Pivovar Freshnock

Oatmeal Stout

2011-09-18T16:00:00.002-05:00

Oatmeal stout is a style I rather enjoy but commercially you don't see a lot. On My last visit to Kansas City I brought back some of the EXCELLENT Free State Brewing Oatmeal Stout, which happens to be my favorite pro version. Inspired, I started pouring through my brewing tomes, favorite beer blogs and brewery sites for recipe ideas. Come to find out that nailing this style is not as simple as adding flaked oats to your favorite stout recipe. It is a balance of mouthfeel you expect from the style, with subtle sweetness and roast. To much attenuation and it becomes more of a dry stout, too little and you end up with a sweet stout. I hope that learning from others will get me a drinkable recipe that I can further tweak to perfection.

Oatmeal Stout - Brewed 09/04/11

OG 1.056
FG 1.015
ABV 5.5%
IBU 31
SRM 28

6 lb Marris Otter
2 lb Flaked Oats
2 lb Munich 10L
1 lb Flaked Barley
10 oz Roasted Barley
8 oz Chocolate Malt
8 oz Caramel 40L

2 oz Fuggle 60 Min

Chicago water with 1 gram baking soda per gallon to drive up bicarbonate

Dough in and raised to 122F for 15, raised to 156F for 60, raised to 165F for 15. Recirculate until cleared and fly sparged to pre boil volume.

Fermented on the cooler range with Fermentus US-04

I plan on taking a keg of this to Wisconsin on a disc golf outing. Will post tasting notes and tweaks next month.

Ponderings..

2011-09-18T15:23:00.000-05:00

It's been said before.. I have been ignoring this blog. I keep my life busy between, family, work, hobbies, travel and sleep. The kettles have not been ignored, they have been very busy with brews for both myself and Bridges. There is a que of recipes that I need to post up and will try to get them all here this weekend.

I really enjoy hearing about other people's experiences, especially when they are passionate. Be it a unknown restaurant's atmosphere, a unique travel destination or a walk through of a particularly tasty beer. I especially love hearing about people's brewing escapades. Sit me next to a fellow brewer and we will go on for hours. We recently transitioned from being renters to owners, I was happy to find out that another owner was also an experienced homebrewer. Over many drinking sessions we discovered what processes we had in common and what we could take and make our own. We finally decided to brew together.

We decided to do a beer in the mode of Three Floyd's "Blackheart". This was the first time I brewed with someone where I wasn't the more experienced brewer. It was tough to let go of many processes that I automatically "just do", and also communicate when/why. Frankly, it was a difficult for me to share my ball. We missed our mash temp and has a misread on pre boil gravity, resulting in frustration. There was a lot less planning involved with this than I normally do. The beer turned out fine.. Lesson learned? I wasted a good experience fretting over little things and not sharing enough of the responsibility. Sometimes you need to let it go and just have fun making beer with a friend.

When building networks we often unintentionally wall ourselves in. Many of the homebrewers I know are people I have met over social networks. A lot of them are around my level of experience, few of them are novice or beginner. I can send out a tweet or post to g+ and get an answer in seconds. I can't recall how often I really give back to the community that shares my passion. I am not in any homebrew club where I can be mentored or act as a mentor to others. A recent opportunity working in a local home brew shop has allowed me to interact with individuals new to the hobby. It was refreshing to see their eagerness for brewing. They have yet to build the walls of style parameters and hard process rules. Style and Process are important and have it's place, but when was the last time you just got real loose and free-styled a beer?

Recipe: American Wheat - A Summer Time Brew

2011-03-20T12:36:00.000-05:00

Growing up in Kansas I have a reverence for Boulevard Wheat that no one but people from the region seem to understand. Kansas summers are damn hot and the wheat ale is the perfect thirst quencher. You can drink it all afternoon and not be in a stuper. It is also a excellent gateway beer for your pals who have yet to discover the broad world of beer beyond macro lager.

I have never attempted to clone it. This recipe is the best I could come up with after reading many forums on the subject. Taking the most plausible recipes and cross referencing them to Boulevards sight. Then realizing many of the hops would need to be swapped with readily available hops. Finally getting to my LHBS and finding two commonly available hops not in stock. It was just not my day to make this beer, but being stubborn I pressed on and came out with this.

Batch size: 5.5 gal
OG: 1.046
PG: 1.036
FG: 1.011
ABV: 4.6%
IBU: 17
SRM: 3.4
EFF: 75%

5 lb 2-Row
2 lb 12 oz Wheat
2 lb Flaked Wheat

7 gr Magnum 14% AA 60 min
7 gr each Centennial and Citra 5 min (OG recipe had Summit and Simcoe)
21 gr each Centennial and Citra -1 minute or flameout (OG recipe had Summit and Simcoe)

Protein rest at 125F for 15 min, 149F for 60 min, 165F mash out for 15 min.

Chicago water adjusted accordingly.

Fermented with 1 pack US-05 dry yeast.

2011: The year I nail down an IPA Recipe?

2011-03-20T12:06:00.000-05:00

I brew a lot of hoppy beers and refuse to apologize for it. Beer nerds/afficonados are well past this trend but I love a dank IPA in my glass. The pale ale or IPA is the standard I hold most brewpubs too and am quick to dismiss a brand if they have a subpar version. I have done many single hop IPA, traditional cascade pale ales, overdone DIPAs, massively hoppy barley wines and experimental hop beers. Most good, a few great, some down right terrible. So it's about time I practice what I preach and make a truly awesome IPA. This is going to happen in one brew, these things take time.

In January I brewed a sessionable IPA with 2 row, Munich, Caramel Malt, Columbus, Cascade and Citra. I purposely mashed a the low end of things, thinking it would add to the drinkability. It did but the bittering hops charged through and flattened the malt profile. It was not too bitter for my tastes but the average drinker would not appreciate it.

At the beginning of March I took the same recipe but mashed at the higher end of the scale. After hearing a Brewing Network podcast with Lagunitas, the brewer talked about mashing at 160F for the Maximus IPA. Even the brewcasters thought it was a wild concept but he said the body it delivers was right for the beer. I ended up mashing at 158F. Fermentation struggled a bit with the long chain sugars, ending at 1.018 (calculated 1.013). Out of the FV it was tasting great, there was more of a balance with the Columbus bittering charge. I just dry hopped it with 2 oz of Citra and will be kegged in 5 days.

The concept is to keep brewing this recipe, changing one variable until I feel it is locked in. If the change doesn't improve the beer we go back to the last good version and change another variable. Once solidified, I will enter it into a few competitions and see how it fairs against the judges.

The Citra Session - Pale Ale featuring Citra / The English Beat ESB

2011-01-30T20:35:00.000-06:00

It's winter here in Chicago. Brewing has been sparse since I only brew outdoors. I did manage to brave the cold for a few sessions this month. Putting together a beer for a competition and one for my enjoyment. You may recall this Summer I went on a huge session beer kick. I love the challenge of getting maximum flavor and without impacting the beers drinkability. Keeping brew like this in my kegerator free's up my beer budget substantially, another positive. I must say this urge hasn't left, as you can tell from the recipe's below. Enjoy and as always, constructive feedback is appreciated.

The Citra Session Pale Ale

OG 1.054
PG 1.046
FG 1.013
ABV 5.4%
SRM 15
IBU 100 (estimated from recipe calculator, nowhere near this amount)
EFF 75%
Boil 60 min
Yeast US-05 (1 package)
1 tsp Gypsum split between mash and sparge (based on Chicago water)

Grain

8 lb 2 Row
2 lb Munich 10l
1 lb Caramel 80L
12 oz Caramel 40 L
4 oz Caramel 120L

Hops

1 oz Columbus 60 min 15.5%
1 oz Cascade 30 min 5 %
1 oz Cascade 15 min 5 %
1 oz Citra 10 min 12%
1 oz Citra 1 min 12%
2 oz Citra Dry Hop in secondary for 5 days

The English Beat ESB

OG 1.052
PG 1.045
FG 1.014
ABV 5.1%
SRM 12
IBU 41
EFF 70% (efficiency suffered last time due to the cold.)
BOIL 60 min
Yeast S-04 Safale (yeast flocs hard, beer will be crystal clear in the glass)
Water 1/2 tsp calcium chloride split between mash and sparge

GRAIN

11 lb Marris Otter
8 oz Caramel 10
4 oz Caramel 20
4 oz Carmael 120
2 oz Dehusked Carafa (for color)

Hops

2 oz Goldings 60 min 4.5%
1 oz Fuggles 01 min 4.5%

Bridges Brewery 2010

2010-12-17T14:42:00.001-06:00

BRIDGES BREWERY 2010

This year's site is up. This project, like the beer, keeps getting better every year. Thanks to the Bridges crew for the opportunity to be apart of this for the third year now. Check out the site for a awesome video of the beers from start to finish.

Milk Stout - Left Hand Milk Stout Clone

2010-09-13T15:32:00.002-05:00

Lately I have been doing clone recipes of some of my favorite beers. It helps gain a deeper appreciation of what makes that particular beer unique and it's always fun to see how close you can get to the commercial example. I have never nailed it perfectly but it almost always adds something to my process or overall understanding. It's well into September and I have ZERO seasonal ale in the fermentor. Time to brew some Stout's, Porter's and Scotch Ales.

Milk Stout or Sweet Stout if you speak BJCP (13b), is a medium to full bodied stout which uses lactose sugar to increase mouthfeel and sweetness. Often perceived as a creamy espresso due to high percentages of roasted barley and chocolate malt. Hop bitterness is moderate and should be balanced.

Left Hand Milk Stout Clone
5.5 gal Final Volume
1.059 OG
1.013 FG
6% ABV
25 IBU
80% Efficiency
60 min Boil
White Labs 001, Wyeast 1056 or US 05 Dry
Ferment at 65F

7.5 lb Marris Otter
1 lb Caramel 60
1 lb Dark Munich
1 lb Roasted Barley
12 oz Chocolate Malt
8 oz Flaked Barley
8 oz Flaked Oats
18 oz Lactose Sugar (15 Min.)

15 g Magnum (60 min.)
28 g US Goldings (10 min.)

Mash at 152F for 60 min, raise to 165F for 15 min. Flaked Barley and Oats will aid with head retention and give a silky mouthfeel.

To learn more about Left Hand Brewing check out the Left Hand Blog

Spicy Saison w/ Saaz - Low ABV continued.

2010-06-30T17:45:00.004-05:00

Saison is one of my favorite styles to drink, simply because very few are alike. Not that this is a catch all style but it does lend to interpretation. American Breweries have really took this style up a notch in the past few years. Lately I have been really enjoying New Holland's "Golden Cap Saison". It has a great tart finish that makes it extra quaffable. As much as I love that Saison, I decided to take this batch in an all together different direction.

