Session IPA III

Back for more summer session beer stockpiling. For the third iteration of this recipe, I returned to the original grist, yeast (third generation now for the WY1469), and water treatment, messing with just  the hops a little. I got weird on Simcoe in my first couple years of homebrewing, but now that my once-beloved Amarillo has really changed--at least the ones I've had in the last couple years--it seems only right to return to this first-new-wave "super fruity" hop.

As with the dark mild, I started this batch as a semi-open fermentation, letting it do its first few days of active fermenting with the bucket lid loose and aluminum foil instead of an airlock. The aromas coming from the fermenter have been encouragingly fruity. If it ends up like its predecessors, it won't be hard to enjoy. Bring on the heat of summer.

Session IPA III

Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Projected OG: 1.038
Projected SRM: 6.8
Projected IBU: 57.3
Boil time: 60 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 67%   

Grains
83.3% - 7.5 lb Weyermann Organic Vienna
11.1% - 1 lb Flaked oats
5.6% - .5 lb Belgian Caramunich 80L

Hops
.5 oz Amarillo (10.7%) (10 min)
.5 oz Columbus (15.2%) (10 min)
1 oz Simcoe (12.9%) (0 min) 40-min steep
1 oz Amarillo (0 min) 40-min steep
.5 oz Columbus (0 min) 40-min steep
2 oz Amarillo (dry hop - 6 days)
1 oz Simcoe (dry hop - 6 days)

Yeast
WY1469 West Yorkshire Ale - 3rd generation, harvested from Dark Mild

Extras
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (5 min)
.5 tablet Whirlfloc (5 min)

Water (mash)
Profile: Reno (brewersfriend.com)
Target profile: Light colored and hoppy (brewersfriend.com)
94.5 Ca, 3 Mg, 10 Na, 48.5 Cl, 150.4 SO4
Alkalinity 8.3, RA -60.8

Brewday: 24 May 2016

Mash: 154F for 60 minutes
No sparge
Pre-boil volume: 7.5 gallons
Pre-boil SG: 8.3P (1.032)

Water additions (mash): 9 g Gypsum, 3 g CaCl, 2 ml Lactic acid (88%).

5.75 gallons to fermenter at 66F. Fermented in swamp cooler at 64F. Started with fermenter lid loose for semi-open fermentation.

27 May 2016: Sealed fermenter, added airlock, and removed temp control; rose to 70F over the next few days. Agitated (spun fermenter) 2-3 times/day.

31 May 2016: Removed fermenter from swamp cooler; ambient ~75F.

Bottled: 9 June 2016
Forgot to check FG!
Bottled 4.5 gallons with 3.6 oz table sugar.

Dark Mild

Looking to have some sessionable beers on hand for the summer, I returned to the realm of British ales. Milds have rarely crossed my path, but I find the concept of a dark, low-alcohol beer that pushes malt and a little roast over hops intriguing. Having recently started listening to the Experimental Brewing podcast, and mild having come up there in light of the recent Session Beer Day, this recipe is loosely based on host Drew Beechum's (et al.) CDJK Mild.

I grew up the West Yorkshire Ale yeast from my sadly diacetyl-laden porter, hoping that getting past that first generation might yield better results. Thankfully it did: I've noticed no diacetyl so far. I also skipped water treatment (except carbon filtering) this time. As I continue to refine my brewing practices, it seemed a good idea to see what kind of beer my source water produces on its own before monkeying with the chemistry, which I still don't fully grasp (it's been slow going through Water for some time now). I'll pick on this aspect if/when I rebrew this recipe.

As this style traditionally gets the cask treatment, my three one-gallon cubitainers came back out on bottling day. Not having any interesting aroma hops around at the time--and this being a more malt-focused style anyway--experimentation between vessels took a different turn. One cubitainer remained plain, one got home-toasted oak cubes, and the last got a small dose of whole Stumptown coffee beans from our recent trip to Portland. I sampled liberally from all three in celebration of Memorial Day; while all were quite good, the oaked version really stood out for me. Full tasting notes coming soon!

Dark Mild

Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Projected OG: 1.040
Projected SRM: 19.1
Projected IBU: 22.3
Boil time: 60 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 64%   

Grains/Fermentables
60.6% - 5 lb Rahr 2-row
12.1% - 1 lb Bairds Crystal 75L
3.0% - 4 oz Bairds RB
12.1% - 1 lb Flaked oats
12.1% - 1 lb Turbinado

Hops
1 oz EKG (5.7%) (60 min)

Yeast
WY1469 West Yorkshire Ale - 1L starter from Winter Porter yeast cake

Extras
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (5 min)
.5 tablet Whirlfloc (5 min)

Water (mash)
Profile: Reno (brewersfriend.com)

Brewday: 7 May 2016
Mash: 153F for 60 minutes
Pre-boil volume: 7.5 gallons
Pre-boil SG (w/o sugar): 6.9P (1.027)

Fermented in bucket with lid loose in swamp cooler at 65F ambient; locked down lid, affixed airlock, and ramped up to 68F after 3 days active fermentation.

