Single Hop Pale Ale (Mosaic) - Tasting Notes

It is so nice to have fresh, hoppy, homebrewed beer on hand.  This is one of the many reasons it is better to homebrew beer than it is to buy it.  You can't beat the freshness of a well executed  (if I do say so myself) homebrew.

I brewed this beer a bit over a month ago and have been drinking it for the last couple weeks.  It was my first attempt at using Mosaic hops which are reported to bring a complex set of flavors that make them well suited to be used in single hop beers.  Based on this beer I would agree with that claim (although I don't necessarily agree they are superior to Cascade in a single hop beer).

I used this malt bill and hopping technique once previously and thought the results were very nice.  I am, once again, very satisfied with this beer.  The low alcohol and relatively balanced flavor of this beer really make it a joy to drink (it has a very impressive hop flavor that would be right at home in an IPA but lacks the overwhelming bitterness that, to me, can start to become to much after a couple).  Really love this recipe.

I'll plan on trying another one of these soon as a vehicle to explore the virtues of some other hop variety.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Hop aroma is very prominent.  It is a piney and fruity smell.  It has fallen off just a slight bit in the few weeks since bottling the beer.  Malt is not coming through at this point.  No yeast or alcohol character.
• Appearance:
• Dark gold and very clear.  Pours with a couple finger head that settles down to a thin layer pretty quickly.
• Flavor:
• Has a fresh and pronounced hop flavor with a restrained bitterness in the finish.  Bready/light toast malt character balances out the bitterness in the finish
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-light bodied and smooth drinking
• Overall:
• Very drinkable beer with a lovely hop character.  The Mosaic hop is very nice.  I think any characterful hop would probably make a very nice beer in these amounts.  Right now the flavor profile is slanted towards the hop but it will get into more balance as it gets a bit older.  As is there is enough malt character to establish a really nice balance of flavors.

Flanders Red Status Report - 2017

I have accumulated a pretty sizable stockpile of aged Flanders Red beer that I need to take stock of.  I bottled my first blend last year and have been very happy with how it turned out.  I think it's time to blend some more (I'm thinking 6 gal straight and 6 gal with cherries).  Need to determine which beers to use.

I've used a variety of yeast strains to make these beer with the goal of getting a wide variety of flavors to choose from.  This drove me to produce quite a bit more beer than I can reasonably drink.  I will start to pare down my collection a bit.  I'd like to limit myself to 12 Flanders Reds fermenters at any given time which will keep me well supplied on beer and also provide some room for continued exploration.  I currently have 15 batches.  It has been over a year since I last brewed any.

We ended up moving all these beers last August.  They all got shaken up quite a bit in the process.  It will be interesting to see if this has resulted in any acetic acid formation.  Many of them have three piece airlocks that ran dry a number of times as well.  Hopefully this hasn't had any major negative impacts.

Once I take stock of these I'll also consider starting to move them to our new house.

Flanders Red 1.1.1:

• Brewed:
• 10/10/14
• Overview:
• First pitch of Roeselare Ale Blend (Wyeast 3763)
• Found a nice grainbill online that produced a lovely red wort
• Used baking soda on this batch in an attempt to control pH.  This was contributing a bit to the flavor
• Status Notes:
• Airlock ran dry more than once for extended periods with this beer
• Replaced with vented silicone bung
• Tasting Notes:
• Funky aroma with some fruit
• Orange/red and clear
• Lightly sour with a bit of Brett character.  Light fruit flavor.
• Fairly mild in flavor with not all that much complexity

Flanders Red 1.3.1:

• Brewed:
• 3/27/15
• Overview:
• Second pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
• Primaried with a Belgian yeast - took the beer all the way down to 1.006 which wasn't what I wanted
• Status Notes:
• Airlock ran dry on this one was well
• Replaced the airlock with vented silicone bung
• Tasting Notes:
• Big vinegar aroma from the fermenter- none in the sample though.  Fruity and earthy smells to this beer.  It has a big aroma.
• Orange/red and clear
• Medium level tartness - restrained and pleasant.  Earthy Brett flavor comes through very strongly.  Also has a reasonably strong fruity flavor component.  Get a bit of grainy malt flavor coming through on the finish
• Strong flavor and aroma on this one with a good level of complexity

Flanders Red 1.3.2:

• Brewed:
• 4/11/15
• Overview:
• Third pitch onto half the Roeselare yeast cake (first half used by Flanders Red 1.3.1)
• Pitched directly onto the yeast cake
• Status Notes:
• Airlock ran dry on this one as well
• Replaced airlock with bung
• Tasting Notes:
• Earthy funk dominates.  A bit of fruity character mixed in.  Has a rich smell
• Red/orange and slightly cloudy
• Light sourness.  Brett earthiness fairly assertive.  Good level of malt flavor in the finish
• Fairly mild in terms of flavor but has a nice level of complexity

