Appearance: Beers opens with a good hiss, pours nice and dark with a tight tan head. Keeps a decent head for a bit then dies down in the glass to keep a tight bubbles cap. Very dark and opaque, more like a stout in appearance than a porter.
Aroma: I have let this beer sit out for a while so that it can warm up. Served at just cool to the touch. The nose on the beer is fantastic! I pick up coffee/roast/spice/fruitiness with a vanilla/smoky finish. A nice complex bouquet which keeps on developing as the beer warms. There is a slight hint of alcohol heat, but you really have to look for it, and I mean really have to look.
Mouthfeel: Nice carbonation, nice and low but has an effervescent quality, which keep the flavours moving around the palate. The body of the beer is light to medium leaning more towards medium. Body coats the palate and leaves those complex flavours to linger.
Flavour: The flavour of the beer is similar to the nose. Complex and moreish. Nice smooth, upfront bitterness which eases into a complex spicy malt finish with a hint of the cherry fruitiness. First thoughts, big coffee notes, vanilla, spice and smoke. As the beer continues to warm up, the coffee subsides and the smoky finish is more prominent. There is a subtle alcohol heat on the finish behind the smoky/fruity flavour.
Overall: Another cracker of a brew from Dean. Very easy drinking, only "fault" I can pick up is a hint of alcohol, but you really have to look for it. The beer is complex and a great sipping sessionable beer. The flavours just keep on coming and developing, coffee/vanilla/smoky/fruitiness and a subtle cheery fruitiness. Would I buy this at the bottle store? Yes I would! Would I tell Dean to brew it again? Hell yes!
Homebrew Review First Impressions: Tubedinoz 100% Green Fresh Hop Pale Ale YouTube
Appearance: Opens with a satisfying "hssst", pours a burnt orange with gold highlights. The beer is pretty much crystal clear with a mere hint of haze. Pours a pure white head with tight streaming bubbles. A great and refreshing looking beer.
Aroma: Has the typical Nelson hop aroma, dank/grape funk/overripe melon/gooseberry with a hint of tropical fruit/tangerine. Which is backed up but a clean malt back bone. The nose is hop dominate and the Nelson hops really shine! No off flavours on the nose that I can detect, Just a clean/bright hop aroma and subtle malt back bone.
Mouthfeel: Mouth feel has a medium fell, with a nice dry finish that cleans the palate. The medium body gives some chewiness to balance the tingling hops. Great carbonation, tight small bubbles that give a tingle to the taste buds. The dry finish cleans the palate of the malts but leave a nice fruity flavour.
Flavour: A crisp upfront bitterness, like fresh orange peel, which eases into a smooth malt, bready/biscuity and with a hint of caramel. Like the nose the hops are the main feature, dank/grape funk/overripe melon/gooseberry with a hint of tangerine. Nice dry finish with a fruity aftertaste. Leave the taste buds wanting more. Clean/crisp with bright hop flavours balanced with a malt sweetness/chewiness. Very refreshing and moreish!
Overall: This beer is a Nelson hop bomb. If you like the Nelson Sauvin hops this beer delivers. Dank/grape funk/overripe melon/gooseberry, clean bright hop flavours on both the nose and flavour. No off flavours, clean and crisp. The beer is more hop forward, but the malt backbone is balanced with the hop bitterness/freshness. Fantastic and refreshing beer, going down so well. Overall a great beer! Makes me want to brew a beer with just Nelson!
Homebrew Review First Impressions: Wagon Brewing Co Fresh Hop Pale Ale Youtube
Appearance: Opens with a satisfying "hssst", the beer pours a burn orange/copper colour with yellow highlights at the edges of the glass. Pure white head with tight bubble. Not much of head retention but keeps a nice small cap. The beer does have a bit of chill haze/hop haze which is understanable with the amount of hops assed to the beer.
Aroma: Nose is more nelson centric at first, with the grape/dank/overripe melon aromas. As the beer warms up you start picking up the sweet hop characteristics from the Motueka, pineapple/passion fruit/tropical fruit mix. The nose is more hop dominate, with a good malt back bone of caramel/bready tones. As the beer warms up a diacetyl note becomes more apparent, which was first a caramel aroma, but has now turned into a more butterscotch. Even so, the hops work quite well with the diacetyl.
Mouthfeel: mouth feel is where the beer is at its weakest for me. The body of the beer is a bit light, when a bit of chewiness would have been nice to compliment the hops. The carbonation is pretty nice, with a slight effervescence on the palate with keep the fruity hop characters dancing on the palate. The beer has a nice dry finish which cleans the plate and gets it ready for the next hop assault.
Flavour: Smooth upfront bitterness which quickly eases into a caramel/bread malt back bone. The Motueka hops come more out on the palate, with the passion fruit/tropical fruit mix keeping the taste buds tingling. I do pick up a bit of diacetyl, which comes across as butterscotch/caramel. A very tasty beer with the hops keeping you guess on what fruits you are picking up. The dry finish keeps the palate wanting more and cleaning it for the next sip.
