GABF pics!

Starting out at the Sierra Nevada booth.

The Belgian trippel was really amazing!

Waiting in line for the Utopias

Grandma Beach and I enjoying Pagosa Springs Brewing.

My first taste of Samuel Adams Utopias!

So many choices!

Drinking buddies!
From left to right: My father-in-law Richard, Uncle Kevin,

myself, and Grandpa Beach

GABF pics coming soon!

Stay tuned, tomorrow or the next day I will have pictures from the festival. The family really impressed me with their ability to drink for 4 straight hours!

The Great American Beer Festival

The GABF is only 3 days away and my game plan for the event is almost complete. With so many beers and so little time (when there are 2,100 beers, 4 hours is considered so little time) you need to enter the event knowing where you want to go and what you want to try. I have compiled a top 20 list including favorites such as Stone Brewing, Russian River, Sierra Nevada, Alaskan Brewing, and Dogfish Head, just to name a few. I will be attending the Saturday afternoon members-only session with my family and I hope to try many beers not available to the Florida market. If you have any suggestions on which breweries to visit while I am there, please do not hesitate to let me know!

First official AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition!

I have entered my first AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition! This will be a great opportunity to get some real feedback from a BJCP judge and may help refine some techniques and recipes. I decided to enter both my German Rye Beer and my Imperial IPA. I entered the German Rye in Category 23 (Specialty Beer) as a Rye Pale Ale given the reviews at the intra-club competition, some saying that it was a bit hoppy for the style. If you would like to view the details of the competition, here is the link: http://www.saaz.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73&Itemid=60. I will post the results as soon as they come in!

Homebrew #14: Pumpkin Ale

PUMPKIN ALE
September 12, 2009

Brew day for the Pumpkin Ale was successful! After initial concerns regarding the acquisition of any pumpkin whatsoever (apparently even canned pumpkin is seasonal and not available this time of year at Publix), I was able to find some organic canned pumpkin at my local natural food store. I grated my own fresh cinnamon and nutmeg for the wort, and once the boil had finished, the whole house smelled wonderful. The beer is in secondary right now and I will bottle this weekend.

• 6 Gal. Water
• 4 lbs. Light LME
• 2 lbs. 2-Row Barley
• 0.5 lbs. Vienna Malt
• 0.5 lbs. Biscuit Malt
• 0.5 lbs. CaraMunich Malt
• 0.5 lbs. 40L Crystal Malt
• 1 lb. Canned Organic Pumpkin + 2 lbs. to secondary
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 60 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 10 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 0 mins.
• 1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon + 0.25 tsp. to secondary
• 1 tsp. Ground Nutmeg + 0.25 tsp. to secondary
• 0.5 tsp. Ground Ginger
• 0.25 tsp. Allspice
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

The pumpkin was roasted in the oven on a low broil till lightly browned, then added with the grains to the mash. Mashed at 155F for 45 mins. Full 60 min boil for extract and mash/hops. The spices were all added at 5 mins. till the end of the boil. Beer was racked to secondary on Day 10 and I added another 2 lbs of canned pumpkin along with an extra 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon and nutmeg to boost the flavor.

Homebrew #13: Oktoberfest

OKTOBERFEST
August 22, 2009

This is my first real attempt at making a true lager, and what better style to tackle than an Oktoberfest/Marzen. My first Oktoberfest recipe back in April was really an ale, but since the purchase of a 3.9 cu ft mini-fridge in August, I now have the ability to properly store and age a lager. This opens a whole new world of possibilities with my brewing, especially the ability to brew a very crisp, clean beer. This beer is currently in it's second week of fermentation, and because of the extended time required to age lagers in cold storage, it may not be ready for another 4-6 weeks; probably the longest 4-6 weeks of my life.

• 5 lbs. Light LME
• 2 lbs. Pilsner Malt
• 2 lbs. Munich Malt
• 0.25 lbs. Cara-Munich Malt
• 0.13 lbs. Chocolate Malt
• 1 oz. Tettnanger hops @ 60 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 10 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 0 mins.
• 2 tsp. Irish Moss
• SafLager S-23 dry yeast

Step infusion mash up to 145F for 30 mins, hold for 15 mins. then @155F for 15 mins. Full 60 min boil. Wort chilled to 60F, yeast added, then brought down to 48F for fermentation. Diacetyl rest on Day 13, transferred to Secondary on Day 16. Temperature lowered to 40F over 4 day period.