I am going for a spicy, hoppy ale with a dry finish and low ABV. Saaz additions throughout, with a TOUCH of Grains Of Paradise at knock out. The Grains Of Paradise combined with the French Saison yeast should give it a great peppery aroma and flavor. Belgian Pils malt with White Wheat, Dark Wheat and Dark Munich for the grist. I am spiking the mash with 2 oz of black malt for color during sparge. There will be a dry hopping during the last day of fermentation into the short conditioning phase.

PG: 1.042
OG: 1.049
FG: 1.010 (going for 1.005)
ABV: 5%
IBU: 30
SRM: 9.6
EFF: 85%
BOIL: 70 min

Belgian Pils 5lb
White Wheat 2lb
Dark Wheat 1lb
Dark Munich 1lb
Black Malt 2 oz (on grain bed during sparge)

Rest at 125F for 15 min, Rest at 149F for 30 min, Rest at 156F for 15 min

All Saaz

28g First Wort Hops
7g 30 min
7g 10 min
14g Knockout
28 G Dry Hop after high krausen

3g Grains of Paradise Knockout

Ferment at ambient temperature. I am not temp controlling this.

Cream Ale - Low ABV Styles Part 1

2010-06-07T18:05:00.002-05:00

It's finally Summer in Chicago, which means everyone is OUT DOORS! Festivals every weekend, the beach, al fresco drinking or just hanging out on the porch. The object is to get as much outdoor activity in before out famous Winter comes through again. Unfortunately my Home Brew situation is all imperial styles at the moment, not exactly easy drinkers in the heat. So I am taking these month's to brew up some low ABV styles which I can get from carboy to keg quickly. This week we are starting with a Cream Ale.

Cream Ale, despite the name, has little to do with Cream. Although in the UK this style is often served with a co2/nitrogen blend, which will give a creamy mouth feel. This style is a hybrid ale akin to American Light Lager except fermented with a top fermenting yeast or a blend of both Lager and Ale Yeasts. The grist is often 6 Row or 2 Row Barley with Rice or Corn Adjuncts to lighten up the body. This ale with have a pale straw to amber color. Hop Profile is balanced with noble hops appropriate. You can find more hop assertive versions but not in the sense of a American IPA. Many Lager at below 40 degrees for a few weeks post fermentation. This is not necessary but will clean up the flavor and increase clarity. Cream Ale is served a higher carbonation level then your standard ale.

This being my first foray in Cream Ale I am relying heavily on Jamil Zainasheff's recipe. Making some small modifications for my system and preferences.

This recipe yields 5.5 Gal and 75% Mash Efficiency. Mashing at 149 F for 90 minutes to insure rice conversion. I might do a step mash, undecided. Fermenting with Wyeast 1056 for a neutrality and attenuation. I am on the fence as far as lagering. This might go right to keg.

Pre Boil Gravity: 1.035
Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity: 1.009
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 19
SRM: 2.6
Boil: 90 Min
Ferment: 64 F

4 lbs 2 Row
4 lbs Pilsner
1 lbs Flaked Rice
12 oz Dextrous Sugar

1 oz Liberty 90 Min
1 oz Liberty 1 Min

Home Brew Tapping with SmallBar Division St. for Community Park

2010-05-18T17:42:00.004-05:00

SmallBar
and Stephen Freshnock present
a HomeBrew Tapping

Thursday, June 3 at 7pm

featuring homebrewed
Coffee Bean Brown Ale made with Star Lounge beans
and
West Coast Double IPA in the spirit of a certain “elder”

A $5 donation is suggested per pint
Proceeds to Benefit Commercial Park

www.freshbrewlog.blogspot.com for more info and behind the scenes with the brewer!

SmallBar Division St
2049 West Division
773-772-2727

----------------

Here is a great opportunity to quaff some home brewed ales and support a great local cause. Look forward to seeing you all there!

Iron Brewer Competition

2010-05-17T19:18:00.005-05:00

Looks like I have the opportunity to participate in another unique Home Brew competition. Many of my Home Brewing peers are involved and its always interesting to see what recipes they concoct.

From http://ironbrewer.com

After a hugely successful Simply Beer Brew-off, I’ve decided to spin the brewoff into its own event, IRON BREWER! Similar concept, but like the Iron Man Triathlon which features 3 unique events combined into 1 competition. The concept is simple, there will be 3 unique ingredients and you’ll need to combine them into a a one of a kind, unique, and most importantly delicious homebrew.

Does this interest you? If your a homebrewer, it should. It is a heck of a lot of fun, just ask the folks who did the Simply Beer Brewoff.

Leave a comment below if you want to participate!

The Rules!

The rules are simple but must be followed.

3 required ingredients, All the ingredients must be used in some manor in the brewing process and completed in 8 weeks from the announced start date
6 competitors per round and you must send at least 2 12oz beers to each of the other competitors and to Iron Brewer Organizer (Peter Kennedy of Simply Beer).
Agree to have your recipe published on Iron Brewer.com. Iron Brewer is not taking the rights to your recipe, but sharing it with other homebrewers. All recipes will be published.
Participate in a wrap up Skype podcast with all the other competitors.
The honor system is in place here. This competition is meant to spur creativity, collaboration, and community with other homebrewers.
The Winner!

If there are rules and a competition, there must be a winner. The winner will be determined by the participants in the round and Peter Kennedy. The winner will be the one who made the best use of ingredients to create the best tasting beer. As of now there is only bragging rights for the winner, but I’m working on a small prize package for the winner.

Pliny The Elder Part Two

2010-03-28T10:02:00.007-05:00

By special request I am attempting the Pliny Clone once more. I have retooled the recipe to reflect my current mash efficiency and the knowledge I have around hop utilization. This one should be drier and have a touch more bitterness than my first attempt.

You can see the first recipe here.. PLINY!!

The following recipe is set at 85% efficiency, my set up is a beast at small amounts of grain. There is also 1lb 10oz of dextrous in this ale. Which is going to dry out the ale and drive up the ABV to 8%. 115 grams of Columbus at 14.2% Alpha Acid bring the bitterness, 30g + 71g of Simcoe bring the flavor & aroma. I allow for a gallon of hop debris and trub to be sure to collect 5.5 gallon of clean ale.

OG 1.070

PG 1.049

FG 1.011

EFF: 85%

ABV: 7.9%

SRM: 5.3

Mash at 151F for 60 Minutes. Boil for 90 Minutes. A healthy starter of Wyeast 1056 or US 55 dry yeast.

11 lb 4 oz 2 Row

8 oz Caramel 40

8 oz Carapils

1lb 10 oz Dextrous (corn sugar)

115 g Columbus 90 min

23 g Columbus 45 min

28 g Simcoe 30 min

71 g Simcoe Flame Out

28 g Centennial Flame Out

Dry Hop 1

28 G each of Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial

Dry Hop 2

7g each of Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial

Watch this space..

2010-03-24T06:31:00.002-05:00

Thank god winter is over.. lots of brewing has already begun and will be posting pics and recipes shortly..

#XBREW A Cross Country Brew & Swap. Podcasts.

2009-12-13T08:50:00.005-06:00

Chicago winter has finally hit and put a damper on how much I can get out and brew. As soon as it stops precipitating I will be firing up WTF Saison and possibly an Sticke. In the mean time I was invited to be part of a cool project. Several Home Brewing Twitter junkies were invited to brew a chosen style on the same day, add local flare to it and then swap with everyone involved in the project. You can read more about it at http://homebrewcallab.wordpress.com/. I will be cross posting from that blog but feel free to check it out the other participants beer at that link.

One of my beers will be featured on an upcoming episode of the BGP (Beer Genome Project). Done by a few friend's I have met through the awesome internet home brew community. Check it out at http://beergeno.me/. I will post more info when that episode is out. Finally I had a chance to help out Ken and Brad with the Three Floyd's Beer Dinner episode of Hopcast. You can check them out here, http://www.hop-cast.com/.

Single Hop APA and WTF Saison

2009-11-16T13:17:00.004-06:00

I am in love with the happy accident which was My last Saison. The Wyeast Saison yeast gave out at about 1.022 and it remained in Primary for almost 6 months. While in primary it picked up a pleasant sour character, that despite many veteran brewer's warnings, has only got better with age. While I know this can not be duplicated, I still have a thirst to brew Saisons as they are fast becoming one of my favorite styles. There is a lot of freedom one can take with a Saison, while it might not meet BJCP standards, they are all unique and delicious.

This particular Saison is a play on the previous recipe. I have cut back the amount of Rye, subbing Grains Of Paradise for a more subtle spiciness. Going to keep the early additions Hallertau but the late additions are going to be some peachy citrusy Amarillo hops. I want to avoid the long wait to get this one to finish out. So I am going to start with the Wyeast Saison, after three days I am going to hit it with Wyeast Trappist High Gravity to dry it out. Thinking of setting aside some unfermented wort and aerating it heavily. Creating a super started for the finishing yeast. Anyone with yeast mixing experience, please chime in!

Today I am brewing a simple single hop APA with Simcoe. I really love this hop and want to get a good grasp on its profile. I want to give a shout out to the folks at Brew And Grow for helping me with a Carpils sub today but also for letting me know you read the blog, THANKS!! You should always support your local home brew shop.

Boulevard To Collaborate With International Brewer - Brewmasters will partner on new Smokestack Series offering

2009-10-10T09:29:00.004-05:00

My favorite home town brewery announced it's first collaboration and in Boulevard style it's unique and innovative. Taken from the press release.

"KANSAS CITY, Mo., October 9, 2009 – Boulevard Brewing Company today announced that Jean-Marie Rock, brewmaster at Orval, the renowned Trappist brewery located in southern Belgium, will team up with Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels to create a small production, limited release beer. The joint effort, a first for the Midwestern craft brewery, will take place during Rock’s late October visit to Boulevard’s Kansas City facility. The brewers, both native Belgians, will produce an Imperial Pilsner similar to a lager brewed by Rock at the start of his career. It will, according to Pauwels, be a tribute to Pilsner beers; full flavored and refreshing, brewed with 100% Pilsner malt and 100% Saaz hops, using time-honored techniques.

“The beer will be made in a very traditional way,” said Rock. “The methods by which it will be brewed, fermented, and lagered are no longer employed, though they made this beer fantastic. It is time to get a beer like this back in a glass.” For his part, Pauwels is thrilled by the chance to work with his notable colleague. “In this, Boulevard’s first collaborative effort, we are pleased to honor a brewer who has had such an enormous influence on me and on so many other craft brewers. Jean-Marie mastered dry hopping and brewing with wild yeast long before craft brewers began experimenting with the techniques here in the U.S.”

The beer, to be packaged in 750ml bottles as part of Boulevard’s Smokestack Series, is expected to be available in January, and will be distributed through Boulevard’s wholesaler network. "

Home Brewer Profile – Joseph Lemnah

2009-10-09T10:55:00.002-05:00

New Home Brewer profile at Hop Cast. This week it is the super knowledgeable Joseph Lemnah AKA The Hopfentreader. I leverage this guy for advanced home brew tips..oh and did I mention he is a pro brewer for DFH?! Check it out.. HOPCAST

Recipe: Rye Stout

2009-10-07T08:19:00.005-05:00

Brewed this one on Monday as part of the "Bridges Brewery" project. This recipe seems so tasty, i may have to re brew it for my self. Nothing out of the ordinary, just borrowed form a few of my favorite Stout recipe's and replaced a portion of the base grain with Rye malt. I will use a small amount of Rice Hulls next brew as the mash bed drained awfully slow.

