#21: Next IPA

I had a wonderful IPA yeast on hand from one of our board mates, and conveniently the IPA pipeline is almost dried up, so here's the result of the itch to get something in the fermenter: in-progress name of next IPA.

Got some hops I haven't played with before (Pacific Jade and Simcoe), so I did some modifications on the CloneBrew Green Flash West Coast IPA recipe, changing it up to use some leftover DME from previous brews (which will make mine more amber than the original recipe), and subbing in the Pacific Jade for Columbus (which I didn't have on hand).

Next IPA
--------
\Style: Imperial IPA
Batch: 2.40 galPartial Mash

Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.072 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 94 IBU
Recipe Color: 12° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.018
Alcohol by Volume: 7.0%
Alcohol by Weight: 5.5%

Ingredients
-----------
Biscuit (Belgian) 0.25 lb, Grain, Steeped
CaraPils 0.25 lb, Grain, Steeped
Crystal 20L 0.25 lb, Grain, Steeped

Amber DME 2.00 lb, Extract, Extract
Muntons DME - Light 1.50 lb, Extract, Extract

Pacific Jade 0.33 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Simcoe 0.50 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Centennial 0.25 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes
Simcoe 0.25 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes
Cascade 0.25 oz, Pellet, 1 minutes
Centennial 0.25 oz, Pellet, 1 minutes
Cascade 0.25 oz, Pellet, dryhop
Centennial 0.25 oz, Pellet, dryhop

Irish Moss 1.00 unit, Fining, 
Maltodextrin 1.00 unit, Other, 
Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA 1.00 unit, Yeast,

Notes
-----
Recipe Notes:
steep grains for 30 minutes at 155. 
add malt extracts and boil the schedule.
Cool, pitch, etc. as per normal

#20: Truly Triple-Hopped Lite Beer

Decided I'd take a crack at my "lawnmower" beer. Went really simple, with no grain steep (primarily b/c I didn't have any on hand). When I went to the LHBS, they had the Munton's American Style Light Beer HME on clearance for cheaper than LME, so I used that as the base. Used the standard Munton's yeast that came with that.

As for hops, I kept the hop bitterness levels pretty low for me, hitting 28 IBU per QBrew (I bumped the boil time of the hops around in QBrew related to the Munton's kit until it hit the estimate on the can). That's a bit high for American Light style I would say, but of course, the kit itself was higher than American Light style (18-25 IBU stated on the can). I hadn't used Argentine Cascade or Liberty before, but after reading I thought they would compliment all right. Argentine Cascade have "a very mellow and sweet character that reminds us of lemon grass, with herbal, peppery, and spicy undertones," while Liberty "are noble in their aroma and flavor profile; mild, pleasant, with some spiciness." Interesting... I guess we'll see how they play together... That is the most interesting part of this hobby for me.

The HME that was supposed to be 6 gallon, so I decided to stay somewhat true to that and split 5ish gallons between 2 Mr.B kegs (2.4 each), and the remainder went into my 1 gallon cube fermenter.

As I was trying to stay somewhat in style, I was targeting the Miller Lite ABV of 4.2%. QBrew says that's what I'm targeting, and the OG met what QBrew stated, so all is good on that front. Color should be pretty good as well (3 per QBrew).

Actually Triple-Hopped Lite Beer
------------------------
Style: Lite American Lager
Batch: 5.50 galExtract

Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.043 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 28 IBU
Recipe Color: 3° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.011
Alcohol by Volume: 4.2%
Alcohol by Weight: 3.3%

Ingredients
-----------
Briess LME - Pilsen Light 3.30 lb, Extract, Extract
Muntons Premium HME - American Style Light
3.30 lb, Extract, Extract

Cascade (Argentine) 0.25 oz, Pellet, 20 minutes
Liberty 0.25 oz, Pellet, 20 minutes
Liberty 0.25 oz, Pellet, 5 minutes
Muntons Premium HME - American Style Light
1.00 oz, Pellet, 30 minutes
Cascade (Argentine) 0.25 oz, Pellet, dryhop

Muntons Ale yeast 1.00 unit, Yeast,

#19: Amarillo Pale Ale

Water supplies are starting to level off here in the rural areas, so I figured it was time to get the last fermenter in action. Pipeline didn't miss a beat...

