English Barleywine - 2015 Tasting

This is my second English Barleywine tasting after doing one last year (to the day) with my First English Barleywine.  I brewed up a Second English Barleywine this year using the same basic recipe and this will be a side by side comparison and review.  Excited to be doing another tasting after putting quite a bit of thinking about these beers.

2014 Brandy & Oak, 2014 Plain, and 2015 Vintages

It's cool to have accumulated some old beer to do some long term tastings with.  I will plan on brewing another one of these beers next Memorial Day for another tasting.  I may try a slightly different recipe next time (maybe something with a bit of rye).

These are pretty huge beers and I was feeling some effects from the three partial ones I drank to put together this tasting.  Also was experiencing some palate fatigue by the end.  I am going to have to space out the tastings a bit as I accumulate more beers over the years.

2015 - Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Fruity aroma.  Almost has the character of a Belgian yeast.  Has a pretty distinct oak character which is pretty much on the level of a red wine.  Also has a bit of alcohol aroma as it warms.  Nothing I can pick out as hops.  No malt either.
• Appearance:
• Dark copper.  A bit cloudy.  Very light carbonation that quickly subsides.  This beer has only had a bit over a week to carbonate so I'd expect this to pick up.
• Flavor:
• Dominated by the fruity yeast character.  The fruity is somewhat indistinct apple or pear maybe.  Oak is also a pretty major presence.  There is also some caramel flavor from the malt up front.  The finish has some bitterness which balances out the malt a bit.  There is a fairly firm alcohol presence which hits in the finish.
• Mouthfeel:
• This is a light bodied beer.  The finish is fairly dry.  The high alcohol content is noticeable by the warming finish more than the flavor.  No astringency from the oak that I can detect.
• Overall:
• It is a rich, flavorful, and complex beer.  I like the fruity yeast character and what the oak brings to the table.  This beer finished quite a bit lower than I had been expecting but it is not overly dry.  It has decent malt flavor but a bit more malt complexity would be an improvement.  It's a big beer so I believe it's going to keep pretty well.  I expect that it will gain in complexity as it ages.

2014 Plain - Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Fruity with caramel malt.  There is also a bit of alcohol on the nose.  The fruity is quite different than the 2015 version - much stronger apple aroma.
• Appearance:
• Dark copper.  A bit darker than the 2015 version.  Still muddy even after spending the last few months in the fridge at my Mom's house.  Very light carbonation that quickly fades down to nothing
• Flavor:
• Fruity yeast is the primary flavor - very apple like.  It's really nice along with a strong toffee/caramel flavor.  There is no hop bitterness remaining.  A bit of alcohol on the finish along with sweet malt.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium bodied.  The finish is a bit sticky sweet.  A good beer to sip and savor.  Nice warming alcohol melds well with the whole package.
• Overall:
• Also rich and flavorful with nice caramel malt and apple yeast ester character.  I prefer the yeast character in this beer over the 2015 vintage.  Last year this beer was a bit of a boozy mess.  Alcohol was still a significant presense but it has definitely mellowed out quite a bit with more aging.  This probably isn't a beer I would want to drink two of in one sitting very often but one would be quite pleasant.

2014 Brandy and Oak - Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Very similar to plain half but with a bit of oak on the nose.  This one initially had sort of a musty smell as well that diipated off and left the fruity aroma.  The oak in this one isn't as pronounced as the 2015 version.
• Appearance:
• Same as plain 2014
• Flavor:
• Also very similar to the plain half except with the oak coming through a bit on the finish.  The oak and brandy contributions have mellowed out a bit since last year.  There isn't really that much difference between this and the plain half flavor wise.
• Mouthfeel:
• Same as plain 2014
• Overall:
• With the extra year both of these 2014 beers have mellowed out considerably.  I had initially preferred this one due to the additional complexity of the oak adding something beyond booziness.  I really wouldn't describe either of these as boozy at this point.

So, I think I prefer the 2014 version to the 2015 based on this tasting.  I really like how the yeast character has developed in the 2014 while the 2015 is too reminiscent of a Belgian yeast next to it.  I also really enjoy the more luscious body in the 2014 and the caramel malt flavor which is a bit more prevalent.  We'll see how these two stand up to my next one of these in a year.