Overall: I like this beer, its fresh and fruity, the hops keep you guess on what fruit flavours you can pick out. The beer is more hop dominate, and the hops deliver. The only comment I have is that there is some diacetyl which comes across as a caramel at first, but as the beer warms up, turns more into a butterscotch. Now this does not make this a bad beer, if anything, the butterscotch plays very well with the dankness of the Nelson and the tropical fruit tones of the Motueka. I feel the body could have a bit more chewiness just to back up the hops a bit more and to give a bit more mouthfeel. On a crappy raining day, doing chores around the house, the beer is going down smooth and really hitting the spot. I feel that it has great potential and looking forward to next years batch!
Appearance:
Pours a golden orange with yellow high lights. Clearing up nicely but does have a bit of chill haze. Pure white head with a upside down snow storm of small bubbles. The beer looks light and refreshing.
Aroma:
The nose on the beer has developed quite nicely, the Nelson is not dominating the nose as much now, you still get the over ripe melon/grape aromas, but now you are picking up some of the motueka, with a bit of passion fruit/pineapple. All backed up by the spicy/black pepper from the bella saison yeast. Fresh bright/distinct and complex. I am really digging the nose on this beer.
Mouthfeel:
Light to medium mouth feel leaning more to medium. Carbonation is good, keeps the flavours dancing on the palate, nice and effervescent. Maybe a bit too dry, with a slight astringent finish. Not the biggest issue, but will add a bit of crystal in the next batch and a bit less water chem to leave a bit more sweetness. But still aiming for a dry finish.
Flavour:
Nice upfront grapefruit bitterness which is nice and clean, eases into a nice bready/malt finish. The spice from the yeast and fruitiness is nicely balanced, all backed up nicely by the malt backbone. The flavours are complex and clean, bright and distinct. Very easy drinking and will be great in summer and with a rich meal.
Overall:
I am pretty happy with this beer. It is not quite where I want it yet. but well on its way. Its a great starting off point and is high up my rebrew list. I think the beer is balanced and has clean flavours. I do not pick up any off flavours, but I have sent off a few bottles to better palates to get some feedback. This beer does really shine if served a bit warmer so the hops come through, too cold and you loose the fruitiness of the hops. There are two things that I would change on the beer, the hop profile is a bit unbalanced (Motueka is dominated by the Nelson) and the beer is a touch too dry(finished at 1.002) which comes across as astringent. Other than that, I am really enjoying this beer and looking forward to rebrewing it!
Recipe: Hoppy Saison TYPE: All Grain Style: Saison
The recipe can be downloaded via beersmith:
http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/757326/hoppy-saison RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS SRM: 16.5 EBC SRM RANGE: 9.8-27.6 EBC IBU: 29.7 IBUs IBU RANGE: 20.0-35.0 IBUs OG: 1.052 SG OG RANGE: 1.048-1.065 SG FG: 1.014 SG FG RANGE: 1.002-1.012 SG EE%: 72.00 % Batch: 10.00 Boil: 21.43 l BT: 75 Mins
SAMPLE TASTE NOTES
15/03/15: Tasted gravity sample, no off flavours picked up. No DMS or diacetyl. Aroma is more yeasty than hoppy, cloves,citrus,pepper with a clean bready backbone. Smooth upfront bitterness with a dry finish, might be a bit too dry, slightly astringent. Spicy on the flavour with a bready finish. Hops still not apparent, more yeast forward.
22/03/15: After crash chilling @ 2c still hazy. Picking up black pepper, over ripe melon, green grape character on the nose. Upfront citrus bitterness, which smooths out into a dry bready finish. Light to medium body, leaning more towards the light side. Black Pepper, grape, wood dank, citrus, complex but clean beer. Have high expectations for the carbonated version.
WATER CHEMISTRY ADDITIONS
Amt Name 3.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) 2.00 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60.0 mins) 2.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins 3.00 g Calcium Chloride (Boil 60.0 mins) 2.00 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Boil 60.0 mins) 2.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Boil 60.0 mins
Total Grain Weight: 2.32 kg Total Hops: 66.00 g
MASH/STEEP PROCESS
Amt Name 1.80 kg Gladfield Pilsner Malt (3.8 EBC) 0.22 kg Gladfield Wheat Malt (4.2 EBC) 0.20 kg Gladfield Munich Malt (15.5 EBC) 0.10 kg Gladfield Shepherds Delight Malt (300.0 EBC)
BOIL PROCESS
Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.034 SG Est OG: 1.052 SG Amt Name 6.00 g Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min 3.00 g Calcium Chloride (Boil 60.0 mins) 2.00 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Boil 60.0 mins) 2.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Boil 60.0 mins 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) 10.00 g Motueka [7.30 %] - Boil 10.0 min 10.00 g Nelson Sauvin [12.10 %] - Boil 10.0 min 10.00 g Motueka [7.30 %] - Boil 0.0 min 10.00 g Nelson Sauvin [12.10 %] - Boil 0.0 min
NOTES
Brewday 07/03/15: Added 1l boiling water to adjust temp from 63.8c to 66.3c Had to stop sparge as the reading where getting to low. Was still 5l short of my boil and had to change it to a 75min boil and top up with 5l of water. Hydrated Yeast at 33c in bottled water for 15min, mixed then left for a further 5 min. Pitched yeast @ 22.8c fermenting @ 19.5c (Measure 20.4c)
