Golden American Farmhouse

Quite often on my trips over to Europe, there's the hope to find one-oh please let there be at least one- really good beer to help soften the landing after an upside down day of red eye flights, GPS navigated foreign highways, and game-face-on meetings. Duvel almost always fits that bill. I've turned many a colleague on to this alternative to Stella, so it certainly fits that craft beer gateway designation of accessibility. It also has earned its reputation, many times over, for giving crushing hangovers. But for its fair complexion and the unassuming 330ml squat bottle, you can easily down a couple, or even 3 if there's a wait for a table before dinner has even started, only to be met the next morning with the Devil's pitchfork squarely planted in that throbbing nerve that's holding your right eyeball in place.

So, I've learned, very much the hard way, to take it slow. Let the glass in front of me warm a bit and not just do what you'd otherwise be inclined to do - just get after it and slug it down. I've even gotten the colleagues to tolerate, if not enjoy, the process to create the classic, the near unrivaled head that forms when you pour it down the middle in to a matching laser etched glass.

Of course, the beer that created the style is (well, feels) painfully simple to the complexity seeking (geeking) homebrewer-"just" pils, sugar, styrian and saaz to ~30IBUs, duvel yeast w/ the proper fermentation and lagering schedule, bottle condition to big CO2 volumes. There's really no sense in trying to clone this (or other) beers, as you can grab bottles in so many places around here. Of course the simplicity of the recipes belies the exacting nature to successly hit the mark. I think of this beer as a process and fermentation-first beer; no room to hide behind layers of roasted and crystal malts, mounds of masking hop resins.

I felt like exploring the realm of a belgian golden strong with the tenets of duvel yeast, loads of white sugar (6lbs in a 10 gallon batch), base pils malt, but add some push-pull to the easy going grist with some softness of wheat malt and that full spicy feel that you can get from rye. Long, cool mash to help with fermentability. Up the bitterness a bit to match the more-ness of the not just pils grain bill, and good amount of late additions with Styrians and Saaz to keep the impression of an attempt to keep it in the family. Decidedly American influence from the Amarillo. Dry hop with a touch more of each...is this becoming a belgian golden farmhouse IPA?

Reference/influence: this and this.

Brewed on 12/4/2010, 1 liter starter stepped to 5000ml w/ 1.040 wort. First use of the comically sized 5000ml Erlenmyer (which actually has 6500ml total volume).

Started fermentation at 62F, held low 60s for 36hrs, then free rise to mid-70s. Finished very dry to 1.006, ~9.4%abv. No protein floc aids...but even after 2 weeks in primary, this beer looked almost milky with proteins in suspension. Despite turbidity, kept on schedule and dry hopped for 7 days, then racked 1/2 batch to keg to lager 42F, 20PSI (~3vols), 1/2 to bottles. Not milky any more, but permanent haze after 1.5 months of lagering.

Substantial head formation, retention, lacing. Tight protein pillow persists through the quaff. The commercial counterpart still has me beat, however. Clouded, pale orange. Appearance is darker than SRM due to the cloudyness? Amarillo nose, spicy Duvel phenols. Hoppy! Amarillo muscles out the other, more polite hops. But, you know what...I don't want it to be an IPA stacked on top of a Duvel. A firm coarse bitterness is OK, but need to give way to the grainy-ness and yeast metabolites. Rye fullness to the palate despite high-ish carbonation. Wheat cushion keeps it from being too spritzy even when right out of the bottle.

But...uh-oh...the bite of higher alcohols rear their ugly heads. Burn at the back of the nose/throat is screaming at me "I AM A HANGOVER IN A GLASS" ...not in that subtle whispering way that you ignore when you have a Duvel in your glass.

Bitterness is firm and cleansing, to snap back the fusels on your breath... but you hesitate to go back for another whack. As it warms, it actually becomes more pleasant. The hops become more apparent/masking the fusels. Spice and duvel yeast show up well and the rusticity of the grains sit on your tongue with the bittering hops. But you still need to pay the fusel toll. Likely culprit: not enough O2 (aerated, didn't O2 inject). I'll shove these bottles to the back of the cellar, take another look in a few months. Wonder if it'd ever drop bright.