Munich Helles - Tasting

I am happy to finally be getting around to doing a tasting of my first Munich Helles lager.  This beer has been in the bottle for about two and a half months now after an abbreviated lagering period.  I tried a bottle after the first week and found that significant diacetyl (a buttery flavor) had developed.  After a couple more weeks this had been cleaned up by the yeast and the beer has been drinking very well since.  I've consumed about half of it so far.

We go out to eat to a local bar and play trivia most weeks and I usually end up drinking Yuengling Lager as it's cheap and I like to have 2 or 3 pints of it.  It's simple and easy drinking but it also has a depth of flavor that is missing from BMC.  I've found I really enjoy the yeast character.  People always say that ale yeast is fruity and that lager yeast is clean.  I would agree with that but I also detect a slight tartness from the lager yeast in the Yuengling Lager.  I get this same flavor from this Munich Helles.

I think this beer, although quite a bit higher in alcohol, drinks very similar to the Yuengling.  It's simple and pretty easy to drink in volume.  I would say it has a touch more malty complexity than Yuengling.

Once again I've really enjoyed the process of brewing this lager.  I intend on trying another one soon.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Sweet bready malt dominates along with a slight flowery hop smell.
• Appearance:
• Pours with a thin white head that quickly dissipates down to a ring of foam around the edge of the glass.  Nice golden color.  Slightly cloudy with a bit of particulate matter (didn't pour very carefully). 
• Flavor:
• Malty with a slightly tart yeast flavor up front.  The malt has a sweet honey like flavor.  The malt caries through to the finish along with a clean bitterness which lingers.  I think the finish is nicely balanced between the malt and bittering hops.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium bodied with a smooth finish.  No alcohol warming.  Carbonation is light.
• Overall:
• It's a simple and easy drinking beer with enough going on to keep it interesting.  It goes down really smoothly and has a pleasing finish.  It's pretty easy to drink in volume (I had three of them putting together this review).  I really happy with it.  I think it stands up reasonably well to a professionally made Munich Helles. 

Trappist Single

A Trappist single is a low octane Trappist ale that the monks are said to brew for their own consumption (also known as a Patersbier).  I was inspired to try one of these out based on the article in Zymurgy's November/December 2015 edition.  I am going to roughly adhere to the "Westvleteren Blond Clone" recipe.

I've wanted to try one of these since I had the Chimay version of the single (Dorée) last year.  It was crisp and refreshing and very flavorful with great yeast character (also very expensive).  I haven't seen it again since.  The Westvleteren clone seems a bit hoppier than I remember the Chimay being but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.

I will be deviating from the recipe slightly.  I will be brewing 6 gal of beer rather than the 5.5 the recipe calls for.  I will be using Dingemans Pilsner malt as my LHBS didn't have their Pale Malt.  I have also decided to skip the candi sugar which is going to cost me some gravity points.  I'm planning on bringing the beer in at around 1.040 which, if it ferments down to 1.006 as projected, would get me a 4.46% ABV beer.  Finally, I will be going with only 1 oz of bittering hops rather than the 1.25 ox called for in the recipe as I didn't have any Northern Brewer on hand and didn't want to over buy.

As for process notes:

I'm only planning on boiling for 60 min even though I'll be using pilsner.  I will make sure to get a strong rolling boil going to evaporate off the DMS.

For my previous Belgian's I've ended up fermenting in the mid to low 60s and end up with a fairly subtle ester contribution from the yeast.  For this batch I will be maintaining fermentation in the low 70s using a reptile pad to try to get a bit more character.

I am also going to try changing up my Mash Tun configuration for this batch.  I had been using marbles below the false bottom to take up some dead space (which would be 2+ gals).  Unfortunately, I found that grain that would get through the false bottom and would get stuck in the marbles (or on the filter media I used to keep the marbles from getting into the drain).  Cleaning up the marbles would then require me to remove them from the tun and rinse them.  This was a huge pain so I got a brew in a bag to mash in which really simplified cleanup as no grain would get through to the marbles.  Unfortunately, I've been finding that the deliberately starchy worts in my Sour Beers have been clogging up the fine mesh brewing bags.  So, for this beer, I am going to replace the marbles with 11 12 oz beer bottles which have been filled with water and capped to rest the false bottom on top of and to reduce the dead space.  I will also be removing the marbles that had served the same purpose in the grant.

I expect that I'm going to need quite a bit more water for the mash with this configuration (had been using about 2.5 gal more than what was used for mashing between dead space, lines, pump, grant, and RIMS) but I don't expect that it will be a problem.  It will be interesting to see if this change impacts my efficiency.

