Honey Kölsch, July 16 2010

The weather is here and I'm about to switch into high gear for brewing this summer.  Kara suggested that we brew a Kölsch and here's the first of two.  When this finishes primary, I'll brew another to rack on to the yeast cake.  Adding honey was a bit more of a stretch from style but that's what happens around here.  If I remember correctly, Kölsch is defined by the Kölsch-Konvention and can't be brewed outside the German city of Cologne.   Also, this brew violates the Reinheitsgebot or the German Beer Purity Law which states that you can only produce beer with water, barley, and hops.
Jonathan stopped by today during the boil and brought a bottle to share from the Hook Norton Brewery.  Hooky Gold is listed as a Traditional English Ale at 4.2% ABV.  We noted it to be bready, nutty, and fairly well balanced.  The hop flavor was reminiscent of East Kent Goldings but after viewing their website, apparently this English Ale uses American hops.  Overall, it was a pleasant beer.  Thanks for sharing, Jonathan!
Jonathan talked me into upping my honey addition from 1/2 cup to a full cup.  We debated how many gravity points this would equate to but I agreed that a full cup will impart more of a honey note.  In it went!

A smirk of Breaking the Law!

Honey Kölsch, July 16 2010

5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 75 Minute Boil

9.5 lbs. Domestic 2-Row
0.5 lb. Vienna
Single Infusion Mash 150°F

1 cup of Sage Blossom Honey added at KO

1.25 oz. Hallertauer 60 min.
0.25 oz. Saaz 1 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 20 min.

White Labs WLP029 German Ale/Kölsch Yeast (vial to quick starter), thanks Kara!

OG: 1.062 @ 78°F
FG: 1.012 @ 56°F
ABV: 7% (temp corrected)

Update 7/23: Racked to secondary.  Current gravity is 1.013.
Update 8/16: Kegged after 2 weeks of lagering at 45°F.  Great flavor profile so far.
Update 8/25: Now on tap!  Last week, I took this beer to an evaluation committee headed up by Harold Gulbransen.  We decided that this beer would best be categorized as a Belgian Blonde.  Its great with lots of malt character, easy drinking with a very hidden alcohol content, there's a hint of sweetness imparted by the honey, and overall a pleasant drinker.  Kara tested this beer for me over at White Labs this past weekend for gravity and ABV.  The results: 7.03% with a Specific Gravity 1.01195.  Looks like my measurements were spot on.

Belgian Tripel, June 5 2010

After a long trip last week, a brew weekend is here.  This batch is slated to be consumed at my neighbor's birthday party in July.  Thanks, Dylan, for your help!

Belgian Tripel, June 5 2010
5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

8 lbs. Belgian Pilsner
1.5 lbs. Vienna
1 lb. Red Wheat
1 lb. Munich
0.5 lb. Caravienne
Single Infusion Mash 148°F

1 lb. Belgian Soft Candi Sugar (brown, SRM 40)

2 oz. Tettnanger for 60 min.
0.5 oz. Saaz for 10 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 20 min.

White Labs WLP530 Abbey Ale (vial to starter), thanks Kara!

OG: 1.070
FG: 1.012
ABV: 7.7%

Kegged on June 30th. Very promising going into the keg.  Can't wait to find out how this turns out.

Belgian Golden Strong, May 15 2010

My neighbor, Dylan, is really into Belgian Ales and with a birthday coming up, it was decided that we will fill the taps and roll over the kegerator to his backyard for the event.  This past Wednesday, we met up at Toronado with some friends for some "research".  We focused on Belgian Golden Strong and Tripel as our topics of study.  Among other beers, I recall having a Westmalle Tripel which I feel is an outstanding Tripel/Golden Strong, Urthel Tripel, and a La Chouffe.  We also had a Dupont Saison for a sample of our next focused "research" session.  Here's the recipe for the first brew with another Tripel in the near future. 

Belgian Golden Strong, May 15 2010
5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

11 lbs. Belgian Pilsner
1 lb. Red Wheat 
Single Infusion Mash 148°F

1 lb. Belgian Soft Candi Sugar (blonde)
1 lb. Dextrose

1 oz. Tettnanger for 60 min.
1 oz. Saaz for 20 min.
1 Whirlfloc tab 20 min.

White Labs WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale (vial to starter), thanks Kara!

OG: 1.080
FG: 1.026 (see below)
ABV: 7.2%

Kegged on June 30th.

