Miscellaneous Musings: Thoughts for 2015

2014 turned into quite the year of transition for me. I went from brewing two times a month to around once every two months. Because of that, my blog has been rather thin since May.

That said, I feel I covered some pretty decent ground. The kind folks at Deschutes sent me a bottle opener and a knit cap for my Red Chair clone, which means I must be doing something right. I also had great fun with my Wood Aged Beer adventure. My first Sour emerged too.

I realized a while back that the internet is awash in homebrewing websites. With that in mind, much of my effort has gone toward material for my nascent (and not quite ready for prime time) Buzz Free Brewer blog. Over there will eventually be a lot of material on non-alcoholic beer that you'll be hard pressed to find on other brewing blogs.

This site will live on, however. I have quite the backlog of obscure beer styles to brew and generally off the wall experiments. This site is the perfect space for them.

Happy 2015 everyone.

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In the Fermentor: Bohemian Kölsch

Being a brewer on a budget, I don't have an extra fridge to lager in. That poses a bit of a problem, because I love a good Pilsener on a hot Summer day. To my palate, the closest style to Pilsener in the ale department is a German Kölsch . To that end, I've wedded a Bohemian Pilsener influenced recipe with a Kölsch yeast strain to create my Bohemian Kölsch pseudo-lager. I realize that the finished product won't be as clean, crisp and clear as a traditional Pils, but I'm hoping to come close. I want a full five gallons of this beer. Since my kitchen setup isn't conducive to five gallon all-grain batches, I've taken the partial-mash approach. I've also thrown in a bit of Irish Moss toward the end of the boil to help with clarity. Here's the five-gallon recipe: Grains: 3.5 lbs German Pilsener 8 oz Munich 8 oz Crystal 10L 4 oz CaraPils Hops: 1 oz Saaz: First Wort Hopping 0.5 oz Merkur: 60 min 1 oz Saaz: 7 min Extras: 3 lbs Pilsen ...

Out of the Bottle: Porter vs Porter

My Beer My attempt to clone Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is ready to pour. For a change of pace, I've picked up a 4-pack of the real deal to compare and contrast against my efforts. Since I'm not exactly an impartial judge, my girlfriend agreed to blind taste test the two beers side by side in identical, unmarked glasses. I've mixed her notes in with mine. First off, I must say that the beers look remarkably similar. Taddy pours with a slightly larger head, but the beers share the same deep garnet hue. Mine has a bit more carbonation going on. Both beers have good head retention and leave some lace behind. My girlfriend's first comment was that my beer was very similar, but finished quicker than the Samuel Smith. She also noted that the Samuel Smith is slightly more bitter, with more depth of flavor. The first thing I noticed was that my beer has a more roasted edge and is a bit nuttier. It also lacks the unique dark fruit esters that I sense in all of the Samuel...

In the Fermentor: Grodziskie

I'd never even heard of Poland's Grodziskie, until I read about it in a Zymurgy article. Not content to simply read about the beer, I've decided to go ahead and brew one. Besides, who wouldn't want to try a beer made entirely from Smoked Wheat? I've mostly followed the plan laid out in the Zymurgy article. The Mash schedule and hop addition times are as prescribed. However, I don't have easy access to the Lublin hops used in the magazine brew, or the correct yeast strain. In place of the Lublin hops, I've used Polish Sybilla. The beer also calls for a clean ale yeast. I've turned to White Labs ,Dusseldorf Alt yeast to fill the role. In a few weeks my efforts will be rewarded. Here's the five-gallon brew: Grains: 5 lbs Weyermann Oak Smoked Wheat Hops: 0.75 oz Sybilla (6.4% a.a.): 105 min 0.5 oz Sybilla (6.4% a.a.): 30 min Total Boil Time: 120 min Yeast: White Labs WLP036 - Dusseldorf Alt Mash Schedule: Acid Rest: 100F for 30 min ...

Colorado Kitchen Brew

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