OG: 1.061
FG: 1.016
ABV: 6%
IBU: 39
SRM: 38
EFF: 75%
BOIL: 90
(Note: Reduced the first gallon of wort down to .5 gallon. Compensated in water volume. I have not figured out how this impacts my OG/FG)

7.5 lb Marris Otter
3 lb Rye Malt (Note: Mill at the lowest gap setting to get a fine crush)
8 oz UK Chocolate Malt
8 oz UK Roasted Barley
6 oz Caramel 40
6 oz Caramel 80
2 oz Caramel 120

2 oz Fuggles 90 min

Used 2 packs of Safale US-04 as I am fermenting this one cooler than normal, 60 - 62F. Aerated for 30 minutes with aeration stone.

RECIPE: Imperial American Brown Ale w/ Columbus Hops

2009-10-01T16:49:00.003-05:00

I am real fond of Brown Ale's. In my opinion Chicago's Goose Island Clybourn location brews really strong Browns, Porters and Stouts (just enjoyed a Triple X Porter there yesterday, mmmm). They do a American Brown Ale called "Naught Goose" and recently did "Imperial Naughty Goose", my recipe is not a clone of this beer but was without a doubt inspired by many pints of it.

The first gallon of runnings were reduced by 50% to create a heavy body and mouth feel. I did not dry hop, the 2 ounce 1 minute addition gave enough hop aroma without it being overwhelming. Being that most Brown Ale's are in the lower ABV I decided to call this one Imperial.

Imperial Brown Ale with Columbus

OG: 1.069
FG: 1.016 (1.020 with Reduction)
EF: 75%
ABV: 7%
IBU: 90
SRM: 25

13 lbs 2-Row
12 oz Crystal 40
8 oz UK Chocolate Malt
8 oz Crystal 10
4 oz US Chocolate Malt

.75 oz Columbus 90 min
.50 oz Columbus 30 min
.50 oz Columbus 15 min
.25 oz Columbus 05 min
2 oz Columbus 01 min

2 packs of US-05

Mashed at 149 for 60 minutes. Spiked mash water with .75 tsp of Baking Soda. Reduced 1 gallon of first runnings by 50% to create a heavier body and mouthfeel.

I am still here..

2009-10-01T16:41:00.004-05:00

I have been busy doing what I love, being with my Friends and Family, Home Brewing, #gents, Disc Golf and sneaking in a full work week between it all. Needless to say I have ignored the Blog. I will be posting up so new recipes and beer reviews.

It's also time for Bridges Brewery again. I have already started brewing the Scotch Ale but decided not to brew the Golden Strong Ale this year. Instead it looks like a Rye Stout will be the other beer offering.

Hop Cast Home Brewer Profile's - Andy Farley

2009-10-01T08:46:00.003-05:00

Ken and Brad are celebrating the art of Home Brewing by featuring them on the Hop Cast site. My friend Andy Farley was featured, check him out here.. HOP CAST

Rootstock Wine & Beer Bar

2009-08-01T09:51:00.002-05:00

Last night we decided to keep things in our area and check out a new spot. Rootstock has been getting a lot of buzz but i had heard very little about it from the perspective of a beer lover. What we intended to be a quick stop turned into a full evening at the bar sampling the menu and fine libations.

The bottle list was carefully selected. They kept a few selections from local craft brewers Three Floyds and Two Brothers, notably "Behemoth Barley Wine" but also "Gorch Fock" and "Dog Days". Domestic offerings from Allagash, Lost Abbey, North Coast, Lagunitas and Great Lakes. You will notice a leaning towards Belgian ales but dig a little deeper and they keep one good example of most styles. The imports list kept English Bitters like "Bombardier" and "Old Speckled Hen", French Canadian Belgian style ales from Unibrou, Lagers from Schlenkerla and Weihenstephan plus several Belgian and French ales. All price points on the bottles but of course it's great to pick out a pricier bottle to share with the table.

They had a two draft tower with Goose Island "Matilda" and Brooklyn "Sorachi Ace Saison". Matilda is great but what really brought me in was the Sorachi Ace Saison. Fresh grassy hop aroma and flavor. Citrus notes with grains of paradise meld well with the somewhat aggressive hopping for a Saison. I could have had this all night and will definitely be back again for another glass.

The partner who was running the bar, John, had an incredibly knowledge of the selections. You will notice the bar is not over ran by a pack of well known bottles. Like the beer selection, the spirits all were hand selected. I was impressed to see they had Templeton Rye. When He found out I was a big fan of brewing with Rye, he shared a sample of Wasmund's Rye Spirit, a small batch from Virginia. You can tell a lot of thought and love went into this bar and they were passionate about showing it off.

You can check them out at http://rootstockbar.com . They are located on the South West corner of Augusta and California in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

On a side note, please vote for "The Best Chicago Beer Venue". #Gents will be reviewing one every Tuesday in August. Voting closes Sunday at 8pm. http://www.fellowshipofgentlemanlygentlemen.com/

Brew Day Pictures

2009-07-31T14:58:00.000-05:00

Doing The Pliney Clone..

2009-07-30T08:23:00.003-05:00

Finally! I have been wanting to do this clone for a long long time. In the recent issue of BYO Vinnie Cilurzo did an article on creating Double IPA's and shared a recent version of his famous Pliny The Elder recipe. His recipe had a simple malt bill and much different hop bill than other clone recipes. Notably omitting Chinook addition, Mash Hops and First Wort Hops. He had his mash efficiency at 80%, I average about 75% on my system. Still with the decrease in efficiency I was coming a little under both the SG of 1.070 and FG of 1.011. Increased the grain portions and really stepped up the sugar to keep this bad boy dry. Kettle hops act as a great filter for trub and break from the boil. I increased the amount of water to account for hop absorption so I am not left squeezing wort out. Also doing a Gypsum and Calcium Chloride mash salt addition to make the hops pop and get suitable brewing water for a lower SRM pale ale. Here is my modified recipe.

14C-India Pale Ale(IPA)-Imperial IPA

Recipe Overview
Wort Volume Before Boil: 7.50 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 6.40 US gals
Volume Transferred: 5.50 US gals
Water Added To Fermenter:0.00 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.50 US gals
Volume Of Finished Beer: 5.25 US gals

Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.052 SG
Expected OG: 1.070 SG
Expected FG: 1.013 SG
Apparent Attenuation: 81.2 %
Expected ABV: 7.7 %
Expected ABW: 6.1 %
Expected IBU (using Rager): 246.4 IBU
Expected Color (using Morey): 6.0 SRM
BU:GU ratio: 3.50
Mash Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 67 degF

Fermentables

US 2-Row Malt 13lb 0oz 83.9 %

US Caramel 40L Malt 10.00 oz 4.0 %

US Carapils Malt 10.00 oz 4.0 %

Sugar - Corn Sugar/Dextrose (Dry) 1lb 4oz 8.1 %

Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Columbus(Tomahawk) 13.9 % 3.50 oz 190.4 90 Min
US Columbus(Tomahawk) 13.9 % 0.75 oz 31.3 45 Min
US Simcoe 13.0 % 1.00 oz 24.8 30 Min
US Simcoe 13.0 % 2.50 oz 0.0 0 Min
US Centennial 8.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 0 Min
US Columbus(Tomahawk) 15.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Dry Hop
US Centennial 8.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Dry Hop
US Simcoe 13.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Dry Hop
US Columbus(Tomahawk) 15.5 % 0.25 oz 0.0 2nd Dry Hop
US Centennial 8.5 % 0.25 oz 0.0 2nd Dry Hop
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.25 oz 0.0 2nd Dry Hop

Mashing at 151F for 60 minutes.

Brew Day Pictures - American Wheat 2.1 part 1

2009-07-18T09:06:00.002-05:00

Brew Day Pictures - American Wheat 2.1 part 2

2009-07-18T09:03:00.001-05:00

Russian Imperial Stout Brew Day Pictures

2009-07-06T07:49:00.003-05:00

American Wheat Redux

2009-06-23T14:11:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since I last updated, took a much needed vacation to Mexico AKA land of the Mexican Light Lager. It's good to be back in a country who's climate support a wide variety of beer styles. Came home to find Maibock, American Wheat(American Heffer) and a IIPA ready for consumption. So it is definitely great to be home.

American Wheat has been one of my favorite styles as long as I can remember. Boulevard Wheat being the standard "Micro Brew" where I grew up, then moving out to Chicago where Gumball Head takes the style to new heights. I have a standard German Hef recipe that I am quite fond of. Last month I tried to convert it over to an American Wheat with some success. Aiming for the hoppiness and body of Three Floyd's Gumball Head, I was right where I needed to be for Bitterness and Aroma. Fell flat in the flavor additions. Body was nice and light but I felt it could use a slight lift in the sweetness. Two recipe's below have a slightly beefed up grain bill, the first recipe has a shifted hop bill, second has an all together new hop bill.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Heffer 2.0

VOL: 5.5 Gal

OG: 1.052
PG: 1.042
FG: 1.013

ABV: 5.2 %
IBU: 40
COLOR: 5.9 SRM

Mash at 154F 60 minutes. Boil 90 minutes.

German Wheat Malt 5lb 0oz 43.5 % 1.4
US 2-Row Malt 4lb 0oz 34.8 % 1.3
US Carapils Malt 1lb 0oz 8.7 % 0.2
US Rice Hulls 8.00 oz 4.3 % 0.0
US Caramel 40L Malt 8.00 oz 4.3 % 3.6
US Caramel 10L Malt 8.00 oz 4.3 % 0.9

US Magnum 14.4 % 0.25 oz 17.2 Loose Pellet Hops 90 Min From End
US Simcoe 12.7 % 0.50 oz 10.0 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 0.50 oz 4.7 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End
US Simcoe 12.7 % 0.50 oz 5.4 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 0.50 oz 2.6 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops In Hop-Back
US Simcoe 12.7 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
US Cascade 6.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

American Heffer 2.1

VOL: 5.5 Gal

OG: 1.052
PG: 1.042
FG: 1.013

ABV: 5.2 %
IBU: 74
COLOR: 5.9 SRM

Mash at 154F 60 minutes. Boil 90 minutes.