Flanders Red 1.4.2 and Flanders Red 1.4.1:

• Brewed:
• 7/12/15
• Overview:
• Fourth pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
• Soured part of the batch with lacto before adding to the Roeselare cake
• Primaried with Belgian yeast
• No hops were used to avoid inhibiting the lacto 
• Oak added to the fermenter with the Roeselare
• Status Notes:
• Blended half of each of these batches with Flanders Red 1.2.1 and then combined the remaining beer into the 1.4.2 fermenter
• Tasting Notes:
• Rich fruity and funky aroma
• Orange/red and clear
• Medium level of sourness with a good level of fruitiness.  Nice earthy flavor in the finish.  This one also has a leathery flavor.
• Bold flavor profile and nicely complex

Flanders Red 2.1.1:

• Brewed:
• 8/30/15
• Overview:
• First pitch of Yeast Bay Mélange Sour Blend
• Modified the grain bill:  Swapped Pilsner/Munich/Vienna base malts for 2 row and Victory
• Used corn grits by doing a cereal mash
• Used rice hulls to try to mitigate for the sticky mash (was still using a filter bag for mashing at this point)
• Status Notes:
• Airlock ran dry at times on this batch
• Replaced the airlock with a bung
• Tasting Notes:
• Bold earthy aroma mixed with dark fruit
• Dark red and clear - very nice looking beer
• No sourness has developed.  There is a bit of interesting fruitiness and some bready malt.  Also get a hint of alcohol.  Finish has a bit of funk
• Mild flavor with a fair bit of complexity.  I think this one is outshined by the Roeselare batches but it brings some different flavors

Flanders Red 1.5.1:

• Brewed:
• 9/17/15
• Overview:
• Fifth pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
• Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
• Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
• Primary fermented with Belgian yeast
• Soured a portion of the batch with lacto during primary
• Status Notes:
• Nothing Significant to Report
• Tasting Notes:
• Funky aroma - pretty rich - with a bit of fruit
• Orange/red in color and a bit cloudy
• Light sourness.  A bit of earth flavor.  Also get a bit of malt on the finish.
• Mild flavored with a fair bit of complexity.  Pleasant but not that exciting

Flanders Red 1.5.2:

• Brewed:
• 10/18/15
• Overview:
• Fifth pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
• Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
• Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
• Soured a portion of the batch with lacto prior to adding to the main batch
• Status Notes:
• NSTR
• Tasting Notes:
• Earthy and fruity aroma.  Pretty rich.  Get a bit of leather as well.
• Orange/red and clear
• Light sourness.  Bold fruity character.  A bit of Brett funk in the finish that is earthy and leathery.  Some malt comes through on the finish
• Good bold flavors with nice complexity

Flanders Red 2.2.1:

• Brewed:
• 11/6/15
• Overview:
• Second pitch onto Mélange Sour Blend yeast cake
• Soured a portion of the batch with lacto during primary
• Primary fermented with Belgian yeast
• Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
• Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
• Tweaked the grain bill to try to get a bit more red
• Status Notes:
• Airlock had run dry
• Replace with vented silicone bung
• Tasting Notes:
• Bright fruity aroma mixed with earthy leather from the Brett.  Very rich
• Orangish red and a bit cloudy
• Light sourness.  Has a nice fruity character.  Also a smooth bit of bready malt in the finish.
• Pretty good set of flavors that pop nicely

Flanders Red 1.6.1 (A&B):

Part A

Part B

• Brewed:
• 1/15/16
• Overview:
• Sixth pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
• Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
• Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
• Primary fermented with Belgian yeast
• Soured a portion of the batch with lacto during primary
• This was a 12 gal batch split into A and B portions
• Part A:  Aged 3 months on yeast cake and then transferred off
• Part B:  Aged on the yeast cake for the entire period
• Both parts aged in bucket fermenters
• Status Notes:
• NSTR
• Tasting Notes:
• Part A:
• Fruity aroma up front - reminds me of lemon.  Some Brett funk in the background
• Orange/red and a bit cloudy
• Medium sourness.  There is a citrus fruitiness to it.  Finish has a bit of earthy funk
• Bold flavors and an interesting fruit component (from lacto?).  Not terribly complex

• Part B:
• Earthy funk and a bit of fruit in the aroma.  Rich.
• Orange/red and a bit cloudy
• Light sourness.  Earthy funk with a little fruitiness.  Finish has some bready malt.
• Nice full flavor with a  fair bit of complexity

Flanders Red 3.1.1 (A&B):

