The Stout and the Brown had their inaugural tastings over the last week, and the second Pale and the second Wheat each got tossed in bottles.  In addition, I also (finally) got the ingredients for the Porters latest version.  I think the Beer Gods may have wanted it to happen this way, since I did learn some cool stuff.

With the Stout and Brown, the chocolate malt was exposed (thanks to my brewing partner-I knew I kept him around for a reason) as the "sharp" flavor I was referring to in earlier posts, not the black patent malt, as I had assumed.  So in each of these, I'm replacing it with different kinds of chocolate malt.  The Brown, which is delicious except for the sharp aftertaste, will be getting a dose of PALE chocolate malt instead of the chocolate malt.  The roastiness I have been calling "sharp" is supposed to be diminished in the pale variety; The color  seemed a little darker than I expected as well, and the paler malt will fix that, so it just seems like the right thing to do.  The Stout, which I was quite...no DAMN proud of as a first attempt, was pretty good to begin with.  The IBU's are somewhere in the stratosphere, but the intensity of the malt bill keeps the bitterness in check.  So for this one, I am replacing the chocolate malt with an equal amount of chocolate WHEAT malt.  The roasty characters are also diminished in this malt, but not so much color is lost.  The wheat adds some haze to the beer, but its black as night as it is, so who cares?

Watching the Pale and Wheat sit next to each other for a while was really interesting.  I found it odd that the wheat was the clear one.  I've always been under the impression that wheat malt lent a hazy character to the beer, but there it was in its mini fermenter, clear as polished amber, while the Pale held on to haze right through to the bottle.  Also, since/ the Pale had a poop-ton of hops in it, I was expecting a thick trub at the bottom, but the wheat had the thicker, more separated trub when the two were compared.  That whole thing about yeast loving wheat must be true...since they were happier, they produced more babies (don't we all), and flocculated better, clumpimg up and settling to the bottom faster.

The Porter brew went very well, and it looks like I'm finally getting a handle on my processes, shoring up efficiencies, and enjoying smoother brewdays.  The recipe was almost identical to the last one, except for just a touch more Crystal 40, to lend some extra body and sweetness.  I'm happy with the one I have, but I think it might just need a little something...something that's not Chocolate malt.

Delay

So I went to this new homebrew shop that opened in the area, you know, to support local businesses.  He had nothing...not literally, but I was really surprised by the fact that #1 he didn't have Maris Otter, #2 He didn't have Crystal 40 (really?), and #3 he wouldn't give me less than a pound of each grain.  Now I realize there are some limittions to what some small businesses can do, but those things just chased me away.

I didn't have much time to run anywhere else, so this week's brew is delayed.  I'm not off until Wednesday, which is the Fourth of July, so I'm not sure it will even get done then.  It's disappointing, since I had a good streak going, but reat beer is worth the wait, right?  Right?

What Now?

As the title suggests, I'm a bit stuck as to what to do with this Porter.  Don't get me wrong, its good, just not great.  Its a dry, true-to-style, robust porter, with no hot alcohols, just the right touch of hop flavor, and a deep, rich mouthfeel.  The Black Patent malt seems to be at the right level, giving some sharpness, but not enough to call it astringent or harsh.  I think it needs just a touch of something else...but what?

Crystal 40? Chocolate?  They are the only components that will have the effect on the character I feel is missing from the beer.  Maybe the 40, which would make it more caramely (is that a word?); Maybe the chocolate, which would add some richness and...well...chocolate flavor, but that can build on the harshness that just lingers beneath the surface in this style.

I really have no idea.  I guess I'll just have to start with the Crystal, taste it, and go from there.  Its a really good beer though, so at least I'm getting close.

Porter Time

This week's brew was the second Pale.  As mentioned, I simply doubled the hop additions all the way through.  I also did a 90 minute boil.  The more research I do, the more I find that the extra half hour at the beginning of the boil makes better beer.  I haven't had the chance to taste any of the ones I've done this with, but that will change after today, as the 3rd Porter is ready to go.

I have high hopes for both of these beers.  I liked the faint flavors and aroma present in the first Pale, and I'm hoping to get that significantly bumped up in this one.  As for the Porter, I liked the taste of the young beer during bottling, so I feel like this might be the one.

