Colorado Kitchen Brew

It's been 20 (20???) years since my roommate and I brewed Gushing Geyser , but I can still recall a bit of what the original beer was like. So, does this new iteration taste like I remember? Pretty darn close. Out front on the nose, there's a nice light roasted note that's complemented by a caramel sweetness. The Willamette hops bring a nice earthy and floral note. The aroma reminds me of why I liked them so much 20 years ago. Overall bitterness is mild and very clean. If I recall correctly, the original beer had a slightly rustic (I swear that's a flavor) edge. The original beer utilized Bullion hops rather than Newport, which pretty much explains the difference. A medium-light body makes for easy drinking, while the moderate ABV makes it safe to have more than one. The beer does have a bit of what I've heard many homebrewers refer to as the"extract" taste. I can't completely describe the flavor, but I know it when I taste it. The closest I can

I finally hit the proverbial Weissbier nail on the head with my Winter Weizenbock . With the warmer months ahead, it's time to brew a less hefty version for both my Wedding and Summer imbibing. The new beer's grain bill is quite literally 75% of its Bock strength sibling's. The time consuming triple-decoction mash lives on, as does the yeast. I switched from Opal to Sybilla hops, simply because I had the later on hand. Here's the recipe for five gallons: Grains: 3.75 lbs Weyermann Light Munich 3 lbs Weyermann Pale Wheat 2.25 lbs Weyermann Dark Wheat 3 oz Weyermann Dehusked Carafa II Hops: 0.5 oz Sybilla (6.4% a.a.): 60 min Total Boil Time: 90 min Yeast: White Labs WLP300 - Hefeweizen Ale Yeast Mash Schedule: Acid Rest: 104F for 20 min Decoction 1:      Heat ~1/2 of mash to 155F and hold for 20 min      Heat Decoction to boiling and boil for 15 min Protein Rest: 125F for 20 min Decoction 2:      Heat ~1/2 of mash to 155F and hold for 20 min  

It's been nearly two years since I last wrote an "On the Road" post. However, my new gig has me traveling quite a bit. What better way to take advantage of my downtime than to visit breweries? First up on my travels is Los Gatos Brewing Company in San Jose, CA. To be honest, after a long day of traveling, just about any beer would have tasted good to me. I was in the mood for something light and refreshing, and Log Gatos' Kolsch did the trick. It wasn't the best example of the style I've ever had. It lacked the mild white wine quality you get from a good Kolsch yeast. There was definitely more a of a Blonde Ale vibe to my palate. Nonetheless, it did its job as a refresher. The Cask ESB was more true to style. It was served at a nice cellar temp, and carried light carbonation, plus an earthy black tea bite from the hops. If more radical beer is what you're in the mood for, this isn't the pub for you. Despite just two locations, Los Gatos has a

In keeping with the theme from the Twitter Bitter I brewed recently, below is a Session beer version of an American Porter. All of the Porter style points are hit, but with an alcohol content of around 4.5%. To make up for the beer's lack of heft, I've thrown in a bit of Dextrin Malt to compensate. This is the second beer for my Wedding in May. Hopefully it will please both my fiance and guests. The full 5-gallon brew is below: Grains: 5 lbs Great Western Premium 2-Row 1 lb Weyermann Light Munich 12 oz Great Western Crystal C60 8 oz Bairds Chocolate Malt 8 oz Briess Carapils 6 oz Bairds Black Malt Hops: 1 oz Glacier (5.6% a.a.): 60 min 1 oz Glacier (5.6% a.a.): 15 min Mash Schedule: Saccharification Rest: 152F for 60 min (No Black or Chocolate Malt) Mashout: 168F for 15 min (All Grains) Total Boil Time: 90 min Yeast: Safale US-05 Original Gravity: 1.047 Estimated Final Gravity: 1.011 IBU: 29 SRM Color: 28 Fermentation Schedule: 2 Weeks

Who says you can't have everything? Well, I'm doing just that by creating a beer that combines the best aspects of eight big beer styles: Quadrupel, Imperial Stout, Doppelbock, Barleywine, Weizenbock and Wee Heavy. But wait, there's more! The beer will be aged for year with everyone's favorite bacterias to make a Sour. On top of that, Sherry infused oak cubes will provide that little extra something. A massive grain-bill, plus a healthy dollop of Candi Sugar should push the alcohol content up over 11%. Compensating for the strength is a biting combination of Noble, English and American hops. A Decoction Mash gives the beer an extra bit of German character. Heavily caramelizing the First Runnings provides more depth of flavor than a standard boil. For that extra push over the cliff, 11 malts are working to make the beer one louder. I'm giving this one at least a year of fermentation before I even touch it. Here's the five gallon recipe: Grains: 4