I know this one is closer than its drinking now. Still a bit of a guess w/ the fusels muddying the impression, I have expectations for major tweaks on the next go:

• though it feels wrong for a farmhouse beer, whirlfloc
• O2 inject (duh)
• amarillo bittering addition change to northern brewer (for rustic woodiness)
• pull back on late hop additions by 1/2
• eliminate dry hop

Golden Farmhouse

Belgian Golden Strong Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 12/4/2010
Batch Size: 11.00 gal	Brewer: JC
Boil Size: 13.25 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 20 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 68.97 % 2 lbs Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.90 % 1 lbs Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) Grain 3.45 % 0.50 oz Amarillo [9.10 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops - 0.50 oz Saaz [5.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops - 0.50 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops - 2.50 oz Amarillo [9.10 %] (60 min) Hops 31.2 IBU 1.50 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] (20 min) Hops 6.7 IBU 1.50 oz Amarillo [9.10 %] (20 min) Hops 11.3 IBU 1.50 oz Saaz [5.00 %] (20 min) Hops 6.2 IBU 6 lbs Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 20.69 % 1 Pkgs Belgian Golden Ale (White Labs #WLP570) [Starter 5000 ml] Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.078 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.078 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.006 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.03 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 9.42 %
Bitterness: 55.5 IBU	Calories: 352 cal/pint
Est Color: 4.5 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body	Total Grain Weight: 23.00 lb
Sparge Water: 4.22 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Light Body Step Time Name Description Step Temp 75 min Mash In Add 28.75 qt of water at 159.1 F 148.0 F 10 min Mash Out Add 18.40 qt of water at 203.8 F 168.0 F

IBA: tasting

If you have been following along, you'll noticed a trend in the last few posts, in that they are all tasting notes.

A few reasons:

• I found that my tasting notes just haven't kept pace,
• There's a big backlog of beers to write tasting notes about,
• I'm looking to tidy up the place, and with that, alot of beers that are just sitting taking up valuable space around are now targeted for 'removal'
• I haven't brewed since bumble, b2

So, during a good spring cleaning today, I came across a few 1 liter flip tops. Huh, I thought all of these IBA bottles were gone. So, might as well toss it in the fridge while I catch up on my laundry so it can be chilled down for a later tasting.

Now, I have had some problems with the flip tops holding CO2 over extended periods of time, so I always fear the anemic, the pathetic little 'pffft' after flipping off the rubber gasket. No such problem with this bottle, as a loud and sudden pop revealed what would be excellent (yet excessive) carbonation.

I've now taken to only pouring down the middle of the glass, as the initial pour will immediately reveal the carbonation level. If properly, and not overly carbonated, the beer will form a proper head, and not take too much time to do so. This results in the best head formation, and tends to de-gas an overcarbonated beer, such as in this case. With an overcarbonated beer, you just gotta wait it out. None of that disgusting slide of the finger across the nose to pick up head killing oils for me.

God, that's gross.

I try to taste a beer for what it is first, and not what it was intended to be. I leave that for last. I try to go in with no expectation, and build an impression as I go. So, I already mentioned the overcarbonation, a perennial problem I've had since my unevenly carbonated first IPA. That was a result of inadequately dispersed priming sugar. I have since overcompensated, not trusting myself, despite careful and thorough blending with the racking cane in the bottling bucket.

This beer pours a pale chocolate brown...well, its dark brown, darn close to black in a full glass. Ruddy reddish brown when held up to the light. And earlier problems it had with clarity have dissipated with time on the shelf. It has dropped brilliantly clear now with time.

Yet another beautiful head forms on the lengthy pour, and the aroma provided is malty, roasty and biscuity. If nothing else, I'd say the heads on my beers are as good as any beer I've ever poured.

The beer tastes like a hybrid between an american brown ale and a dry stout. Roasty flavor, a touch of caramel, but very little sweetness on the finish. A drying roast character is pervasive the whole way through and the faded, muted bitterness is now in pretty great balance with that. Any extract twang in its youth has now smoothed over and is undetectable. Clean fermentation, hardly any perceptible character, right in line with the California ale yeast. No fresh hop aroma or flavor anywhere to be found.

Funny, as it is now, a dry roasty American brown with subtle hopping, its tanding tall abve where it was in its youth: not quite enough fresh American hop character struggling from behind too much roast, and roughness from the extract twang.

Belgian IPA: tasting

Its already been over a year since I've brewed this beer?

wow.

