Pre-Prohibition Pilsner started

I brewed another lager, this one is a pilsner in a style similar to what was brewed in the early 20th century before the prohibition. Most homebrewers back then used 6-row malted barley, as modified 2-row was not as widely available. Adjuncts such as corn and rice were used to provide an easily converted starch. My particular recipe used corn. I decided not to use 6-row barley, as this would make the mash/lauter process less efficient. As recommended by Chuck at Listermanns, I used cluster hops and northern brewer hops and a pilsen lager yeast.

Bockfest in the Snow

Despite mother nature, we attended Bockfest on both Friday and Saturday night. On Thursday night a snow storm was confirmed to be on track to hit the city Friday morning. Some of our out of town guests were able to hit the road Thursday night or early Friday to avoid the storm. Unfortunately the parade on Friday night was canceled. On Friday night we got a group together at my brother's house and enjoyed some beer from Party Source, and then we finished the night downtown at Bockfest. The crowd was low, but we weren't the only ones to brave the weather. On Saturday the group met at my place and some people played Mario Kart, while some of us brewed a batch of steam beer. Urban Circulator Doppelbock was premiered and received good reviews, although a few bottles gushed. The beer contest on Saturday was postponed to Sunday. Saturday night we went down to Grammer's, a historic bar in Cincinnati, which recently re-opened. We enjoyed the basement and some expensive glasses of Ayinger Celebrator.

Steam beer started

Last weekend we had a group brew, as a daytime activity during Bockfest. We made a clone of Anchor Steam, which is a lager brewed like an ale. The basic story I have read indicates that back in the mid 1800s in California the goldminers needed beer, so the Germans setup shop in California. At the time, and still today, the most popular style of beer was lager, which used a special bottom fermenting yeast and is fermented at lower temperatures. In the midwest and east coast, brewers used caves, frozen rivers and ponds, or they harvested ice to ferment the beer at lower temperatures. In California the brewers did not have access to cold caves, frozen rivers, frozen ponds, or ice, so they were forced to brew at warmer temperatures more typical for ales. When a lager is brewed at warmer temperatures there are some strange off flavors that are produced, so the brewers experimented with the recipe and found the proper types and amount of hops to balance the taste. This beer will be my next keg beer, once I finish the Pale Ale, so make sure you stop by to try one.

Urban Circulator places 4th!

Näf-Woods Homebrew placed fourth in the bock beer competition in Cincinnati last weekend. I am very happy with that result. It was my first entry into a homebrew contest, and it was my first attempt at a bock beer, more specifically a doppelbock. I assume most people refine recipes with multiple batches before submitting to a contest. Evidently the contest drew entries from all across the world as first place went to someone from Cincinnati, second went to someone in Texas, and third went to someone in Brazil. I got some helpful feedback. The biggest problem was that the bottles gushed when opened, which I actually noticed as well. I am guessing this happened because the bottles never sat in the fridge after carbonating, which was due to my short timeline. Because the beers sat at basement temperature and were not chilled until the day of the competition, they did not have time to settle down. I hope this is the first of many contests I will enter.

Näf-Woods Homebrew in competition!

I am proud to announce that Näf-Woods Homebrew has entered its first beer competition. The Bloatarian Brewing League, a local group, has sponsored a homebrew bock competition, which will put some of the areas best homebrewers against each other as trained officials will judge the beers based on BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) standards in this BJCP sanctioned event. These are the same standards that are used in competitions all across the country. Judges consider the aroma, appearance, flavor, and mouthfeel. The judges hold to strict guidelines within each type of beer, so it is possible to have an excellent beer, but if it does not fit the strict guidelines it will not receive a high score. The competition will occur this Saturday at the Bockfest Hall at 12:00. I hope you can make it down to support me, and try some of the beers made by local homebrewers. After the competition I hope to get a group together to brew a beer, look for more details in a future post. My doppelbock beer will be officially unveiled at a happy hour on Saturday night, look for details in a future post.

Doppelbock Update

I sampled the doppelbock last weekend, and I am very happy. It tastes great and it is done carbonating. As suggested by my brother, I have named my doppelbock, "Urban Circulator" in honor of the streetcar proposal that would help further develop the Over the Rhine area, which is where Bockfest occurs, and it is a very historic German and brewing area in Cincinnati. Be sure to join the festivities this weekend, as I am sure this beer will be consumed rather quickly.

Below is the label I created.