Classic American Cream Ale

Well I’ve made a Classic American creme ale, based on recipe info found around the web and on threads on BeerAdvocate.com homebrew forum.  I’ve gone with an older interpretation of the style, a little hoppier, dry hopped, and using six-row and corn for the grist.  The grist is quite simple:

• 9 lbs 6-row
• 3 lbs flaked corn

Now hops wise I had planned to use tettnanger, but there was a bit of a failboat moment when I forgot the hops when I went to where I brew (my bro’s house).  So given the fail, I winged it on the hops:

• 10 grams centennial at 60
• 15 grams centennial at 10
• 15 grams centennial at 5
• 15 grams centennial at 0
• 14 grams citra at 0
• hop stand ten minutes
• 2 oz centennial dry hop

• 26.5  IBU
• 5.5 ABV
• 3.6 SRM
• 1.056 OG

It sure was light when it was done boiling, so the SRM estimation should be pretty close.   I’m interested how this hop combo will go with the body of what will presumably be a light, easy drinking beer.  We’ll find out in about a month!

Oh, Nottingham yeast!

UPDATE: bottled 10-26.  very clear, perhaps my clearest beer yet.  sweet, corn like taste (to be expected).  All signs point to a good batch.

 

UPDATE 2: drinking GREAT!  Completely clear, lots of rising bubbles, light corn sweetness yet still quite dry, light, thirst quenching body, lightly fruity/corn sweet aroma, I dare say a very fine creme ale.  Flavor and aroma aren’t super high, but this is not a beer that’s supposed to be super high on flavor and aroma.  I’m quite pleased with this beer.

Boulevard! Harvest Dance Wheatwine

Boulevard Brewing, from Kansas City, is some awesome stuff!  Today I’m having one of their smokestack series, Harvest Dance Wheatwine.  I love this stuff!  Wheatwine isn’t a very common style, and I think I’ve only actually ever had a few examples of the style.  But the ones I’ve had are delicious!  Especially this one!

http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/harvest-dance-wheat-wine/

A very delicious beer indeed.

Wheatwine pours a beautiful orange-ish tan color, just a little hazy, with a wonderful white head that lasts forever and leaves great lacing.

Fruity and spicy on the nose and taste, with great citrus and floral components as well.  Hops aren’t real forward, nor should they be for this style, but they’re pleasantly accenting of the taste and aroma.  Honestly, the commercial description pretty much describes the beer perfectly:

John Barleycorn is memorialized in English folk tradition as the personification of the barley plant, sacrificed at harvest time and then reborn as beer or ale. Our Harvest Dance Wheat Wine is a celebration of John’s Midwestern cousin, wheat. Beginning with a large portion of wheat malt, we add an equally generous helping of Hallertau and Citra hops and age the ale on both French and American oak. The result is a big, warming burst of tropical fruit flavors, highlighted by subtle wine-like notes, and rounding slowly to a long, dry, oaky finish.

I am not one to take anyone at their word on what I should think of a beer without trying it myself, but this description is pretty accurate (and I’ve had this beer multiple times).  Boulevard isn’t blowing their own horn on this one, this beer actually is really good!

Citra hops, eh?  I just brewed with them for the first time today.  Haven’t tasted the results yet.  My next blog will chronicle the event (it was an odd brew day, fittingly for citra, which has so much myth and hype around it, lol).

Why not toss in a nice bit of music to listen to whilst enjoying this delicious beer?

If you like wheatwine, or if you’re just a fan of great beer, you should try this beer!

Bleach Blonde Ale IV

Well it’s almost time for another edition of Bleach Blonde Ale.  This time I’ll be using the exact same grain bill as last time, but changing a couple of other parameters.  I like this grain bill, the last edition came out very well.

Wyeast 1332, Northwest ale yeast will be used for NEXT batch.   Wound up using Nottingham yeast.

Honestly I was thinking of trying Serebrianka hops with this one and I might still change the recipe accordingly.  EDIT: decided to go with serebrianka and try them out!  Will use cascade/willamette (belma for tiny bittering charge) next time.

