Christmas in August

Brewing is such a seasonal hobby. There are beers for spring (Maibock), summer (Saison), fall (Pumpkin), winter (Christmas), among many others. Many of them are brewed to toast the season, and are always fitting for the weather. I've only made one spiced beer in the past (in the traditional sense). It was a butternut squash beer with traditional holiday spices. It turned out okay, but I think my technique and abilities have really improved since then so I'm hoping to crank out a killer holiday beer. Of course, as you know, I don't really brew many "normal" beers. My thoughts for this holiday beer is take a high gravity saison and add a mix of baking spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, all-spice). The malt bill was designed to be fairly straightforward, hoping to maintain a medium high maltiness with a touch of Carafa for a light chocolate flavor. This is my first time using Wyeast 3711, French saison, which is garnering some incredible praise from home brewers. It has a spicy profile like Dupont, but seems not to require high temperatures to attenuate fully. I've had great success from 3724 and 3726, so I'm excited to see how this one goes. I'm hoping to get it ready to drink by Christmas, but I think it'll be a stretch.
Recipe:

Stats OG 1.089 FG 1.000 IBU 47 ABV 11.7% SRM 17

Specifics Boil Volume 8.5 gallons Batch Size 5.6 gallons Yeast 90% AA Wyeast 3711

Fermentables

% Weight	Weight (lbs)	Grain	Gravity Points	Color
37.8 %	7.00	Castle Pils	31.5	2.3
27.0 %	5.00	American Soft White Wheat	25.7	2.5
21.6 %	4.00	Bolander Munich	19.0	5.7
4.1 %	0.75	Belgian CaraMunich I	3.2	10.0
1.4 %	0.25	German Carafa I	1.0	13.4
8.1 %	1.50	Turbinado Sugar	8.7	0.5
	18.50		89.1

Hops

% Wt	Weight (oz)	Hop	Form	AA%	AAU	Boil Time	Utilization	IBU
91.7 %	2.75	East Kent Goldings	Pellet	5.0	13.8	75	0.245	45.1
8.3 %	0.25	East Kent Goldings	Pellet	5.0	1.3	10	0.085	1.4
	3.00							46.5

8/26/09: Brewed this morning. Everything went smoothly, did a 90 min mash at 149. Also, a 75min boil to get some extra utilization out of the hops. I wouldn't have added the 10min addition, but have no use for .25oz of EKGs. For spices, I added 1ea cinnamon stick, ground; 1tsp grated ginger, 1/4 tsp ground All-spice, 1/5ea nutmeg, grated. I also added the Turbinado sugar at 10min to dissolve. I'm having radically different IBU calculations from TastyBrew than Beersmith where I designed the recipe (BS is giving me 35 IBUs which is about where I was aiming).
Well it's starting to look like one uncontrollable brew, here's some action pics now 8 hours in:
8/29/09: After an explosive first 12 hours of fermentation things have started to slow down, but still chugging away. Gravity is at 1.034, 59% AA, 7.2% abv. I took it out of the water bath to bring it up to the upper 70s to finish out. We'll see where it goes from here.
9/5/09: Gravity down to a whopping 1.005, 94% AA, 11% abv. Flavor is really nice, the spices are starting to mellow, the saison spiciness is not as upfront as 3724 and it still retains plenty of complex maltiness.
9/12/09: Racked on 9/9. Looks like some signs of a pellicle developing on top. If it get's any more involved, I'll post a picture, otherwise I'm not too concerned.
11/21/09: Bottled with 5.5oz of cane sugar, shooting for 3 vols of carbonation. Gravity settled in at a whopping 1.000! Spices have really mellowed, but the dryness and high abv gives this brew some heat. Should be a nice one by Christmas time.

Tasting: Mango Chipotle

Well, I've had this nice beer in the bottle for about a month now, and it's really evolving and coming into its own. I believe it also took first place in the Maryland State Fair Homebrew Contest (the same one that killed my Berliner). I'm awaiting my score sheets, but my name is listed as the winner of the Specialty beer category and can only assume this is the one. This will be the first tasting, but I'm excited to see how it will develop in the coming months.

Aroma: Tropical notes of pineapple and mango, mixed with cherry, apple and followed by a rush of smokey chiles. The brett isn't overly noticeable, but there's a bit of tart funk in the nose. Smokey bacon is certainly there but pretty quiet as the fruit really dominates.

Appearance: Extremely cloudy, dark but bright orange color with a big, fluffy off-white head that dissipates to a thin covering. The cloudiness is both attributed to brett's terrible ability to flocculate and all the fruit.

Flavor: On the palate, this thing really sings. You first get a wave of slightly tart mango with not sign of sweetness, followed by an encaptivating smokey chile flavor and finishing smooth and spicy. The heat is definitely not overbearing, but the chipotles let themselves be known. If you've ever had a salsa with both mango and spicy chiles, this is basically the carbonated liquid version of it. The residual balance of sweet and hot is really the pinacle. Again, the brett just brings in some light funk and tartness (perhaps the Acidulated malt helped too?), but is not as prevelant as it can be with a finishing yeast.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation is medium low and the body is close to a medium without and slick or thick feelings. The spicy heat definitely hits all around your mouth adding another degree.