Bottled: 23 May 2016
FG: 1.010
ABV: 3.9%

3 gallons into cubitainers, each with .2 oz table sugar: 1 plain, 1 with g oak cubes (boiled), 1 with 3 g Stumptown El Nevado Colombian coffee beans (whole, loose, unsanitized).

Remainder bottled with 1.66 oz table sugar.

Double IPA & Winter Porter Tasting

While brewing a session IPA today to have on hand for summer festivities, I finally decided to knock out a couple sets of tasting notes. Neither of these beers turned out exactly as I'd like. The double IPA seems like it might've found the mark if I wouldn't cling so closely to my memory of what Amarillo hops used to be; the porter suffered from my own misuse or mistreatment of the West Yorkshire Ale yeast. For all the smack I talk below, I'm still drinking both these beers without having to work too hard to choke them down.

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BRING IT ON DIPA

Appearance: (Chill) hazy golden orange color, big off-white head that has a good bit of staying power. In pouring, the beer/bottle yeast can have a strange pinkish hue. Becomes very clear when warm.

Smell: Pine, onion, some alcohol, a little bread as it warms.

Taste: Pine & onion hanging around from the aroma along with some diesel hop character. Some perception of sweetness that may be coming from the hops. Finishes with a balanced bitterness, definitely not overly bitter.

Mouthfeel: On the thin side, though not overly so. Medium carbonation; hits the tongue without filleting it. A little tongue numbing.

Overall: Probably my most successful attempt at a double IPA. This one reached the degree of attenuation I was seeking to get away from cloying malt sweetness; I may even want to bump it back up a couple points next time to retain a bit more malt backbone. Malt definitely didn't get in the way here, and I'm tempted to add in a higher percentage of character grains (Munich, Vienna, aromatic, or even a bit of crystal) in the future. I'm slowly coming to grips with the fact that the Amarillo hops I've had in the last couple years do not have the same citrus characteristics that endeared this varietal to me originally. I'm getting a lot more of the onion/garlic/diesel now. It doesn't always come out--and I sure hope it doesn't on the session IPA I'm brewing today--but I'm missing the mark more often than not with this hop.

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Winter Porter

Appearance: Deep brown/black body with clear red-brown highlights; a little bit of light brown foam hangs out at the rim for a while. While I'd like more head on this beer, otherwise it looks pretty much like spot on for the style.

Smell: I've given this one fifteen to twenty minutes to warm up before sampling, so much of the diacetyl present in this batch--which has been widely variable, bottle to bottle--may have blown off. Some butter popcorn remains, combining with the dark grains and a mineral character to give an impression of sharp mineral roastiness. While not terrible, the diacetyl buttery character has been so strong on other bottles as to make this nigh undrinkable.

Taste: I'm struggling here. Not assertively roasty, though not chocolatey either. Has a certain tang that I associate with the dark malts to a degree, but I can't quite pin with a descriptor. Not the best.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body from the residual sweetness and slight residual diacetyl. Does retain a certain creaminess, especially when chewed a bit. Not unpleasant.

Overall: Not my favorite porter, to be sure. I've had spectacular results from this yeast (WY1469) in the past, but on this batch it really took a bad turn. This was my first real experience with diacetyl, and it's been strong enough to encourage me to do a diacetyl rest on every beer from here on out. It's been a few years now since I had Flag Porter, but my recollection of that beer was my guide here. My quest for a really badass "English/brown" porter continues.

Peach Melomel III

Last summer in northern Utah, I picked up a 24-lb bucket of local wildflower honey to bump up mead production for DeAunn. When we returned to Reno, we also bought several pounds of fruit at the local farmers' markets for various fermentation projects, which we prepared and socked away in the freezer. It took me until earlier this month to finally do something with all of it.

While she's been very receptive to all of my mead making endeavors, DeAunn has always particularly loved my peach melomel. Having only six pounds of peaches to dedicate to the cause, I aimed for a three-gallon batch. Fermenting in a full-size carboy or bucket sure beat working with the little two-gallon bucket or one-gallon wine jugs I've used before.

Also new and exciting was using the TOSNA (tailored organic staggered nutrient addition) method as detailed by Sergio Moutela of Melovino Meader on Mead Made Right. I've followed the conventional SNA, as set forth by champion mead maker Curt Stock, for past batches and have been pleased with the outcome; I'll be curious to see how this batch might differ because of this altered method. Both methods champion relatively quick turnaround: two to three months to being drinkable versus a year or more that more traditional methods require.