• 8 lbs pale malt 2-row
• 8 oz Vienna malt
• 6 oz caraamber
• 6 oz carafoam
• 1 lb flaked corn
• 0.5 oz serebrianka hops at 60
• 1 oz serebrianka hops at 15
• 2 oz serebrianka hops at 5

Mash at 151F

Targets

• OG 1.050
• FG 1.010
• IBU 21
• SRM 5.2
• ABV 5.3%

Bleach Blonde Ale III

Well due to a rather weird set of circumstances, I wound up postponing again my planned production of Elderberry Wheat II, and wound up making Bleach Blonde Ale, part III.

An oddball on this one… the LHBS was out of US-05.  Some people from Mexico had bought out ALL the US-05 (and a lot of other stuff too, lol) because they can’t get it in Mexico.  Thus I was forced to us S-04 yeast on this one.  We shall see what happens!

• 8 lbs pale malt 2-row
• 8 oz Vienna malt
• 6 oz caraamber
• 6 oz carafoam
• 1 lb flaked corn
• 0.25 oz belma hops at 60
• 1 oz cluster hops at 10
• 1 oz cascade hops at 3

Mash at 151F

Targets

• OG 1.053
• FG 1.010
• IBU 22.7
• SRM 4.6
• ABV 5.6%

1. prepare checklist
2. lay out ingredients and equipment
3. reconstitute dry yeast using 95F boiled spring water and allow to cool to room temperature
4. Add grains to mash tun
5. bring 4 gallon spring water to 167 F
6. Add 3 3/4 gallons of 167F spring water to mash tun on top of grains, then stir well
7. add more water to boil pot, bring to near 172F and hold for sparging
8. measure temperature after temperature equalizes in mash.
9. adjust mash temperature using either heated mash water or cool spring water as needed to reach 152F
10. mash for 75 minutes at 151F
11. during mash, stir about every 15 minutes or so, checking temperature and adjusting if needed
12. at end of mash, begin draining wort into pitcher
13. allow first runnings to drain into a pitcher until clear
14. pour first runnings back on top of mash
15. slowly drain remaining wort into boil pot until mash tun is near empty
16. add 2.0 gallons 170F water (adjusted as needed)
17. stir well, let sit at least 5 minutes
18. drain first runnings of first batch sparge into pitcher until clear (or close to it)
19. pour first runnings of first batch sparge back on top of mash
20. drain wort into main boil pot until near empty
21. add another 2.0 gallons 170F water to mash tun (adjusted as needed)
22. stir well, let sit at least 5 minutes
23. drain first runnings of second batch sparge to pitcher until clear (or close to it)
24. add first runnings back into mash tun
25. drain wort into main boil pot
26. add wort chiller to boil pot
27. bring main boil pot to a boil
28. when boil is reached, boil 60 minutes total
29. at 60 minutes, add 0.25 oz Belma hops
30. at 15 minutes, add 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
31. at 12 minutes, add 1/4 tsp Irish moss
32. during boiling, skim off hot break as needed
33. add 1 oz cluster hops at 10 minutes
34. add 1 oz cascade hops at 3 minutes
35. at flameout, turn on water for wort chiller
36. begin sanitation procedures on spoon, thermometer, bucket, wine thief
37. stir occasionally with sanitized stainless spoon during cooling
38. ensure bucket, wine thief, thermometer, strainer, spoon are sanitized
39. when wort gets to about 68F, add to fermentation bucket, pouring through sanitized strainer to catch any extra solids and to help aerate.  If necessary, clean strainer during process and re-sanitize to remove most of the trub before fermentation
    
40. take OG reading with sanitized wine thief
41. thoroughly aerate wort with sanitized stainless steel spoon
42. ensure wort is 68F or a little less before pitching yeast
43. ensure yeast is a little cooler than wort before pitching
44. pitch yeast
45. gently stir using sanitized stainless steel spoon
46. install sanitized bucket lid and airlock
47. ferment in temperature controlled freezer chest for 14+ days at 66F
48. take FG sample and bottle
49. use 5 oz corn sugar at bottling

Actual OG: 1.046

Actual FG: 1.010

Notes: Trying to develop a house beer on this one.  This recipe will be refined and tried again and again over time until it’s perfected.  I don’t think this particular batch will be perfect, but it should be quite drinkable!