Date: January-February 2018
Dry Hopping: Adding Bright Hop Character
Dry hopping beer is an age-old technique that is enjoying a great deal of attention in the current era where hop flavor and aroma can make or break a beer, especially hop-forward beers such as American pale ales and IPAs. We ask two award-winning professional brewers at the top of their game for advice and topics for homebrewers to think about when they approach a dry-hopped beer.
Brazilian Style-Catharina Sour Beer – mock BJCP Guidelines
For those looking to learn more about this Brazilian style of beer, here is a mock BJCP guideline for Catharina Sour written by a Brazilian well acquainted with the style.
Tracking Sugar Content of a Cider and Kettle Sours: Mr Wizard
It is the lack of non-fermentable sugars that make dry ciders attractive to carbohydrate watchers.
Gordon Strong ‘s American Pale Ale
By Gordon Strong of Beavercreek, Ohio, winner of the 13th Dayton Beerfest (Dayton, OH – 131 entries)
Eric Heinz and Kyle Autry ‘s American Pale Ale
By Eric Heinz and Kyle Autry of Houston, Texas, winner of the Alamo City Cerveza Fest (San Antonio, Texas – 302 entries)
Justin Rawleigh’s American Pale Ale
By Justin Rawleigh of Gilbert, Arizona, winner of the Arizona Spring Classic (Tempe, Arizona – 217 entries)
Benjamin Sharp’s American Pale Ale
By Benjamin Sharp of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, winner of Vicbrew (Melbourne, Australia – 437 entries)
Ricardo Fritzche’s American Pale Ale
By Ricardo Fritzche of Austin, Texas, winner of the Lunar Rendezbrew 23 (Seabrook, Texas – 403 entries)
Rock Art Brewery’s The Vermonster clone
This is an American-style barleywine first brewed by Rock Art Brewery (Morrisville, Vermont) as its 10th anniversary beer and soon made into a regular offering. The malts contribute a caramel note and hide the taste of the alcohol.
The Brew Kettle Production Works’ Jack Hammer clone
The Brew Kettle Production Works (Strongsville, Ohio) utilizes three specialty grains along with a load of base malt to brew this malt-forward English-style barleywine.
Jackie O’s Brewery’s Brick Kiln clone
Brick Kiln from Jackie O’s Brewery (Athens, Ohio) is brewed in the English tradition and features rich caramel and raisin notes, with a light herbal presence from noble hops.
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.’s Sucaba clone
This English-style barleywine from Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, California) is aged in recently emptied Bourbon barrels to pick up flavors and alcohol from the Bourbon. While this beer goes into the barrel around 10% ABV, it comes out above 12%.