Well, while it was very young, it was mostly a rough and muddled impression of an over hopped tripel with an incredibly low FG (1.002), which made this beer just under 12%abv. The smattering of noble and american hops were of rather low quality, as I am now aware of what high quality stuff is available to the homebrewer. Despite their less than optimal quality, nothing would have rescued the recipe for what was intended, a bigger, nobler cousin of Houblon Chouffe. Silly me...la chouffe had already pretty much nailed the style. In the earlier tastings, very little finishing hop character made its way from behind the big phenolics, alcohol and rather rough edges. I contend that even double the hopping levels of these noble hops wouldn't have come forward in the youngest months of such a huge beer, like I had hoped...its just not within their abilities, their strength is in their subtleties. The recipe would need to scaled way back, and hopping schedule revamped. And I'd go back to the a'chouffe yeast, like I had originally intended, I think.

Well, despite its roughness, its low FG and full flavor always seemed to warrant another mouthful. So the bottles went fast.

And after just a glass, its very easy to pour another, and...another and...whoops, you and your friends wake up to a morning of regret. So, I now only have a few bottles left, and the bottle I opened tonight has been in the fridge for at least a few months of cold conditioning.

Its delicious.

The beer seemingly has now gone through the transmogrifying cardboard box, and now could be a described as a Noel special release qualityBelgian tripel, with wonderfully complex Belgian fruity nose, a clean snappy and dry pilsner body, and a softened bitterness. On the pour, a pillowy head forms and stick around through the quaff as a reduced but stable little pillow of protein at the surface.

A glowing gold, slightly hazy appearance and just high enough carbonation is best enjoyed in this Duvel goblet, with its 'D' laser etch continuing to feed the aromatics for each sip.

Warming alcohols fills the back of the throat and sinuses on the swallow, carrying the phenolics through again, and easily warms up a snowy, blustery Boston winter night. Would pair wonderfully with a steaming bowl of root vegetable/braised beef shank soup, washing back the richness, and scrubbing the palate clean again for a great back and forth, which is better, which do I want more type of battle.

Belgian Chocolate Stout: tasting

In and effort to diminish the vast quantity of bottles in my aging library, I pulled one of my first brewed beers from the wine rack (yes, this beer was lying on its side for the better part of 2.5 years...more on that later).

The Belgian chocolate stout was brewed before I was taking proper notes, so I'll recall the recipe and particulars from memory, which actually give me a descent understanding of how the beer has revealed itself to me today.

Most importantly, this is when I was buying recipe kits from Midwest. I'll guess that the base kit was either a dry stout or the oatmeal stout kit, knowing my predilections at the time. At this point, I likely boosted the recipe with another 1lb of chocolate malt, as I recall being underwhelmed by the roast character of earlier kit, to which I logically attributed to the specialty grains components of the recipe.

So, just add more, right?

Yes and no.

Certainly adding more chocolate malt would increase the flavor threshold, but, just like many other flavors, the perception of 'chocolatey-ness' certainly relies on more than just this simple addition (though my head was certainly heading in the right direction). I now appreciate that the yeast choice, its health, pitching rate, SG/FG, fermentation temperature, brewing liquor, other components of the grist will also have harmoniously holistic impact on all flavor perceptions, including 'chocolateyness'.

But, back to the other particulars about this batch...I know I re-used yeast from the tripel I had made earlier, which was actually yeast cultured up from a few bottles of Duvel. Not the most expressive yeast I've found, so not one that screams estery, phenolic Belgian, but...again, my head was in the right place. Plus, I really liked the idea of re-using my yeast that I had lovingly nudged out of its trans-Atlantic, very far from its European home hibernation.

Lastly, I used some cacao shells to 'dry hop' the beer after primary. I had snagged a bunch of the bags that Taza was handing out as homebrewing fodder at one of the Beer Advocate fests I attended (maybe it was the first ACBF?). This artisanal chocolate maker in nearby Somerville certainly have their heads in the right place, as it pertains to their product, so I hoped to infuse some of the amazing aromatics from these shells in to my beer.

I had poured a bottle of my corked/caged tripel this past summer, which went nearly completely flat. That singular experience told me that I will not cork and cage bottles that I intend to keep for any real amount of time. Caps are clearly a superior, yet homelier solution that I'll opt for in the future.

This beer, after resting upright in the fridge for a few weeks, exhaled out a satisfying burping pop as the cork was freed. Hmm, only an n of 2, with two different beers, stored in different rooms, but the beer lying on its side kept what I assume was most of its carbonation, and the bottle stored upright was nearly devoid of the stuff.