Homebrew #12: Imperial India Pale Ale (IPA)

IMPERIAL IPA
July 11, 2009

After the failure of my first and only attempt at making an IPA and because the upcoming club competition style was IPAs, I felt it was time to give the style another try. When it comes to IPAs and the hop selection it seems that anything goes. Fortunately, the American Homebrewers Association just released their annual poll of the best commercial beers available in America, and the #1 beer was Russian River's Pliny the Elder IPA. The article also included a clone recipe provided by the creator and owner himself, Vinnie Cilurzo, so I decided to use that as a reference point for my own recipe. A normal IPA recipe may include anywhere from 8-13oz. of hops in a batch, but I decided to go with 21oz. I was able to do this by using a large portion of lower alpha acid hops in the form of East Kent Goldings. I was lucky enough to find them on sale for 50% less allowing me to use more than normal. The lower AA hops ended up producing a very well balanced and not over aggressive flavor and bitterness. The aroma was sweet and citrusy, and the flavor was BIG, just was I was going for. Another very successful batch!

• 4 lbs. Light LME
• 3.5 lbs. Light DME
• 0.5 lbs. Cara-Pils Malt
• 0.5 lbs. 40L Crystal Malt
• 0.5 lbs. Biscuit Malt
• 1 oz. Columbus hops @ 90 mins.
• 1 oz. Magnum hops @ 90 mins.
• 0.5 Amarillo hops @ 90 mins.
• 1 oz. Columbus hops @ 45 mins.
• 1 oz. Centennial hops @ 45 mins.
• 1 oz. Centennial hops @ 30 mins.
• 1 oz. East Kent Goldings hops @ 30 mins.
• 2 oz. Centennial hops @ 0 mins.
• 1 oz. Cascade hops @ 0 mins.
• 1 oz. East Kent Goldings hops @ 0 mins.
• 3.5 oz. East Kent Goldings hops @ 7 days till bottling (dry hop)
• 2 oz. Cascade hops @ 7 days till bottling (dry hop)
• 2.25 oz. East Kent Goldings hops @ 3 days till bottling (hop tea)
• 1 oz. Cascade hops @ 3 days till bottling (hop tea)
• 1 oz. Fuggle hops @ bottling (hop tea)
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ bottling (hop tea)
• SafAle US-05 dry yeast

Grains mashed @ 155F for 45 mins. Full 90 min. boil for extract/hops. Fermented @ 76F and transferred to secondary on Day 14. Bottled on Day 21.

Homebrew #11: German Rye

GERMAN RYE
June 6, 2009

My first official award-winning beer! This batch was born from an unknown desire to produce and taste a really good rye beer. I was pretty sure I had never really tasted a true rye beer and for some reason I was truly craving one. I did make an earlier attempt at a small one-gallon batch with good results, but I felt I needed to boost the percentage of rye used. I had also decided I was going to keep the temperature as cool as possible since it was June in Florida. The 5 gallon glass carboy was kept in a spare tub with an ice bath composed of 2-liter bottles of frozen water (a.k.a-ice) and a towel soaked in the cold water that was wrapped around the top and neck of the carboy. By swapping out the ice bottles every other day for new ones, I was able to keep the temperature around 65-68 F for the entire fermentation. This method produced excellent results and was one of the main factors the beer went on to win an award. On July 16, 2009 it was entered in the local Dunedin Brewers Guild monthly competition. The style for the month was category 15: German Wheat and Rye beers. My beer won 1st place in its category (15D, Roggenbier-German Rye) and won 3rd place overall. One judge (my lowest score) claimed it was too hoppy for the style, but he was alone in that opinion. It received great reviews from everyone. The aroma was slightly spicy from the rye and hops and had an apricot-like aroma as well. The taste was very refreshing, crisp and dry, with a light sweetness. A beer to truly be proud of!

• 3 lb. Light LME
• 1 lb. Wheat LME
• 3 lb. Flaked Rye
• 0.5 lb. Munich Malt
• 0.5 lb 40L Crystal Malt
• 1 oz. Amarillo pellet hops @ 60 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau pellet hops @ 15 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau pellet hops @ 5 mins.
• SafAle US-05 yeast

Grains and Rye steeped at 155-165 F for 45 mins. Full 60 min. boil for extract. Fermentation kept at 65-68F. Bottled on day 12.

