brew

Scotland knows drinking

Scotland, take two. This recipe is extremely similar to its lighter predecessor. The set of recipes suggested that the various strengths should only vary in base malt with the adjunct amounts consistent across all versions. We increased the Maris Otter to 4.75# and increased the East Kent Goldings to 0.75oz to maintain a similar fifteenish IBUs. The rest of the malts were identical, as was the mash/boil process and the geographically misplaced California ale yeast. OG came in above style at 1.046 but that’s exactly 10 points above the Light 60/-. The difference is in line with what it’s supposed to be indicating decent consistency if not necessarily accuracy. It finished at 1.010 which pushed the ABV a good bit beyond the correct range.

I wish I remembered the 60/- more clearly for comparison’s sake. This beer is quite malty up front but finishes dry. I don’t pick up any peat or smokiness; the first flavor is more of a not-quite-caramel. That fades rather quickly to more of a lingering earthiness; probably hops rather than a peat effect given the ingredients. The glass definitely smells far sweeter than it tastes. The body is decent for a lighter beer and there’s an unexpected complexity. I usually associate either hops or flavorful yeasts with more interesting beers, but a high percentage of specialty malts is apparently another possible route. I’m looking forward to trying the 80 now. Somewhere in this range a beer that’s not well represented in the American micro scene which could be appreciated by beer snobs without alienating more casual drinkers.

A Solo Cop would be the proper glassware

The bland yellow water style! It’s a tiny little beer – perhaps the smallest we’ve made. The grains were just under 6# of American two row malt and 1.5# of flaked rice – making this the St. Louis variation as opposed to the Milwaukee variety. As a clean style it needed the requisite longer, lower temperature mash but only called for a 60 minute boil. The only hop addition was 0.60 oz of Hallertau at 60. Our mash was too efficient and came in at 1.046 OG. American Lager (WLP 840) was the yeast of choice.

I’m afraid this is going to taste like nothing; I’m also worried that we screwed up and it won’t taste like nothing. There is a fairly substantial grain aroma that is reasonably reminiscent of macro lagers. The flavor is pretty damn mild. Sweetness is mostly absent and there’s no trace of hops. The biggest flavor might be acidity – it tasted carbonated. The beer had a slight buttery note directly out of the fermenter but that seems to have cleared up nicely. I don’t know if rice contributes much flavor but something about the finish does remind me of Bud Light. The color is great and it’s perfectly clear. It’s a beer that would fit in just fine at a keg party, but taken in moderation the operative word is boring.

Hops Britannia

Styles with heavy hops are proving to be few and far between, so I was looking forward to this one. This recipe used 1.5 oz of Northdown hops at 60 minutes as well as both classic English hops: 1.5 oz of Fuggles at 10 minutes and 1.5 oz of East Kent Goldings at flame out. The grain bill included a base of 9.5# of Maris Otter, 9 oz each of wheat malt, biscuit malt, and caramel 40, plus 6 oz of caramel 120. A standard mash yielded a starting gravity of 1.050. We used London Ale Yeast (WLP 013) for fermentation.

This one pours a beautiful orange color. It has an earthy aroma rather than the bright citrus of many well-hopped beers. The flavor is nicely balanced with equal amounts of sweet and bitter. The bitterness is pure for lack of a better term. It begins sharp and assertive then fades into a dry finish. There aren’t a lot of extraneous descriptors of fruits or flowers to go with this; it’s simply bitter – but not in a bad way. The lack of overpowering hops means the malt can actually come through rather than being completely buried. I still prefer a big, bold American style IPA but the English approach has serious merit, too. The balance makes for an altogether different experience.

Cloudy with a chance of rye

This seemed like a style with a choice to make; I expect the rye and non-rye interpretations of the style could be distinctly different. We chose the rye version. Ours used 3# of wheat malt and 2.5# of rye malt for style characteristics and just under 5# of American two row to fill out the grain bill. Hopping was mild: 1 oz of Willamette at 60 minutes and 0.3 oz each of Willamette and Centennial at flame out. The recipe called for a surprisingly standard mash schedule without a protein rest or any modifications to deal with the large quantities of non-barley malt. A 1.044 OG was under target but acceptable. WLP’s American Hefe (#320) was the yeast of choice.