Fermentation 08/03/15: Fermentation has begun and has a large krausen. Fermenting at 20.4c Raised temp by 1c to for target of 21c, measured 21c 09/03/15: Beer is slowing down but going steady, temp measured 21.4c. Have increased the temp to 25c to bring out more esters/phenols 10/03/15: Checked fermentation temp, was set to 25c, measure temp is 23.9c. Fermentation is slowing but still steady. 14/03/15: Fermentation has slowed down almost completely and krausen has disappeared. Finishing fermentation temp was 24.8c. Cooling down to 18c for dry hopping. 15/03/15: Took gravity sample, SG 1.040 and FG is 1.002, with a ABV of 5.2%. Dry hopping with 20g of Motueka/Nelson mix for 5 days @ 18c 20/03/15: Dropped temp to 1.5c for crash chilling till Sunday 22/03/15: Primed with a 52.5g Dextrose solution. Used a syringe to add 5ml to each bottle. After bottling: 8x 330mls 2x 500 mls 4x 650mls 2x 750 mls Leaving bottles in fermentation chamber @19c for two weeks
Kerry Davis: Appearance: Vigorous carbonation; Pours a golden light brown with generous white head; Bottle conditioned Aroma: Grape, champagne, Slight alcohol, fresh 'zing' Flavour: Light, crisp, fruity, Cider, Pleasant bitterness which subsides on the finish, medium body Notes: Refreshing sessionable drop
Marcus Bökkerink: Really liked the beer. I was pretty harsh on judging it. But have to say your on to a good recipe base. Some slight tweeks and you'll have an excellent beer. I followed BJCP guidelines for scoring.
Aroma: estery, grassy, herb, pepper and banana aroma. Acetaldehyde with slight DMS. Malt character shows through when warmed.
Flavour: banana and slight lemon tartness. Grassy herb spiciness overwhelms malt characters.
Mouthfeel: medium dry. No hotness from alcohol appropriate for style. No zestiness from bubbles. tartness possibly from lemon.
Appearance: good white head lasts till the end with moderate glass lacing. Amber colour with slight golden hue. Thin bubbles disappearing once warmed.
Overall impression: An excellent attempt at a saison. Excellent colour, and great lemon tartness, however missing that usual balance of fruitiness spiciness and malt character. Felt I was searching for a balancing sweetness of orange or coriander. Needed more pepperiness and higher carbonation. Body and mouthfeel good except for the effervescence from carbonation. DMS and Acetaldehyde maybe from old grain, poor crush or fermentation based result. Grassiness probably an off spin from acetaldehyde or from increased hopping rates. Few things to clean up to create a world class style however on a great track.
28/50. - following BJCP style guidelines for Saison.
Zane Maxwell's(Rookie Brew) Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone Homebrew Review YouTube
Appearance: Pours with a burnt orange/yellow straw colour. The straw colour coming through on the highlights. Pure white head with tight bubbles. Slight chill haze, but clearing out slowly. It's a good looking beer.
Aroma: Now I am not sure how old the beer is, but there is a decent hop character on the nose. Quite a fruity nose, I pick up ripe mango/strawberry, a bit of grass/onion notes and a bit of dankness. All followed up by a good malt/bready backbone.
Mouthfeel: A good solid mouthfeel, bit on the meaty/chewy end, which I quite enjoy. Carbonation is spot on, vigorous but not overpowering. Keeps the flavours dancing on the palate. Nice sweet finish with a hint of dryness on the end.
Flavour: Good upfront bitterness, which eases into a sweet malt/bready finish. There is a bit of residue sweetness on the palate as the beer goes down, leaving a subtle bitterness which make the beer moreish. Fruity hops on the palate, kiwi fruit/grass/hint of mango and strawberry. The flavour is a bit more malt and bitterness driven with subtle fruit hop character.
Overall: The beer has a great hop forward nose, while on the palate is is more malt/bitterness driven with fruity hop highlights. I would love to have had this beer fresher so that the hops could shine, but even now the hop character is good, sweet/dry finish and malt backbone, the beer is very moreish and goes down smoothly. Great beer Zane!
Scott Bennison's Citra APA Homebrew Review
Find Scott at the Huttbrewer FB Page
Appearance:
Opens with a satisfying "Hsst", pours a straw to copper/amber colour, leaning more towards the copper/Amber with a straw/gold highlights. Off white/subtle tan cap with creamy tight bubbles.
Aroma:
Damn nice nose on the beer. Citrus/grapefruit/resin, which is balanced with the sweet malt backbone. If given a vigorous swirl you pick up fresh lemon zest. A great citrus hop bomb with distinct hop character. Great aroma on this beer!
Mouthfeel:
Nice light to medium mouthfeel, leaning more towards the light side. Carbonation was a bit subtle, but I suspect it was bottled from the keg. Very easy drinking and is a fantastic summer session beer. Dry finish really helps the moreishness of the beer.
Flavour:
Nice smooth upfront bitterness, reminds me of orange zest bitterness, which eases into a nice malt character. The beer is hop dominate, with the malt balancing out the hop character/bitterness with the malt sweetness. Very Palatable. The only small fault I can pick up is a subtle butterscotch on the back end. But nothing that takes away or distract's from the beer. If the beer was super fresh you would not even pick up on it. Other than that the flavour of this beer is fantastic, hop character/bitterness to sweet malt is balanced and tasty.
