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Resuscitation Pale Ale

February 28th, 2010

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!

Ingredients:

20# 2-row Maris Pale Malt
2# Carapils
24 oz Crystal 40L

Hops:

1.5 oz Cascade 7.5% AA 60 Min
1.0 oz Centennial 9.2% AA 15 Min
0.5 oz Centennial 9.2% AA 0 Min

Yeast:

(2) US-05 Fermentis Safale – Fermentiing ~@65F

Yield:

10 Gallons

Stats:

OG: 1.064 IBU: 27 SRM: 9.1

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

American Brown takes 2nd at CRABS

January 21st, 2010

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.

Beer Label - Brown Recluse (35)

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

Beer Shower

January 17th, 2010
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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

English IPA

January 16th, 2010

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. 

Ingredients:

12.25# Maris Otter Pale Malt
0.5# Wheat Malt
0.5# Biscuit Malt
0.5# Crystal 40L
0.5# Crystal 120L

Hops:

1.4 oz UK Challenger 8% AA 60 Min
1.5 oz UK Fuggles 5% AA 10 Min
1.5 oz UK Kent Goldings 5% AA 0 Min

Yeast:

(2) WLP013 London Ale – Fermented @67F

Yield:

5.5 Gallons

Stats:

OG: 1.062 IBU: 50 SRM: 11

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

American Brown Ale

January 16th, 2010
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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!

Ingredients:

12# 2-row Pale Malt
1# Wheat Malt
1.25# Carapils
1.25# Crystal 40L
0.5# Chocolate

Hops:

0.9 oz Northern Brewer 10.4% AA 60 Min
0.6 oz Northern Brewer 10.4% AA 15 Min
1.5 oz Cascade 5.3% AA 10 Min
1.0 oz Cascade 5.3% AA 0 Min
2 oz Centennial 9.2% AA DRY

Yeast:

(2) US-05 Fermentis Safale – Fermented @67F

Yield:

5.5 Gallons

Stats:

OG: 1.066 IBU: 63 SRM: 21

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

Belgian Blonde Ale

December 31st, 2009
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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.

Ingredients:

11# Pilsener Malt
8 oz Wheat Malt
8 oz Aromatic Malt
1.5# Cane Sugar

Hops:

1.6 oz Hallertau 4% AA 60 Min

Yeast:

(2) WLP500 Trappist Ale – Fermented @67F

Yield:

5.5 Gallons

Stats:

OG: 1.065 IBU: 25 SRM: 5

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

Homebrew

December 23rd, 2009

 

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. 

Picture 037
Ever wanted to try but think it is too difficult?   Think again.   Making good beer can be as simple or hard as you want it to be.  Homebrewers share a passion.   This video really tells the story.   Cheers
MasnBoilFerment

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

Ladybug Pale Ale

October 30th, 2009

 

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. Beer Label - Ladybug Pale Ale

Ingredients:

11.25 lbs Pale Malt
6.5 oz Crystal 120L
3 oz Amber Malt

Hops:

0.55 oz Warrior 16.0% AA 60 Min
0.55 oz Glacier 5.5% AA 10 Min
0.55 oz Simcoe 13.0% AA 0 Min

Yeast:

WLP005 – British Ale Yeast

Yield:

5.5 Gallons

Stats:

OG: 1.052 FG: 1.013 13.22 SRM 34.1 IBU

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew

Oatmeal Stout

October 12th, 2009
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.

Beer Label - Oatmeal Stout

Ingredients:

8 lbs 2-row pale malt
1 lb Flaked Oats
8 oz Chocolate Malt
4 oz Aromatic Malt
4 oz Crystal 80L Malt
8 oz Roasted Barley
 

Mashed at 153F – 78% Efficiency

Hops:

1.8 oz East Kent Goldings 5.0% AA 60 Minutes

Yeast:

WLP005 – British Ale Yeast

Yield:

5 Gallons

Stats:

OG: 1.059 FG: 1.015 24.7 SRM 33.7 IBU

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew, Recipes

Special Bitter (8B)

September 14th, 2009

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.

Ingredients:

8.87 lbs English 2-Row
0.5 lbs Aromatic
0.5 lbs Crystal 120
0.25 lbs Special Roast
   
  Single Infusion Mash @ 152F – 75% Efficiency

Hops:

0.9 oz Northern Brewer 6.5% AA 60 min
0.4 oz Northern Brewer 6.5% AA 20 min
0.4 oz Northern Brewer 6.5% AA 1 min

Yeast:

Safale S-04

Yield:

5.5 Gallons

Ben Brouse Food & Drink, Homebrew