Having just transferred to secondary, my only change for future batches right now would be to bag the fruit in primary. There was around four and a half gallons of material in the primary fermenter; from it, I couldn't quite squeeze out a full three gallons to transfer, leaving behind a massive amount of peach sludge. It will get close to a month in secondary before bottling so we can take plenty with us for our summer travels (and age the rest for the next year). Now to decide what to do with the rest of this bucket of honey...

Peach Melomel III

Batch size: 3 gallons
Projected OG: 1.100

Fermentables
10 lb Utah mountain honey
6 lb Peaches (peeled, frozen)

Yeast
4 g Lalvin 71B-1122 (rehydrated)

Extras
5 g Go-Ferm (yeast rehydration)
15 g Fermaid-O (TOSNA: 3.75 g @ 24, 48, 72 hrs, 7 days after pitching)

Brewed: 4 May 2016
Rehydrate yeast: 100 g boiled water
OG: 18.8P (1.0 - Figuring honey isn’t totally diluted, nor are the peaches

Fermented in swamp cooler at 62-64F. Degassed twice a day for the first week of fermentation.

After the first week, left town for a few days; swamp cooler ambient reached 69F. Upon returning, cooled it back down into 62-64F range and degassed about once a day for the remainder of primary.

Secondary: 22 May 2016
FG: 1.010
ABV: 13.7%
Added 1.5 tsp bentonite dissolved in 1.5 cups boiled water.

Incredible amount of peach sludge; struggled to extract nearly 3 gallons from 4.5-gallon primary.

Bottled: 9 June 2016

BVIP II

And like that, I've reached my one hundred fiftieth batch. Keeping with my tradition of brewing a big dark beer every twenty-fifth batch, I returned to what was such a monumental hit at batch #50, Denny Conn's bourbon vanilla imperial porter. A perfectly refined porter recipe with the addition of vanilla beans and bourbon to approximate barrel aging, this treated DeAunn and me very well on our honeymoon.

I played it pretty much exactly like last time, though the original gravity was quite a bit lower (last time it was 1.085) and I left the vanilla beans in for better than a month, rather than a couple weeks. Nevertheless, it tasted great at bottling and I'm looking forward to cracking open one of these despite the approaching warm weather.

BVIP II
Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Projected OG: 1.072
Projected SRM: 41.1
Projected IBU: 35.0
Boil time: 60 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 65%   

Grains
64.0% - 12 lb Rahr 2-row
13.3% - 2.5 lb Weyermann Munich I
8.0% - 1.5 lb Brown malt
6.4% - 1.25 lb UK Chocolate
5.3% - 1 lb C120
2.7% - .5 lb C40

Hops
.7 oz Millennium (15.9%) (60 min)
1 oz EKG (5.7%) (10 min)

Yeast
WY1450 Denny’s Favorite 50 (12.29.2015) - 1.8-l stirplate starter, crashed on brewday

Extras
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (5 min)
2.5 Vanilla beans, chopped & scraped (secondary)
300 ml Bourbon (bottling)

Water (mash)
Base Profile: Reno (brewersfriend.com)
Target Profile: London (brewersfriend.com)
96.1 Ca, 15.6 Mg, 27.0 Na, 58.3 Cl, 2.6 SO4
Alkalinity 103.1, RA 25.4

Brewday: 6 March 2016
Mash: 24 qts @ 152F for 60 minutes
1st sparge: 8.5 qts @ 190F
2nd sparge: 9 qts @ 180F
Pre-boil volume: 8 gallons
Pre-boil SG: 15P (1.060)

Salt additions (mash): 5g Epsom salts, 1g Salt, 3g CaCl, 13g Chalk, 1g Baking soda, 10 ml Lactic acid (88%)

6 gallons at 18P (1.072) to fermenter at 61F. Fermented in swamp cooler at 63F ambient.
Extra runnings (including lots of trub) went to a gallon jug; added water to reach about a gallon. OG 12.8P (1.050), dosed with harvested WY1469.

Vigorous activity within 12 hours. Swamp cooler free rose to 64F ambient over the day.

On day 2 of active fermentation, temp surged and the krauesen rose out of the bucket (stopper hole was covered with aluminum foil. Swamp cooler temp had been pushed to 66F. After cleanup & blowoff setup, fermenter was put back in swamp cooler held at 62-63F ambient. Came out of swamp cooler after high krauesen & finished at 68F ambient.

Secondary: 23 March 2016

Bottled: 30 April 2016
FG: 1.021
ABV: 6.9%
Bottled with 300ml Jim Beam bourbon and 3.8 oz table sugar.
Adjusted ABV: 7.4%

Winter Porter

My last several batches have been more on the hop forward side, and I longed for a dark beer to pair with the colder weather. Following the old BJCP style guidelines, I believe this would fit pretty well into the mold of a brown porter; with the 2015 revision, for style considerations it now sits as an "English porter."