Overall:
This beer is a balanced citrus hop bomb, which is light and very easy drinking. The beer went down so smooth on a hot summer's day and left me with a profound feeling of "I want more" and honestly I cant say more than that. Its a great beer and I feel privileged to have tried it.
Scott Bennison's Pinefruit XPA Homebrew Review
Find Scott at the Huttbrewer FB Page
Appearance:
Opens with a small “hsst”, the beer is keg conditioned so not expecting any fireworks. The beer pours crystal clear and a fantastic amber/orange colour, really great looking beer in the glass. Has a pure white head with tight small bubbles. The beer keeps a small cap, but does generate a small decent head once swirled. Some great lacing on the beer though, so it might just be a dirty glass.
Aroma:
This is a very complex aroma, fantastic and complex. Major pine notes with a sweet resin back bone with just a bit of dankness in there for complexity. Pungent comes to mind, but in the best possible way. The malt does not come through on the nose, very hop dominant! And it's great! And just to note, I have as light head cold while drinking this brew, but the pine and resin are coming through in spades.
Mouthfeel:
The beer has decent carbonation, if not a bit on the light side. Mouth feel is light to medium leaning more towards the light side. The low carbonation lets the resinous flavour coat your taste buds and lets those hops shine on the palate.
Flavour:
The beer is hop dominated by far, upfront bitterness that's lingers once swallowed. The pine/resin hop character lingers on the palate, leaving the drinker with the feeling of a face full of pine cones, but in the best possible way. The malts come through on the finish with a sweet malt, just to help ease the palate from the pine/resin assault. There seems to be subtle kiwi fruit hop fruitiness behind the more dominate hop character.
Overall:
As I mentioned above, I have a slight head cold, it this beer is not letting that get in the way, the hops are coming through in spades. The brew is hop forward and those hops dominate! The beer is very easy drinking and going down well chilling on the patio. My overall verdict is not going to be long as I want to get it over so, I can just relax and enjoy the beer. To me, there is no better verdict or "dammit, let's get this finished so I can just enjoy the beer!"
Appearance: Cracked open with a good "hsst", pours a deep dark red, which almost looks black. Vigorous head which died down to a tan cap. The beer looks quite dark like a deep chocolate/mahogany but when held up to the light, that's when the magic happens. A ruby red, crystal clear beer, fantastic colour!
Aroma: The aroma is more malt focused than hop. Dark stone fruit/raisin being the more dominant aromas, with a sweet malt back bone. The beer is a Red IPA, but I am not picking up much hop character at all. It is more malt focused with the hops hardly there at all. I would say from a aroma point of view this beer is more a red ale than Red IPA.
Mouthfeel: The mouth feel feels good, medium body with just a bit of stickiness to keep the malt flavours on the palate. Carbonation was quite vigorous when first opened, but settled into a subtle carbonation that lets the aromas and flavours linger on the palate.
Flavour: As with the aroma, the beer is more malt orientated than hop. Nice smooth bitterness that eases into a lush malt flavour. Picking up raisin/plum/dark stone fruits with a sweet caramel and a bit of chocolate backbone. Hint of an alcohol sweet ness in the background, but a nicely balanced beer with initial bitterness.
Overall: I think this is a great beer, very complex but easy drinking. My biggest issues with the beer is that it is not a RIPA, it is not hoppy enough, but change the label and call it a red ale, then damn, now that's a different matter. The beer is smooth, good upfront bitterness to balance the malt sweetness that follows. Great malt flavours and easy drinking. Need I say more?
Ben Mayn's Belgian Styled Ale
Find Ben on the Brewday FB Page
Appearance: Opened with a good "shhttp", pours a burnt mahogany with burnt orange highlights. A large copious head which has tight bubbles, reminded me of a chocolate meringue. The beer has a bit of haze as the beer had a bit of oomph when opened which disturbed the yeast, but still a nice looking beer.
Aroma: The beer has a nice spicy aroma, chocolate/cinnamon/clove/dark fruit. I do not pick up any hop character in the beer, just a Belgium/spicy/funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium mouth feel, carbonation is spot on. The bubbles keep the flavours dancing on the palate. Light, fluffy and effervescent, carbonation is perfect for the beer and really helps the flavours get to all the taste buds.
Flavour: The flavour comes across as chocolate/cinnamon/clove/dark fruit and typical Belgium funk which has a dry finish and chocolate aftertaste. Has a nice bitterness that balances the sweetness of the beer but could be reduced slightly. The abv of the beer is well hidden with the spiciness and sweetness of the beer, and for a 8% abv, it goes down very well, no burn at all. I cannot pick up any off flavours, no stressed yeast or diacetyl. A Very nicely brewed beer!
Overall: A very solid beer, it's spicy/funky and goes down very smooth. The abv is well hidden and does not distract from the flavour or aroma of the beer. I am not the biggest fan of Belgium beers, but this beer by Ben is grand, it is easy drinking, spicy/funky and hides a whollop. I am very impressed with the spiciness that he got out of the us04 yeast. If he did not tell me, I would have thought he used a Belgium strain of yeast.