German Wheat Malt 5lb 0oz 43.5 % 1.4
US 2-Row Malt 4lb 0oz 34.8 % 1.3
US Carapils Malt 1lb 0oz 8.7 % 0.2
US Rice Hulls 8.00 oz 4.3 % 0.0
US Caramel 40L Malt 8.00 oz 4.3 % 3.6
US Caramel 10L Malt 8.00 oz 4.3 % 0.9

US Summit 18.0 % 0.33 oz 25.8 Bagged Pellet Hops FWH
US Cascade 4.5 % 0.33 oz 6.5 Bagged Pellet Hops FWH
US Summit 18.0 % 0.25 oz 21.5 Loose Pellet Hops 90 Min From End
US Summit 18.0 % 0.34 oz 9.6 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 0.34 oz 3.2 Loose Pellet Hops 20 Min From End
US Summit 18.0 % 0.34 oz 5.2 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 0.34 oz 1.7 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops In Hop-Back
US Summit 18.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
US Cascade 4.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bridges Russian Imperial Stout

2009-05-30T13:22:00.005-05:00

What follows is the prototype for this year's Bridges Holiday Beer. Making a BIG 10% Imperial Stout which will get 5 months of age on it before it ends up in the clients hands. Hopefully they will age it some more but this should give them a head start. I have never brewed this style but have brewed high ABV beers with success. I am dropping my mash efficiency to 60% to accommodate for the huge amount of grain in my tun. Going to Ferment this one at 65F in the lager fridge. Beer Tools puts my FG at 1.026 but I am thinking of racking to secondary between 1.30 to 1.035 to keep it a little sweet and thick. Any constructive criticism will be taken seriously.

Bridges Russian Imperial Stout

5 Gallon
60% Efficiency
1.082 Pre Boil Gravity
1.105 Original Gravity
1.026 Final Gravity
10.6% ABV
100 IBU
0.98 BU:GU

20 lbs UK Pale Malt
2.5 lbs UK Roasted Barley
2 lbs Wheat Malt
1 lb Special B
1 lb UK Chocolate Malt

1.5 Oz. Magnum 90 Min
2 Oz. Liberty 10 Min
2 Oz. Liberty 10 Min

Single Infusion Mash at 154F for 90 minutes. Ferment at 65F with 20 grams of Safale S-04 English Yeast.

Brew Day Pictures - Double Brew Day - Rye PA 2.0 & American Wheat

2009-05-23T10:35:00.004-05:00

Brew Day Pictures - Double Brew Day - Rye PA 2.0 & American Wheat

2009-05-23T10:32:00.003-05:00

Things I have been doing differently.. or answering Blake's questions

2009-05-22T21:32:00.005-05:00

The great thing about Home Brewing is the option to keep things as simple or complex as your time and ability allow. Also the option to experiment with different methods, as you are only disappointing yourself or maybe a few drinking buddies.

To Answer "@Fermentus" question, I nixed the FWH cause I was adding my 0 minute hops when my wort chilled to 180F. I read about this in Ted Danyluk's blog and thought it was worth checking out. This would be similar to doing whirlpool hops or using a hop back. I always add 0 minute hops as soon as the flame is off. You can read Ted's blog for more info. Ted's Homebrew Journal.

According to the Bries web site, flaked rye adds a more subtle Rye flavor. Everyone who tried my previous Rye PA liked the level of Rye flavor. Since this is a paler brew, I subbed out some of the Rye Malt grist percent for Flaked Rye. I am hoping this along with the Willamette hops brings a unique flavor to this beer. We will see.

The German Hefeweizen AKA LITTLE HEFFER! Only has a Hallertau charge for bittering and one at 15 minutes for Flavor/Aroma. The American Heffer has american yeast, american hops and similar grain bill. I like using a small amount of Special B in my wheats.

I am sure the American Wheat will be a kick ass beer. The Rye PA 2.0, we will see. I am not sure the paler beer can hold on to the Rye. I am keeping it under temp control for the first few days, as the original Rye PA had some alcohol esther, especially as it warmed. Thanks "@beersys " for making that clear to me.

Double Brew Day part 2 - Rye PA 2.0 and American Heffer Recipes

2009-05-20T23:24:00.003-05:00

Looks like Friday's weather is going to be perfect for a double brew. Starting the day off with Rye Pale Ale 2.0 and following that with a Hoppy American Wheat with the same grain bill as my German Hefeweizen. With my new burner this should go much faster than before as I can get liquid to boil much much faster. Recipes follow and as always any constructive criticism or advice will be considered.

Rye Pale Ale

Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.048 SG
Expected OG: 1.060 SG
Expected FG: 1.014 SG
Apparent Attenuation: 75.0 %
Expected ABV: 6.1 %
Expected ABW: 4.7 %
Expected IBU (using Rager): 34.9 IBU
Expected Color (using Morey): 5.5 SRM
BU:GU ratio: 0.58
Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 68 degF

Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU When
US 2-Row Malt 9lb 0oz 66.7 % 2.9 In Mash/Steeped
US Rye Malt 2lb 0oz 14.8 % 1.3 In Mash/Steeped
US Munich 10L Malt 1lb 0oz 7.4 % 1.8 In Mash/Steeped
US Flaked Rye 1lb 0oz 7.4 % 0.5 In Mash/Steeped
US Rice Hulls 8.00 oz 3.7 % 0.0 In Mash/Steeped

Single infusion Mash at 152F.

Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Magnum 14.0 % 0.50 oz 29.4 Loose Pellet Hops 90 Min From End
US Willamette 4.5 % 1.00 oz 5.5 Loose Pellet Hops 15 Min From End
US Willamette 4.5 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops At turn off

Ferment with Safale US-05

American Heffer - American Wheat Ale

Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.035 SG
Expected OG: 1.043 SG
Expected FG: 1.011 SG
Apparent Attenuation: 74.9 %
Expected ABV: 4.3 %
Expected ABW: 3.4 %
Expected IBU (using Rager): 23.6 IBU
Expected Color (using Morey): 5.5 SRM
BU:GU ratio: 0.54
Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 68 degF

Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU When
German Wheat Malt 5lb 0oz 51.8 % 1.4 In Mash/Steeped
US 2-Row Malt 3lb 0oz 31.1 % 1.0 In Mash/Steeped
US Carapils Malt 1lb 0oz 10.4 % 0.2 In Mash/Steeped
US Rice Hulls 8.00 oz 5.2 % 0.0 In Mash/Steeped
Belgian Special B 2.50 oz 1.6 % 4.2 In Mash/Steeped

Single Infusion Mash at 154F for 60 minutes

Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Magnum 16.0 % 0.25 oz 16.8 Loose Whole Hops 90 Min From End
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.50 oz 5.1 Loose Whole Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 4.5 % 0.50 oz 1.8 Loose Whole Hops 5 Min From End
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.50 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops At turn off
US Cascade 4.5 % 0.50 oz 0.0 Bagged Pellet Hops At turn off

Ferment at 68F with Safale US-05

Imperial India Pale Ale with Honey Malt Recipe.

2009-05-09T21:51:00.003-05:00

5.5 Gal

OG: 1.079
PB: 1.059
FG: 1.013
EFF: 70%
ABV: 9%
IBU: 171
Boil: 90 min
Ferm Temp: 68F

15.5 lb 2 Row Male
11 oz Honey Male
2 oz Chocolate Malt
2 lbs White Sugar (at flame out)

Mash Grain at 130F 30 Minutes, 149F 60 Minutes and 165F 10 Minutes. 2.5 tsp of Gypsum for Chicago water.

Recirculate Mash until sufficient clarity. Sparge to 8gal.

US Magnum 14.2 % 0.50 oz 17.6 In Mash
US Magnum 14.2 % 1.50 oz 75.6 90 Min From End
US Horizon 10.9 % 0.50 oz 20.5 60 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 1.00 oz 12.6 30 Min From End
US Summit 18.5 % 0.75 oz 22.9 25 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 % 0.50 oz 3.0 15 Min From End
US Summit 18.5 % 0.75 oz 11.4 10 Min From End
US Ahtanum 4.5 % 0.50 oz 1.6 5 Min From End
US Amarillo 5.0 % 0.50 oz 1.7 5 Min From End
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.50 oz 4.5 5 Min From End
US Ahtanum 4.5 % 0.50 oz 0.0 At turn off
US Amarillo 5.0 % 0.50 oz 0.0 At turn off
US Simcoe 13.0 % 0.50 oz 0.0 At turn off

One unique thing I did with this batch was recirculate 10 gallons of the mash. This provided a MUCH more brilliant clarity and set up the mash bed well before sparging. It only took me an extra 30-45 minutes and I believe this will impact the beers outcome greatly. Thanks to @hopfentreader and La Brewer blog for posting about this method.

I am keeping this restrained in my lager freezer, hopefully keeping the temp at 68F for the first three days of fermentation. After this I will let it rise up to dry the beer out to really showcase the hops.

As always constructive criticism and comments are welcome. Let me know if you brew it. Shouts out to Fermentus for brewing my Rye Pale Ale recipe and converting some fizzy beer lovers.

More Brew Day Pictures - Imperial India Pale Ale

2009-05-09T20:53:00.003-05:00

All Pictures taken with Shake It Photo. Available on the iTunes store and created by fellow #Gent @NickVegas.

Brew Day Pictures - Imperial India Pale Ale

2009-05-08T21:09:00.000-05:00

IIPA?

2009-05-07T11:49:00.004-05:00

I have had this IIPA sitting in the on deck circle for awhile, Maibock is finally bottled up and out of the fridge (and quite malty/boozy on first sampling), things are warming up outside and in the apartment.. what does this all mean? I can finally regulate fermentation temperature again. Which is great, especially when brewing an imperial style. So tomorrow I was planning on making a BIG malty British ale but instead will do the IIPA. Still using up the last of my 2-row, a little pilsner, honey malt, touch of chocolate malt and some white sugar to dry it out. Using up the last of my Magnum, Horizon, Summit, Cascade and Ahtanum for the hop cocktail. Keeping the fermentation temp at 68 to keep it from getting hot booze but at 9% this one will have alcohol. I will post the final recipe tonight and post lots of pictures tomorrow.

Latest Brew Hauls - San Diego part 3 & Minneapolis

2009-05-06T23:17:00.001-05:00

Two incredible Hauls this week! John in San Diego sent a third box full of West Coast goodies. My favorite so far being the "Fred" from Hair Of The Dog in Portland. The Ballast Point "Victory At Sea" was intense, even after sampling both '08 and '09 FFF Darklord. Jon @beersys sent a weighty Minnesota care package full of Flat Earth, Surly and Brau Brothers picks. He bottled up some Xanadu, A limited version of the Flat Earth Porter with Orange. At first I was not a fan of the Xanadu but it grew on me fast. Orange is not overbearing and mixes well with the light chocolate malt. Tasty! Thanks to both John and Jon for the great trades!

