Scottish 80 (clean) Tasting

For this beer I wanted something more malt focused with a toffee sort of flavor but not overly sweet. I was also looking for something that I could make 10 gallons of and oak half of. After some back and forth, I decided Scottish 80 was the right place to start. Low bitterness, very little hop flavor to get in the way, a darker beer in the 5%abv range.
I put together a recipe of base malt, some English caramel malt, roasted barley, some English hops and a dry English yeast (S-04).  I boiled down the first gallon of wort drained from the mash.
   Full recipe here.   Brew day here.
This tasting is for the clean half. The other half is still on oak waiting for a free keg. I hope to have it ready soon enough to compare these side by side, but that is a story for another day.

Appearance:  pours with a thick off white head. The beer is dark but with great clarity. In the light you can see a lot of red. Its much better than the first week of murky, yeasty beer I was getting. I have to be more careful when racking to the keg next time.

Aroma:  Maybe a hint of roastiness with a mild aroma of medium dark malt and a hint of sweetness.

Taste:  Not enough of that caramel toffee flavor that I was so hoping, for but the flavor is nice. Low fruitiness and almost no hop flavor leaves room to taste the subtle malt flavors.

Mouth feel:  This beer has a great creamy start that finishes crisp. Its at the same time silky and refreshing.

Overall:  I really like how this turned out, but am a little sad that I missed the toffee flavor I was aiming for.
It reminds me a little of Smithwicks, which isn't too surprising considering how close this is to an Irish red ale. I have been working to develop a couple house beers to have on tap at all times. This recipe is now in the running. I brought a growler to my father in law's birthday and it was well received.
Can't wait until I can try the oak'd half!

3 way cider tasting

Over the last year or so, I made 4 batches of apfelwein (hard cider). This is basically wine made from apple juice instead of grapes. The first, a 1 gallon test batch is long gone, but today, I get to compare apfelwien II, III, IV. Inspired by this: Man I love apfelwein
I had a gallon of macintosh cider.  Must have been the first one I did.  I would like to do more single variety ciders, but it is hard to find the juice around here.
Disclaimer:  I have never really been much of a cider drinker.  In fact it is usually the last drink of choice when out, so bear in mind, I am no expert.  Not a fan of woodchuck, strongbow or woodpecker.

Apfelwein II	Apfelwein III	Apfelwein IV
Pours with a decent head that fades quickly. Translucent yellow. Like "Cider" but lighter. Streaming bubbles which kick op some sediment.	Massive head taking up 1/2 the glass. This recendes to nothing in a minute or two. Crystal clear apple juice yellow. You can see bubbles streaming up through it.	No head whats so ever. Perfect crystal clear and perfectly still.
Aroma of tart apples with slight cider-i-ness.	This one had a little more of that ciderness in the aroma	Something off...Meaty? Dank? Apples with some off aroma. Hard to place.
Tastes like apple champagne. Slightly tart with an apple flavor that lingers long after you swallow.	Milder apple flavor. Almost tastes like watered down apple juice.	Some apple, but that musty, old yeast? rubber band? flavor distracts.
Has a spritzy champagne like mouth feel	This one has a softer, creamier feel to it. Surprising considering the size of the head, but that could be from the fast pour knocking CO2 out.	Still and flat (Have not carbonated this one yet)
This one is the most interesting of the three. The apple flavors are well represented. Sadly that might have been my last bottle from that batch.	This one is the most drinkable. Not as interesting as the first but goes down too easy. Looks like I had too much pressure in the keg. Lowering that will give a more controlled pour that keeps more CO2 dissolved.	I dumped most of the third glass. It is drinkable if you really need some alcohol, but definitely is not ready. Hopefully some more aging will help here.

Recipes & Notes:
Apfel Wein II
1 Ga 365 Organic unfiltered AJ
6oz sugar, pinch nutrient, D47 yest
4/9/11 - Started OG=1.060
5/13/11 - Bottled 9 G=1.011 ABV=6.7%
+ 1 Sugar cube/bottle
Lots of dissolved co2...
Cloudy + Brett smell?

Cider (Apfelwein) 3:
7/31/11 - Started. vOG=1.058
2xMotts, 3xShoprite AJ, 2# Cane sugar, D47.
Started separate w/ 1/2G AJ + Pinch yeast nutrient. Did not measure G
9/17/11 - Keg G=1.000 ABV=7.5%
Good clarity. apply smell/taste. warming but not harsh. Some residual carb. head fades quick.
Not much trub
9/30/11 - Taste - No head, but medium carbonation. A little cidery, but not bad.

ApfelWein IV
11/4/11 - Start OG=1.060
3Gal Shoprite juice, 2 gal shoprite cider, 1# brown sugar, 1/2# sugar, US-05 from ESB slurry
1/7/12 Secondary G=.0996 vOBR=14.7 BR=5.1 ABV=8.3%
Great clarity. Not bad, but slight plastic? taste? Left on yeast too long?
3/10/12 - Tasting + G=.0996
Aroma and flavor off. rubber? Yeast autalosys?

Kriek 2010 - Tasting

Back in May 2010, I brewed up a batch of Norther Brewer AG Dawson Kriek.  This is a Lambic style ale aged on sour cherries.  These beers can take years, but I was impatient and had this kegged within a few months.  While it was a decent beer, the shortened timeline limited its potential.  I did bottle a few for extended aging.

I also bottled a few blended 50/50 with some NB Belgian Tripel that I brewed in August.  These precious few were dated for sampling at 6 month increments.

This tasting marks 18 months in the bottle.

I could smell the classic lambic funk as soon as I cracked the first one open.  On closer inspection, the kriek did have a bit more cherry aroma.

Both have great clarity and a good sized head, but that faded to a small layer of bubbles in short time.
The kriek has a great pinkish hue, while the blend was more orange.

Kriek still had some cherry flavor to go with the brett funk and noticeable, but not overpowering acidity, which was almost enough to pucker you up.  The blend had a more mineraly flavor and a bit less acid, but still some hint of cherry.  Maybe even a little metallic in the finish.  I did sensed a touch of this in the Kriek also, but not as much.

They both had great carbonation - The blend had champagne like carbonation that made it feel much fuller that it really was, while the kriek had a nice light and spritzy body.

Overall I like the kriek best, which is interesting because when Mike and I sampled these 6 months ago, we both liked the blend better.  It's like candy that doesn't leave a sticky sugar coating in your mouth.
They are both enjoyable beers, but still not as complex as some of the better true Lambics.  Hopefully my current projects will get me closer.
I only have one of each left, which I will be tasting in September.
Notes:
  4/26/10 Ordered
    5/?/10  Brew
    6/?/10  Secondary w/ 2x Oregon can Cherries
    ~7/3/10 Keg-condition
     7/29 - Tasting {Aroma - sour cherries??  Taste - sour, but not too sour  - reminds me of...something 
          one dimentional. all cherry?  feel - smooth, not TOO thin}
    8/19 - Bottled 1 + a 50/50 with triple
    8/25 - Tasting (Still un carbed) {Still not too sour, but flavor mellowing.  Starting to really like it..}
    9/6/10 - 4 bottles to cellar 6/12/18/24 mo Also Carb'd Keg
    9/15~  -  really cloudy from keg, carbonated, but some foam wouldnt clear?  maybe from the shaking try again.
     9/26 - Carbonated (could be a little more), clearing, tasting not bad.  maybe brett flavor?
    10/1 - Tasting - turning nice.  young flavors mellowing, sour starting to show - got a little lemon finish
    ~10/30/10 - Served at Halloween party
    3/1/11 - Bottle tasting - not bad - clear red/brown.  good carbonation.  not much funk, sour -cherry/lemon.  light body
     4/23/11 - Finished Keg.
          Final Taste - Sournes approaching puckering.  Little hint of metallic.  Some cherry, but not much else.
           OK beer, but really could have been done better.  I really did rush it too much.  I needed the carboys for other beers..
   9/10/11 - Tasting - Kriek .vs. Blend
     Tasted both with Mike.  Best after 9/1/11 bottles.
     Kriek - Red, medium clear, little head, tart, some cherry sediment.
     Blend - light red/pink, mediam clear little head, mild tartness, some funk
     Both liked the blend better, but kriek was good too.
      Got some brett funk from the blend.  Kriek was more just sour cherry.
      Both light and drinkable. 
   3/6/12 - Tasting - Kriek .vs. Blend  (This blog entry)

A long time ago, in a bar far far away...

Hey R2, lets go get a beer

Can I join you guys?

Yum yum, what rebellion?

Apparently, they like my Scottish 80.  If they drank this instead of building a death star, things would have turned out differently.
Oh and that new camera is pretty cool!

Big lambic brew day

 Today was a busy day. After taking the kids hiking and starting the garden, I completed my first 15 gallon brew day.
 I converted 22# of grain into the wort that will eventually become 10 gallons of lambic and 5 gallons of wheat beer. The wheat being ready MUCH sooner.
You can find the recipe here.

 I seem to always want to push a little bit more out of each brew session. On other brew days I have done two 5 gal brews, partigyle and a 10 gallon batch. Today combined 10 gallons and partyigyle (2 different beers from the same mash)

 With the day already so busy, I didn't want to do a full traditional turbid mash, so I came up with a simpler schedule that should yield similar results. Protein rest at 125, then drained 2qt of very milky looking wort. I boiled this in a separate pot while continuing with the main mash, which I did a sach rest around 155. After draining and sparging to get the first 9 gallons, I even did a mini decoction for the wheat beer. 