Appearance: Pours a burnt copper/orange with slight yellow highlights. Has a off white/tan head which keeps a small cap. The beer has decent lacing but head retention needs work. The brew does have quite a bit of haze, which could be hop haze and/or chill haze. I like the look of the beer, the colour is great but head retention and clarity needs work.
Aroma: Aroma of the beer is balanced with the malt/hop, more English aroma than US pale ale which I was after. There is a decent grapefruit/orange peel/lime aroma which is backed up with a sweet malt/biscuit backbone. The aroma is nice, it could do with some more punch though, it is something that I need to work on.
Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is light to medium leaning more to the medium side. The biggest issue I have is the carbonation is a bit off. It's more of an English style than American, so the aroma is not a prominent as it could be as it is slightly undercarbed. Saying this, it is also going down quite nicely because of the subtle carbonation.
Flavour: Nice prominent bitterness which eases out to a biscuit/caramel finish. The hops are nice a distinct and have some punch, flavour matching the aroma, with grapefruit/orange peel but with a overall orange marmalade flavour which is balanced with the bitterness. The brew has a nice dry finish which cleans your palate and makes you want more. I am very happy with the malt bill of this beer, it suites/balances the hop bill and is a great backbone for the hops.
Overall: The beer still needs some work, but for a simple pale ale, it's moreish. The aroma/carbonation needs work, as the nose is still not quite "in your face" like I would have liked, but it's okay for now as it goes down smooth on a hot humid day. The actual flavour of the beer is pretty good, smooth bitterness, citrus bang and easing into a caramel/biscuit backbone with a dry finish. I am very happy with the beer, it suits summer nicely, it is not too heavy, the citrus flavours keep it light and refreshing and the dry finish keeps you wanting more. Would I brew it again? Yes, yes I would. Recipe: Cascadian Pale Ale TYPE: All Grain Style: American Pale Ale
RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS SRM: 21.7 EBC SRM RANGE: 9.8-27.6 EBC IBU: 42.3 IBUs Tinseth IBU RANGE: 30.0-45.0 IBUs OG: 1.050 SG OG RANGE: 1.045-1.060 SG FG: 1.012 SG FG RANGE: 1.010-1.015 SG BU:GU: 0.849 Calories: 465.4 kcal/l Est ABV: 5.0 % EE%: 72.00 % Batch: 20.00 l Boil: 28.92 l BT: 60 Mins
WATER CHEMISTRY ADDITIONS Amt Name 3.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) 2.00 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60.0 mins) 2.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins 5.60 g Calcium Chloride (Boil 60.0 mins) 3.70 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Boil 60.0 mins) 3.70 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Boil 60.0 mins
Total Grain Weight: 4.46 kg Total Hops: 217.00 g MASH/STEEP PROCESS Amt Name 4.00 kg Gladfield Ale Malt (6.0 EBC) 0.23 kg Caramalt (Thomas Fawcett) (29.6 EBC) 0.23 kg Gladfield Shepherds Delight Malt (300.0
BOIL PROCESS Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.040 SG Est OG: 1.050 SG Amt Name 17.00 g Chinook [12.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min 5.60 g Calcium Chloride (Boil 60.0 mins) 3.70 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Boil 60.0 mins) 3.70 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Boil 60.0 mins 1.06 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) 30.00 g Cascade [6.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min 30.00 g Cascade [6.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min
Amt Name 40.00 g Cascade [6.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 20.0
FERM PROCESS Primary Start: 06 Dec 2014 - 2.00 Days at 19 c 10 Dec 2014 - 1.00 Days at 20 c 11 Dec 2014 - 2.00 Days at 21 c 13 Dec 2014 - 1.00 Days at 18 c 18 Dec 2014 - 3.00 Days at 1.5 c
Amt Name 100.00 g Cascade [6.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days
NOTES Added 500ml to cool. Strike water to target temp 74.7c Added 2.5l of boiling water to raise temp from 64.6c to 68c Forgot to add brewing salts at beginning of boil, added with 20min left in the boil.
07/12/14 - Beer very slow to start, positive pressure but no active Fermentation 08/12/14 - Fermentation has started and going well, temp had gone up to 21c, but brought it back down to 19c 10/12/14 - Beer still fermenting. Increased temp by 1 degree to 20c 11/12/14 - Beer still fermenting. Increased by another degree to 21c 13/12/14 - Took Gravity ready, FG is 1.010. Lowered temp to 18c for dry hopping 14/12/14 - Dry Hopped with 100g of US Cascade at 18c 18/12/14 - Dropped temp to 1.5c for crash chilling to the 21st 21/12/14 - Kegged beer, carbing @ 13psi for 3 days 22/12/14 - forgot to put gas on, increased gas to 15psi for 1 day
Appearance: Pours a beautiful burnt copper colour with a pure white head. A really good looking beer, crystal clear and the colour on it, wow, it's a really great looking beer.
Aroma: I am not sure how old the beer is, but I would say is a wee bit old as the hops are very subtle. What I do pickup is piney/resiny aromas backed up by a sweet malt character of biscuit/caramel. I do pick up a bit of diacetyl in the beer, which does not take anything away from the beer, but it is there. Does add a nice butterscotch/caramel aroma to the beer though.
