee
-1lb Northern Brewer Nocturnal Blend

MASH-IN: 1 hr at 153F, Mash-out 10 min  ramped to 165F. Fly sparked with 175F water.

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz German Perle

-30min 0.5oz German Perle

-10min 0.5oz German Perle

OG: 16.0 brix for 14l wort filled up to 22l => alcohol content should come out at 4.8%.

YEAST: Wyeast 1001 Pilsener Urquell

12lbs of malt, hops and yeast ready to go

Lautering. Nice color already!

TASTE NOTES: wow this one came out fantastic! Very smooth and malty with deep caramel notes, but still very crisp and balanced as I would expect from a Lager. Pours a little hazy though, but that doesn't seem to affect the taste. I'll give it 4.5 stars, half a star deduction for the haziness. Next time I'll try 2stage fermentation, that should give it a cleaner look and taste.

And here it is, kind of hazy pour, but tastes great!

Panorama Heights California Lager

My attempt to fashion a California Lager local style a la San Francisco Anchor Steam. The thing about California Lagers is that fermentation is done using lager yeasts at elevated temperatures, somewhere around 50-60F. Compared to that, old world style lagers usually ferment much colder, around 40-50F. The result is a beer that has some more floral notes and added complexity compared to a crisp old fashioned lager. The danger is really letting the temperature run up too high, which can result in off flavors. Wyeast has a new California Lager yeast which should be a little bit more forgiving. Since I don't have a temperature controlled fermenter I kind of depend on the 4 weeks weather forecast. This time of the year it tends to get colder, but who knows. Let's see how it comes out!

BREW DATE: 10/25/2014

BOTTLING DATE: 11/16/2014

GRAIN BILL: 12lbs total

-6lbs Pilsener Malt

-3lbs Munich Malt

-3lbs Vienna Malt

Panorama Heights California Lager grain bill & hops

MASH-IN: 1 hr at 160F, no Mash-out. The purpose of a higher temp mash-out is to shut off the enzymes and precipitate the protein, but I found out that it could be a problem releasing tannins from the grain hulls. So for delicate lagers and other lighter beers I decided against it. Fly sparged with 170F water.

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz German Spalt

-30min 1oz German Tettnang

-10min 1oz Cascade

OG: 16.2 brix for 12.5l wort filled up to 22l => alcohol content should come out at 4.9% abv.

YEAST: Wyeast 2112 California Lager

TASTE NOTES: Very fruity, combined with a nice hop bitterness. Overall very drinkable but not something I would really start totally raving about. Somewhere between a Koelsch and an Anchor Steam I would say. Unfortunately, this beer pours very cloudy, definitely not as advertised. As a result it did get some yeasty undertones, only very subtle though, but still enough to spoil the character a bit. Supposedly, the Wyeast California Lager should produce a crisp and clear beer, but looks like flocculation didn't work as expected. Worth a try anyways, but I'll stay with the Bohemian Pilsener strain instead for my next California Lager.  

West Coast Radical Red Ale

This is a Northern Brewer All-Grain kit that I wanted to try out. Haven't really done any Red Ales before, so let's see how it comes out!

From the package: "A gorgeous yet unassuming Crimson-colored brew, West Coast Radical Red is strikingly familiar in its smooth, copper body and distinctively American, crisp clean character. It's well balanced multi-grain backbone offers approachability, yet this radically malt and hop forward transformation of the classic red ale is fully deserving of a double-take. (now does that sound like a lot of bull?). Home-grown Cascade reminiscent of California grapefruit groves impart a citrus twist for a sessionable brew-next-door that's engagingly drinkable yet, without boasting, knows how to leave an impression."
I almost didn't buy it because of that description, but what the heck, I thought to give it a try. I really don't like it when people are talking about "hop-forward", this has become such a clichee. I does come with a lot of hops, and Chinook as the base load is pretty much a guarantee for strong hops flavor.

BREW DATE: 11/22/2014

BOTTLING DATE: 12/22/2014

GRAIN BILL: 10.625lbs total

-8.5lbs Briess 2-row Brewers Malt

-1.25lbs English Crystal Rye Malt

-0.75lbs Dingemans Cara 45 Malt
-0.125lbs English Roasted Barley

MASH-IN: 1 hr at 153F, Mash-out 10 min at 170F. Fly sparked with 175F water.

HOP SCHEDULE:

-60min 1oz Chinook

-20min 1oz Perle

-10min 1oz Centennial
-5min 1oz Cascade

OG: 13.7 brix for 14l wort filled up to 21l => alcohol content should come out at 4.8%. OG came out somewhat lower than predicted, so I didn't fill the fermenter all the way up.

YEAST: Wyeast American Ale II 1272

TASTE NOTES: Oh wow. This is a 5-star winter brew! Came out much stronger than what was predicted by the OG. I would say closer to 6% abv. Beautiful red color, very hoppy, lots of malt flavors, hints of coffee and tobacco aromas. Some caramel lingering in the end. Nice! Definitely a recipe that I can recommend. Never mind the boastful description, but this one is really good!

11lbs of malt, 4 different hops and a ready to burst yeast package!

West Coast Radical Red Ale: It is really red!