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Sunday, December 30, 2018

Cherry Flanders Red - 2018 Blend

As I've done for the last couple years I'll be blending up a Cherry version of a Flanders Red style beer (links to my 2016 and 2017 beers).  Flanders Red, if you've never had one, is an acidic beer that has a slightly fruity character which is somewhat reminiscent of a red wine.  This fruit character often is similar to Cherry in flavor and aroma.  Given this it seems like a logical progression to age this style of beer with cherries - Rodenbach Alexander is the famous example of this.

I have been aging my beers on Sour Pie Cherries (Montmorency) which I've been able to pick from a local orchard in the Summer (Highland Orchards).  This year I got 28 lbs in two picking sessions - these have been frozen to help extract the juice more easily.  I will split these evenly between this beer and a Sour blond I'll blend up in mid-2019.  This will get me a couple extra lbs of fruit over what I got last year.  The sour cherries are fairly light in color and taste a bit different than sweet cherries.  To get a bit more cherry flavor I have been adding some black cherry juice to the blend as well.  Last year I used 1 quart.  This year I'm going to try 2 quarts.  I was happy with the level of cherry flavor last year (see tasting notes) but I think more would be nice.


I'll be blending up five gallons of Flanders Red beer for this batch using the 12 fermenters of beer that I've accumulated over the last 4 years.  I will primarily use the more mild flavored beers for the blend as the cherries will bring a lot of sourness and complexity.

I have chosen the following beers (based on my 2018 sampling):

  • Fermenter #1:
    • Tasting Notes:
      • Aroma:  Earthy and overripe fruit aroma
      • Appearance:  Dark orange and very clear
      • Flavor:  Medium sourness with a light fruity flavor.  Also get a bit of mineral flavor in the finish.  Maybe a bit of earthy brett character in there too.  
      • Mouthfeel:  The acidity has a fairly strong prickliness that hits the back of the throat.
      • Overall:  Mild flavors with fair bit of complexity.
    • Volume:
      • 1 gal
  • Fermenter #2:
    • Tasting Notes:
      • Aroma:  Rich earthy aroma with a bit of fruit
      • Appearance:  Brownish red with quite a bit of particulate in suspension
      • Flavor:  Medium sourness with a pretty strong earthy brett flavor comes through in the finish.  Not much fruit in the flavor.
      • Mouthfeel:  This one is fairly smooth - only a slight bit of prickliness
      • Overall:  Has a bold brett character but not much else going on which would lend complexity.
    • Volume:
      • 1 gal
  • Fermenter #6:
    • Tasting Notes:
      • Aroma:  Earthy funk and overripe fruit.  Fairly pungent
      • Appearance:  Red and very clear
      • Flavor:  Lightly sour with fruit and earthy and leathery brett character.  Fruit lingers into the finish nicely
      • Mouthfeel:  Pretty smooth drinking - only a slight prickle
      • Overall:  Pretty boldly flavored with a nice complexity
    • Volume:
      • 1 gal
  • Fermenter #8:
    • Tasting Notes:
      • Aroma:  Earthy brett along with a vanilla oak aroma
      • Appearance:  Dark red with a bit of a haze
      • Flavor:  Slightly sour with a bit of earthy funk.  Malt comes through on the finish nicely.
      • Mouthfeel:  Slightly prickly acidity.  Silky feel that gives the impression of being medium bodied.
      • Overall:  Pretty boldly flavored with a nice complexity
    • Volume:
      • 1 gal
  • Fermenter #9:
    • Tasting Notes:
      • Aroma:  Rich fruit aroma with a bit of earthy and leathery brett character.  A bit of a mineral aroma
      • Appearance:  Dark orange with a slight haze
      • Flavor:  Very lightly sour.  Has a bit of a band aid like brett character
      • Mouthfeel:  Slight prickling in the palate
      • Overall:  Pretty mild flavor and not very complex
    • Volume:
      • 1 gal

I'll age this beer for 3-6 months on the cherries.  Like last time, I will backsweeten with dark invert syrup which I think helps the balance of the beer a bit - will bottle pasteurize using a hot water bath once proper carbonation levels have been reached.

I am making 4 blends this year (Plain, Raspberry, and a Spiced version).  Will try different blends for all 4.