Either way, I'm brewing another Porter this weekend, but the result of today's tasting will determine wether I'm doing a repeat to determine reproducability, or a new recipe.

Here's the Pale:
-1.5lbs Pale Ale Malt
-0.4oz Willamette @60
-0.8oz Willamette @15
-0.8oz Willamette @0
-5g Rehydrated US-05

It's About Time One Went to Plan

The Pale Ale was ready for tasting this past weekend, so I invited my brewing partner over and we tried it out.  The Willamette hops didn't give quite the amount of flavor I was expecting, nor did they bitter the brew enough.  I was hoping for some lighter bitterness, so I could just bump that up, but I really wanted that soft, pleasant flavor and aroma that Willamettes carry, and it was only slightly there.  For the next batch, I'm doubling all of the additions.  If that doesn't give me what I'm looking for, I will have to scrap the SMaSH Idea for this one, and add some other hops to augment the Willamette.

As for the brewday, I definitely suck a little bit less each time.  This was the second attempt at the American Wheat.  I used Citra hops, a more potent American cousin of the Tettnanger I was using before, and 60% wheat instead of an equal 50/50 split.  Recipe:

-10oz 2-Row
-15oz Wheat
-0.1oz Citra @ 60
-0.05oz Citra @ 15
-0.1oz Citra @ 5

As with the Wheats before, the yeast chewed through this like it was nothing.  So far, I think the only beers that used the blowoff tube were the Wheats.  I've heard of people using at least a little wheat malt in every recipe.  Apparently, the effect it has on the yeast, and the boost to head retention can really improve the finished product.  It can also, however, add some cloudiness.  Not a really big deal to me, mind you, but its worth mentioning.

This week is the second Pale, and I'm bottling the Stout.  This is the last week of having nothing to taste, since every subsequent one has a bottle, sample, and brew scheduled...except the week I'm at the Jersey Shore, pumpin' my fist- but not my gas.

Brewing the Darkest, and Tasting the Lightest

The Stout brewday went pretty well.  I got my now-normal 88% efficiency in the mash, and the numbers ended up perfect.  I boiled this one for 90 mins, as was suggested in a few places.  The hop schedule, a big one, only went from 60 minutes in the recipe, but I tossed in the bitterring charge at the 90 minute mark...oops, force of habit.  It's ok though, because it didn't change the IBUs at all.

-1.5lbs 2-row
-2.4oz Roasted Barley
-2.4oz Chocolate
-2.4oz Crystal 40L
-0.25oz Warrior @ 90
-0.2oz Cascade @ 30
-0.2oz Cascade @ 0

This should be a deep, dark, roasty, hoppy beer with a lot of character.

Today marked two weeks since the Wheat went into bottles, so I opened one to see what I had made.  It's kind of boring actually.  There is very little wheat character, and almost no hops at all.  I think for the next batch, brewing this weekend, is going to have more wheat malt- maybe 60% as opposed to 50% of the grains.  I'm also going to abandon the Tettnanger hops and throw in an American variety to give it more character.,,I just have to choose which one.  The beer also lacked the clean character I was expecting from the Safale US-05, so I will have to treat the yeast a little better from now on.

Taking a Break From Studying to Brew

I take the state Nursing Boards in about two weeks, so I've been studying a lot lately.  To break the monotony of answering (or attempting to answer) question after question after question, I ran to the homebrew shop this morning to grab ingredients for the stout.  I'll probably brew it tomorrow, studying while I wait for the mash and boil to finish.

As I mentioned before, I use BrewPal on the iPhone to store and develop my recipes, and I went on it today to find a completely different app.  I spent some time tonight learning how to use it, and so far it seems great.  I am going to use some of the new features during tomorrow's brew.

I'm sort of excited for this one, not just because I LOVE a good stout, but because I have the chance to monitor the volume, gravity, and everything else that may be effecting the efficiency problems I've been having.  I planned this batch around the 85% efficiency I've gotten the last few times.  I think if I stir the wort pre-boil, I will see the increased gravity I've been missing previously.  After that, I'll check out the volume throughout to figure my boil off rate.  My numbers should be pretty predictable after that.

It has been said in more than one place that these efficiencies can actually negatively effect the beers one brews...God, I hope not.