#Gents Pale Ale

2009-04-21T14:48:00.004-05:00

I take part in a weekly Beer and Cigar appreciation night known as "Fellowship Of Gentlemanly Gentleman". Although week to week we set a loose theme on what Beers we bring to the table, we in general enjoy the hoppy pale ales and double IPA's. I was kicking around an idea for a hop focused but low gravity pale ale after having Flossmoor's "Special Bitter" and Rogue's "Yellow Snow". Both these beers are low gravity with a heavy heavy dose of American hop variety's. Instead of doing a few large charges, i decided to do many small "layering" charges. Using a balance of three different hops in smaller amounts to create hop complexity. I would say the Gents would claim Amarillo as a favorite hop, but they are hard to obtain right now. So I am subbing Ahtanum in its place. Along with Summit and Cascade, this beer should be a dank citrus piney hop bomb. Mashing at 156 and using Faked Barley to keep the body from being to thin. Also using CaraMunich for a little toasty sweet malt. This will be my first time using Wyeast 1272 American Ale II, which will add a small tart fruity character. I normally use 1056 in my pale ales, which ferments clean. As usual, any constructive criticism or advice will be appreciated.

Michigan Brew Haul

2009-04-12T11:05:00.001-05:00

San Diego Care Package + Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout

2009-03-20T22:32:00.002-05:00

Thanks to BA Engebrits for another awesome box of SD brews. It was nice to get my hands on a few KBS but not nice on the old wallet.

How to do a multi rest infusion mash

2009-03-18T11:49:00.002-05:00

This is for fellow Home Brewer Blake who was curious how I do protein rests or multiple rest mashes with a cooler mash tun. Since I do mash in a LARGE cooler I can not raise the mash by direct heat. This involves a few extra calculations if your doing more than a single infusion.

To get started we need to know several variables, grain mass, grain to water ratio(lb to qt) and ambient temp of grain. I am going to use my Czech Pils mash program as an example.

Ambient temp of my grain is 65F, which will change throughout the year. This is important to know since you will be raising your first rest from this temp. I am using 1 qt of water for every lb of grain. There is a almost 14 lbs of grain. Since I am using continental pilsner malt we want to do a protein rest at 130F for 30 minutes and Sac rest at 154 for 60 minutes. I did not mash out but we will go ahead and pretend I did for the sake of this example.

First Rest:

Infusions Temp = (0.2/1)(130 - 65) + 130
So we divide the ration by .2 to get .2. Target Temp - Ambient Temp is 65.

Infusion Temp = (.2)(65) + 130 or 13 + 130

So out first infusion is 14qt at 143F. This should allow for us to meet our target temp of 130F.

Second Rest:

Crank your burner up during the first rest and get your water to a boil. We are going to ad smaller amounts of near boiling water to move our temperature to the saccharification rest temp of 154F.

amount of boiling water = (154 - 130) x (2.8 + 14) / (210 - 154)

(Sac Rest temp - protein rest temp) X (grain mass + water) / (infusion temp - sac rest temp)

or

amount of boiling water = (24)(16.8) / 56

or

amount of boiling water = 403 / 56 or the amount of boiling water is 7 qt to reach 154F.

Third rest:

No we are going to end conversion by mashing out or bringing the mash up to 170F.

So far we have added 14qt + 7 qt for a total of 21 qt of water. This is the main reason I do not mash out unless I have enough room in my tun. Sometimes on larger beers this is not a possibility but I just lauter with 170F water to compensate.

amount of boiling water = (170 - 154) X (2.8 + 21qt) / (210 - 170)

or

amount of boiling water = (16) X (23.8) / (40)

or

amount of boiling water = 380 / 40 or 9.5qt of near boiling water to reach 170F.

So far we have added 32.8qt of water to the tun or 8 gal. This is why I often forgo a mash out and just start the lautering process.

If you want a great introduction please go to HOW TO BREW , this is where I learned this equation. John Palmer gives a very understandable introduction to the mashing process.

More Brew Day Pictures

2009-03-13T15:56:00.001-05:00

Brew Day Pictures

2009-03-13T15:49:00.000-05:00

Rye Pale Ale Recipe

2009-03-11T12:33:00.003-05:00

Style: American Pale Ale
Batch Size: 5.5
Boil: 60 min
Efficiency: 70% (first time with the rye)
OG: 1.056
FG: 1.014
IBU: 53 (but I am First Wort Hopping, so maybe 45)
SRM: 12
ABV: 5.6%

8 lbs 2-Row 63.4%
2 lbs 8 oz Rye 19.8%
1 lb Carapils 7.9%
8 oz Crystal 40L 4%
8 oz Rice Hulls 4%
2 oz Black Malt 1%

.75 oz Cascade FWH
.50 oz Magnum 60 min
.50 oz Cascade 15 min
.50 oz Cascade 5 min
1 oz Cascade Flame Out
1 oz Cascade Dry 5 days before bottling

Mash at 152F for 60 minutes 1.25qt to lb of grain
Spike Mash according to your water chemistry to control PH

I wanted to keep this recipe as straight forward as possible. The 2 oz of 540SRM black malt is strictly for color. It should not impart much flavor. Originally I wanted to have spicy Saaz and spicy/citrusy Cascade fight it out in the aroma department. I could not get Saaz in time, so it looks like it will be a single hop in aroma/flavor realm. Which I am OK with, I am interested to see how the rye flavor goes with Cascade blast. I know I am heavy handed with the hops, thats how I get down, you can lower the IBU to your tastes. I also figured that the rye would absorb .30 gal of water per lb and figured that into my water volumes. Finally, I did not want to make this one too boozey, keep it drinkable.

As always, any experienced criticism will be taken seriously. Thanks!

Brewing With Malted Rye

2009-03-11T08:12:00.004-05:00

In getting ready for the iPhone or Brew Pal RyePA, I needed to do a little more research on our special ingredient to insure success on the first go around. Side Note, looks like my Twitter Friend @blakejarolim will also be brewing this recipe, we will swap, compare and enjoy. God Bless Web 2.0 for its many beer blessings.

I will be using Malted Rye. If you have done any basic brewing reading you know that malted barley is a partial modified grain. The Malster has kick started the germination process and then "paused" it as the best possible moment for starch to sugar conversion. This is great, cause it means I can throw it in with the rest of my grist and use a single infusion mash. EASY..but wait..

Rye kernels are smaller than barley and do not have husks. When we mill barley we leave the husks partially in tact to act as a filter bed for lautering. If I mill my rye at the same gap as my barley i will not get the appropriate crush. So I will need to crush my normal grist and then change the gap for the rye. If you mill at your LHBS then you can place your rye portion in a sturdy Zip Lock bag, steal grandma's rolling pin and carefully crush your rye. Also, similar to Wheat, Rye has a much higher beta-glucan content. This can gummy up your mash in grist's portion's over 10%, possibly resulting in slow run off or the dreaded stuck mash. Using rice hulls as a filter bed will combat this problem. I also read of raising the mash temp by a few degrees to allow for easier run off. Apparently Rye is a little more thirsty than your typical grain. I usually multiply my dry grain weight by .20 to figure for quarts lost in grain. You might raise that slightly to accommodate for water volume.

From what I read most Pro Brewers use Rye in portions of 10-20% to act as flavor enhance to an established style, ie RyePA or Rye Stout. 30 - 50% to dominate a style, like Roggenbier or American Rye Ale. Imagine replacing the wheat with rye in a typical Heffeweizen malt bill. Sounds delicious to You and I but not for everyone.

I hope this summary helps anyone using Rye for the first time. If you have experience with the grain and you would like to correct my information, please comment.

Sources:

Brewing With Rye by Rosannah Hayden

Brewing With Rye; Tips From The Pros by Glenn BurnSilver

Deep Recipe Calculator for Your iPhone

2009-03-10T10:15:00.003-05:00

I have had Brew Pal on my iPhone for a few weeks now but really had not had a chance to put it to use. I did not think you could get a terrible amount of functionality for .99 cents. I use a similar software on my iMac, which is great, I can have this with me when inspiration hits or to take advantage of downtime. It will export the recipe to any email address and can also save on the iPhone. It will calculate basic gain/hop/yeast recipes with adjunct promised on a future update. Calculate for mash infusion temps and water volumes. BJCP style guidelines and many more small helpful tools. So to take it through the real test, I am going to write a basic pale ale recipe and brew it using only this application. Sounds like a fun excuse to make some beer, right!

India Pale Ale Night

2009-03-10T09:35:00.005-05:00

Here are the suspects before the night began. The real standouts for me were Nøgne Ø "India Pale Ale" and De Rank XX Bitter. Of course Pliny and Gordon were true stand outs but I have had them a few times now. To celebrate it's return to Chicagoland We added Two Hearted to the mix. We also had a some SN Pale's for standards.

The De Ranke XX Bitter was a highly hopped Belgian ale with emphasis placed on the bittering additions. The aroma was light citrus with serious Belgian yeast phenol's in play but not in abundance. The flavor was pale malt with citrus rind and a bitter blast. Bitter almost on the sour end of the scale. It was fantastic and I kept going back to this one in my mind. It was similar in style to the Houblon Chouffe but more pale and less American hops.

Nøgne Ø "India Pale Ale" was fantastic. Last week we tried the "Pale Ale" and we also had the "Dobel India Pale Ale" this week. The Nogne IPA was a a deep brown amber with plenty of haze and sediment. I had to go on a nerd tangent and try to guess the malt bill. I was right on with crystal and Munich, I detected chocolate but that was not the case. Slight Amarillo in the nose along with Maris Otter breadiness. The flavor was a mix of cascade and Amarillo, sweet toast from the specialty malts. I will seek this one out, a really great IPA and a great change from 98% pale malt hop bombs.

Overall a great night a beer. Next week we will be focusing not on style but a single ingredient. With all the great Rye beers we have been trying, nod to Goose Islands Rye Stout, we are rounding up some Rye Selections. Maybe even some Fago "Rock And Rye".

Day of the Living Ales

2009-03-08T11:36:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the Delay in postings. This has been a hectic week, with a Stout tasting on Monday, Co-Worker outing on Wednesday, BA Swap/CBS First Thursday and ending with DotLA on Saturday. This has been a great week for beer and has not allowed time to update.

Another year and another Night of the Living Ales from the fine folks of CBS(Finally purchased that couples membership, so folks is folks). This is a cask ale festival, so the casks are brought in weeks in advanced and cared for by a volunteer "publican". That way the casks are allowed to stay at an ambient temperature and any sediment from the "living ale" is allowed to settle in the bottom of the cask. For those of you not familiar with Cask Ale, out friends at wikipedia describe it as ...

"Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned (including secondary fermentation) and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure. Cask ale may also be referred to as real ale, a term coined by the Campaign for Real Ale, often now extended to cover bottle-conditioned beer as well."

...What this means to the beer drinker is a naturally lightly carbonated beer that allows for the true flavors of the beer to come through. In my opinion most beers fare better of cask or "beer engine". It also fun to compare beers your familiar with on Draught vs. Cask.

This year they split it from a single 4 hour session to a Day and Night of the Living Ales. As you all know I am a HUGE fan of "day drinking" and prefer to go to day sessions of any festival. There seems to be a higher caliber of drinker at the day session as opposed to the night. Because they casks can not be disturbed, the fest goers must come to the casks. With less people it was easier to get to the casks and makes for a better experience in general. We were able to go to the cask room and return to the main room with ease. Please note this is the courteous thing to do, CAMPING in front of the casks in rude and makes you seem like a fat asshole, sorry, had to call you out.