Blending Notes:
  • 12/13/18:
    • Transferred the 5 beers into a bucket fermenter
    • Added frozen cherries
    • Added cherry juice
    • This brought the level of the beer up to lid height
    • Setup the fermenter with a three piece airlock.  I image some beer will be pushed up into the airlock during the secondary fermentation
  • 2/16/19 - This beer has kicked up a very active fermentation after a month.  Beer has been forced up the airlock and onto the lid

  • 8/4/19 - Bottled today
    • Made some Invert #2 for back sweetening.  Mixed 2 lb of table sugar with 1/4 tsp of citric acid and 2 cups of water on medium low until the mixture reached about 260 F.  Had a nice raisin-like flavor at this temperature and was a dark gold color.  Added 2 cups of boiling water to the mix to get it a bit more fluid as, after cooling, it was very thick.
    • Rehydrated a packet of Red Star Red wine yeast in a cup of 100 F water for 60 min.  Some foam formed on the surface at this point which gave me confident
    • Transferred the beer off the cherries into the fermenter and added the sugar and yeast during the process.  Stirred well at the end of the transfer.  Also stirred frequently during bottling
    • Ended up with a bit over 6 gal of beer which got me 63 bottles. 

  • 8/13/19 - The beers have carbonated up to a nice level so I pasteurized in a 150 F water bath for about 30 min
  • 4/19/20 - Tasting Notes - A really nicely flavored and pretty complex beer.  I think the balance of the finish between the acidity and slight sweetness is quite nice - really easy to drink.  Cherries are definitely the star of the show (as expected) but the base beer comes through enough to have a meaningful contribution.
  • 6/26/20 - 2020 Vertical Tasting:
    • Aroma:  Fairly bright candy cherry aroma along with earthy and musty Brett.  Some caramel comes through as well.  Some vinegar mixed in too.
    • Appearance:  Poured with thick head which faded down to a think layer over the next minute.  Reddish brown and quite murky as the over carbonated bottle churned up the dregs
    • Flavor:  Rich cherry flavor hits up front and lingers into the finish.  Medium acidity kicks in after the first wave of cherry and compliments it nicely - this also lingers into the finish.  Slight sweetness int eh swallow combats the acidity.  Finish is rich with mineral, earthy Brett, and maybe some malt
    • Mouthfeel:  Medium-light bodied and pretty dry.  Very smooth drinking
    • Overall:  Rich and flavorful beer.  Cherries are the center of attention here but a bunch of other stuff is going on as well.  The acidity on this one is very nice - really makes you want another sip.
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Saturday, December 29, 2018

Flanders Red - 2018 Blend

Time to blend up my third attempt at a Flanders Red style beer (click to read about my first and second attempts).

Flanders Red is my favorite style of beer and I've taken on large project with 12 simultaneous batches to give myself some interesting blending options.  My recent tasting of these 12 beers will form the basis of this blending session.  For this plain blend I'm going to choose my most boldly flavored and complex beers and will shoot for a medium level of sourness.

I will go with the following in order to get 6 gal of beer:
  • Fermenter #3:
    • Tasting Notes:
      • Aroma:  Sweet dark fruit and a bit of earthy funk
      • Appearance:  Dark red and pretty clear.  A bit of floating pellicle chunk
      • Flavor:  Light sourness followed by a light overripe fruit flavor.  The finish has a bit of earthy brett character which balances things nicely.  The finish also may have a hint of a chocolate like flavor mixed in.
      • Mouthfeel:  Fairly smooth drinking
      • Overall:  Flavors are pronounced and there is a great deal of complexity to this beer.
    • Volume:
      • 2 gal
  • Fermenter #4:
    • Tasting Notes:
      • Aroma:  Fruity with a bit of earthy brett character.  Also has a mineral aroma
      • Appearance:  Brownish red and pretty clear
      • Flavor:  Very light sourness.  Has a yogurt like lacto character.  The finish has an interesting funky, fruity and earthy flavor
      • Mouthfeel:  More substantial than I'd expect from one of these beers - Medium bodied.
      • Overall:  Medium level of flavor but has a nice variety of things going on that give it a good amount of complexity
    • Volume:
      • 1 gal
  • Fermenter #7:
    • Tasting Notes:
      • Aroma:  Fruity with some earthy and leathery funk
      • Appearance: Dark orange and clear
      • Flavor:  Medium sourness with a really lovely fruity flavor (tropical fruit kind of flavor).  Earthy brett and some malt come through in the finish
      • Mouthfeel:  Pretty smooth - slight pickling of acidity
      • Overall:  Has a bold and very pleasant flavor along with some nice complexity.  This is one of the best.
    • Volume:
      • 2 gal
  • Fermenter 11:
    • Tasting Notes:
      • Aroma:  Fruity with a slight earthy brett character.  Also get a wine like aroma
      • Appearance:  Dark Orange and pretty clear
      • Flavor:  No sourness has developed.  Has a bit of a bitter flavor in the finish which I think is Brett - kind of like the bitterness from a grapefruit or pineapple.  Has a fairly pungent overripe fruit flavor as well
      • Mouthfeel:  Medium bodied and pretty smooth
      • Overall:  Pretty bold flavors and pretty complex.  Has come interesting things going on that none of the other beers do.  I think this will make an interesting blending component
    • Volume:
      • 1 gal
I'll be making 3 other batches this year (Cherry, Raspberry, and a Spiced Version).  I'm thinking I'd like to use at least a couple gal out of each of my 12 fermenters and not drain any of the fermenters completely.  I'll top all the fermenters off with some fresh beer which will hopefully give the microbes enough food to live another year.  Also hoping that the best tasting fermenters maintain their good flavors this way.