Poured it down the middle of a small Portsmouth Brewing goblet, and a satisfyingly creamy head formed. Perhaps it was a Midwest oatmeal stout kit? I can see that the beer had conditioned itself clear with time. Nose of ...chocolate, nice proper artisan chocolate, though I have to assume that these aromatics have seen a better day, given its age. It would have been useful to try some non dry cacao shelled beer in a side by side to appreciate the impact, but those experiments will need to be realized at a later time. The beer is dark, though not nearly as dark as some of my other stouts and porters, which lean toward excess in the roasted grain territory. Still, it sits in that glass, fat and dark.

First sip gives a thin but velvety feel, so I'll put a stake in the ground, this was the oatmeal stout kit paired with full attenuation of the LME by the Duvel yeast. No distinguishable yeast character...nothing that says 'hey, this is a Anglo-Americanized beer, fermented with a Belgian yeast.'

Just a very clean ferment, and obviously full attenuation. A very sessionable beer, subtle roasted grain acidity. I could have multiples. Its very nice and satisfying as it warms as well. The chocolate tendencies grow with the warmth. Satisfying drying finish from the kilned malt, cocoa on the breath. Ah, too bad there's only a handful of these left.

Lastly, on to the is it bad to lay down the beer for aging question.

My response today is...maybe. The sediment that developed along the side of the bottle is garishingly disturbing at first, but it truly didn't make its way in to the pour, actually. So, to me, that's only a minor fault, as I'm not serving the bottle to someone. Sets up an interesting sediment erosion-lightning streak appearance, though.

After a few weeks in the fridge, any 'moveable' sediment made its way down the bottom of the bottle, and stayed put during the pour. This beer was very clear, all the way down to the last sip, and no cloudiness at the dark margins when held up to light.

So, there was plenty of CO2 in this beer. Maybe the beer contact with the cork is what kept this beer carbonated, but until I pop a good number of a couple more from the wine rack and the few remaining bottles that from that tripel batch that have spent their lives standing upright, I'll not make a verdict, yet. One thing is for sure, this beer has aged very gracefully, and I am more than happy to turn a blind eye to the sediment. And who doesn't love the sound of a popping cork?

Bumble, Batch 2: tasting

Poured the 2nd bottle of bumble from batch 2 tonight.

The first 750ml bottle was shared with my great high school friend, Josh Demasi, a few weeks back; the ubiquitous Facebook finally paid dividends with an actual reunion with an old friend.

I recently had an Allagash White at a beer dinner at VeeVee, and was hoping for some parallels. At that time of the Josh-JC reunion, I think the bottle was just short of 2 weeks in to conditioning. I poured aggresively, pushed out a lovely even haziness, golden and creamy white head. But, when brought to the nose, it had an overwhelming, very powerful aromatic that he described as lemony, where for me, it was hitting the olfactory senses hard with a rose petal perfumey-ness.

No sir, I didn't like it.

Mouthfeel was a touch thin. Also had a sort of mild astringency and a whiff of higher alcohols on the breath after the exhale on the swallow. I wanted the fullness of the Allagash, I wanted the even, finishing crispness, but all I could focus on was that weird aromatic. Was it the coriander? no, I used the same amount as previously, and this coriander should only be milder, as its been sitting there in storage for a while. The tangerine? nope, it just didn't remind me of the fresh aromatics that were being emitted as I zested. The wicked expensive chamomile? Again, no...My mind was swimming, and I had to return to being present with my guest.

I bowed my head in a bit of shame, as Josh and I were reunited under the pretenses of a proper beer tasting + tasty fresh out of the oven flatbreads evening. I hoped for a seamless experience. While pot&kettle b2, the SPAb3, Leon, and RIS2008 made very strong showings, bumbleb2 pulled up lame, for sure. Oh well, work in progress, I hoped.

Josh finished the glass with a redemptive, "Well, it would probably be good in the summer time...right?"

hmmmm. maybe he was right, maybe a little time would fix what ailed this witbier.

Fast forward to tonight, about a month + in the bottles now. The pour revealed what again looked to be a proper witbier, if not 'white' enough...probably too golden.

That flowery aromatic was only maybe minorly (possibly) present, or existed only as a haunting fearful memory of bottle 1. Things seemed to have mellowed and smoothed over, very similar to what I remember the witbier of batch 1 eventually provided. I searched for finishing aroma hops, none to be distinctly found, though the just-enough bitterness was spot on. rolling spices and not-quite-full-enough mouthfeel. Perhaps the carbonation was set too high?

