Coconut Stout

Note to self...

Today, I read about a coconut stout brewed by Kona in Hawaii. This one's a must-try at home.

First Competition Entry - Maple Brown Ale

There just happened to be two home brew competitions this past weekend, so I decided to jump into the ring with my maple brown ale (see July post). I was pleased with how this beer turned out, but have to admit that I was pleasantly shocked with the results... Hoping the pumpkin beer that's in the works will be competition worthy!

14th Annual Music City Brewers Brew-Off (Nashville, TN): 2nd Place - Spice/Vegetable Beer (7 entries total)

Hanley House Home Brewing Competition (St. Louis, MO): 3rd Place Overall

Pumpkin Spiced Ale Recipe

Brewed/Started On: 9/27/09
Transferred On: 10/7/09

Yield: 5 gal
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.01

Crush:
10 lbs. American 6 Row Pale Lager Malt
1 lb. Honey Malt
12 oz. Crystal Malt (40L)
10 oz. Crystal Malt (60L)
6.5 oz. Munich Malt
16 oz. Amber Dried Malt Extract

Spice Mix:
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground dried ginger

Cut one vanilla bean down the middle and into quarters. Put in jar filled with 4 oz of vodka, seal, and set aside to soak for at least two weeks.
Preheat oven to 350F
Wash one 7 to 10 lb pumpkin, thoroughly scoop out pulp and seeds, and cut in half vertically.
Cook pumpkin for 1 hr. or until soft.
Let pumpkin cool. Once it's cooled enough to work with, smash thoroughly in a large bowl and set aside
Pour 2 gal boiling water into plastic cooler mash tun (if applicable). Set aside to preheat.
Heat 13 qts bottled spring water (or dechlorinated tap water) to 150 F.
Empty preheat water from mash tun.
Pour about .5 gal (2 qts) of 150 F water into mash tun (or enough to bring water level above false bottom).
Gradually add crushed grains only (no DME), mix thoroughly, add more water, more grains, and repeat until all grains and 13 qts water are in mash tun.
Stir until mixture is uniform and no clumps exist. Do so quickly enough to keep from losing too much heat, but avoid agitating/aerating the mixture.
Seal-off cooler and let grains steep at 132 F for 30 min.
Boil 6 qts. bottled water.
Thoroughly mix smashed pumpkin and 6 qts boiling water into mash, seal off cooler, and let steep at 155 F for 30 min.
After second 30 min. period, open mash tun valve slightly to release a small amount of sweet wort. Use iodine test to check starch conversion.
After starch conversion is complete, open valve to release ~1 quart of wort. Close valve, and pour the wort back slowly down the inside wall of the mash/lauter tun. Repeat ~3x until liquid runs clean with few grain husks.
Add .5 oz whole cone Hallertau hops (5% Alpha) to large brew kettle (capable of holding 5.5 gal of wort without boiling over).
Open valve completely, and empty all wort from lauter tun into brew pot.
Close valve to begin sparge.
Sparge grains with 3.5 gal of 170 F water, emptying runoff into brewpot.
At this point, it's helpful to have markings on the inside of the brewpot showing gallon increments. Boil enough water to be added to the brewpot so there's 5.5 gal total.
Place brewpot on burner, and turn gas on high.
Bring wort to boil.
Stir in both 16 oz. unhopped amber DME and the spice mix.
Add 1 oz. Hallertau hops for bittering.
When 10 min. remain in 60 min. boil, add 1/4 tsp powdered irish moss
With 3 min. remaining, add .5 oz Hallertau hops (aroma)
After 60 min. total, remove from heat.
Cool rapidly to 80 F using immersion chiller (or other method), and add cold bottled spring water until 5.25 gal total.
Transfer wort into fermentation vessel (pref. 6+ gallon glass carboy) and aerate thoroughly.
Add one packet of Wyeast American Ale Yeast #1056 liquid yeast. Stir yeast into wort to ensure it gets mixed uniformly.
Seal off carboy with airlock and let ferment in dark closet at approx ~70 F for 2 weeks.
Open jar with vanilla bean. Scrape soft insides of vanilla bean into vodka (throw away skins), stir well, and pour into secondary 5 gal glass carboy.
Transfer beer to secondary carboy, seal off with airlock, and let sit in same storage conditions for another 4 weeks.
Add 1 c pale DME to 1 c pure spring water and boil for 3 min.
Pour sugar/water mixture into 5 gal bucket, then transfer beer from secondary fermenter into bucket.
Bottle, and store in cool, dark closet for 2 weeks prior to drinking.