Like last time I'll plan to backsweeten the beer to ~1.012 and then bottle pasteurize once it has carbonated.  I think the bit of sweetness really helped to balance the beer.

I'll give this plain batch at least 3 months for the flavors to meld prior to bottling.


Blending Notes:
  • 12/29/18:
    • Siphoned the 4 beers into a bucket fermenter in the ratios decided upon above
    • Set it up with a vented silicone bung
  • 7/14/19 - Bottling day:
    • Made 2 lbs of invert #2 syrup using table sugar.  I did this my mixing the sugar with 1/4 tsp of citric acid and 2 cups of water and heating on medium low until it reached 260 F and was a golden color
    • Added sugar and 1 pack of rehydraded red wine yeast from red star.  Stirred this all together for a couple minutes to try to ensure an even mixture.
    • Ended up with about 6 gal of beer which netted me 61 bottles
    • I will let these carbonate for a few days before checking the first one.
  • 7/22/19 - I've been trying these every couple days.  They've gotten nicely carbonated after 8 days.  Still sweet but pour with a finger or two of head.  Bottle pasteurized in a 145 F water bath for 20 min.  No breakage this time.
  • 3/28/20 - Tasting Notes - Flanders Red is a wonderful style of beer and I would say this is a pretty good one.  This is a complex and boldly flavored beer that is also quite refreshing.  I think the level of sweetness remaining after the pasteurization is very nice - really helps the balance a lot.  I haven't had Rodenbach Grand Cru in a while but I believe this beer is quite close to matching it's quality.
  • 6/26/20 - 2020 Vertical Tasting:
    • Aroma:  Fruity with earthy and leathery Brett character.  May get a bit of vanilla oak character as well.
    • Appearance:  Reddish brown and fairly clear.  Poured with a thin layer of foam that was gone quickly
    • Flavor:  Fruity character up front - cherry.  This smoothly blends into the acidity and carries into the finish nicely.  Has a slight sweetness that balances the acidity into the finish.  Has a bit of caramel mixed in.  A bit of Brett character rounds out the finish as well.  Maybe a bit of bready malt in there too.
    • Mouthfeel:  Medium-light bodied and slightly sweet.  Pretty smooth drinking with only a faint prickling
    • Overall:  Bold flavors and complex.  Has a very nice fruity character and a lovely sweet and sour balance

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Saturday, December 15, 2018

Flanders Red Status Report - 2018

Brewing a Flanders Red of the quality of the Belgian brewers of the style has been an obsession of mine for the last 4 years.  I have been aging 12-15 fermenters worth of this beer over that time in order to accumulate enough interesting blending ingredients to hopefully accomplish that goal.

This post will detail my current assessment of the quality of my Flanders Red stockpile (12 fermenters currently) which will aid in my latest blending session (you can read about my 2017 status report here).


I plan to make 4 blends of beer this year:  Plain, Cherry, Raspberry, and Spiced (I made Plain, Cherry, and Raspberry blends last year)

Many of my beers have used the Wyeast Roeselare Blend which was an attempt to replicate the microbes used to make the Famous Rodenbach Flanders Red beer.  I've used it to ferment 7 beers so far.  It produces some very good beer.  This culture hadn't shown any signs of producing bad flavors as of the last time I checked.

Additionally, I have batches going with Yeast Bay Mélange, a culture I built up from Rodenbach's unpasteurized and unfiltered Foederbier, a culture built from dregs of Russian River, Lost Abbey, and Jolly Pumpkin Sour beers, and East Coast Yeast's Flemish Ale Blend.  I'm hoping these beers provide some pleasant flavors and will give me some additional bio-diversity.