Still, the Allagash is still a towering standard to which I haven't even remotely (yet) approached. I think I'll simplify, add a much larger percentage of wheat.

And de-bumble it.

Yep, drop the honey.

The honey must be thinning the body substantially. So, that, coupled with the too high carbonation, is sort of leaving it in no-man's-land. So it will be not a honey witbier for the time being. So I can't, with a straight face, continue to give it bee inspired name. Right? But that's OK, I've actually tired of the moniker almost immediately after I coined it.

She sure is photogenic, though.

Stonginton Pale Ale: Batch 3, Tasting

Though its been a few months since I've brewed SPA, batch 3, I opened one of the last remaining bottles last week. Its been drinking fantastic since about 3 weeks from bottling, where it was still a touch green at 2 weeks. Even now, perhaps a month past its truly fresh aromatic and resinously hoppy peak, it has still garnered accolades from friends, both new and old... ie."one of, if not the best IPA I've ever had...and I've had a few".

Yeah, these sort of statements really do stick in brewer's head.

The small incremental changes of going with C40 vs. C60 + increasing to 1lb vs. .5lb did, in fact, improve the beer as I had hoped. Any implied biting (too) dry character from the first two iterations has now given way to a smoother, rounder mouthfeel. Just a touch of soft sweetness and light biscuit malt introduces each taste before giving way to the incredibly American hoppy profile. It still leads with that terrific fresh green nose, just-peeled grapefruit rind and floral aromatics. An unaggressive bitterness finishes, builds a bit after the swallow, but never punches too hard. This is an aroma first, and flavor 2nd, and bitterness 3rd IPA, and I think I like SPA just like that.

But, there's almost always room for improvement, and this beer still elicits plenty of criticism from its creator.

I will certainly back down on carbonation levels in the future, as the overcarbonation flaw simply cannot be resolved with a slow, high pour given the unbelievable head retention from the wheat and hops. I also think I'd retain more of the volatile aromatics throughout the beer over the course of its enjoyment if I didn't have to resort to such remedial tactics, and would have a softer, more inviting quaff, as well.

I will revisit the grist, hopping schedule, etc. once I have the carbonation more in line with where it should be.

Ultimately, however, this beer is one that really would benefit from cold crashing + kegging, as that Chico yeast strain combined with tons of late + dry hopping renders this a particularly hazy beer. IPAs really shouldn't sit around conditioning for extended periods of time...the clock is ticking! Of course, bottling with all that turbidity results in a significant sediment in the bottle, which can and does adversely impact the pour. I will usually leave 3-4 oz of the beer (!!!) in the bottle for fear of introducing that sediment, which ends up muddying up the whole experience, both visually, and flavor wise. This also means this beer travels very poorly, so the advantage of bottle conditioning the batch to have a six pack to take away, always at the ready, is diminished by all that sediment stirred up and into the beer. I would love to cold crash the whole she-bang before dry hopping to drop the hop flavor stripping yeast out of suspension, then return to room temp, then rack to a keg for immediately chilling, carbonation and storage, but until then I'll dream of others' clearer IPAs that aren't saddled with all that beer-robbing sediment and head ballooning carbonation.

pot&kettle, batch 2...tasting

It has been a little over a month since the pot&kettle batch 2 has been in the bottles, but I can't wait any longer for the first glimpse, er...taste. The only change I've made from the last iteration was to change the yeast strain. Discussion of that here.

Ok, so that's a huge change, but keeping the remainder of the recipe constant should better allow me to perceive impact.

Pulled from fridge, allowed bomber to stand for 20minutes. Slowly poured down the middle of the imperial pint glass, incrementally, allow the substantive head to form and fall, form and fall. All in all, took about 4 minutes. That's a long time to wait for your first taste, but I know I'll be rewarded with a full glass and a proper head.

A-OK, so I should have started with appearance, but the very second thing I noticed after the streaming black-brown pour was the powerful roast and malty aroma that almost immediately wafted over to entice me. I didn't even get a chance to look down to the bottom of the glass first.

So aside from the distractingly rich and pervasive aroma, you can tell immediately that this beer has great full mouthfeel.

What? ...what's the problem?

Oh, right this is 'appearance' section of the tasting notes...

I mean that you can actually see the fullness in the pour, you can tell this isn't a thin bodied beer in the pour. It just looks full. You'd have to be paying attention, very close attention to your beers as you pour them to know what I mean.