The color is a nice cloudy yellow and the aroma is very mild. I can smell more grain than spicy or yeasty notes. The flavors don’t quite match the nose. The yeast comes through almost completely as banana; I don’t get any clove spice at all. The rye is definitely present but not in a way that I typically think of it. The word I keep coming back to is rounder in comparison to the sharp, spicy flavor in the typical rye IPA. I think it’s the combination of rye and large amounts of wheat. Hops contribute little to nothing. If I was doing this one again I’d want more classic, citrusy American hops. German wheat beers beat the pants off this in yeast flavors; I’d prefer a differently flavorful American version instead of just a milder version.

A glass of maize

Now here’s the wheelhouse. Cream Ale has been a summer homebrew staple for us. The glass gives off an aggressive aroma without a hint of hops in the picture. This is all about the grain. Hops are equally relegated to the background in flavor. It’s more grainy than malty and the presence of corn is quite prominent in the sweetness. The bright yellow is just the shade I’d expect with excellent clarity. The slight sweet taste is the main notable taste and otherwise it’s either very clean or somewhat bland depending on your perspective. For what it’s supposed to be I’d go with nice and refreshing.

Our cream ale used an equal split of pilsner and American two row: 3.75# each. Three quarters of a pound of flaked corn added character without any specialty malts. We also added 9 oz of dextrose to the boil to shoot for a very dry finish. Both hops additions were Liberty; one ounce at 60 minutes and another half ounce a minute before flame out. We used the typical mild, clean beer approach with a longer, cooler mash and 90 minute boil. Starting gravity came in under target but within style at 1.044. We fermented with trusty WLP 001 yeast and finished as planned at a very dry 1.004 gravity.

OK, technically a collins glass

Or: taste-testing the quality of your Pilsen. The kölsch is a base malt showcase. Ours used 8# 10 oz of pilsner malt, 7 oz of Vienna, and that’s it. An ounce and a half of Hallertauer at 60 minutes was the only hop addition. WLP029 yeast and water round out the Reinheitsgebot-y recipe. We used a longer cool mash on this one – 90 minutes at 149F. Both the ingredients and the process are reminiscent of making a light lager. A 90 minute boil was a given considering the grain bill. The post boil gravity came in at exactly what we planned, 1.048, which is always a pleasant surprise. The finished gravity of 1.009 was also squarely in line with style.

A glassful certainly looks like a light lager. I’m really pleased with the clarity; you can see right through the glass. There’s not a whole lot of flavor to speak of yet there’s enough body to it that it’s not watery. I suppose that’s what the guidelines term delicate. It’s not sweet, or caramel, or bready, or roasty. I’d like to think that mild flavor I can’t quite place is simply malt. The finish is clean and dry enough that I could keep sipping this for hours. Like many lagers this isn’t something I would pick out at the bar or store, but as homebrew I think I like it more in terms of what it represents. It tastes like solid technique – neverminding the fact that isn’t a flavor at all.

Break out the tall glass

After several more laid back brews, here’s a beer with some nose to it. As soon the beer get near my face it’s clear this is a weizen with all the spicy banana aromas that entails. The same flavors come through the strongest. To me the banana notes are clearest and the clove notes are more secondarily – conveniently, my preference in a wheat. There’s no trace of hops although they’re definitely in there somewhere since it’s not overly sweet. I think it looks great in a glass but the malt is fairly subdued. There’s a little bit of bread or biscuit to it but nothing in the way of caramel or roastiness. This would be an excellent choice to disabuse people of the notion that dark is distinct beer flavor.