Fermenter #1

      • Aroma:  Earthy and overripe fruit aroma
      • Appearance:  Dark orange and very clear
      • Flavor:  Medium sourness with a light fruity flavor.  Also get a bit of mineral flavor in the finish.  Maybe a bit of earthy brett character in there too.  
      • Mouthfeel:  The acidity has a fairly strong prickliness that hits the back of the throat.
      • Overall:  Mild flavors with fair bit of complexity.

Fermenter #2

  • Beers:
  • Overview
    • Glass Carboy
    • Brewed with a Third Pitch of Roeselare Blend
    • Grain bills was a blend of Pilsner, Munich, and Vienna base malt and then CaraMunich, Aromatic, and Special B specialty malt
    • This batch was an experiment with Flanders Red 1.3.2 to determine if what kind of difference doing a primary with a Belgian Abby yeast would have on the flavor.  The brewers yeast took the beer down to 1.006.  Still managed to get pretty sour (seemed more sour than 1.3.2 at my 2017 tasting)
  • Status Notes:
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Aroma:  Rich earthy aroma with a bit of fruit
    • Appearance:  Brownish red with quite a bit of particulate in suspension
    • Flavor:  Medium sourness with a pretty strong earthy brett flavor comes through in the finish.  Not much fruit in the flavor.
    • Mouthfeel:  This one is fairly smooth - only a slight bit of prickliness
    • Overall:  Has a bold brett character but not much else going on which would lend complexity.

Fermenter #3

    • Aroma:  Sweet dark fruit and a bit of earthy funk
    • Appearance:  Dark red and pretty clear.  A bit of floating pellicle chunk
    • Flavor:  Light sourness followed by a light overripe fruit flavor.  The finish has a bit of earthy brett character which balances things nicely.  The finish also may have a hint of a chocolate like flavor mixed in.
    • Mouthfeel:  Fairly smooth drinking
    • Overall:  Flavors are pronounced and there is a great deal of complexity to this beer.

Fermenter #4:

  • Beers:
  • Overview:
    • Glass Carboy
    • Batch brewed with Yeast Bay's Mélange blend - this was the first pitch
    • I did a cereal Mash with Corn Grits for this one
    • Swapped out my typical base malts for 2 row and added Victory in addition to there base malts in an attempt to compensate for this
  • Status Notes:
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Aroma:  Fruity with a bit of earthy brett character.  Also has a mineral aroma
    • Appearance:  Brownish red and pretty clear
    • Flavor:  Very light sourness.  Has a yogurt like lacto character.  The finish has an interesting funky, fruity and earthy flavor
    • Mouthfeel:  More substantial than I'd expect from one of these beers - Medium bodied.
    • Overall:  Medium level of flavor but has a nice variety of things going on that give it a good amount of complexity

Fermenter #5:

  • Beers:
  • Overview:
    • Glass Carboy
    • Batch brewed with fifth pitch of Roeselare Blend.  I primary fermented it with a Belgian Abby yeast and Lacto (a blend I'm still using). 
    • Cereal mashed with Corn Grits
    • Changed base malt to 2 row plus some Dark Munich to try to adjust color
    • Used Maltodextrine on this beer
    • Started to reduce the OG on the beers at around this time to lower the ABV
  • Status Notes:
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Aroma:  Earthy and leathery brett character most prominent.  A bit of fruit
    • Appearance:  Orangish red and very clear
    • Flavor:  Lightly sour with a citrus quality.  Very mild brett character as well.  Maybe a bit of mineral flavor in the finish.
    • Mouthfeel:  Has a bit of a sharp twang that hits the back of the throat
    • Overall:  Mild flavored and not very complex

Fermenter #6:

    • Aroma:  Earthy funk and overripe fruit.  Fairly pungent
    • Appearance:  Red and very clear
    • Flavor:  Lightly sour with fruit and earthy and leathery brett character.  Fruit lingers into the finish nicely
    • Mouthfeel:  Pretty smooth drinking - only a slight prickle
    • Overall:  Pretty boldly flavored with a nice complexity

Fermenter #7

  • Beers:
  • Overview:
    • Bucket Fermenter
    • Fermented with sixth pitch of Roeselare blend
    • Malt bill included Maris Otter and a cereal mash with Corn grits
    • Included maltodextrine
    • This was a split batch with Flanders Red 1.6.1b to experiment with aging on the yeast cake where part "a" got 3 months on the yeast cake and part "b" was aged on it the whole time.  The two beers ended up fairly different at the 2017 tasting
  • Status Notes:
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Aroma:  Fruity with some earthy and leathery funk
    • Appearance: Dark orange and clear
    • Flavor:  Medium sourness with a really lovely fruity flavor (tropical fruit kind of flavor).  Earthy brett and some malt come through in the finish
    • Mouthfeel:  Pretty smooth - slight pickling of acidity
    • Overall:  Has a bold and very pleasant flavor along with some nice complexity.  This is one of the best.

