Bohemian Pilsener

I brewed a Bohemian Pilsener on Thursday, the recipe is here. I left out the Amarillo in the end, and used Bravo for bittering and the classic Czech Saaz for late additions.

I’m using a combination of Pilsner malt, Munich malt and a dash of Melanoidin malt, to an OG of 1.049. The lager yeast is the Weihenstephan 34/70.

Here’s a video of the boil for your perusal:

Racking the Flanders Red

Well, after a year and three months, it was time to rack the Flanders

Looks disgusting, doesn’t it? The pellicle was still intact and there was a thick layer of yeast on the bottom. I was expecting the worst. Here was a sample in the glass.

Aroma is spot on I reckon. It has that faint acetic smell which I like about Rodenbach. Flavour, sourness-wise I think this is about halfway between the original Rodenbach and the Grand Cru. Maybe slightly closer to the original – I can’t remember, I’ll have to buy a bottle. It’s a good kind of sourness. There’s a noticeable ‘leatheriness’ if that’s a word, maybe slightly ‘horsey’ or ‘barnyard-y’. It’s not offensive and I think it adds an interesting dimension or maybe i’m just being charitable towards my own beer. I can’t remember if that flavour is in Rodenbach. I can tell it’s a flavour which has been decreasing over time so I think it’s the Brett. Good stuff – i’m pleased at how it’s progressing. It’s now in a keg, and i’ll put it in champagne bottles soon.

Oktoberfest!

Brewed up a Märzen on Thursday, the recipe is here. Roughly half and half Munich malt and Pilsner malt, and a dash of CaraMunich.

I pitched a pint of W 34/70 yeast slurry which took of like a rocket, even at 9 degrees C. The beer has to be ready by the 3rd of Oktober for a party, which precludes any long lagering time. So, I will chill proof this one by using polyclar at 0C then filtering.

No photos for this one, but more details to follow.

Sierra Nevada “Clone”, Side by Side

So, I had the chance to try my Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone side by side with a friend at the weekend. The image at the top, while not the best photo in the world, shows the homebrew version on the left.

I should point out that I bought my bottle of SNPA from the largest supermarket in the UK. It seems to be that whenever I buy a bottle from said supermarket, it doesn’t seem to be particularly fresh, even though it is well within date. Could it be they are storing them warm, or they are just sitting on the shelf for a long time?

Appearance wise, the homebrew version is a few shades darker. Not a million miles off, but easily noticeable. Both had a slight yeast haze, perhaps a little chill haze. Head retention and lacing were good on both, slightly better on the homebrew version.

Aroma, this was probably the most surprising part for me. Neither had the big Cascade, lychee aroma I know and expect from this beer. My beer did have this aroma about two weeks ago, but it has rapidly faded since. The commercial version had a malty aroma, more than anything; like a freshly milled sack of pilsner malt. The homebrew version had a slight rose-like, alcohol aroma (phenylethanol?), along with a slight grassiness.

Flavour, I was delighted that the two beers matched up very well here. The commercial beer had a slightly cleaner, lager-like character, while the homebrew version had more of the rose-like alcohol along with a slight alcohol warmth. Both had a similar, Cascade hop flavour, and both finished with the same amount of bitterness. Also, the homebrew version had more caramel/toffee. The mouthfeel was very similar, however the commercial version had slightly more carbonation.

Overall, I am pleased with my first proper attempt at recreating this great beer. I have a couple of changes I want to make:

• Use less 120 EBC crystal in the next attempt. I will either half this or replace it completely with a lighter crystal.
• Alter the fermentation peramaters.  I was very surprised to find some higher alcohols in my version despite pitching a large amount of yeast and keeping the ferment temperature at a strict 19C. I will switch to a smaller batch size next time, perhaps pitch the liquid Chico yeast instead of the dried version, and build up a large starter. I will also note the pitching temperature and the amount of oxygen I use. The commercial beer had a clean lager-like character while mine was much more like an ale.

Oh yeah. I think this beer went great with Surf ‘n’ Turf. We have here some peppered steak, scallops, calzone, asparagus and corn on the cob. Delicious!

