Holiday Beers and Update

This blog has unfortunately been ignored during most of my first semester at school. Now that the semester has ended, I will start putting some posts up, especially regarding my four latest batches. The holiday sampler packs are currently being labeled and some have been distributed. I hope you enjoy the beers! I will put up a post describing each beer, and I welcome you put up your comments to those entries, especially if you have had a chance to try the beers. Below are the newest beers.

1. Griswold's Yule Log Spiced Christmas Ale
2. Lump of Coal Christmas Stout
3. Hoppy Hoppy Holidays! Imperial India Pale Ale
4. Dupuy Draft Cider (version 2)

OKTOBERFEST!

This weekend Cincinnati will celebrate Oktoberfest. The official celebration in Munich starts this weekend as well. In honor of this wonderful festival, I am posting some information about the event.

Oktoberfest History

The very first Oktoberfest celebration was on October 12, 1810, held in honor of the wedding of Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen in Bavaria, city of Munich. The festival returned for 1811 and 1812, but it was called off in 1812 due to involvement in the Napoleonic war. In the year 1816 the town took over control of the management of the festivities and determined the event would occur each year. Since at least 1872, the celebration has started on a Saturday in September, lasting 16 days, and typically ending on the first Sunday in October. The festival moved to September due to the better weather. The event has been canceled 24 times due to disease, war or emergency.

Bad Beer

In the years 1946-1948 Munich celebrated "Autumn Fest" but Oktoberfest beer was not permitted and beer alcohol content was limited to less than 2%.

Too Much Beer

There is a medical tent setup to deal with those that drink too much. Here is a new word for you, the drunk people are called "Bierleichen" (beer corpses.)

Huge Festival

It is considered the Largest People's Fair in the World, with six million visitors. The 64,000 square meters of ground where Oktoberfest is celebrated are named Theresienwiese after the Princess and bride of Prince Ludwig. There are 14 large semi-permanent tents setup to sell beer or wine. There is seating for approximately 100,000 people.

Beer, Beer and more Beer

There are six Oktoberfest breweries, Spaten, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräuhaus and Löwenbräu. In total they sell more than 6 million mugs of beer. The city government approved the sale of beer at the festival in 1880. In 1892 beer was first served in glass mugs. The mugs are made of a heavy glass with the brewery logo on the side. It is against the law to steal the mugs, but most can be purchased. Police will search bags for stolen mugs and issues fines.

Das Boot

The word Das Boot is now famous thanks to two movies, the anti-war German submarine movie in 1981 and the 2006 comedy Beerfest. Das Bot is a German word meaning "the boat." In Beerfest "Das Boot" was the name for the glass boot of beer. Drinking out a boot-shaped glass is common at parties in German, Austrian and Swiss bars around the world. The small boot holds a pint, while the traditional large boot holds 2 liters. Legend has it that back in WWI German soldiers had no glasses to drink their beer, so they filled up their boot and drank, and "Das Boot" was started. If you have not seen Beerfest you may not know how to handle the air bubble that builds up in the toe of the glass boot.

Brats

Bratwursts were first sold at booths in 1881. The word bratwurst is derived from Old High German, brät is a fine chopped meat and wurst is sausage.

Other Cities

There are other cities around the world that celebrate Oktoberfest such as Cincinnati, Ohio; Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Blumenau, Brazil; La Crosse, Wisconsin; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Appleton, Wisconsin; Addison, Texas; Shiner, TX; Helen, Georgia; Newport, Rhode Island; Irondequoit, New York; Hermann, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Hickory, North Carolina; Campbell, California; and Denver, Colorado. There are also large celebrations in Australia and Argentina.

Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati

The current version held in Cincinnati traces back to 1976 and claims to be the largest Oktoberfest in North American with 500,000 people. The most popular food item at the festival in Cincinnati is the mettwurst. The mettwurst is a strong flavored sausage made with raw minced pork that is curred and smoked. The word mettwurst is derived from Low German and Old Saxon mett means minced pork without bacon, similar to the Old Saxon word meti which means food. Mettwurst can be cooked, spread over rye bread or eaten raw.

Enjoy Oktoberfest. It is a short season, so stop by one of your local beer carry-outs or bars to try some great beer this month. Or better yet go to an Oktoberfest festival!

Wee Heavy #22 Scotch Ale

Procedure
This was the third all grain beer. I was assisted by Scott with this beer. I roasted some pilsner malt before doing the mash. The same lauter tun was used, although it required two staggered sessions, due to the large amount of grains, 22 pounds! I did the hop additions as noted in the recipe. I had a two week primary and two week secondary. It took the beer almost 4 weeks to properly carbonate, not sure why.

The Name

(the label)

The full name of this beer is Wee Heavy #22 90 Schilling Scotch Ale. I simply call it Wee Heavy #22. Wee Heavy and 90 Schilling are designations given to a Scottish Ales with certain alcohol, in this case 8%. The #22 refers to the fact that this beer used 22 pounds of grain, which is almost twice what I have used for other beers.

Review
This turned out well and is getting rave reviews. It has such a unique "sweet malt" taste and the hops are very low. The carbonation is perfect. It has a dark color. There is a hint of a smoky smell, which is actually from the yeast, not the roasted malt. Most people, including myself, have not had the pleasure of getting to drink that many Scottish beers, so this is a nice alternative to traditional beers. This is a good dessert or after dinner beer, perhaps with a cigar. Although you would not likely drink more than one a night.

WHEAT-EES Hefeweizen

Procedure
This was my second all grain. I milled the grains at the store and used Nick's lauter tun to extract the sugars. I did a 90 minute boil with my new large 8-9 gallon pot on the burner. I did the hop additions as specified in the directions. I was not able to fit all of the sugar water in the pot, but as it boiled down I added more to the pot. Eventually 9 gallons boiled down to 4.5 gallons of wort. I have video and pictures up on this previous post describing how active this beer was during primary fermentation.

The Name

(the label)

I enjoyed making this label. When looking for clipart for wheat, I kept running into Wheeties box pictures, so I decided I would do my own version. Instead of an athlete, like the cereal, I have a picture of some old farmers drinking some beer. I claim they are German farmers, but no one believes me.