Mouthfeel: Medium mouth feel with good carbonation. Small tight bubbles streaming up the glass which keeps the beer with a nice fat white cap. Carbonation is spot on which keep the flavours moving around the palate.
Flavour: A nice assertive bitterness up front which smooth out into a nice caramel/biscuit aftertaste. Pine and resin with a bit of citrus, with the caramel/biscuit combination the hop and malt comes across as marmalade flavour. Very fresh tasting beer, what the nose lacked the flavour makes up. There is still a slight bit of diacetyl but in the background and does not take away from the beer but add to it.
Overall: This is a fantastic looking beer, the colour on it is amazing, I can waste an hour just watching the carbonation stream up the beer. The aroma is dying off which show the diacetyl in the beer, but which also does not distract from the beer flavours. Piney/resin/marmalade/caramel and biscuit, this is what I pick up in the beer and they go so very well together. In the end this beer is great to drink after mowing the lawn and just wanting to chill out. Great beer! Thanks to Grant Baker for sending it to me to try, really do appreciate it!
Appearance:
Pours dark and thick, tan pillowy head with nice tight bubbles. Head lingers and looks like chocolate meringue. Very good looking beer.
Aroma:
Sweet malt/caramel/chocolate/vanilla/spice/coffee/coconut which all mingle together to a creme brûlée aroma. The aroma is very subtle and delicate, this is a very pleasing beer to bring up to the nose. What is also great is picking up the different aromas as the beer warms up. Aroma starts of delicate and then just become brûlée to the face.
Mouthfeel:
Mouthfeel is good, medium to full, Coats the mouth which helps the flavours linger on the palate. Carbonation once opened was a bit aggressive, but eases off into a nice light tingle on the tongue.
Flavour:
A very complex beer, sweet and rich. Vanilla/caramel/coffee/toffee/sweet malt, not much bitterness for the hops more of a dark malt bitterness, would say this is more of a dessert beer and at 9% it is very easy to drink. There is still a bit of alcohol burn, but with age, would mellow and smooth out. Not saying that it is not smooth now, but with dark beers, age does wonderful things.
Overall:
This beer is going down on a crap rainy/windy day very well. The brew is a great sipping beer. I am really enjoying the different aromas/flavours as this beer warms up, it's complex and moreish. At 9% it is not a sessionable beer but so very tasty and easy drinking! The beer is very enjoyable and I am quite honoured to get a bottle to try. I would love to try this beer aged for a year, just to see what flavours come out from behind the high abv.
At the end of the day this beer is big, sweet and very moreish. Damn tasty, and oh so good!
Appearance: I have crash chilled for 2 days at 2c but the beer is still pretty cloudy, maybe should chill for longer next batch or use gelatin. The beer is quite light but with a peach/orange appearance.
Aroma: The aroma of the beer straight off the bat is much more pronounced, I get Lemon meringue/peach/mango with a bit of juicy fruit bubble gum. A sweet malt is there but the hops are the more dominant. The nose is great, it should get better as the brew is a bit cold, the beer has just come out of the fermentor at 2c.
Flavour: The taste of the beer is very much hop dominate. The flavours of the hops mirror the aroma, with but with a more peach/passion fruit. Very refreshing and will be great on a hot day, reminds me of a tropical fruit punch.
Mouthfeel: I can't really say much about the mouthfeel, as the carbonation will help the body of the beer. What I can say is that it is very smooth, more on the light side. Very easy drinking!
Overall: So far I am pretty happy with the beer, once it has carbonated a bit I think it will be better, with the carbonation helping the body and the aroma of the beer. I am still holding judgment if the brewing salts worked but I think it's safe to say I am going to be adding brewing salts to all my beers from now on. This is a thirst quencher of a beer, reminiscent of tropical fruit punch fruit juice than a beer, which might cause some issues on a hot summers day when you hit quite a few back.
Appearance:
Pours a fantastic burnt orange colour with honey highlights has a slight chill haze, but great looking beer specially for a single malt beer. Tight pure white head with great lacing.
Aroma:
sweet melon/marmalade/honey/grassy - very subtle hop aroma on the beer with a bready backbone. Unfortunately I think the beer was bottled too soon as it haze the case of the Big D. Has quite a prominent butter/butterscotch aroma to the beer.
Mouthfeel:
Light to medium body, leaning more to light, but which is quite nice as it lead the beer to a more sessionable quality. Carbonation is great with a pure white cap and small tight bubbles streaming up the glass.
Flavour:
A nice smooth bitterness that eases into a nice smooth sweetness. The melon for the hops is subtle, but unfortunately the Big D is more prominent and dominates majority of the flavours of the beer. Still a decent balanced beer with sweetness to bitterness but the diacetyl just dominates a bit too much.
Overall:
A very nice and smooth session beer which will be great for summer. There is a great sweet melon hop character with which is refreshing but delicate. The biggest problem I think with this beer is that it was bottled too soon as the diacetyl is strong with this one. It is still a great session beer and will go down great after mowing the lawn. Thanks to Dean for sharing with me, it is going down a great on a hot summer Sunday!