Part A

Part B

• Brewed:
• 1/24/16
• Overview:
• Batch fermented with a culture built up from Rodenbach Foederbier
• Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
• Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
• Primary fermented with Belgian yeast
• Soured a portion of the batch with lacto during primary
• This was a 12 gal batch split into A and B portions
• Part A:  Aged in a glass carboy
• Part B:  Aged in a bucket fermenter
• Status Notes:
• NSTR
• Tasting Notes:
• Part A:
• Funky and earthy aroma.  Dark fruit mixed in as well
• Orangish red and cloudy
• Light sourness with an interesting Brett funk (band aid like)
• Mild flavor with a fair bit of complexity

• Part B:
• Funky and earthy aroma
• Redish orange and cloudy
• Light sourness.  Light bready funk with a bit of malt character
• Mild flavor and not terribly complex

Flanders Red 4.1.1:

• Brewed:
• 4/8/16
• Overview:
• Batch brewed with commercial yeast (Russian River and Jolly Pumpkin Dregs)
• Adjusted malt bill to try to get better color
• Did a proper cereal mash to get better conversion using corn grits
• Used Maltodextrine
• Primaried with Belgian yeast - added hops to try to restrain the sourness that this yeast had started to develop
• Aging in a bucket fermenter
• Status Notes:
• NSTR
• Tasting Notes:
• Dark fruit mixed with a little earthiness
• Redish orange and very clear
• Light sourness.  It has a fruity flavor and earthiness on the finish.  Has a chocolate like finish as well (maybe from the dark malt?)
• Pretty strong flavors in this beer and a pretty complex profile

Flanders Red 5.1.1:

• Brewed:
• 6/19/16
• Overview:
• Batch brewed with ECY Flemish Ale Blend
• Tweaked the malt bill a bit again by switching double roasted crystal for the special B
• Added Maltodextrine
• Did a proper cereal mash
• No primary fermentation
• Status Notes:
• Beer has aged in bucket fermenter on the yeast cake for 15 months at this point
• Airlock was dry on this one
• Tasting Notes:
• Cider like aroma with a bit of funk.  A bit of alcohol mixed in
• Redish orange and a bit cloudy
• No sourness at this point.  Has a bit of a Belgian yeast profile.  No Brett character I can detect
• Needs more time to mature.  Maybe a second beer on this cake would be more interesting

Mother deer with her two fawns

Flanders Red 1.7.1:

• Brewed:
• 7/10/16
• Overview:
• Batch fermented on seventh pitch of Roeselare Yeast Blend
• Primary with Belgian yeast
• Hopped the beer to try to stop excessive lacto influence in primary yeast
• Added Maltodextrine
• Did a proper cereal mash
• Status Notes:
• Brewed this as a 12 gal batch.  The other half was Flanders 2.3.1 which was lost when the bucket fermenter broke
• Beer has aged in bucket fermenter on the yeast cake for 12 months now
• Tasting Notes:
• Fruity and slightly funky aroma
• Red and a little cloudy
• Medium Sourness.  Has a really nice fruity flavor.  A bit of funk in the finish.
• Bold flavors with a fair bit of complexity

California Common

So many recipes to try and so little time (and bladder capacity).  I'm thinking I'd like to try to brew every style of beer at least once (otherwise I'd be brewing an IPA, Sour, or Whisky Stout every time).  A style I've been thinking of brewing next for quite some time is a Steam Beer.  This is a historic style of beer which originated in the U.S.  It is a beer brewed with Lager yeast at Ale temperature.  The Anchor brewing company copyrighted the name "Steam Beer" so people often refer to them as "California Common" (or risk a Cease and Desist Order).

I've had a few commercial examples (including the Anchor version) and enjoyed them - it isn't a blow your hair back kind of style - light and refreshing but flavorful.  Similar to a pale ale but restricted to using Northern Brewer hops exclusively (following the lead of Anchor Brewing).

As much as anything I think the process is interesting with this beer.  Classically the beer is fermented in shallow open fermenters which was a technique to try to keep the beer cool without refrigeration.  I'll be trying to approximate this by leaving the lid unsealed.  Additionally, using a lager yeast ~10 degrees warmer than normal (I'll be fermenting at 58 F) should produce a bit more yeast character than  you'd expect from a normal cool-lager fermentation (we'll see if that's the case).

I decided to use a recipe from the Brulosophy blog.  Decided to follow it pretty closely but upped the grain for a 6 gal batch at my normal 70% efficiency.