Review
This is one of my favorite beers I have made. I think it is a very accurate and tastes like a German brand such as Paulaner. It is a nice light summer beer, that was refreshing every time I had one. In fact I was very reluctant to distribute this one, because I wanted it all to myself! I only will drink it out of my proper wheat glass, so I get the desired appearance, head and aroma.
It has a great cloudy appearance.

In tastings, other people have not rated this as highly as me. That being said, most people that have tasted the beer don't drink a lot of wheat beers, so it may be a bit out of the norm. Also, when people have tasted it, they are comparing to my other offerings, which have a much stronger taste. It also tasted different than most American Wheat beers.

I will post other reviews soon.

Bring It On! ESB

Recipe
Will be posted soon.

Procedure
This was our first all grain recipe. Nick devised a lauter tun from a piece of copper, a cork, some tubing, a clamp, and a bottling bucket. I described the lauter tun in this post. Once we extracted the sugars we started the boil. I did not have my new 8-9 gallon pot, so we used two burners and two 5 gallon posts. We split the hops between the two pots. We implemented a secondary fermentation.

The Name

(the label)

I called this "Bring It On!" because it was our first attempt at an all-grain. I was saying to the world, "Bring It On!" Just like King Kong, who is pictured on the label.

Review
There have been good reviews. Extra Special Bitters (ESB) have a unique taste. They in fact are not bitter. It has a very malty taste. The carbonation is low. It has a dark brown color. I think our first all-grain was a big success!

I'll post other reviews soon.

Delay in Posts

Sorry for the delay in posts. I moved at the end of July and classes just started. Check back for new posts.

Scotch Ale in secondary

The Scotch Ale has been transferred to the secondary. It stayed in the primary for almost two weeks, so there will not likely be any further fermentation, but this will allow it to clear as more sediment settles. I plan to bottle in a week or two. I was able to sample some of the beer, and I am very happy with the outcome. As expected, the beer has a strong roasted malt taste, and there is a smoky smell. Even after this beer carbonates in the bottles, it will help if it matures in the basement for a number of weeks. I made this to be consumed as my fall or autumn beer, in addition to the Oktoberfest Lager, which will be ready in September. I will put some away and see how they taste in December. With a projected 8% alcohol content, this beer will be enjoyed carefully one bottle at a time.

Oktoberfest Fermenting!

My first attempt at a lager has started showing active fermentation! The carboy has been sitting at 52-53 degrees, which is right in the middle of the desired range. Last night, approximately 38 hours after the yeast was pitched, foam was seen at the top. This morning, after 48 hours, there are about three bubbles per 30 seconds in the airlock. I now feel better knowing the fermentation is visible. Below is a picture taken last night on a cell phone. You can see a thin foam at the top. Since this is a lager yeast, there will not likely be a heavy foam at the top, or even a blow off, as shown in my last two ales. Ale yeasts are top fermenting, while lagers are bottom fermenting. Thanks to Kati for watching and reporting the status of this beer in Cincinnati!

Oktoberfest Beer Started

I have started my first attempt of a lager. I brewed a Märzen style Oktoberfest on Saturday. The beer was brewed in Cincinnati, since it will need to stay in a fridge until September. In this previous post I talked about the fridge and temperature gauge that will allow me to lager. I was joined by Jordan and Nate for the mashing process. As was the case with the Scotch Ale, I had trouble initially with the lauter tun. The milled grain collected at the bottom of the lauter tun and blocked the manifold. This was corrected by pouring the water and grist back into the mash tun and returned to the lauter tun. The boiling wort had a great copper color and smell. The Hersbrucker hops had a very interesting smell, quite different any hops I have ever used. It was pungent smell, almost like cheese, but it seemed to go well with the sweet smell of the grain.

After the boil I had close to five gallons of wort. I incorrectly assumed that the wort could chill in my fridge and after a couple hours I finally used the wort chiller. I was only able to get the temperature down to 80 degrees, so re-sealed the container and put it back into the fridge. Overnight the beer was down to 65 degrees. I pitched the yeast and placed it back into the fridge. Within 12 hours it was 55 degrees and after 24 hours it was 51 degrees and it should stay at that temperature. After 24 hours there still is no activity. I have read that the lager yeast is slower than ale yeast, so it may take a few days to start. There are a few different ways to pitch yeast for a lager, and I felt this was the best method. I will be more comfortable with my decision when it starts to bubble and show fermentation.

Scotch Ale

Last Wednesday I brewed a Scotch Ale. I was joined by Scott for his first homebrew. I found a simple all-grain recipe. I used the same bucket system that was used for the my first two all-grain batches (ESB, Hefeweizen.) I also used a single temperature infusion with the mash tun. This recipe used 22 lbs. of grains. I was forced to use two mash tuns, and the lauter tun twice. My previous recipes used 12-14 lbs of grain. The higher amount of grain increased the amount of fermentable sugar, and I expect around 8% alcohol. The beer will have a darker color, with a malty and smoky taste. The hop pressence will be low. The fermentation started within 24 hours and it was quite active. I hope to bottle by mid-July, and the beer will potentially be ready by August, but it will better if it sits until September.

AleFest 2007-Columbus, OH

Rob, Mark, Nick and Jeff joined me

Earlier this month I attended Columbus AleFest with some friends. The event was held at the Alladin Shriners Building near Easton. There were 50 craft brewers with over 200 beers. Once admission was paid, each person received 20 sample tickets, a sample glass and a raffle ticket. I never measured the sample glass, but it was probably 2-3 ounces. For the most part I tried to sample beers that I had not had before. I was a bit disappointed that most of the people serving beer were volunteers, and not representatives from the company. I first noticed this while wearing my Harpoon IPA shirt and walking up to the Harpoon table, and I did not get any reaction. I appreciate the work of the volunteers, as this event benefits Special Olympics, but the brewer and beer connoisseur in me wanted to talk beer with the experts. There were two beers that stuck out with me. I had a flemish ale, which had a unique spicy and sour taste, with banana and bubble gum esthers. It reminded me of a farmouse ale or a lambic without fruit. The winner for the day was Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA. I had my eye out for an IIPA and fell in love with this one. Think IPA on steroids, meaning a lot more hops and fermentable sugars and you get this beer that checks in at an incredible 11% alcohol and 153 IBUs. Think about that for a second. Most of your beers out there are under 40 IBU (International Bitterness Unit.) Regular India Pale Ales, which are considered high in bitterness register at 40-100 in most cases. As far as the alcohol, most beers are in the 4-6% range and a high gravity could be 8-10%. It was nice seeing the local beers, Columbus Brewing Company and Hosters. Evidently Hosters still does not have a location re-opened in Columbus yet, but they are brewing and bringing it into Columbus for bars and stores. Columbus Brewing Company actually had company reps, including one of the brewers. It was great talking to them. We had a few samples of the Maibock, which was a nice change of pace.


