Writer: Gordon Strong
Gruit
While it is true that it is an unhopped beer that uses other herbs to add character, traditional gruit is a very narrowly defined and specific beverage that was highly regulated by various governments in the Middle Ages in northwestern Europe. Learn more about this concoction of lore.
Gordon Strong’s Irish Red Ale
My recipe is a middle-of-the-road example for Ireland. It uses a rather dextrinous base malt (mild malt) with a little bit of oats to increase the mouthfeel.
Irish Red Ale
A style that has been twisted and misshapen when big, multi-national breweries started to popularize their brands, Irish red ales had for some time lost their way. Gordon Strong wants to take this style back to its Irish roots.
Rice Lager
If you are looking for a beer with a clean and crisp character with very low bitterness, you’ve come to the right place. Gordon Strong takes us on a journey through the mechanics to brew Japanese rice lagers or simply rice lagers.
Gordon Strong’s Rice Lager
I like having a good, clean lager on tap, and this one has a refreshing quality while still being interesting.
Gordon Strong’s West Coast IPA
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.063 FG = 1.011IBU = 72 SRM = 6 ABV = 6.9% Ingredients5.5 lbs. (2.5 kg) Pilsner malt5 lbs. (2.3 kg) 2-row pale malt1.5 lbs. (680 g)
West Coast IPA
Clear, crisp, and packing a punch, the modern West Coast IPA offers drinkers plenty of hop character. Take a journey to Southern California where this style was born and has since been exported around the world.
Alternative Mashing Techniques
Explore three historical mashing methods from different regions — parti-gyle (England), step mashing (Germany), and decoction mashing (Czech Republic) — and learn how they may benefit your own homebrews.
Double-Decocted Czech Dark Lager
This beer is in the style of U Fleků, the best-known Czech example of this style, and uses the mash schedule from that brewery. It is a little different from the common schedules that I use. When pulling decoctions, take about 1⁄3 of the thick part of the mash to heat in your decoction kettle. Maintain the main mash at the current rest temperature until the decoction is finished. The recipe uses a slow, traditional lagering schedule.
Step-Mashed Kölsch
It is possible to produce a Kölsch in less time, but Kölsch yeast is notoriously difficult to clear because it is a powdery yeast. Giving it sufficient classic lagering time does help it clear, and it also helps reduce some of the sulfur notes produced by the yeast. Kettle finings or post-fermentation clearing agents (even mechanical filtration) is recommended if the beer isn’t fully clear. Kölsch should be a brilliantly clear beer, so please pay attention to this important part of the style.
Parti-Gyled English Pale Ale and Light Mild
Create two recipes, but use the same grist for both. For the second batch, change the brewhouse efficiency setting to one half the first recipe (in this case, 65% and 32%). Each recipe has different sugars, hops, and yeast. But read the recipe — these beers are blended before they are fermented! You will likely have to adjust this recipe after brewing to use your system efficiencies based on your sparge techniques.
Weizenbock
While our understanding and categorization of the German wheat beer family has evolved over the years, the acknowledgement of a strong wheat beer called weizenbock has been relatively static. Maybe that is because the prototypical weizenbock, Schneider Aventinus, is truly a world-class beer that is widely available and is well-known.