Wanted to go for something in the spirit of Yazoo's Pale Ale (formerly known as Amarillo Pale Ale). Something in the APA style instead of my usual hop bombs, but still with some hop bite. The odd DME combo was basically clearing out some odds and ends.

Amarillo Pale Ale
-----------------
Style: American Pale Ale
Batch: 2.40 galExtract

Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.056 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 36 IBU
Recipe Color: 11° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.014
Alcohol by Volume: 5.4%
Alcohol by Weight: 4.3%

Ingredients
-----------
Biscuit malt 0.50 lb, Grain, Steeped
Muntons DME - Amber 1.00 lb, Extract, Extract
Muntons DME - Light 1.50 lb, Extract, Extract
Briess DME - Golden Light 0.30 lb, Extract, Extract

Amarillo 0.13 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Perle 0.13 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Cascade 0.13 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Amarillo 0.13 oz, Pellet, 20 minutes
Perle 0.13 oz, Pellet, 20 minutes
Cascade 0.13 oz, Pellet, 20 minutes
Amarillo 0.13 oz, Pellet, 10 minutes
Perle 0.13 oz, Pellet, 10 minutes
Cascade 0.13 oz, Pellet, 10 minutes
Amarillo 0.13 oz, Pellet, dryhop
Perle 0.13 oz, Pellet, dryhop
Cascade 0.13 oz, Pellet, dryhop

US-05 Ale yeast 1.00 unit, other

#17: Fat Belgian Amber Ale

I found that an old friend had gotten a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas, and had thus far done one straight up Mr. Beer extract brew. Knowing that he is a huge fan of Fat Tire, and liking the thought of having someone just around the corner doing this as well, I tempted him with the Fat Belgian (Fat Tire clone) extract kit from Rebel.

Here's the general ingredients for a 5 gallon (that we will be splitting between two Mr. B kegs), based on BYO's recipe which is based on discussions and hints from New Belgian's brewmaster...

3.3 lbs. light LME
2 lbs. light DME 

0.50 lb. crystal 20

0.50 lb. crystal 40
0.50 lb. carapils malt
0.50 lb. Munich malt
0.50 lb. biscuit malt
0.50 lb. chocolate malt

Hops:
3 AAUs Willamette pellet hops (0.66 oz. at 4.5% alpha acid) - 60 min
1.33 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.8 oz. at 4% alpha acid) - 10 min
2 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.8 oz. at 4% alpha acid) - 3 min

1 tsp. Irish moss
Wyeast 1056

NOTE:  This brewday was done just at the start of the Nashville Flood of 2010.  By the time we were done, things were looking pretty dicey outside.  Just a wild day...

#16: Swen's Noble Ale

Well, I decided to start my noble hop beer. So, I grabbed the hop schedule recommended by the Sam Adams brewer I found online, slapped a simple grain/DME backbone on it, and away I went. I originally intended to do a 5 gal, but ultimately opted to cut this to a 2.4 batch. The only minor screw-up up front is that I am using Golden Light instead of Pilsen Light as I originally intended (because I grabbed the wrong one in my haste at the LHBS), but that's cool. It will be a bit darker than I intended, but still in the 7 range instead of in the threes or fours.

This is a bit pricey with the cost of a couple of these European hops, so I may try a cut with cheaper alternatives on the next go for comparison. Looking at $10 for the DME, $1.50 for the grains, $4 for the US-05 yeast, and about $14 for the hops, so nearly $30 for a small batch. Hmm....

Here's the final recipe...

Swen's Noble Ale
----------------
Style: Pale Ale
Batch: 2.40 galExtract

Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.053 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 35 IBU
Recipe Color: 7° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.013
Alcohol by Volume: 5.2%
Alcohol by Weight: 4.1%

Ingredients
-----------
Briess DME - Golden Light 2.65 lb, Extract, Extract
Crystal 10L 0.50 lb, Grain, Steeped

Hallertauer (Germany) 0.18 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Hersbrucker (Germany) 0.18 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Saaz (Czech) 0.18 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Spalt (Germany) 0.18 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Tettnanger (Germany) 0.18 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Hallertauer (Germany) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes
Hersbrucker (Germany) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes
Saaz (Czech) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes
Spalt (Germany) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes
Tettnanger (Germany) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes

flameout:
Hallertauer (Germany) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Hersbrucker (Germany) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Saaz (Czech) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Spalt (Germany) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Tettnanger (Germany) 0.20 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes

dryhop:
Hallertauer (Germany) 0.21 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Hersbrucker (Germany) 0.21 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Saaz (Czech) 0.21 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Spalt (Germany) 0.21 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Tettnanger (Germany) 0.21 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes

US-05 Ale yeast 1.00 unit, Yeast,

#15: (Almost Free) Berry and Lemongrass Mead

I thought I was going to do one of the beers I have queued up tonight, but decided at the last minute to do the mead instead. This may totally stink when complete, but here goes...