Dogfish Head wins the award for most interesting display, as they had the 90-minute IPA running into a filter filled with fresh hops before coming through a flash cooler and out the tap. For those that don't know, flash coolers are the most logical setup for portable keg beer. Instead of worrying about a big trash can and bags of ice that melt in less than an hour, you run the kegged beer through copper tubing that loops around through a cooler that is filled with ice and water and a tap is installed on the side of the cooler. The beer comes out of a room temperature keg and it is flash cooled before being dispensed. Of course you may also want to use a CO2 tank for consistent flow. The principle of a flash cooler works much like a wort chiller in homebrewing, which is used to quickly chill boiled wort before it is placed into the primary fermenter.

Here I enjoy a Sam Adams with one of our founding fathers.

Can I pull of a lager?

I set a goal at the beginning of this year to make an Oktoberfest lager for the festival this September in Cincinnati. I have found a Märzen lager style recipe that can be prepared in 2.5 months. Ideally Märzens are started in March, hence the name, but due to the wonders of refrigeration, a batch can be started during the summer and still be lagered correctly. It requires a dedicated fridge that can be held at the proper temperature at the various stages. The yeast prefers 48-58 degrees for primary fermentation and bottle fermentation. The long 6-20 week secondary conditioning and the 2-4 week bottle maturing require near freezing temperatures. This recipe was made in March, because it was still cold enough in Germany to use the help of Mother Nature. If I start the recipe at the end of June, it will be ready for Oktoberfest in Cincinnati on September 22.

I have located a fridge in working condition and I have purchased a temperature control. The temperature control is able to hold a fridge or freezer anywhere in the 20-80 degree range. Like most older fridges, the one I have will not go under 40 degrees very easily, but it should be fine. For the bottle conditioning at near freezing temperatures, I might be able to place the bottles into the freezer portion, but the secondary fermenter will not fit in the freezer.

Check back for updates!

Initial Reviews of Lab Work

The Näf-Woods Homebrew Lab offered a sampling of the first experiment. In this previous post I described the three hard cider recipes. One batch used cider, another used apple juice and a third used apple juice and rasberries. The overwhelming favorite was the plain apple juice. It had a champagne like dry taste. The cider batch had a strange sour after taste. The apple juice with rasberries was good and may get better with age, but the fruit had a lambic flavor without the sour taste. The batch only resulted in 4.5 bottles for each recipe, and the remaining bottles will be aged and sampled in July. At this point it appears another test batch will be run with apple juice, champagne yeast, corn sugar, and apple juice will be put into the secondary in place of the apple enhancer to enhance the apple flavor.

ESB and Hefeweizen update

Both the ESB and Hefeweizen are bottle conditioning. Both tasted good when bottled. I actually tried one of the ESBs this past weekend, and I was very happy. It has only been in the bottle for 1.5 weeks, so the carbonation will increase. I expect both to be ready in another week or two. As you may recall, these are my first two attempts at an all grain recipe.

Belgian Ale update

As I stated in a previous post, the Belgian Ale is bottled. I think the flavor has smoothed out a bit, and it is ready for distribution. It is a darker than I expected, but clarity is good. There are still hints of banana and clove, but that was expected with this recipe. Let me know if you want a bottle. I will post the recipe and review soon.

Hefeweizen Update

The Hefeweizen will be transferred to the secondary fermenter tomorrow, but I wanted to post some pictures and video from the first day of ferementation. Just like the Belgian Ale, a higher fermentation temperature and high activity caused the wort to foam and blow off the top. I had placed a bag around the carboy, but the activity blew off the bag. On the bright side, this shows that the yeast was happy and there was plenty of sugar, but hopefully there won't be too many off flavors or too high of an alcohol content. I am currently looking for a cheap used chest freezer, which will allow me to do fermentation at a controlled temperature. This should prevent future explosions. I could also do some lagering. The freezer could hold kegs of beer as well. The temperature will be controlled by a device that allows me to hold the temperature of a freezer or fridge anywhere in the 30-80 degree range.

Second All Grain Attempt

Even though we have not tried our first all grain recipe, the ESB, I decided it was best to start the summer beer recipe. Last night Nick and I brewed a German Hefeweizen. We used the same bucket system with blanket insulation. The mash temperature was a bit high and we had some trouble with temperature loss in the lauter tun, but the water coming out of the lauter tun became clear, which is an indication that the sugars have been extracted.

As was the case with the ESB, I had a lot of water loss through steam with the boiling. Even with 7-8 gallons of wort, I only had about four gallons after the boil. I added a gallon of tap water to the carboy to top out at five gallons.

We were able to use the new 35 quart (almost 9 gallon) brewpot. This was a great improvement over the 5 gallon pot. Although with the first boil we noticed an almost rustlike appearance to the pot. After boiling the wort and cleaning the pot, the coloration was gone, so I am not sure what happened.

After the slow fermentation with the White Labs yeast in the ESB, I switched to Wyeast. I am proud to report that the primary fermentation is very active with a lot of CO2 in less than 10 hours after the yeast was pitched. Check back for updates.

Näf-Woods Homebrew Lab Opens Up

I am proud to announce the opening of the Näf-Woods Homebrew Lab. The Lab will focus on developing new recipes, techniques and a variety of other tasks.