Recipe Details:

• Grain:
• 9 lbs Pilsner Malt (Dingemans)
• 3 oz Acid Malt
• Hops:
• 1 oz Northern Brewer (Pellet, 6.0% AA) at 60 min
• 2 oz Styrian Golding (Pellet, 4.5% AA) at 10 min
• 2 oz Hallertau (Pellet, 2.7% AA) at 0 min (stand for 10 min)
• Yeast:
• Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity Ale Yeast
• Water:
• 9 gal spring water
• 5.5 gal tap water
• 1 oz Calcium Chloride
• 1 oz Gypsum
• 1 oz Irish Moss at 20 min

Process Details:

• Batch Size:
• 6 gal (Target 6 gal)
• Mash:
• Step 1:  147 F for 60 min (Target 147 F for 60 min)
• Step 2:  Ramped up to 168 F over 30 min (Target ramp up to 168 F over 20 min)
• Boil:
• 60 min (Target 60 min)
• Fermentation Temp:
• 70 F
• Primary Duration:
• 4 weeks
• Secondary Duration:
• NA

Results:

• OG:
• 1.046 (Target 1.040)
• Efficiency:
• 83% (Target 72%)
• FG:
• 1.005 (Target 1.006)
• Apparent Attenuation:
• 89% (Target 85%)
• ABV:
• 5.38% (Target 4.46%)

Brewing Notes:

• 12/5/15 - Cooked up a 1.2 L starter with 6 oz of DME and 1/8 tsp of yeast nutrient.  Chilled, pitched the yeast and set it up on a stir plate to propigate.  A layer of foam had formed within a few hours.
• 12/6/15 - Brewday - 12:30 PM to 4:50 PM including setup and cleanup
• Milled the 9 lbs of grain at a fine setting

• Heated 9 gal of spring water in the HLT and cycled through the mash tun, grant, and RIMS until the system was at 155 F - Took 45 min
• Set the Mash Tun up with 3 gal above the false bottom.  There was about 6.5 gal in the system as a whole
• Added CaCl and Gypsum to the mash tun
• Added grain while the system cycled.  Stirred to eliminate doughballs
• Set RIMS to 150 F with a cycle at about 1 gal per minute

Grant with cloudy early runnings

• After 10 min the mash was between 145 F and 147 F
• Started heating 8 gal of sparge water about 50 min into the mash
• Raised the RIMS to 168 F for mashout - took 30 min to raise up to that temp
• Fly Sparged - took about 25 min
• Started heating the kettle after collecting about 3 gal
• Gravity at the grant was 3 brix (1.012) after collecting the target volume
• Collected 8 gal
• Had it at a boil a few min after sparging completed
• Added the 60 min hops after the hot break cleared
• Added the irish moss with about 20 min to go
• Added the 10 min hops once I had boiled down to about 6.25 gal
• Added the chiller to sanitize right before flameout and let it get back up to a boil
• Added the 0 min hops at flameout
• Let the 0 min hops stand for 10 min
• Chilled down to 70 F
• Drained into the fermentor.  Ended up collecting about 6 gal.  Measured the gravity as 1.046 which is a bit higher than expected
• Moved to the fermentation chamber and pitched the entire yeast starter - was just about at high krausen
• 12/8/15 - The beer started bubbling the evening after pitching the yeast.  Today it had pushed some krausen through the airlock.  It's giving off a pretty strong yeast character today - very fruity.  I think the higher fermentation temperature is doing the trick.
• 1/10/16 - Bottled with 5 oz of priming sugar.  Measured the FG as 1.005.  Ended up with 5.25 gal which got me 52 12 oz bottles.  The beer has a pretty nice fruity aroma and nice, complex, flavor between yeast character and hopping along with a fairly pronounced hop bitterness.
• 3/8/16 - Tasting Notes - A low alcohol beer with big bold flavors.  This is what I was hoping for.  The Belgian yeast's esters are prominent but don't overwhelm - I think this turned out well.  The dry finish allows fairly subdued hopping to really come through nicely.  It makes for an easy drinking beer with a really nice crisp finish. 

Lessons Learned:

1. I got very good efficiency on this batch.  Only time will tell if this is due to getting rid of the grain sack.\
2. Cleanup was still pretty easy without the grain sack as well.  Maybe easier even.
3. I ended up having a bottle shatter on me.  I used 11 bottles under the false bottom.  I think I'll continue with 10 bottles on the next batch