brew

A certain kind of gold, I guess

It’s not as yellow as I expected, but on the other hand gold is a different color than yellow. In the right light I can see calling it golden. The head dissipates a bit too quickly for a fresh growler. It has a definite whiff of alcohol but otherwise tame aroma. The initial taste is mildly bready. Once past the tip of tongue, however, it explodes with caramel and toffee. The alcohol is definitely present but is not hot or harsh. The finish and aftertaste has a bit dryness and more traditional yeast notes. It’s radically different from what I was expecting but that definitely is not a complaint. The richness of the caramel and toffee is what I was not anticipating and those are my favorite aspects of the beer.

This may, of course, be the tripel. These beer’s labels were lost in an explosive fermentation tragedy. Going forward with assumed identities, this had an extremely simple recipe. The grain bill was a hair over nine pounds of Pilsner. And that’s it – no other malts. The monomalt mash sat for 90 minutes and then boiled for another 90 minutes. The hop addition, 2.50 ounces of Saaz, actually went in at the 90 minute mark. I don’t recall that early an addition happening very often. A hefty two and a half pounds was stirred in gradually towards the end of the boil. Appropriately, we used WLP570 Golden Ale yeast to ferment.

One note albeit a nice note

Here’s an interested style – not rare by any means, but certainly on the more uncommon side. It’s a European approach with just under nine and a half pounds of pilsner and two and a half pounds of Munich. Ten ounces of Caravienne and just under an ounce of Black patent, presumably purely for the sake of color, made up the balance of the grain. A very cool 147F mash ran for 90 minutes followed by a 90 minute boil for an all-around time consuming process. The only hop addition was 1.30 ounces of Fuggles at 60 minutes but 13 ounces of can sugar went in at the end of the boil for a little kick in the gravity. Even with the extra sugar it only came in at 1.065: within style but under target. European Ale yeast, WLP011, was in charge of processing.

This reddish gold brew has a nice spicy smell and a huge fruit flavor. I don’t get as much grain or bread flavors although the fruit is delicious enough on its own. It’s on the sweeter side overall but that seems fitting. I don’t think the hops contribute anything other than balance. The body is a little lacking as it feels a bit thin. Overlong growler storage is likely the issue there. I believe a very high carb level would complement well. This should be an effervescent beer. It would be wonderfully refreshing.

Tastes NOTHING like it looks.

Here’s a style I would never have considered making otherwise. There are so, so many lagers… Anyhow, seven and a half pounds of pilsner for base malt and then thirteen ounces each of Munich and Carafa II to round it out. The recipe called for a lower temp (151F) mash although only sixty minutes. The boil was ninety minutes as per usual with pils during which nothing but Halltertaur hops were added. First 1.60 ounces at sixty, then 0.50 ounce at 20, and then another 0.50 ounce at flameout. Post-boil measured 1.044 OG. For yeast we went with SafLager.

There’s no sidestepping the major issue here: this beer is extremely sour. It’s very difficult to discern any other flavor. It’s not wholly undrinkable although clearly wrong from a style standpoint. The sourness is sharp and bright but generally clean. It does linger on the tongue in a not particularly pleasant way. The aroma is surprisingly mild and does not really provide much hint of the sour that awaits. The color is the only thing that worked correctly here. To me this is just straddling the line between tolerable and pour-down-the-drain.

Missing: hot metal

The doppelbock was one of very few recipes to step outside our normal trio of base malts. Nearly eleven and a half pounds of Munich malt made up the bulk of the grain. Three and a quarter pounds of pilsner played more of a specialty role along with one pound ten ounces of CaraMunich. The mash called for a ninety minute run. Hallertauer went in at both sixty and thirty minutes: 1.40 and 0.50 ounces respectively. To my surprise on reviewing, this one was fermented with SafLager. Past experience suggests that could have gone badly without a careful lager cycle. It started at 1.072 and finished at 1.010.

Bock sans fire poker no longer does much for me. The mouthfeel comes across as thinner and the caramel notes are significantly subdued. The aroma is mild and malty with a touch of noble hops; the beer itself is much the same with a two-note presentation. First is a simple grain sweetness and second is a moderately drying finish. It’s properly clean without any odd yeast flavors from fairly imprecise lagering. The color’s nice but otherwise there’s not much to get excited about.

How many words are there for black?

The stout is wonderfully bold and roasty. It tastes very much like darkened malt without much else. The finish is one the sweeter side and any bitterness comes more from the burned or charred malt flavor rather than hops. I don’t think the oats add much of anything to the taste but their characteristic slickness is definitely present. The overall effect is at least medium-full bodied.

Seven and a half pounds of Maris Otter was the base of the recipe with three quarters pound of oats as the defining ingredient. Ten ounces each of Victory and chocolate malts as well as six ounces each of caramel 80 and black barley made up the remainder of the grist. A long and not particularly cool 90 minute mash and 60 minute boil checked in at 1.046 OG. The only hop addition was 1.75 oz of East Kent Goldings at the beginning of the boil. Yeast of choice was WLP002 English Ale.

