Q&A: Homebrewing

[TongoRad]

I invited a couple of friends over for burgers last weekend and popped open the Porter. Certainly exceeded my expectations! It was smooth, mildly bitter and has a lovely subtle roasty aroma that is almost sweet. It was such a big hit that everyone offered to chip in to buy me more ingredients to make another batch and split it between all of us. Thanks Tongo

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You're welcome- that's a beautiful thing, Elie! Hopefully a little more conditioning time will give you some added carbonation, but the color and clarity are sopt on. You have just described my perfect porter- and that recipe does produce a velvety one. Most of the credit should go to Terry Foster (the original came from his book), though the Munich malt was my (not so insignificant, imo) contribution. IIRC- I suggested this one because I thought it would be a great jumping-off point for a smoked or oak-aged beer. Now that you've tried it 'straight' you can now play around with the recipe with a sort of baseline in your head. (What I eventually ended up with had a 5% substitution of the base malt with Hugh Baird Peat Smoked malt. In competitions half of the judges said that it had too much smoke, the other half said not enough. In other words- just the right amount ).

[FoodMan]

Michael-

That picture is more than a week old now, the beer I drank this weekend is certainly more carbonated.

Chris-

Very interesting beer your making, when do you expect it to be drinkable? Looking forward to your notes.

[cdh]

I've moved it down to chill in the basement and drop the yeast for a couple weeks, and then after moving it to either keg or bottles (or both) it should be ready after about a month. So I'd estimate first taste around the vernal equinox.

[Malkavian]

Very interesting recipe Chris. I've long been curious about the lowdown on belgian candi sugar, as the crystallized stuff we used at the store just tasted like regular crystal sugar to me (this being light and dark crystals) I wonder if the flavor's just more apparent in the syrup?

I found Brew Like a Monk fascinating reading; have you read Wild Brews or Farmhouse Ales?

[cdh]

The dark candi syrup is in a totally different league from the rocks. Night and day. It packs significant color and flavor... the rocks really don't.

I've not yet read Wild Brews or Farmhouse Ales... they're on my list, but I've not gotten there yet. What did you think of them?

Edited February 17, 2007 by cdh (log)

[Malkavian]

Chris- Sorry for the late reply friend! matter of fact I got a new job two days after my last post and it's kept me fairly busy

Regarding the books, I liked them, very well written and interesting reading IMHO; It's been a while since I leafed through them at the place I worked, but I recall them being very popular with our customers and employees that were enthusiats of Lambic, Geuze, Flanders style ales and so forth.

[cdh]

M-

Thanks for the reply. I've still not gotten around to picking either of those books up yet. They're still on the list.

My big belgian strong project is turning out quite nicely now... 3 months in, and they're just starting to settle in and balance out a bit. I did a serial brew with that yeast, and did another variation on a strong dark recipe, so I've got a case of each bottles (minus a couple of sample bottles tried during maturation), and a keg full of a blend of both recipes.

For spring brewing, I've got a belgian wit spiced with chamomile and hibiscus and lime leaf that just got tapped, and an experiment in late hop additions, a beer that had lots of hops added in the last 20 minutes of the boil. That late-hopped one is still in the fermenter, so no impressions on how the experiment worked yet.

[FoodMan]

This weekend I made another batch of the Saison-Style Summer ale from the class with a few modifications. The main change really is the hopping schedule. I had all these hops lying around from previous brews and I wanted to use them and make a nice hoppy ale...almost IPA I guess. I also doubled all the grains and made a 5 gallon batch. Here is what I ended up with

3.75 lbs Belgian Pale Malt, crushed

1.25 lb flaked wheat

1.25 lb flaked rye

1.25 lb Belgian Munich malt, crushed

.75 lb flaked oats

3 lb light liquid malt extract

1.25 lb table sugar

White Labs yeast #565 (Saison Ale Yeast)

Hop additions

0.5 oz Kent Golding

0.25 oz Northdown

0.25 oz Styrian

boiled for 60 mins.

0.25 oz Goldings (5.1 AA)

0.5 oz Styrian

boiled for 30 mins.

0.25 oz Styrian

0.25 oz Cascade

1 Tbsp crushed coriander

zest of 1 orange

zest of 1 lemon

5 pieces crystalized ginger

At flame out and let steep 15 minutes

I parked the airlocked bucket in my warm garage (80F or more, Saison likes heat, right?) and I had it gurgling 5 or six hours later.