Overall: I'm really pleased with this beer. If I had to make any changes, I think I would just skip the brett and make it will a neutral ale yeast. It really isn't contributing as much tropical flavor as I hoped (or that can peek through all the spice and mango). However, I think I used the right amount of chiles and mango, neither of which fight eachother, and I think it's quite balanced. I'm excited to see the score sheets from the competition, and will hold onto some more bottles to perhaps enter in another.
Recipe and notes

Poll Results: Specialty Ingredients

I guess this turned out to be a super limited poll since I didn't get too many votes. Personally, I like to use any and all ingredients in beer as an experiments. I've gotten a lot better at using restraint in both quantity and number of different ingredients. Trying to find balance in the finished beer can be difficult if they're ingredients you've never used. Being a restaurant chef, I've been able to use a huge variety of ingredients and apply them to many different recipes to produce anywhere from 8 portions to a 100. Most of my creativity is applied to pastry work and it's great fun coming up with new desserts. I always have to keep in mind the clientele we deal with which is not the most sophisticated lot, but I can put together some pastries that are both beautifully presented and delicious.
Upcoming, I'm actually taking at least another week off of brewing and then I'll get the Saison de Noel working. I'm aiming for something in the 1.090 range and with a variety of finishing spices. I've considered: ginger, cinnamon, cocoa nibs, nutmeg, citrus. What I end up using I haven't decided, I'll have to take a lengthy trip to Whole Foods and see what I can find.
Last night, at a great party hosted by Nathan , the bulk of the barrel group and I got to taste both the Flanders Red and Wee Heavy and they are just fantastic. The former is nearing the end of its souring and becoming less Flanders like and more lambic like. The wee heavy, having gone sour, is still bourbon boozy rich with a touch of lactic bite and some funkiness coming through. It has a while to go. We also discussed what to brew when we take out the Flanders and there are just too many ideas floating around. I can't wait to see what we come up with.

9 Day Pellicle? Sure!

While moving some of my carboys around, my newest sour really caught my eye. After primary died down in about 3 days, it has been really starting to show signs of a pellicle, almost by the hour. This is the first opportunity I had to take a picture, at 9 days. I'm really looking forward to the direction of this beer and what to use the cake for. I'm leaning towards a fruited lambic type, but haven't decided on what fruit. Either way, I'm pretty psyched to see how this turns out, and hopefully my most active pellicle to date. I'll slap on an airlock in a few days and leave it in primary for at least month before racking. Has anyone else built up dregs from a commercial sour and see such activity? And, how has your beer turned out?

Competition Brewing

Since joining the BJCP last year, I've become increasingly more active in terms of judging, and as of late, entering. As I posted a month or so ago, my cream ale did alright in the Spirit of Free Beer event, sponsored by BURP. This passed weekend I judged at the Montgomery State Fair Homebrew Competition, the smallest event I've attended so far, only about 150 entries. Since the dropoff was so close and the entry fee was low, I ended up entering 3 beers: Brett L stout, Mango Chipotle ale, and my Berliner Weisse. The two former in Specialty ale and the latter in the Berliner Weisse category. My brewing mate Mike has had really inconsistent results with entering his sours into the Specialty category. Unfortunately, a lot of current BJCP judges just aren't as in tune with wild ales and sours as we geeks are. I really don't aim to brew too many beers that are to BJCP standards so most of the beers I make would have to be entered in Specialty. For example, this is the entries for the MSF comp:

13 (11)	23-1		23. SPECIALTY BEER		Porter, Bourbon Added
131		23-2	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Clover Honey
132		23-3	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Maple Syrup Nut Brown
133		23-4	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Coffee Lactose Oatmeal Porter
134		23-5	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Double Brown Ale (11B)
135		23-6	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Oatmeal Stout w/ Sumatra Coffee
136		23-7	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Brettanomyces Lambicus Stout
137		23-8	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Mango, Chipotle, Brettanomyces Clanssorii
138		23-9	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Molasses
139		23-10	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Honey Brown Ale
140		23-11	23. SPECIALTY BEER		Chocolate Maraschino Cherries

As you can see, most folks use common specialty ingredients like chocolate, coffee and fruit. I just went overboard with what I use. Because the judges had a longer flight than I did (I judged IPAs), I was able to join the table for my beer reviews as they chose to judge them last. Well, the judges really didn't know what to say as they just claimed the Brett stout was "interesting", with little else to offer. At that point, I decided to leave. Earlier, after I was done, I stopped by the Belgian table since sours were lumped in with them, to see how my Berliner did. Completely flabbergasted, my beer received an 11.5/50. The BJCP recommends to judges not to score lower than 13, but the judges of my Berliner felt differently. They said that it was "horribly infected" and just plain undrinkable. I really didn't know what to say. I tore through a whole keg of it and have had several of the bottle conditioned ones which I had entered.
Eventually, I decided to contact the coordinator to get a little feedback on my scoresheets before I get them, and to hear his thoughts. To simplify, these were his remarks regarding the sheets:

"The main issue appeared to be what the judges interpreted as infection by some organism(s) other than lacto. One judge described it as "phenolic - burnt, popcorn" with a "musky odor" and "medicinal" flavor. The other judge described it as "strongly chlorophenol" with "burnt bandaid" in the aroma.