Of course this stout shades just south of black at the edges, a dark brown that appears to have quite a bit of haze to it, which is a bit surprising as I've let it warm a bit, and the Burton ale yeast should have had ample time to floc out. Nice substantial head that forms quickly, props itself up, and forms irregular and large bubbles. Slow to burst. See what I mean? It just looks like its got tons of velvety mouthfeel.

S-Ok, I've already covered this, but seriously, to all whom I give this beer to...take your time pouring this slowly. Let the head form and fall, form and fall. Anticipate. Wait for the aroma to make its way over to you, it is the perfect pre-quel for what's in store. Rich, melted dark chocolate, roasted grains, and a very 'bright' acid french roast coffee. Searching for any hops...nope, nothing but roast/cacao. Pumpernickel?

T-Smooth dark chocolate, french roast coffee, minimal sweetness. Smooth, not biting acridity on the finish. Dominating dark roasted malt. Complexity abounds, but mostly within the range of roasted grain. Hoping that the subtleties of dark prune/raisin flavors from the Special B appear over time, as the roast continues to mature and mellow. British yeast character in the background, not overly apparent, to me. Not overly attenuated, the british yeast left enough body, even with the 150F mash. Just like I hoped. Huge roasty dryness on the palate to finish. Dry, dark chocolate.

M-Velvety, coating mouthfeel. Thank you oatmeal. Thank you Burton ale yeast.

D-If you like stouts that lean toward the outer edges of roast character, then this beer will go down quickly, dangerously. Proper and smooth carbonation, adequately degassed from the slow pour. I have a big glass of beer in my stomach, and yet...I look over, and the imperial pint glass is down to its last mouthful, and I'm seriously considering cracking another. But I won't, I have an interview in the morning.

Ousted Special Bitter: tasting

Pulled the sampler bottle of the OSB tonight, the day after I return from the UK. I still have the romantic notion and taste of the John Courage, Fuller's London Pride and Greene King 'IPA' on cask lodged securely in my brain.

Side note... the Audley was recommended as a place to get some great pints kept on well maintained casks, and some traditional British fare. The pints delivered, and the fare did live up to the unfortunate reputation for English food. Perhaps I should have been more wary as the recommendation came from a co-worker who's idea of the finest food is steak and chips...and only steak and chips. From, well... pretty much anywhere.

Anyhow, tonight's homebrewed version whisked me back across the Atlantic in one tilt of the head. Left out of the fridge for 15 minutes before pouring. A frothy, fluffy 2 inch head forms after an aggressive pour down the middle. Ruby color, slight chill haze, getting more clear as the beer warms. The pour likely knocked a descent amount of carbonation out, and the restrained (for me) CO2 probably ended somewhere in the 1.8-2.0 neighborhood, likely a full 1.0 volume step above where you usually find cask conditioned ales, which suits my American palate just fine.

The wonderfully expressive Burton yeast backed up and complimented the bready malt sweetness in an earthy and satisfying way. This beer starts sweet and full. Wonderful mouthfeel, but not cloying or stomach filling. Just enough backing, balancing bitterness and some woodsy Willamette flavor and aroma. A touch of drying roast from the chocolate malt on the finish? Asks for another big, full mouth of the brew. This certainly has more going on the stuff I had on cask, essentially it just seemed like more...which is exactly how this beer was formulated.

Makes for a full, layered beer that would make for a great session with friends and family, solo style as a one-and-done at the pub, or yes, even paired up well with a big plate of steak and chips.

Bottom line, I'd be very proud to serve this to a Brit who is searching for a real ale in the states.

Stonginton Pale Ale: First Tasting

At last, the final test bottle of the wedding beers has been cracked, and the good news is...it is downright tasty. The Stonington Pale Ale is my first stab at the APA style, but I gotta say, it is right on the mark. The beautiful orange color, a bit hazy from the hops. Nice sticky creamy head, stands about two inches, and clings to the glass. Grapefruit/tangerine on the nose and taste, with just a touch of pine/resin, and a clean crisp mouthfeel. Very dry, just a little sweetness, but this beer won't leave you feeling full...you'll want another one. The clean bitterness comes in at the end, snapping the palate shut. I was concerned about the Zeus adding a harshness, but my fears have been quelled. I project the maltiness may come out a bit more in the next few weeks of conditioning in the temp controlled bedroom, but the hops are just where I want 'em.

