Tasting: Berliner Weisse

Berliner weisses are meant to be drunk quite young and fresh, but given their soured nature (and consequently lowered pH), they can also be given quite a bit of age. So far the the kegging experiment has been going great. I've shared plenty of beer and had my share as well. I also bottled a couple bombers using the converted bottling wand that many home brewers recommend (as opposed to a counterpressor filler/beer gun) with great success. Today, in DC, the weather is a pretty hot and humid one, perfect for a thirst quenching Berliner.
Aroma: A very sharp, lemony tartness comes through first followed by a light, wheaty like spiciness. Quite clean aside from that with a touch of yeasty bread (like freshly fermented bread dough).
Appearance: Hazy, very pale straw color. Not especially cloudy, but not really clear either. A healthy half inch of bright white head forms with first pour, but slowly dissipates to a tracing.
Flavor: First notes on the palate are basically a flood of sharp acidity, lemony (like Warheads) in nature. It is followed by some raw grain, like a mellowed Wheaties. Virtually no hop aroma, flavor, or bitterness. Very clean in the finish without a lingering sourness that a Flander's Red can render.
Mouthfeel: I've attempted to carbonate this as high as possible, but I'm happy where it is (served and carb'd around 15 PSI). Finishing with a higher than normal gravity, it has a medium low body with prickly carbonation that sets off the sourness. Some slight chewy grainy flavor lingers after swallowing.
Overall: I'm much happier with this Berliner than my previous attempt. It is cleaner, more sour, light and just so drinkable. I find it comparable to a more tart Sprite: cold, highly carbonated, (touch of alcohol) and refreshing. I can't wait to use the dregs for my upcoming Gose (in addition to WLP300 and probably some Brett). Mike is using some dregs from this for his Berliner. I hope his turns out just as good, or better than mine.
Recipe and Notes.
I was able to get about 16 bottles, so I'll be able to sit on this one for the coming months to see how it ages.

Second Barrel Brew

Since I moved to DC about a year and half ago I've had the fortune to meet some really incredible homebrewers. I had a solid club living in Lawrence but the DC/VA/MD club meetings were always out of my way to get to so getting in touch with Mike (I believe first trying to find a La Folie clone recipe) has really helped my brewing through plentiful and frank advice on my process and finished beers. Through him I also met Nathan who is fortunate (and I mean this in a purely urban living situation) to own a house with plenty of basement space. An idea was cooked up through both of them to purchase a wine barrel in which to age a Flander's Red ale, and perhaps more beer thereafter. We've (inclusive of about 6-7 other brewers) since outgrown the wine barrel and moved to a Bourbon barrel.
After intense debate we started with a Wee Heavy at about 8-9% abv. to first age in the barrel. Any first generation beer in a barrel will take on the most character of the wood and previous beverage the fastest. We decided a Scotch ale would be the best style and one not as commercially produced as a Russian Imperial Stout or Barleywine.
We were then quite stuck on what to do next after we get this Scotch ale bottled/kegged with, (un)fortunately the barrel character quickly taking hold on the beer. After even further debate fueled by delicious beer at Rustico, we decided on a hybrid of an Adambier and a Doppelsticke Altbier: a smoked Sticke Alt. This beer will be fermented out and held by all brewers until July 11th when we all both bottle the Scotch ale and rack in the Alt.
The (mine, for efficiency sake) recipe for 5 gallons:

	Stats OG 1.076 FG 1.022 IBU 52 ABV 7.1% SRM 24	Specifics Boil Volume 7.5 gallons Batch Size 5.5 gallons Yeast 78% AA White Labs 011

Fermentables

% Weight	Weight (lbs)	Grain	Gravity Points	Color
77.6 %	13.00	German Munich	61.2	18.9
17.9 %	3.00	German Smoked	14.1	4.9
3.0 %	0.50	Belgian CaraMunich II	2.1	6.8
1.5 %	0.25	German Carafa II	1.0	27.3
	16.75		78.4

Hops

% Wt	Weight (oz)	Hop	Form	AA%	AAU	Boil Time	Utilization	IBU
100.0 %	1.25	Magnum	Whole/Plug	14.2	17.8	60	0.216	52.3
	1.25							52.3

5/27/09: Brewed today. Long runoff, not sure the cause. Getting the right amount of pre-boil to post boil volume. Need to measure out my pot and notch a copper pipe for volume. Chilling is becoming a hassle, I need to find a new pump. Wort is in the basement in a 20gal Rubbermaid with water and frozen water bottles to "control" temp and keep it in the low 60s.
6/20/09: Racked to secondary. Gravity around 1.023 (took sample a couple weeks ago). Still no plan for the barrel as our Wee Heavy has gone sour. Hopefully this doesn't have to sit around for another month before we get it into the barrel.
7/30/09: Finally bottled since we never got a new barrel. I've opened two bottles since and I can see this beer really needs some more time being so malt heavy.