Homebrew #10: Irish Red

IRISH RED
April 25, 2009

This is the first collaboration brew thanks to help from fellow brewers Richard Lee Waler, III and Jesse James Truscio. After we all had decided that we've never tasted a commercial made Irish Red that we like, we decided to take matters into our own hands. While researching exactly what defines an Irish red, we discovered that there are no true guidelines; all the info was rather sporadic. We finally agreed on a recipe and the result was amazing. Caramel sweetness, light body, very refreshing. There was one problem though; it was a bit darker than a typical Irish red, try Irish mahogany. Not quite black, but rather dark for the style. I'm going to blame it on a touch too much roasted barley. If that's the worst that can happen to a beer I'm all for it. Thanks and appreciation are due to my two co-brewmasters.

• 5 Gal. Water
• 4.5 lb. Light LME
• 1 lb. Light DME
• 1 lb. 2-Row Barley
• 1 lb. 80L Crystal Malt
• 0.5 lb. Roasted Barley
• 1.5 oz. Fuggle pellet hops @ 60 mins.
• 1 oz. Kent Goldings pellet hops @ 10 mins.
• SafAle US-05 Ale Yeast

Grains steeped up to 160 F for 45 mins. Full 60 min. boil for extract. Bottled on Day 13.

Homebrew #9: Oktoberfest Ale

OKTOBERFEST ALE
April 5, 2009

At this point I had stopped giving any attention to the creation and design of labels and tried to focus solely on the beer. Not having the ability to produce lagering temperatures, yet still craving a really good German/Vienna Marzen/Oktoberfest style beer, I had decided to make an ale version and use WLP029 German Ale/Kolsch yeast since I had gotten such good results before. This was also the debut of the 6-gallon Better Bottle fermenter, allowing me to produce a slightly larger batch without having to worry about oxidation or contamination. The batch ended up turning out pretty good, not quite what I was looking for, but good nonetheless. Now that I look back at the recipe, I don't know why I didn't add more specialty malts like Munich or maybe a touch of Chocolate malt. Also, I don't think it helped that the temperature outside was beginning to rise and that made it difficult to keep the fermentation temperature below 74 F.

• 6 Gal. Water
• 7 lb. Light LME
• 2 lb. Light DME
• 1.25 lb. Vienna Malt
• 0.5 lb. 40L Crystal Malt
• 1 tsp. Irish Moss
• 0.5 oz. Saaz pellet hops @ 60 mins.
• 0.5 oz. Hallertau pellet hops @ 60 mins.
• 1 0z. Hallertau pellet hops @ 5 mins.
• 0.5 oz. Saaz @ 0 mins.
• 0.5 oz Hallertua @ 0 mins.
• WLP029 German Ale/Kolsch yeast

The specialty malt was gradually steepd up to 170 F for 40 mins. Full 60 min. boil for extract. Transferred to secondary on Day 14. Bottled on Day 28.

Homebrew #7 & #8: Two I would rather forget

There are no pictures and no recipes for the next two batches for one simple reason: they just didn't turn out well at all. One batch was supposed to be almost identical to the previous, the National Championship Brew. It didn't even come close, and I think the problem was that both primary and secondary fermentation took place in one of the 7.5 gallon bottling buckets. Up till this point only one beer had actually gone through primary fermentation in one of the plastic buckets, and that was the irish stout, but it didn't go through a secondary. The result of secondary fermentation in the plastic added a taste very hard to describe, but I was pretty sure it had to do with oxidation. The beer was still drinkable, just not up to my expectations at the time.

The other batch was supposed to be my first Imperial IPA. It was modeled after Stone Ruination IPA (which I had only recently discovered; if you haven't tried it yet and like IPAs, stop what you are doing right now and go out and buy one), and I was very excited about the outcome. Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, but even with my meticulous standards for sanitation, the batch became contaminated. This result was discovered by the many gushers and over-carbonation of the beer. It was truly sad. The beer actually tasted good too, but opening the bottles as time went on became dangerous. There might still be beer dried on the ceiling of the kitchen to prove so. This is the first batch I actually had to dispose of. At least the ducks in the lake appreciated it.