If you follow me on Twitter, then you got a live play by play of the beers sampled and the top three I voted for. Here is the list in ordered sampled. Keep in mind these are 3 ounce pours, unless you get a real great volunteer who double pours you.

#1 Bear Republic "Apex", nothing on the malt side and I LOVE IT. Just pale malt and west coast bittering hops. Imaging taking a Mid West IIPA and stripping it of all its specialty malt and leaving the hop bill the same. Hop Head delight. Had this Twice.

#2 Three Floyds/Dog Fish Head "Popskull", the obvious go to beer. I want to have this on draught before I pass judgement. Lots of banana esters.

#3 Surly Brewing Co. "Tea Bagged Furious" Double Dry Hopped Amber IPA, had this last year and it seemed less hoppy. Maybe I am drinking more extremely hopped beers. Still great none the less.

#4 Rock Bottom - Orland Park "Abominator Double IPA", Standard IPA with a grainy after taste.

#5 Rock Bottom - Chicago "Zwickel-Licker: Dry Hopped Yellow Bier - Like a macro lager with American hops. Reminded me of the Flossmoor best bitter but without the overdone hop character.

#6 Moylans Brewing "Batch #1000 Double Kilt Lifter with whiskey soaked American oak chips" - Nicely done, no whiskey punch in the face, the Scottish ale is still in tact with a real fruity yeast effect. Loved this one, A LOT!.

#7 Goose Island "Bourbon Sherry Beer", oh so boozey but good. This one was a slow sipper, night ender. I can imagine having more than a small snifter of this.

#8 Piece Brewery "Moose Knuckle", never had this out of the cask. Quality barley wine from piece. I really did not see a huge difference from the flavor at the brew pub.

#9 Lakefront Brewery "Oak-aged Bridge Burner Strong Ale", Best in show! ! Citrusy hops mix with barrel hints on a medium body. Oh so flavorful. I really like this one, had it twice.

#10 Rock Bottom - Lombard "ShamRock Stout", the volunteer called in a Francol mint. It tasted like a liquid York Peppermint Patty. Yuck.

#11 Lunar Brewing CO. "Moondance IPA", standard.

#12 Piece Brewing "Big Black Mariah Smoked Porter", excellent, what would you expect from Piece.

#13 had the Lakefront one last time to affirm that it was my number one pick.

I voted Lakefront Bridge Burner, Moylans Batch 1000 and Bear Republic Apex. Sorry Chicago, you did not bring it as strong as your out of town peers.

Overall it was a good experience. Minus the campers and beer farters, you know who you are.

Beer Pics From Last Night..

2009-03-03T11:12:00.002-06:00

Thought I would share these labels..

Beer Wars - in theaters near you?

2009-02-27T09:46:00.002-06:00

Beer Wars Movie Trailer from Beer Wars on Vimeo.

For many this is the same ole' story told time and time again. It's an important story and the film looks like it has great production values..

Hop Cast 27 - Deschutes IPA's

2009-02-27T00:31:00.003-06:00

Hop Cast - Episode 27 from Hop Cast on Vimeo.

You should subscribe to Hop Cast via iTunes. This episode was filmed before the BMG episode. I am very awkward on camera, notice me slam the fist IPA..;)

Oh Snap! Bonus Beers..

2009-02-25T00:14:00.003-06:00

This week has been ridiculous good to me on the beer front. I came home to find one of my Wife's awesome co-workers grabbed me FOUR Oskar Blues "Gordon" cans. I smuggled a few cans back from Seattle earlier this year and have been jonsen' for it ever since. Also a sixer of brown ale from Deschuttes. What a great week for new beers!

Hop Cast 26 - BMG Holiday Beers Reviewed!

2009-02-24T11:22:00.004-06:00

Hop Cast - Episode 26 from Hop Cast on Vimeo.

Check out this video talking about the Holiday beers Home Brewer Brandon Boshers and I did for BMG. We have been drinking for a few hours, so excuse the obvious intoxication..;)

Boulevard Brewing Co. tour Pics

2009-02-24T10:57:00.004-06:00

Forgive the iPhone photo's, I forgot the better camera. Boulevard is currently remodeling the old brew house to increase capacity of the tasting room and gift shop. In the last couple years they have undergone a 29 million dollar expansion. The old brew house was being pushed past it's limit, now the old brew house is strictly for brewing Smokestack's and test batches. The main brew house is a stainless steel beauty. They also added a new bottling line, which last time we toured was a basketball court. One thing I learned is that the new roof is a "green roof" that allows them to retain as much heat as possible. Also they use as much natural light as possible to cut down on power consumption. I know many of you Chicagoans have not had the opportunity to enjoy these fine beers due to distribution. I can only hope that Boulevard gives our region a shot in the future.

That would be BA NCTRNL enjoying a Single Wide IPA. Myself looking goofy, with Courtney and Selina.

This week we celebrate Kansas City and San Diego through two great Brew Hauls

2009-02-24T10:29:00.004-06:00

This one almost didn't make it! We just barely missed check in at KCI, the most secure airport on earth, and were tagged with the evil yellow "late check in" tags. Needless to say my bag was flagged and opened. As I watched in horror as bottle after bottle was removed from between stinky socks and dirty t-shirts, my temper shot up. I know better than to approach a TSA agent about anything, so I had to hope this guy appreciated craft beer, or if anything the smugglers spirit. I have to apologize to my Wife for being completely intolerable for most of the flight. The bag was one of the first ones off at Midway. Felt just as heavy as when I left it and no signs of leakage. Once I got home, every bottle was repacked in the same manner as which I packed it. Big ups to the TSA for not stealing my Boulevard Barrel Aged Quads.

Thanks to BA's Tigerboo, JustinCurtis and NCTRNL for hooking me up with Boulevard BBQ's and Imperial Stouts. I hope the FFF and DFH treat you just as well as I know these will. I also picked up some Boulevard's new Single Wide IPA, which in my opinion is greater than the Double Wide, a more citrusy and floral hop that really comes through in the mouth. I also picked up some Avery New World Porter, a dry hopped porter, on suggestion from several KC peeps. For some reason we do not get this one in Chicago. On the end is Schlafly Bourbon Aged Stout. Had to grab this one and have a I-70 series of my own.

WOAH! Thanks to BA Engebrits for hooking this SERIOUS package. The AleSmith Yule Smith 2007 Summer Holiday was a welcome surprise. Speedway Stout, one of the top rated stouts by BA users. Horny Devil Belgian ale, looks like a large golden strong. Finally the Green Flash Grand Cru, one of my favorite Belgian styles.. Thanks and I look forward to doing a second Midwest Vs. San Diego trade.

Two Brother's Tasting @ Brasserie Joe

2009-02-18T07:48:00.007-06:00

If you follow me on Twitter then you had live updates from the field. It was held in a private room where we enjoyed sharing a table with some real knowledgeable Croatian Chicagoans, one of the old bartenders at Brasserie Joe and Homebrewer Brian from BMG. Each place setting had a marker for the four beers that we enjoyed. Erin, the host and "Beer Sommelier", started the evening off by introducing Jason Ebel. He explained how to properly enjoy beer from start to finish and went into detail about his recipe design for each beer without getting overly technical. One of his more interesting comments was that Beer had 4 times the flavor compounds as wine.

The night went quickly with Redy Rye "Coffee Porter" being my percy. We did get to sample the 2009 Bare Tree "Imperial Weiss" out of the conditioning tanks. It was still very flavorful even with minimal cabonation. The nose reminded me of my Imperial Wheat but the Bare Tree was more dry and complex.

Next Month Hildegard Van Ostaden, head brewer at Urthel will be the featured brewer. Two Brothers and Urthel are doing a Collab! I do enjoy the Urthel "Hop It" and can't wait to try some more offerings..

It's too soon!!

2009-02-13T20:44:00.004-06:00

Seriously.. 6 hour lag between pitching and messy carboy. BA Johnnylieberman, a very wise but prickish home brewer on the beer advocate forums, suggests open fermentation with just foil on top. I took his advice.... then I turned tail and ran for the blow off tube. I know, I will take my plate back to the children's table.

This does worry me a bit. Lag time's are necessary to build strong workers. My starter was not excessive, it could be the charachter of the yeast. I believe this is the Rochefort strain. Let's hope this doesn't get violent.

Final pics of the day..

2009-02-13T18:56:00.002-06:00

Overall a great brew day. The Belgian Dubbel is in the carboy, aerated and ready to get to work. The Belgian Candi Syrup did not add as much color as I was expecting. I added it in the last 15 minutes of the boil. It's ok, it's still got a great look.

...and some more...

2009-02-13T18:38:00.001-06:00

...and some more...

2009-02-13T12:25:00.001-06:00

.....some more brew day pics...

2009-02-13T11:49:00.003-06:00

So It Begins..

2009-02-13T07:04:00.007-06:00

The biggest of the kettles is 10 gallons, then 5 gallons and 2 gallon. The largest is for my boil and the 5 gallon heats sparge water. The manifold is placed face down in my mash tun, which is pre heated using water from the mini kettle. After 5 minutes the water from the preheated tun is moved to the hot liquor tank so that it too is preheated. I then put the grain in the tun, which is backwards, most people "dough in" to water with grain. It's easier for me to infuse to my protein rest with the grain already in the tun. I use a stiff 1 qt/lb ratio. Once to 130F I let it rest 15-30 minutes and then raise it to saccrification temp of 149.

The grain bill is 12lbs Belgian Pilsner and 1/2 lb Special B. Which Dingemans, the Belgian Maltster describes as...

Special B (140° - 155° L)
The darkest of the Belgian crystal malts, Dingemans Special B will impart a heavy caramel taste and is often credited with the raisin-like flavors of some Belgian Abbey ales. Larger percentages (greater than 5%) will contribute a dark brown-black color and fuller body.

... i am using 4%. I will get more flavor, color and ferment ability from D2 Belgian Syrup. I will get added zip from 1/2 lb of plain white sugar. This will be added into the boil. I will add the sugar in the last 15 minutes but I am still undecided on the Candi Syrup. I don't know if it goes in at flame out or in the beginning of the boil.. hrrrmm

2 cases + of American Stout

2009-02-11T21:50:00.002-06:00

All bottled up and ready to condition. I really need to build that kegerator, bottling takes about 2 hours start to clean up. Add 2 weeks + for carbonation..ugh. Keg's force carb in 2 days and are 1 vessel as opposed to 30. Spring project?

Heeeey, Remember Me?

2009-02-11T10:32:00.005-06:00

Yes, me. The American Stout you brewed? The one with the yummy Cascade aroma additions? The one that has been sitting in your closet for a month and a half so those aroma additions might not be so aromatic. It's time to bottle before I lose much of my intended character.

Come on Kansas, Give the people what they want!