Its been a while since I've experienced a stuck fermentation.  When racking to secondary after the krausen during primary had fallen, I took a gravity reading.  At 1.030, it was obvious that it wouldn't attenuate.  First, I wasn't expecting this high of an original gravity (was thinking it would hit around 1.070) and second, the weather cooled around here and I knew that a warmer temperature wasn't going to help WLP570 attenuate.  After racking to secondary, I attempted to rescue this brew with a vial of WLP001.  From 1.030 to 1.026, at least I was able to shave off 0.004 which in this range, helped a lot.  Stuck fermentations simply suck!  There's not a whole lot you can do about it after the fact.  Next time, I'll be sure to ramp up the starter earlier, possibly use a nutrient addition, and aerate longer with oxygen.

Big Bottle Birthday

Inebriated adventures are in abundance around here.  Much so that I quickly get behind in blogging all the shenanigans.  Though my Big Bottle Birthday happened nearly two months ago, I had to post a couple of pics of that epic mid-week night.  Among other bottled beers we consumed that evening, the main event was a 6L bottle of Duvel:

Of course, we had help from family and friends.   Soon after dusting the bottle, the party got so out of hand that they had to shut down the grid.  The neighborhood went dark and we were forced to continue drinking games under candle light.

As to be expected, the 2007 Duvel was really good.  It was picked up at Hi-Time Wine Cellar in Costa Mesa, CA.  Hi-Time is a gem in Orange County and while this particular bottle wasn't inexpensive, they typically have reasonable prices and a great selection.  Big bottled beer is not economical, but hey, it was my birthday!   What does one do with an empty 6L bottle?  Not sure.  Got ideas?

Chimay Cinq Cents Tasting Notes

This tasting followed the Rochefort flight, on another evening of course! I'm well versed with Chimay since its a hard beer to miss at a number of pubs with quality beer available. Before I really started paying attention to Belgian style beers, this was the only Belgian I would recognize on tap (or on the bottle list). It seems that every reputable craft beer bar has a metal sign for Chimay. I think they're the only one in the authentic Trappist group that actually advertises their beer. Its been quite some time since I had the white label and I truly have been missing out.
Chimay Cinq Cents
Brew Like a Monk gives the vitals:
OG 1.069 ABV 8.2% (8% on the bottle) Attenuation 89% SRM 8.5 IBU 35
Pours cloudy and pale in color with a creamy white head. There's clove and banana in the aroma but this left as it warmed. Light to medium body with medium carbonation (visually seems to have a higher carbonation than perceived). The hop character is subtle but lingers in the aftertaste. This beer has a great flavor profile that comes in chapters. First comes the malt sweetness, subtle banana, clove, dries out, then finishes with a smooth clove-like hop bitterness. Ed was here for the tasting and commented on how well balanced the beer is.
This is my favorite from the Chimay lineup though its been months since I've had blue or red label Chimay. Taking notes is the only way to keep track!
On a side note, I've read that Chimay is the source for White Lab's Trappist Ale yeast strain.

Trappistes Rochefort 6 8 10 Tasting Notes

I'm a little behind with a number of posts I've intended to write. Numerous inebriated adventures are awaiting upload and publish. This Rochefort tasting took place early August after having read Brew Like a Monk by Stan Hieronymus (Amazon link to Brew Like a Monk) during the summer. While this post was well overdue, subsequent posts are all related to the recent holiday drinking season.
Quick introduction: These were my written notes months ago and tasted the 6 and 8 one evening and the 10 on the following evening. I used a Corsendonk tulip glass for tasting which concentrates the carbon dioxide bubbles in the center. Any reference to "the book" below is Brew Like a Monk. During the tasting, I was reading Stan's section on Rochefort and his tasting descriptions. Check out Stan's blogs which are linked above.
Rochefort 6:
The book gives the vitals as - OG 1.072 ABV 7.8% (7.5% on the bottle) Attenuation 83% SRM 20 IBU 18
Light aroma with subtle malt sweetness and no perceivable hop. The head subsided within a few minutes. The light body and delicate malt sweetness lent to a bready after taste. Very digestible and refreshing with warming closing in. Towards the middle of the beer (half full or half empty), more bready toast flavors become pronounced with a alcohol warming mineral flavor that lends to tequila notes in the after taste (I must have had a good evening at the cantina the night before this). In my opinion, a fantastic beer!
According to the book, Rochefort uses Dingemans Pilsener, caramel malts, and pellet styrian goldings and hallertauer hops. "The monks weren't concerned about producing a commercially viable product, just a supplement for their vegetarian diets."
Rochefort 8:
The book gives the vitals as - OG 1.078 ABV 9.2% Attenuation 90% SRM 32 IBU 22
Head subsided at the same rate of the 6, quicker than expected. The head fell soon after taking the picture. The aroma has more malt and dark toast than the 6. There's a medium to dark toast bready flavors and alcohol is notes are apparent (as it should be with 9.2%). As the beer warms up, there's more alcohol in the aroma. Its not as sweet as the 6, more dry. There's noticeable use of adjuncts since there is less bready flavor and malt sweetness than the 6. Great beer though I prefer the 6.
Rochefort 10:
The book gives the vitals as - OG 1.096 ABV 11.3% Attenuation 89% SRM 45 IBU 27
Pours with a creamy beige head with more retention than the 6 or 8. The aroma has a very subtle malt sweetness and alcohol. The body is certainly bigger though it still remains very smooth. The 10 is bigger in every aspect than the 8: malt, body, alcohol, bitterness. There are also wine characteristics with tannins (in bitterness more than hop). I also taste roasted to charred caramel flavors, raisin, and fig. The book says Rochefort uses white and dark sugars along with wheat starch as their adjuncts. There's less carbonation than the 6 or 8 yielding a creamy texture with quick warming. Great strong beer though I have to go with the 6 as my favorite of the Rochefort lineup.