First Experiment
The first project sent to our lab comes from my girlfriend Kati. She asked that the lab develop a hard cider recipe. As you may recall by reading this post, in January this brewery produced a cider. The cider turned out ok, but it definitely needed more apple flavor. I determined that three 1-gallon growlers would allow me to use 1/2 gallon recipes. This worked perfect as most ciders and juices come in 64 oz. containers. As was the case last time, there was no boil, I put juice in the fermenter and added yeast. This time I added some corn sugar to up the alcohol content. There were three different batches, one had apple cider, the second had pure apple juice and the last one was pure apple juice with thawed red rasberries. I used a champagne yeast found at the wine store. I created a yeast started with apple juice and the hydrated yeast. The batches have been transferred to the secondary fermenter. In the secondary I added some apple enhancer flavoring and some isinglass for clarification. The secondary will take two weeks. Check back later in June after the bottle conditioning for more updates.

If you have an experiment for the Näf-Woods Homebrew Lab please send it via email.

Belgian Ale

As you can see in my side column, the Belgian Ale is bottled. I tried one after a week of bottle conditioning and found the beer to be non-carbonated. I typically wait at least two weeks for bottle conditioning, but I thought I might try one early. Nick tried one as well, and we both noticed some great flavors, including the typical banana esther along with a slight bubble gum taste. Hopefully the carbonation kicks in, because this beer is supposed to have a incredible head of carbonation when poured into the proper glass. The proper glass for this beer would be a Belgian glass with a tulip design. A Duvel glass would work. I will use a Piraat glass, which is very similar. I'll try another one in the coming weeks and post my review along with the recipe.

ESB

On American Homebrew Day, as designated by the American Homebrew Association, the first Saturday of each May, Nick, Brian and I brewed some ESB (Extra Special Bitter.) ESB is an English style beer, which has a misleading name, since it is really not that bitter. It is a dark beer with low carbonation, often with a toasty malt flavor.

ALL GRAIN HERE WE COME!
Nick devised our first attempt at an all grain brew. Our manifold was at first attempted with a piece of stainless steel, but it snapped, so instead he used a piece of copper (off his wort chiller) and bent it in a question mark shape. The question mark loops in the bucket with the straight point going out the bucket. Inside the bucket, the copper has small cuts, from a dremel tool, facing the bottom of the bucket, which allows the wort to escape, while leaving the grain in the bucket. He used a bottling bucket that already had a drilled hole. The copper tubing fit perfect in a rubber stopper. He used a special molding clay to form a complete seal. The plastic tubing fit perfect on the copper tube. I'll describe our mash/lauter process in a later post, along with the recipe and some photos.

Beer as a battery?

This article was sent to me. Earlier this week the BBC announced that Foster's brewery in Australia received a grant to build a battery that would capture the energy produced by bacteria consuming sugars in brewery waste water. It is said this battery could power an entire home. They hope to use this technology in other food and drink processing plants. Along with producing power, this process will help clean the waste water. If you don't understand the power of microorganisms and consumable sugars found in beer, check my earlier post and watch the video to see how the yeast produced enough CO2 to blow off the top of my primary fermenter.

Belgian Ale-Fermentation

April Homebrew

Belgian Ale

I started a batch of Belgian Ale last night. This morning the activity was good, about a bubble a minute in the airlock. I used a 6 gallon carboy. Today after work I checked on the activity and discovered that the airlock had been ejected quite a distance away from the carboy, and foam was coming out the top. I replaced the air valve with a blow off hose into a container of water. So far everything appears ok. Activity is still quite high. Below are some pics and a video hosted on Youtube.

Enjoying a beer while brewing

With Blow-off Tube

Lots of Activity!

Tour of Sam Adams-Boston

During a recent trip to Boston, for the marathon, I was able to tour the Boston Sam Adams brewery. In previous trips I have attempted to visit, but they had bad hours. This year they added Tuesday tours, which worked out well. I told myself the tour was a reward for the race on Monday. I enjoyed the tour and the sampling of beer. The brewery is in Jamaican Plain, which is south of downtown Boston. Luckily there is a T-subway stop within walking distance. As we walked into the facility we noticed the wonderful smell of wort. I wonder if they can bottle that smell and pump it into the tours, when a beer is not being made. After the tour we tried fresh samples of Sam Adams Boston Lager, Summer Ale and an experimental Irish Red Ale. In the gift shop I picked up one of the new Boston Lager glasses! Oh and for what it is worth, the Cincinnati Sam Adams brewery makes over half of the beer for the company. The Boston location doesn't have the ability to bottle beer. Below are some pics.

Chilling the Wort

When making beer, contamination is most likely to occur between the boiling and the transfer to the primary fermenter. Since wort is unfermented beer, there is a lot of sugar that can attract contamination. The temperature is ideal, and there is no alcohol. It is critical to keep the wort covered and to get the temperature down quickly to properly pitch the yeast.

If you do not own a wort chiller, you can chill a 2-3 gallon wort with your sink. I don't completely understand thermal dynamics, but the key points to use are temperature differential and container material. You may have been under the impression that it is best to combine the 2-3 gallons of wort with 2-3 gallons of cold tap water in your fermenter, and then chill it in the sink or tub. It may seem counter intuitive, but it is easier to cool something that is at a higher temperature. It also helps to leave the wort in the metal pot, because it transfers the heat better than plastic or glass.

So take your pot directly off your burner and place it in your sink. You need to have water contact the sides of the pots, so that the heat from the pot transfers to the water in the sink. That means you need to change the sink water and replace it with cold water from the tap. I find it best to partially plug the drain, so that some warm water escapes while cold water comes in from the tap. You can add some ice to the sink, but it is not necessary. Once the temperature reaches 100 degrees you can put it in the primary fermenter. If you do this properly, it should only take 15-30 minutes. Top off the primary fermenter so that you have a total of five gallons. The temperature should now be in range for most yeasts, but just to be safe you will want to take a reading and refer to the yeast packaging or the recipe. Remember to do your specific gravity reading before pitching the yeast.

Yeast Starter

It is always a good idea to use a yeast starter.

Dry Yeast
-After 10 minutes of the boil, remove 2 cups of wort. Cover the sample and cool it in a fridge or freezer until it reaches 90 degrees.
-Warm up a 1/2 cup of tap water to 90 degrees. Sprinkle the yeast, cover until the wort is ready.
-Combine the wort and yeast water, cover and set aside until needed.

Wyeast Liquid
Some of the Wyeast liquid yeasts come with an activator pack, which once smacked will release yeast nutrient. Depending on the yeast and beer, you will want to do this 1-3 days in advance. Check the recipe for recommendations.