And another week has gone by! What has been going on? Not much, just planning/thinking about brews and brew upgrades.
Casket Ale v1.1 update
It has been 1 week since brew day, and fermentation seems to be going on without a hitch. I have fermented at 18c for the first two days, then slowly increased the temp up to 21c by the end of the week for a diacetyl rest. It's still fermenting away today(Sunday 2nd), not crazy but nice slow bubbles. I pulled off a test sample to check gravity and to see if I can detect any distinct changes to the beer from adding the brew salts. Gravity went from a SG of 1.052 to 1.012, so a nice sessionable 5.2% abv.
Casket Ale v1.1 Sample
Tastes and aroma notes:
Straight off, the nose is definitely more distinct. Mango/pineapple/tropical fruit, much more pungent and distinct compared to v1.0. So far, adding the brewing salts has already made a major change compared to the previous batch. At this point last time the hops where not very distinct, and now they are popping quite nicely! I have not even added the dry hops yet.
The bitterness is not as bad as I was dreading. When I had the gas problem on brew day, I thought the extra bitterness was going to unbalance the beer. But the bitterness is good, the finish of the beer is much dryer compared to the previous version though, so the bitterness is smooth but lingers with the dryness of the beer.
Hops are nice and prominent on the palate, mango/pineapple the more dominant flavours. They fall off smoothly with the dryness of the beer.
The dryness is more similar to a lager than ale, but with this base single malt beer is understandable. With dry hopping I have high hopes of this being a very sessionable/easy drinking beer for summer. Until I have tried out the final product, with dry hopping and carbonation, I will hold my verdict for now, but I can say it is promising!
Kombucha:
As far as I can see it seems to be going well. It does not smell off or have any mold on it, so it's
Small Kombucha Mother
looking promising. There seems to be a "mother" growing on the top and there seems to be quite a bit of sluggy stuff going on in the tea, which I think is the yeast and bacteria. It is still early days though, one week in and three more to go. I will keep you updated on how it cracks on.
Cold brewed coffee:
Not much of a update on this wee project except that it is almost finished... Damn is this a tasty way to drink coffee! Specially served over ice, a splash of milk and sweetened slightly with condensed milk. Only thing I would do next time is use a darker roast and more coffee beans. As tasty, as it was, the body was a bit lacking and it could have some more kick... Will just have to make another brew.
That is the update for this week, nothing too crazy, but everything is going smoothly. I have received one small upgrade for the brewery. Well, a tool to be exact. As you can see, I have purchased myself a step bit so that I can add a tap to my hot liquor pot and maybe install my thermometer into my boil kettle. I will finish off this blog entry with a link to my latest Homebrew Wednesday. I hope all is well!
It's 6:30am and I am up. This is not unknown to happen during the week, but it's a Saturday. Who would be up that early on a Saturday!? This fella would be, but why? Cause it's brew day!
The night before I had set up as much as I could to save time on brew day, as my brew days tend to go on for most of the day. Equipment was cleaned. Check. Hops measured. Check. Brew day equipment ready. Check. Grains and yeast. Check. Water measured out and. Dosed with Camden tablet. Check.
The start of brew day went to plan, strike water temp achieved, target mash temp was 66.7 C, I hit it on the nose, measured mash temp was 66.7 C. Now to wait for the 60min mash with added brewing salts. In total I was planning a 75min mash, with a 15min recirculation to clear our the wort. Tubedinoz arrived just in time to help me recirculate as I do not have a pump yet, so had to jug it. This is when I had the grand plan to try a poor man's fly sparge... It kind of worked, it added on another 40mins to my brew day and was a lot of work. Had a few issues with the mash getting disturbed and some grains got through, but was easily fixed.
We collected 32l of preboil wort of 1.045, the target was 1.036. The poor man's sparge worked, but was a bit of a hassle - some upgrades are needed! Now, the biggest problem of the day was starting to rear it head. The gas burner I use was going a bit iffy but I did not think it was a big problem, thought the slight breeze was effecting it, checked the gas, and it felt like there was plenty...
First wort, 60min hop, and boil salt additions went with out a hitch, but burner was still iffy... 30min left of the boil and the burner really starts going blah, kept going out and a very sub-standard boil. A meeting of minds later, I went to get another gas bottle and boom, burner rocking like a rock star. Once the boil was rolling, I left it for another 10min, the started adding my last hop addition, add chiller, wordloc tablet and yeast nutrient. Once the boil was done, I chilled down to under 75 C and add a 40g hop steep/whirlpool addition and let it sit for 20min. The rest of the brew day went quite smoothly, chilled the wort, transferred to the fermentor and pitched the yeast.
It is now the Monday after brew day, and the fermentation is going well. It is keeping within the 18 C ferment temp that I want and is on its way to high krausen. Tomorrow I will raise it to 19 C and then Thursday to 20 C. Fermentation is not going crazy but just chugging along. I will then raise the temp to 21 C at the end of the week for 1 week. After that I will dry hop for 5 days, crash chill and transfer to the keg.