Homebrew #6: 2008 National Championship Brew

2008 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BREW
January 1st 2009


This beer was my attempt to start the new year with a great batch of beer, having just broken the barrier of being able to make really good beers. I kind of visited my original recipes and tweaked them slightly to come up with a German/American hybrid ale, despite what the label says (I just wanted to use the play on words). I took the success I had with using honey and added traditional German ingredients (hops, specialty grains) and used a strain of liquid yeast I had read produced a clean, lager-like beer at ale temperatures. The result was once again a surprisingly teriffic beer. At that point it was the greatest beer I had made. I decided to name it in honor of the Florida Gators' national championship victory over the Oklahoma Sooners (which also happens to be my father's alma mater).

• 5 Gal. Water
• 5 lb Light LME
• 9.5 oz. Light DME
• 1 lb. Honey
• 1 lb. Vienna Malt
• 8 oz. 60L Crystal Malt
• 1 tsp. Irish Moss
• 1 oz. Hallertau pellet hops @ 60 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau pellet hops @ 20 mins.
• 1 oz. Cascade leaf hops @ 15 mins.
• WLP029 German Ale/Kolsch yeast
• 7.25 oz. Light DME (priming)

Steeped grains @ 150 F for 30 mins. Extract and honey for full 60 min. boil. Transferred to glass secondary on Day 10. Bottled on Day 17. Very well balanced beer. Light malty sweetness upfront with noticable but light hop balnce in background. Good carbonation and head retention. The irish moss really helped clarify the beer. Nice clean and crisp taste.

Homebrew #5: Elf Elixir

ELF ELIXIR October 24, 2008

Since I was already brewing an Irish Stout, I decided to go ahead and take a shot at an Imperial Porter since the two shared a lot of common ingredients; that and I was looking to make a beer even hoppier than my previous attempts. As with the stout, this batch surprised me as well. It was amazingly similar to one of the best known Imperial Stouts made in the U.S., Old Rasputin made by North Coast Brewing. I do realize that both my stout and porter recipes are very similar, with the porter recipe just being a boosted version, but I didn't think there was an enormous difference between an Imperial Stout and an Imperial Porter. Please feel free to enlighten me on the difference if you are truly offended.

• 5 Gal. Water
• 10 lb. 2 oz. Amber Malt Extract
• 3 lb. Dark DME
• 14 oz. 80L Crystal Malt
• 14 oz. Black Patent Malt
• 12 oz. Chocolate Malt
• 12 oz. Roasted Barley
• 1/3 cup Dark Molasses
• 3 oz. Galena pellet hops @ 60 mins.
• 2 oz. Galena pellet hops @ 10 mins.
• 1 oz. Galena pellet hops @ 13 days till bottling
• 1 oz. Wilamette pellet hops @ 8 days till bottling
• Dry Yeast- Champagne Lalvin-EC-1118

Grains steeped at 160 F for 30 mins. Extract boil for 60 mins. Transferred to glass secondary on Day 13. Molasses (10 min. boil w/ 1 cup water) added on Day 15. Bottled Day 30.

Homebrew #4: Bubblin Dublin

BUBBLIN DUBLIN October 24, 2008

This is where I make the leap from making an ok beer to making really good beers. This one turned out way better than I had expected. The inspiration came from my trip to Europe the summer before when I had tasted my first REAL Guinness in London. I believe the recipe is based off of a Guinness clone recipe found in the Homebrewing for Dummies manual, I just kicked up the malt bill some for a higher ABV. I brewed this batch simultaneously with my next batch, an Imperial Porter, since a lot of the ingredients were similar. Note: Brewing two 5-gallon batches of beer on the same day is not a practice I would recommend to someone this early in their brewing career.

• 5 Gal. Water
• 7 lb. Amber Malt Extract
• 2 lb. Dark DME
• 10 oz. 80L Crystal Malt
• 10 oz. Black Patent Malt
• 4 oz. Chocolate Malt
• 4 oz. Roasted Barley
• 2 oz. Willamette hop pellets @ 60 mins.
• 1 oz. Willamette hop pellets @ 10 mins.
• Safale US-05 dry yeast
• 1 cup dextrose (priming)

Steeped grains @ 160 F for 20 mins. Full 60 min. boil. Fermented in 7.5 gallon bucket. Transferred to secondary fermentation on Day 15. Bottled on Day 22. As I had mentioned before, it seems I had done everything right with this batch. It poured beautifully and the natural carbonation mimicked the nitrogen head pour you get from a real Guinness. Very nice toastiness, not too bitter, lingering chocolate notes, and a very crisp, dry finish. I only pray when I try to duplicate this recipe that it turns out as well.

