October 2016
Recipe
Westorval
This is my unauthorized imagined collaboration between the monks of Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren and Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Orval. The malt, hops, and primary fermentation are inspired by the flawless Westvleteren Blond (Green Cap) and the bottle conditioning is pure Orval. The result is fantastic around two months in the bottle when it has herbal hops, peppery yeast, and a mellow earthiness.
Recipe
Alsatian Funky Saison
This beer is all about showcasing an alternative universe where Germany developed the saison and wild culture of Belgium. Rather than trying to get my hands on Alsatian Gewürztraminer grapes, I blended in a bottle of wine post fermentation. The fruity notes from the wine meld beautifully with the new German hops and lemony-funky-minerally Brettanomyces. The extended warm conditioning also provides an opportunity for the Brettanomyces to free aromatics from glycosides in the hops and wine, and to work under pressure to create flavors quickly so that the fresh hop nose is still evident.
Project
Build a Fermentation Temperature Control System
Don’t have space for a fermentation fridge? Control fermentation temperature with heat and cooling wraps.
Article
Sanitation Techniques
In the September 2016 column I discussed cleaning techniques in the brewery, so now we must look at sanitizing brewing equipment, since that comes after cleaning. That’s a very important statement in
Recipe
Rock Art Brewery: Limited Access clone
Rock Art uses a cleaner American/California Ale strain in this beer compared to some of the other New England IPAs, the unfiltered product still has a glowing haze thanks to the huge late bursting of hops and a high dry hopping rate.
Recipe
Foundation Brewing Company: Epiphany clone
Foundation Head Brewer and Co-Owner Joel Mahaffey says, “The characteristics that I feel are the hallmarks of a Maine IPA are a soft body, modest but solid malt backbone, low bitterness (but sufficient to avoid cloying sweetness), and a dominating hop flavor and aroma profile. Characteristics should lean towards fruit, be it citrus or tropical, but notes of pine and resin are also perfectly acceptable.”
Recipe
Trillium Brewing Company: Sleeper Street clone
Trillium brewers describe this beer on their website as, “Opaque orange-yellow in color with floral aromas of lime zest, grapefruit peel, pine sap, and candied orange.”
Recipe
Tree House Brewing Company: Julius clone
This “New England style” IPA is bursting with American hops filled with mango, passionfruit, and citrus.
Recipe
The Alchemist: Focal Banger clone
While the recipe for Focal Banger has been known to change over the years, the hop combo has been one thing that hasn’t changed.
Article
Brewing Extract-Based Sour Beers
When I wrote American Sour Beers I ignored extract brewers (sorry), other than a brief note on page 307 about adapting all-grain recipes. I mentioned malt extract several other times, but only
Article
All About Brett
In 2012 Chad Yakobson of Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project in Denver, Colorado included me in an email chain of 20 Brettanomyces-and-bacteria-focused brewers. Chad’s hope was to get the group to agree
Article
Hop Combinations
Paradoxically, recipe construction is at once an element of the brewing process that gets far too much attention — and also not enough. It gets too much attention in that too many
Article
Craze for the Haze: New England IPAs
Centered in the northeastern corner of the USA, the hazy IPA has taken on a cult following in recent years. But the trend hasn’t come without backlash. In fact there is no
Article
Lautering 101
If you’re an extract brewer thinking about going all-grain, one of the most important steps to understand, after mashing, is lautering. Lautering is the process by which the brewer separates the
Article
Choosing a Fermenter
When it comes to your homebrew, most people will say the most crucial element is taking care of your fermentation, and reasonably so. Although everything involved in making your wort is important,
Article
Pre-Prohibition Porter
by the numbers OG: 1.046–1.060 FG:1.010–1.016 SRM:18–30 IBU:20–30 ABV:4.5–6% The United States has been called the melting pot, but that metaphor was meant to describe cultural assimilation of immigrants not the creation
Article
Keg Hopping, Residual Sweetness: Mr. Wizard
Q Some questions came up in our homebrew club about keg hopping. First, will you get the same effects in a cold keg as you would a warm secondary? and if it
Article
Lake Time Brewery’s Park Bench Porter: Replicator
Dear Replicator, We live in Wyoming but were recently in Clear Lake, Iowa and stopped at Lake Time Brewery. All of their beers were good but their Park Bench Porter really stood out. I rarely use delicious
Mr. Wizard
Keg Hopping
What differences can be expected from dry hopping at fermentation temperature vs. in a refrigerated keg?
Article
Cider for Beer Lovers
Fall means apples, and apples mean hard cider. But don’t skip using hops, spices, and your favorite yeast strains!
Article
Traditional Mead: Tips from the Pros
Two meadmakers share their tips and procedure to make a traditional mead.