Possibly. Keeping track of so many fermenters is complicated.

This might be the tripel or might be the golden strong ale. Labels went missing and color isn’t helpful. We’re operating on the assumption that it’s the tripel. That recipe used eleven and a quarter pounds of Pilsner malt and a mere three ounces of aromatic. A ninety minute lower temp mash as well as a ninety minute boil were used to create a clean yeast showcasing base. Two ounces of Tettnang went in at 60 minutes along with a half ounce of Saaz at 10 minutes. Another two pounds of straight sucrose went in at the last minute for gravity and dryness. It went into the fermenter at 1.080, spend some time with WLP530 Abbey ale yeast, and came back out at a very dry 1.006. With 9.3% ABV all the measurables landed in all the correct ranges.

A moderate fruity, tart aroma comes through the big wispy head. Once I taste there’s no mistaking the bite of alcohol. This is a serious beer. Once past that, it’s exceptionally fruity with an underlying grain sweetness. Biscuit actually comes to mind strongly. The finish is quite dry. I don’t taste much spiciness at all and very little bitterness. The latter is hard to separate from the drying effect. I very much like how this simply showcases the yeast’s contribution.

Seasonal Confusion

‘Tis the season… or not even slightly. The ale has a nice, sweet aroma with a bit of dark fruit. The initial flavor is similar, but that fades into a bunch of spices. Without referencing back to the recipe, I get cinnamon and nutmeg principally. The lighter carb is likely due to sitting in a growler too long but it suits the style well. There isn’t a notable heaviness or booziness – I don’t know that this would be warming on a winter night. I think the spice additions could be dialed back a bit. I’d prefer a bit more maltiness – especially caramel or molasses richness – but the spices push everything else well into the background.

A strong beer starts with a big pile of Maris Otter: fifteen and three quarter pounds of it. Ten ounces of caramel 80 for character and three ounces of black malt for color finish the grain bill. This combination yielded a solid 1.088 original gravity. Both an ounce of Horizon and a half ounce of Tettnang went in at 60 minutes to offset all that sweetness. The spice blend in the last minute was a half teaspoon cinnamon, a quarter teaspoon ginger, and an eight teaspoon each of nutmeg and allspice. Fermentation with WLP013 Londo Ale yeast finished at 1.023 for a surprisingly subtle 8.8% ABV.

Billowy if bland

Scottish ale, take three. This brew has fantastic head retention and lacing. That’s not important, style-wise, but still some of the best we’ve had for any beer. The aroma and taste, unfortunately, are on the bland side. Unlike the other Scottish ale that are very malt-forward, this tastes mostly like earthy hops. I don’t get much bread or caramel at any point. It starts with the hops, finishes with a bitter bite, and doesn’t have much to speak of in between. It’s not bad but not what I was expecting. I’d be a lot more satisfied if this was meant to be an ESB. I’m rather stunned by the different considering the three Scottish ales used near identical recipes.

This iteration was based on six and a half pounds of Maris Otter. Specialty malts included a pound of caramel 40, a half pound each of Munich and honey malts, four ounces of caramel 120, and three ounces of pale chocolate malt. One ounce of East Kent Goldings went in at the 60 minute mark and fermentation was with WLP 001 California. Nothing out of the ordinary in the mash or boil yet a different result from previous versions.

A year in the making

After a year or so relaxing in the cellar, this beer has wonderful orangish yellow color and an extremely fruity aroma. It tastes a bit darker than it smells – closer to raisins or plum than citrus or raspberry. There’s a light funkiness without being out-and-out sour. Hops are more noticeable than a typical Belgian but they blend nicely with the funk and make the finish seem a bit drier and crisper. Overall I like this a lot as an approachable, easy-drinking brett beer. I’m curious to see how it continues to develop as the yeast keeps working its magic.

Chile lurks within

The tastes like anything style! Coca Mole is an appropriately dark, dark brown with hints of red where light hits. The aroma is very mild with a little sweet vanilla setting up a porter-ish expectation. The body is lighter though still with roastiness, nuttiness and bits of chocolate. The spiciness from the chiles has died down substantially with time. They may be volatile in much the same way that hop oils are volatile. I don’t get any vegetable flavor of the actual peppers but only the lightly lingering burn of capsaicin. I wish it had a little more heat although certainly not a big painful wallop. The adjuncts worked nicely in not imparting any weird, off flavors but this is a brew best consumed fresh. The ABV keeps it from going bad with age but it’s still diminished.

We based are recipe on New Belgium’s Lips of Faith cocoa-chile beer. The base was fourteen and a half pounds of American two-row with twelve ounces of Caramel 80 and four ounces each of chocolate and pale chocolate malts. We added several ancho chiles to the mash for the first spice addition. The boil was sixty minutes with an ounce of Target hops at the outset strictly for balance. We also added some arbol chiles during the boil. At the five minute mark we added a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and some cocoa powder (amount, unfortunately, not recorded). The 1.070 gravity was lowered than planned but sufficient. It still finished at 1.010 using standard WLP001 for a not exactly moderate 7.9% ABV.