When I do brew demos, I tend to say that an extract beer can taste just as good as an all-grain brew. After three extra brews (with steeping grains) in the last year, I am having a hard time finding one that has been similar...as I haven't been able to brew one yet! I encourage you to contact me on Twitter at ihackbeer and I will provide a mailing address and accept all submissions! : >
My all-grain process (which I will write about in a later post) is locked in, I hit my marks with 80% efficiency every time, and I happily get malt character resembling my recipe...spicy rye notes, crystal sweetness, and even a little chocolate notes if I push the darker roasts. My steeping grains have not been that easy. We will see what happened with the brew demo I did at Pizza Boy Brewing on May 3rd, which is now on day nine of primary. Post later after I keg.
For extract with steeping, I can get the starting and finishing gravities I want with an extract, and get the hop aroma or yeast spiciness and phenols that I pushed for...but the malt bill is always short of my expectations. In fact, I would consider it muddy! The flavors of my steeping grains simply do not stand out! I always get the liquid malt extract flavor that takes control over the subtle nuisances of rye, wheat and other specialty grains. Forget adding crystal malt, it just pushes the sweet malt character even further!
I am tempted to make an all liquid malt extract pale ale, with no steeping grains to see what I am really getting out of the gooey stuff! Keep the hops at a medium, and see what pulls through.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
All Mosaic Hop Black IPA Tasting Notes - Pennsyltucky Lucky Black IPA (Double Dry Hopped)
Typically when you brew a beer with a single hop, the flavor and aroma tends to be very one dimensional. For instance, my IPA trials with Cascade hopes had dank but well defined citrusy notes; and as expected (and well-studied) the trials with Centennial (Cascades big brother) had noteworthy floral notes but also achieved big grapefruit and orange tones (according to my nose).
So let's discuss the Mosaic hop, which my Pennsyltucky Lucky Recipe used a whopping six ounces in the boil alone, followed by a three ounce addition for three days just following primary, and another three ounces for three days in the secondary after conditioning. One caveat I should mention, the boil was for a ten gallon batch and the primary was also ten gallons. The secondary was split into two five gallon batches, one which received the second dry-hop...the other that did not. This is the tasting of the double dry hop version.
According to the book "For the Love of Hops - The Practical Guide to Aroma, Bitterness and the Culture of Hops" by Stan Hieronymus, the Mosaic Hop (HBC 369) is "a daughter of Simcoe crossed with a disease resistant, Nugget-derived male. Rich in mango, lemon, citrus, pine, and, notably, blueberry." The top two essential oils in the Mosaic hop are Myrcene at 54% followed by Humulene at 13%.
For this tasting, the beer has only been carbonated and kegged for three days as I wanted to taste at the utmost freshness. With that being said, I would still consider this beer in the conditioning phase and I believe the hop flavor will work itself in with the other characteristics of the beer with time.
The tasting notes:
Aroma: First quick hit of aroma comes off as fresh cut spring onions and a blend of lemon and mango. The spring onion hint may be due to the large second does of dry hops, but I believe will balance out in another ten days. A long slow aroma pull after a glass swirl indicates more mango presence with a hint of berry, although I am not getting the blueberry.
Flavor: I get a pine note very similar to Simcoe but backed with some berry-fruitiness. I can't really tell if its berry or citrus...more of a nice blend of the two. Not very descriptive, but the flavor is very strong. The good news is the Mosaic hops did their job and mask any traces of the Carafa I leaving no dark malt or roasted flavor (see my recipes section for more details about the goal of this beer).
Overall, I can safely say the Mosaic hop is at the top of my list (for now) of favorite hops. I probably won't due another recipe with ALL Mosaic, but I will certainly use it in my IPA's in 15 minute and under intervals, and certainly in the dry-hopping phase to add that fruity/berry characteristic. If you can find this note at your favorite home brew store, grab some!
PROST!
So let's discuss the Mosaic hop, which my Pennsyltucky Lucky Recipe used a whopping six ounces in the boil alone, followed by a three ounce addition for three days just following primary, and another three ounces for three days in the secondary after conditioning. One caveat I should mention, the boil was for a ten gallon batch and the primary was also ten gallons. The secondary was split into two five gallon batches, one which received the second dry-hop...the other that did not. This is the tasting of the double dry hop version.
