TropicAle

American Pale Ales (APA) are simple and fun to brew all year round and it is because of those reasons that it is a style that I brew often.  This is the second time that I am brewing this recipe but I have tweaked this version, mainly on the hop bill.  The last time I used Nelson Sauvin on its own, but this time around I’ve paired it with Citra and Sorachi Ace for a more fruity, tropical and citrusy flavour. This will hopefully be a nice “summer shandy".

Recipe Specifications
Batch Size (Gal): 11.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 23.00
Estimated OG: 1.055
Anticipated SRM: 7.2
Anticipated IBU: 43.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grains
78.3% (18 lbs) - 2-Row
13.0% (3 lbs) - Munich
6.5% (1.5 lbs) - Crystal 40
2.2% (0.5 lbs) - Carafoam

Hops
1.00 oz Warrior (12.00%) @ 60 min
0.90 oz Nelson Sauvin(0.45)/Citra(0.30)/Sorachi Ace(0.15) @ 20 min
1.80 oz Nelson Sauvin(0.90)/Citra(0.60)/Sorachi Ace(0.30) @ 10 min 
3.00 oz Nelson Sauvin(1.50)/Citra(1.00)/Sorachi Ace(0.50) @ Hop-Stand (175F for 60 min)
3.00 oz Nelson Sauvin(1.50)/Citra(1.00)/Sorachi Ace(0.50) @ Dry Hop for 10 days (1.50 oz per carboy)
3.00 oz Nelson Sauvin(1.50)/Citra(1.00)/Sorachi Ace(0.50) @ Keg Hopping (1.50 oz per keg)

Yeast
5.5 gal -> WY1450 Denny's Favorite 50
5.5 gal -> S-05

Mash Schedule
Sacch Rest - 60 min @ 153

Notes
05/18/14: Brew day

Fly sparge with 170F water
Collected 11 gallons
OG = 1.056


06/01/14: Rack to secondary + dry hops

07/14/14: Keg S-05 version  FG=1.010
07/18/14: Keg WY1450 version  FG=1.012

Hefeweizen

Hefeweizen (or Weissbier) highlights the two stars of the show in its name, which translates to yeast (hefe) and wheat (weizen). Hailing from Bavaria, Hefes are meant to be consumed fresh, which is perfect since I just so happen to have an empty keg that needs to be filled. I will ferment this for 10 days before kegging it, then will force carb it for two days and will start drinking it 14 days after brewday.

I followed the typical recipe for a Hefe, consisting of 60/40 wheat/barley and just enough hops to balance it.  The one thing I did differently for this batch is that I added an acid rest in the mash schedule to promote more ferulic acid. The yeast will metabolize the acid into clove flavour and aroma (4-vinyl guaiacol).  The rest of the mash was conducted with Hochkurz-type mash via infusions of water.

I will pitch my yeast at 13C and ferment at 17C to abide by the old German rule of thumb where pitching temperature plus the fermentation temperature should equal 30 °C.  (ref. German Wheat Beer)

Recipe Specifications

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50

Total Grain (Lbs): 10.00

Estimated OG: 1.050

Anticipated SRM: 3.4

Anticipated IBU: 13.6 IBU

Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %

Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grains

60.0% (6 lbs) - Wheat

40.0% (4 lbs) - Floor Malted Pilsner

Hops

1.00 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh (4.00%) @ 60 min

Yeast

WY3068 Weihenstephan

Mash Schedule

Acid Rest - 20 min @ 113

Maltose Rest - 40 min @ 148

Dextrin Rest - 40 min @ 158

Notes

05/05/14: Made 2L starter

05/13/14: Brew day

Fly sparge with 170F water

Collected 6 gallons

OG = 1.049

05/27/14: Kegged  FG=1.009

ESB

Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB) is a beer style that I enjoy, but that I have yet to brew, surprisingly.  Each year, I set myself new homebrewing goals and this year one of them was to brew more styles of beers which I had not ventured yet. Besides Stouts and Porters, English Ales tend to be at the bottom of my brewing list but I started working on that last month when I brewed my Brown Ale.  