White Labs Liquid
White Labs makes excellent liquid yeasts in tubes. They do not have a nutrient pack included, but you can make a starter in a similar manner to dry yeasts.

Homebrew IPA

February Homebrew

Snow Day IPA

Recipe

8 lbs. malt syrup

1 lbs. 60L crystal malt

1.5 oz Nugget Hops (bittering)

1 oz. Cascade Hops (flavor)

1 oz. Cascade Hops (aroma)

0.5 oz. Cascade Hops (dry)

5 oz. (3/4 cup) priming sugar

1 packet dry Nottingham Ale yeast

Procedure

Contact me if you want more detailed instructions.

Heat 2-3 gallons of water with malt in a grain bag. Hold between 150 and 160 degrees, while lifting and draining the bag multiple times with tongs (do not squeeze.) Remove the bag after thirty minutes. Turn off heat or remove the pot from the burner. Add malt syrup and the Nugget Hops in a bag. Increase temperature until a boil is reached. Hold the boil for thirty minutes, then add the flavor hops (bag optional.) The total boil will be sixty minutes. Turn off the heat and add the aroma hops. After fifteen minutes remove the hop bags and cool the wort. Once it is cooled, add it to the fermenter, topping it off with tap water to reach five gallons. Record the temperature and specific gravity. If the temperature is 65-75 degrees add the yeast (suggest using a yeast starter.) Fermenation should be at least one week in the primary and another week in the secondary. Add the dry hops to the secondary fermenter. Add priming sugar and bottle. Thanks to Listermanns shop in Cincinnati for the recipe and the ingredients!

The Name

As you may have noticed, I like to name the beer and put an interesting label on the bottle. I bought the ingredients on a weekend. I wasn't sure when I would get a chance to make the beer. Fate stepped in and brought a winter storm, which resulted in me missing almost two days of work. I was stuck at home....I had ingredients for a beer.....and now we have Snow Day IPA!

My Review

I am very happy with this beer. I like the copper color. The hops are evident when putting your nose near the glass and when you take a drink, but they don't overpower the taste. I was surprised at how smooth the beer was, considering it is an India Pale Ale. There is not a bitter aftertaste. The carbonation is ideal, producing a decent head when poured properly. Honestly, I prefer more bitter IPAs, but I still find myself having an easy time relaxing with a bottle. Next time I may try some different hops, or perhaps I will attempt an Imperial India Pale Ale.

Other Reviews

Jeremy said, "I hosted a jambalaya party over the weekend and took a break from some fine Single Barrel Jack Daniels to partake of the Snow Day IPA. I'm not an IPA drinker, so I wanted to be sure I had company to finish it if I didn't like it. I was pleased. It definitely had the hoppy taste, but it wasn't overwhelming for me (like the Bells Two Hearted Ale, or the hops that I ate during the Bockfest parade). I shared a bit with our cook and he enjoyed it as well."

Graham said, "Savoured with a side of cinnamon sprinkled cheddar cheese blocks and poured in a Stella Artois glass this is a really good beer. Carbonation is not high, just perfect in fact, very light hops aroma and taste with little or no after taste. Colour is copper, almost on a par with Killians Red........"

Kati said, "Yuck."

Ryan said, "Joe does a great job of brewing."

I have delivered a lot of bottles, so if you have a comment to post, please send it to me.

Homebrew IPA coming soon

I was finally able to taste the India Pale Ale I made in February. It has been named "Snow Day IPA." Look for an explanation of the name when I post the recipe. So far I am very impressed. I will sample a couple more bottles and put up the recipe and my review. The labels are ready, so look for bottles to be distributed soon. Let me know if you are interested in picking one up, having one dropped off, or me holding one aside until you are in town. I will warn you though, be ready for a lot of hops, so if you don't want a bitter beer, this may not be your type of beer. The alcohol was 6.5%-7%.

Beer in Sedona

While in Sedona, Arizona last week we stumbled across a bar named "Olde Sedona." We watched some of the NCAA games, ate some yummy black bean chili and I sampled some Amber Ale from Oak Creek Brewing Co. At the time I didn't realize that was a local beer, so I really didn't take any notes. I recall it being smooth with hops that don't overpower. It went very well with the chili and fried onions. Next time I am in Sedona, I hope to visit the company brewpub and sample some more of their offerings.

Homebrew Cider

January Homebrew


Recipe
Back in January I fermented some Draft Cider. This was my first attempt, and none of my homebrewing buddies have done one, so I had to find a recipe on my own. I ended up buying five gallons of fresh Ohio cider from Whole Foods. The cider must be pasteurized, but not preserved. I used Wyeast cider yeast and let it ferment one week in the primary and another week in the secondary. I used corn sugar and then put it in beer bottles.

The Name

I named this Dupuy Draft Cider in honor of my girlfriend, since she was kind enough to buy me some homebrew equipment for Christmas! Since she does not like beer, and she loves cider, I thought I would give this a try. If time permits I may make another batch this fall.

A copy of the label from the bottle

My Review

I thought the cider was a bit under-carbonated. I felt that the apple taste could be stronger. It was cloudy, but the color was good. The scent coming off the top seemed about right. It was a refreshing taste, but I feel like a future batch could use some changes. In the next batch I may let it ferment longer. I may add some camden tablets for stabilization then put in some cider, juice or an apple enhancer to bring up the flavor towards the end of fermentation. I may also add sugar to push the alcohol level to 6-8%. Before bottling I may add more corn sugar to increase the carbonation. If you have any suggestions send me an email.

Other Reviews
Graham said, "I found it to be pleasantly light, and refreshing with a very fine carbonation and pleasant after taste. I drove home with it chilling on the ice in the back of the pick-up so it was possibly a bit to cold........but still very nice, Well Done!"

Mark said, "It's about the color of a Blue Moon, light smell of apple and the taste is slightly citrusy. A great hot summer day drink. Thanks for sharing."

My Dad said, "Had a taste of your cider and it was excellent. A little light, could be a little heavier or more cider taste, but really good!"

My Mom said, "Your cider was great."

If you want your review of the cider posted, send it to me. If you have not tried the cider, let me know asap, because there is not much left.

