#32 Cascade Wet Hop IPA #2 - Tasting

Recipe     -     Brewday     -     Tasting

ABV: 6.2%

IBU: 25

Serving Temp: 35

Carbonation: 2.5

Grade: B

This is the first time I've actually rebrewed a recipe.  I've spent so much time trying new recipes, styles, and techniques that I haven't taken the time to try to go back to my notes and try to correct my mistakes and improve on my previous beers.  This one is definitely an improvement, but I think it could still use some tweaks before it becomes the beer I imagined when compiling the recipe.

So first off this beer is really hoppy.  Obviously that's good, it's an IPA.  The Cascade hops still don't jump out of the glass, but there's plenty of hop flavor.  I didn't use a whole lot of dry hops (I ended up using 1 oz Cascade and 1 oz Simcoe since that's what I had) for an IPA, but I thought all the late fresh hops would be enough to get some good aroma.  It really illustrates how important dry hopping is to the modern IPA's aroma.

Though the temp dropped at the end of fermentation, I didn't have problems with underattenuation like I did in the last batch.  That confirms my suspicion that the poor crush and mash out were part of the problem.  However there is a touch of diacetyl.  I've tasted a few commercial lagers with bad diacetyl lately so maybe I'm more sensitive to it at the moment, but I do find it a flaw.  As the beer sat in the keg it seems like the yeast may have cleared it up a bit, allowing the malt character to come through.  I think I'm on to something with the victory malt next to something darker.  The dark crystal came through as more sweet and less burnt, despite the lower FG, which may be a result of the diacetyl, or it may be that the Crystal 120L isn't the malt I'm looking for.

Overall I would say this beer was a big step in the right direction.  While the fermentation temperatures were again a problem, eliminating the mash out improved attenuation and let the hops shine through.  I might consider swapping the crystal 120L for the 135L, or I might try an amber or brown malt, I'm not sure.  Next time I really want to use the Cascade-Centennial-Columbus dry hop I originally planned on; I think the lemony and piney notes in the aroma will complement the bright fresh flavor of the wet cascades better than the Simcoe.  I won't get back to this recipe until next year since it's built to showcase the wet Cascasde hops, but the malt character is unique for an IPA and a good pairing, so I'll definitely revisit it when the time comes.

Thanks again to Oxbow Farm for the hops!

#37 Smoked Black IPA - Recipe

Recipe     -     Brewday     -     Tasting

It seems like everybody's favorite beer is the IPA, double IPA, or session IPA, in any of a rainbow of colors.  Good ol' American innovation makes everything better!  Hops are great and all, but I have just as much fun brewing malt forward styles or learning about historical beers.  This batch I plan on brewing a beer based on historical Export India Porter, a beer I discovered through Ron Pattinson's blog ... and a beer that's suspiciously similar to modern black IPA.  So much for innovation.

Ok, I'll stop being a smart ass (for the moment).  I'm brewing a black IPA.  I'm not usually a fan of black IPA, Cascadian dark ale, India black ale, or even particularly hoppy stouts, but I put together a recipe I think could actually be pretty good.  Usually the combination of piney or citrusy American hops with dark roasted malts just doesn't do it for me (with a couple notable exceptions), but after brewing the Arrogant Bastard clone, I realized Chinook hops could be the answer.  They're not like the other American hops, which is why I never liked them before.  They're more ... herbal, spicy and piney according to all the descriptions.  I'm no connoisseur of herbs, spices, or pine branches, so I don't know what that means, but it's certainly different, maybe the kind of different that goes well with dark malt.  I hope it doesn't suck.

But that alone isn't too exciting, I feel like it needs something more to make it unique.  I think this combination could go really well with a bit of smoked malt.  Not too much, but just enough to make things interesting.  Maybe I should have learned my lesson above about trying to be creative, because others have brewed something similar, but whatever.  Pull it all together with some San Diego Super Yeast from White Labs and we'll see what we get.