ESBs are maltly/bitter beers of moderate strength, yet balanced and very drinkable, like a lot of English ales. I kept my recipe fairly simple using Maris Otter as the base malt for its classic toasty and nutty flavour, a little Munich for a speck of breadiness and malt sweetness, Crystal 60 for a little caramel to balance the bitterness and a dash of Crystal 120 for a subtle touch of raisins and nut flavour.  

For the hops, I chose Bravo for bittering as I prefer to bitter with high AA hops instead of using a buttload of lower AA hops.  I find Bravo has a noble-ish character with its floral, earthy and spicy notes.  For finishing hops, I used  the classic English Fuggles.  I am also considering dry hoping the S-04 carboy with some Willamette just for fun.

Recipe Specifications
Batch Size (Gal): 15.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 28.57
Estimated OG: 1.054
Anticipated SRM: 11.3
Anticipated IBU: 43.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grains
77.0% (22 lbs) - Maris Otter
14.0% (4 lbs) - Dark Munich 
7.0% (2 lbs) - Crystal 60
2.0% (9 oz) - Crystal 120

Hops
2.50 oz Bravo (10.75%) @ 60 min
3.00 oz Fuggle (4.9%) @ 20 min
2.00 oz Fuggle (4.9%) @ 0 min

Yeast
5gal -> WLP002 English Ale
5gal -> Safale S-04 English Ale
5gal -> Danstar Windsor Ale

Mash Schedule
Sacc Rest - 60 min @ 152F

Notes
04/24/14: Made 2L starter for WLP002 
05/02/14: Brew day

Fly sparge with 170F water
Collected 15 gallons
OG = 1.053


05/27/14: Kegged  FG=1.009

Lambic 3.0

Last year around this time I brewed my first Lambic (v1.0).  I brewed it using a turbid mash, fermented it with Wyeast Lambic Blend and added dregs of various bottles of Lambics over the year for a more diverse microbe flora and flavour complexity.  I also brewed another one a few months ago using Steve Piatz’s extract recipe, which became my Lambic v2.0

Last week I bottled 2.5 gallons of v1.0 straight.  An additional 2.5 gallons was racked over 4 pounds of local strawberries that I picked last summer. This batch will mature for another six months before bottling. I also kept one gallon of v1.0 with the intention of aging it for another year, then blending it with some of v2.0 and v3.0 to make a Gueuze.

For this year’s version, I stayed with the typical Lambic grist which consists of about 60% malted barley and 40% raw wheat.  It was brewed using a turbid mash again, debittered hops and boiled for three hours. 

For the yeast and bugs, I used the slurry from v1.0 and a fresh pack of 3278. The fresh pack probably wasn’t necessary, but I would rather be safe than sorry, especially since I will be waiting a minimum of 12 months before processing it. 

I will end with a quote that can be found hanging at the Cantillon brewery that I really like.  For wild ales, this couldn’t be more true!

“Le temps ne respecte pas ce qui se fait sans lui. » which translate to « Time does not respect what is made without it.”

Recipe Specifications

Batch Size (Gal): 12.00

Total Grain (Lbs): 23.00

Estimated OG: 1.053

Anticipated SRM: 3.9

Anticipated IBU: 0.0 IBU

Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %

Wort Boil Time: 180 Minutes

Grains

60.9% (14 lbs) - Pils

39.1% (9 lbs) - Raw Wheat

Hops

8.00 oz Debittered Hops @ 180 min

Yeast

WY3278 Lambic Blend + slurry from v1.0

Mash Schedule

Acid Rest - 15 min @ 113F

Protein Rest - 15 min @ 126F

     -transferred 1.5 gallon to kettle #2 and heated to 190F

Sacc Rest - 45 min @ 149F 

     -transferred 2 gallon to kettle #2 and heated to 190F

Sacc Rest  - 30 min @ 162F 

Sparge about 4 gallons to kettle #1

Added kettle #2 to mash to acheive mash out temps rest

Mash Out Rest - 20 min @ 172F

Notes

04/21/14: Brew day

Fly sparge with 190F water

Collected 12 gallons

OG = 1.051