Bockfest

This year I attended Bockfest, which was held on the first weekend of March. In an earlier post, I listed details about the Cincinnati event. I arrived downtown Cincinnati around 5:00, just in time for the parade. I assumed I would be watching the festivities, but instead I filled in as one of the goats pulling the float. My brother and sister had created some goatheads for us to wear. The goatheads wore monk like robes and the masks. Due to a lack of robes, I simply wore my work clothes with the mask. On the float was my younger brother in a German Oktoberfest outfit playing drums and accordion. Pulling the float in the front was a real-life pregnant lady with a German hat and a goat painted on her shirt. The goats pulled the float with ropes on the sides, but a couple of us simply held onto the float so it wouldn't fall apart. We passed out root beer barrel candy along the path. We received many cheers and had our picture taken a few times. After the parade there was an awards show, but we could not see anything, since there was not a stage. We were surprised to later find out that we won a major award, the "Most Fun" entrant. Unfortunately the award was one pint glass, so we are in the process of handing the glass back and forth. Below are some pics.

We spent both Friday and Saturday night at Kaldis, a bookstore/restaurant/bar on Main Street in the Over-the-Rhine area of town. Kaldis had at least five different Bock beers. There was a coupke by local brewers Christian Morlein and Barrel House. I personally preferred the Spaten Maibock. There was a special menu, and I sampled a dish that was basically chili dogs. Overall the weekend was a lot of fun, and I look forward to this festival further developing as the Over-the-Rhine area continues to connect to its history. Below are a few more pics.

Delay

Sorry for the delay in posts. I have been out of town, and the NCAA tournament has distracted me a bit.

New Sam Adams Glass

Sam Adams has created a pint glass, that they claim is the best way to drink Sam Adams Boston Lager. Below is the picture, with some notes from their newsletter. Glasses can be purchased at their website, but at this point there is a 2-3 week wait. No word yet on if bars will use these glasses. Founder Jim Koch said the following, "We wanted to create a glass that offers beer lovers a full sensory drinking experience by fully showcasing Samuel Adams Boston Lager's complex balance of malt and hop flavors. This glass achieves that mission."

Bead inside top rim - small ridge creates turbulence to increase CO2 and aroma release as beer enters palate
Lip of the Glass - places the beer on the front of the tongue where sweetness is tasted
Narrowness - enhances hop aroma by concentrating the head
Round Shape - greater volume to surface ratio maintains temperature longer
Narrow grip - reduces the beer's exposure to heat from the hand
Nucleation site - increases hop aroma release

Bockfest-Cincinnati, this weekend

Bockfest
March 1-4, 2007-Cincinnati, OH
Click here to view the event webpage
This underground festival, started in Cincinnati back in the 1800's when the Queen City was one of the premier brewing cities. At one point there were over 50 brewers in the Over-the-Rhine area and Cincinnati had the highest beer-consumption per-capita. This festival marked the day when all brewers released their bock beer. Bock beer is a strong lager that can be dark, amber or pale. It is traditionally brewed for holidays. German Catholic monks brewed it to consume during lent, when they fasted, because it contains more nutrients than most other beers.
Here is an article about the event

Beer Reviews

Here is a list of beers I have tried lately, along with website links and my opinions.

 

Rock Bottom, Cincinnati, OH

Rock Bottom is chain brew-pub in multiple states. I first tried Rock Bottom with a fellow homebrewer, Trevor, when in Bethesda, Maryland. The food is good, not typical bar food. My personal favorite is the pulled pork sandwich. In any case, each location brews their own beer, but I believe the recipes are similar if not the same, and the brewmaster names the beers after something familiar to that city. I drank a Tall Stacks Ale with my pork sandwich. The beer had a great redish brown color, the head and carbonation were good and the hops were noticeable, but not over-powering. It seemed similar to an English Ale. I thought it was a good beer. I also tried the White Tiger Wheat. This beer had a good cloudy unfiltered look in the glass, but I was not impressed by the taste. The flavor was very faint, with very little character. The fruity esters that make wheat beers good, was not very noticeable. It might be a ok beer in the summer, or without food, but I stopped drinking it and had the Tall Stacks Ale instead.

 

North Coast Brewing Company

The homebrewer and webmaster of O'Finnegan's Master Brew, introduced me to NCBC's Old Rasputin, which is a great Imperial Stout. I had not tried any other beers from this brewery, but a package of their beer caught my eye the other day. They make a Belgian Ale, called PranQster. I pulled one out the fridge on the weekend and enjoyed it with dinner. It is made in California, but in the style of Belgian Abbey Ales. I was impressed by the aroma of the beer and the smooth fruity flavor was quite good. It may not be up there with the true Belgians, but I know if I lived near the brewery I would be a regular customer. You may have to search for these beers, and they are pricey for US beers, especially considering they are 4-packs, but I recommend you pick up some Old Rasputin and PranQster.

 

Van Steenberge N.V.  Global Beer

A fellow runner and beer connoisseur, Mike, suggested I try Piraat Ale, a Belgian Amber Ale. I recognize the label, but could not recall if I had tried the beer. I bought a large bottle the other weekend and enjoyed a glass with dinner and one after the meal. I have never had a Belgian beer I did not enjoy, and this has to be on the best so far. It is a triple, so the alcohol level is quite high, 10.5% to be exact. It is also sort of an IPA, with the hop content. The beer has strong spicy and bitter tastes that tickle your taste buds. There are hints of tropical fruits. It has an impressive head and carbonation seems ideal.

Groundhog Day

Today is Groundhog Day. This is being posted to the blog because, it was Germans that started this tradition. As you know, my homebrewery is at least half German. Also, the celebrations in Pennsylvania include playing of "Beer Barrel Polka." This morning Punxsutawney Phil in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania did not see his shadow, so spring will arrive early. Click here for the story, pictures and video. If you haven't seen Bill Murray's take on this holiday, you should go rent a copy or look for it on TV, since it will likely be played multiple times today.

In Ohio, Buckeye Chuck confirmed Phil's prediction, by not seeing his shadow.

10 Beers You Should Try, Part 1

This is the first of many posts with a list of ten beers I recommend you try. I realize not everyone will like the beers I suggest, but if you enjoy beer, I guarantee you will find one you love on this post or future "10 Beers You Should Try" posts.