Smoked Black IPA
--------------------------
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal
Estimated ABV: 6.7 %
Estimated OG: 1.062 SG
Estimated FG: 1.011 SG
Estimated Color: 32.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 91.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt          Name                                     %/IBU
10 lbs       Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           74.1 %
1 lbs        Munich Malt - 6L (6.0 SRM)               7.4 %
1 lbs        Smoked Malt (2.3 SRM)                    7.4 %
12.0 oz      Carafa III (525.0 SRM)                   5.6 %
4.0 oz       Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)          1.9 %
8.0 oz       Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM)          3.7 %
1.00 oz      Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min        36.7 IBUs
1.00 oz      Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 40.0 min        32.2 IBUs
1.00 oz      Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min        22.2 IBUs
1.00 tsp     Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins)          -
1.00 Items   Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins)        -
2.00 oz      Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min         0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg      San Diego Super Yeast (White Labs #WLP090)
1.70 oz      Chinook [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days     0.0 IBUs

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion @148F, No Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs 8.0 oz
Estimated Cost: $29.01

#29 Blackberry Saison - Tasting

Recipe     -     Brewday     -     Tasting

ABV: 6%

IBU: 25

Serving Temp: 35

Carbonation: 2.5

Grade: B

Ok first off, this beer looks really cool.  After a week soaking up the flavor and color from used blackberry skins, it turned a striking shade of red.  The head doesn't last long, quickly fizzing away, but it took half the keg for me to get over the color enough to notice.

The aroma is a little funky; the yeast lead the way, somewhat Belgian, but not as enticing as a nice tripel.  It's a weird combination with the color and it just smells ... off, I can't put my finger on the smell.  As it has matured in the keg, the aroma has improved noticeably, but I wouldn't say it reminds me of anything different.  It's funny how subtle changes can turn the same qualities from bad to good (or vice versa).

At first sip, I was surprised by how sour this beer is!  It turns out I got mostly acidity from the blackberries, with some generic berry flavor following.  I was hoping to get some of that rich blackberry signature in here, but no such luck.  This was from the second batch of berries which were tart to begin with and generally of poor quality so it's no surprise.  After the initial shock of being blasted by berries, I can pick up some of the underlying malt flavor, but it takes some work.  Any yeast driven flavor is hard to identify; there is no discordance here between each of the pieces though (well, after the aroma sorted ) so I'm happy with how the saison yeast pulled things together.  The balance of berry vs beer is definitely in favor of the sour berries, but this is a blackberry beer so it's appropriate.  Last of all, the hop bitterness is present and brings the sip to a firm end.  It reminds me that this is a beer and I think strikes just the right balance with the berries, providing a satisfying dry finish without being harsh or off-putting.

I would say this beer is as good as I could hope for on a first attempt.  I didn't anticipate the amount of acidity I would extract from the used blackberry skins.  It's no surprise as the berries themselves were sour, but I'm curious how different this beer would be if I had used the good berries from the first batch of wine.  The beer was enough of a success that I will definitely try it again next fall, especially since it doesn't require its own batch of berries.  Hopefully next years crop will be more like those from the first batch of blackberry wine, than the ones I used here.

#30 Cascade Wet Hop IPA - Tasting

Recipe     -     Brewday     -     Tasting

ABV: 5.5%

IBU: 65

Serving Temp: 35

Carbonation: 2.5

Grade: C+

Oops, it's been awhile since we polished off this keg and I never got around to reviewing it.  Or maybe I was avoiding it.  It's not much fun to review a disappointing beer.

Much like the Heady Topper clone, this beer under-attenuated, finishing sweeter and thicker than I would have liked.  I think the mash out may be adding a substantial amount of unfermentable sugar that wasn't converted sooner because of the poor crush I'm getting from the homebrew shop.  It finished at SG 1.018 which is way higher than it should be.

The hop flavor is good.  Cascades are nice, always agreeable, but they don't really jump out of the glass like the newer varieties I've been using lately.  The appley esters from the Irish yeast don't complement the hops like I thought they would.  Instead it seems surprisingly reserved, just like the Irish red.

As a whole, this beer is fine, but not what I was trying to brew.  People described it as "smooth," "balanced," and "not too bitter like most IPAs."  That's fine if you're not an IPA drinker, but I really wanted to showcase the fresh hops, so it's disappointing from the brewer's perspective to miss the mark.

Luckily I don't have to lament too long.  I already have the next iteration on tap!