According to the book "For the Love of Hops - The Practical Guide to Aroma, Bitterness and the Culture of Hops" by Stan Hieronymus, the Mosaic Hop (HBC 369) is "a daughter of Simcoe crossed with a disease resistant, Nugget-derived male. Rich in mango, lemon, citrus, pine, and, notably, blueberry." The top two essential oils in the Mosaic hop are Myrcene at 54% followed by Humulene at 13%.
For this tasting, the beer has only been carbonated and kegged for three days as I wanted to taste at the utmost freshness. With that being said, I would still consider this beer in the conditioning phase and I believe the hop flavor will work itself in with the other characteristics of the beer with time.
The tasting notes:
Aroma: First quick hit of aroma comes off as fresh cut spring onions and a blend of lemon and mango. The spring onion hint may be due to the large second does of dry hops, but I believe will balance out in another ten days. A long slow aroma pull after a glass swirl indicates more mango presence with a hint of berry, although I am not getting the blueberry.
Flavor: I get a pine note very similar to Simcoe but backed with some berry-fruitiness. I can't really tell if its berry or citrus...more of a nice blend of the two. Not very descriptive, but the flavor is very strong. The good news is the Mosaic hops did their job and mask any traces of the Carafa I leaving no dark malt or roasted flavor (see my recipes section for more details about the goal of this beer).
Overall, I can safely say the Mosaic hop is at the top of my list (for now) of favorite hops. I probably won't due another recipe with ALL Mosaic, but I will certainly use it in my IPA's in 15 minute and under intervals, and certainly in the dry-hopping phase to add that fruity/berry characteristic. If you can find this note at your favorite home brew store, grab some!
PROST!
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Why I brew what I do.
It didn't take me long to come to the conclusion that I will never be a professional craft brewer. Like most home brewers, I have many people tell me I should drop everything and take the craft beer plunge, find some investors, and open my own brewery or brew pub. I have many friends that are professional craft brewers and they seem to enjoy the adventure. Honestly, the business side of it interests me, but the overall level of effort to run and maintain a brewery just doesn't do it for me. I may dive into this conversation in a later post.
I have a good job that supports our United States Military. I make good money that allows me to create home brews using quality ingredients and equipment. More importantly, I can brew what I want, when I want. I can take a risk on a batch and only lose what I spent on making the batch. If it falls short of expectations, it will be a house beer that may never be shared outside of my circle of friends. If the beer is amazing, I will serve it to the masses at Craft Brew Festivals with folks like the Regional Harrisburg Area Brewers (ReHAB) and enjoy the praises and conversations that come after that first incredible sip or gulp from the patrons.
I home brew because it allows me to express myself. It allows me to play with plumbing, heat, and inventing stuff to brew better. I also brew because I hate being bored...and therefore I clean...a lot! I read about brewing a lot, and I work on recipes a lot (although I don't believe recipes make the beer...the process does). Again, I will dive into this topic in a later post as well.
So...being my first post, I hope you enjoy the information I share on this site. I hope to continue to grow with my home brewery in the coming months, and push the limits of the beers capable of being brewed my amateur brewers. I plan to document this journey on this site.
Cheers, Prost, or whatever you chant when you lift a frothy glass of amazing home brewed beer!
I have a good job that supports our United States Military. I make good money that allows me to create home brews using quality ingredients and equipment. More importantly, I can brew what I want, when I want. I can take a risk on a batch and only lose what I spent on making the batch. If it falls short of expectations, it will be a house beer that may never be shared outside of my circle of friends. If the beer is amazing, I will serve it to the masses at Craft Brew Festivals with folks like the Regional Harrisburg Area Brewers (ReHAB) and enjoy the praises and conversations that come after that first incredible sip or gulp from the patrons.
I home brew because it allows me to express myself. It allows me to play with plumbing, heat, and inventing stuff to brew better. I also brew because I hate being bored...and therefore I clean...a lot! I read about brewing a lot, and I work on recipes a lot (although I don't believe recipes make the beer...the process does). Again, I will dive into this topic in a later post as well.
So...being my first post, I hope you enjoy the information I share on this site. I hope to continue to grow with my home brewery in the coming months, and push the limits of the beers capable of being brewed my amateur brewers. I plan to document this journey on this site.
Cheers, Prost, or whatever you chant when you lift a frothy glass of amazing home brewed beer!
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