Summer Trappist, August 12 2009

I racked my previous Belgian ale to secondary (current gravity 1.010). This was a bit on the late side for me. I would have liked to rack this as soon as the krausen fell to ensure a healthy yeast bed. I wanted to brew last week and reuse the yeast bed but was delayed when I discovered that I was low on propane. Riding a motorcycle has its downside in this situation (Michelle uses our car to commute). Then came the bachelor party weekend and finally I was able to make a propane trip on Monday evening.
Home Depot Propane Story:
The Home Depot near our new house has this new system for buying and exchanging propane tanks. The idea for this system is that you simply go up to this ATM-like machine near the propane cages and slide in your credit card. It then opens a cage for you to put an empty propane container in (I suppose you could also hold up the flap inside the cage with a stick and it would think it received a propane tank). You close the door and it knows a tank is inside. Then, it opens a new cage with a full tank. Sounds easy enough and you don't have to wait for an employee to do the swap for you (I've waited too long, too many times for that). Potentially, you could do this at any time, even after regular business hours.
First time I did this (in the spring), the machine messed up the cage number and generated an error. I waited about 20 minutes for a Home Depot employee to help. They helped get the exchange I paid for and to make another exchange transaction for my second tank. This time, the transaction didn't go through but I ended up getting the exchange anyway (for free, very nice!).
On Monday, I went back to this machine after paying inside (didn't want to chance it). The machine read the barcode of my receipt and opened a cage to place my empty. Not only did it designate the wrong cage but an empty was already in there. I pulled it out and put it back in, ahem. It then gave me a full tank from another cage. The second tank exchange went just fine but I still had the extra empty tank.
I could have left the empty tank there or I could have waited an insane amount of time for an employee but I opted to just walk away with an extra tank. What's better than having two propane tanks!? Three propane tanks!
Found this on the interwebs and it shares my exact sentiment for the propane exchange machine:
Summer Trappist, Brewed August 8 2009
5 Gallons, Grain/Extract/Adjunct, Lazy Step Infusion, 90 Minute Boil

6lbs. Domestic 2-Row
1.25lbs. White Wheat
3lbs. Vienna
1lb. Munich
0.25lbs. Caramunich

Mash:
144°F for 40min.
152°F for 20min.
Raised to 165°F for Mashout

Added at boil:
1lb. DRE
1lb. Trader Joe's Organic Sugar (Evaporated Cane Juice)

1oz. Styrian Goldings 60min.
0.25oz. Santium 30min.
0.25oz. Spalt 20min.
0.25oz. Hallertauer 20min.
Whirlfloc tab 20min.

Racked on yeast bed of Trappist Monk Ale (White Labs WLP500 Trappist Ale Yeast)

Will ferment warm (hence Summer Trappist) somewhere in the 70's. I will use a water bath for the first few days in an attempt to make the temperature consistent. It should be a bit cooler than the ambient air temp.

OG: 1.065 @ 72°F - Corrected 1.066
FG: 1.013 @ 38°F - Corrected 1.012
ABV: 7.09%

UPDATE 8/25: Racked to secondary though it was long overdue. Current gravity is 1.009 @ 78°F. This one will need a couple of months to age but has great flavor.

Kegged 9/27

Trappist Monk Ale, July 31 2009

During my trip to the big island of Hawaii, I read most of Brew Like a Monk by Stan Hieronymus. Also while there, I was hoping to see a real monk, the Hawaiian Monk Seal. Last year, the Monk Seal was declared as the state's mammal to increase awareness of this critically endangered species.
Though I did brew two Belgian Ales last year, I thought I'd give it another go using a Trappist yeast. What I really like about this style is that almost anything goes. The central theme I took from "Brew Like a Monk" is digestability. The Trappist Monks referenced in the book all described good beer as "digestable".
To make this more Hawaiian, I would consider using Maui organic raw sugar. It was in the shopping cart for a purpose such as this as well as a lilikoi flavoring but for some reason I decided against it, grrr.