It appears (at least from the judges perspective) that the beer lacked the "clean lactic sourness" called for in the style guidelines. Also, diacetyl or DMS shouldn't be in the aroma or flavor (the first judge apparently picked up diacetyl with his "popcorn" comment)."

My response was that perhaps they got an infected bottle. Otherwise all the bottles myself and others have had, had really enjoyed them. We've noticed perhaps something "off" or "strange" about it, but certainly no strong phenols (which I'm particularly sensitive to) or DMS/diacetyl. He and some other judges are going to taste the other bottle in the near future and let me know if it's any different.
I guess what I'm getting at is the frustration of competitions. For someone who understands the basic styles and how to appreciate/judge them, to enter something a little out of the normal and see it slammed is a little disconcerting. I will certainly enter some of the comps in the future with some other beers of mine, but I will always look at "giving away" my beer seriously and whether it's actually worth it.

Table Sour

While reading through Farmhouse Ales, I was really interested in the old style of Saison in how it was a far lower gravity beer with some unintentional sourness. I rarely brew low gravity ales though I've wanted to for quite some time. What I wanted to do was put together a super simple recipe highlighting one particular malt and a souring mix of yeast. Since I've done two beers so far with Roselare, I wanted to do something different. One other thing I've never done as a homebrewer is culture and build yeast from a commercial beer bottle. Having just picked up a bottle of Drie Fonteinen Kriek, I thought it would be a perfect candidate. I started with a 100mL starter built up to 500mL, 1L and finally 3L. After the second build I was starting to see plenty of activity and by the final build, a decent pellicle forming. The aromas coming off of it were extremely funky from fresh boiled corn to finally a nicely smelling lambic. I imagine these are some pretty hardy bugs, so I can't wait to see how the beer turns out.
Having never really invested the money in top quality grain (I tend to use either Rahr Pale or Rahr Pils for most beers), I wanted to use something new. I discovered Global Kolsch Malt from MidWest and decided it would be a fun one to use. It's a 4L malt, so in between a Vienna and Munich. (Ironically, would make too dark a beer for a traditional Kolsch). I kept the gravity low, only 6.5# of it and the IBUs at about 10 from one Saaz addition. Well, I had to do something crazy with it, right? I decided a flameout addition of citrus zest and pink peppercorns would be interesting and complimentary. I'm undecided if I want to leave it on the primary for many months or rack after 1, so I'm just going to play it out by ear.
Recipe:

Stats OG 1.037 FG IBU 13 ABV SRM 5

Specifics Boil Volume 7.5 gallons Batch Size 5.25 gallons Yeast 90% AA Drie Fonteinen

Fermentables

% Weight	Weight (lbs)	Grain	Gravity Points	Color
100.0 %	6.50	Kolsch Malt	36.6	5.0
	6.50		36.6

Hops

% Wt	Weight (oz)	Hop	Form	AA%	AAU	Boil Time	Utilization	IBU
100.0 %	1.00	Saaz	Whole/Plug	3.2	3.2	60	0.286	13.1
	1.00							13.1

8/05/09: Brewed early morning. Pitched an active (and perhaps already forming a pellicle) 3L starter of Drie Fonteinen yeast. Took nearly 24hrs to see activity, and it's pretty gross looking. Not sure what is happening, but I suppose it's fermentation. Excited to see how this one turns out. Also added 10 grams of Pink Peppercorns and 54 grams of mixed citrus zest at flameout.
8/12/09: Took first sample today. Gravity at 1.011. Flavor was dominated by the peppercorns and citrus with a touch funk coming through. Signs of a pellicle forming were evident this afternoon, certainly aggravated by the higher temps and no use of an airlock, yet.
10/19/09: Racked today to utilized the cake for my Cuvee. Gravity is down to 1.005. Sourness has yet to really take hold. However, some really interesting flavors have come about. Strong, barnyard almost vomit like, apricot, with the spices still taking hold. We'll see how this one develops the next month or two....
05/13/10: Bottled up today. Aiming for 2.75 vols of CO2. Added 5.5oz of table sugar and a half pack of Champagne yeast. Gravity has settled at 1.006 (despite perhaps a bad previous reading of 1.005). Flavor is just a fantastic blend of the peppercorns, citrus and herbal funk and acid. It's like a really well balanced lemonade! Looking forward to seeing how it is carbonated.