Fermenter #8

  • Beers:
  • Overview:
    • Bucket Fermenter
    • Fermenter is a mix of Wyeast Roeselare and culture made from Rodenbach Foederbier
    • I used these two beers in my 2017 Raspberry Flanders Red and then blend the remainder of each together in this fermenter
    • Beers were made using very similar malt bills:  marris otter at the primary base malt, Maltodextrine for added carbohydrates for the long aging, and a cereal mash with corn grits
    • Beers have been aging with 1 oz of oak which I'd soaked in Cabernet Sauvignon for about a year
  • Status Notes:
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Aroma:  Earthy brett along with a vanilla oak aroma
    • Appearance:  Dark red with a bit of a haze
    • Flavor:  Slightly sour with a bit of earthy funk.  Malt comes through on the finish nicely.
    • Mouthfeel:  Slightly prickly acidity.  Silky feel that gives the impression of being medium bodied.
    • Overall:  Pretty boldly flavored with a nice complexity

Fermenter #9

  • Beers:
  • Overview:
    • Bucket Fermenter
    • Fermented using Rodenbach Foederbier I propagated
    • Grainbill with Maris Otter as the base and Corn Grit cereal mash to increase the starch
    • Also included Maltodextrine to give the Brett more to chew on during the long aging
    • At the 2017 tasting I did not get much of the Rodenbach Character from the beer.  Who knows what I've actually cultured here.  Will be interesting to see what has developed in the last year and a half.
  • Status Notes:
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Aroma:  Rich fruit aroma with a bit of earthy and leathery brett character.  A bit of a mineral aroma
    • Appearance:  Dark orange with a slight haze
    • Flavor:  Very lightly sour.  Has a bit of a band aid like brett character
    • Mouthfeel:  Slight prickling in the palate
    • Overall:  Pretty mild flavor and not very complex

Fermenter #10

  • Beers:
  • Overview:
    • Bucket Fermenter
    • Brewed with a mix of Jolly Pumpkin, Lost Abby, and Russian River dregs.  
    • Primary fermented with my blend of Belgian yeast and Lacto
    • Grainbill with Maris Otter as the base and Corn Grit cereal mash to increase the starch
    • Also included Maltodextrine to give the Brett more to chew on during the long aging
    • Beer was interesting in last years tasting but opted to give it another year to develop
  • Status Notes:
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Aroma:  Fruity with some leathery funk
    • Appearance:  Orange and slightly hazy
    • Flavor:  Lightly sour with a lot of brett character - this is earthy and leathery with a slight band aid flavor
    • Mouthfeel:  Slight prickling
    • Overall:  Bold flavors with a lot going on.  Wouldn't want to drink a whole glass of this but could add some nice complexity to one of the blander beers.

Fermenter #11:

  • Beers:
  • Overview:
    • Bucket Fermenter
    • Brewed with East Coast Yeast's Flemish Ale Blend
    • Standard Malt bill with corn grit cereal mash and maltodextrine
    • This beer was actually very boring at the 2017 tasting (after a year of aging).
  • Status Notes:
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Aroma:  Fruity with a slight earthy brett character.  Also get a wine like aroma
    • Appearance:  Dark Orange and pretty clear
    • Flavor:  No sourness has developed.  Has a bit of a bitter flavor in the finish which I think is Brett - kind of like the bitterness from a grapefruit or pineapple.  Has a fairly pungent overripe fruit flavor as well
    • Mouthfeel:  Medium bodied and pretty smooth
    • Overall:  Pretty bold flavors and pretty complex.  Has come interesting things going on that none of the other beers do.  I think this will make an interesting blending component

Fermenter #12:

  • Beers:
  • Overview:
    • Bucket Fermenter
    • Seventh (and most recent) Pitch of Roeselare blend
    • Primary fermented the beer with my Belgian Yeast and Lacto blend
    • Standard Malt bill with corn grit cereal mash and maltodextrine
  • Status Notes:
    • 1/1/19 - Used 2 gal of this beer on my Spiced Flanders Red
    • 2/10/19 - Transferred 1 gal into Fermenter #4 and 1 gal into Fermenter #6.  This left 1.5 gal of beer and yeast cake in Fermenter #12.  Topped this off with Flanders Red 1.8.1
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Aroma:  Earthy and leathery brett character along with some fruit.  May get a bit of acetic acid from it as well
    • Appearance:  Dark Orange/Red and pretty clear
    • Flavor:  Slightly sour and very fruity.  Has a slight funk in the finish along with some bready malt.  Maybe a slight vinegar in the flavor as well.
    • Mouthfeel:  Slight prickling 
    • Overall:  Really bold flavor in this one with really nice complexity.  This one is really lovely - best of the bunch this time.
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Friday, December 7, 2018

