Brewnotes

After a long hiatus, the house beer makes a triumphant return.   This batch will be a little higher in alcohol as compared to the last few as the efficiency seems to be around 75%.    This is a straight forward American Pale Ale.   A touch of caramel ending with citrus notes from the hops.    Originally derived from Abita’s Restoration Ale.   For those of you counting, this is batch #36 on the brew rig.

Brew session went well.   Looking forward to having this on tap again!

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Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

My American Brown Ale (10C) entry took 2nd place in the monthly competition @ CRABS last evening.    Very exciting since I brewed this beer specifically for this event and now feel competent using my counter-pressure bottle filler.   Chris G. named this beer “Brown Recluse” since it has good hop bite to it.

If I was going to make any changes to this beer, I would change the Crystal 40L to Crystal 60L to help darken up the color and provide a little more malt sweetness.

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

Today I fixed my counter pressure bottle filler from MoreBeer.   This is a cool piece of equipment that allows you to bottle already carbonated/kegged beer.    That was all fantastic – I commenced to fill a bottle with little to no foam, and then BAM!    I forgot to release the pressure in the bottle to atmospheric before removing the device.   You guessed it, I got a BEER SHOWER.     All over the kitchen ceiling, counter, floor and more importantly me.    Lesson Learned.

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

This is my entry for the CRABS Feb competition, brewed last evening.  This is a true to style English IPA (BJCP 14A).   I was careful to select malts (Thomas Fawcette) and hops that would be used in England.    

This is the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles on pg 183 with minor tweaks.   “A hoppy, moderately strong pale ale that features characteristics consistent with the use of English malt, hops & yeast.  It has less hop character and a more pronounced malt flavor than American versions.”

This batch (#35) has me very excited as the brew day went flawlessly. 

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Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

This is my entry for the CRABS Jan competition, brewed on 1/4/2010  You can see from the stats below that this recipe pushes the boundaries of the 10C BJCP guidelines.   

This is the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles on pg 145 with minor tweaks.   If you like the west-coast style hoppy beers, this one is for you!

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Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

I kegged the Belgian Blond Ale (BJCP: 18A) from Jamil’s Brewing Classic Styles book.    “A moderate-strength golden ale with a subtle Belgian complexity, slightly sweet flavor, and dry finish.”  Really looking forward to putting this on tap.   This was brewed on 11/07.   Still looking for a name for this batch while I’m in the process of carbonating to 3.7 volumes.

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Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

Beer is an extremely personal thing.  Making it yourself brings a whole different dimension to that.   When I brew a batch of beer, it is a challenge to push myself; to craft something as good or probably better than most things that you can buy.    Simply said: I love good beer.

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

This started as my take on Dogfish Shelter Pale Ale (via BYO).    I recently renamed this – I’ve been experiencing a ton of ladybugs (20+) around my work desk area.   Nutty (walnut) and toasty character to this brew.    Firm hop bitterness but not overdone.

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Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

A dark, full-bodied, roasty ale with a slight oatmeal note in the background. It has a slight roasted-grain flavor and aroma, like bitter chocolate, which helps dry the finish.  A subtle earthy character makes this a beer perfect for the fall season and a crisp evening. This beer would pair brilliantly with a Montreal spiced NY Strip.

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Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew, Recipes

Very small changes to Jamil’s recipe from Brewing Classic Styles.    A flavorful yet refreshing session beer.  It has a balanced but firm bitterness, low hop character and a touch of fermentation character from the yeast.  Easy drinking and highly quaffable.

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Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew