Football and Beer, Beer and Football

Alright guys...

College football season is almost upon us. I gradutade from NC State and that makes me a pretty big Wolfpack fan. Granted we haven't had alot to cheer about in the last few years, but I think Coach O'Brien has the Pack poised to make significant improvements this year. And I am doubly excited for NC State to be kicking off the NCAA season with the first nationally televised game versus the USC Gamecocks on ESPN. This all leads me to beer (as usual).

I will be working on my supply stocks for the fall season, espcially kegs that I can carry to Raleigh for tailgating. I'll be starting with a Kolsch that I'll brew this weekend, fermenting and then lagering it until Sept 6 when we kickoff our first home game against the mighty William and Mary (insert jokes here). I picked a Kolsch because, let's face it, it will still be 90+ degrees in NC thru the first month of the season. I'll probably follow the Kolsch up with an ESB and then a nice roasty Porter for when the weather starts to turn cool. You can see my Kolsch recipe below. Go Pack!!!

Recipe Specifications--------------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.049
Estimated Color: 3.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 23.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients------------------------------------------
8 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) German
1 lbs Wheat Malt, Ger
1.50 oz Saaz [3.00 %] (60 min)
1.50 oz Saaz [3.00 %] (15 min)
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
1 Pkgs German Ale/Kolsch (White Labs #WLP029)

Mash Schedule--------------------------------------
Saccharification: Rest 50 min at 152.0 F
Vorlauf: 1-2 gallons as needed for clarity
Fly Sparge: 45 min at 190.0 F

American Brown Ale

I had a great brew session yesterday. I built a slight redesign of my MLT manifold in order to get better efficiency out of my system, and boy did it work. In three batches of fly-sparging, and a re-build of the manifold, I am up from 70% to a new high of 82%. This is all very good stuff to me, but back to the beer at hand.

After much research and several very average attempts at a good brown ale, I came up with the following recipe. I really hope this one lives up t my expectations. American Brown Ale is one of my favorite styles (and very under appreciated by most) and all I want to do is make one that is good. Anyhow, my fingers are crossed!

Recipe Specifications------------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.058 SG
Estimated Color: 14.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 24.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 82.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients-----------------------------------------
9 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine
8.0 oz White Wheat Malt
3.0 oz Roasted Barley
2.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt
1.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (FWH)
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (2 min)
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale

Mash Schedule------------------------------------
Saccharification: Rest 50 min at 152.0 F
Vorlauf: 1-2 gallons as needed for clarity
Fly Sparge: 45 min at 190.0 F

UPDATE 8/4/08:
English / American Brown Ales are a vastly underrated style in the world of craft beer. And I actually think its difficult to brew a really good one. But I think I have finally created a Brown Ale recipe that I like. This was my fourth attempt and I am actually really impressed with the results so far. It has a great creamy, smooth textured. The flavor is of sweet chocolate, with just enough bitterness and earthyness to balance out the malt. Its been carbed and on drought for just a few days, but it is really beautiful. This might be my best overall batch to date.

Rain, Thunder, Lightning, Hail, and Beer...Oh My!

I had a friend of mine over last night to join me in a brew session. We had a Belgian Strong Golden Ale all ready to go and the session went pretty well. Well, except for the weather. This was the worst storm I've ever been through in Greensboro. There were high winds, torrential rain, lightning, thunder, and hail. It last for about an hour. And because the drainage is so poor in my back yard and patio, we ended up with about 6 inches of standing water. At least the brew session could continue on the screen porch while I went into manual labor mode.

The water was rising over the foundation vents (which is very bad by the way), so I had to get out the shovel to start tearing out some old landscaping to allow the water to drain properly down the storm grate. The previous owners somehow thought it was a good idea to block the drains with railroad ties. So I got to tear out bricks, logs, and grade the mud back down towards the drain so my house didn't float away.

And back to the brew session. After I cleaned up a bit, we continued after an extended mash. Everything else went off without a hitch. I had intended naming this beer Golden Boy, but I need to come up with something better to remember this storm by. Below is the recipe...