2009-02-10T09:56:00.003-06:00

Push is on in Kansas to allow grocery stores to sell full-strength beer

When I was a youngin' in the great state of Kansas, with the buffalo, indians, tornados and backwards alcohol laws. We would make the 45 minute drive to cross the Missouri state line cause after 10pm you got nothing but macro, 3.2 macro. I know things could be a lot worse, we could live in a dry county, whatever.. After living the past decade in states with looser alcohol laws I see no benefit to limiting the consumer, they will find ways around it. Like taking money to the neighboring state.

Belgian Abbey Dubbel

2009-02-08T11:33:00.003-06:00

This is my second attempt at Belgian Dubbel style. Early on in my home brewing career I attempted this style and went about it all wrong, rushed it to the bottle and it was not a very pleasant drinking experience. My first and only drain pour. This is my personal favorite Belgian style. Selina and I spent a weekend of our honeymoon in Brussels, visiting breweries and sampling as much of the beer culture we could. I prefer them to be dry and "digestible" as opposed to super malty or sweet. I created this recipe after reading "brew like a Monk" by Stan Hieronymus, using his tips to create more of a traditional abbey style dubbel.

5gal

OG 1.064

FG 1.011

ABV: 7%

EFF: 70%

12lb Belgian Pilsner Malt
1lb Dark Belgian Candy Syrup
8oz Special B
8oz White Sugar

Protein rest 130F 15 minutes, sac rest 149F 60 minutes, sparge 170F

90 minute boil

1oz Hallertau at 90 minutes

Large starter of Wyeast 1762
Ferment at 65F 10 days, let temp rise after third day
Condition at lager temp 1 month
Prime with fresh yeast and sugar.

Twitter

2009-02-08T00:51:00.001-06:00

.. I joined it. "SlovakBrewer". Feel free to follow me like the lemming you are..

Home Brew BIF Brew Haul

2009-02-07T12:41:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I received my package for the Home Brew BIF. I received 5 12oz home brews and 2 Pennsylvania brews. I was very excited to try the Troegs "Nugget Nectar" Imperial Amber Ale. I just brewed a Hoppy Amber and as you all know I LOVE hop forward beers of any kind. The Nugget Nectar was bottled 01/15 , less than a month old. I shared this with several other beer fans and it got unanimous approval. Super piny hops in the nose and throughout the mouth. As to be expected. I thought there would be more of a crystal malt presence but no matter, still a fantastic beer.

The home brew I received are the first 4 batches this brewer has ever done. All extract kits, Nut Brown, Spiced Winter, American Red and Porter. I am a big fan of porter's and brown ales so this package was not disappointment. I will post my reviews if the brewer is OK with that. I will also post the results of the Home Brew i forwarded on.

Red Beer - Hangover Cure!

2009-02-07T12:21:00.004-06:00

We first moved to Chicago almost 6 years ago, we would spend plenty of nights at Nick's Beer Garden for cheap PBR as this was affordable. We have always added tomato juice or bloody mary mix to cheap beer to make it more quaffable. It is also known as an excellent hangover cure, much like a bloody mary. Every time we order a "red beer" the bar staff gives us that alien stare, every once in awhile they will try it and also like it.

Last night we were given the opportunity to do a "Hopcast" on the Bridges Media beers. Needless to say I enjoyed a red beer with my eggs this morning.

Carbonation at last!

2009-02-03T10:00:00.003-06:00

It's been too freaking cold in Chicago, in the interest of saving money we have been keeping the thermostat at 65 (oddly IMO the perfect fermentation temp for most ales, get a sweater). One month ago I bottles a Czech Pils and Hoppy Amber, they were not getting any carbonation. I decided to move the bottles from my closet to reside underneath the kitchen table. Last night I cracked a Pils, a nice white head was produced that stuck around in some capacity for the duration of the beer. On previous tastings I indicated that the beer was under attenuated for a pils and had some sweetness that was not to style. Now it has a clean taste, no sweetness, just a slight hoppiness and mild breadiness you would expect from the style. I can't wait to get feedback on this one. Tonight I will open an Amber and pray for the carb fairy to work her magic.

Revolution Brewing, Chicago's latest Brewery Pub.

2009-01-26T08:17:00.003-06:00

I had been hearing rumor's about this for awhile, no one was ever able to give me the complete story. Check out Revolution's blog and follow the construction progress. Looks like more options are on the way for Chicago beer fans! http://revbrew.com/blog

Let them try before you buy.. Hopcast..

2009-01-24T17:46:00.005-06:00

I had the pleasure of sharing some home brew with the fine hosts of this video podcast, Brad Chmielewski and Ken Hunnemeder. They review several beers per episode, often with special guests, exotic beer locations and rare finds. You can check them out on itunes or HERE. Ken made a great Licorice Stout with medium body and good balance between the malt and licorice flavor.

Maibock in the chamber..

2009-01-24T10:50:00.005-06:00

I am worried that the lag time was not enough, I pitched at 2 pm yesterday and at 10 am we had a developed krausen and a steady rhythm of co2 release. I normally aerate with an aquarium pump and stone set up, This time I put my LARGE starter and racked on top of it while rocking vigorously. I had read that there is not difference in the amount of oxygen you can get in the wort unless you shoot pure oxygen in from a tank. So either I over pitched or I oxygenated well. Only time will tell with this guy, he is starting on a 3 month journey.

Finally, MAIBOCK!

2009-01-23T07:26:00.003-06:00

"The maibock style is a pale version of a traditional bock. It is a fairly recent development compared to other styles of bock beers, frequently associated with springtime and the month of May. Alcohol content ranges from 6.3% to 7.4% by volume. The flavor is typically less malty than a traditional bock, and may be drier, hoppier, and more bitter, but still with a relatively low hop flavor, with a mild spicy or peppery quality from the hops or alcohol content. It is a clear lager, deep gold to light amber in color, with a large, creamy, persistent white head, and moderate to moderately high carbonation. There is some dispute as to whether the Helles ("pale") bock and the Mai ("May") bocks are the same style, but they are generally agreed to be the same. Examples include Hubertus Bock, Einbecker Mai-Urbock, Augustiner Hellerbock, Hofbräu Maibock, Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock and Abita Mardi Gras Bock." - from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bock

We have had a nice break from the otherwise crap winter, so I am sneaking in a brew day today. I have been looking forward to this one for some time as it is my favorite style of lager beer. Malt forward, dry, with barely noticeable hop present. This one is great for spring nights when its just warm enough to be out on the deck in a hoody and jeans.

Fresh's Maibock

6 Gal
OG: 1.068
FG: 1.017
(however I am hoping to get a bit more attenuated as per my taste. Most of my beers finish drier than the recipe I write)

12 lbs German Pilsner Malt
5 lbs Dark Munich Malt

1/2 oz. Magnum Hops at 90 min

Mash at 130F for 30 minutes, raise to 156F for 60. I used 30% Chicago water and 70% Distilled to soften my local water.

Pitch LARGE starter of Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager at 55F. Over 2 week dial down to 45F. After primary raise to 65 for diactyl rest for 2 days. Rack to secondary. Lager 2 months at 35F. (I am considering rekrausening this beer with fresh yeast and sugar. I am going to research this more before I decide.. or I may just keg it)

It's that time of year!

2009-01-18T02:07:00.002-06:00

Hopslam time!! I really look forward to this incredible Double IPA every year. Last year I had to get mine from fellow Kansas Citian NCTRNL but Bell's is back in Chicago this year. Read more about that here. This beer come in packing a hidden 10 % abv, piney citrus hops in the nose. The taste is full of piney hop resins, crystal malt and honey (not honey malt). The mouth is very dry, which lends to the extreme drinkablity of this bad boy. I hold all 2XIPA's against this one shining example of humulus lupulus bliss. My batch was bottled a little over a week ago, which is great since you want to drink IPA as fresh as possible. Hopefully all of you can pick this one up and enjoy a break from the RIS and Belgian Quads that have been keeping you warm this winter.

Brewing Seasonally

2009-01-13T13:44:00.004-06:00

Severe cold strikes again. I have been preparing a large starter for my an upcoming Maibock but the weather is not cooperating this week. Tons of snow, which is manageable but the temperature will dip into the negatives this next two days. So I was "re-upping" my yeast starter today, the slurry was dense, just begging to be pitched. Since I will be possibly delayed a week, i may split the starter into to two and make 8-10 gallons. I have room for two 5 gal carboys in my lager fridge but i doubt i could get two 6.5gal..

The reason for the pose was to really celebrate brewing for the season. This Maibock will ferment for a month and lager for 2 months. Should be ready to drink by late April or may. I get satisfaction from preparing my brew schedules to have beer ready for certain times of year or holidays. Amber's, IPA's and Wit's will need to be produced for summer quaffing, soon Saisons for later summer.. mmmm..

Beer Advocate Home Brewed BIF (Beer It Forward)

2009-01-10T13:32:00.002-06:00

I am taking part in a home brew trade and judge. Everyone sends home brew to one person on the list, they enjoy and judge, then send you back the results. I do not know who is sending to me but I am sending mine to BA "jetanbass9" in PA. Looks like he is getting a Czech Pilsner, American Amber and Brown Ale. I will let you know the results in a month.

Mild out the bottle

2008-12-30T14:32:00.002-06:00

Almost one month ago I put together an English Mild recipe as a session ale. Cracked the first bottle during my boil today. As expected, nice deep reddish brown when held to the light. Easy drinking, crisp and malty to all get out. The carbonation was kept LOW, with only an ounce of table sugar added at bottling. This is supposed to mimic the mouth feel of a hand pulled ale. The carbonation is noticeable on the tongue but fades quickly. Does not taste like a cask ale but I did not have high hopes for that. The aftertaste has a noticeable twang to it. I am not sure if its honey malt or hops. I don't mind it but could also do without it. Overall I am enjoying this beer in its youth and expect it to get better in the next week or two.

Recipe - American Stout

2008-12-30T10:54:00.003-06:00

This is my first go at any Stout style. Stout is not my favorite style, this is due to many horrible commercial examples I have had. Lately I have been real selective in sampling and have found many examples I appreciate. This recipe is a basic stout but it the precursor to a russian imperial stout that I will brew in month. If the RIS turns out good by summer time, I will brew a second one for BMG but with a yet to be determined fruit secondary.

About 45 minutes into my mash the apartment smells incredible. Nice roasty smells about. The boil smells fantastic, more chocolate roasty aromas. My neighbor better appreciate this.

I always have issues with head retention on my dark ales. I accented the base 2 row with 1/2 pound carapil and 1 pound munich. I am hoping this will kick in a little to the body but more so the head. I know many people use flaked oats but I do not appreciate the chunky mouth feel it imparts. Recipe follows..

Basic American Stout

9 lbs 2 row
1 lbs Munich
8 oz Carapils
12 oz Roasted Barley
12 oz Chocolate Mount
8 0z Caramel 40

30 minute protein rest at 130F
60 minute sach rest at 152F
Rinse Out/Mash out at 168F

SG .048
OG .055
FG .013

.75 oz Magnum 90 Minutes
.5 oz Cascade 15 Minutes
.5 oz Cascade Flame Out

Wyeast 1056

Screw your yuppie apartment!!