The beer came together without incident, but the yeast behaved differently than I expected. My experience with West Yorkshire Ale is that the kraeusen hangs around long after active fermentation ceases. This time around, I saw almost no visible activity other than a bit of trub ring. Though this batch had plenty of time to sit at room temp at the end of fermentation, this batch showed lots of diacetyl shortly after bottling. Fortunately, a lot of that has seemed to dissipate over time. The resulting beer is pleasant, though it has an edge that I attribute to too much roast malt. I kept pushing up the roasted grains in BeerSmith to get it dark enough; the end result is plenty brown-black, but could probably do with a reduction in these malts to keep it from getting to acrid. The remaining diacetyl works with the acrid roast character in a not unpleasant way, resulting in a bit of dark fruit character rounding out the flavor. Not bad; would rebrew with tweaks.

Winter Porter

Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Projected OG: 1.045
Projected SRM: 29.1
Projected IBU: 27.9
Boil time: 70 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 66%   

Grains/Fermentables
67.5% - 7 lb Rahr 2-row
14.5% - 1.5 lb Brown malt
9.6% - 1 lb UK dark crystal (75-80L)
4.8% - 8 oz UK Pale Chocolate
3.6% - 6 oz UK Chocolate

Hops

.3 oz Millennium (15.9%) (60 min)
1.3 oz EKG (5.7%) (10 min)
.3 oz Styrian Goldings (3.8%) (10 min)

Yeast
WY1469 West Yorkshire Ale - no starter

Extras
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (5 min)

Water (mash)
Base Profile: Reno (brewersfriend.com)
107 Ca, 11.2 Mg, 44.1 Na, 63.7 SO4
Alkalinity 171.6, RA 88.7

Brewday: 10 February 2016
Mash: 13 qts @ 154F for 60 minutes + 2 qts @ 212F to get to temp
1st sparge: 12 qts @ 190F
2nd sparge: 13 qts @ 180F
Pre-boil volume:  gallons
Pre-boil SG: 10P (1.0)

Salt additions (to mash): 1 g Gypsum, 3 g Epsom salt, 4 g CaCl, 11 g Chalk, 5 g Baking Soda, 8 ml Lactic Acid (88%)

5.8 gallons at 64F to the fermenter; no aeration past transfer splashing.
Fermented in swamp cooler at 65F ambient.

13 February 2016: Visible activity stopped without any sign of the never-ending krauesen characteristic of this yeast. Removed from swamp cooler & agitated; sat at ambient (68F). Moderate surface bubbling—not a real krauesen yet—appeared over the course of the day.

Bottled: 2 March 2016
FG: 1.018
ABV: 3.5%
Bottled with 3.4 oz table sugar.

Moved final gallon onto Sour Culture No. 2.

Sour Bottled: 30 April 2016
FG: 1.013
ABV: 4.2%
Good lactic sourness.
Bottled with .3 oz table sugar.

Tasting

RIS III: (nearly) 2-Year Tasting

This was my last big "quarter century" beer--brewed a bit over two years ago--and my third (of three, to date) imperial stout. Not only were the roasted grains put front and center here, but I even cleared the grain bill of really anything else; the grist is about 80% base malt, the remaining 20% made up of brown malt and roasted barley.

That's a hell of a lot of dark grain, and it showed. I liked the beer all right when it was younger, but it was not easy to finish a bottle. It did all right in competition last year, but I saw a lot of truth in the judges' comments about its high residual sweetness and astringency. I ended up dumping nearly all of the bottles months ago, saving a few with the intent of cooking with them.

On a whim, I threw a bottle in the fridge the other week. After nearly two years in the bottle, I found it to have softened and rounded out considerably. I'm definitely bummed now that I only have a few bottles left, but it definitely cheers me up as I consider finally doing a vertical tasting of my first three beers in this series.

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Appearance: Jet black, the edge rimmed with tiny mocha bubbles.

Smell: Plums, big chocolate note jumps out of the glass. Fanfuckingtastic.

Taste: Fruity, high-percentage cacao dark chocolate. Comes on strong with some booze initially, but then clears out relatively quickly. It manages to avoid being syrupy despite the high FG (1.032).

Mouthfeel: Medium-thick and full; pretty mouth-filling but not overly heavy. Enough carbonation to help clear it off the palate. It (thankfully) has left heft than many huge imperial stouts.

Overall: Could use a little more going on in the middle (caramel malt, perhaps) but a damn sight better than it was in its first year. The acrid/astringent notes have mellowed considerably, leaving chocolate, fruit, and booze. It's a good lesson in patience; maybe I should just bury the next batch in an undisclosed location for a few years.