This is where you scoop out some of the grains (1/2 gal in this case) and boil those separate from the mash. Similar to the turbid part, but done after the sacc rest, so there shouldn't be any starch. Also, boiling the grains brings out some more malt flavors.

    What comes next?
For the lambic, I am pitching 1 pack of Wyeast lambic blend, slurry and a few oak cubes from last years bath and a bit of a sour starter I have been keeping. This has dregs from a number of commercial sour beers. Sometime over the summer, I will blend with last years to get 6 gallons. This will be split in 3. The first third will age on local peaches; the next on wild Croton raspberries; the last will remain unflavored gueuze. This should leave ~6 gallons from this years batch for longer aging and future blends
The wheat beer gets a pack of wyeast 3068 and should be ready in a few weeks.

My little helper

Dumping a failed beer

It is always a sad day when you have to dump a beer, but for this one it is time to say "good bye". 5 months ago, I got impatient while waiting for ingredients for my barleywine, so I brewed a quick extract batch of English mild.
Numerous things went wrong and in the end, I was unable to save it. I now need the keg space for another beer, so this one goes down the drain.

What went wrong?
  1. Purchased expired wlp002 yeast at a slight discount
  2. Did not use a starter
  3. Had a massive boilover - lost 1/4 of the wort
  4. Ferment took 3-4 days to start. (Probably from #1&2)

The smell out of primary was way off. I would say phenolic. It was sort of medicinal plastic. The flavor matched the off smell and left a plasticky aftertaste. After secondary, the off flavor was not as strong, but it was clear it would not go away on its own. I decided that since this batch was probably ruined anyway, it was time for an experiment.
The wild bugs that ferment lambic and flanders type beers might be able to turn this into something good. They produce other flavors that could cover it up and possibly even metabolize the esters or phenols causing the off flavors. I moved it to my 'sour' keg and pitched the dregs from a couple sour beers. Fast forward 2.5 months and we have...not much better...You probably wouldn't die drinking it, but it is better to dump bad beer than to force yourself to drink something you won't enjoy.

9/39/11. Brew og=1.035
10/9/11. Secondary. G=1.010
10/22/11. Kegged. G=1.005
11/3/11. Moved to new keg and added souring microbes
2/17/12. Dumped keg

Flanders Red - Tasting

It has been 16 months since I brewed this beer. While still young for the style, it has been bottles for almost 4 months now and I thought it was ready for review.  (See recipe at bottom)

Pours with almost no head. Reddish brown with medium clarity.
Fruity brett like mild wild yeast aroma.  Maybe some cherries.
Mild tartness, fruity and refreshing with a hint of malt.  Some Cherry and citrus.
Light and refreshing, with a little carbonation.
It goes down easy. Goes well with a meal, but could also be a summer thirst quencher.  Everyone who has tried it so far says they like it.  I would have liked it to be more sour, more carbonation and higher original gravity.
Lauren says: she liked this one, it wasn't too hoppy or too syrupy, but still has a little sweetness.

About the beer:
I brewed this beer back in September 2010 based off of a recipe on themadfermantationist, which is based from someone else's beer inspired by Roddenbach.  Still early in my all grain days, I came in a bit low with the gravity, but it still came out good. After 1 month in primary, it aged for another 11 months before I bottled.

Flanders red is a Belgian beer fermented with a variety of wild yeast and aged in large oak vats for many months. As home brewers, we can purchase this yeast as the wyeast Rosselear blend. Similar to the organisms used in brewing lambic beer.

Recipe:
  3lbs Rarh pilsner
  3lbs German Vienna
  3lbs German Munich
  1lbs Rahr white wheat
  1lbs Briess Caramel 60L
  1/2 lbs Belgian Special B
Mash @ 157 for 60 min
  1oz German Hellertau (60 minute)
  WYeast Rosalere blend

Notes:
   9/12/10  Brewed   OG=1.045  (poor efficiency)
    9/24/10  G=1.011
   10/10/10 Secondary  G=1.011
    4/16/11 G=1.08
       'Wild' aroma+taste.  Not much sour.  Reminds me of La Roja
       Hazy reddish-brown
    6/22/11 G=1.005 + 1/2 oz med toast french oak
       Cherry pie?  good clarity.  Reddish brown.  not much sour
    9/18/11 - Bottled 4gal + 4oz sugar  G=1.005  ABV=5.25%
       Reddish brown; medium clarity
       Smells of a sour beer.  Taste of sour but not too tart.