Hoppy Beers, Soft Water & A Batch of Brown Ale

I brewed a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone on the 3rd of August (I will post a side by side comparison in a few days). It has only now reached the stage where it is drinkable, and is rather a nice pint. Let me restate that: it is an excellent beer, however the hop aroma and flavour has faded slightly. Before now, the beer had a very harsh, mouth filling astringency, that I am attributing to hop tannins. Am I just drinking ‘green’ beer before it is mature? Perhaps, but I’m convinced that my water chemistry, and in particular my boil pH, has something to do with it. The water here is practically distilled, with Calcium under 30 mg/L and other ions even less. I don’t have a figure for the Bicarbonate level but I would be surprised if it were much over 10 mg/L, and certainly no more than 20. To get to the bottom of this I have ordered an alkalinity testing kit. I should add, that most beers turn out very well with my water, wheat beers and lagers in particular turn out magnificent. Dark beers and hoppy beers, not so great.

Taking a suggestion from Chris (the JBK forum brewing sensei), I cut my brewing liquor with some high bicarbonate spring water (2L in a 23L batch) to see if I the hop character is less harsh in the resulting beer. Todays brew was a brown ale with Glacier hops. I see it as halfway between an English and American brown, with the yeast character of the former and the robust malt and hop character of the latter. The recipe is here. It is the first time i’ve used the White Labs British Ale yeast and also Glacier hops, so i’m excited to see what they bring to the party. Below you can see a brief clip of the sparge in process.

Rice Lager

I brewed up a light lager on the 28th, basically as a starter for an upcoming Oktoberfest style lager. The grist bill was roughly 83% pilsner malt, 10% flaked rice and 7% dextrose. The beer was hopped lightly with Liberty to around 14 IBUs with a dose of about 0.75g per l of Liberty with 1 minute left in the boil, to a gravity of 1.047. The yeast was the dried SafLager W 34/70 from Weihenstephan. This is the first time i’ve used this yeast, so i’ll be able to evaluate the yeast pretty well with such a light beer; any flaws will be fairly evident. It’s alleged to be the same strain as the German Lager strain from White Labs which i’m very familiar with, so i’ll be interested to see how it matches up.

Finally…

Fuggle

The hops have started to arrive!

After another non-summer, I wasn’t expecting much from my 5 plants. During a brief heatwave in May, they were looking ebulient. This year is the year, I thought to myself. Since then, we’ve had slightly above average temperatures but massive amounts of rain. Some powdery mildew developed, along with some downey mildew on the Fuggle.

Challenger

July and onwards, after taking care of the mildew, many of the leaves look on a brown discolouration. I have no idea what this is, possibly some nutrient deficiency, but it has been persistant year on year. I’m right on the outer cusp of the prime hop growing latitude (55.67, roughly the same as Moscow). Nevertheless, it is a fun experiment.

Progress

I’ve heard they grow hops in the Clyde Valley a few miles from where I am, which probably has a more favourable microclimate. I may take a drive out there at some point to see if I can take a few cuttings and maybe pick up a few tips.

Belgian Witbier

The use of wheat helps with the 'Belgian lace'

Witbier is one of my favourite beer styles to brew and drink. My current interpretation has moved away from a straight Hoegaarden clone to a more herbal, peppery, luscious and fuller bodied beer. It is a beer I am constantly rebrewing and the recipe is in constant flux, so this version is by no means definitive. Lets go through some of the key factors.

Wheat

Lots of homebrewers use malted wheat which is much easier to handle, but is not really appropriate for a true version of the style. Using malted wheat will give the beer an orangey hue and slightly maltier flavour – something like Blue Moon rather than the likes of Hoegaarden or St Bernardus. Instead, flaked wheat should be used. This is pre-gelatinised, and the starches are easily available for use in the mash.

The Mash

If we’re using flaked wheat, complex mashes aren’t really necessary, but a protein rest will improve lauterability especially if oats are used. A brief rest at 55C for 10 minutes before infusing boiling water to bring the mash up to 69C is what I recommend. If the protein rest is held for much longer, a very dry, thin bodied beer can result. I like my witbier to have a milkshake-like, luscious mouthfeel, so I mash fairly hot too.

Oats

There is something appealing about using oats in beer, and truely authentic versions of wit include it. I hover between using oats and not using oats. I’ve settled on about 4% of the grist, and i’ve used up to 10%. You can really taste the oats at the 10% level, and they contribute significantly to mouthfeel. Hoegaarden do not use oats. So if you’re going for a straight clone, omit them. They shouldn’t be toasted or even precooked. Quaker oats work straight out of the packet into the mash. The high amount of gummy beta-glucans cause the mash to basically set into a gelatinous mess, so some filtering aid like oat husks should be used. Oat husks should be washed as they make the beer taste quite ‘oaty’.

