#solobrewing

Recently, I took a couple of my beers up to a pro not too far away for analysis.  He immediately pointed out an astringent, lightly soapy flaw in the finish of my brews.  I never really noticed this until he pointed it out, but now that it has been brought to my attention, it’s glaringly obvious.

His first suggestion was wacky water.  I’ve never bothered to treat my water; more out of ignorance than lack of desire.  Up until this past year, the water I was brewing with was pretty fair untreated; hitting my mash pH would not have been difficult.  

A little investigation turned up that my current water is sinfully alkaline.  Only the blackest of black stouts would have enough acidity in their grists to balance out my mash pH.

An investment into a pH meter and toying with some water calculators led me to the conclusion that I desperately need to cut my water with at least 50% reverse osmosis water (and probably 75% for pale beers).

And thus the 2 x 7 was born.  Something pale and hoppy to test out my new water treatment regimen.  The paleness would let that soapy character shine through and the hops would really lose their punch if my water was still off kilter (or if these flaws were from something else).

Thankfully my brewer friend was right, and the beautiful (read: expensive) 14 oz of locally grown Centennial hops were not put to waste! 2 oz at 7 different points in the process, thus 2x7!

Estimated OG: 1.064 OG: 1.064 Estimated FG: 1.010 FG: 1.012 IBU: 86 SRM: 5 ABV: 7%

Grain Bill: 11 lbs 2 row 21 oz bonlander munich 6 oz flaked wheat 6 oz caramel 20

Hop Bill: 2 oz Centennial (9.1% AA) @ 90 min 2 oz Centennial (9.1% AA) @ 15 min 2 oz Centennial (9.1% AA) @ 5 min 2 oz Centennial (9.1% AA) @ FO 10 minutes 2 oz Centennial (9.1% AA) @ 160F whirlpool hopstand 10 minutes

Yeast: 1 pkg White Labs WLP 090 San Diego Super Yeast built to a cell count of ~358 billion

Other: 1 tsp wyeast yeast nutrient @ 15 minutes 1 tsp irish moss @ 15 minutes

Brew Notes: mashed at 152F for 60 minutes 50% RO water dilution 5 mL lactic acid added to mash 8.5 g gypsum added to mash water (for pH and Cl/S04 ratio correction) pitched at 60F oxygenated for 60 seconds with pure O2

Dry hopped in primary and in keg!

Appearance:  Pours hazy with hop debris, and likely some still flocculating yeast.  A burnished gold with a dense head of white foam that hangs around forever and leaves soapy lacing.

Aroma:  Amazing nose, loaded with dank pine, grapefruit rind, tangelo and fresh green hops.  Super juicy with some light caramel and bread malt tones to balance it out, but this is all about the Centennial.  Yeast is almost non-existent, but might be throwing a little nectarine type esters if that isn’t just the hops.

Taste:  Fruity sweet with a little malt up front and then an immediate assault of bitter citrus rind which gives into deeper, more resinous bitterness on the finish.  Long and sticky.

Palate:  Moderate body, not as thin as I thought it might have been with so little character malt.  Moderate plus carbonation helps to deliver the hop load and keep this easy to drink.  

A few weeks ago I cranked out this recipe to the tune of a Belgian Pale Ale balanced liked an APA.  A paler grist, increased hop rates, and the use of a non-traditional hops variety for aroma puts this beer well outside the style guidelines for a Belgian Pale, but well inside the guidelines for a delicious session beer.

It pits a combination of Galaxy and Saaz hops (which play quite well together) against the Orval yeast strain, which throws a note I can only describe as lemon drop.  A simple, lightly toasty base of Maris Otter and Munich rounds it all out and keeps out of the way of the other aromatics.

Vitals: OG: 1.046 FG: 1.008 ABV: 5% IBU: 26 SRM: 5

Appearance:  Pours a hazy peach nectar, with a thick froth of stable white head that leaves plenty of lacing.  Clarity could be better, but between Belgian yeasts, wheat malt and dry hopping there are too many reasons for this to be cloudy.

Aroma:  The nose on this beer is fantastic, the herbal tones of the Saaz fade into the grassy, tropical notes of the Galaxy dry hop, which easily become muddled with that lemony, stone fruit, pear character of the Bastogne yeast.  These elements seem to blend into one cohesive zestiness, nothing particularly over or understated.  A gentle, crackery maltiness rounds out the finish.

Taste:  Dry up front, giving way to a soft malt sweetness and finishing slightly bitter, even with a hint of fruity tartness.  Balanced for refreshment and ease of drinking, this would make a lovely lawnmower beer.

Palate:  Despite a low finishing gravity, this beer has plenty of mouthfeel and a light, but not thin body.  Carbonation is moderate and could use a slight bump into the moderate plus to full zone.  Finishes a bit sticky.

As I mentioned in the post from brew day, this beer was made with some help from a colleague of mine and his friend, both of whom are interested in homebrewing.  They came by to tap the keg and level a few pints with me one evening after work (I had the day off) and proceeded to tell me an interesting story regarding my restaurant's owner, an old man, a very dirty washroom and a pair of martinis made with Scotch: hence the name.  If you know me personally, feel free to ask for full disclosure--this is not the kind of tale you post freely on a beer blog.

I actually casked up 1 gallon of the Bitter, and kegged the difference with some dry hops.  This review is for the cask version, which I prefer.  While tasty, the brightness of carbonation and serving temperature lighten the beer a fair bit and dim it's complexity slightly.

Vitals: OG: 1.046 FG: 1.010 ABV: 4.75% IBU: 27 SRM: 9

Appearance: Wicked clarity, a perfectly rich, medium copper, with a thin lace of white head that never really leaves.  S-04 drops out like a rock.  I can literally tip my mock cask side to side and watch this heavy, dense yeast move around the bottom of the cubitainer rather than stirring up into the beer.