The honey ended up being free due to Kroger's policy to give the product free if you are overcharged (it was tagged on sale, but rang up full price)... Bonus! The frozen berries were on hand, as was the ginger, the hops, the corn sugar, and the wine yeast (most of the recipes called for champagne yeast, so I hope this yeast works out). The only outright purchase was $1 worth of lemongrass. So ROI on this brew is pretty darn good if it is good, and the loss is not much of anything if not...

I scaled down and modified to the ingredients on hand a Winner's Circle recipe to suit my needs. We'll see how it turns out. I don't know how accurate QBrew is with this type of concoction (the OG and FG in the book are wildly different, and the FG is listed in the book is below 1, but since I scaled down so much, and changed some ingredients, so no worries), and thus the characteristics may not be totally accurate...

Here's the recipe:

(Almost Free) Berry and Lemongrass Mead
----
Brewer: Swenocha
Style: Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer
Batch: 1.00 gal

Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.095 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 21 IBU
Recipe Color: 3° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.024
Alcohol by Volume: 9.2%
Alcohol by Weight: 7.2%

Ingredients
-----------
Corn Sugar 0.50 lb, Sugar, Other
Honey 2.00 lb, Sugar, Other
Raspberries. Blueberries, Blackberries (frozen)0.28 lb, Extract, Extract

Cascade 0.20 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes

Dry Wine Yeast 1.00 unit, Other, 
Ginger 0.20 oz, Other, add to hop boil
Irish Moss 0.25 unit, Fining, add to hop boil
Lemongrass 2.50 gram, Other, steep, strain, add after ferment

Notes
-----
Recipe Notes:
Bring honey and 1.25 gallon to boil. Add hops, ground ginger, irish moss. Boil 60 min. Add sugar late in boil. Remove from heat. Add fruit. Cool to room temp. Load in 1 gallon fermenter, pitch.

After primary fermentation, steep lemongrass in a small amount of water. Strain and add steep liquid to the fermenter.

Ferment for approx 3 weeks. Bottle and let set for 6 months.

#13: Hop Slop IPA

The attempt to nail down and perfect the beer that I see being my pipeline regular (a citrusy IPA) is back in progress. After weighing my options and considering what I wanted to brew today, and after looking at ingredients on hand, the Citra hops were just staring at me, saying "use me! use me!" and the other ingredients seemed to agree.

Thus, cut #3 at the IPA. I've been happy with the two IPAs I've done thus far, but I really want one with the citrus pop in flavor and aroma that the first two are a bit lacking in. I've learned a lot since those first two efforts, so I think that this one might be it...

HopSlop IPA
-----------------------
Style:  IPA
Batch: 2.40 galExtract

Characteristic
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.060 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 79 IBU
Recipe Color: 11° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.015
Alcohol by Volume: 5.8%
Alcohol by Weight: 4.5%

Ingredients
-----------
Briess DME - Sparkling Amber 1.37 lb, Extract, Extract
Crystal 10L 0.42 lb, Grain, Steeped
Light LME 2.00 lb, Extract, Extract

Centennial 0.50 oz, Pellet, 60 minutes
Centennial 0.50 oz, Pellet, 20 minutes
Citra 0.50 oz, Pellet, 20 minutes
Citra 0.50 oz, Pellet, 10 minutes
Citra 1.00 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes

Ale yeast 1.00 unit, Yeast, 
Irish Moss 0.50 unit, Fining, 
Maltodextrin 1.00 unit, Other,

Notes
-----
Recipe Notes:

Steep crushed grains at 155 for 30 min
Strain grains, run the additional water thru grains.
Set to boil. Add DME. Start the hop sched.
Maltodextrin and Irish moss at 15 min.
Cut from boil. Add LME
ice bath after boil. to fermenter. stir, pitch, stir

NOTE:  Dubbed Hop Slop due to the clogged spigot that resulted from a dryhop bag that came undone...