Trappist Monk Ale, Brewed July 31 2009
5 Gallons, Grain/Extract, Multi-Step Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

7lbs. Domestic 2-Row
3lbs. White Wheat
1lb. Vienna
0.25lbs. Caravienne
0.125lbs. Special Roast

Mash:
122°F for 30min.
144°F for 30min.
150°F for 15min.
Raised to 165°F for Mashout

Added 1lb. *DRE (instead of a sugar)

0.75oz. Styrian Goldings 60min.
0.25oz. Santium 30min.
0.25oz. Spalt 20min.
Whirlfloc tab 20min.

White Labs WLP500 Trappist Ale Yeast (No Starter)

Chilled to 65°F before oxygen aeration and pitching. Will ferment at 65°F for 3 days then warm to 75°F to finish primary. Will lager with others. The four lagers are being warmed up to 65°F for a diacetyl rest for the 3 days.

Seanywonton, I'm totally using Anti Foam for this ferment. I used 10 drops (2 drops per gallon). Wahoo, no blow-off tube needed!

OG: 1.060 @ 77°F - Corrected 1.062
FG: 1.012 @ 38°F - Corrected 1.011
ABV: 6.69%

August 12 Update: Racked to secondary many days after krausen fell. Current gravity is 1.010. Light body with clove flavor. I will keep this warm for another week then put in the kegerator with the lagers in the upper 30's.

Kegged 9/27

Image Source:
Watt, James. Hawaiian Monk Seal. Digital image. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. NOAA. Web. 31 July 2009.

Current state of the kegerator above. Lagers are getting a diacetyl rest while the Trappist Monk (lower left) gets 3 days of 65°F. If I only have one primary (6.5 gallon carboy), I'm able to squeeze in four secondaries and a keg. Nice! I still need to hard mount a CO2 manifold one of these days.

*Dry Rice Extract

Chillindamos, You're Doing it Right

Wish you were here but glad you're not. I am Chillindamos. Sent from my mobile phone.

Update: Notice the literature. Surprisingly, Belgian Ales are my final frontier. I think I was turned off by them early on with trying a number of funky beers. In turn, I personally categorized them as such. I've learned so much since those early years but never really explored much of the region and styles. A couple of years ago I took a BJCP course and took the exam. This really opened my eyes and tastes toward Belgian ales. My next door neighbor is a huge fan but explained to me that he hasn't branched out much and needs to learn more about styles outside of Belgians. I replied that I know quite a bit about all other styles besides Belgians. Well, it was about time I started learning more of what everyone raves about.

Brabo, November 28 2008

To continue my Antwerp legend from last weekend, the giant Antigoon continues to chop off hands of all those that do not pay a toll to cross the river Scheldt. After chopping off each hand, Antigoon tosses it in the river. Nice guy, huh!?
Along comes Silvius Brabo, a Roman soldier, who gives Antigoon a taste of his own. Brabo chops off a hand from the giant and tosses it in the river. The name Antwerp translates to "hand-throwing". To the left is the statue of Brabo's victory throw and is located in front of Antwerp's city hall.
This brew will be racked on top of the Antigoon using the Antwerp yeast.

Brabo, November 28 2008

5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

5lbs. Pilsener Malt
5lbs. Wheat Malt
2lbs. Domestic 2-Row
2lbs. Vienna
1lb. Munich

2oz. Homegrown Magnum 60min.
1/2oz. Styrian Golding* 20min.
1/4oz. Styrian Golding* 10min.
1/4oz. Styrian Golding* 5min.

White Labs, Antwerp Ale WLP515 Platinum Strain

OG: 1.074
FG: 1.016
ABV: 7.7%

*A huge thanks to Dean of San Diego Brewing Company for gifting all members of QUAFF with Styrian Golding hops for the holidays.

Antigoon, November 22 2008

I just picked up a platinum yeast strain and had to read up on the origin. White Labs releases seasonal yeast strains and I was itching to try something new. Antwerp Ale WLP515 is a Belgian yeast strain. Antwerp is in the western region of Belgium and the name comes from a legend translating to "hand-throwing". A giant by the name of Antigoon, shown as the towering statue to the right, would chop off hands and throw them in the Scheldt River for travelers who didn't pay his toll.

Antigoon, November 22 2008

5 Gallons, All Grain, Single Infusion Mash, 90 Minute Boil

5lbs. Pilsener Malt
4lbs. Wheat Malt
2lbs. Domestic 2-Row
2lbs. Vienna

0.75oz. Homegrown Vojvodina 60min.
1oz. Saaz 5min.

White Labs, Antwerp Ale WLP515 Platinum Strain

OG: 1.071
FG: 1.016
ABV: 7.3%