(The basis of this recipe comes from Charlie Papazian's Beer Examiner blog: http://www.examiner.com/x-241-Beer-Examiner~y2009m9d21-Cucurbito-Pepo-Its-the-season-for-pumpkin-ale)

Beer Review: Porters

I have to admit, I generally avoid porters. The heavy, roasted, even burnt, flavor is not my favorite, but I'm trying to acquire a taste for these beers. With that in mind, I wanted to taste examples of the three porter styles (brown, robust, & baltic) side-by-side so I could get a better handle on what sets them apart. Here goes...

Brand: Samuel Smith Taddy Porter
Style: Brown Porter
Aroma: (Score: 6/12) Roasted barley malt plus dark cocoa. Aroma was a bit faint.
Appearance: (2/3) 2 finger tan head dissipates quickly; beer is opaque black with tinges of brown along the sides of the glass.
Flavor: (17/20) Dry, roasted, grainy bitterness from malt; slight dark chocolate and toasted biscuit, dark molasses sweetness in the middle; pleasant bitterness attributable to malt and mineral content of water return; bitterness fades through the finish.
Mouthfeel: (3/5) Medium body; slightly, but noticeably, tannic and astringent; light carbonation.
Overall: (8/10) Generally fits the bill for an English-style brown porter-- roastiness from malt is under control; hop aroma/flavor is not noticeable, but mineral character is.
Total: 36 (Very Good)

Brand: Boulevard Bully! Porter
Style: Robust Porter
Aroma: (10/12) Prominent roasted aroma ranging from dark cocoa to molasses, black raspberry, very slight vinous cabernet, floral hop note.
Appearance: (2/3) 1 finger tan head falls quickly; Opaque black body with very faint brown hue around the edge.
Flavor: (15/20) Dark cocoa on front, very minimal sweetness; black, roasted patent malt bitterness accentuated by hop twang; mineral, almost metallic note toward end; prominent bitterness lingers through a long finish.
Mouthfeel: (3/5) Light-to-moderate carbonation; medium body; creaminess gives way to astringent dryness.
Overall: (7/10) While I don't prefer this style, Boulevard does a decent job giving an American slant to this one-- weaving in more prominent hoppy bitterness than one might expect.
Total: 37 (Very Good)

Brand: Okocim Porter
Style: Baltic Porter
Aroma: (10/12) Sun-dried prunes; (strangely enough), red beefy tomato... followed by powdered hot chocolate, very slight mineral character.
Appearance: (2/3) 1 finger tan head quickly dissipates; opaque black color with mahogany tones at edges.
Flavor: (17/20) Sweet, rich, chocolate; carmelized sugar; warming from sherry-like alcohol character; bitterness never quite takes hold; almost-cloying sweetness remains throughout into a smooth finish.
Mouthfeel: (4/5) Low-to-medium carbonation; creamy body, no astringency as observed in other porter styles; noticeable warmth from alcohol.
Overall: (8/10) A complex, highly-drinkable, porter to sip and enjoy after dinner.
Total: 41 (Excellent)

Next up: porters vs. stouts. It might be a couple of weeks, though, before I feel like jumping into this heavyweight match...

Beer Review: Duchesse de Bourgogne

Bought an 11.2 oz bottle from Luka's Liquors on 8/29. This was my first time to try a Flanders Red Ale-- I've heard they can be fairly sour, due to brettanomyces and lactobacillus used in fermentation, but very good. Was definitely looking forward to trying this one.