2008-12-21T11:03:00.002-06:00

My latest domicile has many modern conveniences. We have faucet taps that extend into spray nozzles. Very convenient for washing dishes but horrible for attaching immersion chillers. i have been running a hose from the out door spigot, up the steps and into the kitchen. This works well but is a small pain in the ass, no big deal. Now that it is 11F, running hose is problematic...and I am sure my landlord would not appreciate me running his spigot this time of year. This has put a temporary hiatus on brewing. I am thinking of leaving my kettle outdoor over night with the lid on tight. Anyone with experience with unique wort chilling methods PLEASE chime in. Thanks!

Hop Soup.. FWH

2008-12-12T09:42:00.001-06:00

First Wort Hopping the IPA with a blend of Centennial and Cascade.

FFF Alpha King when treated as a session beer...

2008-12-12T08:02:00.003-06:00

FFF Alpha King has been getting some serious non beer bar penetration. I wrongly assumed the location of my wife's office party would have poor selection but open bar is open bar.. Enter "The King". 4 hours of Alpha King on the house is a wonderful thing! I woke up early to start my brew day feeling a little dazed but otherwise great. My wife's office throws kick ass partys...

Home Brew Protection Badger!!

2008-12-10T16:26:00.002-06:00

This afternoon I cracked one of my Scottish 70 Shilling ales, what a treat. This beer keeps improving with age, unfortunately I have less than a case remaining. The malt flavor has become full and flavorful throughout the nose to mouth. It is tough not to dig into a beer as soon as possible. I love the taste of fresh beer but most times its important to give the beer time to peak. I will just need to brew more IPA to enjoy while the other beers serve time.

Update.. Mild Recipe

2008-12-03T11:28:00.003-06:00

My last IPA appears to be a huge success. I am down to 12 of 25 bombers, I have only enjoyed two myself! Selina brought some to the office, hopefully I will get feedback from her co-workers. Today I am bottling the Big Hef, I am excited to try this one!

Keeping a session ale around has been critical lately. We are running low on the Scottish session, which keeps getting maltier with age. I wish I would have let it condition for a month before putting them in the rotation. This week I am brewing up a 3% English Mild for those times when you need a low alcohol beer with FLAVOR. I am trying to keep the final gravity around 1.011/.012 by mashing at 158F and doing a 90 minute boil. Due to the low starting gravity this should be at terminal gravity at 3 days.

Fresh's Mild

SG: 1.037
FG: 1.011
ABV: 3%
IBU: 22
SRM: 16

UK Mild Ale Malt 7lb 0oz
US Caramel 120L Malt 6.00 oz
UK Pale Chocolate Malt 4.00 oz
Canadian Honey Malt (Gambrinus) 4.00 oz
UK Black Malt 2.00 oz
Mash 158 60 minutes, sparge 180

US Goldings .75 oz 5.5% alpha 60 minutes
Irish Mosss 1 t 15 Minutes

Wyeast 1028 @ 64 degrees

2008-12-02T10:49:00.002-06:00

Prohibition Facts

From http://www.repealofprohibition.com/prohibition_facts.html

On December 5, 1933 Utah was the 36th state (reaching the required ¾ mark) to ratify the 21st amendment and end National Prohibition. This made the 18th amendment the only constitutional amendment to be repealed.

The longest state prohibition was Missouri, who ended state prohibition in 1966, almost 35 years after National Prohibition was repealed.

A Literary Digest poll taken in 1922 found 40 percent of respondents favored light wines and beer; the poll also revealed 62 percent of working men favoring more lenient enforcement of national prohibition

The wartime anti-alcohol act had allowed people to drink light beer and wine, and many previous state prohibition laws had banned only hard liquor. Assuming national prohibition would follow these precedents, many beer and wine drinkers had favored passage of the amendment. Even some breweries favored the new amendment since it would eliminate competition from the liquor distillers; therefore, the brewers and many other Americans were shocked at the passage of the Vostead Act, which decreed .05 percent as the maximum alcohol content.

When all the states were voting to repeal the 18th amendment or not, New Hampshire wasted no time on rhetoric; they voted to kill prohibition in just 17 minutes.

Prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending. It led many drinkers to switch to opium, marijuana, patent medicines, cocaine, and other dangerous substances that they would have been unlikely to encounter in the absence of Prohibition.

In the three months before the 18th Amendment became effective, liquor worth half a million dollars was stolen from Government warehouses. By midsummer of 1920, federal courts in Chicago were overwhelmed with some 600 pending liquor violation trials (Sinclair, 1962: 176-177). Within three years, 30 prohibition agents were killed in service.

Writers of this period point out that the law was circumvented by various means. Although there may have been legitimate, medicinal purposes for whiskey, the practice of obtaining a medical prescription for the illegal substance was abused. It is estimated that doctors earned $40 million in 1928 by writing prescriptions for whiskey.

The grape growers even produced a type of grape jelly suggestively called "Vine-go" which, with the addition of water, could make a strong wine within two months

There were many cases of people going blind or suffering from brain damage after drinking "bathtub gin" made with industrial alcohol or various poisonous chemicals. In one notorious incident involved the patent medicine Jamaica ginger, known by its users as "Jake." It had a very high alcohol content and was known to be consumed by those desiring to circumvent the ban on alcohol. The Treasury Department mandated changes in the formulation to make it undrinkable. Unscrupulous vendors then adulterated their Jake with an industrial plasticizer in an attempt to fool government testing. As a result, tens of thousands of victims suffered paralysis of their feet and hands – usually, this paralysis was permanent.

Some amateur distillers used old automobile radiators to distill liquor, and the subsequent product was dangerously high in lead salts – which usually led to fatal lead poisoning.

Although some view the theory of prohibition as reasonable, it is generally conceded that the realities of manufacture and distribution make it unworkable, for in one form or another, alcohol can be easily produced by farmers, high school chemistry students, and ordinary citizens.

Groups who supported the repeal of prohibition

Association Against the Prohibition Amendment
Constitutional Liberty League of Massachusetts (despite the name, this was a nation-wide organization)
The Crusaders
Labor's National Committee for Modification of the Volstead Act
Moderation League of New York (despite the name, this was a nation-wide organization)
Molly Pitcher Club
Republican Citizens Committee Against National Prohibition
United Repeal Council
Voluntary Committee of Lawyers
Women's Committee for Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment
Women's Moderation Union

During Prohibition, temperance activists hired a scholar to rewrite the Bible by removing all references to alcohol beverage.

It's The Law! Anyone under the age of 21 who takes out household trash containing even a single empty alcohol beverage container can be charged with illegal possession of alcohol in Missouri.

In 1916, seven states adopted anti-liquor laws, bringing the number of states to 19 that prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. America's entry into World War I made Prohibition seem patriotic since many breweries were owned by German Americans.

Prohibition created a huge consumer market unmet by legitimate means. Organized crime filled that vacuum left by the closure of the legal alcohol industry. Homicides increased in many cities, partly as a result of gang wars, but also because of an increase in drunkenness.

Prohibition devastated the nation's brewing industry. St. Louis had 22 breweries before Prohibition. Only nine reopened after Prohibition ended in 1933. Anheiser-Busch made it through Prohibition by making ice cream, near beer, corn syrup, ginger ale, root beer, yeast, malt extract, refrigerated cabinets, and automobile and truck bodies.

The jobs and tax revenue that a legal liquor industry would generate looked attractive as the country entered the Great Depression. During his presidential campaign in 1932, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, who never hid his fondness for martinis, called for Prohibition's repeal.

Although the temperance movement claimed Dr. Benjamin Rush (1745/46-1813) as one of its primary inspirations, he actually promoted moderation rather than prohibition. The temperance movement often had difficulty getting facts right.

Early temperance writers often insisted that because of their high blood alcohol content, "habitual drunkards" could spontaneously combust and burn to death from inside.

A temperance publication wrote of drinking parents who gave birth to small children with a "yen for alcohol so strong that the mere sight of a bottle shaped like a whiskey flask brought them whining for a nip."

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T02:03:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving. Please use this time to be with your loved ones and reflect on the simple joys of life.

Elysian - Seattle

2008-11-26T11:26:00.011-06:00

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Seattle. Breaking away from my co-workers for the night, I rode the bus downtown to check out Elysian Brewing Company 's Capitol Hill Location. Seattle itself is such a contrast to the Chicago. Rolling hills , streets that actually curve but what stood out most of all was the easy going and friendly nature of the general public. It was a great get away from the often hectic pace I have at home.

I ordered two sampler's. One with year round brews and the other with seasonal selection. The beers that really spoke to me where the Jasmine IPA and Bete Blanche Tripel. The Jasmine IPA had pleasant jasmine aroma that mingled well with the hops. In mouth and taste it seemed to be more of a wit than an IPA. The Bete Blanche was just a great example of a Tripel. The overall theme I got from every beer I sampled was balance, nothing was loud or out of place. Elysian will definitely be on all my future Seattle itinerary's. On my was out I picked up two bombers of the Perseus Porter and Immortal IPA for the LOW price of $3.00 each! They made the trip back but have been overshadowed by the Oskar Blues cans and Stone bombers that made it into my luggage.

Big Hefeweizen or Imperial Wheat or..

2008-11-14T06:49:00.000-06:00

..I don't know what to call it. This is a recipe I developed as a challenge from drinking buddies. They love the 312's and Allagash White's but now are turning to more unique and/or bigger beers. I am adding some organic orange blossom honey at flame-out to ad a hint of orange and bring the ABV past 8%. Keeping the temperature low at first to keep the alcohol as masked as possible. Also no orange zest and coriander, Hoping the yeast will bring the traditional wheat beer flavors. Recipe follows..

OG 1.076
FG 1.013
ABV 8.5%
IBU 37.2
SRM 9.8
EFF 70%

Mash at 155 for 90 minutes

7lb German Wheat
7lb American 2-Row
1/2lb Caramel 60
1/4lb Special B
2lb Orange Blossom Honey

.50 oz Magnum 14.2 90min
.12 oz Sterling 8.7 45min
.12 oz Perle 8.2 45min
.25 oz Sterling 8.7 5min
.25oz Perle 8.2 5min

Wyeast 3068

BMG Christmas Beers

2008-11-12T19:51:00.000-06:00

This year I had the opportunity to brew a Scotch Ale and Golden Strong Ale for my wife's work place. They are giving them as gifts for their clients. I should be getting the label artwork in the next few days and will post. An ex-intern of the business is also a home brewer, he did a stout and wit beer. This is the first beer I have done which I won't control who enjoys it. Kind of scary when you think about it.

Welcome to Freshnock's Brew Log

2008-11-12T14:20:00.000-06:00

This blog was created to have a visual start to finish of beers I brew at home, Allow friends and family to stay up to date on my brewing exploits and most importantly to get feedback from other serious home brewers. Any feedback is welcome.