Tasting: Gumballhead Clone

I had a great time yesterday having a few friends over and drinking through some of my first kegged beer. It is simply awesome to have beer on tap at home, and I can't wait to build a tower for my fridge so I don't have to use the picnic taps. The weather is turning quite balmy and warm here in DC, so the hoppy, low alcohol wheat beers have been perfect. The Gumballhead clone has been kegged for just under a week now, and given its need to be drunk fresh, I thought I would do a tasting now.

Aroma: The intense Amarillo aroma comes across as cotton candy and bubblegum like with some sweet, fresh cut grass notes. I've been told that overdone dry hopping of Amarillo can lead to a real grassy aroma, and this one has it, though I can't say it detracts from the enjoyment of the beer. In addition, the sweet citrus finally comes through as the beer warms up.
Appearance: A medium pale, bright orange color. Moderate haze from either chill, wheat, or hops topped with a half inch of tight formed bright white head.
Flavor: The hops come through not as forward and clean as I'd like, with the citrus and grassy flavors dominating. The maltiness of this beer is quite simple and has a sweet, lightly grainy touch to it. Being able to ferment it quite cool, the fruitiness of US05 doesn't shine too much with its characteristic peach note hanging in the background. The finish has a bit of bitterness balanced with plenty of sweetness that I think is spot on for what Gumballhead provides.
Mouthfeel: This is where I really enjoy this beer. Being able to constantly dial in the CO2 during kegging, I've been able to keep the CO2 fairly low giving it an extremely creamy mouthfeel, very supple and almost silky. This certainly helps it with its easy drinkability on the hot weather days.
Overall: I can't say I would really change anything about this beer other than the yeast choice: I would try using the Kolsch strain again for its white wine fruitiness over US05. I may try to make it even lower in alcohol next time, closer to 4-4.5% abv. Other than that, it's a very enjoyable and easy drinking beer, perfect for this time of year.
Recipe and notes

First Time Kegger and Oud Bruin

I knew I had a busy day ahead of me all week, but it turned out fairly smooth overall. Living in a city I've learned some things are hard to come by, propane is one, and now I'll add CO2. I had several options in the region but chose a fire extinguisher place a few miles away, though it was a pain to find. I got my kegs rinsed and sanitized, hooked up the CO2, forced out the sanitizer and got the beer racked in. I changed things up a little with my Berliner and bottled 2 gallons of it both because I wanted to see how it would progress over time and that I knew I had nearly 6 gallons of beer. I had a couple problems seating the keg lid but I think I have them well set and sitting at 20 PSI in the fridge. I hope to have them ready by the weekend.
The Oud Bruin was brewed all while the kegging was going on, so it was a multitasking day. It was a recipe I basically brewed from Brewing Classic Styles since I've never done one before. The yeast pitching was the hardest choice, and I ended up choosing a combination of Roselare (no starter) and a half pack of US05. I'll likely add more dregs as fermentation continues (principally from a saved bottle of La Folie).

Stats OG 1.067 FG 1.013 IBU 23 ABV 7.0 % SRM 22

Specifics Boil Volume 7.5 gallons Batch Size 5.5 gallons Yeast Wyeast 3763, US05 80% AA

Fermentables

% Weight	Weight (lbs)	Grain	Gravity Points	Color
57.7 %	8.00	American Two-row Pale	39.3	2.6
28.8 %	4.00	German Munich	19.6	5.8
5.4 %	0.75	Belgian CaraMunich	3.3	10.2
3.6 %	0.50	Belgian Special B	1.9	20.1
3.6 %	0.50	American Soft White Wheat	2.7	0.3
0.9 %	0.13	American Black Patent	0.5	11.4
	13.88		67.3

Hops

% Wt	Weight (oz)	Hop	Form	AA%	AAU	Boil Time	Utilization	IBU
100.0 %	0.50	Magnum	Whole/Plug	14.2	7.1	60	0.232	22.5
	0.50							22.5