Aroma: Caramel toffee, crusty bread, biscuity malt, very warm.  Woody, earthy hops, a hint of dried orange peel perhaps.  A little disappointed with the lack of esters here, but I kept the ferment really cool.  I'd read about the dreaded bubble gum tones of S-04 if it gets too warm and opted to keep it on the bottom end of it's limit.  I would feel well comfortable bringing the temperature up to 65F next time to see if I could get a little apple or pear in here.

Taste:  Probably balanced slightly bitter for a traditional BB, but very much suited to my tastes. It opens with warm, sweet malt which subsides to a clean mid palate and a firmly bitter finish.  While I intended the beer to be slightly smaller (OG 1.042) and finish slightly sweeter (FG 1.012) I don't imagine it would have altered the balance much.

Palate:  My basement is just a little on the warm side for cask serving temperature. The beer is just cool to the touch and tongue.  Carbonation is also slightly shy, it just barely pricks the tongue.  Body is light to moderate and the finish lingers quite some bit.

Brewed up a batch of special bitter today with one of my colleagues and his friend who are interested in taking up homebrewing.  With any luck they will be cranking out a recipe or two on my equipment in the upcoming months.

In a keep-it-simple-stupid type demonstration, we cooked up 6.5 G batch of bitter today, a recipe they could easily manage on their own with minimal startup equipment. 1 gallon of this is destined for a mock cask experiment: in a cubitainer a la qhrumphf; the rest to be kegged and growled for my helpful aides.

I've also taken up oxygenating with pure O2. 

Special Bitter -- 12/01/15

Estimated OG: 1.042 Estimated FG: 1.012 OG: 1.046 IBU: 28 SRM: 9

Grain Bill: 8 lbs maris otter 8 oz flaked oats 8 oz biscuit malt 8 oz crystal 45 4 oz crystal 150

Hop Bill: 1 oz East Kent Goldings (6.3%AA) @ 60 min 1 oz East Kent Goldings (6.3%AA) @ 15 min 2 oz East Kent Goldings (6.3%AA) @ 0 min

Yeast: 1 pkg Safale S-04

Other: 1 tsp wyeast yeast nutrient @ 15 minutes 1 tsp irish moss @ 15 minutes

Brew Notes: mashed at 152F for 60 minutes pitched at 65F oxygenated for 20 seconds with pure O2

Vitals: OG: 1.060 FG: 1.011 ABV: 6.5% IBU: 30 SRM: 9

Appearance:  Dark burnished copper with a thick layer of eggshell head that settles to a chunky collar and leaves some soapy lacing.  Crystal clear after 6 weeks of lagering, very pretty.

Aroma:  Complex malt tones on the nose; graham cracker, biscuit, mild toffee sweetness, subtle raisin and whisky-esque rye.  Over ripe apple and banana yeast esters, with a hint of musty earth.  A spicy, peppery finish that could be yeast, hop or rye malt derived.  Even fermented at the low end of the listed tolerance (70F), Wyeast 3726PC Farmhouse Ale is beautifully expressive and delicate: certainly a winning strain.

Taste: At a slightly higher FG than I expected, this beer is sweeter than I imagined, but there's lots of hop bitterness and a hint of alcohol to keep it all well balanced.  A nicely rounded brew.

Palate:  Creamy and moderate bodied with full carbonation.  You can really sense the flaked grain in the mouth feel. 

Vitals: OG: 1.058 FG: 1.004 ABV: 7.25% IBU: 7 SRM: 14

Appearance:  Lightly hazed, this beer is a reddish amber hue, not unlike buckwheat honey.  A small crown of off white head dissipates quickly.  Considering saison yeasts aren't particularly flocculent, and the grain bill here was loaded with flaked rye, this beer is pretty clear.

Aroma:  A complex nose, some floral and spicy Old World hop tones from a light dry hopping, a touch of lacto-lemonyness and layers of mildly sweet, fruity malt.  Banana, black mission fig, overripe apple, black tea and some bretty barnyard.

Taste:  Dry but unctuous with fruity sweetness, leading into a nice rounded mid-palate.  Finish is slightly fruity-tart (think more raspberry than lemon).  Was hoping for more lacto character, but I have heard that it can take it's time to develop in bottle.

Palate:  Light to moderate body with  elevated carbonation.  Quite easy drinking with a lingering finish.

The first beer I churned out since I've commited to going Belgian.  Brew day was a breeze and the beer came out most exactly as I imagined.  The damn thing took ages to ferment out and I am fairly certain the yeast profile is tamed due to the fact that I couldn't get it as hot as it wanted.  While it is a tasty first rendition, it needs some tweaking before I'd call it my house saison: the vienna malt is overpowering, the yeast and hop profiles are a little off kilter.

Vitals: OG: 1.056 FG: 1.006 ABV: 6.5% IBU: 30 SRM: 5

Appearance: A real thing of beauty.  The beer is a hazy golden with a billowing white head that holds well for a few minutes and leaves thick lacing in the glass.  Very likely the most attractive beer I have ever brewed.

Aroma: The nose is crackery with Vienna malt character, delicate spicy Dupont phenolics, banana, applesauce and apricot.  Hop presence is simple and rustic EKG earthiness.  A hint of musty smoke on the finish.

Taste: Malty for the style, depite being very dry, there's a lingering arrowroot cookie type sweetness that suggests an amber, rather than blonde brew.  Crisp and well bittered with a round finish.

Palate:  Creamy with high carbonation and light body.  The flaked wheat gives a glorious mouthfeel.  Nothing to change here folks, classic saison mouthfeel.