Style: Flanders Red Ale
Aroma: (10/12) Sour red cherry, apple cider vinegar, and phenol with hints of vanilla.
Appearance: (3/3) Poured 2-finger off-whitehead, which dissipated slowly. Rich mahogany with good clarity
Flavor: (18/20) Cherry vanilla sweetness balanced by apple cider vinegar and cranberry juice cocktail tartness. Phenolic character presents itself before fading to a slightly bitter, but pleasant, aftertaste. Very slight copper coin flavor is noticeable before soft, dry finish.
Mouthfeel: (5/5) Tart bite supports light carbonation. On scale of 1-10, body thickness is about 4, which I believe to be appropriate for the style.
Overall: (9/10) VERY well-balanced. Both tart and sweet components are enjoyable. Like a fine wine, not something that I would drink all night, but a fantastic ale that I'd like to drink one of whenever I get the chance.
Total Score: 45 (Excellent)

Bottled Maple Brown Ale

Earlier this evening, I finished bottling 2 cases of my maple brown ale. The beer was in secondary fermentation for 4 weeks per the recipe, which is a bit longer than the 20 days I'd been used to for previous beers. Can't wait to try the finished product...

I checked the final gravity before priming w/ maple syrup & light malt extract, and it came in at 1.012 (above the minimum value of 1.010). I was a bit surprised that it was on the lower end of the range for this style, but will see how it all comes together in 2 weeks. Had a taste of the beer before mixing in the sugar-- definite roasted flavor from the dark chocolate malt, but a bit drier than I was expecting. It appears the majority of the maple syrup flavor has fermented out. A fellow BeerAdvocate recommended adding a spice called "fenugreek" to the boil next time for maple flavor that will remain after fermentation. Will first see if any maple flavor from the priming syrup remains after 2 weeks...

Beer Review: Santa Fe Pale Ale

I received three 12 oz bottles of Santa Fe Pale Ale from Beer of the Month Club in July. This was my first time to try any Santa Fe beers, since they're not available in St. Louis. Was definitely looking forward to it. Overall, this beer is very drinkable, but on the other side of the coin, a bit lacking in complexity. Here's my review:

Style: American Pale Ale
Aroma: (Score: 6/12) a confluence of citrusy hop aroma w/ biscuity malt, suggesting balance
Appearance: (Score: 2/3) creamy, lingering off-white head; light copper color with very slight haziness- possibly due to beer being colder than optimal serving temp.
Flavor: (Score: 15/20) leans more toward sweet maltiness than hoppy bitterness; bitterness makes a pleasant, yet prominant appearance toward the end; dry, clean finish; perceived very slight warmth of alcohol
Mouthfeel: (Score: 2/5) low-to-medium carbonation; light-to-moderate body
Overall: (Score: 6/10) delicious; highly-drinkable; well balanced; however, a bit lighter than I prefer an American Pale Ale to be
Total Score: 31 (Very Good)

Maple Brown Ale Recipe

Yield: 5 gal

Crush:
4 lbs. American Pale Malt
1.25 lbs. Crystal Malt (40L)
10 oz. Belgian Chocolate Malt
10 oz. Munich Malt

Pour 2 gal boiling tap water into plastic cooler mash tun (if applicable) to preheat. Close top and let rest.
Heat 2.5 gal bottled spring water (or dechlorinated tap water) to 170 F.
Empty pre-heat water from mash tun.
Pour about .5 gal of 170 F water into mash tun (or enough to bring water level above false bottom).
Gradually add crushed grains, mix thoroughly, add more water, and repeat until all grains and 2.5 gal water is in mash tun.
Stir until mixture is uniform, and no clumps exist. Do so quickly enough to keep from losing too much heat, but avoid agitating/aerating the mixture.
Seal-off cooler and let grains steep at approx 150 F for 90 min. (You can mix in an additional .5 gal of 170F water, if necessary, to adjust temperature.)
After 90 min, open mash tun valve slightly to release a small amount of sweet wort. Use iodine test to check starch conversion on a white plate away from the mashing/brewing area.
After starch conversion is complete, open valve to release ~1 quart of wort. Close valve, and pour the wort back slowly down the inside wall of the cooler. Repeat ~3x until liquid runs clean with few grain husks.
Open valve completely, and empty all wort from lauter tun into a large brew pot that's capable of boiling 5.5 gal of wort without boiling over.
Close valve to begin sparge.
Sparge grains with 3 to 3.5 gal (for a total of 6 gal added since beginning of batch) of 170 F water, emptying runoff into brewpot.
It's helpful to have markings on the inside of the brewpot showing gallon increments. Boil enough water to be added to the brewpot so there's 5.5 gal total.
Meanwhile, place brewpot on burner, and turn gas on high.
Stir in 2 lbs (6 cups) amber DME and 1 pint pure maple syrup (warmed in microwave)
Add boiling water, and bring wort to boil. Stir occasionally
Add 4 AAUs Fuggles hops for bittering.
Boil 45 min., then add 4 AAUs Goldings aroma/flavor hops.
Boil for 15 min., then remove from heat.
Cool rapidly to 80 F using immersion chiller (or other method), and add room temperature water until 5.25 gal total. (May add chilled water to speed-up cool-down.)
Transfer wort into fermentation vessel (pref. 6.5 gal glass carboy) and aerate.
Add one packet of Wyeast 1098 (or equiv.) liquid yeast. Stir yeast into wort to ensure it gets mixed thoroughly.
Seal off carboy with airlock and let ferment in dark closet at approx 70 F for 2 weeks.
Transfer to secondary 5 gal glass carboy, seal off with airlock, and let sit in same storage conditions for another 4 weeks.
Add 1/2 c pale DME and 1/2 c pure maple syrup to 1 c pure spring water and boil for 3 min.
Pour sugar/syrup/water mixture into 5 gal bucket, then transfer beer from secondary fermenter to bucket.
Bottle, and store in cool, dark closet for 3 weeks prior to drinking.
Beer should keep for 6 months.