5/20/09: Brewed by myself as usual. Increased boil volume a bit and ended up with the proper amount in the carboy (around 5.6 gal). Totally spaced on the Roselare and ended up getting it out of the fridge and smacking during the mash. O2'd a little less than normal to stress the bugs. Fermenter sitting at 65 degrees ambient.
6/08/09: Racked to secondary and saved cake. Gravity down to 1.012 so I'm not too sure what the bugs will be able to do. I've since added dregs from Brett C and will be adding some more tonight, La Folie in particular.
7/28/10: Finally getting around to bottling this one. Gravity settled in at 1.012. It hasn't seemed to sour much since last year. Very apple juice like in flavor. Not sure if it's simply passed it's prime as it's even starting to taste a little oxidized. Well, let's hope it'll settle out in the bottles.

9/29/10: Seriously bottled this one today. Shot for 2.3 vols of CO2 with an addition of 3.7oz of sugar. Added a half pack of rehydrated Champagne yeast. Gravity settled at 1.010. Flavor is actually quite nice with a balance of sugar and acid, just like an Oud Bruin should taste. Here's hoping it turns out well!

Tasting: 100% Brett L Stout

Well this is my first attempt at a perfectly wild ale. Seeing all of Mike's attempts at 100% Brett beers, I saw that they were all pale, moderately hopped, and with either Brett C or A. Having started a big funky stout in December, I wondered how a 100% Brett'd stout would turn out. Brettanomyces Lambicus is said to throw out cherry, and cherry pie like flavors and aromas so I figured a moderate sized stout bringing chocolate and coffee flavors of its own with be a nice pair.

Aroma: Overall a very deep red wine presence in complexity with notes of rubber, cherry, raspberry, oak, and a vague backnote of cocoa powder. Considerably difference than a typical dry stout where the Brett has really dominated the amount of roasted barley.

Appearance: Firmly jet black with just a touch of dark mahogany showing through at the stem. Gorgeous half inch of tan head, strong lacing and excellent retention.

Flavor: A symphony of flavors ranging from bright cherries and strawberries to touch of lemon and back down to chocolate, coffee, dark toasted bread and finishing with some spicy alcohol. I can't believe how good this beer is becoming and each successive bottle is just more complex. A very solid dryness with a hint of roast in the finish.

Mouthfeel: I've heard it said that Brett produces smaller bubbles when conditioning and carbonating and I'm starting to believe it as this brew has a very soft and supple feel to it like a nitro pour. Body is medium thick providing a long lasting and varied finish.

Overall: Being my first soured or wild beer to be bottled, I'm extremely pleased and can't wait to see how this beer progresses in the future. It's interesting to see how Brett has thinned out this beer and somewhat robbed the roasted character. The contrast between a solid dry stout recipe and the complexity that Brett brings to a beer is just phenominal and one I recommend any brewer to try.

Recipe in brief:
5 gallon batch
9# American 2 Row
2# Flaked Barley
1# Roasted Barley
.5# Coffee Malt
1oz Palisade 6.9% AA 60min
Wyeast 5526 .5-.5-3L starter
OG: 1.061 FG: 1.009
Brewed: 03/10/09 Bottled: 05/06/09

Poll: Amarillo Hops

After giving my poll a couple weeks I managed 18 votes. Not too bad for just month old blog I suppose. I've been using Google Analytics to track site usage; a really slick program that gives you tons of useful data about the frequency and location of site visitors. So far I'm averaging about 20 visits a day with much of it coming from reference sites, the Mad Fermentationist and Beer Advocate.
Well, the vast majority (61%) voted with a love for Amarillo hops and I'm not surprised. I've used them in a couple beers so far and just a small amount can coming through with a big presence. I'll be kegging the Gumballhead clone this week after I can track down some CO2 which is not as easy as one might think. Now I know why everyone recommends getting the biggest tank possible! Coming up this week will be a tasting of my young 100% Brettanomyces Lambicus dry stout, brewing an Oud Bruin (still not sure how big I should go, thoughts?), and kegging up a couple beers. Should be fun!