Hard Apple Cider Take II

This will be my second attempt at a hard apple cider after first brewing one in September 2015.  I made a 5 gal batch which I split into a dry half and a backsweetened half.  I backsweetend with cider and then pasteurized the bottles in a pot of hot water once they were carbonated nice.  I still have a few bottles left and it's held up well.

I preferred the sweetened half of the batch.  The plain was nice but seemed a bit more like a white wine than a cider.  For this batch I'll be doing 10 gal with half aged on 12 lbs of homegrown raspberries and then I will backsweeten both halves with 1 gal of cider each.

Last time I used a cider yeast.  The plain half ended up developing a significant sulfur aroma after bottle conditioning which took a few months to fade.  With the idea of maybe avoiding that this time I have opted to use an English Ale yeast - I went with Danstar Windsor dry ale yeast.  I'll be fermenting at basement temps (low 60s) which I would think would limit the amount of ester that the yeast would create.

I plan to let both of these ferment for a few weeks and then I'll cold crash and fine both.  I'll then bottle the plain half.  The raspberry half will get some campden tablets to knock out the yeast prior to the raspberries to try to preserve more of the raspberry sweetness.  I'll age this for a few more weeks at a cold temperature prior to backsweetening and bottling.


Like last time I'll be using a Cider from Weaver's Orchard which is an hr East from me in Morgantown PA.  Their Cider has a nice tartness which balances the sweetness well when unfermented and which gives the hard cider nice complexity.  Their cider is pasteurized using UV light rather than any chemical which is nice for fermentation.  You also get a good discount when buying in bulk.

Recipe Details:
  • Apples/Juice:
    • 12 gal of Weaver's Orchard Sweet Apple Cider
  • Yeast:
    • Danstar Windsor Ale Yeast
  • Extras:
    • 1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
    • 5 tsp Pectic Enzime
    • 12 lbs of Raspberry


Process Details:
  • Batch Size:
    • 12 gal
  • Fermentation Temperature:
    • Ambient Basement Temps (low 60s)
  • Primary Duration:
    • 4 Weeks
  • Secondary Duration:
    • 3-4 Weeks for Raspberry half


Results:
  • OG:
    • 1.040
  • FG:
    • 0.992
  • Apparent Attenuation:
    • 100%
  • ABV:
    • 6.3%


Brewday Notes:
  • 12/2/18 - Brewday
    • Put the Pectic Enzyme and yeast nutrient into the brew buckets
    • Added 1 gal of cider to each and swirled to blend in
    • Added remaining 4 gal of juice to each.  Poured it from a  couple feet up to aerate
    • Let this sit for 30 min to let the pectic enzyme to take action
    • Rehydrated dry yeast in a cup of 105 F spring water
    • Pitched half the yeast in each bucket
    • Froze 2 gal of cider to be used for back sweetening
    • Left to ferment at basement temperature (low 60s)
  • 12/3/18 - No airlock activity yet
  • 12/4/18 - Airlock is bubbling vigorously
  • 12/5/18 - Airlock still bubbling and fermenting cider putting off a sulfur aroma
  • 3/17/19 - Bottled the plain half today with 1 gal of Cider to backsweeten.  Measured gravity of the fermented portion as 0.992.  The cider has a slight surfer aroma and had a mild apple flavor.  I got 21 16 oz bottles and 29 12 oz bottles out of the ~6 gal of cider.  I'll open one every few days to gauge the carbonation development.  They'll condition in my ~60 F basement.  Once ready I'll bottle pasteurize.
  • 3/29/19 - Blended the other half with 12 lbs of raspberries.  Added two campden tablets to try to stop any further fermentation.  Moved this to the chest freezer at 40 F to mix.