A few seconds after the swallow, you find yourself wanting that next mouthfull. This ale is just south of an IPA, in the west coast style in the bitterness and abv department, it should be quite the hit with the beer fans at the wedding.

Success!

I also stuck on the labels that arrived from sheetlabels.com while I was in Europe two weeks ago. Very happy with them, terrific print job, and the waterproof ink and adhesive will stand up to the ice bath these beers will be subjected to at the wedding. Here's a little shot of the newly branded bottles standing proudly on their matching Stonington Pale Ale wood beer case.

Kevin's lemon: Tasting

Cracked the 8oz test bottle on Kevin's Lemon tonight, even though its only been bottled for 8 days, it spent many days at ambient temp hi 70s/lo 80s, so I knew it would be adequately carbonated.

Which it was, probably just north of 3.0 volumes. 1/8th inch of yeast sediment (alot) apparent on the bottom of this test bottle. Cloudy and lemony golden color. A typical pour straight out of the fridge cold, produced a big fluffy head which stuck around, even though its only been in the bottle for such a short time. The yeast stayed put in the bottle, with a steady even pour. This beer looks pretty spot on for what I was going for.

Cool. I expect the head to build more structure, get tighter, denser with more time and conditioning.

Despite the low FG (presumed, still haven't measured it...sigh) and high carbonation, it still had a smoothness to it, likely from the flaked oats.

Just what I was going for. Its really fun when that happens...

Nice, full and satisfying, but still quenching and refreshing. Obvious spicey Belgian character in the nose, but when you sip, the flavor matches the nose to a tee. Given the big yeast-derived spice contribution and the restraint of quantity of actual spices used, you simply cannot pick out the origin of these flavors (a good thing).

Hops are MIA, barely there to balance any residual malt sweetness. I might up the IBUs about 8-10 next go around. Maybe a late Saaz addition to add another sublte aroma dimension.

But, maybe not...its pretty good as is.

I do hope it will continue to improve, and I hope Kevin will be pleased with this ale, borne from the inspiration of the lone lemon his tree produced.

pot&kettle oatmeal stout, tasting

Poured the sample bottle of pot&kettle tonight, just as I finished up capping the 2nd 5 gallons of it.

So, yeah, I had to bottle the 1st half, in order to get it out of the non-airlocked fermentor, and put the 2nd half in to a 5 gallon carboy, while I wrangled up enough 22 oz bottles (a total of 54) without any paint (ala stone or rogue) to finish the job. Thanks to Brendan, Kevin, Jason, Esther, Renee and Javi for their efforts. Difficult work, indeed.

I'm happy to report excellent success on the 2nd of the wedding beers as well. Though still a bit 'green', this beer is already quite enjoyable in its roasty smoothness that defines the oatmeal stout style. Pulled the 6oz bottle from the fridge and set on the counter to come up from the chilly temps. Adequate but not prickly carbonation. Pours what appears to be a viscous deep black color, darkest of ruby highlights toward the edges with minimal head (for now...more will develop with time *hope, hope*). Dark french roast coffee and almost a silky, smoky taste and moutfeel is deeply satisfying, even if it is mid-July. Reminisce of a great espresso, with just a bit of turbinado sugar to cut the acid and acridity. The finish is actually pretty clean, and good attenuation was clearly achieved by the Nottingham yeast.

I'm glad we've got another month-plus to go to let this one mature a bit more, to continue to develop and round out any remaining rough edges.

Now, for the glamour shots (click on 'em):

Wedding Beers: Belgian Honey Wit - FirstTasting

Cracked the 6 oz. sample bottle of the Belgian Honey Wit last night.

I usually will save the dregs from the bottling bucket and fill up a 6 oz. old fashioned clear coke bottle. This last bit from the bucket always has a ton of sediment in it, that would otherwise just go down the drain. This small taste + clear glass can provide the early glimpse to satisfy the curiosity of how the batch turned out (taste, mouthfeel, carbonation levels, clarity/turbity, color, yeast sedimentation, etc.) , without needing to 'waste' a whole bottle. I cracked the test bottle after it spend 5 days in the fridge. I was prepping dinner for Esther and Jen, so you'll see some fresh garlic scapes and monkfish (I think monkfish will be our fish selection for the wedding) in the foreground.