I also tasted a small cup of the cooled brew. Very tasty, hoppy, spicy and has an almost reddish brown color. Looks like it might be a but hazy too probly due to the oats in there. Looking forward to see how this one settles and tastes.

Edited June 4, 2007 by FoodMan (log)

[cdh]

Mmmmm. That reminds me that I should brew up something Saison-y soon... That recipe last year was tasty.

[Malkavian]

I haven't done any brewing at all lately; I think i'm still burnt out from working in a homebrew shop =\ somewhat saddening but I'll get the urge to brew again sometime soon I'm sure. On top of that, the chocoalte stout I made for a longtime customer of mine has gotten some kind of infection =( can't just re-do that one as I don't have an immediate source of cocoa nibs

[zgti1]

Hey guys, long time reader, first time poster.

- here's what I made up the other night....

Grapefruit Paradise Wheat

Preboil tea:

8 oz. Carapils for 20 mins

Boil:

6 lbs. Wheat liquid malt extract,

1 lb. of Light DME,

Boiled for 40 mins.

Added 1 oz. Tettnanger bittering hops for 25 mins

Steeped rind and fruit from 2 large ruby red grapefruits & 1.5 grams of Grains of Paradise .

Put peels & pulp in a grain bag and into primary fermenter (my one major concern - I didn't boil the bag w/ the fruit).

Pitched my belgian yeast strain @ put in my 74 degree room under the stairs.

This happened 5 days ago - i'm gonna take my two hydo readings and hopefully bottle tomorrow!

[cdh]

Hello and welcome!

You've got a very interesting recipe there. I'd be interested to hear how it works out. You're relying on the grapefruit peel for the bittering rather than the hops? You put in pith and all? Is two grapefruits going to be overkill on the bitterness?

Which Belgian yeast? The classic witbier yeast likes it warm, but some of them may take issue with starting at 74F.

You'll have to keep us all updated on your progress.

I've got my own wheat brew under way now-

4 lbs German Pils

2 lbs German wheat malt

2 lbs Raw Red Wheat

1.25 lbs Munich malt

.5 oz Perle at 50 minutes

.25 oz Tettnanger at 15 minutes

Weihenstephan wheat yeast. Fermenting in the mid-high 60s.

[zgti1]

well, originally, my ingredients came with the Weihenstephan yeast, but I managed to kill that (woops.) So my local brew&grow store only had the Belgian wit yeast so I grabbed that.

No pith - skinned the yellow part off the pith with a potato peeler, but I included the flesh and juice of the fruit. Hopefully the grapefruit won't be too bitter or overpowering - I'm loosely going off of the Blood Orange Hefeweizen in Sam's Extreme Brewing book.

[cdh]

So, how's the grapefruit brew coming? I'd love to hear how it turned out.

I've got a riff on the 4 Grain Saison in the fermenter now with a few interesting changes--

2 lb. Belgian Pilsner

8 oz. Flaked rye

8 oz. Torrified wheat

4 oz. Belgian biscuit

4 oz. Flaked oats

4 oz. Raw barley (Korean pressed barley)

4 oz. Rice flour

Mash at 143 30 min, 148 45 min.

Boil: 90 minutes

1.5 lb. Light dry malt extract

8 oz. Cane sugar

14 oz. Dansuker light syrup

Whirlfloc at 15

.1 oz. Nelson Sauvin (11.25% AA, 75 min.)

1.5 oz. Styrian Goldings (3.8% AA, 75 min.)

.25 oz. Nelson Sauvin (11.25% AA, 20 min.)

.15 oz. Nelson Sauvin (aroma)

Yeast: 3822 Ingelmunster

Spiced with 1 star anise.

I'm hoping that the sauvignon blanc character that the hops were named for shines through and the tart phenolic nature of the yeast plays well with the hopping. We'll see in a week when I keg this batch and give it a taste.

[cdh]

Above are a couple of pictures of howthat Belgian strong I brewed back in February turned out. Now that we're 5 months in, it has settled down and become a very nice reddish beer that holds a tan head for a good long time. Its aroma starts out distinctly fruity, and that carries over into the beginning of the sip as well, however there is a dark, roasty undertone. On the palate, the beer is quite dry, with little sweetness backing a dried fruit character that predominates, with a low intensity bitterness in the background. A cakey-bready maltiness is hinted at as well. The beer's finish, however changes character entirely and the roasty chocolate malt character comes out in a lingering unsweetened-cocoa-powder finish.