  • 4/7/19 - Pasteurized the bottles of plain cider in a 150 F water bath for 20 min.  They were only lightly carbonated but I was worried that I'd lose the small amount of remaining sweetness if I let them go any longer.  I think 2 gal of fresh cider rather than 1 gal would have been a better call.
  • 4/23/19 - Bottled the Raspberry half with 1 gal of unfermented cider and a packet of the Red Wine version of Red Star yeast.  The gravity with the Fermented Cider and Raspberries (but not unfermented cider) was 1.006.  This is a good 14 points higher than the plain cider which makes me happy (cold crashing and hitting it with campden tablets seem to have halted fermentation as desired).  The cider is fairly mild flavored which allows the raspberries to come through very nicely in flavor and aroma.  Ended up with 6 gal which netted me 60 bottles.  I will check on these over the next week and cold crash when carbonation levels are right.
  • 4/27/19 - The raspberry cider is still sweet but getting to be nicely carbonated.  I pasteurized today in a 150 F water bath for 20 min.  I walked away withe heat on and came back a few minutes later to exploding bottles.  I lost 6-8 bottles - now have 49 of the original 60 (I think I had 5 or 6 samples this week to test the carbonation
  • 11/8/19 - Tasting Notes:
    • Plain:  A light and refreshing drink - pretty easy to consume a few of these as dry as they came out.  The flavors are pretty mild overall and it isn't as apply or as complex as I would have liked.
    • Raspberry:  I think the raspberries are a really nice addition.  They don't overwhelm the cider at this level of usage certainly but they add another dimension which increases the interest in drinking it a bit.  Still a pretty mild drink overall though


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Friday, November 30, 2018

American Brown Ale - Tasting Notes

This is my first attempt at an American Brown Ale which seems to essentially be a slightly more malty version of the American Pale Ale.  This beer was very hoppy a month ago but has mellowed a bit.  I used a friends home grown Cascades for this batch for a heavy dry hop.  His plants produce a pleasant spicy and herbal aroma which make for a nice beer.

This was the product of a pretty crappy brew day back in September (notes here).  I spilled about a gallon of mash water and opted to add some grain to have so hope of hitting the desired OG.  It turned out I overshot the OG actually.  I think the beer turned out very nicely despite the brew day problems.

I don't drink commercial beer very often as a home brewer.  I haven't actually had many beers of this style and haven't had one for quite some time (Moose Drool maybe 8 years ago).  I have to say I find it pretty pleasant.  The slightly toasty malt makes for an interesting flavor profile.  This is a style I will revisit.


Tasting Notes:

  • Aroma:
    • Has a herbal and slightly grassy hop aroma.  I also get a slight bit of malt character in the background
  • Appearance:
    • Dark brown and very clear when held up to the light.  Pours with a 3 finger head on an aggressive pour.  The foam lingers for most of the glass.  Leaves lacing.
  • Flavor:
    • A bit of toasted bread-like malt flavor up from followed a little bit of hop flavor (I would say herbal and a slight citrus note which has faded as the beer aged).  The finish has a mild bitterness which is balanced by a bit of sweet malt/caramel flavor.  I get bit of alcohol flavor in the finish.  No yeast character.
  • Mouthfeel:
    • Medium-light bodied.  Very slightly sweet and pretty smooth drinking (no astringency).
  • Overall:
    • This is an easy drinking and nicely balanced beer.  It has enough going on to be interesting even thought the flavoring hops have mostly gone.  I think the 16+ oz Russian River bottles I used for this were a good choice.  It has a low enough ABV (5.78%) where that much beer doesn't really effect me and that bit of extra beer over the 12 oz bottles makes for a slightly more satisfying first beer of the day.
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Saturday, November 3, 2018

Belgian Tripel - Tasting Notes

I brewed up this beer back in July based on a clone of Tripel Karmeliet.  It is an interesting recipe for a Belgian Tripel as it leverages spices in addition to an expressive Belgian yeast to amp up the spicy character (Star Anise, Coriander, and Orange Peal).

It was a smooth brewday and I gave the beer a long time to complete fermentation and then cold crash (largely due to business/lazyness).  Ended up giving it more than 3 week at 34 F (2 of which were after fining).  It came out as probably the clearest beers I've made with almost no sediment in the bottle which is quite nice - still carbed up very nicely though.


Tasting Notes:

  • Aroma:
    • Fruity yeast ester and spiciness come through most prominently.  They are well integrated and, aside from being able to pick out the star anise, it's not obvious the beer was spiced at all.  No obvious hop aroma and a very slight bit of malt comes through.
  • Appearance:
    • Gold and very clear.  Pours with a 3 finger head that settles down to a finger and lingers for at least 5 min.
  • Flavor:
    • Spicy and fruity flavors dominate.  The fruit is somewhat raisin like maybe.  Get a hint of orange (this was more prominent when it was fresher).  The finish has a mild hop bitterness with a bit of bready malt.  No alcohol comes through in the flavor.
  • Mouthfeel:
    • Medium-light bodied and slightly sweet.  It is a very smooth drinking beer.
  • Overall:
    • A very complex and interesting beer.  Hides it's 8.6% ABV very well which is pretty typical of the style.  I haven't tried this side by side with Tripel Karmeliet yet but I believe it should be very close.
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Saturday, October 27, 2018

Flanders Red Top Up Batch (2018)

This batch is being made in preparation for my 2018 Flanders Red blending session.  I will use this 12 gal of beer to top up my 12 fermenters to get back to between 5-6 gal in each.  I'll do another 6 gal before the blending session to top up my four year old Roeselare Ale Blend yeast cake (will be 1.8.1).