Well, in this case, this 6 oz taste left me wanting...more. Poured in to the Hennepin glass I acquired in my trip to Ommegang this past spring. The orange zest and coriander are hiding in the aroma and flavor. The frothy tight head (which will likely only improve with a bit of aging) paired with the glowing hazy orange color is quite nice. Aside from the appearnace, its actually very reminscent of Allagash White. Subtle spicing, earthy/phenolic Belgian wit yeast, and wheaty/smooth mouthfeel. Honey dries the body out, but really adds another level of raw honey wildflower spice. Satisfying and thirst quenching. Will the 10 gallon batch last the night?

I have my doubts...maybe I should make more?

Oatmeal Robust Porter

29April2009

Poured a 500ml ORP for Esther and I tonight. The head retention has changed dramatically since the 'tester' bottle was opened 10 days in to bottle conditioning. Billowy, dense, and substantive. Poured in to a nonic pint glass, aggressively. The overcarbed beer quickly established a four finger (!!!) head. creamy, dense, dark, with some larger billowing CO2 bubbles and ...black color filled the glass. See? actually, now I look at it, and the edge reveals a dark tan.

actually, now I look at it, and the edge reveals a dark tan. But, see how the dome of foam is forming? Nice lacing is adhering to the glass as its consumed.

Give it some time to get accostomed to its new environs, and the head settles back to a nice persisting minimal cap. another swirl, the aroma yields just the slightest whiff of alcohol, but that's quickly forgotten for the roasted coffee, the darkest of chocolates. nibs. hmmm. is that...almond? just sayin'

Drinks so silky, dark chocolate is talking to you, no acridity at all. a touch too prickly with the high carbonation, swirl it again. wait. let the CO2 come out. let it warm a little. Another taste: there's a suble smokiness coming through. I'm liking this beer alot. Aftertaste leaves a high cacao bitter chocolate on the palate.

wow. I made this?

I did intend to have more hop character, after the cask conditioned porstmouth oatmeal stout, but I bypassed the dry hopping it would have needed.

So, the hop bitterness, its just settling in the background and meldig with the roasted grains. They are front and center, also backed up by the oat mouthfeel. The overcarbonation flaw is easily forgiveable...just swirl the glass a bit, wait for the beer to warm to proper temperature, and you'll forget all about it. A significant improvement over the *extract* oatmeal stout, thought it will always hold a special place in my heart as my first batch of beer.

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Bottled today, 29Mar2009. Great full silky body, chocolatey roasty nose. Finished a little higher due to the high mash tempt (1.020), giving this beer an abv of ~6.5%. The Cascade citrusy flavors and aroma really hit on what I wanted. I should have dry hopped for more fresh Cascade-y-ness. Still, the roasted, full and hoppy flavors really will make this fresh and satisfying. Hoping it'll transport me, Jason and Kev-bot back to a Sunday night at the Jimmy LaPanza lounge, playing shuffleboard, drinking Portsmouth's fresh beers. I won't want to let this beer sit for too long, will be best enjoyed on the young side. I hope that this will make an enjoyable beer to share at the brewmaster's dinner at my upcoming Ommegang weekend.
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Brewed some beer on President's Day. Inspired by Portsmouth's cask conditioned oatmeal stout.
I was (am) sick, so it wasn't really that fun. It was chore-like. I also bottled the tripel IPA during the boil, so maybe the six hour effort left me flat when I was already feeling down. Here's a pic moments after racking to the primary and pitching a sachet of US-05. It really does smell wonderful, given how little I can actually smell. Freshly ground black patent and carafaIII should make this lovely little dark lady delicious. The late Cascade addition added its characteristic grapefruit aroma and terrific hoppy flavor. A thin 1 inch krausen has formed. I didn't aerate this wort, due to frequent chastising on the beeradvocate homebrew forum.



Oatmeal Porter
Robust Porter

Type: All Grain
Date: 2/16/2009
Batch Size: 4.00 gal
Brewer: JC Tetreault
Boil Size: 4.58 gal

8 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 66.67 %
2 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 15.69 %
1 lbs Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain 7.84 %
8.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3.92 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (1.5 SRM) Grain 3.92 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 1.96 %
1.00 oz Fuggles [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 19.1 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [7.10 %] (5 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
1 Pkgs American Ale (Safale#US-05)
Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.085 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.070 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.024 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.020 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.97 %
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.53 %
Bitterness: 24.0 IBU
Calories: 320 cal/pint
Est Color: 56.4 SRM



Total Grain Weight: 12.75 lb
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F

Add 15.94 qt of water at 170.5 F
158.0 F
Mash out 168F for ten minutes