First Batches

Here's what I remember from my first batches:

Brew #1: American Wheat Kit (dried malt extract)
I made my first batch on my kitchen stove. It took forever to get the water boiling. In general, the beer turned out good for being my first batch. I learned, though, that it's best to mix the beer into the sugar water before bottling (instead of the sugar water into the beer). I did the latter in this first batch, and some bottles were over carbonated and others turned out flat. Bottled in 2 cases of used Grolsch swingtop bottles.

Brew #2: American Wheat Kit (DME)
I learned a lot from this batch... With my new turkey fryer set (outdoor gas range & large aluminum pot), I was ready to give the wheat ale another shot. I tried getting a little fancy and bought some dried orange peel and coriander, and fermented the beer with these new ingredients in my "ale pail". What I should have done, though, was strain out the orange peel after it steeped in the beer for a few minutes after the boil. All of the orange peel floating around in the fermenter wound up clogging the siphon that I used to transfer the beer to the carboy (from primary to secondary). Without a good, sanitary means of removing the orange peel, I was forced to dump the batch...

Brew #3: Belgian Tripel Kit (mini mash + DME)
This was my first time to use crushed grains. The recipe called for steeping them in a grain bag for about 20 min., and then adding dried malt extract. Finally, candy sugar was added to provide additional "food" for the yeast. (The sugar creates a beer that has both a higher amount of alcohol, and more sweetness.) I'm still not quite sure what happened with this batch. The fermentation seemed to stop very early-- it was like the yeast stopped working. I added more sugar prior to bottle conditioning, and sealed the beer in my old Grolsch swingtop bottles. A combination of a poor seal in the swingtop cap, and the yeast "not working", led to the beer turning out way too sweet, under-carbonated in some cases, and flat in others.

Brew #4: American Wheat Kit (DME)
Back to the basics... My buddy Scott and I brewed this batch on a Saturday afternoon when the wife was out of town for a bachelorette party. We drank a few beers while brewing, and talked about the steps in the process & results of prior batches. (This was Scott's first time to homebrew.) Things were going well until I realized I'd forgotten to add the bittering hops immediately after stirring in the extract into the boiling water. (the recipe calls for bittering hops to be in for the whole 60 min. of the boil) I called the home brewing store, and they said I should just add them asap. This apparently wouldn't ruin the batch-- it would just be significantly less bitter. We tried the batch several weeks later, and the brew store was right. There was hardly any bitterness. The beer wasn't in line w/ its intended style, but actually tasted great.

Brew #5: American Wheat Kit (DME)
My wife (fiancee at the time) and I decided to brew a batch for the guests coming to town for our wedding in 10/2008. By this time, I finally had the wheat kit thing down, and decided to give the orange peel & coriander another shot. Everything went off w/o a hitch, and I bottled the beer about 1 month before the wedding. I used myownlabels.com to create custom labels with a picture taken near our house. The beer was a definite success.