The beer is very similar to many of my previous batches:

  • Will use the blend of Belgian Abby yeast and Lacto Brevis for primary I've been re-pitching on for the last couple years
  • Similar grainbill with Aromatic, CaraMunich III, and Special B which give the beer a nice dark red color
  • Corn for some extra body (flaked corn this time rather than corn grits)
One difference this time is that I am using about 16 IBU of hops to bitter this batch.  I'm hoping this will somewhat slow the lacto in the blend as the beers are coming out a bit more acidic than is ideal




Recipe Details:
  • Grain:
    • 8 lb Pilsner
    • 6 lb Munich
    • 3 lb Flaked Corn
    • 1.75 lb Aromatic Malt
    • 1.75 lb CaraMunich III
    • 1.75 lb Special B
    • 4 oz Acid Malt
  • Hops:
    • Hallertau (Pellet, 3.8% AA) at 60 min
  • Yeast:
    • Blend of Belgian Abby yeast and Lacto Brevis (Re-pitch)
  • Water:
    • 9 gal spring water
    • 6 gal tap water
    • 2 oz CaCl
    • 2 oz Gypsum
    • 1 oz Irish Moss

Process Details:
  • Batch Size:
    • 12 gal
  • Mash:
    • 158 F for 60 min
  • Boil:
    • 60 min
  • Fermentation Temperature:
    • 75 F
  • Primary Duration:
    • 4 weeks
  • Secondary Duration:
    • 1-3 years

Results:
  • OG:
    • 1.050 (Target 1.045)
  • Efficiency:
    • 75% (Target 68%)
  • FG:
    • TBD (Target 1.000)
  • Apparent Attenuation:
    • TBD (Target 100%)
  • ABV:
    • TBD (Target 5.91%)

Brewing Notes:
  • 10/21/18 - Brewday - From 11:45 AM to 4:15 PM - Including Setup and Cleanup
    • Moved two jars of my yeast/lacto blend out of the fridge to warm up
    • Heated 6 gal of spring water up to 180 F
    • Milled my grain - added brewing salts to the grain so I wouldn't forget
    • Moved 7 gal of water to the mash tun.  Cycled through the grant and RIMs until the system was at 170 F.
    • Added the grain and stirred in well to eliminate doughballs
    • Cycled the RIMS at 160 F.  The temperature at the bottom of the mash tun fell to 150 F but slowly rose up to the target 158 F over the course of the mash
Recirculation Device
    • Mashed for 60 min
    • Heated 10 gal of sparge water up to 180 F
    • Fly sparged until I'd collected 12 gal
    • Started heating to wort after collecting 4 gal.  Had it to a boil by the end of the sparge
    • Added hops as soon as the hot break cleared
    • Had to change the propane tank half way through the boil
    • Added Irish Moss with 15 min left
    • Added the wort chiller at the end of the boil and let the wort get back to a boil
    • Chilled down to 100 F
    • Mixed my two jars of yeast
    • Transferred the beer into two bucket fermenters.  Got about 6 gal in each.  Pitched half the yeast into each during the transfer
    • Measured the gravity as 1.050
    • Moved the beer to the chest freezer to chill down to 75 F
  • 10/22/18 - The beer was bubbling aggressively by the next morning
  • 1/1/19 - Measured the gravity as 1.002.  The beer is lightly sour and pretty mild in flavor.  Used this to top off 6 of the Flanders red fermenters today.

  • 1/19/19 - Used the remaining half to top up some other Flanders Red fermenters.  This beer had also fermented down to near 1.000 and was pretty mild in flavor.


Lesson Learned:
  1. The yeast didn't seem too strong coming out of the fridge after probably close to a year but they really hit the ground running as evidenced by the quick start to fermentation.  I had started to wonder if I was making a mistake not building a started for these but it seems that I needn't fret much about this yeast cake (Had about 5 cups of slurry between the two batches).
  2. 12 gal of beer produced in 4.5 hrs is pretty darn good.

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