Colorado Kitchen Brew

2013 was a good and busy year. I did a lot of new things that really expanded my brewing knowledge and techniques. Hopefully some of them helped people who've stumbled upon this site. I brewed my first SMaSH Beer, Sour and Wheatwine . New stove-top Mashing techniques were introduced. 2012 beers were revisited after time in the Cellar. Non-Alcoholic beer was also tackled. I even threw in a Clone for good measure. Oh, and I went auto racing , which has little to do with beer (or does it?), but it is my blog, so I can write about what I want to. That's a lot of ground covered in just one year. So where do I go from here? How do I keep things fresh? Thankfully, there are still lots of new things I want to try. More Sours are definitely in order, with a proper Lambic at the top of the list. With that in mind, Turbid Mashing will join my list of stove-top Mashing techniques. More wood aged beers are also in the pipeline. Since my desire to brew Big Beer has waned, ...

This year's Winter Warmer is ready just in time for the holidays. Rather than make 2012's beer again, I went with a Burton Ale. Let's see how things turned out.   T he beer pours with a slightly hazy mahogany hue. A dense nougat cap is slow to form, but generous once it gets going. Head retention is quite good and a nice amount of lace is left in the beer’s wake.   When I bottled this beer, it possessed a generous stone fruit aroma from the yeast. That fruitiness has dialed back a bit with some time conditioning in the bottle. Hops are now further out front with flowers and spice. A light roasted edge from the chocolate malt is also present. In the mouth, the beer starts out with a dry baking chocolate edge. The bitterness comes on quick with an earthy tea-like bite that’s not too heavy. While subtle, you can tell there’s molasses in my beer. It adds the light mineral profile I find desirable in this style. A touch of astringency shows up late. A body that’s not...

2013 My 2012 Quad is a year old and ready to revisit. Things have changed quite a bit in a year. A beer that leaned toward dark fruit flavors is now warm and very spicy. The yeast has taken over and really bumped up the coriander and pepper components. The prunes and raisins are still there, albeit subdued. There's also a light toffee note that I don't remember from last year. An alcohol warmth permeates the system and is a little more prevalent than before. 2012   The beer's body is still a little syrupy, but also extremely dry. A soft, yet vigorous carbonation lends a nice tingle on the tongue. A heavy sheet of lace follows in the beer's wake. I asked myself last year if a 12 week wait for the beer to finish was worth it. My answer was an emphatic yes. So, was waiting an extra 12 months also worth it? Absolutely.

I wasn't super-fond of my last Weizenbock , therefore it's time to try another. This time around I'm taking my Ein Heldenleben Dunkelweiss and turning it up a notch with greater doses of Munich and Wheat malts. To compensate for the extra heft, the hops have been dialed up just a bit. The yeast is the same strain as before. Having lost my mind, I did a Triple-Decoction Mash for this beer on my stove. I normally perform a Single-Decoction Mash , which is already time consuming, but I figured I might as well push the envelope. I'm hopeful that this beer will be Weizenbock Nirvana. Actually, I just want it to make those who drink it happy. Here's the five-gallon recipe: Grains: 5 lbs Weyermann Light Munich 4 lbs Weyermann Pale Wheat 3 lbs Weyermann Dark Wheat 4 oz Weyermann Duhusked Carafa II Hops: 0.8 oz Opal (6.3% a.a.): 60 min Total Boil Time: 90 min Yeast: White Labs WLP300 - Hefeweizen Ale Yeast Mash Schedule: Acid Rest: 104F for 20 mi...