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Batch 011: “Solstice” American Strong Ale

I’ve become a fan of the American Strong Ale variety. High alcohol, high hopped, sweet and smooth. I figured I was due for a shot at one now that I’ve brewed about 10 batches. I went partial/mini mash for this batch.

I was shooting for an 8%-10% ABV on this batch and it came out at 9%, so I feel good about that. I seems to have a smooth and sweet raisiny malt flavor and a nice piney hop balance. The oak spiral added another layer of depth to the flavor, an earthy base.

I will taste this at different stages of maturity (see notes below). I am anticipation that it will taste its best at months 6-9, which will be this coming summer. Not the ideal “beach beer” but a great brew for the campfire on a cooler summer evening.

Enjoy!

Recipe and Notes

Mash:

  • 8 oz American White Wheat
  • 2 lbs Caramel 80L
  • 1 lbs Caramunich I
  • 8oz Biscuit Malt
  • 8oz Honey Malt

Boil:

  • 3 lbs Light DME at start of boil

Hop Additions:

  • 1 oz Nugget Hops (added at 60 min, start of boil)
  • 3 oz Chinook Hops (added at 40, 20, and 10 min of boil)

Added at Flame out:

  • 3.3 lbs Amber LME
  • 3.3 lbs Gold LME

Primary Fermentation:

  • Wyeast 1056 American Ale, 4 weeks

Secondary Fermentation:

  • at 4 weeks, racked to secondary, added oak spiral
  • at 8 weeks, added 2 oz. Cascade Hops

Bottling and Aging

  • Bottled on the Winter Solstice 2013
  • Will taste it on:
    • Valentine’s Day 2014 (tasting notes to come…)
    • St. Patrick’s Day 2014 (tasting notes to come…)
    • Memorial Day 2014 (tasting notes to come…)
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Batches 007-010

Here is a rundown of batches 007-010. I didn’t put the work in to label these, really just focused on making the beer for these.

2 big improvements in my craft over these batches:

  • Learned to make yeast starters
  • learned how to brew using the partial/mini mash method

The flavor and quality of my beer has gotten noticeably better. Fresher and deeper are the words I would use.

Batch 007: James Blonde Ale: Irish Blonde Ale

  • An Irish Blonde recipe. I wanted to brew a blonde but not of the Belgian kind. Wanted to avoid the bubble gum/clove/banana flavors of the Belgians and I stumbled upon this recipe

Batch 008: OK USA: American Pale Ale

  • My first partial/mini mash brew. Hands down the best I had brewed at that point. So clean, and bright. A perfect summer brew

Batch 009: Summer Buzz 2013: Honey Ale

  • This edition of Summer Buzz featured a heavy dose of citrus. Added orange, grapefruit, and lime peel to the secondary fermentor. Another home run summer beer.

Batch 010: The Babymaker: Breakfast Stout

  • This was brewed with the good help of my friend Tom Parks. It was his first beer brewing adventure. He is a gifted coffee brewer so I had him make about 16oz of cold press that was added to the secondary. This one turned out magnificent, sweet smooth, and roasty.
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Batch 006: “Papa Beer” Honey Amber Ale

Batch 006 was the first batch I brewed with my dad Harold, also his first time brewing. We brewed it on a very cold Christmas Eve in Gilbert. I believe it was -8 at brew time. It took longer to get’r boiling but the chill time on the finished wort took like 4 min (usually takes 10-15min). We racked it and pitched the yeast around 11:30pm, just in time to get in bed before Santa arrived.

The stats:

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Batch 005: “Scottish Kiss” Scotch Ale

For Batch 005 I decided to brew a scotch ale. I figured it was a good winter brew to warm the cockles of the heart. The term “Scottish kiss” is a Scottish term for head butt. If you were to have too many Batch 005’s you would feel like you received a head butt. Get it? <–Lame

The Stats:

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Batch 004: “Apple of My Eye” Apple Ale

I brewed this batch the weekend after my daughter was born. My Father-in-Law helped me brew it, his first home brewing experience. This batch holds a special place in my home brewing heart. To make it an “Apple” ale I added 1 gallon of apple cider after 3 days of active fermentation. I let it rest in the secondary fermenter for a couple of bonus weeks. The reviews I read about this recipe said to that it gets better with time, more time in the secondary and in the bottle. It should hit it’s flavor peak around Valentine’s day.

  • Brewed: September 8, 2012
  • Bottled: October 4, 2012

Continue reading “Batch 004: “Apple of My Eye” Apple Ale”

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Next Batch, 003

My baby brother and I brewed a new batch of beer last week. His first one. It will be ready for consumption by late August. It is a wheat beer. Can’t wait to share more.

Stay thirsty my friends!

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Batch 002: “Summer Buzz” Honey Ale

For Batch 002 I wanted to make a beer that would go down smooth on a hot summer’s day. I toyed around with doing a blonde ale, but some blonde ale kits yield strong belgian yeast flavors and I didn’t want that for a summer beer. I eventually found a kit for “Honey Bee Ale” through Midwest Supplies and it had stellar reviews from folks. I brewed this batch on May 20, racked it into the secondary fermenter on May 28, and bottled it on June 7. The goal was to have Batch 002 ready on July 4. I taste tested it on June 21 with my dad, and it was ready after two weeks in the bottle.

I thought it turned out pretty good. It was my first true solo brew, didn’t have Tim to help out. I am excited to see what everyone thought of zee beeeer. Continue reading “Batch 002: “Summer Buzz” Honey Ale”

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Batch 001: “Beginner’s Luck” Amber Ale

I did it! I made my first homebrew. Granted, I had a lot of help and borrowed most of the equipment from the one and only Tim Corteau.

What’s with the name? I decided to create a somewhat logical system for my beers, so using a number prefix seemed right. 3 digits makes sense because there is a good chance I’ll brew over 100 batches before I kick the can. Liz and I floated some names around and landed on “Beginner’s Luck”, if it tasted good or if it tasted like goat piss I could chalk it up to beginner’s luck. Continue reading “Batch 001: “Beginner’s Luck” Amber Ale”