Date: December 2015
Wheatwine
Gordon Strong provides readers with a recipe for a wheatwine. “Stan Hieronymus writes in Brewing with Wheat that wheatwine has its origins in modern American craft brewing, but that it was not intentional. A happy accident produced a higher gravity American wheat ale. The first modern commercial version is credited to Rubicon Brewing Company (Sacramento, California) in 1988, but many breweries now produce it as a limited edition winter release. Some examples are vintage-dated and oak-aged, suggesting they likely will continue to improve with age.”
Not-Quite-Amber Waves of Grain
The American wheats I’ve been tasting at competitions lately take the best of American pale ale, add some nice low-Lovibond character maltiness and wheat, and back off the IBUs so you can actually appreciate the flavors. This one was a silver medal winner at the Philly Homebrew Cup.
Summer Cellar BdG
Biére de Garde’s are a remarkably flexible beer that can be brewed as a pale, amber, or brown, depending on your preferences, pairings, or the season of service. This recipe aims right down the middle in terms of the style and its color/flavor options, and is a gold-medal-winning amber Bière de Garde (at the 2012 BUZZ Off, hosted by the BUZZ Homebrew Club in West Chester, Pennsylvania).
Grantham Mild
The best thing about brewing a mild is that you get to dial up pretty much all of your favorite malt flavors, in whatever ratio you’d like, in a session-strength beer – and all you need to do is back out the black barley and sub in a bunch of fun character malts. You can still have a touch of roast in there (if you want), but you also get biscuit, toffee, nut, molasses, toast, plum, raisin . . . you get the picture.
Designing Bottle Labels
With the holiday season here, it’s probably crossed your mind that homebrew makes a great gift for family, friends, co-workers and anyone else who wound up on the “nice” list this year.
Dirty Hands Brewing Co.’s Liberty Ship Stout clone
This beer has a nice bittersweet chocolate and coffee profile, with just enough hop presence to offset any cloying sweetness. Unfortunately Dirty Hands Brewing closed their doors in 2016, but their legacy can live on.
Keep Your Mash Tun Insulated
An insulating jacket for a brew pot, which can be easily removed when it’s time to start the boil. Lose less than 4 °F (2 °C) per hour when mashing. It’s perfect for single-vessel brew-in-a-bag setups or can even be used for a standalone mash tun or hot liquor tank.
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.’s Velvet Merlin clone
This seasonal oatmeal stout is named in honor of Firestone Walker’s Brewmaster Matt “Merlin” Brynildson, who earned the nickname because of his magical ability to rack up top honors at prestigious beer competitions. This is a rich beer, with dark chocolate and roasted coffee flavors. It boasts a truly creamy mouthfeel and dry finish.
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.’s Pivo Pils clone
When Old World Pilsner goes US West Coast, the result is Pivo Hoppy Pils. Brewed with classic influences from Germany and the Czech Republic, Pivo is then dry hopped to pump up the floral, spicy, herbal, and lemongrass aromatics in German Saphir hops.
Firestone Walker Brewing Company: Wookey Jack clone
This black rye IPA from Firestone Walker’s Proprietor’s Reserve Series was recently retired from the Firestone Walker regular lineup, so you’ll definitely want to brew your own!
Firestone Walker Brewing Company: Union Jack clone
According to Firestone Walker’s Brewing Co.’s website “This aggressively hopped West Coast IPA showcases stunning pineapple, citrus and piney aromas along with exceptional dry hop flavors of grapefruit and tangerine. This intense brew finds its balance in hone-like pale malt sweetness. The name Union Jack is a nod to the colonial origins of the IPA style, and to the British expatriate who co‐founded our brewery.”
Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company: Neshaminator Wheat Bock clone
A traditional German wheat bock with a twist. Breaking from tradition, Neshaminy Creek adds orange blossom honey to add orange background notes.