Free Beer!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of judging at the Spirit of Free Beer competition run by Brewers United for Real Potables (BURP), the local DC/MD/VA club. It was held at the massive and beautiful Whole Foods in Fairfax, VA. The store is big enough that Emeril films his show for Emeril Green there (I hear you can occasionally see him walking through the store on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
The competition was really well run, organized and WF provided some great food for both breakfast and lunch. For the morning session I judged Stouts with Lyle Brown. I first met him when he proctored my exam last year, and he has been judging and brewing forever (claims he's the fourth to take the test back in the 80's). We had the latter half of the style, mostly Foreign Extra Stouts, one American, and three Russian Imperials. Since stout is a great beginner style given its ability to hide off-flavors, we had some really good examples. Two really stood out, one FES and a RIS. The former was just so complex, had an amazing aroma of tropical fruit and cocoa powder while the latter tasted like a Sam Smith clone, not overbearing like some American Imperials but balanced and smooth. The FES took the win and came in third in the best of show. Turns out it was brewed by Mel Thompson, and while I haven't met him, it looks like he's one hell of a brewer judging by the results.
I was excited for the afternoon session as I was judging sours, 6 total entries. Half and half Flander's Oud Bruins and Flander's Red with one straight lambic (strangely, no Berliner Weisse's). However, that excitement was quickly quelled when the tasting began. I now know why it is so difficult to make these beers. Some missed the mark completely on balance, sourness, carbonation etc. The lambic, though, was really nice and an easy winner.
My only entry in the Cream Ale category didn't place and I will receive my score sheet this week and see how it did. I'll have to start entering more frequently. I don't know of any big competitions coming up in the area soon, but I hope to be there when they are.
- photos were all taking during the frantic Best of Show judging.

New Fridge

Just thought I would share my upcoming project excitement. After bottling so many beers, I'm about to start kegging and couldn't be more excited! I picked up a Sanyo 4912 online (difficult to find these days being discontinued at least a year ago), and plan to convert it into a two tap kegerator. These fridges are pretty common for converted kegerators as they fit two cornies and a 5# CO2 tank. They also fit into tighter places than chest freezers and aren't too hard on the eye. I plan on installing a tower at some point but will put it off for a few weeks. The Gumballhead clone should be the first on tap!

Time to Spice it Up!

Inspired by the new releases from Wyeast, I wanted to put together something a bit over the top. Brettanonmyces Claussenii is supposed to be one of the lower intensity Bretts producing tropical flavors like pineapple as opposed to the horsey or cherry like flavors of Brux. and Lambicus. Culling together a recipe, I like to peruse Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainascheff and John Palmer for a good base and go from there. For today's beer, I also got out The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg for inspiration. It is an excellent book listing ingredients and their complimentary counterparts as per the data they researched through industry chefs and foodies. I highly recommend it for any cookbook library, it is indespensible for the creative cook. (they are also the authors of What to Drink With What to Eat, another great food and beverage pairing guide)
So starting with pineapple, I went with mango, two bright, tropical fruits. From there, I thought some spice/heat would work well, and chose chipotle chilies as they're used in a couple commercial beers and I think nicely done. Finally, I wasn't done, and decided to throw in some Weyermann smoked malt. The rest of the recipe is based off of Jamil's fruit beer.

Stats OG 1.071 FG 1.010 IBU 31 ABV 8.4 % SRM 13

Specifics Boil Volume 7 gallons Batch Size 5 gallons Yeast 80% AA Wyeast 5151

Fermentables

% Weight	Weight (lbs)	Grain	Gravity Points	Color
55.2 %	8.00	American Two-row Pale	38.7	2.6
20.7 %	3.00	German Smoked	14.5	4.9
13.8 %	2.00	American Soft White Wheat	10.5	1.0
3.4 %	0.50	American Crystal 40L	2.2	3.6
3.4 %	0.50	American Crystal 120L	2.2	10.9
3.4 %	0.50	German Acid Malt	2.2	0.2
	14.50		70.4

Hops

% Wt	Weight (oz)	Hop	Form	AA%	AAU	Boil Time		IBU
100.0 %	0.70	Magnum	Whole/Plug	14.5	10.1	60		30.5
	0.70							30.5

05/13/09: Brewed another early morning session. The new pot worked really well despite being a bit heavier to move around. Took considerably longer to get to a boil and maintain, so I see more propane usage in the future. As per Mike I added the Acid malt in the last 15 min of the mash. I used 2ea dried Chipotle peppers in the mash and 4ea at 2min left in the boil. I will add the 1K of Mango puree in secondary.
06/03/09: Gravity down to 1.010 with all signs of fermentation over. No pellicle formed and krausen pretty much disappeared. Racked to secondary on 1 kilo of Boiron Mango puree and 5 torn chipotles. I'll give it probably 3 weeks to ferment and be done before bottling.
07/02/09: Bottled with 4.7oz of sugar and a half pack of Champagne yeast for good measure.
08/21/09: First tasting.