Recipe Details:

• Grain:
• 10 lbs 2 Row
• 1 lb 8 oz Light Munich
• 1 lb Crystal 60L
• 6 oz Victory
• 2 oz Chocolate Malt
• 3 oz Acid Malt
• Hops:
• 1.75 oz Northern Brewer (Pellet, 4.9% AA) at 60 min
• 1 oz Northern Brewer (Pellet, 4.9% AA) at 15 min
• 1.25 oz Northern Brewer (Pellet, 4.9% AA) at 0 min
• Yeast:
• Wyeast 2112 California Lager
• Water:
• 10 gal spring water
• 1 tsp CaCl
• 0.5 tsp Gypsum
• 1 tsp Irish Moss at 15 min
• 1 gal of spring water post boil

Process Details:

• Batch Size:
• 5 gal + 1 gal of top up water (Target 6 gal)
• Mash:
• 153 F for 60 min
• Boil:
• 45 min (Target 60 min)
• Fermentation Temp:
• Part 1:
• 58 F for 4-5 days
• Part 2:
• Allow to ramp up to 65 F for the next week
• Primary Duration:
• 3 weeks
• Secondary Duration:
• N/A

Results:

• OG:
• 1.063 - then diluted this down to ~1.052 (Target 1.055)
• Efficiency:
• 67% (Target 70%)
• FG:
• 1.010 (Target 1.013)
• Apparent Attenuation:
• 80% (Target 76%)
• ABV:
• 5.51% (Target 5.51%)

Brewing Notes:

• 7/15/17 - Created a 1.5 L yeast starter with 125 g of DME.  Added a pinch of yeast nutrient for good measure.  Put on the stir plate about 24 hrs before pitching time.  Was not an aggressive fermentation - thin layer of foam seem to constitute high krausen.
• 7/16/17 - Brewday - 2 PM to 6 PM including setup and cleanup
• Heated strike water and cycled through system until everything was about 160 F
• Ended up with 6 gal in the system
• Added CaCl and Gypsum
• Added grain while I cycled the system.  Stirred to eliminate dough balls.  Mash turned out to be way too thick so I added another gallon to the mash tun
• Settled out nicely at 153 F
• Cycled the rims slowly

• Stirred at 30 and 45 min
• Heated my sparge water to about 200 F
• Fly sparged - tried to keep a thin layer of water on the surface to start without perturbing the grain bed.  I've come to hate my mash tun - too much dead space under the false bottom and too large a surface area makes for inefficient use of sparge water.
• Started boiling during the sparge
• Ended up a bit short on volume at the end of the sparge
• Added the bittering hops after the hot break cleared

• Checked my volumes throughout the boil.  Realized with about 30 min left that I only had enough volume to boil another 15 min or so.  Will hurt my bittering hop's contribution a bit but decided to cut the boil short.
• Added the Irish Moss and 15 min hops
• Added the wort chiller with about 5 min left - wort got back up to a boil by flame out to ensure good sterilization
• Added the 0 min hops
• Chilled the beer down to 80 F - ran the chiller a bit slower than normal to allow more time for the flame out hops to flavor the beer
• Drained into fermentation bucket - let it fall a couple feet and splash to aerate
• Ended up collecting 5 gal of wort.  Left behind the hops and cold break for the most part.  Left behind quite a bit of volume (over half a gal I'd estimate)

• Measured gravity as 1.063.  Way over shot my target of 1.055.
• Decided to add 1 gal of spring water to get to ~1.052 which is much closer to the target
• Moved to the chest freezer to chill to 58 F
• Pitched the yeast starter once I'd gotten down to temp
• Left to ferment without the lid firmly sealed
• 7/17/17 - A good layer of krausen had formed by this afternoon
• 7/20/17 - Allowed the beer to increase to 65 F to finish out
• 7/26/17 - No more foam on the surface of the beer at this point.  Secured the lid on the beer.
• 8/2/17 - Lowered the temperature of the fermentation chamber to 35 F to cold crash
• 8/19/17 - Fined with Gelatin
• 8/20/17 -  Bottled with 5 oz of priming sugar.  Had 6 gal of beer which got me 61 bottles.  The beer finished at 1.010.  The sample is crisp and clean with a nice balance between malt and hop.
• 9/1/17 - Had my first bottle bomb.  Went off when nobody was in the room thankfully.  It seemed like the last few beers I'd bottled were way over carbonated.  The later ones were slightly under carbonated.  Will have to see if some of the first ones got the right balance
• 10/8/17 - Tasting Notes - This is a really nice tasting beer.  It has a nice complex flavor profile and is very easy to drink.  I think it's quite like Yuengling Lager actually (which I like quite a bit) but with a bit more hop presence

Lessons Learned:

1. I'm getting very tired of the large (~2 gal) of dead space under my Mash Tun false bottom.  Also hate how difficult the bottom drain makes cleaning the thing (have to clean it in place).  I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on a stainless steel mash tun from SS BrewTech.  It is an expensive toy that I know wont improve my beer but I think it will make for some more enjoyable brewdays.
2. I'm thinking of bagging my hops on the next batch to simplify the transfer to the fermenter.  It sucked leaving all that beer behind.