All in all, I'd call the experiment a success and encourage others to give it a try this winter when you can keep the fermentation temperatures down in the high 60'sF.

Edited July 9, 2007 by cdh (log)

[FoodMan]

Awsome pictures Chris! It does look wonderful. I'll have to report on my latest Summer Ale result once I take and post a couple of pics.

Speaking of beers that hold a head, how is that achieved exactly? I recently tried a beer called Old Speckled Hen (Click here for Website) at a local pub. It was delicious, with a nice dark golden color and slighlty bitter. What attracted me most is the creamy long lasting head. Almost like Guinness (you know how the 'foam; seems to slowly cascade down into bottom) but of course this was no Stout. I'd love to try something similar at home. Any ideas?

[cdh]

That kind of head means that the beer was served by means of a nitrogen tap system. You can get into the nitro game, but it isn't cheap...

[FoodMan]

That kind of head means that the beer was served by means of a nitrogen tap system.  You can get into the nitro game, but it isn't cheap...

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not what I was hoping to hear.

Thought maybe it was some grain or other that creates a thick creamy Guiness-like head. Oh well.

[cdh]

Well, the nitro head is very distinctive. Head retention is really helped by adding Carapils into a recipe, or wheat malt, or flaked wheat, or flaked barley. It's all about the proteins, and those are ingredients that bring them.

[cdh]

The device that gets you that kind of head is called a stout faucet. Usually used with a nitrogen/CO2 mixture of gasses. I've heard reports that just CO2 achieves a reasonable facsimile of the effect you're looking for.

[Msk]

ZGT1,

I am interested to hear how the Grapefruit beer turns out. Also Amarillo hops do give a "grapefruit like" caharacter to beer that you also might want to try at another time.

I just brewed the original golden ale from the class but substituted Amarillo for the Cascade. Very delicious.

Msk

[cdh]

Here's a link to a great thread on a homebrew board about all the things you can do with a nitrogen tap system... for those interested, it would be a good read.

[Msk]

Here's a link to a great thread on a homebrew board about all the things you can do with a nitrogen tap system...  for those interested, it would be a good read.

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CDH,

That strong dark llooks great. I have learned that I really love that style. Chimay Blue and McChouffe are two of my favorite beers. Do you think the dark candy syrup is what gives it that grape soda like flavor? Its hard for me to describe it any other way, though it probably does not do it justice.

Msk

[FoodMan]

This weekend I made another batch of the Saison-Style Summer ale from the class with a few modifications. The main change really is the hopping schedule. I had all these hops lying around from previous brews and I wanted to use them and make a nice hoppy ale...almost IPA I guess. I also doubled all the grains and made a 5 gallon batch. Here is what I ended up with

3.75 lbs Belgian Pale Malt, crushed

1.25 lb flaked wheat

1.25 lb flaked rye

1.25 lb Belgian Munich malt, crushed

.75 lb flaked oats

3 lb light liquid malt extract

1.25 lb table sugar

White Labs yeast #565 (Saison Ale Yeast)

Hop additions

0.5 oz Kent Golding

0.25 oz Northdown

0.25 oz Styrian

boiled for 60 mins.

0.25 oz Goldings (5.1 AA)

0.5 oz Styrian

boiled for 30 mins.

0.25 oz Styrian

0.25 oz Cascade

1 Tbsp crushed coriander

zest of 1 orange

zest of 1 lemon

5 pieces crystalized ginger

At flame out and let steep 15 minutes

I parked the airlocked bucket in my warm garage (80F or more, Saison likes heat, right?) and I had it gurgling 5 or six hours later.

I also tasted a small cup of the cooled brew. Very tasty, hoppy, spicy and has an almost reddish brown color. Looks like it might be a but hazy too probly due to the oats in there. Looking forward to see how this one settles and tastes.

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Finally remembered to take a picture of this delicious brew this weekend. I love how clearer and more refined (taste and colorwise) it gets as it ages.

[cdh]

Ooooh. Very pretty coppery color. How dry and tart and peppery does the saison yeast leave that recipe?

I've just tasted the most recent batch I brewed with the saison recipe and the 3822 yeast, and it is very nice indeed. Amazing how much flavor one little star anise added... and the Nelson Sauvin hops do, indeed bring a great wine-like character. I think it will be a winner after another few weeks of aging.