Homebrew #3: Laurenbrau

LAURENBRAU September 14, 2008

This beer was brewed and named for my wife, whose favorite beer style is a hefeweizen. The recipe was modeled after the Blood Orange Hefeweizen recipe in the book Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewery. It was also my first time using liquid yeast in a batch. The beer turned out well, just not exactly what I was aiming for.

• 5 Gal Water
• 6lb. 9oz. Wheat Malt Extract
• 1lb. 60L Crystal Malt
• 2 Florida Oranges, peeled and grated
• 1 oz. Liberty pellet hops @ 60 mins.
• 2 oz. Kent Goldings leaf hops @ 10 mins.
• Wyeast Weihenstephaner liquid yeast

Steep Crystal malt @ 160 F for 20 mins. Steep peeled and grated oranges for 20 mins. and strain into wort. Extract boiled for 60 mins. Starter made for liquid yeast day prior. Bottled on Day 15. As mentioned earlier, the beer turned out well, but I was looking for a bolder taste. Appearance and aroma were achieved, but that taste was a bit too subtle.

Homebrew #2: Beachveiser

BEACHVEISER August 30, 2008

For this beer I had decided to try a kit that I had purchased at the same time as all the ingredients used in my first batch. I was using Brewers Best recipe for a Continental Pilsner. The kit came with 2 oz. of hops, and being somewhat of a hophead, disregarded the style and decided that 2 oz. just wasn't near enough, so I added an extra 3 oz. to the recipe. And due to the success of using honey in the first batch, I decided to go ahead and use some again. And for some unknown reason I decided to add some maple syrup in the middle of the fermentation to add flavor; I must have read it somewhere.

• 5 Gal. Water
• 3.3 lbs. Light LME
• 2 lbs. Light DME
• 12 oz. Crushed Dextrine Malt
• 1.5 lbs. Honey
• 12.5 oz. Maple Syrup
• 1 oz. Sterling Hops @ 60 mins
• 1 oz. Cascade Hops @ 15 mins
• 1 oz. Saaz Hops @ 8 days till bottling
• 1 oz. Cascade Hops @ 6 days till bottling
• 3/4 cup Dextrose (priming)
• Dry ale yeast

Grains steeped at 160-170 F for 20 mins. Honey and malt extract added and boiled for 60 mins. Added maple syrup on Day 3. Fermentation finished after Day 6 and transferred to secondary fermenter. Bottled on Day 14. Once again I was surprised with the outcome. Personally I preferred this beer to my first batch, probably due to the well balanced hoppiness. Not at all a Continental Pilsner, but a really good beer nonetheless. A friend and I shared 3 liters of this beer while watching the Florida Gators lose to Ole Miss.

My First Homebrew: Bison Respect

BISON RESPECT August 17, 2008

This was my first attempt at homebrewing, so the recipe is rather basic. I was aiming for an American-style ale, and after all the reading I had done, I was really interested in using honey in a recipe. This being my first brew, I took very good notes on procedure and varying conditions while the beer fermented. As a side note, I just want to point out that I use Publix or Zephyrhills brand spring water in all of my recipes.

• 4.5 Gallons Water
• 5 lbs. Liquid Malt Extract
• 8 oz. 20L Crystal Malt
• 1lb. Clover Honey
• 1.5 oz. Vangaurd leaf hops @15 mins.
• 0.5 oz Vangaurd leaf hops @ 2 days before bottling (dry hop)
• Safale US-05 dry ale yeast
• 3/4 cup Dextrose (priming)

The crystal malt was steeped at 150-160 F for 30 mins. The malt extract and honey were added and boiled for another 30 mins. Hops were added 15 mins till the end of the boil. The wort was chilled using an ice bath in the sink.

I was able to maintain a fermentation temperature of 71-73 F and bottled on Day 9. I tried a bottle after 7 days of conditioning, and wasn't sure what to make of it. I think the honey added a slight tang to the beer which I perceived as bacterial contamination at first. It actually turned out to be a really good first beer, and to this day remains a favorite of some of my official taste-testers (those who actually know what good beer is).

Homebrewing chronicles online!

Starting today, I am going to keep my homebrewing log online. I will include all my recipes and techniques used over the last year, including my award-winning German Rye beer! The purpose of this blog is to keep friends and family up to date on my brewing adventures, and hopefully to introduce the world of homebrewing to others by providing my personal recipes and procedures. As always, suggestions are more than welcome!