The strong IPA that I brewed a month ago turned-out very tasty for what it is...a high-IBU hop monster from Parallel Hell. It dried-out to a gravity of 1.010. I burned through a keg of it this past Saturday at my 100-mile racing buddy Raul Flores' retirement party. It was well-received; Raul likes hoppy beers. (Retiring at the age of 51...sheesh)! I put a warning sticker on it to warn "beer newbies" and fools, since it has a 8.15% alcohol content (by volume).
I also had about 3 gallons left of my ESB on tap, and the rest of that keg played-out within a couple of hours. I'm glad, too, because it was getting "a little long in the tooth," and I'm not a huge ESB fan. I guess that's why I don't brew that style very often. I'd rather brew a brown or something else interesting, if I want to have a "mild" beer style around.
This past Sunday, June 3rd, I brewed a Kölsch-style beer for the Summer. One of the 5-gallon kegs will go to another buddy to help him win a BBQ competition, and the other will be for personal consumption. I always like to have a Kölsch and/or a Pilsener around for the hot Summer months.
I used a version of an old recipe of mine that I tend to like. For the 10-gallon batch, it included:
9 lb. Weyermann Pilsner, 9 lb. Maris Otter Crisp, and 2 lb. White Wheat Malt on the grain bill. I performed a single-step mash. For hops, I used Tettnang and Hallertau Mittelfruh hop flowers for that "Noble" nose. I used my "secret" Kölsch yeast, and pitched a healthy starter. It's bubbling away in the glass fermenter like crazy, and should be ready in time for my friend's BBQ date.
By the way, during transferring I got a taste of the Brett-inoculated Saison that will be my next Lambic. Woo-hoo! This new Brett Baby is going to be tasty!
Happy brewing, everybody!
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4 comments:
Hey Ben, I'm a newbie homebrewer and just tasted my first brew ever, and it was amazing! I also finished putting my second batch ever in the fermenter. This stuff is fun! I thought about doing a partial mash / extract recipe this time, but I still need a few more pieces of equipment. I'd love to tap you for knowledge when it comes times for my next batch.
I get most of my ingredients from Bacchus & Barleycorn in Shawnee, KS. I like dealing with Alberta and her staff.
I sometimes go to the Brew Supply in Olathe, (only for some of the hops like "Columbus" that I can't get at Bacchus).
I also browse the internet for "big" ingredients like pale malt. I get 55-lb sacks of grain. Midwest Brewing Supply currently has the best prices/shipping rates. I also get some specialty/oddball stuff like oat malt from the internet.
Hi Ben -
Has your profile ever been featured in Brew Your Own magazine? If not, would you be interested? Contact me via email and I'll explain more.
Betsy Parks
Assistant Editor
Brew Your Own magazine
betsy@byo.com
thank you nice sharing
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