Recipe Specifications--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.075 SG
Estimated Color: 6.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 30.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients-------------------------------------
12 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel
1 lbs Vienna Malt
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt
1 lbs Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (30 min)
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (60 min)
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min)
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min Aroma Hop-Steep)
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
1 Pkgs Belgian Golden Ale (White Labs #WLP570)

Mash Schedule---------------------------------
Total Grain Weight: 13.50 lb
Saccharification: Rest 60 min at 150.0 F
Vorlauf: 1-2 gallons as needed for clarity
Fly Sparge: 45 min at 180.0 F

Memorial Day Weekend

Yeeaaaahhhh!!!! A three day weekend. I really need an extra day off right about now. My wife and I are going kayaking with a couple friends of ours on Saturday. We will either hit the Dan or Yadkin River for a couple of hours for nice, relaxing paddling...and maybe a couple of beers along the way.

And guess what? I am also planning to brew on either Sunday or Monday. I got my ingredients today (from Triad Homebrew in Greensboro) for batch #2 of my Rye-Centennial IPA. See my recipe below...

Recipe Specifications-------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.069
Estimated Color: 8.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 58.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients------------------------------------
10 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter
3 lbs Rye Malt
1 lbs Melanoiden Malt
1.50 oz Centennial (60 min) (First Wort Hop)
1.50 oz Centennial (5 min)
1.00 oz Centennial (Dry Hop 7 days, Secondary or Keg)
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
2 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04)

Mash Schedule--------------------------------
Saccharification: Rest 50 min at 152.0 F
Vorlauf: 1-2 gallons as needed for clarity
Fly Sparge: 45 min at 170.0 F

Saison Part II

You won't find Part I on this blog. It didn't go so well. I basically wound up with an underattenuated batch (finished out at 1.014 after several months and a couple different yeasts). The Saison was carbed and ready to drink, but it was just cloyingly sweet. I tried making a Brett starter to add to the keg, hoping that in a few months time, the brett would bring this down to the dry beer that it should be. However, when I added the brett starter to the keg, it immediatelty foamed over all over the place. I got pissed and dumped the whole thing.

So now I know a little more about the Saison style and how finnicky Saison yeast can be. I am ready for my second try. Hoepfully this session will take place next weekend. My next recipe is below...

Recipe Specifications------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.078
Estimated Color: 5.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients-----------------------------------
7 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel
3 lbs Wheat Malt, Bel
3 lbs Rye Malt
0.75 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (60 min)
0.75 oz Saaz [5.40 %] (60 min)
0.25 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (10 min)
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (5 min)
14.0 oz Dememera Sugar
1 Pkgs Belgian Saison I Ale (White Labs #WLP565)

1 Pkgs Brett B. (pitched in keg to finish)

Mash Schedule------------------------------
Saccharification: Rest 45 min at 152.0 F
Mash-Out: Rest 15 min at 168.0 F and then sparge as normal

UPDATE 5/20/08

Again, I wound up with an underattenuated batch. It stalled at 1.016 even at 90 degrees. So I racked to a keg, pitch some Brett B with a small amount of priming solution, and things have taken off again. I don't really want to naturally carbonate in the keg because I don't know how far down the Brett will take it, so I am bleeding off CO2 daily. In 2-3 more months, I'll force carbonte and poor my first Saison!

My First Decoction - Dunkelweizen

I will be doning my first decoction tomorrow, a dunkelweizen. It sounds fairly simple, so long as I can continuously stir for 15 minutes ad avoid scorching the mash. I'll update again tomorrow after my session. My recipe is below...

Recipe: Dark-Meat Wheat
Style: DunkelweizenTYPE: All GrainTaste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications:--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.99 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 15.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 15.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:----------------------------------
6 lbs Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 48.98 %
5 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 40.82 %
1 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 %
4.0 oz Chocolate Wheat Malt (400.0 SRM) Grain 2.04 %
0.75 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 13.6 IBU
0.25 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.3 IBU
1 Pkgs Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP300) Yeast-Wheat

Mash Schedule:-------------------------------
Single Decoction (Mash-Out)
Saccharification: Rest 45 min at 152.0 F
Decoction: Decoct and rest 15 min at 168.0 F
Mash-Out: 168.0 F and sparge as normal

UPDATE (2/13/08):
Everything went off without a hitch. Decocting really isn't that difficult, save for the constant stirring. First 48 hours of fermentation were massive (after pitching only a 1 qt starter). I can already tell the decoction is going to add a new dimension to the malt flavors and can't wait for this one to be ready.