Appropriately, 5.75# of wheat malt makes up over half the grain bill. Two and half pounds of contributes the dunkel. The grain is rounded out with 1.5# of pilsner, 6 oz of special B, 5 oz of caramel 40, and 2 oz of Carafa II. A simple 0.87 oz of Hallertauer at 60 minutes cuts the sweetness. We seem to use a whole lot of Hallertauer. Perhaps it’s nobler than its siblings. We used a normal mash without a protein rest or anything else special to account for all the wheat but did extend the boil to 90 minutes. The OG clocked in at an under target but acceptable 1.046 and fermentation finished at 1.015. I believe this is the third time we’ve used White Labs Hefeweizen yeast (#300) for beers where yeast is a player in flavor instead of just a processor and I’ve been pleased with the results every time.

Common – a.k.a “okay”

A bit of an oddball beer, the California Common is effectively an Anchor Steam clone and is defined largely by its specific hops. Obviously there’s the temperature tolerant lagerish yeast, too, but that’s more of a procedural thing. The fermentation is expected to be clean with minimal yeast flavors. Ours was built on just under 8# of American two row, with a pound of Munich and 3/4# of caramel 40 and six ounces of biscuit. Two ounces of pale chocolate nudge the color into the correct range. That’s proving to be a useful ingredient when something like midnight wheat is overkill for the color change required. The requisite Northern Brewer hops went in three doses: half an ounce at sixty, one at fifteen, and one more near flame out. We missed our target gravity with pre-fermentation at 1.044. The San Francisco Lager yeast (WLP810) finished a tad dry at 1.008. Missing the style ranges at both ends put the ABV in the correct range at least.

I think I just don’t get this one. It tastes like it’s supposed to taste so far as I can tell. It’s very clean and finishes dry with a lingering bitterness. Fruity or citrusy definitely doesn’t enter the picture at all. I know the principle flavor is the hops but in a blind tasting I doubt I’d describe this a hoppy. It’s not especially bad but at the same time it doesn’t seem markedly different from other amber ales and lagers. I guess it’s blandly well-executed at best.

White, yellow, and tasty

This Blonde Ale is another simple, mild beer. Going through the various styles really emphasizes that craft beer doesn’t have to mean getting clubbed over the head with hops (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Nine pounds of American two row makes up the bulk of the grist with three ounces each of Caramel 10 and Caramel 20 to add a slight tinge of yellow. There’s no real specific hop associated with this style but we went with an ounce of Williamette. I’m fond of this one as a cross between West Coast fruit/floral and European earthy/spicy. As always when looking for clean and quick we went with WLP001 yeast.

I love everything about this beer except the weather. This is a session ale that demands a sunny summer day. Malt is expected but the taste is more bready and grainy than sweet. At the risk of veering into pretentious wine tasting territory, I get a hint of something that reminds me of strawberries especially in the head. Like most good session ales the flavor just fades away to dry and ready for another sip without boldly lingering aftertastes. I’d definitely make this one again. A dash of wheat for better head retention might be nice but serving directly from the keg rather than from a growler might fix that.

Crooked and the photographer hasn’t been drinking yet

The Scottish Ales – especially the 60-70-80 sequence – strike me as some of the most challenging styles. Gravity is the main differentiator among them and the target ranges are fairly narrow. It requires a lot of precision in terms of process to arrive at the desired spot. Our Scottish 60 had a sizable percentage of specialty malts with only 4# of Maris Otter and then a pound of Caramel 40, a half pound each of Munich and honey malts, a quarter pound of Caramel 120, and three ounces of pale chocolate. Two-thirds an ounce of East Kent Goldings and unobtrusive, if not-so-Scottish, WLP001 round out the recipe. We did miss the target but only by a single point with an OG of 1.036. The finish was right were it belonged at 1.010. Aiming for dead center of the range might have helped land within style but all things considered it should still be very close to the correct flavor.

The taste is mostly malty with a drier finish. It’s definitely on the lighter side; a little watery but I expect that’s appropriate for a style that’s meant to be 3.2% ABV or lower. I don’t get any of the caramel notes associated with the bigger scotch ales. There’s not a whole lot of aroma. I think a bit of grain sweetness that quickly dissipates and dries is all there is to this one.