 

As with most homebrewers, I am sometimes called a "Beer Snob" when out at bars or at events with friends or family. Much like with food, I feel it is silly to consistently consume a lower quality item if you enjoy a higher quality item. Does that mean I only drink or eat the best food? No. My beer choice hinges on availability, the people I am with and prices.

 

On this particular list you may notice a large number of beers from the country of Belgium. Anyone that knows me, knows I love Belgian beer!

 

Support your local carry-out and buy one or all of these great beers!

 

These are listed in no particular order.

1. Great Lakes Burning River (US Pale Ale)

2. Paulaner Hefeweizen (German Hefeweizen)

3. Hacker-Pschorr Weisse (German Wheat)

4. Bell's Two Hearted Ale (US IPA)

5. Lindemans Cassis (Belgian Black Currant Lambic)

6. Sierra Nevada Celebration (US Seasonal Ale)

7. Saison Dupont (Belgian Farmhouse Ale)

8. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (Canadian Belgian Style Golden Ale)

9. Chimay Red (Belgian Trappist Beer)

10. Duvel (Belgian Golden Ale)

Review of WV Microbrews

This is the first of several beer reviews. I will typically cover microbrew beers or beers from across the ocean. Look for a post in the coming weeks, asking for beer/bar reviews by guest contributors.

 

This past weekend, I went on a skiing trip with a group of guys to West Virginia. I looked forward to this trip, not only because of the great snow base and forecasted weather, but there were a couple microbreweries that we planned to visit. We actually booked a room at a lodge beside one of the brewpubs, Blackwater Brewing Company. Our trip to West Virginia took longer than expected, due to the weather, so we were definitely ready to try some beer. Part of the group grabbed a table at Blackwater and had some beer ready for us when we arrived. My first glass was Parsons Porter. It had a good dark brown color from the roasted malt, but the flavor was a little weak. My next glass was the Blackwater IPA. I am a huge fan of pale ales so I thought this was a good choice. Again, the beer had good color, but the flavor was not as strong as I had hoped. I love hops, so I tend to prefer an IPA with a strong hop presence that creates a bitter taste and aromatic experience. Overall I was a bit disappointed with the beer. I commend the fact that this establishment is open in the small town of Davis, providing people with something other than Budweiser. I think they just need to tweak their recipes to add a little flavor. I also wonder how fresh the beer is, considering the place was practically empty on a Saturday night. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to visit Mountain State Brewing Company, in nearby Thomas, West Virginia.

On Sunday we did some cross country skiing at White Grass in Davis, West Virginia. It was a lot of fun, although my lack of experience showed as I stumbled a few times. We finished in the early afternoon and determined we would hit a restaurant on the way back. One of the guys, Mike, a fellow homebrewer, knew the area and recommended CJ Maggie's because they stock West Virginia Brewing Company (website unknown) beer. We grabbed dinner at the Buckhannon location. After a day out in the cold, I enjoyed a burger, fries and an Appalachian Ale. It was a decent brown ale that went down easy. There were hints of nut, but the beer was thin and didn't really coat the tongue. I would like to visit the brewpub in Morgantown to try their other varieties.

Brewing Equipment

Below are items you need to brew basic partial mash beer. Some homebrew shops make nice kits that will give you most of this equipment.

Large Brewpot
This pot should be 5-8 gallons and made of stainless steel or enamel.

Heating Source
A burner on your stove should work, but realize it takes a while to boil 3-4 gallons of water, especially with electric. I recommend buying a turkey fryer burner, which operates with a propane gas tank. Buy your turkey fryer burner in early December when they go on sale after Thanksgiving, or ask friends/relatives if you can borrow one. Your propane gas tank from the backyard grill will power the burner.

Sanitizing Solution
You do not need to worry about sanitizing until you are done boiling and placing the wort in the primary fermenter. The primary and secondary fermenter and bottles, along with all items used in those phases must be sanitized. Read this previous entry for my recommended sanitizers.

Primary Fermenter
Most people start out by using a 6 or 6.5 gallon food grade plastic bucket with a lid, and these usually work well. Make sure the bucket is new and be careful to prevent scratches that can occur when objects or other buckets are stored inside the bucket. Scratches can harbor microorganisms that can damage your beer. Once your budget allows, buy a 6 or 6.5 gallon glass carboy, which is a glass water jug. Glass is not porous like plastic, it is more difficult for items to grow on the walls, and glass allows you to monitor the fermentation process. The bucket/carboy must have a lid seal, and an airlock. The airlock is filled with water, which allows built up carbon dioxide to escape, but it is a one way system preventing microorganisms from entering.

Thermometers
Buy one sticker thermometer for all of you fermentation buckets/carboys. You will also need a floating thermometer, which can be placed into the boiling wort and when taking specific gravity measurements.

Hydrometer
A hydrometer looks like a floating thermometer, but it has three different scales to measure liquid density, sugar percentage, and potential alcohol. You first take a hydrometer reading after the boiled wort cools down, before the yeast is pitched. It is important to record the temperature along with the specific gravity reading. Take one more thermometer/hydrometer reading after the beer has fermented, before you add the priming sugar for bottling. With these two specific gravity readings you can determine the final alcohol content. The thermometer readings are used to scale the specific gravity readings for the standard formula. Your hydrometer should come with the proper tables and equations.

Spoon
A long stainless steel spoon is ideal for stirring the wort during the boil.

Sanitization

Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize......it can't be said too many times. Once the wort is done boiling, everything that comes into contact with beer, including containers and bottles, must be clean and sanitized. If you need to clean, I recommend using Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW), but remember it is not a sanitizer. Everything must be sanitized. One Step is an oxygen based cleaner/sanitizer that will leave no film, it sanitizes in two minutes and requires no rinsing. Another good sanitizer is BTF Iodophor, which uses iodine and requires only two minutes of contact. One other sanitizer I have used is Star San, which is a food grade acid-based sanitizer. It does not require rinsing and it only takes one minute of contact. This is good to use, because it foams and can penetrate cracks. Be sure to wear rubber gloves when handling all sanitized equipment.

Christmas Ale Recipe

Yes, it is a little late for Christmas Ale, but this is a decent winter beer that can be enjoyed in the remaining cool months. The shelf life is pretty good. I made this one in November 2005 and I was able to enjoy a few bottles in Christmas 2006. With all the spices it is pretty similar to Great Lakes Christmas Ale. Don't be tempted to up the amount of ginger, it is potent. My hydrometer meter readings were not accurate, so I can't tell you the exact readings or the potential alcohol.