Yeast

White Labs WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale and Wyeast Belgian Witbier 3944 are both rumoured to be straight from Hoegaarden, and my experience with WLP400 produces very authentic tasting results. The yeast is not particularly easy to handle; it will tend to attenuate half way before stalling, and requires rousing twice daily until terminal gravity. I ferment at 20C with this yeast, much higher tends to emphasis the clove-like, medicinal phenolic character which is not really to my taste. I have yet to try the Wyeast version, which is next on my hitlist. A good dry option is SafBrew T-58, which is much less hassle than the liquid option, however not quite as flavourful.

Spices

This is where you can get creative and really put your own stamp on the beer. But don’t go crazy. The classic additions are Cuacao orange zest (Belgium was a part of the Netherlands when many spice islands, including the orange-growing territory of Curucao, were colanised), and coriander. Randy Mosher in his book ‘Radical Brewing’ suggests using fresh citrus peel, and I think this is a great idea. I’ve been using Seville orange zest, and some lemon zest. Coriander seeds can be bought very cheaply from asian grocers, do not under any circumstances pay through the teeth for tiny jars of insipid powder from the Supermarket! The spice should be crushed before adding it in the final minute of the boil. About half a gram per litre is a good starting point. Rumours abound of a secret ‘third spice’ used in Hoegaarden. Michael Jackson suggests cumin, others suggest chamomile. I tend to stick to just the two.

Hops

Use what you like, just keep the IBUs low (under 20), restrict late hopping (I use only a small amount of Styrian Goldings for flavour), and stay away from assertive citrussy varieties. Noble or English hops are best.

The Recipe

Here’s my favourite recipe for the beer. It goes great with Indian and Thai food. A good Thai curry and a witbier is perfect. Another favourite use of the beer is to cook mussels, along with some cream, parsley and pancetta.

Back with a Pale Ale

Wort

Hello readers! Well, the blog had to go into cold storage for a brief hiatus while I was studying for exams, and the brewing along with it. The brewery has been ploughed back into action this last fortnight for a nice, hoppy pale “ale”, brewed with a lager yeast at lager temperatures. Why? well, it’s all I had. The beer was kegged today and tastes great, if a little green. There are prodigious amounts of Amarillo hops in this recipe, and they really shine through with the simple grist bill.

The recipe is simple:

Type: All Grain
Date: 17/06/2009
Batch Size: 12.00 gal
Brewer: Geoff
Boil Size: 13.74 gal Asst Brewer: 
Boil Time: 90 min Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU 
6.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 57.14 % 
4.00 kg Pilsner (2 Row) UK (2.0 EBC) Grain 38.10 % 
0.50 kg Biscuit Malt (45.3 EBC) Grain 4.76 % 
180.00 gm Amarillo [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 37.5 IBU 
40.00 gm Amarillo [4.00 %] (10 min) Hops 2.7 IBU 
70.00 gm Amarillo [4.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 

Saflager S-23 Yeast

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG 
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.18 %
Bitterness: 40.2 IBU Calories: 43 cal/pint 
Est Color: 10.2 EBC Color: Color 

Mash Profile

Mash PH: 5.4 PH 
My Mash Step Time Name Description Step Temp 
60 min Step Add 27.30 L of water at 74.7 C 68.0 C

The final gravity came out around 1.011. The bitterness is pronounced, but balanced by a little residual sweetness. After a little conditioning, this will be a good quaffer.

Manifold modification

I finally got a March pump delivered so it was time for some brewery modifications. First up, the manifold. I’ll be returning to fly sparging after a brief flirtation with batch sparging. Fly sparging, in my opinion, is more efficient – with an important caveat: the manifold has to have several collection points at the bottom of the mash tun, or channeling will occcur.

Cool visual effect, eh? I think this design should do the job, although if anyone thinks otherwise, please leave a comment. All in all, this is a fairly cheap job, under £10 including a pipe cutter, however it is a bit fiddly and takes a few hours. Next up is the hop filter, after the arduous task of hacksawing holes in the manifold, then hopefully i’m ready to brew on Friday – Dunkelweizen. I can’t wait to test out the pumped system.