So what did I learn for the brew day? 1. It's always great to have a brew buddy to help with an extra hand. 2. The bayou burner is great, but it needs a full tank to get a good rolling boil, anything under half is not good. 3. The poor man's fly sparge does work. It is a lot of work and can disturb the grain bed, but the extra efficiency is great. I can see some upgrades in my near future
Now, what I was planning was to use this batch's yeast cake to ferment my next version of Pale Death Ale. I have changed my mind. I forgot that I was going to dry hop the beer and I do not use hop bags, so having hops in the yeast cake will not be beneficial. So the next batch of PDA has been shelved for now. I also don't want the beer to sit in the keg for another 3 weeks while I ferment the PDA. I want to get as much of those hops as I can! Now it's just the waiting game, a couple of weeks and I will be able to tell if the brewing salts have had any effect on my hop profile.
That will be it for now, Thank you for reading about my brew day, drama and all. Below you will find my Homebrew Wednesday with a few clips of my brew day.
I am just putting up a quick post today, wanted to let you know that there is a different kind of brewing going on in the Shadow Beast brewery today... I am trying out some new fermentation/brewing. Firstly I am brewing some cold brewed coffee for summer and for a extra caffeine kick. Secondly, I am also trying my hand at Kombucha... I have ever tried this before but I was lucky to get my hands on to a starter, so I am now trying to grow a "mother". I won't get into the technical information of the two brews as there some some great links out there to help you. I will add some links at the bottom of the post to the ones I used.
Cold pressed coffee:
I have tried this before and quite enjoyed it, it makes a great iced coffee and is great just on its own. This is a very easy way of brewing coffee, minus the bitterness and acidity. This method of coffee brewing really brings out the small nuance flavours of your beans of choice. It will also be a stronger brew, minus the bitterness and major increase in the caffeine boost due to it being so concentrated. I used a clean French press(mason jar will do), the coffee beans that I had on hand and spring water. Make sure the beans are coarsely ground(for easy filtration) and the water is cold, mix in the container cover and leave in the fridge for 12-24hrs, decant off the beans, and serve. It is that easy and tastes great!
Kombucha:
Now I have heard about this concoction/alien looking thing for a while, haven't done much research on it, but it has good health benefits, apparently.. I was lucky to get a starter for Willem of TruBrew - Brouwereij Sterrenberg, he was gracious enough to give me a starter for free to try. I researched how to make a starter, but we will have to see if I can get this going... I made a batch of sweet tea, cleaned and sanitized a mason jar, pitched the Kombucha starter and covered with a hand towel so it can breath. Now to get a decent "Mother," I will have to leave it for 4 weeks. Then only will I be able to make a Kombucha batch. This is going to be interesting, plus hopefully it won't get mouldy, which happens very easily here in New Zealand. It's an experiment for sure!
I will keep you updated on both brews, how they are going, how they taste or if they have gone balls up. I am quietly confidence about the cold brew; the Kombucha... Well, we will see. Thank you for reading my blog and hopefully it is a good read and enjoyable.
The need to brew is strong! Both kegs are kicked and the fermentation chamber is empty. Brew day is upon us.
So I have finally kicked the keg for the Pale Death Ale and Casket Ale v1 keg, So I will be rebrewing the Casket Ale. This is all part of my Casket Series, where I brew a very simple beer and make slight tweaks so I can see what the results will be. Its a great way to experience what a certain, hop, malt or yeast characteristic's bring to a beer. I have brewed the Casket Ale before, its a very simple recipe and the beer came out decently, but the one criticism that I have received, and what I have felt myself, is the hops are just lacking a bit of punch. This is not from the lack of hops either, one of my early beers, which had almost 300g total in a 23L batch, was a bit meh.
Casket Ale v1.2, will be pretty much the same recipe, with some slight tweaks. I have reduced the grain so I can brew a 21L batch instead of a 23L batch and added a few more hops at the end of the boil, whirlpool/hop steep and dry hop. The biggest change I will be attempting with this beer, is adding brewing salts to the mash and boil. Now I wont get into the technical side of it, as I am still figuring it out myself.. What I have done, is sourced the water report for my area and used the EZwatercalculator to work out my water additions(see image at end of post). One of the biggest factors to hop bitterness/aroma is water. The harder the water, the better hop bitterness and aroma you will get. After checking my water report and looking up the optimal water chemistry for a hoppy beer. I found my water was severely lacking! My water it seems is very soft, which will be great for a pilsner but not for a hoppy pale ale or IPA. The only avenue I see it to experiment with brewing salts and record the results.
Its now Friday night, I have premeasured my mash and batch sparge water. I have also dosed each with one camden tablet to help dissipate the chlorine, which I also have an abundance of. Hops and brew salts(gypsum, calcium chloride and epsom salts) are measured out, equipment is cleaned and ready for brew day. All I have left now is to finish writing this post, clean out my large pot in the morning and to get my brew on.
I will post another blog entry about the actual brew day and will have some footage from the day for my Homebrew Wednesday. So you will be able to see the trials and tribulations of the day. As I have to warn you, this might go balls up, playing with water chemistry is risky. You can make the beer overly bitter and add off flavours with just the brewing salts. I have read up and done research on the matter, but I might be putting too much in or I might be putting too little in. What I will do, is share my results, be it good or bad.
Now, I need to go do some more readying and get some sleep as it is going to be a long day tomorrow. Wish me luck and have a beer on me.
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