Christmas Ale 2005

5 Gallons

4 lbs. light malt extract

4 lbs. amber malt extract

1/2 lb. 40L crystal malt, freshly ground

2.0 oz. black patent malt, freshly ground

1 lb. clover honey

0.5-0.75 oz. fresh ginger root

0.5 oz. dried orange

6 inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp. of Irish moss

1.5 tsp. of gypsum

1.0 oz. Cascade hops 5.5% (60 min)

0.5 oz. Cascade hops 5.5% (10 min)

1 pkg. liquid ale yeast

¾ cups corn sugar

Boil 3-4 gallons in your brewpot, add 1.5 tsp of gypsum. Let the water cool to 140 degrees. Add 1 lb. crystal malt to grain sack, sit in boiling beer. Add 2 oz. black patent malt to grain sack, sit in boil at the same time as crystal malt. Heat water and grain to near boil around 155 degrees. Turn off the heat and remove the grain bags. Add 4 lbs each of both extracts directly into the water. Bring the water to a boil, dissolving the extract. Keep stirring to avoid a boil over. Add 1 oz of hops pellets. Boil for one hour, while you add 1 lb clover honey, 6 inches of cinnamon stick in a grain sack, 0.75 oz of fresh grated ginger root and 0.5 oz dried orange. In the last 10 minutes of the hour add 1 teaspoon of Irish moss and 0.5 oz of hops pellets. Remove the cinnamon grain sack. Cool the wort as usual with a wort chiller or ice bath. Then put the wort in the primary fermenter, topping off with cool water to make it five gallons. Record the hydrometer and temperature readings and pitch the yeast once it reaches 65-70 degrees. Primary should take 5-8 days. Once the bubbles stop coming out of the air lock it is time for the secondary. Secondary fermentation should take an additional week. Check the hydrometer and thermometer reading after secondary fermentation is done, to determine the final alcohol content. For bottling, boil ¾ cups corn sugar with 2 cups of water. Let the bottles sit for at least two weeks in a cool dark area. Refrigerate all bottles for at least 24 hours before drinking.

Story Time

Ok, from time to time, I will tell stories relating to beer. I encourage you to send stories to be posted, or post comments to stories as long as they are true. I don't want people to send stories making fun of another person, unless I have prior written consent of all the parties involved. I'll be the one to review the stories, and I will do my best to check and confirm stories.

 

I would post the link to the online video for this story, but unfortunately it was taken off the Adidas website months ago. I was at the 2006 Boston Marathon Expo last April. Adidas, one of the main sponsors, had a booth setup where a cameraman asked you to state to the camera why you run marathons. I decided to jump in line, even though I did not have my answer ready. I listened to people in front of me telling boring and sometimes depressing stories regarding weight loss, deceased relatives, etc. I determined my response would be original and somewhat humorous. My answer came to me as a vision, right before I walked in front of the camera. When asked why I run, I replied "There is nothing quite like a greasy burger and fries along with a Sam Adams beer after the Boston Marathon." The cameraman did a double take, as my answer clearly caught him off guard. He chuckled, looked at me and then asked, "Do you want to do another take?" I said, "No, I think that works." My dad, outside the booth laughed and a lady next to him said there was no way a Boston runner would run for beer, and my dad replied, "He does." I wrote Sam Adams regarding my online video and the suggestion of a Samuel Adams Beergarden after the race, but all I got in response was a newsletter.

How did I come up with the name?

I have been asked how I came up the name Näf-Woods Homebrew. As you can see, there are two last names separated by a hyphen. I realized that many breweries use last names, so I figured I would do the same. I wanted to honor the fact that one side of my family is a high percentage German, while the other side is a high percentage English/Scottish. Näf is one variation of my last name, which can be found in Germany and Switzerland. Woods is one of the last names used by my English ancestors. I thought both names were good clear representations of my heritage. Next time you drink one of my homebrews you can tell your buddy why the bottle label says Näf-Woods Homebrew!

Ale vs. Lager

One question that I seem to hear often is, "What is the difference between an ale and a lager?" Both beers can start with very similar ingredients, but the yeast and fermentation temperature are quite different. That in turn produces a very different tasting beer.

Ale
Ales are almost always made with a top fermenting yeast at temperatures typically between 60 and 75 degrees. The higher temperature leads to quicker fermentation. Ales tend to take on flavors not found in lagers. Most often those flavors can resemble a sweet fruit taste. Some typical types of ales are Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Barley Wine, Belgian Ale, English/Scottish Ale, Dark Ale, and German Ales. Some common brands of ales are Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Guniness Stout, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Paulaner Hefeweizen, Newcastle Brown Ale, Dogfish Head India Pale Ale and Bass Ale.

Lagers
Lagers use a bottom fermenting yeast and are stored for long periods of time during fermentation in cool temperatures typically in the range of 45-55 degrees for primary and 35-40 degrees for secondary fermentation. The beer bottles then are usually stored in a fridge for weeks or months at a temperature near 32 degrees. The lenghty cool fermentation produces a much smoother beer, free from the esthers and flavors that are found in ales. Some of the common types of lagers include Dortmund, Dunkel, Pilsner, Bock/Dopplebock, Märzen/Oktoberfest and Helles. Many of the familar brands of lager are Budweiser, Miller High Life, Samual Adams Boston Lager, Stella Artois, Warsteiner Dunkel, Löwenbräu, Spaten Oktoberfest, Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold and Pilsner Urquell.

Homebrewing Ales and Lagers
For homebrewing it is most common to make ales, due to the cold and lengthy fermentation required for lagers. Most ales can be stored in the basement and the temperature will be adequate for fermentation. Lagers were originally stored in caves, lakes or even rivers to keep the temperature low. Today you can brew a lager at home with a dedicated fridge that allows you to adjust the temperature properly.

Welcome

Welcome to the blog for Näf-Woods Homebrew. I will post recipes, comments, news, opinions, etc regarding homebrewing. The discussions will also cover microbrew beer in the US and beers from around the world. I hope you keep checking back, and feel free to contact me and post your opinions. Prost!